One hundred seven years ofeditorifreedom Monday October 6,1997 News: 76-DAILY Advertising: 764-0554 -- - ----- -- -- 1110 m 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 I I I ______ ~UL 1[