4 - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michiganclaily.com 4 - Tuesday, September18, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom hemichi ..aly Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com TIMOTHY RABB JOSEPH LICHTERMAN and ADRIENNE ROBERTS ANDREW WEINER EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position oftthe Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views ofttheir authors. FROM THE DAILY Infor m to protect The 'U' needs to advertise medical amnesty n May 8, Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law House Bill 4393, finally puttingminplace a state-wide medical amnesty bill that puts health and safety first. Under the new law, under- age people seeking medical attention while under the influence of alcohol are shielded from legal punishment when they call for help and receive treatment for themselves or others. The medical amnesty laws have the potential to save lives, especially on college campuses. The law was passed more than four months ago, and yet many stu- dents outside of University housing are still unaware of it. The Uni- versity needs to make it a priority to educate and inform all students about the changes in Michigan law, not just incoming freshmen. NOTABLE QUOTABLE There are 47 percent who are with [Barack Obama] ... who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it." - Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney said in a fundraising event, as reported by Mother Jones Friendships Influx y friend, after an unlucky turn of events, got stuck living in North Quad for her junior year of college. She's happily housed in a single, though subject- ed to freshmen and sopho- mores on a daily basis. ADRIENNE After a few ROBERTS days of living in this dreaded teenage-infested environment, she said, "I can't take this; there are actual people knocking on my door ... wanting to talk and be my friend. It's awful." That would have been me a few years ago, eagerly chatting with whomever's door was open about my hometown or the size of my graduating class. Thinking about doing that now sounds unimagi- nable, and a little bit awful, too. For some reason, past freshmen year, this type of conversation seems a little bit odd. Interestingly enough, I used to make fun of my parents for not hav- ingenough friends. I stillsometimes do. It always seemed that they were fine with just hanging out with each other. But that scenario isn't too far removed from my days spent in the back of lecture halls and studying in a corner of the Law Library. It's a scary thought. This summer I read an article in The New York Times, "Friends of a Certain Age," and immediately for- warded it to my parents, amazed at how perfectly this described them. They were just too old to make new friends. They have jobs to worry about and a house to maintain. It's just not feasible for them to make new connections at this point. Making and keeping friends is an entirely different, and supposedly more difficult, process for them than it is for people my age. I worked the entire summer, and some days as I stared at the comput- er screen for the seventh straight hour, I could feel myself getting old and friendless. I'd come home from work exhausted, say "hello" to my roommates and then turn on a rerun of "Seinfeld" and rest my eyes. At 7 p.m. I started school this year a little nervous about how my social life would change upon graduation. It felt as if during the summer months I'd been losing contact with old friends. Reading this article had entirely convinced me that friend- ships will die out, and it will only become more and more difficult to meet close friends. I think that it's true that many friends you thought you'd be close with forever will become busier, move away and have lives that go in completely different directions than yours. It's like there's a weed- ing out of friendships that begins in college. But that doesn't necessarily mean that you can't make new ones. I've lost contact with some friends over the years, but the ones I want to be in my life are. And the same goes for other college students I know, and my parents as well. However, I'm simultaneously making new friends. The people who I worked with this summer were some of my closest friends. It's hard not to be close with the people you spend a majority of your time with. And I know I'll stay ir contact with them, even though I won't see them every day. The author of the Times article, Alex Williams, states in an inter- view with National Public Radio that sociologists have settled on three conditions to make close friends: proximity, repeated inter- actions and a setting that "encour- ages people to let their guard down." He then goes on to say that college is the perfect setting for this. Friendships change with age, but their meaning doesn't. Williams is right, but I would argue that he thinks about what defines a "close" friend too nar- rowly. The way we make friends changes greatly throughout our lives. It's even changed throughout college. But I think it's possible to form connections, and meaningful ones at that, at any age. Age is not the problem here. Friendships do change with age, but their meaning does not. It's apparent that how we estab- lish friendships and the ongoing nature of them changes as we move down the road of life. Right now, I am enjoying that "perfect friend- ship environment." But that still doesn't mean I'm willing to relocate to North Quad and spend my time trick-or-treating for friends. - Adrienne Roberts can be reached at adrirobe@umich.edu. Follow her on Twitter at @A-drRoberts. The University has taken some steps to edu- cate new students on medical amnesty. This summer, it worked to familiarize incoming freshmen with what the amnesty law means for them. At summer orientation sessions, Uni- versity Department of Public