,w. . . .. ..... _.. __ , _. w,.i LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 25, 1999 - 3A CAMPUS Harvard Prof. to present lecture on human values Harvard University Prof. Helen Vendler is scheduled to deliver the University's Tanner Lecture on Human Values, titled, "Whitman on Lincoln: Aspects of Value," Friday at 4 p.m. in Rackham Auditorium. Vendler, a poetry critic for The New Yorker as well as regular essayist and reviewer for The New York Times Book Review and the New York Review of Books, received her Ph.D. in English and American literature from Harvard in 1960. The Tanner Lecture on Human Values is funded by a grant from Obert Tanner and is established at six univer- sities in the United States and England, including Utah, Stanford and Oxford. Past lecturers include author Toni Morrison and sociologist William 'Julius Wilson. Engineering prof. dies at 104 Electrical engineering Prof William Dow died on Oct. 17 in Bellevue, Wash. He celebrated his 104th birthday two weeks prior to his death. Dow was responsible for creating and' organizing 13 laboratories and researco units, including Space Physics Research, Plasma Engineering and the Cooley Electronics Laboratories. He also co-founded the Willow Run Laboratories - now called the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan. Dow taught electrical engineering from 1938-65 and served as depart- ment chair from 1960-65. "He was a very personable, kind man," said EECS Prof. George Haddad who earned his masters and Ph.D. degrees under Dow in the late 1950s. The funeral will be held today at 2 p.m. at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Ann Arbor. 'U' joins group of oceanographic institutions The University has joined the Joint Oceanographic Institutions, an organi- zation of 14 schools that manages the scientific planning and operations for the Ocean Drilling Program, the world's largest international geo- sciences program. Until 1997, JOI membership was restricted to the 10 founding institutions, but University professors, scientists, and students have participated in JOI research cruises in past years. Of 250 institutions that have participated in the project since 1985, the University ranks ninth in level of participation. AIDS research pioneer dies at 77 University mathematical biologist John Jacquez, whose research on the transmission of the AIDS virus gained international acclaim, died Oct. 16 at 77. A professor emeritus of physiology and biostatistics, Jacquez taught at the Medical and Public Health Schools from 1962-90. His research brought to the world's attention the importance of the primary infection period for the spread of HIV and its implications for the develop- ment of an HIV vaccine. His work with colleagues won the 1995 Howard Temin Prize. Solar car takes 9th place in race The University's solar car, Maize 'laze, captured a ninth-place finish in the 1999 World Solar Car Challenge on Friday in Australia. The race spanned 1,800 miles and took more than 48 hours to finish, Maize Blaze is the fifth solar car built by University undergraduates since solar car racing began a decade ago. The team is already working toward a sixth-generation car, to compete in Sunryce 2001. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Jeannie Baumann. Conference exarin1es weight obsession By Nicole Tuttle For the Daily The average woman is 5'4" and weighs 140 pounds, said Jonathon Robinson,. assistant pro- fessor of kinesiology at Michigan State University, but the average woman wants to he much smaller. Robinson spoke at a corference regarding cultural perceptions of woren's weight and beauty held in the Michigan Union on Friday. Robinson argued that mainstream culture in the United States focuses too heavily on thin- ness and overlooks the risks of constant dieting. "We are always dealing with people's physical- ness, not everything else," Robinson said. "Everyone in this country is either fat or scared to death of becoming fat," he said. An obsession with weight can lead to a loss of self-esteem, especially in women, he added. "Women are not happy with their bodies, and they often think about their appearance more often than is use f" - Barbara Fredrickson Asst. psychology professor University of Michigan assistant psychology Prof. Barbara Fredrickson presented her research dealing with women's perceptions of themselves caused by popular culture's sense of beauty. Fredrickson's studies indicate that women often feel shamed by their bodies and can devep depression, disordered eating and sexual dysfu nc- tion based on this feeling. "Women are not happy with their bodies, and they often think about their appearances more often than is useful," she said. Ijeoma Nnodim, an LSA sophomore, said she agreed with Fredrickson's lecture. "I see all these skinny little girls carrying their lit- tie water bottles and I feel sorry for them," she said. "Where I come from, in Nigeria, women have stuff on them. Dresses at home are cut with places for breasts and hips," she said. "Dresses here are cut straight down because women don't want curves:' Robinson said that an estimated $30 to $50 bil- lion are spent yearly on diet products. He added that 50 percent of young women are dieting every- day. "There is no long-term treatment for weight loss," said Robinson. He indicated that 95 per- cent of people who lose weight regain it within a year. Fredrickson said that weight is part of a larg- er problem. She cited objectification of women as a direct cause of weight obsession. She point- ed out that ads in magazines and TV often treat .women as nameless sex objects. She argued that "even people happy with their bodies engage in disordered eating" for fear of gaining weight. Nnodim said she wished that people would stop worrying about appearances. "Respect yourself regardless of your weight" she said. SEED plants hopes of 'U' for grade school children Semi-annual program teams 'U' students