4A - Friday, October 15, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
fi id tigan Batlg
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The number of University of
Michigan alumni world-wide
now serving in the Peace Corps.
- According to the University of Michigan's Peace Corps webpage.
Conflict minerals close to home
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.
Purely shortsighted
State must fund Pure Michigan ad campaign
Many Michigan residents have enjoyed a laugh at the
cheesy Pure Michigan advertisements. But though the
ads - narrated by Michigan resident and actor Tim
Allen - can be easy to dismiss as a stunt, the campaign is credited
with spurring hundreds of millions of dollars in tax and business
revenue since it began in 2006. Last week, the Michigan legislature
voted once again to cut funding to Pure Michigan's already-slashed
budget. Spending needs to be cut to help keep the state's finances
in order, but Pure Michigan has been a positive contribution to the
state's economy. Restoration of Pure Michigan's funding is vital to
have horrible eyesight. My pre-
scription is close to negative six,
which means I can't read text
that's farther away
than five inches
from my face.
When I was about
seven years old, I
finally visited the
optometrist. I will
never forget com-
ing home with my
first pair of glasses
and seeing clearly VANESSA
with corrected
vision for the first RYCHLINSKI
time. I walked into ______
my bedroom and
there was carpet:
textured, patterned carpet. Maybe
it's hard to imagine, but I was fasci-
nated. I satdown andtouchedit, stuck
the tips of my fingers in, mashed it
around. How could I have not noticed
the floor that I walked and played
on every day? The fact that I wasn't
aware of this minor detail for so long
was shocking and strange.
Does your vision need correcting?
You probably have a cell phone on
you right now. Or maybe you're read-
ing this article from your laptop. Take
a look at it. What would you say if I
told you that some of the metal in your
device could be linked to the murder
of a family, a young man losing a leg or
the rape of a 10-year-old girl?
Here's a pair of glasses.
You may have heard about the
"blood diamonds" of West Africa.
What you may not know is that
there's a similar issue with so-called
"conflict minerals." The Democratic
Republic of Congo is rich in materi-
als such as tin, tungsten, tantalum
and gold, which are integral for the
production of cell phones, laptops
and other technology. The Congo
has been war-torn for more than 15
years. Those who committed mass-
genocide in neighboring Rwanda
joined the armed group FDLR (the
Democratic Forces for the Liberation
of Rwanda, in English) in the Congo's
eastern province of Kivu. The Con-
golese national military, which had
absorbed another former rebel group,
has had to fight the FDLR remaining
in eastern Congo. However, accord-
ing to the watchdog group Global
Witness, the Congolese military has
actually been working in tandem
with the FDLR to harvest these min-
erals and finance their respective
operations.
So the long and short of it is this:
The Congo has an abundance of
natural resources, a fact that several
armed groups have exploited to the
point of causing even more blood-
shed as they collect the spoils. Global
Witness has estimated that around
5.4 million people have been killed
in the last 10 years as a result of this
situation, and the country has been
additionally dubbed by the U.N. as
"the rape capital of the world," with
the number of rapes estimated to be
colossal - in the hundred thousands.
Death and rape aside, it's impos-
sible to project the statistics for how
many people whose lives have been
displaced or irrevocably altered by
this prolonged conflict. One example
is the countless men who work in the
very dangerous crude mines. They're
either coerced under threat of vio-
lence or are simply natives to the
region and are attempting to make a
living. All are subject to heavy taxes
by the armed groups that control the
area, and severe injuries are a com-
mon occurrence.
The recent Financial Reform Act
signed by President Barack Obama
included a mandate that companies
must provide information on whether
their materials were obtained from a
conflict region. This transparency is
a step in the right direction, though
it's probably going to be difficult to
track every gram of conflict material
- which often switches hands as many
as seven times, as stated by Time mag-
azine in July 2009. Nevertheless, it's
necessary that electronics companies
take responsibility for their merchan-
dise and audit their supply chains so
that consumers have the option of
buying conflict-free products.
Public should be
aware of the origin
of their goods.
The University obviously has a lot
of great technological resources. As
such, our campus should take the
initiative of putting in place poli-
cies to purchase conflict-free equip-
ment. We are now able to see the
carpet, and it's something we walk
on every day. Many of us break or
lose our phones because we can just
buy a new one, not thinking that the
new device could possibly, as stated
by Congolese Bishop Nicolas Djomo,
contain "a drop of Congolese blood."
It's not only essential that the origin
of these tainted materials become
increasingly transparent over time,
but that we also pay attention to this
information, so that as students and
as consumers, we can make mindful
decisions in the future.
