a 4A - Wednesday, October 13, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. k A420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu JACOB SMILOVITZ EDITOR IN CHIEF RACHEL VAN GILDER EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MATT AARONSON MANAGING EDITOR Unless you comprehend the nature of what is being asked of you, this country can't possibly move through the next ten years in a period of relative strength." - President John F. Kennedy, on the steps of the Union on October 14, 1960, in a speech that laid the groundwork for the creation of the Peace Corps. 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. Compassion for pot State should legalize recreational marijuana use T hough medicinal marijuana in the state was made legal in 2008, the issue is still causing problems for patients who have a prescription for the drug. On Aug. 25, 16 Michi- gan residents were arrested in Oakland County and charged with violating the state's medical marijuana act. This is yet another example of the negative consequences of the state's still-ambig- uous medicinal marijuana law. This law should be revised so that patients who have been prescribed marijuana have an easy and clear way to access the drug that they need. To further ease the stigma related to use of the drug, the Michigan legislature should simply completely legalize the recreational use of marijuana. i ROSE JAFFE E-MAILROSEAT ROSEJAFF@UMICH.EDU ptO(RATS WE CAN fo- R ILP IOMVI U Lks A 0 pang e Absinevic . ~co~ofV~ QMOC~ raim4'o4 J C rsu0"? The Oakland County Sheriff's Narcotics Enforcement Team made the arrests fol- lowing raids at medical marijuana facilities in Ferndale and Waterford. 16 people who were arrested were charged in violation of the medical marijuana act. According to an Oct. 7 report by the Detroit Free Press, Oakland County Sherriff Michael Boucha- rd claims that drug abuse and dealing was discovered at the sites by undercover police officers, which prompted the raids. On Oct. 7, there was a hearing in Waterford to estab- lish dates for upcoming hearings in Novem- ber for 10 of the defendants. According to an Oct. 8 article in The Detroit News, hundreds of people gathered outside of a Waterford District Court buildingto protest the charg- es against the individuals. One of the biggest areas of contention is the compassion club targeted in the Water- ford raid. Compassion clubs are areas in which medical marijuana patients can inter- act while they use the drug. Bouchard has argued compassion clubs are illegal. But the members of the compassion club who were arrested were in adherence with reasonable interpretations of the medicinal marijuana law. In any other circumstance, there would be no problem with people using a prescrip- tion drug in the presence of others or groups of people all using a properly prescribed drug. And medical marijuana is a legal drug. The state legislature should clean up this vague, contradictory law. The failure of the medical marijuana leg- islation lies in part in the seeming unwill- ingness of law enforcement to look at it as a legal prescription drug. Many prescription drugs - and some legal drugs, like alcohol - can be abused. Yet, these drugs are gener- ally granted acceptance by law enforcement and the public. The Michigan legislature needs to revise the law so that it isn't subject to the interpretation of potentially biased law enforcement officials. Another, more easy way to solve the prob- lems with current medical marijuana laws would be to completely legalize marijuana for recreational use. Beside the fact that legalizing recreational marijuana use could help to create anew industry inthe state and aid the economy, the use of marijuana use is a victimless crime. Like alcohol, marijuana is only dangerous when residents don't fol- low precautionary laws and choose to drive under the influence. Current medical marijuana laws are incomplete and have led to injustice. The state must now take action to repair the laws. But to allow citizens to exercise their personal freedoms, the use of recreational marijuana should be legalized. I like it off my newsfeed 0 to about time that someone said it. And as much as I would love to take credit for what I think is a rather clever play on words, that honor belongs to a good friend of mine who probably , didn't anticipate that I would write an entire column1 about one of his status updates. But as you can prob- NOEL ably tell, his light- GORDON hearted jab at the now infamous "I like it on the floor" campaign captures just how frus- trated I am with this annoying, albeit well-intentioned, fad. October is Breast Cancer Aware- ness month. And according to the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer is the second-most common- ly diagnosed type of cancer among women in the United States. Approx- imately 192,000 women and 2,000 men learn that they have it each year. In Great Britain, the disease afflicts 46,000 women annually- the equiv- alent of one person every 11 minutes. These statistics prove that breast cancer is a serious problem that affects men and women around the globe. And I think most people would agree with me in saying that more should be done to raise awareness about its devastating effects. But sex- ual innuendos are not the way to do it. By effectively turning breast can- cer into the butt of everyone's joke, campaign organizers ran the risk of losing their message. Sure, it might be catchy. But catchy doesn't always mean effective. So