LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 16, 2001 - 3
CRIVMIE
Patient threatens
to destroy waiting
room of hospital
A University hospital employee
said an out-of-control male emer-
gency room.patient was demanding
pain medication and threatening to
destroy the waiting room Tuesday
evening, Department of Public
Safety reports state. The man was
calmed and agreed to sit in the
waiting room with his family.
He said he was in a lot of pain and
was frustrated that it was taking a long
time for him to be seen by a doctor. The
nurse had told him there were only two
patients ahead of him and could not
promise when he would be seen by a
doctor.
Students
By Jordan Schrader
Daily Staff Reporter
On a campus filled with construc-
tion machinery, cell phones and cam-
paigning students, silence is a rare
thing. Yesterday, however, the Univer-
sity became a little quieter for a Day of
Silence to protest U.S. military strikes
against Afghanistan.
Wearing black clothes and pins say-
ing "Ask Me Why I'm Silent," about
50 students went without speaking
from the time they woke up until 7:30
p.m., when they gathered on the steps
of the Michigan Union to break the
silence with a candlelight vigil. During
the day, they carried cards explaining
their mission to the curious.
At the vigil, LSA sophomore Mike
Swiryn shared his experiences of a day 1
without speech.
"It was kind of surreal. The things
you notice just blew me away," Swiryn
said.
"I saw people I didn't even recog-
nize participating and it was just
amazing. You see someone you don't
recognize but you're connected to
them," he explained.
The major concern of the activists
who participated in the Day of Silence7
is what they said is a U.S. failure to
protest
deliver adequate humanitarian aid and
food to starving Afghans through air
drops.
"The civilians don't know where the
food is landing. They're not getting
enough food. It's an atrocity. It's
appalling," said LSA junior Ariya
Kelly, a member of the University's
Environmental Justice Group and a
participant in the protest.
"We should have more dialogue,
more international discourse, among
the nations engaged in the war against
terrorism, on alternative methods," she
added.
"We have our priorities skewed,"
said LSA freshman Emily Squires, a
member of Students Organizing for
Labor and Economic Equality.
"Our priority needs to be the
humanitarian issue going on right
now," she said.
SOLE, the primary sponsor of the
Day of Silence, joined with several
other activist groups including the
Muslim Students Association, Stu-
dents for a Peaceful Alternative and
the Interfaith Council for Peace and
Justice in holding the protest.
"Our goal was to bring student
activists across campus together with a
purpose," said LSA freshman Kristin
McRay.
against'
The Day of Silence was part of a
national Day of Action for Peace
called for by the National Youth and
Student Coalition for Peace. Activists
on college campuses across the coun-
try were encouraged to organize in
opposition to the war.
Participants in the protest who need-
ed to speak for classes were allowed to
do so.
"It's on an individual level. I don't
have any discussions today so it won't
be a problem for me," Squires said.
"Some people have oral midterms,
and they have to participate - that's
OK," said Kelly.
"It's supposed to be about the public
arena, not the academic arena," she
explained.
"The people in my classes were
really supportive and helpful," McRay
said.
Students said silence is a powerful
way to create awareness because it is
unlike traditional methods of protest.
"It's a new tool, it's something dif-
ferent than your traditional rally,"
Kelly said. "It's so hard to be silent
today, so it's a sacrifice."
"This is a really.serious and solemn
issue, and of all the actions people
could take, this seems to be the most
appropriate," said Swiryn.
war with silence
Car strikes four
parked vehicles
A man hit four parked vehicles
with his car in a parking garage on
East Medical Center-Drive Tuesday
morning, DPS reports state. The
man said that when he attempted to
turn the corner of the first north
level, he hit the accelerator instead
of the brake.
No one was injured in the accident.
Man prevents
bus from turning
A female bus driver said a man was
blocking Catherine Street Monday
morning, according to DPS reports.
She said the man was preventing her
from turning and completing her
route.
State police find
stolen U' property
Michigan State Police were
informed this week that an aban-
doned house on Ellsworth Road
contained stolen property from the
University of Michigan's campus,
DPS reports state. Police were
given a tip that a stolen vehicle
was at the house, but found other
items including cell phones, back-
packs, bikes, small refrigerator and
wallets.
DPS officers did not find any stolen
property at the residence Wednesday
evening.
Police find altered
handicap permit
Officers found an altered handi-
cap permit in a student's posses-
sion Wednesday afternoon,
according to DPS reports. The car,
a 1993 Chevrolet Cavalier, was
impounded.
Sexual messages
written on board
A female student said she
received sexual innuendos Monday
afternoon through messages on the
chalkboard on her door in Stock-
well Residence Hall, DPS reports
state. She did not know the person
who signed her chalkboard.
DPS is investigating the incident.
Graphic pictures
found at bus stop
A person said pictures of female gen-
italia had been posted in bus stops at
South University Avenue and State
Street on Tuesday, according to DPS
reports. Police were unable to locate the
pictures.
Tire cover stolen
in 'U' parking lot
The owner of a Jeep said the
spare tire cover was taken while
the vehicle was parked in an East
Huron Street parking lot Tuesday
afternoon, DPS reports state. The
vehicle was parked in the lot
between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.
DPS has no suspects.
Unattended cell
phone stolen
A man said when he was returning
his tray in a University Hospital cafete-
ria Tuesday afternoon, his cell phone
was missing from the table. The phone
was taken sometime between 12:30 and
1 p.m.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Jacquelyn Nixon.
DAVID KATZ/Daily
Students gathered on the steps of the Michigan Union yesterday as part of the
Day of Silence to protest U.S. military attacks against Afghanistan. As part of the
effort, students refrained from talking from the time they woke up until 7:30 p.m.
