Issue 01, Volume 77 (Opinion)

Monday, August 22, 2011

THE DA D ILY L COU LY OUG OU UGA GAR

oPinion

EDITOR Daniel Renfrow E-MAIL opinion@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/opinion

COVER PHOTO HERE 10.25” X 14.75”

OPINION

2 n Monday, August 22, 2011

The Daily Cougar

Editor’s note

T

Powerful Choice.

he photo on the cover of this issue is from the 1968 edition of the Houstonian Yearbook.

It shows a UH student named Scott Alexander participating in a silent protest against the Vietnam war.

In this issue you will have the pleasure of reading an article by opinion writer Daniel David Haydon on Renfrow the apathy of current US college students, and how they should be organizing protests here in the states instead of simply tweeting about protests occurring overseas — an argument former UH student Scott Alexander would likely agree with.

The great thing about writing for The Daily Cougar is that we have been around since 1934, and have covered controversial issues since our inception. We covered controversial topics in 1968 when Scott Alexander was on campus participating in silent protests, and we continue to cover controversial topics today.

If you decide to write for The

Houston’s MBA. www.mba.uh.edu

Powerful energy to change your future.

Powerful ideas driving real-world strategies.

Powerful connection to global business leaders.

Powerful degree of excellence.

Daily Cougar you will have an integral role in the continuation of this history of excellence.

As the editor of the opinion section, I am always looking for new writers who are highly opinionated, passionate about journalism and passionate about the direction of UH. My current writers are all of these things, but there is always room for more.

Students from all backgrounds and opinions are welcome in this section. UH is a diverse campus, and I want the views expressed in the opinion section to reflect this diversity.

Individuals who are not able to commit to the one article a week required of opinion writers can send in guest commentaries or letters to the editor.

If you are interested in writing for the opinion section, feel free to stop by The Daily Cougar office in Room 7 of the UC Satellite to talk to me personally. You can also find an application for writing for The Daily Cougar online at http://www. uh.edu/sp/jobs/. opinion@thedailycougar.com

Staff Opinion Editor Daniel Renfrow

Full-time day MBA Part-time evening MBA Leadership Executive MBA ■ Global Energy Executive MBA ■

The University of Houston is an EEO/AA institution.

C. T. Bauer College of Business is an AACSB accredited business school.

Chief Copy Editor Natasha Faircloth

Contributing Writers Kirsti Pollard Rachel Farhi Marc Anderson Marcus Smith Steven Christopher Emily Brooks David Haydon

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Karesha Brown

Opinion Desk Contact Information Email: opinion@thedailycougar.com

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OPINION

The Daily Cougar

Media and politicians unfairly demonize GLBT individuals

Q

uite recently, I’ve realized that I’m kind of at the center of a battle. Articles are written about me, people are asked how they feel about me, and some even say I might actually have the power to destroy the traditional family. All this happens because I identify with three little letters.

G-A-Y. I’m flattered. No, actually, I’m appalled.

With the recent Kirsti repeal of Don’t Pollard Ask Don’t Tell, and the passage of gay marriage in New York, gay is being talked about. With Gov. Rick Perry stepping into the presidential race, gay is becoming an election issue.

The claims by opponents of gay marriage, that it will destroy traditional marriage and life as we know it, are perplexing. Perhaps they forgot the fact that the nuclear family represents a mere 20-23 percent of families today, and traditional marriage may already be not so traditional anymore. GLBT people are not responsible for that in any way.

True, most GLBT people have never married to create families of their own, but that is obviously because most of them cannot do so legally.

See the catch-22 there? Anyway, I don’t see what the firestorm is all about. I come from a nuclear family — mom and dad and 2.3 kids. I grew up with sound morals and values, in a loving Christian home, but I still ended up gay.

Many GLBT people can tell the same story, and the fact that they are gay doesn’t automatically obliterate the fact that they’re pretty decent human beings. Most are still the same people they were growing up, with the same values, the same morals, and many have children of their own, who they are passing those values to. Just like their straight counterparts, they like to create loving homes, find stable jobs, spend time hanging with friends, do movies and popcorn with their kids, play sports or garden. Most are lucky enough to fall in love along the way.

How is that a threat to traditional values? How is raising their children to respect and love and find value in all people such a dastardly thing?

And if a GLBT person did, in fact, have someone that he or she might want to grow old with, raise kids with, and marry for all eternity, where is the “perversion” in that? In reality, those things greatly resemble “traditional” values.

Apparently Perry sees GLBT people as substandard human beings that should not be allowed to marry.

“Gay marriage is not fine with me,” Perry told Tony Perkins of the anti-gay Family Research Council.

He told Perkins that GLBT individuals should not be protected from anti-gay hate crimes, and if they don’t like it, they should just move to a more “lenient” state. It seems like we might be moving backwards if we let this guy run the country.

Generally, GLBT people wish they could just live their lives like all of the other so-called normal people. The heart of the matter is that we are, in fact, quite normal, and have neither the desire nor the power to destroy the traditional family.

