4A - Thursday, September 13, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
4A - Thursday, September13, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
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TIMOTHY RABB
JOSEPH LICHTERMAN and ADRIENNE ROBERTS ANDREW WEINER
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.
Healthy integrity
Romney's switched position calls for concern
As the 2012 presidential election nears, campaigns and candi-
dates will go to any lengths to reach victory when America
votes. This Sunday, Mitt Romney changed his position on
President Obama's Affordable Care Act. Though Romney, like most of
the GOP, wishes to repeal the act, he stated publicly that he was actu-
ally in favor of more than one aspect of the legislation. This is a drastic
change from his previous stance, and is symptomatic of a persistent
problem that should motivate voters to demand political integrity.
@America While we were gawking at
#iPhone5, U.S. sent 2
war ships to Libya
#Did TheyUseNewMapsapp?
-@michdailyoped
We're all shmucked
.
Governor Romney's own remarks when
speaking to the news media were: "I'm not
getting rid of all of health care reform. Of
course, there are a number of things that I
like in health care reform that I'm going to
put in place." Mr. Romney claims that in his
own health care plan, he would include sev-
eral items from Obama's plan - including the
mandqte that insurance companies cover
those with pre-existing conditions and the
broadening of the insurance marketplace.
This is further evidence of total politici-
zation of significant issues, especially those
that affect the lives and health of millions of
Americans. At the same time, voters need to
hold candidates accountable for what they
say, so they can make a fair and educated
decision at the polls.
However, this simply doesn't follow Rom-
ney's previous stance. His campaign has
previously focused heavily on repealing
ACA to the point where the phrase "repeal
Obamacare" seemed to be a distinctive chant
associated with the GOP candidate. Unsur-
prisingly, Romney has changed his rhetoric
regarding the Affordable Care Act. Romney
has had a reputation for flip-flopping on vari-
ous issues throughout his political career.
However, this instance is particularly upset-
ting because of the magnitude of the issue in
question - with a vehicle as large as health
care, the American people could be subjected
to powerful whiplash should it go astray. It's
clear that Romney's strategy is to target vot-
ers who are still indecisive by walking the
line when it comes to the Affordable Care
Act, after "anti-Obamacare" rhetoric has
already taken hold. To win swing state sup-
port, Romney stopped short of irreversibly
offending popular sentiment.
In their relentless pursuit to win over
voters, politicians should not be caught
with unclear beliefs so close to the election.
Health care affects every American. Whatev-
er the candidate's beliefs, it's imperative that
they campaign on their real policies. A vac-
illating opinion on a crucial issue so close to
Election Day is deceptive. In order to make an
informed decision, voters must know exactly
where candidates stand. In such a sensitive
case, sincerity must prevail over populism.
Voters need to make sure to hold their can-
didates accountable, Democrats and Republi-
cans alike. The candidates should not pander
to populism, but rather should clearly articu-
late their positions. Voters need to educate
and update themselves on pertinent issues
facing America today and choose the right
candidate based on informed analysis. Candi-
dates will only provide what the constituency
demands, and therefore, the constituency
should demand a resolute candidate.
ERRYTOWN, ANN ARBOR
- Everyone has lost faith in
humanity. They are hor-
rified, they are
embarrassed
and nobody can
stop watching.
"The cinema-
tography is just
so terrible." It
"I don't
understand why
they didn't use MELANIE
more fisheye." KRUVELIS
"Is this even a
song?"
Why yes, it is a song. It's called
"Work Hard, Play Hard" by Wiz
Khalifa and maybe if we hadn't dis-
covered this "Shmacked" nonsense,
we could've listened to it ironically
while cashing bowls on our home-
work and damn, wouldn't that have
been cool. But it's too late - we've
seen it. And when did we stop using
our houseplant as the ashtray?
Alright, so here's the deal. We're
in Kerrytown - oh, a note to fresh-
men: Kerrytown is north, it's hip
and for the love of god please stop
wearing those key card lanyards.'
Anyway, we're in Kerrytown and
everyone looks absolutely miserable.
Well, more miserable than usual.
Someone found this video, "I'm
Shmacked The Movie: University of
Michigan - Welcome Week," and
the expressions in the room range
from nauseated condescension to
apathetic-American-Apparel-mod-
el-meets-kicked-puppy. The tragi-
cally hip haven't been this upset
since that anthropology professor
used Comic Sans. It's that serious.
If you haven't seen the video,
don't worry - the concept is simple.
A couple of college kids go around
campuses and capture students at
their finest hour - 9 a.m. on a Foot-
ball Saturday. They've recorded St.
Patrick's Day at West Virginia Uni-
versity, filmed 4/20 at the Universi-
ty of Vermont and now they've shot
Welcome Week here at Michigan.
