LOCAL/S TATE

The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 2, 2000 - 3A

CAMPUS
Panel discussion
to cover census-
taking, politics
SU.S. Census Bureau Director Ken-
neth Prewitt will discuss how to dis-
tinguish between politics and the
science of census-taking at 7 p.m.
Thursday at Rackharn Auditorium.
His speech, titled "Political Ques-
tions/Scientific Answers," will be
sponsored by the Institute for Social
Research and the Ford School of Pub-
lic Policy.
His talk will be followed by a panel
discussion, which will give the public
Wan opportunity to ask questions and
make comments on the role of poli-
tics. Panel members include Universi-
ty political science Prof. Vincent
+ 'Hutchings; University political sci-
ence emeritus Prof. John Kingdom;
University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee
-Prof. Margo Anderson; and Robert
Teeter, president of Ann Arbor busi-
ness consulting and research firm
?oldwater Corp. and former president
of Detroit-based Market Opinion
Research. Teeter coordinated the
political polling strategies for presi-
dents Ford and Richard Nixon.
DPS to sponsor
safety open house
The University Department of Pub-
lic Safety and the Occupational Safety
and Environmental Health Department
will sponsor the Safety Open House
on Friday from II a.m. to 2 p.m.
The open house will include facility
tours and many displays featuring
safety issues at 1239 Kipke Drive.
Visitors will be able to sit in a
police car, tour the communications
center, try on personal protection
equipment, and learn more about spe-
cial environmental projects.
Efforts to keep storm water drains
clean will be one of the environmental
projects displayed.
Refreshments will be available. For
more information, call the Depart-
.rment of Public Safety at 763-3434.
Study shows race
affects juries
A study by graduate student
Samuel Sommers and law and psy-
*chology Prof. Phoebe Ellsworth on
the effects of race in jury' trials will be
published in the November 2000 issue
of Personality and Social Pschology
Bulletin.
Their studies used 211 adults as
mock jurors in the case of an assault
by a man against his girlfriend. Three-
quarters of the recruited jury members
were white and about one-quarter
were black. In each version of the
case, the race of the man and the
woman were different.
' A similar sentencing trend appeared
among the jurors: White mock jurors
-were not influenced by the race of the
.'defendant while black mock jurors
recommended longer sentences for
white defendants.
Future studies are planned to exam-
ne different ways race can be made
salient in a trial and to investigate how
the discussion of racial issues during
deliberation differs on juries that
include black members compared
wvith all-white juries.

Laser scientists
hold conference
The International Congress on
Applications of Lasers and Electro-
Optics Conference will be held today
*through Thursday at the Hyatt
Regency in Dearborn.
The conference will feature lead-
'ing laser scientists, industrial deci-
sion makers and Nobel laureates
who will discuss laser applications
in industry and their economical
importance.
Presentations by some of the most
prominent laser scientists in the world
will take place throughout the confer-
Oence. Engineering Dean Stephen
irector will introduce the industrial
a' 'decision makers for the afternoon ses-
sion.
Laser applications in automotive,
aerospace, electronic, medical and
microfabrication fields highlight pre-
sentations tomorrow through Thui-s-
day. A series of short courses ranging
from marking to micromaching will
be offered as well.
- Compiled by Daily Stal Reporter
Lisa //o fmnan.

Le gislators call for 'Good Samaritan' law

KALAMAZOO (AP) - The beating death of
an aspiring social worker in a bus station where
at least five adults ignored the attack has prompt-
ed two legislators to draft a "Good Samaritan"
law.
The legislation being drafted by state Sen.
Dale Shugars (R-Portage) and Rep. Jerry Vander
Roest (R-Galesburg) would require that people
witnessing someone gravely injured immediately
notify authorities.
The proposal is a response to the Aug. 17
beating death of Kevin Heisinger, 24.
He was headed home to Chicago from orienta-
tion at the University's School of Social Work
when he was attacked.
Brian Williams, 40, of Ypsilanti has been
charged in Heisinger's death and ordered to
undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Authorities have said Williams has suffered

from schizophrenia for 20 years, and reportedly
told his brother he heard voices telling him to
kill.
He allegedly beat Heisinger to death in a
restroom while at least five people sat within
earshot of the attack and did not notify
police.
No one is believed to have witnessed the
attack.
But police said that several people had
heard Heisinger cry "stop" and "help" -
and one man went into the restroom, saw the
victim lying in a pool of blood and walked
out.
A second man found Heisinger unconscious
and also left without calling for help.
A 9-year-old boy finally notified personnel at
the bus terminal, where the city Department of
Public Safety has a substation.

