4 - Friday, November 21, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. t =3 3 ,,420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu To rest on so thin a reed would be inconsistent with this court's obligation:' -District Court Judge Richard Leon, ruling that the U.S. government has unlawfully held five Algerian detainess at Guantanamo Bay for more than seven year, as reported yesterday by The New York Times. MAX FABICK .C.S_ TS E-MAIL MAX AT FABICKM@UMICH.EDU THEN: 1957 CADiLLAC COUPE DEViLLE NOW: 2008... ANDREW GROSSMAN EDITOR IN CHIEF GARY GRACA EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR GABE NELSON MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position oftthe Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views ofttheir authors. Conscious compensation Public universities must be more careful with executive pay imes are tough at public universities. Students and their families are feeling the pinch of high tuition and unfriendly loan markets. Public universities are preparing for reduced state funding and smaller endowment returns. And public univer- sity presidents are getting a raise? That's the bizarre situation that The Chronicle of Higher Education found in its annual executive compensation survey this year. Though it's tough to argue that exec- utives, like any employee, don't deserve to be compensated when they are doing their job well, it's incumbent upon public universities to recognize that giving their executives raises during hard times sends the wrong message about their missions. One Qassam too many Released Monday, The Chronicle's main finding in its executive compensation sur- vey was that the gap between pay at pub- lic and private universities is closing, and fast. The primary reason for this is the dramatic increase in pay at public univer- sities, which was up 7.6 percent on average from last year. Our own president, Mary Sue Coleman, is among this crowd - her pay increased 4 percent this year. Though the average private university still pays about $100,000 a year more than the aver- age public university, during the past five years, executive compensation has risen 17 percentage points more at public universi- ties than at private universities. But one must wonder that in these eco- nomically difficult times, how public uni- versities can justify raising both tuition and the salary of their presidents? And there's a simple answer most universities provide: If you want a competent execu- tive, you need to pay the high price to get them - and keep them, as private univer- sities and corporations try to lure them away with higher pay. When those presi- dents do a good job, you need to give them a raise. It's tough to argue with that logic, except that it leads to executive compensation quickly spiraling uncontrollably upward, as it has in the past five years. This forces public schools to devote even more of their stretched budgets to paying their presi- dents. And when you have to answer to taxpayers, like public universities have to and private universities don't, that puts you in a problematic situation. As public universities, including our own, increas- ingly beg for more state funding, it's bad form when people see that money going to presidents' wallets, instead of classrooms, financial aid or professors. What is needed is a more sensible approach to executive compensation. This can't come from state legislatures, which could cap public universities' pay rates, leaving them less competitive with their private counterparts. Besides, this would likely be a serious encroachment on uni- versities' autonomy, especially here at the University of Michigan, where a constitu- tional amendment or serious boilerplate language would be needed to cap Cole- man's salary. That leaves universities to take this issue upon themselves, justifying their raises when they are deserved and refusing to raise pay when times are tough. Good pres- idents, who presumably care more about the public service they are performing than the wad of cash they are making, should be able to understand this. Many have already, even turning down raises or giving them back. Coleman has frequently been one of these presidents, except for this year, when she accepted a 4-percent raise. When students, faculty and taxpayers are feeling the pinch of a bad economy, public university presidents shouldn't be the only people insulated from the hard times. ilitary euphemisms have always played a prominent role in international media. During World War II, Nazi depor- T tations to death camps were called "evacuations;" fire- bombing industrial and refugee cities was "strategic;" and destruction - of worker villages ARI was appropriately "de-housing" (yes, PARRITZ really). Today, euphemistic lan- guage maintains the same disin- genuous message. Bombing raids are known as "sorties;" civilian deaths are "collateral damage;" the inability to extract resources and capital from a given region is "instability;" and ces- sation of hostilities is a "ceasefire." Supposedly, since June 19, there has been "ceasefire" between the Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinian leadership in Gaza. Yet for two days in early November, Hamas gunmen and members of Islamic Jihad's al Quds Brigades fired 46 Qassam rockets and 16 mortar shells into Israel's southern region - particularly at the border towns of Sderot and Ashkelon. Hamas justifies these attacks - which continue, now, hourly - as a response to continued border clos- ings, frozen aid and targeted killings of gunmen intunnels and along Gaza's security barriers. And their claims are not unfounded. According to the Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, the colossal bar- rage between Nov. 4th-5th followed incursion by IDF's special forces into Gaza to blow up a tunnel created to abduct Israeli soldiers. Gaza is one of the most media-cov- ered regions in the world. We always get the "who did what to whom," but we seldom see the "why" behind the actions of either Hamas or the IDF. Why, for example, is a ceasefire in Gaza not actually a ceasefire? Let's try to understand. Violence in recent weeks reveals the dichotomy between Israeli and Pal- estinian