4A - Monday, January 12, 2009 4 n a 2The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com a 74c fittc4ig n + ily 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 boardAll other signedarticles and illustrations represent solelytheviews oftheir authors Room for research Pfizer property a good investment for the University While students were away on winter break, the Univer- sity bought itself a holiday gift: the abandoned 174- acre Pfizer Inc. facility near North Campus. Overall, the $108 million acquisition is a welcome addition to the Univer- sity - the Pfizer property will enhance the University's ability to do cutting-edge research at a time when attracting innova- tion and jobs to the state is more important than ever. But it also comes at a cost. The deal has angered the city this university relies on - a sentiment the University needs to smooth over. a That would be his first mistake in office. I'd have to skunk him." - Kevin Johnson, Sacramento's mayor'and former guard for the Phoenix Suns, on the prospect of President- elect Barack Obama challenging him to a basketball game, as reported yesterday by the New York Times. Asking the tough questions Formerly the largest private sector employer and largest taxpayer in Ann Arbor, Pfizer hit the city and the Univer- sity hard when it decided to close its doors last January. For the city, the firm's cost- cutting measure caused about 2,100 people to lose their jobs locally and about 5 per- cent of Ann Arbor's tax revenue to vanish. For the University, students and research- ers suddenly lost job opportunities. During the past year, filling Pfizer's cam- pus with someone has been a priority. But when no other major player expressed seri- ous interest, the University decided to step in to purchase the abandoned Pfizer build- ing. For that, everyone should be somewhat thankful. The University plans to employ about 2,000 workers at the facility, bring- ing the type of highly skilled jobs to Ann Arbor that Michigan needs to reinvent its largely auto-dominated economy. Michigan's universities have a natural place at the forefront of Michigan's tran- sition, especially now that they have a relative economic advantage. Last month, Michigan State University did its part when it was awarded the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams by the Department of Ener- gy, improving its appeal to research scien- tists. The University's investment in the 30-building campus demonstrates a simi- lar commitment. Though the use of the Pfizer labs has not yet been determined, the research potential here is impressive and will certainly aid Michigan's efforts to recreate the economy based upon innova- tive, technological development. The loser in this deal, though, is the city of Ann Arbor. Because the University doesn't pay property taxes to the city like Pfizer used to, the city just lost its largest taxpayer with no hope of getting it back. Though the University will bring in new high-paying jobs, that's still a $5.1 million hole the city has to fill. On top of that, the city government is already suffering from budget problems that have caused it to pro- pose dramatic budget cuts. It's tough not to see the University as somewhat of a vul- ture, here, swooping in to buy up the Pfizer facility during tough economic times. But while the short-term picture for the city is discouraging, a tax-exempt, functional facility bringing in jobs to Ann Arbor is preferable to an abandoned one. In the long-run, the Pfizer purchase is a necessary way to improve the Univer- sity's capacity for research - important research that will allow the University and the state to compete for the top minds in the country. The Pfizer resources will attract skilled workers - and consequent- ly, businesses - to Ann Arbor and enable it to lead the research that is vital for the state's economic recovery. In such a trying time for Michigan's" economy, state universities must do their part by educating the future-work-force and by attracting the best and the bright- est to our state. The University is doing its part by turning the abandoned Pfizer facility into something that will be benefi- cial for the economic outlook of the entire state of Michigan. ob Parker probably deserved to get fired - but not like this. The now-former Detroit News sports col- umnist was forced to resign last week, shortly after his controversial ques- lions directed at now-fired Detroit Lions head coach Rod Marinelli. Parker has been a IMRAN mediocre colum- nist and analyst SYED of Detroit sports - for years, and I'm actually surprised the News kept him around as long as it did. I'm astound- ed, however, that - having survived so many years with shoddy insights and writing - Parker was forced to resign because of a rare instance of brave, responsive reporting. The event in question took place during the post game news confer- ence with Marinelli following the Lions's embarrassing 42-7 home loss to the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 21. The loss made the Lions 0-15 for the season, just one loss away from "achieving" the first winless season the NFL has seen since going to the 16-game format. Parker - as he often does, and not always wisely - decided to address a topic others would consider too dangerous. Whereas every other' reporter in the room stood mesmer- ized by Marinelli's poise and humil- ity following another crushing defeat, Parker chose to set aside compassion and personal feelings and ask atough question that he thought had to be asked. The subject he chose to question was the Lions defensive coordinator, Joe Barry. It was