0 4A - Wednesday, December 8, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 :. ,.tothedaily@umich.edu There's not a single thing that I that I would do that I have not donE And if I haven't gotten it done yet, I - President Barack Obama responding t press conference yesterday, 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. Ditchte fish Obama should sign bill to halt Asian carp invasion Fish rarely seem like an aggressive adversary. But Asian carp, an invasive species of fish, are currently migrating north toward the Great Lakes and could spell disaster for the local ecosystem. But last week, the U.S. Congress finally approved an act banning the interstate transport of the invasive species to stop further migration of the Asian carp and protect the Great Lakes region. Now, all that stands between the legis- lation and enforcement is President Barack Obama's signature. Given the imminent environmental and economic threat to the Great Lakes region posed by the spread of Asian carp, Obama should sign the bill into law immediately. Don't reject res E have said or tried to do. I'm still trying.' oliberal criticisms at a White House as reported by The New York Times. pect Committee's posters had to do with the phrase, "that's retarded." While I'm sure most of us rarely mean to implicate the mentally or physically disabled while talking to our friends about football, we do so every time the words leave our lips. Though harmless to us, this sort of language makes it much more difficult to chip away at the stigma and prejudices associated with people who have certain social identities. But we don't even have to narrow our focus to per- sons or individuals. Our use of lan- guage has trivialized the meaning of rape and has turned it into a word that can be mentioned at the drop of a hat. But as one poster so succinctly put it, "I was raped, and it was noth- ing like your Econ 101 exam." As I was walking down State Street the other day, contem- plating what I was going to write for my final column this semes- - ter, I happened to stumble across a phrase I hadn't seen or heard in a long time. Post- ' ed in front of the g Union was a sign that had "that's so gay" printed on it. NOEL When I say a GORDON "long time," I'm probably exagger- ating. I'm sure it's only been a few months or so - espe- cially when you take into account the fact that I live in a residence hall. Nevertheless, I'm sure many of you would agree with me when I say that going even just a few months without hearing the phrase "that's so gay" is no small feat. In fact, it was only after gawking at the poster for sev- eral minutes that I realized who was responsible for it. And I should have seen it coming. In an effort to promote diversity, multiculturalism and intercultural competence, it seems that the Expect Respect Committee has launched a campus-wide campaign aimed at dis- rupting the use of harmful language here at the University. According to the committee's official website, "Expect Respect is a unique part- nership among students, faculty and staff hoping to unite our communi- ty." Members work around the clock to ensure that there is a welcoming environment for all University stu- dents regardless of race, gender, sex- ual orientation, religious affiliation or country of origin. Though this list is by no means exhaustive, it reflects the committee's dedication to social justice. To me, the campaign seems especially fitting given the attention that has been paid to bias incidents on campus lately. I'm sure that much of this sounds like stuff you've heard time and time again. I know that since coming to the University, I haven't gone a day without hearing about social justice and progressive politics. And as you can probably guess from my latest string of columns, this is an effort that I support whole-heartedly. I recognize that there will be stu- dents (and rather meddlesome alum- ni) who feel the need to protest the Expect Respect Committee's new campaign out of an irrational fear of communism and excessive political correctness. Usually, I'm quick to dis- miss any individual who claims that asking people to be mindful of their words is synonymous with encroach- ing on First Amendment rights. But this campaign is a perfect example of when people should be genuinely con- cerned over the words others use and when it might be crossing the line. While discussing the implications of my now infamous penis-on-a- whiteboard example (Unintentional- ly offensive, 11/10/2010), a friend of mine once wrote to me that "the big- gest challenge that groups have when battling for their civil rights is not overcoming blatant prejudice, but the subtle biases in our society that even the most open-minded individual can perpetuate if he is careless." I think this provides a helpfulguide for determining when language cross- es the line from innocuous to poten- tially detrimental. Language can be a powerful weapon in creating, main- taining and dismantling systems of oppression and inequality. If you don't believe me, tryto think of a reason why people don't say, "that's so straight," when insinuating that something is disappointing or disheartening. Another one of the Expect Respect Subtle biases in language shouldn't be ignored. 