Volume 8, Issue 7 | March, 2011

earthquake in Japan
The Purdue
Review
Affects Boilermakers, Too
The catastrophe was devastating
and far-reaching, and will still be im-

A JOURNAL OF CONSERVATIVE THOUGHT & OPINION

pacting Japan and the internation-
al community for quite some time. 4
State

DYING With the debate still raging

on about school vouchers,
Democrats’ actions are be-
coming ever more outland-

FOR DEMOCRACY
ish pg 5

Politics
Collective bargaining is a
complex issue. Get a bet-
ter idea of what it is, why it
is used, and how it affects
you. pg 8

Campus
Purdue student discusses
how her sexuality coexists
with her religious beliefs pg 10

Sports
The resurgent Chicago Bulls
are on their way back to the
top of the league pg 13

pg. 3
After rebelling against brutality and violence, the Libyan
people have spoken. The choice is theirs: build a strong
democratic government, or fall back into tyranny.

Indiana House Democrat Walkout: A Dereliction of Duty | pg 6

Could you skip work for over a month and not get fired?
 2 March, 2011 The Purdue Review

www.purduereview.com
T h e P u r d u e

Review Letter From

Jordan Hebbe, Editor-in-Chief
Kristin Patras, Publisher
The Editor
Greetings!

Morgan Ikerd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Editor
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Board of Directors: Nathan Arnold, Chair
Chase Slaughter, Adam Rusch, Jeff Schultz,
David Bridges, Jan Payne, Vicki Burch
First of all, thank you for picking up the March issue of The Purdue Review. Second, Happy
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Review The Purdue Review March, 2011 3

