Opinion

SHOHAM GEVA
EDITOR IN CHIEF

CLAIRE BRYAN 

AND REGAN DETWILER 
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS

LAURA SCHINAGLE
MANAGING EDITOR

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Monday, January 11, 2016

Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Caitlin Heenan, Ben Keller, 

Minsoo Kim, 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

S

ince I was a naive middle-schooler, 
eager 
to 
obtain 
any 
sliver 
of 

information that would aid me in 

the 
competitive 
college 

admissions process, I have 
been told finding a passion 
is the key to standing out — 
in both life and through an 
application. I was also told 
it especially helps when one is particularly 
good at whatever passion he or she pursues — 
whether it be mastering the piano, becoming 
fluent in Portuguese or receiving a scholarship 
to play collegiate-level basketball. At first, 
as most awkward and self-conscious eighth 
graders are, I felt lost and like I had nothing I 
particularly cared about or was talented at. I 
loved to write, but after having fallen in with 
the “popular and sporty” crowd (mind you, 
this was self-designated), I felt like I could 
no longer explore that aspect of myself. I 
mentally packed up my well-worn notebooks 
and remnants of poems and shoved them 
far into the back realms of my mind to make 
room for “new passions,” or rather, pursuits 
that I deemed more exciting and cool.

Throughout middle school I had run cross 

country for social reasons, but as I entered 
high school, I realized I had some natural tal-
ent, and decided I wanted to take my train-
ing to the next level. After I started winning 
races and setting personal records every 
other week, I quickly, along with my family 
and friends, began to identify myself as “the 
runner.” I was the one who ate extremely 
healthily, always left parties early so I could 
get a good amount of sleep and could be seen 
running through town at all hours of the 
day. Though on the outside it looked like I 
was achieving all of my goals, I was actually 
spiraling deeper and deeper into unhealthy 
behaviors. As I progressed through high 
school, my eating habits became border-
line disordered, I would lash out or become 
extremely irritated if an event occurred that 
disrupted my workout schedule and I began 
to stray from any interesting activities that 
disrupted my running. After my debate team 
won the state championship, I went as far as 
to skip the celebration afterward so that I 
could get a second run in that day. Running 
consumed my life to the point that there was 
room for absolutely nothing else.

Sadly, life has a funny way of working itself 

out, and at the height of my obsession, I devel-
oped a stress reaction in my femur and was 
forced to stop the very “passion” that fueled 
my daily routine. Injuries are saddening to 
anyone, but because I had chosen to so closely 
tie my entire identity to being a runner, I no 
longer knew who I was anymore. I cried for 
days, withdrew from my friends, and lashed 
out at all of my family members. Eventually 
my bones healed, but it took me yet another 
injury — during my last season of cross coun-

try — to realize I needed to change the way I 
was living my life.

Though injuries took a lot away from my 

high school running experience, I’ve been 
so lucky to have the opportunity to run cross 
country and track for the University of Mich-
igan. However, instead of continuing down 
my previous path of single-minded obses-
sion, I have been much more comfortable 
with attempting the so sought-after concept 
of finding “balance”. I’ve finally realized that 
academics are, indeed, much more important 
than athletics, and I am not afraid to run a 
workout on a few hours of sleep in order to 
complete an assignment or feel confident 
walking into a test the next morning. There 
are so many interesting clubs I want to join 
and people I want to meet. Luckily, I am only 
a freshman and still have an entire collegiate 
career ahead of me. Yes, I am a runner, but I 
have realized that is only a small aspect of my 
complete persona. I am so much happier and 
healthier, and actually running faster than 
ever before.

Obviously, running is the example that 

is most pertinent to me, but this pitfall of 
pigeonholing oneself into one particular role 
can happen to anyone. I have friends who see 
themselves as “the artist,” “the musician” 
or “the partier” — and not much else. Pas-
sions are important and a major part of what 
makes life so unique, yet your singular pas-
sion (or what you do to look good on an appli-
cation) does not define you. Human beings 
have a multitude of interests that should be 
explored, redefined and uncovered as they 
grow and change. In recent years, we seem to 
have settled into the dangerous thought pat-
tern that it is important to be “really, really 
good” at one thing, rather than talented in 
a wide variety of areas. But when that one 
thing does not work out, we are left feeling 
like we are nothing at all.

