LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 14, 2002 - 3A
RESEARCH
Monkeys able to
move cursor using
only brain power
Researchers at Brown University
have successfully been able to
decode signals from the brain and
use them as the sole input to move a
computer cursor.
The team has used a tiny array of
electrodes to record, interpret and
reconstruct the brain activity that
controls hand movement of Rhesus
monkeys.
Placing implants in the brains of
three monkeys, they have shown
that thoughts alone can move a cur-
sor across a computer screen to hit a
target.
This work is a step toward
enabling paralyzed humans to use
thoughts to control a cursor that
would allow them to read e-mail,
surf the World Wide Web, or per-
form other functions through a
computer interface.
The researchers hope that in the
future the technology may help
individuals who have a spinal cord
injury, Lou Gehrig's disease, mus-
cular dystrophy or other conditions
that keep them from using their
limbs.
Tobacco ads still
target teenagers,
researchers show
Despite a $250 billion 1998 set-
tlement which prohibited cigarette
advertising directed at children, all
three major U.S. tobacco companies
increased advertising targeted
toward teenagers.
"Cigarette companies had to
become slightly more subtle about
it, but they continue to aim their
advertising at people under 18,"
research author Paul Chung said.
Researchers at the University of
Chicago, who were also responsible
for enacting the Master Settlement
Agreement, have found that tobacco
companies exploited inconsistencies
in government's definition of
"youth magazines" as more tobacco
ads continue to run in publications
including Sports Illustrated, People,
Glamour and Allure.
The readership of these publica-
tions includes people of age to pur-
chase tobacco products but also
includes teenagers.
The researchers also found
although the number of magazine
advertisements in youth magazines
have decreased by 26 percent, com-
panies reported a 26 percent
increase in advertising expenditures
for other magazines.
Co-author Craig Garfield said that
tobacco companies are heavily
dependent on the youth market. Four
out of five adult smokers began
before age 18. About 28 percent of
high school students now smoke.
"This finding reinforces the need
to consider a ban on tobacco adver-
tising in magazines like the bans in
existence for TV, radio and bill-
boards," Garfield added.
Study finds more
black males kill
selves with guns
Suicide by means of self-inflicted
gunshot wounds are on the rise
among young black males, accord-
ing to a study conducted at the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania and
Portland State University.
Collected data revealed that 70
percent of all late-teens suicides
among black males are gun-related.
Furthermore, the rate of suicide
among black males aged 15 to 24
increased by 14 percent from 1979
to 1997 while the rate among same-
aged white males decreased by 4.9
percent.
Suicide is the third leading cause
of death among black males aged
15-24.
Pennsylvania School of Social
Work assistant Prof. Sean Joe said
that firearm-related suicide is
becoming a major public health
problem among black males.
"African American youth who are
suicidal are more apt to turn to
firearms, which often lead to lethal
results,". Joe said.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Kylene Kiang.
Toledo mayor brings message
of civility, youth empowerment
By Kylene Kiang
Daily Staff Reporter
LSA freshman Ravi Perry said Mayor Jack
Ford of Toledo, Ohio, is unlike most politicians.
"The way he runs his office is much like the
way he runs his own home and family. His cam-
paign message of civility and youth empower-
ment wasn't just a slogan that got-him into
office - it's the way he lives his everyday life,"
said Perry, an intern for Ford's campaign.
Ford spread that same message yesterday as
part of a lecture in Prof. Hanes Walton's political
science course, "Blacks in the Political System."
The first black to be elected as both the
Democratic minority leader in the Ohio House
of Representatives and mayor of Toledo, Ford is
also responsible for revitalizing Toledo's black
political community.
In terms of minority involvement in the polit-
ical process, Perry said that Ford is "turning the
tide" for blacks.
This point was evident in the November 2001
mayoral election in which Ford was able to gain
45 percent of black voters - the largest per-
centage in Toledo's history.
In his speech, Ford gave students a glimpse
into the everyday life of being mayor and
described his road to the mayor's seat as a
"whirlwind campaign" replete with political
mud-slinging and a miscounted primary elec-
tion which, in the end, turned in his favor.
Pressured to focus his campaign on econom-
ic policies and development, Ford stood'by his
platform to bring improvement to social pro-
grams and youth empowerment.
"I see myself not as a politician, but a social
worker;" he said.
Ford said his commitment to youth helped
him earn 61 percent of the female vote, which
aided him in his victory despite the disadvan-
tage of not having endorsements from local
newspapers and labor unions.
Ford began his political career in 1987
after winning a seat on the Toledo City
Council. He was elected city council presi-
dent in 1993, and to the Ohio House of Rep-
resentatives in 1994.
An advocate of youth involvement in politics,
Ford actively recruits young people to work for
his office and encourages them to learn how
campaigns operate.
In addition to his positions in government,
Ford is the founder of a substance abuse treat-
ment program and taught political science and
ethnic studies at Ohio State and Bowling Green
universities respectively.
DAVID KATZ/Daily
Mayor Jack Ford of Toledo, Ohio, spoke yesterday,
encouraging students to participate in their communities.