Libya: Dying for Democracy

By Morgan Ikerd

With the constant stream of news on Libyan soil. He stated that

flowing from the Middle East during the he had “not yet ordered the
last few months, it’s becoming extreme- use of force,” but warned lis-
ly difficult to keep everything straight. teners that “when I do, ev-
Revolutions, overthrow, violence, death, erything will burn.” The Arab
freedom: all words that have been catch- League suspended the Lib-
ing our attention in television broadcasts, yan delegation from meet-
newspaper headlines, and class discus- ings until the Libyan people
sions. But what is the cause of this wide- were safe. The next day, Brit-
spread, violent upheaval? Schools of opin- ish foreign minister, William
ion seem to attribute the phenomena to Hague stated in a press re-
two key components: increasing financial lease that there are “many
hardships and the successful removal of indications of the structure
Ben Ali from Tunisia, which sparked the of the State collapsing in
courage of the people to rebel across the Libya,” and urged the govern-
region. Moammar Gadhafi of Libya, Zine ment to listen to the people’s
el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, Mahmoud demands. On February 26,
Ahmadinejad in Iran, and Hosni Mubarak for the first time, President
of Egypt all have one thing in common: Obama,urged Gadhafi to step
their people want them out and they down and avoid further vio-
want them out now. However, as history lence. The next day the UN
reveals, the successful ousting of an old voted unanimously to im-
leader does not guarantee the success of pose sanctions on Libya. On
a future one. If the people aren’t prepared the 28th of February, U.S. Criminal Court announced that it would been arrested and subjected to torture.
to set up an improved government with Navy ships were positioned off the coast begin to launch an investigation of war Government troops attacked protestors
an honorable leader, the political vacuum of Libya. That same day, the United States crimes committed by Gadhafi, his sons, in Ajdabiya on March 13 and the fight-
may allow a leader to ing continued for days. On March 16, The
step in and take advan- New York Times announced that four of
tage of the fragile situa- its journalists were missing and may have
tion, leaving the nation
in a worse condition
If the people aren’t prepared to set up an been taken by Libyan government. The
next day, the city of Ajdabiya was seized by
than before.
When the Tunisian
improved government with an honor- the government and Gadhafi announced
that he would also attack Benghazi that
regime was ousted and
Egypt followed suit, the
able leader, the political vacuum may al- night. Washington shifted its position to
support aggressive armed action against
Libyan people set a date
too, labeling February
low a leader to step in and take advan- the Libyan government. On March 19,
French fighter jets began entering the air
17 the “Day of Revolt”.
Gadhafi, in despera-
tage of the fragile situation, leaving the space followed shortly by US planes. As of
March 22, the U.S. and its allies continued
tion, released prisoners
from jail, armed them
nation in a worse condition than before. to launch bombing attacks for the fourth
day to reinforce a no-fly zone endorsed
with weapons, and paid by the United Nations. President Obama
them to attack the dem- is confident that America has a very lim-
onstrators. By February 20, only five days froze 30 billion dollars worth of assets and his inner circle. On March 13, human ited role in Libya in terms of military op-
after the first protests, the death toll was belonging to the Libyan government, the rights watchers declared that the Libyan erations and stated on March 22 that the
nearly 300. On February 22, Gadhafi spoke largest amount of assets ever frozen. capital, Tripoli was in a state of fear; resi-
to the public and vowed to die a “martyr” Starting on March 3, the International dents of the city said that protestors had See “Libya...” on Pg. 4
 4 March, 2011
Japanese Tragedy Affects All
By Jordan Hebbe
The tragedy in Japan has impacted the
world in more ways than we can even
comprehend at this early stage.
The disaster has a current death toll
of over 10,000 people, with 17,000 still
missing and nearly 250,000 displaced
from their homes. The initial earth-
quake created 30-foot walls of water
that drowned rice fields, devoured entire
towns, relocated houses onto roads, and
scattered cars and boats like they were
toys. Some of the water from the tsunami
wave reached as far as 6.2 miles inland.
The quake caused massive damage to
Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant,
causing the generator’s to stop work-
ing, which were powering the reactor’s
cooling equipment. Radiation from Ja-
pan’s damaged nuclear power plant had
reached California within a week after the
initial earthquake. Despite US officials’
claims that the radiation is not significant
Libya...
From Page 3
military operations should be over within
a couple of days.
The ultimate question is: what does
the future hold for Libya? Many experts
The Libyan people must stay strong and
defiant and keep believing in a future
that is free of brutality and hardship.
in International Affairs say that Gadhafi
has lost legitimacy with his people, the
Arab world, and most of the international
community, and therefore his days are
enough to be dangerous to our health, the
USS Ronald Reagan detected “significant
levels of radiation” 100 miles off the coast
of Japan.
Beyond the damage and loss of life that
the disaster caused, Japan is also dealing
with serious economic issues as a result.
The California based company, Risk Man-
agement Solutions, estimated that Japan
would suffer $200-300 billion in econom-
ic losses. There is the fact that Japan, a
country that exports far more than it im-
ports, is basically at a production and out-
put standstill. Because of the high levels
of radiation, Japan also faces the possibil-
ity of crop and land contamination that
could hinder its agricultural production
as well. Another huge chunk of Japan’s
GDP comes from its fishing industry. As
a result of the nuclear power meltdowns,
the radiation that has been entering the
atmosphere has already begun to affect
numbered. Most of his supporters are
members of his wife’s tribe, whom were
promised money and a share in future
revenues in exchange for their support.
Stephen Walt, a professor of International
Affairs at Harvard University states that,
“His regime is really just a house of cards.
If he places the supporting civilians in cit-
the aquatic environment. At this point,
it is impossible to tell exactly how much
of an impact the catastrophe will have on
Japan, the environment, the global econo-
my, and the rest of the world.
Even within our own bubble here at
Purdue, students have been affected by
the catastrophe. When the tsunami oc-
curred, 6 students were studying in Ja-
pan and 2 more were scheduled to travel
there and begin their studies within the
next couple of weeks. Purdue’s associate
dean of international program’s, Brian
Harley, who is also the director of the Of-
fice of Programs for Study Abroad, has re-
quested that the students return home as
soon as possible. As for the two students
that were planning to venture to Japan,
their permission to travel has been put on
hold for the time being.
The obvious reasons - chaos, danger-
ous conditions, and safety concerns, are
ies, there will be no way for the U.S. or al-
lies to oust him with air power, and there-
fore, ground troops will be necessary and
will result in many civilian deaths.”
Moammar Gadhafi, who
has reigned in Libya for
over 40 years has always
been a ruthless dictator
with an appalling human
rights record and extreme-
ly anti-Western opinions.
He rarely found friends
in the United Nations and
American presidents al-
ways seemed suspicious of his behavior,
Reagan even accused him of funding and
supporting terrorist groups. A Libyan citi-
zen stated in an interview, “The Libyans
The Purdue Review
first in the minds of the Study Abroad
department when considering the stu-
dents in Japan. Additionally though, there
is continued uncertainty of availabil-
ity of food and water, and power and gas
throughout Japan. Another huge concern
is the possibility of radiation surround-
ing the damage to Japan’s Fukushima
nuclear power facility. Even now, nearly
