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November 18, 2002
@2002 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 52
One-hundred-twelve years of editorilfreedom
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DPS looks
into recent
incidents
on campus
By Jeremy Berkowitz
Daily Staff Reporter
Amicus brief asks
Supreme Court to
clarify role of race
By Megan Hayes
Daily Staff Reporter
Despite recent arrests by the Depart-
ment of Public Safety for various cam-
pus crimes, security problems in
residence halls persist.
DPS posted two crime alerts yester-
day for incidents that occurred earlier
in the day.
The first crime took place when four
men attempted to steal a television
from an unlocked, occupied room on
the second floor of East Quad Resi-
dence Hall.
The suspects were described as
white college-aged men, two of whom
were about 6-foot-3 and two who were
about 5-foot-10.
The victim, an RC senior who
wished to remain anonymous, said he
was awakened when the suspects
unplugged a cable from the television,
causing static to come on the screen.
At first, he was unsure what was hap-
pening, but he said the suspects walked
out of the room, as if they had been
"caught in the act." He also said he
thought they were intoxicated.
He followed the suspects into the
hall where they returned a baseball cap
and a small hand drum to the resident.
But they ran off before the student
could ask for their identification.
"I tried to get information to find out
who they are," he said, adding that they
split into groups of two and left.
Afterward, he called DPS officers
who responded very thoroughly and
quickly, he said.
"They were there within three or
four minutes with two officers," adding
that the officers talked with him and
searched the building for the suspects.
The student, who said he had a lap-
top stolen from his room two years
ago, said he locks his door all the time
when he leaves and usually about half
the time when he is sleeping. He said
he plans to lock it all the time now
when he sleeps but is not overly con-
cerned about the incident.
"It's just kind of a thing when drunk
people seem to wander in the rooms,"
he said.
RC freshman Alyssa Cassard, who
lives in the hall where the attempted
crime took place, said she and her
roommate had always felt fairly safe in
East Quad but will now be a little more
cautious with regard to security.
"I'm sure we will be, although we
usually make a point of locking our
doors."
The second incident occurred in
Bursley Residence Hall between the
hours of 4 a.m. and 6:50 a.m. when
unknown suspects entered four
unlocked occupied rooms and stole
personal property, including three lap-
tops. DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown
could not offer any more information
last night.
These are the third and fourth crime
alerts DPS has issued for incidents in
the residence halls this year. There
were two home invasions in Mary
Markley and West Quad residence
halls in October. Due to a wave of
home invasions and "peeping tom"
incidents last winter, DPS approved
See CRIME, Page 3A
In their desire for the establishment of a
national standard for the use of race in admis-
sions, attorneys general from 10 states and a
U.S. commonwealth recently filed an amicus
brief in Grutter v.
Bollinger et. al.
requesting the5
Supreme Court hear ONTRIAD k
the Law School
admissions case.
The Oct. 29 brief
came from Alabama,
Delaware, Nebraska,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah,
Virginia, West Virginia and the Commonwealth
of Northern Mariana Islands in the northwest
Pacific and was filed on behalf of Barbara
Grutter, who claims she was wrongfully denied
admission to the Law School in 1997.
The states are asking the Supreme Court to
grant cert, or hear an appeal, of the U.S. 6th
Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in the Grutter
case. The states do not necessarily want the
appellate court's decision reversed, but rather
want the Supreme Court to update its 1978
decision in Regents of the University of Califor-
nia v. Bakke, where it ruled diversity to be a
compelling interest in admissions. The states
claim there currently is no clear standard for the
use of race as a factor in admissions, and that
the scenario in Grutter provides the Court with
an opportunity to clarify the issue.
Curt Levey, director of legal and public
affairs for the Center for Individual Rights, the
Washington-based law firm representing Grut-
ter, said the recently filed brief is important
because it is written by a group of people to
whom the use of race in admissions is very
important.
He said members of the states represented in
the brief are unsure how to proceed on the issue
and are asking the Supreme Court for clarity,
which makes it more probable the Court will
decide in their favor.
"This isn't someone coming with an axe to
grind," Levey said.
See CERT, Page 7A
Stargazers prepare for
large meteor shower
TONY DING/Daily
The "Guardian Angel" alcohol-level tester is on sale at in and Out on East University Avenue. The kit
provides a way for drinkers to measure their ability to operate heavy machinery, like cars.
tgaugedrinkers'
blood alcohol level
By Kylene Kiang
Daily Staff Reporter
By Kara DeBoer
Daily StaffReporter
Students using alcohol on campus have a new
way to judge their intoxication level as well as
prevent their friends from drinking and driving
- the Guardian Angel Personal Alcohol Test.
Users soak a test strip with saliva and com-
pare its color two minutes later with a chart
included with the product. Using the included
"risk meter," the user estimates whether their
blood alcohol level is "highly indicative of
risk."
