6A - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 8, 1999
U.
Texas system to wait for Hopwood ruling
By Jason Hunter
tDaily T exan (Unive'rsity of Texas 4
AUSTIN, Texas (U-WIRE) - University
of Texas System officials will wait for a deci-
sion by the 5th US. Circuit Court of Appeals
before they consider race as a factor in finan-
cial aid and scholarships.
In March 1996, Texas administrators sus-
pended the Texas system's use of affirmative
action in admissions practices after a court
ruled that affirmative action policies at the
University of Texas School of Law are uncon-
stitutional.
The Hopwood v. The University of exas
.vstem ruling effectively ended affirmative
action in all Texas colleges and universities
that receive federal funding .
More than three years later, Texas Attorney
General John Cornvn has rescinded Morales'
interpretation of the ruling.
Friday Cornvn rescinded his predecessor's
interpretation of the Hopwood ruling, open-
ing the door for public universities to use
affirmative action in scholarships and finan-
cial aid.
The previous opinion from former Attorney
General Dan Morales contended the
Hopwood case pertained to every aspect of
state universities including admissions,
recruiting and financial aid.
But Cornyn warned schools around the
state not to revamp their financial aid systems
just yet, citing unsteady legal ground in light
of a pending appeal before the 5th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals.
"We advise state universities in Texas to
await a resolution of Hopwood in the 5th
Circuit or the Supreme Court before restruc-
turing or adopting new procedures for their
financial aid programs," Cornyn said.
Texas System Chancellor William Cunningham
said in a statement that the issue would be brought
before the Texas System Board of Regents before
making a decision on affirmative action within the
system.
Currently, the University grants financial
aid based on merit and financial need.
But there are programs not officially affili-
ated with the University that provide finan-
cial aid based on race. One such program is
administered by the Texas Ex-Students'
"We advise state universities in Texas to
await a resolution of Hopwood."
- John Cornyn
Texas Attorney General
Association. They offer scholarships to
minority students who attend Texas.
In addition, the recently-passed House
Resolution 2867 allows Texas state universi-
ties to match scholarships offered by out-of-
state schools to minorities.
These programs, as well as the state's "Top
10 percent law" which grants admission to all
Texans in the top 10 percent of their graduat-
ing class, were developed to combat the
effects of Hopwood.
The affirmative action laws fluctuation
damaging the university, said Texas President
Larry Faulkner.
"We need to keep from lurching from poli-
cy to policy," Faulkner said. "We have some
good things going but I'd like to give them an
opportunity to develop."
MSU students
say restrictions
contributed
to spnng rots
By Rebekah Amos
The State News (Michigan State Universitvl
EAST LANSING (U-WIRE) --Sixty-eight percent
of 2,000 Michigan State University students surveyed
in the spring said the March 27 and 28 riot was a result
of too many restrictions placed upon them by the uni-
versity.
Sociology Prof. Stan Kaplowitz helped design a
study to find possible reasons for and reactions to the
March incident, which followed the Michigan State
men's basketball team's loss to Duke in the Final Four,
and the Munn field riot on Mav 1, 1998.
"The survey was designed to help better understand
what happened the night of the riots" Kaplowitz said.
"To understand the views of the student body and the
youths that were part of the event."
More than 50 percent of people surveyed said the
university is trying to control student drinking too
much.
"Coincidentally, those who were most inclined to
think students were excessively restricted by the uni-
versity were the same who were more likely to riot and
drink," Kaplowitz said. The study examined many rea-
sons for the riots, but drinking and university-imposed
restrictions prevailed as the strongest, he said.
Kaplowitz said that non-alcohol related factors can-
not be overlooked.
"Even some students who are not big drinkers may
think the university and city act without consulting
them," he said. "So assuming that alcohol is the only
factor in this equation is false."
Up to 10,000 people were involved in the March riot
and about 130 people have been charged with crimes
elating to the event. About 3,000 people were
involved in the Munn field riot, which started as a
peaceful protest against a university ban on alcohol on
the field during tailgating.
Almost half of the students questioned said they had
gotten close enough to see what was going on during
the March riot. However, almost 70 percent said the
riots did not look like something that would be fun to
participate in.
"What I have found when talking with students is
that they do not feel the riots represented Michigan
State," said Michigan State President M. Peter
McPherson, who declined to comment on the specifics
of the study but said he was sure the results would rein-
force his statement.
Michigan State junior Heather Duke said there was
no good reason to riot, but punishments from the
police and university were sometimes too harsh.
"The police should have followed the regular stan-
dards, and I don't think they did that in this case," she
said, adding that both police and students got carried
away.
Duke said the students may have valid concerns
when it comes to feeling restricted by the university,
but they have to deal with those frustrations in a
mature fashion.
"Rioting because you're restricted is not going to get
students anywhere," she said. "It makes the entire uni-
versity and city of East Lansing look bad."
FILE PHOTO
Researchers at Harvard University found in a study released last month that moderate alcohol consumption, defined as two to four drinks a week,
reduced the risk of sudden cardiac death for men.
Harvard stud:acohol 1ay
! lreduce risk of cardiac falurec
By Elizabeth Vanden Boom
'Ile State News (Michigan State University)
EAST LANSING (U-WIRE) - A new
report adds evidence to claims that moderate
alcohol consumption may have health bene-
fits.
In the largest study of its kind, researchers
at Harvard University found that men who
consumed two to four drinks a week
reduced their risk for sudden cardiac death
by 60 percent. Those who consumed five to
six drinks a week decreased their risk by 79
percent.