interpretations of ceasefire. For Israelis, a ceasefire means laying down weapons in order to resolve a conflict diplomatically. For Hamas, a ceasefire is a means of using peace to rearm. When Hamas stops launch- ing rockets, it concentrates instead on importing explosives from tunnels under the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and building tunnels to kidnap Israeli soldiers. It is these acts that violate the ceasefire agreement, a tac- tic that becomes clear in the context of Hamas's history. Recently, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh proposed an offer first made bylate Hamas spiritual advisor Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Haniyeh proposed, "a Palestinianstatethatfollowedthe 1967 borders and to offer Israel a long-term hudna, or temporary truce, if Israel recognizes the Palestinians' national rights," according to a Haaretz news story in September. This proposal, and others like it, is presented strategically: it'stemporary. Hudnas are traditionally designed to allow Muslims to rearm under the shelter of temporary peace; eventual- ly, though, they call to terminate peace in favor of sustained violence. Some scholars believe the Prophet Muham- mad proposed the firstrecorded hudna in his Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, in the 7th century Muslim conquests. Arafat proposed a hudna in the 1993 Oslo Accords, and Hamas uses hudnas today to project the false reality of a commitment to peace. According to members of the 1993 Nobel committee that nominated Ara- fat for its Peace Prize, hudnas may not be so bad. They were wrong. Yassin, a key sponsor of Hamas's terrorismactivities, waskilledbyIsra- el in 2004. But his message continues as Hamas's diplomatic and military platform: No recognition, ever, and violence until withdrawal. Ceasefires in Gaza will remain a facade unless this ideology adapts to modern real- ity: Israel not only exists, but it will ramp up efforts to eliminate Hamas if the group continues to threaten its citizens and existence. Israel can't sit idly while its enemies rearm, and every other nation in the world in Israel's position would do exactly the same thing. Imagine a Gaza-like region on the U.S.-Mexico border. Would we send aid to rocket-ravaged border towns, or would we eliminate the rockets and those who launch them? Since the beginning of the sec- ond intifada, Sderot has absorbed more than 7,000 rockets. Residents are alerted by the screaming sound of the tzevah adom (color red) siren. The impending explosion could sound from an uninhabited field - or from their living room. The Israeli government and promi- nent American charities respond by pouring money into rebuilding Sderot's infrastructure and reinforc- In border fights, Israel has right to defend itself. ing homes and schools with mate- rial to mitigate the effects of Qassams. Though these are necessary and vital means of responding to -the attacks, they also send a poor message to those firing the rockets. As the international community, headed by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, dwells on Israel's naval blockade and other painful but unfor- tunately necessary means of defense, little can be done to protect Israel's border residents. As such, Israel needs to adopt a new strategy in Gaza. An attack on Sderot should be viewed as nothing less than an attack on Tel- Aviv or Jerusalem. Yet with Hamas in power, the screams of tzevah adomwill continue, and Israel will remain without a part- ner for peace. Ari Parritz can be reached at aparritz@umich.edu. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Nina Amilineni, Emad Ansari, Elise Baun, Harun Buljina, Ben Caleca, Satyajeet Deshmukh, Brian Flaherty, Matthew Green, Emmarie Huetteman, Emma Jeszke, Shannon Kellman, Edward McPhee, Emily Michels, Kate Peabody, Matthew Shutler, Robert Soave, Jennifer Sussex, lmran Syed, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder, Margaret Young ELISE BAUN I A cultural deficiency I am one of many students this year who did not buy Michigan basketball tickets. Despite encouragement from coach John Beilein and the Athletic Department, I felt that Michigan basketball was not for me. Every year when tickets go on sale, I debate buying them. But not being an avid basketball fan, I need a little extra encouragement to attend basketball games. That encouragement just isn't there when Cris- ler Arena is dull and the team's performance, at least last year, is less than stellar. I'm not the only one who opted out of buying season tickets this year. Michigan basketball season ticket sales have been extremely low. As of Nov. 12, only 480 season tickets had been sold for this season. That's roughly 120 less than what sold last year. And if you don't believe the numbers, you can check Crisler Arena out your- self, where the lack of interest is visible when looking at the empty bleacher seats. That's not to say the Athletic Department isn't trying to fill seats. It has tried e-mailing students and advertising at football games to get more students to buy tickets, but nothing is working. But lowering the price of basketball tickets to only $99 isn't enough to get me to pick up my credit card. Now, we've come to a last resort. Earlier in the year, some members of the student group Maize Rage went to Beilein to discuss the pos- sibility of having free student tickets this year. Free tickets had been offered to the student body in the past, so why not now? At first, the Athletic Department dismissed the idea, stat- ing that it didn't think free tickets are a feasi- ble long-run strategy. This is a shame, because there's no short-term interest in the team, and that won't change until the energy surrounding this sport rises. The Athletic Department final- ly realized the error in its ways, and met Maize Rage halfway by offering some free games this season. The only catch: A lot of these games are ones that most students don't want to attend. If the Athletic Department wants to salvage interest in Michigan basketball, it has to do something bold, something visionary, some- thing that will get people back in Crisler Arena. It has to offer free tickets to students for every