LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 15, 1998 - 3A Study measures distance from arth to moon he moon is 15 billior. inches away. said astronomy Prof. Richard Teske. is new estimate is accurate within an ;nch. Teske wrote about a study in which stronomers from Germany, France nd the United States joined together to articipate in the possibly ground- reaking research. The purpose of obtaining the mea- urement of the distance between Earth the moon is to determine whether stein's theory of relativity is accu- ate, Teske said. The theory uses this easurement to determine the force of 7ravity. The result of this experiment will ffect how scientists compile equations r express the force of gravity in the suture, Teske said. In the experiment, four mirrors were laced on the moon, facing Earth. Five ers on Earth were pointed directly at mirrors and reflected off of them in 'pace. the one-inch bullet of light travels to he moon in 2.6 seconds, Teske said. e speed of light, which is constant, is multiplied by 2.6 seconds to determine he distance from Earth to the moon, hich is 15 billion inches. So far, the study supports Einstein's heory of relativity, taking into account one-inch margin of error. Teske said re research that would shoot a laser ulse similar to a bullet of light that easures less than one inch may reveal that another theory could be more applicable. Treatment helps decrease ulcers A University study, recently pub- ed in the American Journal of Gastroenterology revealed that a treat- ment.to kill H. pylori bacteria drastical- ly helped patients with peptic ulcer dis- ease. the study,' led by Dr. A. Mark Fredrick, an assistant professor of internal medicine, divided the subjects into two groups. One group was given medication to kill the H. pylori bacteria and eliminated any antisecretorv main- nece therapy. The second group con- tinued the common course of treat- ntent, which is antisecretory mainte- nance therapy. The result was a dramatic benefit for those who underwent H. pylon eradi- cation. They had fewer ulcers and fewer symptoms. These patients no longer had to spend an excessive amount of money for antisecretory treatments. One year later, those who had under- *e H. pylori eradication treatment experienced a 22-percent drop in ulcer reoccurrence. Some doctors say this new treatment could be a short and safe regimen and could lead to a low-cost cure for patients that are afflicted by peptic ulcer disease. Method relieves rgery effects A University study revealed that there is a way to reduce the atrial fibril- lation that 40 percent of patients expe- rience after heart surgery. irial fibrillation is a rapid and iftgular heartbeat in the upper cham- 'ets-of the heart, which occurs for days ;fter the operation. A cardiac drug called amiodarone, ninistered by doctors several days ore the operation, occurs decreases atrial fibrillation by 50 percent. In the study, 64 patients were given amiodarone for seven days prior to surgery while random patients received a placebo. The results were amazing, University doctors said. Twenty five percent of patients with the treatment had atrial fibrillation compared to 53 percent of those who took the placebo. The study was conducted by seven earchers, including Dr. Fred Moriardy, at University Hospitals. "The next step is to determine if simi- ,lar benefits can be achieved when the medication is administered in an acceler- ated dose over a shorter period of time," Moriardy said in a written statement. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Stephanie Hepburn. Study finds political apathy increasing By Nika Schulte and Carly Southworth iDaily Staff Reporters Not only is this year's crop of first- year students the largest entering class in the history of the University, they also may be the least politically inter- ested. An annual study conducted by the University of California at Los Angeles reported that the more than one and a half million of the country's first-year university and college students exhibit the least amount of enthusiasm in poli- tics since the survey was first conduct- ed 32 years ago. According to the survey -- admin- istered during first-year college stu- dent orientation programs - only 27 percent of the nation's first-vear stu- dents believe that keeping tabs on politics is important - a decline from the almost 60 percent average in 1966. Linda Sax. director of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program Freshman Survey at UCLA, said the results of the questionnaire are important because they indicate a large change in the United States. "We've been watching this trend for quite a while. It is at its lowest level right now" Sax said. "The two main reasons the information is important is because it is a follow-up to how and why there is change. Also, we can track the changing nature of students and America." The University's Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flitlo i eations are anion the 665 universities that participated. The debate on the existence of politi- cal involvement on campus has reached the University, and students have mixed opinions on the issue. LSA first-year student John Siddall is part of the remaining 73 percent who said he does not care about politics. "(Politics) isn't