Which is fantastic, really -we've
finally got a chance to stand up and
reveal what beats inside every last
Wolverine heart: "If you don't go to
Michigan, you're a peasant."
Hear hear, young white male.
But back to shotgunning Nat-
tys, smoking pot, downing shots in
South Quad, doing a weird drunken
leprechaun jig on the sidewalk, and
all the other too-drunk-to-care.
shenanigans you can cram into four
minutes of video. From here we get
the true meaning of "shmacked,"
which is not the Yiddish expres-
sion for "bagel toppings." It's actu-
ally Yiddish for getting drunk and
throwing away the futures we don't
have, and - most importantly - not
caring, because in the end we all
look really, really awesome. Hell,
we are really, really awesome.
"This school is the best school
in the entire world," says a girl in a
tube top (Side note: technically it's
the 14th best school in the entire
world, but no reason to let some-
thing as trivial as rankings get in
the way of assertions, right?).
"Fucking Go Blue, and we fuck-
ing go hard! Fuck you, 'Bama!" yells
another partygoer, referring to the
Alabama Crimson Tide, not the
President. (Okay, so they actually
killed us, but he almost got it right).
But perhaps the most touching
affirmation of our scholarly excel-
lence: "It's the perfect mix of like,
party and like, work, you know?"
Of course, moms, dads and
everyone else wh6 sucks may be
alarmed by the video, finding this
homage to Stifler's wet dream to be
a self-indulgent, stomach-churning
display of everything that's wrong
with everything. At least half of
Kerrytown threatened to drop out
after watching the video. "I wish
I'd never seen this monstrosity,"
one disenfranchised Kerrytowner
said. To which every other student
replied, "What's a Kerrytown?"
In the end, we are
all really, really
awesome.
It doesn't matter if you've seen
the video or not. Yeah, maybe it's
not the most flattering image of our
school. But while some cringe at the
sight of our fellow students beer-
bonging their livers into oblivion,
they're forgetting one crucial fact:
this isn't groundbreaking. Step out-
side on any game day and you'll see
the exact same thing. So if you're
going to take anything away from
this, let it be this - this isn't new.
This is how it's always been and
how it always will be.
God, are we shmucked.
- Melanie Kruvelis can be
reached at melkruv@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Kaan Avdan, Eli Cahan, Ashley Griesshammer, Nirbhay Jain, Jesse Klein,
Patrick Maillet, Harsha Nahata, Timothy Rabb, Adrienne Roberts,
Vanessa Rychlinski, Sarah Skaluba, Caroline Syms
KELSEY TROTTA|
Equal pay aligns with GOP
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Look to your roots
In June, Senate Republicans blocked the
Paycheck Fairness Act from passing through
the Senate. This bill purposed to ensure
equal pay for men and women in the United
States. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that
a woman makes 77 cents to each man's dol-
lar. Despite years of effort, the bill has been
filibustered by Republicans at nearly every
attempt to pass it - they don't want the gov-
ernment dictating how much a private enter-
prise pays their employees. While I respect
that the GOP doesn't want the government
dictating the way businesses are run, I have
trouble understanding why they oppose a bill
that reflects so many of their values.
One of the most important goals of the PFA
is to preserve the sanctity of life. Accord-
ing to the Guttmacher Institute, 73 percent
of women who had abortions in 2004 did so
because they couldn't afford a child. By pass-
ing the PFA, women in single-income situa-
tions would have better financial means to
raise a child, which could lead to a decrease in
abortions. Such a decrease might also reduce
unnecessary government spending of tax dol-
lars on the time spent debating the creation
of new laws restricting access to abortion. If
protecting the sanctity of life and prevent-
ing wasteful government spending are both
essential GOP values. Why would the party
prevent this from passing?
In addition to preservingthe sanctity of life,
the PFA facilitates self-sufficiency and per-
sonal responsibility, also important GOP vir-
tues. The PFA would enable women to become
more self-sufficient and enable them to better
provide for their children. In addition, the PFA
would make women less likely to depend on
welfare as a means of familial support.
The PFA also supports traditional fam-
ily values while adjusting for a new American
Dream. The Census Bureau reports that 56 per-
cent of families are now dual-income, a result
of requiring extra money in light of the coun-
try's economic woes. If the Republican Party
wants to preserve traditional family values, it's
in their interest to ensure that both parents can
provide for their children equally.
Even in the case of a single-income family,
passingthe PFA would allow women a signifi-
cant amount of flexibility in raising a family.
For example, a woman could save money to
stay home with her children, and return to
work when she wanted.
Finally, passing the PFA reflects Christian
virtues. The Bible verse Galatians 3:28 states,
"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave
nor free, nor is there male and female, for you
are all one in Christ Jesus." If Jesus viewed
both men and women equally worthy of salva-
tion, wouldn't it make sense that the religious
voters would value gender equality as well?
