a 4 - Friday, October 14, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com ~JE1Midiigan 0a~IlU Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com STEPHANIE STEINBERG EDITOR IN CHIEF MICHELLE DEWITT and EMILY ORLEY EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS NICK SPAR MANAGING EDITOR 66 NOTABLE QUOTABLE ...it was actually the reason that we fought the revolution in the 16th century, was to get away from that kind of onerous crown if you will.' - Texas Gov. Rick Perry responding to a question about rights of states at an event at Dartmouth College on Tuesday, as reported by CBS News. Move in the'green'direction 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 THE DAILY Respect allidentities National Coming Out Week promotes tolerance Members of the LGBT community in the United States military can now be open about their sexuality since "don't ask, don't tell" was repealed last month, but they still face major inequalities in our society. Events like National Coming Out Week remind us of these issues and the necessity of equal rights for every citizen. This week is a reminder of the impor- tance of being understanding and respectful of different sexual ori- entations and lifestyles. 4 I Today is the fifth day of National Com- ing Out Week. The celebration has grown to a nationwide event since it started in 1988. National Coming Out Day, which kicks off the week each year, is celebrated throughout the country. At the University, the weeklong event was celebrated with a rally on the Diag on Monday, as well as other events held by the Michigan Student Assembly and student groups in supportof LGBT students and their allies on campus. Over the past year, the media has been awash with stories of horrific bullying and attacks on LGBT students. But bullying that happens on a daily basis, and may seem harm- less to some, often goes unnoticed. Across the nation, nine out of 10 LGBT middle school and high school students have been harassed at school, according to statistics from the National Youth Association. And more than a third of LGBT youth have attempted sui- cide at some point. These students are also more likely to suffer depression than het- sexual students. Events such as National Co.uing Out Week draw n cessary attention tV .n issue that can pose a legitimate threat to young people in America. While Ann Arbor is generally considered a socially progressive city and the University a free-thinking institution, it's still inipor- tant to remember and respect the difficulties LGBT students can face. Even in the most positive environments, a stigma still exists around LGBT issues. Michigan has some of the strictest laws in the country banning gay marriage and limiting same-sex partner ben- efits. If LGBT individuals continue to be mar- ginalized by American laws, events like National Coming Out Week will continue to be important to advocate for equal rights. This week is an opportunity to create a sup- portive environment for LGBT students, so they may be proud of their identity. And it reminds all students that they must be cogni- zant of how they speak and behave. But the support for LGBT students shouldn't end after this week. It's important to continue to build a tolerant environment throughout the year. The Spectrum Center is open year-round to provide assistance and open forums, and this supportive mentality should spread throughout the University. All students should have access to resources that help them with any personal identity strug- gles. And if there is a problem, they should have a safe place to seek help. The University must provide a safe and secure environment for all students. The University has been touting the phrase "Expect Respect" to encourage students to be conscious of the way they act toward each other. The message of National Coming Out Week shouldn't be limited to just one week of the year, but should instead have influence across campus every day. very Monday night, I bring down an overflowing recy- cling bin to the edge of my driveway. A year ago, I would have considered this a significant act in helping to pre- serve the envi- ronment, but with a brother working in the LEAH sustainability POTKIN and green engi- _ neering field, I'm realizing quickly that a blue bin full of recycled bot- tles and boxes simply isn't enough. Thus, in this age of green and sus- tainable living, it is vital that every- one, students included, go above and beyond to protect and save the envi- ronment. The blue bin alone won't cut it anymore. University President Mary Sue Coleman recently released a new sustainability initiative in a speech outlining the University's 14-year plan for sustainability. Some of the plans include installing solar pan- els on North Campus and replacing regular cars and buses with hybrid ones, with the laudable goal of cut- tingcthe University's greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2025. As ambitious and meritorious as the University's plan is, its ultimate suc- cess may very well depend on the involvement and commitment of students. Because when it comes to saving the environment, we're more than just tuition payers, we're ener- gy consumers and conservationists. Not to mention, with Ann Arbor ranked one of the leaders in green initiatives, the least we Wolverines can do is live up to our reputation and work as hard as our beloved city