Editorial
Recently, Washtenaw Community College President Rose Bellanca unveiled a “strategic planning process” aimed at improving the overall appeal and value of this college. Certainly we applaud the efforts of Bellanca and her administrators in trying to make Washtenaw an even more desirable place to receive an education.
As part of the planning process, the college is work- ing with experts in the fields of agriculture, health care, manufacturing, energy and informational technologies to help guide the college toward where these industries are headed and how WCC can keep students on the forefront of those industries.
Clearly the students enrolled in these programs will benefit from this initiative, but only if they do not have to go even further into debt to do so.
We all know that earning a college degree or upgrad- ing job skills does not come cheaply. But as the school digs deep into these growing fields, WCC will have to spend money to hire consultants and “experts” in order to get an insight into their knowledge. Sooner or later, that money is going to have to go back into the budget and students will most likely be the ones writing the checks for those consultants.
And that is simply unacceptable. Tuition has been on the rise for years at WCC and signs suggest that anoth- er increase will be necessary next fall. How much of an increase is anyone’s guess, but with a declining tax base and fewer students on campus, it appears to be likely.
The planning process has been described as some- thing of a five-year plan that will be worked on yearly to keep up with the ever-changing marketplace. So while it’s a great plan to keep students at WCC ahead of the curve, it seems possible that the current corps of stu- dents will not see the benefits of this process right away.
We encourage Bellanca, the Board of Trustees and the administrators at WCC to keep in mind that while we all want the best education possible, we don’t have an open checkbook.
On the morning of Feb. 20, 2009, I woke up to the sound of my cell phone going buzzing. I had a terrible feeling about why, and after I hung up the phone those fears were confirmed – and I was on my way to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor.
I arrived to find my father in a coma and the doctors were telling us to make arrangements for family to come say their goodbyes. Later that afternoon, Lance Edward Durr passed away. Needless to say, I was devastated.
My father taught me most of what helped shape me as a person, as it is with many sons. But as was my father’s way, nothing about it was conventional.
He taught me about the importance of hard work. Before he passed, I was working at a local grocery store, and I hated it. But I lacked the motivation to get myself back in school. That was until I opened his wallet the day after he died and found a five dollar bill inside.
He died with only five dollars to his name. My father never had a steady career, and struggled to make it work for our family.
I used that wallet as a catalyst to get back in school and find myself a career. I still have his wallet and occasionally I open it up to help remind myself why I’m working so hard.
He taught me the importance of taking care of myself and my body. When I was 12, my father had quadruple bypass surgery for four clogged arteries in his heart. Years of smoking, poor eating and drug use had destroyed his body. Granted it wasn’t until recently that I took eating healthy serious, but I’ve never smoked or done drugs because I saw what it did to his life.
He taught me to enjoy every moment with my family that I can. Prior to his passing, we had planned on going to a Red Wings game on my birthday in March. Obviously that never happened, and it still hurts to this day that we never got to see that last game together.
Now that I have a family of my own, I cherish the little things like grocery shopping and watching my daughter try to feed herself spaghetti. And while I’m taking in these moments, I often think about how much I miss him.
I could go on and on about things I learned from him (including not walking in front of the TV when the game is on. Many a thrown slipper taught me that one) but I would run out of space.
My dad was a lot of things to me: A parent, a friend, a guardian, a chauffeur and much more. But most importantly, he was the greatest teacher I’ve ever had.
Voice staff note: We all agree that Mr. Durr did a fine job raising his son. The only shortcoming we’re aware of, and it’s a big one, is that Matt was raised as a New York Yankees fan.
With the Iraq war over and operations in Afghanistan winding down, soldiers choosing not to make the military a career are returning home to live out the rest of their lives as civilians.
Welcome home.
Public opinion on war veterans has improved significantly since the Vietnam War, but that doesn’t mean returning home has gotten any easier. Veterans transitioning from military to civilian life have to deal with a lot of problems that many people don’t seem to fully understand.
Some soldiers return home with physical scars anyone can notice immediately, but many more soldiers return home with mental scars, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd).
Over the years, ptsd has been stigmatized by popular culture; that needs to stop.
People like to assume that a veteran diagnosed with ptsd is a blood-crazed psycho who is just one flashback away from snapping. There have been a few incidents where veterans have hurt others, but that does not mean every veteran is crazy.