three weeks after the initial earthquake
and tsunami, Japan is still at risk for after-
shocks because of the size of the first, an
8.9 magnitude quake.
At the time of writing, the 6 students
who were studying in Japan were said to
have returned home on Thursday, March
26th. Harley plans to work with the re-
turning students to either place them
in another country for the rest of their
spring or summer semester.
will not be happy with Gadhafi fleeing. We
want to see him put on trial. The Libyans
want to put a government in place with a
constitution that is approved by the peo-
ple, the freedom to create political par-
ties. What we want is democracy, not a
half-baked democracy. Not ‘free elections’
that will bring in dictators like in Iraq –
we want the institutions of democracy, a
real democracy.” The Libyan people must
remain strong and defiant and keep be-
lieving in a future that is free of brutality
and hardship. As George W. Bush stated,
“everywhere that freedom stirs, let ty-
rants fear.” Power to the Libyan people.
Review The Purdue Review
Scholarships: Kids vs. ISTA Democrat Campaign Donations
By Jay Wood
On Wednesday, March 23, 2011, the
Indiana House Democrats broke the
United States record for the longest leg-
islative walkout in our nation‘s history. As
of Wednesday the 23rd, with the excep-
tion of Representative Steve Stemler (D-
Jeffersonville), they have been absent in
Urbana, Illinois for 31 days.
The Democrats fled the state because
they were upset with Right to Work legis-
lation, as well as the Governor’s transfor-
mative education agenda. A big part of the
Governor’s education agenda is to pass
grade school scholarships (often referred
to as vouchers).
House Bill (HB) 1003 deals with school
choice and scholarships. As discussed in
last month’s issue, scholarships would
provide grade school students in Indiana
the opportunity to transfer to a school of
their choice. There is a multitude of rea-
sons why a family might want to transfer
their student from one school to another.
It could be a situation where the stu-
dent is not succeeding at a traditional
public school, but they could have a bet-
ter opportunity to succeed at either an-
other traditional public school, a charter
school, or a private school. It could also be
a situation in which a student feels “stuck”
in a failing traditional public school and is
March, 2011 5
desperate to find a thriving school. Association (ISTA)? money to donate to Democrats who will
It could be difficult for low-income In last month’s issue, I explained that oppose scholarships and charter schools.
families to afford to send their child to ISTA is opposed to HB 1003 for a number
another school. These scholarships could of reasons, but part of the debate is simi- I will ask you once again what this de-
If you need help deciding whether several inner-
city Democrats are representing their constitu-
ents or their ISTA campaign contributions, you
might need to start over at the Kindergarten level.
help those struggling families to give their lar to the fight over HB 1002, which deals bate over scholarships is really about. Is
child the best education possible. This has with charter schools. If families receive a it about whether parents should have the
created a very interesting circumstance. scholarship to transfer their student from ability to pick the best educational envi-
Scholarships are typically utilized in in- one school or another, it is quite possible ronment for their children to succeed? Or
ner-city communities (i.e. Indianapolis
and Gary).
The majority of Indiana charter school
These scholarships could help those
students are racial minorities and/or
from low-income families. However, it is
struggling families to give their
several of the Democrat representatives
from these inner-city districts that are the
child the best education possible.
most adamantly opposed to this legisla-
tion, even though it is their constituents
that would most
likely be the benefi-
ciaries of scholar-
ship opportunities. that the student could be transferring is it about the size of ISTA’s bank account,
These Demo- from a traditional public school (staffed rally numbers, and campaign contribu-
crats actively work- with teachers who are members of ISTA) tions?
ing against their to a charter school or a private school Furthermore, are several of the Demo-
constituents who (which might not be staffed by teachers crats who represent inner-city districts
would be served by who are members of ISTA). Heaven forbid (with students and families who desire
scholarships begs students receive an education from non- scholarships) truly acting in the best in-
the question - are union teachers. Recall what I said in the terests of their constituents, or are these
they looking out for last issue about students leaving ISTA- Democrats acting in accordance with the
the young people dominated public schools and heading campaign contributions their party re-
and families in their for non-ISTA charter schools and private ceives from the Indiana State Teachers As-
districts or are their schools: if traditional public schools cut sociation? If the answer is not obvious to
actions being pur- teachers because of students leaving, then you, then you might need to start school
chased by the Indi- ISTA’s bottom line suffers. When ISTA’s over at the Kindergarten level.
ana State Teachers bottom line suffers, then they have less
 6 March, 2011
Indiana House Democrat Walkout:
A Dereliction of Duty
By Jay Wood
I have had the unique privilege of serv-
ing as an intern for the Indiana House of
Representatives this legislative session.
That experience has allowed me to see
all of the action up close. I would like to
I always knew the House could
be a circus, but I never thought
it would turn into a “flee market.”
put out a disclaimer, though, that the fol-
lowing thoughts and opinions are my own
and do not reflect my employer. Monday,
February 21st started out as just a normal
day at the office. Everything was moving
along as planned. That evening, I went
to my internship class (held at the State-
house) and then left for home at approxi-
mately 6:45 pm.
I got a text message from one of my
friends later that night asking me if the
House Democrats had fled the Statehouse.
I responded that I had no idea what hap-
pened after the time I left for home. I did
not know this at that moment, but my
friend had heard correctly. The House
Democrats had fled the Statehouse.
When I returned to work the next
There will be no budging from the Speaker that
all negotiations MUST take place on the House
Floor where they are open for the public to see.
morning, I bore witness to the very ear-
ly stages of what has become a record-
breaking historical event. Thirty seven
members of the House Democrat Caucus
were absent. The only three members
of their caucus present were Represen-
tatives Terri Austin, Vanessa Summers,
and Steve Stemler. Representative Austin
would not disclose the whereabouts of
her fellow House Democrats. It was later
discovered that those 37 members were
camped out at a Comfort Suites in Urbana,
Illinois. Not only had they fled the State-
house, the House Democrats had fled the
State of Indiana. I always knew the House
could be a circus, but I never thought it
would turn into a “flee market.”
Without a quorum (67 members pres-
ent), there can be no conduct of business.
For the next few days, House Speaker
Brian Bosma repeatedly held session hop-
ing that a quorum would be present, but
there was never any success. A couple
days later, there were two different House
Democrats present. There were still only
three total, but this time it was Steve
Stemler and two new Democrats (I do not
remember which).
It became apparent at this point that
Representative Stemler was not taking
part in the walkout. The House Democrats
were simply substituting two new mem-
bers in every few days to request a roll
call, so that Speaker Bosma could not con-
duct business without officially recogniz-
ing the absence of a quorum. I can assure
you that the House Republican Caucus is
very appreciative of Representative Stem-
ler’s principled stand against the actions
of the rest of his caucus.
After several days of pleading with the
House Democrats to return, Speaker Bos-
ma (with the consultation and approval
of his caucus) decided to impose a $250/
day fine on the absent members. That fine