Safety officers discussed the standards that the new law puts in place, letting students know what happens when they call in for alcohol-related emergen- cies. Legal changes were also reflected in this year's AlcoholEdu course - the online alco- hol education seminar incoming students are required to complete. However, many Univer- sity upperclassmen are unaware of the medi- cal amnesty law. Housing directors recently began telling resident advisors to include information about medical amnesty laws in hall e-mails in an attempt to spread the word to those living in dorms. The University's effort to inform students of this potentially life-saving law, however, has not extended to upperclassmen living off- campus. It has been four months since the law was passed, but the 'U' hasn't sent an e-mail to the student body outlining the changes in Michigan's law. There hasn't been any formal reminders from the University or DPS. Since the beginning of September, Univer- sity students partook in Welcome Week and home football games, both of which are noto- rious for excessive drinking. Yet many stu- dents aren't aware of the new safety measures under the law. Given that at least 1,400 college students' deaths a year are linked to alcohol, allowing even one student to remain ignorant of the law's changes is unacceptable. The changes created by the amnesty law are too closely tied to the health of students to be tossed aside as common knowledge. Any assumptions made by the administration in the belief that its students have been educated by outside sources are dangerously inaccurate. While the University should be doing more to advertise the amnesty law in order to pro- vide students with the proper facts and eradi- cate misinterpretations, students share that responsibility. The 'U' can easily spread the word by dis- tributing informational flyers or sending mass e-mails, but no consistent effort has been observed. In the years to come, University administration needs to nail down a system that reaches and educates everyone at the.Uni- versity, regardless of year, age or geographical location. The University has the responsibil- ity to combat issues related to health, protec- tion and safety of its students, and when these efforts fall short, it puts every student at risk. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Kaan Avdan, Eli Cahan, Nirbhay Jain, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis, Patrick Maillet, Harsha Nahata, Timothy Rabb, Adrienne Roberts, Vanessa Rychlinski, Sarah Skaluba, Michael Spaeth, Caroline Syms KAAN ADVAN|VIEWPOINT Politicized attacks I SHARIK BASHIRI VIEWPOINT The two faces of America This pastcsummer I was out with my friends in the downtown area of Karachi, Pakistan known as Saddar. While driving, I noticed some political graffiti on a wall. Someone had sprayed the slogan "go America go." This slogan may be misunderstood as one that is meant to cheer on American effort in the War on Terror. However, it was an anti-America slogan demanding that the United States leave Pakistan and discontinue its presence in my home country's northern areas. I immediately dismissed the graffiti as extremist right-wing rhetoric and continued driving. But the graffiti's message stuck with me. I. thought about how Pakistanis view the Unit- ed States and the accuracy of their percep- tions. Although that slogan doesn't speak for all of Pakistan, surely anti-U.S. sentiment has been on the rise. Over the past year I've lived in the United States and seen a side of this country that the majority of Pakistanis probably haven't. I believe ignorance contributes to why peo- ple in Pakistan are so critical of America. Instead of fervently criticizing the country, Pakistan should learn from America's his- tory - a history that is rife with political and social activism for domestic and inter- national matters alike. Nothing was handed to the American peo- ple on a silver platter. Every right was hard- earned and contested, from ending segregation to grantingwomenthe righttovote. Pakistanis have to learn to do the same. In my opinion, misinformation and alack of insight leads peo- ple to create a monstrous image of America. I later understood that there's a reason- able explanation as to why an increase in anti-American sentiment may be justified - beyond just lack of information. America is a country of two faces. Domestically, America is a secular, open and tolerant country, at least by law. Internationally, it portrays itself as a power to be feared and, for some people, loathed. While Pakistanis don't know about domestic America and its people, it seems that Americans aren't aware of the face their country shows to the world. There's a severe information deficit on both ends. Through the previous year, I hardly saw a mention of drone strikes in mainstream American media. The public seems to be oblivious to the fact that innocent lives are lost in drone attacks that the U.S. government carries out in Pakistan and Yemen. The only times media mentions the drone strikes are when a high-profile target is killed. The trag- edy of innocent lives lost is rarely reported, and there's very little debate and discussion on this topic. . I was appalled by the unprofessionalism in American news reporting. News feels more like entertainment. Anderson Cooper, one of the most promi- nent anchors on American television, has a segment on his show AC360 called the 'Rid- icuList' where, as the name suggests, truly ridiculous information, such as videos of dogs singing on YouTube, is shared on prime time television. The media seems to have forgot- ten what it once stood for. American media in the past inspired activism: Students right here at Michigan and at colleges around the country, such as University of California, Berkeley, once protested and organized sit- ins on their college