In reality, ptsd affects everyone differently and not every veteran suffers from it.
Besides dealing with the constant stigma surrounding ptsd, veterans returning to civilian life have to deal with the normally simple task of what to wear every day.
Deciding what clothes to put on may not seem like a hard task, but for someone who has been wearing the same camouflaged uniform every day for years, picking out what to wear and building a socially acceptable wardrobe can be a challenge.
Returning to the civilian world is a social shock for some veterans. If a soldier falls and is hurt, he is quickly picked back up by the soldier next to them. If a civilian falls and is hurt, everyone around them just stairs blankly and does nothing, too afraid to get involved. Living preoccupied by lawsuits, who could blame them?
Soldiers returning home don’t ask for much. They just want to be respected, accepted and understood by the people they swore to protect honor and serve.
Transitioning back into a life you no longer understand or are welcomed in is difficult.
I know.
I’ve been trying to it for the past two years.
Ten days ago, I got to fulfill a lifelong dream by covering an annual celebration of the late, great Detroit hip-hop producer and emcee James Dewitt Yancey, known better by his legion of adoring fans as J Dilla or Jay Dee.
Yancey’s music changed the landscape of what hip-hop sounded and felt like, and his reach transcended the Motor City. Yancey passed away from complications with TTP in 2006 at the age of 32, and while he isn’t around, anybody who has heard his beats regards this man as the Jimi Hendrix or Miles Davis of the art form.
Because of his contribution, Detroit emcees have an avenue for getting their music heard by a national audience.
Seeing more than a thousand people paying tribute to the man made me think deeply about the kind of difference that one small rock can make in the ocean of inspiration. It is a most fitting observation in the midst of Black History Month, a time to remember the many activists who hurled rocks of all sizes to create the same kind of lasting ripple.
Most of all, it makes me think about the kind of difference that staff of The Washtenaw Voice can make as aspiring journalists. A few months ago, The Voice released a special tabloid edition on the struggles of the homeless in Ann Arbor, aptly titled Street Voice. At first, I was skeptical that one newspaper could help attack such a massive problem. Yet this month, that change came to fruition.
Apparently a barber whom Voice staffer Bob Conradi visits learned about a homeless
encampment called Camp Take Notice from our tabloid. The barber told Conradi that shortly after reading the article, he encountered a woman who had been kicked out of her home by her parents. He introduced her to the camp, and she was
welcomed with open arms
until she could get back home.
As Conradi put it, our reporting made a difference.
It was a small venture out into a world that we did not know existed. We reported the facts and made people aware, and because of that, we added a rock that made another giant ripple.
If you haven’t thought about how your actions can affect someone for the better, please take a moment today to appreciate who and what you have, and how one act can make an enormous impact. And if you are interested in making an impact with The Voice, come and visit us in TI 106.
Be the change that you want to see.
Tuesday, Feb. 28, is Michigan’s day to make a difference in the 2012 Presidential race.
The national Republican nomination could be determined by how Michigan votes in the state’s presidential primary, a possibility nobody could have predicted back when the polls showed a single leader. Now two candidates are tied for the lead, and two others are tied for second.
Your vote will count, and will shape the outcome when all the parties’ nominees face off on Nov. 6. Vote at your usual polling place on Election Day, or call your local clerk and ask to be mailed an absentee ballot application. On the application, check the box for the Republican Party ballot. You do not have to be a member or affiliate of that party. (There is also a Democratic Party ballot, but it carries only one name and no contest.)
If time is short, you can also stop in at your city or township offices and vote an absentee ballot on the spot. By law, the clerk’s office must be open on Saturday, Feb. 25, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and on Monday, Feb. 27, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. for absentee voters. So don’t miss out on your part of making history.
Another reason to vote: to get your money’s worth. The state legislature will spend $10 million of our scarce tax revenue to fund this primary in all 5,000 Michigan precincts. Unlike most previous presidential years, the money will not be reimbursed by the Republican Party. That’s because the state legislature enacted a law that mandated a bogus Democratic ballot, over the objections of that party, which will decide its presidential nominee in its customary firehouse caucuses in May.
Jan BenDor, a Washtenaw Voice videographer, is a Michigan Accredited Election Administrator.
