0 4A - Wednesday, March 17, 2010 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 CHRISTINA SUH E-MAIL CHRISTINA AT CHSUH@UMICH.EDU HAPYTimc~s ~Af3- )IA P H APY }' st. Mkk 0 JACOB SMILOVITZ EDITOR IN CHIEF RACHEL VAN GILDER EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MATT AARONSON 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. Electingto vote. The University should ban exams on election days College students aren't known for their overwhelming turnout on Election Day. Yet, while young people can rightly be called out for their electoral apathy, colleges can and should do more to encourage civic engagement. The Uni- versity shouldn't force students to choose between cramming for an exam worth 30 percent of their grade and exercising their dem- ocratic right to vote, as was the case for some on Nov. 4, 2008. To prevent this from happening again, the Michigan Student Assem- bly passed a resolution calling on the University to ban exams on national election days. But it is imperative that MSA also push for similar bans in the cases of state and local elections. _ P'4 - , . : ya 4 a . Bipartisan civil rights mhe very idea of marriage is basic to recognition as equals in our society; any status short of that is inferior, unjust, and unconstitu- tional." These are the words of Theo- , dore B. Olson as quoted in a Jan. 9 Newsweek article. Olson is one of two lawyers seeking to overturn Propo- TOMMASO sition 8, a 2008 referendum that PAVONE banned gay mar -______ riage in California. Olson stated that he took the case because "this is not a conservative or liberal issue;it is an American one, and it is time that we, as Americans, embraced it." Olson's Newsweek piece is intel- ligent and thought-provoking. But what renders it particularly unique is the background of the author: Olson is a staunch conservative. He rose to prominence as the foremost conserva- tive lawyer in the nation by winning the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court case and ensuring George W. Bush's 2000 presidential victory. And yet, almost 10 years later, Olson is at the forefront of the quest for marriage equality. While Olson's actions could be eas- ily discounted as an abnormality, an increasing number of prominent con- servatives are publicly standing up for gay rights. Just a few weeks after Olson's piece appeared in Newsweek, Cindy McCain, the wife of 2008 presiden- tial candidate and current Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), was featured in an ad released by the pro-gay marriage NOH8 campaign. NOH8 released a statement saying, "Cindy McCain wanted to participate in the cam- paign to show people that party doesn't matter. Then there's the case of Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Coon.), whose recent record of alliance with the left is weak at best. A few weeks ago, Lieberman stated he was "proud" to be the pri- mary sponsor of a Senate bill that would repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and allow gays to serve openly in the military. In a written statement, Lieberman argued that Americans should be allowed to defend their country regardless of sexual orientation. Perhaps most striking has been the support of gay marriage by former Vice President Dick Cheney. Speak- ing before the National Press Club in 2009, Cheney highlighted the impact that having a gay daughter had on his thinking. "I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish," he said. It is clear that the average ideol- ogy of Olson, McCain, Lieberman and Cheney falls squarely in conserva- tive territory. With the exception of Lieberman, who represents the liberal state of Connecticut, none of these figures are likely to gain popularity among peers because they support gay marriage. And yet all four have come out as strong allies of the gay move- ment. Joining their cause are the Log Cabin Republicans, a growing nation- al organization of conservatives who embrace LGBT rights. They are part of an increasing number of Americans who believe that gay rights is a civil rights issue instead of a political issue. As a person who identifies as gay, I am comforted by the fact that Ameri- cans are uniting across party lines to support gay rights. While I tolerated the argument that gays should not be allowed to marry early in my coming out process, over time I have realized that the institution of marriage is con- stantly evolving. In our nation's past, polygamous marriages were once legal and African Americans weren't allowed to marry whites. These prac- tices might have survived to the pres- ent day if people had continued to support the status quo. If we managed to abandon the idea that marriage should be limited to "one (white) man and one (white) woman" or "one man and multiple women," there is little reason why the definition of marriage can't survive a further revision. Gay rights are a civil issue, not a political one. My support for gay marriage comes fromwithin - at the deepest of human levels. I believe that, at its core, mar- tiage is a symbolic representation of two people's love for one another, and to deny people's ability to marry implicitly repudiates their love. I find strength in the long but successful his- tory of the civil rights movement. