Page 4 -- Tuesday, November 4, 2014 The Michigan daily -- michigandaily.com 0 Page 4- Tuesday, November 4, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom * C 1 Mitlhinan 4F{ Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com MEGAN MCDONALD PETERSHAHIN and DANIEL WANG KATIE BURKE EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR 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. Crossingtheaisle I've been to more Republican campaign events that I can reasonably recall. Hav- inginterned and volunteered for ahandful of local candidates, I'm used to the large crowds amped up on the idea that, after Elec- tion Day, society might begin to change for the better. I'm also the last person you'd expect to find at a Democratic rally featuring President Barack Obama. But, three days before VICTORIA the election, in a crowded NOBLE gym filled with cheering supporters for Michigan's bluest candidates, that's exactly where I was. I watched passionate devotees erupt with hope and excitement as candidates promised wider access to quality education, middle class-centric policies, a better economy with a booming job market and a fairer government less controlled by special interests. At several pointsinthespeech,Iwastemptedtosmile and cheer with the crowd - though my yellow press pass and frequent self-reminders to maintain a journalist's fagade of impartiality (hopefully) prevented those reactions. For a good portion of each candidate's and, subsequently, Obama's speech, the focus was on issues and policies that consistently poll favorably among most Americans, regardless of political orientation. At several moments, if someone had told me Obama's words were actually those spoken by his presidential oppo- nent two years ago, I would've believed them. As normal, rational citizens, there are just certain things we can all get behind. The real economic progress described by Obama really isn't so divisive. And I'm fairly sure that leaders valuing the "hard work and responsibility that the ordinary people they represent take with them every single day when they go to the job," appeal to voters on both sides of the aisle. Yet, Obama made a concerted effort to' differentiate Democratic candidates from their Republican opponents. He did this by painting them as anti-family, anti-worker and anti- women. He conflated and (unfairly) compared, even quoting, sans context, an unidentified Republican candidate, who said, "You could argue that money is more important for men." After a quick Google search, I found that the quote was given by the Assistant Majority Leader of the Wisconsin state Senate Glenn Grothman in 2012. Obama was giving a campaign speech in front of a base of supporters, not an address to the nation, and firing up the crowd just domes with the territory. Sometimes making dramatic statements is the best way to do that. But, in a few days, the election will be over. Those feelings, that animosity stirred by aggravating statements pitting leaders against their constituents won't fade just because one party or the other has decisively won. In one part of his speech, Obama focused on the progress that this state has recently realized. But, instead of properly giving credit tc the swaths ofpolicymakers at everylevelwho contributed to these impressive improvements, he politicized it. "Despite the unyielding opposition of folks on the other side, there are workers who have jobs today who didn't have them before," he said. "There are auto plants that got shifts that weren't there before." The tension that characterizes the relationship between Republican and Democratic parties, especially at the national legislative level, is undeniable. But even so, any assertion that either party alone is responsible for Michigan's economic recovery, or that one side accomplished it in spite of the other, is unequivocally false. Obama and the Democrats certainly aren't alone in their use of dichotomous and partisan language. But, when Obama was campaigning in2008,he characterizedhimselfas abipartisan leader, so his move toward divisiveness in this election is particularly disappointing. One quote was particularly condescending and off-putting. "Republicans are good people, they're patriots. They love their country ... But they've got bad ideas," he said. "And I always try to explain - look, I've got members of my family who I love and have bad ideas. I still love them. I just wouldn't put them in charge." Ironically, so many of both parties' ideals, if not the ideas themselves, are strikingly similar. And that's not to say that there aren't differences - there are. But effective policy will draw from both parties' platforms - it's what our government was designed to do. By characterizing Republicans so negatively now, it only reduces the prospects of future cooperation. A few weeks ago, I listened to University Regent Kathy White give atalk on leadership. One lesson she gave really stuck in my mind: there's no limit to what you can accomplish if you don't care who gets credit. It's abundantly clear that Michigan's economic recovery is the result of interplay between Republican and Democratic ideas. Instead of highlighting their differences, leaders from both parties should recognize that real, continued progress will require serious, pragmatic collaboration - not opportunistic criticism aimed at winning votes. In a few days, the competition will be over. It will be time to put aside the differences, forget the negative advertisements and move past antagonizing words. But, no matter who is elected, our new leaders will have a responsibility to focus on the most important thingboth partieshaveincommon:the people they serve. - Victoria Noble can be reached at vjnoble@umich.edu. r Seeking refuge in a strange land M y arm was beginning private organizations providing tage for one which they'd only seen to fatigue, but I dared vocational, settlement and through the glass of a television set. not