LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 27, 1999 - 3 kHIGHER EDUCATION " UCLA survey looks at student Internet use 0 "The American Freshman," an annu- al survey sponsored by the University of California at Los Angeles Higher Education Research Institute, attempts to gage the attitudes and behaviors of first-year college students. UCLA Prof. Alexander Astin, first began conducting this survey in 1966, in an attempt to track the trends of col- lege students. The survey, released yes- terday, confirmed that the Internet has rown in popularity among students. 1 The survey discovered that 91 per- cent of first-year students at UCLA and 83 percent of students at other uniersi- ties and colleges nationwide use the Internet for research and homework. The study also showed that 55 per- cent of students visit chat rooms and 66 percent use e-mail. Other college related trends, such as the acceptability of beer drinking, casual x and abortion reached all-time lows. Beer drinking among first-year stu- dents nationally, has fallen from 75 per- cent in 1981 to 57 percent in 1998. U. Wisconsin prof. sentenced University of Wisconsin at Madison Engineering Prof. Leon Shohet was sentenced by a federal judge for using false documentation to receive millions f dollars in federal grant money from e Engineering Research Center for Plasma Aided Manufacturing. An investigation has shown that the grants Shohet received allocated $2.8 million annually from 1988 to 1997. The judge fined Shohet $10,000 and sentenced him to three months in prison beginning Feb. 19. He was also given 100 hours of community service and one year supervised release. * Shohet has not yet been given a leave of absence from his teaching position at the university. Study: women have greater risks from alcohol An NBC news story reported that women have a greater chance in devel- ping long-term adverse affects from ' Icohol than men. The report referred to the Framingham Study that states Women who have more than four drinks per night, or each time that they drink, are considered heavy drinkers. The report stated these women are at greater risk for future problems. College-age women are the most susceptible to these problems because they make up the greatest number of ieavy and binge drinkers among women, said the National Household Study on drug abuse. The alcohol has a greater affect on women because they don't have the same amount of enzymes to break down the alcohol as men, said Judith Reichman, a doctor contributing to the . NBC report. Alcohol consumption has also been linked to an increase in breast cancer. The Framingham Study showed a 50 percent increase in breast cancer *mong women who had more than three drinks each week. Cloning defended by MSU professor Michigan State University Prof. and lawyer, Elizabeth Foley will represent state of Illinois physicist Richard Seed's plan to open a clinic that will *specialize in cloning humans. Last spring, Michigan was the second state to ban human cloning. The Food and Drug Administration said it has the right to block anyone from cloning human beings. Foley said the FDA threatened Seed with a cease-and-desist order to curtail the plans for his clinic. The order demanded Seed stop his experimentation with( human cloning or he could face criminal charges, Foley said. Foley strongly defends her client against the ethical questions raised in regards to human cloning. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Lauren Gibbs. GEO hopes for settlement by Feb. 1 GEO hoped to compromise with the University by reducing its wage increase proposal By Nick Falzone Daily Staff Reporter Only five days remain until the Graduate Employees Organization's contract with the University expires on Feb. 1. But as January draws to a close, many issues remain unsettled between the two debating sides, including GEO's 27 per- cent wage increase request. University Chief Negotiator Dan Gamble said the two sides reached "a new level of understand- ing" about the wage proposal at their meeting ear- lier this week. "GEO made a plea for a revised wage proposal from us," Gamble said. "We explained that it was unlikely (GEO) would receive a counterproposal while they still had a double-digit request. "For weeks we've been expecting GEO to become more realistic with their proposal, but it just hasn't happened," Gamble added. GEO Chief Negotiator Eric Odier-Fink said GEO had tried to compromise with the University when they dropped their wage increase request from 37 to 27 percent last semester- a difference of SI 10 a month from their previous request. GEO member Chip Smith expressed a similar view concerning the University's negotiating poli- cies. "When I asked Gamble why the University wasn't making any effort to work toward a middle ground (at the meeting), he responded with silence," Smith said. "The lack of willingness to compromise is troublesome." Gamble said he requested GEO reduce its wage request to less than 10 percent because he