4A -Monday, December 9, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
4A -Monday, December 9, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
SMih~igan ailg
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
Keeping it civil over turkey
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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 ROM T HE DA ILY
A health ter transition
Michigan's Medicaid expansion gives needed support to ex-inmates
rn 2014, the Affordable Care Act will expand Medicaid to cover all adults
earning less than 38-percent above the federal poverty level; a large
portion of these beneficiaries will be former prison inmates and detain-
ees. Michigan will expand its Medicaid program to help cover the health-
care costs of released offenders and current inmates who require long-term
hospitalization or other specialized care outside of prison. This expansion
of Medicaid will be financially beneficial to the state. Furthermore, the new
benefits available may help former inmates adjust to independent living and
could be a way to curb recidivism and improve the lives of former prisoners.
ike every Public Policy stu-
dent, I look forward to holi-
days not just for the food, or
the presents, or
the avoidance
of doing a load
of laundry, but
because of the
inevitable politi-
cal banter that
goes on in every
U.S. household PATRICK
when extended MAILLET
families reunite.
Whether alco-
hol-induced or
not, most families will likely have at
least one political conversation on
Thanksgiving. This year was certain-
ly no exception with the government
shutdown still pretty fresh in all of
our minds, nuclear talks with Iran,
and of course, the wildly successful
rollout of HealthCare.gov.
In my family, you better know
what you're talking about when it
comes to politics. If you make a stu-
pid argument or a baseless claim,
there's no doubt that someone will
bury you for it. For years, I've been
arguingthat all Mailletholiday fam-
ily functions should have a stenog-
rapher present for this exact reason.
Growing up, I remember sitting
around the table after Thanksgiv-
ing dinner arguing about former
President George Bush's torture
policies with the grownups in my
family while all the other kids
played downstairs. Sure, these
were the early signs of beinga mas-
sive political geek, but that's how
I learned how to express an argu-
ment and how to win a debate.
Although these debates inevi-
tably happen year in and year out,
I can't help but feel that they have
grown more militant over the past
couple years. Where we once may
have agreed on certain things, now
it seems like every time a debate
happens within my family, both
people leave the conversation more
entrenched in their own perspec-
tive with little understanding of
how someone could possibly see
another side.
One debate that I always look
forward to is the one that inevitably
breaks out between Uncle Jim and
me. While I do love Jim dearly, let's
just say he and I don't exactly see
eye-to-eye on just about anything in
terms of politics. For starters, Jim
thinks Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
should be our next president. Need
I say more?
Jim is a proud Tea Partier and
still truthfully believes that Presi-
dent Barack Obama was born
in Kenya. I don't really take the
"birther" claims seriously anymore,
but this year, Jim said something
that truly resonated with me.
In the heat of a conversation,
while Jim and I were screaming at
each other as the rest of the family
desperately tried to hold a conver-
sation in the other room, Jim said,
"Obama is your president, not mine."
This statement made me take a
step back. Where could the conver-
sation go from here? If we couldn't
agree on the very concept that
Obama is the commander-in-chief
of our nation, then what else is there
to talk about?
Even after the Thanksgiving
plates were cleared and everyone
gave their goodbye hugs, Jim's
words stuck with me.
Never, even in the darkest of
times during the Bush administra-
tion, did I ever think that the for-
mer Texas governor George Bush
was not my president. I know this is
easy to say in hindsight, but if Mitt
Romney had won last November, I
would be calling him "my president."
I might not be happy about it, but I
would still respect the office.
The reason that Jim's statement
haunted me so much was because
I immediately realized that he
wasn't alone in this belief. Millions
of Americans do not even acknowl-
edge Obama as their president. More
importantly, many elected officials
do not make this acknowledgment.
Any bill that Obama presents to Con-
gress is immediately shut down.
Why? Not because it may be good
or bad or partisan or bipartisan, but
because it has the president's name
on it. Tea Party candidates obviously
can't support anything backed by
Obama - they are elected in districts
where voters don't recognize Obama
as their president!
Our democracy is not based on the
concept that the minority justdoesn't
have to acknowledge the legitimacy
of the opposition party. Across the
country, we are seeing extremism on
either side of the political spectrum
rewarded. While compromise used
to be an inevitable part of govern-
ment, it has now become a surefire
way for a candidate to lose his or
her upcoming primary. We need to
start respecting each other and not
entrench ourselves so deeply into our
respective parties that we are inca-
pable of accepting that the other side
might have a good idea every once in
awhile.
Our conversations need to start
being a lot more civil, otherwise the
only thing Jim and I will have to talk
about on Thanksgiving is, well... tur-
key.
- Patrick Maillet can be
reached at maillet@umich.edu.