game and then build a lively atmosphere once students are there. Offering free tickets to all of the games will bring the Athletic Department closer to achieving the culture that will save Michigan basketball. Though tickets are probably not selling partly because last year's team per- formed poorly; hopefully, now that the play- ers are a year older and more experienced, this won't be the case. And, since the basket- ball team is off to a great start, it does look as though the team might be much improved this year. Winning games will help improve Mich- igan basketball's culture, and that is the most important thing. Think of it this way: Culture is what main- tains student interest in the hockey and football teams. Students not only buy tickets to these games year after year, but they also show up on game day as well. No matter how the team is performing, students are clad in Michigan gear and ready to cheer as loud as they possibly can. Attendance at every Michigan football game this season has been over 100,000, despite the fact that the team now has the most losses in Michigan football history. Michigan hockey is well known for its student-led chants and high spirits, no matter how the team performs. The enthusiasm and culture that surround these two sports is more important than their win/ loss records. Michigan basketball no longer has that cul- ture. Students aren'tbuyingtickets, notbecause of how expensive they are or because of how poorly the team performed last season, but because it doesn't have a game-day draw any- more. We simply aren't getting excited about basketball games. If the Athletic Department wants to get stu- dents going to Michigan basketball games, it will have to draw them in. A good basketball culture will breed enthusiasm among its sup- porters by keeping them involved in the sport. Students need to feel more connected to Michi- gan basketball. This connection doesn't hinge on how well the team does, it hinges on what kind of atmosphere there is at the game once students get there. Elise Baun is an LSA senior. SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU A Rich Rod quote anda telling have been able to see that the "get a life" quote was direct- ee ed at the Michigan "fans" who populate Internet message example of the shift to new media boards making personal attacks about his players' mind- sets, dedication and skills. Had he read further into the transcript, he would have seen that Rodriguez, not more TO THE DAILY: than a paragraph later, stated that he's glad that Michigan * I am starting to get very tired of the media field day fans have so much passion. He's glad that the fans care as surrounding our football season. However, I am more much as they do. disappointed with some fans' reactions. The viewpoint I would recommendvisitingthe popular Michigan mes- Wednesday by University alum Josh Weingast was a prime sage boards and reading the vicious personal attacks peo- example of these two issues (A message for Rich Rod, ple have made about our team. That is what Rodriguez is 11/19/2008). talking about. The majority of us would be much better Instead of reporting the whole story, the media decid- off if those people stepped away from their keyboards and ed to use a few sentences from head football coach Rich got a life. Rodriguez's press conference Monday, which, of course, I do, however, agree with Weingast on one thing: Many was designed to ruffle our feathers. Plenty of people decid- Michigan fans are students and graduates of this top uni- ed to take the bait and completely overreact. Instead of versity, and we are pretty darn smart. Many are even reporting a reasoned response to some of the ridiculous smart enough to read Rodriguez's press conference tran- accusations and insults that are hurled from every corner script and form judgments based on what he actually said, of the Internet, the media made it look like Rodriguez was not the sentence snippet that was actually reported. criticizing our fans' passion. Form whatever opinion of Rodriguez you want, but at This also turned out to be a perfect example of the dif- least take all of the information into consideration, not just ference between the old media and the rising blogs. Mgob- one line from a press conference. log actually looked at Rodriguez's entire quote and came to a reasoned conclusion, rather than misleading readers. David Xia I am getting very tired of every media outlet throwing Engineeringsenior our coach and team under the bus. Our student newspaper should not be one of them. Sure, this year has been disap- 'U'shouldn't employ students to pointing, but don't think for a second that this team has quit. Don't quit on them. We will be back, and soon. f r donations Until then, I am going to hope most of us can calm down and give our new coach more than five seconds to bring our team back. TO THE DAILY: After reading David Childers that it doesn't se Enginerringsenior its students as1 Taking abuse at For Rich Rod critic:Next time do is bad, the Univ For ichRod ritc:> ate its priorities the state and it a yrestrictions as e University's firs TO THE DAILY: dents and the qt In his viewpoint Wednesday, Josh Weingast may have of dollars to add been guilty of a greater sin than telling fans to "get a life" Havingsolici (A message for Rich Rod, 11/19/2008). solidarity with t As a University alum, Weingast should be familiar with pre-emptively a the work involved in researching his topics thoroughly and completely. If had he read the widely available transcript Adam Ajlouni of Rich Rodriguez's press conference Monday, he would LSA senior The Statement Wednesday, I've got to say eem right for a public university to employ telemarketer fundraisers (About Campus: Telefund, 11/18/2008). When the economy ersity should take that as a cue to re-evalu- and realize that the University is a part of s economy and subject to the same budget everyone else. When times are tough, the st concern should be the welfare of its stu- uality of its education, not raising millions d VIP seatingto the Big House. ted funds for charity, I wouldlike to express the students working at Telefund. But can I sk Telefund to remove me from its call list?