4 -,Tuesday, November 20, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4 - Tuesday, November 20, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom d f 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. FR IMT H E *STEM surplus More emphasis needed on other fields of study The University boasts one of the strongest engineering programs in the country: ranked seventh by U.S. News and World Report in 2012. Last Thursday, the University received a $2 million dollar grant to support science, technology, engineering and math students. While the University and country have great interest in promoting graduates in STEM fields, it's also necessary to recognize other fields of study that may develop simi- The deal on Black Friday Black Friday has both its ori- gins and its growth in our consumer-driven culture, and there's noth- ing wrong with that. But we have to remember that « our choices as consumers have h far-reaching effects on others. Over the last decade, con- JAMES sumers have BRENNAN decided that they don't want to wait until Thanksgiving is over to start holiday shopping. This year, Toys-"R"-Us, Wal-Mart, Sears and K-Mart will open their doors at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, while Target will allow shoppers in at 9:00 p.m. Sound ridiculous? Well, retail giants are only able to rip peo- ple away from their families on Thanksgiving evening because it works. This phenomenon is con- sumer-driven. The problem is not that the retailers employ this strat- egy, but that it works. And every year, it starts earlier and becomes even busier than before. Being a flaming anti-consumerist, it irks me to hear that people will shop on Thanksgiving before they even have time to enjoy the inevi- table food coma. But this column isn't about the problems I have with American materialism or conspicu- ous consumption. What concerns me most about these insanely early sales is the effect on retail workers. With stores opening so early, employees will barely have time to wrap up their leftovers before their shifts begin. Shopping on Thanks- giving is completely voluntary - working isn't quite the same. Pro- tests have already begun regarding these Miore demanding schedules. An online petition asking Target, Wal-Mart and other retailers to give employees all of Thanksgiving off has gathered more than 340,000 signatures. As encouraging as that is, a store like Wal-Mart doesn't respond to sig- natures - it responds to money. People often forget that when they spend money, they are essentially voting. Buying a product expresses your approval of that product, and buying it from a certain store con- fers your agreement with that store. So long as you keep spending money there, that company will stay in busi- ness and will generate profit. Wal- Mart is notorious for mistreating employees, selling imported goods and running small businesses out of town. But people love the low prices, so they keep the convenience con- glomerate in business. Black Friday is the epitome of the United States' moral failure: Self- ishness is now a virtue in Ameri- can society. Ignore the fact that hundreds of female employees have filed lawsuits against Wal-Mart for discrimination. Ignore the fact that employees all over the country will have to leave their families on a national holiday. And ignore the fact that retail giants rake in bil- lions in profits but pay their employ- ees a wage that's barely livable. The American consumer benefits, so it's all good. I'm not trying to rally against capitalism here. I'm making a point about work in America. There are major injustices committed against our neighbors regularly that we have the power to stop. Suppose a few million people who were going to shop at Wal-Mart on Black Fri- day refused, as a way of standing in solidarity with the striking employ- ees. Their business loss would be significant. Now imagine that lasts for months. Wal-Mart would begin labor negotiations and the problems of poor working conditions and low pay could be resolved. As con- sumers in this system, we hold the power. It will force us to sacrifice: Personally, my family is strapped for cash and we need to stretch things as far as we can. Our consumer choices have far-reaching effects. Regardless, we never have and never will shop at a Wal-Mart. We refuse to support a business that does what they do. It hurts us, but we make that sacrifice in the hope of influencing a change. As consumers, we need to under- stand what spending our money means. our purchases will decide when people work, how much they get paid and whether or not they deserve equal treatment because of their gender. I propose something very simple: if you want to help retail workers all over the country, then don't go shop- ping at 8:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Send a message to businesses that they can't do this to their employ- ees. Go and enjoy the deals if you'd like, but just remember that at one point, you'll be at a register looking into the eyes of a person who had to leave Thanksgiving dinner early just to ring you up. Personally, I would rather stay home, eat some pumpkin pie and watch more football. - James Brennan can be reached at jmbthree@umich.edu. s lar. impoTtance or economic relev The National Science Foundation funds a grant for a high school to college transition program aimed at establishing M-STEM academies at the University for a five-year period. The University has pledged to expand its STEM programs to attract a more diverse group of undergraduates and award more STEM degrees. The grant the University received is an impacting contribution to world-renowned program in the sciences. STEM fields are a weak