Many Republicans argue that paying men
and women equally will push women out of
the workforce because they will no longer be
filling lower-paying jobs. While this concern is
valid, there are ways around it. For example,
while women may be filling higher-paying
jobs, the lower-paying jobs could be filled by
teenagers and college students, who are at his-
toric unemployment rates, givingthem invalu-
able career experience and opportunities.
I invite objectors of this bill to consider
whom their decision could be affecting. If
they could watch their loved ones suffer the
consequences of their actions with a clear
conscience, then they have that right. But
before anybody chooses to block this bill, I
hope they will keep in mind that they may be
undermining their own party's values.
Kelsey Trotta is an LSAajunior.
Though I was thrilled to travel
to Eastern Europe with my
family this summer, I didn't
understand my
father's unmiti-
gated insistence
that we go. Of
course, I knew
why he wanted
to take my sisters
and me to Prague
and Bardejov SARAH
- the cities my ROHAN
family hails from
- but I couldn't
comprehend the
reason for his urgency.
Just two years ago in high school,
I journeyed to Eastern Europe with
my senior class. I visited the War-
saw ghetto, Majdanek, Treblinka
and Auschwitz - the concentra-
tion camp that both of my paternal
grandparents survived. While I
looked forward to visiting Europe
this summer, I wasn't sure why my
father found it imperative to bring
my family again to the "old coun-
try." My father's persistence won
out, and off we went.
From the moment we landed in
Prague, we were seeing the sights.
Our successfully-completed itiner-
ary included the Jewish quarter,
Saint Vitus' Cathedral, the Prague
castle, the Old New Synagogue, the
Charles Bridge and the old Jewish
cemetery, where my great-grand-
parents and Franz Kafka lay to rest.
Though I was deeply impressed by
Prague's beauty and history, I didn't
feel a connection to the city. Like
most other camera-hoisting English
speakers, I was simply a detached
tourist. However, that feeling quick-
ly changed once we arrived in the
remote town of Bardejov, located in
the northeastern Slovakian hillside.
Both of my father's parents were
born and raised in the shtetl of
Bardejov which, at its peak, was
home to some 3,500 Jews and the
same number of Slovaks. My grand-
parents spoke often of the small
medieval town and our visit struck a
deep chord with me. By the time we
arrived in the late afternoon, most
of Bardejov's historic sites were
closed, except for one building-the
Chevra Bikur Cholim Synagogue,
my grandfather's synagogue.
The remarkably intact build-
ing was once the epicenter of Jew-
ish life and religious discourse in
Bardejov. Its primary caretaker
was an old Slovakian man who had
gone to great lengths to preserve
the memory of the half of his town
that disappeared after 1944. The
fruits of his labor were on display
in the back of the sanctuary. In the
cheder, or study room, the caretaker
had set up a vast collection of pho-
tos of Bardejov's Jewish residents,
all of which he had collected from
remaining townspeople.
As I carefully surveyed the photos
with my dad, we discovered pictures
of my grandfather's sister, Erica, his
brother, David, and finally a pho-
tograph of his youngest brother,
Aaron, who perished in Auschwitz
at the age of six.
Holding the photographs of my
ancestors in the very place of their
origination was a moment both sur-
real and poignant.
In that moment, I had ceased tobe
a lone individual. I was a sum. I had
in my hand images of my ancestors.
I realized I have my grandparents,
my parents, and the town of Bardejov
itself to thank for my very existence.
I approached the restof my visitwith
a refined perspective of myself, the
places I encountered, the communi-
ties which once existed in those plac-
es and the different modes of living
within those communities.
One such mode is the old-fash-
ioned Jewish schooling system
which my grandfather experienced.
I couldn't help but consider that
some of its practices could enhance
our own educational system. For
example, chavruta, the method of
working with a designated study
partner. English Prof. Ralph Wil-
liams actually employs this strategy
of chavruta here at the University.
Appreciate
times radically
different than
our own.
Furthermore, I marveled at the
dynamics of community interac-
tion in Bardejov. Jew and Gentile
cooperated to maintain a prosper-
ous town and an educated youth.
Although the circumstances of Hit-
ler's war disrupted and ultimately
eradicated Bardejov's pre-WWII
culture, one can't dismiss the val-
ues it set forth. Today we might
even stand to learn a thing or two
from the bipartisanship once dis-
played in this little Slovakian town.
Simply put, there's something
extremely valuable in seeking each
of our own histories and gaining
an appreciation for a time radically 1
different than ours. My grandpar-
ents' unique past made my own
experience connecting with my
roots an especially moving one.
Those whose family history is root-
ed in very different soil than mine
can stand to benefit from acquaint-
ing themselves with their past. It's
possible for heritage to create a bet-
ter present and lend a meaningful
perspective to the future.
- Sarah Rohan can be reached
at shrohan@umich.edu.
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