0 an 4 - Friday, February 13, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu ROBERT SOAVE COURTNEY RATKOWIAK EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR GARY GRACA EDITOR IN CHIEF 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. Michigan's promise New promise zones are good for students and the economy f the CTools video featuring University Provost Teresa Sulli- van, the barrage of e-mails from the office of Financial Aid and the exorbitant bills students pay each semester have yet to sink in, here's a clue: tuition is absurdly expensive. And across the state, students who can't afford to pay up have no choice but to forgo a col- lege education. But the new Michigan Promise Zone Act that was recently signed into law could ease the burden of higher education costs to these students. For the act to be effective, though, private donors must invest in the state's future by helping to pay for these students to go to college. On Jan. 13, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed the Michigan Promise Zone Act, which will create zones in which scholar- ships are provided for students in low-in- come areas. The promise zones are based upon the highly successful Kalamazoo Promise program, which fully covers tuition to graduates of Kalamazoo Public Schools who go on to attend in-state public universities. Since the Kalamazoo Prom- ise began two years ago, the city has seen higher graduation rates and an increase in enrollment. Enrollment and retention rates for Michigan State University and the Uni- versity of Michigan have also improved. The success of the Kalamazoo effort is encouraging and is more than enough evidence to justify the state's expansion of the program. Right now, there are 125 communities in Michigan with poverty levels that qualify them to become promise zones. Promise zone status will be granted on a first-come, first-serve basis for com- munities that prove they have enough pri- vate funds to provide scholarships for two years. After that, the state will match the funding. Both Muskegon and Pontiac are already working to raise the money. The winners here, of course, are the stu- dents who get the chance to go to college. The communities eligible to become promise zones are full of students whose only obsta- cle to a college education is the bill. Promise zones will make this sad reality a thing of the past for many Michigan residents. _ And while students will get free college out of the deal, the state will see its fair share of benefits, too. The Michigan Prom- ise Zone Act will boost the enrollment at in- state public universities, which will affect college rankings and likely keep more col- lege graduates working in Michigan. High- er enrollment and graduation rates will lead to economic stability. Churning out more college-educated workers is the only way to shift the state's economy away from manufacturing. But if Michigan residents want to help the state, they must do their part to help make the promise zones a reality. Private investors should be motivated to donate to these scholarships until the state matches the funding, since the fates of private busi- nesses are tied to the fate of Michigan's economy. When private businesses and donors invest in programs that help Michi- gan diversify its economy, they are helping themselves in the long run. A better-edu- cated workforce means more successful businesses. And though the zones come too late to help students already enrolled at universities, this law might even make it so that Sullivan doesn't have to appear on CTools anymore. Democrats have been making up for lost time with a government spending spree on the taxpayer credit card." - Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R - KY), criticizing the Democrats for their spending in the recent stimulus package, as reported yesterday by The New York Times. BELLA SHAH E-MAIL BELLAAT BELLZ@UMICH.EDU ~S ,\0to a Is 1,000 too many? The fact that there are over together. Because resources are limit- a community. Having a social network 1,000 student organizations ed and the features of the studentsrga- keeps people from falling through on campus is continuously nization system don't encourage broad the cracks at school and provides an reiterated to pocen- collaboration, there's little reason to invaluable opportunity for students to tial Wolverines. It's work together aside from increasing undergo social, professional or spirito- a part of campus funding or attendance. The need to be al development. In addition, some sto- admissions lore, relevant drives groups away from each dents probably need or prefer smaller, A, quick check of other in the organizational landscape. more intimate communities. the Maize Pages If an organization isn't serving a par- ________ reveals the latest ticular need, it's easier to create a new count of registered one rather than combine efforts.Th obe groups. Any stu- This is fine, of course, because T eprobe dent can join any many causes ranging from human wit ii. of the hundreds of NEIL rights no professional development W~n1m less groupstcheywannor TAMBE are represented. But when campus- std n even start a brand- _ _ __ wide movements would be helpful or clubst c . new one. But this necessary--like efforts to lowerrising _________ could be one of the tuition costs, increase access to sto- reasons for some of the disappointing dent healthcare, for example - those Maybe I'm misguided. Maybe features of student life, like competi- movements struggle. The more groups the churn of student organizations tion for resources, fragmentation and there are, the