Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Monday, March 25, 2019
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EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
W
hatever
happened
to
predictability?
No,
seriously
—
what happened to
it? Because there
is no universe in
which any of us
predicted
Aunt
Becky would be
charged
with
felonies, but life
is funny that way.
After
everyone
finished cracking
jokes about the
developments
of
the past week, it looked pretty
bad for a lot of people and
schools (thankfully, not this
one. Go Blue).
There was a lot to be
surprised
and
upset
about
— that parents were buying
their students’ spots paying
someone else to take their tests,
that schools were letting their
athletic directors work without
almost any oversight and most
importantly
that
someone
would pay $500,000 to be
admitted into the University of
Southern California when they
could light the money on fire
instead.
However, there was one
silver lining and it’s something
important of which we cannot
afford to lose sight (and it’s
not because we spent our last
half million at USC). It is that
those schools are, to an extent,
overrated.
Having
an
Ivy
League degree is no guarantor
of success, but that idea is
implanted in so many minds in
high school, middle school and
even elementary school.
I have heard from past
middle school teachers of mine
that sixth grade students were
crying about a B because it
might hurt their chance to get
into Harvard. Whatever else
that is, it is also wrong beyond
words. This much stress only
exists for one reason: It is
because we have all lied to
ourselves. We are the ones
who decided that a Harvard
degree is worth what it is —
not Harvard. And the same is
true for Stanford, Yale and this
school too. Part of what makes
these degrees so valuable is that
the supply is so low.
According to Bloomberg,
in 1999, Harvard’s full-time
undergraduate enrollment was
roughly 6,816 students. Turn
the
clock
forward
to 2017 and it was a
grand total of 6,699
students. For the sake
of comparison, in 1999
there were around 6
billion people in the
world and in 2017 there
were 7.5 billion. The
population of the world
grew by more than a
billion and Harvard’s
enrollment
actually
shrunk by about a hundred.
Another way of looking at this
is that the population of the
world grew by 25 percent and
the
Harvard
undergraduate
enrollment dropped about 2
percent.
In addition to this, the
number
of
students
who
applied to college grew as well.
All of this is a polite way of
saying we value these degrees
so much because they’re so
hard to get, and they’re so
hard to get because so many
apply for them. So many apply
for them because of how much
we value them. This is a self-
perpetuating cycle and will
always be, unless, for some
reason, we as a society begin
to value these elite degrees a
whole lot less.
I believe, after many years,
we have found that reason.
There’s an idea that not all fraud
is caught. This may mean that,
in some cases, scams could go
on for years until it eventually
blows up in someone’s face
(see this college scam for one
example — for another, look at
Bernie Madoff). It also might
not blow up at all — which is to
say we have no idea what kind
of fraud is being committed
and we will not have any idea
of this until it comes out in the
paper. This is a clear example of
Donald Rumsfeld’s “unknown
unknown” — we assume there
is fraud going on but we aren’t
positive about it or about what
it looks like until it’s staring us
in the face.
However, once fraud of
some type is revealed, there
does tend to be more suspicion
of those who let it happen. One
example of this is how hated
much of Wall Street was after
the 2008 stock market crash.
That wasn’t fraud as much as it
was shady business practices,
but the point stands. After the
crash, a good number wanted
to burn the CEOs of Goldman
Sachs, Lehman Brothers and
the like at the stake. I think we
have found a reason to value
these elite degrees a lot less
because we do not know which
students had their entrance and
admission paid for and which
students actually earned theirs.
There will be more suspicion
of those degrees in years to come,
and that is good. This is because
having a Harvard degree doesn’t
mean you’re a decent person or
you’re super smart. What it does
mean, though, is you got lucky.
Whether it be lucky enough to
have parents who could buy your
way into the university (albeit
unartfully), or be it the luck of
getting your application read
by someone on the admissions
board sympathetic to you, it
had a lot to do with luck. This
is because there is really no
academic difference between all
the 4.0/36 kids who got the thin
envelope and those who got the
fat one.
