4A - Monday, March 19, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.cam
4A -MonayMarc 19 202 Th Mihign Daly mihigadaiyco
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
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ASHLEY GRIESSHAMMER
JOSEPH LICHTERMAN and ANDREW WEINER JOSH HEALY
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS 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.
Imran Syed is the public editor. He can be reached at publiceditor@michigandaily.com.
F R OM [iI DAM tY
An unwil'ing! compromise
Detroit's consent agreement isn't a viable fix
Another theoretical solution for Detroit's financial woes was
announced last week with Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's
proposed consent agreement plan. This plan would keep
power within the local leadership, and it comes in direct contrast
to appointing an emergency manager from outside of the execu-
tive system, which the state has done in other cities in Michigan.
The issue with keeping local leadership is that it fails to generate
any substantial systematic change and favors the status quo. The
consent agreement is a short-term solution that doesn't address any
long-term financial changes - the kind Detroit needs to pull itself
out of its financial emergency.
FROM THE PUBLIC EDITOR|I
Reports and rumors
From reading The Michigan
Daily last week, I learned
that a local cab driver is a
rapist. It's just
an allegation IMRAN
for now, based SYED
upon "murmur-
ings" within Public Editor
sororities, but
details like that are usually lost
in the midst when news breaks.
The Daily story didn't reveal the
accused cabbie's name, so natural-
ly, I have to assume it could be any
and every cab driver in Ann Arbor.
And that makes me scared for my
friends.
OK, that's an exaggeration,
but the story in question does
lead nicely into a discussion on
the challenges of covering break-
ing news - stories that, like this
one, are important to readers, but
have yet to reveal all of their facts.
These challenges, like most oth-
ers, are somewhat multiplied at
a student publication because of
one important fact: while news
happens all the time, Daily report-
ers, no matter how dedicated, are
not full-time journalists. Instead,
they must always balance the sig-
nificant additional responsibilities
of being college students with full
course loads.
Back at the Daily's editor in
chief election of 2007 (the last one
I attended), there was a lot of talk
aboutturningthe Daily's newsroom
into a 24-hour operation. The Daily
staffers who were in the room that
evening could be forgiven for their
ambition: they had been, after all,
witnesses to and participants in a
pivotal time in the history of this
paper. More perhaps than any other
group before them, they had presid-
ed over an explosion of technology
and social media that expanded the
role and reach of this paper. Pod-
casting, blogs, a useable, redesigned
web interface and even the Daily's
Facebook page all arose in the three
to four years preceding that 2007
Daily election. A 24-hour news-
room didn't seem like that crazy of
an idea.
But some senior editors like me,
old hands ontheir way out, had res-
ervations. We questioned if such a
push toward ubiquity might have
significant drawbacks. My own
background in the opinion and arts
sections, both of which are more
about depth of analysis than actual
"news," made me question the con-
cept of a 24-hour newsroom more
than most. Wouldn't the quality
of our product have to be harmed
to achieve such a goal? The focus
of the Daily, I argued, should be
producing five great papers a week
- not covering every story and fol-
lowing every lead as it breaks.
Looking back over the five years
since that election, it seems that
the 24-hour newsroom view has
mostly won the day. While the
Daily doesn't run a full, as-it-hap-
pens news website, significant sto-
ries (especially sports stories) are
often posted online before a more-
detailed version appears in print
the next day. More than that, the
Daily's news and sports blogs post
content several times every day,
and at all hours of the day.
But the concern about the draw-
backs of releasing content constant-
ly, as opposed to only in measured
and refined bites comprising a Daily
print edition, is one that deserves
some renewed attention. Obvi-
ously, the Daily must find a line for
the level of refinement for its blog
content. Daily style and grammati-
cal correctness are often sacrificed
in such content, but perhaps the
benefits of it still outweigh these
minor drawbacks. The real issue
to address though is in the realm
of breaking news: how do you bal-
ance the "need to know" issue with
the drawbacks of printing a story
before all the facts are known?
The cab driver story - though
I'm not sure I would have printed
it - skillfully negotiated this bal-
ance. The accused's name was not
disclosed, and the reasons for this
were explained to the reader. The
writer clearly indicated the source
of the story, pointed out incon-
sistencies in the narrative, clari-
fied that no charges had yet been
filed and got comments from the
accused man. Still, the fact that
none of the key players involved
in starting the story (the alleged
victim, the author of the e-mail,
members of the relevant sorority,
etc.) chose to speak to the reporter,
even off the record, is a factor that
weighs against printing the story
at all.
What comes of the story remains
to be seen. It may be that the Daily
took a significant first step in draw-
ing attention to a true danger that
students should be aware of. It is
also possible that the Daily printed
a mere rumor that ultimately turns
out false. Such is often the challenge
of breaking news. And experience,
I'm afraid, is the only real teacher.