believed the organization was not receiving the University's message that its proposal was unrealistic. Gamble said his team also tried to convey this message to GEO last Thursday by presenting a comparison of graduate student instructor wages from 28 universities throughout the country. Gamble said this presentation of comparable wages demonstrated that the University's GSIs were adequately funded. Odier-Fink said this response was useless since the University did not factor cost-of-living into its calculations. GEO took the wages the University presented last week and recalculated them, taking cost-of-living into account, Odier-Fink said. "We plugged the numbers into a Website con- nected with the Department of Labor and figured out cost-of-living," Odier-Fink said, adding that the University GSIs' wages fell from 16th of 28 univer- sities to 23rd according to these new calculations. "This was really significant," Odier-Fink said. "All these other schools like (the University of) Nebraska and Iowa (at Davenport), where cost-of- living is so much lower, are making considerably more than us in Ann Arbor dollars." When GEO presented the new numbers to the University at the negotiations earlier this week. Odier-Fink said they acted hypocritically toward their own figures. "As soon as we brought it to them, they said it wasn't good data" Odier-Fink said. "We said these were the same numbers you used last week. I found that really suspect." Gamble said cost-of-living would only be important if the University was dealing with a smaller wage increase request. "When you're dealing with 27 percent increas- es, a 2 percent cost-of-living difference doesn't mean that much," Gamble said. Gamble added that he believed that for the amount of time University GSIs work - 17 hours a week - their average wage of S 16.34 per hour is substantial. Vigil to commemorate lives of two LSA first-year students By Nick Bunkley Daily Staff Reporter Friends of two LSA first-year stu- dents who died in a car accident last week near Traverse City are planning a candlelight vigil on the Diag tonight at 10:30. Following the candle lighting, par- ticipants will proceed to the Michigan League Ballroom for a ceremony to remember Sarah Metzger and Celia Zwerdling. Metzger and Zwerdling, both of Silver Spring, Md., were killed Jan. 18 on their way home from a weekend skiing vacation at Crystal Mountain. Both were passengers in a Jeep driven by LSA first-year student Kelson Smith. Smith lost control of his car on an ice-slicked road in adverse weather conditions and an oncoming vehicle struck his Jeep. LSA first-year student Alyssa Rosen, another passenger, and Smith were treated and released from a nearby hospital. Reminiscent of the Diag vigil fol- lowing the October death of LSA first- year student Courtney Cantor, the trib- ute will allow members of the University community to honor the lives of Metzger and Zwerdling, LSA first-year student Kimberly Wojtas said. Some of Metzger's and Zwerdlings's former professors, their academic adviser, and also anyone who wishes to say anything about the girls will have the opportunity to speak at the League. "It's an open invitation to share stories, com- ments or any- thing about Sarah and Celia," said LSA first-year student Jessica Roberts, who lived next door to Metzger in South Quad Metzger Residence Hall. "We just want . more people to bef able to show their support," said LSA first-year student Jessica Greer, another of Metzger's hall- mates. "We thought this would reach more Zwerdling people." Since the acci- dent, Smith has spent time creating a video in memory of the girls, taping comments from their hallmates and friends. "It's just basically something for the parents and the people back home," Smith said. "This is also self-therapy." Hallmates of Metzger and Zwerdling reflected on the loss of their friends. "Sarah was probably the loudest, most obnoxious, craziest person I've known in my whole life," Smith said. "She was absolutely wonderful." "She was one of the most cheerful people I knew," Roberts said of Metzger. "She was a huge presence. If she was in the room, you knew it." "Celia was the cutest little fireball that I knew," Smith said. "She almost had more energy than Sarah, which is pretty hard to do. She had really high self-esteem. She was really sure of her- self." Friends said'the vigil is designed to focus on memories of the students rather than the tragedy that took their lives. "We wanted something to remember Sarah, rather than Sarah's death," Greer said. "They both had such a love of life," Smith said. "They'd probably be- screaming and turning over if people were just down about this." Smith said the tragedy has brought him close to Metzger's and Zwerdling's families. "Both families have been incredible to me," Smith said. Many grieving students have used the University's Counseling and Psychological Services to deal with the losses, said CAPS Clinical Director and Psychologist Todd Sevig. Sevig