4 - Friday, April 9, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com E-MAIL DANIEL AT DWGOLD@l)UMICH.EDU Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu DANIEL GOLD 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. A timely donation Students should give back to their community U niversity students have relatively little to worry about most of the time beyond the next exam. But that isn't the reality for many Michigan residents, 14.4 percent of whom live below the poverty line as of 2008, according to statis- tics by the U.S. Census Bureau. Fortunately, community service organizations attempt to combat social problems with the help of volunteers. And students are prime candidates to volunteer. Organizations like the Detroit Partnership have launched initia- tives that provide easy, accessible opportunities for students to give back to their communities. And with many options available that require little time and no cash, students should take advan- tage of opportunities to give back to the state. The more I drink, the better 'T you look. BTB Redefining the elite On Saturday, the University students participated in the 11th annual Detroit Partnership Day. The Detroit Partnership pairs University student volunteers with schools, churches and community groups in Detroit to aid efforts to restore and improve the city. During this year's Detroit Partnership Day, 1,000 students worked at 30 sites around the city to demolish abandoned homes, clean parks and paint murals. This year's Detroit Partnership Day put 200 more students to work than last year's event. Most students are sheltered from the most adverse effects of the current econom- ic recession by attending college instead of entering the labor market. Students should utilize opportunities provided by organi- zations like the Detroit Partnership to take a day to learn about and donate time to local communities. It is encouraging to see that the participation rates have hit new highs this year, but the need for volunteers is as high as ever. But students are in a key position to help Michigan communities. With opportunities for service so varied in time commitment, cause and activity, stu- dents should be able to find the time and the organization with which to volunteer. Help need not take the form of monetary donations or giving clothes and posses- sions to charity. For students who often don't have extra cash, donating a few hours instead of a few bucks to service organiza- tions is an easy way to connect with the community and help others. This can take the form of tutoring at a local school a cou- ple of times a week or spending a few hours volunteering at a shelter or food bank. These opportunities can utilize students' skills - or simply their spare time - to make a big difference for real people and the community. The Detroit Partnership is just one orga- nization that facilitates easy access to ser- vice opportunities. There is a rich array of volunteer and service organizations to choose from ranging from cleaning up parks to mentoring children without stable role models. On Maize Pages alone, stu- dents can find a list of 140 organizations devoted to community service, many of which allow them to experience first-hand the problems afflicting those not protected by the University's ivory towers. Opportunities for service are plenti- ful, and the variety of options on campus makes giving back to the community easy, accessible and affordable. Students should take advantage of their removal from the labor market to help those most damaged by its collapse. William F. Buckley, founder of the conservative news magazine National Review, said he'd rather be governed by the first 2,000 people listed in the Boston phonebook than by the faculty of Harvard Univer- sity, having more faith in the com- mon man than the intellectual elite. LIBBY Recently, I've heard ASHTON liberals empathize with that senti- ment, recognizing the failure of some of society's most intellectually prestigious institutions. Typically divided, members of the electorate are united in their disillu- sionment with the current system of determiningsociety's leadership. But when I hear people complain about the unwarranted control of the intellectual elite, I wonder what qual- ities they would look for in choosing the leaders of finance, government and business. History has shown us that wealth, social status and political connectedness shouldn't be among them. Beyond that, I'm not sure how useful history is in telling us where to look for leaders because the terrain of the 21st century is vastly different than anything before it. As the next generation of society's leaders, our well-roundedness will have to surpass that of the genera- tions before us. Many of the qualities that will be necessary for success in this next phase of American life haven't been necessary before. It seems as though the game is chang- ing so we should learn the rules before we're thrown into it. I suppose intelligence - at least the kind we traditionally measure through the system of higher edu- cation - doesn't necessarily equip someone with the potential to lead. Many of the Wall Street brokers, whose financial irresponsibility and lack of foresight facilitated the nation's worst economic downturn since the depression, hold fancy diplomas from top universities. So should we value a high emo- tional intelligence over book smarts? After the 2008 election, New York Time columnist Maureen Dowd con- trasted President Barack Obama's role as "the Convener" to Presi- dent George W. Bush's role as "the Decider." She celebrated Obama's self-deprecating allowance of others' expertise to guide his decision-mak- ing. Even if our leaders don't have all the answers, we want them to be socially competent enough to work together and figure them out. Hope- fully, public policy students learned something from Congress's nearly debilitating reluctance to compro- mise on the health care bill. The emotional intelligence of our leaders is also important insofar