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October 9, 2002'
@2002 The Michigan Daily
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Vol. CXIII, No.27

www.michigandaily. corn

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Students sue to

prevent conference

By Maria Sprow
Daily Staff Reporter

With the Second National Student Confer-
ence on the Palestine Solidarity Movement just
days away, several University students are try-
ing to stop the event from taking place.
Two University students filed a lawsuit
against the University yesterday in Washtenaw
County Circuit Court, seeking a temporary
restraining order that would halt the conference
scheduled to take place on campus Saturday
through Monday.
Southfield attorney Deborah Schlussel, who

filed the lawsuit on behalf of University stu-
dents Adi Neuman and Richard Dorfman, said
the conference's scheduled speakers have a his-
tory of spreading hate.
Speakers on the schedule include Adam
Shapiro and Michigan alum Huwaida Arraf,
known for their visits to the Middle East to
protest Israeli actions, and former University of
South Florida Prof. Sami Al-Arian, whom
Dorfman said has raised money to support
Islamic Jihad. Other speakers slated to appear
include LSA senior and conference organizer
Fadi Kiblawi, Mahdi Bray and Hatem Bazian.
"We believe that there is a clear and present

danger with these people coming to campus,"
Schlussel said.
Dorfinan also said he believes the University
is acting irresponsibly by allowing the speakers
to come to campus.
"The University is not providing for the stu-
dents a safe and quiet atmosphere for educa-
tion, and in allowing this conference to
proceed, the University is endangering the lives
of all students" Dorfinan said.
But in a statement released previously by the
University, it defended itself for not screening
the speakers who will be traveling to campus.
According to the statement, "it would be

both unlawful, as well as a violation of the Uni-
versity's policies on freedom of speech and
expression, to do so."
University spokeswoman Julie Peterson said
last night that although the University has not
had time to fully review the lawsuit, it still feels
the suit is unfounded, as the student organiza-
tion sponsoring the conference has followed all
necessary guidelines to host it.
"Those processes have been founded in a
firm understanding of the First Amendment
and are applicable with federal and state laws.
We don't believe there is any basis for the suit,"
Peterson said.

'U' urged
to divest
from Israel
By Jennifer Misthal
Daily Staff Reporter
After living and working in Ramallah in the West Bank,
Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, a Research Fellow at the School
of Public Health, said she has witnessed the horror of the
Arab-Israeli Conflict first hand. "It's the most humiliating
and dehumanizing conditions I have ever lived under. It's
dehumanizing in a sense that you are not in control of your-

"We have a community that believes in free-
dom of expression (and) the exploration of
ideas even if those ideas are offensive to other
students in the community," she added. "We've
had other student organizations invite speakers
that students have found offensive."
But Neuman, president of Michigan Student
Zionists, said not all speech should be permit-
ted on campus - especially speech that he
believes spreads hatred.
"Freedom of speech is protected under the
constitution, but incitement to violence is not,
and we believe this conference will incite anti-
See LAWSUIT, Page 2
Offensive
e-mails fill
campus
inboxes
By Shannon Pettypiece
Daily News Editor

DIVETENT
Porttwo in a
three-port series

self," Savabieasfahani said.
Growing up in the West
Bank, Rackham student and
Students Allied for Freedom
and Equality member Ame-
nah Ibrahim also experienced
the direct effects of military
occupation.
"I can't imagine a worse life
than the life of Palestinians liv-
ing in the West Bank and Gaza
under occupation. Stripped of
any human rights by an
oppressive regime - based on
their ethnicity. It didn't matter

if you are Christian or Muslim, you were targeted because
you are Palestinian. Occupation is-oppression," Ibrahim
said.
These members of the University community and others
See DIVESTMENT, Page 2

An audience gathered last night in the Michigan Union Ballroom for the 1.6th annual Speak Out, where sexual assault victims described their
experiences.
Survivors ofsexual assault-
heal through shared sories

Many Arab and Muslim students
received thousands of offensive e-mails
yesterday from non-student e-mail
accounts - just days before a controver-
sial conference takes place on campus.
One message students received
from a non-University account read
"Arabs, Jews, towels, doilies. They are
all the same, we must stop attempting
to distinguish between them. The only
solution to the Middle East is to bomb
the fukin lot!"
In addition to the thousands of racial
e-mails sent, hundreds of blank e-mails
were sent from the account of Student
Allied for Freedom and Equality Co-
founder Fadi Kiblawi yesterday after-
noon. Kiblawi refused to comment on
the e-mails sent from his account.
Yesterday's series of e-mails marks the
third time in the past two weeks that
"spoofed" c-mails have been sent from
Kiblawi's accounts. E-mails containing
anti-Semitic statements were allegedly
sent on Sept. 25 from a non-student
account in California.
"Basically SAFE this past week has
been the victim of an intimidation and
smear campaign with the intent of sti-
fling discussion on the Arab-Israeli con-
flict," Kiblawi said at a press conference
following the first incident.
Students who received the c-mails
yesterday said they were shocked and
annoyed by the e-mail storm. Some felt
they were connected to the upcoming
Second National Conference on the
Palestine Solidarity Movement. The con-
ference prompted two students to sue the
University asking for the conference to
be halted because they believe the speak-
ers promote hate.
"The conference is this weekend and
that might explain the hacking into the e-
mails," said LSA junior Aliya Chowdhri,
executive board member for the Pak-
istani Students Association.

