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4B - Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Progress makes perfect
This is a big f---ing deal.
- Vice President Joe Biden, congratulating President Barack Obama on the passage
of the health care bill, as reported Tuesday by The Huffington Post.
Thirty-one classes later
A year after the historic election of Presi-
dent Barack Obama, the verdict may still be
out as to whether he's living up to expecta-
tions. But for voters in Michigan, this year's
Election Day marked another important
one-year anniversary - the state's approval
of ballot initiatives legalizing medical mari-
juana and expanding stem cell research.
While these progressive measures were
intended to provide relief for the chroni-
cally ill, they are affecting many residents
of Michigan in positive ways. A year after
their approval, positive developments are
occurring on both the stem cell and medical
marijuana fronts - and Michigan must con-
tinue to be a leader on these issues.
In last year's election, Michigan became
the 13th state to allow certain patients
with specific medical conditions to use
marijuana. With permission from a doctor,
patients gained the legal right to cultivate
and use marijuana to help relieve their
symptoms. But the legalization process has
not been seamless - with some users still
facing unjust legal repercussions - nor has
it provided a method for users to obtain
marijuana short of growing it themselves
or using approved sources. Supporters of
medical marijuana rallied in Lansing in
early October for clear regulations to make
use easier.
In addition to removing legal hurdles to
medical marijuana use, the state govern-
ment needs to make sure it doesn't fall
behind other governing bodies that are
beginning to adopt even more lenient mari-
juana policies. Marijuana usage should be
legal, for medical and non-medical reasons,
and public sentiment is slowly but surely
turning in favor of such a position. Indeed,
supporters in California are preparing to
launch a ballot initiative campaign call-
ing for total legalization. Even the U.S.
Justice Department is is shifting opinion,
announcing last month that federal officials
wouldn't arrest patients following state
laws regarding medicinal marijuana use.
Michigan is ahead of much of the country
in legalizing a safe, already widely practiced
behavior. But the state can do even better.
Michigan should continue to push the enve-
lope, allowing users to obtain marijuana
more easily and eventually aiming for total
legalization.
And while Michigan can be said to be at
the head of the pack on marijuana reform,
the state is even stronger on stem cell
reform. Last year's Proposal 2 lifted restric-
tions on stem cell research, instantly making
Michigan competitive with other states in a
promising field of study that has the poten-
tial to cure diseases and save lives. And as
a sign of the state's progress, Gov. Jennifer
Granholm announced on Oct. 15 that Detroit
would be the site of the 2010 World Stem
Cell Summit. The event will be co-hosted by
the University, Michigan State University,
Wayne State University and the Michigan
Economic Development Corporation.
One year after the passage of these ben-
eficial and progressive amendments, Michi-
gan stands at the forefront of important
social and economic changes. State policy
must continue to push the envelope on these
issues in the years to come.
- Nov. 5.2009
Istare at my cc
plating the p
half years. T
door are both op
cool air rushes
in, carrying
fresh oxygen - a
catalyst for brain
activity.
It was only 31
classes ago that
I was making
the trip to Ann
Arbor, carrying
the essentials
necessary to
live. I was away
from home for
mputer, contem-
ast three-and-a-
he window and
en, so a draft of
TOMMASO
PAVONE
Undsiguised Bigotry
Often, it's best to turn the other cheek in
the face of hateful ignorance. But when hate
speech is extreme and public, it must be con-
fronted. Andrew Shirvell, a University alum
and a current assistant attorney general for
the state of Michigan, has taken aim at the
Michigan Student Assembly President Chris
Armstrong almost exclusively because Arm-
strong is MSA's first openly gay president.
Shirvell's undisguised hatred for members
of the LGBT community has compromised
his ability to serve as a public official. Michi-
gan Attorney General Mike Cox shouldn't
be comfortable employing someone who's
bigotry so clearly has the potential to influ-
ence the work he does on behalf of Michigan
taxpayers. Cox must take decisive action to
respond to Shirvell's hate speech - and his
pro forma slap on the wrist this week isn't
going to cut it.
Shortly after the MSA election in March,
Shirvell launched a campaign against Arm-
strong. Shirvell started his blog, "Chris
Armstrong Watch," in late April. The blog
has railed against what Shirvell calls Arm-
strong's "radical homosexual agenda," as he
put it in his initial Aug. 29 post. The first blog
post also contained a photo of Armstrong
with "Resign" written over his face and a
rainbow flag with a swastika in the middle of
it next to him. Subsequent posts have labeled
Armstrong a liar, an elitist, a racist, a pervert
and a "viciously militant homosexual activ-
ist." Over time, the attacks have expanded
to include several MSA members who work
closely with Armstrong. Recently, Shirvell
has taken to showing up at events at whicb
Armstrong is present.
