4 - Tuesday, January 11, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom E-MAIL ELAINE AT EMORT@UMICH.EDU 1E CIt44an 4 a Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com ELAINE MORTON STEPHANIE STEINBERG EDITOR IN CHIEF MICHELLE DEWITT and EMILY ORLEY EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS KYLE SWANSON MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position oftthe Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. Wasting precious time Attempts to repeal health care reform are pointless he new Republican-led United States House of Represen- tatives has taken office and kicked the year off by wasting as much time as the old House did. Plans had been made for a House vote tomorrow to repeal President Barack Obama's health care reform law. The vote - along with other action on legislation - has been postponed this week in light of Saturday's attack on Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords. While this is. the appropriate thing to do for the time being, the vote on this par- ticular piece of legislation needs to be postponed indefinitely. The U.S. Senate has vowed to derail any House efforts to repeal health care reform, so this is merely a symbolic and time wasting gesture. Representatives need to compromise on legislation and do what is in the best interest of their constituents. (ezo'l -iTho my lfe.iidrecsios } e4yoll wr re K-frt- kcosc r my iA r i . "o oe . ' re adr 3 had nto spbt -art #is- f i be res porsi be. 1AN Ar h L n-ntd siV jcUi A I5IA ,q build up4yourttC 01 '. mat~aft F you, Son- na-sd p- v ideo'34-for lesprosu. 'C " s-vii' t-an J Vscbie.t'jair - ->o Problems at the printer A t the end of last semester, I There are a couple of ways this sys- pages that Isprinted in color for a proj- got an e-mail from the won- tem gyps us. First, even if students ect. If the University wants to deal derful people at University print on both sides of a single sheet of with ink costs, they could count color Information and paper, it counts as two pages of their printing as two pages worth of a stu- Technology Ser- allotment. The logic behind that is dent's printing allotment - or what- vices. The e-mail probably that the printing allotment ever the monetary equivalentis. kindly informed is really meant to manage the amount Printing allotments should also roll me that I had used - of ink that goes onto a page, not really over. For example, I took a class one up half my print- the amount of paper used. Paper is a semester in which I had to print out ing allotment for considerable coston a campusof about all my readings from CTools. My pro- the semester. Since 26,000 undergraduates, but ink car- fessor and GSI were quite insistent. it was the Tuesday tridges are much more expensive. That semester, I blew through half after classes ended That's why color pages aren't my allotment in about one month. If when I received RACHEL included in the printing allotment. the University had roll over printing, I that e-mail, IVAN GILDER It's an extra $0.35 to print a page on a would've had abouts00 pages left from wasn't too con- color printer - even if that page only previous semesters to use. This would cerned. has black and white text. That extra ensure that students get to use every Then I started cost is charged to students' accounts. single page which they are entitled. thinking that in my three and a half But the biggest rip off is that stu- years at the University, this is only the dents' printing allotment doesn't roll second time I've gotten that e-mail, over. At the end of. each semester, Printing doesn't I'm pretty sure I'm getting ripped students lose whatever pages they off haven't used. My tuition must pay forgiesu nt th r Most students get a measly 400 my printing in some way - tuition pages worth of printing each semes- money goes into the general fund, money's ter, according to the ITS website. Stu- which pays for operating costs. I'm Y Worth. dents in the College of Engineering paying for 400 pages per semester, are allowed to print 2,000 pages each and I'm barely using half of them. semester if they use a computer con- This isn't a good system. The Uni- nected to the University's Computer versity says it is committed to going But not every student will use up Aided Engineering Network (more green - the Planet Blue program all their pages - in fact, I bet.fairly commonly known at CAEN). being implemented in select build- few students ever use up all 400 I've heard some students say that ings and campus recycling initiatives pages every single semester. Students their 400 pages aren't nearly enough, are evidence of this. Printing duplex should get reimbursed for pages they but it's actually a fair amount consid- is certainly more environmentally- don't use at the end of their college ering that we live in an increasingly friendly than printing single-sided, career. This way, students would only digital world. Professors often allow but the University doesn't offer stu- be paying for what they actually use. laptops in the classroom so that stu- dents any incentive to do this. Duplex The University isn't giving stu- dents don't have to print readings printing should count as a single page dents their money's worth, The Uni- and lecture slides off CTools. Some - or perhaps as one and a half if the versity should overhaul its system of even allow students to submit papers University needs to consider the cost printing allotment to give students via e-mail. So the number of pages of ink. what they're paying for. allotted is reasonable. What's unrea- It's also outrageous that even sonable is the way that the Univer- thoughI had about 200 pages remain- - Rachel Van Gilder was the Daily's sity counts those pages and the way it ing in my allotment last semester, I editorial page editor in 2010. She can makes students pay for them. had to pay an extra $0.70 for the two be reached at rachelvg@umich.edu. Want to be an opinion cartoonist? The Daily is looking for creative, artistic and opinionated people to draw weekly cartoons. E-MAIL EMILY ORLEY AT EHORLEY@MICHIGANDAILY.