4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, July 19, 2004 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 NIAMH SLEVIN SUHAEL MOMIN tothedaily@michigandaily.com Editor in Chief Editorial Page Editor Ylb EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials refect the opinion o 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. G raffiti has long been considered a lions of dollars to fight graffiti, only to have blight upon our urban landscapes. It Jood m ark S the art form resurge stronger than before. is often derided as a defacement of Campaigns against graffiti can also wreak public property, an obstruction to property Gra at t Arbor's cultral vtaty havoc on a city's artistic and cultural well values and a propagator of gang warfare. \JIOLLLar co ut eto [XIIIf-ILAUrS CLILLI[dI VLd.lt being. Areas of a city that are ppl. However, after decades of evolution and among graffiti artists are often slapped with media attention, graffiti has been elevated to themselves in ways that might not be accessi- of graffiti is that if someone dislikes the advertisements, replacing public art with a burgeoning art form. Stencil graffiti, a type ble in other cities. Acceptance of graffiti is a message, that person is welcome to make corporate marketing. Ann Arbor would suf- where paint is sprayed through a cut-out sten- necessary step that must be taken if Ann his or her own mark. Graffiti is an intrinsi- fer both economically and culturally if it cil to make an artistic or political statement, Arbor truly wishes to foster the kind of lively cally interactive art that welcomes everyone attempted similar graffiti clamp downs. is on the rise here in Ann Arbor, but some are arts community of which it boasts. to participate. An argumentative discourse While beneficial, graffiti artists should leery over the new form of expression. One argument commonly made against on city sidewalks should be encouraged and exercise some restraint in choosing where According to the Ann Arbor News, both area graffiti is that it is vulgar and a sign of gang the ensuing debate would only increase a to paint their visual narratives. Important businesses and the University are doing their activity. This is not the case with Ann Arbor sense of community through dialogue. landmarks like the Diag 'M' and large best to fight this expansion by zealously stencil graffiti. Most of the graffiti seen Both the financial and cultural costs of murals like those near the Michigan Theater painting over stencil graffiti whenever it pops around Ann Arbor makes artistic or politi- anti-graffiti programs outweigh their poten- should be considered off-limits because up. These efforts to fight stencil graffiti cal statements that do little to incite vio- tial benefits and usually have little hope of these are the few places where graffiti c should be abandoned, as graffiti is a type of lence. The artistic and poetic aspects of the succeeding. For example, in 1985, efforts to hurt the city's cultural value. Graffiti artists public art that only adds to the cultural rich- art beautify the city, while the political and clean graffiti-ridden subway cars in New should also be wary of private property and ness of Ann Arbor. often anti-war messages have about as York only resulted in respiratory problems keep their concrete canvases to public areas. Stencil graffiti is but one aspect of the much to do with gang violence as a John among transit workers and young people Despite these restrictions, stencil graffiti vibrant cultural environment for which Ann Kerry bumper sticker. due to exposure to the cleaning solvents. A should be encouraged to cultivate Ann Arbor is well renowned. The increasing Many disapprove of stencil graffiti nearby school was forced to close and tran- Arbor's artistic richness, as it plays a vital appearance of this public art indicates that because of such overtly political statements sit workers won a $6.3 million court settle- role in making Ann Arbor an artistically residents feel comfortable openly expressing made on our public sidewalks. The beauty ment. New York has spent countless mil- and culturally diverse, tolerant city. Dorm dearth Housing shortage should be fixed for the long-term Kerry-ing the load Missed votes harmful to Keny's credibility The University has recently revealed an innovative housing plan for cer- tain incoming freshman and North Campus residents. Faced with an "over- booking" - 450 freshman with housing contracts but no rooms to accommodate them - the University has decided to move undergraduate students into the fam- ily housing units of Northwood I, II and III. This move is a functional compromise that makes the best of the immediate situ- ation, but it reveals a much more funda- mental problem at the University: inade- quate residence hall facilities. The makeshift solution employed by the University will be costly and merely enough to get through this coming academic year. Last year, faced with a large incoming class and a significant number of students who elected to return to the residence hall system, the University converted lounge facilities in many dorms to quads --rooms for four. For the coming year, the University's plan is much more extravagant and expensive. Upperclassmen living in the Baits complex on North Campus will be moved into the family housing units of Northwood I, II and III. Some current residents of Northwood I, II and III will be moved to Northwood IV and V The University will cover the moving costs, and both the relocated upperclassmen and former residents of Northwood I, II