4 - Tuesday, October 1, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4
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Ann Arbor, MI 48109
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MELANIE KRUVELIS
and ADRIENNE ROBERTS MATT SLOVIN
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR
SOPHIA USOW E-MAIL SOPHIAA
COLEMANBERG
T SOPHIAUS@UMICH.EI)U
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.
FROM THE DAILY
Know your debt
Students should learn about loan repayment options early on
In an effort to help borrowers who are struggling with their stu-
dent loans, the U.S. Department of Education will begin contact-
ing borrowers to inform them of their available options. Starting
this October, officials from the Department of Education will send out
e-mails to students who borrowed money for their education about pay-
ing off their debt. In line with the Obama administration's goal of low-
ering student debt, which totals over $1.1 trillion, this plan is a needed
move. Students should be encouraged to consider their options in pay-
ing off their loans - and that process should begin early.
4
Fuck the police
4
Part of the confusion surrounding loan
repayment is the vast number of programs
available through the Department of Edu-
cation. According to The New York Times,
enrollment in the department's income-linked
debt repaymentplans - plans that target those
with lower incomes following graduation - is
"modest." Programs like Income-Contingent
Repayment, Income-Based Repayment, Pub-
lic Service Loan Forgiveness and Pay as You
Earn are alien to most college students and
even graduates - partially due to lack of com-
munication to seriously consider options. "The
challenge is getting the word out," said Edu-
cation Secretary Arne Duncan. Outreach has
now become a mainstay of the Department
of Education's future plans. With this effort,
students can learn of their options sooner -
hopefully reducingincidenceofdefaulted edu-
cation loans.
Action just from the Department of Educa-
tion, however, will not suffice. The University
must also take stepsto help its students under-
stand their options in paying off their debts.
With the average Michigan graduate owing,
on average, more than $27,000, it's now time
to take a proactive role to help students from
being buried under an insurmountable debt.
Following the lead of the Education Depart-
ment, the University's Office of Financial Aid
should make a concentrated effort to inform
students of debt-repayment options - and
not just after students earn their degrees.
E-mail reminders early on, debt counseling
and lessons on how to manage debt should be
incorporated into student advising as soon as
students arrive on campus.
The Department of Education's active role
in tackling the debt of graduated students
should be commonplace. The Obama admin-
istration has prioritized higher education,
and students should be able to do so while
understanding their financial options from
the get-go. It may not be the most pleasant
thing to think about while on campus, but
knowing your options before leaving Ann
Arbor may save you from serious financial
woes in the future.
t he police are not on
your side."
As the son of an
attorney, t heard
my father say
this more times
than I can count.
He repeats it
to me over and
over, not in
an attempt to
indoctrinate
me, but because JAMES
he wanted to BRENNAN
protect me.
Throughout
his career he has seen far too many
people sent to prison, not for genuine
wrongdoing, but because the police
were simply out for blood.
Whether they're filling quotas,
following orders from the chief or
just having a bad day, police are
too often more interested in mak-
ing arrests and handing out tick-
ets than improving public safety.
Being from a wealthy, white sub-
urb, I experienced plenty of this
first hand. Police had little to
occupy themselves and developed
an intense scrutiny for underage
drinking while profiling teenagers
as dangerous troublemakers. Luck-
ily for my friends and me, getting
a citation for speeding or having a
party carried minor consequences,
if any. In urban areas with more
crime and less money for police,
however, young black men along
with other minorities often profiled
as criminals have their lives turned
upside down by the police every
day, while violent crime continues
to cripple neighborhoods.
To be clear, this isn't a personal
indictment of every single police
officer in the United States. The vast
majority of the boys and girls in blue
are hard-working people who want
to uphold the law. Bad policies - pol-
icies that direct police to ignore the
Constitution and focus on numbers
rather than on people - are mak-
ing officers look and act like villains
instead of heroes.
Take New York City, for example.
As a response to relentless, violent
crime, policebegan
versial "stop-and-fr
cracking down on
minor ofoffenses, s
and drug use - kn
debunked broken-
Yes, crime rates h
nificantly in New Y
1990s, with the Nev
Department trying
credit as possible fo
mists, sociologists
aren'tconvinced by
reasoning.
Crime rates wer
before the develo
programs, andr
have shown "stop
broken-window p
true cause of fallir
some even suggest
increases crime.
