One hundred seven years ofeditorifreedom
Monday
October 6,1997
News: 76-DAILY
Advertising: 764-0554
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I
tudy finds
racism affects
total health
'U' researchers find daily acts of dis-
crimination, such as name calling, can
cause long-term health concerns
By Kristin Wright
Daily Staff Reporter
University researchers have discovered evidence that even
'all acts of discrimination can negatively affect the physi-
and mental health of black Americans.
"In essence, we found that after controlling for or account-
ing for important health factors such as income and educa-
tion, African Americans were still more likely to report poor-
er health than whites," said associate sociology Prof. David
Williams, a research scientist at the University's Institute for
Social Research.
The study measured two types of discrimination: major
discriminatory experiences, such as abusive encounters
with police; and everyday discrimina-
tion, which include receiving poorer
daily service than whites or name call-
ing.
The study found that major discrim-
inatory experiences had little affect on
the physical and mental well-being of
those sampled - but everyday racism
was found to cause health concerns.
"Notably, major experiences of dis-
: crimination were unrelated to self-
Williams assessed ill health," Williams said.
"Experiences of everyday discrimina-
n, on the other hand, were positively related to ill health."
Researchers said daily prejudices and acts of discrimina-
tion, such as name calling, could cause long-term health
concerns because they are much more prevalent in society
than major racist acts.
According to the study, 33.6 percent of blacks said they
had been the victim of at least one major discriminatory act
during their lifetime. More than 90 percent of those sampled
reported they had experienced some form of everyday dis-
crimination.
The study was conducted by professional interviewers
m the ISR and University graduate students.
In the study, 520 white and 586 black people from Wayne,
Oakland and Macomb counties were chosen at random to
participate in the search for a possible correlation between
experiences of racial discrimination and the deterioration of
physical and mental health.
The researchers also considered other variables that could
affect health, such as household size, chronic stress, educa-
tion, financial stress and family income. But researhes con-
cluded that these variables proved not to be fully responsible
for poorer health in blacks.
O"Even if we take all socio-economic factors into account,
blacks were still doing worse at equivalent levels," Williams
said.
LSA first-year student Courtney Reid said she is not con-
vinced that the ignorance of others can affect the health of
blacks.
"I personally would not think it to be true. I didn't think
that race would have anything to do with health," Reid
said.
See STUDY, Page 5A
TU' Hospitals
holds infant
.deathmemorial
, Nika Schulte
the Daily
Although only six feet tall and resembling a shrub, a new
tree planted Saturday in the Nichols Arboretum will blossom
white flowers in spring, reminding families of the infants
they have lost.
Saturday's tree-planting ceremony was one of the parts of
the memorial service Walk to Remember, which more than
200 people attended in the Arb.
Sponsored by University Hospitals, the memorial service
provided an opportunity for families that have experienced
' he loss of an infant to remember their child with other fam-
es who faced similar situations.
A formal recognition of infant death was established in the
late 1980s, with the designation of October as Infant Loss
Awareness Month. Saturday's memorial was the first time
University Hospitals has participated.
Event coordinator Susan Gibney developed the memorial
to commemorate more than 300 infant deaths from miscar-
riage, still birth or other causes at University Hospitals in the
past year.
"The public needs to be aware this is a loss you don't get
ver and just go on;" said Gibney, who is also coordinator of
eInfant Loss Support Program in the Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit. "A remembrance is helpful because this loss is
very real, and is a nice way (for families) to acknowledge and
remember their baby."
Monica Orians, a mother from nearby Chelsea, Mich.,
attended the event in honor of her deceased son Matthew,
who died last May when he was only one week old. Orians
not only wanted to remember her son's short life, but she also
By Susan T. Port
Daily Staff Reporter
Student government representatives
from most of the Big 10 schools gathered
at the University this weekend to discuss
issues and problems relevant to each of
the campuses.
While the schools represented at the
Association of Big Ten Schools
Conference were diverse, the leaders
found common ground on many of the
issues. Among the topics discussed were
ways to increase voter registration and
turnout at elections and the possibility of
placing a student on the board of regents.
Director of the conference, LSA Rep.
Trent Thompson, said students from
every Big 10 school were enthusiastic
about their future projects.
"ABTS right now is basically a brain-
storm coalition of Big 10 schools," said
Thompson, an LSA junior. "The ideas
are helpful. They help us implement new
projects in our own university. Contact
between the schools is a must."
One of the highlights of the two-day
conference was a speech given by
University President Lee Bollinger on
Friday night. Bollinger addressed contro-
versial topics including affirmative
action and the difficulties facing public
I
ists Big
universities, before the more than 60 stu-
dent government representatives.
"I thought it would be fun to come and
comment on how I see things on higher
education," Bollinger said.
Bollinger also explained the impor-
tance of the University getting national
publicity and emphasized that students
should take a larger interest in media
coverage of campus issues. Specifically,
Bollinger criticized The New York
Times, stating that the newspaper tends
to ignore the University in favor of East
Coast schools.
