4A - Thursday, February 5, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4e , Iicl igan 4,3a*lg Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu GARY GRACA ROBERT SOAVE COURTNEY RATKOWIAK EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. Low-income living Affordable housing needed by students and residents alike orget struggling with classes or trying to balance extracur- ricular activities, one of the most intimidating aspects of college is trying to find reasonably priced housing within walking distance of Central Campus. Across the city, exorbitant rent has left students and permanent residents in a tough finan- cial spot. For residents, however, that problem could be alleviated if a new proposal to convert three downtown city parking lots into low-income housing is executed. More low-income housing for Ann Arbor residents is definitely a good thing, but the city shouldn't for- get about its students. Initiatives to provide students with the same kind of affordable housing should also be in the works. No, the Republicans were not all standing in one corner.! - Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D - Minn.), commenting on the interactions of President Obama's Super Bowl guests, as reported yesterday by The New York Times. HARUN BULJINA E-MAIL HARUN AT BULJINAH@UMICH.EDU. Maybeout of irony. Do you think modern science could bring it back? ndigen ous empowerment Community development officials from the city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County recently proposed conversion of three parking lots to create between 60 and 100 low-income units. These units would be targeted at people who make 10 to 15 per- cent of the area's median income of $51,232. That would include many of the permanent city residents unable to afford the rising rent across }the city Though expected to cost between $6.3 and $14.7 million, federal tax credits would cover approximately 80 per- cent of building expenses - and the city has students to thank for that. The city is eligible for much of its federal funding due to the fact that students are included in the federal census. The presence of students makes the average city income appear lower than it actually is because many students are dependent on their par- ents and, on paper, have no income. This lowers the city's average income and the city can receive more federal dollars. So if the city is going to profit from the presence of students in Ann Arbor, students should be benefiting as well. Though rising rent is the result of stu- dents' willingness to pay up, what students really need is affordable housing close to campus. And recent developments like 601 Forest have done little to ease the pressure on students' bank accounts or demonstrate that the city is ready to get serious about affordable housing. It's time for the city to step in and give students the same options it wants to give residents - after all, the stu- dents are partly the cause of these federal dollars. Ann Arbor residents and students all need and deserve more low-income hous- ing. Close, affordable housing has benefits of all sorts. In cities like Ann Arbor, lim- ited mass transit options necessitate living close to the city. Low-income families can't afford to move further out to find lower rent when they still have to commute to the city. Plus, if financially disadvantaged people are forced to live further and further away from campus it segregates Ann Arbor by income. Local, affordable housing also has other advantages, like decreasing the need for car traffic, clearing busy streets and helping the environment. The proposal could provide some resi- dents with the housing they need. But that only solves part of the problem - students make up an important part of the city and their needs have to be considered. The city government should spend some of those fed- eral dollars on helping us out, too. olivia, the poorest nation in South America, is on the verge of adopting a new constitution. After approximate- ly 500 years of rule by Europeans and their descendants, the country elected its first indigenous president, Evo Morales, in 2006. Morales has since 3 worked to remove the inequalities IBRAHIIM stemming from the KAKWAN concentration of land and resources in the hands of a few wealthy families. You may be thinking, 'That's great, but for those of us who are not Bolivian, why does this matter?' The most immediate answer is natural resources. As the supply of oil becomes increasingly unstable and consumers seek greener alternatives to gasoline power, lithium ion batter- ies are expected to take on a greater share of the power storage burden. Bolivia has approximately 50 percent of the-world's lithium reserves, along with a sizeable amount of the world's tungsten, tin, antimony, and others - many of which are used in the cre- ation of steel. Companies including BMW, Mit- subishi and Michigan-based General Motors are currently developing elec- tric cars that rely on lithium batteries; the GM Volt is slated to be released next year, and cell phones and laptops already use them. At a time when car buyers are few, lower lithium prices would contribute to a lower over- all cost for the new electric cars and potentially drive higher sales. Unfortunately, the leftward lean- ings of the Bolivian government have made it difficult for foreign compa- nies to tap that country's mineral resources, and given the complexity of lithium refinement, the Bolivians are not in a position to undertake the task alone on any great scale. In 2006, Morales announced the national- ization of oil and gas. As recently as January 23,,the Bolivian government took control of a BP subsidiary. This will earn the government additional revenues, but given the potential for a nearly total loss of investments, few new companies are willing to