4A - Monday, April 15, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4A - Monday, April 15, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom e M i nan 4 . 1r Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. The myth of the millennials 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. F RO0M T HE D AIL Students for city council Mixed Use Party may fill a void in Ann Arbor politics Tn January, a group of University students made the unexpected move of forming a political party to run for Ann Arbor City Coun- cil. The party, coined the Mixed Use Party, seeks to select candi-, dates to run in four of the city's five wards. Seeing as so many of Ann Arbor's residents are students who currently have no peer represen- tative voice in the city's operations, the Mixed Use Party fills a long- standing void in city politics. The party's effort to elect a student for city council is a positive step toward involving students in the city and spreading awareness about the particular problems students face. Who are those Millenni- als, anyway? It's a question some pollster in a swing state is trying to figure out right now. Pundits have argued about it r during the past few election cycles. Adults of MICHAEL all occupations are puzzling SPAETH over it. And everyone seems to have an opinion about it. New York Times columnist David Brooks has described the Millen- nials as "smart, hard-working, pleasant-but-cautious achievatrons who thrive in elite universities." victoria Buhler, a student enrolled in Brooks' course at Yale Univer- sity, recently described members of our generation as "Cynic Kids" who "have embraced the policy revolu- tion; they require hypothesis to be tested, substantiated, and then results replicated before they com- mit to any course of action." Brooks has also described Mil- lennials as "risk averse," and some Millennials have taken issue with this characterization of our genera- tion. Cameron Joseph, a member of the Millennial generation, defend- ed our supposed risk aversion by noting that "we have much less room for error than any previous American generation, due to both the economy and the constraints that society (e.g. older generations) have placed upon us." He wrote that "we were brought up with zero tolerance policies for everything from drugs and alcohol to political protests in school, faced the most competitive college admittance process ever and graduated into the worst economic situation for young people in nearly 80 years." Millenials also been described as generally progressive, particu- larly on issues such as gay mar- riage and climate change. Yet, at the same time, we are characterized as being "skeptical and even cyni- cal" about entitlement programs because we "don't expect (Social Security and Medicare) to be there" for us, former Clinton speechwrit- er and adviser Eric Liu wrote in Time Magazine last month. We are societal rebels, "shar(ing) illegally downloaded music and movies even if the labels and studios don't want (us) to" because we are "growing up in a social and technological milieu that is dismissive of large top-down institutions and in many ways hos- tile to elite power concentration." Others say we're "apathetic, dis- interested, tuned-out and selfish" - adjectives that Chelsea Clinton firmly dismissed in a recent op-ed. Writing about her interactions with Millennials at the latest meet- ing of the Clinton Global Initiative University, Clinton observed that although Millennials are "obsessed with money," "mobile maniacs," "social media-obsessed" and "awfully impatient," they are using those traits as catalysts for selfless concrete actions that are improving Since the mid-1970s city council has gone without representation from University stu- dents. Many students hold jobs, pay taxes and vote in the city of Ann Arbor. A student holding a city council position would greatly increase the connection the University has with the city and the rest of its residents. Though their platform needs work, the Mixed Use Party has taken the first step in creating the necessary attention and support for their initiative. Unfortunately, city council members have continuously discouraged students from run- ningfor avarietyof reasons, includingthe fact that the majority of students here aren't per- manent residents. Recently, Ann Arbor city wards were redistricted so student voters now make up the minority in each ward. In addi- tion, fraternities, sororities and co-ops aren't allowed in R1, R2A or R3 districts, which cover a large section of the city. If elected, the Mixed Use Party needs to address a variety of student concerns and look beyond the issues surrounding housing for Greek life and students in co-ops. One key issue is rezoning districts so that students are better represented in the city council. The party should also campaign for more adequate off-campus housing inspection. Moreover, candidates chosen by the Mixed Use Party must strive to enhance the overall relationship between city council leaders and the University. By creating a closer relation- ship, students will play a more vocal role in citywide matters. With a large potential voter base and focus on student issues, the Mixed Use Party has the potential to better integrate students into Ann Arbor. Students have the right to repre- sentation in the city where they reside, and there's no better place for that representation than city council. As a major constituency of Ann Arbor, the students' voices deserve to be heard - loud and clear. peoples' lives throughout the country and around the world. So who are we, exactly? Lazy bums? Technol- ogy addicts? Ridiculous overachiev- ers? Pro- We can't b into a tij of pre-pa attribi es. There are Millennials in Amer- ica who are in a downward spiral of poverty with little to no hope of ever escaping it. These are the forgotten Millenni- als - members of our age group who don't have smart phones, who aren't debating what classes they should