4 - Friday, April 17, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com E-MAIL BELLA AT BELLZ@UMICH.EDU L74C it1pan 43a1,6, I 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 ofthe Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views ofttheir authors. Justice for all U.S. should acknowledge need for human rights protection T omorrow is the 61st anniversary of the International Criminal Court in The Hague in the Netherlands. Cre- ated after the atrocities of World War II, the court con- tinues to grow as a protector of human rights. Today, the United States' treatment of the detainees at its Guantanamo Bay deten- tion center in Cuba stands as a constant reminder that fundamen- tal human rights are still threatened. Though President Barack Obama recently announced that he will close the detention center, the United States still has much work to do to make up for its ques- tionable human rights record. The nation should proceed from the closing of Guantanamo Bay to take up its responsibility as a world leader in the fight for human rights, at home and abroad. BELLA SHAH x0 No time-outs for activism 4 The symbol of America's disrespect for basic human rights, the Guantanamo Bay detention center was established by the Bush administration in 2002 to hold pris- oners who were captured in the war in Afghanistan. All of these prisoners were denied their right to challenge their deten- tions. Some were tortured. And because they were labeled "enemy combatants," they were supposed beyond the protective reach of the Geneva Convention. Three times, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that parts of what was going on at Guantanamo Bay were unconstitution- al. In its latest ruling, the Court asserted that these detainees have a right to chal- lenge their detentions in U.S. courts. Since this decision last year, conditions at Guan- tanamo have improved. But the center remained as a symbolic representation of the Bush administration's flagrant disre- gard for human rights. For this reason, on Jan. 22, only a few weeks into his presi- dency, Obama announced that he would close the detention center at Guantanamo within a year. While the center's closure is long over- due, we can't forget that more dubious instances of human rights abuses are still being perpetuated by the United States. Until January, the Central Intelligence Agency was allowed to torture prisoners, though "torture" was cleverly disguised as "special interrogation techniques." Addi- tionally, the United States still exports prisoners and tortures them behind the borders of countries that do not uphold the Geneva Conventions. At the same time, human rights viola- tions aren't just occurring in secret loca- tions around the globe. Several human rights groups have expressed their con- cern that the way the United States treats its criminals constitutes a human rights failing. Immigration policy is another area where the United States' record is dismal. Obama has very real human rights crises to address right here and right now. Simply closing Guantanamo's doors won't solve these problems. The government must recognize that these practices, no matter where they are, are wrong. Obama's efforts to stop torture speaks to the United State's commitment to human rights - and it's about time. The United States has been sending the wrong message on human rights for far too long. It's difficult for international efforts against torture to gain the credibility they deserve when the United States isn't lend- ing its full support. The United States has a responsibility to lead the fight to end human rights violations. It's time for Obama to make the United States' commitment to human rights mean more than just words. T here's something amazing happening on campuses in Michigan... and I am not a part of it. It's called Power Shift, a = student initiative m promoting energy efficient policies. The more students that get involved, the more impact the organization's actions will have. But just as difficult MEG as changing envi- YOUNG ronmental policy is, there's another difficulty that student groups like Power Shift have to overcome, and that's getting students to show up in the first place - busy, neurotic students. I chose not to show up for a Power Shift event on Wednesday night and I'm regretting it already. I had good reasons for saying no - it's practically finals time, for God's sake. I had an exam to study for, a paper to write and honestly didn't feel like being in a car for two hours. But when I turned down arideto Wednes- day's public hearing to expand a Bay City coal plant, I didn't say any of those things. I just said, "I can't." It's not that I misunderstood the importance of the event, either. Burning coal accounts for almost 30 percent of the United States's green- house gas emissions. Fly ash from coal plants contains toxic substances such as arsenic, barium, boron, lead and other heavy metals. Although the latest buzzwords in the industry are "clean coal," coal remains one of the most carbon-intensive energy sources available. It's poor planning for the future as carbon emissions will be regulated by the time capital mobilizes such factories to be built. It's a waste of money and a myth. Science-based policy like electricity generated by wind and solar power can create safe places for our fami- lies and futures. The group behind Power Shift, the Michigan Student Sustainabil- ity Coalition, attracted my attention some time ago. It was founded in 2006 as a cooperative effort between the students of four Michigan col- leges. This is the same group that brought 430 Michigan college stu- dents to Capitol Hill last winter to lobby our representatives. They are a group on