LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 10, 1997 - 9 Electric wheels Grapefruit juice affects absorption of drugs Ford Motor Co.'s chair Alex Trotman drives the company's first production electric vehicle, the FordI AP PHOTO Ranger EV, off the assembly line in Detroit yesterday.I ADMISSIONS Continued from Page 1. 9-12 would result in adding up to .4 to an applicant's GPA. The "unusual" factor bumps up an applicant's GPA based on activities, work experiences, awards, personal essay and other information included in the application. The GPAs of students who give a "contribution to a diverse class" are boosted by .5. Such applicants include those from the following categories: N Students from federally recog- nized underrepresented race or ethnici- ty groups - including blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans - which are also underrepresented on the University campus, and who are from a school or community where a majority *of students are of a different race from the applicant. Students who are economically, socially or educationally disadvan- taged. Students of any race or back- ground who are educated in a high school serving a population that is pre- dominantly socioeconomically disad- vantaged, which is also underrepresent- ed on the Ann Arbor campus. ' Students applying to a program where their gender is underrepresented, including males applying to the School of Nursing and females applying to the College of Engineering, get .2 added to their GPA. Harrison said race is used as one of many factors in order to ensure a diverse student body. "It's certainly not as big a factor as GPA," Harrison said. "It's not even 9c lose. ' Other non-academic factors, includ- ing leadership and service awards and personal achievements, can earn an applicant a .1 or .2 addition to their GPA. An extraordinary essay can add .1 to an applicant's GPA, while an extremely poor essay can subtract .1 from the GPA. "The most important part of an essay Qis what it teaches you about the person," Harrison said. Out-of-state applicants from west- ern states beyond Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota, excluding California, and southern states below Virginia and Tennessee, except Florida and Texas, also have their GPAs increased by .1. In addition to their in-state advan- tage, applicants from northern *Michigan, rural areas and small com- munities that are separated from cultur- ally more sophisticated areas have .1 added to their GPA. In-state applicants whose grandpar- ents, parents or siblings are University alumni also are given an advantage, with a .1 addition to their GPA. Out-of- state applicants with alumni relations are treated as in-state students. There is a higher rate of acceptance among in- state students than out-of-state stu- dents. Another section of the application, which contains comments from high school counselors, can indicate prob- lems with a student that are not repre- sented in grades. Admissions counselors use different grids with GPA listed on a vertical axis and ACT and SAT scores listed on a horizontal axis as one way to determine whether students will be accepted, wait- listed or denied. The grids are used as a rough way to determine the fate of a student's application, but are not the sole predictors of admission, Harrison said. Admissions clerks do the prelimi- nary calculations of the application, but Admissions counselors ultimately decide which students are admitted, Harrison said. Director of Admissions Theodore Spencer said he could not comment on the admissions process because of the pending lawsuits against the University. Other schools When compared nationally with its peer institutions, the University's admissions procedures are highly intri- cate. Penn State University does not take into account the quality of an appli- cant's high school, have a required per- sonal essay or take race into account during the admissions process, said Patrick Smith, assistant director of communications for admissions at Penn State. "The majority of our evaluation is based on academics," Smith said. Smith said that without race-based admissions, Penn State has been able to maintain a student body that is 10 per- cent minority students. By phoning and recruiting minority applicants, Penn State has achieved a diverse student body, Smith said. "Based on the way we do things here, we have been relatively successful," Smith said. "We've come a long way, but we could go further." Michigan State University only uses socioeconomic status as a factor in the admissions process for students apply- ing to the school's College Achievement Admissions Program, which is designed to give opportunities to disadvantaged students, said Lisa Chavis, MSU associate director of admissions. "In the past, we looked a little more at ethnicity, but now we do it strictly from socioeconomic background because we feel that's the fairest way," Chavis said. "I think socioeconomic is the way to go. It's really fair." Neither Penn State or MSU use alumni relations or geographical loca- tion as a factor in the admissions process. Student opinions While many University students say they feel diversity is an important part of the college experience, some said they were surprised to find out how much of a factor race and socioeco- nomic status play in the admissions process. "That's a complete surprise to me," said LSA sophomore Brian Macias, after finding out about the advantages SCUGA gives to minorities. Macias, who is Hispanic, said minority advantages are useful, as long as they don't allow unqualified applicants to get accepted to the University. "If it's getting to the point where they're taking whose underqualified rather than someone who is qualified based on race, then I think something needs to be done." Macias