take or what activities they can pursue outside of class and aren't contemplating strategies of social activism. They are simply trying to survive each and every day. At the very least, these Millen- nials deserve to be included in the national conversation about our generation. But we shouldn't stop there; we should do everything in our power to help our fellow Mil- lennials rise above mere survival. We've grown up in a highly global- ized, interdependent world. What affects one group of people will inevitably affect us in some way. Messages and videos travel across the planet in the blink of an eye. Countries' economies depend on one another. We're all connected whether we like it or not. The same istrue for r our generation. e stuffed We can't be stuffed into a ny box tiny box of pre- k packaged attri- iCkaged butes. We're uses. much more than the stereotypes - suggest. We're everything. We're lazy and ambitious, cynical and idealistic, cautious and daring, conservative and progressive, impoverished and rich, drifters and fighters, failures and 'successes. We're as diverse as humanity itself. We're the world and the world is us. The only thing we have in com- mon is that we have much more time ahead of us than the other generations. Let's not waste it, and let's not leave any other Millennials behind. - Michael Spaeth can be reached at micspa@umich.edu. 0 gressives? Conservatives? Future leaders of the world? Future innovators? Cyn- ics? Cautious planners? The answer: all of these things, and more. In fact, there are whole other groups of Millennials that are completely left out of the equa- tion, and never discussed in these conversations about our enigmatic generation. There are Millennials in third-world countries who are starving and live under the threat of violence every day. There are Mil- lennials around the world who are suffering from debilitating illness- EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, Eli Cahan, Eric Ferguson, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis, Maura Levine, Patrick Maillet, Sam Mancina, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Jasmine McNenny, Harsha Nahata, Adrienne Roberts, Paul Sherman, Sarah Skaluba, Michael Spaeth, Daniel Wang, Luchen Wang, Derek Wolfe SAM MANCINA 0 America's race problem - the Campus Corne: Are your usual study spots tilling up now that finals are almost here? Kat Cartwright od lull reveals five often overlooked study areas. Go to michigandaily.com/blog/podium to read more. Speak out, or don't Recently, while in the Central Campus Rec- reation Building, I heard a student say "Man, we can't beat them. They're black." I was startled at the blatant racism of this statement, especially in this nation, on this campus. As someone contemplating a history major, I reflected on the progress of race relations in our country. I started with colonization. Many peo- ple voyaged to America in search of religious tolerance. They wanted to build a "city on a hill" - a society others would emulate. However, the first settlers quickly started harming the native population. Later,the original U.S. Constitution allowed the practice of slavery while counting African Americans as three-fifths of a person. In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln finally banned slavery with the 13th Amendment. One hundred years later, segregation was abolished. Now Americans are slipping under a veil of ignorance, believing our nation is free, equal and colorblind. This perspective is wrong. Immigration issues, crime rates, inner-city problems and negative stigmas define Ameri- ca's race problem. I was astonished to find a stark presence of racism on campus. Students leaving the tute- lage of their parents for the first time can for- mulate and espouse their own views freely. Many, including myself, have ingrained per- spectives and views of race that lead to biased attitudes. Everywhere I go - the CCRB, my classes, my dorm - I hear nonchalant racist jokes and comments. I'm a perpetrator myself sometimes, though I try not to be. Obviously racist comments are dismissed as jokes, when in reality these attitudes are anything but. I believe many of these offhand remarks are formed by stereotypes and observations of society, but the habits and tendencies of other people aren't a basis for racism. The research I do surrounding the effects of government agencies on racerelations has taught me that institutionalized racism leads to many biases and causes many of America's societal ills, including segregated communi- ties and poor urban neighborhoods with high crime rates. Institutionalized racism can clearly be seen in the criminal justice system. A multitude of sentencing policies and puni- tive laws were enacted after the civil rights movement. The 1973 Rockefeller Drug Laws in New York established harsh mandatory sentences for those caught with illegal drugs. More than 90 percent of those arrested under the new laws were black or Latino Ameri- cans. These laws were the start of a drug war, with other states and eventually the federal government following suit. According to The Sentencing Project, in 2011 America incarcer- ated more people per 100,000 than any other country in the world. Additionally, one in three blacks are likely to be arrested, as com- pared to one in 17 for whites. America's criminal justice system is clearly facing massive challenges. High incarcera- tion rates and even higher prison populations are just a few of the many consequences of our government policy. Furthermore, incar- ceration keeps inner-city communities in stagnant despair and reinforces harmful ste- reotypes. The criminal justice system dispro- portionately re-incarcerates felons as well. According to a 2012 New York Times article, there are approximately five million people in the United States who have committed a felo- ny and, as a result, are unable to vote. In this way, the institutional racism evident in our nation's criminal