4A - Wednesday, November 28, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
4A - Wednesday, November 28, 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.
FROM T HE DAILY
Suggested secession
CSG and RSG's interests don't always align
Central Student Government's fall elections end tomor-
row. One particularly contentious issue on the ballot could
change how these elections are held for the foreseeable
future. In September, Rackham Student Government - the gradu-
ate student branch of CSG - proposed using the ballot to survey
whether or not graduate students, and other graduate student orga-
nizations, would be interested in having RSG secede from CSG.
While the ballot question is non-binding and is solely to gauge stu-
dent interest, it did not arrive on the ballot without contention. Now
that this questions is presented, students should seriously consider
if CSG is an effective body. A split may be the most beneficial option
for both organizations and students.
Time to tone down the crazy
he 2012 Presidential Elec-
tion was full of surprises. A
race that
every political
pundit or news
corporation,
barring Nate
Silver, thought
was goingto be
a toss-up was
decided by11 p.m
- without Flor-
ida's votes even
beingcounted.
Perhaps none
HARSHA
NAHATA
were more surprised than leaders in
the Republican Party. Independent
conservative groups spent more than
$700 million on the election, only to
see their candidate lose. Karl Rove
couldn't even bring himself to believe
it at first.
But, was it really that unbeliev-
able? Mitt Romney's campaign, along
with the extreme right wing of the
Republican Party, managed to alien-
ate women, minorities, young people
and low-income people all in the
same election cycle. From Romney's
comments about the 47 percent and
"self-deportation" of undocumented
immigrants to Republican Senate
candidate Todd Akin and Richard
Murdock's comments on rape, this
election saw some of the most outra-
geous political rhetoric to date.
The fact of the matter is that the
demographics of this nation are
changing. President Barack Obama
only won 39 percent of white voters,
and yet still managed to win the elec-
tion. During the last few elections,
Democrats have established a strong
base of minority support, and this
group is only growing.
In 2008, Asian Americans made
up 2 percent of the population; in
just four years they've grown to 3
percent, and 47 percent voted for
Obama. In 2008, Hispanics made
up 15 percent of the electorate - in
2012 they contributed 17 percent,
with 60 percent favoring Obama. As
this election reaffirmed, there simply
aren't enough white men to propel
a candidate to an electoral victory
nowadays.
The changingdemographics ofthe
country will continue to put Repub-
licans at an electoral disadvantage
unless they broaden their party's
appeal. Today, minorities make up 30
percent of the U.S. population, but by
2050 they are estimated to exceed 50
percent.
Not only are the numbers of
minorities in the United States grow-
ing, but people are becoming more
moderate on social issues. According
to a study by the Pew Research Cen-
ter, compared to older generations,
Millenials are less likely to identify
with any particular religious affilia-
tion. Twenty-six percent of Milleni-
als identified as nothavingareligious
affiliation, the highest among any of
the previous generations. In 1990, 86
percent of the population identified
as Christian; in 2008, it decreased to
76 percent.
This then translates into their
social and political views as well. As
the study reiterated, young people
are more likely to be accepting of
homosexuality and believe in evolu-
tion as a valid explanation for human
life.
while young people still make up
a modest part of the population as
compared to the Baby Boomer gener-
ation, these numbers show a signifi-,
cant shift in mindset. They reiterate
that societyingeneral, and especially
those born today, are less likely to
adhere to strict religious values and
more likely to be open and flexible
in their positions on social issues.
The ongoingshift away from religion
toward science means that many of
the GOP's positions on issues such
as gay marriage, abortion or climate
change are becoming outdated.
An op-ed by a member of the Col-
lege Republicans in the Wall Street
Journal claimed the GOP is viewed
as the "party of the rich" and "social
bigots" by the young voting popu-
lation. She went on to state, "As a
member of this all-important demo-
graphic, I know that neither I, nor
(almost) anybody else coming of age
today supports the Republican social
agenda. That's the way the country is
moving - so just deal with it. Mod-
ernize and prioritize."
And perhapsthat's the lessonhere.
The Republican Party has to mod-
ernize. And thankfully so. As a lib-
eral - albeit a moderate liberal'- I'm
overjoyed that the Republican Party
is doing some soul searching. Don't
get me wrong - election 2012 Was
thoroughly entertaining. Crazy rhet-
oric from the extreme right, regurgi-
tated by Republicans in public office,
was a political goldmine for liberals.
It was hard not to capitalize on Todd
Akin's comments about rape or U.S.
Rep. Michelle Bachmann's (R-Minn.)
comments about Muslims.
Outrageous
rhetoric prevents
serious policy
debates.
