LOCAL/STATE

The Michigan Daily -Thursday, October 22, 1998 - 3A

'RESEARCH j
Steel mill will
affect minorities
Newly released research conducted by
SNRE research associate Robin Saha
*and Prof. Paul Mohai shows that a pro-
posed steel mill for Genessee County,
Mich. would disproportionately affect
minorities and low-income individuals.
The area within one mile of the steel
mill is comprised of 52 percent minori-
ties, more than double the county and
state averages, according to the
researchers. The mean income for the
area is $36,426 as compared with
$57,669 for the county as a whole. The
study found similar results within three
@and six miles of the steel mill.
The University study contrasts with
the earlier findings of the Anderson
Economic Group of Lansing, which esti-
mated the area within a mile to be only
16 percent minority. Saha and Mohai
contend the earlier analysis used a faulty
data set.
Researchers
'4virtually' united
A new center funded by a grant from
the National Institutes of Health will
force researchers from the University of
Michigan, Northwestern University, the
University of Minnesota and the
University of Wisconsin to team up
through new technologies.
The Great Lakes Center for AIDS
Research will be based in all four uni-
versities, with collaborators using mod-
:m technology to bridge the distance.
This the first NIH grant distributed to
researchers in four different states for a
joint project.
A University team will provide the
expertise in voice, video and data com-
munication technologies. The
University's Collaboratory for Research
on Electronic Work will assemble the
virtual center, which will share data and
.omputational resources.
Report analyzes
black Americans
A new report sponsored by the
National Policy Association and co-
authored by psychology Prof. James
Jackson and research fellow Nicholas
Jones examines race issues in the United
States.
_ Among other findings, the study
shows 50 percent of blacks are members
of the middle class today as opposed to
10 percent at the beginning of World War
II. The report predicts high school grad-
uation rates for blacks and whites will be
the same by the year 2010.
Also, black median family income has
remained at 60 percent of white median
family income since the 1960s. The dif-
erence in college attendance between
lacks and whites has increased since the
1970s for men and stayed at the same
level for women.
Using both new and old data, the
study found that infant mortality rates for
- blacks was 15.1 per 1,000 births com-
pared with 6.3 for whites. The authors
predict black marriage rates will fall to
32 percent by 20f0 while the white mar-
riage rate will be 57 percent.
Alestaurants
hosts fundraisers

Hindu students celebrate Diwali Puja

By Sarah Lewis
Daily Staff Reporter
More than 200 students filled Stockwell
Residence Hall's Blue Lounge last night to cel-
ebrate the Hindu religion's main holiday, the
Diwali Puja.
Diwali is the "Festival of Lights" and a way to
celebrate the Hindu new year, Engineering
junior Ranjana Roy said.
"We can gather and pray" Roy said. "It's a
nice way to come together. It gives a sense of
family."
Many participants emphasized that Diwali,
the most attended Hindu cultural event on cam-
pus, is a way to bring the members of the Hindu
community together and make students feel at
home.
Yesterday's Diwali celebration was the first
one away from home for Rajesh Krishan, a resi-
dent in the School of Dentistry. He said that
even though many students cannot be with their
families for the holiday, celebrating with other

Holiday provides sense offamily

people creates a family atmosphere.
"If they didn't put this on you'd be missing
out on something," Krishan said.
Members of the Hindu Students Council
worked for a month to organize the University's
seventh annual Diwali celebration, LSA junior
Neha Singhal said.
Singhal co-chaired the event, which included
students in all aspects of preparation and in the
service itself.
She said there were student committees for
publicity, food and decorations, as well as peo-
ple who assisted during the ceremony.
Strings of lights and handmade signs adorned
with Hindu symbols hung from the lounge
walls. A large gold sign wishing people a
"Happy Diwali" marked the lounge's entrance,
and the sweet scent of burning incense filled the
room.

