4A - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4A - Wednesday, November 28, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom 0 b1*idigan 0ailh 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. 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 INTERESTED IN CAMPUS ISSUES? POLITICS? SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK'N'ROLL? Check out The Michigan Daily's editorial board meetings. Every Monday and Thursday at 6pm, the Daily's opinion staff meets to discuss both University and national affairs and write editorials. E-mail opinioneditors@michigandaily.com to join in the debate. 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. 0 I CONTRIBUTE TO THE COVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and viewpoints. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while viewpoints should be 550-850 words. Send the writer's full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. FOLLOW DAILY OPINION ON TWITTER @michdailyoped Keep up with columnists, readDaily editorials, view cartoons and join in the debate. Check out @michdailyoped to get updates on Daily opinion content throughout the day.