-The public editor is an independent
criticof the Daily, and neither the editorial
board nor the editor in chief exercise
control over the contents of his columns.
The opinions expressed do not necessarily
constitute the opinion of the Daily.
Imran Syed can be reached at
publiceditor@michigandaily.com
The consent agreement plans to grant
increased power to Detroit's executive
branch. Snyder theorizes that this would
"have the city running the city," allowing
current leadership the opportunity to make
the cuts they deem absolutely necessary. By
doing so, the agreement not only eradicates
the authority of the Detroit City Council as a
bargaining organization, but it also prevents
contact between the city and the unions rep-
resenting city employees. The agreement
length is indefinite, as well as irreversible
and uncompromising without allowing chal-
lenges from outside the committee.
The plan fails to make anyone happy, an
important truth in the context of relying on
teamwork and cooperation within the execu-
tive branch. Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and
Snyder have been arguing over the intricacies,
which seems to indicate that whatever the
result of the plan, both sides will be uncompro-
mising. The public fighting coming from both
sides reveals how tension between current
leadership could lead to the imminent failure
of a plan dependent on both sides' cooperation.
The sides would be better suited to fix the prob-
lems at hand than seemingly using it as an issue
going into election season.
The proposal will grant most of the powerto
the state, with six out of nine positions allotted
to Snyder appointees. Though Bing will have
the powers of emergency financial manager,
the plan seems like another ultimatum effort
by Snyder. Bing must either accept the plan
or be under constant threat by the otherwise
appointed emergency financial manager.
From any perspective, this consent agree-
ment isn't and can't be a long-term solution
to the financial woes. The issue is not con-
trol so much as tax revenue and purely the
money needed for essential services. Rather
than looking to institute cuts, Detroit should
look toward generating income. Regional tax
sharing would offer an opportunity to guar-
antee yearly revenue necessary for domestic
services. People are leavingthe city itself, not
the region, so a regional tax could generate
civil income.
The consent agreement would only pro-
ceed to throw democracy out the window,
creating political feuding and executive
tyranny. Detroit needs substantial change,
change that is not created by increasing reli-
ance on the status quo.
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MICHAEL BUDROS I
Pragmatic goals for CSG
0
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Aida Ali, Laura Argintar, Kaan Avdan, Ashley Griesshammer, Nirbhay Jain, Jesse Klein,
Patrick Maillet, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Harsha Panduranga, Timothy Rabb, Adrienne
Roberts, Vanessa Rychlinski, Sarah Skaluba, Seth Soderborg, Caroline Syms, Andrew Weiner
PATRICK MAILLET I
Clothes for change
About 7,000 high school students will drop
out of school in America today. Unfortunately,
today is not a special day or some sort of orga-
nized movement. No, instead today is just
another normal day that contributes to the
more than 1.2 million high school dropouts
per year in the United States.
With rising costs in tuition and lower
incomes, fewer people are able to afford a col-
lege education. And yet, a college education
has never been more important. According to
the U.S. Census Bureau, a person with a bach-
elor's degree earned an average of $58,613 in
2008, while those with a high school diploma
earned $31,283. Unfortunately, the impor-
tance of an education also has serious societal
effects. High school dropouts are eight times
more likely to go to prison and are 50 percent
less likely to vote. We, as a society, are able to
advance by allowing more people to attain a
college education.
Sadly, America is becoming a land of lim-
ited opportunities for some. Take Michigan
for example. African-American males in this
state have the lowest high school graduation
rate in the country at 33 percent. Though
insufficient primary education is mostly to
blame for this startling statistic, a lack of
motivation toward a clear-cut goal is a pivotal
reason that these youths are able to achieve so
little. Due to economic restraints or a number
of other reasons, these disadvantaged teenag-
ers are never even given the chance to seize an
educational opportunity.
All too often we learn about important
issues that spark our interest, yet forget about
them soon after we close our computer or
put down the newspaper. We can't forget the
importance that education has on our society.
So what can you do to help? Luckily, there is a
company that not only helps fund educational
opportunities for underprivileged youth, but
also uses fashion to advocate for this impor-
tant message.
Merit is not a normal fashion brand. Though
the stylish flat brim hats, shirts or sleek logo
may appear to be like any other trendy cloth-
ing line, the brand stands for so much more.
Merit creates fashion forward products that
help committed, disadvantaged youth attain a
college education. Twenty percent of its rev-
enue provides college scholarships for under-
served youth. For every dollar you spend on a
new hoodie, T-shirt or any other Merit prod-
uct, 20 cents will go straight toward helping
an underprivileged youth accomplish some-
thing they would have otherwise never been
able to attain: a college degree.
In the coming months, the Merit website
will allow people to buy products online and
help contribute to this important cause. Right
now, Merit is looking to expand its commu-
nity by enlisting as many new members to the
Merit family as possible. Go online to www.
meritgoodness.com and you can join the Merit
community and learn more about the impor-
tance of education and how you can sign up
to receive discounts and other offers once the
retail website goes live.
