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February 5, 2003
©2003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 88
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Levitt calls for trust, accuracy
y
Former Securities and
Exchange Commission
chairman addresses
corporate scandals
By Lydia K. Leung
and Brian Lundin
Daily Staff Reporters
"A dollar spent on educating investors
is far more useful than a dollar spent on
regulations," said Arthur Levitt, former
chairman of the Securities and
Exchange Commission, at a lecture last
night in Hale Auditorium. Levitt's
speech focused on three factors critical
to creating a fair marketplace for
investors: investor education, proper reg-
ulation of business practices and ade-
quate dissemination of information.
Levitt said the financial market is full
r of traps due to the lack of adequate and
accurate information available to the
public, which could better prepare
investors.
Levitt added that the knowledge
investors currently hold about the stock
market is inadequate and the misleading
market information financial statements
prepared by accounting firms provided.
"They didn't talk about trust, about
accuracy, about commitment. They
talked in a language that was almost
mystical,' he said. "Investors should pre-
pare to spend time to read financial
statements and newspapers and under-
stand investments."
The recommendations given by
investment firms are not always accurate
because the ratings are not always
backed up by the real financial situation
of the firm, Levitt said.
"They will assure you that it's not a
selling recommendation in return for the
information that's not available to the
public," Levitt said.
Many malpractices of the accounting
firms and research firms have hurt the
interest of investors and are one of the
factors that caused the scandals like
Enron and WorldCom, he added.
Although the SEC is responsible for
protecting investors and maintains the
integrity of the securities markets, Levitt
said that during his tenure there was
fierce resistance to the reforms proposed
by the SEC from corporate lobbyists.
At one time, Levitt said he was told
by executives at accounting firms that
regulations he was proposing "would
mean war. We were threatened, literally
the lifeline of the commission was
threatened," he added.
Addressing recent accounting scan-
dals, Levitt said, "there'll always be
scandals, but I don't think you'll have
quite as many as we've seen recently
and the SEC with its resources is clearly
going to spend a major part of its time
going after frauds in the markets."
President Bush's budget for fiscal
year of 2004 is providing the SEC with
$841.5 million - up 92 percent from
$438 million in the previous fiscal year.
Levitt said he believes the extra money
will allow the SEC to do more for the
nation with "more lawyers, more
accountants and more resources."
Students found Levitt's talk useful
because it reminded the public about the
importance of educating themselves and
shed light on the problems that are entan-
gling corporate America. "I think educat-
ing investors is the most important
thing," LSA senior Jason Gilbert said.
Levitt was chairman of the SEC from
1993 to 2001, which was the longest
tenure for a chairman of the commis-
sion. He said his tenure was "eight years
of the most exciting and productive
years years of my life."
SARAH PAUP/Daily
Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt speaks last
night at Hale Auditorium in the Business School.
Assembly discusses
tuition hike, election
By Andrew Kaplan
Daily Staff Reporter
With the state expected to cut University fund-
ing, Michigan Student Assembly members spoke
to University Provost Paul Courant about how the
administration will react if forced to condense its
budget.
"Paul Courant gave us a rough estimate, and
basically we just wanted to hear him say how the
University is going to respond to expected cuts,"
said Liz Higgins, MSA External Relations Com-
mittee chair, at the assembly's meeting last night.
Higgins cited an expected $80 to $90 million
deficit in the University's upcoming budget.
"There may be a 5 to 7 percent increase in
tuition," she said.
She said Courant assured her that students will
not experience double-digit tuition hikes. But sev-
eral points on the budget, such as weekend custo-
dial services insome campus buildings and
administration spending will face cuts if the state
chooses to lower funding, she said.
In response, MSA plans to send letters to the
Michigan Senate and House of Representatives to
protest slashed University funds.
"People still need to go to school, and they're
not going to be able to do so because they can't
afford it, Higgins said. "We're going to a nation-
al level after this."
Higgins added that financial aid payments will
increase proportionally to tuition hikes.
Anticipating the March elections, MSA repre-
sentatives proposed amendments to the assem-
bly's election code in order to make campaigning
less obtrusive to constituents.
"There's been an overwhelming desire on and
off MSA to make these changes, and we're excit-
ed to see them," Rules and Elections Committee
Chair Jason Mironov said. "Students will have to
learn about their representatives from person-to-
person contact, rather than flyering."
At next Tuesday's MSA meeting, the assembly
will vote on an amendment to the election code
that prohibits representatives from plastering
See MSA, Page 3
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Snow falls on train tracks running under the Broadway Street Bridge yesterday, with the University Hospital in the background. Traffic delays
are expected after Feb. 28, when the city will close the bridge for reconstruction.
Campus prepares for bridge
c onstutotraffic delays
'Yo-yo' dietingcan
harm women's hearts
By Erin Saylor
Daily Staff Reporter
By Christopher Johnson
Daily Staff Reporter
While few students would argue that get-
ting around the University has ever been easy,
the difficulties of traveling between North
Campus and Central Campus will become
more pronounced at the end of this month.
Starting Feb. 28, the city of Ann Arbor will
close part of the Broadway Street Bridge for
reconstruction.