has since been increased to $350/day. At
this point in time, those fines have not yet
compelled the absent members to return
for the conduct of business. On Wednes-
day March 23rd, the House Democrats set
a United State record for the longest leg-
islative walkout in our country’s history
(31 days). Each day that they are absent
Does this make them…
“flee-baggers?”
beyond that just adds to their own record.
The first question on people’s minds is
what the motivation behind the walkout
was. The original answer to that ques-
tion is the House Democrats were upset
because of Right to Work legislation that
was to be put to a vote. For those that do
not know, ‘Right to Work’ means that if
you are seeking em-
ployment at a com-
pany that is unionized,
you will not be forced
to join the union as a
condition of your em-
ployment.
This legislation out-
raged organized labor
in our state. They have
made their anger known to the House
Republicans by showing up to protest
loudly every single day during the Demo-
crat walkout. They held a funeral for “the
death of the middle class;” they brought in
famous actor Danny Glover (who is any-
The Purdue Review
thing but middle class) to speak on their
behalf, and they held a big rally. The big
union rally wound up being the high wa-
ter mark of this entire showdown.
The unions represent a little less than
10% of the workforce in Indiana. They
were expecting to hold a “We Are In-
diana” rally that would be attended by
20-25,000 union protesters. Despite lots
of preparation, only 8,000 protesters
showed up, and that might be a liberal
estimate in multiple senses of the word.
Even if there were 8,000 protesters (I will
give them the benefit of the doubt and
agree with that figure), I know for a fact
that several of those folks were bussed in
from numerous other states.
That was amusing, given that it was a
“We Are Indiana” rally. It is also amusing
that union people who are being paid not
to show up to work (literally) were show-
ing their support for Democrats who were
also be being paid but not showing up to
work. I see some kind of connection there.
The rally was sort of like Pickett’s
Charge at Gettysburg. It was a giant ef-
fort to break the opposition, and it failed
miserably. Scoring 8/20 on something is a
complete failure, much less scoring 8/25.
The rally proved that the unions are not
as strong as they think they are. I believe
that the House Democrats were desper-
ately hoping for a giant turnout at the
rally to prove a point. When that did not
happen, they found themselves backed
into a corner.
A common feeling is that if they want-
ed to defeat Right to Work, the Demo-
crats should have walked out for one day,
threatened a full-fledged escape across
state lines unless Speaker Bosma took
that legislation off the table, got their
wish, and then came back to work. The
Democrats missed that opportunity and
are stuck up you-know-what creek with-
out a paddle.
See “Walkout...” on Pg. 7
Review The Purdue Review
Walkout...
From Page 6
Meanwhile, the unions are continuing
to protest at the Statehouse every single
day. There is some confusion as to why,
because Right to Work has been taken
off the table. The unions will tell you that
they are standing in solidarity with the
Indiana State Teachers Association, which
is upset over the Republicans’ education
agenda.
The second question most people ask
is an inquiry about who is paying the
bill for the walkout. The hotel bill is not
coming from our tax dollars. Unless spe-
cific Representatives pay out of their own
pockets, the hotel bill and the continued
fines are being paid for by the Democrat
State Party. That brings up the next ques-
tion of how that organization can afford
such a hefty amount. As far as I know, the
This lack of touch with the vot-
ers will undoubtedly cost the
House Democrats dearly in 2012.
labor unions are pumping money into the
Democrat State Party to fund the fees and
the hotel bill.
The third question is how long will this
go on. Nobody knows. Everyone has their
own speculation, but nobody actually
knows. There have been a few meetings
and even more conversations between
Speaker Bosma and Minority Leader Bau-
er. The House Democrats originally had a
list of 11 or so demands (which has now
been whittled down to just a few) that
they wanted Speaker Bosma to meet.
They were hoping that the demands
could be met through some sort of back-
room deal. Speaker Bosma has main-
tained that all negotiations and discus-
sions must take place on the House Floor
” on Pg. 7where they are open and transparent to
the public. There will be no budging from
the Speaker that all negotiations MUST
take place on the House Floor where they
are open for the public to see.
Could you skip work for over
a month and keep your job?
With Right to Work off the table, what
is keeping the Democrats away from the
Statehouse? As I mentioned earlier, they
and the unions still have negative feelings
towards the Republicans’ education agen-
da. There are a few other speculations as
well. The first is that the House Demo-
crats are being pressured by their party at
the national level to drag on the walkout
as long as possible to either prevent Gov-
ernor Daniels from running for president,
or at least take away time that he could be
spending raising money for a presidential
run. I cannot confirm or deny that specu-
lation, but I can see it as plausible.
This is the last gasp of the
Democrat Party in Indiana.
The second speculation is that Minor-
ity Leader Pat Bauer is using this walkout
as a personal vendetta against Governor
Daniels to prevent or weaken a presiden-
tial run and/or just because Pat Bauer
may not like Mitch Daniels. Again, I can-
not confirm or deny that, but I can see it
as plausible. The third speculation is that
Bauer and the Democrats simply do not
know how to return to Indiana and still
save face. This is perhaps the most plau-
sible and likely of the three speculations.
What happens if the Democrats do not
return? First of all, they have a constitu-
tional duty to pass the budget and pass
the redistricting of the legislative maps.
If the budget is not passed by June 30th,
then starting July 1st, the government
shuts down. The Democrats cannot afford
this politically, because if the government
shuts down, lots of people will struggle as
a result, particularly many of their con-
stituents who rely on government assis-
tance.
Also, the longer they stay in Urbana,
the more difficult the Democrats’ walk-
out will be to defend when they are up for
re-election in 2012. The Democrats will
already suffer from the new maps that
will no longer be the ones they gerryman-
dered in 2001. In their already more-diffi-
cult races, they will have to defend the fact
that they have abandoned the legislative
duty which they were elected to fulfill, did
not show up for work and still got paid
March, 2011 7
(which no regular person could do and
still keep their job), disenfranchised the
entire state and (while 120 miles away in
Urbana) proposed nearly a half a billion
dollars in new spending. That is a very tall
order.
Despite the real complexity of this situ-
ation, it can be broken down to this: there
are two teams of six year old children
playing a pickup game of basketball. One
team is bigger and stronger, and they are
winning against the smaller weaker team.
Upset about this fact, the smaller weaker
team steals the ball and runs away. If they
cannot win, then they would rather have
there be no game at all.
In this situation, however, the child-
ish House Democrats are not making a
mockery of a pickup game of basketball.
They are making a mockery of the demo-
cratic process of our state government.
At the beginning of this session, Speaker
Bosma made every attempt to act in a bi-
partisan manner. For the first time in Indi-
ana history, two minority members were
appointed committee chairs. Bills with
Democrat authors and sponsors were al-
lowed to come to the floor, and some were
passed.
Despite the Speaker’s effort, the Dem-
ocrats are unwilling to play. They are
disregarding the outcome of the 2010
midterm election and they are trying to
act as though the voters of Indiana kept
them in the majority and wanted them
to set the agenda. By not showing up for
work and still getting paid (they receive
their full salary in January and February),
they are proving themselves to be out of
touch. This lack of touch with the voters
