4 - Tuesday, November 25, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com LJb iMdiigan ,& aih A Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynatd St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu ANDREW GROSSMAN EDITOR IN CHIEF GARY GRACA EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR GABE NELSON MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views ofttheir authors. A degree of reconciliation Honorary degree for Radulovich recognizes past failings university's mission is to be a force for reason in society. They are supposed to cultivate an open exchange of ideas, even when some of those ideas aren't convenient for soci- ety. And they are supposed to stand up for their students and fac- ulty when these people come under attack for ideas or associations that this country was founded to protect. As hysterical fear of com- munism swept across America during the 1950s, the University of Michigan repeatedly failed to meet these obligations. One of the vic- tims of this neglect was Milo Radulovich, a student at the University who received little support from his college as the Red Scare dis- rupted his life and forced him to drop out. Now, the University has rightly reconciled its past by awarding Radulovich a long-overdue and posthumous honorary degree. I and others were mistaken early on in saying that the subprime crisis would be contained:' - Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, acknowledging the Bush administration's failure to accurately predict the fallout from the mortgage crisis, in an upcoming issue of The New Yorker. ELAINE MORTON . T CALLS E-MAIL ELAINE AT EMORT@UMICH.EDU ( ro e an Building a sturdy cabinet Y ou know those action films back to the "old days" of the Clinton Obama's pick for treasury secretary. where the hero has to assemble administration - odd for a politician A kind of Wall Street wunderkind, a rag-taggroup of mercenaries who supposedly embodies the new Geithner generally isn't viewed in a to bring down the political order. partisan light. And his knowledge bad guy? Watching In fact, Obama has been angering of the ins and outs of the American the gradual devel- z certain Democrats quite frequently in finacial system is essential at a time opment of Presi- } k recent weeks. Not only with some of when that system is going through a dent-elect Barack his staff picks, but also with his call to prolonged crisis. Obama's cabinet ' let moderate Sen. Joe Lieberman, an And, of course, there's Hillary. If has been kind of w. independent who caucuses with the anything, choosing her to be secretary like watching one e Democrats, remain as the chairman of state is symbolic of Obama's appar- of those. Grante d, of the Homeland Security Committee. ent refusal to kowtow to the expecta- these aren't hard- BRANDON Democrats wanted to oust Lieberman tions of the far left. It's also a decision ened mercenaries as revenge for backing McCain during that illustrates a boldness I like. No we're dealing with CONRADIS the presidential race. - these are Wash- ------ But Obama's choices are pragmatic ington power play- and reasonable, whether the liberals ers, after all - but the process has the want to admit it or not. Our economy Some may not like same kind of cinemiatic thrill. sucks. We are at war. There are radi- Certainly, this process wouldn't cals out there who talk of destroying them , but Obam a's have been as exciting had John us and our allies. The solutions to McCain won. It has to do with Obama these problems do not lie in the hands choices are smart himself - with the assembly of his of the far left - and Obama knows* cabinet, any doubts or fears about this. Decisions like selecting Rahm him can be assuaged or confirmed. Emmanuel for chief of staff and pos- For a president with as little experi- sibly bringing Robert Gates back to longer is Obama the golden child of the ence as Obama, his success hinges continue as defense secretary show left; he's making decisions that have upon the people working with him. an unexpected shift to the center. repercussions even among his own And, sure enough, every new addi- Take Emmanuel. An avid sup- party members, but decisions that he tion to this motley crew raises more porter of Israel, the former senior feels confident about regardless. questions, more controversies. Per- adviser in the Clinton administration More significantly, though, many haps none have been more divisive is known to be tough and idealistic - of Obama's choices are centrists. The than that of Hillary Clinton as secre- in the early '90s he did a brief stint as conservatives' fear that an Obama tary of state, a choice that has already a volunteer mechanic in Israel during administration would move this led many writers, like The Washing- the Gulf War. He's exactly the kind of country far to the left seems superflu- ton Post's David Ignatius, to bemoan man anti-Israel leftists don't want in ous now. There's no question Obama the future of Obama's administration. the White House - and that makes has made many good choices in the So what is Obama doing? Many of me feel good Besides, when members past few