LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 14, 1996 - 3A
Mastadon tracks
to hit museum
The Museum of Natural History will
be covered with mastodon tracks on Nov.
as University -paleontologist Daniel
Fisher presents a 40-foot plastic mold of
the extinct mammal's footprints.
Fisher and a group of assistants dis-
,covered the 10,000-year-old footprints
near a small lake in Saline four years
ag6, but the tracks were too fragile to
bring to the museum, so the group
'resolved to make a mold of them.
Fisher said the footprints, some of
'which measured 20 inches across, were
- de by a large male about nine feet
S at the shoulder and weighing
around six tons.
The presentation, including a slide
show, is free to the public and will
begin at 7:30 p.m.
Neal to introduce
navigation center
BThe Hatcher Graduate Library's
K'nowledge Navigation Center will be
charted by University interim President
Homer Neal, who will present the center
to the campus community next week.
All are invited to stop by to sample
and inquire about the imaging systems,
geographic data systems, text analysis
tools, interactive telecommunication and
other services provided by the center.
'The Knowledge Navigation Center
is on the second floor of the graduate
*rary and is open Monday-Friday
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The presentation
Is Nov. 19 and begins at 11:30 a.m.
Menstruation
evolution studied
Cyclical growth and absorption of the
Sdometrium - the lining of the uterus
- requires less energy than keeping the
-tissue prepared to receive an embryo.
"The energy economy of menstrua-
tion may be of ancient origin," said
Beverly Strassmann, University assis-
tant professor of anthropology, who
studied the menstrual cycles of tribal
women in West Africa to gain insight
into how menstruation has evolved.
Strassman concluded that menstrua-
tion evolved to conserve a woman's
*ergy in preparing for pregnancy and
refuted a rival theory that says men-
struation occurs to remove sperm-
borne bacteria from the uterus.
Study: Hepatitis
treatment lacking
' Usually if a disease is detected early,
treatment is more likely to be effective,
bt this is not the case with an ordinary
of hepatitis, according to Dr. Luis
Belart of the Louisiana State University
Medical Center.
In his study, Belart and fellow doc-
tors-gave alpha-interferon - the stan-
dard treatment - to 14 patients whose
blood tests indicated they had hepatitis
C, but showed no signs of abnormal
liver enzyme levels.
The early treatment was expected to
deliver better results to the patients, but
' ere were no signs of improvement.
'id results were puzzling to doctors.
"The bottom line is that the study re-
enwphasizes the need for improved
antiviral drugs to combat this very com-
iion infectious disease," said Dr. Stanley
emon of the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The Hepatitis C virus causes liver can-
cer and kills nearly 10,000 Americans
each year.
Coniviledfrom staff and wire
reports by Dailv Staf'Reporter
Brian Campbell.
MSA candidates
tout ideas for 'U'
By Will Weissert
Daily Staff Reporter
The second debate featuring parties
in next week's Michigan Student
Assembly elections saw candidates
from the Liberty Party and the United
People's Coalition wage a polite verbal
war, while members of the Slumber
Party and Students' Party were general-
ly agreeable on most issues.
"I'd have to disagree with my col-
league from the Liberty Party," UPC
candidate Nick Farr said several times.
Farr and Liberty Party candidate Liz
Keslacy clashed on affirmative action,
MSA's potential to be an effective voice
for student concerns and the assembly's
funding of student groups, in addition
to other issues.
"The UPC wants to have a collective
voice on campus but I can't see how they
can - they are an all-minority party,"
Keslacy said. "We don't care who you
are- we will fight for all students"
Slumber Party member David Bogue
said the five members of his party are
fed up with life at the University.
"You may have seen our name and
thought we were a joke party - that is
not true. For us, students' money is the
most important issue," Bogue said.
"Where does our name come from ?
Basically we are tired. We are tired of a
lot of things on this campus - it's time
for the University to get back to the stu-
dents"
Students' Party candidate Mallory
Floyd said the key to increasing MSA's
effectiveness was through greater com-
munication with students.
"I didn't even know that MSA
existed until the (the assembly's)
affirmative action (meeting) - that
should never be allowed to happen,"
Floyd said. "Students should find out
about their government through posi-
tive action and should be able to com-
municate with their government over
the web."
