LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 5, 2002 - 3A ...,__ Students make plans for first fall break Daughter crashes into father's car A man reported Tuesday night that his daughter rear-ended his vehicle in the Medicl Center Carport, according to Department of Public Safety reports. Banner snatched from League door A "Welcome to Michigan" sign was taken from above a doorway of the Michigan League early Monday, according to DPS reports. Trash cans near the Cooley Fountain were also knocked over. Fire alarm set off by excessive dust A cleaning staff was dusting in East Quad Residence Hall Tuesday morning when the dust made the smoke detector sound, DPS reports state. The smoke detector then set the fire alarm off. Men's room wall defaced by graffiti The Environmental Services staff found graffiti written on the wall in the men's room just outside the Facility Communications Center of University Hospitals Tuesday night, according to DPS reports. Van roof scraped by pipe in carport A caller reported Tuesday morning that the top of her van was damaged when it scraped a pipe in the Fletcher Street Carport structure, DPS reports state. Wallet stolen from unattended bag in UGLi, later found A female reported her wallet was taken from her bag Monday at approximately 3 p.m. when she left her bag unattended on the third floor of the Shapiro Undergraduate Library, according to DPS reports. The bag was left unattended between 2:45 and 3:15 p.m. The wallet was later recovered in the 4th floor men 's room of the library. Three credit cards and a checkbook were missing. Girl overdoses on medication, loses 1 consciousness A girl passed out on bench in front of Mary Markley Residence Hall early Monday, DPS reports state. Huron Valley Ambulance workers determined that the victim was suffer- ing from fatigue brought on by an overdose of her medicine and did not need to transport her to a hospital. Laptop, computer mice reported missing from 'U' A caller reported a laptop and three computer mice stolen Tuesday, accord- ing to DPS reports. The items were missing from the Towsley Center of University Hospitals and were last seen Friday. Man reports pass stolen from car he left unlocked A male reported Tuesday morning the theft of his parking permit on Aug. 19th from his unlocked car on the 4th level of the Glen Street Carport, DPS reports state. Woman injures herself in shower, taken to hospital A woman fell in the shower of the North Campus Recreation Building Tuesday afternoon, according to DPS reports. The Ann Arbor Fire Depart- ment and Huron Valley Ambulance reported to the scene and noticed a possible injury to the woman's left shoulder area. The victim was con- scious and transferred to St. Josephs Hospital. Female reports ex-boyfriend 's threats to DPS A man made threatening comments to his ex-girlfriend at University Hos- pitals Tuesday afternoon, DPS reports state. He was gone upon the arrival of DPS officers. By Stephanie Schonholz Daily Staff Reporter Students heaved a collective sigh of relief during the winter semester of 2002, when it was announced that former Michigan Student Assembly President Matt Nolan and Vice President Jessica Cash successfully negotiated a Fall Study Break for the coming academic year. The University became the first school in Michigan to have a Fall Break and the 20th out of the top 25 schools in the country to include a fall break in the academic calendar. Scheduled for Oct. 14 and 15, the Fall Study Break was approved as two days intended for extra studying and decom- pressing prior to mid-term exams. The two days allow for stu- dents to have a four to five-day weekend for intense studying and paper writing. But some students may use the break for more than studying. "I'm going to Chicago to visit my sister and I'm pretty sure every- one is using it as a break," LSA sophomore Julie Sprunk said. "But I'm pretty neurotic, so if I have work I'll use it to study." "I'm definitely happy to have a fall break," Law student Chris Brown said. "It's going to add to my studying." While Brown, a native Californian, will be staying in the Ann Arbor region to continue his studies, he said "I think people will take trips, just do things locally like go to Canada or Chicago." "Whenever days are given off its always used for personal time," Brown said. LSA sophomore Jennifer Slosser said she'll be staying on campus to take advantage of the free time to study for exams but she specu- lates what professors think of the two school free days. "Professors expect students to take off. I think they know it's our time, it's our time off," Slosser said. The Fall Study Break became a major issue on the University cam- pus in 1980, but MSA was unsuccessful in persuading the University Board of Regents to implement it. It became a part of the agenda in the '90s and was a major party platform when Matt Nolan and Jessica Cash ran for MSA president and vice president in 2001. "Students are just churning out things when you get into early to mid-October because of the stress from the schoolwork and stuff," Nolan said. "The break benefits students by letting you catch up on sleep or studying. We found uniform data that said one of two things - stu- dents spend the extra time studying or they go home," he added. But with any major changes to the academic calendar it is inevitable that opposition would voice an opinion. "There was a lot of worry from professors taking a day or two out of the class schedule, but I think that having 14 more productive class days as opposed to the 15 (with the day lost to fall break) is benefi- cial," Nolan said. Assistant English Prof. Joshua Miller said the addition of a fall break to the schedule did not disrupt planning for his classes. "We're just required to re-orient the class schedule," he said. Although students may spend the break relaxing, most will find some time to catch up on schoolwork, Miller said. "I suspect that a lot of students will bring books or work on the train or in cars or maybe nothing if they're that confident," Miller said. Nolan added that the Regents have already approved the academic calendar for the next several years and the break remains during the month of October. "Something catastrophic would have to occur in order to