LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 3A 'Star Search' aims to broaden demographic range Hopwood Awards ceremony to honor writers The Hopwood Awards ceremony will be held today at Rackham Auditorium at 3:30 p.m. Following the announcement of the award winners, translator and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Richard Howard will give a lecture. The Pulitzer Prize was given to Howard in 1969 for "Untitled Subjects;' one of Howard's 11 volumes of poetry. Lecture to focus on comparative economics in China Hailing from Tsinghua University in Beijing, economic history Prof. Li Bozhong, will be giving a lecture titled "Involution: The Huang Debate, What We Know, Why We Should Care" today in room 1636 of the School of Social Work Building, at noon. Sponsored by the Center for Chi- nese Studies, Li will address the significance of the Chinese compar- ative economics. Writers provide insight on Arab Americans As part of the Arab American Writers Series, Lisa Suhair Majaj will give a talk titled "Understanding Arab Americans Through Poetry and Personal Essays" today in the LSA Building, room 1030, at 4 p.m. Majaj won the New England Poetry Club award for best published poem in 1995 and received her masters degree in English literature and Ameri- can culture from the University. The talk is sponsored by the Center for Arab American Studies. Role of copper in human growth to be discussed Biological chemistry Prof. Dennis Thiele will give a lecture titled "The Role of Copper in Growth and Develop- ment: A View from Yeast to Humans" tomorrow in the Natural Science Build- ing, room 2004, at 12:10 p.m. The talk is sponsored by the Depart- ment of Molecular, Cellular and Devel- domiital1iology. Former volunteers talk about Peace Corps experience Former Peace Corps volunteers and soon-to-be Peace Corps volun- teers from. Ann Arbor will present an information session about their organization tomorrow at the Inter- national Center in room 9 of the Michigan Union at 7 p.m. The Peace Corps offer paid posi- tions in various countries around the world for a two-year commit- ment. Vietnam veteran will perform personal works Vietnam war veteran and singer/song- writer Michael Martin will perform r songs about his past experiences and the current war in Iraq tomorrow in auditori- um 4 of the Modern Languages Build- ing at 3 p.m. The performance will be followed by a panels discussion with Martin and sev- eral other Vietnam veterans. Engineers sponsor end-of-term bash on North Campus To celebrate the end of the winter term, the University of Michigan Engi- neering Council is sponsoring "Springfest" on North Campus all day tomorrow. Outdoor activities, games and food will be available for students to enjoy. Simulator to study behavior when crossing streets University of Iowa psychology Prof. Jodie Plumert will be holding a discus- sion session titled "Using an Interactive, Immersive Bicycling Simulator to Study Children's Road-Crossing Behavior" Thursday in the McCormick Conference Room of the Transportation Research Institute at noon. The talk is sponsored by the Universi- ty Transportation Research Institute Research Colloquia Series. By Elizabeth Anderson Daily Staff Reporter Tomorrow's dancing, singing and modeling superstars swarmed to the Michigan League yes- terday hoping "Star Search," a television program featuring talent competitions, can make their dreams come true. The CBS program hosted an open audition for performers, drawing several hundred participants statewide. The open call in Ann Arbor was the last stop on the show's college tour, which includ- ed such universities as the University of North Carolina and Ohio State University. The producers of "Star Search" hope the col- lege tour will open demographics to a larger audience. "Star Search" production manager Robert Willrich said the show currently main- ly attracts children and adults over age 30. Contestants auditioned in front of one or two of the show's producers. Singers and dancers each presented 70-to-90-second prepared pieces, while models performed mock catwalks. By early after- noon yesterday, close to 300 people had already auditioned, Willrich said. "We're hoping to see 400 to 500," he added. "They're judged on show presence, entertain- ment value, level of difficulty, technique and artistic value" said Cynthia Garcia, talent coordi- nator for the "Star Search" dance department. "Your energy has to be up. You've got to sell it to that camera," Garcia said to participants before their performances. "Most important is talent ... but it's also the presence and the aura (of the performer)," said Evelyn Warfel, a "Star Search" event coordinator. "You don't want a performer with a sullen face," she added. Costumes ranged from shiny, sequined Lycra dance outfits to jeans and sneakers. "Everything's got to be age appropriate. Costumes must corre- spond to age group because it's a family televi- sion program," Garcia said. Callbacks for the top performers will be held today. "It basically comes down to your perform- ance," Willrich said, adding that the number of performers chosen to possibly appear on the show is unlimited. "They could be appearing as early as next week or sometime next season;" Willrich said. Many participants said they were auditioning for fun. Saginaw resident Carissa Cronk, who said she was so nervous she forgot the name ;of her audition song, decided to audition at 10 a.m. yesterday morning after learning about the audi- tions on the radio. "It's something I always want- ed to do," said Cronk, who later remembered she was performing Martina McBride's "My Baby Loves Me." Ten-year-old Stephanie Fallon, who performed a tap routine with her eight-year-old sister, said she enjoyed the experience but felt nervous about her performance. "The floor was slippery so I kept slipping," Fallon said. "I think that kind of messed us up." Wearing matching leotards and tutus, the Fallons performed their duet to "Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me." LSA senior Hanna LoPatin was one of the many University students to audition. "If I'm allowed to, I might sing something