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April 15, 2010 - Image 4

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6

4A - Thursday, April 15, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

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Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@umich.edu

CHRIS KOSLOWSKI I

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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 hoard. All other signed articles
and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
An 'F' in budgeting
Legislators shouldn't cut community college funding
N o one should be priced out of higher education. Yet with
a potential tuition increase looming for Michigan's
community colleges, a college degree may become even
harder to attain. A new budget being discussed by the House
Appropriations Committee this week proposes to cut funding for
community colleges by 3 percent. While the gravity of the state's
budget woes is well known, the state's already-decimated higher
education funding cannot afford more cuts - especially to com-
munity colleges, which are a valuable part of the higher educa-
tion system. State legislators should recognize the importance of
community colleges and reject the proposed funding cuts.

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The year in review

On Monday, NPR reported that the
Michigan House Appropriations Commit-
tee is currently debating a budget proposal
to cut funding for community colleges by
3 percent. According to Mike Hansen, cur-
rent president of the Michigan Community
College Association, community colleges
may have to raise tuition rates between 5
and 10 percent for the fall semester to meet
demand. This potential tuition hike comes as
Michigan's community colleges are report-
ing enrollment numbers at record highs.
Institutions of higher education - com-
munity, public or private - are critical to
the future of the state. The path to a better
economy lay in the education of the work-
force of tomorrow. State legislators should
realize that with the economy still in crisis,
a raise in community college tuition could
deter low-income students from continu-
ing their education. For many students in
the state, the prohibitive cost of a private
or public four-year university leads them
to choose community colleges to fulfill
preliminary requirements before transfer-
ring to a larger institution. For these stu-
dents, attending a community college must
remain a viable option.
Community colleges play an integral role
in the higher education system. In addi-
tion to providing students with a cheaper
alternative to traditional four-year colleg-

es, many community colleges also serve as
vocational schools. They provide students
with an education tailored to careers that
many four-year institutions don't offer.
Important career fields like mechani-
cal service and law enforcement are often
certified through community colleges.
Increasing the tuition for schools that pro-
vide vocational training would be a disser-
vice to Michigan communities.
These institutions also provide an afford-
able education for adults looking for a fresh
start on their careers. With the auto industry
in peril and one of the largest state unem-
ployment rates in the country, Michigan's
community colleges have the potential to aid
in the diversification of the state economy.
Community colleges should remain a place to
retrain workers who have been laid off for a
new industry in an accessible, affordable way.
But many of these people already struggle
to pay for professional retraining. A further
raise in tuition could hinder the transition to
a more diverse economy for Michigan.
Raising tuition at community colleges
isn't the answer to the state's budget woes.
Education should be a means by which the
state can diversify its economy for more sus-
tainable growth. For many, that education
begins at a community college, and state leg-
islatures shouldn't hamper financial accessi-
bility to these institutions.

t was the best of times, it was
the worst of times, and when the
Tea Partiers come to the Diag
tonight it's going
to be a god-awful
time. But let's start
at the beginning,
backnin September,
when thousands
of students from
millions of coun-
tries with bajil- _
lions of diverse-
experiences came WILL
to the University GRUNDLER
of Michigan, all
united by a single -------
common purpose:
inebriation. But also football. So
when allegations surfaced that Coach
Rodriguez had overworked players to
the point of exhaustion and - in one
extreme incident - forced a player to
stand on one leg, rub his belly AND
pat his head all at the same time for
over an hour, students cried foul. No
one - no one - would taint the ath-
letic program.
But by October, no one was show-
ing up for home games after another
embarrassing season materialized.
In a stunning reversal, most stu-
dents quietly admitted that the foot-
ball team hadn't been overworked
enough, and they finally got around
to doing their schoolwork. Or they
would have got around to doing their
schoolwork if the threat of swine flu
hadn't thrown the entire campus into
a state of red alert and caused North
Campus to be quarantined, blockaded
and ultimately destroyed. No, sorry,
that was what happened in my imagi-
nation. What actually happened was
nothing, but many students took the
opportunity to skip classes by saying
that they were possibly dying.
This was a good idea since many
needed all the energy they could

get for November, which is the only
month hated by absolutely everyone.
It got cold, as usual, and dark and
depressing (as usual), and the foot-
ball team lost to Ohio State (as usual),
and the federal government decided
to tryto reform health care (as usual).
Normally we at the Daily don't like to
discuss off-campus issues, but the
passage of the preliminary health
care bill created quite a stir. All over
campus a majority of students said
something along the lines of, "Hey,
health care's getting there. Cool,"
while a minority of students brain-
stormed furiously for a new Obama
pun. (ObaMao was born.)
And so December entered the record
books, and if any hope was to be seen
on students' faces because of the prom-
ise of universal health care it would
have been a shrouded, misty kind of
hope, obscured by - I'm sorry, I'm
terrible at metaphors. What I mean to
say is that it started snowing and you
couldn'treally see people's faces. Other
than that nothing much happened.
People went on winter break...?
January was much more excit-
ing. It was a new year! Everyone was
excited and happy and hoped the
economy would turn around and they
laughed in that good, wholesome,
dumb American way every time they
wrote "2009" as the year. Countless
students started hitting the gym with
renewed enthusiasm and vigor and
notebooks to record whatever it is you
record in notebooks in gyms without
caring that people thought they were
complete imbeciles. It was a month
of innocence, of youthful gaiety, a
month that couldn't be beaten.
Until February. In February it
was announced that Obama would
be speaking at spring commence-
ment. Classes ceased for a day. The
bell tower rang for hours. Even win-
ter eased its icy spell. Not all stu-