Kirsti Pollard is a sociology senior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar. com.

Monday, August 22, 2011 n 3

Legal Affairs:

Supreme Court protects inventor rights

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n Stanford University v. Roche Molecular Systems, the Supreme Court limited a university’s rights to the inventions of its employees. The precedent from the 1700s, that a person owns his ideas, still holds.

At Stanford, Mark Holodniy and others had invented a method, using a polymerase chain reaction, of determining the efficacy of HIV treatments, and then a method of quantifying HIV Rachel RNA. Farhi Over the last two decades Holodniy had signed the rights to his current and future inventions with multiple institutions, including Stanford and Cetus Corporation laboratories. Stanford argued that since it had accepted and provided government money to contribute to the research, it, on behalf of the public, should retain some rights.

The University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act of 1980 aimed to protect the social and economic dividends of research.

Senator Bayh, one of its sponsors, said that the whims of the inventor should not trump giving back the knowledge to taxpayers, reinvesting profits in research and keeping certain ideas public.

But while Stanford was busy pushing litigation, Roche Systems was gaining approval from the FDA to commercialize the invention, helping millions with HIV in the 1990s.

Roche used the fact that Stanford had not successfully done so as evidence that the patent was in rightful hands. The two also had a heated argument about the meaning of the word “retain.” Stanford was reading existing laws much too broadly and skewing Congress’ intentions.

Movements in the intellectual property community often despise the high profits of private commercialization of new products such as these. A for-profit corporation setting prices leads to higher ones, barring many consumers from reaping the benefits of a product.

This is unfortunate and happens all of the time. However, this ignores the stage of the process and motivation.

Giving patent rights to a corporation, at least during development and commercialization, can provide more capital, equipment, personnel, additional corporate contacts and freedom. This environment seems more conducive to efficient experimentation than a university lab.

It is preferable for Roche to put the cellular testing methods on the market years

before Stanford can, even with a higher price tag. Paying more is better than not having the option at all. The HIV test kit that the companies developed is now used by millions around the world.

Inventors and corporations are often blinded by financial incentives, one of the best motivators. Universities have more bureaucratic obligations, their assets are spread to a diversity of products, and they are less motivated by profit.

Does it matter that the inventor was motivated by greed? Either way, patients are helped, and helped faster. As long as regulatory agencies screen products and corporations fear lawsuits, inventions should enter the marketplace with the same safety standards.

The fate of inventions once they hit the market is another story. For now this case, decided 7-2, should come as good news to researchers at UH and elsewhere. That said, UH faculty and students should know their rights, maybe pick up Patents, Copyrights, & Trademarks for Dummies and definitely pay attention to what they sign.

Rachel Farhi is a senior English literature and political science double major and may be reached at opinion@ thedailycougar.com.

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Monday, August 22, 2011

OPINION

The Daily Cougar

Suspensions are rampant in public schools; there are better solutions

Zero Tolerance O

GET SOME DAILY In print. Online. On the go.

THE DA D ILY L LY COU OUG OU UGA GAR

the official student newspaper of the university of houston since 1934

ver the past decade, the annual graduation rates from high schools in Texas have been between an abysmal 60-70 percent. For the state that has the second largest school system in the country, this translates into nearly 130,000 dropouts per year. Sadly, it is the schools themselves that contribute to these statistics, as many of their existing practices Marc and policies Anderson tend to promote delinquency and disengagement from the classroom setting. Particularly, the manner in which student misbehavior is addressed has a significant impact on the odds of an individual graduating.

A recent report from the Council of State Governments Justice Center found that nearly 60 percent of seventh-12th graders were either suspended or expelled at least once, and among these students, drop out rates were significantly higher than students that did not face disciplinary action.

The report describes a draconian system that actively promotes the loss of students and feeds into the criminal justice pipeline.

Nearly 15 percent of students were found to enter into the state’s juvenile justice system, a path that essentially guarantees some form of academic failure.

Strikingly, according to state law, only three percent of these suspensions and expulsions were mandated punishments. Of course, incidences of assault and other criminal offenses should be severely dealt with. However, with the remaining majority of punishments issued at the sole discretion of the school officials, the results are a largely arbitrary and capricious system of discipline. As testament, both African-American and Hispanic students face suspension and expulsion at grossly disproportionate rates compared to Anglo students. Accordingly, drop out rates for both minority groups are nearly double that of Anglos.

Much of the blame for such ham-fisted disciplinary practices can be placed on so called zerotolerance policies that public schools have adopted. Common sense has given way to unnecessarily severe punishments for even minor infractions under the premise that cracking down on small forms of misbehavior will serve as a deterrent against larger violations. However, several studies, including one conducted by

Rather than being an indictment of student behavior, the current trend of student suspension and expulsion reflects a lack of responsibility on the part of the schools.” the National Association of School Psychologists, say that zero tolerance policies simply fail to reduce, and in some cases even increase, levels of student misbehavior.