weeks. Because of this, his choices seem to contradict the of Al-Qaeda are publicly endorsing Americans - conservatives, moder- no drama/new politics attitude his Obama, it's clear we need a public ates and liberals alike - have a lot to campaign leaders used to get him official who knows the Middle East be optimistic about. elected. Choices like Hillary not only and is able to take a frm stance on the seem like purposeful jabs at far-left- issues related to that region. Brandon Conradis can be wingers, but also ways of harkening Then there's Timothy Geithner, reached at brconrad@umich.edu. The Daily is looking for a diverse group of strong, informed writers to be columnists next semester. Columnists write 750 words on a topic of their choice every other week. E-MAIL ROBERT SOAVE AT RSOAVE@UMICH.EDU FOR MORE INFORMATION. A lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force reserves and a student at the University study- ing meteorology, Radulovich was, by all accounts, a typical student when he was here in the early 1950s. That is, until 1953. That year, Radulovich became the target of McCarthyist paranoia thanks to a great leap of logic: Because Radulovich's sister was politically active and his father subscribed to a newspaper from Serbia, where he emi- grated from, Radulovich was deemed a com- munist threat. The Air Force discharged him based on these flimsy connections. But Radulovich didn't go down without a fight. Radulovich took his case to the media. He was featured in The Detroit News and then on legendary news anchor Edward Murrow's CBS show "See it Now." And especially thanks to Murrow, his case became the poster child for the gross civil rights violations and unnecessary fear that dominated this country in the early 1950s. Less than a month after the "See it Now" segment aired, the Air Force reversed its decision, reinstating Radulovich. Radulovich's seldom-told story, though, happened at the University of Michigan. During his public fight, the University never came to Radulovich's defense nor did it facilitate an environment where he felt welcome. At one point, Radulovich even went to one of his professors asking for help managing his case and course load, only to be reportedly asked, "Why don't you find a new major?" This unsupportive climate led Radulovich to drop out in 1954, only a few credits away from graduation. In a very basic way, the University failed as an institution when it didn't help Radu- lovich. It would go on to make the same mistake in 1954, when it suspended three professors, Chandler Davis, Mark Nick- erson and Clement Markert, because they wouldn't testify before the government- sponsored witch-hunt known as the House Un-American Activities Committee. In both cases, the University forgot that its first obligation is to its students, faculty and academic freedom - even when defending these things is unpopular, even when tax- payers rise up its a moral panic'and even when legislators come knocking. That is hopefully the lesson the Universi- ty will take away from the honorary degree it awarded to Radulovich on Thursday. Unfortunately, it was not one that Radu- lovich could be there to share, because he died just over a year ago on Nov. 18, 2007. But awarding him this degree will help his lesson live on when these situations come again to test the University. It's certain they will. 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, Eileen Stahl, Jennifer Sussex, Imran Syed, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder, Margaret Young SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU Daily shouldplay part in informing student voters TO THE DAILY: It's hard, though not impossible, to increase voter turnout, get things done that matter to the student body and be transparent about our governance with- out the Daily's coverage, be it critical or supportive. That's why it is unfortunate that LSA Student Government's election was completely ignored by the Daily. Student governments can't get any- thing done without student support behind them. We won't get that if students don't care. Students can't care unless they know what's going on. And they can't tell us what's important to them if they don't know what LSA-SG is. In my ideal world, students would know about the elections before the polls open. They would know their representatives and how to contact them. They would be able to read about the efforts of their stu- dent governments in their student news- paper. They would be informed enough to make critical observations regarding the relevancyand efficacyoftheirelected rep- resentatives and vote accordingly. I can't do it alone. Student governments can't do it alone. The Michigan Action Party can't do it alone. No student is at fault for that person's misinformation and frustration with regard to student politics. We on student govern- ment share that burden with the Daily. So let's step up - together. Megan Madison LSA senior The letter writer is LSA-SG's academic rela- tions officer and a member of the Michigan Action Party. Ransgender Day passes without Daily's attention TO THE DAILY: I am a 2006 graduate of the Law School. My