LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 6, 2002 - 3 Attacks inspire launch of bioterror center SU. Iowa president initiates end of New Era contract IOWA CITY, Iowa - University of Iowa President Mary Sue Coleman on Monday moved to terminate the uni- versity's contract with a cap manufac- turer that has been accused of violating the school's labor standards, enforcing the nearly two-year-old code of con- duct for the first time. Agreeing with a recommendation from the university's Charter Commit- tee on Human Rights, Coleman told licensing director Mark Abbott to cut the contract with the New Era Cap Co., which brought in $600 for the universi- ty in royalties last year. A report by the Worker Rights Con- sortium, a labor-monitoring organiza- tion to which Iowa belongs, said New Era failed to properly safeguard against blood-born pathogens, failed to acknowledge or compensate employees for work-related injuries and gave employees misinformation and inap- propriate health advice and diagnoses. Coleman left the door open to rein- state New Era's license if it demonstrates compliance with the code of conduct or by "acknowledging current issues of non-compliance and proposing a timely and effective plan of remediation." Three other universities have termi- nated licenses with New Era, and one university suspended its contract with the company for 90 days, said Dan Teets, the chairman of the Charter Committee on Human Rights. Possible contract agreement met at Cal. State system SAN DIEGO - After a year of bit- ter negotiations, 0alifornia Faculty Association union leaders approved a tentative three-year contract Saturday. The agreement ends the threat of strike against the California State Universi- ty's 23 campuses. The contract will provide a 2 percent raise for faculty each of the first two years, effective next month. After the third year, negotiations for compensa- tion will reopen. In addition, eligible faculty will receive 2.65 percent salary step increases each of the three years. The agreement also expanded health {care benefits for faculty. During the first year of the contract, all lecturers who teach six units or more and cannot obtain health insurance elsewhere will be given coverage. The second year, insurance will be available for all eligi- ble lecturers even if they can get bene- fits elsewhere. In a statement, CFA President Susan Meisenhelder called the contract a "historic milestone" for faculty. California faculty have been working without a contract since July 1. Negoti- ations and mediation between the two groups failed. The third stage - fact finding - ended last week after a neu- tral fact-finder delivered a report offer- ing bargaining compromises. Texas A&M will not accept top 20 percent plan COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Qualified high school graduates in the top 20 percent of 254 economically disadvantaged schools in Texas will not be admitted automatically this fall under a plan Texas A&M University officials started debating in October. Officials announced late last week they will not pursue the top 20 plan, which automatically admits students in the top 20 percent who meet the school's admissions standards and SAT requirements, for fall 2002. It may be reconsidered for fall 2003. The top 20 plan raised Hopwood- like questions on the constitutionality of soliciting students from inner and rural poor districts with large Hispanic and African-American student popula- tions and drew a mixed response from the student body. The 1996 Hopwood decision prohibits public universities from considering race during admis- sions. Officials said the school would have admitted an additional 200 students had the plan taken effect. The plan would increase the enrollment cap to extend automatic admission to all those qualifying from the targeted schools. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Maria Sprow. By AnnieGleason Daily Staff Reporter With the imminent threat of bioterrorism present in the United States since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the University's School of Pub- lic Health has worked to create the Bioterrorism and Health Preparedness Research and Training Center which opened at the end of February. Arnold Monto, director of the center, said fac- ulty members had been working independently on projects related to disease prevention prior to Sept. 11. "We thought it would be a good idea for us to be collaborating," Monto said. "We want to con- centrate more effort on issues specifically relat- ed to bioterrorism." Faculty members from different departments within the University are working with federal and state agencies on the project to conduct research related to the transmission and detec- tion of diseases. They are also arranging training for health professionals in order to prepare them for the threat of bioterrorism. Monto said the center will inform people about infectious diseases that they may not be informed about. "There's a lot of media attention to inhalation anthrax," Monto said. "Yet, there are other things that are going on." While the idea for the creation of a bioterror- ism center is not new, Monto said last fall's scare had an impact in expediting the process. "It jumped to the head of the list in terms of priorities," he said. "It was clear that there was a responsibility to us and the nation." School of Public Health Dean Noreen Clark said the University has a responsibility toward the prevention of infectious diseases. "The school has been interested in infectious "It jumped to the head of the list in terms of priorities. ... It was clear that there was a responsibility to us and the nation." - Arnold Monto Director of the Bioterrorism and Health Preparedness Research and Training Center diseases for a long time, but we felt we needed to turn our attention to bioterrorism," Clark said. Current projects include research involving harmful toxins in food and water, determination of the most efficient uses for vaccines and antibiotics and evaluation of methods to com- municate information to the public. The center is currently working to raise awareness of the research projects in order to receive additional funding from state and federal sources. "I want to make it clear that funding is needed to undertake projects. ... They can't be done without it," Monto said. Clark said the school put a great deal of time into the creation and development of the center. "We want to be sure that our research and training is the very best it can be to prevent bioterrorism," Clark said. Uncovering history Black legislators show environmen interest By Louie Meizlish Daily Staff Reporter Paul Mohai is out to dispel a myth - the myth that blacks are not as interested in environmental issues as whites. Mohai, an associate professor at the School of Natural Resources and Environment, has conducted studies in recent years which docu- ment a total contradiction of previous conven- tional wisdom. His latest study concerns the voting patterns of black members of the