There is nothing wrong
with that, but now that this
admissions scandal has forced
us to examine how people got
into these schools, maybe we’ll
value those schools less since
all it took was luck and money,
and no one can be faulted for not
having those. That devaluation
is
an
unrequited
positive
good that has come from this
mess. In other words, mission
accomplished,
ladies
and
gentlemen.
Anik Joshi can be reached at
anikj@umich.edu.
I
was sitting with my two
best friends in a dorm
room, laughing after an
afternoon of St. Patrick’s Day
celebrations, when one of us
received the first text from
a friend. “There’s an active
shooter in Mason Hall,” he said
to me. “That’s not a funny joke
to make,” I responded, hoping
he was kidding but knowing he
wasn’t from the serious look on
his face. This initial message,
followed by many more, sent
us into a frenzy of checking
all our group chats, texting
and calling everyone we knew
and telling them to stay away
from the Diag, stay indoors
and stay safe. My brother was
in the Shapiro Undergraduate
Library, and I had to beg him
in a series of texts to interrupt
his exam studying and call me,
thinking he was a minute away
from an active shooting. The
only sound among the three
of us for the next 30 minutes
was the tapping of our phone
screens and the static of an
online police scanner that we
should not have been listening
to.
Saturday’s
false
alarm
was stressful and damaging
for a variety of reasons — the
University of Michigan’s blatant
emergency response problems,
the further trauma inflicted
on the Muslim community,
the spread of misinformation
and conflicting rumors that
heightened
fear.
But
what
struck me most deeply about
this event was how, despite it
being a false alarm, students
were instinctively preparing
for the worst. The second that
an initial report went out, and
before the University or the
Division of Public Safety and
Security or any news source
addressed campus, students
sprung
into
a
variety
of
immediate, fear-driven actions.
An unconfirmed report with
no official comment gained
instant credibility and led to
prompt student response. But
living in the United States, can
you blame us?
Columbine. Virginia Tech.
Sandy Hook. Parkland. Growing
up in a country that from
2009 to 2018 had 57 times
more school shootings than
other industrialized nations,
is thinking that the University
of Michigan could join the list
of places national tragedies
have occurred irrational? The
recent, targeted shooting at
two New Zealand mosques
was the first mass shooting to
occur in the nation in over 20
years. Conversely, the United
States has had a conservative
estimate of 90 mass shootings
since 1997, according to an
open-source
database
by
Mother Jones. In a study
published earlier this month
by The BMJ, it was shown
states with weaker gun laws
had more mass shootings, and
there are more mass shootings
in areas with higher rates
of gun ownership. But even
outside of these horrific stories
that are oftentimes claimed
by
conservatives
as
being
sensationalized,
the
United
States still has the highest rate
of murder and manslaughter
by firearms in the developed
world. It’s hard to not see the
connection between access to
guns and harm.
Being exposed to this scale
of gun violence has pushed
the threat of an active shooter
situation to the forefront of
my mind more than a few
times,
and
that
weekend
made that fear all the more
prominent, while making me
more sensitive to an issue I
have been culturally trained
to tune out. This is something
I know that many of my fellow
students have felt too. This is
the time to channel that fear
and concern into productive
dialogue about gun policy and
emergency procedures.
The gun debate in the
United States is tense and
passionate. But as much as
our current political climate
has made us feel increasingly
polarized on either side, the
only way to achieve what
should be a common goal among
all Americans — decreasing
deaths — is by considering the
data, looking to international
comparisons
and
enacting
compromises that bring us
closer to safe gun regulation.
Because as of now, I see no
reason why roughly a third of
American gun owners have been
able to buy their guns without a
background check. So instead of
screaming “no guns, yes guns”
at each other from opposite
sides of the chamber, why don’t
we enact common-sense gun
laws that will keep the volume
of guns down while insuring
that the remaining firearms are
in the hands of nonthreatening
citizens?
