The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 17, 1988- Page 3


.Study: Seatbelts
reduce injuries

Panelists

tell

of life

0
in

BY KRISTIN HOFFMAN
A report released this week by
the University's Transportation Re-
search Institute shows that the use of
seatbelts dramatically reduces the
risk of injuries from automobile ac-
cidents.
Hospital stays of one week or
longer have dropped 43 percent
since Michigan's mandatory seatbelt
law went into effect three years ago,
according to the report.
University researchers, led by
Alexander Wagenaar, are presenting
their findings to the annual meeting
of the American Public Health As-
sociation in Boston this week.
Data gathered over an eight-year
period demonstrates the effective-
ness of seatbelts, as hospitalization
due to head, neck, back, arm, leg,
and abdomen injuries have dropped
significantly - ranging from 10 to
24 percent. There was a 19.7 percent
drop in crash fatalities, and a 19
percent drop in hospitalization over-
all. The use of seatbelts jumped
from around 18 percent before the
law to 60 percent use during the first
month of the mandatory law. Seat-
belt use among Michigan drivers has
since dropped to 40 percent.
Researchers gathered statistics on

hospitalized accident victims, their
injuries, and recovery rates at seven
hospitals. In addition, seatbelt use
was observed and recorded by teams
of trained researchers at intersec-
tions across the state.
In addition to seatbelts, Wage-
naar advocates the use of airbags to
further reduce the risk of injury, and
commends the Big Three auto mak-
ers for moving in the direction of
making airbags standard equipment.
Airbags are already standard equip-
ment in some Chrysler models, and
Ford claims to be moving in the
same direction.
Seatbelt use has economic as well
as life-saving value. The study re-
ports a savings of $219 million in.
un-needed treatment costs and pro-
ductivity that otherwise would have
been lost due to automobile injuries
or death.
Wagenaar advocates the use of
stronger penalties against those who
break the seatbelt law. A driver can-
not be pulled over simply for a seat-
belt infraction, but can be fined if
stopped for another reason and
found not using a seatbelt
Seatbelt fines vary across the
state - in Ann Arbor, the violation
carries a $45 penalty.

territories

BY JONATHAN SCOTT
A panel of three recent visitors to
the West Bank and Gaza Strip shared
first-hand accounts of life in the
occupied territories yesterday based
on their own travels in Israel.
University Director of Ethics and
Religion Robert Haurt, Director of the
Arab-American Anti-Discrimination
Committee Terry Ahwal, and Israeli
citizen Rachel Shammas each
communicated different personal
experiences about life in the territo-
ries, although their eyewitness ac-
counts differed little in terms of the
"tragic and miserable" conditions
they saw Palestinians "suffering"
under.
Ahwal, who was born in the West
Bank, hadn't been back to Israel since
her tenth birthday before this year. In
1967, she watched as Israeli soldiers
took her father out in the street and
then was "beaten by six or seven sol-
diers." She was hesitant about return-
ing, she said, but wanted to go and
see for herself the realities of the oc-
cupation and the nearly year-long up-
rising.
She witnessed "daily heartache"
from seeing her fellow Palestinians

"continually beaten everyday."
Haurt said that when he tells of his
experiences in the territories, almost
invariably someone in the audience
asks 'what about the other side?'
"When you go to the territories,
one side - the Palestinian side - is
the only one there is," he said.
What happens in West Bank and
Gaza Strip, he said, is not the same as
we see on television. Men, women
and children are "indiscriminately
beaten on a daily basis," he said. The
Palestinians he spoke with all ex-
pressed a desire to be "left alone, to
live in peace."
Shammas, who was born on a
Kibbutz and lived most of her life in
Israel, related- experiences from
childhood as well as her recent trip to
the territories. She said most Israelis
have been raised in a "vacuum,"
isolated from their Palestinian
neighbors so that most assume the
myth that all Arabs are the terrorists,
as the state says they are, is true.
She said we should remember that
out of 800,000 Palestinians who lived
in Israel in 1947, 700,000 became
refugees when Israel became a state.