The argument exists that reports such as this show only a correlation between harsh punishment and academic failings and not a causeand-effect phenomenon. After all, students that misbehave inherently display a lack of regard towards their education. But the manner in which a student’s behavior is handled can either be an extra push out the door, or an attempt to pull a struggling student back in to the system.

Rather than being an indictment of student behavior, the current trend of student suspension and expulsion reflects a lack of responsibility on the part of the schools. It is far easier to remove a problematic student than it is to attempt to change their behavior, but such reform programs do have credible success rates.

Texas Appleseed, an Austinbased nonprofit social justice research and advocacy group, has found that disciplinary programs based on a positive behavioral intervention and support (PBIS) ANDERSON continues on page 9

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relationshiP, not religion Come as you are!

Jesus Christ Praise and Worship Pastor Al Griffin Happy Hour: Tuesdays 7pm Prayer: Thursdays 6pm Service: Sundays 10:30am Upstairs in A.D. Bruce Religion Center

The Daily Cougar

OPINION

Monday, August 22, 2011

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OPINION

Monday, August 22, 2011

The Daily Cougar

Department of Welcome!

On behalf on the entire University of Houston Department of Public Safety (UHDPS), I would like to welcome each of you to UH as we start a new academic year. As a UH Alumnus myself, I congratulate you on your choice of where to pursue your academic career. Please take a minute to check out our Website (www.uh.edu/police). It provides information on our department, such as who we are, crime on campus, services we provide the campus community as well as contact information.

The driving force behind the UHDPS is maintaining a safe environment for all individuals who have a legitimate purpose for being on campus. Unfortunately, this is something we can not do Wallet-sized, clip and save!

Helpful telepHone numberS police emergency

911

alone. We ask all members of our campus community to take responsibility for themselves, and the safety of their work place and personal property. How do you do this? By being cognizant of your surroundings on campus at all times and reporting suspicious persons, things or situations to the UHDPS immediately.

property of others. Students residing in the Residence Halls may not prop, open, or in any matter alter a door so that it will not properly close.

Any maintenance deficiencies which may compromise building security should be immediately reported to Residence Halls Maintenance or UHDPS. Students are not to admit unauthorized or uninvited persons

Lastly, I hope your stay on campus, whether it is for a semester or a career is enjoyable and that you are successful in all you endeavors. Go Coogs!

— Malcolm Davis Assistant Vice President for Public Safety and Security / Chief of Police

into the residence halls.

crime prevention programS UHDPS offers a variety of crime prevention programs to our community members, including: • Personal Safety Awareness

annual Security report

• Operation ID

The Annual Security Report is available by no later than October 1st covering the previous three years.

• Sexual Assault Awareness

The Annual Security Report is available on our website at www. uh.edu/police. A printed copy may be requested by emailing us at police@uh.edu or by telephone at 713-743-3333

• Police Service Orientation

police non-emergency

• Residential and Office Security • Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention • New Student and Employee • Community Dialogue • Contact Person and Failure to Safeguard Program Crime prevention is important

713-743-3333

iDentification

parking enforcement

Students are required to obtain and show proof of valid “Cougar Card” and present it upon request of a university official.

can help by reporting any crime or

StuDentS’ rigHtS anD reSponSibilitieS

from becoming a victim of a more

713-743-5849 fire and physical Safety

713-743-1635 environmental Health and Safety

713-743-5858 emergency management

832-843-5503 mailing address

3869 Wheeler

Students are expected to maintain standards of personal discipline that are in harmony with the educational goals of the University of Houston, to observe federal, state, and local laws, university regulations, and to respect the rights, privileges, and

to the campus community and you suspected crime to the University Police immediately. By doing so, you may be preventing someone else serious crime. Police officers assigned to your beat and patrol area will be glad to give demonstrations and talks to interested campus groups.

Call our crime prevention number, 713-743-0417, for additional information.

The Daily Cougar

OPINION

Monday, August 22, 2011

f public Safety

tHe SafeSt cHeat-SHeet you Will ever neeD or 10 tHingS you neeD to knoW about campuS Safety 1. Know how to contact the University of Houston Department of Public Safety (UHDPS) Our physical address: 3869 Wheeler St., Houston, tX 77204-6191 Our telephone numbers: Emergencies, 911 Non-emergency (713) 743-3333 2. Don’t leave your personal property unattended! Do not leave personal property lying out in the open. Keep an eye on your personal property and valuables at all times.

3. Be sure you have the make, model and serial numbers of all electronic equipment you bring to campus. If any of your electronic equipment is lost or stolen and later recovered, you must be able to positively prove that the recovered property is yours, not simply that you are missing a similar piece of property.

4. Place identifying marks in all textbooks. Textbooks are valuable items that can be sold if they are stolen or lost.

Pick a number that is easy to remember and print your name and driver’s license number on that page on every text book you purchase. This will allow you to positively identify a textbook turned into Lost and Found, or sold to the UC Bookstore as yours.

