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One hundred six years of editorialfreedom
Tuesday
February 25, 1997
Vol. *CVII, ago. 82~:
'U _
study finds teen-age dating abuse common
By Ailt K. Thavarah
Daily Staff Reporter
A recent University study finds that teen-age
boys and girls are just as likely to be victims of
physical abuse on a date.
But the study also reports that girls suffer
e severe violence and greater physical and
emotional effects from the abuse.
Joyce Wright, prevention and education coor-
dinator for the University's Sexual Assault
Prevention and Awareness Center, said the
reports are not surprising.
"We have found that teen-age violent behavior
in the age range of 13-17 tends to be almost
equal between boys and girls, so this isn't supris-
ing," Wright said. "I do agree with the report
findings."
$he study, conducted by University Associate
Social Work Prof. Richard Tolman and Christian
Molidor of the University of Texas at Arlington,
found that approximately 37 percent of boys and,
36 percent of girls say they have endured some
type of physical abuse in a dating relationship.
The seriousness in the nature of violence dif-
fered greatly, however. Ninety percent of partici-
pating boys said their worst experience of dating
violence "hurt very little" or "not at all," while
nearly half the girls surveyed reported harm that
"hurt a lot" and physical injuries that left bruises
or required medical attention, Tolman said.
The study examined 635 students from an
unidentified Midwest high school. The subjects
ranged in age from 13-18. The study explored
not only the occurance of violence in dating
relationships, but the context of the violence and
the participants' reactions to it.
Wright said dating violence patems change as
adolescents get older.
"The nature of the violence, however, is dif-
ferent when college-age students are involved.
We tend to see the participants who initiate the
violence are men when they are older," Wright
said.
The study results show that more than half of
the boys said they laughed at receiving the
abuse, while a third ignored it. Girls more often
fought back, obeyed or tried to talk to their part-
ner after experiencing violence. About 36 per-
cent of the girls said they defended themselves
when abused by their date.
Tolman said this may explain why the amount
of violence boys reported was so high.
"This is one way of accounting for some of the
incidents of violence that boys report occurring
toward them," Tolman said in a written statement.
"The boys' reports of violence toward them may,
in fact, be their partners' acts of self-defense in
reaction to violence that they are experiencing."
The report also suggested that the relationship
between alcohol and drug use play a role in inci-
dents of violence.
The study found that 55 percent of the girls
who were physically abused said their partners
were drunk at the time.
"The relationship between alcohol and drug
use and incidents of violence is undoubtedly
complex," Tolman said.
LSA first-year student Julie Lumpkin said she
hopes the study can help both men and women.
"I think it is important that we recognize the
fact that women can be violent towards men,"
Lumpkin said. "However it is also important to
see the disparity in the severity of the violence."
LSA sophomore Joseph Streets said physical
abuse is a big problem on campus.
"At a university like this, you don't think that
these problems exist, but they do," Streets said.
"Unfortunately, they are hidden well and a lot of
victims of this violence don't want to step for-
ward because they're afraid that no one is going
to believe them."
Tolman said schools should take a more active
role in preparing teens to respond effectively to
abuse reported by friends.
"While popular depictions might give the
impression that school violence is largely a
problem of violence between boys, these
results demonstrate that the school is also a
dangerous place for young women," Tolman
said.
I just wanna bang on the drum all day
'Morning
after'
pill
deemed safe
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - In a highly
unusual action, the Food and Drug
Administration declared today that high
doses of certain standard birth control
pills are a safe and effective way to pre-
vent pregnancy when used as "morning
after" pills following unprotected sex.
The agency released dosing infor-
mation and brand names as a prescrip-
tion guide for physicians who choose to
dispense the pills for consumer use. The
Federal Register notice also said the
FDA would
encourage phar-
maceutical man- Theb
ufacturers to offi-
cially seek contrae
approval to
include such aec et is
information in
their labels. a se ret
H owever,
while the agency
has the authority F
to require birth
control pill makers to make the infor-
emergency contraception is safe and
effective, Physicians, clinics and
patients who are interested in using
contraceptives for post-coital emer-
gency contraception can use this
method knowing this."
The pills, which actually are taken
twice - the first time no later than 72
hours after unprotected intercourse and
then again 12 hours later - have been
used in Europe for years in this fashion.
However, pill manufacturers here have
been reluctant to promote or seek
ADDIE SMITH/Daily
Emily Geister-Danville, 7, leams to use a bongo drum yesterday at the Ann Arbor Public Ubrary. The library's weekly story-
time program features musical adventures and storytelling for children.
Tsx season brings anxiety
est-jket
Rptive
s no longer
-- David Kessler
)A commissioner
approval for
emergency
contraception
because of
political pres-
sures and liti-
gation.