harder it is to organize is such a minor concern that it's not self-segregation. because there are, varying opinions even worth talking about because a As the number of student orga- and everyone is too busy to participate large menu of choices is worthwhile in nizations grows, one key resource in something larger. spite of the costs. Maybe the ability to doesn't grow very much - people. Perhaps the fact that campus rum- organize across student organizanions The amount of undergraduates at the munities often stay insulated from is irrelevant because existing mecha- University has continued to hover other established communities is also nismsr for institutional change at the near 26,000 as more student organi- due to the vast student organization University are sufficient. zations have emerged. Consequently, landscape. After all, there's not much Perhaps, however, by acknowledg- a growing number of groups compete reasontoljoin a group that stretches an log the problems that come with so no recruit for a relatively fixed amount individual's boundaries if a more com- many groups, we can do better. We of people. Because the resources at the fortable student group already exists mighteach ourselves to manage more University are constant - and unless or can be created easily. complex projects that target broader admissions skyrocket or additional Maybe it doesn't matter so much if issues, even though incentives to do funds are allocated to student life ini- an Actuarial Mathematics Club and so are lacking. After some thought- tiatives - there is a certain capacity of the March of Dimes chapter don't ful deliberation, it might make sense student organizations that can be sup- interact. But when segregation occurs to consolidate organizations or ini- ported at Michigan. I hope we haven't on lines of race, class, sexual orien- tiatives. In any case, if the need for a exceeded it. tation or other social identities, our campus-wide or nationwide move- Another result is that the pumped- campus only contributes to the mis- ment ever arises, I hope student orga- up student organization landscape understanding between communities nizations will overcome the structural contributes to a sense of fragments- and the conflict that brews at the soci- limitations posed by the student orga- tionat our campus. In a system where etal level between interest groups on nizationsystemand transformts over- students choose the type and amount opposing sides of those boundaries, come these challenges. of activities in which they want to Of course, there is a legitimate rca- involve themselves, there's not much son to have hundreds of student orga- - Neil Tambts can he reached reason for organizations to work nizations: that way, everyone can find at ntambegsmichedu. 4 4 4 "i 4 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be less than 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 tothedoily@umich.edu. SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU I Go on a diet: eat o-cal LSA-SG President's actions violate organization bylaws TO THE DAILY: In response to LSA Student Government President Leslie Zaikis' decision that party affiliations were no longer going to be part of LSA Student Government elections (LSA Stu- dent Government to drop party labelsfrom ballot, 2/11/2009), the actions of LSA-SG's president and some of the executive officers are in viola- tion of the LSA-SG's bylaws and of students' rights, which those bylaws are intended to pro'- tect. As a former president of LSA-SG, I would like to set up some facts for those on campus who are interested in running in the LSA-SG election, an opportunity that I would encourage any interested student to explore. First, it is a violation of the LSA-SG bylaws to notallowstudentstocometogether and formpar- ties to run in elections and have their party name appear on the election ballot. While a single- party system is by no means an appropriate way to handle government elections, banning parties all together is rather rash and inappropriate. Stu-. dents who do not have a widespread popularity base simply cannot win without a party system, regardless of how qualified they may be. Furthermore, this solution to the one-par- ty system problem will only make problems worse in that only the students who are "well- connected" or "popular" will continue to win student government elections because they will not have the additional finances, time, and energy that comes with being a member of a political party. Due to its other important obligations, LSA-SG is not capable of reaching out to everyone on campus. This is where par- ties come into play. Parties have the time and energy to seek out new and interested students from a variety of backgrounds to bring more diversity of perspective and thought to LSA's student government. I. strongly encourage all members of govern- ment, and even all LSA students, to become edu- cated on their rights to run in an election and exercise them accordingly. Keith Reisinger The letter writer is an LSA Senior and the former president ofLSA-SG. Daily's concerns aboutPh.D. policy change are unjustified TO THE DAILY: There are many questions that still need to be resolved about the current proposal for continu- ous enrollment thathas been passed by the Rack- ham Executive Board, but the issue raised in your editorial (Rackham's mistake, 02/12/2009) is not one of them. Class sizes will not increase by requiring con- tinuous enrollment. The people who are affected by this measure are overwhelmingly Ph.D. candi- dates who are not taking classes. As a Rackham professor, I meet