campuses. They fought against the Vietnam War and the draft. They are responsible for bringing an end to injus- tices committed by the government. Today, in these very universities, students have forgot- ten their own history. When I returned to Pakistan this sum- mer, newspapers and news channels were inundated with headlines about drone strikes and their consequent death counts. In Paki- stan, drone strikes are seen as inhumane and immoral. When an area is attacked, houses are destroyed. When a drone attacks one loca- tion, people cannot rescue the survivors as they tremble with pain on the floor because there's usually another strike in the same location soon after the initial strike. Such acts of brutality are what cause people to view the United States as a monster. I don't wish to impose my political views on anyone. I simply recommend that Americans should demand more information. They should expect better and more professional journal- ism. Demand to see the face of America that's concealed, and be critical of both images. Sharik Bashir is an LSA sophomore. I recently watched the movie "Innocence of Muslims", the film many claim is responsible for inciting anti-American protests around the world. This film was shot by a man named Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, who turned out to have 17 different aliases after initial scrutiny. It's by far the most ridiculous movie I've seen in my life, and it's depressing that a filmmaker's hateful agenda may have cost innocent lives and ignited turmoil in the Middle East. The movie depicts a half-witted, bisexual prophet Mohammed who is unfaithful, barbaric and lust-driven. I can understand why Muslims across the Middle East are outraged at the movie,butisthistheonlyreasonforall ofthe hatred? Reporters who talked to the protesters say that most of them haven't seen the movie, but have been told by their preachers that an Israeli- American movie mocked Mohammed. It seems as if there are other motives for the unrest. The sudden attacks at various U.S. diplomatic posts, especially the con- sulate in Libya, came as a surprise to many. It's clear from reports by a number of U.S. officials that they weren't expecting such a violent outburst in a country they helped transition into democracy. However, the mainly Islamist groups that took down dictators across the Middle East were never fond of the Unit- ed States. The attacks and violent mobs are just another display of this growing tension. The fact that these attacks hap- pened amid an increasingly con- tested election season means that America's response to the events is heavily affected by politics. While the Republicans took this ill-fated turn of events as an opening to blunt- ly criticize President Obama's foreign policy, the Democrats, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, tried to argue that the only reason for the uprisings was the movie "Inno- cence of Muslims." All of these par- tisan attitudes left virtually no room for an honest evaluation or review of the events among top U.S. political candidates and officials. On the other hand, civil war in Syria - which until recently was the center of U.S. attention in Mid- dle Eastern politics - has been left aside in light of the new events. I believe, though, a close inspection of the dynamics of Syria is key to exposing the true motives of the sudden unrest in the Middle East. Before this summer, the West's general consensus about Syria was that the rebels were divided fac- tions and lacked necessary weap- onry and military training. But now they have largely taken over Aleppo, the country's most populous and largest city, and are believed to have a promising shot at taking down Damascus, the nation's capital. I spent my summer in Turkey - my parents live there - and will try to explain what's going on in the Middle East, through what I have read in the Turkish media and my discussions with people while I was there. It has come to my attention that when NATO entered Libya, many in the West believed that they were helping Libyans into freedom and taking risks for the Libyan people. However, Russia, China and the Muslim countries regarded this as a greater plan for the West to exert power over the Middle East and control Libya's oil supplies. The Turks' discussions on U.S. involve- ment in Egypt started with the claim that the United States real- ized Mubarak was out of time and started to back the protesters in order to have a say in Egyptian poli- cies when they come to power. The typical Middle Easterner is highly skeptical of U.S. foreign policy. This might be the result of years of Western colonization of the Middle East, as well as many small occurrences like this incon- siderate and provocative movie. This combination could spark years of suppressed feelings. Arabs have waited too long to be free; freedom for them means no oppressors. This includes Western influence. The case in Syria is unique. The consensus in Turkish media is that Russia sells arms to Bashar al-Assad, and Turkey and Lebanon smuggle weaponry into Syria to the rebels at the request of the United States. What's more, less than a month ago, representatives from the opposition partyin Turkeytried to get into a Syrian refugee camp in which Syrian rebels were allegedly given military training. They were not let in by the military personnel who guarded the camp. My aim was to put all the infor- mation on the table in an unbiased way and let you, the reader, do the deciding. However, I do feel obliged to condemn the movie that sparked the protests, and all the protesters who rallied to take brutal revenge by attacking innocent people. Kaan Advan is an LSA sophomore. 4 CHECK US OUT ONLINE Keep up with columnists, read Daily editorials, view cartoons and join in the debate. 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