LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 16, 2001- 3 Profs. counter affirmative action criticism Explosive set off, two knives taken from 'M' stadium Officers from University Depart- ment of Public Safety confiscated two knives from people at Michigan Stadi- um during Saturday's football game, according to DPS reports. In addition, one person set off an explosive just north of Gate One and was subse- quently arrested. Racist graffiti found on lot wall Racist graffiti was found on the wall of a Catherine Street parking structure Thursday afternoon, DPS reports state. The graffiti was written in black marker and gave reference to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. DPS did not report having any sus- pects. Scale missing from 'U' building A scale was taken from the Medical Science Unit One Building sometime Wednesday, DPS reports state. The scale is valued at $1,500. DPS did not report having any sus- pects. Car hits vehicle; driver changes parking spots The driver of a vehicle attempting to park Thursday afternoon in a lot on Monroe Street hit another vehicle and then moved to a different spot in the lot, DPS reports state. The vic- tim and suspect met with the DPS officer in the Law Club. Reports stated there was minor damage to the vehicle. Woman shoots self with BB gun A woman was taken to the emer- gency room of University Hospitals on Thursday afternoon when she acci- 6 dentally shot herself with a BB gun, according to DPS reports. The woman stated she was attempting to shoot an opossum. Wallet stolen four years ago found The maintenance staff of East Quad Residence Hall recovered a wallet in an air duct early Friday morning, DPS reports state. The wallet had been reported stolen in February 1997. The victim was noti- fied via e-mail. Reports stated all contents of the wallet were recov- ered except for $40. Students set off fireworks in dorm Students were caught setting off bottle rockets from their South Quad a Residence Hall room on Sunday evening, DPS reports state. The fire- works were confiscated. Harassing caller identifies himself A student at Stockwell Residence Hall informed DPS of receiving harassing telephone calls on Thursday afternoon. Reports state the caller identified himself. Car stolen, later discovered near Briarwood Circle A Plymouth Voyager was stolen from the lot outside Wolverine Tower on Sunday afternoon, accord- ing to DPS reports. The vehicle was later recovered on Briarwood Circle. DPS did not report having any suspects. Blue lot permit stolen from car A blue parking permit was stolen Sunday afternoon from a vehicle parked in a Monroe Street lot, reports state. DPS had no suspects. - Compiled by Daily StaffReporter Kristen Beaumont. By Jordan Schrader Daily Staff Reporter In a discussion yesterday on the effects of affirmative action programs in the workplace, two scholars made a case against the contention that such programs breed prejudice and job dissatisfaction. Alison Konrad, a business professor at Temple University, and Marylee Taylor, an associate sociology professor at Penn- sylvania State University, discussed their research on the practical results of the use of affirmative action in employment. According to Taylor and Konrad's find- ings, there is a widely held misconception that affirmative action refers to racial preferences and quotas. They said this is usually not the case. "People don't understand affirmative action. Most people think it refers to pref- erence programs," Konrad said. Instead, she explained, affirmative action in the workplace usually involves a number of complex initiatives designed to assess and rectify discrimination. This includes efforts to ensure women and minorities are encouraged to participate and are well trained. Konrad said this differs from university More than 800union{ workers walk out General Dynamics admissions, which often use a preference system. The admissions policy at the Uni- versity of Michigan is an example of this, and uses race as one of many factors in admissions. The hearing before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 23 will address the legality of such a preference system. The main criticisms of affirmative action addressed - and denied - by the two professors were that it causes feelings of resentment by both its beneficiaries and their co-workers. Opponents argue, Taylor said, that "affirmative action has had detrimental effects that may outweigh the positive" and that women and minorities can be "tainted bythe stigma of incompetence" by the very process that seeks to help them. These claims, according to Konrad's and Taylor's research, are unfounded. In Taylor's study, women and minorities were asked questions