When I check my calendar every morning, I usually groan and begin procrastinating whatever task is scheduled for the day or I look ahead and make plans for how I’m going to enjoy the next holiday. Groundhog’s Day has already come and gone, so I guess it’s time to plan something for Singles Appreciation Day, more commonly referred to as Valentine’s Day.
I know a lot of you are probably saying you can’t rename a holiday. I’m not renaming it, I’m redefining it.
Valentine’s Day has typically been associated with two types of people: people who adore the holiday, believing that buying some flowers and chocolates will win them some brownie points with their significant other, and scorned the people who believe Valentine’s Day is just another way for businesses to make a little extra cash in February.
It doesn’t matter how someone views a holiday that makes it significant; it’s who the holiday effects that makes it significant. And no one is more affected than single people.
If there’s one thing that Valentine’s Day can do effectively every year, it’s remind single people of just how alone they are.
When single people go shopping around Valentine’s Day, they have to wade through aisle after aisle of flowers, love cards and heart-shaped boxes filled with chocolates. Most people wouldn’t pay attention to all the items, but a single person does – and that can be depressing.
Some of the stores I go to have been ballsy enough to have all of the Valentine’s Day items lined up like a trail to the liquor aisle. Thanks for the walk of loneliness you jerks.
If the Valentine’s Day merchandise wasn’t bad enough, single people have to deal with the significant increase in relationship questions from family members and friends in relationships.
The answers to all of their relationship questions are not going to change just because it’s Valentine’s Day.
Some singles are lonely enough to venture out of their comfort zone, but Valentine’s Day is no reason to go to a nightclub you hate, hoping to find that special someone in one night or to troll Craigslist for somebody who likes to “party.”
If you’re single on Valentine’s Day, don’t feel like you’re being left out. Being single on Feb. 14 holds no greater significance than being single on Feb. 20.
That reminds me, what am I going to do for Presidents’ Day this year?
I could be wrong or selectively forgetful, but has the entire Tea Party movement fallen into some dark bottomless hole off the face the planet?
Maybe it’s the cold of winter that forces any group dedicated to full frontal assembly into a self-imposed hibernation period that is to blame for the lack of recent media attention or public appearances.
But it has been several months since I have heard anything noteworthy from the eternally provocative appendage of the Republican Party, and in an election year, that might as well be a political lifetime.
As important as it is to have potential voters well-educated and informed on the issues that will become the hot-button topics in the coming year, it’s much more exciting to see people who have no idea what they are talking about out in the streets sharing their misinformation.
Sure, it’d be ideal to have groups from both sides of the political aisle engaging in a reasonable discourse. Still, who can deny the rush of being stuck in the middle of two opposing activists with picket signs and pitchforks ready to tear each other’s heads off?
As far as I can tell, the political legitimacy score is favoring the liberal Occupy movement over the conservative Tea Party 2-to-1, and that isn’t because one is more hip or popular than the other.
The Tea Party is disintegrating in its own hot water because the Occupy movement, equally as misguided and poorly organized as members of the red equivalent, has taken much more drastic steps to get their voices heard. Occupiers are ready to be mace-sprayed, beaten and jailed for their relevance, while the Tea Party’s only avenue of protest are clever shirts and frustrated buzzwords.
We know you hate Obamacare, and we know you are overwhelmingly worried that your long-held white privilege is at a crossroad, but it’s time to take your protests into the next phase of development. Call me a provocateur, but both sides need their Robin Hoods, and if a civil war breaks out, well, it was long overdue.
All I’m asking for is a little chutzpah from both sides of the aisle. The liberals have revolutionary behavior embedded in their DNA. So Tea Party patriots, put on your best war paint and step up your game!
The White House and your own political legitimacy depend on it.
Editorial
With each passing day, the first Tuesday of November gets closer and closer. On that day, we as Americans will be asked to vote on who will be the next set of leaders to guide our nation and set the policies that impact all of us. Whether you’re a free-spirited liberal or the strictest conservative, Nov. 6 shapes up to be an important day.
As the election of 2012 approaches, The Voice is committed to providing coverage of as many political events and rallies as possible. However, we are keenly aware that as we attempt to provide that coverage, we will no doubt be accused of slanting one direction and not providing equal coverage. As part of what some like to describe as “the liberal media,” we know that many of our readers will assume that our newspaper supports one side over the other.
This will be the first election that most of our staff has covered, and we will strive to present information as evenly as possible. As students we are taught to remain unbiased in our reporting and writing. Thus far, we think we’ve done just that.
