MichiganReview THE
The Journal of Campus Affairs at the University of Michigan www.michiganreview.com
VOLUME XXVI
October 2, 2007
ISSUE 3
Students Energize GOP Leadership Conference GOP Uses Conference to Help Encourage Youth to Support the Party By Adam Paul, ‘08
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ver 2,000 people turned out for the Michigan Republican Party’s biannual Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island September 21-23. While the event attracted presidential candidates and state officials, a large cohort of students also attended the event. Presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney differentiated himself from other candidates by concentrating on a return to values such as traditional marriage, rather than discussing ways to help Michigan’s poorly-performing economy. He also differentiated himself by organizing a large group of student supporters to attend the conference. Young people, including about 100 students from Michigan State University, as well as about 30 from Newt Gingrich U-M, wore bright blue ‘Romney’ presented new shirts passed out stickers and foam stratagies for the mittens bearing the name of the GOP. former Massachusetts Governor. The Romney campaign reimbursed these volunteers for hotel rooms and paid their registration fees into the conference allowing them to take part in a straw poll conducted by political publication The Hotline. Romney ended up winning the straw poll with 39 percent of the vote. While the Romney campaign paid students to come support their campaign, efforts were also made to allow students to attend the conference. The newly established GOP Youth Scholarship Fund paid for students to have the chance to attend the conference. “The idea was to get more young
Michael O’Brien/The Michigan Review
McCain Spoke Friday to potential voters assembled at a VFW Post.
McCain, in Detroit, Looks to Revive Campaign Senator Expresses Optimism in Exclusive Interview with Review By Michael O’Brien, Editor-in-Chief
Republican field for president, even coming in second place behind former Governor Mitt Romney in last weekend’s Hotline straw poll. McCain won Michigan’s primary in 2000, facing off against thenGovernor George W. Bush. “We had a great appearance at Mackinac Island,” said McCain in an interview. “I think everyone agreed that my speech was very well-received,” he added, also pointing to his second-place straw poll finish without having to spend substantial money. McCain’s campaign made stops designed to play up the Senator’s two top credentials: as a hawkish veteran, and as an opponent of government spending. First, McCain was the keynote
speaker at the sixth annual Hispanic Business Conference at the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit. The speech took broad swipes at Democrats as well as Republicans, for what McCain views as “wasteful” spending. “One of the last real vestiges of socialism in the world today is in Washington, D.C.,” McCain told the audience of close to a thousand Hispanic business leaders. The speech was aggressive on other economic issues. McCain pledged, among other things, to eliminate the maligned Alternative Minimum Tax, which, originally designed to catch 150 households escaping the income tax, now brings especially
News
Editorial
Arts & Culture
The Scoop on MGoBlog: An interview with Brian Cook
Students Travel to Lansing, Protesting Presumed Tuition Hike
Michigan’s Fiscal Responsibility, R.I.P.
Can We Be People Again?
By Christopher Stieber, ‘07
By Michael O’Brien, ‘08
By Andrea Sofian, ‘08
In the ever-expanding world of sports blogs, excellence is hard to find. Michigan sports fans, however, are fortunate to count one of the most revered sports blogs on the internet amongst their own. MGoBlog, run by Brian Cook, offers some of the most in-depth analysis of Michigan football games, parsing every Mike Hart cutback and Terrance Taylor stunt with Talmudic zeal.
Students descended on the State Capitol in Lansing last Thursday, rallying against the specter of increased mid-year tuition, and injecting themselves into the debate over how to resolve the state’s $1.8 billion budget deficit. Almost 150 students from U-M boarded buses to Lansing, joining a few hundred students from other universities to protest hikes in tuition at public universities in Michigan.
Late Sunday night, the budget deficit problem in Michigan was “solved,” if that is what one would care to call it. After much arm-twisting and promises of political patronage were made by Governor Jennifer Granholm, several Republicans caved to the will of the Democrats, and voted for increases in the state income tax and the sales tax on certain services.
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enator John McCain’s campaign for president stopped in Michigan last week, hoping to build on recent momentum and win Michigan’s high-stakes Republican primary in January. McCain, the maverick Arizona Republican, stopped in Detroit and St. Clair Shores last Friday, highlighting his national security credentials and touting his fiscal conservatism. The Michigan primary is important to the McCain campaign, which has struggled in recent months. But McCain has made a small resurgence within the
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As I headed out to my first class the other day, I immediately realized that I forgot my iPod at my apartment. I was more than slightly annoyed because I usually make a point to bring it with me. Stepping off The Ride in the middle of the day, I noticed that almost everyone walking by me was distracted by the familiar and comforting sounds emerging from their mp3 or cell phones.
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THE MICHIGAN REVIEW www.michiganreview.com
Editorial Board:
Michael O’Brien Editor-in-Chief Adam Paul Executive Editor Brian Biglin Managing Editor Rebecca Christy Senior Editor Lindsey Dodge Jonny Slemrod Associate Editors Chris Stieber Editor-at-Large Business Staff: Karen Boore Publisher Danny Harris Anna Malecke Associate Publishers Nick Cheolas Editor Emeritus Staff Writers: Steven Bengal, Jane Coaston, Marie Cour, Blake Emerson, Sam Etters, Austyn Foster, Erika Gonzalez, Mike Hamel, Josh Handell, Alyse Hudson, Christine Hwang, Erika Lee, Eun Lee, Adam Pascarella, Eddie Perry, Alex Prasad, Danielle Putnam, Shanda Shooter, Andrea Sofian, Nathan Stano, Christina Zajicek, Zack Zucker
Letters and Viewpoints: The Michigan Review accepts and encourages letters to the editor and viewpoints. Letters to the editor should be under 300 words. Viewpoints can be arranged by contacting the editorial board. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send all correspondence to mrev@umich.edu.
About Us: The Michigan Review provides a broad range of in-depth coverage of campus affairs and serves as the literary voice of conservatism and libertarianism at the University of Michigan. The Review is published bi-weekly September thru April.
Donate/Subscribe: The Michigan Review accepts no financial support from the University. Therefore, your support is critical and greatly appreciated. Donations above $35 are eligible for a 1-year (12 issues) subscription. Donations can be made on our website at www.michiganreview.com, or mailed to:
911 N. University, Suite One Ann Arbor, MI 48109 The Michigan Review is the independent, student-run journal of conservative and libertarian opinion at the University of Michigan. We neither solicit nor accept monetary donations from the University. Contributions to The Michigan Review are tax-deductible under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. The Michigan Review is not affiliated with any political party or any university political group. Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board. Ergo, they are unequivocally correct and just. Signed articles, letters, and cartoons represent the opinions of the author, and not necessarily those of The Review. The Serpent’s Tooth shall represent the opinion of individual, anonymous contributors to The Review, and should not necessarily be taken as representative of The Review’s editorial stance. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the advertisers or the University of Michigan. Copyright © 2007, The Michigan Review, Inc. All rights reserved. The Michigan Review is a member of the Collegiate Network.
“That’s what she said.”
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■ Serpent’s Tooth Last week, MSA members unanimously voted to send a letter to newly admitted students informing them that the assembly’s commitment to diversity remains unchanged in the wake of Prop 2. This motion narrowly defeated a similar measure to instruct students to join the Board Game Club and masturbate in the UGLi. In the hope of finding a replacement to recently deceased local celebrity “Shaky Jake,” Ann Arborites have announced the pilot season of “Ann Arbor Hobo Idol.” Early rumors tell Serpent’s that the committee has already received applications from Juan Cole, Tally Hall, and Jennifer Granholm. At a press conference discussing the budget deficit, Granholm said, “We’re going to get the money, even if it takes all night.” Asked for comment, the Fonze retorted, “Ehhh! That’s what she said!” The College of Engineering announced the suspension of classes for one week due to a sudden outbreak of “Halo-3-ophilia.” Unable to reach an agreement with the Big Ten Network, Comcast customers, in lieu of the MichiganNorthwestern game, were given the Purdue-Notre Dame game. Reports flowed in of HDTV’s overloading as they tried to put all of Charlie Weis on the screen at once. After reaching the World Series last year, the Detroit Tigers failed to reach the playoffs. Now that manager Jim Leyland has two more months of free time, market analysts project a 74% increase in sales of unfiltered Marlboros.
Gary Kasparov, former chess champion, enters the race for president of Russia. Kasparov: “Checkmate, Vladimir.” Putin: “Jailmate, Gary.” After starting 2-0, the Lions were destroyed by the Philadelphia Eagles 56-21. Fire Matt Millen. The Office and Scrubs premier on NBC, giving passiveaggressive twentysomething quirky geeks everywhere a reason to push away from their Apple laptops and get out a little more: namely, to the couch on Thursday nights. In China, a couple names their child “@,” the Chinese symbol for “future Everquest champion.” Noted mime Marcel Marceau died of a heart attack at the age of 84. No one heard it coming. The new Campus Safety Handbook, in an attempt to freshen up their “Consent is Sexy” campaign, announced the release of a Campus Safety album, with updated safe lyrics. Tracks include: “Bringin’ Consent Back,” “I’m Too Consensual For My Pants,” and the always popular “Consensual Healing.”
