4 - Tuesday, April 2, 2013 T i a l m n l The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 40 C 1 4e fitlchi4an4:3at*lp l Dissecting slacktivism Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com MELANIE KRUVELIS and ADRIENNE ROBERTS MATT SLOVIN EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR ANDREW WEINER EDITOR IN CHIEF 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. Keep speech free Colleges shouldn't stifle dialogue - offensive or not Jn mid-March, University of Central Oklahoma student Olanre- waju Suleiman claimed she was threatened with expulsion by her journalism professor, Terry Clark, for her personal blog post, "An Open Letter to Obnoxious Girls: Stupidity Isn't Cute!" In the post, which she wrote on Feb. 2, Suleiman criticizes three girls for their "obnoxious" behavior without specifically naming them. While the university has declined to speak about the incident, Suleiman claims that since the blog was used for her journalism class the professor felt the post was inappropriate and forced Suleiman to apologize to the class and delete the post or otherwise leave the school. Colleges should promote free expression and, in the face of a relatively harmless post, UCO should reconsider its position on the case and re-evaluate how it n March 25, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on California's Proposition 8 and then the Defense of Mar- riage Act two days later. Also last Tuesday, my Facebook newsfeed turned into a check- KATIE erboard of red STEEN and pink equal signs. variations included equal signs with bacon strips, matzo crackers, Bud Lights and - oh god, Nicolas Cage's face. After clicking around for a bit, I was surprised to see how wide- spread the equal sign was. I recently learned that the image is a modified version of the Human Rights Cam- paign logo, but I'll be honest and say that I was oblivious to the origin of the symbol when I decided to change my profile picture. Now, some people who have changed their profile picture to the equal sign are getting flack because of HRC's questionable history with the transgender community. I didn't know that at the time - I really changed my picture mainly because I noticed that a lot of my gay friends on Facebook did, and I wanted to show my support. I mean, my profile picture at the time was a webcam pic of me eating pizza. I can afford to change my picture for the rights of my friends. It's definitely "slacktivism," but who cares? People post the most mundane shit on Facebook all the time, so why not spread a message that contributes something a little more meaningful than a Buzzfeed post on corgis? I'm starting to sound preachy, which wasn't my intention. If you didn't change your profile picture to the equal sign - whatever, it's Face- book. But the cool thing about the social media support of LGBT rights is how visible it became, and how it created a discussion both online and off about issues of equality. I was talking to my friend who told me that she can't even fathom how gay marriage is still a debatable issue. As an article in the Onion put it, in an ideal world, the Supreme Court justices would make their decision on gay marriage in ten minutes: "Sure, who cares." But in reality, a lot of people care. It may be difficult for Ann Arborites to comprehend the extent of close- mindedness that plagues much of our country, but it exists, and it's still preventing millions of Ameri- cans from the option of marriage. Facebook recently posted a neat little map that shows the density of equality sign profile pictures by county. The West and Northeast are beautifully speckled with deep reds. The Facebook employee who posted the map - Eytan Bakshy, an alum of the University - made mention of the fact that Washtenaw County, the University's county, had the highest percentage of profile picture changes. So, hey - go us. But not all of the United States is so colorful. The South, for the most part, remains a bleak stretch of pale pink. Of course, Facebook profile pictures are not the sole determin- er of views on LGBT support. Not everyone who supports gay marriage uses Facebook, and not everyone who supports gay marriage and uses Facebook changed profile pictures. Still, the map reveals that, while in places like Ann Arbor gay rights may be a "well, duh" issue, not everyone in the country holds that belief. In a recent CBS poll, 53 percent of Americans believe that same-sex marriage should be legal - an improvement from a poll conducted less than a year ago that revealed that 51 percent of Ameri- cans did not believe same-sex mar- riage should be legal. The United States, it seems, is progressing. And yet, according to this poll, nearly half the country doesn't sup- port gay marriage. And we should remember that this is more than just an issue of matrimony - it's an issue of basic rights for the LGBT community. It's about understand- ing a community on a deeper level than, "Yeah, sure, I don't care if you get married." And even if gay mar- riage is nationally legalized, that does not mean that people's views will change, too. It's clear that the red equal signs have already begun to fade. 0 As I scroll down the newsfeed, it's clear that the red equal signs have already begun to fade. I still have mine up, but mostly because I pre- fer it to the pizza picture. But while our support may continue to dwindle on newsfeeds across the country, remember that this is an issue that remains unresolved. Changing your profile picture is only a first step, and while lots of people in Ann Arbor in particular changed their pictures in solidarity, that'shardly a reason to sit back and let the social change begin. I have no idea what the court will decide, and I really hope that this isn't an instance where The Onion runs a headline that makes more log- ical sense than headlines from CNN. You can change the law, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you'll change people's minds. We have to be careful to not depend on a (per- ceived) natural evolution over time toward progress and acceptance. While HRC may not have been the best group to lead the viral equal- ity crusade, it's the message behind changing our profile pictures that we should focus on. Sm honestly not sure how long it will be until the vast majorityofAmericans supportLGBT rights, but until that day arrives, we should continue to show solidarity - even if it is something as simple as a pink equal sign over a magnified pic- ture of