When President Obama visited Ann Arbor recently, The Voice was there in full force to cover not only the speech but the spectacle surrounding it. As a staff we discussed making sure that our coverage was not completely directed to just Obama, but also the protesters around the University of Michigan campus that day.
In December, Photo Editor Jared Angle traveled to Iowa to witness the Iowa caucus and to hear what most of the Republican candidates had to say. Angle also covered a Republican debate on the campus of Oakland University late last year.
There will be many more rallies, speeches and protest along the way, and as we learn about them, we’ll be there to provide coverage. As always, if our readers feel we’ve been unfair, we’ll be available to discuss our content and hopefully after our discussion you won’t be seeing red… or blue.
SHAME ON THE VOICE
While skimming The Voice, I read and became extremely disturbed by the security notes brief titled, “Child Endangerment?” While the idea of unsupervised children was upsetting enough, even more problematic and disturbing was the described response of the vaguely described law enforcement personnel involved. By police, did the reporter mean campus security, the Ann Arbor police, or the county sheriff’s department? In any event, law enforcement personnel are considered mandatory reporters in the state of Michigan, and if the situation were as confusingly described (LA building?, parking lot?) whoever responded to this call was remiss in their responsibilities.
Considering the source, I contacted Campus Security to verify this account and was informed that the situation had not been accurately described in the paper. The children had not been left in a car and there were more details. I am now wondering what other information in this short article was incorrect?
News should be accurately reported. The fact that these were news briefs does not lessen the responsibility of the paper or those who compile the information. The campus safety and “police” were portrayed in this brief account as being negligent, a portrayal which effects campus perception of the caliber of both campus security and local law enforcement. It also conveyed the impression that these entities do not take either child safety or Michigan Law seriously. While I am less disturbed about the content of the brief, I am disappointed in The Washtenaw Voice.
Patricia R. Hill, PT, MAPhysical Therapist Assistant Program, DirectorWashtenaw Community College
EDITOR’S NOTE:
As part of our duties as the campus newspaper at Washtenaw Community College, The Voice makes every attempt possible to inform it’s readers when incidents and crimes occur. However, it is almost impossible for our reporters to do a responsible job reporting the news when the information given to us by Campus Safety and Security contain more redacted details than information on the incidents.
The report featured to the left of this letter is an example of just what we are left to deal with on a weekly basis when trying to report the news on campus.
We’ve tried repeatedly to work with campus security officials and others responsible for protecting us here on campus and apparently this is the best they can do.
That’s not say campus security is poor or not doing its job, but when college officials fail to provide critical information to the public, it makes our jobs very difficult.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act does not restrict the disclosure of any of this information and under the Freedom of Information Act, our newspaper has a right to view those reports in full. It should be up to the judgment of this publication and it’s editors in charge to make the decision on what information is included in our reports.
The Voice is committed to putting an accurate account of what happens on this campus out for our readers and doing it in a timely manner. However, when we are illegally prevented from providing all the detail, we simply cannot to our jobs effectively.
Matt DurrEditorThe Washtenaw Voice
 
Editorial
New structure’s opening a well-kept secret
Parking problems have long been a complaint among students and staff on the Washtenaw Community College campus. So it was with great pomp and circumstance on Monday, Jan. 9, that the college opened the $12.7 million parking structure.
Except there was no pomp and circumstance.
Or any real notification, for that matter, informing commuters that the structure was even open.
For something that had so much time, money and debate poured into it, one would think that those in charge at WCC would make sure that everyone on campus was well aware of the solution, finally, to our parking problems.
However, when the parking structure opened that Monday morning, there was no signage letting people know that the structure was open or directing them to use it. A broadcast email was not sent out until 3 p.m. that day, when most people were already on campus and in class. If you’ve been following The Voice at all, you know that students are not particularly diligent about checking their college email accounts.
The lack of promotion was so glaring that students on campus as late as Thursday of that week still had no clue the structure was open for use.
Those who bothered to seek out the information were treated to a beautiful facility and plenty of open parking spaces. The bridge that connects to the LA building is covered and surprisingly warm. And with plenty of cameras and security on site, the structure is as safe as a building on this campus can be.
It’s too early to tell whether the new facility will truly be the answer to our parking problems, but apparently promoting it as a possible solution created a new problem of its own.
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