Since the bridge provides one of only a few
means to cross the Huron River, the city
expects traffic that once occupied the bridge
to spill onto other routes, delaying drivers
who commute between campuses on other
roads.
Several University institutions are prepar-
ing for the inconveniences of the new con-
struction. Betsy Lamb, a supervisor for Tran-
sit Services, said she anticipates that added
traffic on bus routes may slow services. "Peo-
ple should expect the ride to be a little longer
and not be shocked when they're standing in
line for a little while," she said. "The first
couple of weeks are going to be really ugly."
Since the University Hospital is located
on one side of the Broadway Street Bridge,
hospital officials have made several initia-
tives to help patients maintain the same
level of access to the medical center. Uni-
versity Health System spokeswoman Sam
Jessie said the hospital has informed its staff
and created construction indicators to ease
the transition. -
"We're trying to avoid as much confusion
as possible,"she said.
Despite the temporary inconvenience,
Jessie said the results of the construction
should benefit the expediency of the hospital.
"The city needs this more than we do, but
the added lanes ... will make a much
smoother ride for patients," she said.
The city, in conjunction with the Walter
Toebe Construction Co., plans to demolish
the existing bridge and replace it with two,.
four lane structures with 11-foot wide side-
walks on both sides.
Engineer Glenn Bukoski said the old earth-
arch structure will be replaced with a modern
steel beam structure, requiring fewer hands
for labor and providing greater efficiency in
construction. He added that the new bridge
See BRIDGE, Page 3
"Yo-yo" dieting joins
smoking, obesity and high
blood pressure as a risk fac-
tor for heart disease, accord-
ing to a new study.
Researchers at the Veter-
ans' Affairs Ann Arbor
Healthcare System and the
University Health System
announced last week that as
women pursue culturally
ideal body images through a
cycle of significant weight
gain and loss, they are
increasing the danger of
heart disease later in life.
Cardiologist Claire Duver-
noy and her team found that
women who gained or lost at
least 10 pounds over the
course of a year and at least
five times during their lives
were more likely to have
problems after menopause.
The study examined the
blood flow to the heart and
the effects on blood vessels
in post-menopausal women
who were already at high risk
for heart disease, but did not
have it.
"We found that the more
obese a woman was, the more
she had weighed in her youth
- and her dieting history -
lead to significantly lower
blood flow in the heart," said
Duvernoy, director of the
Cardiac Catheterization Lab-
oratory at the VA/Ann Arbor
Healthcare System and assis-
tant professor of internal
medicine/cardiology at the
Medical School.
While difficult to measure
the exact increase in risk, the
study showed lower blood
flow caused by extreme fluc-
tuations in weight could be
an indication of blockage in
the 'coronary arteries and
could lead to a heart attack
or stroke.
"Women in their 20s want
to look good now," said,
Amanda Thomas, a research
assistant for the neuropsy-
chology department and aer-
obics instructor at the
Central Campus Recreation
Building. "Most are definite-
ly not thinking about how
abuse of dieting is going to
affect them when they are
older."
See DIETS, Page 3
Speaker discusses
American culture's
ties to religion
A weekly welcome
'U' designates
room for quiet
reflection
By Mona Rafeq
Daily Staff Reporter
By Karen Schwartz
Daily Staff Reporter
Standing before an audience of more
than 1,000 people in Rackham Auditori-
um last night, author and lecturer Ravi
Zacharias spoke passionately about reli-
gion, culture and the search for truth.
His explanation of how religion is the
basis for culture piqued LSA freshman
Rachel Ozar's interest because "it's
something we don't really talk about in
history class," Ozar said.
The lecture was part of a three-day
on-campus series called "God on Trial"
- ncynr A L., S tr icintr cn
campus and 12 local churches.
Ozar said she plans to go back tomor-
row to hear Zacharias talk about "Reli-
gious Exclusivity and the Test of
Reason" and thinks many members of
the campus community could find ways
to connect with his messages.
"I think anyone who's interested in
considering the topics he's talking about
- religion and moral philosophy - his
lectures could appeal to them," she said.
"He talks about religion in a more intel-
lectual manner than maybe some people
have heard before."
One focus of Zacharias' comments
Cushions propped against
the wall and a bench and
chairs for seating, are placed
next to a patterned rug and
two potted plants. Opposite
from the plants stands a small
fountain on a small wooden
table. The gentle trickling of
water down a wall of pebbles
is the only sound to be heard
in this peaceful atmosphere.
Welcome to Room 347.
The Office of the Vice
President for Studernt A ffairs-
in conjunction with the Asso-
ciation of Religious Coun-
selors on campus, announced
last month that this room,
located in the Michigan
League, is now open to the
University community to be
used as a "reflection room."
Dean of Students Edward
Willis said for many years,
both individual students and
student groups have expressed
a need for a place of quiet
reflection or prayer. Room
347 is a first attempt at
responding to their requests
SeeROOfM. Pge
Donna Gauss greets friend Jim Grant yesterday, as Galen Fowler greets Connie
Grant behind them on the Grotto Club dance floor. Most of the participants build
close friendships as regulars at the weekly ballroom dancing event.
i