campus that thinks big and chooses events where our.poli- cymakers are already listening. I was already on board with this cause. The fliers I'd been seeing about the rally - "Say NO to coal in Michigan!" had caught my eye for weeks, but I never stopped to con- sider them. I was just, you know, busy. I found out through friends that this rally would take place at a public hearing about whether to let the big- gest coal plant in the state quadruple its emissions. I was impressed that the rally would have an audience with pol- icymakers, but stayed home anyway. I ended up missing out on seeing morethanahundred collegestudents from each major Michigan campus show up in Bay City that night. About 75 were able to address comments at the public hearing. Their message? The 800-megawatt allowance (as big as coal plants come) would be throwing money into an antiquated, destructive technology. Consumer Energy's changes to its plant would allow it to emit approximately 19 million pounds of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and other pollutants every year for the fiftyyears it would remain stand- ing. These brave students joined the ranks of union ironworkers, electri- cians, boilermakers, steamfitters and bricklayers in raising the call to bring renewable energy jobs to Michigan. The rally that I missed - but shouldn't have. Missing out on this event made me think about the ways it mobilized me personally as a concerned citizen of Michigan, an environmentalist and a potential job applicant for the positions we'd create with green job policy. All of a sudden, I realized that a degree wasn't the only thing I want- ed in the long term. I realized that I wanted to make a difference now for the sake of creating a greener future. By deciding to believe in these student movements, these students make them something worth believ- ing in. Sitting it out, I realized that the results of these decisions impact me as much as everyone in the state. Being an involved activist requires better planning, but believing that such efforts are worthwhile is the first step. Actions on a university, local, and state level are the best place to begin because we have direct access to our policymakers. Armed with the belief that change is possible, I'm going to make more time to be a part of it. - Meg Young can be reached at megyoung@umich.edu. 4 0 SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU The Daily is looking for a diverse group of strong, informed writers with an interest in campus issues to become editorial board members in the spring and summer semesters. E-MAIL RACHEL VAN GILDER AT RACHELVG@UMICH.EDU FOR MORE INFORMATION. 0 Gays face discrimination in health care and workplace TO THE DAILY: While I was happy to see Patrick Zabawa grapple with the concepts of respecting free- dom of thought for all Americans in his recent column, I am concerned that the need for non- discrimination in employment and health care were not fairly addressed (The hypocrisy of gay activism, 04/16/2009). Non-discrimination in employment and health care are fundamental to protecting life and liberty for all Americans. In 2004, Colonel Diane Schroer, a trans- woman formerly of the United States Army, was denied employment at the Library of Congress because of her gender identity. In 2006, Char- lene Strong was denied entrance to the emer- gency room to be with her dying partner of 10 years until a biological family member arrived and gave her permission. When it comes down to receiving medical services or getting a job, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and similarly identified people are not simply oppressing people with different beliefs. We are tryingto live. In terms of medical care specifically, doctors and other medical professionals cannot pick and choose which medical services to provide to which patients. Factors such as a patient's sexual orientation are irrelevant to providing a medical procedure. Moreover, patients can't be expected to go shopping for a hospital with doctors who share their beliefs in equal treatment. That luxu- ry is not economically feasible for many. In terms of employment, LGBT rights orga- nizations are currently working on passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which seeks to enact federal non-discrimination pro- tections in employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This act is nec- essary because many LGBT and similarly iden- tified individuals are already employed - but under the current federal law, they could be fired tomorrow. Sexual orientation and gender identity are irrelevant factors when it comes to job per- formance. All Americans have a right to work according to their merits while also living open, lives. To suggest that LGBT rights organizations should only use persuasive means to this end is, once again, a luxury beyond many LGBT Ameri- cans. When considering the struggles of LGBT citi- zens, I hope that all of us can look beyond the exclusive lens of marriage equality. Many LGBT Americans do not have the luxury of making marriage equality their top priority. In all parts of the U.S., regardless of individuals' acceptance of who we are, we need to be able to work and we need tobe able to receive medical care today. Sean Collins Music sophomore .Zabawa doesn't understand purpose ofLGBT activism TO THE DAILY: Patrick Zabawa's column on LGBT activ- ism represents a fatal misunderstanding of both the purpose and context of LGBT activism (The hypocrisy of gay activism, 04/16/2009). His basic premise is that homophobic and transphobic people have a right to discriminate against LGBT people as much as LGBT people have a right to live theirlives openly and freely. This is