Upon release from prison, former inmates
face a myriad of barriers to successful rein-
tegration into society. In some cases, former
inmates may not have a basic level of edu-
cation. Without support for and access to
basic services, housing or health care, many
inmates are released into a familiarly hope-
less environment, and recidivism becomes a
vicious cycle. Expansion of Medicaid to cover
the recently released will significantly reduce
some of inmates' stress of readjusting to
independent life. Michigan has already been
using state funds for reintegration programs
that include health care - in the past five
years, the state has seen its prison population
decrease from 51,554 to 43,636.
A key element of Medicaid expansion is
its coverage of continuous mental-health
care for current and former prison inmates.
Mental health is an oft-neglected segment of
healthcare programs in general, but it plays
an especially large role in the prison popula-
tion and the effort to decrease the incidence
of repeat offenders. Because mental illness is
sooften ignoreduntil incidence ofamajor dis-
turbance, the mentally ill are disproportion-
ately represented in the prison population.
According to the National Institute of Health,
56.2 percent of inmates in state prisons have
a mental illness, compared with 26.2 percent
of adult members of the general population.
In order to reduce recidivism, it's crucial to
address both the mental and physical health
of former inmates. After using limited state
funds to assist released offenders with spe-
cial needs, most of which were mental disor-
ders, Michigan's recidivism rates decreased
by half between 1998 and 2012. Expansion
of Medicaid will significantly increase funds
available to provide continuing mental health
care for inmates.
Additionally, Michigan will reap financial
benefits from expansion of Medicaid. The fed-
eral government will take over more coverage
of inmates who are enrolled in specialized
care outside of the prison system, but more
importantly, reduction of repeatoffenders will
save the state thousands of dollars per inmate.
Expanded health care for former inmates will
cost roughly $2,000 per person, versus $3,500
each year for every imprisoned inmate.
The state's expansion of Medicaid for
inmates will be a welcome change and will
improve the quality of life for impoverished
or mentally ill former inmates and greatly
assist their reintegration into society.
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EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, James Brennan, Rima Fadlallah,
Eric Ferguson, Jordyn Kay, Jesse Klein, Kellie Halushka, Melanie Kruvelis, Aarica Marsh,
Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Adrienne Roberts,
Matthew Seligman, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe
Be challenged and learnfrom yourpeers
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION
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STUDENT UNION OF MICHIGAN
A false compromise
Over the pastdecade, the University has paid mises" on AST, as they are most likely not com-
private consulting firm Accenture $19.4 million promises at all. For instance, in response to a
for various "cost-containment" projects. These letter of opposition to AST penned by faculty,
projects have not touched the impressive sala- the administration announced that it would
ries of the University's top earners, attempted delay the transition. The implementation is
to curtail the unnecessarily large and growing delayed beyond April,thatis,to the summer - a
administrative class or decreased spending on time when the opposition will be least capable.
expensive, superfluous construction projects Plans to re-interview employees have not been
intended to attract wealthy out-of-state "con- delayed. Amazingly, this "compromise" does
sumer students" who pay higher tuition prices. not impede the transition to AST, but it does
These cost-containment projects have involved help kill oppositionto AST.
the de-skilling and the de-personalizing of It may seem like we are making progress
labor so that it may be more expendable and in stopping AST by "compromising" with the
decreased job security in order to force employ- administration, but in fact, we aren't. Ending
ees to accept unfavorable working conditions AST cannot happen through the same channels
out of fear of losing their jobs. by which it was conceived. Our strength lies in
The latest cost-containment project - for standing together and confronting the Univer-
which the University paid Accenture $11.7 sity on our terms, not theirs. Any willingness to
million - is called Administrative Services compromise opens the door to our opposition
Transformation. AST aims to tear human strategically imposing AST on us. Therefore,
resources and financial services staff from we simply must stand our ground in opposing
their departments and centralize them to a AST outright.
Shared Services Center on the edge of Ann Mondayat3 p.m.,the StudentUnionofMich-
Arbor, far from where they are needed. These igan along with faculty, staff and student oppo-
325 employees will be forced to re-interview nentsoftheAdministrative Services Transition
for their jobs, of which there would be only 275 will be delivering the following restructuring
after the transition. letter to the office of Rowan Miranda, the Uni-
The decision to implement AST at the Uni- versity's associate vice president of finance and
versity, not to mention the signing of an $11.7 AST's architect.
million contract with Accenture, was made Through direct action we hope to both
without consulting the people it would affect. highlight the injustice of AST as a specific
AST is predicted to save $5 to $6 million per program as well as the broader context of the
year, an amount that pales in comparison to university corporatization it reflects. While
any single unnecessary construction project, we march to Miranda's office today, we do
like the much-contested $185 million Munger so not because he's the root of the problems
dormitory - $85 million of which will be pur- we face, but rather because his engineering
chased with University debt. "Cost-contain- of AST represents just the latest in a series of
ment" can be seen as mere pretext - the real administrative decisions made without stu-
purpose of AST and similar labor-attacking dent, faculty or staff support that are trans-
efforts is to disenfranchise and control the forming the University of Michigan.