5. Do not leave valuable property in plain view in you vehicle. Either take your property with you, or secure it in your trunk. Do not make your vehicle a target.

6. Give “Common Sense” a chance when it comes to your personal safety. Be aware of your surroundings. Think ahead and ask yourself “Will the area you parked in and walked through to get to your class during the day look the same when you get out of class at night?” If not, try to park where it be light after dark. Always be cautious if you plan to travel in remote campus locations, especially at night. Go with your instincts. If something about the situation makes you feel uncomfortable, take another route.

7. Be sure to lock your door when your vehicle. When you return to your locked vehicle get in the habit of making a quick look under your car as you approach and check the floorboard behind the front seats before you unlock your vehicle. If you see anyone under or inside your vehicle, keep walking and notify UHDPS immediately.

8. Use the UHDPS Escort Service if you feel uncomfortable walking from one campus location to another. You can call 713-743-3333 to request an escort.

9. Locate the Emergency/Information Call Boxes in the areas that you normally travel when on campus. These radio controlled devices give you immediate contact with a UHDPS Communication Officer who can dispatch assistance or provide directions if you are lost.

10. Help Us Help You. Assist in maintaining campus safety by reporting suspicious persons, things or situations to UHDPS by using one of the Emergency/Information Call Boxes, or by calling UHDPS at 713-743-3333

www.uh.edu/police

Serving our univerSity community

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OPINION

Monday, August 22, 2011

UH Baptist Student Ministry:

Welcome back to school!

Check out our epic events this week!

Monday » 7pm Free Give Away’s at the Lynn Eusan Park w/live music Tuesday » 11am-2pmFree hot dogs at the UC north patio from…other free stuff too…come and see

The Daily Cougar

Us dEBt: s&P CrEdit doWngradE

Is more federal regulation the answer to the credit crisis?

Tuesday » 7pm- free food with small groups and a time of worship through music and prayer and the arts to follow Wednesday » 11am-1pm-picnic at Butler Plaza- free bagged lunches Wednesday » 8pm- Bowling nights after Cat’s Back Thursday » 8pm- Howdy Party- all of those people new to Texas we will teach you all about line dancing, pecan pie, and horseshoes Friday - Saturday » Freshman Retreat at Galveston Beach (free for freshman)

University of Houston BSM

uhbsmdirector@gmail.com (713)741-0967

EMILY BROOKS:

Laissez-Faire Approach

Federal Regulation

I

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t h e o f f i c i a l s t u d e n t n e w s pa p e r o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f h o u s t o n s i n c e 1 9 3 4

THE DAILY COUGAR

STEVEN CHRISTOPHER:

®

R

n the wake of a historic downgrade of the United States credit rating, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has vowed to keep interest rates at near zero for another two years.

Some of us would like to think that in a market economy, prices, such as interest rates, would be determined by supply and demand.

No matter, Bernanke is confident that he and his team of technocrats are so much smarter than you and I that they know what level interest rates should be, and therefore they will take it upon themselves to buy up as much government debt as is necessary to lower interest rates to their liking.

In effect, price fixing is just fine in their book as long as overly-educated central bank oracles are pulling the levers.

The idea behind Bernanke’s lowering of interest rates is that lower rates of interest are supposed to induce businesses to borrow and invest, thereby raising what economists call aggregate demand and cushioning the blow of the recent recession. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but clearly that hasn’t happened. The problem is that the initial bust itself was the result of this exact same process, and economic actors are beginning to see the writing on the wall long before the Federal Reserve’s newly created paper money floods the market.

After a decade of experimentation with a freefloating fiat currency that was no longer pegged to gold, the ability of our central bank to contain runaway consumer price inflation in the mid-1980s made its leaders ever more emboldened to continue their manipulation of the nation’s monetary system, thinking that they could perfect their art and lead us into a new economy — one that is in a state of perpetual boom.

Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, just as infinitely wise as Bernanke, pursued the same policy of lowering interest rates in the wake of the dot-com bust in 2001. Brand-new money was created, rates were driven downward, and the boom was perpetuated a little while longer.

Tragically, the wide-open credit spigot fueled a housing bubble which was aided by politicians in Washington. Bernanke’s solution when that blew up in 2008: an even bigger hit of monetary heroin. No wonder the economy is stuck on skid row.

These actions taken by the Fed have simultaneously increased the federal government’s appetite for borrowing and debt, fueling the exponential growth in government we have witnessed over the past decade and playing no small part in the run-up to the debt ceiling debacle and ensuing downgrade of the US credit rating.

In the absence of healthy business and consumer spending, the National Treasury has continued its spree of paying off old debt with new debt, as Congress and the president desperately try to prop up the economy by regurgitating cash here, there and everywhere. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve continues to subsidize Congress’ irresponsibility by lowering the cost of doing so.