will undoubtedly cost the House Demo-
crats dearly in 2012. In a way, voters are
like employers. Before long, the people of
Indiana will have the opportunity to de-
cide if they want to re-hire and continue
paying 39 people who have walked off the
job for over a month.
 8 March, 2011
Demystifying Collective Bargaining
By Schuyler D e Armond
Do you have a job? In this economy, un-
employment is currently 8.9% of the total
population. If you have a job, is it subject
to collective bargaining and labor con-
tracts? There has been a lot of talk about
collective bargaining and workers’ rights
in the media lately. That is mostly due to
the goings-on in the Legislatures of Wis-
consin and Indiana. Collective bargaining
is a confusing and mysterious topic for
most people.
Collective Bargaining, defined by Cor-
nell University Dean and collective bar-
gaining professor Harry C. Katz, is a mech-
anism for organized groups of workers
(unions) and their employers to resolve
conflicting interests and to pursue agree-
ment over common interests.
The first step in collective bargaining is
for the employees to form a union. They
may work with their employer to form
The Purdue Review
an intra-organization-
al union, such as the
Southwest Airlines Pi- The local chapters elect local workers in the in-
lot Association, where
workers of a particu- dustry or retired workers from their profession.
lar firm have a say in
their specific place of The national level also has elected officials that
employment. Workers
may also choose a na- are elected by all of the members of the local
tional union composed
of workers from dif- chapters. Some large unions have a third chap-
ferent companies that
are in the same line of ter, an international level that is run the same way.
work, such as the Air
Line Pilots Association
(ALPA) and Airline Pi-
lots Association (APA). This is achieved APA) are national unions that have many are elected by all of the members of the
by employees taking a vote and being local chapters. The local chapters elect local chapters. Some large unions have a
certified by the National Labor Relations local workers in the industry or retired third chapter, an international level that
Board. workers from their profession. The na- is run the same way. Intra-organization-
Traditionally, unions (like the ALPA and tional level also has elected officials that al unions try to give their companies an
edge in the industry, whereas traditional,
national unions try to create an equal
playing field for all workers in the indus-
try. It is a widely held belief that an equal
industry will assure that workers are not
lost to monopolization, and that an equal
industry will create more competition
with more firms and more workers that
create a product at a lower cost than mo-
nopolizing firms.
Monopolies have played a large role in
union creation. Firms in the energy indus-
try and the raw materials and mining in-
dustry have resulted in some of the larg-
est national debates, laws, and emotions
toward unions. One tradition of the em-
ployees in these industries was solidarity.
Exemplified by the song, “Solidarity For-
ever,” nearly all union members have the
same feelings. Most feel overworked and
underappreciated.
“It is we who plowed the prairies;
built the cities where they trade; Dug
the mines and built the workshops,
See “Bargaining...” on Pg. 9
 The Purdue Review
Bargaining...
From Page 8
endless miles of railroad laid; Now
we stand outcast and starving midst
the wonders we have made; But the
union makes us strong.”
Step two of collective bargaining is
the collective bargaining. In this step,
the employer sends a team of executives
and managers to meet with the elected
officials of the union, and generally the
union’s lawyers. Even though both sides
of the bargaining are supposed to know
their relative power over the other before
hand, it is during the collective bargaining
that you will see the true power of each
side. A union’s power is found in its abil-
ity to strike, decrease product, decrease
revenue, and in that it has solidarity. If
Collective bargaining is not a one-time
thing. It happens before the labor contract
runs out, which is generally three years.
the union does not stay together, on the
local, national, and international levels, it
may fall apart, and the collective bargain-
ing will fail as a result. Firms may have
the advantage of being large, likely having
another place to shift productivity, poten-
tially able to withstand a strike by selling
off inventory or run the plant with man-
agers and temporary workers. During col-
lective bargaining, the sides will have to
indirectly decide upon which sub-process
of bargaining is the best solution. Their
choices are distributive bargaining and
integrative bargaining. The two sides may
also have to use intra-organizational bar-
gaining or attitudinal bargaining.
Distributive bargaining is viewed as
zero-sum bargaining. That means that
a win for one side is a loss for the other
side. Examples would be a wage increase
” on Pg. 9is a win for the union but a loss for the
firm. Integrative bargaining is viewed as a
win-win. (Unless you are Michael Scott of
Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, then it is
a WIN-WIN-WIN, where everyone wins).
Integrative bargaining topics may in-
clude improving working conditions, in-
creasing worker productivity in various
ways, or general company rules. These
topics are beneficial to both sides since
improved working conditions may lower
healthcare costs. Increased productiv-
ity may follow with a small raise, but the
raise will be less than the increased rev-
enue. General rule changes can improve
employees’ satisfaction and happiness in
the workplace. To reach these resolutions,
each side needs to treat the other side
with respect and not to act as if one side is
“getting back” at the other.
Collective bargaining is not a one-time
thing, it happens before the labor contract
runs out, which is generally three years.
Attitudinal bargaining takes place by bar-
While government can increase
the GDP, it is never as large of an in-
crease much as the private sector.
gaining outside of the boardroom. This
could mean having dinner together, play-
ing golf together, and just being friends.
Intra-organizational bargaining is bar-
gaining within the same organization.
This can sometimes be an issue for unions
Can a private sector, no mat-
ter how strong, hold up the
increasing wage demands of
more than one-third of pub-
lic workers, especially when
the budgets are not balanced?
and is a key to where solidarity comes
into play. An example of intra-organiza-
tional bargaining problems would be the
local union wanting a wage increase but
the international level wanting lump pay-
ments or profit sharing.
Other key issues for unions include
the wage-employment-trade-off and
the percentage make-up of unions. The
wage-employment-trade-off states that
at higher wages, a firm may be forced to
layoff workers. Losing your job is wildly
unpopular, and some people may rightly
blame the union for forcing your job loss.
The key is to recognize if the wage-em-
ployment-trade-off is present before a
union makes its demands. The percentage
make-up of unions should also be recog-
nized. Today, 6% of private workers are
unionized, compared to 36.2% of public
workers. While government can increase
the GDP, it is never as large of an increase
as the private sector. Since the United
March, 2011 9
States still has a strong private sector, and
unfortunately a grim tax system, most of
the tax revenue comes from the private
sector.
Can a private sector, no matter how
strong, hold up the increasing wage de-
mands of more than one-third of public
workers, especially when the budgets are
not balanced? Do public workers recog-
nize the wage-employment-trade-off? Do
public workers need solidarity? And what
is the sub-process of bargaining that pub-
lic workers are trying to establish? Is it a
zero-sum, or a win-win-win? Whatever
the answers are, I hope that the public
workers of Wisconsin and Indiana can
answer these questions honestly and that
they are looking out for the best interests
of the majority.
“In our hands is placed a power
greater than their hoarded gold,
greater than the might of armies,
magnified a thousand-fold. We can
bring to birth a new world from the
ashes of the old. For the union makes
us strong.”
 10 March, 2011 The Purdue Review

