Out of State, Out of Mind
We’re hoping to see a lot of you at the urban planning mayor candidates’ forum tonight - except for the out-of-town and out-of-state students, who have no business whatsoever trying to impose their Hamtramckian or Ohioan views on the long-term-resident Engineering freshmen of Ann Arbor.
Engineering Freshman and Honorary Member of the OFW?
posted by Murph on October 29th, 2004 at 3:03 pmY’know who shouldn’t vote? Short people. I mean, obviously most of them could become informed on the issues, but even then, they just wouldn’t have the perspective to decide things for tall people.
posted by js on October 29th, 2004 at 6:39 pmSo, if you’re short and thinking about voting in this election, only vote on things that affect short people. Like drinking fountain height and whatnot.
Yeah, it’s the freshman thing that gets me. I mean, this kid can’t have even had the right to vote for all that long, and already he’s trying to say who should and shouldn’t have a say. Amazing.
posted by art student on October 29th, 2004 at 8:31 pmI wonder what on earth made that student care enough to write a lengthy letter to the editor? I find it a tad suspicious, actually.
I think what’s most troubling is the idea that students don’t have long-term interests in Ann Arbor. They each, individually, might not have a long-term stake — but as a group, what happens in the city (and state of Michigan) matters a great deal.
A more accurate way to view things is to recognize that students as a group have a stake, whether the current vote will directly impact them as individuals, or whether it will impact future students. If each cohort gets involved, each generation of students will benefit.
posted by Anna on October 29th, 2004 at 9:32 pmWhat’s the point of voting if you are not going to vote for the local stuff as well? For that matter, why six years? There are some people who have lived in areas all their life and are still ignorant of the issues. And what makes this person think that issues in Nebraska or New York are different than issues here?
Blah.
posted by Kozzie on October 29th, 2004 at 11:04 pmThis is my first time to the blog and already I like it. Yeah to people who care about the future of the city, including how it will be developed. I think this will be a HUGE issue in the coming years and it is vital for the community (read people that live and devote themselves to this place) to let the government know the importance of sustainable and productive development (read an emphasis on affordable housing, local businesses, pedestrian friendly walkways and less damn cars).
Just my humble opinion. Hope it goes well.
–Fentia
posted by Fentia on October 29th, 2004 at 11:30 pmThe ironic thing is that he’s not even originally from Ann Arbor. I guess that means he won’t be voting on city-wide issues for 6 years.
posted by g on October 30th, 2004 at 12:17 amTrue, but according to his directory entry:
“I’m from Dexter, MI. It’s a cool place. It has a gazebo.”
So he’s got that going for him. Which is nice.
posted by Brandon on October 30th, 2004 at 12:22 amA gazebo? I attack it…:)
posted by Kozzie on October 30th, 2004 at 1:24 pmThat’s what I thought but I didn’t want to be the first to say it! (For the record, one of my geekier friends had to explain this one to me last time it came up here.)
posted by ann arbor is overrated on October 30th, 2004 at 3:05 pm*blink blink*
Do you two have Star Trek costumes for tonight? I hear Butterick has a pretty easy pattern.
posted by Anna on October 30th, 2004 at 3:10 pmAre we going to talk about the mayoral debate on this thread or another? I thought both candidates did well, and that Lumm seemed quite well informed, contrary to some posts on previous threads, and the mayor is also very good in that sort of format. I was distressed though to hear the mayor say that he would not “shove anything down neighborhoods’ throats” when challenged on the city council’s indefensible decision to curtail the accessory dwelling unit initiative. First of all, this type of language has a long and reactionary pedigree in neighborhood politics in this country. Second what about the right of property owners to build an ADU and the right of people who work in this town to live here? Finally I was struck by the audience members who called this a failure of leadership and of political courage. The mayor simultaneously claimed that only 5-6 units per year would be built and then went on to speak of the neighborhood opposition as if it had to be treated as a legitimate expression of participatory democracy. If this is really only a few units then WHAT THE HELL were people so freaked out about? What is the point of having a Democratic super-majority and getting 3/4 of the vote if you don’t do something a little courageous once in a while?
posted by Matt on October 30th, 2004 at 6:55 pmI’ll be posting something tonight, Matt - what you mentioned was definitely the most interesting part.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on October 30th, 2004 at 8:34 pmMatt, I’ve posted a nice long write-up at ArborUpdate.
posted by Murph on October 30th, 2004 at 9:13 pmDexter is pretty much the closest place to Ann Arbor. Things voted on in Ann Arbor (i.e. the Greenbelt) very often have effects on the local communities and are the places where a lot of the the people who work in Ann Arbor live. That was the POV he was writing from. And while it’s hard to defend his point, saying that he is 1. a first-year, and 2. an engineer and thus his opinions don’t count is just about as ludicrous as what the letter itself said. The gist was that being local to the area there’s a vested interest and a knowledge of history and context surrounding the issues. And it’s pretty rediculous to assume that that “issues in Nebraska or New York [aren’t] different than issues here [in Ann Arbor]”. That’s just dumb. Federalism may be a concept more applicable in an America of many decades ago, but there are still many things for a voter to learn before, fore example, someone in Michigan could go and reasonably decide on the issues facing Florida. Two different situations.
“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.”
posted by Anonymous on October 31st, 2004 at 9:22 pmWell, I’m in the school of Engineering myself, and the first-year thing was just kind of funny because people make a lot of the same arguments he was making about why 18-year-olds shouldn’t vote in any elections. As for those who have been in an area longer having more of an interest in the outcome of an election, Hieftje actually made the point in the Friday debate that students are permanent residents in the sense that there will always be students here and those students have certain common interests.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on October 31st, 2004 at 9:31 pm