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall." The growing number of unlikely conservative allies is a testament to Gandhi's words. As an increas- ingly diverse coalition of Americans stands in proud support of marriage equality, it's clear that, despite ref- erenda like Proposition 8, gay rights opponents are like fish swimming against the flow of the river. And for that, every ally, especially our con- servative ones, deserves the deepest praise. - Tommaso Pavone can be reached at tpavone@umich.edu. 18- to 24-year olds were the least likely to vote of any age group on Nov. 4, 2008, with approximately 48 percent participating, according to U.S. Census Bureau statis- tics. In response to the low turnout, MSA recently passed a resolution to encourage the Board of Regents to prohibit exams on national election days. Originally pro- posed by MSA's Voice Your Vote Commis- sion, the resolution cited long lines at the polls as a primary deterrent for students because many students needed to prepare for exams that took place on Election Day. It also pointed to a finding by Rock the Vote, a national organization that encour- ages voter participation, which concluded that poorly scheduled exams caused voting problems at the University. Admittedly, students can do better. Even in as exciting an election year as 2008, less than half of all 18- to 24-year olds made it to the polls. Even in the most recent MSA election, which has arguably the most direct impact on University students, voter participation was only a dismal 9 percent - and that election was held entirely online. That can't all be attributed to schedule conflicts. Students should make voting a priority - even if it means they have to brave standing in line. Yet as ironic as it may seem for MSA to advise anyone on increasing voter turnout, the Voice Your Vote Commission proposal could actually boost voter attendance. Any action that removes potential barriers to exercising one's voice in government is a no-brainer - especially when it won't have any serious impact on education or cause faculty any real undue pain. Considering the current social and political climate, it has never been more important for students to vote. But nation- al elections aren't the only elections that matter to students. State and local elec- tions have at least as much say in shaping the lives of University students as federal ones, but generally they see even lower stu- dent voter turnout and involvement. And. involving students in local politics would cultivate a greater sense of city ownership, making them more likely to care about improving the city in which they live. No one denies that young people need to take greater responsibility for voting seri- ously and consistently. But the University has a responsibility to make civic engage- ment as accessible as possible. Voting is simply too important to the integrity of a democratic government to allow barriers to stand in its way. SEND LETTERS To: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU in advance (standexeco9@umich.edu) or $5 at the door. Danielle Young This letter was written on behalf of STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be fewer than 300 words and must include the writer's full name and University affiliation. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@umich.edu. Students should be aware ofpressing crisis in Darfur TO THE DAILY: Ch eating the students 0 In recent years, the genocide in Darfur, MSA web te devl e Sudan has received decreased media atten- tion - but that doesn't mean that things have should give'ac 'th ir " gotten better for the people of Sudan. Millions bapcy remain displaced, living in dangerous camps in Sudan or neighboring Chad, and fighting still TO THE DAILY: continues between government-backed forces and Darfurian rebel groups. Recently, the Jus- In reference to the Michigan Student tice and Equality Movement signed a cease-fire Assembly website scandal (Site not found, agreement with the government of Sudan. But 03/15/2010), it seems only proper to reveal, in we've seen this before. The fate of this year's the interests of full disclosure, the identities cease-fire is up in the air. Other rebel groups of the web developers who billed the student continue to fight in the region. body nearly $9,000 for their ultimately unsuc- Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is run- cessful attempts to build an MSA website ning for re-election this April, even though from April to December 2009. Architecture the International Criminal Court has indicted graduate student Andrew McIntyre billed for him for charges of genocide. His case has been about 45 hours and was paid about $544. Alum stalled in the court for quite some time, even Jayesh Patel billed for 412 hours and was paid though proof of a government-orchestrated $5,768, while Engineering senior Randy Yao genocide in Darfur pervades the country. The billed for about 210 hours and was paid $2,933, upcoming election may allow for Sudan to according to an e-mail to MSA representatives rebuild itself around ideas of peace and equal- from President Abhishek Mahanti. ity, but international oversight is extremely Needless to say, structural flaws in the MSA important in making sure the democratic pro- bureaucracy permitted such a travesty to go cess is taking place. As of now, there is no over- unnoticed for so long. Exact details about the sight and the government has already created nature of the involvement of Mahanti and MSA barriers to democracy. coordinator Anika Williams have yet to come With all of these problems it may seem like to the fore. Now that news of the scandal has University students can't do anything to help, emerged, however, perhaps a public shame cam- but this is simply not true. This week, students paign to force the web developers to return their from STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coali- pay (in part or in full) to the student body might tion will be at the posting wall in Mason Hall be in order. The primary objective (the creation handing out information and providing post- of a functioning website) was not accomplished cards for students to sign urging international by these designers and the payments were made action in the upcoming election. We will cul- behind the scenes and beyond the reach of the minate with a benefit