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
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Caitlin Heenan, Jeremy Kaplan, Ben Keller,
Minsoo Kim, Payton Luokkala, Kit Maher, Madeline Nowicki,
Anna Polumbo-Levy, Jason Rowland, Lauren Schandevel, Melissa Scholke,
Kevin Sweitzer, Rebecca Tarnopol, Ashley Tjhung,
Stephanie Trierweiler, Hunter Zhao
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
As soon as I heard the news, I immediately
dialed my grandparents to let them know
— we like to keep each other up to date on
current events, lest we both fall too deep into
our respective “bubbles.” Upon answering
the phone, however, my grandmother beat me
to it. “Scalia is dead!” she happily informed
me. Happily.
As our conversation progressed, I began to
realize that her detestation of Justice Antonin
Scalia was deep-seated and, quite honestly,
justified. It’s pretty easy to see why a woman
who grew up in the Jim Crow South would
take objection to a Supreme Court justice
who claimed in court that he was “just not
impressed by the fact that the University of
Texas may have fewer (African Americans).
Maybe it ought to have fewer.”
Still, I have a moral problem with celebrating
the death of any human being — especially one
whose only crime was disagreeing with me (on
about every topic imaginable, but that’s beside
the point). In America, we pride ourselves on
freedom of speech. Underlying this concept
is the idea that free speech guarantees all of
our nation’s voices are heard and valued, on
both sides of the political spectrum. When I
recognized that Justice Scalia’s views weren’t
outliers in our greater contemporary society —
that is to say, many Americans shared the same
values he stood for and defended — I began to
at least wonder if maybe he did deserve a spot
on the bench.
Cultures do, however, change a lot over
time. When Justice Scalia was nominated by
former president Ronald Reagan in September
1986, the American political landscape was
vastly different than its current-day form. In
1986, the same year Scalia was appointed, the
Supreme Court of the United States upheld
an anti-sodomy law that banned homosexual
acts in the state of Georgia. Today, however,
a majority of Americans support same-sex
marriage (in comparison, just 35 percent
supported it 10 years ago).
These numbers seem to suggest that Scalia’s
presence on the court, while maybe it made
sense when he was appointed, didn’t make
sense in 2016. However, that argument ignores
the reality that 39 percent of Americans still
do not feel that same-sex couples should be
allowed to marry. While that is 11 percent
shy of a majority, it stills shows that a large
section of U.S. citizens hold views that Scalia
defended. Without him on the court, would
their voices have been heard and considered.
It’s not that I think basic rights should be left
to the tyranny of the majority, but at the end of
the day, we do live in a democracy where these
issues are discussed.
All of this is to say that despite the vitriol
surrounding Justice Scalia, he was not the
boogeyman we often paint him to be. Rather,
he is a product of our democracy, and all he did
was ensure that all of our country’s voices were
heard. At the end of the day, I try not to forget
that just because I didn’t agree with many of
Scalia’s core tenets, others did agree with him.
And they have just as much of a right as I do to
be represented on the bench.
Jason Rowland is a senior editorial page editor.
In defense of Scalia
Connecting in the winter
S
houtout
to
all
current
freshmen:
You
missed
a
couple of really hard winters,
and we got a
taste
of
what
those
winters
felt like this past
weekend. Those
who’ve been at
the
University
for a year or
two
might
have
a
better
understanding
of
what
I’m
talking
about
—
that
bone-
chilling,
soul-
sucking, wind-chill-induced cold.
For students who moved to Ann
Arbor or the state of Michigan
from far away, this kind of winter
weather probably feels like a
never-ending nightmare.
Subdued by the winter chill, I
find myself turning to my cell phone
and laptop for distraction, and I
know I’m not alone in this. When
we’re trapped inside on frigid
days (such as this past Saturday,
with wind chill registering in the
negative teens and 20s), I find
that human communication takes
second place to whatever new
things the Internet has to tell me.
It becomes all too easy to curl up
under a blanket, turn on Netflix and
tune out everything else.
It’s cold, and everyone has the
excuse of being burnt out after
fall
semester.
That
shouldn’t
be an excuse to forgo making
connections, but it often is. I’m not
necessarily talking about phone
conversations — I mean those
person-to-person interactions that
happen at random when you’re
walking
across
campus,
those
times when your eyes meet and
you smile at someone you don’t
know. Instead of giving those
interactions a chance to happen,
the cold weather offers an excuse
to watch our feet instead of trying
to care about others. We keep our
shoulders hunched as we rush
between classes, trying to spend as
little time as possible in the snow
and wind. Hoods are pulled up; knit
hats and headbands shield our eyes.
Earbuds block out the sound of
slush crunching underfoot. People
don’t stop to exchange smiles with
the strangers they pass.
This past weekend, I did my best
to bury myself in assignments and
make the time pass by tidying up
my space. It always feels good to get
homework done well before it’s due,
but what makes more of a dent in my
day is visiting with my family. When
it gets really cold, the same barrier
that restricts conversations in the
middle of the Diag seems to hang
over the house, making everything
a drag. When I’m already curled up
on the couch, the last thing I want
is to face the wider world — even
if that just means my dining room.