Along with ques
on crime sta-
tistics, these
policies hurt
communi-
ties in ways
that cannot be
quantified. Res-
idents of largely
minority, high-
crime neighbor-
hoods don't see
the police as prote
but rather as enem
end up going unr
dents often fear the
to call them. Wh
Detroiters at the
Kitchen on the eas
police were paint
fear, intimidationa
Some stories ar
and over again: Poli
street or in your c
perform a search, t
ticket. Some stories
from an officer forc
car without probab
consistently robbir
threatening arrest
them.
Detroit is the
failed city in ma
none may be wor
mal public-safetyy
usingthe contro- police funding is a huge problem,
isk" policy while but showering cash on a poorly
even the most run, corrupt institution with little
uch as jaywalking respect for the law may not be the
own as the now- best course of action. Money would
window theory. help a bit, but a change in attitude
ave dropped sig- needsto occur.
ork City since the As a recent article in The New
w"York City Police York Times article describes, Los
to claim as much Angeles has decided to take a new
)r this, but econo- path in public safety. In the high-
and attorneys crime neighborhood of Watts, com-
the department's munity leaders and police have
started an active partnership to
e already falling stop gang violence. By collaborating
pment of these with residents, the police have been
multiple studies able to build trust and gather infor-
p-and-frisk" and mation on crime more effectively
olicies aren't the than ever before. The partnership
ng crime rates - hasn't only helped the communi-
"stop-and-frisk" ty's confidence in police, but it has
legitimately improved the quality
tionable impacts of public safety. Police are no longer
enemies or out-
siders - they're
Bad policies are members of the
same group,
making officers look working toward
.al .i a common goal.
and ac k s Stopping crime
instead of hereos. should certainly
be the general
aim of police,
but it can't come
ctors or friends, at the cost of an entire community's
Lies. Many crimes civil liberties or trust in their offi-
eported, as resi- cers.
e police too much By stressing fairness over simple
en talking with crime fighting, the Los Angeles
Capuchin Soup Police Department has been able
t side of the city, to develop collaborative strategies
ed as symbols of for reducing gang-related violence.
and extortion. As the city of Detroit has begun to
re repeated over consider implementing "stop-and-
ce stop you on the frisk" as a policy, residents need
ar for no reason, to not only voice their opposition,
:hen give a bogus but also offer alternatives. Commu-
are much worse, nity policing and cooperation with
ing his way into a neighborhoods is a great start, but
le cause, to police both parties have to come to the
ng residents and bargaining table.
if they report That is, so long as the police
agree not to search anyone before
epitome of a they sit down.
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,
Harsha Nahata, Adrienne Roberts, Paul Sherman,
Sarah Skaluba, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe
REBECCA LIEBSCHUTZ AND EMILY LUSTIG I
Contribute to a safer campus
ny aspects, but
se than its dis-
record. A lack of
- James Brennan can be
reached at jmbthree@umich.edu.
Do you think the University's crime
reports aren't effective? Have you ever had
your laptop, bike or cell phone stolen? Do you
wish you knew how to defend yourself in an
unsafe situation?
Campus safety isn't something most stu-
dents think about on a daily basis. Between
managing busy class schedules and balanc-
ing time for friends and studying, there isn't
always a lot of time to think about safety.
But what about your personal safety
while commuting to class or other involve-
ments? Or your walk home at night? Person-
al safety should be a priority, but it's often
overlooked.
Regardless of where you live, there are
times when you must venture off campus,
walk alone at night or feel unsafe in certain
situations. Central Student Government's
Campus Safety and Security Commission
wants to help make students not only feel safe
but also be more aware of their own safety
and security.
We have big plans this year to help stu-
dents help themselves. Last year, we hosted
free personal-safety workshops with Katy
Mattingly, chair of the Self-Defense Subcom-
mittee of the Student Safety Work Group, to
help educate students on safety. We'd like to
host these workshops again this year. CSSC
will also be hosting Bike and Laptop Regis-
tration with the Ann Arbor Police Depart-
ment in the Shapiro Undergraduate Library
throughout the year to help students prevent
theft. We will also be involved in launching
safety awareness campaigns, which will edu-
cate students on their rights.