does. Students on and off campus must try their hardest, and move into this era of sustainability armed with blue bins, energy-efficient light bulbs and acan-do attitude. I know many students are regi- mented in their recycling and energy-saving routines, but I see too many water bottles thrown in trash cans and lights left on in houses to not address these seem- ingly minor issues. Because, really, at a school with more than 25,000 undergraduates alone, every light switch left on makes a huge dif- ference. I'm a college student, I'm lazy and I'm guilty of committing sustainability crimes too. But howI see it, if we can pull all-nighters and easily careen from pre-game party to pre-game party before trekking on to the Big House on foot, we can handle searching for a recycling bin that might be outside our line of vision. Not to mention, turn- ing down our thermostats a few degrees and taking the time to go upstairs to turn off the lights left on in the rush to get out the front door. And the bathroom, my friends, is no place to forget about the envi- ronment either. In fact, there are important environmental decisions to be made every time you excuse yourself to the little girls or boys room here on campus. First, are you actually going to flush the handle up for liquid;waste.and:down for solid waste? And second, are you really going to use a super-speed, high- tech hand dryer when there are water-absorbing paper towels there too? Well, Yes. You have to. Every- one has to. The University is taking a stance and making changes, and it's important that the student body does the same. We should be grate- ful that the University offers us so many eco-friendly options, and we should be eager to take advantage of them at all times. Note - new recycling bins like the ones in North Quad even have an opening shaped for bottles to make the process vir- tually foolproof! Take advantage of eco-friendly options at the 'U.' Other small steps students can take to help the University make a big difference include using refill- able water bottles, switching to energy-efficient light bulbs and walking to places instead of driv- ing (not only good for the environ- ment, but good for your health too!). So although we can't all go around installing solar panels, we can and should go around milking these new green accessories for all they're worth. So keep those blue bins over- flowing and toilets flushing in the right direction because a flush in the right direction doubles as a step in the, right direction-the green direction, that is. - Leah Potkin can be reached at Ipotkin@umich.edu. 0 A _ HE ED ITOR SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@MICHIGANDAILY.COM -the Everyday Spirituality: Chris Anderson explores the idea that being positive isn't always necessarily a good thing. po U Go to michigandaily.com/blogs/The Podium 4 Students for Life stand up for the rights of the unborn TO THE DAILY: Students for Life is a social justice group. Not political. Not religious. We're here to con- front a social justice issue that would other- wise remain disregarded on campus. If, as Daniel Chardell claims in his column (Abortion is notgenocide, 10/11/2011), he spent nearly two hours on the Diag, he would have heard our justification for the dehumaniza- tion-based parallel between the unborn and Holocaust victims. And if Chardell had spent a portion of that time perusing the display, he would have read one panel that said, "Com- parable is not identical." Abortion's existence today is due largely to ignorance, not the shoveling of the innocent into gas chambers. Certainly the millions of deaths in each case deserve equal attention, but while pro-choice advocates aren't ending the mass extermina- tion, they are not Nazis. Chardell assumes that Students for Life Calling the Diag exhibit insulting is accurate does not understand the "much larger soci- etal issue" of unwanted pregnancies. We beg to differ. The central problem isn't that unplanned pregnancies are occurring but that we're cultivating a culture in which we'll sac- rifice a human life to make ours more conve- nient. Sure, we could devote all our time and resources to prevention, but then who will advocate for the unborn? Somethingstill won't change: The unborn still won't have rights, society still won't care and innocent lives still will be sacrificed when the condom breaks. Minimizing abortion isn't ending it altogether. So excuse us for our radical idea that the life created from a broken condom still has the same value as the millions lost before it. Students for Life doesn't care what you do with your sex life. You can sleep with whom- ever you want, whenever you want, however you want - until a third person enters the picture. And, yes, we're the same radicals who at that point expect you to take responsi- bility for procreation. Carmen Allen LSA junior and president of Students for Life tion to abortions (quite frankly, the correct term would actually be "homicide"), Chard- ell's piece drew attention to what I view to be a very common phenomenon in 21st century American culture, which is the casual and rather insulting manner in which we view and discuss atrocities of the human past. I would expect such disrespect from uned- ucated individuals who didn't know better, but I am shocked that an educated group of University of Michigan students who pride themselves