Though much of Shirvell's tirades are one
step from utter nonsense, his disdain for the
LGBT community is obvious. Shirvell criti-
cizes the LGBT community's push for social
equality in blanket statements that are plain-
ly offensive to everyone. Though offensive,
however, Shirvell's hateful remarks aren't a
threat to campus. The University community
recognizes Shirvell's attacks as what they
really are: the rants of a bigot.
Shirvell's increasingly extreme actions of
discrimination aren't the result of a lapse in
judgment. His behavior does not stem from
immaturity. It stems from hatred. And this
type of hatred makes Shirvell unsuitable to
remain a government official. It will affect
his ability to objectively interpret laws -
which is the job of the attorney general's
office. It's unacceptable that Cox hasn't
dismissed a member of his staff who is so
blatantly bigoted. A finger-wagging won't
change the fact that Cox has a responsibility
to employ a thoughtful staff that will fairly
carry out their jobs on behalf of the citizens
of this state. Shirvell doesn't fit this mold.
Cox shouldn't tolerate such offensive
behavior from someone who is required
to fairly defend the law. A scolding isn't an
acceptable response to the hatred that con-
tinues to be published on Shirvell's blog. Cox
must take serious action. He should remove
Shirvell from his position in the attorney gen-
eral's office.
- Sept. 15, 2010
the first time. Only 31 classes? I
must have taken at least 60 exams
during my time here. Putting it
this way, my college career seems
like an eternity. And yet it flew by
so fast that there was no time to
embed the experience of exams
into memory. All I know is that I
passionately dislike them.
So, I begin to ponder which
moments in time carried an emo-
tional energy strong enough to
make the clock stop for a moment,
to warp the space-time of my per-
ceptions, thus becoming a distinct
memory? Suddenly, images begin to
emerge, like comic book vignettes,
their combined narrative distinctly
disjointed. I begin to realize that
there isn't a single lesson or theme
that encompasses my past experi-
ence. In the words of Italian author
Cesare Pavese, "We do not remem-
ber days; we remember moments."
Eternal damnation
A few weeks ago, I took the time
to observe the religious extremists
that gather at the ofner ofState
Street and North University Ave-
nue on football Saturdays as they
listed the reasons why everyone
was doomed to eternal damnation
unless they changed their ways.
The group is composed of four or
five individuals who rotate between
handing out fliers and scream-
ing their diatribe. Passersby have
learned to ignore the crazy old men,
but occasionally someone momen-
tarily stops and observes them, as
if staring at gorillas delousing each
other at the zoo.
Something catches my eye - a
sign that one of the men is holding,
which claims that "whisperers"
are among the sinners doomed to
receive God's wrath. Suddenly, my
mind is transported to my child-
hood. My mom used to tell me to be
respectfully quiet and to whisper
when we went to the movie theater.
In hindsight, I should have retorted
by shouting, "But I will face eter-
nal damnation if I do as you say,
mommy!"
Amused by this image, I return
to reading the sign. "Well, I'll be
damned!" I exclaim, the irony of
the statement blowing completely
over my head. "Disobeyers of par-
ents," apparently, are also doomed
to eternal damnation.
The young professor
Flashing back six months, I find
myself in an economics class at 10in
the morning. This wasn't the class I
had wanted to take - my preferred
class had been cancelled due to a
professor's illness.
Then the professor enters. I'm
immediately captivated by his
audacity and energy. I also notice
that he's visibly nervous - has
he not taught a class before? It
wouldn't be surprising, given his
apparent youth.
A month later, I'm convinced
that this class is the best I've taken.
I feel bombarded with knowledge
and new insights, courtesy of the
young professor's unyielding wit
and humor.
Two weeks before the conclusion
of class, a friend of mine remarks
that the professor looks unwell.
Indeed, the professor is sweating
profusely and his humor is increas-
ingly infrequent. Then, one day,
the young professor interrupts his
lecture to show us pictures of his
young children. The pause is brief
and I make nothing of it.
The day of the exam, the young
professor doesn't show up to class.
My classmates and I are intensely
worried. Two weeks later, I receive
an e-mail from the professor,
thanking everyone in the class and
apologizing for running out of ener-
gy towards the end of the semester.
"Thankfully, he's recovered," I con-
clude.
Then, one seemingly random
summer day, I receive an e-mail. It's
directed to all students in the eco-
nomics class I had taken with the
young professor. "Sad news," the
e-mail reads.