Rarely do we get to infuse fashion into
helping a cause much larger than ourselves.
By becoming a member of the Merit commu-
nity and buying a Merit product, you will be
able to wear a brand that stands for so much
more than mere clothing. All Merit products
will be recognizable with the Merit badge.
This badge symbolizes not only the incredible
effort that you have become a part of, but also
the community and the family that Merit has
become. Others will simply see trendy clothes,
but you'll know that what may be a flashy hat
for some is the opportunity to gain a future for
another.
Patrick Maillet is an assistant
editorial page editor.
The current state of our University's Central Student
Government is something to be bemoaned. Instead of
being led by pragmatists dedicated to governing and
improving campus life; isolationism and political zeal-
otry currently consume our elected representatives
and shroud CSG in a haze of unrealistic idealism and
vague promises of transformational change far inac-
cessible to the average student. CSG has lost its funda-
mental principles and it has lost its focus. It's time for
students across campus to take CSG back.
There are six candidates for president and vice
president this year, and each is claiming to bring big
change to the CSG - but how can we trust such a state-
ment? Every year that I have attended the University,
there have been calls for change at CSG. Every year we
may gain some change from a few individuals on the
3rd floor of the Union, but for the most part the actual
achievements of CSG representatives fall short of their
vague or foolhardy promises to the voters during cam-
paigns. The reason they fall short on their promises is
not that their intentions were bad or that their ideas
were bad, but that they failed to recognize CSG's prac-
tical limits, and more importantly, failed to recognize
where the strengths of a student government lie.
One of the largest services at CSG dedicated directly
to the enhancement of student life is the Student Orga-
nization Funding Commission. The commission is not
perfect, but as a vice-chair of SOFC I can honestly say
that the change we have seen this year with the new roll-
ing funding system would have been impossible without
the vision, guidance and assiduous leadership of CSG
Treasurer Shreya Singh. Shreya has been instrumental
in the new rolling funding system, which has allowed
an unprecedented number of student organizations to
receive unprecedented amounts of funding to bring the
level of campus involvement and leadership to a higher
standard. With more opportunities to apply for funding
than ever before, student organizations are putting on
more events and engaging more students in activism,
community service, culture, concerts, art, academia,
sports, community building and movements of social
justice. They are bringing in speakers and performers,
and sending out students to other schools and states to
represent the leaders and best with pride.
This is the strength of the student government: its
students. Contrary to claims by some candidates, CSG
cannot take on the administration or Lansing alone,
but with the leadership of Shreya Singh, Ethan Hahn
and the youMICH party, CSG will use its resources
and brilliant minds to help facilitate real opportunities
for students to do things like engage the administra-
tion in fireside talks or combat the effects of higher
tuition through streamlined financial aid information.
We cannot and should not expect the student govern-
ment or individual candidates to get the constitution
of the state of Michigan amended in order to place a
student regent on the University's Board of Regents.
Nor should we expect our student leaders to be able
to overturn decades of legal and legislative precedents
to offer illegal immigrants in-state tuition. All can-
didates in this election obviously support the idea of
greater student representation and involvement, but
putting these lofty goals and issues at the forefront of
your agenda distracts the student government from
actually achieving something real and tangible for stu-
dents on campus.
Others have claimed that the youMICH party's
plans plans are "small". I would instead describe
them as focused. I would describe them as pragmatic.
Big change in the student government, the Univer-
sity administration or in the state of Michigan will
not come from applying the same political nonsense
through the same rhetoric that we have seen over and
over again at CSG, but rather through realistic, prag-
matic goals that the Central Student Government can
actually pursue to engage students in these issues. And
the best way to create change on campus is for CSG to
empower students and student organizations to be the
ones to create that change.
As SOFC vice-chair, I would like to encourage stu-
dent leaders on campus to carefully review each can-
didate's plans toward student organization funding.
The CSG student organization funding process is a
critical component of CSG's impact and benefit to
campus. Blanket statements to "improve" or "reform"
student organization funding, or even proposals for a
one-size-fits-all "common app" for funding should be
strongly questioned, and changes proposed by parties
that include such language could easily result in stu-
dent organizations facing gaps in funding or seriously
delayed turnover in decisions. With their experience,
Shreya Singh and Ethan Hahn comprise the team with
the most knowledge and experience with the funding
system, best prepared to make changes that actually
function to service the students. If you no longer wish
to accept the same old large and disconnected promis-
es, vote youMICH and vote for Shreya Singh and Ethan
Hahn for CSG this March 21-22 - use your vote to put
the "student" back into student government.
Michael Budros is an LSA junior and vice-chair of
CSG's Student Organization Funding Commission.
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