4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 16, 2004
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NIAMH SLEVIN
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SUHAEL MOMIN
Editorial Page Editor
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EDITED AND MANAGED BY
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.
According to a new study released
by University assistant professor
Nojin Kwak, the blight of young
voter apathy may be related to young
American's attraction to late night tele-
vision shows such as "The Late Show
with David Letterman" and "The Tonight
Show with Jay Leno." Kwak's conclu-
sions are based on data the Youth Vot-
ing Coalition collected through a phone
survey. Kwak's analysis finds that vot-
ers between the ages of 18 and 24 tend
to carry a deep cynicism and mistrust
regarding politics and politicians and that
late night television shows only contrib-
ute to this cynicism. Although it is per-
haps undeniable that young voters have a
greater propensity to be pessimistic about
politics, the study fails to effectively
establish the link between cynicism and
voter apathy. In fact, the negativism dis-
played by young voters can be a positive
tool. This cynicism should be utilized by
young voters and addressed and compen-
sated for by politicians.
A cynic is nothing but a dissatisfied
idealist. Young voters are a unique politi-
cal demographic because their negative
political outlook stems from their ada-
Unleashing cynicism
Political satire a potential cure for apathy
mant ideals and an unflinching vision of
how politics should be. Even though the
habitually low turnout of young voters
has caused society to deride young voters
as apathetic, this common judgment can-
not be applied to the cynical young voters
interested in late night political shows.
Anyone watching political parodies has,
at some level, an interest in the subjects
satirized and thus cannot be apathetic
toward them. Instead, it is more likely
that youth feel disenfranchised and dis-
gusted over the many blatant manipula-
tions of our political system. Thus, while
these young voters may hold deep convic-
tions, they avoid the perceived corruption
of the political process. Fundamentally,
cynicism indicates that young voters are
not apathetic because even a discouraged
idealist has ideals, and is hence, by defi-
nition, not apathetic.
As indicated by the study, many
young voters are not apathetic, but instead
just not confronted by the mainstream
political dialogue. Young voters seek
political information and the comfortable,
accessible world of late night television
has become their source. Kwak's study
follows a recent 2004 report released
by the Pew Research Center stating that
television comedy programs, such as the
popular news spoof "The Daily Show with
Jon Stewart," are a large source of politi-
cal information for young adults. This
increase in politically charged popular
media has been dubbed "poli-tainment,"
and its burgeoning popularity shows that
young adults are attempting to become
more politically enlightened.
Fortunately, it seems politicians are
responding to this increase in late night
legitimacy by appearing on these late
night televisions shows. Arnold Schwar-
zenegger announced his gubernatorial
candidacy on "The Tonight Show with
Jay Leno" and Bill Clinton played the
saxophone on "The Arsenio Hall Show"6
as well as appeared on "The Daily Show
with Jon Stewart." It seems that poli-tain-
ment has become a credible venue for
political discourse and politicians should
further take advantage of the engrossed
youthful audience.
Faced with pervasive cynicism, politi-
cians and youth activists should seek
means through which the suppressed ide-
alism of politically cynical youth can be
harnessed. While this may be difficult
in practice, addressing the root causes 0
of cynicism, such as mistrust of elected
officials and disgust towards political
machinations and manipulations, could
be fruitful. Since youth voters care about
the issues but are disaffected by the sys-
tem, efforts should be taken to convince
this younger demographic that they can
work through the system to not only
address the issues but also the system
itself. While young cynics sitting outside0
the political arena might have a vision
for the future, it is only by bringing their
ideas into the arena that their visions may
be fulfilled.
Warped board
Detroit school board needs more legitimacy
Gainful steps
Measures to increase walkability a good sign
egislators in Lansing and activists in
Detroit are the latest groups to spar
over a recently approved proposal
that will be open to Michigan voters this
November. The proposal, put on the bal-
lot by the state Legislature, will let vot-
ers decide whether or not to give Detroit
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick the power to
appoint the executive officer of the Detroit
School Board. The executive officer is a
particularly important individual whose
professional perogative includes the author-
ity to negotiate union contracts within the
school district. Activists have been con-
cerned about the sovereignty of the school
board ever since 1999, when the Mayor
was granted authority to appoint all its
members. If voters approve this propos-
al, constituents in Detroit will elect nine
members of the school board, with Mayor
Kilpatrick appointing an executive officer.
