4A - Monday, April 22, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4A -MonayApri 22 203 Th Mihign Daly mihigadauyco SMIitan 4a1*y Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. Stigmatizing poverty 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. On the wrong side of history Public college requirements should encourage broad learning bill filed by state Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston), aims to restrict the scope of the six U.S. history credits required to graduate from a public university in his state. If the bill passes, students won't be able to satisfy their graduation require- ments by taking ethnic or cultural history courses and will instead be forced to choose a history course pertaining to "economy, poli- tics, war and other significant events" according to a post on Pat- rick's Facebook page. A case study by the National Association of Scholars, titled "Recasting History: Is race, class and gender domi- nating history?" explored the various history courses offered at the University of Texas and Texas A&M University. Ultimately, it was this report that motivated Patrick to file the short-sighted bill. The English language con- tains a host of words and phrases meant to brand, stereotype and dehumanize. Chief among these are the various labels set to describe those who "lack sufficient money" - but, JAMES instead of aptly BRENNAN describing this group of people, we decide to use words that effectively dehumanize them. We call them poor, homeless, destitute, impoverished, in need, in want, lower-income, lower class, broke, bankrupt and needy. In real- ity, "the poor" are just people, albeit with less money. Our language, our culture and our institutions have led to a char- acterization of indigent people as not just an underclass, but as dis- tinctly differenthumanbeings infe- rior to other members of society. There's a tendency to describe "the poor" as lazy, morally bankrupt and a detriment to society. They're characterized as criminals, junk- ies and moochers, looking to make money only by panhandling or tak- inggovernment handouts. These stereotypes are patently false and insulting to millions of hard-working people who simply live under a different set of circum- stances than some of us. Maybe most Americans don't overtly think of indigent people this way, but the somewhat subconscious, reflexive way that society stigmatizes "the poor" - such as the lower prop- erty values that automatically come when a neighborhood has several low-income people living in it - is extremely harmful. Negative perceptions of the poor . lead to very similar consequences as those experienced by black Ameri- cans in pre-civil-rights America. them off and leave them with no way The perception of blacks as lesser back to get back. "The ride" is just people made whites demand sepa- another example of indigent people ratism in schools, public places, being treated as lesser human beings private businesses and housing. by society, forced out of a popular This separation limited opportu- entertainment district because they nities for blacks in education and make middle- and upper-income work while feeding the stereotype people uncomfortable. that black people were inherently Now I'm sure that no one likes inferior to whites - a perception to be panhandled or bothered, but prevalent in both black and white being poor is not a crime. Standing d communities during the period. around on the streets because your The exact same thing is hap- shelter is closed and you don't have a pening with low-income people job in one of the worst recessions-in now. The poor, for the most part, history doesn't justify police round- live in separate neighborhoods, go ing you up and moving you out of to separate schools, work separate sight. This type of law enforcement jobs and live completely separate crackdown may be effective in mak- lives. They're rarely the focus of ing parts of Detroit more appealing television or mov- to young profes- ies, and the media sionals and others predominantly who could bring caters to middle- Living on the streets in much needed and upper-income use your shelter income for the city, people while but it's a huge vio- characterizing is closed doesn't lation of the civil the poor mostly in . . . rights and civil a negative light. justify polce action. liberties of some The concept of the of the most vulner- American promise able individuals itself is harmful to - not to mention the poor: It's the land of opportu- a group of people who have, for the nity, where anyone who works hard most part, lived in the city for their can get ahead. This breeds an ideol- entire lives. ogy that says because indigent peo- There's a tendency in society to ple aren't ahead, they must not be ignore indigent people, to write working hard enough. This ignores them off as useless, lazy, criminal the barriers to success that society individuals who bring down the rest has put up all around them. of society. That's why it's always so Just last week, we were hit with easy for politicians to advocate for yet another example of the horrible cutting welfare, raising sales taxes harm done by popular dehuman- and improving things for "the mid- ization of the poor. The American die class" rather than the poor. You Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and I are no better than indigent conducted a yearlong investigation people, regardless of what the news, in which they discovered a com- popular culture orpoliticians tell us. mon occurrence that Detroit police volunteer at a soup kitchen, shelter call "the ride." Officers force home- or warming center in Detroit, keep less people in the Greektown area your mind open, and I'd be willing of Detroit to hand over their spare to bet you'll feel the same way. change and get into a police van. The police proceed to drive them miles - James Brennan can be away to the city's outskirts, drop reached at jmbthree@umich.edu. The research conducted by the NAS seems to be an overstep, as