4A - Wednesday, March 9, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4C iidtigan 4:at'6, Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com Finals week exists for a reason QJ STEPHANIE STEINBERG EDITOR IN CHIEF MICHELLE DEWITT and EMILY ORLEY EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS KYLE SWANSON 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. FROM T HE DAILY Prioritize emergencies Detroit needs to speed up ambulance responses Detroit man died of a heart attack while waiting for an ambu- lance to arrive. Relatives called 9-1-1 multiple times, but an ambulance never came last August. Slow response times for ambulances in Detroit are placing citizens in life-threatening situ- ations. In January, a plan was put into place to decrease response times, but thus far, the results have been minimal. The city of Detroit needs to re-examine its plan for dispatching emergency responders in order to ensure that everyone can receive medical help. know spring break just ended, and I know we still have Dance Marathon, Detroit Partnership Day and Relay for Life between now and the end of the year, but it's already time to start thinking about final exams.F Yes, although six weeks full of JEFF better weather WOJCIK and exciting post-season basketball exists between us and the end of classes, final exams are going to be here sooner than we would like. A lucky few of us will have better exam schedules than the rest, but uniting us in those last days before summer is the knowl- edge that each of us has suffered through a particularly difficult two or three days of final exams, papers and projects at some point (or several points) in our time at the University. This can be frus- trating because while we should expect our courses to be academi- cally challenging, we should also enjoy an academic timeline that allows us all to finish our courses successfully. The University needs to better enforce a policy that demands faculty and staff to hold final exams during the regularly scheduled examination window and amend how non-final exams are administered in the last week of classes. Toward the end of each semes- ter, the University encourages fac- ulty and staff to hold their final exams during each course's regu- larly scheduled examination peri- od. While I applaud the provost's attempts to hold faculty to the exam schedule, the problem hasn't been resolved - instructors aren't mov- ing their exams to when they are supposed to be held. As I have said in previous columns, we have great faculty and staff teaching excellent courses, but their course's sched- ule can be altered to suit their own needs, with the cost of stressing out some students. This is problematic for a number of reasons. Most notably, holding exams in the last week of classes doesn't afford students as much time to prepare for their exams. The exam- ination period following the last day of class is designed to provide students with adequate time to do so. With classes, student organi- zation work, course registration, major events and other things occurring the last days of class, it can be difficult to find time to study for each exam outside the allotted exam period. Second, students who have in-class exams on the last day of their class may have multiple exams on that same day, further preventing them from. performing their best to conclude each semes- ter. This issue would be resolved if all exams were held during the scheduled period because exams are better spread out, and students can petition the University to move exams in the exceptional case a stu- dent has several on the same day. Some undergraduates will dis- agree with this. International stu- dents and others with expensive travel costs probably enjoy complet- ing their exams early to allow for longer breaks. Plane trips are pric- ey and exhausting, and the more time students can spend with their family and friends back home, the more their breaks are cost effective and enjoyable. Moreover, in-state and out-of-state students actually e-mail professors, requesting final exams be moved to lengthen their breaks or begin their summers early. Though I love having a few more days for Christmas shopping and time with family during winter break, I think all of us would pre- fer performing better on our finals, eN he w fr de to th ven if it means less time relaxing at ome or vacationing elsewhere. So hile I appreciate the logic behind 'out-loading exams, I implore stu- ents who enjoy taking finals early recognize the benefits of taking sem during the exam period. Front-loading exams isn't fair to students. Some instructors offer non- cumulative exams in the final week of class and contend that their exam need not be held in the final exam period. For those faculty and staff who are committed to holding these non-final exams in the last week of classes, students should be given the option to take the last exam either the day the instructor wishes to hold the exam or during the course's scheduled final exam period. Giving students choices is always helpful, and providing two dates allows them