LOCAL/S TATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesda. September 2 99 3 &HIGHER EDUCATION BU students rally to legalize manrjuana use At Boston University, about ,000 people gathered at the city's Boston Common on Saturday for the 10th annual Freedom Rally in support of legalizing marijuana. The rally was organized by the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform1 Coalition and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law. Organizers collected about 20,000 of the 57,000 signatures they * ed to propose a November 2000 allot initiative reducing punish- ments for using marijuana and allow it to be used legally for medicinal purposes. A total of 72 arrests were made. Although police officers were sta- tioned around the fenced-in area, undercover officers walked through the crowd and made arrests during the rally. q1orthwestern U. student runner-up to Miss America Nearly taking the crown, Jade Smalls, a music senior at Northwestern University captured the runner-up spot to Kentucky's Heather French at the 79th Annual Miss America pageant Saturday in Itlantic City, N.J. The 21-year-old Miss Illinois won a 530,000 scholarship and will take the top spot of Miss America, if French cannot fill the position. Taking a year off from school, Smalls plans to travel nationally and internationally~ with the Ronald McDonald House Charities' youth suicide prevention effort. Vrotesters object to missed class for inauguration During the inauguration of President Linwood Rose at James Madison University on Friday, more than 65 protesters held a silent protest march in an attempt to express their grievances with the *iversity's administrative policies. The protesters questioned why the university declared the day of Rose's inauguration an academic holiday, while the university does not have a full day off on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Members of student groups such as Young Democratic Socialists and Black Students Alliance marched at the inauguration. t. Arizona faculty member shoots armed assailant University of Arizona faculty member and Pima County Sheriff's deputy Richard Carmona shot and killed a motorist Saturday who was allegedly assaulting a woman after a collision that evening. Ocarmona stopped at a car acci- dent, where a Toyota truck had rear- ended a Dodge Intrepid on Saturday afternoon. The driver of the Intrepid walked tp to the truck, driven by Jean Tierre Lafitte, after it started to back up. Lafitte got out of his vehicle and allegedly started to shake assault the ver of the Intrepid, said Sgt. Brett ein, a Tucson Police Department spokesperson. Klein said witness started yelling that Lafitte had a gun. Carmona identified himself as a sheriff's deputy and told the suspect to put his gun down. Klein said the suspect put the gun ;down, then picked it back up and fired it at Carmona. Klein said Carmona then fired at £fitte. Lafitte was transported to 6 University of Arizona Medical Center and pronounced dead about two hours later. - Compiled fom wire reports by Daily Staff Reporter Jewel Gopwani. 4'U'resear By Shabnam Daneshvar For the Datily University researchers have identified a family of deadly proteins that kill by shutting off a cell's abili- ty to communicate with immune system cells. This discovery may prove valuable in treating cancer and other immune-related diseases. The six proteins, each named "Yop" plus an indi- vidual identifying letter, come from Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that caused the bubonic plague, or the "black death" that claimed the lives of millions in Europe and Asia more than 400 years ago. Biological chemistry Prof. Jack Dixon, conducted the research and said each Yop has its own function in gaining entry into a cell for destruction. "This is a clever pathogen," said Kim Orth, a chers identify deadly proteins research investigator in the Medical School. "It has found our Achilles heel --one family of molecules used by every mammalian cell to transmit signals involved in the immune response and cell death." In a study published in the Sept. 17 issue of "Science," University researchers outlined their identification of how the protein YopJ binds to sig- naling pathways between cells, disabling the inter- cell communication. Proteins bind to critical points on the signaling pathways, mitogen-activated protein kinase, which regulate cell growth and NFkB, which controls the immune inflammatory responses, embryonic devel- opment and cell death. Experts believe this discovery may help them understand how cells communicate and destroy themselves. The results have brought forth significant infor- mation regarding the connection between humans and plants. Molecules similar to YopJ target similar signaling cells in plants and use a common mecha- nism to stifle a cell's communication. "Nature is not as complex as we make her out to be," Orth said. "We thought the pathways