4 - Tuesday, October 11, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4 - Tuesday, October 11, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom b MidiganEaihU Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com Abortion is not genocide 4 STEPHANIE STEINBERG EDITOR IN CHIEF MICHELLE DEWITT and EMILY ORLEY EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS NICK SPAR 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. Invest in innovation New initiative is beneficial to 'U' and community University President Mary Sue Coleman has been in a giving mood lately. A week after outlining a $14 million plan to fund sustainability projects on campus, Coleman announced that the University will implement another initiative - direct investment in start-ups created by University faculty members. Investing in on- campus start-ups demonstrates the University's economic and moral support for its employees, and the project should be expanded to all members of the University community. Before I get to the spectacle that was the two daylong abortion-is-genocide extrav-° aganza held on the Diag last week, let's talk about the impot- tance of the words we choose. The word lp "genocide" is a relatively recent construct, draw- DANIEL ing from the CHARDELL Greek genos for "race, kind" and the Latin -cide for "killer." We owe many thanks to a man named Raphael Lemkin for coining this term and, more importantly, for his pioneering advocacy of interna- tional legislation to address and pre- vent it. As a Polish Jew and scholar of international law, Lemkin's stud- ies assumed much more personal significance when he witnessed Hitler invade Poland, demonize his religion and murder his family on the grounds of a twisted theory of racial superiority. Surviving World War II, Lem- kin emerged as a leading proponent of a legally binding international agreement prohibiting genocide. In 1948 the nascent United Nations unanimously adopted the landmark Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Geno- cide - the product of Lemkin's activ- ism and a triumph for untold millions of victims. Labeling abortion "genocide" is wrong. That's not my opinion - it's etymological fact. Lemkin arrived at the term genocide precisely because its roots, genos and -cide, capture the nature of the events that he sought to illustrate: the purposeful extermina- tion of an ethnic group. In Lemkin's lifetime, this meant Armenians and Jews. Over the next several decades, that list of victims would tragically come to include Muslims in Bosnia, Tutsis in Rwanda, East Timorese under Indonesian occupation and other groups victimized for their shared heritage, common social iden- tity orexpressed beliefs. Sorry, but fetuses don't qualify. The pro-life supporters on the Diag were only aware of the histori- cal implications of the word "geno- cide" in the most superficial and distorted ways. I say this not as a lib- eral (which Iam) who disagrees with their extreme political stance (which I do), but as someone who stood on the Diag for nearly two hours speak- ing with the event's organizers as I tried to figure out how they could possibly justify equating abortion with Nazism. Needless to say,' I wasn't con- vinced. After telling the activists on the Diag that I'm Jewish, I asked if my being pro-choice meant that I'm the contemporary equivalent of a Nazi. "No," they said, "of course not!" Why, then, were there pictures of aborted- fetuses placed alongside photographs of emaciated Jews? Why was there a swastika strategi- cally placed at the top of a sign read- ing, "Can you connect the dots?" Why, Students for Life, was this sensationalist scare tactic the best way to convey your pro-life mes- sage? Suggesting that your peers are complicit in genocide isn't exactly the best way to start what Michi- gan Daily columnist Harsha Nahata aptly calls "meaningful debates." Last week's display was anything but meaningful. It was insulting - no matter how you spin it. Carmen Allen, president of Stu- dents for Life, defends her organiza- tion's decision to bring the Genocide Awareness Project to campus by claiming that students at the Univer- sity are apathetic toward the issue of abortion. That's avalid point. But you know what else student's are apathetic about? The socioeco- nomic inequalities and campaigns of misinformation that exacerbate the number of unwanted pregnancies in the United States. One of the repre- sentatives from the Genocide Aware- ness Project tried to convince me that abstinence should be taught as the best way to minimize unwanted pregnancies. If teenagers didn't have hormones, that might be true. But let's takes look atthe facts. Texas Gov. Rick Perry champi- ons abstinence-only sex education. According to a 2009 study issued by the Texas Freedom Network, 94 percent of Texas school districts give students no sex education beyond abstinence. How well has abstinence-only sex ed worked? The Guttmacher Institute reported in 2010 that Texas has the highest teen birth rate and the fourth-highest teen pregnancy rate in the country. Clearly, Mr. Perry, the young people of Texas aren't buying it. Don't sacrifice decency for shock value. This matters. Let's get at the source of the problem - unwanted pregnancies. UnfortunatelyStudents for Life doesn't seem to understand that abortion is the consequence of a much larger societal issue - one that's perpetuated by extreme right- wing politicians who are all too eager to pander to their base and unjustifi- ably defund Planned Parenthood. (By the way, only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood's services are abortion- related.) Rather than draw attention to underlying social issues and the failures of abstinence-only sex ed, Students for Life has resorted to an easier approach: calling anyone with whom they disagree a Nazi. Students for Life, you're contrib- uting directly to the erosion of our discourse (and your own credibility) by giving a platform to a reactionary, fear-mongering, historically insensi- tive group that's willing to exploit and cheapen genocide for the sake of its own highly politicized cause. You're free