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A4 MARCH 28, 2011 washtenawvoice.

com VOICES
EDITOR
Quinn Davis
edavis16@wccnet.edu
MANAGING EDITOR
NEWS
Matthew Durr
mdurr@wccnet.edu
MANAGING EDITOR
SPORTS/FEATURES
James Highsmith
Jhigh121212@yahoo.com
PHOTO EDITOR
Robert Conradi
rconradi@wccnet.edu
DESIGN EDITOR
Kate Bizer
kbizer@wccnet.edu
DESIGNER
Jocelyn Gotlib
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AD MANAGER
Becky Alliston
ealliston@wccnet.edu
AD SALES MANAGER
Paul Baetz
pbaetz@wccnet.edu
VIDEOGRAPHER
Chris Ozminski
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WEB MASTER
Alan Scafuri
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STAFF WRITERS
Anne Duffy
Benjamin Michael Solis
CONTRIBUTORS
Josh Chamberlain
Nathan Clark
Timothy Ckark
Lawrence Donnelly
Leonora Lupastian
Kristin Lyman
Anna Fuqua-Smith
Jael Gardiner
Jeff Pierce
ADVISER
Keith Gave
kgave@wccnet.edu
4800 E. Huron River Dr.
TI 106
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(734) 677-5125
thewashtenawvoice@gmail.com
Volume 17, Issue 14
The Washtenaw Voice is produced fortnightly by students of
Washtenaw Community College. Student publications are important
in establishing and maintaining an atmosphere of free and responsible
discussion and in bringing matters of concern and importance to the
attention of the campus community. Editorial responsibility for The
Voice lies with the students, who will strive for balance, fairness and
integrity in their coverage of issues and events while practicing habits
of free inquiry and expression.
The Voice is committed to correct all errors that appear in the
newspaper and on its website, just as we are committed to the kind
of careful journalism that will minimize the number of errors printed.
To report an error of fact that should be corrected, please phone (734)
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A copy of each edition of The Washtenaw Voice is free to everyone.
Additional copies are available at the Voice ofce for 25 cents each.
EDITORIAL
QUINN DAVIS
Editor
I am ashamed to
be an American.
Oh yes, I said it.
Go ahead, call me
unpatriotic. Tell me
how Im harming
the nation by saying what I actually Ieel, by
writing it Ior all to see.
You know what actually harms the na-
tion? Americans doing and saying amaz-
ingly xenophobic, insensitive and ignorant
things does.
AIter the earthquake and subsequent
tsunami that hit Japan, it seemed like all the
idiots in the United States took to the In-
ternet and spewed their ridiculous thoughts
about the events to the world.
No, I`m not talking about people blog-
ging about where to donate money to help
victims, or people putting up Facebook sta-
tuses about their prayers.
I`m talking about the people who
blamed the victims.
Just a Iew hours aIter the two environ-
mental disasters hit Japan, people were
posting on all sorts oI social media sites,
most notably Twitter. As you might expect,
Japan and tsunami were trending top-
ics, almost immediately.
Embarrassingly, so was Pearl Harbor.
It would be bad enough iI people were
comparing an act oI war with a current na-
tional disaster. OI course, that`s not where
the comments ended.
Most oI them were saying that the
Japanese deserved it. That the disasters,
which, as oI print, have an accumulate sum
oI 21,000 missing and dead people, were
somehow payback Ior Pearl Harbor.
Over a week and a halI aIter the deaths
began, these idiots are still spouting hateIul
messages online.
On March 23, Twitter name joaquinro-
das posted, '`Dear Japan, Enjoy your tsu-
nami.KARMA bitch!` Sincerely Pearl
Harbor.
Some took a less aggressive, but just as
ignorant route: Is wondering was the tsu-
