4A - Monday, April 19, 2010

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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BELLA SHAH


JACOB SMILOVITZ
EDITOR IN CHIEF

RACHEL VAN GILDER
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR

MATT AARONSON
MANAGING EDITOR

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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.
Reform the vote
MSA must fix problems with its online elections
F ourteen percent should never sound impressive when
it comes to voter turnout. But when figures for the last
Michigan Student Assembly election were released, 14
percent seemed pretty good - because it was the highest turn-
out the elections had seen in years. Yet, recent disclosure that
Rackham Rep. Hamdan Yousuf voted for himself more than once
in the elections has called into question MSA elections, its rules
and the quality of the online voting system it employs. To val-
idate the democratic system, MSA must fix the flaws with the
online voting system and take action to prove to students that
voting matters. And students must remember that they have a
civic duty to vote.

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Risky business

In the MSA elections held in March, You-
suf received 28 weighted votes all of which
were cast by him. He was able to vote for
himself more than once because the online
voting system counted different spellings
of Yousuf's name in write-in boxes as sepa-
rate votes. According to an Apr. 15 Daily
report, Michael Benson, outgoing chair
of MSA's Rules and Elections Committee,
considers this flaw in the system "undem-
ocratic" and believes that issues with the
voting system being made public would be
problematic for the Assembly.
Yousuf seems to have voted for himself
more than once in an effort to draw atten-
tion to the inconsistencies in the MSA vot-
ing system and election rules. But good
intentions don't justify unethical behavior.
And even though Yousuf's election was
uncontested - meaning no other candi-
date was harmed by his actions - casting
multiple votes for oneself is an affront to
the validity of a democratic election.
There are other ways Yousuf could have
gone about addressing what he called in
a phone interview with the Daily "gray
areas" in the All-Campus Constitution's
rules on elections. He could have con-
tacted Benson before the election with his
concerns, worked with other representa-
tives to encourage updates to the system or
made the problem public - without com-
mitting an act that would amount to fraud
in any other election.
Though Yousuf's methods weren't the best
way to show concern about MSA's election
rules, he has revealed a flaw in the election
system. MSA election rules are somewhat
ambiguous and confusing, but it's clear that
no one should be able to vote for the same
candidate more than once - that's simply
undemocratic. And now that MSA is aware
of the defect, it has a responsibility to fix the
problem. MSA should implement a system
in which each ballot is reviewed to ensure

it doesn't contain multiple votes for a single
candidate. But to protect voters' privacy,
ballots should remain anonymous during
the review process. This would increase the
amount of time required to count votes, but
time is a small price to pay to ensure that
elections are fair.
But ultimately, the biggest problem is stu-
dents' lack of interest in MSA. Yousuf ran
uncontested in the election. And according
to Benson, graduate students usually only
cast 500 votes during elections. Graduate
turnout is especially low, but student turn-
out to vote for elections is always uninspir-
ing. This year's 14-percent overall turnout
was an increase from last year's 9-percent.
MSA clearly doesn't have the student body's
support. Graduate students, who make up 40
percent of the student population on campus,
believe they aren't given enough representa-
tion in the Assembly, according to the Daily
report. Most students' perception of MSA is
overwhelmed by scandal after scandal and
few tangible results. MSA must show suc-
cessful results that impact students' every-
day life to spark the interest of the student
body and increase voter turnout.
But interest is a two-way street. Stu-
dents should take responsibility if they
want MSA to change. Students don't have
the rightto criticize MSA if they don't vote.
They must take the time to elect capable
leaders that will work to better students'
lives. Students must increase their interest
in MSA if they want to see a change in the
way MSA operates.
Yousuf's actions, though unethical, have
exposed a flaw in MSA's voting system that
needs to be addressed. MSA must work
toward increasing student participation by
showing students that it is relevant. But for
their part, students should stand by their
responsibility to vote in order to hold their
student government accountable for its
actions.