The
events
of
last
weekend have caused a lot
of residual stress within our
campus climate, but there
is potential for it to be used
for beneficial progress, both
politically
and
within
the
University community. In the
foreseeable future, continue
to
demand
the
University
has a line of communication
about its emergency response
measures, and actually give
your input on how they can
be improved upon. Use these
spaces
to
encourage
the
University to enact clearer
and
more
comprehensive
active shooter protocols to
keep us safe in the instance
of an actual emergency. And
in a continuous push, contact
your
local
and
national
representatives.
Press
gun
control as a platform plank.
Keep it at the forefront of the
conversation and don’t wait
for another tragedy to occur.
Work so the next generation
doesn’t have to be so afraid.
The upside of the college admissions scam
Erin White can be reached at
ekwhite@umich.edu.
ANIK JOSHI | COLUMN
We’re afraid, and can you blame us?
ERIN WHITE | OP-ED
MARIA ULAYYET | COLUMN
The power of community following the false alert
T
he
texts
that
bombarded
my
phone
last
Saturday
afternoon will remain etched
in my mind for the rest of
my life. “Run. Hide. Active
shoot (sic) on the Diag. RUN.”
While I couldn’t comprehend
what was happening in that
moment, I knew this day
would quickly become a day I
would never forget.
For the next four hours,
with each “ping,” my phone
continued
to
make
my
heart
drop
even
further.
As I sat in the safety of my
apartment, I was nowhere
near comfortable, knowing my
best friends and community
members feared they may be
living the last moments of
their lives.
I sat in my living room
frozen
and
expressionless,
holding
back
tears
every
time one of my friends didn’t
answer his or her phone.
My heart raced each time
I heard rumors the alleged
gunman was getting closer to
my apartment or where my
friends were. I feared for my
safety and dreaded losing the
people dearest to my heart. I
worried about getting to class
safely and walking home late
from the library. I stopped
at the idea that our safety as
students is not a guarantee
and tomorrow is not promised.
Last
Friday,
two
New
Zealand mosques faced an
act of terrorism executed by
a white supremacist who took
the lives of at least 50 people
and wounded at least another
50. The terrorist responsible
for these acts of violence
live-streamed his attacks on
Facebook for the world to see.
While Facebook had the video
down within minutes, it has
circulated to various online
platforms and generated over
one million views. In addition
to his live-stream, the shooter
also
released
a
manifesto
highlighting
his
white
supremacist views, in which
he praised President Donald
Trump and voiced his support
for Trump’s views.
The
Muslim
community
around the world has been
put under extreme pressure
to openly express its identity
during a trying time of bigotry.
With
popular
figures
like
Trump continuing to fuel the
energy and passion of white
supremacists, xenophobia has
continued to rise along with
the daily fear of being openly
Muslim in today’s society.
Many
communities
have
come
together
to
express
their support by acts of unity.
The University of Michigan’s
Islamophobia Working Group
and
the
Muslim
Student
Association planned and came
together for a vigil Saturday to
express their solidarity for the
community and pay respect
to the lives lost to senseless
violence. The vigil was quickly
broken up by police shouting
for the attendees to run. With
no
explanation
or
further
instructions,
attendees
of
the vigil ran for their lives,
getting trampled and dropping
belongings along the way.
Just
as
the
Muslim
community in New Zealand
was attacked the safe space
of their place of worship, the
threat the Muslim community
at the University felt was
also in the safe space of their
campus community.
While the reports of an
active shooter threat were false
alarms, the trauma that existed
within the Muslim and Arab
communities and their allies
was certainly not a false alarm.
The lack of response I saw from
faculty
and
administration
regarding the active shooter
threat
downplays
the
emotional trauma that a group
of
predominantly
minority
students felt that day. The lack
of concern from these bodies
made the University a place
where students felt alienated
rather than one where they
could find solace.
