LOCAL/STATE
CAMPUS
Workshop explores
body image effects
on student health
To prevent the possibly of harmful
consequences of students' negative
views of their bodies, Counseling And
Psychological Services is presenting a
body image workshop in the Ander-
son Room C in the Michigan Union
tonight at 7 p.m. The workshop
includes a showing of "I'm Not the
Average Girl on Video" and a talk by
CAPS staffers, Kelly Lockwood and
Christine Asidao.
Former prisoners
to read poetry
In addition to others reading poetry
of incarcerated prisoners, former
inmates will read their poetry and
prose at Shaman Drum Bookstore, 315
S. State St. tonight at 7 p.m.
As part of the Prison Creative Arts
Project, poet and former prisoner Raul
Salinas will read from his published
collections of poetry.
Salinas currently conducts writing
workshops in schools and prisons and
serves actively in national and interna-
tional human rights issues.
Budding Chinese
entrepreneurs
discuss diversity
Johns Hopkins University Prof.
Kellee Tsai will be giving a lecture titled,
"Capitalists Without a Class: Political
Diversity Among Private Entrepreneurs
in China," in room 1636 of the School of
Social Work Building today at noon.
Tsai will report on national survey
results of the political orientation of
private entrepreneurs in China, based
on in-depth interviews with entrepre-
neurs and officials throughout China.
The event is sponsored by the Center
for Chinese Studies.
West Bank prof
explores public
attitudes, trends
Khalil Shikaki, political science
professor at the West Bank's Bir Zeit
University, will be lecturing on recent
trends in Palestinian discourse and
public attitudes advancing political
reform in Angell Hall Auditorium A
tomorrow at 4 p.m. The lecture is
sponsored by the Frankel Center for
Judaic Studies.
* Acclaimed writer
reads his fiction
Critically acclaimed fiction writer
Matthew Klam will be reading from
his work in D1276 Davidson Hall at
5:00 pm on Thursday. Klam's first
book, published in 2001, "Sam the Cat
and other stories," was selected as
Notable Book of the Year by The New
York Times.
Documentary
depicts global
AIDS epidemic
"A Closer Walk," Robert Bilheimer's
film depicting humankind's confronta-
tion with the global AIDS pandemic, is
showing in Lorch Hall Auditorium
today at 7 p.m. Narrated by Glen Close
and Will Smith, the film is shot over
three years on four continents and fea-
ture interviews with AIDS patients,
their families and health care profes-
sionals.
The film showing is sponsored by
the University's student chapter of the
Global Health Council as part of this
week's global health symposium.
Seminar confronts
societal values
An interactive workshop challenging
the glorification of slenderness pre-
sented by activist and performance
artist Heather MacAllister will be held
in room 1200 Chemistry Building,
Thursday at 7 p.m. The event is spon-
sored by the University Health Service.
Rushdie's works'
influence on Asia
to be discussed
Coinciding with the performances
of Salman Rushdie's "Midnight
Children" at the Power Center, a
symposium on Rushdie and South
Asia will be held in Rackham Audi-
torium, tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. The
symposium titled "Reflections on
the World of Salman Rushdie" will
link nation, religion and diversity in
Rushdie's writings. The impact of
Rushdie's works on Indian and Pak-
istani writers of his generation will
also be discussed.
Falun Gong
By Bron Daniels
Daily Staff Reporter
As the ominous thunderclouds of war gather
over the Middle East, countries like France and
Russia have threatened to use their veto in the
United Nations to thwart immediate U.S. military
force against Iraq.
As the pro-war Bush coalition attempts to
collect allies in favor of an Iraq war resolu-
tion, some speculate the Bush administration
is turning toward dictatorial regimes. China,
which the U.N. has already cited for its
record of human rights offenses, has emerged
as a major player in this climate.
The arrest of Charles Li, a Chinese immigrant
with U.S. citizenship, has compounded a length-
ening list of human rights abuses, said Sherry
.Zang, a seven-year Falun Gong practitioner.
While traveling to China to visit his parents for
the Chinese New Year, Li was arrested and jailed
immediately after exiting his arriving flight,
Zang said.
Falun Gong and human rights activists have
charged that the arrest has no legitimacy. "The
arrest of Charles Li was definitely made with no
legal foundation," Zang said.
