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January 15, 2003
@2003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 74
One-hundred-twelve years ofeditorialfreedom
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and continu-
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a
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Tomorrow
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www.mkchigandaily.com
'U' ID cards mistakenly bear private info
By Jeremy Berkowitz
and Tomislav Ladika
Daily Staff Reporters
University employees may have jeopardized
the security of faculty and staff members on all
three University campuses by issuing them pre-
scription cards listing their social security num-
bers.
The University Benefits Office ordered the
cards from AdvancePCS, a provider of health
improvement services, and sent them out to all
faculty and staff members during Winter Break.
Each card lists its owner's social security number
as the primary form of identification, although
University policy stipulates that an alternative
form of identification - usually University ID
numbers - be used.
The cards identify faculty as recipients of Uni-
versity medical benefit plans, which are adminis-
tered by the Benefits Office, but several faculty
members expressed concern in light of a nation-
wide increase in identity theft. Paul Killey,
deputy director of the Computer Aided Engineer-
ing Network, said he is worried about "using the
social security numbers on the card at a prescrip-
tion counter."
Killey called the release of the social security
numbers "unfortunate" because there are other,
more appropriate, methods of identification on
campus.
Other faculty said although they are not angry
about their numbers being listed, they believe the
University is setting a bad example.
"For me personally, I'm not that upset," School
of Information Prof. Margaret Hedstrom said,
"But in terms of what I do and what I teach and
what I am, I'm quite upset because we are trying
to teach our students what good privacy protec-
tions are."
Administrators are discussing what to do in
response, Marty Eichstadt, director of the bene-
fits office said.
"We are aware of the concerns of our faculty
and staff members. We're giving this every con-
sideration and we will have more information
after Friday," he said.
The University has already agreed to replace
the cards of any faculty or staff member who
wants a new card without their social security
numbers.The Senate Advisory Committee on
University Affairs is looking into the matter after
receiving several complaints, SACUA member
Rudi Lindner said.
"A certain number of professors have written
or spoken with the SACUA office about this and
SACUA is engaged in serious discussions with
the administration to resolve this problem," he
said. "It is very much at the front of SACUA's
attention right now"
Despite efforts to resolve the issue, some fac-
ulty are not concerned about having their social
security numbers listed on the cards.
School of Information Prof. Daniel Atkins said
that before being contacted by the Michigan
Daily, he did not notice that the card listed his
number. He added that he is not concerned
because social security numbers are often used
for identification.
Lindner said many people have yet to realize
the dangers of having accessible social security
numbers.
"For some people, keeping their social security
numbers private is crucial - for others, they
don't seem to give a damn," he said.
NATION READIES FOR WAR
Cadets not
Faculty attempt to
prevent, treat AIDS
around the world
rushed
through,
traibg
By Dan lrudeau
Daily Staff Reporter
By Rahwa Ghebre-Ab
Daily Staff Reporter
While a lack of military leadership
and resources are generating discus-
sions about reinstating the draft and
instituting obligatory service for all
young Americans, University ROTC
and military education programs are
continuing with business as usual.
Officials from the ROTC, a nation-
al program designed to train college
students for careers as officers in the
armed services, insist that the current
political climate has little direct
impact on the experience and training
of students.
"It would take something of a glob-
al nature to change the way we do
things on campus, but that hasn't hap-
pened since the 1940's," said Capt.
Dennis Hopkins, chair of the Univer-
sity's Navy ROTC. "The need for offi-
cers isn't changing such that we have
to commission them faster or more
often."
Officers from the Army ROTC said
the program is maintaining its course
on a national level, and that the educa-
tional experience of the students
involved remains the top priority.
Upon graduation from the program,
cadets are obligated to begin a term of
service in the military.
"Our mission is to commission the
future leadership of the Army. It's
always been like that and it will con-
tinue to be like that," Joe Bartley,
AROTC public affairs officer, said.
"Our mission will stay the same. The
cadets are students first."
Students within the ROTC agreed
that the nature of the program has
changed little in recent months, but
added that the attitudes of the cadets
are affected by current events.
"Our battalion is making sure that
we're prepared this year, perhaps
more so than in the past. Everything
feels more real," said Susan Nagel, an
Army ROTC cadet and Engineering
sophomore. "The really gung-ho peo-
ple are excited because they'll get a
chance to serve their country."
Enrollment in the ROTC and other
military training programs has
See ROTC, Page 7
Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent,
Thailand and Vietnam are just a few of the Third
World regions where a number of University fac-
ulty continue to work with AIDS patients and
perform research.
Despite worldwide exposure, many students
are unaware of the international ties the Universi-
ty maintains with a number of Third World
nations for the purpose of furthering AIDS
research.
"I had absolutely no idea ... but I'm not sur-
prised that I didn't know," said LSA sophomore
Gloria White.
"AIDS is an ongoing issue and a pressing mat-
ter of concern without an immediate solution.
Even though it's a definite problem, it tends to get
pushed aside," White added.