What is to be understood here is that in a market economy, prices convey information about the availability of real savings and resources in the economy. When government bodies like the Federal Reserve manipulate these prices, this information becomes a lie. Like all lies, it has to come crashing

egardless of the implications of the downgrade of America’s credit rating by Standard & Poor’s, the reasoning behind their decision to downgrade is quite desturbing.

“The downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenge,” S&P said in a press release about the downgrade.

Fellow agencies Moody’s and Fitch have declined to follow suit, but reflected the same concerns regarding ineffectual American policy-making. The credibility of S&P and the other ratings agencies has been a matter of concern since their wildly optimistic ratings of assets turned toxic in the 2008 crisis. So why should we heed S&P? What, if any, conclusions can we draw from the downgrade? We still haven’t learned our lesson, and now it is time to cram for the test.

In a climate of deregulation, the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, which had separated commercial banks from investment banks since 1933, led to behemoth financial institutions that became too big to fail. Economic wisdom told us that enlightened self-interest would prevent the kind of over-leveraging that was rampant leading up to the crisis.

“All of the sophisticated mathematics and computer wizardry essentially rested on one central premise: that enlightened self-interest of owners and managers of financial institutions would lead them to maintain a sufficient buffer against insolvency,” former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan said in The Economist.

He was “deeply dismayed” by the failure of this premise. Many economists believe that people are always rational, and that markets always work. We learned the hard way in 2008 that this is not the case.

In recent years it has become fashionable in the GOP to decry the Federal Reserve, and the climate in the wake of the crisis doesn’t make that difficult. The Fed has become the right-wing’s scapegoat.

The current Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, has been juggling the shrapnel of the crisis with minimal success for the past three years. The Fed has held interest rates down in an attempt to stimulate borrowing, but in a crisis caused largely by the insolvency of major financial institutions, a liquidity trap has resulted — interests rates are near zero, but banks still aren’t lending. After two rounds of quantitative easing — a process of buying up assets with the Fed’s reserves in an attempt to increase the money supply and stimulate private consumption and investment, our economy is just above water.

The Fed has reached, and even exceeded, the limits of monetary policy. It is clear that the cult of deregulation and enlightened self interest has failed.

The free market is a very efficient system and the best we have available, but it is naïve to assume that it is perfect. The 2008 crisis reaffirmed that even in the aftermath of the Great Moderation, markets can and do still fail.

It is past time we accepted the failure of militant laissez-faire and turned to fiscal policy and to Congress, but in a political climate where even basic housekeeping measures are held hostage by ideologues more concerned with a political agenda than the welfare of our nation, how can we dare hope for

CHRISTOPHER continues on page 9

BROOKS continues on page 9

OPINION

The Daily Cougar

Online nonprofit university needs support

I

n an era of online universities and their reputation of being nothing more than worthless degree mills, Gov. Rick Perry’s executive order to establish Western Governors University: Texas, an online nonprofit university, rightMarcus fully warrants caution and Smith skepticism.

Largely targeted at working

adults, WGU promises low tuition, flexible schedules and quality courses to people who want and need degrees.

Overcoming assumptions and appearances, it seems to deliver based on comments from current and former students and WGU’s list of credentials.

WGU is accredited by The Northwest Commission which has given accreditation to universities such as the University of Washington, the University of Idaho and

Brigham Young University.

The University has more than 25,000 students from all 50 states.

There there are currently 1,600 Texans enrolled at WGU. The WGU order seeks to address a variety of issues.

“Working Texans who cannot pursue their higher education goals on college campuses certainly should reap the benefits of WGU Texas’ online, competency-based

CHRISTOPHER

BROOKS

ANDERSON

continued from page 8

continued from page 8

continued from page 4

down eventually. It is folly to believe that “the Fed,” that arbitrary authority vested with the monopoly power of paper money creation, will be able to manipulate us back to prosperity, regardless of how much it toys with interest rates and the money supply.

The rate of interest most conducive to real economic growth is the market rate of interest, one that is unhindered by the manipulations of presumptuous central planners like Ben Bernanke.

unified legislation.

If we are going to pull our economy out of this crisis we need to heed S&P. Political and ideological vitriol caused S&P to downgrade America’s credit. It made economists blind to the coming storm and now threatens to derail our efforts at recovery.

America was built on innovation and unity. Isn’t it time to put ideology and broken systems aside so that we can find a new solution that will work for Americans and put Americans back to work?

model can result in an 80-85 percent reduction in additional behavioral problems as well as higher student retention rates. Apparently, Texas schools prefer to leave student reform to others – mainly, the criminal justice system.

The policies of Texas schools have societal impacts that go far beyond just graduation rates. Dropouts face lower rates of employment and commit a higher percentage of crimes than those who graduate.

Ultimately, schools need to display more than the ability to hand out harsh punishments, and show a genuine commitment to student success.

They can start by implementing policies that favor correction and not eviction.

Steven Christopher is a graduate finance student in the C.T. Bauer College of Business and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

What do you think?

Emily Brooks is a senior economics major and may be reached at opinion@ thedailycougar.com.

