Opinion

JENNIFER CALFAS

EDITOR IN CHIEF

AARICA MARSH 

and DEREK WOLFE 

EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS

LEV FACHER

MANAGING EDITOR

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Wednesday, November 25, 2015

I am the granddaughter of 

refugees.

My grandmother, Mara Ilona 

Grinbergs, was born in 1938 in 
Riga, Latvia, on the eve of World 
War II. Within a year, under 
the terms of a secret pact signed 
with Nazi Germany, the Soviet 
Union would invade her country, 
beginning a period of almost 50 
years of oppressive occupation for 
the small Baltic state. In the years 
that followed, the Soviets and the 
Nazis imposed successive regimes 
of terror in the country, forcibly 
deporting tens of thousands of 
people 
and 
murdering 
nearly 

200,000 
in 
the 
gulags 
and 

concentration camps. Among these 
people were my grandmother’s 
family, friends and neighbors.

It’s estimated that by the end of 

World War II, almost one-third of 
Latvia’s original population had 
been killed, deported or had fled the 
country to avoid such a fate. Similarly, 
it’s estimated that 90 percent of 
Latvia’s original Jewish population 
had been systematically murdered 
in one of the worst instances of 
genocide in modern history.

My grandmother was among 

those lucky enough to escape. 
She ate grass to avoid starvation, 
walked barefoot in the winter 
because she had no shoes and 
survived bombings that leveled the 
cities in which she sought refuge. 
After the war, and for the rest of her 
childhood, my grandmother lived 
in a refugee camp in Germany. She 
came to the United States only after 
immigration laws were enacted that 
recognized refugees and set quotas 
for their entry into the country.

Today, nearly 80 years later 

and despite a completely different 
political context, it’s difficult not to 
draw parallels between the ongoing 
humanitarian 
crisis 
affecting 

Syrian refugees and the situation 
my grandmother and so many 
others faced at the beginning of 
World War II.

Both politicians and society 

at large in the United States (and 
many other countries) have a long 
history of deciding who the “other” 
is in our nation. Who is defined as 
“other” is constantly changing, but 
the designation is often rooted in 
fear, discrimination and a lack of 
understanding; one that has always 
been arbitrary at best, given that 
the vast majority of Americans 
descended from immigrants at 
some point in their family lineage. 
At various times in U.S. history, the 
definition of “other” has included 
people from Irish, Mexican, Japa-
nese, African, Italian, Arab and a 
multitude of other backgrounds 
who have been subject to discrimi-
nation, forced internment, deporta-
tion, xenophobia and rejection from 
the communities in which they 
lived and worked.

In 1939, the “other” included 

German and Eastern European 
refugees; at the beginning of World 
War II, the majority of Americans 
surveyed in Gallup polls opposed 
allowing 
German 
and 
Jewish 

refugees, including children, into the 
country. Today — as evidenced by 
recent statements made by a number 
of U.S. and international politicians 
(including 31 state governors) that 
their countries and states will 
not accept Syrian refugees — this 
definition of the “other” includes 3 
million Syrians fleeing their homes 
to escape the terror and violence 
 

of ISIS.

From a political perspective 

(at least in the United States), 
these state-by-state declarations 
barring Syrian refugees are legally 
unenforceable, as the final say 
on immigration matters falls to 

the federal government. From a 
humanitarian perspective, we still 
have much to do to if, in the future, 
we hope to say we were not implicit 
in a human rights crisis of such 
massive and horrific proportions.

If you ever have wondered what 

you would have done to help during 
the humanitarian crisis of World 
War II, or of any other atrocity, the 
time to find out is now. Good places 
to start are:

1. Learn about the ongoing 

situation in Syria and about who 
the refugees are. Spread facts, not 
fear, and foster support.

2. Contact your elected officials 

and 
demand 
that 
your 
home 

state and city publically support 
accepting Syrian refugees. 