n the spring of 2000, I was pre-
paring to study abroad in Coch-
abamba, Bolivia when a local
dispute of water
service got out over
control. Residents
and campesinos
staged a general
strike and barri-
caded the streets.
Since the city
serves as a key node
in Bolivia's trans-
port network, the PATRICK
country shut down.
Clashes between O'MAHEN
police and protest-
ers turned violent
and several dozen people were killed,
leading to a declaration of martial law.
Rather concerned, I contacted the
head of my language school, and he
replied that he'd be happy to refund
my deposit, but added that these
things weren't too out of the ordinary
and that it would still be safe for me
to come.
I did not tell my mother.
That was how I ended up studying
Spanish in a city under martial law
that summer. The dispute died down
and nothing happened to me or any
other of my classmates. I had a fan-
tastic time, met fascinating people
from all over the world and learned
more Spanish than I ever have before
or since.
I keep that experience in mind as I
think about the University's current
ban on travel to northern Mexico.
I do understand the University's
caution. Violence has spiked in the
region, and a few incidents seem to
have specifically targeted U.S. govern-
ment employees, which is disturbing.
Certainly the number of homicides
in Ciudad Juarez reaching 2,600 last
year - a rate of200 perl100,000 inhab-
itants, roughly 20 times the rate in
Detroit - is a cause for caution, as are

shoot-outs in broad daylight between
police and well-armed drug gangs.
The desire to keep students safe, as
well as potential liability concerns,
favor a travel ban. Getting caught in
a gun-battle with automatic weapons
probably isn't the educational experi-
ence the University has in mind.
But I also want to interject a note
of caution before any sober analysis of
the situation turns to hysteria. Some-
thing that struck me about the Apr. 12
U.S. State Department travel warning
to northern Mexico was how much of
it consisted of rather mundane state-
ments - drive on main roads, travel
in groups and don't engage in ostenta-
tious displays of wealth.
My personal favorite is an invoca-
tion to patronize only "legal" busi-
nesses. It's good advice, sure, but
avoiding prostitutes and not buying or
selling drugs seems like a no-brainer.
"Don't go looking for trouble and
trouble probably won't find you" is a
good rule to follow in any foreign or
U.S. city. Several of my friends and
colleagues who have recently trav-
eled extensively in border cities, like
Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Piedras
Negras and Tijuana, say that rule will
keep you as safe now as it always has.
Beyond using common sense, it's
important to keep risks in perspective.
We take risks every day in the United
States that we tend not to think about
because they're an intrinsic part of the
environment. Before I went to Bolivia
in 2000, I read the United Kingdom's
foreign ministry's travel information
section on the U.S. The section noted
America's high levels of violent crime
and elevated rates of auto accidents
as problems to avoid. A section on
the dangers of Florida in particular
caught my attention. After reading
that, I felt reassured about undertak-
ing my Bolivian adventure.
Today as well, our British cousins
and their commonwealth brethren

in Australia and New Zealand note
the risk of potential terrorist attacks
in the U.S., as well as the widespread
incidence of severe weather, like tor-
nadoes, hurricanes and blizzards.
Throw in the high risk of earthquakes,
tsunamis and volcanic activity on the
West coast and in Alaska, and sudden-
ly America sounds like a pretty risky
trip. In fact, New Zealand's foreign
ministry lumps us in with Mexico as
the two destinations in North Amer-
ica that involve some risk of travel. I
guess Canada, Cuba and Costa Rica
are safer. And that's not even con-
sidering a specific warning about the
rabid raccoons in New York City's
Central Park, from the U.K.'s foreign
ministry (seriously).
Studying abroad
is worth potentially
facing some danger.
Suddenly my University of Roch-
ester-sponsored 1998 studies in Oax-
aca, Mexico (a state with an active
communist insurgency, high levels of
marijuana production, a thoroughly
corrupt local police force and quite
a few earthquakes) doesn't sound all
that risky.
All of this isn't to make light of a
serious situation. Northern Mexico
has some significant problems right
now and any traveler should exercise
extreme caution. Certainly, better safe
than sorry, but let's keep the situation
in perspective - considering many of
the risks we blithely face every day
without realizing it.
- Patrick O'Mahen can be
reached at pomahen@umich.edu.


EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Aida Ali, Nina Arnilineni, 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

Out-of-classroom experience

BRENDAN FRIEDMAN AND JULIA FRIEDMAN
Support Greek housing

This week, over 100 college students from
across the country will venture to the Capi-
tol Building in Washington, D.C. to lobby on
behalf of the 2009 Collegiate Housing and
Infrastructure Act. Their goal is simple. Each
student will meet with his or her representa-
tive to advocate for the passage of the bill. The
creation of the act is part of a campaign to drive
down the overall cost of college and is critical
to the longevity and sustainability of safe and
affordable non-university owned housing on
college campuses across the country.
The 2009 Collegiate Housing and Infra-
structure Act proposes to alter the federal
tax structure to include a tax deduction for
people who make monetary contributions to
non-university and non-profit housing, such as
fraternities and sororities. The current federal
tax structure discourages people from donat-
ing to non-profit, non-university owned houses
by not granting them tax deductions for their
donations. Currently, an individual will only
receive a tax deduction for a donation to a non-
profit housing structure if the house is univer-
sity-owned.
Changing the law will undeniably lead to
more charitable contributions to non-uni-
versity affiliated housing on campus. These
houses can use tax-deductible contributions to
renovate their facilities by updating fire safety
devices or replacing old pipes, thus driving
down the cost of living in such housing.
Here at the University, over 4,000 students
live in non-University owned and not-for-
profit housing each year. Many students who
reside in these facilities don't consider alumni
contributions when trying to cope with the
increasing cost of housing on campus. They
simply force themselves to take out more loans.
However, loans shouldn't be the only answer.
Many of the 460,000 living University alumni
lived in non-University affiliated housing and
might possibly take advantage of the opportu-

nity to make a donation for the betterment of
that facility if granted tax deductions for their
contributions.
University alumni of fraternities or sorori-
ties won't receive the tax benefits for donating
to their non-profit chapter house, but would
receive these benefits for donating to Univer-
sity housing. Where is the logic in that?
Chi Phi Fraternity President Matthew Eral
faces the same struggle. Eral stated, "My chap-
ter's housing corporation is already non-profit
and there is no reason that our alumni should
not be able to donate tax-free to a social, aca-
demic, and philanthropic studentorganization."
In many cities, there are new regulations
and safety codes that deem current houses
unfit. Rent and security deposits across col-
legiate campuses are increasing for students
who live in non-University owned housing.
And current students will shoulder the entire
burden of keeping their house up to date.
It is necessary for the continued success of
non-affiliated housing that the students and
faculty at this University get behind the bill.
Since so many undergraduate students live in
non-profit, non-University owned housing,
passage of the bill will have a great effect on
the cost of living in these facilities.
On Tuesday, MSA unanimously voted to sup-
port the passage of the bill in Congress. This
monumental decision should set a precedent
for the rest of campus. Regardless of your affili-
ation, lowering the cost of higher education is
something every student at this University can
relate to. Thus, we urge you to join us in our
fight. Please contact your representative and ask
them to supportthe 2009 Collegiate Housing and
Infrastructure Act. We must make our voices
heard in order to keep college affordable.
- Brendan Friedman is the chair of
MSA's Greek Relations Committee and
Julia Friedman is a Public Policy senior.

