4A - Monday, October 8, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.cam 4A - Monday, October 8, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom he Mihigan 4atimU 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 of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. Highly truant andunaffluent Michigan shouldn't sacrifice welfare for attendance n Oct.1, the Michigan Department of Human Services imple- mented a new law in an attempt to ensure consistent class- room attendance by students ages six to 15. The law stipulates that any student who accrues 10 or more unexcused absences in a sin- gle school year renders their family ineligible for state welfare. This initiative fails to take multiple extenuating factors into account and may inadvertently punish families and students for circumstances beyond their control. Furthermore, it's counterintuitive to make the welfare of entire households contingent on a single student's atten- dance, since students depend on the food and rent government assis- tance affords to maintain a healthy attendance record. (Im)polite politics f you're like many politically- aware students at our uni- versity, you probably spent last Wednesday night snuggled in front of the television ready to watch the first presidential debate between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama. SARAH Youleftthe UGLi SKALUBA early, maybe even skipped Wine Wednesday, with big hopes of gaininginsight into the various pol- icies of the Republican presidential nominee and the incumbent. We wanted fierce debate. We wanted to leave our couches with an understanding of exactly where Romney and Obama stand on differ- ent issues and how they each plan to drag our bruised nation out of the economic shambles in which it's found itself. But it didn't take long to realize we set our hopes too high. Much too high. In fact, it felt like I was watching a passive-aggressive squabble between two suburban- ites, rather than a presidential debate. Poor Jim Lehrer clearly didn't have any power to mediate the discussion, and seemed to act as more of a comic figure than an actual moderator. Beneath the layers of political rambling, unanswered questions and blatant lies, however, is an extremely interesting idea regard- ing debate etiquette. Or maybe debate tradition, for lack of better words. Let's be honest, we know that Romney and Obama are far from close pals. They're fighting a nasty battle withless than amonthuntilthe ultimate winner is finally announced and the loser can walk away with his tail between his legs. They trash each other's policies, approve humiliating commercials and spend whatever it takes to make the opponent look absolutely awful. From this perspective, the sly smiles and uncomfortable greet- ings between the candidates prove noteworthy. They raise the ques- tion: Is this staged performance and fagade a product of debate tra- dition, or the realization of an ever- growing animosity between two distinct political parties? The performance was prefaced by a dramatic introduction thanks to Lehrer, the poor fellow who was talked over, cut off and pretty much completely ignored throughout the 90-minute ordeal. He began the night by saying, "The audience here in the hall has promised to remain silent. No cheers, applause, boos, hisses - among other noisy distracting things - so we may all concentrate on what the candidates have to say." (Although in this case, it apparently wasn't much.) After Lehrer announced the "house rules" the candidates strolled on stage, smiles gleaming and arms outstretched to greet the audience and eventually each other. It doesn't take a psychology major to gauge the immense tension that permeated this handshake and the uncomfortable feelings the candi- dates shared. Maybe, just maybe, this fagade is used to show a united front that crosses party lines and connects all Americans. However, as Nov. 6 nears, the divide between parties is continuously growing and each side seems to be moving further and further in opposite directions. The two candidates did greet each other on stage with a stark smile and handshake, though just how genuine these gestures were is up for further debate. In "girl world," passive aggres- sion is the sneakiest form of aggres- sion out there. It's being nasty, without actually bearing fangs. It's the ability to be sly, without coming across as an angry, psychotic bitch. And in the political realm, from what I saw Wednesday 'night, this doesn't change much. Debates have a passive aggressive undertone. President Obama introduced himself and wished his wife a happy anniversary in front of mil- lions of viewers, only to be outdone by a rather feisty Romney. The Republican nominee proclaimed, "And congratulations to you, Mr. President, on your anniversary. I'm sure this was the most roman- tic place you could imagine here - here with me, so I - congratula- tions." Well, wasn't that chock-full of uncomfortable undertones. The presidential debates are a hybridized performance. One part competitive game, two parts dra- matic performance, topped off with enough unspoken tension to make even the meanest mean girl seem like an angel. So yes, the majority of the claims made by each side were false, none of our questions were actually answered and at times we forgot we were in fact witnessing a serious political debate. But this just leaves more room for us to ponder the social etiquette and underlying tension of this historic, American tradition. Although we'll never know exactly what either can- didate is thinking as he scribbles notes down and smiles eerily during his opponent's turn to talk, I don't think it takes much imagination on our part to fill in the blanks. - SarahSkaluba can be reached at sskaluba@umich.edu. According to The Detroit News, reoccur- ring truancy is a serious problem among lower income families and can result in a domino effect of negative behaviors such as dropping out of school, criminal activity and jobless- ness. In 2012, Robert Balfanz, a Johns Hop- kins University researcher, said "poverty is the main driver of absenteeism," meaning it can ultimately determine why and