JESSICA GREENE/Doily
Igor Ogurstov, a recently released Soviet dissident who was
imprisoned for 20 years, visits Ann Arbor to thank those
people instrumental in gaining his release.
Soviet dissident
visits Ann Arborl


THE

LIST

What's happening in Ann Arbor today

Speakers
"Aauugh! I Wish I Would Have
Said..." - GUIDE Peer Facilitators,
Counseling Services, 3100 Michigan
Union, 7-9 pm. Learn how to assert
yourself.
"Writing Research Papers"-
Helen Isaacson and Ele McKenna, 25
Angell Hall, 4-5:15 pm.
"Refracciones - Refractions" -
A Bilingual Poetry Reading, Visiting
Prof. Octavio Armand, writer from
Caracas, and his translator, Prof. Carol
Maier, Bradley University, W.
Conference Rm., Rackham, 7 pm.
Everyone is welcome.
"Fertility Transition in Thai-
land" - John Knodel, Ph.D., Dept.
of Sociology and the Population
Studies Center, U of M, E. Lecture
Rm., third floor, Rackham, 4 pm.
"Is There a Presumption of
Guilt in the Verification Pro-
cess to Determine Eligibility
for AFDC vs. the Verification
Process Used to Determine the
Income Tax System?" - Ayana
Sloan, third year Law Student, Lun-
cheon held at C.E.W., second floor of
Comenca Bank Bldg., N. Umversity
and S. Thayer. Everyone is welcome.
For info call C.E.W. 763-7080.
"Paleolithic and Mesolithic
Archeology in Western
Switzerland: New Excavations"
- Lynn Fisher, 2009 Ruthven Muse-
ums Bldg., 12 noon-1 pm. Brown
Bag Lecture.
"Cognition and Risk Taking"
- Lola Lopes, University of Wiscon-
sin, K13 10, Business School, 4:15-
5:30 pm.
"The Rotational Spectra and
Structures of van der Waals
Complexes: Ar-PF3 and Kr-
PF3" - Amine Taleb-Bendiab,
Dept. of Chemistry, U of M, 1200
Chem. Bldg., 4 pm.
"On Music & Healing" - Linda
Hart, Guild House, 7:30 pm. Women
& Spirituality.'
"The Geometry of Harmonic
Measure" - Prof. David Jerison,
MIT, Aud. D Angell Hall, 4 pm.
Lecture will be preceded by informal
coffee session 3212 Angell Hall.
"A Federal Reserve Board Gov-
ernor's View of the Economy
in 1989" - Governor Martha
Seger, Board of Governors, Federal
Reserve System, Hale Aud., School of
School of Business Administration,
4:30 pm.
"Internationalization - of
Japanese Firms: Implications
for Human Resource Manage-
ment" - V. Pucik, Lane Hall
Commons, 12 noon. Brown Bag
Lecture.
"Principles of Organic Archi-
tecture" - E.F. Jones, Chrysler
Aud., 7:30 pm.
"Squaring the Circle: Models
of Middle East Political Phi-
losophy" - L. Darling, 210 Tappan
Hall, 3 pm.
Meetings
U of M Archery Club - Coli-
seum. 7-10 nm. For info call 764-