although "I like it on the floor" might've been a good idea in theory, I don't think it works as well in practice. Even if all 3,219 of your friends update their statuses with places they like it the most, it doesn't do anyone a whole lot of good if only 200 of them actually understand the reason for changing their status in the first place. Arbitrary numbers aside, I think that there could have been a much better way to organize the campaign so that it didn't come across as just a bunch of hormonally charged teenagers trying to one-up each other. The Human Rights Campaign, one of America's most prominent LGBTQ- affiliated organizations, developed an effective strategy to successfully raise awareness about the harms of bully- ing and other issues facing the queer community. On National Coming Out Day, Facebook users were able to update their statuses with pre-written messages that read something to the effect of: "National Coming Out Day is Tomorrow. It's 2010 and almost 90% of LGBT youth experience harass- ment in school, and too many lives have been lost. Tell the Secretary of Education to include gender identity and sexual orientation in anti-bully- ing programs." Or: "____ is a straight ally and National Coming Out Day is tomorrow. I'm coming out for lesbian, gay, bisexu- al and transgender equality because it's 2010 and almost 90% of LGBT youth experience harassment in school, and too many lives have been lost. Donate your status and join me." While those two options certainly don't have the same punch to them as "I like it on top of the washing machine," it is nearly impossible to misconstrue the point each one is trying to make. And I think that's where the 'I like it on the floor' cam- paign fails miserably. Viral campaigns should be more than just catchy. Raising awareness about a par- ticular issue is all well and good. But it doesn't mean much if it isn't fol- lowed up with some kind of action. If I hadn't done any research for this column, I probably never would have known that there was an official web- site for the "I like it on the floor" cam- paign that not only explains the idea behind the fad, but also connects visi- tors with tons of ways to get actively involved. I never would have found out about this valuable resource had I only read my roommate's status update about how much he likes it on top of a horse. All in all, the "I like iton the floor" campaign gets an A for effort. But until it's orchestrated into something a bit more cohesive and effective, I'd like it off my newsfeed. - Noel Gordon can be reached at noelaug@umich.edu. I I ROGER SAUERHAFT Ill-timed 'You Suck' sucks Perhaps I'm simply scapegoating after the tough, depressing loss to our little brothers in East Lansing, but I think someone really needs to sit our school marching band director down and explain to him how mind-numbingly stu- pid he makes us all (and himself) look with the "You Suck" chant. I've been grumbling, if not venting, to my friends for the past three years about how angry it makes me when everyone around me sings this on every fourth down even if the opponent isn't punting. It doesn't take a foot- ball mastermind to realize the irony when the opposing team puts points on the board scarce- ly seconds after the "You Suck" chant ends. It's a crushing feeling when this happens on the fourth down as I stand silent in the middle of the student section wishing nobody would pay attention to band director. The stupidity embarrasses me each and every time. Saturday was the worst of all. With just over 12 minutes left in the game, Michigan was down 31 to 17 and Michigan State had the ball. We absolutely couldn't let Michigan State score again, but after they drove the ball downfield to the 11-yard line, fourth down was reached and Michigan State lined up for a short field goal to cement the game's outcome. I knew our chances to win were slim to none, but my only hope was that everyone would have some com- mon sense. No such luck. Our band immediately led our fans in a chorus letting Michigan State know they sucked for having their drive stall on fourth down and - right on cue - the ball sailed through the uprights for the field goal. Game, set, match. A couple of Michigan State fans standing near me enjoyed this spectacle greatly, snicker- ing about the joke we'd justplayed on ourselves. They saw me quietly brooding during the chant and I think they felt bad for me. It was perhaps my lowest moment at Michigan. And in case that wasn't enough, the band director tried to start the chant again after Michigan State ran the ball up the middle three times to eat up the clock. Thankfully, nobody followed the band's lead this time. If they had, I would have sold my remaining season tickets and never come back to the Big House. Michigan State kept the ball on a penalty anyway, so it's pretty clear who got the last laugh. Just imagine if we'd been in their shoes with the East Lansing faithful chanting "you suck" at us in the same situations in a game during which we blew them out in their sta- dium. There's no doubt in my mind that we'd be laughing ourselves silly at their stupidity and making our typical disparaging comments about their academic standards. To clarify my stance here, I support the "You Suck" chant in situations where the opposing offense isn't blatantly in a position to convert on fourth down or kick a meaningful field- goal. And yes, it's also bad to do it when the other team is running down the clock late in the fourth