3. 
Through 
your 
state’s 

Department of Social Services, find 
out the name of your local contracted 
refugee service provider and donate 
and volunteer. For the Detroit area, 
this provider is the U.S. Committee 
for Refugees and Immigrants.

4. Support one of the well-

established 
aid 
organizations 

currently assisting Syrian refugees 
as we enter winter months. These 
include: United Nations Human 
Rights Council, Unicef, Medecins 
Sans 
Frontiers, 
International 

Rescue 
Committee 
and 
Save 
 

the Children.

Last year, in a lecture given at 

Hill Auditorium, the acclaimed 
author and activist Alice Walker 
made a plea to thousands of 
students, faculty and community 
members hailing from around the 
world that rings true to me today 
more than ever: “Hope never to say 
yes to another person’s suffering. 
Hope never to make the mistake 
that they are not you.”

Julia Milton-Zarina 

is a 2014 alumnus.

Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Ben Keller, Payton Luokkala, Aarica Marsh, Anna 
Polumbo-Levy, Jason Rowland, Lauren Schandevel, Melissa Scholke, Rebecca 
Tarnopol, Ashley Tjhung, Stephanie Trierweiler, Mary Kate Winn, Derek Wolfe

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

A

t least five of my friends shared or 
posted about it. Apparently, when asked 
about terrorists, Russian president 

Vladimir Putin said, “To 
forgive the terrorists is up 
to God, but to send them to 
him is up to me.”

Given 
what 
I 
know 

about 
Putin 
(which 
is 

limited 
to 
the 
popular 

image of him riding a horse 
shirtless, various hunting 
expeditions and general 
male bravado), it seemed 
plausible, so I shrugged 
and moved on. Here’s the 
problem, and this is not a 
joke: Putin never said that, and the line is from 
a Denzel Washington film from 2004.

Originally tweeted by Russia Today news 

anchor Remi Maalouf, this false quote was 
shared millions of times by Americans, loving its 
boldness and action-hero feel. With comments 
like “This guy is the man” and “Oh no he didn’t!” 
a handful of my Facebook friends reveled in the 
news. Similar posts (and from similar friends) 
have claimed that the same “crisis actor” can 
be shown in photos in the wake of the Paris 
attacks, shootings at Aurora and Newtown, 
pumping out fodder for conspiracy theorists 
(several sources have confirmed that these are 
three 
different 
people). 

Take your pick of posts 
that make you the least bit 
suspicious, run a Google 
search and, more often 
than not, it will turn out to 
be ridiculous or nonsense.

What stands out isn’t the 

fact that misinformation 
runs rampant in the world 
of social media — this is, 
unfortunately, 
a 
given. 

What stands out is, as 
Charles Spurgeon said, “A lie can travel halfway 
round the world while the truth is putting on its 
shoes.” (Not Mark Twain, I looked it up.)

Corrections and fact checks will never 

spread like wildfire.

So why does this scare me? Facebook has 

already become the social media platform 
most prone to isolating one’s point of 
view, with volatile comment sections and 
questionable sources. In one study about 
political polarization, social scientists found 
that “roughly speaking a Facebook user has 
five politically like-minded friends for every 
one friend on the other side of the spectrum.”

People become more daring behind a 

keyboard. Facebook users are more liable to 
scroll past posts with which they disagree with 
or unfriend the person altogether. Twitter and 
Instagram seem to escape this seriousness, 
likely due to the youthfulness of its audience 
(less chance for serious argument among 
teenagers sharing vines than adults sharing 
politicized statuses). Combine all of this 
potential for hostility with misinformation and 
a general disregard for fact-checking; now, add 
in the fact that 2016 is an election year. That’s 

why Facebook is starting to scare me.

