v 4A - Wednesday, 28, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4 I C id 1an Batly Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com 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. Tickets are too much The Athletic Department shouldn't raise prices ost University Students are proud of the Michigan ath- letic programs. They feel a close, emotional attachment to the University's nationally renowned varsity teams - especially football, men's basketball and hockey. College athlet- ics are an integral part of the Wolverine experience, and the Ath- letic Department shouldn't make it more expensive for students to attend the games. I This is my last election. After my election, I'll have more flexibility." - President Barack Obama to Russian President DmitriMedvedev yesterday about the state of missle defense negotiations after November's election A need for recognition The Athletic Department has increased prices for football and men's basketball stu- dent season tickets for the upcoming season. Individual home football game tickets rose from $31.50 to $32.50 this year, and the price of basketball season tickets increased 50 per- cent to $150. But next football season, Michi- gan only hosts six games, compared to eight in 2011. Many of Michigan's home opponents aren't its biggest rivals as the Wolverines play Nebraska, Notre Dame and Ohio State on the road, yet ticket prices have still gone up. This hike in ticket prices is unwarranted. Debt-ridden students are already struggling to manage the daily expenses of college as it becomes increasingly expensive. With cuts to the University's budget made by the state, tuition prices have increased, textbook expenditures are weighing heavy on stu- dents' pockets and now sports ticket prices have increased as well. Hunter Lochmann, the Athletic Depart- ment's chief marketing officer, claims that the purpose of the increase in prices is to keep them level with those of other insti- tutions and to encourage fans to arrive to games early and amplify the Michigan spir- it. With record-breaking attendance at the night game against Notre Dame last season, students have proven that the Michigan spir- it hasn't faded. An increase in ticket prices will not make students more excited for the games - if any- thing, it will have the opposite effect. The Athletic Department should bolster student pride by making student tickets more afford- able. The Athletic Department's motives for raising ticket prices are fairly obvious. The men's basketball and football teams greatly improved last season, and expectations going into the next season are sky-high for both squads. The Athletic Department has identi- fied this as an opportunity to profit from our enthusiasm. The Athletic Department shouldn't exploit its students like this. There's no doubt that students will still buy the season tickets no matter what the price is because of the inelas- tic and high demand to attend the games - further proving how dedicated Michigan fans are. Contrary to what Lochmann sug- gested, students don't need a price increase to encourage them to come to the games ear- lier. The Athletic Department shouldn't try to make money off students' dedication and emotional investment in Michigan's sports teams. Obviously the Athletic Department would want to increase ticket prices with a business perspective in mind. But, students aren't merely consumers - they're the devot- ed fans. A hike in ticket prices is unnecessary and sends the wrong message to students. ne of mankind's favor- ite pastimes is criticizing the younger generation - your parents have probably - bragged before about how their generation tis better than yours. Almostr inevitably, the younger gen- eration rolls its DAR-WEI collective eyes CHEN when hearing the criticism, citing some sort of misunderstand- ing caused by the "generation gap." I want to take this opportunity to complain about something I see in my own generation. Perhaps the criticism will be more well-received in this manner. My gripe with my generation is as follows: members of Genera- tion Y want credit for everything they do, no matter how menial the accomplishment is. I'll admit that this gripe applies to me sometimes - I'm just observing the trend and reporting on it. Whether the devel= optaent was caused by social media or simply exacerbated by it is debat- able. And the motives for trying to garner said credit are varied: self- aggrandizement, need for reassur- ance, social competitiveness, etc. But regardless of cause or motive, Generation Y is undoubtedly hun- gry for credit and praise. To see the phenomenon in action, simply log onto Facebook. One of the disturbing recent trends is people posting pictures of their food. Of course, some food-related moments are worth savoring, such as prepar- ing a difficult dish or dining at a spe- cial place. However, news feeds now often present users with friends' pictures of even relatively average foods. Nothing to get excited about - after all, every human being eats at least somewhat regularly. The reason people post pictures of even routine meals is simple: Once the food is eaten, they can't get credit for having the food anymore. Especially if they pre- pared the food themselves, the lost chance for credit can potentially be devastating. What bothers me. is that Generation Y feels the need to document commonplace events, such as eating, to gain some mar- ginal credit for their accomplish- ments. Preparing and consuming food is basic human sustenance - a lack of documentation shouldn't be disconcerting. To be clear, I'm not necessarily slamming food pictures specifically - I'm slamming