Falun Gong is an ancient Chinese spiritual
practice that provides moral guidance and
practicioner'
strengthened health. Also called Falun Dafa,
Falun Gong is a practice that is known to bring
health and inner peace through exercises and
meditation to energize the body.
"The practice improvements one's heart
and mind through the careful study of univer-
sal principles based on truthfulness, benevo-
lence and forbearance," LSA junior Evan
Mantyk, a three-year practitioner, said. Man-
tyk, who recently returned from a protest in
Washington to heighten public awareness of
the arrest, stressed the non-threatening prac-
tices of the group. "Falun Gong is not a polit-
ical organization, simply a spiritual
guidance," Mantyk added.
In July 1999, the communist regime in China
outlawed the practice and started a nationwide
campaign to demonize and eradicate Falun, Man-;
tyk said. Since the induction of these laws, China1
began persecuting Falun Gong practitioners
through numerous arrests, tortures and mass1
killings of thousands of innocent people, he1
added. This is a major violation of international1
treaties that China has signed, Zang, a Free+
Charles Li supporter, said.
The Chinese regime cites Falun Gong as a
delusional cult that is attempting to overthrow the+
Communist Party's rule, the Chinese embassyI
website states.I
The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 3
s arrest provokes protest
"The arrest of Charles Li was definitely made with no
legal foundation.e
- Sherry Zang
Falun Gong practitioner
But Zang said, "All these statements are ridicu-
lous lies and are used as scapegoats to persecute
Falun Gong practitioners."
If convicted, Li faces 15 years in prison for
damaging television equipment. "The Falun
Gong cult addicts have repeatedly sabotaged
various public communication systems and
even hijacked national satellite broadcasts,
resulting in serious damage to the public
order on the Chinese mainland," Embassy
spokesman Feng Xie said in a report issued
by the Chinese Security Review Commission.
"Falun Gong is in contempt of international
laws and regulations, that have unscrupulous-
ly upset the order of wireless communica-
tions and launched a challenge against
civilization," Xie added.
Zang said the Chinese government has used
the law and media as tools to limit the freedoms
of citizens in order to persecute innocent people.
Representatives of the regime have adopted every
means to defame and slander Falun Gong includ-
ing the arrest of Li, Zang added.
With no chance of a fair trial and right to coun-
sel, rescuing Li is not merely a rescue of a Falun
Gong practitioner, but an important political
stand that American citizens have guaranteed
uninfringed rights when visiting other nations,
Zang said.
The U.S. government should use every appro-
priate public and private forum to urge the gov-
ernment of the People's Republic of China to free
Charles Li, Mantyk said.
But Li has expressed worries regarding his
immediate release. "Major issues covering
economy and especially the war with Iraq are
definitely more persistent in more politicians
minds that human rights issues in China,"
Evan said.
There are doubts and little hope that coordina-
tion between governments can justly resolve this
matter, Mantyk said. "It is very important that the
United States government upholds justice and
protects its citizens," he added.
I'm innocent
Bankruptcy filings
skyrocket in W.
Mich., still rising
JONATHON TRIEST/Daily
Dearborn resident James Sterling Smith tries outs for a spot on the television show Fear Factor
yesterday at Touchdown Caf6 on South University Street.
GRAND RAPIDS (AP) - The
number of southwestern Michigan
individuals and businesses who filed
for bankruptcy protection soared 40.1
percent from 2000 to 2002 - and the
trend is continuing this year.
Filings through February were up 12
percent from a year ago in U.S. Bank-
ruptcy Court in Grand Rapids.
More than 6,000 individuals and
businesses filed for bankruptcy in that
court in 2001. That was an 11.7 per-
cent jump over the year before, nearly
double the national increase of 5.7 per-
cent reported last year, The Grand
Rapids Press reported Sunday.
"I haven't had a vacation in over a
year now," Grand Rapids bankruptcy
attorney David Anderson said. "I see
so many more people unemployed than
I ever have. And I see so many people
employed making significantly less
than they used to."
In addition to rising unemployment,
a slumping economy and easy access
to credit has fueled the steady rise in
the region's bankruptcy rate, bankrupt-
cy attorneys said.
