Page 4A - Wednesday, October 29, 2014

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MEGAN MCDONALD
PETER SHAHIN and DANIEL WANG KATIE BURKE
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily'a editorial board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
Common sense policies

An open letter to the bagel judges

The Michigan football program has
been in the spotlight recently for
a variety of issues - what hasn't
received attention, howev-
er, is the culture that sur-
rounds it. But it needsto be.
On any given football Sat-
urday, groups of students
tailgate or pregame the
football games - regard-
less of whether or not they
actually attend. If you've
walked down Hill Street or VICTORIA
South University Avenue NOBLE
on one of these mornings,
you've probably seen huge
pre-parties:the masses of students dancingon
tables and lawns with red cups, walking from
house to house in huddled masses.
You've heard the cheers, the laughter.
But you've also probably heard police and
ambulance sirens and seen students in
handcuffs or strapped to a gurney. This
isn't a University-specific problem, but the
inextricable link between tailgating culture
and what happens on campus some Saturdays
is a problem that affects many students. To
make matters worse, current policies fail
to adequately address_
the problem.
Alcohol use among col- Having
lege students is well stud-
ied and well documented. school pol
According to the recently
published National College clearly cc
Health Assessment, 70 per- accepter
cent of University under-
graduate students sampled harms the
self-reported to have con-
sumed alcohol in the past
30 days. Asking students to
self-report a potentially illegal behavior, even
anonymously, isn't an infallible practice. But
even taking the numbers at face value, it's clear,
that a helltof a lot more students are drinking
than are legally permitted to do so.
Certainly not everyone drinks at the
University, and campus data from the NCHA
actually suggests that many Undergraduate
students overestimate the amount that others
are drinking. However, the prevailing culture
at the University, especially on football
Saturdays, places an inordinately high value
on alcohol to fuel partying. Freedom from
parents, easy access and permissive attitudes
toward its overconsumption tend to reinforce
this culture.
To moststudents readingthis, whatI've said
so far is probably old news. But, the University,

the state and national policies that govern
alcohol consumption for underage students
often blatantly ignore the realities of college
life that are clear to the majority of students.
On paper, the policies strictly forbid underage
drinking. But, because they so clearly conflict
with prevalently accepted norms, underage
drinking laws are all but impossible to evenly
enforce on college campuses. As a result, the
enacted policies accomplish only a small
fraction of what they were intended to while
simultaneously causing a lot of harm.
For example, at the game against Michigan
State last weekend, Lansing Police arrested 101
individuals, mainly for "underage drinking and
disorderly conduct," according to the Lansing
State Journal. For anyone who attended the
game or saw pictures of the tailgates on social
media, this number seems remarkably low,
but for the relatively few students who were
ticketed for drinking underage, that citation
could have a lasting impact.
Further, having a law or school policythat so
clearly contradicts accepted culture harms the
law itself. Instead of instilling respect for the
law, policies like this condition an irreverent,
it only matters if Iget caught attitude. Because
the success of any law itself depends to an
extent on the willingness
of the public to submit
a law or to the constraints it
imposes, it's important
icy that so that students enter society
as people who understand
ntradicts the importance and value
d culture of justice and civil order.
Instead, many students
law itself. fear law enforcement
personnel and treat laws
with the same subjectivity
that they approach things
like political gestures.
Because that's what they've become. Save
for medical amnesty, the policies surrounding
underage drinking are coloredhy the:political ;
pressure to maintain a tough stance against
dangerous adolescent behaviors.
But underage drinking isn't what causes
the most harm - binge drinking is. Maintain-
ing strict laws against drunk driving (perhaps
even the zero tolerance law for those under 21)
while also adopting more relaxed policies for
low BACs of college-aged students may help
address this in a more manageable and equita-
ble way. Itcould, in the process, decrease binge
drinking by legitimizing responsible drinking.
- Victoria Noble can be reached
at vjnoble@umich.edu.