■ Letter from the Editor
‘The Songs That We Sing’
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here’s this song I’ve been listening to by a French—yes, French—singer named Charlotte Gainsbourg called “The Songs That We Sing.” Its salient point comes in its chorus, when Gainsbourg intones: And these songs that we sing Do they mean anything? To the people we’re singing them to— People like you As an editor, that chorus means a lot to me. It almost sums up my goal for the Review perfectly: to provide quality, useful content to our readers. This issue, I’d like to think we’ve accomplished just that. We have some outstanding content on our front page to bolster our political coverage. Adam Paul covers the Mackinac Island conference, where a number of Republican candidates for president jockeyed for activists’ votes. Also, in this issue, I have an interview with and story on Sen. John McCain, the first in what we’re hoping is a series of interviews with the Republican presidential candidates, preceding January’s primary. We also have coverage of the state’s recent budget crisis, including an update by Jonny Slemrod, and coverage of the Michigan Student Assembly’s protest in Lansing last Wednesday against the prospect of the University possibly having to raise tuition mid-year. We have editorials on the same topic, as well as an editorial on the controversy over the editorial published in the Colorado State student
newspaper containing a four-letter words. Brian Biglin draws conclusions in the wake of the Ahmadinejad controversy at Columbia in his column, and Jonny Slemrod questions the reasons behind the growth of the Democratic party among college students. In one of my favorite features, Chris Stieber interviews the infamous Brian Cook, the man behind the best Michigan sports blog, “M Go Blog.” Cook gives us some insight into the behind-the-scenes efforts going into his blog. Also, it turns out he wrote for the Review during his freshman year, which is pretty swell, too. On our arts and culture pages, Shanda Shooter reviews Color and Money, a book on affirmative action by Chronicle of Higher Education editor Peter Schmidt. On the lighter side, Andrea Sofian looks at the technological isolation of students in the iPod age. We’ve put together a good issue. But I hope the thought lingers with you as you read through this issue, and I’m still thinking about that Charlotte Gainsbourg quote: And these songs that we sing Do they mean anything? To the people we’re singing them to— People like you Sincerely,
Michael P. O’Brien Editor-in-Chief
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“McCain” From Page 1 tough taxation down into the middle incomes because it was not indexed for inflation. McCain proposed reforming unemployment and Trade Adjustment Assistance to streamline several federal agencies’ handling of such issues. Later in the afternoon, Arizona’s senior senator stopped at a VFW post in St. Clair Shores, where he spoke to an audience of close to 200, including a number of veterans. McCain stressed his support for the War in Iraq, before taking time for a question and answer session. One touching moment came when one man stood up to comment, and gave Sen. McCain the dog tag of a young soldier who had been injured in Iraq this past March, and lost his sight. McCain accepted the dog tag, and paused at a loss for words, before resuming. Afterwards, McCain made himself available to the press, including The Michigan Review. McCain refused to inveigh on the Michigan budget crisis.
“I have enough to handle trying to do the Lord’s work in the city of Satan as is,” said McCain, referring to his trademark issue of curbing pork barrel spending in Washington. “The tragedy of globalization is that we have left people behind, and haven’t given them a second chance,” said McCain about Michigan’s economy. “We’ll know in the coming months whether we are succeeding in Iraq or not,” said McCain. “It’s not a static situation. We’re either going to succeed—and show further success—or we’re going to fail.” As to troop levels, McCain referenced a conversation he had with the controversial general in charge of troops in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus. “I met with Petraeus, and I said, “Do you have enough troops?’ He looked me in the eye and said, ‘If I need more, I’ll ask for more.’” The responses, especially on matters of foreign policy, demonstrated a more focused and passionate McCain than critics had pounced on this past summer. The McCain campaign nearly imploded after it was revealed to have raised funds poorly, and spent too much of its campaign money on consultants. That, combined with McCain’s provocation of the conservative base by supporting President Bush’s immigration bill, caused a bottoming-out of McCain’s
“Mackinac” From Page 1 $50 stipend for food and other necessities for the weekend. “We are complying with all campaign finance laws. I sent out e-mails to Republican donors that I knew. We were fortunate to raise this money,” said Hall, when asked about the financing of the campaign. While several students initially told the Review that they were under the impression that the fund was connected to the McCain campaign, Hall emphatically stated that this was not true. “I think you will see we had a wide variety of students supporting all kinds of campaigns,” continued Hall. While the group tried to get students to apply for the scholarship in advance, Hall said that some on-site registration did occur. One student told the Review that they registered on-site but chose to pocket the money rather than registering for the
“I don’t know what got them fired up over there in Ann Arbor.” --Ron Paul, speaking about his support at U-M that has come without his urging conference. Senator John McCain, whose campaign did organize a paid group of student supporters, placed second place with 27 percent of the straw poll vote. While it did not provide the financial support of the Romney group, the McCain campaign attracted many young people to both a bar night and barbeque in the two days before the straw poll closed. Justin Zatkoff, a U-M student and chair of the Michigan Federation of College Republicans, told the Review that these social events are a big draw for students. Zatkoff was glad with the U-M contingent that attended, saying “the best thing that they got out of it, especially people not necessarily in the
poll numbers, especially in key primary states. In late August, according to an EPIC/MRA poll, McCain only had the support of sixteen percent of voters. At the Mackinac Island Republican Leadership Conference straw poll, however, that support had grown to a quarter of voters. The top Republican candidate in the state is widely considered to be former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who grew up in Michigan, and whose father was governor of Michigan in the 1960s. Romney has led in polls of Michigan primary voters, and gained nearly forty percent of the participants’ support in the Hotline straw poll. Still, McCain perseveres, hoping to capitalize on his renewed support here. “We’ve established a strong political and financial base,” he said, emphasizing that he had learned lessons from his failed campaign for president in 2000. MR
Many Irate with Granholm’s Performance By Nathan Stano, ‘11
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The Grand Hotel was the site of this years Michigan Republican Leadership Conference.
College Republicans, was they learned that College Republicans are not about just knocking on doors, it’s about getting to know people.” Texas Congressman Ron Paul and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani both took around 11 percent of the vote. While Paul admitted to not organizing a large number of people, an ad hoc group of supporters attended. While signs for all the candidates were all over the island, supporters had put lawn signs and banners on freeway overpasses on the way up I75. When asked about the support, Paul indicated that much of it has come without his urging. “I don’t know what got them fired up over there in Ann Arbor,” Paul told The Review, when asked about the student group supporting him at U-M. Paul said that while no one with his campaign reached out to UM students, they had created a group on their own. While Paul’s youth support was dispersed, Giuliani’s was simply sparse. Giuliani supporter and Ave Marie Law student, Alex Wiltverger, said she believes Giuliani has the best chance against Democratic hopefuls like Hillary Clinton. Wiltverger said she has seen more student support for Giuliani among graduate students, which may be because their ages gives them clearer memories of Giuliani’s time as the Mayor of New York City. “Those supporting Mitt have a lot of spirit. I have seen a lot of families for him,” said Wiltverger. MR
The Michigan Review The Best Coverage of State Politics On Campus
imes are lean in Michigan, regardless of ones political views. There are some individuals, including University students, who would place the blame squarely on Governor Jennifer Granholm’s desk. Justin Zatkoff is the Chair of the Michigan Federation of College Republicans, LSA ‘09, and has become exasperated with the governor’s performance during the current state budget fiasco, and would support her recall. He says that the governor’s support of tax hikes amounting to $1.7 billion would not only be ruinous to our state’s economy, but now threatens to shut down the state government, if a budget is not passed before October 1st. The crisis has convinced him to pay more attention to happenings at the state capitol. In the 2006 election, the governor was re-elected by a fourteen point margin over Republican challenger Dick DeVos, putting the governorship up for grabs in 2010, as Granholm has served the maximum two terms. A poll by the Michigan Republican Party, which has a margin of error of about four percent, shows that the governor’s approval rating has slipped to 45% overall, only 36% approve of her handling of the budget, and only a third of those surveyed think cuts necessary to balance the budget would “cut to the bone”. Zatkoff admits that the governor may sit better among University students because they would not feel the tax hikes as acutely as the citizenry at large. He says that the ideal next governor, for many Michiganders, should transcend party lines and get something done. He stated that the Governor’s lack of such leadership, in an inability to unite her own party in the Michigan House, only highlights this need for leadership. He believes that someone with a business mindset could make great strides for the state, not only in streamlining state government, but opening up to business leaders, something the governor has been hit-or-miss on. In Michigan, according to the State Constitution and the Michigan Election Law, all elected positions, save judgeships, can be recalled. A written petition must be approved by a county election board, and then the petitioner has ninety days to get twenty five percent of the people who voted in the last gubernatorial election in the county/jurisdiction of the official. That would mean one would need to collect 950,314 signatures, according to numbers published by the Secretary of State’s office; which is fifty thousand more signatures than was required to recall then-Governor Gray Davis of California in 2003. If this condition is met, there has to be a special election on the next regular election date. Zatkoff urges University students to watch how their local representatives vote, and if you disapprove of their votes to raise taxes, he suggests contacting the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance for information on how to start a recall movement in their district. MR
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The Review welcomes letters to the editor. Send letters to:
The Michigan Review T
he Michigan Review is the independent, student-run journal of conservative and libertarian opinion at the University of Michigan. Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Editorial Board. Ergo, they are unequivocally correct and just. Signed articles, letters, and cartoons represent the opinions of the author, and not necessarily those of the Review.