point of American education and cer- tainly deserves advocates. Post-graduation, STEM degrees can be highly profitable and important, while funding provides a resource of interested high school students. However, there are many other areas of study that are essential. The ability to read critically, write clearly and form effective arguments will always be necessary skills for any job. These are skills that are heav- ily emphasized in liberal arts programs. An average person will change their career five to seven times in their lifetime. A liberal arts program provides the platform necessary to learn skills that are a necessity to the ever- changing job market, and can work in con- junction with other fields. While the grant for the STEM programs is enormously beneficial, this emphasis shouldn't be at the expense of other aca- demic fields. There should be equal incentive for high school students to join every field of study in higher education, as diverse educa- tional backgrounds makes for more knowl- edgeable world citizens. With a shift toward only STEM degrees, the liberal arts and edu- cation fields could eventually receive less funding, negatively impacting the students who choose to study these fields. Promoting STEM degrees in under-rep- resented groups should be applauded. The future of higher education, however, depends on every discipline taught at the University. The overall purpose of higher education is to teach students how to think critically about the world. We cannot be successful mem- bers of an ever-changing society unless our graduates are well-rounded and come from a series of diverse fields. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, Eli Cahan, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis, Patrick Maillet, Jasmine McNenny, Harsha Nahata, Timothy Rabb, Adrienne Roberts, Vanessa Rychlinski, Paul Sherman, Sarah Skaluba, Michael Spaeth, Gus Turner, Derek Wolfe JOEL ELSTER 1VE P NT Tikun olam 'Li.E F T PTLR F U@The Big Ten So the midwest expands to the east coast now? The Jersey Shore is about to have a lot more farmers tans than fake tans now. #UofMaryland #Rutgers #Big74? -@michdailyoped JESSE KLEINI I - Give thanks for the'break 0 Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly in Baltimore, where more than 3,000 Jews from around North America gathered to discuss the cur- rent state of Judaism. The loose theme of the event was Tik- kun Olam, Hebrew for "repairing the world," which is one of the most important tenets of Judaism. For us, Tikkun Olam means leaving the world abetter place than you found it. In one of the opening sessions, I heard amazing speakers talk about inspiring work being done by the Jewish community in places such as Rwanda and Haiti. I heard about how my community mobilized during Hurricane Sandy relief. These acts are commendable and should be praised - but that wasn't why I went to Baltimore. I went to Baltimore hoping to discuss how my Jewish and Israeli identities are struggling with one another. I went to Baltimore to figure out how the conflict fits into my Jewish values. I went to talk about Palestinians. As a Jew, I feel a strong connection to the state of Israel. As a liberal and someone who believes in undeniable, universal equality, I feel a strong moral imperative to fight for human rights for everyone, regardless of which side of a border they live on. Increas- ingly, I feel that my liberal, Jewish and demo- cratic beliefs are at odds with the actions of the state of Israel. Israel occupies Palestinian land, and with violence on both sides, a peace- ful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian con-. flict appears distant. My desire to process this aspect of my iden- tity began the first time I met a Palestinian. I attended a Jewish day school and was brought up well inside the comforts of a Jewish estab- lishment. I was taught to always defend Israel against its enemies and that all criticism of Israelwasveiled anti-Semitism.Atage 17, Iwas introduced to a Palestinian. I was prepared to argue with him, refute all of his points about Israel and explain to him that Israel was only acting to protect itself in all situations. What I wasn't prepared for, however, was his story. After hearing it, I could no longer view Israel as perfect and Palestinians as evil - Isaw both sides fight for the same rights and values. More importantly, I realized that being pro-Israel or pro-Palestine views were not mutually exclusive, but interdependent. I was met with hostility, however, when I expressed my views within my community, to the point that I felt uncomfortable discussing the con- flict at all. To me, at its root, the conflict reflects the struggle for Israel to embody both a Jewish and democratic character. The choice seems to lead either to an Israel that pursues Jew- ish tribalism and occupation, or an Israel that pursues democratic ideals. When I was in Bal- timore, only one session dealt with this ten- sion. One speaker in particular discussed this tension in a way that appealed to me. Rabbi Professor Naftali Rothenberg, a deeply devout, Orthodox Jew, spoke about his.love for Israel and Judaism. When asked what he would do if his views on Judaism and.democracy con- flicted with each other, he gave the answer I needed to hear. "It is no question, I would give up a Judaism with no democracy in it. Judaism without democracy is not a Judaism for me." I feared questioning and struggling with my identity would be isolating as I arrived on campus at the University, but at Festifall, I found J Street UMich. As the only student organization on campus actively campaigning for a comprehensive two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we're