LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 6, 2000 -3
RESEARCH LM
U. Washington
researchers track
HIV's footprints
According to research spearheaded
*a pair of University of Washington
microbiologists, HIV moves through
three distinct stages before progressing
toclinical AIDS.
James Mullins, chair of Washington's
microbiology department, and Raj
Shankarappa, a senior fellow in microbi-
ology, led a three-institute study of the
disease's progression.
Working with colleagues from Johns
Hopkins University and the University
of Pittsburgh, the two researchers per-
*med a retrospective analysis of
blood samples taken periodically from
a group of HIV-positive men.
"Analyzing these sequential blood
samples, we found there is predictabil-
ity in the development of AIDS,"
Shankarappa said. Mullins said the
research could allow doctors to predict
the progression of the disease up to
four years before the onset of clinical
S. Treatment could then be tailored
the specific stage of the disease,
ensuring the most cost-effective use of
the expensive therapies.
Study: Teen drug
use holds steady
With a few notable exceptions, drug
use among U.S. adolescents held
steady in 1999, according to results
from the Monitoring the Future study,
ducted by the Institute for Social
earch.
The report surveyed 12th-, 10th- and
eighth-graders. ISR research scientists
Lloyd Johnston, Jerald Bachman, and
Patrick O'Malley found that in 1999,
changes in drug use were modest.
"We are down some from the recent
peak levels in overall illicit drug use by
American teen-agers, which were
reached in 1996 and 1997" Johnston
* "but not much of that improvement
occurred this year. I am hopeful that this
is just a pause in a longer-term decline."
The investigators note after several
years of steady increase, the annual
prevalence rates for most drugs reached
peak levels in the mid '90s --inhalants
in 1995; hallucinogens, including LSD
and PCP, in 1996; and marijuana and
amphetamines in 1996 or 1997,
depending on the age of the students.
se of marijuana, amphetamines,
tucinogens, tranquilizers and heroin
showed little change in during 1999.
The study was supported by grants
from the National Institute on Drug
Abuse, one of the National Institutes of
Health in the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
Researcher shows
Wk in microwaves,
emory loss
A study completed by Henry Lai a
research professor at the University of
Washington, found that microwaves,
similar to those emitted by cell phones,
contribute to long-tern memory loss.
"Studies before have focused on
short-term memory loss," he said. "In
this study, the long-term memory of
microwave-exposed rats appears to
been affected"
According to Lai, the closer an
antenna is to a person's head when
using a cell phone, the more absorption
of microwaves will occur.
In this study, rats were exposed for
one hour to microwave radiation prior
to training sessions, where the rats were
taught to swim to an underwater plat-
form in clouded water.
Unexposed rats found the platform
*st successfully in the six training
sessions. Lai noted that this could be
indicative of microwaves causing prob-
lems with the learning process.
Prof. studies
effect of, cancer on
marital relations
Nursing Prof. Laurel Northouse, a
s cialist on cancer and the family,
;dished her findings on cancer and
its effects on marital relations in the
winter 2000 issue of Social Science
and Medicine.
Her research showed that when men
are diagnosed with cancer, women take
on more roles and stress. Additionally,
when men are diagnosed with colon
cancer, their wives take on more
responsibility and in some cases suffer
Wn more distress than their husbands.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Shabnam Daneshva,:
National sweatshop activists convene at 'U'
By Michael Grass
Daily Staff Reporter
More than 100 anti-sweatshop activists from
across the country began gathering on campus yes-
terday in the largest organizing conference since
activists gathered in Washington, D.C. in July to
protest on the steps of the Department of Labor.
The conference, being held in the Michigan
Union, included strategy sessions and organizing
discussions.
With talks and a protest planned for their three-
day conference, participants said it is also a time to
reflect on their growing movement.
"A year ago, there wasn't a movement on our
campus," said Jenny McKibben, a student from
Lovola University in New Orleans attending the
conference.
After a series of sit-in demonstrations and edu-
cation campaigns on campuses nationwide last
year, student activists pushed university adminis-
trations at many schools to adopt stronger labor
policies for licensed apparel manufactures.