As my first year at the Univer-
sity comes to a close, I want-
ed to share some of the most
interesting things
my parents paid
$50,000 for me to
learn. Here are the
top 15 "outside the
classroom" lessons
that I've learned
during my first
year at the Univer-
sity:
1. Working for ALEX
The Michigan
Daily is an excel- SCHIFF
lent way to pro-
crastinate on your
homework while being able to con-
vince yourself you're being produc-
tive. Unfortunately, this doesn't hold
true for playing "Madden 2010."
2. Drinking only on days that end
in "-day" is not the best compromise
between work and fun.
3. If you can muster yourself out
of bed around 10 am. the day after
Halloween, it's worth it. It's the only
day of the year you'll see President
Barack Obama perform the walk of
shame through the Diag.
4. The new smoking ban on cam-
pus has caused quite a controversy,
but I think we're failing to realize
the real rising danger:lskateboarders.
They are infinitely more annoying
than the occasional smell of smoke,
and I shouldn't have to dodge rolling
12-year olds to get to class.
5. Since college started, I haven't
been able to study in a normal study-
ing area like my room, a library, a
lounge, etc. When I need to study,
I go to a pub on South University
called the Blue Leprechaun, my most
productive spot on campus. But after
about 10 p.m., the drunken custom-
ers become fascinated with the idea
of someone studying in a bar and feel
compelled to engage with you in con-
versation, limiting productivity.

6. Dorm life is interesting. In
the span of 20 minutes one Thurs-
day night, I played a game of putt-
putt in my hallway, was given a free
vegetarian pizza (that turned out
to have sausage on it) and tied my
neighbors doors together by linking
closet "space savers" that had previ-
ously served no other purpose than
to make my closet look like a war
zone. Their new function was a vast
improvement.
7. Soup cans are a perfectly legiti-
mate way of supporting a broken
futon.
8. Those - like your mom - who
tell you you're insane for supporting
your broken futon with soup cans
clearly don't understand the awe-
some strength of Healthy Choice
Chicken with Rice.
9. The most essential dorm room
product isn't ramen noodles - it's
duct tape. Sure, ramen noodles offera
cheap snack. But ramen noodles can't
manufacture a strategically placed
cup holder against my bedpost.
10. It's absolutely impossible to get
anywhere off-campus by bus. And I
prefer not touse taxis, as the last time
I used one the driver told me he left
his last job with another cab company
because he "was in an accident and
they wouldn't let me drive the nice
cars anymore."
11. No Thai! is more effective at
healing illness than any other medi-
cine I've taken. If the University were
really serious about stopping the flu,
they would just give people gift cer-
tificates to No Thai!
12. We're going to school to be
lawyers, engineers, doctors, etc.,
yet judging by the computer screens
during my Econ 101 discussion class
last semester, the consensus favorite
activity of University students is pre-
tending to be a farmer. Once, some-
one asked me to borrow my MacBook
charger so that they could continue
playing Farmville until class was

over. It was on that day that I lost
faith in humanity.
13. The phrase "So while I was
Facebook-stalking you in class yes-
terday..." has gone from warranting
a restraining order to an entirely
acceptable way to start a conversa-
tion.

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Things I've learned
outside of a lecture
hall this year.

14. There was nothing more
euphoric than watching Tate Forcier
literally be carried over the goal line
like a crowd-surfer in the comeback
against Indiana. There was also
nothing more depressing than watch-
ing Tate Forcier fumblethe ball in the
end zone against Ohio State ... besides
his four subsequent interceptions.
15. Everyone is nuts about foot-
ball here, but hockey games at Yost
are the most fun sporting events I've
been to at the University. Plus they
had the added benefit of beating more
than one Big Ten opponent this year.
When I enrolled at the University,
I expected to study economics, learn
another language and have a good
time with friends new and old. At
the end of my first year, I'm writing
this column in a bar and I'm staring
into a summer during which Iwill be
leading The Michigan Daily's opin-
ion page. It's been a year of new and
interesting experiences, as any fresh-
man year at college should be. But
above all - I'm just glad I don't go to
Ohio State.
- Alex Schiff is an assistant
editorial page editor. He can be
reached at at aschiff@umich.edu.

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