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Wednesdav. September 5, 2001 - The Mic'hioa~n flaih - Ne~w Stuident Edition ----v 3C"~* .1, *uItAJ tS..AUtI .

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PULLING RANKS

'U'

ranks sixth in Peace

Corps volunteers

By Ted Borden
lly Staff Reporter

When the Peace Corps released its annual
list of the colleges and universities with the
largest number of volunteers in March, the
University ranked sixth, with 65 volunteers
presently active.
Campus recruiter Denise Mortimer said
the University's program has been growing
over the past year.
"I've been surprised how busy I've been,"
said Mortimer, who assumed her present
position last fall. "Since September, 62 peo-
ple have interviewed. Our goal is generally
55, and we still have several weeks left in the
school year," she said.
Mortimer noted that campus Peace Corps
participation ranked first in the University's
district, which includes Michigan, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky.
The University of Wisconsin at Madison
ranked first with 93 volunteers.
She said she thinks University students'
experiences in Ann Arbor help to make the
Peace Corps a popular program.
"The people here want to help. They feel
they've had a great learning opportunity and
want to give back," she said.
She added that because the University has
one of the 20 Peace Corps recruitment cen-
ters in the nation, a large number of people
interview for positions here. Additionally,
the recruitment efforts on campus, which
include informative talks to classes and cam-

pus groups, have shown favorable results.
In total, the Peace Corps currently
employs 7,300 volunteers in 76 countries.
Yet the program is constantly growing as
new assignments are continually being
announced. "There is definitely room for
more people to apply," Mortimer said.
Former Peace Corps volunteers praised
the organization and the experiences it
offers. "I frequently recommend Peace
Corps to those that are interested," said
Rackham student Liz Rettenmaier, who vol-
unteered in the African nation of Ivory Coast
from 1993 to 1995.
"It was an experience that I count among
the most incredible in my life. It isn't for
everybody, but for those that are looking for
an opportunity to live in another country for
two years and experience a culture and a
people in a way that virtually no other job
will offer, Peace Corps is the way to go," she
said.
Mortimer herself participated in the Peace
Corps, volunteering in Mali from 1995 to
1997. "The experience opens your eyes up to
a whole new perspective, one that I don't
think anyone regrets," she said.
The notion of the Peace Corps was
announced during a visit to the University of
Michigan by presidential candidate John F.
Kennedy in 1960. Standing on the steps of
the Michigan Union, Kennedy challenged a
group of 10,000 students to volunteer their
skills overseas. The first group of volunteers'
left for Africa in August 1961.

JOYCE LEE/Daily
The Lurie Bell Tower is an icon offlorth Campus where the School of Engineering is located. This was the second consecutive year the school placed fourth in
U.S. News and World Report's "Best Graduate Schools" rankings.
Four nvrs grad programsInop five

By Whitney Elliott
Daily Staff Reporter

Four University professional schools are
among the nation's top five in their respective
fields according to U.S. News and World
Report's annual "Best Graduate Schools" rank-
ings.
The University's School of Public Health is
third in the nation. The School of Information
tied for third in the nation with Syracuse Univer-
sity and the University of Pittsburgh. The Col-
lege of Engineering and the School of Nursing
are both fourth.
Five other University professional schools are
in the top 10 schools in the nations The School of
Education is seventh; the Law &chool tied for
$seventh with the University of Virginia; the
School of Public Policy tied for seventh with
Carnegie Mellon University, the University of
Southern California and the Uni-versity of Texas
- Austin; the Medical School is the ninth-best
research-oriented medical school and the Busi-
ness School is ranked 10.
College of Engineering Dean Stephen Director
said that although ranking systens all have room
for a wide amount of error, the a(llege is happy
to stay at its fourth place spot it the nation, a,
lace it shared with the Georgiia Institute of
echnology last year.
Director also said there are objective and sub-
jective parts to the ranking systertn U.S. News

and World Report uses.
"We have a lot of research going on. We're in
high demand by students," Director said of
objective qualities that contribute to the ranking.
Director added that subjectively, because the
college has an outstanding faculty, they are
ranked highly by other deans from around the
nation.
Medical School Dean Allen Lichter said the
medical school is composed of "leaders of acad-
emic medicine in the nation. We are absolutely
one of the very, very top schools in the country."
University Vice President for Medical Affairs
Gilbert Omenn said that the medical school has
continued to excel and because of that it has held
its very high rankings.
But Omenn said the medical school's rankings
would have been even higher if selectivity had
not been incorporated into the rankings.
Lichter said the quality of residency program
directors, deans and senior leaders at the school
moved the Medical School up from 12th place
last year in the U.S. News rankings.
Omenn agreed that the fourth place ranking is
an important testament to the "quality of educa-
tion that students get at the medical school."
Lichter also said the reputation of the medical
school, helped by the Life Sciences Initiative,
boosted the school into the top 10.
"One of the most important things is the repu-
tation that our school has. The fact that we are
among the great leaders in the life sciences, that

reputation gets around quickly," Lichter said.
Omenn that the "spectacular results" are
derived from "a long sustained effort."
Rankings at a glance
Every year, U.S. News and Weekly Report con-
piles rankings of the top undergraduate and
graduate programs in the United States. Here is
how Michigan fared against the rest of the
country.
N Undergraduate: 25th
9 School of Public Health: Sixth
School of Information: Tied for third
N School of Engineering: Fourth
0 School of Nursing: Fourth
N School of Education: Seventh
N Law School: Tied for seventh
9 School of Pubic Polcy: Tied for seventI
U Medical School: Ninth
U Business School: Tenth

