} LOCAL/S TATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 21, 2001- 3 IGHER ../ Higher ed budget moves to House floor U. Florida paper seeks permission to view Earnhardt autopsy photos e~aring has been scaedulc for April 5 in the appeal by the pub- osher of the Independent Florida Alligator, Campus Comnimunica- ions* inc.. to gaina--, aCes4 to the autopsy photos of amed NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. who died during the Daytona 500otn Feb 18. In the hearing, University of Florida student newspaper rcpre- se lives plan to argue for permnis- ti1to see and copy the photos. judge, the newsworthiness of them and ask them not to be permanent- lN sealed. The Alligator said in filed briefs that the photos are exempt from public record laws and cannot be nidden by federal privacy statutes, as Earnhardt's widow, Teresa. args they should be. Wesa Earnhardt's lawyer also filed a motion objecting to the interi ention of the Alligator. The permanent seal of the autop- sy photos from the public is part of an agreement reached last week between Teresa Earnhardt and the Orlando Sentinel. By Louie Meizlsh ily Stall RpOrter The State house of Representatives Appropria- tionsCommittee yesterday approved last week's recommendations of the higher education subcom- mittee to allocate funding to Michigan's 15 public universities, The approval includes a 2 percent funding increase for the University of Michigan. The bill was approved without substantial amendment by a 20-8 vote. The majority consisted of 16 Republi- cans and four Democrats and the minority consist- ed of seven Democrats and one Republican. One member of the committee, Rep. Patricia Godchaux (R-Birmingham), abstained from voting. Although the vote total may appear to indicate that the bill will sail through the louse next week, expectations are quite the opposite. "There will be a floor tight on this bill," promised Rep. Keith Stallworth (D-Detroit), who voted against the bill in committee. Todd I larcek, chief of staff for committee chair- man Marc Shulman (R-West Bloomfield), said although he was "fairly confident" that some form of the bill would pass through the Ilouse next week, it would not occur without lively debate. "There will be several attempts to amend it sub- stantially but I do not know whether they will suc- ceed," he said. Stallworth, wIho also voted against the bill in the higher education subcommittee, said the bill approved yesterday did not appropriate tunds in the Michigan Higher Education Budget best manner. "It assumes the cost to educate every under- graduate is the same whether they are full-time or part time students, or whether they are studying liberal arts or nuclear physics,"he said. "It addresses only the gap in funding between the Uni- increase under the bill. Rep. Charles LaSata (R-St. Joseph), the vice chairman of the committee, said the disparity in funding increases between the University and Michigan Slate is justified. "MSU is still signifi- cantly behind U of M in per pupil grants from the state," he said."Two percent to U of M is much higher dollar-wise than to other universities." The most substantial amendment the committee approved was that of Rep. Mike Pumford of Newaygo, the only Republican to vote against the bill, to recommend a workgroup be formed to study the tier system under which funds are allocat- ed. Some, such as Stallworth, have said the tier sys- tem does not allow for fair apportionment of funds. affectedy versity of Michigan. Michigan State University, and Wayne State University," he added. Michigan State would receive a 7 percent Women more i alcoholism, study shows arity group at l a State U. to make record-sized Rice Krispie treat A, part of a fundraising project for vhe Iowa State University's Veishea committee members are planiag to make a 2,500-pound RiceKrispie treat. les an appropriate record ior Iowa State to make ss bhr C i e s yeStahfvReparserwLle Kruhsl By Tovin Lapan Dally Staff Rcporicr According to a recent study by University Public Health prof. Kyle Grazier, women suffer greater effects from alcoholism than men. Grazier will be presenting a paper she co-authored with Washington University's Kathleen Bucholz next week at the First World Congress on Women and Mental Health in Berlin. "Women were more severely affected physically by alcoholism than men, showed a higher rate of reduced activity and demonstrated greater adverse social effects as well," Grazier said. The data, including long term effects of alcoholism. such as the liver disease cirrhosis, is still being ana- lyzed to determine whether women are at a greater risk than men of long term illness from alcoholism. Grazier spent the last 15 years studying mental health and insurance policies in the United States. Grazier and Bucholz's paper is based on a three year. S2 million study funded by the National Institute for Mental Ilealth. Grazier and Biucholz interviewed three groups of people in St. Louis who had been surveyed in 1980 by NIMI1. The researchers then compared the current data to what was found 20 years ago in about 700 participants. "This research is really unique in that the people studied were found in the community instead of those who are found in treatment centers where most mental health data comes from." Grazier said. The reasons why men and women who suffer from alcoholism react differently have yet to be determined, but Crazier offered several hypotheses. "The lower metabolism and body weight of most women could explain the differences, as well as dis- crepancies in how women are treated when they seek substance abuse assistance: doctors may prescribe "it is more common for a man to leave a woman than visa versa. " - Lisa Pasbjerg Clinical director of Ann Arbor Center for Behavior and Medicine greater limitations on women suffering from the effects of alcoholism." Grazier explained. Lisa Pasbjerg, clinical director of the Ann Arbor Center far Behavior and Medicine, supported Grazier's claims. "It is more common for a man to leave an alcoholic woman than vice versa, and we as society tend to be more tolerant of men drinking in excess," Pasbjerg said. Pasbjerg also said women start to exhibit the long term effects of' drinking such as rapid aging and liver disease before men do. Donna Botson, a counselor for M-Fit's DrinkWise program, noted several physical characteristics that alter how women are affected by alcohol. "Women have less fluid in general, and less of the stomach enzyme that breaks down alcohol