Monday, July 16,2012 1 (
Monday, July 16, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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An edited Europe
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
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Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@umich.edu
JACOB AXELRAD
EDITOR IN CHIEF
GIACOMO BOLOGNA
MANAGING EDITOR
ADRIENNE ROBERTS
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect theofficial position of the Daily's editorialboard.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solelythesviews oftheir authors.
F ROM T HE D A ILY
Justice for juveniles
Juveniles no longer serve a life sentence without parole
The Supreme Court recently ruled that a life sentence without
parole for juveniles is unconstitutional, forcing states to alter
their current laws. Michigan is currently one of the strictest
states in the nation, with a law that forces judges to give children as
young as 14 the maximum adult penalty for first-degree murder, with
no chance of parole. On Tuesday, the Michigan House Corrections
Appropriations Subcommittee will conduct a hearing on this ruling.
The Michigan legislature must revise the juvenile life sentence law to
match the Supreme Court's ruling.
Up at 6, bags out at 7, on the bus
by 8, nap until 10, then off the bus
again to see another tiny old town.
If you couldn't
tell, bus tours
have the ten-
dency to get
a bit monoto-
nous. Not that
I should com-
plain. Having
my parents
come and tour CAITLIN
Italy with me CAT N
was an amaz- MORATH
ing opportu-
nity, one I was
fortunate to have. But let's just say
spending 12-hour days with a tour
group whose median age probably
centered around SO is a wee bit dif-
ferent than backpacking around
Europe with a group of college kids.
I spent the past five weeks
immersed in Italian culture, always
attempting to avoid the faux pas
that would instantly give away my
American citizenship. I avoided
dipping my bread in oil, kept my
voice down in public places, gave up
on tipping and became an expert at
deciphering the meaning of Italian
words using the little experience I
had.
All of that hard work was erased
within 10 minutes of the official
start of our tour.
For the first activity, our group of
28 travelers took over a restaurant
at dinnertime. Sitting down at a
table set with water, bread and but-
ter should have been my first hint
that the next 10 days were going
to be nothing like my previous few
weeks. It foreshadowed- the treat-
ment we would receive at every res-
taurant and hotel and on.every tour
fromthatpointforward. The people
conducting these tours know their
job is to keep foreign tourists happy,
because a happytourist means big-
ger tips. Thus, a great effort was
made to maintain an environment
that mimicked what one might
find in the U.S. From continen-
tal breakfasts to the "night time"
excursions that ended before most
locals left their homes to go out for
the night, the trip was designed to
make American travelers feel com-
fortable, practically right at home.
This seems like a strange goal foran
international tour company to have.
Bus tours do have their advan-
tages. They offer a worry-free envi-
ronment in which your day and
activities come pre-planned. Each
day is jam-packed with historical
monuments, important museums
and a decent share of tourist traps.
After less than two weeks on tour,
I can check off a large number of
"must-see" sights on my bucket
list. But for me, travel isn't about a
checklist.
One of my favorite parts of trav-
eling is the opportunity to immerse
myself in a new culture. A bus tour
didn't allow me the time or free-
dom to accomplish thatgoal. Rather
than devoting at least a few days to
a city like I did during my indepen-
dent travel, the tour had us rolling
through at least three cities almost
every day. There was no time to
get your bearings, no time to min-
gle with the locals and no time to
just sit and people-watch for asfew
hours. In fact, the tour took such
care to keep Americafi vacationers
within their comfort zone that it
totally removed me from mine.
Bus tours are
efficient, but
inauthentic.
My suspicion that the restau-
rants, hotels and tour guides with
whomwe interactedwere tweaking
their service to cater to what they
perceivedias our "American needs"
was confirmed by our tour guide
on one of the last days of the trip.
In trying in explain to a very con-
flused couple why the service they
received on an independent din-
ner was so divergent from what we
experience at our group dinners, he
conceded that much of the service
we received was adjusted from the
Italian standard in order to make it
more palatable to tourists.The news
seemed to come as a shock to some
of my fellow travelers who seemed
unaware that English and ice water
don't come standard in Italy.
This newfound informationactu-
ally had an impact on the last leg of
ourtrip. Afterbeinginformed about
some Italian customs, many travel-
ers made a valiant effort to readjust
their actions in order to better fit
in to the local scene. It seems as if
the tour company vastly underesti-
mated the lengths their clientele is
willing to go in order to fit into the
culture they paid so much money to
visit.
Touring a foreign country by bus
may be efficient, but it takes some-
thing away from the authentic-
ity and adventure of international
travel. I'm going to make sure the
next group tour I travel with offers
a genuine experience, not a cookie-
cutter version of a culturethatsome
tour company thinks Americans
expect.
Caitlin Morath can be reached
at cmorath@umich.edu.
Michigan hockey
head coach to suit up
for Red Wings
By COLLEEN THOMAS
Daily Sports Editor
DETROIT - The Winter Classic
festivities have grown exponen-
tially since the Detroit Red Wings
were named the host of the 2013
edition of the hockey game, and
Red Wings general manager Ken
Holland looks to keep expanding.