Having said this, social media remains an 

incredible outlet for political engagement. 
The introduction of candidates to younger 
audiences, with greater activity through apps 
like Snapchat and Instagram, will do wonders 
for millennial voter turnout. Candidates may 
live-tweet debates, but where’s the account 
live fact-checking, and why isn’t it the most 
important? Social media cannot be a haven 
for inaccuracies and false statements on issues 
of importance — a Vladimir Putin quote is 
relatively harmless in the grand scheme of 
things, but imagine the havoc a well-placed 
Hillary Clinton misquote could wreak.

This past January, Facebook announced it 

would label suspected hoaxes and fake news 
with a warning and reduce the frequency of 
posts with misinformation in the news feed. 
If this is happening on a regular basis, either 
my settings are messed up or the plan of attack 
isn’t working. The questionable material I see 
posted every day is as prevalent as ever. And 
simply put, change on this front cannot come 
from the organization itself — it has to come 
from responsible Facebook users who question 
sources, who share corrections and who refuse 
to allow friends with whom they disagree to 
disappear into a bubble of falsities and dema-
goguery. I’ve seen it happen and it’s not pretty.

One reason this strikes me now more 

than ever is the ongoing 
discussion 
about 

coddling that I have seen 
shared on my timeline 
by Facebook friends of 
other generations. The 
Washington Post asked, 
“Are 
colleges 
coddling 

students or just leveling 
the playing field?” and 
the Atlantic bemoaned, 
“The Coddling of the 
 

American Mind.”

In a recent Wall Street Journal editorial 

titled “The Rise of the College Crybullies” by 
Roger Kimball, my generation is accused of 
hiding behind trigger warnings, and is said to 
be overly sensitive and politically correct. As 
a student at a large, liberal, public university, 
let me say that instances of racism and sexism, 
even in its subtlest forms that I may not 
understand, take a toll on my peers. Students 
and their ability to learn are affected. 
I’m proud to be a part of the generation 
ensuring that during these formative years of 
education, people have a safe space to live and 
learn. This isn’t coddling, it’s just decent. 

Every 
generation, 
political 
base 
and 

ideological faction walls themselves in, on 
Facebook and otherwise, from people with 
whom they disagree. Millennials, instead of 
walling ourselves in with false sources and 
Facebook posts — the kind that paint the world 
in black and white, beget conspiracy theories 
and refuse to be corrected — have chosen 
inclusive language and tolerance.

— Brett Graham can be reached 

at btgraham@umich.edu.

Facebook is starting to scare me

The rent is in fact too damn high
F

irst off, happy Thanksgiving!

In my last column, I 

discussed growing economic 

disparity 
right 
here 
in 

Ann 
Arbor. 

I 
mentioned 

that we’re the 
eighth 
most 

economically 
segregated 
city 

in the nation. I 
mentioned that 
the 
incomes 

of the top 10 
percent of our 
residents 
are 

growing, and growing fast, while 
the exact opposite is true of our 
bottom 10 percent. And I mentioned 
that a couple working two full-time 
jobs at minimum wage can’t afford 
to live here, nor can a public school 
teacher. What I didn’t mention was 
a solution.

So what can we do?
Well most immediately, we can 

try to lower our housing costs. For 
all the ways Ann Arbor is unique, 
there’s one specific way that’s 
very relevant to this particular 
conversation. And that is that we’re 
a hot real estate market. So hot, in 
fact, that back in July, Ann Arbor 
was ranked the ninth hottest market 
in the United States — a ranking 
that matches us with some of the 
largest cities in the country. To put 
that ranking in perspective, in Ann 
Arbor, the average house will only 
spend 61 days on the market before 
sale. In Manhattan, that number is 
73 days. We’re moving faster than 
a real estate market that doesn’t 
sleep. And that means Big Apple 
prices in a small Midwestern city.