Despite many students' lack of awareness, sev-
eral members of the University community have
invested time and effort into the international
AIDS crisis, said Social Work Prof. Larry Gant,
who works with Geographic Information Sys-
tems, a computer mapping program that can be
used to track incidents and prevalence in areas
where HIV/AIDS is considered an epidemic.
"We have various people affiliated with the
University currently working abroad trying to
collaborate with the various ministries of health
in different countries," Gant said. In some of
these countries, it's too late to be proactive, but
countries are just now working on asserting them-
selves."
"Basically, I try to target where the epidemics
are raging and what is going on demographically
in the hopes that treatment resources may soon
become available in those areas," Gant said.
"Students just aren't aware because AIDS is off
the map in the U.S. - therefore, it is foreign to
them. As soon as faculty do presentations, give
informationals and do things of that nature, it is
then that people start to get shocked and sur-
prised," Gant said.
"People are just starting to get numb towards it
in a sense because they have been hearing about
See AIDS, Page 7
Neighborhood art
FRANK PAYNE/Daily
A naval midshipman reviews his military papers Monday afternoon while sitting in a North Hall
lounge.
UN tbnie le still key
to future -attack on Iraq
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush
expressed impatience with Saddam Hussein
yesterday and said "time is running out for
him" to disarm. U.N. weapons inspectors
planned for months more of searches for hid-
den chemical and biological arms in Iraq.
The extended hunt for evidence that the
Iraqi president was defying the United
Nations could complicate the timing of
Bush's decision on whether to go to war.
While Bush has said from the outset he
would not be held hostage by the U.N. Securi-
ty Council, he is looking for the widest possi-
ble consensus and the broadest coalition if he
decides to attack.
The inspectors' timetable stretches well
beyond Jan. 27 when they are due to report on
60 days of searching for weapons of mass
destruction and a missile program.
Bush told reporters at the White House that
he had not seen any evidence the Iraqi presi-
dent was disarming under more than a decade
of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
"He must disarm," Bush said. "I'm sick and
tired of games and deceptions. And that's my
See IRAQ, Page 7
Law student Amy Purcell finds herself surrounded by graffiti as she heads no
her apartment near the railroad tracks yesterday afternoon.
ew COmmission wisee
solution to suburban sprawl
Prof: Terror tech. a
Cold War legacy
By Stephanie Harwood
and Chdstopher Johnson
Daily Staff Reporters
Nuclear weapons, biological agents,
cyber-attacks and chemical warfare are
among the many possibilities Lewis
Branscomb sees as potential means for
terrorists to harm the United States.
Branscomb, a professor of public
policy and corporate management at
Harvard University co-chaired the
National Academy of Sciences study,
"Making the Nation Safer: The Role of
Science and Technology in Countering
Terrorism," presented many scenarios
of terrorists attacks in a lecture last
night at the Michigan League.
Branscomb offered several possible
methods to deter these actions, empha-
sizing that scientific innovations can
play a key role in protecting the nation.
He maintained that many of the
weapons terrorists use were created
during the technological competition of
the Cold War, making scientists respon-
sible for preventing their use.
"It's a world we scientists created,
and we have a moral obligation to do
something about it," Branscomb said.
He presented several means to com-
bat terrorism, including the develop-
ment of sensor networks to inspect
See TERROR, Page 7
By Dan Trudeau
Daily Staff Reporter
Gov. Jennifer Granholm is expected to take a
dramatic step toward containing suburban sprawl
in Michigan this week, creating a Smart Growth
Commission to propose policies to regulate land
use and curb environmental contamination. For-
mer Gov. William Milliken and former state
Attorney General Frank Kelley will likely lead
the commission.
Suburban sprawl and uncontrolled develop-
ment were issues in Michigan politics during
November's elections, and the establishment of
the commission was a major promise of
Granholm's campaign.
"The governor wants to strike a balance
between development and environmental protec-
tion. She doesn't think that one should come
before the other, but that they should work togeth-
er to make Michigan a better place to live and
work," Granholm spokeswoman Mary Dettloff
said.
Environmental agencies have criticized past
administrations for failing to address a growing
environmental crisis resulting from sprawl.
"Until the election of Granholm, the state gov-
ernment has maintained that sprawl was not a sig-
nificant problem, that it was confined to local
government and that the state was not in a posi-
tion to do anything about it,"
said Keith Schneider, pro-
gram director for the Michi-
gan Land Use Institute.
Ann Arbor legislators are
stressing the importance of
the commission in improving
Michigan's economy and
maintaining its natural
resources.
"The protection of farm
Granholm land should be a priority for
the people of Michigan,"
state Sen. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor) said. "We
need ways to make use of existing urban areas,
which would revitalize our cities as well as pro-
tect our farmland. (The commission) will be
influential in raising the profile of the issue."
State Rep. Chris Kolb (D-Ann Arbor) said he
See SPRAWL, Page 7
SARAHPAUP/Daily
Harvard University Prof. Lewis Branscomb speaks at the
Michigan Union yesterday afternoon about terrorists' access to
weapons.