MSA Voyage to Lansing Pointless, Short-Sighted
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pparently the Michigan Student Association felt that the current uproar in Lansing was not loud enough. This past Thursday, the Michigan Student Assembly (MSA) sent a protest horde, 150 strong, to the state capitol to protest budget cuts which mightpossibly-in-some-way-indirectly-affect-tuition-costs. The much-maligned “cuts,” which are in fact merely the continuation of the prior year’s budget, are not sure to affect our tuition rates. The state appropriations to the University have decreased despite a rise in the Michigan total educational budget. Clearly, given that the state is in a severe economic state of health, and given the University’s $4.5 billion endowment, state legislators feel that the University is strong enough to stand alone in these tough times. Furthermore, if the protesters were interested in making their voices heard to real decision-makers, they’d focus their efforts on the Regents of the University, the men and women who actually raise the tuition price. All of these aforementioned facts are important to the discussion, yet few, if any, of the protesters were aware of these points. Instead of fact-based discussion, those who went to Lansing bandied about hyperbolic and emotionally-potent stories of life and death. The issue of rising tuition costs is important to students of Michigan, but when the representative voice sounds as shrill as the melodramatic anti-sweatshop, anti-Israel, or anti-Bush crowds, those affected by the tuition problem are most hurt, both in efficacy and credibility. This is unfortunate, because the issue of higher tuition costs is a concern for all students, irrespective of political leanings. There are a multitude of voices here at the University, and discovering some consensus between the groups would only add greater strength to our questions. Yet even if the student body united in their disdain for higher tuition, the fact remains that students are still going to pay their tuition and at the end of the day the continued inflow of tuition dollars is what the regents which will hold the regents attention. Speaking of the Regents, while taking students up to Lansing, it’s the Board of Regents who gets final say over increases in tuition. The Regents tend to make their decisions practically, even after being buffeted by protestors at a meeting last spring; the Regents have taken little action on the issues of environmental sustainability or social justice those protesters so passionately wanted to see improved. So it seems unlikely that, even had MSA pursued the proper channels, that their actions would have proved efficacious. To the Regents, and more so the state legislature, university students are just another interest group. In the middle of a state budget crisis, legislatures will--and should if they hope to balance the budget-remain indifferent to any group’s cries for more money. Simply because college tuition is rightfully important to college students, does not raise the issue to one of state concern. The MSA-orchestrated protest, far from being constructive, is just another example of a special interest— in this case, students and higher education—heading to Lansing, hat in hand, demanding that they not be the ones left out in the cold after inevitable cuts are made. The “us, too” mentality is characteristic of modern democracy, where everyone wants something, but expects to have to give nothing. MR
Editorial Freedom Important, Even at Colorado State
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fter heckling Senator John Kerry at a speech at the University of Florida, student Andrew Meyer was attacked with a taser. After publishing an “editorial” that references the incident, the editorial board of the Rocky Mountain Collegian, the student paper at Colorado State University (CSU), while not getting literarily electrocuted, was shocked to find that it lost ad revenue and now faces a vote of no confidence from its publication board. The Collegian’s editorial, entitled “Tazer This,” reads only “F--- Bush. This is the view of the Collegian editorial board.” Yet instead of muting the expletive, the paper dropped the notorious “F-bomb” in print. The decision brought the college paper into the national spotlight. The paper is currently receiving a lot of heat for being uncivil and vulgar. Advertisers are pulling away from the paper en masse, taking around $30,000 away from the publication in revenue. Beyond financial pressure, CSU’s College Republicans managed to collect a 300 strong student petition calling for the firing of Editor-in-Chief David McSwane. Now the school’s Board of Student Communications is seriously considering the recommendation. While the editorial can be seen as offensive and poorly conceived, it is not a move that warrants the decapitation of the paper’s editorial board. College newspapers remain interesting and effective only when they maintain editorial freedom. As soon as university officials begin responding to controversy by removing those who start it, college press will become, at its best, sterile and, at its worst, a mouthpiece for their universities. If college newspapers are going to produce provocative content, they are sure to generate backlash. Take, for example, the cartoons published last year by the University of Virginia student paper that depicted Christ crucified in a Cartesian plane and the Virgin Mary discussing a rash from her immaculate conception. Those cartoons, which were poorly executed and inarticulate in their message, did manage to get people talking. That’s an important part of what editorial pages are meant for: fostering and provoking discussion, even if it offends. Like the Virginia cartoons, the Collegian editorial is nonsense. In a critical and artistic analysis one is hard-pressed to find it any more cogent than the call for “Bong Hits 4 Jesus.” Despite defenses by the board that they intended to frame the tazing in Florida as a result of what the board sees as an increasing police state under the Bush administration, the two-line editorial is just a sloppy statement. It’s a move conceived more to create controversy for its own sake than provoke any legitimate debate or conversation. This sort of verbal exhibitionism demeans every college paper that strives to bring an element of seriousness and thoughtfulness to the campus. While the f-word is a word that’s use permeates everything from casual conversations to professors’ lectures on college campuses, the Collegian’s board had to think that this pointless attempt at an editorial would elicit some strong backlash. While we have no sympathy for the pressure being exerted by advertisers and other students, the pressure coming from the publication board is excessive and overbearing. It is far better to allow college papers to write stupid statements, then learn from the consequences, than suppress their ability to make such statements in the first place. MR
mrev@umich.edu The Review reserves the right to edit letters to the editor for length and clarity.
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Michigan’s Fiscal Responsibility, R.I.P.
ate Sunday night, the budget deficit problem in Michigan was “solved,” if that is what one would care to call it. After much arm-twisting and promises of political patronage were made by Governor Jennifer Granholm, several Republicans caved to the will of the Democrats, and voted for increases in the state income tax and the sales tax on certain services. This whole mess has been nothing short of contemptible. Fearful to have to make government accountable, or to have to run it responsibly, the legislature has chosen tax hikes instead of cuts in wasteful spending. The Democrats could not have chosen a worse time, either. The state of Michigan’s economy is stagnant—to put it politely—and its unemployment rate is staggeringly high. To top it off, no end to our economic woes are on the horizon. It is no creeping secret that a recession in Michigan is in place; this much has been abundantly clear to legislators for at least half a decade. And it is less of a secret that regulations and taxes hostile to businesses that invigorate the economy brought us to the point we are at today. The choice before the men and women—boys and girls, really—in Lansing should have been clear: to continue down the road to self-destruction, or to reform government for the twenty-first century, making it leaner and efficient. On the one hand are ever-higher taxes and regulations, bleeding businesses and consumers of needed disposable income and regulations. The tax, tragically, has only financed massive expansions in entitlement programs within the state, and to fund earmarks and projects for special interests in the state. Say what one will about the necessity of government spending: our spending in the state is neither lean nor efficient. On the other hand, there was an opportunity to modernize and make competitive the State of Michigan. Legislators must not be oblivious to the need to make the state a business-friendly environment. How else are we to grow beyond this prolonged recession— a malaise, really—without more common sense tax and spending programs? That includes a massive reform of the many spending programs in the state. The attitude among many beneficiaries of state funding in the run-up to this resolution has been nothing short of appalling. Instead of looking in mirrors and realizing the need for their own diets, they have vainly suggested that their budgets not only be held steady, but increase! The arrogance of the many parties involved in this whole fiasco has been disheartening. See, for instance, even our own U-M students, who traveled to Lansing last week to protest hikes in higher education. Clearly, we are more important than everyone else. An opportunity for innovation and good governance has come and passed. This was a chance to revolutionize state government. The excuse was there, but special interests, once again, trumped good lawmaking. For this, we hope state legislators are held accountable for their fateful decisions by their constituents. As for the Governor, we are confident she will be hearing from some angry taxpayers for the duration of her now-imperiled second term. But in the end, perhaps the most depressing realization has been that old-school, bloated government, Great Society liberalism still has a bastion here in Michigan. For a state with so many fine colleges and universities, perhaps we have learned nothing after all. MR
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■ Big Talk
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Portrait of a Madman: Ahmadinejad at Columbia
n the days and hours leading up to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s appearance in New York City last week, many in New York and around the country railed against the very idea of him visiting the US and being allowed to speak. Those against his visit were heavily Jewish, and were justifiably irked—more pained—at the thought of hearing the Brian bogus claims Biglin about the Holocaust and vicious polemic against Israel that Ahmadinejad continually brings forth. Indeed, he did nothing out of the ordinary while in New York, and was obstinate and unresponsive in the face of tough questioning at Columbia University. But as the events unfolded, it became clear that the President’s
■ Free to Choose
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speech would benefit America and the wider world, because his irrationality and hatred would be manifested so plainly to Americans and others. As a result of his lies, anti-Americanism, and anti-Semitism having been spewed on the grandest of stages, more people are now rightfully irked and pained, having had this portrait of a madman drawn in front of their own eyes, by the man himself. Members of the Jewish community—and Manhattan is America’s center of it—endured a pain last week, a pain which Columbia President Lee Bollinger articulated, so that more people could grasp the dangers that are flowing out of the Islamic fundamentalist sphere, at the center of which rests Ahmadinejad. Knowing full well that Holocaust survivors could be watching on television, perhaps just a few blocks away, Bollinger offered an apology before Ahmadinejad had even opened his mouth. “To those among us who experience hurt and pain as a result of this day, I say on behalf of all of us that we are sorry and wish to do what we can to alleviate it,” he said. He proceeded
to give Ahmadinejad the most inauspicious of introductions—the likes of which are rarely heard in a neutralized academic setting. While admitting that he was a mere academic, Bollinger said that he felt “all the weight of the modern civilized world yearning to express the revulsion at what you [Ahmadinejad] stand for.” Did anyone else wish Bollinger was still the University of Michigan president after his courageous introduction at this event? If ever there were a time to lash out in an introduction, this was it. Bollinger told the truth, a truth that was further revealed when the Iranian spoke. It is possible that Bollinger may have added fuel to the fire, as the president spoke with particular acrimony that day, no doubt having been affected by Bollinger’s “unfriendly treatment.” And so the portrait of the madman was painted on that stage. The Holocaust, apparently, has not been researched, calling its veracity into question. And, apparently, it should be studied in the manner of physics or chemistry. When asked why his nation is sponsoring terrorism and if they plan