'also sixth in NIH grants

By Louie Meizlish
Daily Staff Reporter

The National Institutes of Health
announced its top 10 recipients of research
grants in March, placing the University
sixth among higher education institutions.
The University, whose health system
was awarded a five-year $33.6 million
grant last week by the NIH, received
$260,353,494 in 2000, an increase of 13
percent over 1999.
The grants funded 467 individual
research awards.
The news was warmly received by Allen
Lichter, dean of the Medical School. The
Medical School receives 68 percent of
NIH funding to the University, ranking it
10th in the country among medical
schools.

"Our steady increase signals the strong
condition of our research endeavors as wet
embark upon the University's Life Sci-
ences Initiative," Lichter said.
Vice President for Medical Affairs Gil
Omenn attributed the University's position'
on the list to the faculty at the Medical
School.
"It's all about people - the quality of
faculty, students, and staff," Omenn said.
"For clinical investigations," he added,a
"it is a big help for faculty that we have a
clinical research center where volunteers
and patients can study very effectively."
NIH spokeswoman Anne Thomas said;
the reasonth Unversitylas such iapromi
nent position on the NIH list is probably
due to the fact that the Medical School Is..
"highly regarded by outside reviewers for
scientific merit'

Stud. _ent smokn
com ontut isk
ft Courtney Crimmins £,y6yyz ' ; ; 08 Thompson Street
Ialv tafi Rcporiir " Ann Arbor, MI48104-2414

If a student smokes one pack a day of Camel Lights, nor-
mally priced at $4.20, that student will have spent $1,533 on
cigarettes in a year. A recent study revealed thtt the number
of young adults smoking cigarettes is on the rise and women
.in particular face increasing smoking..related health prob-
lems.
.In information released by the American Lung Associa-
,of Michigan, nearly 25 percent of women over the age
S18 smoke. As a result, 5,600 women smokers in Michigan
.will die this year.
"I have worked in other areas like University of Arizona
and University of Illinois, and there is definitely 6more smok-
ers here than anywhere else," said Dustin Desnyder, manager
'of Scorekeepers Bar and Grill on Maynard Street:
The prevalence of smoking in Michigan has caused
Michigan's lung cancer death rate to be 2 percent above the
national average. Lung cancer has becorze the leading cause
' cancer-related death among women., surpassing breast
ncer. In Michigan, about 45 of every 100,000 women have
lung cancer.
A study conducted by the British Factity and Institute of
Actuaries discovered that 30-year-old vwumen smokers will
die seven years sooner than non-smokin g women. Men of
the ,same age will die 5.5 years sooner tbian their nonsmok-
ing counterparts.
Officials at the Harvard University School of Public;
Health view this increase in smoking as a result of tobacco
companies' campaigns targeting 18 to 24-year-olds on col-
lege campuses. A recent Harvard study found that residence
11s seem to contribute to students' nicotine addictions.
The Harvard study of 4,495 students from 101 schools
found that college students who live in snmike free dorms are
40 percent less likely to become smokers.:
For many, the problem starts prior to cedlege. A Center for
Disease Control report found that 6,000 kids urier the age
of 18 try a cigarette each day and half that numbet become

DAVID KATZ/Daily
A recent study conducted by the American Lung Association of
Michigan found that nearly 25 percent of women over the age
of 18 smoke.
daily smokers. In addition, 4.5 million adolescents between
ages 12 and 17 smoke cigarettes.
"I started smoking because of my best friend's older sister
who made us think it was cool when we went out with her to
parties in high school" said one LSA sophomore.
She said she now smokes half a pack every day. "I am try-
ing to quit, but it is hard because I am hooked. I have tried to
quit five times without a program," she added.
University of Michigan officials said they are aware of the
addictiveness of nicotine and have set up a tobacco consulta-
tion service to help.
The program is geared to "extinguishing one behavior and
replacing it with others and creating coping mechanisms for
stress," said Linda Thomas, program associate for UMH
Health Promotion Division.
"We recommend for those attempting to quit to initially
avoid situations where there is smoking, like bars, especially
because when drinking alcohol it lowers your inhibitions,
making it easier for them to say, 'oh I can have one ciga-
rette,"' Thomas said.

Michigan schools top alcohol arrest list

Kristen Beaumont violations is not unusual because alcohol
lDaiy Stfl'tReporter is the. most common drug of choice for
college students.
The University ranks second in the "It is noteworthy to look at the fact
nation among four-year colleges with the that only 35 percent of the individuals
most liquor arrests in 1999, according to arrested for liquor violations were Uni-
statistics released this February in the versity students;' she said. "The other 65

Brown said. "The new state law makes it
mandatory for law enforcement officers
to cite or arrest an underage intoxicated
person."
Brown noted that the information
does not account for students arrested by
the Ann Arbor Police Department or on

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