very exciting to me," Siddall said. "There's not much I can really change. I'm one voice lost in a million." Some University students said lack of time is also a main constraint on their political activity. Engineering first-year student Jason Riback said he does not have enough time to keep up with politics. "Because I'm studying and involved in a fraternity, there's no time (for poli- tics):,' Riback said. But he believes his involveiment in politics w ill grow as graduation approaches. "By then I'll be preparing to go out on m On i. Right now, it's my parents that are the ones that are working and naking the decisions," Riback said. Political science Prof. Hanes Walton, Jr. said he believes many students will find politics to be more important as they prepare to graduate. "Practical realities will force (stu- dents) into government," Walton said. "As younger people get into the real world and start searching for personal security, they will immedi- arely recognize how% important gov- erinent is. Some first-year students already have discovered the significance of polities. "I am very interested (in politics). In taet, I just begged my way into an Intro to American polities class," said LSA first-year student Katie Abrams. lIvei though she could not vote, Abrams followed last year's presidential election in a high school class. Walton said that while high school classes are useful in teaching principles, they do not teach students how the gov- ernment interacts with the economy and the real world. "It is not obvious and clear to young people until (they) hit the real world," Walton said. I Health initiative will foster research cooperation By Heather Wiggin Daily Staff Reporter The final pieces are falling together for a new University initiative that will foster collaboration between researchers from various health care disciplines. The multi-disciplinary Health Services Research Initiative will make it easier for researchers across campus to convene oii research projects, and will support individual researchers, said health management and policy Prof. John Wheeler, the initiative's director. "Some of the money might support small, start-up grants across the University," Wheeler said. "A lot of it will be to provide resources that everybody can use." Research funded by the initiative will cover topics such as health care organization and quality, as well as interaction t between health care providers and patients. "The initiative will enhance patient satisfaction. clinical_ competitiveness and our national leadership position," said Gilbert Onenn, executive vice president for medical affairs. First approved by former University Provost J. Bernard Machen, the initiative will receive $1.5 million over three years from the Office of the Provost. "This goes back to before when Nancy Cantor was provost," said Paul Courant, associate provost for academic and budgetary affairs. "It's an initiative that is a substantial amount of money, but for a limited amount of time." The Health Sciences Council - a collection of University deans from health-oriented colleges will oversee the initiative. "We have confidence in that group to make decisions:. Courant said. "We expect to see interesting and important work." The purpose of the initiative is to bring together researchers from different disciplines. Courant said. State lawmakers returnl to Capita "The initiative is an outstanding example of collaboration research at the U of M," Courant said. "That is the strength of this kind of program." Wheeler has talked to University staff members in differ- ent areas of health service to find out how the initiative can help them achieve their goals. "Ultimately, the measure of success is that researchers will be able to do more than they were without the initia- tive" Wheeler said. By creating the initiative, Dental Prof. Amid Ismail said, researchers can form coalitions of expertise and create a new agenda to improve overall health care. "This University has an enormous amount of expertise," Ismail said. "By combining forces, we can be a power cen- ter for the nation." The structure of the initiative will make it a "mechanism" that will enhance the grouping of people and ideas, Ismail said. The initiative should "address issues that people are really concerned about to find systems of care that are bet- ter," lie said. Frank Ascione, associate professor of pharmacy adminis- tration, said the initiative could get researchers from the College of Pharmacy and the School of Dentistry working together on an issue related to their respective fields. "We all have different expertise and different perspec- tives," Ascione said. "I think the whole intent behind it is to try to get groups that have been working individually to work together." Ascione said he hopes the initiative will "develop an incentive to encourage people to work together more." Collaboration will make research and higher education both more effective and less expensive, Ascione said. "I think it's an example of the University trying to plan for the future WRITE FOR THE DAILY. COME TO milies in Harrison A air Shores have suf- d beaches and the MEETIN property value," *e bills would elim- g. 50 percent of all otes of 101-0 and TUESDAY AT vith minor Senate ills. They now go