As a result,
many U.S. doc-
tors are
unaware of
which -pills
work best for
By Peter Meyers
For the Daily
With tax season fast approaching,
students may have more to worry about
than just midterms.
Students said their experiences in fil-
ing taxes varied widely.
LSA senior Whitney Begeman said
she has handled her own taxes for the
three years. Begeman said she
ady filed and received her refund.
"Now I've got that money for spring
break," she said.
Other students, like Engineering
junior Lindsay Rooks, said they know
'All Us'
annites gay
minority
stude nts
little about taxes. Rooks said she has
held summer jobs for four years, but
has not had to deal
with the Internal
Revenue Service,
due to a little help TAXES
from her father.
"My dad does it
for me;' Rooks said
with a shrug. "He's
an accountant."
LSA senior Paul ERIN RAGER/Daily
Scott said he has
filed his own taxes for the past six
years. But last year he made a mistake.
"They came after me last year," Scott
said.
Due to complications that stemmed
from holding two part-time jobs at
once, Scott ended up paying $350 less
than he owed. Scott said this error was
further complicated by the IRS's failure
to get in touch with him. Scott said the
notices were sent to his permanent resi-
dence, not his school address. He final-
ly received them in July.
Scott said the first two letters were
"polite" but that the third wasn't.
It spoke of a need for the IRS to pur-
See TAXES, Page 7
mation available to their customers, it
decided against doing so.
And a spokesperson for one of the
two U.S. manufacturers of the pills said
her company, still fearing potential law-
suits, would not provide the informa-
tion.
"The best-kept contraceptive secret
is no longer a secret," FDA
Commissioner David Kessler said in an
interview. "We have concluded that the
use of certain oral contraceptives for
this purpose, and at what doses.
"This is part of our continuing effort
to increase information available to
patients and physicians," Kessler said.
"We encourage the companies to put
this use on the labels, but we are mak-
ing this information available to the
American public because we believe
doing so will accomplish the same
thing."
To receive government approval for
notifying consumers of the pills' emer-
See PILL, Page 7
3y Aice Robhnson
Daily Staff Reporter
Timothy Gates asked people to do a
iimagininglast night.
"What if you were to discover that,
say Grant Hill or Janet Jackson or some
other famous person was gay?" asked
Gates, an Engineering senior who
spoke in the Michigan Union as part of
a panel on gay culture and experience.
As instructed, all 30 people in the
room closed their eyes and envisioned
the scene. "How would you react if
ou yourself came to the realization
that you were gay?" he said.
Gates and five other student speakers
came together to discuss issues that
affectgay minorities in one of the frst
gatherings put on by the new student
group All Us. Formed this past
Weisner
panelists
focus on
the arts
hBy Heather Kamins
Daily Staff Reporter
Leading academics from around the
country gathered on campus yesterday
to address what many experts consider
a crisis in the humanities.
A crowd filled Rackham
Amphitheatre at 8 a.m. to begin a nine-
hour day of speeches, panels and group
sessions as part of the second annual
Jerome B. Weisner Symposium.
"We are hoping that in one packed
day of discussions we can make
progress," interim Vice President for
Research Frederick Neidhardt said. "In
the very least we can understand what
the University can do."
The topic of this year's symposium
was "The Future of the
Government/University Partnership: A
National Policy Conference on the
Humanities and Arts" The event, spon-
sored by the Office of the Vice
President for Research, prepares for the
Year of Humanities and Arts that begins
:, -l 0'7.11
ADDIE SMITH/Daily
Daniel Schorr, National Public Radio senior news analyst, speaks at the Weisner
Symposium yesterday moming.
ed a feeling of urgency.
"There is a sense of crisis, and some-
thing has to be analyzed," Bollinger
said. "But it is also an exhilarating time
to be participating in culture in the
United States. It is a time of explosion,
not consolidation. It is not a time for an
easy ride through culture, but a time for
holding on ... for dear life."
National Public Radio Senior News
Analyst Daniel Schorr, who was the
symposium's keynote speaker, said the
nation is lacking a feeling of public
endeavor.
"Public institutions and public activi-
ties are, in their own nature, equaliz-
," Q..hrr sa ."Mev nermit the
National Endowment for the
Humanities Chair Sheldon Hackney
said Americans are moving-away from
community ideals.
"As we retreat from each other, we
not only know less of each other, but we
care less for each other," Hackney said.
"There needs to be a national idea of
community, a national sentiment. We
need to have some notion that 'I belong
to this nation and therefore I am some-
what responsible that community
exists,"' Hackney said.
Schorr had critical words for
President Clinton and the government's
apprehension to support programs of
humanitiesa nd arts based solely on
i
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