0 Asian carp can weigh as much as 100 pounds and grow up to four feet in length, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. They pose a serious environmen- tal and economic threat to the Great Lakes region. The carp consume an inequitable amount of resources, which would disrupt the Great Lakes ecosystem by starving local species like trout and salmon. This would be a heavy blow to the $7-billion Great Lakes fishing industry. Asian carp also pose a threat to tourism, including the $16-billion recreational boating industry. On Nov. 30, the U.S. House of Representa- tives approved the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act with a unanimous voice vote. The act would regulate Asian carp under the Lacey Act, a century-old bill that prohibits the trading of banned or illegally acquired fish. In October, the U.S. Senate passed a companion measure proposed by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), which directs the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to block off sev- eral key waterways in Illinois to prevent the spread of Asian carp into the Great Lakes. An Asian carp was caught in Lake Calu- met in June, which lies past the electric barriers currently set up in the Chicago Area Waterway System meant to contain the fish. The discovery occurred just six miles from Lake Michigan, highlighting the need for the federal government to act quickly to stop further migration. It's unacceptable that it took so long for the federal government to act. Earlier this year, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and several other Great Lakes region attor- neys general sought an injunction from the U.S. Supreme Court to shut down the Illinois locks. Their request was refused - twice. Now that Congress has taken a clear stance on the issue, measures to stop the carp should be implemented immediately. Some Illinois officials have criticized the plan to close some locks in the Chicago area. But though some adverse economic effects may result from closing some locks and re-routing shipping lines, the interests of the entire Great Lakes region must take precedence over the concerns of one state. In the end, the recently-passed legislation balances the costs and benefits. By signing the bill into law, Obama has an opportunity to protect the Great Lakes economy and environment by finally responding to the very real threat that the Asian carp pose. The federal government shouldn't hesitate any longer - it should close the Illinois locks immediately. I'll admitcthatsometimes society can go too far in tryingto curb intolerance. For instance, I don't think the Expect Respect Committee had any busi- ness going after the phrase "fuck my life." To me, this phrase doesn't really * demean anyone, nor does it implicate a particular social identity or situation. As far as I know, it expresses exactly what it is supposed to. The important thing to remember in all this is that language is always changing and con- stantly evolving. Butit's for that reason that we should remain cognizant of when it marginalizes a group, even in the most discreet of ways. - Noel Gordon can be reached at noelaug@umich.edu. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Aida Ali, 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, Seth Soderborg, Julian Toles, Laura Veith, Andrew Weiner JULIAN TOLES Abolish letter grading Our grading system is obsolete. Actu- tion is learning, these fraudulently high marks ally, obsolete may be the wrong word since it decrease the incentive to improve. For example, implies that letter grades ever served a mean- if students receive inflated A's on their exams, ingful purpose. there's no motivation and no room for them to do Sure, grades help to expedite the work of better. From the student's point of view, inflated administrators and employers by providing grades encourage complacency at best. At worst, a quick way of judging performance and skill they encourage minimal effort. level. But for both students and colleges, the To help solve this problem, we need to imple- grading system has become a shady game of ment nonspecific classification. This would who can look the best on paper. Currently, automatically alleviate the subjective nature most students are concerned more with earn- inherent in our current system. This may make ing the highest possible grade point average it harder for employers to distinguish between than with learning. And some institutions of candidates, but students would be more higher education have played right along with focused on learning as opposed to earning the this system. We need a process that operates highest letter grades possible. with more integrity. The British undergraduate degree classifica- As Daily columnist Will Grundler stated in tion system offers a fine alternative to our cur- one of his recent columns, "letters don't count rent system. The grading system ranks students for knowledge" (Examine THIS, 10/07/2010). from first to third class and "ordinary." Studies And even if grades were a true indicator of have shown that abolishing grades encourages knowledge, outside of courses like math and more learning. Students become motivated to science, grades are essentially subjective. For explore their own paths toward understanding. example, it may be impossible to accurately A transition from the current system is not as explain why a student deserves a high B for an far-fetched as it may seem. Traditional grading essay rather than a low A - especially if the A- has already been abolished at some of the nation's was withheld due to a grudge that the teacher top law schools, including Yale, Stanford, Har- held. Not that I'm speaking from past experi- vard and the University of California, Berkeley. ence or anything. According to the same article from The New Too frequently, schools perpetuate and York Times, some of these schools have imple- even promote the arbitrary nature of grades mented a pass/fail system in the classroom. by inflating scales to make certain gradu- Some school administrators may have no ates appear tobe more qualified candidates to interest in overhauling the grading system for potential employers. the entire university, since there's no wide- This summer, The New York Times report- spread demand and it'd be a daunting task. But ed that law schools around the country are this isn't to say that the grading system couldn't inflating grades for the same reason, which is change if students actively explored alterna- an unfortunate trend. Some universities, like tives. In my opinion, most students would be in Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, aren't only favor of abolishing our current system. openly bumping up students' grades but also It's up to the students to demand this change. doing so retroactively. Due to an oversaturated As entrepreneur Chris Guillebeau suggests in legal market, the article reports that the univer- his book "The Art of