move for fear of the therapeutic services for Michigan's Bravely, they made their way microphone pick- sizable refugee population, which through the Middle East onward to ing up some sort in the 2011 fiscal year amounted Europe, across the Atlantic, first to of grainy interfer- to 2,587 people. Over the past Canada, and then later across the ence that would decade, Michigan has accepted border to Michigan, where family ruin my audio. the entry of 23,547 refugees from members in Metro Detroit housed With every invol- an estimated 49 countries into its them before they received enough untary, sinewy borders, a number higher than money through philanthropic twitch, I felt the any other state in the Midwest donation to settle in Lansing. joints in my elbow AUSTIN except Minnesota. Although they don't reside in the and wrist sort of A According to data from 2011, best of neighborhoods, the woman click before lock- DAVS some 8,802 refugees who have told me, at least there is no immedi- ing up again in a entered Michigan in the past year ate threat of car bombs or gunfire. new position. I have hailed from Iraq; on a national I do not tell this woman's story took a deep breath and tried to sup- scale, about 20 percent of refugees to evoke sympathy for her or her press the dull ache. I didn't want to coming to the United States from circumstances, nor do I do it to put a break contact with her eyes. Iraq choose to come to Michigan for face on the thousands of refugees in I couldn't understand a word asylum, most likely due to the dense Michigan who attempt to assimilate she was saying, but I could feel the Arabic population surrounding the to an American life without first emotion pouring out of her, travel- Detroit area. For those seeking a being given psychological services ing up from her depths and mate- better life, Michigan is an attractive to cope with the pain they've rializing itself in the brimming resettlement location. already experienced. tears hanging on to the bottom of The woman described above is I tell this woman's story as one her lids. Her voice quivered and one such refugee. She is a native which I hope will humble those vacillated between light and dark Iraqi who fled her homeland with who read it, who will appreciate inflections, from a quiver to a sinis- her family only a few short years the pain this woman has endured ter, shrill, almost piercing screech. after the U.S. invasion in 2003; the and the strength she has displayed Her face twisted with the confus- sectarian violence that had already in swallowing that pain against ing mix of feeling accompanied by plagued Iraq, coupled with rising hardship in order to attempt to each memory; a smile would begin political violence between Iraqi provide her loved ones with a life to appear, but would be halted by and American soldiers, became too here in the United States - a place the progression of anguish creeping unsafe an environment for her and where she believed they would have its way into her countenance. Like a her family. more opportunity and autonomy movie reel, her story replayed itself I later came to find out through in their lives as compared to that in vivid projections in her mind. the aid of a translator who accom- experienced in their native land. She was speaking Arabic, and I panied me to the interview that I tell her story because, despite couldn't understand a single word she'd been recounting the moment the toil that life can have, the she was saying - yet somehow, I in which she decided to flee Iraq: depression for which it can be a had understood exactly what she due to a misunderstanding by mili- catalyst, or the crippling doubt of was attempting to convey: pure, tary officials, her family's home - a choices made that accompanies unadulterated pain. farm house built by her grandfather the former and the latter, at least About ayear and ahalf ago, during which had since housed her family there is some form of choice in the time in which I was interning at - was burned to the ground, along this country to change one's the NPR member station, Michigan with all the family's material pos- circumstances without having to Radio, I was given an assignment sessions. Nobody sustained physi- seek refuge in a strange land. With covering a refugee women's group cal injury in the arson;however, the midterm elections upon us, it's based out of Lansing supported by prospect of what may have occurred critical to keep this in mind. funds from St. Vincent Catholic Charities. Since the 1970s, St. Vincent's has been one of many given different circumstances was enough to scare her family into abandoning their country of heri- - Austin Davis can be reached at austchan@umich.edu. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Devin Eggert, David Harris, Rachel John, Jordyn Kay, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Daniel Wang,, Derek Wolfe Girl-on-girl crime I White privilege? Hail yes bite privilege is a set of privileges dards set upon them due to their race. that white people experience, 8. They do not question if the reason while non- they got accepted here was because of white people of the their race. same social, political 9. Their parents did not have to tell or economic status do them about the systematic racism they will not. Many things white experience in college and in life beyond. individuals experience 10. No one is surprised if they tell him/ are easily taken for her about their high test scores and/or GPA in granted, but that is a high school. primary factor in being 11. They can outwardly support privileged by a system RENNIE affirmative action without their opinion that favors the white race. PASQUINELLI being attributed to their race. A common misconception 12. They can be reassured that the about white privilege is person in charge of their school is someone of that it is a direct attack on a specific white their race, and always has been. person's success or failure. The inherent 13. If they make a mistake in a group privilege of white people is not a blame game, assignment, their race will not be pinpointed but rather just a term to highlight the system as the reason why. itself. Here are 20 ways that white people 14. They can be late to appointments or - including myself - are privileged at the meetings withoutit being blamed on their race. University of Michigan and other settings. 