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION. 0 Last week, the 112th Congress began its work under new Republican leader- ship. This work began by reading the entire United States Constitution aloud. The reading came a day after the chamber approved new rules for passing legislation. The first requires bills that feature spend- ing increases must balance these increases with spending cuts in another part of the budget. The second states that tax hikes are prohibited. The third requires the specification of which part of the Consti- tution validates the bill. The new Republi- can leadership has also scheduled a vote to repeal the health care reform bill, but the new date of this vote has yet to be deter- mined. Conservatives were able to take con- trol of the House in November's mid term elections by campaigning on a platform of change. Many representatives asserted that they wanted to change the way Congress. operated and make it more efficient. But all we've seen so far are grand, pointless ges- tures. Taking the time to read aloud a docu- ment that all legislators should already be well versed in is exactly that: a grand, point- less gesture. It doesn't accomplish anything for the voters who put these people in office. The vote to repeal health care reform, also accomplishes nothing since it has no chance of making it past the Senate. Instead of arbi- trarily asserting their power over House Democrats, House Republicans should compromise and pass legislation to modify the health care law. Repealing last year's health care law would actually increase the budget deficit, according to the non-partisan Congres- sional Budget Office. It would also deprive 30 million Americans of health insurance. The law hasn't been fully enacted and needs to be given time to work. If congressional Republicans want to address their concerns with health care reform they should do it in a way that actually has the opportunity to make positive change. Now that they are a majority in the House, Republicans must commit to governing. If they wish to lead this country responsibly, Republicans must begin by changing House spending rules and stop wasting time with meaningless votes. After one week in office, they have shown themselves more inter- ested in political theater than responsible governance. Republicans need to make an honest effort to keep their campaign prom- ises to voters by making Congress more efficient and reasonably addressing serious legislative issues. S EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Aida Ali, Will Butler, Eaghan Davis, Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshammer, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Emily Orley, Harsha Panduranga, Teddy Papes, Roger Sauerhaft, Seth Soderborg, Andrew Weiner TEDDY PAPES j Circumventing circumcision Drop New Year's diets I've got a new sibling on the way who is due in a few months. Along with the many experi- ences I want to pass along to my sibling, there are also a few I wish to shield it from. Should he be a boy, the most immediate and foreboding offense that I must fend off is the circumcision. Mutilated at birth without any say in the matter, my parents had the doctor abbreviate my penis. What I'm left with is what I assume to be a "normal"-looking organ, but as you can imagine, I'm totally ungrateful. The most important issue to me is the decrease in physi- cal pleasure. Apparently there are some major nerve endings in the foreskin, and, allegedly, that sexual pleasure is significantly decreased when the skin is removed. It's like-that old say- ing, "IfI had a penny for every time ..." If I had foreskin for every sexual encounter ... well, my sex life would be a lot better. On top of that, there's a practical reason to have a foreskin - a skin shield on one of the most important biological organs seems like a good idea. According to healthychildren.org "Without (the foreskin) the tip of the penis may become irritated and cause the opening of the penis to become too small. This can cause urination problems that may need to be surgi- cally corrected." Fortunately no terrible medi- cal incidents have befallen my penis because of circumcision, but that's not always the case. There's the famous David Reimer of the "John/Joan Case" who had his penis destroyed during circumcision - and he isn't the excep- tion. While the issues aren't always as extreme, the American Medical Association says that complications arise during 0.2 to 0.6 percent of neonatal circumcisions, and the rates are much higher in non-developed nations. The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and The British Medi- cal Association don't recommend routine, non- therapeutic circumcision for males. This procedure also produces a severe amount of pain for weeks on end. I remember my brother's circumcision soon after birth. As you can imagine, it was a grueling healing pro- cess. Though babies don't remember their pain, this doesn't excuse the infliction. The other problem with circumcision is the total lack of consideration of a child's rights. I obviously regret that I was circumcised. Had the decision been left up to me, I would have kept my body intact. But if aboy is not circum- cised, he can always choose to be circumcised at a later age. If there's a health issue, it might be necessary for parents to make a decision on behalf of their child, but if cosmetic, the deci- sion should be left up to the child. We shouldn't let parents tattoo and cut up their child's geni- talia because it's the prevailing societal trend. In the U.S. there seems to be a social taboo against the natural penis. It's anecdotal, but I personally have heard girls voice complaints about the uncut penis. Is this any differ- ent than men in Mauritania suggesting that women undergo female circumcision? One might prefer it, but in an attempt to reverse a backward social trend, people should encour- age the abstention from circumcision and open their sensibilities to less mutilated genitalia. About 56 percent of infants born in the U.S. are circumcised and the rate is much lower in Europe and