W1[eahbr- iiN'
Tuesday
02003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 26
One-hundred-thirteen years ofeditorilfreedom
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Moment of silence
Crime alert
issued after
night attack
Department of Public
Safety is still investigating
the Law Quad incident
By Emily Kraack
Daily Staff Reporter
An unknown man pushed a
woman to the ground while she was
walking on a sidewalk possibly near
the Law Quad. The incident
occurred on the 600 block of State
Street Sunday morning between
2:10 and 2:35 a.m. The woman was
treated and released from the hospi-
tal. The Department of Public Safe-
ty is currently investigating the
incident and has no suspects.
The location of the attack was
unclear and the case was initially
handled by the Ann Arbor Police
Department. AAPD said the victim
was an 18-year-old female Univer-
sity student. AAPD reports state the
woman was attacked while walking
home from a party on Oakland
Avenue early Sunday morning. She
suffered leg pain and a scrape on
her face.
DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown
confirmed the AAPD reports. "It
sounds consistent with what little I
know," she said.
"Theoretically, she was pushed
from behind," Brown said. She did
not have information on whether
the woman was walking alone.
This incident marks the second
DPS crime alert of the 2003-2004
school year. In this case, Brown
said DPS struggled with whether or
not to issue an alert, because DPS
typically issues alerts when it has a
description about an unidentified
suspect that could help the public
identify the suspect. There is no
See ALERT, Page 7
LAURA SHLECTER/Daily
Students stand around the Diag in the Day of Silence to protest violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.
They wore signs saying, "What are you going to do about the silence?"
Ethnicities
differ in
treatment
for pain
Journal article finds that
physical and mental pain
affects patients differently
By Siabhon Sturdivant
For the Daily
A recent study on pain and ethnici-
ty dispelled the myth that "we are all
alike on the inside."
According to the report, racial and
ethnic minorities tend to experience,
express and get treated for pain differ-
ently than non-minorities.
The article combined the results of
180 research papers and was authored
by Carmen Green, an anesthesiology
professor at the University of Michi-
gan, and multiple other experts locat-
ed throughout the United States.
"Our purpose was to bring togeth-
er information from a variety of
sources, and get a real sense of what
is really happening," said Cynthia
Myers of the University of Califor-
nia in Los Angeles.
Across the board, the review article
stated that pain, whether physical or
mental, did not affect patients in the
same ways. For example, one of the
studies outlined in the article focused
on results from Emory University's
School of Public Health. The emer-
See PAIN, Page 7
I
STEM CELL RESEARCH
Fundmg to U'
By Aymar Jean
Daily Staff Reporter
Two years after President Bush
restricted federal funding for stem cell
research, the University has received part
of a three-year, $6.3 million federal grant
to fund work in this field.
The size of the grant pales in compari-
son to other federal contributions to
medical research.
Last week, the National Institutes of
Health announced a $2 billion initiative
to promote medical research and innova-
tion. The NIH has an annual budget of
$27 billion.
In addition, the Medical School will
share the relatively small grant with two
other research institutions, the universi-
ties of Wisconsin and Washington.
But the symbolic nature of the grant,
concerns gov't,
interpreted as a federal endorsement of
embryonic stem cell research (ESCR),
has left interest groups ill-at-ease.
Groups ranging from the University of
Michigan's Students for Life and Right
to Life of Michigan expressed concern
about this announcement.
Resistance extends into the Michigan
Legislature as well, as bills proposing a
ban on ESCR have been introduced in
the House of Representatives this year.
Expressing support for the University's
research, Rep. Chris Kolb (D-Ann Arbor)
explained that many of his colleagues do
not share the same view.
"The potential for cures and treatment
are mind boggling, and trying to inject
religion into science doesn't always have
the best outcomes. (Opponents) tie it to
the abortion debate, instead of looking at
the research potential," Kolb said.
student groups
The controversy lies primarily with
ESCR, since opponents extol the benefits
of adult stem cell research (ASCR),
which uses cells acquired from grown
adults.
"The government, and the University
of Michigan, should immediately with-
draw itself from this unethical and
unproven research in favor of adult stem
cell research, which is both ethical and
proven," said Ed Rivet, legislative direc-
tor for Right to Life of Michigan.
LSA senior Louise Conlon echoed this
sentiment, saying that the opportunities
for ASCR are comparable to ESCR. Con-
lon also believes that "the ends do not
justify the means," even if ESCR could
save an inestimable number of lives.
"I'd like to emphasize all the success
that adult stem cell research has been
having. Stem cells can not only be
gleaned from embryos, but also from
bone marrow and umbilical cords. And
they've used these adult stem cells with
great success," said Conlon, who is pres-
ident of the University Students for Life.
But Robert Kelch, the University's
executive vice president for medical
affairs, who will administer the federal
funds, said that argument is flawed.