to have better control of their academic calendars. Ultimately, we need a policy that allows all students to achieve suc- cess in their courses. This means accommodating students who wish to be done a week early when pos- sible, but more importantly, afford- ing students crucially needed study time after an assuredly challeng- ing semester. While some students may benefit from moving exams to the last day of class, all of us benefit from having enough time to fully prepare for each exam, revise each paper and complete each project. The University should ensure we have this time. -Jeff Wojcik is the LSA-SG Academic Relations Officer. He can be reached at jawojcik@umich.edu. " " According to several articles from The Detroit News, the average response time for a city ambulance is 12 minutes - four min- utes longer than the eight-minute national average. Many citizens estimate that ambu- lances can take up to 20 minutes to arrive. In certain situations, this additional time may be the difference between life and death. The city has restructured the system to address citizens' concerns. The main fea- ture of the overhaul introduces a tiered response system, which immediately dis- patches a basic ambulance and then sends a more advanced one if that is deemed nec- essary. Additionally, Detroit replaced eight of its older, advanced ambulance units with new, less-equipped basic life units. Accord- ing to a March 4 Detroit News article, Dep- uty Mayor Saul Green said "the changes will allow the city's EMS system to improve its average response time by 15 percent with the ultimate goal of meeting the national aver- age." Other changes include two proposed ordinances. The first alters the policy requir- ing dispatchers to respond to each call. This change means dispatchers can prioritize responses based on need and urgency, ensur- ing that the people in the direst need get care first. The second ordinance imposes a fine on business owners who exceed an allotted number of false alarms. While these changes seem promising, the city has yet to see positive results. The tiered response system went into effect more than a month ago, yet people in Detroit still have to endure long wait times. According to a March 4 MLive.com article, an older man suffering from a stroke had to wait 45 min- utes for an ambulance last week. This isn't an improvement. The reasons for the slow response times are inefficiency and a lack of resources. While the tiered system is a start, it isn't being correctly executed. The new tiered system employed in Detroit isn't akin to that in other states where a basic ambulance is sent first and then, if necessary, an advanced unit is sent. In Detroit, cases are prioritized, and only one ambulance is sent due to lack of resources. With outdated software, distinguish- ing between priority cases and non-priority cases is increasingly difficult. Thus, many individuals who call for help are simply not receiving it. Add to this mess broken equip- ment, cuts inafunding and inefficient policy, and there's bound to be confusion. Emergen- cy responders should be acting with a sense of urgency, and the current system doesn't properly address emergencies. Detroit needs to re-examine the new plan, and make changes that actually improve services. 0i --t he Seeing Red: Kylie Kagen wonders if Donald Trump is a legitimate candidate for the 2012 presidential election. pUGo to michigandaily.com/blogs/The Podium SETH SODERBORG I 0' EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Aida Ali, Will Butler, Ellie Chessen, Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshainmer, Melanie KruvelisePatrick Maillet, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Emily Orley, Harsha Panduranga, Teddy Papes, Asa Smith, Seth Soderborg, Andrew Weiner All guns were not created equal SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@MICHIGANDAILY.COM America needs to withdraw troops from Afghanistan rapid pullout of, thing currently p and Pentagon. TI cent of Democrats and, for the first TO THE DAILY: cans - 61 percent. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) wrote in The Sen. Levin sho Washington Post on March 4 that the major- demand ofAmeri ity of American people support his plan to war and invest o keep spending taxes on the Karzai regime and ture and service army in Kabul. He refuses to seta deadline for tion at home. Dip American troop withdrawals. The total pro- Afghanistan, not jected direct and indirect costs for Afghani- 378,000 by the en stan are $1 trillion, funds that could be used ly to fall just as I to address job creation and budget crises at unless there is a3 home. that includes pow Many Americans may support the notion guarantees. But S of building up the army of a client state like Senate legislation Afghanistan, as we did long ago in South strategy from the Vietnam. But Sen. Levin's op-ed piece, co- an explicit deadli: authored with Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rn) fails to acknowledge that a recent Gallup Poll shows Tom Hayden that 72 percent of all Americans favor a more