4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 11, 2003 UbleJOr itu *dig a 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 SRAVYA CHIRUMAMILLA JASON PESICK letters@michigandaily.com Editor in Chief Editorial Page Editor EDITED AND MANAGED BY 4 STUDENTS 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. The city of Ann Arbor is to be com- mended for its effort to establish greenbelt of sprawl-free land around the city. Last week, Gov. Jennifer Granholm's Land Use Leadership Council expressed the need to preserve open spaces and farmlands against development. Granholm established the council to provide recommendations for reducing out-of-con- trol urban sprawl, a significant contributor to decaying urban centers, vanishing farm- land and traffic congestion. The leadership that Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje is show- ing by proposing his greenbelt initiative to the city's voters is in the spirit of the land use council's findings and must be a model for governments across the state. With urban sprawl occurring several times faster than southeast Michigan's population is growing and costing more than the tax revenues it brings in, it should come as no surprise that the region is host to so much urban decay. Getting a handle on urban sprawl is necessary in order to revive the state's cities and to save the Wide open spaces Ann Arbor leads the state in curbing sprawl state's environment. It is necessary for county, township and municipal governments to work out a region- al development program that will approach land use on a regional scale, an important foundation for establishing regional economies that are both accessible and sus- tainable. Ann Arbor voters should embrace the goal of a greenbelt and support it if and when it appears on the ballot. Citizens in Ann Arbor proper should encourage their government to show support as well, realiz- ing that a region's economic vitality is not independent of its central city. Around the state, jurisdictions should adopt programs similar to this Ann Arbor Parks and Greenbelt Program. Other options include urban growth boundaries, successful in cities such as Portland and beneficial to preservationists and develop- ers alike. Regional subsidization bound- aries, such as in Grand Rapids, where municipalities will not subsidize new devel- opment beyond a boundary is an idea that state officials should seriously explore. It is critical that greenbelt and other checks on growth do not force new devel- opment even further outward. The pur- pose of preservation programs is not only to establish where development may not occur, but also to decide where it may occur responsibly, designating build and no-build zones on a regional scale. In their awareness of how open-space preservation programs wield regional influence, it is the responsibility of Ann Arbor and surrounding jurisdictions to ensure that new development that results within the city is beneficial to the popu- lation at large. Public assets such as parks and neighborhood retail districts are important, but affordable housing and diverse housing options for all income levels are crucial to a sustainable econo- my. Preventing housing rates from surg- ing should be a priority for the city. There are many Michigan citizens opposed to policies that the land council recommends and that Ann Arbor may decide to implement. It is important to rec- ognize, however, that the council contains members with diverse viewpoints, and in order to balance legitimate concerns held by those on both sides, not everyone will be happy with the final report. While a great challenge, many cities across the country are making progress in slowing sprawl. Overall, development must be both contained and diverse. Ann Arbor is learning that in order to remain vibrant, it must combat urban sprawl and prevent population drainage that results in severe decay. Ignorance is blindness Connerly's California proposition should be defeated Paying the pedagogues Teachers across the state deserve a raise q With all of the craziness going on with the gubernatorial recall elec- tion in California, an important proposition also on the ballot is not gaining as much national attention as it should. Ward Connerly, the University of California regent who gained national fame as an anti-affir- mative action crusader, is not only trying to ban the use of racial preference in the state of Michigan, but he is now campaigning for the passage of California Proposition 54, a pro- posed change in policy that would bar the state from collecting racial data from its cit- izens. While its supporters are trying to pass the proposition off as a solution to the state's racial strife, in reality, it will only make it more difficult for California officials to tackle racial issues in a meaningful way. Racial data are valuable in order to gather information on the racial discrepan- cies still facing this country. These ques- tions enable researchers to know if dis- crimination still exists in parts of society. Without being able to gather racial statis- tics, it will be difficult to tell if colleges are accepting diverse student bodies and if minority students are scoring below white students on standardized tests. The lack of racial data would severely hinder any attempts to combat both racial discrepan- cies and racial discrimination. Race is still an extremely controversial