venture into Bolivia. The resources lay unused while Bolivia and potential investors lose. The seeming justice of nationaliza- tion, indigenous empowerment and land redistribution after hundreds of years of oppression is understandable but impractical. Saul Villegas, the official in charge of lithium extrac- tion, only highlights the ridiculous- ness of the government's position; "Maybe there could be the possibil- ity of foreigners accepted as minority partners, or better yet, as our clients," he told the New York Times this week. Bolivian miners are currently loading salt into trucks with shovels, and the government expects foreign companies to set up the industry, only to become minority partners while risking nationalization. Bolivia's indigenous populationhas had a longer period of exploitation than many other indigenous people, partially bankrolling Spain for hun- dreds of years and then the Euro- pean-descended Bolivian elite after the country gained independence. But taking back the country and its resources overnight is not a good idea, nor does it excuse wishful thinking. Granted, "imperialist" resource exploitation agreements impose unfair terms on the hostcountries, but they work in the long run to develop their economies. These agreements are what fueled the growth of the Middle Eastern oil kingdoms. When the sheikhs were rich in oil but lacked capital and drilling experience, these imperialist agreements helped to transform the oil under their feet into the cash that their nations were built upon. Bolivia's new constitution incorpo- rates a land redistribution program that will wrest control of hundreds of square miles of land from the wealthy and transfer it to the state 'and the poor, but this will also destroy some of the country's most productive farms. On the surface, indigenous empowerment may seem like a good thing. But after years of operating far behind modern methods of efficiency, empowerment will hurt the fragile economy of Bolivia, which is already in decline due to tumbling metal pric- es. Of course, it is the "empowered" (i.e., the indigenous people) who will suffer most and who may end up worse off than they were before. Nationalizing industries can kill a new economy. Take the case of Zimbabwe. After the black majority took control of the country (then called Rhodesia) from the white minority in 1980, various black African factions engaged in a civil war. In the early 1990s, the coun- try was gripped by political turmoil with state employees striking over low wages. By 1997, 36 percent of the population had HIV, and the land redistribution of 2000 transformed the country from a model of African agricultural efficiency into the site of a cholera outbreak and home of the $100 trillion Zimbabwean bill. A large part of Zimbabwe's plight is due to mismanagement and corrup- tion, but a sense of entitlement along ethnic and national lines helped it to take root. Luckily for Morales and Bolivia, Chavez and his oil money are there to help if the going gets tough. In the meantime, I'll have to pay more for that new laptop battery. - Ibrahim Kakwan can be reached at ijameel@umich.edu. I LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be less thar 300 words and must include the writer's full name and University affiliation. Letters are edited for style, length, clarity and accuracy. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@umich.edu. ST T T TEE TSEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU Lower drinking age creates because I enjoy interacting with people. intellectual drinking climate EitanInga I TO THE DAILY: In his September 11, 2008 column, (A toast to Amethyst, 09/11/08), now-Interfraternity only wors Council President Ari Parritz discussed the merits of the The Amethyst Initiative, which "wants us to take a closer look at the efficacy TO THE DAILY: of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of How many pe 1984." sion of1981-82?V Having spent close to a month studying at higher unemploy Oxford University in the United Kingdom now, the govern where the drinking age is 18, I feel compelled country out of it to emphasize this issue. Keep this in min I will not waste your time making the usual to yesterday's col arguments for lowering the drinking age: ulatingSolution, 0 reversing the "forbidden fruit" temptation or Green seems we can go to war, vote and get the death pen- rowed $900 billi alty but can't drink, etc. ment and expans Instead, I implore you to consider the link to cover up politi between a positive drinking culture and billion to be spe healthy socio-cultural development. One only considered stims needs to spend a few weeks mingling with spending).. international students to realize that American The remaining youths are rapidly falling behind our interna- most extensive tional counterparts in terms of our depth and grams and pork i breadth of knowledge, intellectual curiosity, dent Obama pro sense of collective responsibility and general this package - t ability to conduct positive, daily social inter- each. Green arg actions. should be consid Americanuniversityculture revolves around Republicans and drinking. English university culture revolves ground between around conversation while drinking. Can you ernment never ci think of the last time you pounded back five tribute whilemon shots of Grey Goose and had a stimulating con- Whenever the gt versation about the technological innovations things like the T in microprocessing chips, international poli- tration, hardly a tics, the theater or a good book? Since Ameri- The most am can students aren't allowed to drink at a bar, describesthe fail we drink in our rooms, with music blasting age was passed i and the TV on. Drinking has become as selfish ently learning fr as it is social. them isn't an op What if on a Friday after