Nicolas Cage's face. - Katie Steen can be reached at katheliz@umich.edu. values free speech. Suleiman's post doesn't fall in line with the school's bullying policy, which sanctions stu- dents for, "bullying ... that threatens the health or safety of any person." Suleiman describes the women as "complete idiots" and "dimwitted, airheaded females." But, by not naming anyone specifically, Suleiman didn't put them in dan- ger, regardless if the post is perceived as offen- sive. On the other hand, the school has had no response to several tweets from other students targeting Suleiman. Not only did the University of Central Oklahoma's journalism department certainly act beyond their means, but inac- tion on the other students' tweets also reflects inconsistencies in the school's policy. Rather than threatening to expel stu- dents for expressing themselves, universi- ties should be advocating their right to do so. Whether it's a paper deeming Marxism as egregious or a student's Facebook post decrying President Barack Obama, colleges shouldn't attempt to stifle beliefs in personal or academic forums. A college campus should, be open to the exchange of viewpoints. On March 24, UCO's student newspaper, The Oklahoma Daily, responded to the incident by calling Suleiman a bully in an editorial. Argu- ing that Suleiman's post didn't qualify as free speech because she used the blog in a class- room setting, the editorial board condemned her actions reasoning that she "did attempt to shame her classmates in a public forum" and that her actions were "intellectual bullying." The Oklahoma Daily's editorial response is a clear attack on an individual student and is at odds with the editorial board's position on free speech they later made clear on March27 when the paper criticized a New Mexico school for over-censoring their student publication. There is little doubt that bullying online or in person is a serious issue. However, schools throughout the country need to recognize when bullying has occurred and when it's appropri- ate to act on it. Complaining about girls might be immature, but the University of Central Oklahoma administration acted improperly. LILIANA NAYDAN AND IAN ROBINSON I Myth of the lecturer EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, Eli Cahan, Eric Ferguson, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis, Maura Levine, Patrick Maillet, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Jasmine McNenny, Harsha Nahata, Adrienne Roberts, Paul Sherman,Sarah Skaluba, Michael Spaeth, Daniel Wang, Luchen Wang, Derek Wolfe Viral vitality 0 We write in response to Amrutha Sivaku- mar's March 19 article, "The Research Differ- ence: How the University varies the value of facultymembers."The reportaddressesthe rel- ative value of tenure-line and non-tenure-track faculty at the University, and Sivakumar pres- ents several keen insights into the work of Uni- versity lecturers. However, several statements made by members of the University administra- tion within the article misrepresent lecturers in disconcerting ways. Lecturers are excellent teachers, but many also conduct research, pres- ent at conferences, publish articles and provide departmental service. This response speaks to the myths and realities of teaching off the ten- ure track at the University and it addresses mis- representations of lecturers. Myth One: Lecturers and tenure-track faculty are inherently different. This is the fundamental myth in which the other four fol- lowing myths are rooted, and all the rhetorical moves administrators make to defend current inequalities speak to it. For example, Chris- tina Whitman, vice provost for academic and faculty affairs, argues that lecturers and ten- ure-track faculty bring different skills to their teaching, characterizing lecturers as experts "in pedagogy" - the science of teaching - and tenure-track faculty as "people who are bring- ing their scholarship into the classroom." She goes on to assert that "professors are con- stantly expected to think and work outside of their business hours in ways 'outside-the-box,'" the false implication being that lecturers do not normally do these things. Of course we do: It's our job to think both outside the box and business hours. Myth Two: Research necessarily makes for better teaching. University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald observes that a"'blending together' of research and teaching defines a professor at the University." But why should an indi- vidual's research prowess inherently result in effective teaching? Max Weber long ago made the point with characteristic force: "One can be a prominent scholar and at the same time be an abominably bad teacher ... " As Weber explains, "this very art is a personal gift and by no means coincides with the scientific qual- ifications of the scholar." Poor teachers are poor teachers, no matter how impressive their research credentials. The evidence summarized in a recent report funded by the Lecturers' Employee Organiza- tion suggests that, on average, lecturers may be somewhat better teachers. Nonetheless, administrators pay lecturers, on average, half as much as they pay tenure-track faculty. Myth Three: Lecturers don't do research; they just teach. "We are looking for somebody who is really specializing in pedagogy rather than people who are bringing their scholar- ship into the classroom," says Whitman, but the administration gets much more than that from its lecturers. Many lecturers conduct research even though they're not paid or rec- ognized for their scholarship, and, like tenure- track faculty, they bring their scholarship into the classroom. Our report finds that 47 per- cent of lecturers in Ann Arbor have Ph.D.s, 60 percent do scholarly research in their field and 51 percent publish the results of this research in academic journals. Myth Four: Research is the main thing that enriches teaching. Many lecturers who aren't engaged in scholarly research and writing bring other kinds of valuable knowledge beyond teaching skills to their students. For example, foreign language lecturers often come from the countries whose language they teach, and they bring a rich understanding of the cultural nuances of those countries to their teaching. Likewise, many lecturers in schools such as the School of Education and the School of Social Work bring "real world" knowledge of and personal connections with communities and institutions in which they work. These kinds of insights