An altar set up in the center of the room dis-
played a picture of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess
of prosperity, surrounded by flowers, food and
candles.
Engineering graduate student Ankur Agarwal
said the candles symbolize the joyous occasion,
and the other objects are meant as an offering to
the goddess.
Most students dressed in traditional Indian
clothing - colorful saris for the women and
kurta pajamas for the men. Roy and LSA junior
Sunitha Mani explained some of the Diwali tra-
ditions.
They said everyone wears something new and
receives gifts to share the goodness and pros-
perity demonstrated by the holiday.
Sharada Kumar, president of Chimarya
Missions in Ann Arbor, is the annual puja prayer
leader. She said she feels Diwali is important

because of the family ties.
.The youngm kids have been doing this at
home.- Kumar said. "They feel like this is going
home."
The prayer service began with a moment of
silence for LSA first-year student Courtney
Cantor, who died after falling from her sixth-
floor residence hall room last Friday.
Then Kumar led the puja prayer, with the peo-
ple echoing her chants. She first sang in the
Sanskrit language, then translated the stories to
English. Each part of the prayer song told a dif-
ferent part of the story.
Diwali is based on the story of a demon king
who repented for his sins as he was killed by the
god Krishna.
"On this day the whole world should celebrate
with lights, when all the evils die and all good
things prevail," Kumar said.
The significance of the lights is that they are
supposed to bring blessings from the goddess of
prosperity.

Pols to campaign sou
in Detroit area


By Mike Spahn
Daily Staff Reporter
State Congressional candidates are
turning up the heat and bringing in the
big guns for the final two weeks of
campaigning, as First Lady Hillary
Rodham Clinton and House Speaker
Newt Gingrich come to Southeast

Democratic Congressional candidates
in the state, including U.S. Rep. Lynn
Rivers (D-Ann Arbor), Sen. Carl
Levin (D-Mich.) and the rest of the
Michigan congressional delegation
But the Democrats are not alone in
their big-name fundraisers. Later
tomorrow, Gingrich will take part in a
gathering at the Hellenic Cultural
Center in Westland, campaigning for
Tom Hickey,
Rivers' opponent in
events: the race for the
13th District con-

Michigan today.
The Democratic
C a m p a i g n
Committee will
host a fundraiser
and rally at the
R e n a i s s.a n c e
Center in Detroit
today. Headlining
the event will be
Clinton, who has
been traveling
around the country
in support of
Democratic candi-
dates for the past
two months.
The 1 p.m. rally
will follow a $2,500-
per-person reception

Congressional
Campaign

What: Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee raly with
Hilary Rodham Clinton
When: 1 p.m. today
Where: Westin Hotel in the
Renaissance Place, Detroit
What: Republican candidate Tomi
Hickey hosts a rally with House
Speaker Newt Gingrich
When: 2 p.m. today
Where: Hellenic Cultural Center,
Westland

gressional seat.
The rally will be
held at 2 p.m.,
although organiz-
ers of both events
deny that they
were planned to
counter each other.
Gingrich, like
Clinton, has been
criss-crossing the
country in support
of Republican can-
didates.

with the first lady and a $500-per-plate
lunch, both of which will offer patrons
the opportunity to meet and have photos
taken with Clinton.
Expected at the rally are most

Although Rivers currently holds a
lead on Hickey in a recent EPIC/MRA
poll, both campaigns say they will be
shifting the campaign into high gear.
starting with today.

Ed Biniecki and Karen Sue Smith celebrate at their home in Petersburg, Mich., yesterday after receiving a check for
$250,000 from the Campbell Soup Company. Karen was the grand prize winner of Campbell's "Dream Home" sweepstakes.
Lunces attract sudents, profS

Women to host day
of action

Southwest Detroit currently is the
home of a six-day fundraising extrava-
ganza Oct. 20 to 25. 'Feast for the Eyes,'
hosted by Mexican Town Restaurant,
will donate every dollar received to the
University's Kellogg Eye Center.
The money will be used to conduct
esearch on macular and retinal degener-
ation. The owners of the restaurant,
Colleen and Frank DiMattia, sponsor the
research because oftheir own experience
with eye disease. Colleen DiMattia's son
and father are both afflicted with macu-
lar degeneration, which causes a person
to lose their eyesight.
There is no way to treat the disease at
the present. Ophthalmology Prof. Paul
Sieving is leading the research, which
was greatly advanced by last year's dis-
*overy of the gene responsible for the
disease.
-Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Gerard Cohen- Vrignaud
ICorrection:

