4 - Wednesday, November 24, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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ROSE JAFFE
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.
Extend our turkey time
'U' should schedule a longer Thanksgiving break
T hanksgiving is generally associated with eating too much
turkey and pumpkin pie and spending time with family.
But for students at the University, it's also associated with
either skipping class or being a part of the overwhelming rush to
leave campus the night before the holiday. Holding class on the
Wednesday before Thanksgiving isn't productive for students or
professors. Wednesday classes make enjoying the holiday more
difficult for the many members of the University community who
leave Ann Arbor for the long weekend. In the future, the University
should schedule Thanksgiving break to start before Wednesday
evening to allow students more time to travel home.
Suffering in silence
This year, and in years past, the Uni-
versity's Thanksgiving break begins on
Wednesday at 5 p.m. Many other peer insti-
tutions start their break earlier. The Uni-
versity of Notre Dame doesn't have class
on Wednesday this year. Neither does Pur-
due University. The University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign and Pennsylvania
State University get the entire week off. It's
notable that none of these schools have as
large a percentage of out-of-state students
as the University of Michigan does. ,
The fact that about a third of University
students reside out-of-state accentuates the
need for extending break. Thanksgiving
Eve and Day are usually the busiest travel
days of the year. Expecting roughly 8,000
undergraduates to start the trip back home
on the day before Thanksgiving is - at the
very least - impractical, especially since
Detroit Metro Airport is bound to be packed
and traffic on the roads will be heavy.
But this problem doesn't only affect out-
of-state students - many in-state residents
who live across Michigan face lengthy
drives home on the afternoon or night
before Thanksgiving. Cancelling class on
the Wednesday before Thanksgiving would
allow students to circumvent holiday travel
problems. Additionally, it would encourage
students to do their driving while it's still
light out, removing inexperienced drivers
from the road at night during heavy traffic.
But not all students brave classes on the
Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Many
students decide to skip class in order to allo-
cate adequate time for travel. As a result,
both students and professors lose - stu-
dents may miss important instruction and
professors aren't able to make full use of
the class days they need to teach material.
This is an unnecessary waste of resources
for all parties involved. Extending break
would eliminate these costs and increase
the efficiency of instruction at the Univer-
sity. Students wouldn't have to sacrifice a
day's tuition for a lower flight fare.
Plenty of other schools have found a way
to extend Thanksgiving break without tak-
ing away the school days required for ade-
quate instruction - the University can, too.
The day of class could be replaced at many
different places in the academic calendar.
The University could cuta day from the fall
study break or extend the semester by a day
in December.
Holding classes on the Wednesdaybefore
Thanksgiving is unnecessary and inconve-
nient. The University should explore alter-
natives to this travel hassle. Both students
and faculty would benefit from a change
that wouldn't be difficult to implement.
Raymond Chase was an aspir-
ing culinary artist. Tyler Cle-
menti was an accomplished
violinist. Asher
Brown was a
straight-A student.
Seth Walsh loved
everything about
the performing
arts. Billy Lucas
had a smile that
could light up an
entire room.
Even though NOEL
these five young GORDON
men grew up in
completely differ-_
ent parts of the
country, they each had a similar story
to tell - one that involved relent-
less bullying, endless torment and
ultimately suicide. Given the tragic
circumstances that surrounded each
of their deaths, it's not unreasonable
to think that in the final moments
of their lives, each boy could have
thought the same thing: What makes
gay life worth living?
On Tuesday, Nov. 30, Dr. John
Corvino will tackle that question. A
distinguished writer, speaker and phi-
losopher from Wayne State University,
Corvino will engage the campus com-
munity in a much-needed discussion of
what, if anything, makes gay life worth
living. He has been invited by the Cen-
ter for Ethics in Public Life to talk
about the recent spate of teen suicides
in the LGBTQ community and the
implications of this trend for everyone.
Corvino has written extensively on a
number of topics including same-sex
marriage, the philosophy of love and
the philosophy of religion. As president
of one of the organizations co-sponsor-
ing this event, Ihave no doubts that his
lecture in Rackham Auditorium will
be insightful, thought-provoking and
incredibly powerful.
Of course, all of this raises another
important question: So what? Why
should anyone attend a lecture about
a group of people who some say
make up less than five percent of the
world's population?
Consider, if you will, that Tyler
Clementi was someone's son. Asher
Brown was someone's best friend
and Billy Lucas was someone's neigh-
bor. They were no different from you
and me in the sense that they all had
dreams, hopes and aspirations. But
unfortunately, none ofthese boys will
ever have the opportunity to realize
them. Seth Walsh will never cel-
ebrate his fourteenth birthday much
in the same way that Raymond Chase
will never enjoy another summer
vacation. That should concern each
and everyone one of us.
It should concern us that these boys
took their own lives not because they
were physically or emotionally weak,
but because they were physically and
emotionally tired. They were tired of
being bullied, beaten and harassed.
They were tired of feeling helpless,
hopeless and alone. simply because
they dared to be different. Drowning
in a sea of desperation, with seemingly
no one reaching out to save them, these
young men saw suicide as the only way
out. Unfortunately, they are not alone.
