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 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 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. 0 0 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 Readers are encouraged to submit viewpoints. Viewpoints should be 550-850 words, and can be on the topic of the authors' choosing. Send the writer's full name and University affiliation to opinion@michigandaily.com. 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. 0 tp 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. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be fewer than 300 words. Send letters to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.