said CAPS offers free coun- seling to students and, in some special circumstances, provides special ser- vices outside the program's office. "We try to go out to the community that the students were part of instead of waiting for the students to come to our office," Sevig said. "What we try to do is complement other support systems." LOUIS BROWN/Daily Michigan State University Prof. Patrick LeBeau speaks last night on the topic of Michigamua's use of Native American traditions. Pro. eXores Native American portrayals By Sarah Lewis Daily Staff Reporter The stereotypical images of Native Americans and the use of their tradi- tions in Michigamua, an honor society at the University, were the focus of a speech given by University alum and Michigan State University Prof. Patrick LeBeau last night at Angell Hall. Sponsored by the Native American Students Association, LeBeau's presentation discussed why the "Indian warrior motif" is so wide- spread in American culture. Several collages set up at the front of the auditorium displayed various depictions of the "classic" Native American warrior,nfrom sports team logos and Valentine's Day cards to packaged consumer goods like sugar and cigarettes. "We conjure up romantic images of the noble Indian," LeBeau said, flipping through slides depicting ads of the Indian warrior visage. "They're inventions of a heritage- conscious American public." Michigamua, an all-male senior honor society established in 1901 that chooses top campus leaders as its members, adopted a Native American theme to appeal to males and has wrongly used Native American tradi- tions in their rituals, LeBeau said. The meaning of "Michigamua" involves a Native American warrior, LeBeau said, adding that the society - which counts many famous University alumni among its past members, including former U.S. President Gerald Ford - used "silly, romantic words" with Native American connotations to replace names of members and everyday objects. Michigamua members, who even- tually changed their nickname from "Braves" to "Pride," also has an elab- orate initiation ceremony that used many aspects of Native American cul- ture such as smoking a peace pipe and wearing Native American "headdress- es" LeBeau said. The audience watched a film that showed some Michigamua public ini- tiation rites from the past that depict- ed members in Native American headdresses and warpaint with University faculty handing out arrows to new members. "The disservice that people do to Indians by praising the warrior is ... saying that real Indians are degenerate descendants," LeBeau said. "They don't measure up ... you never see an Indian with a diploma." Some Michigamua members who attended the lecture said that although it is important to recognize the past injustices, the society has changed some of its practices. "The organization has now com- pletely disavowed itself from Indian rituals;' LSA senior and Michigamua member David Caroline said, but added that LeBeau's speech was use- ful and enlightening. "The only current association with Native American themes and tradi- tions used by Michigamua is the name," one Michigamua rep. who did not want to be identified said. American culture graduate student Andrew Adams argued that the very name Michigamua "connotes Indianness," and with that name intact the society exploits Native American tradition. LSA senior JuJuan Buford called Michigamua an "exclusionist, racist and detrimental" organization whose rituals were reminiscent of the "black- face" minstrel shows from the 1950s. "You're calling yourself leaders;' Buford said to the members of Michigamua in the audience. "How can you call yourself a person of integrity?" Engineering senior and Michigamua member Dan Chamberlin said the benefit of his organization is learning about oth- ers, because Michigamua brings together leaders of different cam- pus groups. U i Five Great Reasons to Get a Degree in Pharmacy From the University of Michigan I Outstanding employment opportunities (a virtually recession-proof career choice) 2 An average base annual salary of $64,823 for pharmacists with a PharmD degree 3 You'd be part of a small, yet diverse student body (only 220 PharmD students total) 4 An exceptional alumni network (3,000 worldwide, with a high concentration in leader- ship positions) Consistently ranked among the top three colleges of pharmacy in both US News & World Report and the Gourman Report. To learn about career oppor- tunities in pharmacy from those in practice, and for information about the Pharmacy Program at U-M, join us 7-9 pm in Room 1544, C.C. Little Rni1ldinA Wepnpedav. ian. ICorrecion: The Michigan Union Bookstore was misidentified in a photo in yesterday's Daily. What's happening in Ann Arbor today GROUP MEETING S Sponsored by Latino Student Hillel, 1429 Hill St., 8 p.m. Psychological Association and La JAdut Support Group for Relatives Voz Mexicana, Trotter House. SERVICES 2d . .Ii p Mrmammw fith MentIl "Lecture by Vanessa Northington