"I think we will continue to see a
rise in bankruptcies even if the econo-
my picks up, and I think that is in part
because of the marketing of debt,"
attorney Todd Almassian said. "The
attitude is, 'If you can't afford it, credit
card it."'
Teaching basic financial skills
may give some people techniques to
avoid bankruptcy, said Richard
DeKaser, chief economist for
National City Corp.
Bankruptcy Court Clerk Daniel
LaVille said the increase has stretched
his staff to its limits. Each of the three
judges in the Grand Rapids court has
about 5,000 cases.
Though the workload is heavy at
times, the toll bankruptcies take on
families is far heavier, said James
Gregg, chief bankruptcy judge in
Grand Rapids. Gregg is president of
the National Conference of Bankrupt-
cy Judges.
"It's very sad to see people in the
financial situations that they're in,"
Gregg said. "In nearly all the cases,
people are in bankruptcy not through
any choice of their own. They've
encountered circumstances beyond
their control."
While individuals account for 98
percent of the area's bankruptcy fil-
ings, businesses also are declaring
bankruptcy more frequently. The num-
ber of businesses that filed in the west-
ern Lower Peninsula in 2002 rose 14.9
percent to 293.
Tool and die shops as well as suppli-
ers to the automotive and furniture
industries account for most of the fil-
ings, attorney Torn Sarb said.
"Every time it seems like things
are starting to improve, you have
something like (September 11) or
the threat of war on Iraq," Sarb said.
"I think the uncertainty is just affect-
ing everybody."
HEALTH
Continued from Page 1
that we must deal with to keep humans healthy.
"The five million people living in this neglected and vir-
tually unknown part of the world are suffering and there are
no easy solutions," Small added.
Years of pesticide application that left the seabed highly
polluted are now being picked up by windstorms and swept
through the villages, explaining why many villagers have
developed lung disease, Small said. High salt content in the
water has also inflicted health problems on the villagers.
The two rivers that feed the sea have largely been diverted
since the 1950's to irrigate Soviet cotton fields, decreasing
the water flow and dramatically shrinking the sea.
WHITES
Continued from Page 1.
tinue to benefit whites regardless of
whether or not affirmative action is
turned down. REC
Wise said less qualified blacks
did not take the place of more quali-
fied whites. He added that, in the 3uI
case of the lawsuit, even the plain-
tiffs concede that every person of
color was fully qualified to be in Our sum
the school. A variety o
Grutter v. Bollinger, involving the
Law School's admissions policies, does around yoi
not stem from the point system but com- Summer ce
plaints that equally qualified minority
students are being accepted at higher and relaxe
rates than equally qualified whites, Wise
said. We welc
"This assumption is based on
skewed statistics. When the sample C Curren
size is small anything in the space -. Studen
can skew the results," Wise said.
He added that at the highest r Acade
achievement level with GPA and Erms Adults
LSATs there might be one minority
applicant and 151 whites. If that
one minority applicant is accepted,
that is a 100 percent minority
acceptance rate, while if only 140
whites get accepted, it looks like
unfair preference when it may only The
be sample error, Wise said.
Engineering sophomore Tiffany
Riley said Wise's speech was very
informative.
"It was more effective because
someone white was saying it, it had
more weight. I learned about the
details of the affirmative action
cases and how there weren't minori-
ties who were less qualified getting An exCe
in over white people," Riley said.
Rackham student Matthew Walk-)
er said he was glad to have attended0
the event. b)0
"In the last six months I have
been wavering about whether I c)
agree with affirmative action
ha ni, no T nn lx, lnrA *the Adiversi ty
"We need to advocate policy that takes into account
human health," said Small. "And advocate policy that will
improve health."
Although countless officials, scientists and international
organizations have visited the area, little direct assistance
has taken place to address the humanitarian and health prob-
lems facing the region.
A documentary film titled "Hospital at the End of the
Earth" spotlighting on Muynak - once an Aral port city, now
a ghost town - will be shown later this week, also a part of
the global health symposium. Sponsored by the University of
Michigan Student Chapter of the Global Health Council, a
series of events, including a talk by Grassroots Coordinator
Josh Lozman and a lecture on disaster preparedness and
humanitarian assistance in Cuba, will also be held.
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