about their satisfac- tion with their jobs and lives. She found no evidence that subjects in workplaces using affirmative action are less satisfied than those in other workplaces. Similarly, her survey of white men showed no disproportionate discrimina- "People don't understand affirmative action'. - Alison Konrad Temple University business professor tion in businesses where affirmative action is used. These results led Taylor to conclude that affirmative action causes no "boomerang effect," or detriment to minorities. LSA freshman Mike Lusard, who attended the event for his affirmative action class, said the professors were informative. But Lusard expressed disap- pointment that the speakers did not address the effects of affirmative action on college campuses. "We focus more on education in class," he said. The discussion was sponsored by the Uni- versity's women's studies program. It was the fourth in a series focusing on the relationship of affirmative action and the women's move- ment, which continues Oct. 26. DEBBIE MIZEL/Daily Marylee Taylor, a sociology professor at Pennsylvania State University, was one of the keynote speakers yesterday at "Does Affirmative Action Really Help Anything?" FOCUS physics centers open in 2 and Austin By Sarah Scott Daily Staff Reporter employees, who produce military vehicles, strike STERLING HEIGHTS (AP) - A week into the U.S. attacks on Afghanistan, union workers at three plants that produce military vehicles, including tanks, walked off their jobs early yesterday. More than 800 employees repre- sented by the United Auto Workers went on strike at General Dynamics Land Systems facilities in Sterling Heights; Lima, Ohio; and Eynon, Pa. The company designs, manufac- tures and supports land and amphibi- ous combat systems for the Army, the Marine Corps and allied nations,' including the Ml-Al Abrams tank and armored personnel carriers. Contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers continued past a midnight deadline without reach- ing an agreement, General Dynamics spokesman Peter Keating said. Some workers at one of the three facilities affected by the strike say they walked off the job because of health care and pension issues. "There's no health care for retirees after they retire," said Dwight Matthews, a designer at the facility in this Detroit suburb. "We try to buy health care, but when you get to be 50 or 60 years old, no one wants to sell you health insurance." UAW Vice President Nate Gooden said health care benefits for retired The University has a new physics center and a new partnership with the University of Texas at Austin, thanks to a $15 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The new center, officially named r FOCUS - Frontiers in Optical Coherent and Ultrafast Science - opened Aug. I this year. It has three locations - two in Ann Arbor and one in Austin. It is not a part of the Life Sciences Initiative. "The center has been funded for its initial five-year period and then >v will be renewed, we hope," said Philip Bucksbaum, the center's director and a University of Michi- gan physics professor. "What we're starting is a number of new modali- ties for science centers. In many ways, this is an experiment for the. AP Photo NSF." e Bucksbaum said that the center's research focuses on three specific areas: quantum computing, coher- just as ent control of chemistry and very a war, high intensity laser fields. ted the The University has such sophisti- c. I cated laser technology that about researchers can have lasers to do nefits tasks that formerly weren't possible anic at such as direct laser acceleration of 's bad particles to speeds close to the ing to speed of light, he said. e vote THE = vot . EAD THE DJ had to - - - s-<- -.rar± - 1 "It's a little bit expensive to make very high intensity laser fields," Bucksbaum said, "We're doing that and they'll be used by faculty at U of M and U of T." Bucksbaum added that a lot of the work by the Texas researchers will be done here. Another aspect that has come out of the two schools' partnership is a joint course on high intensity laser matter interactions. Texas physics prof. Todd Ditmire teaches the course from Austin using webcasting. "We thought that simultaneous teaching of students at both institu- tions would help tie the two institu- tions together," Ditmire said. About 15 students are enrolled in the graduate-level class at each campus and some work at the FOCUS center. "One of the important things is educational outreach. One of the major things we do is research with graduate students and one of the vital steps in training them is doing cutting edge research," Ditmire added. In addition to its three specific research