College is the perfect time to explore all of 

these interests, especially in a community as 
large and diverse as the University of Michi-
gan. The new year is the perfect time to take a 
step back, slow down and explore some of the 
interests and opportunities you thought you 
didn’t have time for while you were too busy 
being an athlete, business major or member of 
Greek life. Continue to grow and succeed and 
fail and experience all of the infinitesimal, 
wonderful and tragic moments that combine 
to make one’s college experience. We have 
the freedom to follow an infinite number of 
paths, and not get bogged down by others’ (or 
even our own) expectations of us. This was 
a concept that took me two broken bones to 
realize. In the words of writer Thomas Mer-
ton, “Happiness is not a matter of intensity 
but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.”

—Kaela Theut can be reached 

at ktheut@umich.edu.

Balancing passion and sanity

The other gap

L

et’s talk about the “gap.” No, 
not the wage gap that has 
had everyone in a fuss lately 

— 
I’m 
talking 

about the orgasm 
gap. 
Hooking 

up has become 
increasingly 
popular 
among 

people 
in 
our 

generation, but there’s a major 
disparity in what each gender is 
getting out of the deal. Casual sex 
can be great as long as there is 
consent; however, when the main 
goal is the Big O and only one side is 
experiencing it, we have a problem.

Every day, women fight myriad 

gender biases related to sex: The 
media portrays them as shrewd — 
simply tolerant of dicks rather than 
having real agency — and women 
who speak openly about enjoying 
sex are labeled as crude or vulgar, 
perpetuating the double standard 
of sluts versus players.

Women are casually hooking 

up, but losing the game. There’s no 
such thing as being sexually pow-
erful and independent if you don’t 
demand to finish. When women 
are hooking up but not climaxing, 
the double standard is perpetuated. 
Women become playthings instead 
of mutual partners in an agreement 

for pleasure. How many times have 
you had your head shoved “down 
there” or just laid there thinking 
about that project that’s due Fri-
day? If it seems like women don’t 
want casual sex, maybe it’s because 
the kind we’re used to having isn’t 
cutting it. Why waste time having 
sex when we can get more pleasure 
out of a glass of wine and Netflix?

“But I’m a sex god and make 

every girl I’m with scream” … 
Yeah, ok. Let me just point you to 
one of my favorite movies. Watch 
“When Harry Met Sally.” Actu-
ally, you don’t even have to watch 
the whole film — one pivotal 

diner scene gets the point across. 
Women are good at faking it. Plain 
and simple. We do it to avoid hurt-
ing egos, we do it to end a boring 
session, we do it all the time and 

we’re damn good at it. But this is 
not anything new — women read-
ing this column know that. The 
question is: Why don’t men care 
enough to change the way they act 
toward us in bed? Men complain 
and joke about us being prudes and 
not ever being “in the mood.” Well, 
the answer to the problem is clear.

To all the women out there, why 

don’t we all just pull a Carrie Brad-
shaw and start having sex like men 
— making sure we get what we want 
then leaving them high and dry? 
Amy Schumer did it in her movie 
“Trainwreck.” She made a bro move 
and just pushed his head down there 
and fell asleep. But the fact of the 
matter is if women start hooking up 
like men, it’s just going to begin a 
vicious cycle of taking without giv-
ing. Nobody is ever going to win this 
battle for the ultimate prize, so why 
don’t we all just agree that there is 
a problem and make moves to fix it. 
The orgasm gap is a fun one to fill 
and it doesn’t take much effort. So 
men, think about that next time you 
casually hop into bed with some-
one. And ladies, climaxing is not too 
much to ask for if you’re going to get 
naked with someone.

— Olivia Puente can be reached 

at opuente@umich.edu.

OLIVIA
PUENTE

KAELA 
THEUT

We need affirmative action

I

f you’re white and you’re 
against 
affirmative 
action 

because you think it’s “racist,” 

I 
have 
news 

for you: This is 
perpetuating 
a 
system 
that 

privileges 
white 
people. 

And white privilege is a product 
of racism. Have you ever thought, 
“This 
is 
unfair! 
Why 
should 

minority 
students 
have 
an 

advantage over me in the college 
process?” Guess what, you have an 
advantage over them in almost any 
other area of life. Harvard sociology 
professor Devah Pager conducted 
a 2007 study that observed how 
race and incarceration affect the 
economy on a large scale for her 
book titled “Marked: Race, Crime, 
and Finding Work in an Era of Mass 
Incarceration.” She found that a 
white man who just left prison is 
equally as likely to get hired as a 
Black man with no criminal record. 
Do you think that seems fair?