can enhance student understanding as much as a published scholarly article. Myth five: Lecturers work for the Univer- sity only temporarily. "When we hire some- body as a lecturer, we are asking them to teach well for a defined, limited period," says Whit- man. Certainly, Whitman's right that tenured faculty have job security that lecturers lack: Many administrators limit lecturer contracts to as little as one term in order to save money. Yet most University lecturers are hardly tem- porary. We aren't just passing through the Uni- versity on our way to some other kind of work. The average Ann Arbor tenure-track faculty is 49-years-old and has been at the University for 14.6 years; the average lecturer is 47-years-old and has been at the University for 9.2 years. Many lecturers spend their entire academic careers at the University: The faculty survey we did for our report found that one lecturer had been teaching here for 45 years, and one-third of our lecturers hadbeen here for more thanl20. It's a good thing for students, tenure-track faculty and the administration that many lec- turers are committed to the University for the long haul and able to spend their entire careers here. What's wrong, however, is that adminis- trators continue to portray and treat lecturers as "temps." Instead of propagating myths about us, they should respect our work and give us the job security and pay equity we deserve. Liliana Naydan is a lecturer in Sweetland Writing Center. Ian Robinson is a lecturer in sociology and the Residential College. " So, what do you guys think of the equal sign in people's profile pictures?" At first, I wasn't sure how to respond to this question posed by a fellow student in the Shapiro Under- graduate Library last week, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral MICHAEL SPAETH arguments challenging Califor- nia's Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act. On the one hand, the Human Rights Campaign's red equal sign popping up all over my newsfeed had a powerful effect, providing a clear visual representation of the large support of same-sex marriage among Millennials in particular. Friday, Facebook announced its finding that "significantly more (U.S. Facebook) users - roughly 2.7 million (120 percent) more, updat- ed their profile photo on Tuesday, March 26," which was the day of the Prop. 8 oral arguments, "com- pared to the previous Tuesday." In fact, during this time period, Washtenaw County had the largest increase in profile picture changes in the country, and many other counties with college towns were near the top of the list. While it's great to see such enthu- siasm on social media for a cause that's finally getting the widespread support it deserves, I couldn't help but think: Here we go again. Remember Kony 2012? How about the Stop Online Piracy Act and PRO- TECT IP Act blackouts? It's true that these viral sensa- tions produced some beneficial outcomes. Invisible Children's "Kony 2012" video resulted in the Senate "condemning" Joseph Kony and devoting more resources to go after Kony and his guerrilla group, the Lord's Resistance Army. These were all positive developments, but we still haven't caught Kony. And how often do we hear about Kony or other violence these days? Hardly ever. Both SOPA and PIPA didn't become laws, largely due to the widespread online protests. Howev- er, the ongoing issue of online piracy has disappeared from the national political conversation ever since the bills died in Congress. Notice a pattern? Of course, there are a few differ- ences with the current viral phe- nomenon. It's much more difficult for citizens to influence the actions of Supreme Court justices than members of Congress. And while most Americans didn't know about Kony, SOPA or PIPA before the wave of online protests began, the issue of same-sex marriage is already very prominent in the national politi- cal conversation. From President Barack Obama's declaration last May to Republican Sen. Rob Port- man's recent announcement of his change of heart, same-sex marriage has received plenty of attention from politicians and journalists. However, I have no doubt that the red equal sign will soon follow in the footsteps of its viral prede- cessors. In a few days or weeks, people will change their profile pic- tures to other pictures, last week's Supreme Court cases will fade from the news cycle and life will largely return to normal. However, I'm certainly not diminishing the significance of last week's events. The Supreme Court cases were huge milestones in the fight for the legalization of same-sex marriage. But same-sex marriage supporters have to be careful not to let this moment of increased visibility fade away from Americans' minds. Americans have a tendency to fixate on one topic for a short peri- sex marriage cannot let this moment of visibility fade away. od of time and then move on to the next topic soon afterwards. Many Americans are already beginning to move on from the horrific shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School that occurred in December. Thurs- day, Obama tried to revive some of the momentum for new gun-control legislation that followed the shoot- ings. "Shame on us if we've forgot- ten," he said. "I haven't forgotten those kids." Supporters of same- 0 If same-sex marriage support- ers want to keep the attention of politicians, the news media and the American people, they should keep posting a variety of items on social media and asking their friends and followers to share them. They should hold large rallies in various parts of the country to attract the local or national news media. They should call their lawmakers as often as they can to get them to support same-sex marriage and fight for this cause. This latter strategy is becom- ing easier to do every day. "As far as I can tell, political leaders are falling all over themselves to endorse your side of the case," Chief Justice John Roberts remarked to the lawyers challenging the same-sex marriage bans last week. It's great that people are express- ing their support for same-sex mar- riage during this historic time. But changing a Facebook picture is only the first step toward achieving last- ing social change. - Michael Spaeth can be reached at micspa@umich.edu. FOLLOW DAILY OPINION ON TWITTER Keep up with columnists, read Daily editorials, view cartoons and join in the debate. Check out @michdailyoped to get updates on Daily opinion content throughout the day.