-Vanessa Rychlinski can be
reached at vanrych@umich.edu.
Michigan's tourism industry.
In mid-September, The Detroit News
reported that the state legislature approved
a cut to Pure Michigan's funding from $17
million in 2010 to $5.4 million for the 2011
fiscal year. This is the second consecutive
year that the program's budget has been
cut by nearly $12 million, down from a high
of $28 million in 2009. The projected $5.4
million doesn't provide sufficient money for
a fall 2011 campaign, according to Travel
Michigan, the state's tourism department.
On Oct. 2, The Detroit News reported the
legislature voted down a proposed $10 mil-
lion funding increase to the program. This
makes plans for full-scale winter and sum-
mer advertisement campaigns financially
impossible.
Pure Michigan boasts some impressive
results. According to Travel Michigan, last
year the campaign brought over 2 million
tourists to the state and over $600 million
to hotels, gas stations, restaurants and other
Michigan businesses. For every $1 that the,
state spent on the program, Travel Michi-
gan estimates a $2.23 return in tax revenue
in 2010. In 2009, the return reached as high
as $5. These figures show that Pure Michi-
gan is a good investment. The state legisla-
ture needs to reconsider decreasingsupport
for such a successful program.
It's difficult to understand how the legis-
lature can justify cutting support of a flour-
ishing campaign. Though state spending has
been slashed across the board to balance the
budget, the most recent cut to Pure Michi-
gan is too severe for a program that greatly
benefits the state's economy. Other sectors
of the budget, including the inflated correc-
tions budget - Michigan spends about 20
percent of its general fund on corrections
each year, which is much higher than the
2010 national average of 7 percent, according
to a June 28 Newsweek report - should have
taken greater hits before Pure Michigan.
On Monday, Gov. Jennifer Granholm
proposed allocating $25 million from an
expected $100-million increase in state
tax revenue to Pure Michigan, according
an Oct. 11 article in The Washington Post.
With this increase in funding, the regional
winter and national summer advertise-
ments could be back on track. The Michi-
gan legislature should support Granholm's
proposal and allow Pure Michigan to con-
tinue helping our state.
Pure Michigan is an undeniable benefit
to Michigan's tourism industry and gen-
eral economic future. Its importance and
continued survival should be considered
seriously by the legislature. An increase
in funding is necessary, whether by Gran-
holm's proposal or by some other means.
- 2- - - -a 2 - , - -- 5 s--
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
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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.
01
ANDREW LAPIN|I
Don't blame the band
The unsung educators
As a former member of the Michigan March-
ing Band, I was disheartened at the inaccurate
information presented in Roger Sauerhaft's
recent viewpoint regarding what students call
the "You Suck" chant (Ill-timed 'You Suck'sucks,
10/13/2010). In writing this piece, Sauerhaft suc-
ceeded in perpetuating a long-standing miscon-
ception regarding the band's rolein the infamous
football Saturday tradition. I'd like to take the
opportunity to clear some things up.
The song the band plays when an opponent's
third-down conversion fails isn't called "You
Suck." It's a Jerry Bilik arrangement of the 1933
song "Temptation," originally popularized by
Bing Crosby. University tradition dictates that
the band always play "Temptation" on fourth
down, regardless of score or any other fac-
tors. The rationale, you see, is that the other
team was tempted to convert downs but was
ultimately led away from temptation by our
defense. Recent games, much to the disdain
of the Wolverine faithful, have afforded less
opportunity to play the song.
The band also plays the song at every postgame
performance, accompanied by a famous percus-
sion routine. Following every performance of
the song is an arrangement of "Hawaiian War
Chant." The reason being, as every Michigan
fan should know, "you can't have one without
the other," as Michigan Stadium announcer Carl
Grapentine informs the crowd every week. Stick
around after the game sometime and watch the
band play. They're pretty good.
The words "You Suck," as you might guess,
CAMERON NEVEU |
are not a part of the original song's lyrics. Infact,
the band is specifically instructed to never sing
"You Suck" when the song is played, because it is
the band's job to maintain a respectful demeanor
toward our opponents. (Members sing"Oh,Yeah"
instead.) This is the same reason they, along with
every Big Ten marching band, always play the
other team's fight song during the pregame per-
formance. Bands are a prominent public symbol
of a university and you will be hard-pressed to
find a college band that actively encourages nega-
tive behavior amongits fanbase.