The adults later gave investigators no
explanation for not helping Heisinger, police
said.
Shugars hopes to introduce the law, pat-
terned after similar measures in California and
Minnesota, when the Legislature reconvenes
Nov. 9.
"Senator Shugars was very upset at the lack
of compassion to an individual who was being
physically abused and ended up being mur-
dered," Bea Raymond, the lawmaker's chief of
staff, told the Kalamazoo Gazette in a report
Saturday.
"I mean, just a simple scream for help
might have stopped this individual's death.
And it's sad that it took a child. And it was
still too late," she added.
Some Michigan laws contain Good Samari-
tan language, but are narrower in scope than

the measure being proposed by Shugars and
Vander Roest.
One grants immunity from civil damages to
health personnel who provide care at the scene
of an emergency.
Other laws require care providers, teachers,
social workers, counselors, nurses and law
enforcement to immediately report concerns
of abuse or neglect of elderly adults or chil-
dren.
Kalamazoo County Prosecutor James Gregart
said opponents of the proposed law might argue
that government shouldn't legislate morality, but
already does so by making murder, theft and sex-
ual abuse illegal.
"I don't have the answer. There's no sinple
answer," Gregart said.
"But the issue has been framed by what hap-
pened over there" at the depot," he said.
fists rank

I

Michigan moto

thirdin re lighfatlities
DETROIT (AP) - Michigan
ranks third nationally in the rate of The nthat comm becomes,th
fatalities caused by drivers running
red lights, possibly because of driver more impatient drivers are becoming.
impatience with worsening traffic
and longer commutes in the Detroit - Gary Mitchel
area. Michigan Association of Insurance Agents membe
"The longer that commute
becomes, the more impatient drivers years. meeting for about a year.
are becoming, and it's encouraging Arizona's rate was 7.1 and Neva- The group also is studying the us
drivers to run red lights to save two da's was 4.5 during the same period. of cameras at intersections, as is th
minutes," said Gary Mitchell of the Police say they often remind dri- Southeast Michigan Council of Gov
Michigan Association of Insurance vers that a yellow light should be ernments and the Michigan offici o
Agents. signal to stop -- not to speed up. the Federal Highway Administratior
Statistics from the Insurance "It's a terrible problem," said Offi- Cameras are used in intersection
Institute for Highway Safety show cer David Malhalab of Detroit. "Peo- in 10 states to cdrb red light running
that Michigan ranks behind Arizona ple make every excuse in the world." Pictures are taken of the licens
and Nevada in red-light-related Red light-running accidents are plates of cars crossing intersection
fatalities. among the most dangerous because illegally.
Michigan is the only Midwest cars often are struck broadside, mak- The owners can be ticketed later.
state in the top 10. ing air bags almost useless. Intersection cameras aren
From 1992-98, 355 people were Nationally, more than 800 people allowed in Michigan, where state la'
killed in Michigan intersections die and 200,000 are injured annually forbids police from charging a driv
because a driver ran a red light. in crashes involving red light viola- unless an officer sees the violation.
According to U.S. Transportation tions. Legislation to change that law ha
Department figures, that worked out A committee formed by Wayne been introduced in the state Housc
to a rate of 3.9 deaths per 100,000 County Prosecutor John O'lair, the the third consecutive year such a bi
drivers in Michigan during those Stop on Red Coalition, has been has been considered.

Iir

e
e
V-
n.
Is
g.
se
is
't
w
as
e,

JEFF HURVITZ/Daidy
Rackham student Haldun Komsuoglu and LSA student Thai Xuan Le are among
the couples sweating and swaying to rumba music at the Union last night.
Woman dying of
ung cancer sues
tobacco maers

COME JOIN
110 YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM!
WE ARE LOOKING FOR WRITERS,
PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ONLINE STAFF.
CALL 76-DAILY.