those who want credit for every part of their lives, eatingbeitnga particularlyegregious example of something ordinary for which people still want credit. Another example can be found in applications such as Foursquare, which enables people to take credit for frequenting the gym, for exam- ple. I'll concede that hittingthe gym is less of a necessity than eating, meaning gym trips are slightly more worthy of announcement. However, for people who exercise often, any given trip is routine and therefore not announcement-worthy. They're likely reporting it repeatedly to get the social credit associated with being active. Even ostensibly well-intentioned actions can have underlying credit- grabbing motivations. The most recent viral internet movement was Kony 2012, a campaign by Invisible Children, Inc. to bring Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony to justice. I acknowledge the campaign and its good intentions. But for many in the social media world, Kony presented a chance to appear noble and well- informed, possibly one too good to pass up. You've probably seen many of your friends casually posting on Facebook about him. How do I knowthatpeople in Gen- eration Y probably don't care much about Kony? Ask yourself if you're EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: still hearing about him now.The fact that so many of these movements end up as transient fads reveals, in my opinion, that people care only enough to the point that it helpstheir own image. After that point, the per- sonal returns are diminishing and not worth pursuing. When people expend effort to get credit for menial accomplishments, they develop inflated senses of self- importance. And while Generation Y isn't full of slackers like some in Generation Y wants credit for everything. older generations would believe, it doesn't need to be conceited either. I believe credit should be given only when it's due. For example, instead of sharing every gym trip, perhaps tweeting about reaching an exer- cise milestone is more appropriate. If you have an insightful comment to make about a social movement, contribute your comment to the discourse instead of casually refer- encing the movement just to appear knowledgeable. All people want recognition at some level, as Professor Abraham Maslow has theorized in his Hierar- chy of Needs pyramid. I realize that nothingis wrongwithwantingpraise - I'm particularly needy myself. With this column, I'm merely dif- ferentiating between what is praise- worthy and what isn't. They say that champions are made when no one's watching. My fear is that Generation Y always wants to be watched. -Dar-Wei Chen can be reached at chendw@umich.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @DWChen_MDaily. JARRETT DRAKE I Prima facie On March 15, the Multi-Ethnic Infor- mation Exchange hosted an event at the School of Information to explore the swirl- ing controversy around a mobile application recently patented by Microsoft. Among other things, the app communicates with users' GPS devices to provide directions around unsafe neighborhoods. Microsoft rejected the negative criticism of its product - which some labeled the "Avoid the Ghetto App" - by stating the classification of "unsafe" neighborhoods stems from crime statistics and demographics. The MIX discussion did not attempt to respond to the alleged racism inherent in the concept, but rather sought to provoke a larger discussion of informa- tion, ethics and our role between the two as emerging professionals. By all accounts, the dialogue succeeded in exchanging ideas, identifying responsi- bilities and broadening perspectives. I left the lecture hall immensely encouraged by the capacity of SI students to enact positive change in the lives of citizens everywhere. And while I still retain that optimism, the recent shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., an Orlando suburb, diminishes,a small portion of that attitude.. His assailant, 28-year-old George Zimmer- man, informed police he shot the teenager - who was black - in self-defense. This is despite the fact that after he phoned authori- ties about a "suspicious" young man "walk- ing around and looking about," Zimmerman exited his vehicle with a 9-millimeter hand- gun and began to follow Martin. A physical encounter occurred, the specifics of which may never be known, and it concluded with a single gunshot wound to Martin's chest. He was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Sanford Police continue to reiterate they have no probable cause to arrest Zimmerman - who is white - due to a vague 2005 Florida law allowing a person to use deadly force if under the belief that great bodily harm or death is imminent. In essence, so long as Zimmerman perceived Martin to be a threat to his life, he possessed the right to "stand his ground." Since Martin is no longer alive to prove he did not pose such a threat to Zim- merman law enforcement officials declare their hands to be tied. Issues abound with the case, prompting state and federal authorities to launch their own investigation. Now, I'm no lawyer, nor will I pretend to be just for the sake of argument. But as an archival student, Iam eerily reminded of this 19th-century legal doctrine: "A colored man is, prima facie, a slave." The precept resulted in the illegal detention and enslavement of countless free blacks, as the courts ascribed the burden unto them to prove their free- dom. Likewise, Sanford authorities first need evidence. to verify Martin did not endan- ger Zimmerman's life, a deeply problematic commentary in this era with the nation's first black president. That a self-appointed neighborhood