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Thursday, July 20, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
OPINION
NISA KHAN
EDITOR IN CHIEF
SARAH KHAN
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
DAYTON HARE
MANAGING EDITOR
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
Talley is special for her looks
BRENNAN POPE | COLUMN
STEPHANIE
MULLINGS
Unpopular opinion
I
pride myself on “keeping it
real” or “telling it like it is.” As
expected, it can occasionally
get
me
into
trouble.
Or
sometimes, my
realism
and
formulations
may be altered
in an attempt to morph my
thoughts into what people want to
hear … or maybe what they consider
easier to handle. That being said, I
am making the executive decision
to keep it real regarding the topic I
am about to discuss in an attempt
to offer a fresh perspective and
dialogue. Just a little food for
thought. Hopefully I do not find
myself in any trouble.
Last
month,
University
of
Michigan
President
Schlissel
unveiled a new initiative titled the
Go Blue Guarantee. Starting in
January 2018, any current or future
in-state student whose family earns
$65,000 or less will be eligible for
free tuition for four years. For the
record, let me state, I think this
is absolutely fantastic. There are
some students who will benefit
from this, giving them access to a
stellar education which may have
been a distant fantasy because of
the ever-so-daunting tuition bill.
However, if you noticed I used the
word “some” to describe whom the
Go Blue Guarantee will affect. This
was entirely deliberate, because
that’s just it. It will affect some but
nowhere near close to a majority
of students who need financial
support at the University.
As
an
out-of-state
student,
recognizing none of this will affect
me anyway, I was easily enamored
by the words “free tuition” and the
praise from the administration
and alumni in the press and across
social media. However, I realized
that this initiative is kind of like
fresh new wallpaper. Once you
begin to peel back some of its
allure, you find the same wall that
you tried to cover up, which … in
all honesty, isn’t that promising.
Otherwise, you wouldn’t have tried
to cover it up in the first place.
As I started considering these
thoughts, I became increasingly
aware of the criticism I may
receive regarding my opinion. It
may come across as controversial
or pessimistic to say the least.
Hence my selection of the title
for this piece. However, as I
began conducting my research, I
was surprised to find that I was
not the only person who shared
this viewpoint. A few days after
the
Go
Blue
Guarantee
was
introduced, I noticed a post from
a Students4Justice activist on
Facebook.
“Although half of the families
in Michigan would qualify for this
new financial aid initiative, how
many of these students will actually
have the chance to be accepted
and to attend the University of
Michigan?” it read. “This is not an
initiative to bring more of these
students to our campus. Let me
know when UM’s initiatives will
start to combat the disappearing
Black
population
and
other
underrepresented communities of
color.”
The reactions to her commentary
were pretty split, as some illustrated
their support through likes, while
others debated in the comments.
It was Jamie’s post that triggered
my own investigation. My findings
shine light on a different outlook of
the Go Blue Guarantee, and more
importantly answers the question,
what is this initiative actually
doing?
At the beginning of this year,
The New York Times published a
set of data which reflected statistics
regarding
the
socioeconomic
status of students attending the
University. Come to find out,
the median family income at the
University is $154,000, and 66
percent of the student body are
identified as part of the top 20
percent income status. This is the
highest median family income of the
other 27 public colleges nationwide
classified as “highly selective” that
were polled. According to the 2015
U.S. Census, the median family
income in the state of Michigan is
$48,876 so it is indeed correct that
half of the families in the state
Michigan would qualify for the Go
Blue Guarantee, yet, clearly these
students don’t seem to attend the
University. Why is that?
In the years since 2008, the
proportion of low-income recent
high school graduates who enroll in
college has seen a significant drop.
In 2008, 55.9 percent of low-income
students enrolled in college; by
2013, that the rate drastically
decreased to 45.5 percent.
— Stephanie Mullins can be
reached at srmulli@umich.edu.
T
he
way
children
interact
with
each
other
is
beyond
fascinating to observe. The
jokes they find funny, the way
they tell secrets or even how
they fight, there is endless
ammunition
for
a
comical
blend
of
sociology
and
entertainment.
I
am
fortunate
enough
to have a front row seat to
this show due to my 8-year-
old twin brother and sister.
Watching
them
converse
with each other and hearing
stories they share about their
friends prove very insightful
to understanding the world of
an elementary school student.
How their family, friends and
society
have
shaped
their
principles, priorities, tastes
and behavior.
Recently,
I
observed
something that particularly
struck
me
as
enlightening
to
the
principles
society
imparts on everyone, even
those as young as 8. My
sister, Talley, showed me a
book her class made at the
end of her last school year.
It was a heartwarming book
where each page was written
by a different student who
explained why they thought
Talley
was
special.
Each
student had a similar book
dedicated to them. I read
some like, “Talley is special
because she stands up for
me,” that left me with a strong
sense of pride for my sister.
All kept with this sweet
theme until suddenly I was
confronted with a page that
left me conflicted. It read,
“Talley is special because she
is beautiful.”
Initially,
I
thought
to
myself, “How sweet of this
boy!” However, this feeling
quickly transitioned to me
questioning
the
sentiment,
“My sister is special because
she is beautiful?” Out of all
the qualities, what makes her
special is her appearance?
I thought about what this
imparts to Talley. Will she
think she should only care
about her appearance? If her
peers don’t care about her
intelligence,
personality
or
interests, will she? Will she
think that her beauty is what
makes her special?
I
thought
of
what
this
shows us about the young boy
who wrote the comment. Is it
already ingrained in his mind
that the most important aspect
of a woman is her appearance?
Does he care about Talley’s
other qualities?
I asked myself, can I be mad
at this boy? And I resolved
that I couldn’t; at the end of
the day, he issued my sister
a compliment. But I could
take this instance to evaluate
the social conditioning that
fuels invisible sexism in our
society.
I took this as a very poignant
example
of
benevolent
misogyny, or misogyny that
takes the form of a compliment
or as subjectively positive.
While this kid had no intent
to be prejudiced in any regard,
or even for that matter no
ability to understand sexism,
his words have unexpected
consequences. I’m sure he
has learned this from the
many
adults
whose
first
words to girls are about their
outfits or their appearance.
So,
it’s
impossible
not
to
expect the little boy to also
comment a girl’s beauty, and
it’s impossible not to expect
the girl not to care about her
beauty.
However,
this
situation
leaves
me
unresolved.
To
expect men to never comment
on a young girl’s appearance
seems both unattainable and
undesirable. Everyone enjoys
being complimented on their
looks or clothes from time to
time. However, young girls
need to be taught that they
are much more than what
they look like. And that starts
with telling girls that. I don’t
see anyone telling my brother
he’s
special
because
he’s
handsome.
— Brennan Pope can be
reached at popeb@umich.edu.
Read more of this column at
MichiganDaily.com
Will she think
that her beauty
is what makes
her special?
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Summer Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.