were very different,"she said of mammalian and plant systems, "this ... brings a commonality to them, however." Dixon added that YopJ has been around for a long time. "This indicates YopJ is an important and effective virulence factor, which has been conserved for long periods of evolutionary history," Dixon added. Scott Stewart, a Rackham student who aided in designing the project, said the discmer is a giant step for research and possible medical applications. but he added that researchers 'have a long way to go. Although they have identified the targets avid effects of the proteins, researchers need to condut further inspections to understand the bacteria's mechanisms. If scientists find more conclusive in format ion, they will be able to manipulate it for medical u e specifically to treat cancer and other immune-relat- ed diseases. "Mother nature opened her book and let me rad a paragraph. But she snapped it shut before I fin- ished reading," Orth laughed. "That's OK because it is a puzzle we will continue learning about." I Windsor chips used in Detroit DETROIT (AP) - Some slot machine players at the MGM Grand Detroit Casino are getting more bets for their buck by using tokens from Casino Windsor in U.S. slot machines. The tokens are not supposed to fit. But some MGM slot machines do accept them. That means a sizable advantage for someone who plays an MGM Grand machine with a token purchased in Windsor. At the current exchange rate, using a Canadian dollar token in a machine that costs one U.S. dollar to play saves about 32 cents per bet. Some MGM customers say they have received Windsor tokens in rolls or in payouts from slot machines. The problem doesn't occur with chips in table games because dealers can easily spot foreign chips. But in slot machines, it's up to electronics inside to reject foreign tokens. Not so, Michigan's top gaming official said. Machines are required to be marked with clear warnings that slot machines are only to be played with the coins appropriate to the casino. And if a player intentionally drops Windsor coins into MGM Detroit slots, it violates state law. "If you're intentionally using coins that are not made for that casino, you're committing a fraud on that casino," said Nelson Westrin, executive director of the Michigan Gaming Control Disabled '' tu Board. Token mixing happens at other casinos, including some American Indian casinos in Northern Michigan. But they are dealing with tokens of equal value. "It happens sometimes with our dollar tokens," said Johnr Hatch, spokesperson for Kewadin Casinos in the Upper Peninsula. "We trade the ones we get from other Indian casinos back to them" In Detroit, with only a bridge or a tunnel ride between the two casinos and a big difference in the value of the dollar, "it's a more sensitive problem than it is elsewhere," said Richard Currie, vice president, of sales and marketing for Coin Mechanisms Inc. of Chicago. Currie's firm makes the electronic mechanisms inside slot machines that accept or reject tokens, and supplied them to both Casino Windsor and the MGM Grand Detroit. Tom Nelson, a deputy director for the Michigan Gaming Control Board, said the MGM Grand Detroit Casino is not allowed under state rules to pay customers for the value of a for- eign token. Customers who get such tokens at the cashier win- dow or in slot payouts are out of luck. The face and color of the Windsor and MGM Grand quarter tokens are different, but they are the same size. 'dents count on ,) SAM ULLN'SEADL U Former University Dental student Todd Stoneman created a new student oriented Website. Former 'U' student stars nw We sie resources for accessability By Shomari Stone For the Daily There was a time when former Dental School student Todd Stoneman was terrified of computers. Stoneman transformed his fear into a profound satisfaction by founding his own Internet business, Slackrsave.com. The past two years have been a whirlwind for Stoneman since he received his bachelors degree in soci- ology from the University of Wisconsin. In 1996, Stoneman enrolled in the University's Dental School. "I always had respect for the University of Michigan. It is highly ranked," Stoneman said. But after a year, Stoneman said he decided dentistry was not for him. "I dropped out because I was sick of looking at teeth on a chalk board. It just wasn't for me," he said. Instead, Stoneman said he chose to follow his secret passion for humor and creativity. ,'I was the class clown growing up; the life of the party," Stoneman said. He learned how to start his own Website business and is now in the process of incorporating his love for comedy into his Internet ser- vice. "To me the Internet represented the first medium that allows people the opportunity where if you are confi- dent, you can immediately be on stage," Stoneman said. "I don't have to go on Howard Stern or David Letterman. I can do what I am good at and win!" Slackrsave.com