Boys and girls across the country,
and indeed around the world, are suf-
fering in silence. It is estimated that
for every one suicide completed by a
young person, there are at least 100 to
200 attempts. And according to a 2006
Massachusetts Youth Risk Survey, les-
bian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
questioning (LGBTQ) youth are up
to four times more likely to attempt
suicide than their heterosexual coun-
terparts. I know the reality of these
statistics all too well. Growing up in a
predominantly white, predominantly
heterosexual suburb of Las Vegas,
Nevada, I know exactly what it's like
to feel as though you're an outsider
constantlylooking in.
Gay teens' struggle
for acceptance
must be noticed.
What makes gay life worth living?
The same thing that makes all life
worth living: the opportunity to have
a happy and meaningful existence. Of
course, what constitutes such a life
will vary from person to person. But
as University of Chicago Professor
Martha Nussbaum notes in her book
"From Disgust to Humanity," "people
have to be able to imagine what gays
and lesbians are pursuing, and see it as
relevantly similar to their own search
for personal and sexual integrity and
expression." It's only when we realize
that though you and I may differ in
our choice of sexual or marital part-
ners, at the end of the day, we are both
pursuing the same intrinsically valu-
able thing: companionship.
Like Corvino, I believe that hav-
ing open and honest discussions about
our differences will bring us one step
closer to.realizing that you and S are
nowhere near worlds apart. His lecture
will be a genuine exercise in mutual
respect and understanding. Hopefully,
by coming together in solidarity, it will
become resoundingly clear thatgay life
is indeed worth living.
- Noel Gordon can be reached
at noelaug@umich.edu.
TEDDY PAPES ,
Skip the turkey
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Thanksgiving is the holiday that embod-
ies all the pastimes of the U.S. We overeat,
we drink, we watch football and we eat tur-
key. Fortunately the holiday has already been
drained of all of its religious affiliations. The
overeating is fine, football is okay if we get rid
of head injuries and alcohol only hurts the con-
sumer - but we need to give up the turkey.
If all goes according to plan, President
Barack Obama will pardon a turkey around
Thanksgiving. But this practice shouldn't be
reserved for the White House. About 45 mil-
lion turkeys are killed every year for Thanks-
giving Day alone (billions of animals are killed
in the U.S. each year for human consumption).
These are statistics that are shocking and each
person can reduce them by abstaining from
eating meat.
For the majority, humans are speciest: that
is, they value a certain species (human) more
than other species for no legitimate reason. It's
a morally deficientbelief that's just as unfound-
ed as valuing men more than women or whites
more than blacks. Genetic differentiation isn't
a basis for different treatment.
Higher intelligence is often cited as a reason
that people value humans more than other ani-
mals. But this is only calculated when humans
compare ourselves to other species. It's there-
fore speciest. Intelligence gaps have no dis-
tinction among different humans. Mentally
disabled people have the same rights as those
with extreme intelligence - and this is surely
the moral way to conduct our society. So why
do we make exceptions for animals?
Another argument could be that animals' cog-
nitive function is so low that they don't deserve
our consideration. Yet, our society extends rights
to those without much cognition. Babies deserve
equal rights and protection just as much as
adults. Totally mentally deficient in every capac-
ity imaginable, a baby of six months receives pro-
tection equal to a full grown adult. Certain apes
have been able to learn sign language, yet their
protections are insignificant compared to the
protections of a human baby.
To argue that animals are somehow below
our consideration and without rights is to deny
instinctual responses humans have to the vio-
lations of these rights. The football world and
the public in general decried Michael Vick for
his dog fighting ring because it clearly vio-
lated the rights that humans believe animals
to have. Though the word "rights" may not be
transferrable to animals because the definition
has taken on such an intrinsic association with
humans, desire is something humans can rec-
ognize and acknowledge within animals.
These desires are ones like the desire to
live or be free from pain. To what extent is it
acceptable to violate these desires? If you kick
a human or an animal, they will react in much
the same way. Is physical pain worse for an
intelligent animal (humans) or is it equal to
that of turkeys?
The factory farm is a terrible place. Even
if animals are killed quickly (which they are
often not), their lives are miserable. Animals
are confined to extremely small spaces, don't
get to reproduce and aren't reared by their
mothers. They are then sent off to be slaugh-
tered. These "lives," in some sick sense of char-
ity, are also very brief. Turkeys have a natural
lifespan of up to 10 years but they are typically
slaughtered when they are five months old.
The suffering of animals is lamentable -
but there are some instances in which it can
be condoned. Scientific research may cause
harm and injury to animals, but there may be
great payoffs for the result. Eating animals, on
the other hand, provides such an insignificant
benefit to humanity. Especially to citizens of
first-world nations, eating animals provides no
other function other than supplying a specific
taste for our palates. The American Dietetic
Association says that "appropriately planned
vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally
adequate, and provide health benefits in the
prevention and treatment of certain diseases."