with my Ph.D. students wheth- er they are enrolled or not, so this will not really mean any difference in my workload. The proposal aims to ensure that departments have a financial incentive to ensure that students receivethe proper attention from faculty mentors and that they have an active University affiliation upon which to draw if they need to. However, the questions the GEO raises in Thursday's news arti- cle (Ph.D.s in uproar over new policy, 2/12/2009) are pertinent, especially in areas where the demands of cutting-edge research have tended to mean that itntakes longer to graduate. David Potter The letter writer is chair of the Senate Advisory Committeeon UniversityAffairs andaProfessorof Greek and Latin. As the economic crisis contin- ues, our nation is struggling to turn around its money, fate and fortune. Proceeding hand- K in-hand with our economic restruc- turing has been the call to "Buy Ameri- can" and even to mandate it as a part of the economic stimulus plan. The call to buy MEG American makes YOUNG some people anx- ious, both the free-trade crowd here and our foreign suppliers. This week's cover of The Economist maga- zine melodramatically expressed those fears. Trade protectionism is personified as a reanimated corpse with a horror flick title across the top that reads, "The Return of Economic Nationalism." Despite the stir, buying American holds a lot of power right now. And not just on the national level: Gover- nor Jennifer Granholm's latest State of the State address featured Michi- *gan labor as an essential part of the state's plan. According to Granholm, "instead of spending nearly $2 billion a year importing coal or natural gas from other states, we'll be spending our energy dollars on Michigan wind turbines, Michigan solar panels, Michigan energy-efficiency devic- es, all designed, manufactured and installed by... Michigan workers." We need to make a similar effort to buy American on a local level. Regardless of our differences when it comes to international trade policy, we can agree on what we want our city's economy to look like. All ofus benefit from the smallbusi- nesses that stitch together Ann Arbor's economy. Because of the little restau- rants and bookstores that make this place so unique, the University is able to attract some of the most progressive minds in the world. This is a symbiotic, even chicken-and-egg relationship; it's tough to say which boomed first. Ann Arbor and the University wouldn't be one withoutthe other. When I read in the Ann Arbor News that Shaman Drum bookstore was looking for help from an inves- tor, it hit me like a call to arms. More students are buying their textbooks online to save money - and in these hard times, that is completely under- standable. Shaman Drum owner Karl Pohrt took pre-emptive measures to prepare for the blow. He applied Sha- man Drum for nonprofit status in an attempt to embrace our community and Shaman Drum's role in it. The Internal Revenue Service returned his request with a letter in November sayiiigthat they're too swamped with requests to review it for some time. In the meantime, Shaman Drum needs our support. Students cannot become investors in our local icons, but our actions en masse are just as influential. We truly are voting with our dollars when we spend them. In this vein, I want to write a campaign ad for our community. Shaman Drum has books you'll never find in a chain store because Pohrt and his staff cater to our com- munity. To really look at the shelves is to take the city's pulse. They'll even have the esoteric book your profes- sor suggested you read. But one thing matters most of all. The place has the soul of a poet and a scholar. Besides, it brings literary figures in to speak, many of whom are recently gradu- ated authors in need of a launching point to "the real world." When I heard that Shaman Drum might be having tough times, the first thing I did was pick up some books there. It's an empty gesture, unless you do it too. Times are hard for everyone right now and we have to stick together. But we're not just talking about bookstores here. When you go out to eat, forget the sandwich chains that have elbowed their way onto State Street (aren't as affected franchises if the rent is too high). Go say hi to Sava or Silvioinstead. Want to help the economy? 4 4 Buy American. Forget seeing "My Bloody Valen- tine" in 3D. Check out the Michigan or State Theater instead - your date might even mistake you for "cool." In all seriousness: when you choose to buy local, your lifestyle will change for the better. You and the shopkeepers begin to know each other. Those little conver- sations you have, or even their nod of recognition, can pick up your day and theirs. Sure, we need our food to be cheap if we're going to eat out at all. I'd just like to let the .$5 sandwich crowd know that they can get a pound of Indian food at the same price. You just have to know where to look. For those in a hurry, snag a chicken sha- warma pita. Everything local has an unfair repu- tation for being expensive. I work at Caf6Ambrosia, and wehave the cheap- est cup ofcoffeeinAnnArbor.Working there only convinces me that people like that local familiarity. Most of our customers come in every day. Give a little place a try that you haven't been before. My next stop? The Jamaican JerkPit on Thayer Street. - Meg Young can be reached at megyoung@umich.edu. As the Michigan Student Assembly examines its future on campus, the Daily would like students to voice their opinions on what should be a part of its agenda. E-MAIL YOUR IDEAS TO ROBERT SOAVE AT RSOAVE@UMICH.EDU.