offers college stu- dents games and a chance to break the monotony of academic studies with cheerful fun, Stoneman said. On the site college students can select one of two areas, "Slack" or "Save." The "Slack" section of the Website includes interactive games that rotate on a daily and weekly basis. Some of the games students can participate in are Two-Cents-Top-Ten, which offers students a sounding board for current events and TAG, which displays acronyms like POW and asks students to fill in the correct phrase. "The user would identify what the acronym stands for and respond 'Pretty-Older Woman,' or 'Pimped- Out-Wanker," Stoneman said. Each day Stoneman sorts through all the submissions and picks the three most creative answers to post on his Website the following day. Stoneman tallies up all participants points at the end of the month and the top three point-getters win prizes. Stoneman was reluctant to dis- close the nature of the prizes but added with a smile, "It's stuff they'll like." If users click on "Save," they'll receive local discounts at restaurants, stores, coffee shops, and other busi- nesses. Stoneman said his goal is to create a community where merchants and patrons can unite and benefit from one another's involvement with the Internet. Stoneman's Website is funded by local and national businesses. "I charge advertisers a rate to advertise on the site which in turn creates rev- enue,"he said. LSA junior Josh Chatten-Brown said he is dubious of Websites that offer discounts and free merchan- dise. "There are so many offers out there. It makes me skeptical," he said. But LSA sophomore student Crystal Mclawhorn said she would be interested in a Website that offered discounts and games because of the positive reinforcement. "The whole idea of getting a prize is fun. I like to do puzzles," she said. Mclawhorn also said she would be interested in the discounts because the residence halls do not offer meals on the weekends and she could save money. Stoneman plans to take his Website to different universities. "I want to give Ann Arbor the opportunity to recognize where this started," he said. Slackrsave.com will be fully func- tional on October 1, 1999 and can be accessed at www.slackrsave.conz/. SERVICES Continued from Page 1 "During the summer, students often want to take a break and not think about school. Even now, we're getting materials to be taped," Goodin said. Another difficulty with providing texts, Goodin said, arises when faculty members fail to publish their required reading lists. University students with mobility impairments can receive a campus map that shows locations of elevators and accessible entrances. SSD will assist in advocating for the removal of physical barriers as well as the movement of class- es from inaccessible rooms. LSA senior Nicki Lomerson was born with cerebral palsy. Although she is not completely confined to a wheelchair, she often depends on one for transportation. Lomerson contacted the SSD in the spring of her senior year in high school. By the time she came to Ann Arbor, the SSD had gone "above and beyond in their accommodations," she said. Lomerson's door was widened to make it wheelchair accessible. A bar went all the way down the closet and sev- eral appliances, including the telephone, had been repositioned lower on the wall. Lomerson also had access to "a show- er bigger than my room," she said. This year, Lomerson is a Resident Adviser at Alice Lloyd Residence Hall. She said she is pleased with the accom- modations SSD has provided this year, although she begged them not to widen her door in an effort to save closet space. Lomerson has one class in an inacces- sible lecture hall, but she said she was grateful to the physics staff who have been helpful in showing her how to get around the physical barriers. Lomerson said she does have one complaint for the University - snow plowing. "It's good enough for students who arc biking or walking, but a wheelchair needs a clean surface," she said. Arfa said she has been very pleased with the work that SSD has done for her: She stresses that it is the student's job to make contact with the SSD in order to receive their technology. Lomerson' agrees, "you have to be persistent with the system." Both Arfa and Lomerson said they ard happy with their lives here and are pos, tive about the future. "It's not as hard as iC looks," Lomerson said, "and it's taken me a long time to be able to say that." I r-4 r4 r,4 What's happening in Ann Arbor today GROUP MEETINGS J Amnesty International Mass Meeting, Michigan Union, Parker Room, 7:30 p.m. [ Art Matters Meeting, Frieze Building, Room 3540, 5 p.m. Visual Resources Collection, 5:30-7 p.m. J Reform Chavurah Mass Meeting, Hillel, 8 p.m. EVENTS INFO, info@umich.edu, and www.umich.edu/-info on the World Wide Web U Northwalk, 763-WALK, Bursley Lobby, 8 p.m.- 1:30 a.m. [ Safewalk, 936-1000. Shapiro Library Lobby, 8 p.m.-2:30 a.m. I