Both the Slumber and Liberty parties
criticized the University for the number
of required and pre-requisite classes.
"The University requires a lot of these
things to increase credit hours and to
bring more money in," Bogue said. "The
University should not be a business."
The Liberty Party and UPC viewed
affirmative action as a more important
issue than curriculum concerns.
"The Students' Party believes in affir-
mative action," Floyd said. "The assem-
bly did represent the students when they
JONATHAN SUMMER/Daly
MSA representative candidates Nick Farr (right) and Mallory Floyd express their views last night in South Quad.
took a stand in defense of these policies
on behalf of the student body."
The parties also disagreed about
MSA's status as an effective voice for
students.
Keslacy said the assembly was mere-
ly an advisory body and was powerless
at the hands of the University Board of
Regents. ly powerful" but that it was not living up
But Bogue said the assembly was in a to its potential.
unique position to make a difference. "The UPC believes that too cozy a.
"In a few years MSA will probably relationship between the student
return to the status quo," Bogue said. government and the administration isi
"This is our chance to make a differ- not leaving room for . the extremeb
ence." changes that need to take place " Farr-
Farr said the assembly was "inherent- said.
Rale tactic used
in Schmitz tral
Forest
club getsM
first-hand
aCCOUnt
By Janet Adamy
Daily Staff Reporter
A Colorado environmental speaker
brought warm images of tropical rain-
forests and a unique message about
environmentalism to about 60 students
at the Dana Building last night.
Kevin Russell, founder of the
Rainforest Awareness Project, used
slides and music to tell vivid stories of
his first trip to Borneo, which is locat-
ed between Indonesia and Malaysia in
the Pacific Ocean.
Once home to the oldest rainforests
in the world, Russell said, Borneo and
particularly the state of Sarawalk are
currently losing their precious rain-
forests to industrialization.
Russell, who claimed to be "not like
most environmentalists," said he want-
ed to "share the beauty of many peo-
ples" and stressed the importance of
looking at environmentalism as a glob-
al problem.
"Our whole notion of security is
based on economic stability," Russell
said. "This has undermined the life-
support system and the environment of
the world."
Russell used anecdotes from his
trip to "point out global problems
and bring them back home." He said
he tried to make his message a posi-
tive one that didn't criticize individ-
uals or nations.
"There's so much criticism with envi-
ronmental practices in Sarawalk,"
Russell said. "I want to bring them clos-
er to home. It's a complex and difficult
issue, but I don't want to blame people."
Rohaya, a woman from Sarawalk,
accompanied Russell and added stories
about her family and people.
Amy Grace, co-facilitator of
Environmental Action, a student group,
said she was pleased with the-perfor-
DETROIT (AP) - Jonathan
Schmitz's conviction on a lesser charge
of murder was at least partly the result
of a little-used defense strategy based
on "diminished capacity," legal experts
said yesterday.
"What this jury was saying was cer-
tainly he's guilty of murder, but we
don't see him guilty of first-degree
murder because there was no malice,"
said University Law Prof. Andrea Lyon.
An Oakland County jury on
Tuesday convicted Schmitz on a
charge of second-degree murder. He
could get anywhere from eight years
to life in prison, with the possibility
of parole, at his Dec. 4 sentencing.
First-degree murder, the conviction
prosecutors sought, would have car-
ried no hope of parole.
Ly.., said jurors found Schmitz
was "goaded and victimized" into
the crime through public humiliation
in a taping for the "Jenny Jones
Show."
The jury found that Scnmitz, 26, acted
without premeditation in the shotgun
slaying of Scott Amedure, 32, on March
9, 1995, three days after taping a talk
show segment on same-sex crushes.
Legal experts say that while no single
factor brought about the lesser convic-
tion - the "Jenny Jones Show" itself'
was a major factor - defense attorneys
clearly helped themselves with their
strategy.
The attorneys, and experts they
brought to the stand, argued that
Schmitz was publicly humiliated when
his secret admirer on the show turned
out to be a man. That, coupled with
Schmitz' history of depression, suicide
attempts, a thyroid ailment and other
problems. left him incapable of forming
the intent necessary to commit first-
degree murder, his lawyers said.