how often a student is truant from school. If they fail to adhere to this new rule, low-income families will be deemed ineligible for any state welfare assistance. According to The Detroit News, "hunger, transportation, lack of proper school uniforms and sexually transmitted diseases" are among the most cited reasons for truancy. Since the mitigation of these obstacles to consistent attendance largely depends upon a lower- income family's ability to apply for and receive welfare, it's unfair to respond to unsatisfac- tory attendance by depriving families of the resources they need to ensure attendance. The law is especially troubling when con- sidering that at many schools, a student's out- of-school suspension will count against them as an unexcused absence. This means that a student who attends school but commits an offense worthy of suspension could put his entire family's welfare eligibility in jeopardy. Other schools require a student's presence in homeroom for them to be counted present for the entire day, meaning a student who attends school regularly but arrives an hour late on any givendaycouldsimilarlydisqualifytheirfamily from assistance. Parents can't necessarily hold their child's hand all the way into the building, either. A student could potentially step off the bus and abscond without their parents' knowl- edge. Such offenses should not be put entirely on parents who value their child's education and encourage their consistent attendance. No law should grant a wayward student such inor- dinate power to determine the future wellbeing of their family. Rather than punishing parents by threaten- ing their family's welfare status, schools should focus on improving the quality and marketing of their educational services to students and their parents. It's more effective to incentivize good attendance - by emphasizing the avail- ability of engaging coursework for students and opening communication between parents and teachers - than it is to punish poor atten- dance. The state could also consider raising a family's maximum welfare eligibility by a small percentage if a student maintains satisfactory attendance for a predetermined amount of time. While Michigan's rising levels of truancy demand a swift and decisive response, link- ing welfare eligibility to student attendance may exacerbate the problem by withholding the basic resources families need to ensure their children are on the bus each day. The state should revert to policies that incentiv- ize proper attendance, rather than punish the lack of it. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Eli Cahan, Nirbhay Jain, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis, Patrick Maillet, Harsha Nahata, Timothy Rabb, Adrienne Roberts, Vanessa Rychlinski, Sarah Skaluba, Michael Spaeth, Gus Turner Not anothr voting colun KAAN AVDAN| Obama needs to step up On Wednesday night, Republican presi- Until Medicare came up, Obama was pretty dential nominee Mitt Romney and President much stuck in a rut he couldn't climb out Barack Obama were finally on stage together of. Romney denied everything the president at the University of Denver for a policy-heavy said about him, allowing Romney to paint an debate. From jobs to taxes and from the defi- idyllic picture of himself as a defender of the cit to education, both candidates were very middle class and an economic reformer. particular about their own plans and made ' Jargon, body language and charisma aside, specific attacks on their opponent's. As a Obama was actually more consistent and con- result, they ended up agreeing on quite a few cise. On Wednesday night, Romney achieved policies, but ironically, both accepted few inflated success because he kept uttering the facts presented by the other side. word "jobs." He tried to make everything It's widely acknowledged that Romney per- about the economy. On crucial issues like formed significantly better than the president. taxation, Medicare and education, Obama Given prior circumstances, it was surprising restated the points from his campaign and to watch the president cornered by the for- explained how his policies have brought prog- mer Mass. governor. Romney's success wasn't ress and recovery. On the other hand, Romney because of his brilliantly crafted policy propos- almost always started off by first rejecting a als - he was simply a more dominant debater. claim about his policy suggestions and then After all, it had only been a week since the 47 going on to explain his "actual" plans. percent video came out, but by Wednesday, As previously mentioned, the debate was Romney had managed to turn himself into the laden with specific policy discussions. When big guy who cares about the little guy. This is the debaters started talking about Obam- shocking news to the Obama camp, since they acare, it got even more nit-picky, to the point run the campaign on the president's status as a that it became mundane for the average view- champion of the middle-class. er. I wasn't surprised when my engineer and At the beginning of the debate, Romney was business major friends were bored of watch- clearly uptight and Obama was his usual cool. ing candidates simply go over points that The debate started with the discussion of jobs. they'd been preparing for weeks. We were For Romney, it was always about employment, all ears when they said college tuition, but at but Obama constantly tried to make the point the end of the day, a Michigan education still that he's done a good job of putting people back costs the same. Consequently, what every- to work. Romney took the lead in the debate; one remembered was a portion that Romney he started attacking the president's policies on dominated, and a second portion that was job creation and the stagnant unemployment pretty balanced. rate, and he managed to remain on the offen- The debate proved that the presidential sive. Merely 27 minutes into the debate, while race isn't over for Romney. Unless there's a discussing the budget deficit, a confident Rom- sequel to the "47 percent" video he might have ney had loosened up and Obama was constantly a real chance. Even though some of his stanc- taking