original," LoPatin said. "I'm not nervous. I'm just doing it for fun." Additionally, several University film and video studies and communications studies majors vol- unteered as production assistants for the event. Funny face Detroit-area man questioned for links to terrorist group DETROIT (AP) - Lawyers for two of four men accused of acting as part of a "sleeper" terrorist cell questioned a key government witness yesterday about his criminal past and why he waited six months after his arrest to start making allegations about terrorism. Youssef Hmimssa testified last week that he was afraid of the men who he met in the Detroit area while he was on the run from federal credit card fraud charges in the spring of 2001. But he conced- ed that once arrested Sept. 28, 2001, he felt safe. "They could not do any harm to me in prison," Hmimssa said during his fourth day on the stand. Still, Hmimssa denied any knowledge related to terrorism in interviews with federal agents until March 2002. He also kept silent despite signing an agreement in November 2001 to make full and complete statements that wouldn't be used against him or toughen any sentence. Hmimssa has testified that he helped the defen- dants who he thought to be connected to terrorism. He has not faced charges related to terrorism, but said he was still worried about the possibility after being transported back to Michigan from Iowa where he was arrested. In testimony last week, Hmimssa accused the men on trial of being Islamic extremists who talked of supporting terrorism. Defense lawyers say Hmimssa is a liar who is try- ing to save himself from harsher punishment by telling a tale for the government. SACUA Continued from Page 1A He added that reporting to an administrator could in some cases turn into self-incrimina- tion for the faculty member involved in such relationships as adultery or homosexuality, which are illegal in some parts of Michigan. Another variable that he addressed was in the case that a faculty member hires a prostitute that later enrolls in their class. "I think there are some civil liberty ques- tions that need to be considered. The reason some institutions don't have (sexual harass- ment) policies is because their unenforceable they bridge on protected rights," Riebesell said. Castle said this policy will next be reviewed by the senior administrators and Regents. She hopes it will become an official Uni- versity policy by next fall. FRANK PAYNEIDaily Encarnita Figueroa, a stand-up comedian, presents her monologue on Puerto Rican culture in the Pendleton Room of the Michigan Union yesterday. Pharmacy mistakes prompt nse in malpractice lawsuits DETROIT (AP) - Mistakes by pharmacies have resulted in dangerous - and sometimes lethal consequences - in Michigan and across the country. April Ozias of Madison Heights filed a lawsuit against Rite Aid after her son, Corey, was hospi- talized after he overdosed on medication in March 2001. a The fourth-grader's prescription was incorrect- ly filled by a Rite Aid in Warren with twice the needed dose of Tegretol, his panic disorderined-a ication, Ozias, 34, said. "You put so much trust in your pharmacist," Ozias told The Detroit News yesterday. "You hope that they are paying attention. You hope that they won't make a mistake." Rite Aid spokeswoman Jody Cook said the drugstore denies wrongdoing in the case. The lawsuit is pending. At least seven other Detroit area families also have filed phgmaceuticalgnalpracti laws since 1999, some of which allege the mistakes have left victims severely incapacitated and oth- ers dead. As errors miunt,'lawstiits '*increase kpfieft tially," said Jesse Vivian, a pharmacist, attorney and Wayne State University professor. "Ten years ago, you have about 15 to 20 cases at the appellate level. Today, you see 15 cases a month." And pressure on pharmacists keeps growing, partly because the number of prescriptions they are filling annually has jumped 50 percent, from 2 billion a decade ago to more than 3 billion now. r As thingga ore complicated,one trnthhas emerged: "Ultimately, the burden (to stay safe) is on the patient," said Greg Baran, director of gov- ernment affairs for the Michigan Pharmacist's Association.-- -W Michigan also doesn't keep a record of phar- maceutical malpractice suits. The only state tracking statistic is the number of complaints consumers file - about 200 per year, said Lori Donlan, spokeswoman for the Michigan Depart- ment of Consumer and Industry Services. Some of those complaints include prescrip- tion mistakes, but state officials said they don't know how many because those com- plaiu sa A4uiped into -a agory called "incompetence." Ninety=nine Michigan pharmacists were disci- plined by the state agency in fiscal year Oct. 1, 2000;t St. 1,,I2001' d most - "! 61 manded or received probation, records show. Fif- teen had their pharmacist license suspended or revoked. 1611 GENOME Continued from Page 1A human genome has the potential to have a tremendous impact on a treat- ment for cancer. "Right now at the University we're working on cataloging which genes go up or down with different types of cancer," Meisler said. The completed DNA sequence is accessible to scientists all over the world through computer databases run by the NHGRI. AATU Continued from Page 1A not responding to the heating problems in her house. "I went to the AATU for help and they advised me to try one more time to contact my landlord. Once I mentioned that I was using the AATU in an email I sent to my landlord, my landlord quickly replied and the next day fixed the heating problem," Essenmacher said. Mironov said MSA will be able to fund more student groups with the money it will save by not funding AATU. But Essenmacher said Student Legal Services is not a good replacement for the AATU because it is too threatening for landlords. "The AATU was more of a media- tion service and helped you resolve problems in a non-legal way, and Stu- dent Legal Services might only give legal action," Essenmacher said. NEED A JO THIS SUMMER? WRITE FOR THE . MICHIGAN DAILY*. f Vrrza I1 Y :5 5 S % .9- 3 aF } 5 } 5 ,. 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