Purdue Student Speaks Out in O.W.N.Report

By Tom Chew

Many would consider the topic of be- their religious beliefs. One person who Chelsea participated in what is called created a Gay-Straight Alliance and spon-
ing homosexual and Christian taboo. For appeared in the program is a student The Naming Project, which is an organi- sored a day of awareness against all types
some however, it is an issue that must be here at Purdue University. She was given zation that runs a camp in Minnesota for of bullying. During her junior prom when
confronted and LGBT teens who she arrived with her girlfriend, she was
dealt with as a are trying to ridiculed by her peers, but by her senior
means of situat- deal with their year, she was elected prom queen. This
ing their spiritual
beliefs and sexual “I feel it’s the way God made sexual prefer-
ences and re-
made her the first gay prom queen in her
small town high school. Her story was so
preference. This
issue was brought me. I feel as though God made ligious beliefs.
She took part in
unique that she was brought on live tele-
vision via Skype where she was able to do
into the light on
a recent episode everyone with differences, the camp with
14 other teens
a follow up interview. When asked about
the live interview, Chelsea replied, “I was
of Our America
with Lisa Ling and this is just mine. God is who were a mix
of gay, lesbian,
very nervous about the live situation, but
I needed to have it in the back of my mind
titled “Pray the
Gay Away” that love, and God loves everyone.” t r a n s g e n d e r,
and straight in-
that I was helping others and it would do
amazing things.”
aired on O.W.N.
(Oprah Winfrey - Chelsea Shamy dividuals. They
received the
Chelsea has received a lot of atten-
tion recently following the show’s airing
Network). Ling‘s typical camp and she continues living her life the best
show focused on experience she can. She also is a member of Gamma
those who are with games, Rho Lambda, a progressive sorority that
gay and Christian, as well as individuals a chance to tell her story about her own crafts, worship, reflection time, and small invites girls regardless of race or sexual
who are trying to find a method of chang- struggles as well as appear on live televi- groups to discuss what they learned each preference. This is where she feels she
ing their sexual preference to align with sion via Skype when the program aired day. This was the camp that was covered has really grown into herself because of
earlier this month. For her, this in Lisa Ling’s special, during which she all the amazing and supportive people
was something she felt
she had to do as a means
of helping those dealing