It can seem like too much effort to
start a conversation.
But often, time spent talking that
way lights up the cold and snowy
air outside and helps the day to go
by a little faster. Coming together
over meals forces us to spend time
together, even if we’re just sitting
side by side and reading — it gives
us a chance to acknowledge one
another, and the work that goes into
preparing our food means a chance
to drag ourselves away from our
screens and back into the world.
On campus, I’ve had other
little interactions that gave richer
meaning to these winter weeks. I
stopped by the office of a professor
I took a class with in the fall; asked
a girl who’d slipped and fallen on
the ice if she was OK; encountered
someone who’s doing the New
England Literature Program this
coming spring and got to tell her
that I was in her place one year
ago. When I have a dollar in my
wallet and a minute to spare on
my way from one class to another,
I stop and buy a Groundcover on
the corner of South U and East U.
My phone stays put away while I
cross campus, which means I’m
looking up and watching what’s
going on around me. If the wind
isn’t blowing so hard that I need
my hood up, I do my best to smile
at everyone I pass.
Not everything about winter
is good, but not everything is
terrible, either — as with anything
else, there’s a give-and-take. With
two decades’ worth of Ann Arbor
winters already behind me, I look
for the things that make winter
beautiful: the snow-covered Arb
and frozen Huron River, sunsets
in purple and gold, the number of
times people return my smiles. The
cold bothers me as much as anyone
else, but there are other things
to focus on; temperature isn’t
the single thing that defines this
season. Good food and pleasant
company can help to break up the
monotony of gray days. Spring
always comes again, so we might
as well enjoy the months leading
up to it — and maybe even forge
some new friendships along the
way.
Susan LaMoreaux can be
reached at susanpl@umich.edu.
“We keep our shoulders
hunched as we rush
between classes, trying
to spend as little time as
possible in thew snow
and wind. People don’t
stop to exchange smiles
with the strangers
they pass.”
SUSAN
LAMOREAUX
JASON ROWLAND | OP-ED
C
ollege students are perhaps some of
the most educated and opinionated
voters in the country, as we exist in a
sphere of constant debate
and idealism (and political
memes, too). However, we
often focus on the larger,
more dramatic political
theaters — federal and
international governments
— and end up ignoring the
equally important local
politics of the areas and
states in which we reside.
Zachary
Ackerman,
recent
University
of
Michigan graduate, Ann
Arbor City Council member, and former Daily
columnist, who was kind enough to sit down
for an interview with the Daily, defies this
phenomenon. He serves as a great example
of how to get involved in local politics. At the
age of 22, Ackerman was the first University
student to be elected to a spot on the Ann
Arbor City Council in 23 years when he took
office this fall. He ran a fierce campaign and
was elected, in part, because he went door to
door launching a ground campaign to get to
know voters on a more personal level.
Though becoming an elected official is a
daunting task, starting much smaller can also
be rewarding. Ackerman has done exactly that,
working as an intern for a local candidate Pam
Byrnes campaign to be a representative in the
U.S. House in 2014. Needing signatures from
citizens for a petition to get Byrne on the ballot,
he had to stand outside of the Jackson Post
Office on tax day in freezing temperatures.
During those hours, he met a diverse group
of people who illustrated an important part of
local politics.
The first man he met drove up in a
pickup truck, covered in the trappings of a
construction worker or carpenter. This man
had no interest in politics, so he didn’t sign the
petition that Ackerman was offering. He went
into the post office, sent what he needed, got
in his truck and left. However, for some reason
he returned and gave Ackerman a handful of
hand warmers, and signed the petition before
leaving again.
Next, there were three women, who when
he stepped forward and asked them to sign,
declined, as they supported Republican
candidate Tim Walberg in the race. They were
about to go on their way when Ackerman
noticeably shivered, and in that moment, they
agreed to sign, saying they would do it if it got
him home sooner.
Finally, another man wandered up to the
post office. He listened intently, and very
earnestly wanted to get involved. However,
when Ackerman offered to let him sign, he
made several unintelligible marks on the paper
that wouldn’t count as a signature. Despite
being illiterate, this man was trying valiantly
to be involved in the political process.
In each of these cases, the decision of
these individuals to get involved depended
on an emotional response, not an ideological
urge. These interactions illustrate why
local politics is so important: They make
us realize our personal and emotional
connection to politics, and allow us to be
easily involved. If you knew your vote on a
proposal would perhaps save you a flat tire
in the future, because it would have passed
a road repair bill, would you have used it?
If you realized you could influence state
politics by volunteering in a campaign that
might help improve the schools in your
area for your children, would you do so? If
becoming representative could help better
improve your life and the lives of those close
to you, why not become one?
Sadly, in a country with low voter turnout
in every type of election, local elections
have the worst voter turnout of all. This fact,
paired with distrust of both the government
and the parties that compete to run it, leads
to a democratic process in a severe state of
disarray, where few people seem to want to
answer these questions.
