4A - Thursday, December 9, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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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.
More bang for your bucks
Expanding Blue Bucks could offer more variety
panda Express is certainly delicious, but when dinner
options are limited and you're down to Blue Bucks to pay
for meals, orange chicken gets old quickly - and goes
straight to your hips. Currently, students can only use the Blue
Bucks that come with meal plans at on-campus establishments
like U-go's and vendors in the Michigan Unions. But recently, the
LSA Student Goverment has started to work to expand the use
of Blue Bucks to off-campus eateries. The idea is to improve stu-
dents' options and increase local restaurants' business. LSA-SG
should continue to work with the University and approach local
businesses to expand the Blue Bucks program.
Bring activism back
L ove it or hate it, our dear Uni- A month ago, I referenced the find- ing sentence of the Port Huron State-
versity resides in a famously ing that the wealthiest 1 percent of ment, SDS's manifesto written in part
liberal city. We've got a vibrant Americans now controls 24 percent by Tom Hayden, a former editor-in-
gay community, of all income in the nation (OurAmer- chief of this very newspaper: "We are
scads of hippie gift- ican contradiction, 11/10/2010). In a people of this generation, bred in at
shops and a yearly recent interview with "60 Minutes," least modest comfort, housed now in
carnival paying C Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Ber- universities, looking uncomfortablyto
homage to mari- nanke went so far as declaring that the world we inherit."
juana. But the for- -'this inequality "is creating two soci- ItmayseemasthoughI'mgivingin
ward-thinking Ann eties." Nevertheless, it's now almost to my own obsessive paranoia about
Arbor we know certain that the Bush-era tax cuts for the state of the world. It might also
today is a far cry the wealthiest Americans will con- appear as if I'm surrendering to an
from what it was tinue for the next two years. Thanks activist nostalgia that I've only read
in the 1960s. Those MATTHEW to Republicans in Congress, the rich about in books. But I refuse to believe
were the years that GREEN will get richer and the poor will stay that changing the world is the busi-
saw the impetus poor for two more years. ness of other, more qualified people.
for the creation of And speaking of things we can't As students, unbridled by careers and
the Peace Corps afford, let's talk for a moment about families, we have a unique opportu-
on the steps of the Union and the the war we're still fighting in the nityto devote the necessary energy to
unveiling of the Great Society pro- Middle East. Pardon me, I meant researching, questioning, organizing
gram during President Lyndon John- wars. We've spent over a trillion dol- and bettering our society. Indeed, we
son's commencement address at the lars fighting them since 2001. The must do all those things.
Big House. Yet, more significant was toll on American lives has been in
Ann Arbor's spirit of student activ- the thousands - not to mention the
ism in those years. Protests gained exponentially higher casualty rates
enough steam to close South Universi- among innocent Afghans and Iraqis. A nn Arbor iS a far
ty Avenue for days. One organization, Yet, the argument that the U.S. is
Students for a Democratic Society, safer because of our military efforts cry from what it
formed here and quickly became a fix- in Iraq and Afghanistan is uncon-
ture at colleges across the nation. vincing. Even when we leave - if we was in the 1960s.
Radical leftism was Ann Arbor's leave? - the threats of terrorism and
answer to a period in history that fundamentalism will likely remain
asked the American people difficult omnipresent in our national psyche.
questions. Even a cursory glance at Though we may not know how the I'm not calling for a renaissance
the '60s illustrates the overwhelming War on Terror will pan out, it's now of radicalism on our campus. I'm not
uncertainty and complexity of that obvious - thanks to WikiLeaks - that imploring you to forgo your finals as a
era. Society was rife with inequality, American credibility around the world protest of education inequality in this
the nation was fighting an increas- has suffered myriad blows in the past country or anythingof the sort. I only
ingly brutal war and abstract -isms decade. The leaked documents, while ask that as you read the news, and as
threatened to undermine the Ameri- fascinaingand even darkly hilarious at you look ahead toward the life you'll
can way of life. times, only confirmed the increasingly soon build, you find ways to make a
Now stop. Go back to the preced- obvious truth that the U.S. no longer change in the circles you inhabit - be
ing sentence and conjugate all verbs commands the respect of the interna- it in your family, classroom, relation-
in the present tense. Eerie, isn't it? tional community. ships, campus, nation or world. And
We may have Starbucks and iPods The world around us has grown in the words of the Port Huron State-
and Facebook to divert our attention remarkably unsettled. So what are we ment, "If we appear to seek the unat-
from this reality, but our society is in to do? As the next generation of politi- tainable, it has been said, then let it
an equally precarious spot today. cians, educators, lawyers, doctors and be known that we do so to avoid the
By now you've likely heard the more, we not only have a responsibil- unimaginable."
news - from partisan news sources, ity to try to change our society, but we
no doubt - that income inequal- also have no other choice. Musing on - Matthew Green can be reached
ity has skyrocketed out of control. this reality, I'm reminded of the open- at greenmat@umich.edu.