on their love and support of the human race were insensitive enough to display pictures of corpses of African Americans and Jews without any regard for the feelings of their fellow students, faculty and staff. If you want to condemn abortion, fine. Just don't do it at the expense of others whose histories you couldn't possibly begin to grasp. Christina Lawson LSA senior ALEXANDER HEPPERLE I To the bitter end In a freak chance of fate, with the help of friends and financial aid dollarsthat were supposed to go toward pay- ing off my rent, I got to attend game 4 of the Tigers-Yan- kees playoff. I really couldn't believe it even as I walked up to the stadium. The giant Louisville Slugger bats signi- fied the entranceway, and a stone cat protected the gate from above. I was there. At Comerica Park, a place nearly every person in Southeastern Michigan has memories of regardless of whether they like baseball or not. But this was no ordinary game, and no ordinary oppo- nent. This was the American League Division Series, and this opponent was none other than the New York Yan- kees, also known as The Bronx Bombers and The Evil Empire. The single-most winning team in all of baseball with 27 world championships compared to the Tigers' measly four. What chance did we stand? This is the team of Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Micky Mantle, Alexander Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and now, sadly, Curtis Grander- son. However, this is no ordinary city with no ordinary sports fans. This is Detroit, and what the Tigers mean to us is more powerful than any words Ican write down. Anyone who is familiar with the entertainment indus- try should know the reputation of Detroit: We are known as one of the absolute best concert towns with some-of the craziest sports fans out there. Who else throws octopi ontotheiceathockeygames?Whoelse'sfootballteamhas never won the Super Bowl for as long as there has been a Super Bowl, yet sells out almost every game? Nobody. One of my friends at the Tigers game asked me why this was, and I didn't even need to think twice. I turned to him and said, "When you've got nothing, you've got noth- ing to lose." And most residents in Michigan don't have much to lose anymore. The graduation rate for Detroit Public Schools hovers around 60 percent. The unemploy- ment rate for the state stands stagnant at 11 percent and was as high as 15 percent in July 2009. Almost every sin- gle family I knew growing up in Westland, Mich. (about 20 minutes outside of Detroit) worked for the Big Three automakers. We all know what happened to them, don't we? The University and the state of Michigan are two dras- tically different things. If you don't know this yet, it's about time you stepped outside the bubble of Ann Arbor and had a beer or two with a midnight shift line worker or a McDonald's shift manager. I looked around at the stadium and felt one powerful thought echo in my head - these are my people. I heard the conversations around me bring me back to a time when I wasn't attending an elite university - a time when I myself was working at a fast food restaurant and trying to keep my tank of gas off empty. I listened tothe conversationaround me:"Man, Ihad to cut out of work two hours earlyto be here, but I wouldn't miss it for the world!" "I hear you brother. The transmis- sion on my Jeep gave out on the way here. It's stranded on 96 as we speak - took a $60 cab ride to see the game!" A man sitting next to me was wearing an Ernie Harwell "EH" patch sewn into his ratty cap stamped with the old English letter 'D' and I commented on how great Ernie was for the team. He replied, "This was my dad's hat. We used to have season tickets back at old Tigers Stadium. Get this bro, he died the same day they closed the doors. Last thing I heard him say was, 'What a shame."' Yes, I was at home. The bottom line is yes, we lost the game, but this isn't the first time Detroit was on the losing end of things. That game was about more than baseball. It was about loyalty. About the small taking on the large. About hope. In the bottom of the ninth and down nine runs, as all hope seemed lost, the man next to me stared ahead - his friends already gone - and spoke to himself barely loud enough for me to hear the words that personify the spirit of Detroit, "We will stay to the bitter end." Truer words have never been spoken. Alexander Hepperle is an LSA sophomore. TO THE DAILY: I believe that Daniel Chardell summed up last week's Students for Life exhibit very well when he described it as insulting (Abortion is not genocide, 10/11/2011). Due to the graphic nature of the display, I chose not to go near the Diag last Monday and Tuesday and therefore, had to rely on others to tell me about the visuals that were on display. I learned from Chardell's column that photographs of Holocaust victims and inaccurate allusions to genocides were pre- sented along with the images of fetuses, as were pictures of lynching victims as I later discovered. Besides calling attention to the fact that the use of the word "genocide" is incorrect in rela- 6 EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Aida Ali, Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshammer, Patrick Maillet, , Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Emily OrleyTeddy Papes, Timothy Rabb, Seth Soderborg, Caroline Syms, Andrew Weiner