According to the American Heart
Association, sudden cardiac death occurs when
the heart beats too rapidly to pump blood effi-
ciently. It kills about 250,000 Americans each
year
Some Michigan State Univeisity officials
doubt the study's results will change drinking
patterns among Michigan State students.
"I think that most students don't need an
excuse,' said Dennis Martell, health educator at
Olin Health Center. "Research has shown that if
students want to drink, they will drink."
The study, published in the Aug. 31 edition of
Circulation: Journal of the American Heart
Association, reported that on average the sub-
jects consumed less than one alcoholic beverage
a day.
However, the risk of sudden cardiac death
was found to increase among people who con-
sumed more than two drinks a day.
Marie Hansen, associate director of Student
Life, said she did not think students would use
the study as a justification for drinking.
"I think they know the difference between
(moderate drinking) and getting wasted," she
said.
The study will not affect excessive drinkers,
said Martell, research and policy adviser for the
Alcohol Action Team - formed to examine
drinking issues at Michigan State.
"An excessive drinker usually has a lot ofrea-
sons other than health" for drinking, Martell
said.
But MSU first-year student Jeremy Barnell
said although students know the difference
between moderate and excessive drinking, they
might think the study is enough to justify binge
drinking.
"They want to drink anyway, and (the study)
gives them an excuse to drink," he said. "People
know the difference, but I don't think people
who want to drink will really care about the dif-
ference."
The researchers studied 21,537 men over 12
years. All were free of cardiovascular disease
and reported information on their consumption
of beer, wine or liquor. Among the subjects, 141
cases of sudden cardiac death occurred.
Hansen said she believes students are able to
understand studies and their implications and
that students with genetic risks for alcoholism
would not suddenly begin drinking after learn-
ing of the study.
"They won't say, 'Oh, gee, I better drink, even
if I'm at risk for alcoholism, because I don't
want to die from sudden cardiac death."'
MSU junior Jennifer Reese said students will
joke about the study.
"They'll say, 'Well, it's good for you to do it,"'
she said.
No women were included in the study, but
other studies have found that drinking more
than two drinks a day has been associated
with an increased risk of breast cancer in
women.
Do legs
make for
better
prosthetics
By Rachel King
The Chronicle (Duke University)
DURHAM, N.C. (U-WIRE) -
Feminists have consistently attacked
Barbie dolls for promoting an
unhealthy, unrealistic body image in
women. Little did they know that
the doll's unique physique could
create a more realistic body -
when placed inside a prosthetic fin-
ger.
Jane Bahor, a prosthetist who
works in the Duke University
Medical Center, has discovered that
a Barbie doll's flexible legs can be
implanted in the joints of prosthetic
fingers. She explained that Barbie's
joint allows increased mechanical
flexibility in a finger, giving
patients greater control over their
digits.
"Although you could previously
only move joints that were in the
hand (as opposed to the fingers), the
plastic in the legs of Barbie dolls
allows patients to position fingers in
different flexion," Bahor said. "This
way the patient's fingers get a little
bit more movement."
She explained that patients bend,
their fingers by pressing them
against a hard surface. The fingers
remain in a fixed position until
reversed.
The devices are created by plac-
ing Barbie's joint inside the prosthe-
sis, thus allowing the finger to move
in specific locations without mov-
ing the entire hand. Bahor noted that
the discovery a significantly
increases the flexibility of the fin-
ger in question, and that even the
smallest amount of movement in
such a specialized part of the body
can drastically improve its perfor-
mance.
Glenn Hostetter, Duke medical
center's prosthetics clinical supervi-
sor, considers Bahor's discovery a
significant contribution to the
future of prosthetics.
"This is a very cost-effective .
way of placing an articulating joint
in a finger," he said. "She has come
up with a solution that no one had
previously done and I think that it's
going to improve the function of
prosthetic fingers."
He noted that the use of Barbie
doll legs will help prosthetic fingers
become more functional than they m
are cosmetic.
Last year, when Bahor realized
the potential use of the doll, she
called Mattel to purchase enough
Barbies to test her idea. She was
pleasantly surprised when Mattel
sent her boxes of free dolls.
Although her findings are
unorthodox, Bahor said she has long
been fascinated by the human hand.
"When you work with prosthetic
hands for such a long time, you real-
ize what a beautiful and specialized
mechanism the hand is," she said.
"When you see how desperate peo-
ple can become, you look for any-
thing that will potentially improve
their situation."
KNOW OF
NEWS?,
CALL
7~fl~i
Jazz pizazz
Standardized tests could
soon record social factors
* Parents' education level and
family income could serve
as factors surveyed on SAT
By Jessie Kokrda
Cavalier Daily (University of Virginia)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (U-WIRE) - To help col-
leges and universities with the sticky admissions process,
the Educational Testing Service, the company behind the
SAT, may soon label high-scoring students who have over-
come adverse social backgrounds as "strivers."
The system still is in the research stages, but anti-affir-
mative action activists fear the acceptance of a model
which takes into account a student's race.
Using survey questions at the beginning of the test, the
system would consider 14 factors in determining a stu-
dent's environment.
Isses such asarents' education level family income
she said.
Karen Holt, Office of Minority Programs director, said
it was unlikely that the system would have much influence
on Virginia admissions.
"We have a holistic process that takes so much into
account during the application process that it probably
won't affect us much," Holt said.
She said the tool would be more helpful for colleges and
universities "that don't have the staff or the time to do
what we do here."
"Many selective colleges already take into consideration
the backgrounds of applicants, but this new system would
provide profiles of students on a scale never before seen,"
said Joyce Smith, executive director of the National
Association of College Admissions Officers.
"Can you imagine having a database of one million stu-
dents annually?" Smith said.
"From a perspective of having rich data, it's kind of
exciting,"she said.