dents were pleased, however. Some
felt cheated. Some felt robbed. Some
decided NOT to attend graduation,
to show the president who's boss.
The president wrote a public state-
ment for the Daily, urging students
to come to graduation, threatening
that if they did nout they would hurt
his feelings. That was a proud day for
the Daily, we must admit, publishing
a sitting president.
This year has been *
exciting. A girl
even talked to me.
But along with good news there is
always bad news. So it came to pass
in March the grievous news of the
Michigan Student Assembly - the
doomed website, the extravagant trips
to Okemos and Las Vegas, the lack of
cookies and punch at meetings, the
really boring meetings, the embarrass-
ingendorsementofTigerWoodsbefore
his affairs came to light. All contrib-
uted to a whopping 14 percent student
involvement in the annual elections -
and a new party in charge. MForward
faces a future full of responsibility.
Now we're here, in April. Another
academic year almost finished. Hard
to believe, right? There are many
things that happened in the past
eight months that a small column
such as this cannot detail thoroughly.
A girl flirted with me at a party once.
I think there's talk of a smoking ban,
too. Regardless, time goes on. Have a
good summer, kids.
- Will Grundler can be
reached at wgru@umich.edu.

BRYAN DAVILA, FELIX LOPEZ, NINA NWACHUKWU I
Making stress less

a

Each year, students at the University look
forward to spring as a relief from the bitter
Michigan winter. But as sunny days become
more common, spring harshly welcomes us
with research papers, exams, projects and
presentations. Excitement for spring is often
short-lived as April also marks the madness
known as finals season. Although stress is an
inescapable part of the college experience, the
culmination of a semester is no excuse for stu-
dents to engage in unhealthy habits.
Overwhelmed students often resort to poor
choices like caffeine addiction, sleepless nights
and other tactics when dealing with stress rather
than seeking healthy ways to relieve the tension
of finals. Though it holds true that every college
student has their own way to deal with the pres-
sure, stress becomes a problem when it prevents
them from maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
In addition to maintaining a perfect GPA,
many of us are balancing jobs or leadership posi-
tions in student organizations, applying for sum-
mer internships and tryingto preserve our social
lives. These commitments cause many of us to be
constantly stressed throughout the school year.
And as finals season rears its ugly head, student
stress reaches dangerous levels. According to a
Counseling and Psychological Services (more
commonly referred to as CAPS) College Student
Mental Health Survey conducted in 2006,30 per-
cent of a sample of 2,358 students sought coun-
seling services. This survey gives insight into the
current campus attitudes toward stress and the
lack of resources available to us. So then the ques-
tion becomes, how much higher would this per-
centage be if support and counseling were better
advertised? Universities need to promote more
outlets where students can express themselves
without the heavy hand of stress hindering their
thought processes.
Severe stress is an unspoken issue at the
University. While the University ensures the
physical safety of its students via Department
of Public Safety e-mails and texts, an office like
CAPS is a severely under-utilized resource,
indicating that most students either choose to
deal with stress on their own or are unaware
of this support. For incoming freshmen, the
importance of DPS and University Health Ser-
vice is emphasized. For example, posted safety
alerts and health fact sheets are in every resi-
dence hall. DPS e-mails are made available to
every University-affiliated person. While a few

resident advisors may post information about
CAPS and other support, stress relief often
becomes the responsibility of the student.
During Festifall, we all get student hand-
books that no one really reads, which is
another demonstration of CAPS's invisibility.
Somewhere in there, CAPS is probably listed,
but no one looks for this resource. Again, the
University - and perhaps CAPS itself - should
make CAPS and it programs more visible. The
University needs to educate its students about
stress and de-stigmatize psychological coun-
seling. Instead of viewing counseling as some
type of beneficial aid, as it should be, most stu-
dents see it as a crutch that holds them back
emotionally and socially. Oftentimes, talk-
ing with our peers about counseling can be
received with apathy, surprise and discomfort.
We need to abandon these attitudes; chronic
stress needs to be more aggressively and com-
passionately addressed by the administration,
faculty, peers and ourselves.
While CAPS is certainly a great campus
resource, most of us also overlook the power that
certain student-organized events can have on
our well-being. Like that arts and crafts event in
the Union. Or that film screening in Angell Hall.
Unfortunately, the arts are often overlooked as
stress relievers. Yet, art takes on many differ-
ent forms, and because of this, can appeal to all
of us. Since most student events revolve around
dialogue, film screenings and cultural shows,
there are an array of free, unconventional and
fun activities that can help us relax.
One event designed to relieve stress is a
Fighting Obstacles Knowing Ultimate Success
(F.O.K.U.S.), presentation of {Vanguards} - a
community-wide block party and music festival
celebrating the end of another hectic school year
and the glorious arrival of summer. Scheduled
from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Apr. 170nthe
Diag, {Vanguards} will combine live musical per-
formances from nationally recognized artists as
well as student and local performers. Addition-
ally, schoolyard games of years past like double
dutch, hula hoop and hackeysack will take place,
as well as the creation of a community mural to
give students a safe, fun and unique way to take a
study break from finals.
Bryan Davila is the vice president of
F.O.K.U.S. and Felix Lopez and Nina Nwachukwu
are CORE members of F.O.K.U.S.

