4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 4, 2003 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 SRAVYA CHIRUMAMILLA JASON PESICK letters@michigandaily.com Editor in Chief Editorial Page Editor EDITED AND MANAGED BY SSTUDENTS AT THE Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other pieces do not SINCE 1890 necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. his summer, a series of events ranging were, then marriages that religious leaders from a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Sep ar te ne lua r ig t disapprove of, such as interfaith marriages, privacy rights, to the legalization of gay would be called civil unions as well. As with marriage next door in Canada, to increased *. abortion, interfaith marriages and adultery, infiltration of gays in the media have put the Gays deserve the right to man y legality should not be determined by reli- issue of gay rights in the political forefront - gious leaders' moral beliefs. It defies even and have forced Americans to take a serious gressive Americans are realizing that whatev- the process. The bigotry and closed minded- traditional religious logic that two strangers look at how this country treats gays. Many er the cause, being gay is not a sin. ness apparent in the responses to legalizing can go to Las Vegas, get drunk and get mar- conservatives are ina panic as they watch the In a series of upsetting displays over the gay marriage is appalling. The state of ried in the span of minutes because they are country increasingly accept gays. The time past few weeks, the Republican Party has Vermont legalized civil unions between gays straight, while two homosexuals who are in a has come to challenge these outdated notions once again abandoned its tradition of inclu- that offer the same rights under the law as loving relationship are unable to do the same. and to join the growing number of Americans siveness championed by President Lincoln marriage, which include equal tax treatment In their tired desperation to prevent gays in support of gay marriage. and decided to maintain support among its and the ability to make medical decisions for from joining an institution that conservatives Gays already occupy important posts in base by lashing out against this progress. In loved ones. Excluding the label "marriage "is typically champion, religious conservatives entertainment and media. The popularity of response to the Supreme Court ruling uphold- simply another example of the concept of have employed the argument always used "Will & Grace" and "Queer Eye for the ing the privacy rights of gays, U.S. Senate separate but equal. when no logical reasoning can be found: the Straight Guy" shows the growing acceptance Majority Leader Bill Frist stated his desire to Enabling two men or women to wed has slippery slope argument. They claim that gay of homosexuality in American culture. Shows pass a constitutional amendment denouncing no adverse effect on straight people. marriage would open the door to bestiality like these would have been unfathomable just gay marriage, and President Bush seemingly Marriage is a union between two people to and marriage between an adult and a child. A a short time ago, but open-mindedness has dropped the compassionate modifier to his signify their love and commitment to one clear distinction exists between gay love and led to increased tolerance and acceptance of conservatism by opposing gay marriage and another. Excluding gays from marriage sim- love with a child or an animal, and the blur- the gay lifestyle. Scientists are beginning to equal rights for gays. The Pope has made his ply because it does not fit into the traditional ring of this line must be called by its true realize that being gay is not a choice, but it is and the Catholic Church's position on the religious belief of what is right shows an name, bigotry. Gay marriage has been illegal determined by a combination of genetic and matter extremely clear by not only denounc- inability to separate church and state. in this country for too long and thus is a environmental factors. At the same time, pro- ing gay marriage, but also homosexuality in Marriage is not a religious institution. If it wrong long overdue to be righted. UnPATRIOTic PATRIOT Act flawed, should be challenged Tuition G-force State must prevent tuition from continuing to take off 4 The American Civil Liberties Union, along with six other civil liberties and social services organizations, chose Detroit a few days ago as one of the two cities in which to challenge the consti- tutionality of the USA PATRIOT Act. This is a positive step in the fight to take back basic civil liberties stolen away in the frightened haze following the first harrow- ing attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor. Unless this lawsuit is successful or legisla- tors realize the Orwellian nature of the PATRIOT Act, it will serve as a stain on U.S. democracy. Since its inception, the act has not only allowed the FBI powers that blatantly violate the Bill of Rights, but those new capabilities have also been unfairly directed against Muslim and Arab Americans in a manner that shows the unaccountability of those actions. This lawsuit is desperately needed. The lawsuit is directed specifically at the record-seizure provision of the act, which librarians, of all people, first assailed. This provision allows the FBI to request of librarians information regarding the reading interests of patrons. At the same time, the librarian would be barred from informing that patron of the investi- gation, giving the provision the distinct characteristic of violating both the First and Fourth