While I am not arguing we turn inward
and ignore the role that national elections
have, focusing on local politics can have just
as profound an impact. Each of us can answer
those questions in our own little, unique ways.
We can answer them by voting, volunteering
or serving. We can answer them by running
for office, or working to help a city council
member get elected. Or we can do so by a much
simpler action, such as filling out a petition for
a statewide or national issue. We can change
our campus, our hometown or wherever we
may live in the future by participating in local
politics. By changing that little bit we can on
an individual basis in the places we live, we
can, together, change a lot.
Connor Kippe can be reached
at conkip@umich.edu.
Valuing activism in local politics
CONNOR
KIPPE
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION
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Introducing Your Michigan
The University of Michigan is
a community full of diverse ideas
— of brilliant, compassionate and
kind students. Most importantly,
the University would not be the
place it is without you. Student
input and advocacy make this
place the amazing university it is.
Without your voice and work, this
campus wouldn’t be the special
place that it is for our generation
of students and for the next
generation of Wolverines.
That’s why we write today
to announce our candidacy and
express how excited we are to
hear your voice, your ideas and
your beliefs. As a new party, Your
Michigan wants to create an
atmosphere in Central Student
Government where all students’
narratives and ideas are not only
heard, but supported as well. We
understand the limits of Central
Student Government, but believe
in the limitless nature of student
activism here at the University.
Join us as we work toward tangible
change — as we shape effective
and innovative policies that better
every student’s experience.
Your
Michigan’s
executive
team, Thomas Hislop and Cam
Dotson, have the leadership skills,
experience and love for the maize
and blue that CSG needs today. We
are committed to changing the
culture of student representation
that currently exists, and ensuring
that
all
experiences
on
this
campus are appreciated, heard
and considered. Our experience
has taught us how to govern
effectively, but it has also shown
us that change is needed.
Join us as we revitalize the
Maize Rage and move the upper
bowl student section to the center
of the court so that students are
more connected and united during
basketball games. We are working
with the Athletic Department to
create a revamped Maize Rage
that is both financially feasible
and
brings
students
closer
together. We are not blindly
promising more lower bowl seats,
but rather thinking creatively as to
what seating arrangements allow
for the best student experience
possible.
As
the
University
prepares to welcome our new
athletic director, Warde Manuel,
it is imperative that our campus
leaders ensure student input is
considered and that the student
experience
at
athletic
events
continues to improve.
Join
us
as
we
engage
in
meaningful
discourse
about
sexual misconduct on campus.
We want to advocate for more
peer educators in extracurricular
clubs, athletic teams and Greek
organizations. We want to expand
the
Panhellenic
Association’s
very successful Peer Educator
Program so that more groups have
a resource that can educate them
on this important issue and help
in their times of need. This will
create a bridge between student
groups and the Sexual Assault
Prevention and Awareness Center,
so that students who want to learn
more or need support have an
easy path to SAPAC’s incredible
resources.
Join us as we foster dialogue
between
CSG
representatives
and students through town-hall
forums
with
student-dictated
agendas. In the past, students
have voiced their concerns that
CSG is not transparent enough.
We want students to feel that we
are a resource for them and truly
represent them. Your Michigan
will
empower
students
by
creating town-hall forums that,
on occasion, replace the formal
CSG meetings. These forums will
promote a productive dialogue
between
elected
officials
and
students who want their voices to
be heard but who are turned away
by the formal format of the weekly
CSG meetings.
Join us as we create a more
diverse university of tomorrow by
supporting student organizations
that do amazing work in nearby
urban
communities.
President
Schlissel recently commented on
increasing the amount of minority
representation on campus, and
Your Michigan is dedicated to
assisting
in
that
process.
As
the
administration
works
to
increase
minority
enrollment,
Your Michigan wants to assist
and support the organizations
doing great work in surrounding
communities by subsidizing these
programs’
traveling
expenses,
and show these students that
the University is an attainable
destination for any motivated
student.
Join us as we establish a new,
centralized mentorship program
for
incoming
international
students to ease their transition
into
this
rigorous,
new
environment.
Our
program,
“Welcome
hoMe,”
will
ease
international students’ transition
to this major American public
university. The program is rooted
in the concerns of international
students who often arrive and feel
isolated or disjointed from the rest
of the student body. It is incredibly
important that we provide these
fellow Wolverines support just as
we do for other students through
programs such as Leaders and
Best. Our centralized program
would provide a group of trained,
dedicated
mentors
to
any
international student as soon as
they arrive on campus.
Join us. It’s your time, your voice
and your Michigan. These are just a
few of our ideas, as we continue to
advocate for a safer, innovative and
empowering campus. Our platform
is far from finalized; we want to
make sure that you have a chance
to deliver feedback, to give your
thoughts and to make an impact.
Feel free to reach out to us through
social media, and make sure to come
join Your Michigan this Thursday
at 7 p.m. in the Ross School of
Business room R1240. Your voice
matters, and we want to make sure
it is heard on this campus.
Cam Dotson and Thomas
Hislop are LSA juniors.
CAM TOSON AND THOMAS HISLOP | OP-ED