Laying out
Independents stay away
from party limits, politics
By Tomislav Ladika
Daily Staff Reporter
Despite the intimidation felt while running against estab-
lished political parties, several Michigan Student Assembly
candidates in the winter elections have chosen to run inde-
pendently to ensure that their opinions are not compromised
by a party platform.
"Sometimes as a candidate, you join a party for the sup-
port, but you may not agree with all the issues a party
agrees with," LSA junior Aundrea Johnson, an independent
candidate for MSA, said.
Johnson said she is not opposed to the idea of political
parties, but because she does not completely agree with
any of the parties' platforms, she said she does not want
voters to associate her with party issues with which she
does not agree.
Independent presidential candidate Matt Stone said stu-
dents get a better picture of the issues he and running-mate
Megan Stohner stand for because they are not affiliated to a
party.
"We have a strong, and an important message, and the
fact that we don't have to compromise it, that's what the
advantage of being an independent is," Stone said.
He said his ideas for MSA include sending weekly e-
mails to students to inform them about interesting events on
campus, creating an e-mail forum through which students
can inform each other about extracurricular activities they
are involved in and reforming the University's snow day pol-
icy to include more days off.
Stone said if elected, he will not bring any bias to MSA
because he is an independent candidate.
"A student group can come in, who has maybe come in
MSAeecuons
Winter 2002
before and been rebuffed, and have a fresh set of ears and a
fresh set of minds open to everything they say," he said.
Stohner said the biggest challenge she and Stone face is
overcoming the funding and manpower of political parties.
"It's intimidating to walk to the Diag and see 30 people
out there with chalk when it would take an individual four
hours to do what they do in 20 minutes," Stohner said.
Stone added that he does not have a chance to tape up his
campaign posters because party candidates cover "every
square inch of wall space" by 7 a.m.
To overcome such disadvantages, Stone said he has cen-
tered his campaign around humor and creativity. His cam-
paign tactics have included funny posters, using a dog as a
campaign mascot and trying to win support by talking to
students.
Johnson said through grass-roots campaigning, she can
show students that she will stand by her campaign promises,
which include improving MSA's interaction with students
and establishing a bus route to Washtenaw Street.
"People see me as being generous, as being honest,
because they're seeing me face-to-face," she said. "They see
that I'm not pushing anyone else's agenda."
Stone said Hideki Tsutsumi, an independent presi-
dential candidate who won the 2000 MSA election,
serves as a role model for independents by proving that
victory is possible.
"It's the two of us against the world and we really see it
like that, but we feel like when we actually win it'll definite-
ly be worth it," Stone said.
DAVID KATZ/Daily
Art and Design freshman Sandra Cha and LSA freshman Minwoo Lee enjoy the
weather in Regents Plaza yesterday afternoon.
English professor
loses sX-mont
battle with cancer
By Jeremy Berkowitz
Daily Staff Reporter
Remembered for urging his stu-
dents to see themselves as a part of
a larger world, English and Center
for Afro-American Studies Prof.
Lemuel Johnson died Tuesday night
after a six-month battle with colon
cancer. He passed away after spend-
ing more than 35 years at the Uni-
versity as a doctoral student and
then as a professor.
"He just enjoyed the richness of
Michigan," his wife Marian Johnson
said. "He loved academia."
Johnson's primary focus in English
was comparative literature, particu-
larly of American, European and
African cultures. He knew. nine lan-
guages including English, Spanish
and four African dialects.
English chairman Prof. Lincoln
Faller, who was a best friend of John-
son's for 40 years said Johnson was
one of the most learned people in the
department. Faller also said Johnson
loved teaching and sought to have his
students see themselves as "residents
of the planets."
"His favorite part of the University
was encounters he had with under-
graduates," Faller said.
Among many contributions John-
son made to the University was an
introductory collaborative course he
created last year with English profes-
sors Jonathan Freedman and Patricia
Yaeger. The pilot course, titled
"What is American Literature," was
"He just enjoyed
the richness of
Michigan".
- Marian Johnson
wife of Prof. Lemuel Johnson
taught by three professors and was
meant to teach a new meaning of
American literature over a changing
American landscape. The course was
successful and continued this year.
Faller said he has many memories
of his friendship with Johnson that
began in the early 1960s. He said one
that stands out was Johnson's custom
to bring a bottle of champagne to
doctoral defenses. Once the ceremo-
ny was over, Johnson would pop the
cork and there would be drinks for
everyone.
Johnson was originally from Sierra
Leone, coming to the United States
more than 40 years ago. He obtained
a bachelor's degree at Oberlin Col-
lege, and a Master's at Penn State
University before gaining his Doctor-
ate from the University of Michigan
in 1968.
He is survived by his wife, two
children and a granddaughter.
A memorial service will be held
March 23 at the First United
Methodist Church in Ann Arbor.
The University is also currently
planning a separate ceremony in his
memory.
- Name: Rachel Tronstein
t Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, MI
Major: Political Science &
6 FAnthropology
Class: Junior
M 7Campus Involvment: President
r: of LSA-SG
Likes: Yoga, going backwoods,
and finishing the NY Times cross-
word
Dislikes: a Michigan winter sans
A \snow and reptiles
Rachel i's 1 of 6,000 Jews
on Campus
Rachel Gives a Shek...
1 ,<
fln Vaiiuu9
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