LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 23, 1997 - 3 Fatal crash kills driver on North. Campus A fatal crash occurred Friday at the corner of Plymouth Road and Beal Avenue. . According to Ann Arbor Police Department reports, a white Nissan was traveling westbound on Plymouth Road when the driver made a left turn in front of an oncoming pickup truck heading .,eastbound. ' The driver of the pickup truck was *ed in the accident. Man enters home, attempts to hurt resident A woman sleeping on her couch Thursday morning awoke abruptly to find a man standing over her, according VAPD reports. As the woman began to scream the man attempted to strangle her, AAPD reports stated. The woman lives on the 1000 -blck of Cornwell Street. The suspect, Richard Croley, was -warded off by the woman and her roommate. -Croley has been arraigned and faces a-home invasion charge, which carries ra maximum sentence of 20 years in *son. Armed robber strikes at mall A girl was approached from behind as 'she ran through the Arborland Mall parking lot to her car during a rain- ;form Friday evening, according to 'AAPD reports. The suspect placed a hard object to Or head and said, "Don't turn around, and give me your money," AAPD ..eports stated. The suspect fled with $70 of the 4victim's money. She reported the theft to AAPD d Arborland Mall security. Bomb threat made at Denny's An unknown male entered Denny's restaurant on Washtenaw Avenue twice Friday night to warn that a bomb was on the premises, AAPD reports stated. A search conducted by employees sand AAPD officers ended without .inding the alleged bomb. -:AAPD has no suspects in the se. *ight breaks out in Couzens hall 'A man called the Department of Public Safety from Couzens residence A-all Saturday night to report that his tir lfriend was assaulting him in the hallway. There were no weapons involved in e incident, DPS reports stated. Dps ade no arrests at the time. Student steals chair from Union A student was seen walking out of Kt e Michigan Union on Saturday --ight with a chair, according to DPS Sreports. 0 A custodian reported to DPS that the 6uspect was seen walking in the direc- tion of West Quad. The area was checked by DPS officers, but the suspect was not located. =!' catering van m Stolen from arena A University catering van was stolen m the Crisler Arena tunnel area Saturday, DPS reports stated. The truck is a 12-foot-long refrig- erator truck, according to DPS reports. DPS has no suspects in the inci- tdit. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Alice Robinson. Researchers focus on divorce's effects Expert SayS kids feel pain ofdivorce By Kristin Wright Daily Staff Reporter As the divorce rate in the United States continues to rise, increased emphasis is being placed on the chil- dren of divorced parents. Divorce expert Judith Wallerstein addressed the University community yesterday evening in Rackham Auditorium concerning the effects of divorce on parents and children and strategies to cope with the divorce. Wallerstein founded the Judith Wallerstein Center for the Family in Transition in Main County, Calif., and is now completing the 25-year follow- up of her original California Children of Divorce Study. "I feel like a tribal warrior. I've been through all the battles," Wallerstein said in reference to her extensive back- ground dealing with children and adults who have experienced divorce. Betsy Lozoff, director for the Center of Human Growth and Development, explained why the issue of divorce is such an important research topic. "Among growth and development, divorce is one of the bigger issues in the U.S." she said. Wallerstein focused primarily on the effects that divorce has on a child's envi- ronment and upbringing. Wallerstein said the problems of divorce often sur- face when the child enters young adult- hood. "It is the years in the post-divorce family that really govern the child," Wallerstein said. "As the child reaches young adulthood, there is a crescendo in the anxiety and concern about, 'Will my relationship fail?"' One University student who attend- ed the speech commented on why 'U' prof. corrects divorce myths By Reilly Brennan For the Daily The common negative views about divorce aren't necessarily true, accord- ing to a new study by Abigail Stewart, a University psychology and women's studies professor. Images regularly associated with divorce, such as dysfunctional fami- lies and neglected children, aren't a reality in most cases, she said. Stewart recently conducted an 18- month survey of 160 families in the Boston area. She and a team of four professors found that fighting between parents generally hurts their children. One University student said he dis- agrees with Stewart's finding that divorce is better than having parents constantly fighting. "I don't think it was positive when my parents got divorced. It was traumatic;" said Paul Lanterman, an LSA first-year student. "Although, it never affected my schoolwork, I was very depressed." The group's findings will be pub- lished soon by Guilford Publications in a book "Separating Together: How Divorce Transforms Families?' "Our goal was to evaluate the myths about divorce" Stewart said. "We were interested in the things that change when a family goes from a two-parent home to a one-parent home." The professors heard a myriad of responses during their large-scale study, but Stewart said each case is different. "The most important thing to remember is that one size doesn't fit all. Different families, different divorces;' Stewart said. But some students tend to believe that divorce can sometimes have more positive than negative effects. LSA first-year student JeLaina Frelitz said her family life stabilized after her parents divorced. "It was definitely better for everyone Parting Myths Divorce happens because par- ents don't care about their kids' well-being, S Divorce is a catastrophe for children that leaves misery in its wake. Divorce leaves at least one of,' the post-divorce family units economically vulnerable. E Mothers should stay at home after the divorce to be available to the children. Parental conflict is inevitable. r It is important to maintain reg- ular routines for children; particu- larly non-custodial parent visits. in my family that my parents got divorced." Frelitz said. "It allowed my brother and I to grow away from many problems." LSA first-year student Kate