nami in Japan really their karma Ior bomb-
ing Pearl Harbor!?#justathought, posted
iTTybiTTyPiG on March 22.
1: Have you never opened a history
book and read about Hiroshima and Naga-
saki? Or are you just reading ones made in
Virginia? Pearl Harbor killed 2,402 Ameri-
cans. In Hiroshima alone, it was estimated
that 80,000 lives were lost directly, and
thousands more died aIter the Iact Irom
wounds and radiation.
Most oI them were civilians. People are
still dying today Irom the extreme expo-
sure they endured. And we did that to them.
Does that mean we deserved Hurricane Ka-
trina? Obviously, the answer is no.
2. II that`s the way karma works, you
should all be expecting to lose a limb any
time now.
The worst part is that these people
are representing the United States. When
people Irom Germany, South AIrica and
yes, Japan, clicked on 'Pearl Harbor on
March 11, they only saw the ignorant side
oI America.
What, are people outside oI the United
States supposed to come over here and inter-
view diIIerent Americans to fnd out who we
really are as a nation? Is our ignorant repre-
sentation oI ourselves their Iault, too?
When idiots like that represent Ameri-
ca, I think it`s Iair to say that there`s enough
shame to go around Ior every American.
QUINN DAVIS
Editor
I drove home
aIter a 10-hour shiIt
at Dominick`s on
St. Patrick`s Day to
play some Frogger.
The game start-
ed way beIore I got home. Also, I`m not sure
iI this is right, but I`m thinking I was on a
very, very high level: Instead oI being the
Irog, I was the car. And instead oI one Irog,
there were hundreds.
And instead oI Irogs, there were bun-
dles oI green-clad people jumping in Iront
oI my car.
Every sunrise in Ann Arbor starts an-
other game oI Frogger. Even though I`ve
never hit a biker or a pedestrian, it always
Ieels like I`m losing.
I`ve obviously been a pedestrian in Ann
Arbor myselI. Unlike most people who pol-
lute the street (it`s a sideWALK! A side-
WALK people!) I look both ways beIore
crossing the street just like every Kin-
dergartener in every other city in Michigan
learns how to do.
I also don`t get pissy with drivers iI I
start walking across the street when they
have a green light which, again, I never do.
Its true that pedestrians have the right
oI way. II you`re hit by a car while walk-
ing, it`s almost always the driver`s Iault,
as it should be. But Ior some reason, Ann
Arborites take that idea to the extreme,
walking in Iront oI cars like complete idi-
ots. Again: This is an idea that a Kindergar-
tener can comprehend. So no, I don`t think
calling you all complete idiots is harsh.
Yeah, I get that it`s better Ior the environ-
ment that you`re walking, and that I`m only
adding to A2`s traIfc problem by dodging
you with my car. But my job at The Voice is
halI an hour away Irom my house, and due
to varying working hours and interviews all
over the place, I can`t exactly walk again,
like an idiot to work or take the bus.
Also, me bike death, and I don`t
want to add to the amount oI traIfc acci-
dents I see drivers avoid daily. Oh yeah, that
and some pedestrian stole my bike. Cheers!
Ann Arbor`s general disregard Ior basic
traIfc laws isn`t just stupid. The way it`s
carried out is also rude. Risk-taking pedes-
trians are essentially asking drivers to be
on high alert all the time. II you having the
ability to understand what a car can do to
your body more than a deer can, why would
you still act like a deer?
I dont know how many times Ive been
waiting to turn and had to wait Ior pedestri-
ans to cross the street frst, only to pull my
hair out watching these people take their
damn time.
Someones day is getting crappier be-