The Minority' Organization of
Rackham - 172 Rackham, 5:30
pm.
Student Struggle for Soviet
Jewry - Hillel, Rm. 3, 6:30 pm.
Palestine Solidarity Committee
-B119 MLB, 7pm.
Publicity Meeting - WCBN -
Downstairs SAB, 7:30 pm.
PIRGIM - 4109 Michigan Union,
join the clean water campaign. Be
there or be toxic!
Undergraduate and Certification
Committee - 1211 SEB, 8-10 am.
Faculty Meeting - Tribute Rm.,
10 am-12 noon.
Human Subjects Review Board
-1316 SEB, 8:30-10 am.
Furthermore
WHE-AC Interfaith Service -
First Baptist Church, 6:15-8:15 pm.
Question and Answer Session
about Objectivist Philosophy
- Dr. John Ridpath, Pond Rm.
Michigan Union, 11:30 am. Admis-
sion free.
Visiting Writers Series -
Charles Johnson, reading from his
work, Rackham E. Conference, 5 pm.
University Lutheran Chapel -
Bible/Topic Study, 7 pm; Lutheran
Doctrine Study, 8 pm. 1511 Washte-
naw Ave.
The Summer Job Search - Ca-
reer Planning and Placement Center,
6-7 pm.
UM vs. OSU Blood Battle -
Pendelton Rm, Michigan Union, 12
noon-5:30 pm.
Asian American Attitudes To-
ward Sex - E. Quad South Dining
Hall, 7:30 pm. Topics: stereotypes,
myths, cultural conflicts, gossip, etc.
Salaam-Shalom: The Middle
East Discussion Group - First
Dialogue Session on Sunday, Nov.
20, from 7-9 pm. Located in rm.
2209 Michigan Union. The topic is
history.
Performances
Opera Theatre - Gianni Schicchi
and Suor Angelica by Puccini, Jay
Lesenger, director, Gustav Meier,
conductor, Power Center, 8 pm.
Tickets: $7 & $10.
University Players - The
Mighty Gents by Richard Wesley,
Trueblood Theater, Frieze Bldg., 8
pm.
Ann Arbor Dance Works -
McIntosh Theatre, School of Music,
8 pm. Tickets: $7.
Soundstage/U.A.C. Presents -
New Talent Night ( Bands to be an-
nounced), U-Club, 10 pm.
The BEAT Presents - Big Box of
Nines, 10:30 pm. $3 cover charge.
"The Exception and the Rule"
- By Bertolt Brecht, Directed by An-
drea McCallum, Arena Theatre, Base-
ment of Frieze Bldg., 5 pm.
"GREASE" - Mendelssohn The-
ater, 8 pm. 764-TKTS..
Moliere's Tartuffe - E. Quad
Aud., 8 pm. Adapted by the RC
Players, tickets: $5/$3 students and
seniors.

BY PAUL DE ROOIJ
A dissident who was imprisoned
for twenty years in the Soviet Union
left Ann Arbor yesterday after
meeting a person who worked dili-
gently for his release.
Igor Ogurtsov came to visit Vera
Politis, Ann Arbor resident and chair
of the Congress of Russian Ameri-
cans, who started a letter writing
campaign in an attempt to gain his
release.
While a student at Leningrad
University, he was arrested and
condemned to death for allegedly
"attempting to overthrow the Soviet
government" because he tried to
pursue a 1960's version of glasnost.
His sentence was later commuted;
he served 10 years in prison, five
years in a labor camp, and five years
in internal exile.
Only after his tenth year in prison
did Ogurtsov realize that people
were exerting pressure on the Soviet
government for his release. He
learned of Politis' efforts after being
released last year, and came to show
his appreciation.
Ogurtsov now lives in Munich,
and would like to return to the
USSR if change continues at its cur-
rent pace. Before being imprisoned,
he was, ironically, working on a
platform that is now advocated by
the government. But his bitterness
about his experience has diminished,
because "I was proven right - what

I advocated 20 years ago is now the
party platform," he said.
What impressed him most after
being released in 1987 was an in-
credible transformation in Soviet
culture. Because people no longer
live in a climate of fear, they are
avidly debating and rediscovering
their history. Ogurtsov said that last
year's release of the film
"Repentance" - a film that criti-
cizes the terror under Stalin and Be-
ria - would have been unfeasible a
few years ago.
The process of change in the
USSR is not only important for its
own people, but "to all the world as
well," he said.
"Facing missiles on both sides is
not the best way to solve the major
questions of importance to all of us:
peace and war, the environment,
economics, social and even spiritual
spheres."
The change in the USSR this time
is likely not to be as ephemeral as
during Nikita Kruschev's time,
Ogurtsov said. Current Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev is not only chal-
lenging the party bureaucracy, but
he is also obtaining mass support,
something that Kruschev never
sought.
Because Gorbachev's success is
of utmost importance, his failure
would result in "a bloody repression
rivaling the brutal Stalin years," he
said. "The West should support the
changes taking place in the Soviet
Union today."