Now, as students, we probably 

have a good five to 10 years before 
we start to use the word “buy.” For 
now, most of us are renters. But we 
exist in that same world — demand 
for housing is demand for housing. 
A Harvard study shows that, after 
the last recession, homeownership 
is steadily falling while rental 
demand is surging nationally. In 
Ann Arbor, homes are being bought 
up at higher prices and middle-class 

residents are being pushed into the 
rental market. That means students 
and professionals are competing 
for the same type of apartments. 
That also means the average one-
bedroom unit will cost $1,244 per 
month, almost double the monthly 
rate of East Lansing.

It’s clear people want to live 

here. But are we really giving them 
or ourselves a chance?

The short answer is no, or not 

yet. This huge demand for housing 
doesn’t have the supply to match it. 
Common sense, Economics 101 and 
that same Harvard study all say that 
if supply increases to match demand, 
price will lower. Here in Ann Arbor, 
we can’t legally grow our city limits 
outward. We’re 
about 29 square 
miles, and that 
number 
won’t 

ever 
change 

much. 
That 

means we need 
to 
invest 
in 

denser housing — 
townhouses over 
McMansions and 
some high-rises 
downtown. That said, I believe all 
things should be done in moderation 
— saturation is good, oversaturation 
is bad. After all, it was a real estate 
bubble that caused our last financial 
crisis. But at the end of the day, we 
work in a market and so we have to 
work with the market.

Now, the laws of supply and 

demand have been around for more 
than 300 years. But Ann Arbor is 
a hub of technological and social 
innovation. Our response to a 
crisis in affordability should be 
innovative, too.

So a question: What do a young 

tech entrepreneur, public school 
teacher, artist and retiree all have 
in common?

The answer is they all have pretty 

similar incomes. Right now, Ann 
Arbor’s housing market works great 
for the wealthy. And the Ann Arbor 
Housing Commission provides pub-
lic housing for our neighbors most in 
need. But there’s a missing middle to 
the housing market — a middle that 

would satisfy the needs of young tech 
entrepreneurs, public school teach-
ers, artists and retirees alike.

Luckily, we have some options. 

The most straightforward is to sell 
or lease public land — parking lots or 
old facilities — to private developers 
at below market rate. This lowers 
the cost of construction to such a 
degree that the new landlords can, 
in turn, rent the new units at below 
market rate. Potential partners 
are already itching to get going. 
These public-private partnerships 
spread 
responsibility 
for 
the 

community 
across 
government 

and business while hedging both 
 

sides’ investments.

Want to spread the responsi-

bility 
further? 

We can put the 
power right in 
the 
hands 
of 

the 
residents 

themselves. 
Neighborhood 
cooperatives 
have the power 
to regulate sale 
price, 
ensur-

ing prices only 

increase at a set rate. In fact, we 
already have thriving townhouse 
cooperatives here in Ann Arbor.

These issues are by no means 

isolated to Ann Arbor. These 
are issues facing every cool and 
desirable city across the United 
States. But the solutions will 
never come naturally. They will 
come as a result of dedication and 
commitment. And they will succeed 
as a result of thoughtful design.

It’s an uphill battle and it will 

take time. But it’s the change we 
need. Because you should graduate 
and feel like you can afford to stay 
here. You should live a full life and 
feel like you can afford to retire 
here. And for all those years in 
between, you and all your neighbors 
should live comfortably, free from 
the undue burden of high rents 
and high mortgages created by an 
overburdened housing market.

— Zachary Ackerman can be 

reached at zdack@umich.edu.

ZACHARY 

ACKERMAN

BRETT 
GRAHAM

The ever-changing “other”

JULIA MILTON-ZARINA | VIEWPOINT

What do a young 
tech entrepreneur, 

public school teacher, 
artist and retiree all 

have in common?

The questionable 

material I see 

posted every day is 
as prevalent as ever.

 

— The family of Laquan McDonald said in a statement issued through their lawyers 

before a video of McDonald’s death in Chicago was released yesterday. 

“

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

No one understands 
the anger more than 

us, but if you choose to 
speak out, we urge you 

to be peaceful.”

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Have a happy and safe 
Thanksgiving break! 