Univserity Alum American troops than any- roposed by the White House hat number includes 86 per- s, 72 percent of Independents time, a majority of Republi- ould heed the overwhelming cans to leave this decade-long ur tax dollars in infrastruc- s like policing and educa- lomacy is the urgent need in funding an Afghan army of d of 2012. That army is like- happened in South Vietnam negotiated peace settlement 'er-sharing and international en. Levin refused to vote for nlast year calling for an exit Obama administration with ne for withdrawal. I like guns. They're loud, put me in touch with brash masculinity and make me feel like I'm living on the edge. Does this mean I should be able buy instruments of mass murder? The debate over the role of guns in our society is structured around two principle argu- ments. One holds that public safety is best served by limiting the number of people with access to lethal force. The other connects gun ownership to a tradi- tion of American individualism, arguing that the right to own guns should be protected. These ideas are not mutually exclusive - anyone who believes it's ok for private citizens to own hunting rifles but not machine guns has found a middle ground. Unfortunately, over the past few years, highly-vocal extremists have man- aged to confuse many Americans into thinking that responsible gun laws are attacks on the freedom to bear firearms. There are many different kinds of guns. A sensible debate about guns must begin with that. I first learned to shoot with small rifles and shotguns that had to be reloaded after each shot. Jared Loughner, the Arizona man accused of killing six people and wounding Unit- ed States Rep. Gabriel Giffords, used a totally different weapon. His gun, the Glock 19, is small - seven inches long and five inches tall - and can easily be concealed under clothing. Loaded, it weighs two pounds - not much more than a Nerf pistol. The Glock is a.semiau- tomatic weapon, meaning that it shoots as fast as you can pull the trigger. Recent changes to federal firearms laws allow gun owners to purchase ammunition clips with huge capacities - Loughner's Glock was loaded with 33 rounds. The FBI estimates that a novice shoot- er with such a weapon can fire three shots in less than one second - or 20 shots in about six seconds. Four years ago, Seung-Hui Cho used a Glock 19 to kill 33 people and wound 25 others at Virgina Tech. It's shocking that the same weapon was available for Loughner to buy. It's a sign of a deeply flawed set of gun laws that after two of the grisliest spectacles of mass violence in the U.S., the weapon used to commit them is still available in stores. Glock sales actually increased in the days after the Giffords shooting. Consider the implications of letting people purchase - at Wal-Mart - weapons capable of spraying dozens of bullets in a few seconds. Are we more or less safe when, for $460, almost anyone can legally buya quick- firing, concealable weapon loaded with dozens of bul- lets? The presence of semiautomatic pistols with extend- ed animunition clips on the streets does not make you, me or society as a whole any safer. In fact, it puts us in danger. The New York Police Department, the U.S. Border Patrol and thousands of other law enforcement agencies arm their officers with Glocks. When almost anyone can carry the same weapons as the police, the police are in danger of being outgunned every time they respond to a call. Many believe that handguns are an important form of personal protection. For this reason, we must dis- tinguish between different kinds of guns. In the hands of a responsible owner, a small revolver with six bul- lets is enough to stop almost any crime. In the hands of a criminal, this kind of weapon is far less dangerous than a Glock. Common-sense restrictions on weapons like the Glock won't keep law-abiding citizens from defending themselves. Some have suggested that an armed citizen can stop a lone gunman before he does serious harm. There was one such person at the Safeway where Loughner's attack took place - this citizen nearly shot the man who had wrestled away Loughner's gun. Most incidents of mass murder in the U.S. involve handguns. Right now, handgun laws make it possible for almost anyone who hasn't been convicted of a felony to buy easy-to-hide handguns that can quickly take dozens of lives. The question of whether Ameri- cans should be allowed to buy Glocks - or guns like them - is very different from the question of whether Americans should have guns. All guns are dangerous, but only some pose a threat to society. The shootings in Tuscan, Ariz. and at Virginia Tech prove that semi- automatic pistols like the Glock are too dangerous to be sold to private citizens. Responsible gun owners should recognize that danger and join with others to change weak laws that have cost hundreds of people their lives. 0 SIMON BORST E-MAIL. SIMON AT SIMKAL@ UMICH.E)U . '-1W Seth Soderborg is an LSA junior. 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. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@michigandaily.com 0 a