it marginalizes multicul- turalism and ethnic studies. Proposing such a drastic bill requires far more research. This demonstrates a serious lack in understanding the value of all types of history. Fundamental to the study of history is a difference of opin- ions, debate and case-specific research. The teaching and learning of history would not flourish in the restrictive environment this bill would create. In 2010, another bill in Texas was passed making it mandatory for high-school students to take two of the three social-science courses: "United States History Studies Since 1877," "United States Government" and "Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System and Its Benefits." This structure is very broad and adequately introduces students to Ameri- can history before they graduate. Enforcing Patrick's American history requirements on college students would be counterproductive and perhaps repetitive. Students attend col- lege to expand their knowledge base, and they should not be restricted to take certain history classes while barred from others. Furthermore, if the bill is passed, some experienced professors who are renowned in their field of research will be ignored. Classes such as "History of Mexican Americans in the U.S." and "The Black Power Movement" that, according to the NAS report, are being taught right now at University of Texas and Texas A&M wouldn't count towards the American history requirement for students to graduate. This doesn't only avoid the study of diverse communities, but this requirement would also restrict students' options and limit their expo- sure to a diverse array of topics. What Pat- rick fails to realize is that these cultural and ethnic topics are wide-ranging because they surpass the borders of our nation. Ignoring ethnic minorities and different cultures isn't just undervaluing these groups, but denying students the knowledge and tools they need in such an intercultural, globalized world. #therealm *c igandifference 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 MAYA MENLO Justice delayed 1s Justice denied Imprisoned in aBirmingham jail cell, Mar- tin LutherKing, Jr. reflected,"Justice too long delayed is justice denied." Indeed, it's this exact sentiment that we hold in our hearts this week as we look forward to both the fifti- eth anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August, and the two- year anniversary of the closure of PT Kizone, an Indonesian factory that produced Adidas apparel for the University of Michigan. The Worker Rights Consortium, a labor watchdog organization, first reported on Adidas' refusal to pay $1.8 million in legally owed severance to 2,700 Indonesian workers soon after the closure of the PT Kizone fac- tory in April 2011. For two years now, Adidas hasn't budged on the issue of severance, even though its contracts with various universi- ties across the nation - including the Univer- sity of Michigan - require that Adidas take responsibility for paying its subcontracted factory workers legally mandated benefits. Adidas' intransigence is all the more alarm- ing when compared to the actions of Nike. Nike was also producing in PT Kizone at the time of the factory's closure but, unlike Adi- das, Nike complied with the WRC's recom- mendation and agreed to pay $1.5 million in severance to the former PT Kizone workers. Denying workers their legally owed sever- ance pay for two years certainly falls under King's definition of "justice too long delayed." With each passing day, the former PT Kizone workers are continually denied their rights. And this delayed justice has real consequenc- es. In a survey conducted by the WRC, 87 percent of former PT Kizone workers report that since the factory's closure, they have been unable to afford food that meets their families' basic nutritional needs. Most have fallen behind on rent and children's school fees. When asked how they were dealing with health care, most workers reported that they couldn't afford to see any kind ofmedical pro- fessional and could only buy over-the-coun- ter medication from a neighborhood vendor. These are only a few of the laundry list of hardships former PT Kizone workers face on a daily basis as a direct result of Adidas' refusal to pay their legally-owed severance. Yet, fearless and unwavering workers and students have matched Adidas' ruth- less inhumanity with fierce determination. This week at Adidas headquarters in Ger- many, PT Kizone workers are delivering a petition demanding their legally owed sev- erance signed by nearly a thousand former workers. This is a campaign of international proportions; former PT Kizone workers have joined in solidarity with other Adidas work- ers across the world, from Honduras to Haiti to India, to take on the company's sweatshop supply chain. And the capacity for change is enormous. United Students Against Sweatshops, the national organization spearheading this cam- paign, knows that, based on past victories, university actions can force Adidas to change its ways. In 2009, 25 universities across the country cut contracts with uniform supplier Russell Athletic until the company agreed to re-open a union factory and implement union neutrality throughout its Honduran plants. In 2010, contract terminations compelled Nike to pay more than $2 million in severance pay to 1,800 Honduran garment workers. Today, the University has the historic opportunity to be a part of a global movement for brand responsibility, human rights promotion and worker solidarity. United Students Against Sweatshops at the University of Michigan is demanding that University President Mary Sue Coleman stand in solidarity with these workers by cut- ting ties with Adidas due to the company's past of worker abuse and negligence of human rights. Ten universities have already termi- nated their contracts with Adidas, including big-name sports schools like the University of Washington, Pennsylvania State University and Georgetown University. The University of Michigan should