10A ,- The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 18, 1999 Students discuss ethnic studies 1st fuel-cell powe. car unveiled By Tushar Sheth Dly Staff Reporter Students and faculty assembled last night in West Quad Residence Hall to discuss the state of the Ethnic Studies programs at the University. Representatives from the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies, Asian Pacific American Studies, Latino Studies and Native American Studies outlined the current state of each program. One of the main topics of discussion was the lack of tenured faculty within each of the programs. "Right now each program seems to be struggling in its own way, it always seems like we are losing people and not gaining anything," said Engineering sophomore Rupal Patel, one of the organizers of the event. "That's why we put this thing on, so we can show our struggles are com- mon and then together make a plan to show the University that there is a lack of mentors of color," she added. Currently, programs such as Asian Pacific American studies, Latino studies and Native American studies are grouped within the department of American culture in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. This lack of departmental status prevents the programs from becoming strong, said Betty Bell, director of Native American studies. "To teach in any of the programs, you must also be appointed to another department in LSA. This means dou- ble the workload in terms of commit- tee requirements, which leads to less attention given to work in the Native Studies programs," Bell said. Bell also highlighted the fact that there are only two tenured professors who teach Native Studies, one of them being her. "Our courses are extremely popular, students want to take them, they are usually filled but we just don't have enough faculty to meet the demand," she said. Gail Nomura, director of Asian Pacific American studies outlined other problems. "Our community of students and their interests in the field are growing. However, the department is suspect. There is a demand, and we need students and faculty to spread word of this demand," she said. She also stated that since faculty in American culture must teach in other departments, they are often reviewed by people not in the field of Asian Pacific American studies. "The scrutiny that people who teach in Ethnic Studies face is beyond what is acceptable. The bar for review of their applications is twice as high," said Nomura. Latino/a studies Director Tomas DHANI JONES/Daily Ronnie Rhoe, coordinator for Asian Pacific American studies affairs in MESA, speaks at the ethic affairs dialogue yesterday. Almaguer, explained that the program, although small, has in recent years been given the chance to develop and grow. "This new support is directly a result of graduate and undergraduate stu- dents pressuring the University to expand the program," he said. Evans Young, assistant director of. the Center for Afro-American and African Studies, spoke about the ori- gins of CAAS. "CAAS was created as a result of stu- dent pressure and demonstration," he said. James Jackson, director of CAAS, explained the efforts that are being made in hiring. "We hope to make eight to 12 appointments this year, which would be a record," he said. The second part of the program turned to students and faculty dis- cussing how the problems that were outlined could be addressed. All of the faculty present concurred that the need to be able to make their own hires by gaining departmental status for American culture was a pressing issue. They urged the students to pressure the University to see these needs. "Faculty and students need to estab- lish institutional relationships with each other" said LSA senior JuJuan Buford. He offered ideas such as holding a stu- dents of color conference or to have open houses during Welcome Week where students can learn about issues. WASHINGTON (AP) - DaimlerChrysler AG stepped forward yesterday in the competition among automakers to develop fuel-cell cars with a version that seats five passen- gers. "Now we begin the race to make the vehicles affordable to our customers," DaimlerChrysler co-Chair Juergen Schrempp said at a press conference where the NECAR 4, a compact car, was formally unveiled. Although DaimlerChrysler claims to lead in such technology, other com- panies are working on their own fuel- cell cars, aiming to market them to consumers by 2004. Ford Motor Co. officials said they expect to have a dri- veable version of their five-seat fuel- cell car, the P2000, sometime this spring. Ferdinand Panik, head of DaimlerChrysler's fuel-cell program, said NECAR 4 was a breakthrough because the fuel-cell technology was small enough to fit in a compact car but there was still room to seat five passengers instead of just two. The fuel cells were stacked underneath the car's floorboard and the liquid hydro- gen tank took up some space in its small trunk. "It is the first time ever that such a car is on the streets of America," Schrempp said. The car drives like a normal automo- bile, has a top speed of 90 mph and can go 280 miles without refueling. It weighs 1,100 pounds more than a typi- cal compact gasoline-powered car because of the fuel-cell technology DaimlerChrysler engineers plan make it 660 pounds lighter before se ing it to the public. The NECAR 4 produces no pollu- tants in using fuel cells to convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity to power the vehicle, DaimlerChrysler officials said, making it a favorite among environmentalists. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Carol Browner, who appeared with the DaimlerChrysler officials at their news conference, sa there are about 200 million gasolin powered vehicles on the road today in the United States. That number is expected to increase to 270 million by 2010, bringing a "massive increase in pollution," she said. Browner called fuel-cell vehicles "a real step forward" because they "leave a trail of water vapor, not clouds of care bon dioxide, nitrous oxide and oth* pollutants." Fuel cells also are a favorite among automakers trying to comply with California's standard of zero emissions by 2003 for 10 percent of the cars sold in the state. But DaimlerChrysler co- Chair Bob Eaton insisted the company's fuel-cell vehicles would be available to consumers in 2004 "not because we were forced to but because we wanted to." I ____j Naked mile brings seedy element to Ann Arbor 0 By Sarah Lewis Daily Staff Reporter The Naked Mile, a yearly tradition in which hundreds of students celebrate the last day of class- es by running nude through the streets of Ann Arbor, has in recent years become a spectator sport -leaving many questioning the safety of the run. While the Naked Mile started out small, with only members of the University men's crew team participating, Ann Arbor Police Department Deputy Chief Larry Jerue said it