Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Opinion 4 Steve Cotner is
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One-hundredfourteen years feditoralfreedom
ww.mhigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan I Vol. CXV, No. 28 @2004 The Michigan Daily
A new sound
Hearing implants gain
acceptance in deaf community
By Michael Kan
Daily Staff Reporter
The day Mobin Tawakkul couldn't
follow directions in his kindergarten
class was the day he began to lose touch
with a part of the world. It was the first
sign that he was going deaf.
Tawakkul's world began to evaporate
away with the onset of his hearing loss.
By fourth and fifth grade, surgeries to
his ears and his body's resistance to
antibiotics degraded his hearing to noth-
ing, said Tawakkul, a University alum.
Not even hearing aids could salvage the
sounds, he added.
"I felt this was becoming a way of life
so I had to deal with it," said Tawakkul,
who received his masters in pharma-
ceutical engineering at the University
in 2003.
But Tawakkul persevered with his
deafness beyond his expectations,
thanks to a device which a Univer-
sity program is helping bring to more
deaf ears.
The hearing device, called a cochle-
ar implant, resuscitated Tawakkul's
hearing ability when he underwent
surgery for the device in 10th grade.
The lost sounds of raindrops clatter-
ing on the ground, the chirps of birds
in the morning and the beats of Islam-
ic music returned to his deaf ears, re-
opening the world for him.
"The feeling is like there's more in
the world than I ever knew," he said.
Although the device is far from a
cure, the cochlear implant has improved
Tawakkul's life dramatically by both
rectifying his ability to communicate
with others and granting him the sounds
of everyday life.
Yet Tawakkul's story is just one of the
many different stories dealing with the
heated history of the cochlear implant.
Developed in the 1980s, the implant
functions by altering sounds into elec-
trical energy, which then stimulates a
deaf person's surviving auditory nerve
fibers to allow the user to hear. The
implant is also attached to an external
sound processor that both detects sound
and powers the hearing device.
Helping to spearhead the promo-
tion of the implants is the University's
Cochlear Implant Program, one of
the largest programs in the country.
Last month, the program implanted its
See IMPLANTS, Page 7
Greeks react to
'U' investigation,
hazing allegations
Ma her hope.
By Daniel Adams
Daily Arts Writer
After a 25-year career in comedy with stints on
both cable and network television, Bill Maher, the
original ruler of the cable commen-
tary world, continues to put out some " (Repu
of the most biting, astute political
satire today on his HBO show "Real. this lo
Time with Bill Maher."i-
On Friday, he takes his stand-up like th
act to the Eastern Michigan Univer- fringe
sity Convocation Center.
Maher recently sat down with The
Michigan Daily to talk about his act.
"The main thing that I want to do
when I do stand up is to really get people laughing
their asses off," Maher said. "And now that I've been
doing it 25 years, I know how."
Known for commentary that is both funny and bit-
ing, Maher has built a reputation as being hard-hit-
ting. His stand-up act promises to be no different.
to stir up l
"The first thing that I say when I get out there is that
I'm angry and the thing that I'm mostly angry about
is that people aren't angry enough," he explained.
After a well-publicized falling out with ABC in
2002, Maher took his format to HBO. There he has
iblicans) act like they are pissed
)ng to completely take over Am
le people who don't agree with
obstructionists."
iughs, anger
After a cordial introduction, a frequent guest, former
Sen. Alan Simpson began to rail against Maher for,
among other things, characterizing the Christian Right
"always with a touch of cynicism and smart-ass."
When asked what prompted the Senator's remarks,
Maher replied, "All
[off that it took I said to him was
congratulations."
erica. They act He added, "I don't
them aunderstand what set
are now any of these Repub-
licans off. I could
understand being
- Bil Maher bitter and losing.
Comedian I can't understand
being bitter and
winning."
"They act like they are pissed off that it took this
long to completely take over America. They act like
the people who don't agree with them are now fringe
obstructionists."