So where did "You Suck" come from? The
same place where Yost Ice Arena's "See Ya"
cheer came from: the students. Some years
ago, the football student section started taking
creative liberties with the cheer. As the trend
caught on, people not unreasonably began to
assume it was the band's doing. Professor Scott
Boerma, the current marching band director,
once related a story of an athletic department
official telling him they "really love the 'You
Suck' cheer." That is to say that actual Univer-
sity employees think that the band is encourag-
ing 100,000 people to tell the opposing team
they suck. These officials are wrong.
If you don't like the "You Suck" cheer, don't say
it. Revert back to the song's original lyrics: "You
came, I was alone / I should have known you
were temptation." Start a movement to get other
students to do the same. But don't blame the
band. Itisn't the band's job to tell you what to say.
Andrew Lapin is a senior arts editor.
E-MAIL CAMERON AT CNEVE U@UMICH.EDU
Writing my first paper for
Great Books 191 was sort
of like asking me to do
quantum physics
with an abacus.
No matter how
many times I read
Socrates, no matter
how nuanced my
outline was and no.
matter how many --
times I scoured
SparkNotes - -
praying the writ- TYLER
ing prompt would
magically be JONES
answered under
the "Themes,
Motifs & Symbols"
section - I knew my graduate student
instructor would ultimately show my
final copy to other GSIs to elicit a few
laughs.
When I received my grade, it was
hard for me not to chuckle a bit along
with them. But I wanted to do better
- this was material that I desperately
wanted to understand. So I went to
office hours. And then I went again.
And again. Writing papers for that
class turned into three-week long
exchanges between me and my GSI.
The entire time, I kept thinking, "This
guy has got to be getting tired of me!"
When the semester ended, I did bet-
ter than I could have imagined when I
walked into discussion section on the
first day. But more valuable than the
letter grade I recieved is the lesson in
writing I learned while toiling over
my paper with my GSI in the Depart-
ment of Classical Studies lounge.
Though I sometimes like to attribute
this to my dogged work ethic, I know
it was my GSI who taught me how to
bring my writing to the next level. I
will certainly never forget the hours
he devoted to helping me to get better.
But how many of us can say that? GSIs
are on the front lines of our education.
While professors usually simply lec-
ture, GSIs teach. Sometimes it seems
students lose sight of that.
Before you write this column off as
a sad attempt to get in good with my
Stats 250 GSI before midterms, let's
consider who GSIs are. In the 2007-
2008 academic year, the University
employed 2,234 GSIs, according to
University statistics. GSIs are not
career teachers. Many of them have no
interest in pursuing a career in educa-
tion. They are simply people looking
to pay their way through world-class
graduate programs.
Now, don't get me wrong. I, too,
have endured GSIs whose grasp of
English is. questionable at best. I
have also labored through discus-
sion sections with GSIs who never
once looked up from their notes. So
to those GSIs who don't quite under-
stand what the "I" in their title stands
for I say, consider a new line of work
after graduation.
But what about those truly out-
standing GSIs? I mean the ones
whose class you actually enjoy
attending. Where are their Arthur
F. Thurnau awards for "commitment
to and investment in undergradu-
ate teaching?" Why didn't my Great
Books GSI get a Golden Apple award
for his ability "not only to dissemi-
nate knowledge, but to inspire and
engage students in its pursuit," as the
website puts it?
GSIs are in the trenches of our edu-
cation at the University. They pick
up where the professor left off or, in
many instances, fell short. It seems to
me that these students (let's not for-
get that we're talking about students)
deserve some recognition for their
contributions to the rich community
of academic exploration and discovery
at the University. Though GSIs are eli-
gible to win a few outstanding instruc-
tor awards, I think there's something
more valuable to be earned. That
undergraduates acknowledge and
appreciate the work done by GSIs and
the effort some of them put forward to
enhance our education is sometimes
the greatest award possible.
GSIs are on the
front lines of our
eductation.
GSIs don't come up in conversation
much. Let's be honest, no one signs
up for a class because of a tremendous
GSI. But why not? When my friends
couldn't grasp a concept in Great Books
last year, they went to see the GSI for
help. When I wanted help writing my
psychology paper recently, I didn't stop
by the professor's office for some point-
ers - I went to the GSI. Being able to
learn from a truly remarkable GSI far
exceeds anybenefits ofsittingin aclass
taught by a professor who has testified
before the Senate or has written a text-
book or two.
Learning doesn't happen in a lec-
ture hall with PowerPoint presenta-
tions and i>clickers. It happens in
some dingy graduate lounge with
poor lighting and the faint smell of
day-old coffee. Sitting with someone
who loves the subject matter and
wants to convey that same level of
passion and enthusiasm to you - that
is how learning happens.
- Tyler Jones can be reached
at tylerlj@umich.edu.
SCP TCM EROCTOWI5.
1~J~1
01
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