Dear Sirs and Madams:
Congratulations.
When
you accepted
the invitation to
select, from apool
of submissions,
the top 10 "best"
names for the
Barry Bagels'
Maize and Blue
Homecoming AVERY
Bagel, you could DWBALDO
hardly have
expected that
you'd have been forced to sift
through nearly 300 entries, 87 of
which were submitted by my three
housemates and me.
But you did it. You've come a
long way.
Now that you've released a list
of the top 10 submissions - a list
on which not a single one of our
87 entries is included - and it has
become clear that my housemates
and I have been barred from the
opportunity to win "a FREE dozen
bagels a month for one full year," I
must humbly ask:
What was it about "Bilbo
Bagel," exactly, which failed to
tickle your fancy? Did "Bilbagel
Baggins" not quite do it for you?
How about "Bagel Baggins"? No?
Were "The Bagel Identity," "The
Bagel Supremacy" and "The Bagel
Ultimatum" rejected because of
copyright concerns? Or because
we chose not to include "The Bagel
Legacy," owing to the fact that the
Bourne franchise took a turn south
after Matt Damon's departure,
as we all know? Or do you prefer
Jeremy Renner?
Have you always hated me,
or only since my entrance in the
Barry Bagels' Maize and Blue
Homecoming Bagel Contest?
Did you find "Ceci nest pas
un bagel" to be too highbrow, or
were you afraid of legal action by
the Magritte estate? Did "Barack
Obagel" strike you as politically
polarizing? Surely "Abagelham
Lincoln" would have been a more
populist choice? What about
"Conan O'Bagel"? Leno fans,
yourselves?

Perhaps you still1
traumatic memories of hig
English class, which p
you from finding
in "Bagelwulf," "The
Karamazov" and "O Ba
Bagel." Perhaps you had ne
developed a taste for B
musicals, and so "Les Mise
"Porgy and Bagel" and"
Todd: the Demon Bagel
Street" struck you as f
bombastic.
Perhaps the space in yo
which ought to have be
with a human heart, wa;
occupied by a dead cockro
In what way was "Bi
Bagel," which you
preferable to our own entr
Bagel House," which you
Why include "Bo Sche
among the top - 10 and
"Bagel Hoke"?
If it's true
that the number
ofnewuniverses Ha
which are per- m
petually branch-
ing off from our
own is infinite, Barr
and that each B
universe is dis-
tinguished from
the other by its
own unique set
of circumstances and vale
what are the odds that w
the only conceivable un
which the entry of "Blaiz
+ Blue)" is superior to "
Arbagel," "M Go Bagel"
Bagel or Go Home"
Is this also the uni
which the Barry Bagels' M
Blue Homecoming Bagel
was judged by a panel o
Retrievers with Magic
strapped to their forehead
I could understandN
might have had reservatio
"Jeff Goldbagel." Maybe'"
grossed you out. Maybe y
particularly enjoy his perf
in "The Big Chill" - th
explain why "The Bag:
didn't make the cut, either
But such an excusec
apply to "Whoopi Go

harbored which, along with "A Walk to
gh school Remembagel," "The Incredibagel"
revented and five of our other submissions,
pleasure you deemed worthy of only an
Bagels honorable mention.
agel, My You know nothingof honor.
ver quite You know nothing of the hours
Broadway of labor, the anxious sweat, the
rabagel," Olympic feats of concentration
Sweeney and wordplay which lay behind
of Fleet "The Bagel Lebowski" and "The
lashy or Dave Matthews Bagel." You cannot
possibly begin to comprehend the
:ur chest, sleepless nights whichthe four ofus
en filled spent crowded around our kitchen
s instead table, our blinds drawn, muttering
ach. to ourselves, "Inglorious Bagel,"
g House "Dbagel Unchained," scratching
selected, out the names on a yellow legal pad
y of "The as we spoke them aloud, hushed,
did not? like Kabala scholars divining the
mbagler" name of God, waiting for the best
exclude name, the true name, to burst from
our lips and
shine before
ve you always hated us in glowing
letters: "There
e, or only since my Will Be Bagel"!
entrance in the "Bagels Can't Be
Choosers"! "Hit
y Bagels' Maize and Me Bagel One
lue Homecoming More Time"!
One day,
Bagel Contest? when humanity
has destroyed
itself and the
ues, then world is nothing but ash, our souls
e inhabit will free themselves from our
iverse in wretched bodies and ascend to
e (Maize some vast chamber to meet our
The Ann cosmic judgment. There we will
and "Go find a bagel, a great and terrible
'? bagel that will call out-the names
verse in of the saved and the names of the
Maize and damned. And you will hear your
Contest own name called; you will hear that
f Golden bagel call you to your fate, and you
8-Balls willturn,querulous,unbelieving,to
s? those disembodied shades gathered
why you around you. I will be among them,
ns about and before you have the chance to
'The Fly" speak, I will say to you: ask not for
ou didn't whom the bagel tolls.
formance It tolls for thee.
is might Cheers,
el Chill" Avery DiUbaldo