By Leslie Rott
Daily Staff Reporter
Members of the Greek community
are speaking out against the accusa-
tions that they have faced over the past
month and a half, saying many of the
allegations were without merit.
One organization, the Zeta Beta Tau
fraternity, recently received a tempo-
rary suspension by its national chapter
during the University investigation.
Three weeks ago University admin-
istrators announced they were investi-
gating seven fraternities and sororities
for alleged hazing incidents.
The suspension caused ZBT to
revert from chapter to colony status.
Under colony status, the fraternity
relies more on the national chapter
and lacks independence.
With regard to the process of inves-
tigation, ZBT President and LSA
sophomore Joshua Banschick offered
insight on what his chapter went
through.
"(The investigation) was organized,
it was enduring - hopefully it's over,"
At the onset of the investigation,
Banschick said he received an e-mail
from the Office of Student Conflict
Resolution and from his national
chapter regarding allegations.
"Most of the allegations were base-
less claims about things that never
occurred," Banschick said.
The University got its information
regarding the hazing allegations when
resident advisors familiar with the
Greek system brought forward some
of the reports from pledges living in
residence halls.
Along with OSCR, the body within
the University that enforces the State-
ment of Students Rights and Responsi-
bilities, four other exploratory bodies
have been working simultaneously.
These include the Ann Arbor Police
Department, the Department of Pub-
lic Safety, the Greek system's Anti-
Hazing Taskforce and the national
chapters of the fraternities and sorori-
ties in question, Dean of Students Sue
Eklund said.
After the investigation was estab-
lished, OSCR then performed a round
See HAZING, Page 7
far more creative reign to take "Real Time" down
roads forbidden to stuffy network programming.
"Here," he said referring to HBO, "they let the cre-
ative people do the creating."
The open and often confrontational atmosphere
of the series clearly took a wrong turn last Friday.
See MAHER, Page 7 he said.
Gold medal swimmer
Phelps arrested for DUI
By Chris Burke
Daily Sports Editor
Michael Phelps, who won six gold and
eight total medals during this year's Sum-
mer Olympics in Athens, was arrested and
charged with driving under the influence
of alcohol on Thursday,
according to a statement
released by the Maryland d
State Police.
The 19-year-old Phelps
ws pulled over in Salis-
bury, Md., at about 11:50
p.m. after running a stop
sign. The Maryland offi-
cer "observed signs indi-
cating the driver may be Phelps
operating under the influ-
ence," according to the statement.
Ini addition to the DUI, Phelps was also
charged with driving while impaired by alco-
hol, violation of a license restriction and failure
to obey a traffic control device.
Phelps, accompanied by two friends in
attend the University in the winter semester. He
will compete for Club Wolverine, a local club
swimming team, and continue to be a training
partner for Michigan's swim team.
First-year Michigan swimming coach Bob
Bowman - who took over the Wolverines
following the retirement of the legendary Jon
Urbanchek - has been Phelps's coach for
several years, and was disappointed with last
week's incident.
"I've known Michael for a long time, and he
knows that he's made a serious mistake,' Bow-
man said. "He knows he'll have to learn from
this and live with it."
The Maryland police reported that
Phelps was "fully cooperative" following
the arrest, and Bowman has been pleased
with how Phelps has handled the situation
since then.
"He's accepted his responsibility, and he's
ready to move forward," Bowman said.
Phelps was on hand for the Baltimore Ravens'
game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday
night, and he was introduced to the crowd prior
to the contest.
AP PHOTO
U.S Marines of
the 1st Divi-
sion take posi-
tions on the
outskirts of Fal-
lujah, Iraq. U.S.
troops launched
a ground offen-
sive yesterday
to seize key
insurgent strong-
holds inside the
city, which has
become Iraq's
major sanctu-
ary for Islamic
extremists.
Offensive in Fall ujah continues
NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) - U.S.
troops backed by thunderous air and artillery
neighborhood, the first ground assault into an
insurgent bastion.
T- - nrt~-vot .Lr. f . n n y T T CQ
hours today, and residents reached by satellite
telephone reported the constant drone of war-
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