to stop, he responded by asking nonsensical questions (i.e. If someone exploded a bomb in your Senate, are they a terrorist?) and telling us that sometimes Iran is attacked by terrorists. He did not answer any difficult questions. He posed more questions than he answered. That’s the rhetorical strategy of a madman. Let’s not forget how he said that “[In Iraq] there are covert and overt efforts to heighten insecurity, magnify and aggravate differences…and instigate civil strife,” at the United Nations last fall. It’s funny how he did not want to take any responsibility on behalf of Iran for those efforts. That just shows that Ahmedinejad has a pattern of employing ignorance as rhetoric. I’ve thrown the word “madman” around a lot here. Perhaps he does not have any form of psychosis. This permits us to identify the real affliction that brings on such ignorance and irrationality: Islamic fundamentalism, and a hatred which lies beyond the realm of any religiosity. MR
College Democrats: Read This Column
ith election season getting closer and closer, political activism on campus is becoming increasingly visible. It comes as no surprise that the shade of this political activism in Ann Arbor has a hint of blue. While Republican student groups seem to be non-existent in terms of the 2008 election, Democrats have garnered quite a following. For example, Students for Obama boasts upwards of three hundred members on campus. Increasingly, young people are calling themselves Democrats over Republicans. According to a recent Rock the Vote poll, 61 of 18-29 year olds said that they were likely to vote for a Democrat in 2008, compared to only 34% Jonny for Republicans. In contrast, Slemrod Ronald Reagan netted 59% of the 18-29 vote in 1984. I wonder whether the growing trend of our generation identifying as Democrats is truly due to Democratic policy alternative, or whether it is simply a reactionary anti-Bush movement, which has been solidified as a result of seven dismal years under the Bush Administration. I’m inclined to say that the answer is a little of
both. Although I resent their solutions, there’s no question that on the issues that matter most to college students; the War in Iraq, healthcare, and education, Democrats have the cohesiveness that our generation desires. But while these are certainly the most prevalent issues of today, there’s a whole other side to the picture that College Democrats (and Democrats in general) just don’t grasp. There’s a good reason why you don’t see Dems in the Diag handing out fliers about what Democrats running for office think about issues such as taxes or trade. On these issues, Democrats have a dismal record. I’ll assume that the reason why our generation is turning blue is because they think that Democratic alternative is better than the Republican alternative. But if the last eleven months of the Democratic majority is any indication of what a Democratic presidency will be like, I’m skeptical of that notion. Plainly said, the positive aspects of the Democratic policies have been heavily outweighed by the negatives. Democrats pushed a watered-down ethics bill which will do nothing to stop wasteful earmark spending. They helped pass a new farm bill which continues the tradition of giving tens of billions of dollars in agricultural subsidies to the richest farmers in the country. They’ve showed their willingness to hike taxes, stall free trade agreements, and pander to labor unions in unparalleled ways.
And they only have one thing to show for it: the lowest Congressional approval rating ever. That said, it’s unfortunate that our generation became politically active precisely during the time of the collapse of the Republican Party. The party of Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater that once stood for low taxes and low spending has racked up an enormous federal debt, spent taxpayer money at levels only seen by Lyndon B. Johnson during his “Great Society,” and bloated the government further through an expansion of entitlements, executive power, and wasteful spending. A casual observer wouldn’t know it, but the Party of George W. Bush is actually the same party as Ronald Reagan, who let it be known that government isn’t the solution to our problems, but it is the problem itself. Young people have the right to be confused after the presidency of George Bush. After all, our textbooks told us our lives that Democrats stand for more government and Republicans stand for less. Now both parties stand for more. I can’t fault College Democrats for being Democrats at all. Bush has been a terrible president by many regards, and hasn’t done much to improve our country. And while it seems natural that young voters should want a change when they get in the ballot box next November, I advise caution when turning to the left - it might not be much better. MR
Keep Your Shirt On! By Lindsey Dodge, ‘10
T
he Big House can hold over 110,000 people, making it the largest football stadium in the country. Unfortunately, only about 80% of these people can manage to keep their shirts on during the game. This is a growing development in football culture, leading to the demise of the collegiate look at Staff sporting events. No more Opinion are navy cable-knit sweaters and striped scarves the norm. Rather, you’re far more likely to be in front of a shirtless 275 pound junior with an electric-blue stringy wig on his head, screaming “You Suck, Appalachian!” On the bright side, when overcrowding gets too intense, this
same behemoth will cushion your fall much the same as a rubber ball. I know from experience. With the increase in the price of education, which is being discussed at this very moment in the Michigan State Legislature, it makes sense that students have become less formal and expensive in their choice of vestments. However, that is no excuse for unattractive people to neglect wearing a shirt. In fact, it seems to be a proportional relationship: The less interest you take in your personal hygiene, the more likely you are to not wear a shirt in the Big House. Words do not exist to encapsulate the terrifying moment when a large, pasty, hairy, sweaty, painted maizeand-blue belly comes streaming towards your face in an exuberant victory
dance over our last pitiful touchdown, particularly if it is thrice the weight of your entire body. Generally chaos ensues. To avoid this horrifying situation in the future, I posit a few standards for those who wish to remove their shirt before entering the Big House. These motions would be enforced by security guards, who would have a scale and tape measurement at the ready. First off, said person should be really, really, ridiculously good-looking. The measurement of good-looking-ness would be measured by complicated machinery, as well as general crowd consensus, a mirror, and Janice Dickenson. Secondly, no backne. When I am so interested in the development of the
emerging pimple on your back that I lose focus of the actual football game, then the shirt needs to be either found or stolen from an obliging neighbor immediately. Thirdly, beware of the painted words on the back, chest, or shaved heads. Not only does the writing not always last throughout the entire game, but misspellings have occurred. You will not be as excited to be caught on the big screen shaking your can if what everyone reads is “Meeshagin Wulvareens.” So the next time a football fan considers the possibility of taking off their clothes to appear in public, consider the old adage: You don’t always have to go the whole nine yards. MR
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news.
10.02.07
the michigan review
Ahmadinejad and Academics Square Off at Columbia By Alex Prasad, ‘11
T
uesday, September 25th, was no ordinary day on the campus of Columbia University. As nearly every major television network in the world descended onto campus, it was impossible not to note that something important was about to happen. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the fiercest critic of the United States this side of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, was about to be given the floor at Columbia’s prestigious School of International and Public Affairs, with the permission of former University of Michigan President Lee Bollinger. Bollinger ignored intense pressure to cancel the event- earlier in the week the New York City Police Department denied Ahmadinejad’s request to lay a wreath at Ground Zero, citing “security concerns.” At the heart of the event was controversy. Columbia agreed to let a man known to be a Holocaust-denier, a man who has pledged to “wipe Israel off the map”, and a man who supports the terrorist group Hezbollah to speak at its forum. The event formed distinct battle lines that cut across normal political stereotypes. “The campus was divided between advocating free speech, and being upset at the University for inviting him,” said Kamal Yechoor, a freshman at Columbia. Yechoor said that the debate did not center on whether or not you were sympathetic with Ahmadinejad- nobody was. In fact, President Lee Bollinger, stirring perhaps even more controversy, introduced Ahmadinejad by saying he was “a petty and cruel dictator”. The debate was about the academic value of this display. The Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs supported Bollinger’s actions by claiming that the university would have brought in Adolf Hitler to speak in 1939, if it were able. On the other end of the spectrum, hundreds of protestors outside the auditorium claimed that allowing Ahmadinejad to speak was against academic integrity, because he holds so many factually incorrect beliefs, such as his disbelief of the Holocaust. Indeed, a tremendous falsehood stole the show at the Q&A session (it could have been called a Q&Q session according to those who claim Ahmadinejad dodged many of the key questions). In response to a question regarding Iran’s policy of executing homosexuals, the Iranian President replied, “In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country…In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I don’t know who’s told you that we have it.” The reaction from those in the audience was one of disbelief. “The reaction at first was that everyone laughed because it was so outrageous, so unexpected, but eventually boos took over because it was so politically incorrect. It really opened our eyes, because it gave us insight into the fact that some other countries don’t tolerate homosexuals,” said Yechoor. No matter where students, media and the world felt about the incident, one thing was clear: all who partook in the 30 minute Q&A believed they had been witnesses to history. “It was a really incredible experience; the opportunity to be with somebody so important in world affairs was something really special,” said Yechoor, summing up the campus’ sentiments. MR
Midnight Vote For Tax Hike Averts Long-Term Government Shutdown By Jonny Slemrod, ‘10
W
ith just over an hour left until a state government shutdown, the Michigan House of Representatives approved an increase in the income tax 10:45 pm on Sunday night. The bill, which raises the income tax from 3.9 percent to 4.35 percent, passed with a vote of 5752. Only two Republicans, Ed Gaffney from Grosse Pointe, and Chris Ward from Brighton, voted for the tax increase. Three Democrats voted against the tax increase. The House also approved a bill to impose a six percent sales tax on twenty three services, ranging from janitorial services to skiing. The bills then went to the Senate early Monday morning where the income tax vote tied 19-19, with the deciding vote cast by Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Cherry in favor of the increase. The legislature has been in a frenzy to resolve the $1.8 billion deficit that the state has accumulated since the Single Business
Tax (SBT) expired earlier in the year. The fiscal year began on Monday, October 1st, and a government shutdown would have resulted if the legislature couldn’t have agreed on a budget. A government shutdown would have meant that all non-essential state services would have been suspended indefinitely. The State of Michigan employs 53,000 people, two-thirds of which were told not to report to work on Monday if the budget situation was not resolved. Government shutdowns are not unprecedented; both New Jersey and Pennsylvania recently shutdown their governments in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Lobbyists on both sides of the debate poured resources into the battle. Entities such as the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and The Michigan Taxpayers’ Alliance lobbied against any sort of tax increase, worrying about the pitfalls of increasing taxes on a state that already faces a 7.4% unemployment rate – the highest in the
nation. Leon Drolet, leader of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance, has vowed to recall lawmakers who voted in favor of a tax increase. Labor and teacher unions lobbied hard for the increases. The Detroit Free Press reported that Governor Granholm was seen on the House floor late Sunday night personally lobbying Republican lawmakers to vote for the income tax bill, H.B. 5194. The plan worked, and the bill narrowly passed. The House also passed a thirty-day continuation budget which allows the government to continue running while budget talks continue. Granholm had vowed to veto any budget that didn’t include a tax increase, sharpening the partisanship which has deeply divided Lansing in the last few months. Her reaction to the budget was positive: “We prevented massive cuts to public education, health care and public safety while also making extensive government reforms and passing new revenue. With
the state back on solid financial footing, we can turn our focus to the critical task of jump-starting our economy and creating new jobs.” Most Republicans were not thrilled about the Republicans Voting in Favor of the Tax Hikes: ● Rep.