cause oI you, right now! All you have to do
is hit a slow jog. Get out oI the way. But
no, everyone just saunters across the street,
sometimes even stopping to tie their shoes
in the middle while I hold up traIfc waiting
to turn.
This isn`t something trivial; people ac-
tually die Irom these accidents. I think we
should do whatever it takes to curb this
kind oI behavior even iI it means taking
Kindergarten all over again.
Dear Ann Arbor: HONK!
ROBERT CONRADI THE WASHTENAW VOICE
Students stroll through trafc on State Street near South University.
Jobs aren`t always as straightIorward as they seem Irom the
outside. Take editing this newspaper, Ior example. Anytime
someone fnds a typo in The Washtenaw Voice, they have every
right to assume that our entire editing staII is made up oI idiots.
How we wish people could see all oI the other things that go
into our jobs, and how last-minute some oI our changes and
typos are made, in an eIIort to get things right.
We`re sure that the members oI Washtenaw Community
College`s Presidential Search Advisory Committee Ieel the
same way. II only they knew how long we planned, how much
we deliberated! Then they`d see why we didn`t select a new
president (see Back to the drawing board, Front Page).
Just like us, no one really knows, or cares, Ior that matter.
But that doesn`t mean they can be immune to criticism.
It took the Board oI Trustees and the PSAC months to get
to the point where it was interviewing candidates on campus,
even though everyone has known since the beginning oI the
academic year that President Larry Whitworth is retiring.
In reality, it really should take this long. The board hasn`t
done something like this in 13 years, and the candidate it
chooses could be with the college Ior even longer. It`s not a
quick-and-Iast decision.
Nevertheless, the way that this frst round oI candidacies
was handled was, shall we say, a little embarrassing?
As a matter oI Iact, all this hemming and hawing reminds us
oI another time that brought Ann Arbor some humility. Remem-
ber just a Iew months ago, when University oI Michigan Iootball
head coach Rich Rodriguez was hung out to dry? The name oI
Dave Brandon, the UM athletic director, was painted in red all
over the news and social media sites Ior the way it was handled.
'How unproIessional! cried some. 'Leave the man some
dignity! yelled others.
The comparison here is uncanny.
OI course, there are the obvious diIIerences, besides the Iact
that this is WCC we`re talking about and not the UM Athletic
Department. For one, let`s be honest: Most in the WCC commu-
nity couldn`t care less iI the dignity oI the three candidates was
compromised which it was.
What we care about is how the school looks, and where our
dollars are going.
With 13 members on the PSAC, and the initial reassurance
oI the board that any oI the fnal candidates would be suitable
Ior the job, WCC now looks a little silly.
Sure, the board could have just been reassuring the public
that everything was fne. Besides, public worry won`t help the
process go any Iaster.
On the other hand, everything wasnt fne. The board origi-
nally allotted $57,000 toward the presidential search. That`s
a lot oI money to blow on three people that you don`t end up
choosing.
ThankIully, that same amount oI money won`t be spent this
time around. A lot oI the initial work has been done already.
However, the specifc amount oI additional money hasn`t been
discussed publicly. Either way, WCC will be paying more, in
the many thousands, to fnd more presidential candidates.
Like last time, all we can do is sit back and criticize.
WCCs presidential
search, and the Dave
Brandon connection
JAMES
HIGHSMITH
Managing Editor

