LOCAL/STATE

The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 2, 1998 - 5A


W'hatever

the weather

.«:

77

.

4
h
Y !
' < 1 e 2 iz
,Fr

Asian Pacific American month to
celebrate history, culture at 'U'

University community
members will celebrate
APA month this April
By Rachel Edelman
Daily Staff Reporter
April marks the University's cele-
bration of Asian Pacific American
Heritage Month, featuring celebra-
tions of APA history, culture and
identity.
"This celebration highlights many
contributions that APAs have made
throughout U.S. history, and increas-
es awareness of the Asian Pacific
American community," said United
Asian American Organizations
Chair Rahul Shah, an LSA junior.
Although APA Heritage Month is
federally designated to take place in
May, the United Asian American
Organizations, as well as other cam-
pus groups, have organized events
and activities this month because
many students will not be in Ann
Arbor in May.
The month begins with the kick-

off weekend on April 2-5, with the
Midwestern Asian American Student
Union Spring Conference, which
more than 500 students from the
University and across the Midwest
are expected to attend.
The fourth annual Generation
APA Cultural Show will be held
Saturday night in the Michigan
Theater and is the largest student-
run production of its kind in the
nation. More than 350 students have
taken part in the the production.
"The kick-off weekend with
MAASU and Generation APA will
strengthen the sense of unity that
exists within the APA community
here at the U of M and in the
Midwest," Shah said.
Taiwan Week, organized by the
Michigan Taiwanese Students
Association and Taiwanese
American Students for Awareness,
will last from April 5-10. The week,
titled "Taiwan: The Inside Look -
Past, Present and Future," will fea-
ture various speakers, including
Yung Ming-Hsu, a University doc-


"This celebration highlights many
contributions that APAs have made
throughout US history ...
- Rahul Shah
United Asian American Organizations Chair

.
i

toral candidate in political science,
who will discuss Taiwan's domestic
policies on Tuesday, April 7, and
Business Prof. Linda Lim, who will
discuss the Asian economic crisis on
April 8.
A Taiwanese folk music perfor-
mance is scheduled for April 5 at
Rackham Auditorium at 8 p.m. A
poster presentation and various sem-
inars and movie showings are sched-
uled throughout the week.
LSA junior Kahala Ogata said that
APA Heritage Month "is an opportu-
nity for us to show that there is a
diversity within the community at
the University, not only in ethnicity
but also in socioeconomic areas."

The Michigan Sikh Studies Circle
is organizing "Sikh Awarenes$
Week," which is intended to promote
the understanding of Islamic culture.
UAAO is also sponsoring teach'
ins in various residence halls sched
uled for March 19. The teach-ins
will feature discussions on various
issues that affect the APA communi-
ty and are designed to promote
knowledge and understanding of the
issues.
"It's good that we can provide
these formats, and we should make
the most of them," said Engineering
senior Rudhir Patel, who plans to
facilitate a teach-in at Mary Markley
Hall.

'U' Medical Center to meet new
standards for medical incinerator

4
.

.
,. ,

I DANA LINNANE/Daily
Engineering graduate student Mark Roberts practices juggling devilsticks
yesterday in the Diag before the sunny weather turned to rain, sending
many students indoors.
&arCh underway
@erh ndrfor student speakers
at cmecmn

By Carly Southworth
Daily Staff Reporter
With one of the largest incinerators in the state,
the University Medical Center is now gathering
information about how to meet new environmen-
tal standards approved by the federal govern-
ment.
This past August, the Environmental Protection
Agency passed the first-ever standards for regu-
lating air emissions from incinerators burning
medical waste.
"There have been no decisions about what we are
doing," said Trixie Dietrich, manager of Medical
Center Safety Building and Environment
Management.
"Even to meet these relatively weak federal stan-
dards, they are going to have to put some additional
controls on their current facility," said Tracey
Easthope, environmental health director for the
Ecology Center.
LSA junior Jeffrey Firestone, a member of the
Jewish Environmental Awareness Project, said the
University's incinerator currently fails to meet most of
the new regulations.
"What does this mean in terms of what sorts of haz-
ard it poses to the community?" Easthope asked.
"That's difficult to say."