Ed Gaffney-District 01
(Grosse Pointe/NE Detroit) ● Rep. Chris Ward-District 66 (Brighton) ● Sen. Valde Garcia-Howell ● Sen. Ron Jelinek-Three Rivers ● Sen. Wayne Kuipers-Holland
outcome. “We stood on principle to cut and reform and have the state live within its means, like working families have to live within their means,” said Craig DeRoche, House Minority Leader. Instead, the state will create more means for itself, and further debate over the tax hikes will be sure to linger. MR
Master’s Degrees offering More Economic Benefits for Students and Universities than Ever By Erika Lee, ‘11
I
N Order TO gain upper ground in an increasingly competitive and cutthroat jobs market, more and more students are entering Master’s degree programs across the country, and universities are taking monetary advantage of the trend. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of students earning master’s degrees has nearly doubled since 1980. Here at the University of Michigan, graduate and professional enrollment has increased by 11 percent between 1996 and 2006. The bar has been raised for the expected level of education in the job market. Even five years ago, a news release from University News Service stated: “Students tend to find a college education more appealing—and more essential when job prospects are less abundant.” Now that so many students feel the need to go beyond the Bachelor’s degree, a master’s is not just an extra perk, but oftentimes a staple on resumes, especially in many professional fields. Capitalizing on such popularity, or simply responding to the market
demand, are universities. The University of Pheonix, a commercial institution popular for its online degree programs, awarded 24,788 master’s degrees last year according to the New York Times. The California State University system is expanding its master’s degree program. In an interview with the New York Times, Gary W. Reichard, the executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer for the California system, said, “Because M.B.A.s can offer tremendous salary boosts down the road, we can charge higher tuitions to students.” Master’s degree programs indeed are a hefty burden on a student’s budget. master’s degree program in University’s School of Engineering costs $17,328 per year for residents and $32,284 for non-residents; $24,755 for residents and $39,117 for non-residents in 12-month Medical School program, and $98,100 for the Ross School of Business program. Despite the high costs, the competitive ede provided by the degree and the future earning potential can make it a worthy investment. Rey A. Phillips Santos, an attorney for the City of Chicago, believes the degrees that adorn his resume--
Master’s in environmental management, business, and law--helped him “get a leg up in the job market, and earn higher salaries than I would have otherwise.” However, one with degree-plastered resume may not be the ideal or the best job candidate in the eyes of an employer. “Additional degrees are not always the answer to increased job opportunities” said Lynne Sebille-White, a career counselor who works with recruiting employers at the U-M Career Center. “It can be more difficult to find a job if one is over-educated and under-experienced in an employer’s eyes.” Precisely because of the high cost of earning master’s and the probable decade-long payment of loans, it is imperative that one first understands the extent to which an advanced education will make one more qualified and competitive for jobs in their field before matriculation, Sebille-White said. MR
10.02.07
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Upon Further Review: Brian Cook, MGoBlogger Extraordinaire By Chris Stieber, ‘07
I
n the ever-expanding world of sports blogs, excellence is hard to find. Michigan sports fans, however, are fortunate to count one of the most revered sports blogs on the internet amongst their own. MGoBlog, run by Brian Cook, offers some of the most in-depth analysis of Michigan football games, parsing every Mike Hart cutback and Terrance Taylor stunt with Talmudic zeal. A 2003 graduate of U-M, Cook has a degree in computer science engineering. He is a full-time blogger, both on his own blog and at the AOL Fanhouse. He also holds the distinction as being one of the founders of the popular Every Three Weekly. What’s a brief synopsis of your blog? How would you like to see it viewed, as if on Wikipedia? Um, as the premier Michigan sports blog out there. That seems about right. Blogs have changed a lot about how the news process works, where information comes from, where opinion comes from. Michigan has a notoriously tightlipped sports program. Do you see any
about my blog, is that I don’t know what I would do with access, really. I’d go to the same press conferences that everybody else is going to, I’d write down the same notes and I might write the same article, but the media’s already doing that, right? It’s already covered. You’ve done a great job of handling the “Jim Harbaugh” myth of Michigan “using and losing” these athletes they bring in. You’ve called “b.s.” on the idea that these athletes will not come out as well qualified as other alum. Well, the idea that Harbaugh puts forth is that the main benefit for these players who are on the team is in the classroom, and I don’t think that’s true. I think that being part of the team and accessing that alumni network, even if you don’t make the NFL, is the most valuable part of your experience. A bunch of players come back every year to games for a reunion, and I haven’t gone to a reunion. I haven’t gone back for my engineering reunion. I think that they have different experiences than a lot of people, and a necessary side-effect to that the classroom side is de-emphasized a little bit.
than 3 minutes left. As was made clear in the first two games this year, Michigan struggles at time against “newer” offensive schemes. Do you think that the “Bo Schembechler Effect”, for lack of a better term, still influences our playing style? Absolutely. Our head coach was brought in by Bo, our offensive coordinator was a long-time associate of the head coach, our defensive staff though, no one has been there longer than 4 years, not counting Vance Bedford, the defensive backs coach. Obviously, though, the philosophy has been handed down, and one of the things I repeat fairly frequently on the blog is that Lloyd Carr coaches like he’s got a killer run game and a great defense, no matter what the facts on the ground say. When we do have that, it turns into 1997 or 2006, and when we don’t, it turns into 2005. So, maybe punting against Penn State was a defensible idea, because we had handled their offense pretty well, Anthony Morelli isn’t a very good quarterback, and we had some blitzes that got to him on the first couple downs there, so that worked
Ryan Mallett’s interview after the game, he talked about the touchdown and the flip, and he said that Jake Long came up to him and said “We don’t do that here.” I don’t think that would change, that it’s something the players pass down. But the culture of the program won’t change. The strategy of the program would with Les Miles, but not the culture. Can the culture and the strategy be inextricably tied together, though? The impression is that Michigan is the dowdy old man of college football. I can see that, but we’ve always had people like David Terrell and Braylon Edwards around. I don’t think either of those guys were choir-boys, but compared to the overall tenor of the program, those guys seem to be outliers. I don’t think changing the style of our offense means changing the entity of the program. Through my tedious research I found that you are ranked the 195,138th most visited site in Serbia & Montenegro. That’s, uh, that’s fantastic. Actually, there’s a guy who emailed me from Kazakhstan, or something like that, saying “Hey, great blog. I would like you to know that you’re the #1 Michigan blog on the Central Asian Steppe,” and that was actually the headline on the blog for a while. What’s been the weirdest blog-related email you’ve ever received? Any totally bizarre ones?