Amendments simultaneously. A different provision also allows the FBI to obtain court orders without probable cause that the person in question has something to do with terrorism or a foreign govern- ment. Another provision originally allowed FBI agents the "sneak-and-peak" option, which would have granted the ability to investigate a person's house or business without ever telling them. The U.S. House, however, recently voted 309-118 to remove funding from agencies that partake in this, which is a positive development. The organizations' choice to file suit in Detroit was particularly poignant because Michigan, with its large Arab population, is at the center of counter-terrorism efforts by the FBI and therefore has been subjected to some of the worst treatment under the PATRIOT Act. A total of 50 field agents have been assigned to the Detroit area. Their techniques to stop ter- ror, however, have led many in the Arab population to distrust them. If the United States has any hope of stopping actual ter- rorists, the help of Arabs and Muslims who do not ascribe to radical philosophy, yet are active members in their communi- ty and speak a variety of languages, is essential. An example of the U.S. govern- ment hurting Muslim goodwill can be seen in the case of Rabih Haddad. Haddad was recently incarcerated for 18 months without ever being formally charged of a connection with terrorism before finally being deported on a visa violation. Although the public is not familiar with the proceedings of this special-interest immigration closed court and cannot be sure of his guilt or innocence, it is unac- ceptable for anyone to be held in legal limbo for such a prolonged period of time. Of the 661 cases of this type, absolutely no one was charged with terrorism. It is a cruel irony that the "PATRIOT" Act would violate our nation's founding identity of freedom. At this point in time, 143 communities in 27 states have some- how expressed criticism of it, and mem- bers of both political parties have started to show skepticism. This lawsuit should act as a lightning rod around which people can rally to show their dissatisfaction. n recent years, University students have had a roller coaster of a time with tuition. The problem with this roller coaster is that it always goes up and never comes down. In fact, the only variable is how fast the roller coaster is going to go up ina given academic year. As stressful as this is, the University is not the only institution with this problem. Other institutions, however, have tried to counter this dizzying effect in some very creative ways. University offi- cials should take note of these strategies and try to implement them here. Over the past few years, tuition has increased tremendously, with another 6.5 percent increase coming for the 2003- 2004 calendar year. Last year's increase of 7.9 percent put a tremendous burden on students and their families. With statistics like these, students and their parents are left to wonder if there is any way to curb these increases. Because of tuition increases each year, college has become an investment for which it is difficult for many families to be able to assess how to pay. This problem is one that the state of Illinois has recently attempted to address. Under a bill that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) recently signed into law, the tuition rates for students will be con- sistent for four consecutive years - or five years for some specialized fields - upon matriculation at a particular institu- tion. The overall goal is to give parents and students a way to budget their money with respect to academics. Knowing how much money will be necessary to spend on tuition each year can certainly have its benefits. Western Illinois University adopted this policy in 1999 and has had success in doing so. Following their lead, the whole state has moved to lock in tuition rates in this fashion. This policy does have some fairly obvi- ous downsides to it. One problem is related to the state budget. If there are drastic budget cuts at the state level for higher education, it may be impossible to keep tuition at a con- sistent level for four years. This is of partic- ular importance for people in the state of Michigan, where the governor and state Legislature have had to undertake cuts in funding for higher education in order to avert budget shortfalls. If the state of Michigan were to adopt such a policy, it may have to be tempered. Still, it is important to note that Western Illinois University has had success with this policy and better planning on the part of the state and the University would make it feasible here as well. The state should enact such a policy not only to help students and their families to be able to afford a college education, but also to encourage more students to go straight through four years of college instead of tak- ing a year off for financial reasons. It will also enable students who never enroll in a four year institution because of the high cost more likely to attend such a school. As a result of state budget cuts and fed- eral aid reformulations, controlling tuition must be a priority for the state and its uni- versities. Despite campaign pledges from political candidates, including those run- ning for the University Board of Regents, officials have been unable to stabilize large tuition increases. A combination of prudent financial planning on the part of the University, including dampening splurges during good times and avoiding massive cutbacks during bad economic times, and a policy such as that signed into law in nearby Illinois, would go a long way toward helping Michigan's students. 4 4 I 4