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wwwmichigazndaily.com

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Vol. CXIII, No. 90

@2004 The Michigan Daily


- Stomach flu hits Markley

Up to 15 students have been
infected with a flu-like illness
By Ashley Dingos
and Emily Kraack
Daily StaffReporters
The winter cold and flu season just got a little
nastier.
Campus administrators are reporting that an
outbreak of stomach flu in a Mary Markley
Residence Hall hallway has infected between
12 and 15 students. Health officials on and off

campus are advising uninfected students to
wash their hands and avoid the infected area of
the dormitory.
Although the Office of Student Affairs is not
releasing information on which area is infected
or which students have fallen ill, students in the
residence hall report that the infected area is the
fourth floor of Reeves House, a men's hallway.
Senior Associate Vice President of Student
Affairs Frank Cianciola said his department was
alerted yesterday morning that six students in the
hall had fallen ill with viral gastroenteritis, com-
monly known as the stomach flu. Symptoms

include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea,
headache, low fever and stomachache.
Cianciola said that the University has assem-
bled a team of staff from the Housing Depart-
ment, University Health Service, the
Washtenaw County Health Department, the
University's Occupational Safety and Environ-
mental Health department and the Department
of Public Safety to assess how to deal with the
situation.
"Upon hearing about that, we invited some
health care professionals, as well as OSEH, in to
help us assess what the situation was. We have

been monitoring the situation all day ... at this
point in time, we are aware of less than 15 stu-
dents who are reporting similar kinds of symp-
toms," Cianciola said.
UHS Director Robert Winfield stressed that
the outbreak does not seem to be food-borne ill-
ness or related to the Markley building itself.
"The health department and OSEH are saying
that this appears to be a viral gastroenteritis,"
Winfield said. He added that the stomach flu is
not related to influenza, commonly known as
respiratory flu, and that students who received
flu shots will not be protected from viral gas-

dorm
troenteritis.
Fourth Reeves residents such as LSA fresh-
man Alok Ezhuthachan said they have been suf-
fering from symptoms including vomiting and
stomach discomfort.
"I got sick (Tuesday) night around 8 p.m. My
roommate was sick on Friday and Saturday, and
since then, basically one person per room is sick
on the entire hall," Ezhuthachan said.
He went to the University Hospital emer-
gency room at about midnight last night, where
he was diagnosed as dehydrated and given
See OUTBREAK, Page 8A


THE STORY FROM FLEMING

In the past
month, the
Division of
Student Affairs
has proposed
changes to the
Greek System
and reorganized
counseling at
the Sexual
Assault
Prevention and
Awareness'
Center.

"That
doesn't
mean I don't
want to be
liked, but
that's not
the criteria
for doing
this
job.

E. Royster Harper

FILE PHTuO

Student Affairs VP

reflects on
By Andrew McCorMNack
Daily Staff Reporter

U'

career

LAURA SHLECTER/Daily
Zeev Maoz (center), visiting professor of political science and head of the Graduate School of Government and Policy at Tel Aviv Uni-
versity, sits on a panel of scholars at the Michigan League yesterday during a dialogue titled "Is Israeli-Palestinian Peace Still Possi-
ble?" To Maoz's left is Naomi Sheffer, a visiting fellow from the University of Maryland.
Israeli-Palestinian dialogue
attracts experts from Mideast

With much activity revolving around the
Division of Student Affairs recentlyf,'E' Royster
9feels many student groups have been forming
their opinions of her with only half the facts.
"Sometimes I get impatient with what I call
'running with bad information,"' she said.
Few of Harper's budget decisions go without
drawing some sort of reaction, she said,
because almost everything student affairs deals
with is essential to students, so any cut comes
as a blow. Harper added that while she catches
a lot of flak, this doesn't
influence her view of her " e
own performance. Sometim
"I get a lot of that -- patient
'we don't like what you're 6
doing, therefore we don't I Call nm
like you' - but that's not bad infor
what I signed up for. I
didn't sign up to be liked,"
Harper said. "That does- -
n't mean I don't want to Vice President f
be liked, but that's not the
criteria for doing my job. I have to have some
backbone too."
While all budget cuts hurt, Harper said the
one that hurts her the most is when she is
forced to hold back on leadership education.
"There's just some skills and competencies
that come with being in a leadership role that
you get some practice with - how to run a
meeting, how to make sure all the voices are
heard. These aren't things you just wake up and
know how to do" she said.
While Harper admits that this service may
seem non-critical in the face of other services
like SAPAC, she maintains that leadership
training is an invaluable service to students and