affects on the program by these developments? Well, I don’t think its changed the relationship of the athletic department to the media, but what it has done, not just blogs but the internet itself has given rise to this sort of class of quasi-insiders, who know the right guys with a steady flow of information through unofficial channels. Just one of the interesting things about the way news flows. I’ve posted a lot of things where all I’ve done is read them on the internet and commented on them, based on the number of rumors, the multiple sources. I’m not doing anything approximating reporting, but I’ve still managed to break a few stories. Morgan Trent’s hand was broken last year, and broke that, as well as Jason Forcier’s transfer, I broke that as well. I didn’t do any actual reporting, but this internet “spidey-sense” that I’ve developed from many years of doing this permits me a 95% threshold of surety. It’s just an interesting change about the way that news gets disseminated. Do you see, in the future, certain access being given to certain bloggers? Let’s say the sports department realizes that you and other “Michigan-friendly” bloggers (Michigan Zone, The Blog That Yost Built, RBUAS, etc.) see you’re interested in the welfare of the program. Do you see them giving you special benefits? I don’t know. I’m sure that is possible, and actually there is one blogger, a Detroit kid who is still in high school, who runs a blog called Michigan Sports Center, who got a press pass and blogged from the pressbox for a big-time game last year. But the interesting thing
I’m not saying that they don’t need to go to class, but that our test for those guys should be “Are they happy with their lives?” A degree helps in that matter, but a degree is not the be-all and end-all. Have you run across any major misconceptions of the Michigan football program amongst non-U-M fans? I did a lot of radio interviews for this book I put out, a Michigan preview book, and everybody who was not local to the state would ask, “Is Lloyd Carr on the hot seat?” That question doesn’t even make sense from the perspective of somebody that’s familiar with the program. It’s basically still the “Bo Era”, and it’s been going on for 40 years, and it’ll probably end after this year. But the idea that Lloyd Carr would ever get fired, nobody here thinks that. I don’t think that even after the first couple of games, when everyone was talking about Lloyd being on the “hot seat”, but it’s not true. He’s going to go out when he wants to go out. He might get something approximating a “shove”, but if he puts his foot down, he’ll stay. The only way he’s going to go is if he choose to. I think that’s a confusing thing for a lot of athletic programs that put a higher premium on winning than tradition. People will presume that, since Michigan is a big-time program, that it is run just like every other popular school. Yeah. The whole thing is that the mentality of this program hasn’t changed since 1969. In some ways, that’s great, and in other ways, it’s not. I think it lends Michigan a unique character, but it also means that we lose a lot of games because we punt the ball away with less
out. The problem is not necessarily with that call, but the copious evidence that we have from earlier is that they [U-M coaches] will make that call whether it makes sense or not. You alluded to this probably being Lloyd Carr’s last year here, finishing out with this senior class. A name being suggested for a replacement is Les Miles of LSU, for the obvious reasons: he’s an alum, a good coach with a buyout in his contract specific to Michigan, and has made it clear he likes the program. On Saturday, Lloyd chastised Ryan Mallett for his little flip of the ball after scoring the touchdown. Is Les Miles enough “new blood” to just let that flip go, saying “Ehh, this is just what kids do today.”? The Les Miles angle is very interesting, because there a couple of people out on message boards who are very connected, they are obviously talking to the coaches about these things, and apparently Les Miles is persona non grata around Lloyd Carr and company, because he started sniffing around for the job a few years ago, which was not taken well. These are the sorts of things you hear, but after careful consideration, I think the people offering these things up about Les Miles are not terribly reliable. But, at the same time, look at when Les Miles left Oklahoma State and there were nine guys who got kicked off the team, and everybody was talking about how they now had to go to class, combined with the fact that LSU is not renowned for being the strictest program. But, I think things would loosen up, but I also think the historical inertia of Michigan would carry some weight. In
Well, we just had the one from a guy saying “Maybe we should look at Brady Hoke [head coach of Ball State, with a lifetime record of 15-31] for the next head coach.” That was like, seriously?! (laughter) Usually, the stuff I get is even-keeled. I haven’t gotten anything completely outlandish. After the Notre Dame game last year, someone sent me a picture of a “Sandwich of Victory”, which was a reference to a Tennessee player’s comment about going down to Florida and “goin’ in their kitchen, and we’re gonna make a sandwich, and put some cheese on it.” But I didn’t realize this at the time, so when I got this email it was just the inexplicable “Sandwich of Victory.” So I put it on the blog. How much do you find yourself writing on behalf of your interests, and how much on behalf of the audience? After the Appalachian State debacle, you posted the kitten photos and had “emo week.” Was there any part of that directed toward the sanity of your audience, or more for yourself? You know, I think it was a mixture of both, but the primary thing was that I wasn’t going to write anything at that point that wasn’t just venting my spleen. That doesn’t get us anywhere, but I had to do something. It couldn’t actually be anything that was just text, because it would just be outrage, and a week later I’d be terribly embarrassed by it. This happens to me frequently, where I will read some article by Stewart Mandel or some other writer, and I’ll become incensed and just fisk it, just tear the guy down. A week later I’ll come back to it, and it’ll be a little bit funny, but it will also be a little bit embarrassing. So I tried to keep the rage out of the blog, and the only way to do that was to put up some kittens. MR
10.02.07
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news.
the michigan review
News Analysis
More Than Just a Game? How Football Success Affects the University By Maria Blood, ‘10
T
he first two games of this year’s football season definitely made it difficult to boast “It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine,” and the effects of the team’s slow start may have some larger effects in the near future, especially in terms of application quantity. Although it is true that the Big House continues to sell out, even when the football team underperforms, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions suffers when the football team has a sub-par season. Last year, the Wolverines had an excellent season, winning every game until they met the Team from Down South. This may have bolstered interest in terms of applications received. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions reported a record number of applications for the 2007-08 academic year. Applications rose 6.4 percent, totaling more than 27,400, which is the largest number of applicants in the University’s history. The surplus applications provided admissions officials more students to choose from, which has yielded the university “one of the most highly qualified and intellectually dynamic [classes] ever admitted,” as Director of Undergraduate Admissions Theodore Spencer told The University Record in June.
The 2004 Michigan football season had similar effects. With the exception of losses to Notre Dame, Ohio State, and a Rose Bowl loss to Texas, the Wolverines had a strong season spent in the national spotlight, winning the balance of their other games. Again, admissions reported an increase in applications from the previous year, which was more difficult for the team. The 2004 admissions cycle reported 23,842 applicants by the end of fall, which was a 12 percent increase from the previous year. Once again, director of Undergraduate Admissions Theodore Spencer praised the incoming freshman class, whose credentials he said were stronger than those of the previous class. While it is difficult to attribute the record number of applicants to the football team’s stellar season alone, there is no doubt that a great football season means more students consider U-M as a serious possibility. It is no secret that many people, faced with schools of similar stature, will choose Michigan because of its unique aspect of winning football, and continually high expectations for the team. It is interesting to note that the team’s success does not seem to have much of an effect in areas of the University such as donations. Senior Director of Executive Communications Judy Malcolm said that,
since 1990, alumni contributions to the university have continued to rise regardless of the football team’s ups and downs. “A less than stellar season does not affect the amount of contributions that we see,” said Malcolm, adding that while smaller monetary gifts from alumni do tend to be influenced by the football season, overall alumni donations increase each year because of the dedicated donors committed to the university. Malcolm also attributed the steady increase of donations to the various campaigns initiated by the University, most recently the Michigan Difference campaign. Malcolm said that these campaigns build excitement and get alumni involved in the giving process. While it is still early to get figures on applicants for the 2008-09 school year, it will be interesting to see whether the number of applications falls from last year’s record number. In general however, the wellbeing of the university seems to be largely unaffected by the team’s performance. Whatever happens to the beloved football team, donations continue to flow in, many more students apply to the university than can be accepted, The Big House continues to sell out, and life at the University of Michigan goes on. MR
End-of-Life Ethics Dissected by Scientist-Priest Visiting St. Thomas Church By Brian Biglin, ‘08
O
ne of Catholicism’s bioethics experts spent last weekend at St. Thomas the Apostle Church on North State Street, lecturing on beginning- and end-of-life issues. Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, who holds a Ph.D in neuroscience from Yale University, looked to make complex teachings about complex events clearer for Catholics and others who derive guidance from Catholic sensibilities.
Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk
A large crowd including many students heard Pacholczyk dissect Catholic teachings on end-of-life issues in his first talk on Saturday evening. Speaking in a swift, conversational manner, and frequently interrupting the heavy content with humor, Pacholczyk explained the way judgments should be made in light
of sometimes open-ended Church doctrine, and gave practical advice for how people should handle a loved one’s dying process. The speech was centered on a few important declarations. First, from the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, which states: “We are not the owners of our lives and, hence, do not have absolute power over life,” but goes on to say that the duty to preserve one’s life is not absolute, as life-prolonging procedures that are insufficiently beneficial or excessively burdensome can be rejected. That same directive, which is central in the work of the National Catholic Bioethics Center—of which Pacholczyk is the Director of Education—goes on to say that, “A person has a moral obligation to use ordinary or proportionate means of preserving his or her own life.” The purpose of Pacholczyk’s talk was to discern when procedures are beneficial or excessively burdensome, in addition to clarifying just what is ordinary or proportionate. Pacholczyk used case studies, especially the Terri Shiavo fiasco. Generally speaking, there is some autonomy over end-of-life decisions, Pacholczyk said, but the Church cannot permit extreme autonomy, where people might donate non-paired organs before they are brain dead, commit suicide, ask for euthanasia, or simply refuse ordinary and proportional treatment. This follows from the Catholic idea that individuals are merely stewards of a creation of God; depression or other emotions that lead to wishing for death, when life can be easily preserved, fly in the face of beliefs about the sanctity of life. It is only when treatment is burdensome, creates further pain, or cannot alleviate
other problems faced by a patient, that the patient or their surrogate can refuse treatment, Pacholczyk said. For instance, resuscitations of victims of severe heart attacks, especially those who are very old or have other pathologies, are often fruitless, allowing an individual mere hours of additional life, sometimes only because they are on a ventilator. In these cases, for example, Catholic teaching respects so-called “do not resuscitate orders.” Pacholczyk said that proportionality is an important term to define. For instance, is a costly treatment that could financially burden a family a correct response proportional to the fact that a patient may have a long history of recurring illness, or the fact that they already very old and afflicted by other pathological conditions? Proportionality relative to the needs of a patient is determined by risk, cost, potential pain that may be inflicted, circumstances dictated by place (i.e. an ordinary procedure in America may be impossible to have carried out in a third world country), and the previous physical state of the patient such as the presence of terminal illnesses, Pacholczyk said. Pacholczyk defined different types of vegetative states, and how they are different from a coma, brain death, or a terminal illness. He said that “thinking got sloppy” during the Shiavo case regarding these terms. He also discussed living wills, and recommended, since one cannot predict all the events which may occur late in life, to formally appoint a proxy who understands their spirituality, even if this is just their spouse, to make their health care decision if they are ever incapacitated.