Post comments and vote @ thedailycougar.com

Monday, August 22, 2011

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These articles aren’t going to comment on themselves, now are they?

Marc Anderson is a third-year cell biology Ph.D. student and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

www.thedailycougar.com

Welcome back!

President Renu Khator and Dean William Monroe cordially invite you to attend the Fall 2011 Convocation.

Keynote address will be delivered by

The Honorable Keith P. Ellison U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas

Thursday, September 1, 2011 Reception at half-past six in the evening Program begins at seven o’clock Grand Ballroom University Hilton Hotel Parents and guests welcome. RSVP by August 29 to 713.743.9010 or TheHonorsCollege.com/convocation More details at TheHonorsCollege.com/convocation

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OPINION

Monday, August 22, 2011

ProtEsting aPatHY

The Daily Cougar

SMITH

by Karesha Brown

continued from page 9

US political system fails students, students should learn to protest

Civil disobedience I

n the last month the US was on the verge of defaulting on its national debt. By August, Congress finally voted to save us from financial crisis by raising the debt ceiling and cutting government spending. They did this begrudgingly on both sides, kicking and screaming, hours before the deadline in what can only be seen as embarrassingly unacceptable behavior from public officials.

David It would take several Haydon pages to outline why students, if not the public as a whole, should be out in the streets protesting this irresponsible action. Suffice to say, however, that with the exclusion of Tea-Party members (who arguably are the cause of this mess) there is no public outcry — from students or otherwise.

This is the problem: a synthetic and manufactured “grassroots” organization funded by rich movers and shakers is more mobilized, more effective at manipulating politicians and overall more angry than the current youth of today.

Students and young adults should have gallons more energy and ferocity.

When is the last time UH saw more than a dozen students protesting out of the 38,000 strong enrollment?

The case, then, is that this generation either does not know or does not care about the political fiasco we are in. However, the apathy seems stuck in the states.

The Middle East has no lack of energized youths prepared to cry, fight, and die for what they view as civil and human rights. Even in the UK there are

still people organized enough to riot when someone gets shot, gangbanger or not.

With simple observations it is not difficult to note that students in America, if not the overall public are pacified. Not to be confused with pacifists, pacified people are those who spend their days in-between classes and work by texting, tweeting and Facebooking their hours away, only to spend two seconds reading someone’s tweet about someone’s tweet about the US debt crisis.

Admittedly, social media has done wonders abroad for those looking to organize, protest and bring awareness to social injustices. However, in the US it seems there is an opposite effect.

Still, iPhones and Farmville are only partly to blame; not all students are distracted by toys. Some abstain from organizing, protesting or speaking out because of fear. Not fear of violence or reprisal: fear of loss of success.

With school responsibilities, work responsibilities and the ever-looming presence of every form of debt from tuition to credit cards, it is no wonder that students won’t take the time out to make their voices heard. This is no excuse, however.

Whether or not this is subconscious is the worrisome part. Do distracted students realize they are distracted? Do the students blinded by fear of getting behind in the rat race for success know that they are stuck in a maze?

The more likely reason is that students just don’t realize how bad the current social atmosphere is. With the constant barrage of media that young adults face this is ironic if not debatable, but still

This generation will have no option but to collectively remove their heads from out of the sand and realize that no one is there to take care of them, only themselves.” comes with a bit of truth.

Protesting is needed now, as the political atmosphere can and will go from bad to worse. The wealth gap will widen, lobbying and campaign funding will bloom like algae, and it will be too little too late to sign a petition.

This generation will have no option but to collectively remove their heads out of the sand and realize that no one is there to take care of them except themselves.

Even then, most will surmise that simply protesting will do nothing more than blow off steam. This is an illusion.

Protesting is crucial to processes of political participation. It is the public opinion poll at its best. If done correctly, it is how a society is transformed without bullets or bludgeons.

But the sky will have to fall before students protest. Once the walls of naivety crash, however, the best outcome will be that everyone picks themselves up, dusts themselves off, and cry out in civil unrest.

David Haydon is a political science senior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar. com.

views Do you think the US needs Europeanstyle protests? quotes compiled by Daniel Renfrow

US college students need to be more proactive in their political activism. They need to take to the streets with banners and bullhorns and let all of the politicos in DC know that they will not sit idly by while the nation slips into decay.

Students should practice their right to protest, as long as it is done in a civilized manner. If dissent results in destruction, looting or injuries, law enforcement counters with more violence. Disapproving is normal and natural, but rioting harms the innocent.

What have these protests actually achieved? The European activists have, so far at least, managed to drive up an obscene law enforcement bill with a surge of officers on the scene. Do we need more debt?

Daniel Renfrow: Opinion Editor

John Brannen: Managing Editor

Jack Wehman: Editor in Chief

It seems the reason college students don’t actively protest has more to do with a lack of knowledge rather than apathy.

If these students understood the issues better, they might be motivated to take action.

Ben Muths: Design Editor

model,” State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said in a press release on WGU’s website.