ie
m
E.
fo

student government. She added that "it's not
and either/or, it's a both."
While agreeing that, as a student leader, she
believes that leadership education is important,
Residence Hall Association President Amy
Keller said she feels that leadership programs
are perhaps not so critical to all students.
"Student leadership is a great thing for stu-
dents who want to get involved in it," she said.
"There are some student services that are
needed, and some that are required for further
development," she added, citing counseling
services and the like as "needed."
In the past month, Harper and the Division
of Student Affairs have
also received criticism for
.s I get proposed changes to the
with what Greek System and rerr
ganized counseling at the
ing with Sexual Assault Prevention
to , and Awareness Center.
cation. Some of the more
prominent student groups
Royster Harper on campus that deal with
r Student Affairs the Office of Stude4t
Affairs did not return
phone calls seeking com-
ment this week, including the Michigan Stu-
dent Assembly, Interfraternity Council,
Panhellenic Association and Black Student
Union.
Saying that one of her greatest difficulties is
familiarizing herself with all the constituent
parts of the student body, Harper said she does-
n't believe she's been successful in getting to
know the whole of the campus community.
"We all talk as if there's one student body,
and in sort of an abstract way, there is. But
there are lots of bodies that make up this body,
and so I think MSA represents a particular
See HARPER, Page 7A

By Michael Kan
and Marie Handheld
Daily Staff Reporters
The yes/no question, "Is Israeli-Palestinian
peace still possible?" was confronted by pro-
fessors from both sides of the conflict at a dis-
cussion panel last night. Yet none of them could
offer a definitive answer to what they saw as an
almost impossible problem to solve.
Sponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern
and North African Studies, the panel was com-
prised of distinguished professors representing
various perspectives from overseas and Ameri-
can universities. The professors came to give
their own academic and personal viewpoints on
the conflict and on the prospects for a possible
peace between the two peoples.

The discussion opened with optimism from
two political science professors - Khalil
Shikaki of Birzeit University and Zeev Maoz
of Tel Aviv University - said the long-term
goal of peace was possible in spite of the cur-
rent conditions of the situation.
"It is this belief that the (Israeli and Palestin-
ian) public is moving toward moderation. That
leads me to believe that the answer is 'yes' (that
peace will be achieved)," said Shikaki.
But that optimism for peace quickly
turned to skepticism when political science
Prof. Gabriel Sheffer of the Hebrew Univer-
sity of Jerusalem said he was utterly doubtful
about those prospects and added that the
bare reality was surveys have shown that
both sides still see violence as a means to
solve their problems.

"It is true that the majority are for peace. But
at the same time, the majority are for the use of
force," Sheffer said.
He added that the central issue to the conflict
is land, and until Israel gives up that land, no
peace will be achieved.
Even more dire prospects came from soci-
ology Prof. Sharif Kanaana of Birzeit Univer-
sity in the West Bank, who said he saw no
chance for peace in the past and sees no
chance of it in the future. He added that nei-
ther side had the intentions for peace, but each
is delaying any productive action in order to
prevent a possible resolution that would not
go in its favor.
"Everybody is playing their own game.
They are not looking at each other's games and
See DIALOGUE, Page 8A

Wolv. Access closes today as
'U' plans to upgrade database

By Ryan Vicko
Daily Staff Reporter
Today the University's Wolverine Access database
will go through its second major revision since it was
implemented in 1996.
The changes reflect an effort to simplify and increase
the database's administrative capabilities.
Beginning at 5 p.m., Wolverine Access will be inac-
cessible to students and faculty while new software is
uploaded. The website will be back online next Tuesday
at 7 a.m.
 Thea phani to the database are nart of 2 contractual obli-

atg5ipm.,5 Wolverine and AWareness Center will
Beginning p.m., require all freshmen to partici
Access will be inaccessible to pate in some form of sexual
and assault awareness instrutiton,
students and faculty while new both during their academic terms
software is uploaded. The website and before they attend the Uni-
will be back online next Tuesday versity.
at 7 a.m. Because 98 percent of freshmen
live in residence halls, many features
ahot the uncomini changes to the system "primarily of the Drogram include presentations

SAPAC to offer
new program
for freshmen
ByNlsonbo
Daily Staff Reporter
In order to protect the most vulnerable students on cam-
pus, the University will implement a broad sexual assault
awareness program aimed at first-year students, starting this
summer.
The plan, originally recommended by University President
Mary Sue Coleman, hopes to ensure that all first-year students
have had some exposure to sexual assault awareness during the