concert on March 20 in assembly's oversight. These seem to provide suf- Angell Hall Auditorium B to raise money for ficientgrounds for so severe an action. Women for Women - an organization that aids female war refugees. Various performance Hamdan Yousuf groups on campus will perform. Tickets are $3 MSA Rackham representative Assuming that the next year and a half goes as planned, I'm going to become a high school English teacher after I graduate in the spring of 2011. And as I've start- ed thinking more about what that job will entail, I've come to some con- clusions about edu- cation. One is that not all students are RACHEL going to choose to go to college after VANGILDER they graduate from high school, and there are a variety of reasons that make that decision okay. But feelings of inadequacy or unpreparedness shouldn't be among the reasons not to go to college. That's why the recently proposed national education standards are so important. Without national stan- dards, students from some states are disenfranchised by standards that don't prepare them for college - and, even worse, make them feel like they couldn't cut it in a university set- ting. National standards would force states to stop setting low education standards, to hold onto government funding and would encourage expec- tations that foster students' learning. A proposal for national education standards for K-12 was released last week by a panel of educators and experts sponsored by the National Governors Association and the Coun- cil of Chief State School Officers, an organization made up of superin- tendents. The suggested standards, which have received support from the Obama administration, outline the math and English skills that students should have at the completion of each grade level. The state of Michigan has signed on to the standards. But some states have rejected them. For example, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has said that only Texans have the right to determine how their children are educated, according to a Mar. 10 report in The New York Times. Alaska rejected the standards as well - at least for now. According to a Mar. 10 AOL News report, the state is trying to work out which of the suggested national standards are more or less rigorous than current state standards. And Massachusetts has said that because its standards are already higher than the suggested national standards, it shouldn't have to adopt them. There's something to be said for Massachusetts's argument. States determined to challenge students shouldn't be discouraged from doing so. But the national standards should still exist to prevent some schools from setting low standards to keep government funding. The standards could help solve several problems in the American education system - many of which are directly connected to the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. Some NCLB regulations have contributed to states setting low standards. NCLB penaliz- es schools that don't make "Adequate Yearly Progress" (usually referred to as AYP by educators) by counter- intuitively cutting their government funding. And while simply throwing money at a problem doesn't fix every- thing, taking it away doesn't solve any problems either. If anything, it only makes them worse. Schools know this, so some have taken dras- tic measures to make sure that they reach AYP and maintain their federal funding. The national standards could even the playing field between schools that are attempting to make AYP. To get around having to cover a lot of ground to make AYP, some states set low standards. With lower standards, it's easier for low-performing states to look good on paper. So Massachu- setts may turn out students who are better than those in, say, Georgia, but its schools could be penalized because the state's higher standards make it more difficult to achieve AYP. Yet, eventhough schoolswithambi- tious - and maybe even unrealistic - standards are the ones getting the cuts, it's really the students at schools that maintain low standards who suf- fer. By starting students off at lower standards, schools are setting up their students for failure. Students who enter college without basic reasoning; math or English skills can't succeed because they don't have the tools they need ina university environment. National standards are important for students' learning. The worst part is that students know this. When they're unprepared, they feel it, and that leaves them feel- ing like they aren't good enough. And that feeling can severely damage peo ple's zest to learn. As someone who loves learning, that's unacceptable to me. Setting low standards might save schools' incomes, but it damns stu- dents. And that trade-off isn't worth it. Not by a long shot. There's a good chance that I'll have to leave Michigan to find a job after graduation (the market for teachers isn't great right now, with funding being cut and schools consolidating)i so I have a vested interest in ensuring that all students are being pushed ti their potentials and that I'll be able to expect high achievement fron them. And I don't want excessively low standards to hamper me or, more importantly, the students for which I'll be responsible. - Rachel Van Gilder is the Dailys editorial page editor. She can b reached at rachelvg@umich.edu 0 ELAINE MORTON E-MAIL ELAINE AT EMORTUMICH.EDU Iay ; A' (151:I tS , ( s, ' ta- a- totsc r~ysaw f J~ cprC..:sR~ ~ §O1VM t. " Y I q 4 ). $ .w 7 ' w .e ., . J 10.:& t c. Sc oo: I A EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Nina Amilineni, Jordan Birnholtz, William Butler, Nicholas Clift, Michelle DeWitt, Brian Flaherty, Jeremy Levy, Erika Mayer, Edward McPhee, Emily Orley, Harsha Panduranga, Alex Schiff, Asa Smith, Brittany Smith, Robert Soave, Radhika Upadhyaya, Laura Veith 0 A t