Massachusetts Daily Collegian: Apr. 23, 2014

Page 1

CLICHÉS:

OP/ED

First amendment rights for university employees

THE MOVIE PAGE 5

PAGE 4

THE MASSACHUSETTS

A free and responsible press

DAILY COLLEGIAN DailyCollegian.com

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Open wide

News@DailyCollegian.com

Renowned rabbi discusses role of religion in policy Talk focused on advocacy, morality By Rose GottlieB Collegian Staff

JAMES JESSON/COLLEGIAN

Participants race to finish a randomly selected jar of baby food in the UMass Amazing Race, a competition run by the Center for Multicultural Advancement and Student Success in conjunction with the UMass Police Department’s Community Outreach Unit, at Berkshire Dining Hall on the evening of April 4, 2014.

Student spends break in Iceland Group of 25 studied renewable energy By KatRina BoRofsKi Collegian Staff

For students like Jasmine Abdollahi, finding time during their undergraduate career to study abroad while fulfilling major requirements is often difficult and sometimes impossible. As a physics major, Abdollahi must incorporate difficult courses into her schedule, which are rarely offered in programs abroad. However, through the Global Renewable Energy Education Network, also known as the GREEN program, she traveled to Iceland for a week in March. “This is a really good program for people who can’t study for a semester or year

abroad,” Abdollahi said. “It was good for me because in my major, it is really difficult to study abroad since there are really difficult classes, and typically if you’re abroad, you’re doing research.” During her time in Iceland, Abdollahi learned about the renewable energy and sustainability initiatives taking place there. “The program is targeted toward people who have interest in those things,” Abdollahi said. And while she noted that the program included undergrads primarily interested in science and engineering like herself, it was by no means restricted to any specific major. During a group project she completed on the trip, Abdollahi said, “I was working with an engineering major, an

environmental policy major and a Chinese major, so it was really cool to see people from all different fields interested in one thing.” Abdollahi, along with 24 other students from across the United States, visited the Iceland School of Energy. “Iceland has 100 percent sustainable energy,” Abdollahi said, explaining why the group chose Iceland as its destination. “It has 70 percent hydro-electric energy and 30 percent geothermal energy.” The week-long trip included tours of different energy facilities across the country, as well as lectures from professors at the Iceland School of Energy. “We got to ask super technical questions about how things work and the economics of

Okla. grapples with death penalty issues after ruling 2 death row immates granted a reprieve By Michael MusKal Los Angeles Times

A divided Oklahoma Supreme Court has granted two death row inmates a reprieve, while throwing the state’s legal system into a tizzy on how to administer the death penalty. In a 5-4 ruling, the state Supreme Court ordered a stay in Tuesday’s planned execution of Clayton Lockett, convicted in the 1999 shooting of a 19-yearold woman. The court also ordered a stay in the April 29 scheduled execution of Charles Warner, convicted in the 1997 death of an

11-month-old girl. In both cases, the court acted after lawyers for the inmates said they needed more information on the drugs the state planned to use to execute the prisoners. But the Supreme Court also said it acted because the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals denied a stay, saying it lacked authority. “The ‘rule of necessity’ now demands that we step forward,” according to the Supreme Court’s majority opinion. “We can deny jurisdiction, or we can leave the appellants with no access to the courts for resolution of their ‘grave’ constitutional claims. “As uncomfortable as this matter makes us, we

refuse to violate our oaths of office and to leave the appellants with no access to the courts, their constitutionally guaranteed measure.” The ruling has created some confusion, a spokeswoman for state Attorney General Scott Pruitt told the Los Angeles Times. The state is seeking a re-argument of the case, she said Tuesday. “The Oklahoma Supreme Court has acted in an extraordinary and unprecedented manner, resulting in a constitutional crisis for our state,” Pruitt said in a statement released after the court ruling. In a letter to defense see

PENALTY on page 2

Serving the UMass community since 1890

it,” Abdollahi said, adding that the intensity and focus of the lectures were particularly impressive. In addition to attending lectures, students in the GREEN program participated in a Capstone project. “We each got to pick any field in renewable energy and do some sort of business proposal or research project,” Abdollahi said. At the end of the trip, the same professors that had given lectures also sat in on the students’ proposals. “We got the facilities, the classes, the Capstone, so it was all really cool,” Abdollahi said. The trip also included what Abdollahi referred to as “Iceland adventures.” These trips included hiking, cave exploration and travel to other see

GREEN on page 2

Reform Jewish Rabbi and advocate David Saperstein came to the University of Massachusetts Tuesday evening to discuss the role of religion in American policy. During the talk, Saperstein spoke about the importance of religious groups advocating for social justice and equality, as well as the importance of the separation of church and state. This separation, he said, has allowed religion in the United States to flourish with diversity. Saperstein is the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, or the RAC, which is a group that advocates for resolutions of political issues from a reform Jewish standpoint. In addition to working for the RAC, in 2009, Saperstein was appointed by President Barack Obama as a member of the first White House Council on FaithBased and Neighborhood Partnerships. The talk, held in the UMass Honors College Events Hall, was organized by the Political Science Undergraduate Board, along with the Department of Political Science, Department of History, UMass Hillel, UMass Ruach, Jewish Community Center of Amherst and Beit Ahavah of Northampton. Saperstein said that Judaism has always believed in moral guidance. He added that many Jews express their religious beliefs through involvement in social justice, as do many mainstream Protestants and Catholics.

Saperstein also spoke about the role that fundamentalist Christian groups play in American politics. According to Saperstein, prior to the 1950s, fundamentalist Christians may have been very influential in their own communities, but had less influence in national politics. However, when television and radio brought what these groups considered to be immoral aspects of American culture into people’s homes, parents felt they couldn’t protect their children. Therefore, they decided to “protect the outside world” instead. This, Saperstein said, led to many questions about various societal issues, including the breakdown of family, loss of respect for authority, divorce and drug use. “I agree with those questions, I just disagree with their answers,” Saperstein said. Saperstein believes that religion has a duty to address questions of morality in society. However, the solution, Saperstein said, is not to tell people when to pray in school, to teach the Bible as science or to hang the Ten Commandments in every classroom. “We don’t want the government picking and choosing” whose prayers get said and which religions get certain benefits, Saperstein said. But, Saperstein added, “(Religion) at its best can be transformational for social justice.” According to Saperstein, in the 1990s, people on the progressive side of the religious agenda tried to find common ground with the religious right. see

SAPERSTEIN on page 3

Supreme Court upholds affirmative action ban Michigan universities were in question By DaviD Jesse Detroit Free Press

DETROIT — The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a ban on using race in admissions to Michigan’s public universities. The court was divided on the case, which overturns a U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision. The opinion, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, says the case is not about race admissions policies but about whether voters in a state can choose to prohibit consideration of racial preferences. “The plurality opin-

ion stresses that the case is not about the constitutionality or the merits of race-conscious admission policies in higher education. Rather, the question concerns whether, and in what manner, voters in a state may choose to prohibit consideration of such racial preferences,” Kennedy wrote. “Where states have prohibited race-conscious admissions policies, universities have responded by experimenting ‘with a wide variety of alternative approaches.’ The decision by Michigan voters reflects the ongoing national dialogue about such practices.” Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Stephen Breyer and Justice Clarence

Thomas all filed concurring opinions. Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Elena Kagan recused herself from the case. The case centers on Proposal 2, called the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative. The appeals court said the state ban on affirmative action violated the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution by making it more difficult for a minority student to get a university to adopt a race-conscious admissions policy than for a white student to get a university to adopt an admissee

BAN on page 2


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.