For some however, it is an issue that

with the same issues.
Freshman Chelsea

must be confronted and dealt with

Shamy will tell anyone
who confronts her that

as a means of situating their spiri-

she is a strong believer in
the Lord and also a lesbi-

tual beliefs and sexual preference.

an. For some, this would
be considered a contra-
diction. She would say it
is entirely feasible. When
asked why it is possible
and how it works for
her, she said, “I feel it’s the way interviewed different teens about their she has met. She will tell you that being
God made me. I feel as though lives. gay does not define her, nor should it. Her
God made everyone with differ- Chelsea was fortunate enough to be sexual preference is just part of who she
ences, and this is just mine. God brought into the limelight because of her is, and her religious beliefs are something
is love, and God loves everyone. experiences during high school, when she she has been able to come to terms with
He wouldn’t create me any other and her girlfriend had done a lot to raise as well.
way.” awareness about homosexuality. They
Review The Purdue Review
PSG Elections 2011: Highley/Harvey In Focus
By Mike Cunningham
Free Legal Services for all Students
Problem
Many students cannot afford access
to adequate legal advice or legal repre-
sentation. Purdue is the only university
in the Big Ten Conference that does not
employ part-time or full-time lawyers to
guarantee these legal services to eligible
students.
Solution
Highley-Harvey, in partnership with a
Non-Profit Legal Organization based in
Indianapolis, will launch a new program
that guarantees legal advice to all stu-
dents and legal representation to those
with a particular need without imple-
menting any student fees. Intake sessions
would target students with questions or
controversies regarding landlord/tenant
disputes, immigration, discrimination, tax
disputes, consumer protection, and oth-
er civil areas that could pose a common
threat to students.
Reduce Student Costs by Tax Holi-
days
Problem
Students face escalating rates in tu-
ition, transportation, and living costs. In
addition to these ever-increasing figures,
the cost of academic materials can be es-
pecially burdensome.
Solution
Highley-Harvey will advocate the need
for “Tax Holidays” at the state level. These
pre-determined “Holidays” will give stu-
dents the opportunity to buy academic
materials (textbooks, notebooks, writing
supplies) without an additional sales tax.
Assuming that each student spends $300
per semester (a very modest estimate)
on academic materials, this policy would
save the Purdue student body over $1.3
million annually. “Tax Holidays” will give
students the freedom to apply these sav-
ings to pay for other required costs or to
spend the money elsewhere in the local
community.
Class Schedule Reform
Problem
Although the 7:30 a.m. setup is de-
signed to maximize the number of daily
class periods, it is often counterproduc-
tive. Most students, and some faculty
members, dread the 7:30 hour, which
leads to poorer attendance by students
and emptier classrooms for faculty. Stud-
ies also support the fact that educational
capacity decreases during early morning
class periods, and our own personal re-
search supports the fact that no learning
takes place while asleep.
Solution
Highley-Harvey will work with mem-
bers of Purdue’s administration to re-
March, 2011 11
evaluate the current class schedule and
the need for 7:30 a.m. classes. Shifting
the class schedule 30 minutes to a start-
ing time of 8:00 a.m. could result in a bet-
ter educational environment for students
and faculty alike.
Voting is today! How to vote:
1. Visit www.getinvolved.purdue.edu
2. Login/register with your Purdue career
account
3. On the homepage, select “Vote Here” in
the top left corner
4. Select the school in which you’re cur-
rently enrolled
5. Select the ticket you would like to vote
for
6. A confirmation message will appear to
confirm your vote
 12 March, 2011 The Purdue Review

Purdue Review Consumer Price Index

We are proud to present the updated Purdue Review Consumer Price Index. Due to recent Federal Spending, and increasing gas prices, consumer goods should see an increase
in price over the course of the year. As a reminder, for our CPI we used a few ground rules:

1. We are focused solely on grocery price in the West Lafayette area.

2. No pop, bottled water, salted snacks, or convection treats. These items prices are largely based on sales, and are largely on sale most of the time.
3. We used per weight volume for most all objects. This lets us fix a variable, since many goods prices are not increasing, but getting smaller packaging at the same price.
4. Like all CPI it does not take into account the substitution effect, or the quality of a good.
5. We will be monitoring all of these prices at the end of the second week of each month. This gives us a solid snapshot as many stores sales of the same item occur at the same
time of the month.

The full list is featured on our website at http://www.purduereview.com/campus/consumer-price-index.