Since adult cells are fully matured, they
exhibit less potential than embryonic
cells, which can develop into a number
of different tissues, he said.
"The greatest potential for development'
for specialized tissues is with undifferenti-
ated (embryonic) cells. That's not to say
that adult stem cells are not valuable. They
are, and important work is going with them
See STEM CELLS, Page 7
Pros and cons of stem cell research
In favor of using embryos
0 Relatively few embryos could save
many lives
Adult stem cells are less versatile,
while embryonic cells develop into
many different tissues
M Reputable scientists oppose cloning;
embryonic cell duplication is merely a
method, but an essential one
Researchers use few embryonic
cells, since existing cells can repli-
cate
In opposition to using embyos
Research on embryonic cells
devalues life
Embryonic research is not neces-
sary, because researchers can use
adult stem cells
Unchecked, researchers will over-
use stem cells, compounding the
problem
Embryonic stem cell research will
lead to cloning of humans
Students wait Inside University Health Service, which will
soon offer influenza vaccinatIons before the height of the flu
season.
Early vaccine.
shots fight flu
before winter
By Ashley Dinges
Daily Staff Reporter
For students, close living quarters mean not only sharing
space but also sharing germs. To counter the slew of illnesses
the fall semester brings, the University Health Service wills
offer $15-flu vaccine starting later this month.
UHS will also be holding clinics across campus where stu-
dents can be vaccinated, from Nov. 17 to 21, in locations such
as the Michigan Union. Other clinic locations have yet to be
determined, but on Nov. 14 table tents will be placed in all res-'
idence hall dining areas with the complete list of locations
where students may obtain the vaccination.
"When there is the flu in the community, everyone is sus-
ceptible. We see students, faculty and staff with influenza,"
UHS Director Robert Winfield said.
Flu symptoms can include fever, sore throat, cough;
headache, chills and muscle ache and are sometimes
North Hall cracks under
pressure from its newest
neighbor, Life Sciences
By Carmen Johnson
Daily Staff Reporter
North Hall - one of the oldest build-
ings on campus -now stands partly-con-
demned with cracks running down its
walls in the shadow of the recently con-
structed Life Sciences Institute. How
long it will stand dilapidated is a mystery,
but students and faculty that use the
building hope it won't take too long.
Years of construction for the LSI build-
ing has shifted the soil, affecting the
foundations of the adjacent North Hall
and causing cracks to form alongside its
walls, said Bob Kaminski, project direc-
tor for the Palmer Drive site.
The freezing and thawing weather cycle
and the shallow foundations of North Hall
also contributed to the problem.
"Because the building is so old, there
m, has amlwa e hen snme cracks in the walls
immediately responded to try to stabilize
the foundations."
But University officials currently
working on a repair plan for North Hall
do not have an estimated cost for the
damages or know how long the process of
reconstruction will take, said Diane
Brown, spokeswoman for Facilities and
Operations.
Built in 1900 as a homeopathic hospi-
tal, North Hall now holds the offices and
classrooms of the Reserve Officer Train-
ing Corps.
When senior Army cadet Mark Gold-
farb was a freshman taking classes in
North Hall, he remembers the walls shak-
ing while pole drivers dug into the soil at
the nearby construction site.
"But the condition of the building did-
n't get too bad until last year when I
thought the whole building was going to
come down," said Goldfarb, who enters
accompanied by
nausea, vomiting
or diarrhea.
"I had (the vac-
cination) last year.
I didn't want to
waste time that I
could use going
to classes. If
you're sick, your
p e r form an c e
drops. (The vac-
cine) did help,"
LSA sophomore
Filip Fracz said.
Although some
"Periodically, the flu
has reached epidemic
proportions. Some
years it is light, and
some years it is
heavy. Last year was
a light year."
- Robert Winfield
Director, University Health Service
students such as Fracz choose to invest in
BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily
Following the construction of the Life Sciences Institute, right, cracks due to soil pressure
developed on the north side of North Hall.
the building as a cadet at the University 25
years ago, said the damages have disrupted
activities as offices are moved because of
the lost of space in the building. However,
Rienstra said he does not want to move into
another newer building.
Several offices were consolidated into a
completely, Kaminski added.
"This building has been our home for
decades. It's fantastic as long as it func-
tional," Rienstra said.
But now the ROTC might have to
break tradition and not host the annual
Halloween haunted house held in now
the vaccination, many more do not.
"I would probably get it if everyone started getting (the flu),
but no one really has it right now," Business School junior
Zhuo Wang said.
But by that time, it may be too late. UHS's website suggests
getting the vaccination before or during December, because
immunity develops about two weeks after receiving it.
In addition, it also advises that students living in the resi-
dence halls be vaccinated, as the virus is easy to catch when
living in close quarters.
"Periodically, the flu has reached epidemic proportions.