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The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 8, 2004 - 3A
Alumni to launch Friendster-like service
Tree Loyd
residents involved
in alterCation
Department of Public Safety
reports from Tuesday indicate a
fight occurred between a resident,
his girlfriend and his roommate. At
one point during the fight, the resi-
dent's roommate had a knife, and
deliberately cut himself on the arm,
but only suffered minor injury. Lim-
ited details about the incident are
available, as it is currently being
investigated by DPS.
E MU student
involved in alleged
seX ual assa ult
The Ann Arbor News reported
yesterday that an Eastern Michigan
University student told the Univer-
sity's police that she was raped Sun-
day. The woman said she knew the
suspect, who called her Sunday and
requested to come visit her, and
forced her to have sex with him.
Thetassault reportedly occure in
EMU's Goddard Hall.
After the incident, the woman
was transported to the University of
Michigan Hospital where doctors
collected evidence, but she had
reportedly showered before arriving
at the hospital. EMU police are con-
tinuing an investigation into the
identity of the man.
Chemical spill
damages $2000
S worth of equipment
A student reported to DPS on
Monday that equipment in the Med-
ical Science building was acciden-
tally damaged when an unknown
solution was spilled onto it. The
equipment, a PH meter, is valued at
about $2,000.
Lapopstolen
fom Duderstadt
Center study room
A silver Sony laptop computer
was reported stolen to DPS on Tues-
day from the James and Anne Dud-
erstadt Center, formerly called the
~Media Union. The caller reported
that the laptop, valued at $1,200,
was taken from second floor study
room 7 after i was left unattended.
~ he caller also believes the theft
occurred between 12:30 and 1 p.m.,
but DPS has no witnesses or sus-
pects in the incident.
Soccer players
collie; one sent
to hospital
Sports Coliseum staff reported to
DPS that two soccer players hit
heads while playing a game Tues-
day. One subject, a University stu-
.dent, bled from a wound on the
head, but was still conscious and
breathing and was transported to the
University Hospital. According to
DPS reports, neither of the victims
suffered a life-threatening injury.
Toilet torn off wall
p of Executive
Residence
Staff of the Business School
Executive. Residence reported to
DPS Sunday that a toilet was torn
off a wall in a handicap stall of the
restroom. The water line was turned
off to the restroom after the toilet
was removed. There are no suspects
in the incident.
Palm Pilot stolen
from TCF building
DPS reports from Tuesday indi-
cate that a University-owned Palm
Pilot was stolen from the TCF Bank
Building on Liberty Street. The
device was signed for on March 15,
and is believed to have been stolen
between that date and Tuesday. The
inc ident was reported by staff, and
tePalm Pilot is valued at $350.
Laundry thief
strikes Lloyd Hall
A student reported to DPS that
their laundry was stolen from Alice
Lloyd Residence Hall sometime
between. 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. on Sun-
day evening. DPS has no suspects in
the incident, and there is no value
estimate for the laundry.
By Ashley Dinges
Daily Staff Reporter
University Alumni Association members
will soon be able to create networks of con-
tacts between themselves, when the associa-
tion launches inCircie, a networking engine.
Plans are also being made for a student ver-
sion of the program.
The Alumni Association will release infor-
mation today regarding inCircle, which wvill
allow alumni to create contacts for business
and personal use.
Catherine Niekro, director of Marketing
and Communication for the association,
worked in cooperation with Affinity Engines,
the California-based company that creates
and maintains the inCircle database.
"It's really about trying to fit a need and
desire that we know that alumni have,"
Niekro said.
A website with detailed information will be
posted April 16 on the association's website,
www. alumni. umich. edu. The actual program
will be available for use beginning May 21.
Niekro said the association hopes to have a
network for students available this fall.
The database is similar to online network-
ing programs such as Friendster, a website
that has been gaining popularity recently and
works as an electronic forum for users to
meet each other.
But inCircle differs in several ways from
programs such as Friendster.
Unlike Friendster, inCircie users are able to
create two separate profiles, one personal and
one business, and send messages out to each
list. These messages can include job or hous-
ing requests.
"It's an art to walk the fine line of making
it professional but personal as well," said
Tyler Ziemann, founder of Affinity Engines.
Niekro said the Alumni Association has
about 108,000 members and a system such as
inCircle would be valuable in bringing
together a scattered group of members.
To become a member of the network, a user
must belong to the Alumni Association,
which costs $55 annually. For members with
an active uniqname at the University, the net-
working service will be free.
"All (undergraduate) seniors get a free year
of membership to the Alumni Association, so
they'll be able to join (inCircle) right away in
May," Niekro said.
Ziemann, a graduate of Stanford Universi-
With inCircie, users are able to create two separate profiles,
one persona and one business, and send messages out to each
list. These messages can include job or housing requests.
ty, has created databases for other colleges,
such as the University of Southern California.
"We started this in 2001 as an undergrad
project for Stanford as an extracurricular
activity that would allow undergraduates to
connect and map the network of Stanford
undergrads," Ziemann said.
He added that about 30 other universities
are scheduled to purchase similar databases,
including the University of Texas at Austin.