U.S. House of Representa- tives on environmental issues dating back to 1981, when there were 18 members of the Con- gressional Black Caucus, to 1999, when there were 39. Members of the CBC, all of whom are now Democrats, have been more pro-environment - as measured by the scorecard system employed by the League of Conservation Voters - than the average non-CBC Democrat. For the period between 1981-98, the average LCV grade award- ed to a CBC member hovered between 75 to 80 percent. For non-CBC Democrats, the figure was usually between 60 and 70 percent. Mohai's research also shows that Southern CBC members usually have dramatically more pro-environment records than their Democratic counterparts in the South. CBC members from outside of the South, to a lesser extent, also have more pro-environment records than non-Southern white Democrats. The lowest score for a member of the CBC was earned by Rep. Sanford Bishop of Georgia, who scored 17 percent in the 1997-98 session. The only black Republican in the House, Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.), who is not a member of the CBC, scored a zero in the 2001 session. Taking into account an earlier study he con- ducted showing that black private citizens are just as concerned about the environment as whites, Mohai said, "All of that data suggests to me that concern about the environment among African- -Americans has been around for a long time." He said the number of black environmental organizations has grown from 100 in the early 1980s to 300 in the mid-1990s. Mohai said factors such as regional affiliation and ideology do not explain these high scores for black members of the House. Nor does the fact that many national legislators come from impov- erished districts in which polluting chemical and power plants have threatened the health of the representatives' constituents. "If environmentalists are looking for support- ers, they should pay attention to the African- American community," Mohai said. ALYSSA WOOD/Daily Christopher Wojtulewwicz applies solvent with a Q-Tip to the mural in the North Lobby of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library which is currently undergoing renovation. Local businesses experiment with online customer services By Shoshana Hurand For the Daily Local businesses are using the World Wide Web to improve their establishments, but despite this growth in e-commerce, Ann Arbor shops feel that in-store service cannot be replaced by this expanding technology. Nancy Rohlen of Shaman Drum Bookshop said the local store made online textbook ordering available about four years ago. "We wanted to have a presence online," Rohlen said. The store saw the system as a means of better cater- ing to its customers needs, allowing students to pre- order books via the Internet rather than stand in long lines, she said. Rohlen said many people come into the shop when they have problems trying to order books from online services. As a result, there is still a need for person-to- person service. But she stated it is hard to gauge how online ordering has affected customer service within the store. Heather Palmer, general manager of Borders Book- store on East Liberty Street also said she has not seen a definite impact in the store from online ordering. "I don't think that it has reduced customer traffic," she said. Besides placing orders over the business' website, customers are able to check store inventories online. These services do not appear to be affecting the num- ber of patrons who come to the shop. "We've found that people do research online, but generally they come to the store first," Palmer said. She added that the ambiance and the instant gratification of being available to browse and purchase keeps people coming to the store. New York Pizza Depot is developing a website for its restaurant, just as other restaurants and businesses have made sites for their patrons. Maurizio Grillo, co-owner and general manager of the establishment, said the site allows people to look at the selection before calling in their order. This reduces the amount of time a customer is on the phone, permit- ting the business to speak to more patrons in a shorter amount of time. The website, which was launched only a few weeks ago, is not yet fully operational. Eventually customers will be able to submit orders through the restaurant's site, enabling them to receive food without actually talking to anyone. Grillo said he does not believe the online ordering Besides placing orders over the business' website, customers are able to check invyentories online.. system will mean reducing his staff. "With the webpage came a complicated computer system," he said. The implementation of this technology required new employees to maintain it, leading to an increase in business staff. But some businesses have found that online services may not be as cost-efficient as person-to-person servic- es have proven to be. Dolly Hulek, owner of University Flowers, recently discontinued the use of the store's online wire service because of cost. While this change has reduced the volume of orders, it increased the shop's profits because of the absence of a third party. She said customers do not always realize they are paying for the online ordering service in addi- tion to the product. "Once they get a middleman involved there is an extra wire cost," Hulek said. "Calling us directly is less expensive. It's best for (the customer) and best for us," she added. But Hulek said she agrees that the Internet is good for business advertisement. For some University students, product availability and the type of purchase factor into their decision to buy online. LSA senior Nancy Westgate said she prefers to go into stores for most purchases. "I like to go actually see and touch the stuff," she said. Although she said she will look for merchandise and perhaps order food online in the future, she prefers to speak to a person. For certain products, such as plane tickets, LSA freshman Rene Jacobs said she finds the Internet to be more effective. "It's easier and cheaper," she said. But when purchasing tangible commodities, Jacobs said she prefers to have the product in front of her before making a purchase. "I don't have a problem with the inconvenience of going to a store," she added. No" UNIVERSITY OF, PENNSYLVANIA FOUNDED BY BEN FRANKLIN - 1740 PENN S U M M E R S I D E U P THE CALENDAR What's happening in Ann Arbor today GoT NEWS7 WANT TO WRITE Summer Session I May 20--June 28 Summer Session li July I -August 9 12 Week Evening Session May 20-August 9 EVENTS Study Abroad 101 Work- shop; Sponsored by Aca- demic Adivising.I1:00 - ing Eating Disorder Aware- ness Exhibit; 9:00 a.m., Michigan Union, 763- 3202 Health"; Sponsored by Public Health and Career Planning and Placement, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m., 3200 Student Activities Build- SERVICES Campus Information Centers, 764INFO, info@umich.edu, or www. umich. edu/ -info S_ A EE WaElkr7tFQIAI K - Comprehensive Range of Courses - Small Classes, Great City I