absolute- ly incorrect on several counts. Zabawa claims that it is hypocritical for LGBT activists to push for legally binding protections againstdiscriminationbecauseit amountstoforc- inghomophobic and transphobic people to accept an opposing viewpoint. The law is not a forum for public discourse. It is an organized system of the rules of conduct that dictate what actions are and are not permissible. We can debate opinions in newspapers, on the street, and at protests. Hav- ing a court uphold fairness and equality does not suppress opinions. Most bizarrely, Zabawa asserts that activists are going too far in pushing for comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation in employment, rather than "persuading" employers not to fire their employees just for being lesbian, gay, bisex- ual or transgender. Perhaps Zabawa has gotten a little too comfortable in the University's environ- ment, which supports LGBT people. This environment was the result of the activ- ism that Zabawa speaks against. The anti-dis- crimination policy that establishes fairness here at the University did not fully include protections for sexual orientation until 1994 and for gender identity or expression until 2007. And they did not appear by magic - it took years of hard work to get these policies in place. And LGBT activism on campus continues today. Tolerating intolerance is an issue of intel- lectual freedom, and a very valid one. But when the effects of intolerance and bigotry include increased risk for mental health issues, higher rates ofsuicide, higher rates of poverty, increased physical violence, frequent sexual assault and pervasive harassment in work or school we can- not consider intolerance harmless. LGBT activ- ism is about fighting for fairness, equality, and justice. It's not about silencing opposition. Anand Kalra School ofInformationjunior The leaders and best? J 's true that I admire most of the spirit, rhetoric and tradition of this University. I never walk on the Block M in the Diag and I would propose under the West Engineering t arch at midnight if I could someday. I fully believe pro- viding education of arts, sciences and truth is essen- NEIL tial and noble. But TAMBE some traditions are flawed. For exam- ple, one phrase I take issue with comes from the line in our fight song that ends with, "... the Leaders and Best." It's a great line, but we as college students aren't the "leaders and best" yet because we haven't exercised leadership and excellence in the real world, where it matters most. Even if what we do now already has an impact outside of campus, it doesn't justify the title of "leaders and best." What we do now is the bare minimum citizenship requires. The work we do here as stu- dents is still valuable but it should not be all that we aspire to accomplish. I think the pomposity that comes with slogans like "leaders and best" is dangerous. We, especially those of us graduating this year, are walking into a lion's den of a world. We must address domestic issues like Social Security reform, class conflict and accessibility to health care among dozens of other meticulous, compli- cated issues. As people of the world, we must deal with bio-terrorism, overpopulation, climate change, water shortage and nuclear arms proliferation, to name only a handful of challenges. These problems don't have easy fixes. I fear our University of Michigan arrogance distracts us from the treacherous road ahead and how hard it's really going to be. We have too many challenges ahead to be delusional about our accomplish- ments, abilities and entitlements. Our generation already has a bad rap. We're narcissistic. We insist on having things our way and struggle with taking criticism in stride. We lack professionalism and the ability to follow through when problem solv- ing. We feel entitled to anything we may want when we don't necessarily deserve it. But at the same time, our generation has amazing qualities. We're tremen- dously capable, curious and techno- logically savvy. We're able to work in diverse groups of people like no gen- eration before us. We're ambitious and we also volunteer a lot. We care about the world around us and want to make this planet a better place in any way we can. Nobody can tell us we aren't fired up, because we are. We have a befuddling situation before us. We have the opportunity to EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: be one of the greatestgenerations, and I believe we can face our challenges and live up to our aspirations of a bet- ter society.We'll have to rally together and overcome our differences while still taking advantage of our diverse perspectives and talents. We'll need to have long, arduous, frustrating con- versations with each other to figure out the best courses of action. We'll each have a role to play, one no more important than any other. We can overcome our generation's pretentiousness. As University students, let's focus on earning our maize and blue colors. Before we start call- ing ourselves the leaders and best, let's have an unbreakable will to overcome the challenges we face. Let's be brave enough to believe in what is right, courageous enough to commit to what is right and unself- ish enough to do what is right. If we advance the public good, there is no doubt that we will become the lead- ers and best. - Neil Tambe can be reached at ntambegumich.edu. 4 a i a Nina Amilineni, Emad Ansari, Emily Barton, Elise Baun, Harun Buljina, Ben Caleca, Satyajeet Deshmukh, Brian Flaherty, Emmarie Huetteman, Emma Jeszke, Sutha K Kanagasingam, Shannon Kellman, Jeremy Levy, Erika Mayer, Edward McPhee, Matthew Shutler, Neil Tambe, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder, Laura Veith