But, that's exactly what the prob-
lem is. This nationfaces some serious
issues in almost every area - wheth-
er that's rebuilding our workforce,
educating our youth for a globally
competitive job market or fixing a
broken economic and political sys-
tem. These issues require us to have
serious conversations and debates.
And that can't happen if one of the
two political parties in our nation is
seen as beinghijacked bynonsensical
extremists.
Republicans gave Democrats an
easy pass in November. The election
turned into a conversation about the
47 percent, Big Bird and rape. Obama
didn't have to propose innovative
policy solutions or even answer seri-
ous questions about his vision for the
country moving forward. Instead, he
was simply able to turn the conversa-
tion to some newly crazy statement
by Romney and other Republican
public officials.
That might be how elections are
won. But it's not how problems are
solved. If we want to move forward,
we need strong credible argu-
ments from both sides of the politi-
cal spectrum. And the sooner the
Republican Party distances itself
from crazy rhetoric, the sooner
everyone will be forced to have
serious policy debates.
- Harsha Nahata can be
reached at hnahata@umich.edu.
4
CSG is an organization for the students of
this University, and therefore this question
should not have been contended. Students at
all levels should have the chance to voice their
opinion on an issue regarding their govern-
ing power. The issue of the legal time frame
for proposing a question is more of an excuse
than a serious consideration. CSG finally
made the right decision to put the question on
the ballot. It's extremely important to gauge
graduate students's opinions on this issue as
their tuition dollars are also goingtoward the
funding of this organization.
CSG alleges that RSG - which officially
submitted the question for the ballot on Nov.
15 - failed to bring the issue up within the
14-days prior deadline. At the most, RSG
missed this deadline by a mere two days.
Furthermore, it's unclear whether the 14-day
deadline corresponds to the start or the end
of the voting period. These rules should be
clarified to avoid similar issues in the future.
CSG receives $7.19 per student, every
semester. However, much of it is spent on
projects that are more directly beneficial for
undergraduate students. Organizations such
as the Detroit Partnership, the Raas Associa-
tion and the South Asian Awareness Network
receive more activity from undergraduate
memberships, and are apportioned more
funding than graduate student organiza-
tions. While CSG has made steps to reach out
to graduate students with funding - citing a
recent $35,000 pledge to childcare funding
used primarily by graduate students - there
simply isn't enough being done to address
their needs. Were this split to take place,
the money going toward CSG would also be
divided, allotting RSG with a fund to better
address graduate interests.
This divide certainly shouldn't promote
bad relations between graduate and under-
graduate students, or CSG and RSG. In the
end, we are all students of the University
of Michigan. However, it's a plain fact that
undergraduate and graduate students have
different priorities. Our student government
should work as hard as it can toreflect these
diverging interests. Even if they won't work
under the same umbrella, CSG and RSG will
still be workingtogether tovoice the needs of
all 40,000 students at this University.
I
I
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, Eli Cahan, Nirbhay Jain, 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
RANDALL TESSIER J VIWPOINT
Denard deserved more
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Revamp Internetprivacy laws
*
In his feature story on Chris Floyd, "When
the Lights Go Off," Ben Estes writes: "From
talking to his former teammates,. Floyd says
that some ex-Wolverines feel 'used' by the
program.' Estes' feel good story wants to
have it both ways, at once telling the poignant
stories of "the more forgotten players (men
like Floyd)" while at the same time valorizing
the Michigan Career and Professional Tran-
sition Program: "Should M-PACT continue
to gain strength, perhaps those 'souls' won't
ever lose their way."
What we have here is another instance
of subtle exploitation of players, as a way of
lauding the Michigan Athletic Department.
Had nothing more been said, the story would
have passed with the munificence of the Ath-
letic Department intact. But as with all sto-
ries, there is another side. That other side
came with the publication of Chris Floyd's
follow-up editorial (Leave no man behind,
11/20/12) in which he commented, "To say
I was disappointed would be an understate-
ment - but if you want a story told right, you
should tell it yourself."
In Floyd's piece he writes, "[what] many
of us have in common is the feeling that the
athletic department we care so much about
no longer cares for us." Imagine that. The
very idea that the University sees the foot-
ball team as a cash cow where the players are
cogs in a money-making machine that deems
them expendable when they either are hurt
or graduate. Sometimes they don't even have
to graduate before they're kicked to the curb.
Having taught the three "lost souls" alluded
to in the Daily, Floyd, Marcus Ray and Sam
Sword, along with many other athletes, I was
pleased and proud that Floyd's rhetorical
skills were in fine form. His op-ed showed
"ethos" (his experience. as a player), "logos"
(a logic borne of his close reading of Estes'
essay) and "pathos" (a passionate conviction
for the subject at hand).