attracted about 800 runners and more than 10,000 spectators last year. Jerue said the thousands of spectators who come from around the world and take pictures and videos usually show up not only in newspapers and on television, but are distributed uncensored on the Internet. "It does allow a very seedy element of society" into Ann Arbor, he said, and along with the "party atmosphere" and alcohol consumption, "sexual deviates come to just to reach out and touch par- ticipants as they run by," compromising both safe- ty and privacy. But Jerue said that since Naked Mile partici- pants are taking part in an illegal act - disrobing in public is against Michigan state law - the AAPD "in no way endorses this activity," and therefore is limited in taking safety measures. Police officers try to control extra traffic, crack down on public drinking and monitor the area, he said, but the AAPD doesn't have sufficient man- power to control the huge crowds. In addition, since the Naked Mile is not an organized event like a city parade, with permits issued, they cannot "make a fully developed plan,' Jerue said. "That would condone the activity ... we can't ensure safety at an illegal event." Jerue also pointed out that state law brings a one-year misdemeanor charge against those who undress in public. "If found guilty, you could be required to regis- ter as a sex offender for the rest of your life," he added, although he said they have not charged run- ners in past years. But people need to be aware of the possible legal ramifications, make sound deci- sions and try to find "a far better way to celebrate the end of the semester,"he said. The only way to ensure complete safety, Jerue said, is "by not having it occur ... we would rather see it come to an end without having any police action." Sarah Heuser, training and education coordina- tor for the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, said that "women in general are more targeted to abuse of a sexual nature," but both male and female runners can report assault, as some people did after last year's run. "It is still a crime," Heuser said. "Running in the Naked Mile shouldn't be a deterrent." The Michigan Student Assembly, like the AAPD, also does not endorse the Naked Mile, but its Safety Committee is taking extra steps to ensure runners' safety this year. "The Naked Mile is basically a disaster waiting to happen;' MSA president Trent Thompson said, adding that the Ann Arbor community does not support the activity. "It's grown so big that it's becoming very dangerous." As part of last year's attempts at safety, Thompson said, MSA provided 'Naked Mile' t- shirts for finishers, but they didn't have enough because spectators took them as souvenirs. This year they are accepting t-shirt donations from other student organizations, as well as providing blank ones for runners, he said. LSA first-year student Kym Stewart, who heads MSA's Safety Committee, said the t-shirt idea is mainly "to make sure women aren't taken advan- tage of" as they pass the finish line and walk home. "It's so important that people be safe;' Stewart said. "That's what we're focusing on." In addition to the t-shirts, she said, groups of volunteer students will be posted along the route with walkie-talkies to notify police of potential problems and hold the crowds back away from the runners. MSA nursing Rep. Jen Seamon said a meet- ing for interested volunteers is scheduled for April 15 at 9 p.m. in the Anderson Room of the Michigan Union. Engineering sophomore Rodrigo Palma, who attended the Naked Mile last year, said that although the safety efforts seemed pretty orga- nized, there still is potential for problems. "With lots of people coming from outside cam- pus just for the voyeurism aspect, and males who: are drunk off their asses, it could be potentiall) dangerous," Palma said. LSA senior Claudia Lopez has run the Naked, Mile four times - twice her first year because the, crew team traditionally runs before the rest of campus. She said she is thinking about not run-, ning this year due to potential legal trouble. The increasing number of spectators has made the run more dangerous than the first year she ran, Lopez said, because of the videotaping and the way they crowd the runners. "It's a very good tradition but the spectators take. away from that" she said. Females are more vulnerable than males durin the run, she said, but if they run sober it will make it safer. "Probably a good 90 percent of people running, for the first time drink," Lopez said. State passes tougher seatbelt laws LANSING (AP) - Michigan motorists would drive under a stricter seat belt law under a bill that squeaked yesterday through the state Senate. But it's not law yet, and staunch opposition in the Legislature could put a brake on its prospects. "This bill will get more people to buckle up, save lives and prevent injuries," said Sen. Bill Bullard, (R- Highland), the bill's sponsor. I think we have become over-intru- sive," countered Sen. Leon Stille, (R- Spring Lake). "How much is enough?" The bill passed on a vote of 21-16, two votes more than the 19 needed for passage. Senators were deeply divided on the issue, with disagreements even between members of the same party. The bill now goes to an uncertain future in the state House. The House has passed such a bill before, but House control has shifted from Democrats to Republicans, with* 64 new faces this year. The measure would allow police to stop and ticket drivers who don't wear a seat belt even if they were doing noth- ing else wrong. Under the law now in place, police can ticket people for not wearing a seat belt only if they're pulled over for anoth- er infraction. The penalty for not wearing a safety belt is $25 plus court costs. No driver's license points are imposed and are not called for in the bill. Critics won an amendment to exempt adults in the rear seat of a car from the seat belt requirement. "y+ can't be responsible for everybody, said Sen. Glenn Steil, (R-Grand Rapids). .But backers of the bill won most of the votes, if only by slim margins. State statistics show Michigan in 1997 had 1,446 fatal automobile crashes costing more than $9.7 billion. Advocates said some of the lives lost to fatal accidents could have been saved if the victims had been wearing seat belts. "I want my 17-year-old and those other teen-agers to wear a se' belt," said Sen. Dianne Byrum, (D- Onondaga). "This is one of those times we've got step up to the mark and do the right thing." I I iVe. "Sure I care about my eyes. And Icare about how I look. I want the coolest designer frames I can find. But that doesn't mean I won't look for a great deal while I'm looking for a great style. Guess what? I found both at SEE. What an amazing store! Fabulous frames by the hottest, young designers in Europe. v. y . iks :.rt.3ti! ca CS r' .trC sa.rr hsa f las r1r tr rPr rYCttcst Zr rie + 'r"f '3f :.t ;# e'1 'T ' + , .