By Lauren Gibbs
Daily Staff Reporter
Use your voice! Claim your
power! Create choice! This message
is being sent to all the young women
on campus today.
Celebrated today, dubbed
National Young Women's Day of
Action is part of a national cam-
paign created and organized by
young women.
The goal of the day is to inform
young women about their reproduc-
tive and sexual freedom, their rights
to exist as lesbians, bisexual or
transgendered people, their ability
to be free from violence and the
necessity for accessible health care
and quality education.
NYWDA coincides with the sec-
ond day of the two Days of Action in
defense of affirmative action.
Women supporting NYWDA are
encouraged to participate in the
walk-out for 2 Days of Action, so
that attention will be drawn to gen-
der issues as they relate to affirma-
tive action.
"Often on this campus affirmative
action is looked at on the basis of
race. It is also important, however,
to understand the effects affirmative
action has on women," said LSA
senior Shannon Saksewski, an orga-
nizer of the event.
This is the sixth annual NYWDA,
but it is the first time the University
has taken part in the event. NYWDA

was started in the memory of a 27-
year-old Mexican American, Rosie
Jimenez, who died on Oct. 3, 1977
as a result of an illegal abortion in
Texas.
Organizers of the day of action
encourage students to inform their
professors of the importance of the
days of action and try to convince
them to cancel classes for the two
days, Saksewski said.
At noon today, the "Women's
Unity Speakout and March" will
take place on the steps of the
Michigan Union. Speakers include
Rackham student Aaron Celious,
who will recite his poetry and Social
Work student Sarah Nickes, speak-
ing about violence against women
and SAFEhouse.
Saksewski said the speakers will
inform those present of issues
important to women and attempt to
ignite activism.
"We believe that to make ourselves
hear, it is important to form coalitions
among and between groups of
women. Together we will make our-
selves heard," Saksewski said.
The University's NYWDA was
organized by the Undergraduate
Women's Studies Association, a stu-
dent group for activism and educa-
tion. The group, which consists
mainly of undergraduate students,
was founded last fall by LSA senior
Carla Pfeffer and SNRE junior Lara
Zador.

By Nick Bunkley
and Avram S. Turkel
For the Daily
The lure of free food and learning without being grad-
ed brought many students to the Michigan Union yester-
day for the second event in the
new "Faculty Wednesdays"
lecture-lunch series. "It's a nice J
"It's a nice avenue for stu-
dents at a totally voluntary Students at
level, to learn something that
they don't have to worry about voluntary le
knowing for a test," said biolo-
gy Prof. John Kuwada, the fea- s Ofl thl
tured speaker at this month's isIa#AmW, I

flffmm Vfi Tff 1 fff"f

lecture. 5"Ovte' V1ul-I
About 55 people showed up s. - f
at the University Club for this kno
month's "brown-bag" lecture,
titled "How the Brain Is Wired
Up: The Yuck Factor."
Kuwada discussed how neurons make connections
within the brain.
The lecture-lunch series is open to all students, and
features professors from many different University
departments.
"It's nice to be able to learn about something that you
don't necessarily learn in :lass," said Alan Zakaria, an
LSA senior.
Sponsored by the senior honor society Mortar Board
and the Michigan Union Program Board, the "lecture-
lunch series enhances awareness of different academic
opportunities on campus," said LSA senior Kerri Hale,

1

1
1'
y

Mortar Board's social chair.
LSA senior Albert Muzarieta said he enjoyed learning
in "a more informal atmosphere."
"I think it's a great way of building community
between students and teachers," Muzarieta said.
The organizers of the
series aim to provide a forum
cavenue for for a monthly lecture as well
as to ignite dialogue on cam-
pus between students and
professors, said LSA senior
wel to learn Ryan Friedrichs, Mortar
Board's president.
hfi f D on't "It's an informal way for
about highly recognized and
regarded speakers to share
test" ideas in a conversational
manner," said MUPB co-
- Professor John Kuwada chair Uday Gajendar, an Art
Biology professor and Design senior.
Future speakers this year
will include psychology Prof. Chris Peterson and
Kinesiology Prof. Keith Harrison.
Next month's lecture will be presented at noon on Nov.
18 by sociology Prof. Mark Mizruchi on the topic
"Social Networks: Fad or Fact."
Monthly lectures are scheduled through April, but
Friedrichs said the lectures are a "tradition that will
hopefully carry into the next century."
LSA junior Wesley Hsu saiddKuwada made a compli-
cated subject easy to understand.
"It's very complicated but he does a good job of pre-
senting in layman's terms,' Hsu said.



Terri Tinkle, director of the University's Sweetland Writing Center also co-signed yesterday's letter 'Diversity serves the
best interests of the 'U'" This was incorrectly reported in yesterday's Daily.

GRouP MEETINGS
UCirele K. Michigan Union,.

L hALUeNvnnA
What's happening in Ann Arbor today

Kuenzel

Committee, Cliff Keen Arena,
7:30 p.m.
J "Palante, Slempre Palante,"
-,.nnr e D v~itnnv ni

SERVICES
U Campus information Centers, 763-

i

f