Finally, regarding feeding tubes, Pacholczyk relayed the Church’s message that food and water, unlike medicine and procedures, are basic care. Unless an individual has a condition where they cannot digest food or water, or where administering it creates pain, basic care is morally obligatory. Such an example would be kidney or stomach failures. Removing feeding tubes from someone with a sound body amounts to starvation, and is not permitted, since that would be refusing basic care, Pacholczyk said. If a person is not near death or otherwise dying, then removing the feeding tube would be the cause of death, and such a grievous refusal of care is not permitted. This was articulated by Pope John Paul II in 2004, and again recently from Rome. Pacholczyk concluded by calling to mind the “graces and gifts” that can be had if the “journey” of the dying process is handled correctly among doctors, family members, friends, clergy, and the patient. Families can be brought closer and divisions can be reconciled. On the other hand, if corners are cut, and a person dies when options are available, or without proper dignity afforded to them, regret and division will plague those who were close to the deceased. “If we love one another, we have a right to be a burden to one another,” said Pacholczyk, urging people to see suffering and perceived burdens as necessary in the process of implementing proportional treatment and dealing with the dying process of loved ones step by step. Pacholczyk’s speech was warmly received by the audience. MR
10.02.07
P. 9
arts & culture. the michigan review
Campus Corner
Can We Be People Again?
By Andrea Sofian, ‘08
A
s I headed out to my first class the other day, I immediately realized that I had forgotten my iPod at my apartment. I was more than slightly annoyed because usually make a point to bring it with me. Stepping off The Ride in the middle of the day, I noticed that almost everyone walking by me was distracted by the familiar and comforting sounds emerging from their mp3 or cell phones. Feeling lost without the technologies that I seem to have with me, I quickly realized that I had not experienced the deafening sounds of traffic and city noise for quite some time. I decided that I would be friendly and smile at the next person who walked past me. I did this a couple of times, and I only received strange looks and blank stares. I realized that Michigan is becoming a campus that has become dependent on technologies to avoid human interaction. College is supposed to be the place where we tried to improve our interpersonal skills, not where we ignore them. It’s understandable that we are busy. We are involved in classes and extracurricular activities, but what we do while going to and from these activities could be affecting our social skills outside of the school day. We all would like to make new friends and win the hearts of potential significant others, but if we can’t say a simple “hello” to someone during the day, it is doubtful that we will be able to do the same at the bar. Unless, of course, you want all your interactions out of class to be limited to loud slurs uttered to people who won’t be able to remember what you said. I admit that I am far from innocent in this respect. I have been carrying around my iPod and cell phone with me to and from classes since my freshman year. Now I’m a senior and have forgotten these precious pieces of technology, I have decided that I should come out of my little world and put my cellphone and iPod away for awhile. I’m going to put these things in my bag, and then it will be up to me to make myself approachable. This is an opportunity for you to do the same. Take a break from head banging on the way to class, and call your BFF Susie when you get home. It may seem scary and foreign at first, but we can get through this together. Walk to class, go to your meetings, and make a point to smile at the first person that passes by. Who knows, you may just get a smile back. MR
Bareilles’ ‘Little Voice’ Fills The Room In A Big Way By Sam Etters, ‘11
W
hen I walked up the stairs to see Sara Bareilles’ Border’s performance, I had no idea what I was in for. Sara Bareilles is a relatively new face in the collection of female singer/songwriters, meaning there’s a lot of room for comparison. Never trained professionally in voice or piano, she’s already been compared to Fiona Apple and Norah Jones, but Saturday afternoon, she proved she can stand out. She was here at the Liberty Street Borders performing three of her songs off her debut major-label album, Little Voice, released July 3rd. Earlier this year she was on separate tours with Aqualung, Mika, and Rocco de Luca and The Burden. Now she’s opening for Maroon5 on their fall U.S. tour, which began on Saturday. Her performance at Borders was also broadcasted on the Ann Arbor 107.1 radio station. Lots of people were crammed in the tiny upstairs area set aside for the performance; most of us were left standing on the sides. There were people of every age, from young preteen girls to middle-aged married men. Excitement and anticipation were buzzing in the air; people were talking to each other eagerly, wondering aloud which song she’d open with. Finally, the radio DJ introduced her, and Sara Bareilles walked up in front of the keyboard. Wearing a simple pink
dress paired with Converse sneakers, she looked like she could’ve walked right out of the crowd. She greeted the audience and answered a few questions from the DJ quietly, but as soon as she started singing, her voice filled the room entirely. Bareilles started the set with her first single off the album, “Love Song.” The song was featured as a free single of the week on iTunes in June, helping the album shoot to the top of the charts as soon as it was released. “Love Song” is a jazzy and upbeat tune, immediately making people tap their feet and nod their heads. The audience, including myself, was transfixed, all eyes and ears in her direction. The second song she played, Many the Miles, is a relaxed, soulful tune. Bareilles’s incredible vocal abilities shone through with sultry energy throughout. At one point in the song, there was a vocal break that had the audience excitedly clapping along. The last song, aptly named Gravity, pulled the audience in and created an intimate, emotionally charged atmosphere. After introducing the song, Bareilles added, “You can thank my ex-boyfriend for it.” It’s very apparent how connected she is with every word she writes in her songs, making the audience fall in love with her more. It’s a slow, soft piano ballad filled with passion that could be felt throughout the room. At the climatic point in the song, she crescendos to a high, showstopping note that put the whole audience on the edge of their seats. The release could literally be felt in the air as she came off the note perfectly. It was hard to remember that she’s selftaught. At the end of the song, boisterous cheers and applause from everyone shook the room. Needless to say, I was absolutely stunned. I don’t believe it would be a stretch to say I wasn’t the only one. Copies of her album flew off the shelves, and people raced to get in line to meet her. I usually don’t go out and buy CDs of singers I’m not too familiar with, and being a college student I don’t necessarily have the funds either, but I walked out the door with two copies and a new song in my head. MR
‘Grey’s’ Versus ‘Private Practice’: Who Will Win the Final Battle Between Meredith and Addison? By Sam Etters, ‘11
T
he hype for the beginning of Grey’s Anatomy’s fourth season was certainly immense, with many promises of drama both new and old. This is mainly due to all the changes in the cast this season. The shows followers welcome Chyler Leigh’s new character Lexie Grey, a new intern at Seattle Grace and Meredith Grey’s recently discovered halfsister. This is sure to stir up more than enough extra trouble between Meredith and Derek Shepard (Dr. McDreamy). Dr. Burke (Isaiah Washington) has departed the show, leaving Christina Yang dealing with his departure on their wedding day. Another cast member missing this season on Grey’s will be Kate Walsh’s Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery. But fans needn’t worry yet—Addison hasn’t left completely; she’s taking on a new position in a new setting, far from the overwhelming drama and craziness at Seattle Grace. She’s off pursuing Private Practice, the new spin-off that has people buzzing, but not all in harmony. Honestly, our favorite salmon-colored scrubs-wearing surgeon had nothing more to contribute to the plot of Grey’s. Addison’s entrance to the show was sudden and intrusive upon fans’ beloved relationship between Meredith and Derek, so fans immediately disliked her. After a while we began to sympathize with Addison and her failed marriage with Derek Shepard and torn relationship with Mark “McSteamy” Sloan. But now all her relationships
(McDreamy, McSteamy, and even her one-time fling with intern Alex Karev) have all ended one way or another, leaving her no obvious reason to stay. So she does what any middle-aged woman in the midst of a mid-life crisis would do: leaves for California. Many have already seen the pilot episode for the new show centered on Addison, Private Practice, when it was spliced into a two-hour Grey’s Anatomy episode in May. The pilot was received with hostility from many Grey’s fans, who were annoyed with the “mashing” of the two shows, especially since the quirky and unfamiliar plot interrupted a particularly powerful Grey’s episode. Many people thought the pilot would’ve done better if it had been shown on its own. However, there are still fans curious about the new series. So far it looks promising. It’s written by executive producer Shonda Rhimes, who also writes and produces Grey’s Anatomy, so fans can be sure to expect quality scripting. Private Practice has a lighter attitude, and is set in a much more relaxed backdrop than Grey’s. Here we see Addison at a small coop clinic in Los Angeles, a stark contrast to the bustling Seattle Grace Hospital. Of course there’s also a whole new cast of characters, each with different stories and personalities that at least differ from those of Grey’s. Most of the characters are older and more experienced, they have all known each other, and they are not surgeons, which makes for the lighter atmosphere (no whiny interns). We will also get a taste of alternative
medicine, practiced at the center by Dr. Pete Wilder, Addison’s possible new love interest. The new series also appears to be rather star-studded, mainly with actors from shows recently canceled. Kate Walsh’s new co-workers include Taye Diggs, Amy Brenneman, Tim Daly, and Marrin Dungy. But is the reasoning behind this blast of star power just to reelin more viewers? Grey’s Anatomy became a huge success without the help of a well-known cast. Many are wondering if Dr. Montgomery’s pursuit of a new adventure on her own will attract Grey’s fans. “I’m not going to watch it,” said freshman Arielle Kantor, “I’m just a Grey’s Anatomy fan. I don’t like that [Addison] is leaving because I really liked her on Grey’s, but I don’t want to see her on her own show.” Other people will tune in out of curiosity, but not many think it will be as successful as Grey’s. “Grey’s Anatomy is established. [Private Practice] is not. It will make or break itself,” said freshman Helen Zaharopoulus. As for the new season of Grey’s Anatomy, we expect it to bring nothing less than overwhelming excitement and drama for our favorite young doctors, who are now starting their first year as surgical residents. But some fans worry how the dynamics of the show will be altered with the absence of Addison. “It will make a big difference on Grey’s, because Burke is leaving too,” said freshman Beth Gonbert, “but it leaves open space for new characters and drama.” MR
10.02.07
P. 10
books.