Nonconformity," "students sity was "tacking on .333 to every grade record- could revolt and change universities, shifting ed in the lastcfew years." This tactic is dishonest the balance of power toward the group that and inequitable. Unearned advantages, which enables the institution to exist inthe first place... are given to lucky recipients such as those at grading could be abolished or modified, and Loyola, challenge the credibility of both the curriculums rewritten to reward trial and error institutions and the grades themselves. more than rote memorization." That's a plan I Students who enroll in an institution that would give a passing grade to on any scale. openly engages in inflation also lose out. Assuming that the true purpose of educa- Julian Toles is an LSA seior. The Daily is looking for a diverse group of strong, informed, passionate writers to be columnists for the winter semester. Columnists write a 700-800 word column every other week on a topic of their choosing. If you are an opinionated and talented writer, consider applying. E-MAIL MICHELLE DEWITT AT DEWITTM@UMICH.EDU FOR MORE INFORMATION. HARSHA PANDURANGA | The (political) evolution of rap 0 i Gucci Mane is a stereotypical rapper. He raps about drugs, women and money on synth and bass-heavy beats while sporting garish "bling bling" on his shirtless torso. But while Gucci serves as a caricature of the hip-hop cul- ture that's continually decried, a growing civic clout and artistic respect are emerging as important characteristics of the genre. The culture is transforming in a way that allows its members to be heard in mainstream public dis- course. As a result, hip-hop has carved itself a political niche in the 21st century. Take Kanye West, for example. In a fundraising tele- thon for Hurricane Katrina victims in September 2005, Kanye indignantly proclaimed, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." Was this just another throw- away example of the brazenness that characterizes hip- hop? George Bush didn't think so - in fact, in his memoir, he called it the worst moment of his presidency. The fact that the president took West so seriously is astonishing enough. But what's even more striking is West's somber and tremulous apology for the comment last month on the Today show, admitting he didn't have "the grounds" to call Bush a racist. It almost goes without saying that it's generally unbecoming for a rock star per- sona to apologize for a five-year-old outburst in response to the prodding of a talk show host. Yet West's apology is especially notable because he broke out of the rapper mold and moved into the realm of traditional citizenship by holding himself accountable to the public for his unfil- tered mouth. Given Kanye's uniquely audacious character, Jay-Z is perhaps a better example of a messenger of hip-hop on the political scene, as seen by his relationship with President Barack Obama. Obama met with Jay-Z for several hours to get a feel for what the rap community was thinking politi- cally, the rapper writes in his autobiography "Decoded." After playing "get out the vote" concerts for Obama, he had - along with fellow rapper and hip-hop mogul Diddy - front row seats to the president's inauguration. Jay-Z symbolizes how hip-hop's ever-growing less- abrasive side earns it the ear of the president outside of his iPod - though Obama does jam to Lil' Wayne and Nas, according to an interview in the Oct. 15 issue of Rolling Stone. Such relationships between rappers and a presi- dent would have been inconceivable even 10 years ago. The formerly maligned community has come far from the greatly anti-establishment attitude it exuded in late 80's Compton hip-hop group N.W.A's "Fuck Tha Police" days. It's important to note that Obama's hip-hop associa- tions aren't solely for the sake of what may be perceived as good politics: Obama campaign spokesperson Bill Bur- ton had to condemn rapper Ludacris's distasteful election rap that insulted both Hillary Clinton and President Bush during his 2008 run. So where does this discussion leave Gucci Mane? Though he might not be politically active, he's still well- reviewed and his music is respected. According to the review aggregator site Metacritic, Gucci Mane's body of work is characterized as having received a "generally favorable" critical response. In effect, Gucci - whose highest-charting single is a track called "Wasted" about using drugs and alcohol - has made it. He's not seen as just a run-of-the-mill rapper confined to the playlists of hardcore southern rap genre followers but rather spends his (not-in-jail) time featuring on Mariah Carey and Usher songs while enjoying commercial success. Gucci exemplifies the acknowledgment and acceptance of rap as valuable music. In essence, the labeling of hip-hop artists as crude or uncouth no longer automatically stems from their genre - they have to earn those tags. As this more widespread political recognition is the product of both societal acceptance and change within hip-hop, it won't be limited to the current administra- tion. Though no hip-hop star has currently reached, for instance, Bono-level political recognition, the respect for the art has reached a point where a rapper could conceiv- ably be such a figure in the future. Bill O'Reilly can have rapper Cam'ron on The O'Reilly Factor and chide Eminem for his crude Sarah Palin ref- erences all he wants. But constant criticism of hip-hop culture - though it's sometimes, maybe even often, valid - misses the point. As rap has evolved into a respectable art form, hip-hop as a whole seems to have mellowed out and broken out of the periphery into mainstream political discourse. Perhaps John Stewart said it best in his Jay-Z interview: "As rap grows up, they go from fuck the police to, where the fuck are the police?" The socially active and outspoken Tupac Shakur would have been proud. Harsha Panduranga is an assistant editorial page editor. a 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. Letters are edited for style, length, clarity and accuracy. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@ugich.edu.