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.
BRIAN KOZIARA I
The real Tea Party platform

With all the talk these days about the Tea Party, and all
the misinformation and innuendo propagated by the Left
toward a genuinely organic movement, one must search
long and hard to find the true identity of the people who
consider themselves a part of this spontaneous and loose-
ly-affiliated movement. The Tea Party is not made up of
Sarah Palin types, as MSNBC would have you believe.
Nor is it made up of racists or homophobes frothing at the
mouth. Many Tea Party members will even tell you that
they loathe any sort of affiliation with the Republican
Party. So who exactly are the people who have planned a
rally on the Diag for 7 p.m. this evening?
The Tea Party, of which I am a participant, observer
and organizer, began early last year not as a response to
Rick Santelli's angry outburst on the floor of the Chicago
Board of Trade and not in response to the calls of conser-
vative politicians or radio talk-show hosts. It is instead
a release of pent-up anger over the size and scope of the
federal government. Many "Tea Partiers" were genuinely
concerned and upset about the deficit spending in Presi-
dent George W. Bush's later years, and this concern con-
tinued on into the current administration.
The defeat of President Barack Obama's radical agenda
is one of the main focuses of this movement, which seeks
to restore limited-government Constitutionalism to its
proper place in our society. Tea Party members view the
massive deficit spending and growing size of the federal
government (with all of its new regulations that are sup-
posed to protect people from themselves) as directly in
conflict with the principles espoused by our Founding
Fathers in our founding documents.
We view higher taxation as an imposition upon eco-
nomic prosperity. A man's right to earn, create and own
property is the essential building block of a free market
society. We view governmental mandates to buy health-
care as an imposition upon personal freedom and choice.
We view cradle-to-grave entitlement programs as irre-
sponsible and as "generational theft," a term invented by
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz).
The Tea Party movement is all about personal responsi-
bility, hard work, and the ability ofthe individual to improve
his or her own condition through their efforts. We see bank-
rupt entities like Social Security and Medicare, and then
listen to D.C. politicians promising newer, bigger programs
that will "work". And we don't buy it. At least someone

hasn't fallen for the sugar-sweet but nevertheless insub-
stantial and poisonous rhetoric of "hope and change."
So what does the Democratic party and the drive-by
media do in response? Pick out a few protestors who dare
compare Obama to Hitler. Make up stories about "homo-
phobic slurs" or "racial epithets" barely based in real-
ity and make these rare occurrences into the face of the
movement that has given millions of Americans a voice
for the first time in their political lives. And most notably, 4
the opponents of the Tea Party launch cowardly ad homi-
nem attacks on its members - everyday Americans who
are simply fed up.
How is it that during the Bush years, the Left in dis-
sent was "the highest form of patriotism," yet when the
Tea Party raises its head today, they are labeled as some-
how "un-American" and must be crushed? And why is
the Left, the supposed bastion of tolerance, so intolerant
of Tea Partiers speaking their minds? It is clear where
the double standard lies. And it is interesting to see the
leader of the College Democrats on campus speak about
the movement as being justifiable and a perfectly decent
method ofexpressingopinions one month and thencreate
a Facebook event to bash it the next. Apparently the Left
would rather rail against, belittle and carry out character
assassinations against members of the Tea Party instead
of addressing their real concerns.
The Tea Party represents Middle America. It is not
a conservative movement. It is not a libertarian move-
ment. It is not a Sarah Palin movement. It is not a Nazi,
bigoted, fringe or racist movement. And it is certainly not
a Republican movement. It is instead an American move-
ment, quintessentially seeking to return to our founding I
principles of limited government at their very core.
The Tea Party views the current agenda and big-
government policies as a trade-in of liberty for security
promised by a federal government that doesn't have that
great of a record of keeping its past promises. They see
it as fundamentally un-American. That's why Tea Party
members are exercising our First Amendment rights of
assembly, free speech and petition. The Tea Party sees .
a need for a fundamental shift in the direction of this
country and the role of the government in our lives. And
it is right.
Brian Koziara is an LSA freshman.

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Nina Amilineni, Jordan Birnholtz, Adrianna Bojrab, 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

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