an entirely reason- able line of questioning, given the following: The Lions had the worst defense in the league in terms of total yards and points surrendered - it wasn't even close - and yet the defen- sive coordinator still had his job. I think we can all agree that it shouldn't matter that Barry is Marinelli's son-in-law - if he's a bad coordinator, then he's a bad coordi- nator - but for some reason, it mat- tered a lot. Parker tried to steer the conversation to why Barry still had a job, and Marinelli, like the good sol- dier he was in Vietnam all those years ago, continued to take the hits himself and protect his charge, who also hap- pened to be his son-in-law. I admit that I'm amazed at how much class and control Marinelli showed throughout a miserable sea- son of excruciatingpress conferences. Not once did he ever lose his cool or blame someone else. That's all good, but it doesn't justify dodging a rele- vant question, and that's exactly what Marinelli was doing that day. Parker's final question, the one that allegedly crossed the line was this: "On a lighter note, do you wish your daughter married a better defensive coordinator?" The question's very premise indicates it wasn't a serious jab. Parker even prefaced that ques- tion with "on a lighter note," so for- give me if I fail to see how that crosses the line at all. Parker was universally criticized afterward for allegedly "making it personal," but his self-righteous crit- ics (most of them dim-witted, ex- question-dodging meatheads like Terry Bradshaw) missed one impor- tant point: It was Marinelli who chose to, make it personal the day he hired his son-in-law as defensive coordina- tor. As one of the few Lions fans who watched every game and absorbed every bit of analysis throughout this horrific season, I, of all people, should have known that Barry was Marinel- li's son-in-law. And yet, up until the moment Parker asked that question, I and likely thousands of others had no idea that was the case. While I'm sure that superbly relevant point was reported somewhere sometime, the majority of reporters and analysts avoided it out of fear that it crossed a line. And that's what reporting has become these days. Reporters are still good at their jobs and know how to dig, but suddenly there's a fear about pursuing certain facets of the truth. Whether it's something rela- tively trivial on the grand scale like Marinelli's son-in-law or something with much higher stakes (wars and weapons of mass destruction, for instance), the media simply seems to have lost its appetite for responsive- ness and accountability. Instead, the Journalists shouldn't fear "crossing the line." media has developed love for what I it covers (see: Barack Obama) - and that's unacceptable. Sure, the media is indeed sup- posed to have a heart. It's supposed to have a heart for rape victims and whistleblowers who need anonym- ity. It isn't supposed to have a heart for public figures who screw up and then are spared scrutiny because personal issues might have somehow been involved. That's simply a case of the media failing in its fundamen- tal, fourth estate purpose. No wonder newspapers everywhere are failing. Rob Parker did something right that day. He may have been a prick, but that's often the job of a reporter. It would be great if more reporters got to work once again. Imran Syed was the Daily's editorial page editor in 2007. He can be reached at galad@umich.edu. 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 tothedaily@umich.edu. 4 EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Nina Amilineni, Emad Ansari, Emily Barton, Elise Baun, Harun Buljina, Ben Caleca, Satyajeet Deshmukh, Brian Flaherty, Matthew Green, Emma Jeszke, Shannon Kellman, Edward McPhee, Matthew Shutler, Jennifer Sussex, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder RACHEL VAN GILDER | Conservatives shouldn't panic 4 As liberals party in the street, celebrat- ing Barack Obama's upcoming inauguration, Republicans are just trying to cope. Around the country, conservatives are walking around in various states of misery ranging from mild dejection to full-blown depression. As a young conservative - something of an elusive group on this campus - I have tried to funnel my sense of impending doom into optimism, despite my serious concerns about the Demo- cratic Party's ability to successfully manage the national budget and Obama's lack of expe- rience with foreign policy in an increasingly globalized world. But, despite our collective concerns, Repub- licans can't just head toward the nearest, deep- est, darkest cave and stay there until Obama's time in office ends. Now, more than ever, Republicans have a responsibility to inject a sense of practicality into the often overly-ide- alistic liberal mentality. Liberals, in their euphoria, rush to compare Obama with Franklin D. Roosevelt. However, they tend to overlook some of the less heralded similarities between the two. During FDR's campaign, respected political commentator Walter Lippmann said that FDR was "a pleas- ant man, who, without any important qualifica- tions for the office, would very much like to be President." Lippmann meant his comment as an attack on FDR, but I think that FDR's desire to be president may have been one of his best qual- ifications. Similarly, Obama's noble intentions may be one of his greatest strengths. Despite his troubling lack of experience, Obama seems to be a man who wants to be president because he truly believes that he can make a difference. I find no fault with this and I respect him for his sincerity. Obama won the presidency because he prom- ised