Jazz great Taylor
speaks, performs

BY MICAH SCHMIT
When you think of legendary jazz
greats, names like Dizzy, Duke,
Count, and Bird easily fall into
mind. But someday this list could
include Dr. Billy Taylor, "one of the
premier spokespersons for express-
ing the value of jazz music," said
Ron Brooks, history of jazz profes-
sor at the University's School of
Music.
Taylor - a jazz pianist who has
recorded a multitude of albums with
vocalists, instrumentalists and, re-
cently, as a soloist -highlighted a
discussion with musical interludes to
an enthralled audience of nearly 100
at Rackham auditorium last night.
Jazz, began Taylor, "was created
by Black people - not as immi-
grants, but as slaves." After he
played one of his favorites, a slow
spiritual tune, he said, "(The slaves)
were trying to say something for
which they could not be re-
proached."
. Taylor said jazz has transcended
its origins to become a medium of
expression in many countries. He

then proceeded to play a dazzling
piece by raining his fingers up and
down the keyboard to a light,
syncopated beat which had audience
members tapping the rhythm. At
times during the interlude, even
Taylor broke into spontaneous grns.
Taylor was not entirely upbeat,
however. "I'm disappointed that not
more people are here because it's a
rare opportunity - not because its
me (here), but because once you get
out of these ivy covered walls you
won't have the time (to take in such
unique engagements)."
Those in attendance were fortu-
nate to have someone of the caliber
of Taylor, said Brooks, because he is
at the same time able to
"qualitatively demonstrate what He
espouses."
One audience member asked him
about the "disappearance of the left
hand in jazz." Taylor followed with
a musical response which not only
proved that the left, or bass hand,
was very much alive in jazz piand,
but received a resounding ovation s
well.

L



Speed demons race for trip to Florida

BY ALEX GORDON
My heart pulsed at a record rate as I pulled
into Crisler Arena's parking lot behind the
wheel of my '84 Olds Wagon (zero to 60 in
about 45 seconds, downhill with the wind) for
the National Collegiate Driving Championship.
I was ready to take my spot in auto racing
history and to take my body to Daytona Beach
for the nationals and a chance to win the use of a
car for a year and a $5000 scholarship.
I was not alone.
Over 200 A.J. Foyt wanna-be's gathered yes-
terday to test their driving skills by negotiating a
short course behind the wheel of a 1988 Dodge
Daytona Shelby Z (zero to 60 in under 45).
Adam Greenspan, sponsorship chair of the

Society of Automotive Engineers, warned me as
I registered, "most people don't think they're
going to win - they just want the chance to rip
on this car and pretend they're Mario Andretti."
Not me, though. I was there for all the mar-
bles.
- Waiting impatiently, I talked with several of
my competitors. "I'm here for the opportunity to
learn how to drive safely and competitively at
high speeds" said Engineering senior Dan Var-
govick.
The competition, sponsored by Dodge, pro-
motes safe driving habits in young drivers.
The PA system blared my name over a Huey
Lewis song (possibly a bad omen). It was my
turn for a date with destiny. I grabbed a helmet

and strode out to the car. Immediately I noticdd
one thing - it had a stick shift.
Panic overcame me. I hadn't driven stii
since Driver's Ed. Sensing my anxiety, crew
member Terry Clay quickly calmed me. He ex-
plained the car was locked in first gear.
Three knocked-over orange pylons and 18.6
seconds later I climbed out of the car and hung
my head low. My time was well behind the 11.4
of the eventual winner, first-year student Tom
Reynolds.
I humbly drove off in my wagon and rejoined
the ranks of ordinary motorists along State
Street. It seemed to be fitting justice that the guy
ahead of me was driving at least 20 mph below
the speed limit.



MSA
Continued from Page 1
School with 40 votes.
The winner of the Music School's
spot was Centerpoint candidate Laura
Sankey. Although Sankey was the
only candidate on the ballot, she
received competition from write-in
candidate Sarah McBride. About 70
Music school students voted -
many more than last year's election.
In the Medical School race,
uncontested Students' Rights can-
didate Ali Jahan won with 8 votes.
In the School of Social Work,
independent Michael Peterson won
I .r! 1.r

with four votes. In Public Health
Luiz Vazquez of Students' Rights
won with only two votes.
If early results on ballot referenda
hold, MSA officer posts will not
become salaried positions. Assembly
President Michael Phillips said early
results showed the controversial
referendum was losing by about 60
percent.
Another, less controversial refer-
endum was winning by about 80
n. - 'a 11-8 551 S. Division

percent. The referendum would re-
place the standing committee for
development with one for health
issues.
Final results for the engineering
school were not available last night,

Phillips said. "We think it may be
the biggest turn-out for engineering
ever.".
Phillips said that the race for nine
open LSA positions was "very
close."

I F(OOD BUYSj
COOKIES
-DON'T BE A TURKEY! --