LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 20, 2002 - 5
Greeks
Mr. Jones and me
given two
non-voting
MSA seats
By Toislav Ladika
Daily Staff Reporter
The Greek system was given two
non-voting seats on the Michigan Stu-
dent Assembly at last night's meeting
in an effort to facilitate communication
between the assembly and the Univer-
sity's fraternities and sororities.
The Panhellenic Association and
Interfraternity Council each received
one ex-officio seat on the assembly. An
amendment to the MSA's All-Campus
Constitution in 1997 created a provi-
sion which entitled any group of over
400 members to a non-voting represen-
tative on MSA -- but no group had
previously applied for a seat.
"The goal of creating the ex-officio
seats is to improve the communication
with that facet of campus," MSA Presi-
dent Matt Nolan said. "It should be a
sign to the Greek community that
MSA does care about their needs."
Rules and Elections Committee
Chair John Simpson said the ex-officio
seats provide the Greek councils with
the "ability to debate and put out issues
that are often neglected by MSA."
With the seats, IFC and Panhel will
be able to tell MSA how the Greek sys-
tem feels about the issues discussed by
the assembly, Nolan said.
In addition to voicing the concerns
of the Greek system during MSA
debates, IFC and Panhel will also wit-
ness how MSA's bureaucracy works,
Simpson said.
"When you give someone the power
to debate on the assembly, you give
someone a free education on how it
works and how to use the assembly to
your advantage," Simpson said.
MSA also passed its final budget
recommendations last night, capping
off a transition from a single budget
cycle last fall to three this semester.
Budget Priorities Committee Chair
David Goldman said while many of the
applications of groups that applied dur-
ing the first cycle were well organized,
the applications of many groups that
applied in the third cycle were poorly
put together and requested unreason-
able amounts of funding.
"A lot of groups applied that I was
very disappointed applied," Goldman
said. "Just because there were three
cycles doesn't mean you're going to
get three times the funding."
Despite several groups that procras-
tinated in requesting money until the
third cycle, the new system increased
the overall funding process, he said.
Total student group requests to the
BPC fell under $450,000 this semester
for the first time since the winter term
of 1999, Goldman said. The total num-
ber of requests fulfilled increased from
19.8 percent in the fall to 25.7 percent
this semester.
"A lot of groups made a really con-
certed effort to wait to apply until they
knew all their costs," Goldman said.
MSA Treasurer Josh Samek said the
new changes succeeded in their goal of
allowing groups with uncertain budg-
ets at the start of the semester to apply
for funding later.
"I think the largest improvement
with the new changes was groups that
secured speakers or planned events
later in the semester were able to get
funding from the MSA," Samek said.
He added that Young Americans for
Freedom applied in the second cycle
in the middle of the semester for fund-
ing to bring anti-affirmative action
speaker David Horowitz to the Uni-
versity last night.
MSA also passed a resolution to fund
Earth Week 2002 at last night's meeting.
STUDENTS WITH
CROHN'S
PISEASE
OR
ULCERATIVE
COLITIS
Please join
Dr. Ellen Zimmermann
Associate Professor of
Gastroenterology,
UofM
for an informal
discussion of
topics including:
*Nutrition
*New Therapies
Between the sheets: 'U' sex
therapists delve into how
women view carnal desire
By Leslie Ward
Daily Staff Reporter
Sex matters to women, according to a book recently
published by three authors from the University Medical
School.
"Sex Matters for Women: A Complete Guide to Taking
Care of Your Sexual Self," utilizes the 20 years of experi-
ence of three certified sex therapists to help women under-
stand their own sexuality.
Sexual satisfaction "is not just about 'how-to,"' said Sallie
Foley, a senior clinical social worker at the University's Sex-
ual Health Counseling Service and co-author of the book.
"We have to back up a step and ask 'Do you think of your-
self as a sexual person?"'
The book, also written by Sally Kope, a counselor in Ann
Arbor, and Dennis Sugrue, a psychology professor, discuss-
es many issues related to female sexuality. The therapists
address questions about hormones, anatomy, sexually trans-
mitted diseases, body image, relationships, sex and illness,
and puberty.
"The current culture has an image that all women
should be wild about sex," Foley said. "In reality, most
women have a lot of questions about their sexual feel-
ings. They don't know where to go to get good, reliable
information."
"Sex Matters" is one of a recent influx of books on
female sexuality and sexual pleasure. This increased aware-
ness for the topic has caused different reactions throughout
the public.
Rackham student Katrina Mann cited previous books on
similar subjects which were misconstrued by the public and
used to depict women's sexuality in a negative light.
"In these post-feminist times, what many feminists
refer to as backlash, these types of books can be both
positive and negative," Mann said. "When books of this
nature continually surface about women, but not about
men, one has to wonder how liberatory they actually
are," Mann said.
Others feel that recognition of the subject is positive
progress.
Women have made progress towards all different types of
equality levels. Being open about sexuality is the final step;'
LSA freshman Lindsey Hart said.
"Men's and women's views on sex are different, but
those desires are there for women and they dictate all
our actions in some respects. Society has ignored that
and suppressed that in the past," LSA freshman John
Kim added.
Foley said initial feedback for the book has been
very positive.
"We have women in their thirties, forties and fifties
telling us they're getting a lot out of this book. They wish
they would have read it when they were 18, and they're
going to give it to their daughters;' Foley said.
She highlighted five main sections of the book which
show women how they can improve their understanding of
their sexuality to enhance their sexual satisfaction.
The first step is for women to acknowledge they are sexu-
al people and they have a lot of choices about whether they
want to be sexually active and how.
Foley said this acknowledgement should begin with an
understanding of one's history, and how one learned
about sexuality.
"Even when potty training, girls are only told to 'Be care-
ful how you wipe 'down there,' so they don't even know
there are names for their own genitalia. Most moms don't
tell their children they have this thing called a clitoris, and
it's completely for pleasure," Foley said.
Foley said she believes that although women have
made many advances socially, they are still struggling
with personal issues in their lives. She hopes "Sex Mat-
ters" will help to further empower women in their under-
standing of themselves.
"A woman's sexuality should start with herself. A per-
son is sexual from birth until they die. Sexuality needs to
come from inside (one's self) rather than from someone
else," she said.
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Former Wolverine David Terrell, currently a wide receiver for the Chicago Bears,
and Michigan basketball player Leon Jones enjoy the first day of baseball at The
Fish yesterday afternoon.
*1
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