Before the University had
even officially issued an “all-
clear” to the active shooter
threats, students had already
began circulating and sending
memes and jokes about the
incident
and
completely
undermining the real fear felt
by many of their peers, some
who were still barricaded in
classrooms, hiding to save
their lives.
The lives of my people are
worth more than a meme. The
emotional toll my community
has faced deserves more than
a “just get over it, nothing
really happened.” The reality
is the emotional trauma that
minority
groups
face
will
simply continue to be ignored.
Had this threat affected a
predominantly white group of
students, the University would
not have reacted the same way.
Muslim
students
and
their
allies were expected to carry on
as normal in the days following,
whether it was going to work
the next morning or taking an
organic chemistry exam less
than 48 hours later. Official
statements
from
University
administration were scarce and
the sentiment on campus was
business as usual.
While the greater campus
community may not have come
through for us that weekend,
I realized the strength and
beauty in our smaller Muslim
and Arab communities here on
campus. Whether it was letting
people hide for safety in each
other’s apartments or simply
offering to talk to affected
students,
my
communities
came together in a time of
need
and
highlighted
the
importance of celebrating our
unity in diversity.
Maria Ulayyet can be reached at
mulayyet@umich.edu.
T
o our fellow students
at
the
University
of
Michigan,
the
University of Michigan Chapter
of alpha Kappa Delta Phi would
like to sincerely apologize for
the events that took place last
Saturday as a result of our
actions. Last week, a group of
our members had planned a
bonding event that involved
team-building
activities,
including one that involved
popping balloons that set off
the false shooter alert. We are
truly sorry to everyone who
feared for their lives and had
to experience the traumatic
events of that day, especially
to our fellow Muslim students
and
all
those
who
were
present at the New Zealand
Mosques Solidarity Vigil. It is
unacceptable to merely pass off
our actions as a poorly timed
coincidence. To do so would
be to ignore the politically-
charged atmosphere that day
and the many serious events on
campus that preceded the false
alarm. Failure to acknowledge
these
circumstances
would
only further enable us to benefit
from the privilege that comes
with a lack of understanding
about the real dangers and
fears that many of our fellow
peers, students of color and
Muslim students live with on a
day to day basis.
We also want to acknowledge
our
silence
and
delay
in
responding to the events of last
week. As part of a large and
diverse community of color,
we understand that everyone
perceives
and
processes
traumatic events in different
ways and at different speeds.
We have used this past week to
not only process our feelings of
guilt and disbelief, but to also
reflect on our mistakes and take
responsibility for our actions
by reaching out to members of
our immediate communities.
We take this event as a stark
realization that we need to
further
educate
ourselves
about
Islamophobia,
white
supremacy and what it means
to use our position as A/PIA
students to participate in more
meaningful coalition building
on campus. Moving forward,
we are committed to standing
together in solidarity with our
fellow Muslim students and
marginalized communities on
campus by holding necessary
conversations and taking the
right steps towards being more
cognizant of our actions. While
our words cannot undo the
trauma that was experienced
that day, we will use Saturday’s
events as a way to further
educate ourselves more about
social justice and to empower
and uplift our fellow Muslim
community and communities
of color.
Respectfully,
The University of Michigan
Chapter of alpha Kappa Delta
Phi
An apology from aKDPhi
ALPHA KAPPA DELTA PHI | OP-ED
The University of Michigan Chapter
of alpha Kappa Delta Phi can be
reached at akdphiexecs@umich.edu.
Once fraud of some
type is revealed,
there does tend to
be more suspicion
of those who let it
happen
ANIK
JOSHI
The emotional
trauma that
minority groups
will face will
continue to be
ignored
Zack Blumberg
Emma Chang
Joel Danilewitz
Emily Huhman
Tara Jayaram
Jeremy Kaplan
Magdalena Mihaylova
Ellery Rosenzweig
Jason Rowland
Anu Roy-Chaudhury
Alex Satola
Timothy Spurlin
Nicholas Tomaino
Erin White
Ashley Zhang