Monday, May 14, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
EMMARIE HUET
Our st
n the drive from my home-
town of Atlanta, Ga., last
week, I had a lot of time
to look at license plates: "Geor-
gia ... on my mind," North Caro-
lina's "First in Flight" and Ohio's
"Birthplace
of Aviation,"
among oth- How do you
ers. (Sounds represent
like North 581530
Carolina 5 3
and Ohio stateless
need to duke Americans?
that one
out.) But the
most interesting motto appeared
as we made a side trip to Washing-
ton, D.C. Stuck in traffic, I exam-
ined the plate on the taxi in front
of us: "Taxation Without Repre-
sentation."
Like a true college student, I
immediately thought of "The Col-
bert Report." On Election Night
2006, Stephen Colbert "inter-
viewed" D.C.'s Delegate Eleanor
Holmes Norton. As a non-voting
delegate, Holmes Norton may vote
in committee but not on the floor.
This leaves Washington, D.C. resi-
dents effectively voiceless in Con-
gress. While she tried to respond
to his commentary on that night's
Democratic victory, Colbert reso-
lutely ignored her.
How appropriate.
Out in the Midwest, it's easy
to think of the capital in terms of
politicians per capita and forget
that other people live there, too.
But as a nation intent on fostering
international democracy, we've
disenfranchised the entire Dis-
trict of Columbia.
According to Article I, Section
2 of the Constitution, only states
may have voting Congressional
representatives, and Washington,
D.C. is not a state. When the Con-
stitution was written, though, the
district was not yet the nation's
capital, and even after it became
the capital, only politicians lived
there. In fact, it was years from
having a civilian population. But
as a part of the United States, the
District of Columbia paid federal
taxes, yet was barred from voting
in Congress. Today, nothing has
changed.
Actually, a lot has changed.
In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau
reported that an estimated 581,530
people live in the district without
Congressional representation.
Now, it would be inaccurate
to say that the Founding Fathers
wanted universal suffrage. After
TEMAN
Ateless state
all, America had to go through
a few civil rights movements to
include citizens of other races,
classes and genders in the voting
constituency. However, our laws
have evolved to account for the
things the Founding Fathers didn't
consider. Couldn't we also account
for the more than 500,000 Ameri-
cans now living in a stateless city?
But the problem is more com-
plex than a mere case of conflicting
constitutional semantics. Because
the population of the capital is
primarily black, proponents of
equal representation contend that
critics are hesitant to enfranchise
such a large group of minorities.
The racial factor has certainly
slowed the progress of this move-
ment. Really, it brings back some
painful memories to see that our
21st century federal government
is still slow to give equal repre-
sentation to a city that is about 57
percent black.
Granted, the seemingly com-
mon-sense solution is as complex
as the problem. If Washington,
D.C. gained a voting representa-
tive in the House, the Electoral
College would need to expand,
conflicting with the 23rd Amend-
ment. That amendment, which
awarded the city electors, says
that it may not have more elec-
tors than the least populous state.
Currently, that's Wyoming, which
also has a smaller population than
the district. Furthermore, giving
the District of Columbia such a
representative would create more
questions about the differentia-
tion between a city and a state,
like whether or not it should have
senators. And, if the district was to
cross into the realm of statehood,
would it lose its federal funding,
effectively crippling the city?
While giving Washington,
D.C.'s residents the same voting
rights as the rest of the population
would cause difficulties, ignor-
ing the problem should no longer
be an acceptable solution. If we
believe we can bring democracy
to the war-torn Middle East, then
why is it so impossible to bring
democracy to our capital? Quoting
the Constitution has never been
an appropriate argument against
equal representation.
After all, we have amendments
for a reason.
Emmarie Huetteman is the
summer associate editorial
pate editor. She can he reached
at huetteme@umich.edu.
When John F. Kennedy
came to the University
on October 14, 1960, he
came only to sleep. His visit was
supposed to be a routine stay as
he made his way across Michigan
for the last
push of his Grab a gun,
presidential
campaign. and join the
But what University's
was Sup- pae ry
posed to bea peace army.
short good-
night turned into a candid speech
famously known for introducing
the idea of the Peace Corps.
But Kennedy's address that
October morning was also impor-
tant for a different reason. By
asking students to go to places
like Ghana and become directly
involved in working for peace,
Kennedy challenged the previous
foundations of student activism.
But, since then, the student and
civilian role in promoting the all-
hallowed "world peace" has con-
tinued to rely on either the direct
development assistance that the
Peace Corps promotes or long-
distance economic support of
groups like the University's Will
Work for Food.
Don't get me wrong, these
approaches have done a lot of good
and should be continued. But how
does economic relief do anything
to stop the widespread slaughter
that has characterized genocides
like those in Rwanda and Sudan?
Before you're able to build hous-
es and plant crops, shouldn't it be
a priority to make sure that Hutu
militias aren't going to raid your
town? And what good does it do to
GARY GRACA
Give peace afighting chance
have baby formula sent to Darfur
if Janjaweed fighters are simply
murderingthe children?
If you genuinely believe in
improving the quality of life for
everyone, part of that effort has
to go into peace enforcement. As
much as it may seem like an oxy-
moron, peace enforcement means
having a "human rights army."
There is nothing new about
creating a human rights army.
Although veiled behind names
like "rapid reaction force" or "U.N.
standing army," the concept has
been around since the United
Nations was formed in 1948. Like
many of the issues stalled in the
United Nations, concerns over sov-
ereignty, necessity, command and
cost have perennially hindered a
U.N. standing army.
But since when has the inability
of our leaders to address an issue
ever been an excuse to remain
inactive?
This is where students can play
a pivotal role. With their lofty ide-
alism still intact and their moral
conscience not weighed down by
a bloated bureaucracy, a volunteer
army of activists to fight against
genocide worldwide could be
organized at the college level. Stu-
dents have already demonstrated
in programs like the Reserve
Officers' Training Corps that the
ability to train for military ser-
vice is not beyond their capacity.
That's not to mention that most
of the people fighting for the U.S.
military are college-aged men and
women anyway.
Likewise, University students
continually demonstrate their
fund-raising capabilities in events
like Dance Marathon, which raised
more than $350,000 this year. If
you add scholarship incentives
similar to those of ROTC to this
independent fund-raising ability,
there is a real possibility that most
major colleges in America could
contribute between 50 and 100
fully-funded and trained volun-
teers a year. Expand that system
to the rest of the world and you are
only a few hundred Dance Mara-
thons away from creating an army.
Sure, there is more to creating a
human rights army than just man-
power and money. There are still
issues of legality, command and
the overwhelming logistical prob-
lem of running a small-scale army.
However, at the very least, grass-
roots organization at the college
level would light a fire under the
world leaders who let bureaucra-
cy and self interest prevent them
from acting in Rwanda and are let-
ting those same things be a barrier.
to effective action in Darfur.
And, yes, the idea of a volunteer
army of college students to prevent
genocide might be crazy. But is it
any more crazy than the idea that
a bunch of college graduates could
be the key to ending the crippling
cycle of poverty in Ghana? That
idea turned into one of the most
successful programs in the history
of international activism.
As Kennedy said on that early
morning in 1960, "I think Ameri-
cans are willing to contribute. But
the effort must be far greater than
we have ever made in the past."
Gary Graca is the summer
editorial page editor. He can be
reached at gmgraca@umich.edu.
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