However, if voters defeat the proposal, the
system will go back to what it was prior to
1999: all members of the school board will
be elected. When faced with this choice,
Detroiters should oppose any proposal that
takes away citizen sovereignty over the
school board.
Of course, the Detroit School Board has
had its difficulty in the past. Back in 1999,
the legislature, faced with doubts about
the board's competency, gave the power
of appointment to then-Gov. John Engler
and former Mayor Dennis Archer. While
the decision to take over the school board
was not wholly without merit, the mes-
sage it sent to Detroit voters and parents
in the Detroit school system was that, in
the words of State Senator Hansen Clarke
(D-Detroit), "you don't know how to elect
a school board." This proposal aims to
ameliorate tensions and seeks to draw a
compromise between a fully elected and
fully nominated board.
Unfortunately, this "compromise" is not
an acceptable solution. Even though Kilpat-
rick is a locally-elected official, he should
not be granted appointment powers. The
executive officer can have a serious impact
on not only the school board, but also the
teachers and faculty of the Detroit School
District. Arguably, the position helps
"steer" the direction of the board; whoever
controls the office exercises influence over
the board. The entire board, including the
executive, should be held responsible to the
people of Detroit - not merely the Mayor.
The only way to ensure this is by allowing
citizens to elect all 10 members.
The voters are entitled to elect the people
from their own ranks who make decisions
that affect the education of their children.
In any other part of the state, the various
measures taken by the state government
would have been justly seen as an obstacle
to democracy. The Detroit School Sys-
tem is neither the poorest financially nor
poorest in performance amongst Michi-
gan school districts - if power-stripping
measures are approved in Detroit, similar
measures could be suggested for underper-
forming districts throughout the state. This
proposal, seen as brilliant compromise,
could actually be a Pandora's Box.
Seeking to retain more college grad-
uates in the state of Michigan, Gov.
Jennifer Granholm began the Cool
Cities Initiative, which allocated funds to
be used in efforts to attract young grad-
uates toward "cooler" cities. Recently,
Ypsilanti has committed its Cool Cities
money into making its downtown area
more pedestrian-friendly by developing
an efficient sidewalk system. Through
improving Ypsilanti's transit system,
the city presents a more hospitable liv-
ing environment that will be attractive
for students graduating from the many
neighboring colleges and universities.
Through the reconstruction of side-
walks and aesthetic additions such as
benches and flowers, the downtown area
of Ypsilanti will become much more
friendly and enticing to pedestrians. Cur-
rently, Ypsilanti residents find their side-
walks to be too narrow and limited,
constricting their movement and making
certain areas appear to be unwelcoming.
Consequently, more walkways will be
designed and constructed to be especially
wide in efforts to accommodate a host
of walkers and make the downtown area
easier to commute. These minor differ-
ences pay great dividends, as accessibil-
ity is vital to ensuring an area's vitality
and "coolness."
In addition to enhancing the city's
transit system, improving Ypsilanti's
walkability also contributes to a fertile
environment for social interaction and
business opportunities. Instead of driving
to and from destinations in relative isola-
tion, people in walkable areas are able to
easily commute on foot, surrounded by
fellow members of the community. This
increased interaction undoubtedly fosters
a more integrated, socially connected
community. Furthermore, increased foot
traffic will improve business for down-
town merchants and restaurants, drawing
additional business into the area. Here in
Ann Arbor, walkability has undoubtedly
contributed to a thriving downtown econ-
omy as well as a bustling social scene.
By increasing walkability, Ypsilanti is
making a valiant effort to address the
"brain drain," an accelerating flight of
college graduates from the state of Mich-
igan and city of Detroit into the flourish-
ing metropolitan areas of cities such as
Boston, Austin and Chicago. Through
advanced public transit systems, many
large urban cities are able to sustain@
flourishing business and industrial sec-
tors, creating appealing job markets and
attracting job-seeking graduates. Realiz-
ing the importance of'efficient and con-
venient residential as well as commercial
districts, Ypsilanti's walkability project
is a commendable stride toward enticing
a younger population to live in Michigan
by promoting commutability and business
hospitality. While sidewalks alone will
not be enough to convince graduates to
stay in Michigan, Ypsilanti's use of Cool
Cities funds to undertake fundamentally
important projects is an encouraging sign
about the Initiative's viability.