justice system exacerbates America's problem with race. Everyone - the government and even stu- dents here at the University - must strive to change the path of our country and work toward complete freedom and equality. Stu- dent organizations like The Detroit Partner- ship and the Understanding Race Project are great first steps. All stereotypes and prejudic- es against race must be transcended by toler- ance and acceptance. Hopefully, historians will look back and reflect on this era asa time when this campus, this country, became a "city on a hill" - a society that treats all races, all people, as equal humans. Sam Mancina is an LSA freshman. ast week, Harsha Nahata wrote a column in The Michigan Daily address- ing the silence of our generation - "Generation Q" for "quiet," according to a New York Times columnist. We're not necessar- ily ignorant or apathetic to all the shit that goes KATIE on in essentially STEEN every corner of the world, but eventually we reach a point where "save the world" turns into "shit happens." So, we become wrapped up in our own lives. We have our games and our shows and our Net- flix and our beds at night that keep us warmer than the food particles nestled between the keys of our Macbooks. We're watching and we're warm, and life develops a lull- ing pattern over which there's a hum like a fan by your bedside - white noise that you don't even bother to speak over. OK, let's all agree that apathy is overall shitty. But I don't think silence necessarily equates to indif- ference. Silence isn't always a failure to respond, but rather can be a tacti- cal action. Sometimes it kills us to be silent, but we do so because it seems to be the best decision in agiven con- text. So, when is it OK to be quiet? Well, I'm not entirely sure, as there are an impossible number of combinations of events in which a person could either speak or not speak. More often than not, there are other methods of action, too, beyond speaking or not speaking. Ugh, life's so complicated. Let me begin with a conversation I had last week. I was talking to my current mentor in the School of Edu- cation. She's pretty brilliant from what I've gathered after a few weeks ofsittinginher classroom andtalking with her in the hallways amid the riptide of high-school students. Our conversations are usually pretty dense in compariso sions of chemistry e dates. The teacher: teaching interns an along the lines of your classroom like one gay student in i probably is." What to be aware of ou how heteronormat a thing (althoughI may argue otherwi: red squiggly lines) be mindful of LGB a teacher, don't ass mativity. Actively an atmosphere of students in the classroom. That said, what if the students assume hetero- sexuality in their teacher? What if there isn't an atmosphere of respect for the teacher? And what if this isn't just in the class- room, but in the entire school or th the city or town itsel teacher, when asked winter break, were "I went skiing withr As our mentor a that has the poten stir" in the classro that's all that would school year would cc teacher would go sc his boyfriend duri or something, and1 about that, too. But in the class wouldg his parents about h friend while seatin dinner table, and m create a stir somewl mashed potatoes a casserole - a stir th ally make its way ba istration, an adm doesn't like the idea skiing with other m an to the discus- this sounds petty and absurd - that's xams and dance the point) And while I'm speaking in said to the other hypotheticals, this scenario is some- d me something thing that is still very, very real in the "Always teach 21stcentury. JustGoogle teacherfired there is at least for beinggay. The results are disgust- it. Because there ing, all 15 million of them. she meant was So, yeah, I can see why sometimes ;r audience and it's easier to just remain quiet, or to tivity is totally simply say, "I went skiing," and leave Microsoft Word it at that. Just like it's easier to sim- se - damn those ply ignore - or perhaps smile back and we need to - at the men jeering at you as you TQ students. As march home in stilettos at 2:30 in the ume heteronor- morning. Not every situation offers work to create an equal opportunity to speak your respect for all mind. In some situations, it's not only easier, but also safer to say nothing. And we must respect the right to say noth- OK, let's all agree ing. Because that .amay simply be the smartest thing to i do - it sucks, but overall shitty. it's t" " 'it's true. So, then, how do things ever change? How will we ever progress e community of if we're cowering atop our stilet- lf? What if a male tos or censoring pages of our travel what he did over journals? If we're scared and silent? to respond with, Change requires people to speak my boyfriend"? out - and not solely or not necessar- .nd teacher said, ily the people who are experiencing tial to "create a this oppression - but the people om. And maybe who have the power and privilege happen, and the to speak out against it, and suffer ontinue, and that no to minimal repercussions. This cuba diving with ties back into Nahata's column - ng spring break "It's not enough for one person to tell his students raise their voice - we all need to," maybe a student she writes. But the "we all" in that go home and tell sentence isn't always possible. By is teacher's boy- all means, I believe that those who g himself at the are oppressed or marginalized in aybe that would whatever way certainly have the here between the right to voice their opinions just as snd the chicken loudly. However, realistically, it's at would eventu- not an obligation or even always a ck to the admin- possibility. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be fewer than 300 words and must include the writer's full name and University affiliation. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. inistration that of male teachers gales ... (I realize - Katie Steen can be reached at katheliz@umich.edu.