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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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board.
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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Monday, March 7, 2016
Last year was a tumultuous one. Our
nation’s race problems, which have often
been underplayed and ignored, refused to
remain unseen and silent any longer. The
race “issue” forced itself onto the front page
of major newspapers, onto TV screens and
into conversations among friends, families
and strangers.
The race “issue” is not a new problem, but
it came as a surprise to many who believed
we live in a post-racism America. The
frustration seen in Ferguson, Baltimore,
Cleveland and elsewhere was something I
could relate to when I was a student at the
University of Michigan. Being a Black male
at this University was not an easy task. I
felt isolated. People expected me to be the
spokesman for my race. Often, classmates
assumed I was only there because of a
sports scholarship or affirmative action.
Despite these challenges, I was able to seek
comfort and find community and under-
standing in Iota Phi Theta, S.I.B.S and a
supportive group of friends.
For these reasons among others, I decid-
ed in 2010 to join Teach For America. I knew
how it felt to be the only one to not have a role
model in the classroom (and in other social
and professional settings) who looked like
you. I was determined to join other dedicat-
ed educators of color in changing this real-
ity for the next generation of students. As a
corps member, I taught elementary school
for two years in Houston public schools.
During this time I learned I had not only an
aptitude for teaching, but also the patience
for working hard and learning quickly. As
a result, my students made immense gains;
however, I longed to make an impact in my
hometown of Detroit. So after my two years
in Texas, I returned to Detroit to teach and
later act as a school administrator at a char-
ter school in Northwest Detroit.
Being a teacher and a school leader are
the hardest things I’ve ever done in my 28
years of life. But with all challenges, the
reward is well worth the struggles. At the
end of the school year, I asked my Detroit
sixth-graders what they wanted to be when
they grew up. And I was overwhelmed when
so many of them responded with “a teacher
… just like you.”
Many of my students at the charter school
were Black males. If one of them was having
behavioral issues, they would often request
to see me and I would say, “Why did you
come see me? Why can you behave with me
but not with your other teachers?” and in so
many words they discussed how I was “dif-
ferent” and how I “just understood them.”
To them, having a Black male educator
meant having a teacher who knew what it
was like to be them — not only did I look like
my students, but I also lived through many
of the same challenges they faced.
I am no longer in the classroom, but the
experiences and feelings I gained during my
time as a teacher have never left me; I am
still advocating for educational equity for
our underserved Black and brown children.
Through my new role as an educational con-
sultant and as a mentor to young Black boys, I
continue my work in transforming the educa-
tion system and the lives of those who are often
ignored and misunderstood by our society.
Teaching is not for everyone, but anyone
can be an advocate for students. You can
volunteer at your local school, become a
mentor, get involved in youth activities dur-
ing the weekends or provide employment
opportunities. And if you are interested in
teaching, there isn’t a better way to make
a difference in the lives of children than
through Teach for America.
Children cannot be what they cannot
see. It’s our duty as adults to ensure they
are exposed to and represented in diverse
images, texts and the media. Just imagine
the young minds who are dreaming of great-
er futures thanks to images of President
Obama, Misty Copeland, John Boyega and
educators who look like them. It is impera-
tive that we focus on the latter and increase
diversity in the teaching profession. As the
nation’s student population grows more
brown, Black and diverse in other ways each
day, we need adults in schools — at every
level — to reflect these changes and be the
positive role models our students need.
—John Ray is a 2010 alum of the University
of Michigan and a 2010 Teach For America.
corps member. He is currently a consultant spe-
cializing in nonprofit and education sectors.
Diversity among educators
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
T
here is a picture on my
phone that I look at every
now and then. It’s a photo
of a photo of my
little brother a
few hours after
he
was
born;
this
frankly
terribly
low-
res
photo
of
this
itsy-bitsy
baby
bundled
in striped pink
and blue sheets
making
some
odd face I can-
not really com-
prehend. I think of his tiny,
darling fingers trying to touch
my young face, and my heart
cannot help but swell. Moments
come, moments go, and of the
few really memorable days of my
life, that evening when I became
a big brother stays afloat.
He was probably my first real
companion, and I was definitely
his. We spent a lot of time in each
other’s company, enough to feel
like the other was a part of who we
were individually. It’s a very fasci-
nating dynamic — seeing someone
live for the first time, while trying
to simultaneously trying to really
make sense of things yourself. But
there is an effect at play here, and
that is one of idealization. Due to
the age difference and cultural
norms, there exists this subtle sort
of information and experience gap.
It’s this feeling that we cannot tell
the other everything, we cannot
share every thought or experience
fearing it would not be understood
or it would be inappropriate. All of
which leads to creating an image
of the other in your head where,
in this case, your faults are mini-
mized and strengths doubled,
an asymmetrical relationship of
truth and fantasy.
You have expectations and
ideas placed upon you, you are
some idealized version of your-
self, and there is a particular
pressure that accompanies that.
I want to note that this is dif-
ferent from having expectations
set from school and friends and
parents, and it is different in a
way I did not understand when
I was growing up. I carried
around this idea that my behav-
ior, my actions, my preferences
will be studied and scrutinized,
and this honestly removed a cer-
tain degree of freedom from my
life. I had influence I did not
earn, but rather stumbled upon.