Such a defense is called "diminished
capacity" that the defendant lacked
the mental capacity to premeditate the
crime.
Patrick Keenan, professor of criminal
and constitutional law at the University
of Detroit Mercy, said the defense is used
"very, very rarely" because it is compli-
cated to explain to jurors and forces attor-
neys to rely on expert witnesses.
"There's a tremendous amount of
cynicism about the use of expert wit-
nesses," Keenan said.
But he said the strategy "did work
somewhat" in the Schmitz case, as
arguments about Schmitz's mental state
and psychological trauma "raised rea-
sonable doubt" among jurors.
Lyon said the lawyers opted for the
rarely used defense because they had
no facts to support other, more com-
monly used defense strategies, such
as insanity and self defense. Jurors,
she said, "like the honesty" of a
defense in which the defendant
admits committing the crime, but
with extenuating circumstances.
At least two of the jurors men-
tioned their doubts about a first-
degree conv iction after the verdict
was announced Tuesday. "We all felt
he had a definite mental problem..
and the show exacerbated that,"
Juror Dale C'arlington said.
AJA OEKLEVA COHEN/Daily
Kevin Russell, founder of the Rainforest Awareness Project, speaks about his
experiences inside the forests of Borneo on campus last night.
mance but wished there had been a
more diverse turnout.
"I wish we could show something
like this to the people in the business
school and force-feed them." Grace
said
Joel Hoffman, a sophomore in LSA
and SNRE, said he felt the powerful
photography "made the message clos-
er.
"What impressed me most was the
way (Russell) went at our perception of
the environment," Hoffman said. "It
wasn't the story of a distant place with
distant problems, it was the story of us
and how we look at our own back-
yards."
RAP is currently on a six-week tour
of colleges and universities in the
Midwest and on the Last Coast.
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
15
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GROUP MEETINGS
'College Democrats, meeting, 930-
6953, Michigan Union, Tap
Room, 7 p.m.
Intervarsity Christian Fellowship,
large group meeting, Chemistry
Building, East Hall, Room 1360,
7 p.m.
J Residence Halls Association, gen-
eral assembly meeting, 763-
3497, West Quad, Ostafin Room,
7-9 p.m.
J Volunteers in Action Hillel, Dinner
for the Homeless, 764-6710,
First United Methodist Church,
3-7 p.m.
EVENTS
J "Allstate Life Insurance: Information
Session," sponsored by CP&P,
MA -hs-.n- n £n 0
Program, Michigan League, Hussey
Room, 12 noon
J "Education Job Search," sponsored
by CP&P, Student Activities
Building, Room 3200, 4:10-5
p.m.
J "FORUM for Internship Registration
Session," sponsored by CP&P,
Angell Hall Auditorium C, 6:10-7
p.m.
J "Leaving Las Vegas - Free Movie
Event," sponsored by U-Club,
Michigan Union, U-Club, 9 p.m.
J "Issues of Faith," sponsored by
Lutheran Campus Ministry, Lord of
Light Lutheran Church, 801 Soth
Forest, 7 p.m.
J "Modernism Among Medieval Muslim
Jurists?" Sherman Jackson, spon-
sored by Department of Near
Eastern Studies, Frieze Building,
Room 3050. 1 o.m.
SERVICES
J Campus Information Centers, Michigan
Union and Pierpont Commons, 763-
INFO, info@umich.edu, UM 'Events
on GOpherBLUE, and http://
www.umich.edu/-info on the World
Wide Web
J English Composition Board Peer
Tutoring, need help with a
paper?, Angell Hall, Room
444C, 7-11 p.m.
J Northwalk, 763-WALK, Bursley Hall,
8 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
J Psychology Peer Academic
Advising, 647-3711, sponsored
by Psychology Department,
East Hall, Room 1346, 11a.m.-4
J Safewalk, 936-1000, Shapiro Library
Lobby, 8 p.m.-2:30 a.m.
F Student Mediation, sponsored by
gfiApnnt nmt p Rcnuin
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