For a whole week, I cannot shake
away my sense of loss. ISnow realize
that, outside of my grandmother's
and grandfather's deaths when I
was very young, I had never expe-
rienced the death of someone close.
Now that I can rationalize it, I come
to the conclusion that, in this case,
rationality does nothing but make
the experience worse.
Wakingup
A gust of wind blows through
the window and my daydreams
come to an abrupt end. I ask myself
why I always seem to recall the sad
memories first. Given that my years
at the University have been the hap-
piest of my life, I decide it's only fair
to also revisit the happier moments.
It seems impossible to do justice
to the task at hand, recalling the
happiest memories from the happi-
est time of my life - my years as a
Wolverine. Recalling the sad mem-
ories is easy because they are few
and far apart. But by what criterion
am I to distinguish amongst the
golden moments that collectively
make up the past three and a half
years?
As I begin to rewind the tape, I
realize that what has made the dif-
ference is the positive impact from
all the friendships I've made while
at the University.
Breaking out of the shell
During my sophomore year, I
realized the extent to which liv-
ing in Baits II housing the previous
year - as a non-engineering stu-
dent - had deprived me of the col-
lege experience. I never attended a
football game, I never went to par-
ties, I hadn't consumed a drop of
alcohol and I spent most of my Fri-
day nights writing essays.
The transition started with John
Hurlahe, a charismatic kid from
Frankenmuth, Mich., - a town I
was only aware of thanks to Bron-
ner's Christmas Wonderland, the
world's largest Christmas store.
We had begun studying together
for our economics classes, and
it seemed that by October, there
wasn't a day that went by where I
didn't see John for lunch or dinner.
And soon it wasn't just John,
it was also Ryn Kartje, John's
neighbor, hailing from the little
town of Milan, Mich. It was Alex
O'Dell, John's roommate, whose
mind was in a constant state of
creative stream of consciousness.
It was Orfeh Vahabzadeh, Alex's
girlfriend, simultaneously brilliant
and hilarious. It was the entire
Frankenmuth gang, along with a
light sprinkling of natives from my
hometown of Troy who had also
been engulfed by the group's mag-
netism.
By December, I had attended
several concerts. I made the hor-
rible choice of going to one while
wearing a ridiculous turtle-neck -
shoot me now and forgive me later.
I also had my first drink. "Yup, Ican
definitely feel it!" I exclaimed in all
my pathetic "lightweightness" after
several sips of a Mike's Hard Lem-
onade. I finally bought football sea-
son tickets and expanded my social
circle at an unprecedented rate.
The experiences
that have defined
my time at the 'U.'
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They say that you don't realize
what you have until it's no longer
there. But my sophomore year was
the exact opposite - I didn't real-
ize what Ihad missed until good ol'
John and his gang danced their way
into my life, adding color wherever
black and white had been the rule.
Branching out
By junior year two new social
spheres emerged: my fellow incom-
ing classmates at the Ford School
of Public Policy, and my resident
advisors, community assistants and
ResStaff colleagues in Stockwell
Hall.
The Ford School crew - a driven
community of scholars who will be
doing great things in high places
while I will likely still be finish-
ing my dissertation - provided
constant intellectual stimuli. My
Stockwell friends - a group of
socially aware and service-minded
individuals who'll offer you sup-
port when you most need it - chal-
lenged me to embrace social justice
and to challenge the status quo.
And so it was that by the time my
junior year was over, I felt like I had
changed more in three years than I
had over my entire lifetime prior to
coming to the University.
Finally, I would be remiss if I
didn't mention the great relation-
ships I've had with my professors.
I was lucky enough to get to know
some brilliant scholars who cared
deeply about their students and
their individual interests. I attend-
ed conferences with them, chatted
with them about life over coffee
and received invaluable advice
from them regarding graduate
school. It goes without saying that
it's because I respect my professors
that I'm pursuing a career path in
academia.
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Ditch the fish
Fish rarely seem like an aggressive adver-
sary. 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.
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.
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.
By signing the bill into law, Obama hasan
opportunity to protect the Great Lakes econ-
omy and environment by finally responding
to the very real threat that the Asian carp
pose.
- Dec. 5, 2010
The final statement
Despite my decision to attend the
University because of its academic
prestige, my Michigan years have
been defined by positive relation-
ships. The friends I've made here
have been an unwavering source of
support and have constantly chal-
lenged me to become a better person.
To my Michigan family, thank
you for shining happiness into my
life. I hope, in my own way, that I
have held up a mirror and reflected
some of it back.
- This column originally
ran on Nov. 15, 2010.
SIMON BORST
E-MAIL SIMONAt SIMKA(@UMICH.EIDU
IMON 6lo
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