Americans the unity we have so desperate- ly craved since becoming divided over the war in Iraq. He promised hope, something we have been in short supply of in recent years. More importantly, he promised America a resurrec- tion of the sense of pride that we seem to have lost in such a controversial war. But these are just ideas, vague abstractions that have heart but not mind behind them. Con- trary to the popular cliche, ideas don't change the world - actions do. That's where the Republican Party comes in. It's the job of the Republican Party to temper Obama's idealism with practicality. Everyone wants our planet to remain beautiful, our citizens to be healthy and happy, and our credit on the world stage to be restored to the glory it has preserved for so long. It's the place of the Republican Party to make these things happen for everyone but also to remind Democrats in government that the extreme legislation they favor isn't always real- istic, that personal responsibility must be treat- ed more seriously and that this country must be ready to defend itself against people whose hate runs deeper than diplomacy can reach. That means, however, that Republicans are going to have to work with the Obama Admin- istration. That's right - I said it. Republicans in the legislature do not have the right to spend the next four years doing everything in their power to force Democrat-sponsored legisla- tion to die. Republicans have a responsibility to their constituents to work with the administra- tion and actually get legislation passed that can benefit everyone. Negotiation, as distasteful as that might sound, mustbe the Republican's tool of choice. So, my fellow conservatives, put that spe- lunking gear away and stay out of that cave. The next four years might be rough, but they will be vital for the GOP. It's time for the Republican Party to pull itself together and show America that it's not made up of stuffy, bitter, old white men. And, hey, look on the bright side: it's only four years - hopefully. Rachel Van Gilder is an associate editorial page editor. KATE STENVIG| IW ON Continuing Obama's fight for unity This year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls one day answered, "We will not be satisfied until justice rolls before the inauguration of Barack Obama as the first black down like waters and righteousness likea mighty stream." American president. Every one of us will likely spend In this same vein, our movement cannot be satisfied as some part of the day reflecting on how we helped bring long as the ban on affirmative action continues to drive about this historic change in American politics. down the number of black, Latino, Native American The key to the Obama victory was the collective move- and other minority students on our campuses; as long ment, led by young people with real demands -demands as undocumented immigrant students cannot receive for real integration, an end to war, anunjust foreign pol- financial aid for college simply because they were icy,second-class treatment for immigrants, the cynical y', born on the other side of the border; as long as policies of Bush and the Republicans, and the Clin- immigrant communities live under the threat ton Democrat policies of moderation and accommo- , of raids, deportations, and harassment from dation to racism. It is the historical obligation of to Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the young people who led the Obama movement as long as our government continues to to march forward toward real equality now. r { conduct a war in Iraq and support Israel's This year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day pro- - campaign of terror against the Palestin- vides all cff us with the opportunity to recommit ~ ian people; and as long as gay marriage is to political activism. It is a day to march, rally not legally recognized and there is state- and reflect on what we can learn from impor- sanctioned discrimination against LGBT tant social leaders like King, whose legacy people. will forever be remembered as how to When we poured out into transformthe socialrelations ,the streets on November policies and identity of a 4 to celebrate Obama's nation. King's words about -election, we had a sense the "fierce urgency of now" r;that our campus and our from his famous "I Have a ,.- x fN II society could be united, Dream" speech could not whether black, Latina/o, be more pertinent: "This Arab, Asian, Native Amer- is no time to engage in the ican, white, woman, mat, luxury of cooling off or to gay or straight. take the tranquilizing drug Now, those feelings of gradualism. It would be 0 ( f/ ( of pride, solidarity and fatal for the nation to over- renewed hope must be look the urgency of the / / « turned into collective moment." action. The real hope lies Over the next four years, our Illustration by Rose Jaffe in the power of our inde- biggest danger will be holding our breath and leaving it pendent, youth-led civil up to Obama to realize our hopes for true social equality. rights movement, and it is our job to build that movement It would be a dishonor to Obama's historic achievement and make those hopes real. if we retreated now in the face of victory and returned to our daily lives as if our job was done. Kate Stenvig is a Michigan Student Assembly To the question, "When will you be satisfied?" King representative and an organizer for By Any Means Necessary. The Daily is looking for a diverse group of strong, informed writers with an interest in campus issues to become editorial board members. E-MAIL ROBERT SOAVE AT RSOAVE@UMICH.EDU FOR MORE INFORMATION A A 4 A