NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Monday, December 6, 2004 - 3A
ON CAMPUS V' ' brings out men's voices against violence
Students can run By Kelly McDermott hand out ribbons to students and Pavglaniti, an LSA senior, hopes
for chairs of MSA Daily Staff Reporter encouraged other men to take a personal that events like these will help people
pledge to end violence against women. realize that such violence is a serious
commissions Students met on the Diag last night Men wearing the ribbon agreed to never issue. "The first step is admitting that
t av ll h d i -- f all , - irn - d at n i fl- bN- th r ' b- W. l-tn A, -A 1
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The Michigan Student Assembly
is seeking students to run to be chairs
of its 14 commissions, which include
Academic Affairs, Voice your Vote,
Minority Affairs and Women's Issues.
An informational meeting will be held
today at 8 p.m. in the MSA chambers on
the 3rd floor of the Michigan Union, and
elections will be tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.
Psychologist to
explore importance
of science in psych
Psychologist Carol Tavris will lec-
ture on the importance of scientific
and critical thinking psychology at 4
p.m. today in room 1210 of the Chem-
istry Building. Tavris has published
two textbooks and two best-sellers
titled "Anger: the Misunderstood
Emotion" and "The Mismeasure of
Woman: Why Women Are Not the
Better Sex, the Inferior Sex, or the
Opposite Sex."
Jamaican poet
to read and talk
about her work
Award-winning poet Lorna Goodi-
son, who has written six volumes of
poetry, will read and talk about her
work at noon today in Rackham's Oster-
man Common Room.
University Choir to
perform at Hill
The University Choir will perform
works by composers Felix Mendelssohn
and Otorino Respighi today at 8 p.m. in
Hill Auditorium.
CRIME
NOTES
Sexual assault
in Kerrytown
reported to DPS
A caller reported a sexual assault in
the Kerrytown neighborhood to DPS.
The victim was taken to the University
Hospital Emergency Room.
Suspected pot
turns out to be
cigar tobacco
A substance alleged to be marijua-
na was found in a parking lot at 900
Huron Street. The substance was actu-
ally cigar tobacco.
Obscene phone
calls ring out on
University campus
Two obscene phone calls were report-
ed Saturday and yesterday. Yesterday's
originated in the area around the Uni-
versity hospital. Saturday's was reported
from Stockwell Residence Hall. There
are no suspects in either case.
THIS DAY
In Daily History
School for veterans
opens at University
Dec. 6, 1945 - Beacon Institute, the
school for World War II veterans seek-
ing positions in industry, was scheduled
to open at the University Jan. 2.
Co-founder Keith Haien said 40 veter-
ans would be admitted in January and that
the school's experience with the first group
would determine the number accepted for
future classes. Original plans had called
for the admission of 50 students each
month to begin a six-month course.
Veterans enrolled in the program were
expected to stay at Willow Run Village
and be transported to the school, located
near the Michigan Central station, by
state-furnished buses.
The program did not graduate any-
one "we can't recommend to industry,"
Haien said.
CORRECTIONS
Please report any errors in the
Daily to corrections@rmichigandaily.
com.
at a vig new in memory oz an women
who have been victims of violence at
the hands of men. The vigil last night
marked the end of Ann Arbor's White
Ribbon Campaign, sponsored by the
organization Men Against Violence
Against Women.
The campaign began in 1991 as a
response to the Montreal Massacre, in
which a man shot and killed 14 women
at the University of Montreal on Dec. 6,
1989. Today marks the 15th anniversary
of that incident.
The now-international campaign
is held annually during the first
week of December and raises aware-
ness of the seriousness of violence
against women.
Nearly 25 percent of college women
are subject to the violence of men, Coert
Ambrosino, a member of the group, said
last night during the vigil. "By taking
part in the White Ribbon Campaign,
we hope to change people's perception
that men's violence against women is
acceptable."
During the vigil, MAVAW
observed a moment of silence for
women who have died as a result of
violence. Some participants handed
out candles to students and spoke in
memory of three women associated
with the University who had died as
victims of men's violence.
Last week, MAVAW distributed
white ribbons and held events in order
to raise awareness about men's violence
against women.
Almost 75 group members helped
commit, conaone or remain siieni a out
such violence.
"If every man was to take a per-
sonal pledge, we wouldn't have a
problem," said Ambrosino, an LSA
sophomore.
This year's campaign was the most
successful everc
according to M ale part
MAVAW. Over- . r
all, 5,000 white 18 really i
ribbons pinned to - t
flyers were dis- the issu
tributed to men violence a:
and women alike
passing through women...
the Diag. Many,
female students appreCiate
took ribbons to
give to their boy- men are w
friends or other t
men they knew, get inv(
Ambrosino said.
In addition to in this stri
distributing rib-
bons, the group - M
held a poetry
event on Wednes-
day. During the
poetry session,
male students read
pieces that related to violence against
women.
"It was a good way to express
their feelings about how they felt
about violence against women and
violence in general," said Vincent
Paviglianiti, an active supporter of
the group.
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V
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U
m ere s a prowem that needs to b~e deari
with," Paviglianiti said.
LSA senior Megan Shuchman, one
of few women present at the vigil, said
she was pleased with the campaign
"Male participation is really impor-
tant in the issue of violence against
. women," Shuch-
icipation man said. "We
appreciate that
nportant men are willisg
Le of to get involvel
e Ofin this struggle.
gainst MAVAW als,
participates ir
. We other events
throughout the
that year, includ
ing "Take Back
T11 ing the Night," a
)vedmarch and rally
"Femme Fair'
iggle." and "V-day,.
which is a global
campaignagainst
4egan Shuchman violence against
LSA senior women.