Affinity Engines charges a flat rate of
$20,000 for each school. But the University's
Alumni Association will pay about $10,000
on a per-user fee.
Networking programs such as Friendster
have become popular among students. LSA
senior Ronni Neeman is a Friendster user who
said he would be interested in a similar pro-
gram through the Alumni Association.
"I think a lot of my friends would be inter-
ested in it -- it sounds like a good idea. A lot
of people on campus use Friendster. It seems
like if it's the same type of thing, a lot of
people would be interested in that too," Net-
man said.
But other students and alumni had reserva-
tions about using the network and the neced-
sity of such a system.
"I guess it would be good to leave mes-
sages if you had books or needed a sublet ,-
it's another resource," said LSA junior Dave
Smith. "But if it's just adding people to your
list, then that's stupid."
University alum Jim Yeats, who graduatedl
in 1979 with a masters degree in public poli-
cy, shared a view similar to Smith's.
"I'd guess I'd have to see the implementa-
tion, but I suspect, given where I am in life
..I already have alternate mechanisms for
doing the same sort of thing," Yeats said.
Speake urges women to stick wit Cheistr
U ecture sponsored by
organkationH deicated to
/hiring more women at 'U>'
By Andrea Carone
Daily Staff Reporter
Schools need to encourage young
girls to hold onto their periodic
table of the elements.
This is the message Madeleine
Jacobs, American Chemical Society
executive director and chief executive
officer, sent to a mainly female audience
of students in a packed classroom at the
Chemistry Building yesterday.
Jacobs spoke in an event sponsored
by ADVANCE, a University organiza-
tion dedicated to hiring more women.
ADVANCE has been in effect for more
than a year, during which time the Uni-
versity has said it has made significant
gains in hiring female faculty. Between
September 2002 and September 2003,
the University hired 43 women as sci-
ence and engineering faculty.
In addition, last year the Michigan
Student Assembly voted to support
efforts to increase the number of minori-
ty and women faculty at the University.
Jacobs fused her own personal expe-
rience with data in an effort to educate
the University community about what
can be done to provide more opportu-
nities for women in the sciences.
"The most frustrating thing to see is
so little progress" Jacobs said regarding
the advancement of women in chemistry.
As a student at George Washington
University in the mid-I 960s, Jacobs
never had a female lab assistant, assis-
tant professor or professor. But she
said, "I knew the situation would
change because 50 percent of my class
was women."
Yet despite her hopeful predictions,
Jacobs expressed frustration when she
said an article she wrote more than 30
years ago discussing gender inequali-
ties in the chemistry field could well
apply to the current environment for
women in higher education.
But Jacobs said the situation is
improving. She illustrated in graphs
and charts that the percentages of
women in the sciences since 1972
have dramatically increased, espe-
cially for women in chemistry.
Jacobs said she looks at annual
reports to gather information about
women in chemical companies. "There
is a slight increase in the number of
women on the board of directors, but in
2003 no (chemical) company had a
woman CEO, COO or CFO," she said.
Jacobs explained why more women
getting science degrees does not trans-
late into business achievements, attribut-
ing the problem to "pipeline" issues:
Social tradition guides women into
excelling in certain fields, but rarely
chemistry. "Pipelines do not empty iinto
a neutral pond," Jacobs said.
She later added, "Women are not
claiming the corner office because they
are not getting the business of business."
One aspect she pointed to is the lack of
mentoring by their male colleagues.
Another, Jacobs added, is a lack of
women's self-confidence.
Jacobs said women have to work
hard to ameliorate the situation, citing
a 1999 study by the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology that found bias-
es against females among the school's
faculty. She added that women com-
prised a mere 8 percent of the science
faculty for 20 years, through 1999.
Also in 1 990, a male university
professor at a top university favored
a male job candidate over a female
one because of the perception he had
that his students would respect the
male applicant more, Jacobs said.
Jacobs did not disclose his name.
"Change comes when people at the
top are committed," Jacobs said. She
added that the University of Michi-
gan has a strong commitment to
recruiting women:
Rackham student Allison Dick
agreed with Jacobs's comment about
women in chemistry at the University.
"The University is making a conscious
effort to hire more women faculty as
well as grad students," Dick said.
Jacobs adheres to a list that she
insisted could help women excel in
chemistry. It includes such advice as
being open to change, being a mentor
and seeking collaborations with peers.
"It was good for me to hear from
someone who is so successful that it is
important for me to have a life outside
of work," Dick added, regarding one of
Jacobs's top 10 pieces of advice.
Madeleine Jacobs, chief executive officer of the American Chemical Society, speaks
In the Chemistry Building yesterday. Jacobs said the University has made an effort to
hire more women faculty but the efforts must continue.
Corrections::COME 10 THE DAILY'S EDITORIAL.
* Hanna-Barbera's name was misspelled on Page 1 and 5 of yesterday's Daily.-
* An article on Page 1 of yesterday's Daily should have said that the level one, two and three designations for lecturers UQARD. MONDAY AN4D TH URSDAY,
are assigned to a lecturer when they are hired. £hPM 2.NY AR ST
Please report any errors in the Daily to corrections@,nichigandaiy.conm V P. .4 0*UW ~Rh
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