with Detroit area school children. By Charles Chen For the Daily The dream of attaining higher education came a step closer for 100 fourth-grade students from Noble Elementary school in Detroit as they visited the University campus Friday. In its third year, Students Establishing Educational Dreams sponsored the event in hopes of encouraging underrepresented students from Detroit to continue their education. LSA junior Becky Kinney coordinated the event along with 10 other students. "We wanted to get the kids excited about their educa- tion now," Kinney said. "We wanted to show them school as a totally different life." This event also included the participation of 50 stu- dent volunteers from the University who were paired up with two fourth graders to take to different events throughout the day. As a part of the program, students shared their experi- ences from college and expressed the importance of fur- thering one's own education. LSA sophomore Sarah Hoople said, "We wanted them to see more in the world and that they have the opportunity for higher education." The campus day began for the students with an inter- active motivational speech by Doug Lewis, director of Student Legal Services. In his presentation, Lewis stressed that, "Life is about choices, you have to choose what is right to do." His message was for the students to understand that "dreams are important," but that they must "make choic- es with good information," which will impact their dreams. Also, as a part of their day, the fourth graders were treated to presentations on art, astronomy, sign language and computers. Noble Elementary faculty member Michelle Veiten said, "It is absolutely wonderful for the children to be in the program, to gain exposure to college life and see stu- dents interacting." Noble Elementary is limited in its resources and stu- dents. "They don't have any art classes or computers for the students," Hoople said. While they are limited in what they can provide for their students, programs such as SEED give disadvantaged children hope and a vision for the future. "We want for them to see that no matter what the situa- tion is, they can work hard and get here too," Hoople said. The program not only allowed elementary school stu- dents to gain exposure to college, it gave some University students the chance to interact with children. "I love little kids and it's important to help them. If we make a difference in one kid, it's all worth it," said Engineering sophomore Sarah Niemec. SEED is a semi-annual program, and members plan to - bring another class of elementary students to campus this spring. DAVID KATZ/Daily University students play in the Charity Bowl Flag Football Tournament at Palmer Hill yesterday to benefit the Children's Leukemia society of Michigan. Chari event tries to tackle leukemia By LUsa Koivu Daily Staff Reporter The blue sky, blowing wind and the frigid air didn't deter University students from participating in the inaugural Charity Bowl Flag Football Tournament at Palmer Field yesterday to benefit the Children's Leukemia Society of Michigan. The event - sponsored by the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and University Students Against Cancer - drew 24 teams of eight people each to com- pete in football tournaments for women's, men's and co-ed teams. J.R. Griffin, an LSA junior and philanthropy chair for Sigma Phi Epsilon, said everyone had a great time. "The tournament went as well as I had expected since this is the first year. It can.only get better," Griffin said. The goal was to raise $500, but Engineering junior Kristen Cieslak said, the amount raised was nearly double what organizers expected. "We raised about $1,000. We will donate all of the money to the Leukemia Society and they can decide what they want to use the money for," Cieslak said. "I wanted to participate because it brings everyone together to play football and also because it's for a good cause," Engineering junior Beth Roman said. Engineering senior K. Mannah Kallon said he felt the same way. "I really like playing football and it's great to be able to come out here and play with my friends," he said. Although the event resulted from collaboration between many differ- ent people, Engineering junior Lia O'Connor initiated the idea last sum- mer. "I attended the University LeaderShape program this past sum- mer, and we all had to come up with a vision of something that we would like to change within the University. My goal was to improve the Greek system by bringing it together with the entire University to show that the Greek system does do good things," O'Connor said. Any group of eight people could sign up to play at a cost of $50. For $75, each player could receive a charity bowl T-shirt. Twenty-seven teams registered to play. "We had many groups outside of the Greek system sign up to play," O'Connor said. "We had a group of boys from South Quad Residence Hall, USAC, people from the Sister- Sister program, and members of LSA-Student Government." Valentine thinks that the cold weather may have deterred a few people from showing up. "Three of the girls teams didn't show up but everyone else did, so we've had an excellent turnout," said Veronica Valentine, LSA junior and Alpha Chi Omega president. LSA junior and member of USAC Lauren Gudritz said the event was a good learning experience. "This is the first year and it's going really well. We are learning what to change for next year to make the event even bigger," Gudritz said. "Next year we would definitely like to get more people involved," Valentine said. b bs 3 + ". J 'd .7 y r . a ass ' ' y. " T " ;" i ££ y *F '. .r J I Correction: * University Regent Larry Deitch (D-Bloomfield Hills) was named to democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley's statI election committee. This was incorrectly reported in Friday's Daily. HE CALENDAR .Whas hann nin in Ann Avhar dav i# S t t :.. . e .... :._, 2 . .- ..