to t : Pd.Ml EMILY NATHANO/Daily Eastern Michigan University Prof. Michael Harris speaks on Arab-Israeli ten- sions at a forum hosted by U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-Ann Arbor). Rivershosts forum on1 forign cnlc By Mike Spahn Daily Staff Reporter Tempers and emotions flared last night during a forum hosted by Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-Ann Arbor) on the Arab-Israeli conflict. A panel of professors spoke to the audience, which included people of various ethnicities, ages and opin- ions, followed by a Q&A period that, at times, became heated. Eastern Michigan University Prof. Michael Harris, an Israeli native, said that despite what many people believe, the conflict affects more than just the Arabs and Israelis. "This is not an Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It's much broader than that," Harris said. Rivers agreed that many Americans do not have a realistic view of the conflict. "Most Americans ... don't under- stand the situation over there because that's not what they're looking for on the news," Rivers said. The discussion grew intense when audience members began to question human rights and other issues from both the Israeli and Palestinian sides. Bill Thomson, a psychology pro- fessor at the University of Michigan- Dearborn, stirred emotions when he read the story of an imprisoned col- lege student who currently is being tortured by Israeli police. Thomson said his concern was with the accep- tance of such treatment. which is legal in Israel. "The institutionalization of discrimi- natory practices such as these in Israel is what concerns me," Thomson said. Each of the panelists agreed that there are certain basic issues that must be resolved before Israelis and Arabs can achieve lasting peace. "To the Palestinians, peace is a necessity'said Mary Sikely, a political science associate professor at Wayne State University, who moved to the United States from Palestine 20 years ago. "Resurrecting the process of peace is essential to all parties." Harris said recent movements toward peace. including the 1993 Oslo Accords, w ill have no effect until a level of trust is established between Israelis and Palestinians. "Will there be trust built between the two (parties)?" Harris said. "Because otherwise, the technicali- ties (of the agreements) don't mean anything.' Political science Prof. A.F.K. Organski spoke about how the situation has changed during the last five years. "Up until (former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak) Rabin, (former Israeli Prime Minister Simon) Peres and (Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser) Arafat, the accepted position was the extreme," Organski said. "Now, the moderates have left the extremes behind. The extremes lost control of the policy." Organski said the United States has not been successful in its recent foreign policy efforts. "We aren't doing so well in areas (where) we have a tremendous amount of influence and a tremen- dous amount of power." he said. Rivers said a change is needed. "We should put our support and our money into programs that will alleviate the poverty so many people live in," Rivers said. Also speaking at the forun was Islamic history Prof. Michael Bonner, who called the conflict a "painful confrontation of rights" and agreed with the other panelists in saying "confrontations must be resolved before we can have peace." LANSING (AP)-- State lawmakers met yesterday for their first 1998 ses- sion, voting on bills that would reduce pollution in Michigan lakes. But the real legislative work isn't expected to start until after Gov. John Engler gives his State of the State address Jan. 29. The two-bill lake pollution package sets up a stricter procedure for sewage treatment plants to report and repair problems caused when untreated sewage is discharged during heavy rain- falls, said sponsor . Rep. William Callahan (D-St. Clair Shores). It also would give homeowners a year and commercial and industrial property owners five years to remove storm water connections such as down spouts and roof top gutters from sani- tary sewer systems. Callahan's district includes Metropolitan Beach at Metro Park, which has closed numerous times in recent years when bacteria made swim- ming unsafe. "For too long far Township and St. Cl fered through close threat of declining Callahan said. "Thes inate 30 percent to sewage overflows." The House on v 100-1 concurred w changes to the two bi h}r ir ir n fn hi the governor Tor is signature anu couIU take effect this summer. Callahan said thousands of people in communities operating combined sys- tems would be affected when the bills take effect. He estimated the average cost to each homeowner to reroute downspouts at S50 to S90. Rerouting downspouts isn't practical in all communities, said Rep. Andrew Richner, who voted against that bill. The Grosse Pointe Park Republican said some neighborhoods in his district have little room between houses to reroute rain water. He thinks the concept is fine, but should not be a statewide mandate. Catch a Ride to: Just Call TOUR WITH US for shuttle service schedule Jan. 13 - Jan. 18, 1998 (734) 528-0583 or (313) 590-9695 f L LALLNL2 What's happening in Ann Arbor today Ak Take a Free Test Drive and find out!