In early 2009, Scientific American reported
on a study from The United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization and said the "report
found that current production levels of meat
contribute between 14 and 22 percent of the
36 billion tons of 'CO2-equivalent' greenhouse
gases the world produces every year." 14 to 22
percent of greenhouse gases come from the
meat industry.
If anything, eating animals has consider-
able drawbacks, Yet, humans consume them
to achieve a minor palatal satisfaction. Is this
passing pleasure worth the immense pain and
suffering of animals, environmental damage
and damage to our health?
This Thanksgiving, drink beer, watch the
mediocre concerts on TV and even overeat, but
please skip the turkey. And make sure you tell
everyone why.
Teddy Papes is an LSA junior.
Pro-choice on child support
n 1973, the well-known U.S.
Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade
case established a woman's right
to choose to have
an abortion. In
1990, my father
wanted to have
another child. In X
1991, my mother '
chose not to termi-
nate her pregnancy
and I popped out.
But let's travel
to a fantasy world ERIC
for just a minute SZKARLAT
in which my par-
ents were unwed,
my father walked
out on my mother when he learned
she was pregnant and she carried
the pregnancy to term and raised
the child. We've seen this scenario
a million times, both in movies and
in real life. We've even got a conve-
nient, alliterative phrase for those
men: deadbeat dads. To be one is to
be looked upon with a special kind
of disapproval - which is a bit of a
double standard when you consider
how many women who are unready
for parenthood abort.
Women are often encouraged to
make their own choices about ter-
minating pregnancies based on their
readiness. If a woman isn'tfinancially,
emotionally or mentally ready to have
and care for a child, she may abort.
These aren't the only reasons that
women choose abortion, certainly,
but they are enormous factors. War-
ren Farrell - a former director of the
National Organization for Women, but
later a critic of feminism - says that
terminating a pregnancy is "female
choice as female destiny."
What about keeping a child? Far-
rell calls this "female choice as male
destiny." What he means by this is
that ifa woman chooses not to termi-
nate, the man is both legally obligated
and socially expected to provide for
the child. Though this may not always
happen, it's expected that men carry
their weight in support.
Both of these definitions lack key
components, but they're a starting
point. Certainly both female choices
affect the destinies of the poten-
tial parents and the child-to-be. But
ultimately, we are still putting in the
hands of women the power to decide
the fates of 3 individuals. I don't
think that's quite fair at all.
Instead, I'd support male abortion,
advocated first by South Carolina
attorney Melanie McCulley. This is
an imperfect solution, but it's the best
we can do to ensure full social and
legal equality where we have already
accepted the validity of the abortive
option for women. This way, men
have just as much freedom to ensure
their own destiny as women. And yes,
to those "pro-choicers" retching in
the corner at this point, it's indeed
about equality.
How would it work? Women would
still choose whether or not to carry
the child to term. Men would merely
choose whether or not to provide for
the child. They would not exercise
any control over the woman's body.
Importantly, men would be required
to surrender parental rights in addi-
tion to financial responsibilities.
Essentially, it is the same as with
female abortion: In the eyes of soci-
ety, a male who has aborted would not
be a parent at all. He would be given
an equal window duringthe pregnan-
cy to that during which women may
decide to terminate. If he misses that
three-month window, he would be
legally obligated to provide support
for the child during pregnancy and
subsequently after birth.
But let me be clear: I said this is
imperfect because it is. In my perfect
world, everyone would take respon-
sibility, especially for their mistakes.
People should know before having
intercourse that there could be life-
altering consequences. No person
should ever abandon or abort a child
because having one would be incon-
venient for them. I don't think the
child, or child-to-be, should have to
pay for the mistakes of their parents.
And of course, two parents are almost
always better than one.
Men should
have abortion
rights, too.
0
I'm of the opinion that a fetus is still
human and still deserving of the same
rights with which all other humans
are endowed - among them, the
right to live. 5Il let you pick whether
life begins at conception or birth or
somewhere in between, because that's
irrelevant. I believe the metaphysical,
overarching right to live comes upon
humans at conception, because it is at
that moment that they are distinctly,
genetically human.
There's a big qualifier, eh? The
alternative to the male/female abor-
tion model would be to wipe abor-
tion out altogether, with exception
to endangerment of the physical *
health of either mother or child and
cases of rape. But for now, since we
are post-1973 and pre-any-other-
decision-regarding-abortion, we can
do our best to ensure legal equality
of the sexes. Biology may not always
provide you with all the options that
you want to have, but society - as a
human construct - certainly should.
We can't have true equality without
the equal opportunity ensured to
men by an abortive option.
- Eric Szkarlat can be reached
at eszkarla@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Aida Ali, Jordan Birnholtz, Will Butler, Eaghan Davis, Michelle DeWitt,
Ashley Griesshammer, Will Grundler, Jeremy Levy, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata,
Emily Orley, Harsha Panduranga, Teddy Papes, Tommaso Pavone, Leah Potkin,
Roger Sauerhaft, Asa Smith, Julian Toles, Laura Veith, Andrew Weiner