in their sys- tem, and therefore their blood alcohol level will be higher than men's." she said. In addition, Botson said that when women are ovulat- ing, their blood alcohol level will be higher and intoxi- cation will last longer. "All of' those factors lead to women alcoholics devel- oping serious illnesses due to drinking 10 to 15 years before men would. she said. . .. ,.,, . rk Christine Modey passively protests Starbucks with her child, Lucy Fuller, as Engineering freshman Carl Grant passes by with a Starbuck beverage. Protesters decry gentoetic crop use By James Restivo I a).uhsufier Ip n' When LSA sophomore Kristin Cibik went to the Starbucks coffee shop on State Street yesterday for her daily cup of cof'ee, she encountered a group of students, professors and community members protesting out- side the doors. "I think it's ridiculous," Cibik said. "I've never had any problems with the service or the coffee. I don't think these people will make a diff erence to anyone on this campus." The protest was part of a national initiative by various environmental and labor groups who coordinated yesterday's demonstration in more than 50 cities. The protest coincid- ed with the annual shareholders' meeting of the multinational corpo- ration in Seattle. Ann Arbor's pro- testers included the Organic Consumers Association and Stu- dents Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality. John Vandermeer. a University biology professor, was part of the local protest and said one goal was to ensure that the corporation produces and markets Fair Trade coffee on a daily basis. Fair Trade certification increases farmers' incomes through forming cooperatives and linking them directly to coffee importers. "When I go into the store, people don't know what I'm talking about when I ask for it," Vandermeer said. "I would pay more for it because it assures people are getting fair wa ces." In response to the complaints of' protesters. Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Orin Smith issued a written statement March 16 saying the corpo- ration is currently taking steps to increase the amount of' Free Trade coffee in stores. "As with all our coffees, customers can always obtain brewed Fair Trade coffee at any time upon request," he said in the statement. Though the manager of the store would not comment aside from saying that the store had Fai- Trade coffee in stock, Starbucks' employees did not have the coffee brewed when a reporter attempted to purchase a cup. Another concern of the protesters was the use of cenetically modified materials in Starbucks' products such as bottled drinks and ice cream. "Starbucks is one of the largest cof- I L' chains, and we aim to change the way they do business," Vandermeer said. Recombinant bovine growth hor- mone "is known to be a dangerous substance." Vandermeer said Starbucks also needs to understand the implications of usinc genetically modified crops as part of their inventory. "Corporations in Europe already know to keep these materials out of' the food chain," Vandermeer said. "I lopefully people in this country will get on the bandwagon and figure out what's going on soon." Though the groups yesterday claimed they were not attempting to keep customers from frequenting the store, Ann Arbor resident Christine Modey said she was boycotting the chain. "Americans are getting more and more concerned." Modey said. "We want to know the what's in the food we are eating. Modey said she wanted mandated labels denoting genetically modified foods so she could choose products based on their ingredients. One LSA sophomore said she was extremely upset that she couldn't study because of the protesters. "This is very disturbing." she said. "I'm just trying to study and they are preventing my work. They are not going to accomplish anything." Two Ann Arbor police officials were on hand for the protest, which remained peaceful. Several customers chose to go elsewhere, which Vander- meeri said signified progress. "I think we are eftective in drawing attention to the issues. This is just the start of a long campaign which we hope that some consumers are con- cerned about." he said. DAAP1, MSA express concern over racist' attacks on Hi deki By Carrie Thorson Dily SM el Ryrter Many Michigan Student Assembly representatives expressed concern at last night's meeting over recent "attacks" on president I lideki Tsutsumi regarding his ability to communicate with the assem- bly. "People are trying to dissuade inter- national students from running for MSA," said LSA Rep. Erika Dowdell. Dowdell and others said Vice President Jim Secreto's vocal stance that Tsutsumi had difiicultfcommunicating with the assembly because English was not his first language was racist. "This attack is beginning to foster racism on campus," said Defend Affir- mative Action Party member Caroline Wong. "The climate on this campus for Asian students is hostile as it is" Wong called for an apology from Secreto for "allowing the election to become a vehicle to foster racism on campus." Many representatives and con- stituents said race was not the reason they were unhappy with Tsutsumi's term. "My problems are not with his lan- guage," said LSA senior Rodolfo Palma-Lulion. "It's with his ideology." "I don't support the attacks on I lide- ki, but I don't see them as racist," Kine- siology Rep. T.J. Wharry said. "I can't understand what my grandparents say but they're just as white as I am." Tsutsumi said he felt all attacks on him were politically motivated and that he is "above the fray of party politics." Also at the rrieeting, Hank Baier, associate vice president for Facilities and Operations, spoke to the assembly about the potential merger between the University bus system and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. The assembly recently passed a resolution against the potential merger. "We're trying to develop ways to increase the bus service, not decrease service levels," Baier said. "In order to expand we have to go with AATA." Amendments to the MSA code and constitution were presented for first reads, and they were not well received. "As a constituent I have a problem with each and every one of these amendments" said Palma-Lulion. The assembly also consented to the transfer of SI,500 for advertising of Advice Online during fall registration. "This is one of the greatest things that we do," Secreto said. "People need to know about it." I THE CALENDAR What's happening in Ann Arbor today E TNT bers (3909 Union) p.m., Rackham SERVICES