and III will continue to pay their original housing fees. Incoming freshmen, then, will be able to occupy the vacated sections of the Baits complex. While this scenario is not perfect, it is the best working option, and the University has been unusually considerate in its plan- ning. Residents of any Northwood complex will not be relocated without permission, and while certain upperclassmen in Baits housing will not be given the option to return to Baits, they will be allowed to withdraw from their housing contract if they choose not to move into Northwood. Of course, questions and concerns linger, and many Northwood residents remain wary of having rowdy undergraduates liv- ing next to their children. In addition to the measures implemented to benefit relocated students, the University should be encouraged to expand services to accommodate the greater number of incom- ing students who will live on North Campus. Historically isolated, freshman on North Campus often miss the rich experiences available to those on the Hill or luxurious South and West Quads. With almost 30 per- cent of incoming students located some- where on North Campus, the University should expand extracurricular facilities as well as transport services in the area. Just because students are placed in a North Campus dorm, they should not forego the freshman year experience. However, whatever the University does to fix its immediate housing problem, it will fail to address the core issue: inadequate housing. Bursley, the most "modern" residence hall, was nonetheless built about 40 years ago. Since then, no major residence facility has been constructed, while enrollment has steadily crept upwards. This disparate growth has created a problem, which is now an imminent crisis. Fundamentally, the University must seriously explore the idea of constructing a new residence facility. Only through the construction of new buildings can the University actually create more rooms, which are realistically what is needed. While this may be expensive, it promises a permanent solution, not a temporary fix, to a chronic growing problem. ast week, the United States Senate soundly rejected President George W. Bush's Federal Marriage Amendment, 48-50. Even though the FMA was a spurious measure that was predes- tined for failure, 98 senators were present - only senators John Kerry (D - Mass.) and John Edwards (D - N.C.), the pre- sumptive Democratic presidential and vice- presidential candidates, missed the symbol- ic roll call vote that killed the bill. In order to advance his campaign, Kerry has been consistently neglecting his responsibilities as a Massachusetts senator and has not been present for an overwhelming number of votes. The tribulation of the campaign trail is undeniable, but with many contro- versial bills approaching, Kerry's presence and votes will be critical. Kerry needs to reprioritize, balancing his current job with his future aspirations. Kerry's campaign manager has stated that Kerry will only attend votes if a bill's success or failure is contingent upon his presence. Consequently, Kerry has been accused of missing 87 percent of the roll call votes this year and 64 percent last year. Some of the bills were actually close votes, where Kerry's presence arguably could have influenced the measure. A bill spon- sored by Senate Democrats, to make war profiteering illegal recently failed by a slim margin of two votes. Yet, Kerry did not feel as though his schedule would permit his participation in the vote. Recently, Kerry missed another vote to extend federal unemployment benefits to people in need of further assistance. The vote fell short by one vote, and Kerry was the only senator absent. Mitt Romney, the Republican governor of Massachusetts, claims that this bill's defeat caused the state to lose over $75 million. Romney has called for Kerry to resign his seat in the Senate, seeing as how he spends more time campaigning than being an effective representative for his constituents. His missed votes, while having practical consequences, have symbolic ones as well. Kerry's actions as a senator threaten ' future credibility as president and make him an open target for Republican criti- cism. The Bush-Cheney campaign has already launched commercials attacking Kerry for missing more than two-thirds of the votes this year. Kerry needs to start par- ticipating in Senate votes, regardless of whether or not he believes his presence is important. Kerry was not elected to the United States Senate to represeO Massachusetts merely 13 percent of the time. Furthermore, as President, Kerry will be expected to multitask and maintain a vigorous work schedule. He needs to prove to Americans that he is able to fulfill his duties through difficulty and stress. Running a successful and effective cam- paign is a time consuming and rigorous process that requires a high level of commit- ment. If Kerry feels that Senate votes are not worth his time in light of his campaign oblig- ations, he can choose to resign his seat. The however, will give Gov. Romney an opportu- nity to fill Kerry's seat with a republican, giv- ing the GOP an even larger advantage on Capitol Hill. This is certainly something that would seem unpleasant to Democratic voters. The best course of action for Kerry to take is simply to participate in more votes. Improved attendance would exemplify his qualities of leadership to his Massachusetts constituency as well as to the American people. If wantsOi serve the United States of America, it would be wise to first show that he can serve the state of Massachusetts.