"People don't have a clue how few drinks it
takes to put their driving at risk," said Guardian
See ALCOHOL, Page 7A
Entering the atmosphere at nearly 160,000 miles
per hour, a meteor can be difficult to catch a
glimpse of on an ordinary night. But tonight will be
no ordinary night as stargazers gear up for what is
predicted to be one of the most spectacular meteor
showers of this century.
Borrowing their name from the constellation
Leo, the Leonid meteors will light up the night sky
tonight in two phases that will continue into the
early hours of the morning. The first wave tonight,
from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.,.will be chiefly visible to
viewers in Europe, while the second wave, from 4
a.m. to dawn, will be visible in North America. The
North American wave is expected to peak at 5:30
a.m. Stargazers in Africa and Asia are expected to
see no more than a dozen bright meteors.
"They say that the Leonids have been responsible
for the heaviest showers ever seen," University
Lowbrow Astronomers member Kurt Hillig said.
Roughly every 33 years, the Earth's orbit inter-
sects with the orbit of the 55P/Tempel-Tuttle comet.
When the Earth passes through the comet's wake,
meteoric debris enters and burns up in the Earth's
atmosphere. This year, the concentration of debris
is particularly high.
"As with every meteor shower, no one knows
what is really going to happen. But in the last 10
years, methods of predicting them have improved."
Hillig added the last time the Leonids came close
to matching this year's intensity was in the 1800s.
"People thought the sky was falling. It was quite
a panic."
The comet is due to return to the inner solar sys-
tem around 2033 and 2066, but not with the inten-
sity that is expected during this year's meteor
shower.
For optimal meteor viewing, Hillig recommends
going to an area away from the city where the con-
See METEORS, Page 7A
Study: Blacks critical of work conditions
By Ted Borden
Daily Staff Reporter
Despite an increase in the number
of blacks entering the workforce,
many remain dissatisfied with work-
place conditions and more can be
done in human resource management
to address this, researchers say.
"Many traditional human resource
management practices do not take
into account the changing workforce
demographics," said Business School
Prof. Lynn Wooten. "I truly believe
when firms treat employees as strate-
gic assets, they will have higher per-
formance."
Along with her colleague Joycelyn
Finley-Hervey of Florida A&M Uni-
versity, Wooten studied data collected
on more than 3,500 employed adults,
including minorities and whites.
"Organizations must begin to per-
ceive their employees as a source of
competitive advantage by investing in
their needs and creating a work envi-
ronment that is inclusive of all
groups," Wooten said.
The study found that blacks, com-
pared to whites and other minorities,
are less satisfied and committed in
the workplace and are seeking more
learning opportunities, work-life bal-
ance and supportive interpersonal
relationships.
Wooten said she and her colleague
chose to study blacks because "they
are a neglected population in the
human resource management
research and their concerns differ
"I truly believe when firms treat
employees as strategic assets, they will
have higher performance."
- Lynn Wooten
Business School professor
from the general population. In gen-
eral as a group, they are less satisfied
with their jobs. Furthermore, under-
standing their concerns in the work-
place can benefit all employees."
Although Wooten stated the results
were expected, she said she found it
interesting that blacks place a high
value on learning opportunities at
work. "We believe this is true for
African Americans and.other ethnic
minorities because training is a
source of upward mobility in corpo-
rate America," she said.
The study is to appear in a future
issue of African American Research
Perspectives.
Wooten noted there are no quick
remedies to improve current human
See BUSINESS, Page 7A
Panhel joins on to study of
women and body image
Deck the streets
SEASONS GREET INU
By Undsey Wisniewski
For the Daily
College health experts have estimated that 60
percent of college women have body-image
issues that are significant enough to disrupt their
daily lives.
Alison Brzenchek, heath coordinator for eating
issues and sexual health at University Health Ser-
vices, is beginning a study on body image in which
she will be working with women in sororities. She
said she chose to work with sorority women
because she has found that sororities are a well-
organized group and have been very receptive to
the study.
The study is an "eight-week program focused on
the female body, society, media and how we can
facilitate change," Brzenchek said.
The National Panhellenic Association does not
cial permission for this study to take place.
Panhel was interested in the study because
images regarding weight and body image are an
issue on any campus.
Any time women are living together, whether
it's in the residence halls or a house, they are
going to see a "breeding ground for negativity"
as women "feed off each other," Brzenchek said.
Brzenchek wants to change the way women
think of body image by giving them something
positive to focus on.
"They compare themselves to others more,"
LSA freshman Lorea Barturen said about living in
Betsy Barbour, an all-girls residence hall.
But not all women agree. "Living with girls is
easier because you don't always feel like you have
to look good. They're not going to think I'm fat,
because girls don't care," LSA sophomore Kim
Larowe said.
TONY UING/Daily
The arrival of holiday lights on State Street this weekend signifies the start of the
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