quarter to protect a huge lead (and to avoid running up the score, which is an act of sportsmanship). The chant is somewhat funny, but it really isn't any more creative than something a middle school Catholic Youth organization basketball crowd could concoct. It's certainly not at all classy. Yet, if the timing reflected the intelligence of someone with an IQ at least in double digits, I'd be all for it. I'm not claiming any particular expertise in the game of football, but something needs to change, and it's really just the timing. If you're going to tell someone something as unoriginal and classless as "you suck," it has to be done selectively. It's hard to endorse a chant so class- less and pointless. But if I do, I'd rather not look like a complete fool in the process. My family and I are deeply rooted in Michi- gan tradition, and this bothers me a great deal because it makes a mockery of Michigan. It makes us look stupid, and I'm proud to say this isn't something I'm used to feeling about my school. It's bad whether we win or lose - and when we do lose, it's salt in our own wound. There needs to be change immediately here and it's all timing, timing, timing. Roger Sauerhaft is an LSA senior. EMILY ORLEY I 0 A passive generation 0 The 1960s - a decade heavily shaped by the Vietnam War - was a period of time at the University that sparked rage and revolt on campus. The experience of the students that matriculated through the University duringthose 10 years was marked by the war and its overall effect on the country. Exactly 50 years later, in the midst of yet another war, it seems our campus is immune to what's going on outside of Ann Arbor's city limits. About two years ago, right after returning from Thanksgiving break, I met a friend for dinner. I began to discuss the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India - a three- day affair that gripped the globe until the captives were safely rescued. My break was consumed by discussion of the attacks. Every newspaper I read or television network I watched covered the conflict. But my friend had no idea what I was talking about. I explained the situation with a slight sense of horror at her naivete. Our generation exists in a society that is constantly surrounded by technology. And yet, we seem to have a disconnected wire from the realities of the real world. Students walk around campus on their iPods or Blackber- rys, engrossed in the superficial world held in their hands. And while I have no doubt that they are using the devices for productive purposes, they take what they learn and store it in their brain and continue on their way. Never on campus do you hear about a protest against this dragged- out war on terror the likes of which you would have seen in the 1960s. Or the genocide occurring in Darfur. Our generation, followingsuch a proactive one, is surprisingly passive. Today and tomorrow, we commemorate the 50th anni- versary of the creation of the Peace Corps - a volunteer organization that sends citizens to worn and torn coun- tries in an attempt to help repair the damage. Then-pres- idential candidate John F. Kennedy first announced the concept of a Peace Corps-type organization during a late night address on the steps of the Michigan Union. That speech almost didn't occur. Kennedy was running late that evening and told his advisors to cancel the event. But the advisors disputed his decision. They informed Kennedy that the students were so eager to hear him and that they were so desperate to support him that he must show up. Around 2 a.m., the presidential candidate arrived inAnn Arbor to finda sea of students surrounding the Union. In my three years at the University, I have only once seen a similar passion - November 4, 2008, on the night that Barack Obama was elected president. In the two and a half years since Obama was elected, many events have occurred worthy of students' attention. And with a cru- cial election for the state of Michigan quickly approach- ing, it's essential that our generation rallies the troops on the Union steps (pun intended) to support a cause or a candidate. Many students spend their summers working on Capi- tol Hill or at large banks, witnessing our society's prob- lems from an internal view. We have the opportunities to intern for senators and read proposed bills on their way to Congress or work on Wall Street and observe the effects of the economy's downward spiral and attempted repair. But when summer ends and we return to Ann Arbor, our exposure and impact diminish. Influence doesn't have to be contingent on location. Students need to maintain those ties and remember those issues when they are at school and apply them to their classwork and lifestyle. In honor of the anniversary of this historic affair and in recognition of a pivotal race for governor heating up, I encourage each of us to take a stance on an important issue affecting our generation and create new memora- ble events. Whether it pertains to political office or eco- friendly cups in the cafeteria, we all need to find an issue to become more passionate about. Emily Orley is a senior editorial page editor. 0 EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Aida Ali, Jordan Birnholtz, Adrianna Bojrab, Will Butler, Eaghan Davis, Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshammer, Will Grundler, Jeremy Levy, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Emily Orley, Harsha Panduranga, Tommaso Pavone, Leah Potkin, Asa Smith, Laura Veith