down notes to respond in turn. es were doubtful, he's most certainly going to on the body language front, Obama sent gain momentum between now and the next mixed signals while Romney decisively debate. As a firm Democrat, it's now evident addressed the president most of the time. that Obama needs to pull out all the stops Obama generally looked at Jim Lehrer, unless he wants to occupy Wall Street instead the moderator, and the camera. He rarely of the White House for the next four years. Tuesday is the voter registra- tion deadline in the state of Michigan. But never mind that. This col- umn isn't about the election. You're smart, you're busy. You're the I-have-no-time- to vote student. I don't need to lec- ture you on the DANIEL importance of CHARDELL voting in general or in this election in particular. I don't need to remind you that your vote will determine our next president, the balance of power in Congress and the guiding philoso- phy at the helm of our politics for the next four years. I don't need to tell you that we have four Supreme Court justices in their mid to late seventies, or that their imminent retirements may put our next president in a posi- tion to drastically alter the political leanings of the bench. Who cares that the Supreme Court will soon be ruling on the most contested social issues of our time? It's also not worth mentioning that Supreme Court jus- tices will outlast the president who appoints them - just one of the many ways we live with the legacies of presidents after they leave office. But we're not going to talk about all that, because this column isn't about the election. Besides, I know life isn't easy for you, the I-have- no-time-to-vote student. It's an election year, and you're a U.S. citi- zen above the age of 18. People irra- tionally expect you to vote. As the election approaches, you're inevi- tably bombarded with an unend- ing supply of e-mails, commercials, editorials, celebrity-sponsored PSAs and student campaign vol- unteers hounding you on all four corners of the Diag, all demanding that you register to vote. With all the noise people make about vot- ing, you'd almost get the impression that it's meaningful or something. But don't worry. Those daily reminders to participate in your democracy will disappear soon enough (I predict no later than Nov. 6), and then you'll be free to think about topics outside the election as much as you want. In the mean- time, I won't subject you to more election talk. And does it really matter which candidate you vote for, anyway? After all, President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nomi- nee Mitt Romney have so much in common. Obama believes in a pro- gressive tax code. Romney believes in taxing progress. Obama wants to balance the budget through a com- bination of discretionary spending cuts and modest revenue increases. Romney will fix the global econo- my by defunding PBS and Planned Parenthood. Obama is an advocate of the DREAM Act and humane immigration reform. Romney's polygamous great-grandfather lived in Mexico. Obama has two young daughters. Romney is con- stantly toying around with an Etch A Sketch. Obama supports same- sex marriage, repealed "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and opposes the Defense of Marriage Act. Romney has this one gay friend, Richard Grenell, who served as Romney's national security spokesman. Well, until Grenell resigned just one week after his appointment under pressure from leaders on the far right who took issue with his sexu- ality. Regardless, Obama and Rom- ney are basically the same person. So let's not talk about the elec- tion anymore. Never mind your moral obligation to vote. It's not like young people across the Mid- dle East are dying in their efforts to depose tyrannical regimes. It's not like American 18-year-olds spend their youth in uniform defending the freedoms you're hardly aware you have. It's not like untold num- bers of nameless, faceless individu- als have sacrificed themselves for your chance to cast a ballot. Right? Why should you bother? I hope you're enjoying this not- about-the-election chat as much as I am. If anything, people need to understand that the average I-have-no-time-to-vote student is the real victim. How can we possi- bly set aside 10 minutes to vote for a president once every four years when we're already so busy check- ing Facebook, watching football and doing other important non- election things? It's unreasonable to expect so much of us. I under- stand that you, a student with no time to vote, faces discrimination every day. Those volunteers on the Diag aren't asking you if you're reg- istered to vote because they want you to fully exercise your rights. No, they do it because they're jeal- ous you're above all this voting stuff. They don't understand you. But I do, and I commend your arro- gance. That's why this column is absolutely not about the election. There's no time to vote when we have to check Facebook. And besides, even if you wanted to vote, registering is too compli- cated to understand. There's defi- nitely at least one form involved in the registration process. Well, I say that's one form too many. We're just college students! Sure, we'll ace that exam in organic chemistry. But ask us to complete a simple survey of our basic information? That's beyond us. We'd probably just go cross-eyed at the sight of it. No, better leave all that to the seasoned voters, the elderly. Their interests can't be too different from yours, right? As an I-have-no-time-to-vote student, you're exhausted con- stantly telling people why you're too busy to register and vote. But this is the home stretch; the dead- line for Michigan voter registration is Tuesday. So stay strong! Hold your head high! You only have to complain about not having time to vote for one more day. - Daniel Chardell can be reached at chardell@umich.edu. addressed Romney directly. This made him seem like he was avoiding his opponent. Kaan Avdan is an LSA sophomore. WANT THE DAILY ON THE GO? Now you can access your favorite Daily opinion content on your phone. Check out the Daily's mobile website at m.michigandaily.com.