Stubelt also thinks the aftermath is usually better. "Everyone hears how bad divorce is, but I'm thankful. It would have been worse if my parents stayed together" she said. In some cases, the pain caused by divorce never really goes away. "My parents still fight, and they don't know it hurts my sister and me the most;' said LSA sophomore Alicia Minns. Regardless of the effects, Stewart said each family's divorce is shaped differently. But in all cases, Stewart said that divorce is another step in the process of family life, and problems mostly occur when family members focus on the negative aspects of divorce. Lanterman agrees that divorce cannot be weighed too heavily. "A two-parent home is always better than a single par- ent home, but in the end, divorce can have some positive outcomes," he said. Professor Stewart said that in today's society "the fluidity of family life is an important concept.' - DANIEL CASTLE/Daily Divorce expert Judith Wailerstein talks to a crowd of students and faculty about the effects of divorce on children yesterday in the Rackham Amphitheatre. divorce is an important issue for her. "I was interested in seeing whether or not what Wallerstein had to say was true of my experience;" said LSA sophomore Ronda Haralson. Wallerstein told the audience about an ongoing study that she has been conducting for the past 25 years. In this study, Wallerstein inter- viewed two 5-year-old children who were products of divorced parents. She conducted follow-up interviews on the children when they turned 10, 15 and 25. The effects that the divorce had on the emotional development of the two children were opposite extremes of one another, but shared one common qual- ity -- lack of trust in relationships. Wallerstein used this example to communicate to the audience how fac- tors resulting from divorce influence the psychological development of chil- dren. Wallerstein said children need sta- bility, communication and faith in their parents to bounce back after divorce. Wallerstein attended Columbia University, the Topeka Institute for Psychoanalysis, and received her Ph.D. in psychology at Lund University in Sweden. Cultural expert attacks stereotypes By Diba Rab For the Daily Cultural expert Edward Said argued last night that Western stereotypes may be hurting how the world perceives non- Western cultures. Said spoke to more than 350 students and faculty in the Rackham Auditorium, which reached its capacity. Pin-drop silence and laughter marked the 90- minute speech. "Culture may f change, but people are fixed in their identity as though there was a meeting between everyone and they decided what a civilization Said entails" he said. Born in Jerusalem, Said chairs the doctoral program in comparative litera- ture at Columbia University. He has written for publications around the world, and some of his award-winning books have been translated into 26 lan- guages. Said filled his lecture, titled "Imperialism and the Clash of Civilizations," with humorous and satirical remarks about the lasting effects of stereotypes. Using comments from other experts like Samuel Huntington and Judith Miller, Said pointed out false and biased statements they have made. "Judith Miller can't speak Turkish, Persian or Arabic but is able to write 'authoritative' literature on Islam,' he said sarcastically. University President Lee Bollinger introduced Said and noted his relevance in today's cultural debate. "Edward Said urges us to broaden our intellectu- al horizons," Bollinger said. Students attending the event said that Said is someone who has a profound influence on intellectual thought by shap- ing the public's view of common sense. "It was a good introduction to the direction of his thinking," Rackham graduate student Laura Stahman said. "This might lead me to read some of his work.' Said spoke openly about the clash of Western and non-Western cultures, said Margaret Bloomfield, a Rackham stu- dent. "He had a lot of things that should be said to a general audience" Bloomfield said. "He was setting a tone for what academic work should do?' Not everyone agreed with Said's opinions. During the question-and- answer session, one individual chal- lenged Said's view that the West always acts superior to other civilizations. "It is important to remind people of the whole discussion of civilizations in regards to identity. I am half Lebanese and half German, so I feel it's not important to stress the identity of one civilization over the other," said Layla Hourani, a Rackham graduate student from Germany. "For me, this discussion is not new. Is identity that important? Should we base ourselves on ethical or religious back- grounds?;' she said. Rackham sponsored the lecture in celebration of the D'Arms Awards for Distinguished Graduate Mentoring in the Humanities. Faculty members who won D'Arms Awards include English Prof. Anne Gore, romance language and literature Prof. Cedomil Goic and history of art and women studies Prof. Patricia Simons. VANDALISM Continued from Page1 community. "We want the whole community to be involved," said LSA-Student Government President Lauren Shubow. The group decided that the declara- tion would be most effective with the support of as many student organiza- tions as possible. In addition to these topics, the group discussed wording in a letter sent to Markley residents from Housing staff members after the Markley vandalism. "This letter is more offensive to me than an individual bigot" Michigan Student Assembly Rep. Barry Rosenberg said. "I would like the University to issue an apology and clar- ification and to develop a plan to reduce the likelihood of these inappro- priate letters reoccurring." The students at yesterday's discus- sion agreed to begin drafting the decla- ration and to meet again Monday. DPS is asking anyone who may have information regarding the defacement of the Reform Chavurah poster to call 763-1131. a TISCH SPORTS SEMINAR Managing Professional Sports a conversation between Bob Tisch and his friends Bob Tisch - N.Y. Giants Fred Wilpn - N.Y. Mets Bob Ner-nder - N.Y. Yankees Denise Illitch-Lites - Detroit Tigers/Red Wings moderator Bernie SMilovitz - WDIV-TV channel 4 Friday 26 September 1997 3:00 pm Hale Auditorium - corner of Hill &Tappan Q&A follows * Free and open to the public THME UN IVERSITY OF IC HGAN w -Ar: PROUP MEETINGS EVENTS Near Eastern Studies, Frieze Building, Room 3050, 4 p.m. ;