By Erin Saylor and
Elizabeth Anderson
Daily Staff Reporters
The Sexual Assault Prevention and
Awareness Center hosted its 16th annual
Speak Out last night in the Michigan
Union Ballroom. The forum invited sur-
vivors of sexualized violence to share
their experiences with members of the
community.
SAPAC's members emphasized creating
an environment in which survivors felt com-
fortable and protected enough to express
their memories.
"My greatest hope is that by doing this my
nightmares will stop," said Michelle, a woman
who was brutally assaulted by two men in

Midland. "My daughter told me that nobody
here will judge me, and everybody here
would believe me and know I was raped."
SAPAC Education and Training Coordina-
tor Alicia Rinaldi said, "This is a somber
evening, but it's important to realize how
these events affect us as individuals and as a
community."
A candle was lit and the floor was opened
for survivors to share their stories. The room
was silent for several minutes before the first
participant got up to speak.
As survivors shared their stories of trauma
and tragedy, the event became increasingly
emotional for all.
"I never talked about it. I always just hoped
someone would ask the right questions, but
they never did," said Kris, who was sexually

abused for the first time by a family member
when she was six years old. "I don't know if
you ever really get over something like this
completely," she added, choking up.
Sexual assault is an unfortunate reality on
college campuses across the country. A piece
of literature handed out at the forum said FBI
statistics estimate that 20 to 25 percent of
female college students are sexually assaulted.
One speaker expressed her frustration with
the legal system after she alleged that two
University athletes assaulted her.
"I .went to the prosecuting attorney and
he said it was my word against theirs,"
Nicole said.
"He said there was nothing he could do
and at least I had learned my lesson."
See SPEAK OUT, Page 2

TOM FELOKAMP/Daily
Physicist Stephen Wolfram describes his theories on the
mechanism of the universe in the Rackham Building last night.
" " "
Physicist gives
new theories
on universe
By Rob Goodspeed
Daily Staff Reporter
Balding with ruffled hair, wearing a brown blazer and
New Balance sneakers, Stephen Wolfram's appearance is
unassuming. Yet he says the theories in his new book will
revolutionize our understanding of how the universe works.
Wolfram spoke at the newly reopened Rackham Building
auditorium as part of a nationwide speaking tour to promote
his new 1,125-page book titled "A New Kind of Science,"
which has been 20 years in the making.
His book claims that random patterns in nature are pro-
duced by simple computer programs. He postulates that
mathematics, physics and even human intelligence can be
understood as products of simple patterns.
Wolfram earned his doctorate from the California Insti-
tute of Technology at age 20, winning the MacArthur Foun-
dation award two years later in 1981, and authored the
award-winning mathematics software, Mathematica, in 1986
a at the age of 26.

Ecstasy may induce Parkinson's Disease

By C. Price Jones
Daily Staff Reporter
Taking the party drug MDMA, commonly known as
"ecstasy," could induce Parkinson's disease later in life
by extensively damaging serotonin and dopamine neu-
rons, according to a recent study.
The study, published in a recent issue of Science
magazine, asserts that the current view of ecstasy does
not correctly realize the drug's potential to permanently
damage the brain.
The prevailing view claims that MDMA damages
serotonin receptors in animals and possibly in humans.
The lead author, George Ricaurte of the Johns Hopkins
Medical Institutions, asserts that MDMA damages not
only serotonin receptors but also dopamine receptors in
baboons and squirrel monkeys when the dosage is
taken multiple times.
The experimental multiple-dose regimen intends to
model the trend among partygoers to take ecstasy more
than two times in a night.
"If you change the pattern of exposure to the drug,
you suddenly change the profile of neurotoxicity to the
drug," Ricaurte said. "What we did was to change the
pattern of drug administration due to the change in the
way the drug is taken."
An idea stemming from the research is that more
Parkinson's cases will appear after an increase in
MDMA use, but early onset of Parkinsonism due to
ecstasy has not been proven in humans.
"We know it occurs in two species of primates but

true, then you might be seeing a rise in Parkinson's
cases because you don't have a large enough (brain)
lesion."
Although the trembling and twitching associated
with Parkinson's has been noticed at the Ann Arbor
Clear House, an outpatient treatment center that offers
counseling and treatment for substance abuse, the cases
have been isolated.
"I've seen trembling in one case," said James Smith,
a therapist at Clear House. The patient "said (the
twitching) was in the bones in his jaws, and he said the
ecstasy affects his bones-."
Smith added that he had only seen three cases involv-
ing ecstasy in the five years he has been working at
Clear House.
The next step to understanding ecstasy's long-term
effects is ascertaining its neurotoxicity in humans after
observing the neurotoxicity in primate species.
"You can't just jump to the conclusion that it does
occur in humans," Ricaurte said.
Whether the number of Parkinson's cases will rise as
the generation grows older is still unanswered, Robert
Winfield, director of University Health Services, said.
"If you are destined to get Parkinson's disease and if
you take MDMA five to 10 times, might you get
Parkinson's disease five to 10 years earlier?" Winfield
asks. "No one knows the answer.
"This study is certainly what I would call a red flag.
But I don't think it could be called conclusive," he added.
An experimental result in one of the five. squirrel
monkeys and one of the five baboons was malignant




TONY DING/Daily