15. Other white people's use of the 1. They can be pretty sure there will n-word doesn't affect them. be someone of the same race as they are in 16. They do not have to worry that the any class they are in. way they dress, or even just their skin color, 2. Walking around campus, they do will make them a more susceptible target to not have to actively search for somebody of law enforcement. the same race. 17. If they are walking alone at night, no 3. They are not stared at in class when one is (consciously or subconsciously) fearful the conversation of race comes up. of them. 4. They get to study people of their 18. Theycan go to the CVS or Walgreens race doing groundbreaking and important on State Street and find Band-Aids that match things in their textbooks. their skin color. 5. If they wanted to, they could spend 19. Iftheyare atall and strongmale,oth- time with only people of their race whenever ers do not automaticallyassume theyare on the they so choose. basketball or football team. 6. They do not have to be nervous 20. Somebody didn't dress up as their about being one of the only, if not the only, race or ethnicity for Halloween last weekend. person of their race in their dorm's hall. 7. No one ever assumes that they got - Rennie Pasquinelli can be into the University because of lower stan- reached at renpasq@umich.edu. 1 've never been a huge Renee Zellweger fan. Maybe it was her character in "Chicago," in which she plays a mousy, manipulative and popularity- hungry girl. Or maybe it was because I never got in to the whole "Bridget Jones's Diary" fad. But regardless of my LEVINE preconceived notions about this tiny blonde actress, I would never wish upon anyone the kind of agony and humiliation she is currently enduring. Despite her statements saying she doesn't mind that the press is abuzz with chatter about her "new look," I can tell she must be hurt. How could she not? Recently "legitimate" media outlets (i.e. not tabloids) have been chock-full of pictures of Zellweger, comparing her face from what it looked like in the past to how it looks now, which is apparently "unrecognizable" and therefore newsworthy. These images went viral over the past couple of weeks, and it seemed as though everyone had something to say about how this 45-year- old woman looks. I'm not only disgusted and embarrassed for her but also ashamed of our country for portraying a woman in such a light. Why are we not celebrating her recent book? Instead we are too obsessed with the body and face of a woman first and foremost. God forbid we peek into her intellect without first examining her physical appearance. To me this incident says a lot about how we treat women in America. I'm not a fan of plastic surgery personally, but I can understand how it could make some people feel more confident about their bodies. Admittedly, plastic surgery embodies everything anti-feminist in my mind, but if it empowers any particular woman to feel more confident, then I refuse to judge her choice to change her body. If it will make her still feel sexy as she ends her youth and enters middle age, then so be it. Throughout the past couple of weeks, media outlets have been hounding Zellweger, talking about different procedures she must have had done in order to look a certain way. Her response was, "I'm glad folks think I look different! I'm living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I'm thrilled that perhaps it shows." If your best friend said this after you noticed she looked different, wouldn't you be happy for her? Wouldn't you stop wondering what she did differently (if she didn't want to tell you) and just be happy that she feels positively about herself? I'm not saying Zellweger is any of our best friends but we should still cut her a little slack. I'll admit we can't deny that we see a difference in Zellweger's look. That would be denying our human nature to notice details. But human nature doesn't dictate the nasty comments that have ensued since pictures surfaced. If she chooses to look a certain way, she should be allowed to. If she is aging gracefully or not, depending on your opinion, it doesn't really matter because apparently Zellweger herself thinks that her life is more fulfilling. She's now more comfortable with her body. It's like that scene in "Mean Girls" where Tina Fey's teacher character Ms. Norbury tells the girls in the gym, "There's been some girl- on-girl crime here." The way women are caring about Zellweger's new look exemplifies that. In America women are expected to look youthful and sexy, otherwise they aren't considered beautiful. That idea stays in place until they get too old. Then the tables are turned, and you're no longer supposed to look youthful, vivacious or sexy anymore. Women,whetherornotthey're inthe public eye, are expected to embody the modestly dressed, conserva- tive grandmother once they reach middle age. With sex appeal gone, it . seems our culture rejects women for everything except being good home- makers or wise maternal figures. But women aren't just their sex appeal or their wise brain. Women can stay sexy well into middle age so long as they feel confident and comfortable. That's exactly what Renee Zellweger is doing, and I applaud her for it. - Maura Levine can be reached at mtoval@umich.edu. We built the beehive, but to see all the bees coming and going and being active is exciting." - Architect David Childs said while watching office employees move into One World Trade Center in New York City Monday morning, a building he designed. a