In July, the University of Michigan Athletic
Department sent letters to all of the University's
licensed manufacturers, calling on them to dis-
close the locations of their factories by Jan. 1.
Last fall, members of United Students
Against Sweatshops, the group sponsoring the
conference, released the Worker Rights
Consortium, a set of policies primarily devel-
oped by the student activists laying the founda-
tion for accrediting and monitoring companies
and their factories.
Currently, only a few schools, including Brown
University, Haverford College in Philadelphia,
Loyola University in New Orleans have adopted the
WRC, while other schools, including the University
of Michigan, are still considering the proposal.
Last month, Students Organizing for Labor and
Economic Equality, the campus group of anti-
sweatshop activists, set an ultimatum calling on
the University to adopt the WRC by Feb. 2 or face
"We will show the administration that this is a
national issu."
- Susan Harter
LSA first-year student
potential action.
Last March, 30 SOLE members stormed the
office of University President Lee Bollinger, occu-
pying it for 51 hours.
"I think it is extremely important that Michigan
sign onto the WRC," said Sarah Dodson, a student
from the University of Tennessee attending the
USAS conference.
Dodson said schools with large athletic apparel
contracts won't support the WRC until a large uni-
versity, like the University of Michigan, signs onto it.
"That's been one of the major reasons why our
administration (at Tennessee) is so hesitant,"
Dodson said.
After assembling on the steps of the Michigan
Union tomorrow at 2 p.m., conference participants
plan to march on the Fleming Administration
Building and could possibly protest Steve &
Barry's University Sportswear located on South
State Street.
The student activists said as one of the
University's licensed apparel manufacturers that
has not been forth willing with information about
their factory locations, they could demonstrate the
company.
"We will show the administration that this is a
national issue," said LSA first-year student Susan
Harter.
Campus bookstores
begin fierce' battle
with online services
By Jodie Kaufman
Daily Staff Reporter
The rise of the Internet has brought
forth a new question for students to pon-
der: Whether to buy books at one of the
on-campus bookstores or opt to order
texts through an online bookseller.
"The competition is fierce at the
moment," said Michigan Union
Bookstore manager John Battaglino.
But Battaglino added that on-campus
bookstores provide for "the easy returns
and flexibility of taking care of every-
thing in town."
Vice president of online book-
seller VarsityBooks.com Jon Kaplan
said, "The combination of good
prices and flat rate shipping, as well
as having the books arrive in one to
three days makes this a really good
choice."
But even with the apparent ease of
online sellers, many students said they
feel more comfortable sticking with the
local bookshops.
"It is convenient here, too risky
online," LSA first-year student Rashida
Smith said.
Internet-related risks scare students
off, including LSA first-year student
Sly Moura.
"I never buy online, I don't like it. I
don't like giving credit card numbers
over the Internet," he said.
Other said they are afraid books will
not arrive on time.
"I have heard it is a good deal, but I
am scared I won't get my books on
time. I know the policies at the stores
around here, and I can return the books
more conveniently," LSA senior Martin
Tutwiler said.
But most students just feel more
comfortable in their usual surround-
ings.
"I have no concerns about online
buying, it is just more convenient to buy
here. I am used to it, so I just buy my
books here," Engineering senior Lars
Jensen said..
But Kaplan said he believes his com-
pany is convenient and reliable.
Kaplan said that buying online is a
"convenient way to shop, 24Thours a
day, seven days a week. There are
cost savings and availability, ensur-
ing delivery in one to three days, so
the students have the books they need
for class."
Engineering junior Dustin Gardner
said he thinks online buying is definite-
ly the way to go.
"It is cheaper, especially for engi-
neering books. I have found half-price
books on ecampus.com. I searched
around and this was the best price;" he
said.
"I am not worried about shipping,
one book already came and one is on
the way. They have free shipping and
include a free return sticker," he
added.
This competition is putting a
damper on the business of the local
DANNY IKAIK/Da
Students wait in line outside of Shaman Drum Bookshop yesterday. Some students say they prefer buying their required
reading at stores they are familiar with rather than using an online service.
bookstores.