But I digress. What I really want to talk
about is the treatment of another former stu-
dent of mine: Denard Robinson.
When asked about Devin Gardner (another
former student) being pressed into service as
a wide receiver, Hoke's response was that he
wanted his best 11 players on the field. Okay,
coach. I assume that having Denard stand on
the sidelines with his hands on his hips for
the last three minutes of the Ohio State game
means he doesn't count as one of those 11 -
never mind that Robinson is one of the best 11
players in the country.
I, for one, was sick at seeing this. All per-
sonal feelings aside, Denard Robinson is
Michigan's best running back. Additionally,
even though Denard can't throw the ball
with full strength, he could certainly throw
a short ball to the flat, or pitch the ball on the
run. But forget the strategy part. Denard has
made every sacrifice in putting University
football first. To not have him on the field in
the waning moments of the biggest game of
the year was unconscionable - a slap in the
face to a guy who's given it all.
Shame on you, Brady Hoke. And Borges'
role? Hoke is the head coach, and this is one
instance where he should have over-ruled his
offensive coordinator. Here's Hoke's quote
from Monday's press conference following
the game: "I thought the play calling was
exactly what it should have been." Oh, really,
coach?
Randall Tessier is a lecturer in the English
Department and Comprehensive Studies Program.
For students at the University
who need to be productive -
that is, all
of us - there's no
shortage of tech-
nology available.
Though paper
and pencil is
still the stan-
dard for note-
taking, many ERIC
students use
applications like FERGUSON
Microsoft Word
or Google's pro-
cessing suite to take notes and do
schoolwork.
This technology can be used in
non-school related applications, as
well. The collaborative capability
of Google Docs, especially, makes
it an attractive program for groups
working on presentations and
housemates looking to keep track of
finances, as well as enabling access
to documents at any computer for
those who don't want to lug a laptop
around. Forthose ofus who are leery
of storing all of our files in the cloud
but would still like to back them up
to access remotely through another
device, free subscriptions to cloud
services let students specify certain
file types on their hard drive for
backup and retrieval in the cloud.
The variety and versatility of
these web-centered services is
remarkable. Their introduction
and widespread use, though, begs
a rather obscure but constitution-
ally important question: if you use
one of these services, how does
existing electronic privacy legisla-
tion protect your content against
government search and seizure?
The Senate is set to vote on a bill
sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy
(D-Vt.) that would majorly amend
the Electronic Communications
and Privacy Act, which has served
as the basis of privacy policy but is
overwhelmingly outdated. Though
the bill's final text hasn't been
released yet, it will likely spell out
what forms of electronic communi-
cation law enforcement needs war-
rants to access. Policy in the United
States is unclear as Google Docs,
Twitter and text messages weren't
part of the equation when the origi-
nal legislation was passed 20 years
ago - leading to heated debates on
what should be protected and not.
Though Leahy retracted some of
the bill's more controversial provi-
sions after withering opposition,
particularly from the American
Civil Liberties Union and the Cen-
ter for Democracy and Technology,
the privacy of electronic commu-
nications is still in question. Under
the Patriot Act, some law enforce-
ment can gain access to electronic
communications by asserting that
the information they want access to
is relevant to an ongoing investiga-
tion. But, it has been 11 years since
that piece of legislation was passed,
and both the programs used to track
electronic communications and the
communications themselves have
advanced considerably. Moreover,
that law enforcement can get access
to these electronic communica-
tions with no more than a subpoena
may be a violation of the Fourth
Amendment, which states that "the
right of the people to be secure ...
against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and
no Warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause."
There needs to be a substantial
overhaul of privacy law pertaining
to electronic communications, and
it needs tobe done in a way that can
make the law catch up with current
technology and have it remain rel-
evant as that technology evolves.
That way, users of emerging tech-
nology can be assured that their
communications, in whatever form,
are secure.
New technology
may require
re-evaluation of
old legislation.
Granted, law enforcement needs
to be able to do their job, and hav-
ing the ability to intercept electronic
communications is necessary in this
day and age. However, giving them
that ability without having to show
probable cause represents a weaken-
ing of privacy protection that should
give all Internet-savvy students
pause. If law enforcement agencies
believe that the contents of a person's
Facebook, Google, Dropbox or other
online account are important to an
investigation, let them get a warrant.
That way law enforcement can still
gain access if necessary, and users of
these services can rest easy knowing
that their privacy will not be intrud-
ed upon unless a judge decides that
such an intrusionis necessary.
- Eric Ferguson can be
reached at ericff@umich.edu.
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