I will admit there were a few
times when I struggled with this
power. I was trapped by these
ideals, where I felt I couldn’t do
anything I wanted because there
was a tiny person listening and
watching intently.
Now, a littler older, I think
I understand my role better. I
understand that a younger sib-
ling looks up to you because
they can’t help but look up to
you. An innocent yet pure regard
that comes from a love much too
deep to be taken for granted. A
respect for that takes perhaps
much too long for an older one to
truly understand. Alas, he can-
not help being a little brother,
and I cannot help be an older
one. All I can do is try to honor
my role.
One learns many lessons of
responsibility and understanding
by taking care of someone who
doesn’t know any better. There is
perhaps one thing of significant
value that I believe I have gained.
By
having
responsibility
over
someone, taking care of them,
protecting them, you start to lose
this idea of your own importance
in the world. You start to do what’s
best for them, doing all the day-to-
day sacrifices because you know
it makes him happy. You let him
have the last slice of pizza, feel-
ing happier that he gets to have
it. You learn to let go of the petty.
By putting someone else ahead,
you begin to realize that life isn’t
limited to you. You slowly begin to
inhabit a world where you are no
longer the center — you gain a gen-
erosity of spirit.
I realize now that this is how
things simply are, that I am an
older brother and I always will
be. Yes, my life is never going to
ever be as free as it might have
been before, but at least I will
never really be alone. I will for-
evermore have a little compan-
ion who I will always love and
who will always love me. That’s
a cost I’d pay with a smile.
I hope, someday, this gap
diminishes while the respect we
have for one another remains —
that not too long from now we’ll
be closer than we ever could
be as children. Regardless, I
sincerely hope that little baby
becomes better than me in all
every way, shape and form — I
hope he becomes happier, stron-
ger, smarter, braver and taller.
Well, perhaps not taller. After
all, I am the bigger one.
—Bharat Nair can be reached
at bnair@umich.edu.
On being bigger
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BHARAT
NAIR
G
rowing up, one of the first
things I remember learn-
ing was to buckle my seat
belt
when
I
entered a car.
It was so heav-
ily emphasized
that
I
totally
freaked
out
in the second
grade when a
friend cheekily
admitted
that
sometimes,
he
purposefully
forgot to buckle
up, just for the
thrill of it.
As I was riding in the back of an
Uber earlier this week, I realized
that the mentality behind wear-
ing a seat belt is kind of like the
mentality behind voting. Wear-
ing a seatbelt, much like voting, is
something the vast majority of us
know we should always do. Some-
times, however, we rationalize
not doing the “right thing” in the
name of convenience or perceived
necessity.
For example, I consistently put
on a seat belt whenever I drive
anywhere, whether I’m the one
actually behind the wheel or not.
However, I recently realized that
when I’m in the backseat of a cab,
more times than not, I don’t wear
a seatbelt. And I’m not alone —
according to a survey from the
New York City Taxi and Limou-
sine Commission, “only 38% of
passengers reported they were
using the taxi’s seat belts” during
their ride.
For me, this dangerous phenom-
enon reflects a somewhat contra-
dictory perception of both control
and convenience. I subconsciously
trust the cab driver to be safe (he
is a “professional” driver, techni-
cally), and I’m only in the car for a
short period of time, so I rational-
ize not wearing a seat belt.
This logic is totally backward,
by the way — just because a man
is in a car more hours than oth-
ers doesn’t make him more adept
at avoiding accidents. But to save
the “hassle” of wearing a seat belt,
I knowingly surrender an element
I control based on the assumption
that the cabbie will drive safely
and not be an idiot on the road. In
the back of the cab, I’m not behind
the wheel, and I’m only in the car
for a few minutes. Chances are I’ll
get to my destination safely, so I
stay unbuckled. Deliberately.
Not wearing a seat belt in the
back of a cab is like not voting in
an election, but still having a vest-
ed interest in who wins. You’re in a
situation that could either go your
way (you arrive at your destina-
tion safely) or not (you crash and
get hurt). By not voting, you volun-
tarily forfeit an element of democ-
racy in which you do have control.
As a result, any future complaint
you might have about our govern-
ment, our leaders or their policies,
becomes invalid.
All too often, I hear from my
peers that they hate all the can-
didates and that they don’t even
know if they’ll vote. This is not
OK. The freedom to vote free of
intimidation and violence is a
right many Americans have died
to protect. The least you can do as
a citizen is to perform your civic
duty and vote.
But in this election, failing to
vote has been imbued with an
unprecedented sense of urgency.
In 2016, when you don’t vote, you
play with fire. This election sea-
son, not voting means knowingly
increasing the chance of having
a deplorable, race-baiting dema-
gogue — the utterly unqualified,
misogynistic and bigoted Donald
Trump — represent our nation.
Trump uniquely alienates both
Democrats and Republicans in his
hateful,
condescending
speech
and his inconsistent, inarticulate
policy proposals that he calls a
platform. Trump exploits fears of
some of America’s most intoler-
ant voters, and his racist policies
have earned him the enthusiastic
endorsement of renowned white
supremacist David Duke, whose
approval Trump at first failed to
disavow.