9tr,

r.
does not
ldbagel,"

- Avery DiUbaldo can be
reached at diubaldo@umich.edu.

JAMES IENQRICKSON|I
Be an educated citizen

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Devin Eggert, David Harris, Rachel John, Nivedita Karki,
Jacob Karafa, Jordyn Kay, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald,
Victoria Noble, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael
Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Paul Sherman, Linh Vu,
Meher Walia, Mary Kate Winn, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe
JESSE BUCHSBAUM
Why you should vote

I'll never forget my first time voting as a
student. It was in 2011 and I was voting in
the local Ann Arbor elections. I was excited
to finally have a say in electing leaders who
would represent me and make decisions that
would directly impact my life.
As a child, I would always accompany my
mother to the polls and step inside the ballot
box with her. Sometimes she would let me fill
in the bubbles for her and I would get an "I
voted" sticker to wear like a badge of honor.
This time though, I was voting on my own
issues, based on research that I had done. I
was filling out the ballotbased on my own per-
sonal views, and at the time, nothing seemed
more exciting than voicing my own opinion.
When I eventually fed my completed ballot
into the machine, the sticker that I received
finally resonated with me: I had voted.
I'll never forget the importance of that
election. While there were nothing "sexy"
to vote for on that ballot, like the president,
governor or members of Congress, each issue
that I voted on had importance that could
change my very own day-to-day life.
The upcoming election this Nov. 4 is
equally, if not more, important than my first
election in 2011, as well as each election
since. While decisions made at the federal
level might take months or years to affect us
at the statewide or local level, choices made
by our governor and state legislators have
immediate and lasting impacts.
That's why voting in local, gubernatorial
and presidential elections is so important.

It's up to us to elect leaders who are going to
do what's best for our education system, our
communities and us. And in statewide and
local elections, every single vote counts.
If you have any questions about issues on
the ballot, where your polling place is, how to
submit an absentee ballot or something else
entirely, you can visit the Michigan Election
Coalition's website at mielectioncoalition.org.
MEC is a coalition of non-partisan, non-profit
organizations working to improve citizen
engagement in the democratic process, and
their website is a good place to get voting
questions answered.
The Michigan Election Coalition,
a coalition of nonpartisan, nonprofit
organizations working to increase citizen
engagement with democracy, has created a
new website that makes voting easier. It even
has guidelines specifically for students. Visit
the site at mielectioncoalition.org if you have
any questions about the issues on the ballot,
where your polling place is, how to submit an
absentee ballot or something else entirely.
This November, whether it's your first
time or you've already got some experience
under your belt, get out and exercise your
most fundamental right to vote. It's your duty
to yourself, your family, your peers and your
future.
The experiences we have in college will
stick with us for our entire lives - make
voting one of them.
Jesse Buchsbaum is LSA senior.