partner is also a graduate of the Law School. We work in the Ann Arbor area I and are on campus regularly. I am a mem- ber of the Spectrum Center's Speaker's Bureau and regularly speak to University classes about LGBT issues, specifically related to transgender status since I am a transgender woman. Yesterday was the 10th Annual Trans- gender Day of Remembrance. The Uni- versity, through the Spectrum Center, has done its best to advertise the week's Transgender Awareness activities on campus, including Friday's annual memo- rial service held at Rackham. Despite this and despite a history of rallies on campus - all designed to raise awareness of the horrific violence and ingrained discrimi- nation that transgender people face - the Daily has not written a word about the activities. I think you need to better educate your- selves about what's happening on campus and doa better job of reporting. Denise E. Brogan-Kator Alum In Mideast debate, there is little common ground TO THE DAILY: In response to the Daily's recent edito- rial about the forum co-sponsored by the American Movement for Israel and Stu- dents Allied for Freedom and Equality (Extending the olive branch, 11/20/2008), I'd like to commend the two student groups for workingtogether in order to foster dialogue and growth. I take issue, however, with the Daily's contention that University students "should be able to set aside whatever differ- ences they have, regardless of how sensitive the topic at hand, and appreciate the diver- sity on campus." The main distinction that must be drawn between these two student groups can be found on their Maize Pages. If AMI's mission statement is carried out, there is room for an autonomous Pales- tinian state living peacefully and in coop- eration with her neighbors in the Middle East. Alternately, if SAFE's mission state- ment is carried out, there would be no more Israel. A return to 1967 borders, accompanied by the "right of return" of Responding to roc Palestinian refugees (from 1948) would entire villages ant immediately destroy the Jewish character casualties is not h( of the state, and thus the state itself, since nates terrorism. it was created as a Jewish state. The people of It is very difficult to "set aside differenc- eventually, Ham es and appreciate diversity on campus," as effectively and e the Daily suggests, when the group you're the organization': meant to dialogue with is calling for poli- right to defend i cies that will lead to your nation's destruc- should not take tion. I encourage both groups to continue that lead to civil talking, but only with the understanding because civilians that Israel need not justify its existence. conflict by boths Until this understanding is granted, no undermines Israe true dialogue can take place, and such community's lon, "diversity" is not to be appreciated or such and destroying H "differences" set aside. Only once Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state is recog- nized can true dialogue be possible as it relates to policies and future actions and BELLA SHAH the Daily's vision of fruitful debate can be fulfilled. ket attacks by destroying Israelis and P d inflicting severe civilian never-endingpr ow a rational power elimi- wants to make: each side's limit Gaza hate Hamas. And, are in fact ratio as's inability to govern come of those ch nforce laws will lead to What we need sdemise. Israelhas every tive one-sided a tself, but in doing so, it cussion of policy such extreme measures missing from th ian casualties. Not only ists hold the met should be left out of this the moderates sides, but also because it price. el's and the international g-term goal of isolating Fahad Faruqi amas. LSA senior alestinians are trapped in a isoner's dilemma. Each side rational choices. And from ed perspective, the choices nal. But the combined out- hoices, however, seldom is. d in that region is not reduc- rgument, but nuanced dis- and history. That is what is e discourse. We let extrem- gaphones on both sides, and are the ones who pay the I I E-MAIL BELLA AT BELLZ@UMICH.EDU Daniel Horowitz Law School Hamas unrepresentative of PlsiinPalestinian opinions TO THE DAILY: Ari Parritz's column Friday - although well argued and well reasoned - failed to provide any justifiable reason why the Israeli Defense Force is blockading humanitarian aid to Gaza Strip (One Qas- sam too many, 11/20/2008). Hamas is a terrorist organization. It is in no way a legitimate partner in the pur- suit of peace, and its leadership needs to be marginalized by all sides in the months and years to come. However, the Israeli government's block- ade of essential food and medical shipments to Gaza makes absolutely no sense. Medica- tion and food cannot be used as weapons, so this policy doesn't even make sense from the perspective of defending Israel's secu- rity. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is more nuanced than Parritz would seemingly like to admit. Israel's policy in the West Bank and Gaza has been far from ideal when it comes to promoting peace and prosperity. i VY- ETARfq4,S I don't eat fat people. So, why do you want to eat me? I I '3