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.
According to a Dec. 6 Daily article, a
recent poll taken by LSA-SG showed that
66 percent of student respondents said
that they would eat at an off-campus res-
taurant at least one more time each week if
they could use Blue Bucks. Currently, only
University-affiliated eateries - like res-
taurants in the basements of the Michigan
League and Union, U-go's and residence
hall convenience stores like South Quad's
Chow Town - accept Blue Bucks.
Members of LSA-SG got the idea to
expand the Blue Bucks program after
visiting other universities with simi-
lar programs. Ohio State University and
Cleveland State University have food pay-
ment options like Blue Bucks, but students
there are allowed to use them as dollars
in local restaurants. LSA-SG President
Steven Benson told the Daily that he feels
confident moving forward with the change
because so many students provided posi-
tive feedback. He hopes to organize meet-
ings with officials from University Housing
to discuss the issue further.
This is a somewhat ambitious task for
LSA-SG - but the progress seen so far is
encouraging, and leaders of the project
seem to have a clear plan. When LSA-SG
takes on ventures like this, it's directly
responding to students' wants and needs,
which is exactly what a student govern-
ment should do.
Expanding the Blue Bucks program to
off-campus eateries would give students
more easy and healthy options. Blue Bucks
is money that students and their families
have already set aside for food. But right
now, students are limited to fast food that
is for the most part unhealthy. If more off-
campus establishments like Seva, Jerusa-
lem Garden and Sava's accepted Blue Bucks,
students could use their money for a health-
ier option than a Wendy's Baconator.
And local eateries would benefit, too.
Businesses that currently participate in
the program (like the Wendy's and Sub-
way in the Union) are required to return
3.5 percent of all sales to University din-
ing. But while this rate may seem high,
the benefits the businesses would receive
from increased sales outweigh the costs.
Restaurants that accept Blue Bucks would
see increased revenue and student patron-
age. They would simultaneously establish a
solid client base. Students would return to
their favorite eateries after they no longer
use Blue Bucks.
Students would have more options and
businesses could see an increase in sales if
Blue Bucks were good for more than Mrs.
Fields cookies. LSA-SG should continue its
efforts to better Blue Bucks and local busi-
nesses should sign on to the program.
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EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Aida Ali, Will Butler, Eaghan Davis, Michelle DeWitt,
Ashley Griesshammer, Will Grundler, Jeremy Levy, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata,
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SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU
'riguez must be a teacher star quarterback Terrelle Pyror.
The players have not been taught the funda-
re he can be a good coach mentals, as we saw in the Iowa game. A blocked
field goal remains a live ball, but our players
stood around as the Iowa player picked the ball
PHE DAILY: up at the 7-yard line and ran it back to the 50-yard
ad Syed's column on Monday was on the line when this happened. There are hundreds of
oncerning how the coach must be a Uni- examples, especially on defense, where the play-
'of Michigan and state of Michigan lead- ers are simply not coached or taught.
e next Michigan Man, 12/06/2010). But to Woody Hayes, Bear Bryant and Bobby Knight
e must first be a teacher. were all great teachers. In a recent TV appear-
ches are the faculty in the Athletic ance, Bobby Knight gave three different scenar-
tment. Faculty members are expected ios for a game-ending play. While the scenarios
h. As a retired professor - I taught for were complicated, he taught the TV audience
rs - and a University of Michigan alum- what situations to anticipate within 30 seconds.
have been very disturbed by Michigan That's coaching and that's teaching. Rodriguez
A1 head coach Rich Rodriguez's failure to has not been able to teach his students how to
and to take responsibility for his teach- line up on defense or play any phase of the kick-
ring the coach is the equivalent of not ing game in three years, let alone in 30 seconds.
ing tenure. While wins and losses are In over 45 years of watching Michigan foot-
ceiving grants of publishing, there is an ball teams, these past three years have been the
ation in all schools within universities firsttimewhen I havebeenembarrassedtoadmit
e faculty must teach effectively. that I am a Michigan fan because the players
riguez fails as a teacher. Bo Schem- looked lost on the field. Win or lose, Bo's teams
r was a great teacher and a Michigan neverlooked stupid. Theynever beat themselves.
Bo never blamed his players. Rodriguez This coach shouldn't get tenure because he has
excuses that his players are too young, failed miserably as a teacher.
se cupboard was bare when he came - A Michigan Man would realize first and
is not true - and that he needs time to foremost that he is a teacher of his men. He must
his system. Of course, many of the more take responsibility for the performance on the
enced players left within a month of field rather than make excuses and blame the
he came and they are excelling on other players. You can't be a Michigan Man when you
n and BCS bowl-bound teams. If the fail to do your primary job. Fire the coach - he
gan defensive players don't know funda- would never receive tenure within any of the
Is of where to line up, as Penn State quar- schools at the University of Michigan due to his
k Matt McGloin laughed about after the failure as a teacher.