change the schedule,"Nolan said. Study: Birth control pills, breast cancer not linked By Daniel Kim Daily Staff Reporter For years, those in the medical community have been uncertain about the link between birth control pills and breast cancer. But The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a study that offered an answer to this long surviving question: There is no link between oral contraceptives and breast cancer. The study, which is supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, included over 9,200 women 35 to 64 years old from Atlanta, Detroit, Philadel- phia, Los Angeles and Seattle. "The relative risk (of breast cancer) did not increase consistently with longer periods of use or with higher doses of estrogen," the study read. "Use of oral contraceptives by women with a family history of breast cancer was not associated with an increase of breast cancer." "It was a chance to look at women over a lifetime to see what the risk has been," Robert Spirtas of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development said in a written statement. Besides breast cancer, venus thromboem- bolism, or blood clots, is another widely stud- ied topic regarding birth control pills, said Susan Ernst, a gynecologist at University Health Service. Other possible side effects include high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack. "Some patients are knowledgeable about these issues but many aren't. We try to help our patients so that they are aware," Ernst said. "I don't worry too much about the side effects in medicine because it doesn't neces- sarily mean they could happen to you. Even simple allergy medicines have side effect," said LSA junior Tanja Walker, 'who has been using the pill for .eight months. "I've heard some things about breast cancer but it's not a huge scare of me." Nursing junior Julie Thomas, who has been taking oral contraceptives for the past five years, said she was never informed by her doc- tor about any link between birth control pills and cancer when she began to take them. "Breast cancer doesn't run in my family, so I am not so concerned about the possible risk," Thomas said. Oral contraceptive users like Thomas are LAURIE BRESCOLL/Daily University Health Services Gynecology Clinic Coordinator Pam Bledsoe counsels a female patient on birth control options. more concerned about the benefits of the pills. "Some birth control pills will help clear up acne and my periods are much more regular and menstrual cramps are less painful," Thomas added. Walker said although someone is using oral contraceptives, she should not neglect to prac- tice protected sex. "A birth control pill is still not a 100 percent protection, especially when women don't take them accurately. Also, they don't protect you from sexually transmitted diseases." Waiting, waiting, waiting Automobile sales rise in August DETROIT (AP) - With summer incentive programs including 0 per- cent financing continuing to draw buyers into showrooms, automakers say that U.S. vehicle sales rose 18 percent last month compared with August 2001. Total sales were about 1.7 million vehicles, the automakers reported yesterday. The Chrysler Group of Daimler- Chrysler AG saw sales rise 28.1 percent, while General Motors Corp. reported a 22.6 percent increase and Ford Motor Co.'s sales rose 12.2 percent. "The incentives are still what's driving it," said Walter McManus, executive director for forecasting with marketing firm J.D. Power and Associates. Strong sales were seen among the major automakers, who have been locked in a yearlong incentive bat- tle. Ahead of its sales report, GM - the first of the major automakers to offer 0 percent financing after Sept. 11 - announced its latest round of incentives. "They're going to have to keep the incentives going," McManus said. "They're all going to have to launch the 2003 (models) now with incentives. We don't see an end in incentives because people are expecting them." Asian and European automakers also saw improvements, showing gains of 17 percent and 2 percent, respectively, over August 2001. GM's car sales rose 11.9 percent, while light truck sales - including pickups, sport utility vehicles, vans and minivans - showed a 32.1 per- cent gain. LAURIE BREuSu/aily A line of students stretches out the door of Shaman Drum Bookshop yesterday as students wait their turn to buy books. Less move-in time students unsettled By Carmen Johnson For the Daily Compensating for the newly imple- mented fall break, move-in was more hectic this year than in previous years. Having one less day to move-in put additional pressure on preparing for classes and gave students little time to readjust to campus life. For students returning to the resi- dence halls, the scheduled move-in day was Friday. LSA sophomore Lynn Has- sielbarth, who moved into West Quad felt stressed even before classes. "I wish there had been one more day to get ready for classes. It has just been too chaotic unpacking," Hasseilbarth said. Students living off campus also wanted to come back to Ann Arbor earlier to have enough time to buy books and relax with friends before classes started. LSA senior Tera Freeman said since she has always had at least two days to prepare for classes, crunching in move-in during Labor Day weekend was frustrating. "I live off campus and moved in on Friday. I didn't have enough time to unpack and set up. Especially because classes started just a day after a holiday," Freeman said. Having a few extra days to spend "1 wish there had been one more day to get ready for classes. It has just been too chaotic unpacking." - Lynn Hassielbarth LSA sophomore For first-year students, move-in day is always one or two days before returning students arrive to allow extra time to adjust to campus life and to take part in Welcome Week activities like New Student Convocation and Pre-Class Bash. Most first-year students said they had plenty of time to buy books, familiarize themselves with Ann Arbor, meet other students and attend Welcome Week events. LSA freshman Paul Freeman moved into Bursley Friday and felt ready to start classes Tuesday. "I only need two days to move in and unpack, so then I still had the whole three-day weekend to meet people in the dorm," Freeman said. i "; _ - "