"There has been an impact in our
sales absolutely," Battaglino said, "but
we are trying to keep the business in
town. Unlike other bookstores we sup-
port the student union, and share our
profits with it."
Some bookstores are taking their
supplies online to stay competitive.
"We are trying to maintain a good
Web presence," Ulrich's Operating
Supervisor Dave Richard said.
Shaman Drum Bookshop and the
Michigan Union Book Store also have
online components.
Karl Pohrt, owner of Shaman Drum
said "although we have seen no decrease
in sales, we have put together our own
Website in order to be proactive.
Customers expect this level of expertise,
it allows us to be open 24 hours a day."
Although online bookstores promise
large discounts which can save college
students money, the National
Association of College Stores has filed
a suit against VarsityBooks.com claim-
ing that their ads which exhibit the sale
of textbooks for up to a 40 percent dis-
count are false.
Battaglino said that his company
'supports NACS' efforts in trying to
have fair marketing. They are keeping
VarsityBooks.com inline to not nick
students"
ie added that "very rarely will you
be the one to get the discount. We are
trying to keep up with the competition
by discounting the books 5 perceni.
Forty percent doesn't represent the true
Internet business."
But Kaplan said "the lawsuit NACU
filed is completely without merit. We
have filed a motion to dismiss the case,
and the litigation is ongoing.
He added that "here gt
VarsityBooks we are focused on only
one thing. It is providing convenient
and a less costly way to buy tex-
books at U of M and elsewhere. We
will always be focusing on serving
the students, and we are confident
that college students are consumer
savvy and will know where is it best
to shop."
Agency warns about
Michiganians' weight
LANSING (AP) - The number of
Michigan adults who are overweight is
on the rise, despite hopes the state
would slim down by 2000.
More than a third of state residents
over 18 were overweight in the latest
figures compiled by the state
Department of Community Health.
The percentage of Michigan adults
who are overweight grew to 34.5 per-
cent in 1997, the most recent year for
which figures are available, the state
report released this week shows.
That's projected to grow to 38 percent
in 2000.
"Our basic habits around eating and
physical activity are ingrained," said
David Johnson, M.D., of the
Department of Community Health.
"These are not easy things to conquer.
If they were easy, we'd be making
progress rather than backsliding."
State health officials had hoped to
reduce the proportion of Michigan's
overweight adult population to 26 per-
cent or less by 2000.
But according to the new Michigan
Critical Health Indicators Report,
Michiganians are among the heaviest in
the nation.
Michigan moved from fifth worst to
fourth worst in the United States for
overweight adults, according to the
report. The median among states for
overweight adults was 31 percent. The
report gave no specific reason for
Michigan's poor showing.
The Michigan Department of
Community Health is working to devel-
op programs to help reverse the trend,
Johnson told Booth Newspapers in a
story yesterday.
State efforts so far include a 2-year-old
model physical education curriculum.
About 45 percent of Michigan schools
have implemented all or part of the cur-
riculum, said Charles Kuntzleman, chair
of the Governor's Council on Physical
Fitness, Health and Sports.
But some schools have dropped
physical education to permit more time
for academic subjects, he said.
"I'm not saying you shouldn't focus
on academics, but you can always hire a
CPA to balance your books," said
Kuntzleman, a University kinesiology
professor who lives in Spring Arbor.
"You can't rent a jogger."
Many overweight and obese adults
know they need to lose weight, accord-
ing to the report.
Almost one-third of the people sur-
veyed in 1997 reported that they had
been advised by a doctor to eat fewer
high-fat or high-cholesterol foods.
About 40 percent of respondents
reported trying to lose weight.
Nearly four in 10 Michigan adults
has been advised by a doctor to exercise
more, the report says.
A recent Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention study found that more
than 76 percent of Michigan residents
were at risk for health problems related
to lack of regular and sustained physi-
cal activity.
Overweight is defined as having a
body mass index greater than or equal
to 27.8 for men or 27.3 for women. The
body mass index can be calculated by
dividing weight in kilograms (one kilo-
gram is equal to 2.2 pounds) by height
in meters squared (one meter is equal to
39.37 inches).
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