as it strengthens their resolve to work for. the betterment of all people. Lead- ers of finance must strike a balance between the moral integrity that pre- vents their succumbing to greed and the ambition for profit that promotes economic growth. Our business school graduates should look for- ward to being celebrated for enhanc- ing widespread prosperity, not being sneered at for playing the market game to their advantage. Daniel Pink, an alumnus of myhigh school and author of The New York Timesbestseller"AWholeNewMind," suggests that we're transitioning away from the "Information age" and into the "Conceptual age," wherein a per- son's ability to create will be valued over a person's ability to calculate. According to this picture of the future in which the most innovative people will be the most successful, maybe we should have more creative expression requirements than natural science requirements at the University. Those who stick with the natu- ral sciences will be responsible for restructuring society's treatment of the environment. As the green move- ment becomes less politicized, the most successful industries will be those that are the least environmen- tally disruptive. Alternative energy research is valued for its potential to drastically enhance American self- sufficiency, along with its environ- mental benefits. Innovation in the sciences is crucial to the success of almost every facet of our society. If technology continues developing at the same pace as it did over the last decade, computer science will likely become more commonplace than nat- ural science. I expect the professions that are now considered the most lucrative - medicine and law - to become less attractive in comparison to computer engineering. They'll be * making the most money while work- ing for forward-thinking companies that function more like workplace playgrounds than offices. Leaders need to * have more than just intelligence. The technological leap forward has carried us into a globalized world. Business executives will be work- ing regularly face-to-face with their international counterparts, as Skype becomes the new conference call. Not only will knowledge of foreign lan- guages become a crucial element of success, but cultural awareness will as well. We'll have to take strides away from the narcissism that's soiled America's image internationally. Criticisms of the intellectual elite got me thinking about what quali- ties should be valued in the leaders of society. Although I maintain that intelligence is among those qualities, the others are equally as important. If creativity, social consciousness and personal integrity are the deter- mining factors of Harvard's future faculty members, maybe Bill Buckley would prefer them to the phonebook. - Libby Ashton can be reached at eashton@umich.edu. UMAIR QURESHI I The evolution of Pakistan For a country of its geopolitical stature, Pak- istan remains a mystery to Western nations. On campus, there is little discussion of Paki- stan outside of history classes, even at a time when the United States is aligning itself ever closer to the country. For those who view it from the lens of the international media, Paki- stan is a land of religious extremism, perpetual violence, nuclear proliferation and the root of global terrorism. But Pakistani students on campus urge others to look at the nation closer and seea country exploring values like democ- racy and judicial independence and evolving a progressive culture - exhibited by an interna- tionally acclaimed cast of writers, musicians and filmmakers. To understand Pakistan, one need not rec- oncile these alternating views but instead view the trajectory of its character from an orphan of colonial India to the nuclear-armed state of today. While many blindly term it a terror- ist state, Pakistani students argue otherwise. They see Pakistan as a complicated country of 170 million people, divided along ethnic, linguistic, political and economic lines. It is a country yet to settle on being a secular state - as envisioned by its founder - or a religious one the successive politicians found more conve- nient. More importantly, it has yet to decide on its system of governance. Its 63 years have been divided among military dictators and civilian democrats - all of whom nurtured a ruling elite that manipulated the masses and shaped a policy that served their own interests. These trends shape the country's fragile, but increasingly crystallized, identity. It is national- ist and conservative in terms of country and reli- gion. Beyond that, it is diverse and pluralistic, best personified by the 70-plus television chan- nels that brew a mixture of political talk shows, Hollywood movies and religious programs. Crucially, Pakistan's identity is becoming more assertive, perhaps as a result of a grow- ing comfort with its unique nature or with the perceived injustice that the country feels was meted out from the West. Today, Pakistanis criticize the Taliban's brutality, the incom- petence and corruption of successive govern- ments and discrete American operations in their country with equal measure. A dichotomy has emerged: The ruling class looks to the West for support while the lower classes insist focus should shift to domestic problems like electric- ity shortages and education reform. The only thing more complicated than this dichotomy is the actual relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. During the Cold War era, Pakistan nestled itself in the American camp, using the relationship as a defensive hedge against India. However, just as the Soviet dis- integration signaled a completion of the United States' short-term interests in the region, the marriage was over. The military hardware and billions of dollars of aid were replaced with suffocating sanctions and international isola- tion during the 1990s. Sept. 11, 2001 changed all of that. Pakistan was recalled to reprise its role as the weapon of choice during George Bush's 'War on Terror.' However, two things were different