The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Letter to editors

Letter+to+editors

Clinton and abortion

In the article “Planned Parenthood CEO in IC,” published on Oct. 6, it was stated that UI Students for Life member Sarah McCreary said presidential candidate Hillary Clinton supports abortion through all nine months of pregnancy. Immediately after this quote, the article followed up with a statement that read “In a March Democratic primary town hall sponsored by Fox News, Clinton said that she supported a late-term abortion regulation that would have exceptions for the mother’s health.” I would like to bring to light that Clinton’s past record indicates a very different view than this quote states.

In 2003, as a New York senator, Clinton voted against a bill that proposed a restriction on partial-birth abortion, with the exception in cases where the mother’s life is at risk. This is exactly the legislation that she claims she is in support of. Further, in 2015, Clinton vehemently opposed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, an act that would have prohibited abortions after 20 weeks gestation, when an unborn child is capable of feeling pain. If Clinton were truly opposed to late-term abortions, surely she would have supported legislation that would protect innocent children who can feel pain. But no, she did not.

When we evaluate candidates, we must be sure not to take everything they say at face value. We must dig deeper to find what policies they really support. In Clinton’s case, she has clearly shown that she supports abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. Voters should be aware of this fact when they head to the polls in November.

—Sarah McCreary

Learning to understand America

The University of Iowa has embraced international students all over the world in the past decade. They bring cultural diversity to this vibrant and lively Midwest campus town. However, such a dramatic change also induces misunderstanding and even bias toward international students. The Sept. 20 opinions column in The Daily Iowan, “ Learning to Understanding Chinese,” is just one of the many examples.

In the article, with her own incomplete experience and observation, the author makes sweeping statements on all Chinese students by piecing up different unrelated information, such as lucrative wealth of some Chinese students. For example, she says that Chinese students intentionally “bypass” the higher-education examination by attending American universities. This reflects her ignorance and arrogance as a typical Westerner.

Clearly, she does not know the hardship and difficulty as an international student. Comparing with American fellows who only need to take SAT or ACT, we also need to take TOEFL tests. Taking tests and maintaining good grades is never easy. Not to mention we have to take two different tests simultaneously. When I was applying for universities, after I finished my homework at midnight, I could not … rest but had to spend at least an hour … memorizing new vocabulary and another hour … practicing ACT and TOFEL exercises. In this sense, in order to study in Iowa, I did not bypass the exams in China but directly and bravely faced a bigger challenge.

The author also uses her experience in China and argues that the Chinese culture of “Guanxi” emblemizes the difference between education systems of the two countries. With all due respect, I cannot agree with this arbitrary and superficial argument. I spent three years in California for my high school, traveled frequently to different parts of the state and studied American culture. As a result, I have, as an outsider, experienced the American education system firsthand and at different levels.

The most notable difference between the two countries is not “Guanxi” (personal relationship). In the U.S., personal relationship is as important as it is in China. I was told by so many of my friends, both Chinese and Americans, that when they are searching for jobs or internships, they find themselves in a disadvantageous position, despite their high GPA, or how proficiently they speak English, because their competitors know someone in the companies who can pull some strings.

In my opinion, there is no fundamental difference between the American and Chinese education system in attitudes toward academic cheating. On one hand, similar to the U.S.’s zero tolerance on academic misconduct, students in China who cheat in exams are usually placed on disciplinary punishment, such as lost exam eligibility or expulsion from school. According to the ninth amendment of the Criminal Law, organized cheating in a higher-education entrance exam will be sentenced for up to seven years. On the other hand, although cheating and plagiarism are unacceptable and should be condemned publicly, media have revealed that in many American schools, even Harvard, many students admit they plagiarize and cheat. If we follow this author’s logic, we can say American culture also “encourages” people to criticize cheating publicly, while conducting cheating secretly. And I cannot think of any other word except “hypocrisy” that can better describe this phenomenon.

Apparently, it is definitely neither something about culture nor a group of students. Despite the double standard used in that article, academic cheating and plagiarism is a common cancer in the current education system. With regards to recent scandal, I believe the university should educate students more about the seriousness of issue and increase transparency of the process and information in dealing academic misconduct. The university should also strengthen its oversight by introducing more advanced plagiarism-detection systems. Meanwhile, we should give incentive to students to report academic misconduct to the university and law enforcement.

—Zijiang Yang, international student and Dong (Erico) Yu, GPSG senator

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