and powerful issue in U.S. society. Connerly's Proposition 54, formally known as the Classification by Race, Ethnicity, Color or National Origin Initiative, would make enforcing anti-discrimination laws more difficult, as authorities would not have data available to them enabling them to view examples of racial discrimination, such as hate crimes. In many respects, Connerly is right that the proposition will make California colorblind, and that is precisely the problem. Californians will be without the ability to see race and without the abili- ty to see injustices correlated with it. Collecting data on race is not racial dis- crimination; however, that misconception is probably fueling the supporters of Proposition 54, as well as leading many California voters to support Connerly. The information gathered from questions on race is used to enable officials to enact poli- cies that will result in equality. Connerly's opponents need to make it clear to the vot- ers that these data are important in order to combat discrimination and to create a soci- ety with equality along racial lines. The task of educating the public on this issue and allowing the people of California to have a debate on the issue is complicated by the fact that Proposition 54 will likely be on the ballot the same day as the gubernatorial recall. By moving the voting date forward with the recall elec- tion, the proposition's supporters will be unfairly taking advantage of an uneducat- ed public. The proposition will take a backseat to the hoopla surrounding the recall, leaving the voters bombarded by only the one issue. Voters need to know the truth behind the consequences of passing this proposition, but without enough time to fully consider the issue, voters may cre- ate a new law that they will later come to regret. The people of California should reject the proposition based on the lack of time to consider it alone. Connerly's fight against racial identi- ty has gone too far with this most recent proposition. If this proposition passes, it will harm any future attempts to cor- rect discrimination and end racial dis- crepancies. As our nation's future and its most vital resource, children must be given every opportunity to succeed in order to improve their communities when they grow up. Unfortunately, the chances for our youth to bloom are decreasing due to the fact that some of these children's most paramount influ- ences - their teachers - do not receive fair compensation. An important part of increasing opportunities for children is assuring that their teachers are taken care of well and treated with respect. The 4 per- cent raise approved just this past spring for teachers in the Ann Arbor school district is well deserved, and hopefully, other school districts will follow suit. The Ann Arbor News reports that teachers in the Ann Arbor school district will receive a 4 percent raise during the 2003-04 school year followed by a 3.5 percent raise for the 2004-05 year. In comparison, over the past 4 years, the statewide average has been approximate- ly 3 percent a year, according to the Michigan Association of School Boards. The four percent raise for teachers in the Ann Arbor school district is a positive development and should be a model for teachers all across the state. For many children, teachers are extremely influen- tial in their development, both academi- cally and personally. Teachers deserve to be well compensated for helping to estab- lish solid foundations in the nation's youth, especially in situations in which the parents do not take active roles in their child's education and development. In addition, the raise reaffirms soci- ety's value of the importance of teach- ers, which must not go unnoticed. Aside from the tremendous influence teachers have on children, the benefits of teach- ing include cultivating the social atti- tudes and interests of children. In order to maintain high caliber teachers in the public school system, districts must pay their teachers well. While nobody goes into education to get rich, too many highly motivated and competent people do not enter the profession because the pay is too low. This pay raise is legitimate for teach- ers in Ann Arbor, and districts should provide the same wage increase to educa- tors across Michigan, not to mention the country, as essentially all are performing the same job. The general arguments that a city is slightly smaller or does not receive similar per-pupil grants are not justifiable. In regard to the latter point of contention, policymakers should work to correct the funding discrepancy to help bridge the education allowance gap between municipalities. In nearby Ypsilanti for instance, teach- ers face tentative contracts and lower pay because the city's schools do not receive the same level of funding as those in Ann Arbor. The lack of a proper pay raise on top of the current situation adds insult to injury. Concrete contracts and adequate pay raises need to be fairly awarded to teachers so they can disregard such dis- tractions and focus on the sole purpose of molding and preparing the nation's youth. Teachers must not be slighted, and their importance must not be over- looked. The 4 percent pay raise for teachers in the Ann Arbor school district is only a minuscule present thanking teachers for the valuable work that they do every day, and teachers everywhere should be given at least the same.