At the University, I have sat 

in many a classroom marked by 
homogeneity with a white major-
ity. According the University’s 
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 
site, University President Mark 
Schlissel has a plan to combat this 
issue. This plan involves teach-
ins, talks and guest speakers. To 
be honest, I am skeptical this will 
promote any true progress.

The 
reality 
is, 
to 
achieve 

true inclusion, we must start by 
increasing the diversity of our 
student body’s racial and cultural 
makeup. The University needs 
affirmative action.

Last April, the Supreme Court 

upheld a Michigan law that made 
considering race in the admissions 
process illegal for public universi-
ties. This decision focused on the 
constitutionality of the issue. The 
associate justices wrote more than 
100 pages of opinion on this dif-
ficult decision. This is a sensitive 
issue, and the justices displayed a 
wide variety of opinions. Justice 
Sonia Sotomayor famously wrote 
that she believes affirmative action 
got her to Princeton and to where 

she is today. Her emotional piece 
explains the experience of many 
minority students who are given 
the opportunity to succeed at a 
prestigious university. Affirmative 
action remains illegal in Florida and 
California as well. Though many 
want to believe we live in a post-
racial society in which everyone is 
seen equally, we do not. So rather 
than pretending we’ve made such 
progress, we need to start working 
toward better inclusion.

People of my generation are 

extremely committed to promoting 
inclusion and diversity. We have 
seen this at Mizzou, Yale and many 
other universities and institutions 
over the past several months. Many 
college students feel strongly that it 
is time for a change and are willing 
to fight for it.

I have seen this initiative for 

change get brushed over at the Uni-
versity. There were a few student 
demonstrations, many articles writ-

ten and a public statement from 
Schlissel, who talks a lot about 
improving diversity issues without 
a lot of progress. The desire is there, 
but not the action. I stand by and 
watch as the University desperately 
reaches for some kind of change, but 
can’t seem to find it. The problem lies 
within the makeup of the student 
body. The Office of the Registrar 
states that less than 5 percent of the 
entire student body is Black, and less 
than 5 percent is Hispanic. Mean-
while, according to the 2014 census, 
the state of Michigan is 19 percent 
Black and Latino, and the United 
States is about 30 percent Black and 
Latino. Without accurate represen-
tation of these minority groups, we 
will never create the change we so 

desperately need. In order for all 
University students to have an aca-
demic experience that involves mul-
tiple perspectives and ideas, there 
should be greater diversity.

Let me now address some of your 

concerns. You might be under the 
impression that affirmative action 
makes the college process unfair, 
as it gives people an advantage 
just because of their race, some-
thing they have no control over. Is 
it fair that some students get a full 
scholarship based on their ath-
letic ability? What about having 
an expensive ACT tutor or going to 
a private school with smaller and 
more engaging classes? In-state 
versus out-of-state? Is any of this 
fair? Some students may have spent 
high school focusing on saving up 
for their tuition rather than focus-
ing on their GPA. Nothing about 
this process is fair. Some students 
come from families wealthy enough 
that the admissions office sees only 
a dollar sign when they read their 
application. Why stop at affirma-
tive action? Why stop where an 
advantage in the process will allow 
all students to grow by improving 
the diversity of the student body?

None of this is to say that I think 

that students of color do not have 
the academic ability or drive to get 
into prestigious universities on their 
own. Rather, many are disadvan-
taged by their life experiences, and 
deserve a leg up to compensate for 
earlier obstacles. Students of color 
often come from families less likely 
to afford tutors and expensive testing 
to receive much-needed extra time, 
among many other disadvantages.

Our country has a history of 

hundreds of years of enslavement, 
torture and other horrors white 
Europeans inflicted upon people 
of color. We cannot even the play-
ing field by pretending it never 
happened. We must work toward a 
system of equality and change. If 
the University of Michigan wants 
to achieve a truly diverse stu-
dent body, we must begin with the 
admissions process.

— Ali Schalop can be reached 

at aschalop@umich.edu.

ALI
SCHALOP

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E-mail Dan at Dancp@umich.EDu
DAN PARK

 “Women are casually 
hooking up, but losing 

the game.”

 “If the University 

wants to achieve a truly 

diverse student body, 

we must begin with the 

admissions process.”

 
 

— Dr. Steven J. Daniels Sr., pastor of the Second Baptist Church, 

at the Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Unity March on Sunday.
“

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

The diversity that we experience especially in the public 
school system has been incredible ... But it is important 

for my son to realize that this comes on the backs of 

others. This is not a birthright, but this is something that 

was earned and we’ve got to appreciate it.”