We will be working closely with Beyond
the Diag to help spread awareness of these
resources to the off-campus community. We
will be contributing various safety informa-
tion tips in the monthly Beyond the Diag
newsletter to reach more off-campus stu-
dents. We will also be promoting student
use of Beyond the Diag's housing-listing ser-
vice to securely aid students in finding off-
campus housing, roommates and subletters
within the University community. This will
help eliminate scams and let students safely
browse available housing options without
scouring the neighborhoods door-to-door.
Students will be able to browse housing
options through pictures available on the
new website.
The CSSC will be working in collaboration
with the Off-Campus Transportation and
Safety Commission with the goal of imple-
menting a more extensive off-campus bus
route. Hopefully, this will reach many of the
densely populated student neighborhoods
that do not currently have night and weekend
public transportation services. This will help
alleviate dangers that students face while
walking home alone late at night in unlit,
off-campus areas or other unsafe traveling
options.
Do you have any safety concerns? Are you
interested in joining the Campus Safety and
Security Commission to make a difference on
campus? The CSSC would love to hear from
you. Please contact the commission via email
at csg.campus.safety@umich.edu. The Com-
mission meets Monday evenings from 6 p.m.
to 7 p.m. in CSG Chambers (third floor of the
Michigan Union) in Conference Room A.
Rebecca Liebschutz and Emily
Lustig are LSA juniors.
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.
ERIN PAVACIK
No scrubs, please
The first time a boy popped his
head out of a moving car's window
and asked me, "How much?" I think
I may have smiled. When you're 16
years old and walkingto the beach in
a bikini, you're eager for any boost of
self-esteem you can get - even if that
means that it's coming from a pimply
20-year-old kid who doesn't have the
guts to ask you respectfully for sex.
You're 90 pounds and still you feel as
though your thighs are too fat, your
face is too round and your stomach is
too soft. So, when you hear what you
mistakenly assume is validation, you
blush brightand giggle at the car that
has already sped away.
Today, I'm 21. I passed the
90-pound mark a few years ago and
also gained back a good amount of
confidence that my teenage years.
had stolen from me. I was taught
about self-respect and the respect
that others owe to us.
And, yet, I am still dealing with
the same catcalling that I encoun-
tered at 16. Men have gotten slightly
more creative, if not more barbaric
- my best friend will frequently
stick the entire top half of his body
out of a window and pound on
the car door, yelling "Shawtayyy"
while I watch uncomfortably from
the back seat. His actions and those
of others have forced me to face the
sad reality that remains five years
later: Catcalling is not receding; it's
only getting worse.
Ask any of your female friends,
and they will repeat my same frus-
trations. The comments range from
"Nice ass" to "How you doin', baby?"
These cat-callers always assume
you will comply. When you fail to
smile in return the man "compli-
menting" you may react with anger.
Even if you're one of those quick
enough to yell out "fuck you", the
man who has objectified you is able
to speed away without knowing or
caring that his words may have just
ruined your night, made you feel
uncomfortable or driven you inside
your home by sunset. Either way:
You lose. You have been degraded,
and the man who committed that
act is already gone. And he got to
look at your ass.
Sadly, the only way to fix this is
to revolutionize the way that these
men see all women. I'm hoping
that this might reach some of the
men around campus who're hang-
ing out of their car windows -
including my best friend. Ifa man
respected each woman he passed
on the street, catcalling would
cease to exist.
The women on this campus need
to realize that the comments hurled
out of car windows and on the street
are not compliments and shouldn't
be taken as such. These comments
are part of a bigger frame of forced
submissiveness, but they're also
indicative of a lack of the respect
that every woman on this campus
and beyond deserves.
If this doesn't change, I worry
that our future daughters will
endure the same shame that we've
endured on the sidewalks of small
towns and big cities alike. I fear
that our mothers have already seen
this, and they feel for us, knowing
the helplessness of what some call 4
"victimless fun" by rowdy teenage
boys. I hate that my sister, a fresh
20-year-old on whom I could write
an entire book about self-esteem,
takes it as a compliment when a
man says "Mmm, I like that" as he
walks past her. I want change, but 4
I don't see it coming soon. Instead,
I'll keep walking, middle finger
ready for a new assault, and head
home - where I know I'm safe.
Erin Pavacik is an LSA senior.
h* Daily In-jest: Want to know of a cooler place to
d he visit than Detroit? Andrew Lieberman guides you
pod iUfl through the sites and sounds of West Bloomfield.
Go to michigandaily.com/blogs/The Podium
&