to invite whoever you'd like to campus. That's a right to which you're entitled. But don't sac- rifice decency for shock value. -Daniel Chardell can be reached at chardell@umich.edu. 4 4 Through an initiative called the Michigan Investment in New Technology Startups - referred to as MINTS - the University could invest up to $500,000 in any start-up formed by a faculty member. To be eligible for fund- ing, a project must first receive funding from an independent venture capital firm. Over the next decade, the University projects that it could award up to $25 million through the initiative. The plan perpetuates the University's status as a leader in innovation. In the last fiscal year, University faculty filed 122 patents and 101 licenses. Faculty have also launched about 10 companies a year in the past decade. Similar to other investments, the University will obtain a monetary return once a company becomes profitable. But unlike other invest- ments, the University is entitled to say it is home to innovative and successful research- ers, and it played an active role in helping these individuals succeed. Inventors and entrepre- neurs make an important decision about their professional careers when they decide to work at the University, and this initiative indicates that work is appreciated. Universities often invest in the most profit- able ventures, many of which are not campus- grown or even in the university's home state. Money for MINTS is coming from the Uni- versity's endowment. However, it is money that is being reallocated to help "(diversify) our assets," according to Coleman. Though there is no guarantee all the start-ups the University invests in will generate revenue, it's necessary the University demonstrates its support for its community. Some universities have received large returns from profitable, campus-grown com- panies without directly investing in them. However, these universities tend to be locat- ed near places like California's Silicon valley and Boston's Route 128, where lucrative firms invest in local start-ups. Working in a city that isn't flourishing financially makes it more dif- ficult for start-ups to get off the ground. Given Ann Arbor's geographic location and Michigan's slow recovery from the recent economic downturn, start-ups at the Uni- versity may have difficulty finding investors. It's imperative the University lends a hand. Should these start-ups become profitable, they will likely keep and attract talent in the state, hire local workers and contribute to Michi- gan's economy. However, faculty members aren't the only people on campus executing new and creative concepts. When the University begins to see returns on this investment, Coleman must carry out her proposal to offer funding to stu- dent start-ups as well. The University's plan to grant funds to start-ups is a great way to encourage new ideas and local investment, and it should continue to expand this initiative. 4 0 EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Aida Ali, Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshammer, Patrick Maillet, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Emily Orley, Teddy Papes, Timothy Rabb, Seth Soderborg, Andrew Weiner VANESSA RYCHLINSKI I Protect historical houses Occupy Wall St. is raising hell When I worked as a canvasser for a non- profit two summers ago, I was assigned a neighborhood in Ann Arbor's historic Old West Side. Traversing on foot to make cold calls at strangers' doors was often a trying task. I was thankful, however, that I wasn't stuck in typical suburbia - I was consistently amazed at the variety of the houses and the creativity of their owners. In September 2009, the Ann Arbor City Council approved City Place, a project that would demolish seven century-old houses on S. Fifth Street to make way for a set of two-block apartment buildings containing24 units, com- plete with a 36 space surface parking lot. The proposal was in line with city regulations and a refusal from City Council could've resulted in a lawsuit. Knowing the unpopularity of his project, developer Alex de Parry tried to compromise later in that same year by bringing forward a new venture for the same area called Heritage Row. Heritage Row not only kept the seven houses intact by building the apartments behind them, it also created a sub-surface parkinggarage with a public art display. When the choice was presented before the council, the Germantown Neighborhood Association - Germantown is an area south of Main Street and includes the row of houses in question - brought forth a petition that forced the need for a super-majority to approve the project. The project was subsequently turned down - blocked by four City Council members. In July 2010, in a last-ditch attempt to stop all construction on the strip of houses along Fifth Street, City Council voted to designate the area as historic and therefore protected. The vote failed. Now that City Place is apparently moving forward, the tenants of the seven houses along Fifth Street were told on July 15 that they had until the end of September to vacate the prem- ises. Many of these residents are University students. While some tenants had a clause in their housing contracts stating their leases may unexpectedly expire, others did not. While some students have complied, others insist that they were not informed - either verbally or in their lease contract - they must vacate. One student told me that though her landlord told her to be out as soon as possible, there was no way she was leaving without proper compensation. It's hard to look at this situation and refrain from playing the blame game. The inimi- cal relationship between a developer and Ann Arbor city officials has put a century- old streetscape under serious threat of being destroyed. Ann Arbor residents, University students included, are being displaced unfairly, and in the first quarter of the school year to make matters worse. This is a serious situation, and it clearly didn't happen overnight. I could point a finger at Alex de Parry and Jeff Helmin- ski, owner of Campus village LLC of Rochester and a partner