“They also should benefit from the program’s flexibility, which will allow them to meet family and work responsibilities while continuing their studies.

“Although WGU Texas does not receive state funding and is self-sustaining through tuition, it will help address our state’s key workforce needs while offering affordable career and continuing education opportunities to Texans older than 30.”

Although the effectiveness of online courses is often questioned, WGU degrees are competencybased. WGU students progress by demonstrating actual ability instead of just accumulating arguably unnecessary class hours in general subjects. While an instructor at hand is valuable, the traits unique to WGU are just as effective, if not more so considering the target of the program.

“This initiative is yet another innovation that is making Texas a national role model for reinventing higher education,” said the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Commissioner, Raymund Paredes, in a press release on WGU’s website.

Texas being considered a national role model for higher education, or even education at all, is somewhat difficult to accept considering the harsh cuts to the Texas education budget this past year.

Regardless, a move aimed at improving higher education opportunities that puts the issue back into the center stage, is welcome.

With current six-year graduation rate rounding out at 57 percent for traditional universities, it’s only reasonable to explore the alternatives.

While increased enrollment is nice, it should be noted that increased graduation rates are better.

Even though a degree opens doors, one of the most important things to be dealt with is that with the lack of validity many associate with online universities, it is important to make certain that a WGU degree is as valuable as one from a traditional university.

In the current job market, new graduates from traditional universities often have a hard time finding jobs, an issue that will be even tougher on those with WGU degrees. An online university like WGU needs support from both political and business leaders.

Marcus Smith is a creative writing sophomore and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

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Legislation OPINION

The Daily Cougar

Monday, August 22, 2011

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Free trade agreements are economically sound

T

he acrimony surrounding the raising of the national debt limit made for good political theatre but did little to address the more systemic problems that are keeping the country in its current economic depression.

While our longterm financial solvency is certainly important, the concept is rendered meaningless without significant job growth to drive Marc the economy forward.

Anderson Both Congress and the White House have offered relatively little in the way of programs and policies designed to spur job creation. Where such proposals do exist, they have often failed to advance them due to political ideology.

Of particular note are trade agreements between the US and several foreign countries that Congress has yet to approve, and, as a result, hundreds of thousands potential jobs remain inaccessible to American workers.

First negotiated in 2007 by the Bush administration, the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) between the US and South Korea, Panama and Columbia wait in bureaucratic limbo while Democrats and Republicans bicker over

concessions to labor unions and other special interest groups.

Such disagreements are not only costing the US economy well over $12 billion a year in lost earnings, but are placing significant limitations on the labor market as well. Supporters of the agreements estimate that over 250,000 domestic jobs would be created as a result of increased demand for our exports and additional foreign investment in US industries.

Opponents claim that rather than add jobs, these deals would actually cost the US 159,000 jobs. However, this dire prediction is grossly misleading because the majority of these lost jobs consist of workers who would simply be moved from their existing position to a new job opening. There would be no net loss of domestic jobs, and every new position would only help bring down our current 9.1 percent unemployment rate.

If passed, the FTAs will phase out tariffs on US imports, making our products cheaper and increasing their demand in foreign markets. In addition, the quotas that South Korea currently has in place on our agricultural products will vanish, instantly expanding our consumer base.

As another condition of the FTA with South

Korea, President Obama has secured a guaranteed purchase order of, at minimum, 25,000 automobiles a year. While this number may not sound all that impressive, it serves as both an entry way into a previously inaccessible market and evidence that further concessions can be obtained in the future.

An agreement with Panama will offer us the ability to better compete for lucrative construction projects on the Panama Canal, with the potential to earn billions of dollars for US companies.

In Columbia, a stronger US presence will assist in stabilizing the nation as a whole by providing legitimate employment opportunities to those who would otherwise turn to drug and gun trafficking.

Simply stated, the economic and geopolitical gains obtained by approving the FTAs cannot be replicated in any other fashion.

Indisputably, some US workers will lose their jobs, a fact that has caused labor unions and many Democrats to push for additions to the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program.

This program offers training and financial assistance to US workers that lose their job due to outsourcing to a foreign trading partner, but

serves as a point of contention for Republicans because of its associated costs to the federal government.

In efforts to expedite the immediate creation of jobs, Republicans have offered to hold separate votes on the trade agreements and the TAA program itself. Given the present economic situation, Democrats would better serve the country and themselves by taking up this offer.

The fiasco surrounding raising the debt limit should remind Democrats that Republicans are all too willing to torpedo economic recovery in order to publicly adhere to a nonew-spending policy.

With Congress now in recess until September, the price of their inaction will further be felt by the nation’s unemployed and the economy as a whole.

When they return, it is incumbent upon Congress to swiftly and decisively approve these Free Trade Agreements, as they have waited far too long to enact policies that promote real and long term economic recovery.

Marc Anderson is a third-year cell biology Ph.D. student and may be reached at opinion@ thedailycougar.com.