Review The Purdue Review
The Bulls are Back in Town
By Aaron Anspaugh
As a young boy, growing up near Chi-
cago in 90’s, the Bulls were a major part
of my life. I was a bit too young to be fully
aware of the first Jordan-driven 3-peat,
but I don’t think I missed a single game
from the 1995-1996 season until Jordan’s
2nd retirement. To this day, I still have
over 100 Michael Jordan basketball cards,
a Chicago Bulls locker in my room, and
Chicago Bulls-themed bedspread back at
home. After the Bulls won their 6th cham-
pionship in 8 years, the magical team of
Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Longley, Kukoc,
Kerr, and Coach Jackson went their sepa-
rate ways. At that point, I thought that I
may never see a championship-level Chi-
cago Bulls team again.
But then Derrick Rose came to Chica-
go. Or I should say, he came back, since he
grew up on the South side of Chicago and
had an amazing high school career before
The Bulls are having their best sea-
son since Jordan retired in 1998. They
have won 11 of their last 12 games.
making a one-year stop at the University
of Memphis. Rose, now in his 3rd year of
play as starting point guard, is beginning
to mature into a true leader of a growing
team. Virtually all of his stats
(points, rebounds,
assists, steals) have
been increasing
over his time with
the Bulls, putting
If the Bulls can keep this crew of players to-
him in position to
potentially obtain
gether and stay relatively injury-free, they
the Most Valuable
Player award (and
could probably maintain this superior per-
he’d be the young-
est player ever to
formance for the better part of a decade.
earn it!)
Looking at the
Chicago Bulls right now, they are
52-19, their best season since
Jordan retired in 1998. After
starting off at a moderate pace,
they have won 11 of their last
12 games and are on track to
have the best seed in the Eastern
Conference. If they can manage
to win 5 of their final 11 games,
they will equal the performance
of the 1992-1993 Chicago Bulls
who went on to win the cham-
pionship. The head coach, Tom
Thibodeau, is doing extremely
well in training his young team
to work together and grow to-
March, 2011 13
gether. Coach Thibodeau is only in his year.
first year of being a head coach, and he Will this be the year that Chicago wins
already has a shot at making a deep run another championship? Maybe, maybe
not. They are a very
young team and have
quite a bit of room for
growth, even as good
as they are. But their
age is actually a ben-
efit compared to a few
older teams, such as
the Celtics, Spurs, and
Lakers. If the Bulls can
keep this crew of play-
into the playoffs. ers together and stay relatively injury-
Derrick Rose could not have carried free, they could probably maintain this su-
the Bulls by himself, even with his All- perior performance for the better part of
Star abilities. Several other members a decade. The potential is definitely there
of the Bulls have stepped up to take the for a new dynasty that rules the league the
load off of Rose’s shoulders. Luol Deng, a way the Bulls did in the 90’s. Not since I
Sudanese-born small-forward (once men- waited in line for 2 hours to shake Steve
tored by the late giant, Manute Bol), has Kerr’s hand (still one of the greatest mo-
provided offensive support and is danger- ments of my life) have I been this excited
ous beyond the arc. Center Joakim Noah about the Chicago Bulls.
arrived in Chicago a year before Derrick So if you are a current Bulls fan, a
Rose and has made solid improvement former Bulls fan, or just a Boilermaker fan
on both his defensive and offensive game. that wants to keep watching basketball for
Power forward Carlos Boozer, an All-Star a couple more months, make sure to tune
veteran, was added to the team this year into at least one game. What you will see
to increase the overall offensive tough- (hopefully) is an up-and-coming team that
ness and to improve rebounding. Many has great talent and even greater poten-
other players have been vital at times tial. Whether or not this is the first year
throughout this season, stepping up when of a new era in the NBA, one thing is clear:
several of the major players for the Bulls the Chicago Bulls are back as one of the
were injured at various times in the last best teams in the league.
14 March, 2011 The Purdue Review

From everyone at The Purdue Review, we would like to say

thank you to E’Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson, and the rest
of the Purdue Men’s Basketball team for another wonder-
ful season! We will miss the seniors, but we wish them all
the best in the NBA.
The Purdue Review March, 2011 15

Campus Diversions
Curtis by Ray Billingsley

Mallard Fillmore by Bruce Tinsley

Sudoku
Moderate
from http://www.veryfreesudoku.com

Fiendish

Kakuro instructions: The object is to fill all empty squares using

numbers 1 to 9 so the sum of each horizontal block equals the clue
on its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the clue on its
top. In addition, no number may be used in the same block more
than once.
 16 March, 2011 The Purdue Review

Attractions in Urbana, Illinois

If you take a paid vacation for over a month in Urbana, Illinois, you might want to find fun places to go to. We found some popular attractions to make your trip more enjoy-
able.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

- Well duh; this is by far the biggest attraction. Like

many other colleges campuses, you can see the Museum of Natural History and Art
arenas/stadiums, the academic buildings and Greek
houses, the greenery, and of course, the bar scene – - They have a bird exhibit from the 1893 Chicago
which I have been told is pretty awesome at U of I. World’s Fair.
- 901 W Illinois Street, Urbana, IL, 61801 - 1301 W Green Street, Urbana, IL, 61801

The Urbana Free Library

The Station Theatre
- As college students, we are generally down for any-
thing that is free, especially in this economy. - They have four major theatrical showcases a year!
- 210 W Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801 Given the location of the theatre, you could say they
are Broadway shows.
- 223 N Broadway Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801

Urbana Indoor Aquatic Center

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
- This place being indoors is nice, because you can go
there no matter what the weather is. - It is nowhere as cool as our Krannert, but they do
- 102 E Michigan Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801 have some well known opera and theatre groups.
- 500 S Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801

Spurlock Museum

- They might not serve alcohol like our Spurlock’s, Parks, gardens, etc.
but they have close to 47,000 historical artifacts from
around the world. - There are also 11 parks and gardens throughout the
- 600 S Gregory Street, Urbana, IL 61801 city, if you are into nature.