41 Monday, June 15, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu ASA SMITH I VIEWPOINT JAMIE BLOCK EDITOR IN CHIEF ROBERT SOAVE MANAGING EDITOR RACHEL VAN GILDER EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect theofficialposition of the Daily's editorialboard. Allother signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. Rerlouting priorities Ann Arbor should maintain The Link in face of funding woes Ann Arbor seems to have developed a split personality regarding buses. This fall, The Link - the purple bus that circles downtown Ann Arbor - may see part of its route discontinued. But at the same time, the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority is adding a new com- muter bus route to nearby Canton Township. These changes are sending mixed messages about Ann Arbor's commitment to mass transportation. While establishing a new bus route is commendable, shutting down the buses that service downtown would be a blow for students and staff that rely on free, easy transportation. The city of Ann Arbor shouldn't cancel this important bus service. Instead, it should continue to provide afford- able mass transportation options to residents and workers. A president's enduring legacy is often not the legislation passed during his term or the executive orders he signs. Often, it's the jus- tices he nominates to the Supreme Court. President George H.W. Bush will forever be remembered for nominating Justice David Souter (a liberal) to the bench, despite the fact that Souter's phil- osophical ideals turned out to be quite different from the former president's. His son, President George W. Bush, nominated two conservative justices to the bench, Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, whose political ide- als will echo Bush's for years. Now, President Barack Obama has his first opportunity to put his philo- sophical fingerprint on the highest court in the land. But, unfortu- nately, his nominee has more than a few skeletons in her closet. Judge Sonia Sotomayor has a history of controversy deeper. than just her famous comments concerning the experiences of Latinawomen. Sotomayorhas had four out of six appealed decisions overturned and has been cited by the Supreme Court as using faulty reasoning to reach one of her decisions in a 2006 case. In addition to these concrete legal issues, Sotomayor has publically expressed her support for judicial activism. "The CourtofAppeals is where policy is made," Sotomayor said at a conference at Duke Uni- versity Law School in 2005. But it'sthe job of the legislature, not the judicial system, to decide policy. The courts are where laws are tested, not -where they're made. Legal decisions should be based on impartial interpretations of the law. Middle school civics students can tell you activism on the bench should be discouraged. Politics aren't within the realm of judges, though it would appear that Sotomayor mayudisagree. Congress should examine another comment from Sotomay- or. "I wonder whether by ignoring our differences as women or men of color we do a disservice both to the law and society," she said at a symposium at the University of California, Berkeley in 2001. This comment has worrisome implica- tions for those who could be judged on their genetic characteristics. More importantly, what would we say if a white man echoed sen- timents that he should consider race in his decisions? We would be outraged, and rightfully so. When a defendant goes before a court, he or she is owed the neu- trality of the judge. Another area that requires careful examination prior to con- firmation is Sotomayor's record. One case that stands out as trou- bling is the oft-pub'licized Ricci v. DeStefano. This New Haven, CT case involved 18 firefighters who passed a city promotions test but were denied their promotion due to the fact that no black firefight- ers qualified for the promotion. The firefighters, most of whom werewhite, then sued the city for racial discrimination. Making her decision based on her own liberal tendencies, and possibly with race in mind, Sotomayor ruled in favor of the city, upholding the idea that although the 18 firefighters studied and met the requirements for their promotions, they should be denied due to their ethnicity. Sotomayor should have fought racial preferences - even against white men - instead of engaging in judicial activism that denied these firefighters their rightfully earned positions. Sotomayor will 'be subject to mandatory congressional confir- mation hearings, though Obama has strongly indicated that he would like to see her confirma- tion occur by Aug. 7. But Soto- mayor isn't the caliber of judge we have come to expect on the Supreme Court. Judicial activism has no place on the highest court in America. And Sotomayor's sup- port of it makes her a candidate requiring careful consideration. Asa Smith is an LSA sophomore. At Ann Arbor's Downtown Development Authority board meeting on June 3, the $70,000 grant that funds The Link wasn't renewed. When The Link service, which is ordinarily sus- pended in the summer, restarts this fall, it's likely that most of its route will be removed. Only the eastern loop - which ser- vices the University and Oxford Housing - will remain. But while the DDA cut fund- ing for The Link, the AATA announced on June 11 the for- mation of a new commuter bus route between Ann Arbor and Canton Township. The route is funded by a U.S. Department of Transportation grant and will open by late August. The bus will be available for only $125 per month. For University employees, there's another perk - the University will cover half this cost. While Ann Arbor is making strides by adding the new com- muter bus route to Canton, it's also taking away busing options within the city that residents and students rely on. There is no fare to use The Link buses, making them the ideal trans- portation option for Ann Arbor residents and workers down- town. For the University stu- dents and staff that choose to live in Kerrytown, The Link ensures that travel around Ann Arbor is an affordable option. But the consequences of los- ing The Link are more far- reaching than just the cost for passengers. Without the buses, residents and workers down- town will be forced to drive in an already congested area. This will increase street traffic and strain on parking spaces. And a good public transportation system cuts down on air pol- lution caused by cars. Cutting bus routes like The Link that help reduce pollution is coun- ter-productive to the goal of an environmentally-friendly trans- portation network. The new commuter bus route to Canton is addressing all of these problems on a larger, regional scale. There are already plenty of commuters on the roads traveling to and from Ann Arbor every day, contributing to traffic, parking and pollution problems. About 3,000 Univer- sity employees live in Canton and two of its neighboring cities, Plymouth and Westland. With the new bus route's fare being offered at a low cost, getting to Ann Arbor will be easier and cheaper for these commuters. There is no questionthatbuses like the new commuter route to Canton are good for the people, the city and the environment of Ann Arbor. The city should give itself more mass transpor- tation options by keeping The Link's purple buses running once students return for school in the fall. ROSE JAFFE E-MAIL ROSE AT ROSEJAFF@UMICH.EDU Ga 'I \ Editorial Board Members: Raghu Kainkaryam, Erika Mayer, Asa Smith, Brittany Smith, Vivian Wang, Patrick Zabawa