classes, a group of money. freshmen went to the Brown Jug, ordered a Government is pitcher of beer, sat face-to-face and interacted? problems - gove Would they get drunk? Quite possibly. But they Just as in the G would strengthen their friendships in positive ernment stopped ways and help perpetuate the deep bonds that recovery came q are integral to any society. generations do n Pub drinking is a highly pleasant experience stupidity of the p I was deprived of growing up in the U.S., only to realize its priceless value now that I'm abroad. Samvan Kleef Not just because I may enjoy, tasty ale but also LSA fpshman stimulus plan will ,en the economy ople have heard about the reces- ery few, because although we had ment and inflation than we have went didn't try to stimulate the and the recession quickly abated. d when considering my objection umn by Matthew Green (A Stim- 02/04/09). to imply that a completely bor- on worth of constituent appease- ion of entitlements is the solution icians' mistakes. Out of the $900 nt, less than 10 percent can be ulus (tax cuts and infrastructure g 90 percent of this money is the enlargement of entitlement pro- n the history of this nation. Presi- mises four million new jobs with hat totals to an absurd $225,000 ues that this waste of money ered a "middle ground" between Democrats. There is no middle being right or wrong. The gov- reates anything, it can only redis- neyleaksoutofeverytransaction. overnment "creates" jobs, we get ransportation Security Adminis- shining beacon of efficiency. using line by Green is when he ure ofthe previous stimulus pack- n the beginning of 2008. Appar- om mistakes and not repeating tion when considering taxpayer s not the solution to our economic rnment is what causes problems. reat Depression, once the gov- d trying to control the economy, uickly. Let us hope that future not bear the burden of the fiscal revious generations. 4 ELISE BAUNve eitT Give credit where credit is due I In light of the recent economy, some Michigan students who decided to attend college out-of-state might find themselves regretting that deci- sion. To help them out, the University is considering re-admitting them as transfer students and allowing them to pay in-state tuition. This would be a nice gesture if it actually alleviated some financial woes. But in reality, transfer students often have to repeat too many credits to make this a practi- cal solution. Prospective transfer students can determine which of their credits will transfer by looking it up online, but the first problem with the process is that the website is nearly impossible to find. When students do find it, they will learn that the University claims C grades or higher in their classes are likely to successfully transfer. Unfor- tunately, this is misleading. Many students who attempt to transfer to the University find them- selves needing to repeat courses that they've already taken - something to do with other college classes not matching up to the University of Michigan's caliber, I suppose. And credits that do transfer might not actually fulfill distribution or concentration requirements, instead only counting toward the 120 credits needed to graduate. The decision on whether or not to aqcept the credits is based on how the course description at the old university compares to the classes offered here. If the descrip- tion is close enough, the credits might transfer. Since many students wind up need- ing to retake courses based on this system, they end up staying longer at the University. Transfers will end up spending so much money and extra time that they may wish they should have just stayed at their original col- leges. It's unrealistic to assume that allowing more students to transfer will help them with theii troubles. It's not just the problem of students needing to repeat courses. If students received Advanced Placement credit at the university they were originally attending and then took courses above that level, they may still have to take introductory courses here because the AP score threshold for college credit won't necessarily match up. One of my friends went to Michi- gan Tech, took upper-level physics courses and wanted to transfer to the University of Michigan to enroll in the aerospace engineering program. Unfortunately, his AP score doesn't count here, so he would have had to take the introductory physics courses here before he could start the rest of his education, even though his cred- its for higher physics courses would transfer. Where is the logic in this? The final flaw in this system is the lack of communication between trans- fer students and advisors. Transfer students fill out tons of paperwork, have their coursework scrutinized and are then put through a subjective system that determines which credits will transfer and which won't. Not all advisors can say for certain what the department will accept. This means that prospective students might be told by an advisor that a lot of their classes will count here, but then have their hard work rejected by someone else who hasn't even talked to them. It is admirable of the University to try to help out students who wish to transfer back in state. Hopefully accepting more students back into the University will help keep jobs in the state and help to repair our dismal economy. But if the University really wants to make this work, it needs to help those students who do make the final decision to transfer here. They need to be able to count more credits, look at each student individually and be more logical in the admissions pro- cess without bogging students down with paperwork. It's not enough just to tell students they can transfer here - the University can and should do more to make this process less painful for all prospective transfer students. Elise Bapn is an LSA senior. I {