Firestone said autoclaving, or sterilizing using
steam and pressure, is an alternative the University
should consider.
"The (University's Medical Center) burns pretty
much everything," Firestone said. "At this point, all
they recycle is cardboard, and basically, everything
else gets put in the incinerator."
Infectious and pathological waste needs to be steril-
ized for safety reasons, but the burning of some non-
infectious materials releases toxins such as dioxins
and mercury, Firestone said.
The term dioxin refers to a group of 75 chemicals
classified as carcinogenic and harmful to the human
immune system. Dioxin is a byproduct formed by the
burning of chlorine in waste.
"The hospital has a responsibility not to cause
any other illness. Yet, through incineration, they
are setting themselves up for problems they may
not realize until 20 years down the road,"
Firestone said.
Easthope also said burning waste can be hazardous
to people's health.
"I think the University should consider alterna-
tives to incineration for the infectious waste
stream," Easthope said. "Incineration, I think, is
an outdated and more pollutive technology than

some of the others."
Easthope said the non-infectious waste stream
needs to be separated from the infectious waste
stream so that it can be recycled. She also said the
University should commit to buying products
manufactured without toxins in them.
"We're suggesting that a hospital look at theif
purchasing policies generally to see how they cal
start getting the toxins out of there," Easthope
said. "Toxins in, toxins out - regardless of the
back-end system you use."
Dietrich said the University Medical Centei
will make a decision based on all the information
they have received about alternatives.
"There is no excuse for increasing exposure and
environmental harm when other options are avail.
able - and available at a reasonable cost,'
Firestone said.
The Medical Center will keep environmental
issues in mind when making the decisionr
Dietrich said.
"It would be acceptable, legally, to meet just
the requirements, but it is unfortunate if
Michigan does just what it can instead of becom-
ing a leader in all medical practices," Firestone
said.

y Jennifer Yachnin
ly Staff Reporter
With spring commencement just a
few weeks away, preparations to select
innovation and student commencement
speakers are underway.
All three speakers will participate in
programs that were created in recent
years in order to incorporate greater
student involvement in graduation cere-
onies.
Next month the commencement
invocation speech at both the under-
graduate and graduate ceremonies will
be given by two students appointed by
Terry Mcginn, a lecturer in the sociolo-
gy department. The format was initiat-
ed this past spring.
"In 1996, the University was still
using the method of inviting individual
clergy from the community to do the
invocation," said Mcginn, a pastor at
0orthside Community Church in Ann
rbor.
Mcginn was selected to give the 1996
invocation and invited his class to par-
ticipate in writing the speech. Last year,
' Mcginn said he wanted to repeat the
experiment and suggested the address
be presented by a student.
"It seems to me that graduation
should be a student-focused event,"
Mcginn said. "I believe that whatever a
udent says ... is more acceptable and
ess offensive to other students than a
religious or clergy person."
Mcginn selected the invocation
speakers from his class of about 40 stu-
dents who are sophomores through
"seniors and said the invocation is a
good opportunity for his students to see
the issues involved in the separation of
church and state, such as invocation
speeches given by clergy.
"Even though the remarks are less
ieistic than they once were, there is
still a role for opening remarks that set
the tone," Mcginn said. "I suspect there
will continue to be .. some sort of

opening exercise."
The students selected to speak will
write their own speeches but will be
aided by their classmates, Mcginn said.
"Each of the students composed their
own invocation with ideas from other
members of the class," Mcginn said.
Associate Director of University
Events Jacque Dunham said she has
worked with Mcginn to ensure that no
specific religious sect is given predom-
inance during the invocation.
"I worked with Terry to get a mes-
sage that is appealing to all students and
attendees at commencement, (so) that
there is no religious bias whatsoever,"
Dunham said.
The committee of students, faculty
and staff chosen to select the student
commencement speaker should be
formed by the end of the week, said
Coordinator of Executive
Communications Mary Jo Frank, who
has been a committee member for the
past two years.
This will be the third year a student
commencement speaker has been
selected to speak at the graduation cer-
emonies, a tradition initiated by stu-
dents.
"The idea was that students should
have a greater role in commencement,"
said Lisa Baker, associate vice presi-
dent for University relations.
Students are also asked to submit an
tape recorded and typed copy of their
speeches, which are judged anony-
mously, Dunham said.
"When we get the speeches in ... we
take the names of the speakers off, so
someone wouldn't know whose speech
they were reading," Frank said.
"Originally, it's been thought that peo-
ple would know each other."
Applications for student commence-
ment speaker will be accepted until
April 13 and can be turned into Mary Jo
Frank in room 2040 of the Fleming
Administration Building.


I' I

Summer Camp
Staff Wanted!!
Indian Trails Camp, a resi-
dential summer cam ppro-
gram for children an dadults
with physical disabilities,
seeks staff for the dates of
June 6 to August 15.
Positions available include
female and male counselors,
aquatics staff, activity lead-
ers, nurses, kitchen, and
maintenance. Salary is
between $1600 and $1800
for the entire summer,
depending on position.
Please call for additional
information or an applica-
tion. (616) 677-5251.


CJ G G C. GI CJLME!'j PG 1'j j jG.[C. C G CI CJ GPCJC CJ C GSCI CC G GTCPC.I C GEGGnG C.1 GPCnLI CJC CTGCJ C GnCnLICP

69

Ho u s e
P/rZ

fs

1nI


I