watchman can successfully justify Jim Crow-esque vigilantism under the auspices of perception demonstrates the great distance we have to travel toward racial understanding in our country. Such a real- ity should be a cause for concern not just in Florida, but all across the nation. The willful inaction of the Sanford Police Department has sent a clear and unambiguous message to American society: primafacie, young black men are criminals. That sobering prejudice brings me back to the Microsoft application. While intendingto increase safety, it ultimately produces a men- tality in which they are out to get us. It rests upon the unsubstantiated claim that certain people living in certain areas commit certain crimes more frequently than others. Increas- ingly, the targets of those dog whistles tend to be younger and browner. This same notion led the killer of Grosse Pointe's Jane Bashara to dump her body on the east side of Detroit. Surely, the murderer thought, these heinous crimes always happen near Gratiot Avenue, leaving the police to assume one of them did it. In the end, there is perhaps no data a Microsoft researcher could aggregate to inform Trayvon Martin of the danger he eventually met. Indeed, we must give pause to remember that the crimes prosecuted are rarely the whole of crimes committed. A black boy was stalked, shot and killed as he walked home with a bag of candy and a can of iced tea. If that's not criminal, I'm not sure any of us knows what is. That his admitted killer is a free man wages a psychological war against Martin's parents that is just as vio- lent, senseless and avoidable as the murder of their child. Jarrett Drake is a first year master's student in the School of Information. 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 KELSEY TROTTA I justwant my medicine On a sunny morning during my freshman year of college, I woke up to my insides being pummeled. This was nothing new - for eight years Ihad struggled with monthly ordeals of incapacitating corporal mutiny. But it was the first week of school, so I began walking to class. I ended up collapsing on a bathroom floor, vom- iting, drenched in sweat and immobilized with agony. After what seemed like years, an ambulance came and paramedics took me to the hospital. We never found out what happened that day. But they put me on birth control to prevent another hospi- tal visit. Three years and a few other female conditions later, the birth control pill is still the only medication protecting me against needlessly suffering again. A lot of guy friends ask why I take the pill if I'm not having sex. I was offended until I realized that they believed the common misconception that oral contra- ceptives are only for people having sex. Many use this fallacy - citing society's declining sexual morality and religious freedom - to express opposition to the bill requiring all private insurance plans to cover oral con- traceptives. But for me, the pill is a medicine. According to the Guttmacher Institute, about 11.2 million women in the United States take the pill. Another 6.5 million use oral contraceptives in part for non-contraceptive benefits. 1.56 million women take the pill strictly for non-contraceptive purposes - 762,000 of which have never had sex. Oral contraceptives are powerful. Medical research indicates that they significantly decrease the risk of ovarian, colorectal and uterine cancer. The pill can also treat dysfunctional uterine bleeding, acne, endometrio- sis, menstrual cramps, hypermenorrhea, PMS, PMDD, ovarian cysts, chocolate cysts, fibroids, polycystic ovar- ian syndrome and irregular menstrual cycles. I find it disconcerting when people like Rush Lim- baugh and Foster Friess call women taking oral contra- ceptives "sluts" or advise them to put "aspirin between their knees," especially since more than 6 million women take the pill for medical reasons.-These condi- tions are not sexually transmitted, and I doubt absti- nence prevents or cures any of them. Limbaugh and Friess's words demonstrate the importance of taking women's health seriously and using education to abol- ish misconceptions about the pill. While I respect someone's opposition to the pill's contraceptive benefits, I have to wonder what gives anybody permission to deny someone healthcare. If nobody would deny a diabetic insulin for religious reasons, why would they deny a woman medicine for endometriosis? For that matter, if a woman needed an operation for something otherwise preventable by the pill, would objectors pay for her surgery, medication and hospital bills? If the woman was unable to treat her condition because the objector denied her access to the necessary treatment, wouldn't the objector be cul- pable for her needing surgery? While I hope objectors would foot the bill for potential cases like this, I doubt they'd be willing to pay for the thousands of women who would suffer the consequences of the objector's "conscience." I invite opponents of the birth control bill to con- sider who their decision could affect - because illness strikes regardless of faith, chastity or politics. What if their wives, girlfriends, daughters or sisters had con- ditions that needed to be treated with oral contracep- tives? Would they deny their loved ones the pill? Could they watch their loved ones needlessly suffer because of them? If they could do that in good conscience, I sup- pose they have that right. But before anybody makes that choice, I hope they remember the Bible verse Zechariah 7:9, "This is what the LORD Almighty said: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another."' Kelsey Trotta is an LSA junior. A A A A A