in the project, for attempting to build City Place. But developers have always been destroying history to turn a profit, and de Parry spent years trying to move forward with Heritage Row. He even complied with city council members' and Germantown Neighbor- hood Association members' requests to modify his building plans. In the end, something very unfortunate occurred amid the swirl of politics and proce- dure. Certain council members decided to call de Parry's bluff - Mike Anglin (D-Ward 5), one of the four who blocked the Heritage Row pro- posal, stated in September to AnnArbor.com that developers "had that option to build City Place,.but I don't think that's their intent." Ste- phen Kunselman (D-Ward 3), another council member who voted down Heritage Row, placed the blame on the council: "The council chose not to create a historic district to protect those houses and they have said basically that those houses aren't worth protecting." Kunselman continues, saying, "the burden is on the prop- erty owner" to "do what's right." I attempted to contact the president of the Germantown Neighborhood Association, who simply gave me the name of another member. An attempt to reach this member yielded a fullvoice mailbox. One of the things that I love most about Ann Arbor is its character. This city is not your typi- cal college town, and that's something you can see by taking a walk in any direction. Is there a need for more student housing? From looking at this year's freshman class, I'd say probably. But are the Zaragon Twos and the City Places necessarily the right answer? Probably not. And definitely not if they come at the expense of residents or the culture of this city. Vanessa Rychlinski is an LSA junior. n Aug. 27, 1963, a Gal- lup poll revealed that Americans disapproved of the March on Washington - which took place the next day - at a ratio of 3 to 1. Many simply thought the civil rights leaders were demanding too much. Others sympathized with the move- JEREMY LEVY ment but did not approve of their methods. Lately, I've encountered simi- lar views in regard to Occupy Wall Street - the recent set of anti-cor- porate protests in New York's Finan- cial District. Many think all the protesters are nuts or that blocking traffic in front of corporate offices holds no purpose. But to be frank, it doesn't matter all that much when the public disapproves of a massive demonstration such as the March on Washington or Occupy Wall Street. The pointis to raise hell, and Occupy Wall Street is doing exactly that. Granted, when I first read about the movement, I was very skeptical of its prospects. But it's been three weeks, and Occupy Wall Street has hardly died out - last week it held its largest demonstration yet. With every new headline of a police crack- down on protesters, I wonder if this is going to mark an important turn- ing point for corporate politics. I sure as hell hope so. While it's too early in the game to tell what the protests will amount to, these are the plotlines I'll be looking to follow as it proceeds:, How will Occupy Wall Street- organize its agenda? Probably the most common criti- cism of Occupy Wall Street so far is that it has no central focus. As The New York Times puts it, you may ask 10 protesters about the goals of the movement and get 10 different answers. One slideshow from The Atlantic showed protest signs that were all over the place in terms of policy - while some are fighting for higher wages or reforms to stu- dent loans, others are demanding that we end capitalism or encourage anarchy. While these observations are cor- rect, anyone who thinks that the movement needs to have a clear set of policy goals can shove it. Even if the current goals are broad, diverse, and sometimes contrasting, it's abundantly clear where the common thread lies. Our current economic and political dogma causes tre- mendously unequal outcomes, and Americans are suffering because of it. For this reason, the movement's current slogan, "We are the 99 per- cent" will go a long way. Still, the question remains if a group of lead- ers will emerge from the pack and deal with the necessary political hurdles to make definitive policy changes. 'How much disruption can it cause? On Friday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned protest- ers that they were antagonizing the companies that could hire them, and therefore, they were only hurting the economy further. But this state- ment misses the point. Protesters want bigger changes than renewed business confidence leading to increased hiring. And to get those changes, they need bar- gaining leverage obtained through public disruption. If the disruption means business confidence remains low in the near term, so be it. Such strategies could likely help other occupy, groups across the country, such as Occupy Ann Arbor, since holding an evening meeting in the Diag didn't cause much of a stir. Tea Party counterweight? Even before last year's midterm elections, it seemed like Republi- cans, and especially the Tea Party, had been calling the shots in Wash- ington. But, as many have already pointed out, Occupy Wall Street feels like the Tea Party of the left. In the short term; there's some hope that this movement can re-energize the Democrats' liberal base. Con- gressional Democrats like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have already shown their support. The movement's '99 percent' will go a long way. In, the long run though, I hope Occupy Wall Street can do more. We live in a post-Reagan political realm in which even the Democratic presidents hedge on conservative economic policies. Long gone is the liberal golden age of the 50s and 60s. I realize this is a long shot, but ultimate- ly, I want Occupy Wall Street to ,,succee d so liberalism can once again be a contending force in American politics. Occupy Wall Street's future is uncertain, but this statement from former Wisconsin Demo- cratic Sen. Russ Feingbld sums up the outcome I'm hoping for, "By the time this is over, it will make the Tea Party look like ... a tea party." - Jeremy Levy can be reached at jeremlev@umich.edu. e 0 i S