working to hold our democratic values and Jewish iden- tity together. As the Jews involved in J Street UMich, we have decided that a concern for the future of both Israelis and Palestinians rests at the very center of our work of Tikkun Olam. This week, while pro-Israel and pro- Palestine students rallied on the Diag, we hand-delivered nearly 300 postcards signed by students calling for American leadership in the region to help create a two-state solu- tion. While divisive actions run rampant on our campus, we seek to be proactive in ensur- ing safety and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. Unfortunately, interesting and nuanced discussion about our identity as it relates to today's state of Israel were absent at the assem- bly. It was unacceptable that only one session out of dozens dealt with the actual issues fac- ing Judaism today. Luckily, these discussions aren't missing on campus - you just need to know where to find them. Joel Elster is an LSA junior. The University prides itself on having a large out-of-state student population of 42.6 percent of the student body. University President Mary Sue Coleman has expressed interest in trying to attract even more out-of-state students to Ann Arbor. However, the Univer- sity makes itself unattractive to these students by not only giving an incredibly short Thanksgiving vacation break, but by scheduling tests the first three days after stu- dents return to campus. Breaks should be a time for stu- dents to recharge, and for many out-of-state students Thanksgiving break is the first time they will see their families in four months. Sched- uling a test on the Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday after Thanksgiving ensures that most students, local or out-of-state, will spend most of their break with textbooks and practice tests instead of their families. University professors should be conscientious when they are sched- uling tests, so hardworking students can enjoy the few breaks they have. The University has already come under criticism for begin- ning Thanksgiving break at 5 p.m. the day before Thanksgiving. The largest proportion of out-of-state students come from New York or California, 13.7 percent and 14.1 percent respectively. For these out- of-state students, the average flight is between three and six hours long, decreasing the amount of time spent with one's family down to 92 hours, or 3.8 days. Most students have come to accept this part of life as a Univer- sity student, however the organic chemistry test and physics test scheduled for the Tuesday and Thursday cement the fact that these students will spend their Thanks- giving stressing over exams. They will feel guilty when they spend time with their families instead of studying. Time not spent at the Thanksgiving table will be spent working at their desks. There are many other tests sched- uled for the week after Thanks- giving but physics and organic chemistry have the distinction as some of the hardest introductory courses offered. The averages on an organic chemistry test usually fall in the high 50s or low 60s as stated in the course syllabus. Physics has similar averages. Organic chemis- try doesn't even give answers to the practice tests, in the hope that stu- dents will work together and learn as a group. Organic chemistry professor Brian Coppola states in his sylla- bus that the best way to learn is "to be able to explain your ideas while you are answering exam questions. Study together productively. Set up a group through the Science Learn- ing Center or just do it on your own. Our campus is filled with empty classrooms - take turns going to the board and teaching each other." He's right, this is the best way to learn. However, a campus that is full of empty classrooms is useless when students aren't on campus to utilize them. Finally, Thanksgiving is not fall break. It's not supposed to be a time before midterms for students to spend hours on end in the library. This is a national holiday celebrat- ing a part of our country's history. It's mandated by the United States that this day be a vacation for public schools and government workers. This public university is funded, at least in part, by government money. While the school is following the government's policy in the literal sense, it is not doing its justice to follow the spirit of the holiday. On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day the University sponsors gatherings and speeches like Shirley Sherrod's speech in 2011. These events keep the meaning of MLK Day alive, but the University has not done the same for Thanksgiving, a holiday that has become synonymous with family time. The University wants to increase the number of out-of-state students, yet they do very little to make the University appealing for such stu- dents - such as insanely expensive out-of-state tuition rates, limited vacation time and the inability to enjoy vacations without the looming threat of tests. Professors at a large university already have to combat the stereotype that they care more about their research than their stu- dents, and by scheduling tests at unattractive times they are rein- forcing this idea. Students at the University are hardworking and care about their grades, and the fact that they should have to choose between their scholarship and their family time is shameful. Thanksgiving is a national holiday and professors are acting in a disrespectful man- ner by expecting students to forgo their holiday traditions to either stay on campus engross themselves in silent study. Jesse Klein is LSA sophomore 0 FOLLOW @MICHIGAN DAILY ON TWITTER FOR UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY I A