During a time in which this
nation appears to be mired in
panic and fear over threats to our
security, such as Ebola or ISIS, our
confidence in Congress has shrunk
to approximately 12 percent. Voter
turnout is hitting all-time lows, and
yet we still find ourselves expecting
a different result each time they
take place.
In the latest midterm election of
2010, only one quarter of all able-
voters in the age group 18 to 29 cast
their decisions. Midterm elections
already have notoriously poor
turnout rates, and yet, as we have
seen through the Congressional
stagnation in the past few months,
if we don't elect competent officials
to lead us, we will consistently have
poor results.
Due to the stringent party
politics we have been seeing in
the past few years, it has become
increasingly difficult to get to know
a candidate's individual beliefs and
ideas without doing a significant
amount of research. Often our
perception and understanding of
the candidates we see on our ballots
on ElectionDayis largelycomprised
of the thousands of attack ads we
see and mute in the weeks leading
up to our elections. This is why we
see so many people walking into a
voting booth only knowing a single
name on the ballot, and choosing
whatever name they're vaguely
familiar with.
People tend to think their singu-
lar vote is inconsequential, and yet,
if you add each of these singular
votes together, they make a differ-
ence. It has never been more crucial
that everyone that has a voice to be
heard is informed when going into
that booth on Election Day.
Energy reform is not a
political matter
TO THE DAILY:
It's once again voting season here
at the University.
In a political landscape that's
increasingly and alarmingly
steeped in bitter and petty parti-
sanship, obvious by the hundreds of
negative campaign ads, there's one
issue that everyone should be work-
ing together on: clean energy.

However, as we have all been
consumed with midterms of our
own in the past few weeks, for busy
students, elections and politics
are often put on the furthest back
burners available. Therefore, the
NAACP and the American Civil
Liberties Union Undergrad Chapter
are hosting a "Voter Empowerment
Seminar" Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. in the
Pendleton Room of the Union in
order to foster a more politically
aware climate on campus, and to
inform students of the oft-forgotten
influence of local and state politics
on our lives.
The Voter Empowerment Semi-
nar is a non-partisan event that will
encourage students at the Univer-
sity to vote Nov. 4 by introducing
them to candidates, their platforms
and why in general, it's important
to vote. Student organizations will
also have a voice in the event, pre-
senting the speakers and focus-
ing on the importance of students
either filling out their absentee bal-
lots or making it out to the polling
place on Election Day.
In terms of speakers, we will
have a wide variety, including
ACLU Attorney Michael Steinberg,
who will speak about restrictions
to voting and the problems with
Supreme Court elections in the
past. Our lineup, coming from
both Republican and Democratic
parties, will be given a few minutes
each to describe their initiatives if
elected, and demonstrate why it's
so important for students to get
out and vote Nov. 4. The confirmed
candidates are:
Lisa Brown, Democratic
candidate for Lieutenant Governor
Richard Bernstein, Candidate for
Michigan Supreme Court

Susan Baskett and Patricia
Manley, Candidates for Ann Arbor
School Board
Attorney Veronique Liem,
Candidate for Circuit Court Judge
Chair Yousef Rabhi, Washt-
enaw Board of Commissioners -
District 8
Tracy Van den Berg, Candidate
for Washtenaw County Probate
At the very end of the event,
students will have the opportunity
to engage directly with candidates
and ask questions in person. We
hope that familiarizing students
with candidates will make them
feel more connected to the political
process that many have just
experienced in a classroom setting.
This event will be largely
academic, because the candidates
will be addressing issues on
their platform that are relevant
to students today. Students will
not only listen to the candidates
lecture, but will also engage in
the learning process actively by
asking questions and personally
interacting with candidates and
other student organizations. Some
of the topics that may be covered
in the event include gun control,
health care, education, minimum
wage, women's rights, environment
and any others that voters would be
interested inlearningabout directly
from the candidates themselves.
At the end of the day, the most
fundamental component of our
lives is our freedom to voice our
opinions. If we choose not to voice
them when it matters the most,
then what's the purpose of having
one at all?
James Hendrickson is
an LSA sophomore.

SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICHIGANDAILY.COM
Michiganders support of renewable energy and energy
transitioning from coal to clean, efficiency because it will create
renewable energy. Polling numbers jobs, save businesses and families
from across the state and across money and protect Michigan's air,
the political spectrum show strong land and water. So no matter what
support for diversifying our energy part of the political landscape you
supply, generating more clean fall on, it's important to remember
energy and reducing energy waste that this issue doesn't have any
through energy efficiency. And isn't political affiliations. 0
the University all about innovation It's a task we, as Wolverines,
and entrepreneurship? need to take on.
Therefore, it's important that
our representatives know that we Angelika Kurthen
support increasing Michigan's use LSA Sophomore

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