Balanced budget amendment is necessary measure

A

s a constitutional balanced budget amendment has once again become a real possibility, many on the left are hypothesizing economic Armageddon if passed.

Progressive think tanks such as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities characterized the balanced budget amendSteven ments currently Christopher being considered in the House of Representatives as “extremely dangerous” and claimed that they would “make recessions more frequent, longer, and deeper.”

As is typical for the left, the claims made against the amendment have no basis in reality, and are centered on knee-jerk reactions with no underlying rational or economic logic. One of the amendments currently being considered in the House, introduced by Rep. Justin Amash, R-Michigan, contains a whopping 284 words and takes up all of one half of a page.

The primary attack lobbied at Amash’s amendment is the claim that it forces the government to slash spending during a recession, making output fall still further. This statement is patently false. The amendment stipulates that outlays for the current fiscal year cannot exceed the average revenue collected in the preceding three years. What this means is that if the government collected an average of $2.5 trillion dollars in tax revenue over the past three years, it could spend $2.5 trillion dollars this year, regardless of current tax revenue.

If revenues for the current year were lower due to the recession, this would tie into the three-year average and lower the amount the government could spend next year.

It also contains a provision that if

revenues are higher than outlays allowed under the current year, the remaining revenue must be used to pay down the country’s outstanding public debt. In this way, the government’s spending ability is strictly limited, providing a smoothing effect in terms of outlays and preventing politicians from blowing through extra cash that could be used to reduce the nation’s debt.

President Obama has claimed publicly that the US doesn’t need

such an amendment for the budget to be balanced. However, history paints a different picture. In 1997, a Balanced Budget Amendment easily passed the House of Representatives but failed in the Senate by a single vote. At that time, the national debt stood at $5.36 trillion dollars. In the following 14 years, the debt has skyrocketed to $14.34 trillion dollars, an increase of 167 percent. The most tragic part of this story is the nation has nothing to show for it, save rating

agencies’ threats to downgrade our credit because Congress has no credible plan for reducing our debt and chronic overspending.

Given the fact that the founding fathers created the greatest blueprint for a constitutional republic in all of human history, we can forgive them for failing to foresee presidents and congressional leaders that would have no problem borrowing 44 cents for every dollar they spend, indebting America’s citizens at a rate of $168

million dollars per minute. Left with no alternative, we have little choice but to follow the advice of Thomas Jefferson and “bind Congress down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution,” before its actions further ruin our economy and our liberties.

Steven Christopher is a graduate finance student in the C.T. Bauer College of Business and may be reached at opinion@ thedailycougar.com.

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OPINION

Monday, August 22, 2011

The Daily Cougar

UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTER Welcomes All Students For Fall 2011 Walk-in Clinic: Visits for general diagnosis, treatment, emergencies, laboratory, and specialist referral. 713-743-5151

Nursing Care: Allergy injections,

immunizations,cuts and abrasions, health information, blood pressure monitoring.

Contact the nurse’s station at 713-743-5156

Women’s Clinic: Diagnosis, treatment,

counseling and referral for women’s health issues. By appointment only.

Contact 713-743-5156 for appointments.

Men’s Clinic: Diagnosis, treatment,

counseling and referral for men’s health issues. By appointment only.

Contact 713-743-5155 for appointments.

Attendant Care Services: A personal care

and lifestyle assistance program for the specific needs of disabled students living on campus. For more information, contact 713-748-8603.

Orthopedic Clinic: Treatment of sports

injuries and musculo-skeletal problems. By appointment only. Contact 713-743-5142.

Psychiatric Clinic: Evaluation, diagnosis,

medication management and treatment for psychiatric disorders. By appointment only.

Contact 713-743-5149 for appointments.

Fall and Spring Hours M, T, Th, F 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Wed. 8:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Summer Hours M, T, Th, F 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Wed. 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Hours are Subject to Change For After Hours Emergency, Call

UH Police - 713/743-3333 Web Address:

www.uh.edu/admin/hc The University of Houston Health Center is a comprehensive health care facility available to all currently enrolled students. Faculty and staff are eligible for walk in clinic.

“All visits and inquiries are confidential”

Pharmacy: Provides prescription and over

the counter items at very low cost. For more information contact 713-743-5125.

UH Student Health Insurance: Information, waivers and rates. Deadline to add or drop insurance for Fall 2011 is 5:00 p.m. September 7, 2011. Contact 713-743-5137.

The Dermatology Clinic is staffed by a

board certified dermatologist available to diagnose and treat disorders of the skin, hair and nails. By appointment only. 713-743-5154.

Dental Clinic Preventive dentistry,

restorative, limited major dental procedures.

Appointment only. 713-22-SMILE. (713-227-6453)

Health Center will be offering

FREE CONFIDENTIAL AND ANONYMOUS HIV TESTING on the following dates: World AIDs Day - December 1, 2011 National HIV Testing Day - June 27, 2012

Entrance # 6, off Wheeler, Bldg # 525 on Campus Map

713-743-5151 • www.uh.edu/admin/hc