said it is important to look at socioeconomic factors. "If you have to work every day after school, obviously your extra-curricular activities are going to suffer," Macias said. "Just because a person has more opportunities, I don't think it makes them more qualified to come to this school." Macias said he doesn't think appli- cants with alumni relations should be given preferences. "It brings in money for the University as if daddy's son accepted here, they're probably willing to write a fat check in their name," Macias said. But LSA senior Jon Bauer said it is reasonable to give alumni's relatives advantages. "Alumni are the ones that give back to the school, so I guess the school feels it should give back to their children;' Bauer said. Macias said it is unfair to give advan- tages to applicants from underrepre- sented geographical locations. "That's ridiculous," Macias said. "As far as a state issue, I don't think that plays a role in whether you're quali- fied." By Heather Wiggin Daily Staff Reporter An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but recently, cer- tain substances in grapefruits have been the target of exten- sive research by University doctors. The substances, called furanocoumarins, attach themselves to enzymes in the small intestine and increase the absorption of some drugs into the human body - an effect that can be both positive and negative. The furanocoumarins "essentially destroy a particular metabolic pathway in the intestine,' said Medical Prof. Paul Watkins, director of the General Clinical Research Center. "Just a few drugs are affected by grapefruit juice;" Watkins said. These drugs are also interact with erythromycin, a com- mon antibiotic. Erythromycin "does the same thing as grape- fruit juice, but is much more potent," Watkins said. Watkins added various components of grapefruit juice to cell cultures to determine which compounds were attaching themselves to intestinal enzymes. The major active ingredient of grapefruit juice is 6',7'- dihydroxybergamottin (DHB). The second compound, FC726 also destroys the enzyme like DHB, but seems to be more selective in what it does, Watkins said. "Right now we're investigating 15 different chemicals to determine how specific their effects are," Watkins said. There are "many implications for the discovery in pharma- cy and medicinal chemistry - medications could be poten- AMISTAD Continued from Page 1 "It is wonderful, and I'm very pleased," Boylan said. "Dr. Monts is a very noted ethnomusicologist and has conducted very extensive research on African music. He is a well-respected scholar and I'm amazed that he's found . Live Ins the time to do this work, along with his duties as an administrator and profes- understa sor." to MCA7 Monts said he was satisfied with the approXin way the story is portrayed on film and with the way the music balanced it. Work. Ta "It's important to recognize that . Full-Lei Hollywood is now looking to scholars your timi to verify authenticity and the fact that . things can be done in a manner that With Coni shows respect to the culture from . Succinc which it emanates," Monts said. "The and inte film is very powerful. It is a story in our history that really needed to be focus UPC told, and I am proud to have had a will exan role in it." "Amistad" is currently surrounded FIexIbI( by controversy as Barbara Chase- Reinforc Riboud, the author of a historical Exercise: novel "Echo of Lions," claims the movie plagiarized her work. She plus Pers requested an injunction to delay the opening of the film, which was denied by a judge yesterday. tially enhanced" said chemistry Prof. Rich Lawton. After the compound selective for this small intestine enzyme is identified, it must be purified, approved for clini- cal trials and reviewed for approval by the Food and Drug Administration before it is added to drugs, said University researcher Michael Fitzsimmons. One of the current AIDS-fighting drugs on the market is often taken with grapefruit juice to increase drug absorption. "It's actually suggested that patients take the drug with grape- fruit juice;" Watkins said. Because of differences between brands, however, drinking raw juice is an unreliable method for administering the chem- ical into the body. "If you're used to taking medications with grapefruit juice, there is no reason to stop," Watkins said. But it could be dangerous to start drinking grapefruit juice with medications without asking a physician about possible interactions. One Michigan resident drank grapefruit juice with his antihistamine, which "built up in his blood and the gentleman died," Fitzsimmons said. Future research may determine which furanocounarins could be added to drugs to enhance their effects and reduce the amount of drug. "It's hard to say where science is going,' Fitzsimmons said. "I think there will be a commercial market for this,cqm- pound," Watkins said. "It seems to give a more reliable oral delivery of drugs." J BS!!! Winter Term Apply now at the Law Library- non-Law Students " Law Students * S.I. Students Apply in person: Room 8-180 in the Law Library's underground addition, 8-noon and 1-5, Monday through Friday. AA/ FOE NOTICE MBA DAYAND EVENING CLASSES BEGIN JAN 5 The University of Michigan The Office of the Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and the University Library President Ken Burns Sharing the American Experience Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, who produced, co-wrote, directed and filmed the highly acclaimed PBS series Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, Baseball, and The Cil War, will share his views on the American experience as part of the University of Michigan's Year of Humanities and Arts (YoHA) celebration. Burns has been making documentary films for more fIEL I'IE mm01%