this time. First, the enemy in the region was the Taliban, an entity Pakistan had nurtured to protect its interests in the region during its isolation phase. And second, the Pakistani generals, who ran the country at the time, had learned a thing or two from the time when the Americans had 'deserted' them. They played a delicate dance, differentiating between the Taliban who were on their side and those they felt were dispens- able. The reward was more than $18 billion in military and civilian aid, which jumpstarted a fast but uneven economy. The price was the development of a domestic insurgency, fueled by an irate section of the Taliban who felt Paki- stan had sold them out. Today, Pakistan stands at the crossroads. The three major issues it needs to tackle are how to reconcile its infant democratic project with the burgeoning economic crisis, counter its domestic insurgency while controlling the ungovernable parts of the country and deal with the U.S. At stake is the potential of 170 million people and the peace and security of the international community. This Saturday in Hutchins Hall, for the first time in Ann Arbor, speakers from across the country will come together to discuss Pakistan and its relationship with the United States. Pre- sented by the Pakistani Students Association on campus, the 2010 University of Michigan Pakistan Conference provides a window into multiple issues,. initiating dialogue and debate between students and experts in the field. My hope is that this knowledge will enable stu- dents to forge a more objective understanding of a country so critical to American foreign policy at this time and provide future leaders greater context as they influence policy related to Pakistan and other developing countries. Umair Qureshi is the newsletter editor for the Pakistani Students' Association. 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 AIDA AlAI Get out of my Facebook Sitting in my economics lecture hall, I couldn't help but be irritated by the flashing Facebook pages in front of me. Let's face it, Facebook is what gets us through our lec- tures. It's the first page we open each morning and the last one we exit. But hearing about a friend's death through someone's Facebook status about a week ago shattered all my illusions of the purpose of using it. In this age, com- munication in the form of social networks has increased, engulfing most people and beckoning the rest into a world of gossip, drama and pretension. But while many look at this blessed monstrosity as a way of keeping in touch, I see the idea of privacy fly out the window. Facebook is definitely the premier source of news for many of us. Status messages like "Earthquake in Haiti," "Manchester United fails yet again," etc. make me Google this information and help keep me updated with what's happening in the world. But a status publicly announcing grief over the death of a friend is an insensitive move that is surprisingly accepted as commonplace among Face- book users. This is one case where I wish I had received the phone call before the declaration on Facebook. There are more common instances of tactlessness and drama on Facebook. For about a month, I watched two friends exchange wall posts filled with romantic declara- tions and things that made me blush. The couple even met through Facebook. It's not that Facebook doesn't provide us with enough options to have private, personal con- versations. Everyone just chooses to talk about intimate affairs in public instead. It is also replacing text as the more insensitive way to send invitations, apologize and even to break up. I could not think of a better way to end a relationship with a jerk that cheated on me than to simply declare my relationship status as single and unfriend him. But that isn't a mature way to end a real relationship. Facebook has become a channel for users to broadcast their social networks without being judged as boastful. Whoever said popularity was only important in high school was absolutely wrong. Facebook has reinforced the occur- rence of high school cliques - but on a global level. Even parents have begun to engage in the "who is more popular" game. It's all about the number of friends, the number of pictures, the wall posts, etc. We have essentially built an alternate personality in this subtlety-deprived network. And let's consider profile stalking - a creepy but fun way of passing time. It is easy for anyone to follow a per- son's life through their Facebook profile. Just consider the claims of Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls Gaza, which believes that personal information on Face- book is making it easier for Israelis to recruit the perfect spies for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Through a look into the personal life and issues of users plastered all over Facebook, one can see why it wouldn't be hard to build reli- able profiles of people and lure them into working as spies. But there's the direct threat of Facebook stalking as well. About a month ago, 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall added a stranger without knowing his true identity.After posing as a 17-year-old boy, he turned out to be her 33-year-old sex offender and murderer. It is mistakes like these that cost dearly. It is a matter of not accepting friend requests from unknown people, regardless of whom they say they are. But however much we stress this issue, social net- working sites still provide us with a weapon that we can easily turn on ourselves if not used responsibly. Facebook is definitely one of the innovations that has defined the 21st century so far. But all it requires is a little bit of responsible use, so that we don't lose ourselves in this fabricated, virtual world. Let's keep with Facebook's purpose of reinforcing our social life, not defining-it. As for me, sure, I feel a little bit of resentment and disgust towards Facebook right now, but I know I will soon get over it and continue to build my cyber image. Aida Allis an LSA freshman.