Gender studies 101
ofcterribly long ago, in a place
not far away, only men were
allowed to attend college.
This was due, in
part, to the fact
that men needed
to be providers
for their families.
Usually, they were
the sole breadwin-
ners. Meanwhile,
women stayed at
home and gave
birth to and raised ERIC
children. It was a
system that worked SZKARLAT
then, but now it's
just outdated. At
this point, any per-
son has the freedom to get an educa-
tion as he or she pleases - provided,
of course, that the person has the
means to pay for it.
At some point between then and
now, universities began admitting
women. It was the way of the future
- the pinnacle of social equality
as we could conceive it. Slowly, the
opportunitiesfor women in education
caught up to the opportunities for
men. Finally, at last, we got the result
we had been waiting for: Between
2005 and 2006, women earned the
majority of post-secondary education
degrees, ranging from associates to
doctorates. Equality at last. (I'll let
you find the flaw in this logic.)
Along the road, the feminist move-
ment grew. Issues of gender became
more apparent and important. This
cultivated the need to study gender.
Out of this need grew women's stud-
ies departments. They began popping
up all over the country. To this day, the
women's studies department here at the
University is alive and well. But what I
fail to understand is what precisely it is
that makes these studies of feminism
and gender the studies of women.
There are a couple of different
ways that we could understand stud-
ies possessed by women. One such
way is that women's studies concen-
trations or courses are open only to
women. But that's simply not true.
I've taken a women's studies course
before. (Well, it was cross-listed as
an English course, but men weren't
barred from taking it.) And my Span-
ish GSI from the spring term is work-
ing toward his graduate degree in
French literature and women's stud-
ies. In any case, if the major or the
courses were open only to women, it
would be a blatant act of sexism and
the University probably would have
seen a lawsuit by now.
Another interpretation might sug-
gest that the studies are exclusively
the studies of women. But this too
doesn't seem accurate when you
consider that past women's studies
courses have discussed men's health.
Then there is another suggestion that
women's studies really means "femi-
nist studies," which really means
"We want to study gender in society."
The influence of gender in soci-
ety is a thoroughly intriguing topic.
And frankly, I'm shocked that it didn't
become a formal topic of study until
recently. But why do we consider gen-
der so exclusively female? Even the
word "feminism," purported to mean
"equality between genders," is rooted
in the feminine. I don't get that. I don't
think the study of gender is inherently
feminine any more than pencils are
inherently masculine because they are
masculine nouns in Spanish grammar.
Not only does this cultural mindset
that only women should be concerned
with issues of gender alienate men,
but it also limits the scope of gender
studies. In a general sense, academia
should be characterized by the idea
of "throw everything at the wall and
see what sticks." That's not to say that
we should take everything at face-
value, but we should at least be open
to new ideas and new perspectives. I
see women's studies as a field that is
closed to that.
In fact, the whole nature of femi-
nism seems closed to it. Sure, on paper,
feminism is defined as an ideology in
support of gender and sex equality, but
in practice, what shapes it? It's shaped
by the National Organization for
Women and women's studies depart-
ments. It's shaped by Meryl Streep's
commencement speech at Barnard
College in which she seemed to insin-
uate that all men are guilty of sexism
but are slowly adapting, and it's "about
time (laughter)." Another example is
Hanna Rosin's article in The Atlan-
tic entitled "The End of Men," which
suggests that women are simply more
adapted to a post-industrial society
and thus are subsequently thriving,
and that's hardly a problem.
What's women
about women's
studies anyway?
Very rarely do you see an organi-
zation that cries foul that men must
conscript to the draft or face fines,
or is outraged by the portrayal of
husbands on sitcoms as idiotic. You
don't hear many people outraged that
girls are consistently outperforming
boys in all levels of education. Fewer
recognize that men work the jobs
that are among the most dangerous.
Instead, they complain of a wage gap
whereby women are earning less than
men per year on average. They con-
tinue to attack the media for the stan-
dards of beauty that are unreasonably
high and impressed upon girls. And
they continue to allow women's stud-
ies, and the idea that an entire demo-
graphic has rights over another to
permeate the fabric of society.
Perhaps in the not too far future in
a not so far away place, we can realize
true equality of the sexes. Of course,
that will never happen if we don't do
something right now. And from the
look of it, no one is going to.
- Eric Szkarlat can be reached
at eszkarla@umich.edu.
0
game, it's the coaches' fault. If the offense is
too complicated for the young players, then the Richard Proctor
coach should teach a less complicated offense The letter-writer is a University alum and pro-
until the players mature, as head coach Jim fessor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin
Tressel of Ohio State University did with his School ofMedicine.
Around Campus: Jeremy Levy would have at least
- I he liked an e-mail from University administration regarding
pod ium its response to Saturday's near-campus shooting.
Go to michigandaily.com/blogs/ The Podium.