Swami asks students to
fo cus on
By Karen Schwartz+
Daily Staff Reporter
LSA senior Melissa Pilewskie trad-
ed in her books and night of studying I
about evolution for the chance to hear+
a perspective on the future of human
civilization.
Pilewskie said her interest in differ-+
ent religions, especially after the
Sept. 11 attacks, drew her to the
Bhatki Tirtha Swami's speech last
night.
"I think it's important to remember
to keep a balance in our lives and to +
know that keeping an idea of the neg-1
ative aspects as well as the positive
doesn't have to consume us with neg-
ative thoughts because we can still
find our own personal pleasure," she I
said.
Swami spoke about the need for+
people to pay attention to what's hap-l
pening to and in the world and to look
essenc(
closer and be more sensitive to how
the world affects them and the future.
"These are the days when we
should be more selective on every-
thing we deal with, and that affects
our future, which itself is an exten-
sion of our present," he said.
He said people use drugs and other
escapes to try to find purpose in lives
which are otherwise lacking satisfac-
tion.
"People are dying,, starving for
affection, starving for love, starving
for that altered state. ... The fast lane
of the status quo isn't giving them the
happiness it promised them. ... These
are signs that civilization is falling
apart," Swami said.
"So many of us do so many things
that we miss the essence of our exis-
tence - to experience love and to be
connected to the source of that love,"
he added.
He recommended that people focus
of life
on making choices and try to embrace
the aspects of life that aren't tempo-
rary.
"We need to be more mindful, to
connect with our essence and the
essence of others. This will change
the world," he said.
The event was sponsored by the
Krishna-Bhakti Club, which was
started this semester to provide a
forum for individuals' of all faiths to
discuss spirituality and how it affects
their everyday lives.
"I felt there wasn't a broad-based
group to discuss spirituality on cam-
pus," club president Rajeev Prasher
said. "We were lacking a group where
everybody could come together."
"If you are interested in spirituality,
there's a higher side to it and a higher
side of life. This club offers a chance
to experience tried and tested beliefs
that have been around since the
beginning," he said.
AP PHOTO
Two freight trains collided head-on yesterday in Springfield Township, killing two
crewmen and injuring two others.
Two trains collide,
illCng two; N S
to investigate crash
I1
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SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP (AP)
- Officials yesterday worked to clear
the wreckage of a fiery crash between
two Canadian National freight trains
that left two men dead and two others
seriously hurt.
The nearly head-on crash happened
about 6 a.m. in this marshy, wooded
area of rural Oakland County, spilling
about 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel,
Undersheriff Thomas Quisenberry said.
Two nearby schools closed, and
some residents were briefly evacuated
as a precaution until officials deter-
mined no hazardous materials had
leaked.
The National Transportation Safety
Board was sending investigators to the
site, agency spokesman Terry
Williams said.
The cause of the crash was
unknown. FBI officials were at the
scene earlier, but Canadian National
spokesman Peter Marshall said "we
don't have any indication of anything
unnatural or sabotage."
Thomas Landris, 49, of Duran,
an engineer, and Gary Chase, 58, of
Owosso, a conductor, were killed,
railroad spokesman Jack Burke
said. Landris had worked for Cana-
dian National for 20 years, and
Chase was a 32-year employee, he
said.
Allen Yash, an engineer from Fen-
ton, and Jesse Enriquez, a conductor
from Detroit, were hospitalized, Burke
said. Their ages were unavailable.
Landris' and Chase's train was
headed north to Flint, the other south
to Detroit, Quisenberry said.
The accident happened while most
of the southbound train was on a side
track and the other was moving on the
main line. It wasn't known how fast
the trains were going or whether the
train on the side track was moving
when the crash happened.
Trains typically travel about 40 mph
through the area, Quisenberry said.
Investigators were looking into
whether human error, a problem at the
switching station, an overnight thunder-
storm in the area or other factors played
a role, railroad spokeswoman Gloria
Combe said.
Three locomotives were tipped
over and broken in pieces, said
Quisenberry, who described the
crash site as a "grisly scene." Each
train had two locomotives. The
fourth was left standing. Several
rail cars also tipped, but nothing
spilled, he said.
Marshall said investigators would
review the event recorders that
were on the trains and any spoken
communication with dispatchers.
He said it isn't unusual for investi-
gations to take several days.
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M wJealth Issues Commission
/ierpont Commons
UniversityfIealth Services
School of Dentistry Student Council
School of Publicjiealth
Office ofjcademic Iffairs
Publicjlealth Student,/ssociation
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Office of X(>Tfffairs
Michigan Student,1Issembly
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Ilot
I
December 1, 2001
TrotterJouse - 1443 Washtenawjle
boors open at 9
(arkingjtkailable at,1ngell School and
Presbyterian Church on Washtenaw
225 ickets ylailable, 175 in advance
Tickets $5 inadlvance, $7 at the door
p694 .rme9.ยง
THE CALENDAR
What's happening in Ann Arbor this weekend
>; , 4
FRIDAY
"Cancer Discrimination:
What are Your Rights?";
Sponsored by the Com-
prehensive Cancer Cen-
ter's MindRndvSnirit.
Association, 8:30 p.m.,
Hill Auditorium
"Kosher Sex"; Sponsored
by Reform Chavurah, Con-
servative Minyan, Ortho-
dox Minvan and
a.m. - 12:00 p.m., 200 S.
First St.
SUNDAY
"What Would You Do? Eth-
ically Challenging Cases
from a Genetics Clinic";
SERVICES
Campus Information
Centers, 764-INFO,
info@umich.edu, or
www.umich.edu/-info
Northwalk, 763-WALK,
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