Trump blatantly lies all the
time. He earned the 2015 “Lie
of the Year” award from Politi-
Fact, which ruled 78 percent of
his statements as “mostly false,”
“false” or “pants on fire.” And for
those who say all politicians lie, it
should be noted that some do so
more than others; PolitiFact ruled
just 28 percent of Hillary Clinton’s
and 31 percent of John Kasich’s
statements negatively.
Fellow millennials, not voting
means knowingly forfeiting any
attempt to stop this man, Donald
Trump, who lies and manipulates
while white supremacists cheer
loudly on the sidelines. This is
unacceptable.
We need to put up a fight, par-
ticularly after this past Super
Tuesday’s results. We can’t throw
our hands up in the air and forfeit
our chance to sway the outcome of
the presidential election, because
if we do, there’s a very real chance
that Trump could be elected. So
much of deciding the ultimate
winner depends on who actually
votes, and if we, the young people,
don’t show up, then the markedly
intolerant white, middle-aged men
who do cast ballots for Trump will
make that decision for us.
Dying in the back of a cab
because you failed to wear a seat-
belt is tragic. However, it’s unde-
niable that you could’ve done
something to reduce the likelihood
of the outcome. If Donald Trump
is elected president of the United
States, we — the young, more com-
passionate voters who failed to vote
— are partially at fault.
Trump has tapped into a danger-
ous and ugly vein of hate and intol-
erance in his support base, but I
want to believe it can be diluted if
more rational voters pay attention
and participate. So please, don’t
let your lackluster enthusiasm for
the candidates serve as an excuse
to skip voting today, even if there’s
a line out the door at the Michigan
Union. Pay attention. Check back in.
Wear a seatbelt, even in the back of
a cab. Vote.
—Anne Katz can be reached
at amkatz@umich.edu.
Seat belts and voting
ANNE
KATZ
JOHN RAY | OP-ED
“If Donald Trump
is elected president
of the United States,
we — the young, more
compassionate voters
who failed to vote —
are partially at fault.”
occupied
ter-
ritories.
But
even refusing
to
privilege
one side over the
other — which would necessarily imply end-
ing U.S. support for the illegal and immoral
occupation of the West Bank and Gaza —
would be a huge step.
Hillary Clinton has consistently sup-
ported regime change in the Middle East
that ended in disaster. As a senator, she sup-
ported regime change in Iraq. On the Sen-
ate floor, before the vote that authorized the
use of force in Iraq, Clinton echoed the same
argument as the Bush II administration:
“In the four years since the inspectors left,
intelligence reports show that Saddam Hus-
sein has worked to rebuild his chemical and
biological weapons stock, his missile deliv-
ery capability and his nuclear program. He
has also given aid, comfort and sanctuary to
terrorists, including al-Qaeda members … ”
We know now that these claims were all
empirically false; Hussein wasn’t working
to develop weapons of mass destruction,
and there was no al-Qaeda-Iraq connection.
We also know that the U.S. invasion of Iraq
had terrible results, including, among other
things, the deaths of some 500,000 Iraqis,
the rise of the Islamic State and a cost of
more than $2 trillion for the U.S. taxpayers.
Clinton also supported the NATO-led
regime change in Libya. According to the
recent New York Times expose, President
Obama was apparently highly ambivalent
about the decision to go to war in Libya:
Obama’s then-Defense Secretary Robert
M. Gates called it a “51-49” decision, and,
according to Gates, “Hillary’s support for
the broader mission in Libya put the presi-
dent on the 51 side of the line for a more
aggressive approach.”
The war in Libya not only violated inter-
national law, but also U.S. law. Obama sent
U.S. troops to Libya without congressional
approval and in violation of the War Pow-
ers Resolution, which specifies that the
president must withdraw troops from “hos-
tilities” if he doesn’t secure congressional
consent within 60 days from the start of the
conflict, which he had failed to do.
The results of the bombing campaign so
far? Libya broke out into civil war. Unse-
cured arms stashes in Libya spread west
across the African Sahel and east to Syria.
And, according to Columbia University
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, “The Libyan disaster
has spawned war in Mali, fed weapons to
Boko Haram in Nigeria, and fueled ISIS in
Syria and Iraq.”
There’s no doubt that Saddam Hussein,
Muammar Gaddafi and Bashar al-Assad were
and are brutal dictators. But U.S. military
intervention clearly had horrible results in
these cases and others (Central America and
Southeast Asia come to mind). U.S. support for
Israel has also had horrible results, especially
if you care about the lives of Palestinians.
Even if the United States did have a
responsibility to help other countries mili-
tarily, we have demonstrated such incompe-
tence that we must focus on another, more
basic responsibility to do no harm. Fur-
thermore, our failure to help the vulnerable
people who our leaders claim that they want
to help points to the real goal of our foreign
policy, which has had very little to do with
the rights of other peoples, and everything
to do with U.S. corporate interests and
world domination.
—Zak Witus can be reached
at zakwitus@umich.edu.
FOREIGN POLICY
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