frontiers, the center runs an annual seed funding competition to provide funding for new kinds of advanced projects. "That's something that research centers don't normally do," said Bucksbaum. General Lan Systems mechanic Mike Scott walks the picket line outside the company's complex in Sterling Heights yesterday. workers were "something that UAW workers had and gave up during con- cessions, but now General Dynamics Land Systems is again profitable and has money to spend on expensive acquisitions," The company will continue pro- duction with nonunion employees, Keating said. He would not discuss key contract issues. On the picket line outside the Ster- ling Heights plant, clutches of a half- dozen striking workers gathered quietly at each entrance holding picket signs that said simply "UAW on strike." Mindful that they are striking. the United States is engaged in several workers said they regret action, but felt it was appropriate "They should have thought that when they gave our be away," said Al Logic, a mecha the Sterling Heights plant. "It timing, but what are you go do?" Logic said there was only on against strike at UAW Local 12 "The contract ran out, we- go," Matthews said. Anthrax vaccine manufacturer I .- ----- l 11 I t i 1 seeks to gain LANSING (AP)-- Amid reports of pages of new anthrax exposures at the U.S. FDA onI Capital yesterday, the nation's only ments prc maker of an anthrax vaccine filed ed batche paperwork asking federal officials for safe, cont approval to ship the vaccine. "We fee Lansing-based BioPort Corp. has obligation continued to manufacture the vaccine "Very clea since buying a state-owned laboratory in doing ther 1998. But it has been unable to ship any An FD because it has failed to meet U.S. Food yesterday1 and Drug Administration standards after documen renovating the plant two years, ago. long it wi The vaccine has gained attention in its review recent days as 12 people around the months to country have either tested positive for BioPort anthrax or have been exposed to the of it fede bacteria. A piece of mail sent to U.S. upgradet Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's week that office in Washington, D.C., tested pos- of a reno itive for anthrax yesterday. two to thre BioPort spokeswoman Kim Brennen DuringI Root said yesterday that the company has found finished submitting several hundred The comp approval of FDA studies and reports to the Friday. She said the docu, ove BioPort can make repeat- s of the anthrax vaccine in a rolled environment. el that we have fully met our ins to the agency," she said. arly, we have the right people right jobs in a timely manner." A spokeswoman confirmed that the agency received the nts. She wouldn't say how ill take the FDA to complete N. The FDA has four to six review the information. t spent $16.8 million - most ral dollars - to expand and the facility. Root said last it's not unusual for approval vated vaccine plant to take ee years. that time, however, the FDA repeated problems at the lab. pany failed FDA inspections in 1999 and 2000. An FDA report issued in October 2000 said BioPort failed to ensure that its facilities were sterile and well-ventilated. The FDA also said BioPort did not submit complete annual reports in 1998 and 1999 and was failing to keep proper records on people who suffered adverse effects to the anthrax vaccine. Root said the company is confident it could begin shipping the vaccine early next year if it wins FDA approval. She wouldn't say what the company will do if the FDA refuses to license BioPort. "Failure is not an option for this company," she said. BioPort is the Pentagon's sole source of the anthrax vaccine. About 500,000 of the 2.4 million troops and reservists the military wanted to vaccinate have received the vaccine, but the program has basically been put on hold as sup- plies to vaccinate additional troops have run low. GAOOL 0 L n- uj 817 , ' 1 UCA'V a J Discover the University of MVichigan School of Education graduate studies programs Join us Saturday, October 20 9-a.m. - 3 p.m. School of Education Building 610 East University Avenue Come visit and discover a highly focused program' " Meet and ask questions of current students and faculty * Find out about a variety of degrees and research projects I THE CALENDAR What's happening in Ann Arbor today EVENTS Peace Corps Information Session; 7:00 - 8:30 "Philology Begins at Sumer;" 12:00 p.m., Sponsored by the Insti- tute for the Humanities, Chi Multicultural Sorority, SERVICES 6:00 p.m., Couzens Living Room, Couzens Hall Campus Information Centers, 764-INFO, info@umich. edu, or www. umich.edu/~info The University of Michigan Department of Dermatology is currently offering i ii i I