The Hockeytown Winter Fes-
tival - which currently includes
the Great Lakes Invitational and a
four-team Ontario Hockey League
tournament - will have not one,
but two alumni games at Comerica
Park in Detroit this year.
Holland announced on
Wednesday the inclusion of a sec-
ond alumni game due to the sheer
number of well-known alumni
from both the Red Wings and the
Toronto Maple Leafs.
"You're going to have the great-
est Red Wings and Leafs players in
the history of both historic fran-
chises, many of them on the same
rink for one day," Holland said at
Wednesday's press conference at
Comerica Park. "I think it's going
to be incredible.
"We just started putting names
down, and when you want to put
22 to 23 Red Wings' names down,
you leave a lot off. We're not sure
exactly how the breakdown is
going to go, but we're going to
have two games."
As of Tuesday, Red Wings
Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Alex
Delvecchio, Mickey Redmond,
John Ogrodnick, Luc Robitaille,
Dino Ciccarelli, Chris Chelios,
Larry Murphy, Mark Howe, Kris
Draper, Kirk Maltby, Darren
McCarty, Joe Kocur, and goalies
Chris Osgood and Mike Vernon
are confirmed to attend.
Maple Leafs alumni include
Darryl Sittler, Rick Vaive, Darcy
Tucker, Felix Potvin, Mike Pal-
mateer, Kevin Maguire, Dave
Andreychuk, Doug Gilmour, for-
mer Wings Wendel Clark and
Curtis Joseph, and Johnny Bower,
Ron Ellis and Jim McKenny.
Though only the preliminary
rosters were announced, Holland
expects both organizations to
reach out to contact more alumni.
Holland said he hopes to include
40 or 50 former Red Wings,
including current Michigan hock-
ey head coach Red Berenson, who
played in Detroit from 1970-75.
Alex Delvecchio, who played
with Berenson from 1970-74, jok-
ingly said he wasn't so sure if he'd
see Berenson on the ice. at the
alumni game.
"I'm certain he's going to be
invited," Delvecchio said. "He
was a great part of the Red Wings.
(But) does he still skate?"
"I would
anticipate and
expect Red to
be in uniform."
Though Berenson's name
wasn't included on the prelimi-
nary roster, Holland is confident
Berenson will participate in the
alumni game.
"(Berenson is a) great Red
Wing, and definitely should be
out there playing," Holland said.
"Certainly we'll contact Red.
What we're trying to do is contact
a few (at a time), and contact a few
more. Certainly Red is on our list,
and I would anticipate and expect
Red to be in uniform."
Now that the NHL Draft and
the July 1 free agency have passed,
Holland is able to focus more time
on reaching out to alumni to final-
ize the roster.
When will Holland contact
Red?
"Probably in the next month,
now that things have slowed
down," Holland said. "Guys want
to make plans, and we want to
make sure they get notified well
in advance to commit. Red's defi-
nitely on my list."
Berenson expected
to play in Winter
Festival alumni game
Monday, July 16, 2012
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The Michigan House Cor-
rections Appropriations' Sub-
committee plans to review the
implications of the U.S. Supreme
Court decision banning manda-
tory life sentences for juveniles
tomorrow. In a 5-4 decision, the
U.S. Supreme Court decided that
mandatory life sentences without
the chance for parole was uncon-
stitutionally cruel. This ruling will
have a substantial impact on the
state of Michigan, which ranks
second in the nation in terms of
prisoners serving life for crimes
committed at age 17 and younger.
Michigan's current law doesn't'
seem to take the mental state of
a teenager into account. Teenag-
ers' brains aren't as developed
as adult brains, making teenag-
ers more impulsive. They lack
maturity and don't have a fully
developed sense of responsibil-
ity. According to Time Magazine,
it's not until we're in our mid to
late 20s that the prefrontal cor-
tex is fully laid out and engaged.
Juveniles clearly don't have the
mental capabilities of adults;
therefore, they shouldn't be
treated as such.
Each inmate also costs
$35,000 per year. Michigan has
the opportunity to save money
while also giving past prisoners
the chance to lead different and
productive lives. According to
data released in 2011, 346 Michi-
gan juveniles are currently serv-
ing a life sentence without parole.
Thus, Michigan will save at least
$1.2 million per year under the
Supreme Court ruling. Michigan
has the rare opportunity to save
money and help people start new
lives.
This ruling highlights the
many flaws of the U.S. prison
system. The U.S. has the highest
incarceration rate in the world
and many prisons are over-
crowded as a result. This envi-
ronment breeds violence and
hate, making it difficult for freed
prisoners to adjust to life outside
of prison.
Juveniles sentenced to life in
prison deserve a second chance
at life. Michigan's policy was
unjust and the Supreme Court
was correct in declaring life in
prison without parole for juve-
niles unconstitutional. Now it's
up to the state of Michigan to
alter the law in accordance with
this ruling not only to save mil-
lions of dollars, but also to give
these prisoners a fair chance at a
better life. This ruling is only the
beginning of the difficult prob-
lem of changing the U.S. prison
system, but it is a step in the right
direction toward comprehensive
prison reform.