be next. Each day the University waits to take action, another' PT Kizone worker's fam- ily falls deeper into debt and poverty. As this week marks the two-year anniversary of Adi- das' workers struggle for justice, USAS asks University President Mary Sue Coleman to recall MLK's words, and to cut ties with Adi- das over its flagrant denial of justice. Maya Menlo is an LSA sophomore. Whenever anything note- worthy happens in rela- tion to the University, someone out - there is certain to tweet about it and tack on the obligatory #the- michigandiffer- ence. As of late, The Michigan Dif- ference's online HEMA presence has KARUNA- been reduced KARA to sophomoric tales such as "fed a squirrel on the Diag" or "chugged four Natty Lights before 8 a.m. on a football Saturday." Originally start- ed as a marketing and fundraising campaign, the real intention of The Michigan Difference is to highlight the great impact that Michigan's students, faculty and staff have in the world. Since the campaign was launched in 2005, these three words have been used (and misused) every- where to set the bar for achieve- ment and success among everyone on this campus. From the moment freshmen set foot in the Carl Milles Fountain outside the Michigan League during orientation, they are expected to become a part of The Michigan Difference. In fact, just getting in to this University means they already are The Michigan Dif- ference. And every internship or job they get where they beat out the rest of the crowd helps them be The Michigan Difference. And once they graduate, they'll be a part of the largest alumni network in the world - that is, The Michigan Dif- ference. And one day, they'll join the ranks of Gerald Ford, Arthur Miller and James Earl Jones as they make a positive impact on soci- ety and they'll have achieved The Michigan Difference. While in all fairness I feel extremely proud and honored to be a Wolverine whenever I hear such great tales, I have to wonder if we set the bar too high. The Michigan Difference undoubtedly exists, but by focusing so much on achiev- ing that difference, on being of importance to society, on changing the world - are we losing sight of conversations I've had with those something more important? three won't. That's value. I recently landed a really great The first professor I ever had at engineering co-op, and as excited Michigan, Gavin LaRose, is to date as I initially was, it's just start- still the best one in my opinion. But ing to sink in that I'll be gone for it wasn't that I loved calculus that a while. Doing a co-op means tak- much. It's the personal touch that ing a semester off, so I'll be out of Gavin added to his lectures, how he the state for six months. I won't went out of his way to learn all of see everything in this campus that our names, the fact that three years means so much to me until January. later, I still remember Stoke's theo- it's OK, though, because I'm fur- rem just because he was so excited thering my career goals and getting to teach it. That's value. closer to that dream job where I'm I went home this past weekend providing real value to society. Isn't and ran into several members of that what the College of Engineer- my community who've watched me ing wants me to do? grow up. I don't remember exactly Focus on the goal. Think about what we talked about, but I do know the difference you want to make how excited they all were to see in the world. Work hard enough me nearing the end of my college in your classes career already, so that your GPA and how much doesn't hold you faith they had that back. Get involved. Be the best person I was poised to be Build an impres- successful. That's sive resume. Get you can be now. Your value. the perfect intern- legacy will fill those Where do you ship for the perfect see The Michigan job for the perfect footprints over time. Difference really life. Be The Michi- impacting your gan Difference. life? You have Sound familiar? to bring value to It's not just the College of Engi- those around you before you can neering. Nearly every academic dis- even begin to change the world. cipline forces down the idea that we I have my whole life to keep net- need to work hard to become lead- working, job-hunting and improv- ers in our field. Even campus orga- ing my skills. The University might nizations that are the livelihoods of challenge me to leave a legacy, but so many students often push us to today those personal connections feel the need to leave behind a leg- are more important. The Michigan acy. I know I've fallen into this trap Difference trickles out from each of over the years, the trap of expect- those connections, whether they're ing the effect before fully executing with family and friends at home or the cause. This is Michigan fergod- peers and teachers on this campus. sakes and upon graduation we're College is tough, and "the real supposed to do something great world" is tougher, but it isn't a race. with our lives. After all, we go to the 12th best uni- But it takes baby steps. We can't versity in the world and every day just leave here and change the world we're surrounded by diversity, pas- in one fell swoop. We're taught to sion and opportunity. There's noth- believe we must bring value to soci- ing wrong with walking through it ety, but it might do us all well to all slowly, really stopping to get to consider who really brings us value. know people and know yourself. Eight students were arrested That's the real Michigan Differ- last week during a protest on cam- ence. So stop running and be the pus organized by the Coalition for best person you can be right now. Tuition Equality. While their cause Your legacy will fill those foot- is undoubtedly admirable, the fact prints over time. that I knew three of them person- ally was what really struck me. The - Hema Karunakaram can be headlines fade, but the impassioned reached at khema@umich.edu. CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION 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.