I IASLE:TT (AP) -- A longtime
smoker who's dying of lung cancer
is suing several tobacco makers.
Coreine Wendling's suit accuses
the companies of violating a long-
standing state law that criminalizes
sell ing, manufacturing or giving out
ci oarettcs that contain ingiredients
foreign to tobacco or harmful to
one's health, the Lansing State Jour-
nal said in an article yesterday.
The crime is classified as a mis-
demeanor. But Wendling and her
South field attorneys, Geoffrey
Flieger and Bill Mcflenry, think the
1909 law, which was revised in the
1930s, will let them win a judgment
against tobacco companies.
"If I don't do anything,"
Wendling says, "I'll die a victim."
Wendling, 59, started smoking at
age 15 and smoked for 39 years.
She quit five years ago, five years
after doctors had told her she had
emphysema. In January, the laslett
resident learned she had lung can-
cer.
Shortly after the diagnosis, one of
her four sons, Mark Letherer,
uncovered the Michigan law. while
researching tobacco lawsuits on the
Internet.
He contacted McHenry, who said
he'd review the archaic state regula-
tion.
Wendling's suit was filed July 21
in U.S. District Court in Kalama-
zoo, seeking at least S75,000 in
damages. The companies are
expected to respond to the suit by
Oct. 13.
A spokesman for one company
named in the suit, Brown &
Williamson Tobacco Corp., down-
played the suit's legal strategy.
"The claim of adulterated ciga-
rettes is just a novel approach by a
plaintiff's attorney and is just non-
sense," spokesman Steve Kottak

said.
The suit also names Philip Morris
Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.,
B.A.T. Industries and the Tobacco
Institute, the industry's now-defunct
public relations and lobbying arm.
McHenry said the suit was fol-
lows a different strategy than other
tobacco lawsuits.
"We have'found and cited a
Michigan statute that prohibits
exactly the kind of tobacco compa-
nies are selling," McHenry said.
Charles T. Smith II, a product lia-
bility expert and lawyer from subur-
ban Washington, D.C., agrees the
Michigan law could work against
the tobacco companies.
"They found something lying dor-
mant all those years that could bite
tobacco," he said.
Wendling, a former nurse, says
she was addicted to cigarettes and
still craves them, even after the
radiation, the chemotherapy and the
oxygen tubes.
She'd like to see every pack of
cigarettes taken off the shelf. She
says she lives each day feeling like
she's breathing with a plastic bag
over her head.
"It's terrible, one of the worst
ways to die," she says.
Last summer, a Florida state jury
issued a $145 billion award to mem-
bers of a class action suit brought
on behalf of all Florida residents
who were made sick by smoking.
Tobacco companies have appealed
that verdict.
The tobacco companies, under a
separate 1998 settlement, will pay
$206 billion to 44 states over the
next 25 years to compensate states
for the cost of treating smoking-
related illnesses of Medicaid recipi-
ents. Four other states settled
separately for an additional $40 bil-
lion.

P-


r

T

I

TIAA- CREF provides
financial solutions to

last a lifetime.

ll 1us for
a free

Building your assets is one thing. Figuring out
how those assets can provide you with a
comfortable retirement is quite another.
At TIAA-CREF, we can help you with both. You
can count on us not only while you're saving and
planning for retirement, but in retirement, too.
Just call us. We'll show you how our flexible range of
payout options can meet your retirement goals.
With TIAA-CREF, you benefit from something few
other companies can offer: a total commitment to
your financial well-being, today and tomorrow.
*Note: Availability may depend on your employer's retirement
plan provisions contract. Under federal tax law, withdrawals
prior to age 59Y may be subject to restrictions, and may also be
subject to a 10% additional tax. Additional restrictions also
apply to the TIAA Traditional Annuity.

With TIAA-CREF,
you can receive*
" Cash withdrawals
" Systematic or fixed-period payments**
" Interest-only payments
" Lifetime income payments**
" A combination of these
"Guaranteed by our claims-paying ability.
CREF GROWTH ACCOUNT
26.70 %27.87 %26.60%
1 YEAR 5 YEARS SINCE INCEPTION
AS OF 6/30/00 6/30/00 4/29/94
CREF Growth is one of many CREF variable annuities.

THE CALENDAR



I