employees whose work makes the University With the explosive growth of tuition, the
but whose wages and benefits are an obstacle attacks on unions, the seemingly endless
to the ability of the University to run like a building spree across campus and the expan-
large corporation. sion of the size and pay of the administration,
We must oppose AST outright. We must not we've watched as our University has deprior-
be placated by AST-like substitutes or delays itized its mission of public education, instead
in implementing AST. The administration is pursuing policies that deepen inequalities
trained and experienced in suppressing dissent and injustice both on our campus and within
to their policies. They will attempt to "compro- our society.
As I sit on the couches in The
Michigan Daily newsroom,
writing my last column, I
can't help but
smile at how
things have
come full circle.
I walked into
this place the
first week of my
freshman year,
not knowing H SHA
the first thing NAHATA
about writing
for a newspaper.
I had no idea at
the time what the Daily would grow
to mean to me.
From late night shifts to elec-
tions that run until 5 a.m., from
heated editorial board debates to
difficult endorsement decisions,
the memories are endless. I can't
begin to sum up how big of an
impact the Daily has made on my
college experience. It has not only
been an outlet for my jumbled up
thoughts, but a platform for my
voice. Beyond that, it's the only
reason I'm now semi-competent in
Photoshop and InDesign. I really
can't thank this place enough.
Coming into college, I never
considered myself a writer. I still
remember my first editorial read
through with an editor. I came in
on a Sunday afternoon to sit down
with the editorial page editor and
went over my article. I was ter-
rified going into it. I didn't know
anything about Daily style - I still
used oxford commas - or how to
structure an editorial. And I got
quite a few edits. But none of that
compared to the feeling of seeing
my writing in print the next day. I
was hooked..
Writing became my way of mak-
ing sense of the world. I fell in love
with words and the ways in which
they can be used to communicate
ideas, stories and beliefs. To raise
awareness or advocate for a cause or
simply make someone laugh. There's
that indescribable feeling you get
when you've found the perfect word
to describe what you want to say,
and you know that the person read-
ing it, will, if only for a second, pic-
ture exactly what you've imagined.
I've grown so much these past
years, both as a writer and a stu-
dent, and I have the Daily to thank
for much of it. Having a column
is constantly putting yourself out
there, but in the best way possible.
It's a series of feedback, in person,
through e-mails and Facebook
comments - sometimes angry,
sometimes encouraging, but always
educational. It is the opportunity
to be constantly challenged about
your views, and to learn from the
people surrounding you. And I
wouldn't have it any other way.
By the time senior year rolls
around, you start spending a
lot of time thinking about what
you'll leave behind, what people
will remember you for, what your
"legacy" will be. One of my favor-
ite quotes is by filmmaker Robert
Bresson: "Make visible what with-
out you might never have been
seen." And, if nothing else, I hope
my column has done that. I hope it
has added value and made you see
things in a way slightly different
than how you had seen them before.
Walking through Palmer Com-
mons on Sunday, I noticed a ques-
tion posed on the big chalkboard;
"Every 26 seconds someone drops
out of high school. What can you do
in 26 seconds?"
I can do alot in 26 seconds, I can
write a sentence; I can do a math
problem; I can send a Snapchat ...
maybe two. I can even learn a little
bit more about education inequality.
That's not why I'm bringing this
up. Bynow, you know this isn't a col-
umn about the public education sys-
tem. Experiences like this continue
to remind me how blessed I am.
Blessed to have the opportunity to
be at such a great university, to voice
my opinion and have people actually
read it, to be surroundedby so many
individuals who care so passionately
about different causes, to have the
resources to make an impact.
By the very nature of our degree,
we're going to leave the University
in a position to make a difference.
They say college isn't just a place
you go to get a degree, but a place
that makes you a better citizen,
a better thinker. I can't speak for
everyone, but I know that has been
resoundingly true of my college
experience.
So in my final column I have a
call for action for you. There are
many problems to solve and oppor-
tunities to create positive change
- regardless what field we may be
going into. I hope you are able to
use the experiences and knowledge
you've gained here to give back to
someone, somewhere, in some way,
no matter how big or small.
- Harsha Nahata can be
reached at hnahata@umich.edu.
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If they are forced to have poverty wages
then there is really no future for the
middle class in this country. That's why
the minimum wage and raising it is such
a key issue.
- LSA junior Max Lerner told The Michigan Daily on Dec. 5 at a protest in the Diag. Students rallied in
solidarity with fast-food workers across the country arguing for raising wages for workers.
mise" with us, but we must remember that their
goal has not changed.
We should be extremely wary of "compro-
This article was written by members
of the Student Union of Michigan.
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