I never under-
stood how people
couldn`t just quit
smoking whenever
they wanted to, or
how losing weight was such a hassle to some.
With a bit oI dedication and determination,
anything can be accomplished, right?
Well, sure, but. . .
I take pride in being someone whos
well disciplined and able to achieve a good
portion oI the goals I set Ior myselI. Most
recently, I made a bet with my girlIriend,
Jenessa, that I would Iollow her ways and
go without any beeI or pork in my diet Ior
six months. II I succeeded, I`d be attending
the frst-ever night game at Michigan Sta-
dium. Shes buying.
I thought it`d be easy. I cut caIIeine out
oI my liIe cold turkey aIter drinking it Ior
about 12 years, and it didn`t even bother me.
But what`s a bet without some kind oI
ante?
II I caved in and ate the delicious meats
that I`d Ieasted on almost daily Ior 18 years
oI my liIe, I`d be treating her to a weekend
in Sandusky, Ohio, when 'HalloWeekends
rolls around at Cedar Point Amusement Park.
Originally we were supposed to begin
the challenge in the frst week oI March, but
I had to eat beeI a Iew more times in order to
'judge the best hamburger competition Iea-
tured in this issue (See Burger Battle A10).
Other than that, no other beeI oI any kind.
My frst challenge came when Michigan
Iootball coach Brady Hoke hosted a lunch
eon Ior media members earlier this month.
It was catered by Famous Dave`s BBQ, and
I instinctively added some oI those Iamous
ribs to my plate.
Set to take the frst bite oI the barbeque
sauce-smothered ribs, it hit me.
'Matt, I can`t eat these, I said to Voice
colleague Matt Durr, who attended the lun-
cheon with me. 'I have the bet with my girl-
Iriend.
I couldn`t resist, though. I made a phone
call and convinced her to let the challenge
start just aIter I fnished the article.
And oI course, I went back Ior seconds.
The next biggest challenge came while
ordering a sandwich at Potbelly`s. The Ital-
ian sandwich on white bread was delicious
. until I realized I wasn`t supposed to eat it.
Then there was lunch at Frita Batidos,
where that Inspired Cuban sandwich, which
included ham and the thickest slice oI bacon
I`ve ever seen, was so delicious. As my girl-
Iriend watched me eat the sandwich, she didn`t
say a word. But deep down I could see the ex-
citement building in her eyes at the thought oI
all those great rides at Cedar Point!
No pork, no beef . . . no willpower
Pay, ride and hope you arrive
BENJAMIN
MICHAEL SOLIS
StaII Writer
A Iew issues
back, I wrote an
opinion piece about
riding the Rynear-
son shuttle Ior the
frst time. I mentioned then that my home-
town oI Canton has no public transportation.
Well, I was dead wrong. So I decided to
put my money where my mouth was.
I decided to ride 'The Ride.
Since the frst stop on the A2 Canton
Express bus is less than a block away Irom
my house, I walked to the stop, got on and
paid my $5 bus Iare.
At frst, I talked to no one. I tried to ob-
serve my surroundings. The seats, the foor
and the lines designating where drivers sit
and where passengers sit were all maize and
blue only in Ann Arbor. The air smelled
oI worn rubber and dirty Ieet.
The topic oI conversation between the
riders was varied. A woman`s son tried out
Ior baseball and didn`t make the cut, but
he`s good at Iootball so at least he has that.
Two riders shared recipe ideas and talked
about the price oI gas. One man slept, and I
wanted to Iollow suit.
Seeing my press pass, the riders asked
me where I worked.
AIter discussing their experiences rid-
ing so Iar, each person got oII one by one.
Down to the last two riders, one concerned
Iemale rider asked iI I knew where the hell
I was going.
Obviously, I didn`t.
And out oI pity Ior my suburbanite ig-
norance, the driver stopped the bus and
said, 'Go to the transit station. It`s just
down Fourth Street.
I was going to walk Irom Washington
and Ashley, all the way to the Pioneer High
School stop, iI the woman hadn`t merci-
Iully intervened.
I eventually Iound the bus I was look-
ing Ior, but the Route 7 driver laughed in
my Iace when he had heard that I took the
hour-long way to WCC. Apparently, Route
3 takes just 25 minutes.
So what have I learned?
Don`t ride public transportation iI you
don`t know where you`re going. Not only
will you get totally lost and late Ior what-
ever appointment you`re traveling to, but
the drivers and the riders will look at you
like a Iool.
I talked a good game. I rode the ride.
And I never want to do it again.
It only takes me 20 minutes to get to the
college in my car. And about $3.50 in gas.
Two wrongs dont make American idiots right
2012 Michigan Community College Press Association Judging Form

Place of award:

First Place Second Place Third Place Honorable Mention

Category: Serious column

Headline/title of entry: Two wrongs dont make American idiots right

Contestants name: Quinn Davis

College name: Washtenaw CC

Judges comments:

Are they idiots? Maybe. Do you want to call them idiots in a column? Not necessarily. I am
doing a lot of moderation of online comments, and name calling never helps an argument.
So, while I may agree with your premise, I think you need to take a different tact. You have a
valuable piece of real estate as a columnist, use the space to lay out your arguments in the
most compelling and complete way, with well reasoned arguments.
You start with a very strong position that being youve chosen a great topic that not
everyone else would have identied. Thats half the battle in writing a column.
Try to avoid using you and I. It is difcult in column writing, but ultimately it makes a column
stronger. Ex: If thats the way karma works, you should all be expecting to lose a limb any
time now. If thats the way karma works, any of those commenters should expect to start
losing limbs any time now.
You have a strong, passionate voice, which will only get stronger with renement.

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