"You need to help us give the Midwest
a greater prominence in the minds of the
nation," Bollinger said. "It's outrageous
to believe East Coast schools are superi-
or to the Midwest."
The ABTS conference traditionally =r '
has provided representatives from all
over the region the opportunity to cri-
tique the operations of the Big 10 student'
governments. But LSA Rep. Trent
Thompson, who directed the conference,
said representatives should have taken
more from the annual event.
"You get good ideas, but that's all you
do," Thompson said. "For the time and
the effort that gets put in, I don't know if
See MSA, Page 2A Universitydn
President 0
10
leaders
KEVIN KRUPITZER/Daily
President Lee Bollinger talks with MSA President Mike Nagrant (to his right), MSA Vice
Olga Savic and LSA junior Ryan Friedrichs at a Big 10 schools conference Friday.
IN HONOR OF A LEADER
Donors give LaW.
School $90M,
By Janet Adamy
Daily Staff Reporter
With more than half of the Law
School's alumni donating, the conclu-
sion of the Campaign for Michigan
marked the end of the most successful
fundraising campaign in the history of
public legal education.
The Law School raised more than
$90 million by its Sept. 30 deadline -
exceeding its seven-year campaign
goal by $15 million.
"It's incredible to know that the
graduates of Michigan are so loyal and
devoted that they want the next gener-
ation of law students to enjoy what
they had," said Law School Dean
Jeffrey Lehman. "About 10 gifts and
pledges of $1 million or more were
made, but we would not have been able
to reach our goal without the incredi-
bly broad support that we enjoyed at all
levels.'
Vice President for Development
Thomas Kinnear said the Law School's.
campaign is particularly notable
because it succeeded despite the fact
that the school switched deans midway
through the campaign, which began in
1990.
"It was a wonderful closing to a
campaign by Dean Lehman and the
campaign staff,' Kinnear said.
Among the alumni donors was
Campaign Chair Terrence Elkes, who
celebrated the completion of the cam-
paign with a $5 million challenge gift
on top of the $90 million.
If Elkes' donation is matched, the
$10 million will fund an endowment to
perpetuate exceptional faculty,
research.
"I believe in giving back" Elkes, co-
owner of the investment firm Apollo
Partners Ltd., said in a written state-
ment. "I know the importance of pri-
vate support and the uniqueness of
Michigan. It has a set of values often
forgotten in this day of soundbites."
Provost Nancy Cantor said the suc-
"lt wasa
wonderful closing
to a campaig by
Dean Lehman .."
- Thomas Kinnear
Vice President for Development
cess of the campaign makes a positive
statement about the high value the
University's alumni put on their educa-
tion.
"This is just one of the many signs of
how prominent and important the qual.
ity of our education at the University
is," Cantor said.
Lehman said private donations are
necessary to keep the law school coin-
petitive, although its main goal is to
serve as a public university.
"We believe that the specific public
values that we{inherited as part ofthu
University of Michigan make us a is-
tinct university," Lehman said. "At'ihe
same time, we're building endowments
that also allow us to compete with ri-
vate institutions on their own terms;.
Campaign donations at the Law
School already have been put to use to:
0 Increase available scholarships
Create a new Legal Practice
Program focusing on individualized
legal writing instruction for all students
Establish an ;alternative dispute
resolution program
Complete classroom renovations
* Add a rare book room to the Law
Library
Implement a Japanese legal stud-
ies program that includes faculty
exchanges with Japanese universities
and law schools
* Begin a resource center for educa-
tion and practitioner support in child
welfare law
* Endow numerous professorships.
VISHEN MOHANDAS LAMHIANI/Daily
LSA sophomore Neha Singhal sings the Indian National Anthem before a tree-planting ceremony
outside the Shapiro Undergraduate Library on Saturday.
Trvee rIecogniz es Gan--dhi
By Katie Piona
Daily Staff Reporter
While most students on campus were sleep-
ing Saturday morning, a group of about 150
students stood in the gleaming morning sun to
kick off a day of activities to honor Mahatma
Gandhi.
The activities for the first-ever Mahatma
Gandhi Day of Service were a result of the joint
efforts of the Indian American Student
Association and Project Serve.
Before heading off for an afternoon dedicat-
ed to community service throughout Ann
Arbor, Ypsilanti and other metro Detroit cities,
The young sappling, already touched by the
first colors of autumn, along with a bronze
plaque, stand near the Shapiro Undergraduate
Library as a memorial to Gandhi's life and
teachings.
"We're leaving a mark on the University
campus just for Gandhi," said LSA first-year
student Bela Patel. "We wanted to honor him by
doing community service for the community
the way he wanted it to be done."
Assistant Provost and Director of the Office
of Academic Multicultural Initiatives John
Matlock, who addressed the volunteers,
stressed that activism can appear in a variety of
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