the michigan review
Universities Must Bolster Search for Meaning, Says Former Yale Dean By Marie Cour, ‘08
I
n the introduction to Education’s End, Yale University law professor Anthony T. Kronman describes his youthful attempts to find the meaning of life. He left Williams College, moved to Chicago, and worked with Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to organize the poor of the city. Despite the great risk that he took by dropping out of school and moving across the country, he still felt lost. It was only after he returned to college and began reading existentialists that he thought that he had found some sense of direction for his life. These studies gave him an opportunity to consider how he ought to live, what to care about, and the meaning of life. In many respects, one particular class is the inspiration for this book. Still, Kronman could only explain the larger significance of human existence and the purpose of life after he had chosen to take a break from his life. The book attempts to explain the apparent contradiction. Despite being removed from the “real world,” this academic environment helped him grapple with the major questions of human existence. That is, how should he live his life, what he should care about, and what would be the ultimate structure of his life? Kronman argues that the humanities, when studied carefully and properly, are able to offer great insights into the complexities of human existence. Nevertheless, Kronman believes that the modern university is ill-equipped, both ideologically and structurally, to deal with the problem of human existence. Teachers are too concerned with providing training for future careers to concern themselves with providing guidance to their students on these important questions. His criticism of the university is even deeper than that, however, because it seems to suggest that affirmative action, multiculturalism, and constructivism place blinders on professors, and that those undermine any serious attempt to adopt new curricula. In fact, Kronman is not clearly opposed to either affirmative action or multiculturalism in principle, instead offering a lukewarm defense of both. Rather he is concerned that all three of these ideologies make people “representatives” of certain groups in society, reducing them to mere artifacts. Students are not asked to deal with material as something that can be either accepted or rejected, instead looking at it as something deserving of context and explanation. Kronman takes an interesting approach when explaining the current problems. He bases his argument in an understanding of the intellectual forces that have shaped the education system. This understanding is established by carefully describing its development. After the Civil War, universities did not have separate disciplines, and students were expected to read widely in all fields. Contemporary research universities, however, encourage scholars to cultivate an extensive knowledge about a small topic. In the humanities, this research frequently argues that race and gender are a decisive feature to personal and social identity. In fields such as economics or natural sciences, these assumptions are relatively worthless. In some respects, Kronman is arguing for an inclusive education. Ultimately, however, Kronman wants an education that can suggest answers for one’s personal and professional lives. As the title suggests, Kronman wants professors to address the meaning of life in their classrooms. He understands that big questions are usually obscured by the humdrum tasks of daily lives, but simultaneously wants students to develop a foundation for the rest of their lives. MR
Color and Money: So Ridiculous, You May Just Have To Read It For Yourself By Shanda Shooter, ‘10
T
he book Color and Money: How Rich White Kids Are Winning the War Over College Affirmative Action by Peter Schmidt is one of the most interesting and frustrating reads I’ve encountered. If you read it, plan on wanting to shout, “Are you kidding me?” at least a few times. The author, Peter Schmidt, is a deputy editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education and has written for the Associated Press, the Detroit Free Press, as well as the Ann Arbor News. The book mostly covers, affirmative action, as the title suggests. Color and Money is filled with so many statistics that it inevitably becomes a good guide to affirmative action debate, especially since the statistics are from both sides of the debate. This causes the book to seemingly have no direction or any one point, often making the case against affirmative action and, likely, against Schmidt’s intentions. Schmidt addresses the issue of class differences by looking at other aspects of a child’s development beyond just educational advantages. At one point he goes so far as to suggest children from lower-class families are seemingly doomed from birth to be less intelligent than their richer counterparts. He makes the generalization that since wealthier mothers are less likely to be pregnant at a young age and can afford better health care their babies will weigh more at birth which increases their chances of keeping up in school. He also states that lower class parents “talk to [their children] less, read to them less, are much less likely to take them to educationally enriching environ-
ments,” causing them to be left behind. Schmidt traces these developmental inequities back to birth, claiming that low birth rates among African Americans put them behind literally from day one. He actually argues that because of that factor and others they start kindergarten behind other races and continue to fall behind, eventually testing below white children of the same class on national achievement tests. Rather than help the case for affirmative action,this argument comes across as deterministic about constraints on a child’s opportunities. He does a good job
pointing out the flaws of the legacy admissions processes at our nation’s selective schools. He argues that often less qualified wealthy applicants are accepted over others simply because they can pay their way through school with no help. Schools must do this in order to support the students that can’t pay for it all. Schmidt also argues that children of faculty and alumni have better chances of admission simply because universities want to maintain relations with their parents, who are often donors. Only a little over a quarter of the book addresses that while the rest gives a history
and overload of statistics on race and affirmative action. Overall, Color and Money proves an interesting read, the author --probably unintentionally-- makes you question his arguments and facts frequently. Another book could truly be written analyzing Color and Money, however we do not have the time and space. I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoys getting riled up and looking for new ridiculous things to talk about to their friends, since even pro-affirmative action folks will have a problem with at least one part of this book. MR
www.michiganreview.com
10.02.07
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10.02.07
P. 12
features. the michigan review
Students Travel to Lansing, Protesting Presumed Tuition Hike By Michael O’Brien, Editor-in-Chief
S
tudents descended on the State Capitol in Lansing last Thursday, rallying against the specter of increased mid-year tuition, and injecting themselves into the debate over how to resolve the state’s $1.8 billion budget deficit. Almost 150 students from U-M boarded buses to Lansing, joining a few hundred students from other universities to protest hikes in tuition at public universities in Michigan. At issue was resolution of the state’s budget deficit. The Republican-controlled Senate passed a budget calling for hundreds of millions in budget cuts, freezing higher education funding. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, backed by Gov. Jennifer Graholm, had called for an increase in the state income tax rate to bridge the deficit, which passed late Sunday night. Michigan Student Assembly Vice President Mohammed Dar, who was joined by speakers from the state legislature, as well as other colleges and universities, emceed the event. “We want the state to live up to its promise and its obligation to the students,” Dar said. “In addition, we want increased investment in higher education by our legislators. “ Sen. Liz Brater (D), who represents the district including the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, was a featured speaker. Brater greeted the students warmly, and did not hold back in her speech. “It’s really a crime when we are spending as much or more in our budget to keep people in prison as to help them get through college,”
Michael O’Brien/The Michigan Review
Students bused to Lansing by MSA last week rallied on the steps of the State Capitol, fearing tuition hikes in the wake of the state’s budget crisis.
“My friends are out working two or three jobs,” Crompton said. “They shouldn’t have to be paying an extra 700 or an extra 2,000 dollars next semester.” Crompton did admit, however, that he had not been following the news on the state budget deficit.
“It’s really a crime when we are spending as much or more in our budget to keep people in prison as to help them get through college.”
A few conservative students gathered to counter-protest the others from across the state.
-State Senator Liz Brater (D, Ann Arbor)
A small contingent of conservative students atshe told the students. Sen. Brater quickly invoked the issue of tax hikes tended the rally, with a large float of a pig (representing versus spending cuts. She railed against former Gov- pork in the state budget) in tow. Tyler Whitney is a student at Michigan State Uniernor Jim Engler, a Republican who passed a number of tax cuts, most notably in the income tax. “That cut versity, where he is a member of the College Repubalone,” Sen. Brater said, “is costing us $900 million a licans. Also a member of U-M YAF and Students for year.” The former Governor was heartily booed by the a Free Economy, Whitney was in Lansing to counterprotest. assembled students. “I am out here because a lot of the students who During the speeches, current Governor Jennifer Granholm made a brief appearance on the balcony of were bused into Lansing are unsure about why they’re the legislature overlooking the students. She waved actually here,” Whitney said. “Before we throw money to the students, at the problem, in an apparent I’d like to look at gesture of suptransparency— port for their what they’re cause. spending the U-M stumoney on, and dent Steve what they’re doCrompton was ing with it.” one of the stuWhitney dents who travwas one of the eled to Lansing few Michigan for the proState students test. He said in attendance at he thought the last week’s rally. rally had made Though sharing a “strong, draLansing with matic” state- The president of the Eastern Michigan University student government addresses the the state capitol, crowd. ment. Michigan State’s
MSA Vice President Mohammed Dar.
student government declined to join the other students yesterday. Their student government preferred to negotiate with state legislators more directly, said Zack Yost, President of the Michigan Student Assembly. Yost and other members of MSA spent the morning in meetings with state legislators to lobby them for tuition solutions. “We’re asking for a better prioritiza-
Students entered the Capitol from the corner, clapping while singing ‘The Victors.’
tion of higher education in general.” Yost said. MSA might have budgeted $5,700 for this event, but Yost said the student government would also focus on officials in Ann Arbor, particularly the Regents. Nonetheless, Yost concluded, “I want to emphasize that I appreciate the efforts the University has taken to raise money and cut spending, but the University can always do better to be more fiscally responsible.” MR