Australia - where they've begun to abandon the procedure. Unfortunately reli- gion plays a large role in the world, and cir- cumcision is a common practice among Jews and Muslims due to religious traditions. This is no excuse and religion shouldn't be a mask to hide behind child abuse or any other detri- mental activity. Circumcision is a total viola- tion of rights, and religious tradition shouldn't be the influential force that decides the fate of the penis. If circumcision were necessary, it might be acceptable, but in most cases there is no sig- nificant advantage to the procedure. There are some therapeutic reasons to circumcise a boy - like phimosis - where the foreskin is too tight and is difficult to retract, but this is a rare occurrence. Other benefits of circumcision are minor and achievable through responsible health practices. For example, circumcision can slightly lower the risk of HIV and the chance of infantile urinary tract infections, but proper hygiene and the practice of safe sex make permanent mutilation of the male sex organ totally unnecessary. If a male truly wants a circumcision, then it should be granted, but to circumcise an infant at birth - for cosmetic or social reasons - is totally inexcusable. One day, maybe, all men will have the penises they were born with. Teddy Papes is an LSA junior. it's that time of year again - early January - which for many also means that it's time for yet another attempt to lose weight. Every year as January approaches, I get more and more e-mails about how to lose that weight gained or, even more improb- ably, how to lose 15 pounds pain- MARY lessly. Typical tips DEMERY include taking only one bite of that really delicious cookie, or exercising like a maniac five days a week. Few e-mails suggest that I enjoy what I eat, or that I treat meals like what they actually are - meals, not heightened experiences and certainly not cause for hinging or purging. As a regular reader of fitness and health-oriented magazines and web- sites, I've come to accept the constant barrage of weight loss tips and tricks. Like it or not, they're embedded in my psyche. I know, for instance, that 3,500 calories equals one pound. Likewise, blueberries and green tea are "super foods" and should be con- sumed as often as possible for their bountiful health benefits. These are dietary tidbits that, in accepting them, I've stored away. I've also accepted that though these weight loss tips are ever changing, the overall message of the fitness magazines doesn't change. Weight loss remains, issue after issue, the main selling point. And though this message isn't the greatest for readers' self-esteem, magazines like Self and Shape retain subscribers year after year. The per- manence of these magazines reflects the steady interest American women have in losing weight and a collective desire to lead a healthy lifestyle. The New Year's weight loss dilem- ma remains. Why, during the begin- ning of a new year, must weight loss be an issue? Why isn't it possible to flip through Self without seeing a rec- ipe for low-calorie dinners? Do peo- ple really gain that much weight over the holidays? It seems unlikely to me. And even if some people do gain a few pounds, I'd argue that fitness maga- zines contribute to the feeding frenzy the holiday season is so often associ- ated with. By berating readers with weight loss tips, fitness magazines are (subconsciously or not) telling readers that weight gain during this season is a common occurrence. For me personally, this makes me more inclined to over eat. I rationalize it - it's the holidays. I'm supposed to eat until I'm stuffed. I put off the serious thoughts about weight loss until after New Year's, telling myself that this will be the year I actually make los- ing weight a serious resolution. I didn't ajways think this way. The family Christmas party used to be a time when I saw my family from out-of-state, and the food just hap- pened to be really good. Now, though, the holidays are all about food to me. It can be a bit of a minefield. I want to enjoy all the hors d'oeuvres, the mashed potatoes and the sweets. But I also don'twantto gain weight. Fitness magazines, with all their hype about how to offset holiday weight gain and jumpstart weight loss resolutions, make it seem impossible to do both. The New Year's weight loss hype has gotten so frustrating that I've had to take a break from health web- sites and magazines. When I see an issue of Women's Health Magazine at the drugstore during this time of year, I pass it up, choosing Vanity Fair instead. At least I know Graydon Cart- er won't assault me with diet tips. I'm trying something new this year. It's sort of an anti-New Year's resolution. I'm not going to diet my way through next December, nor am I going to eat so many cookies that my stomach starts to swell up like Santa's. Instead, I'm going to do what I should have been doing all along, which includes thoroughly enjoying each meal - realizing that it's only that: one meal. It isn't magical. It won't make me miraculously gain or lose five pounds. This rational men- tality will serve as a practice run for something I'd like to start implement- ing full time in 2011: eating when I'm hungry without guilt. This year I'm trying an anti-New Year's resolution. This all sounds deceivingly easy. But ask anyone that's felt stuffed after a few too many servings of turkey, and you'll know that it's not. And it's OK to eat a little more on the holidays than you would usually. But doing so isn't cause for panic. In choosing to not associate the holidays with food and food with guilt, it's easier to stop thinking about weight gain. After all, good food is a major part of the holidays, but it shouldn't be the only part. It shouldn't be a powerful part. Thinking about food this way makes it easier to resist the pressure to make losing weight one of your resolutions. Food can only cause guilt if you let it. - Mary Demery can be reached at mdemery@umich.edu. 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. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.