"Change
occurs with
little things,
Paviglianiti said.
"We need to be aware of the issue.
Violence against women is no joke."
MAVAW will continue to spread
its message through events like the
White Ribbon Campaign. The group
holds weekly meetings open to
everyone on Wednesdays at 7 p.m.
in the Michigan Union.
LSA freshman Jesse Wallin hands out candles at a vigil held by Men Against
Violence Against Women on the Diag yesterday. The group runs the White
Ribbon campaign to combat violence.
Asians more likely to have hepatitis B
By Philip Svabik
and Laura Van Hyfte
For The Daily
Up to 1.5 million Americans are
afflicted with hepatitis B, according
to The Asian Liver Center at Stanford
University in California. But more than
half of those infected are Asian Ameri-
cans.
Making the disease even more dan-
gerous for Asian victims is that they
rarely experience any symptoms, allow-
ing hepatitis B to act as a silent killer,
said Anna Lok, director of clinical hep-
atology at the University.
Transmitted through bodily fluids,
hepatitis B isa virus that causes inflam-
mation of the liver and over time can lead
to liver failure and eventually death.
For Asian Americans, the disease
is an endemic health problem, mean-
ing that it is typical for a group. Com-
pared to the 0.3 percent of the general
population who are infected, 15 percent
of Asians incubate the disease. This
makes Asian Americans the population
at highest risk for acquiring the virus.
Lok said the reason for this high rate
is that many Asian Americans are born
with hepatitis B. Other ethnic groups
usually contract the virus when they are
adults and engage in sexual activity, she
added. For these groups, the infection is
only acute, lasting less than six months.
But since Asian Americans obtain the
disease at birth, the infection can last for
life, Lok said
"Newborns have very weak immune
systems, so when they are infected they
have a 90 percent chance of progressing
to chronic infection," she said.
Once the disease becomes chronic
and continues to remain active in the
liver, the virus will slowly destroy liver
cells for the remainder of the victim's
life, Lok said. While the liver wilt
regenerate cells, the organ cannot repair
the damage in its entirety, leaving scars
on the tissue.
"Scar tissue causes resistance to
blood flow and then causes even fur-
ther problems. Then you don't have
enough liver cells to do metabolism
functions, to make proteins. Then you
have all this scar tissue blocking blood
flows," Lok said.
Those with chronic infections since
birth can expect to feel the culmina-
tion of the scarring through symptoms
of nausea and abdominal pains from
the disease starting at 40 to 60 years
of age, Lok said. By then, options for
treatment can do little, she added.
Cirrhosis, or severe damage to the
liver cells, and liver cancer are the final
result of the long-term deterioration.
According to the World Health Orga-
nization, 25 percent of those with the
chronic infection die later from liver
disease or liver cancer.
But this endemic among Asian
Americans is not something new. For
thousands of years, hepatitis B has
pervaded through the Asian continent,
Lok said. With the large number of
chronic infections dating back eons,
the disease has become self-sustained
among the Asian population, as par-
ents with the chronic infection con-
tinue transmitting the disease to their
children.
"We don't know what started it. Once
it started, then you have almost a vicious
cycle," she said.
Those victims came to America,
expanding the problem's geography, she
added.
Scientists have yet to understand the
historical origins of the phenomenon.
Yet Lok said the prevalence of the dis-
ease might be connected to the different
strains of hepatitis B, which show slight
genetic variations from one another. Lok
added that the different strains are often
found in certain population groups, and
the strains pertinent to Asian Ameri-
cans may in some way cause andifferent
human response to the disease.
Since the development of hepatitis
B vaccinations, the cycle may be on the
verge of breaking as newborns in Ameri-
ca are required to be vaccinated.
With a hepatitis B immune globulin -
a shot containing a high level of antibod-
ies that can temporarily protect the child
upon leaving the birth canal - and a sub-
sequent vaccination, newborns have a 95
percent chance of avoiding the disease.
Despite the vaccinations, many col-
lege students are still at risk because
newborn vaccinations only began in
1991, Lok said.
Moreover, college campuses tend to
be hotbeds for sexual transmitted dis-
eases like hepatitis B, said Robert Ernst,
associate director of clinical services at
University Health Service.
"Those also susceptible to hepatitis B
are people who have had more than one
sexual partner in six months, which is
very important for students on college
campuses," he said.
Students looking to get tested for
hepatitis B can schedule an appoint-
ment with UHS. The cost for the test is
included in student fees, but the cost for
the vaccination ranges from $89.97 to
$119.97.
If afflicted with the virus, Lok said
treatments such as medications are
available that can suppress hepatitis B
from doing further damage.
To heighten awareness of the prev-
alence of hepatitis B among Asian
Americans, on Friday, fraternity Pi
Alpha Phi sponsored an event tied to
the Jade Ribbon Campaign, which aims
to educate Asians on the dangers of the
disease. Both Lok and Ernst spoke at
the event, highlighting the gravity of
the situation.
LSA freshman Alex Ly, who attend-
ed the event said, "The information was
very surprising. I was glad I came here.
I plan on getting tested."
Lok said it's time for Asian Ameri-
cans to end the negligence toward the
disease and begin prevention.
"The message we want to get out
there is, like all medical conditions,
early intervention and prevention is the
best. If you know that you have a prob-
lem, then you know how you can deal
with that problem," she said.
- Daily StaffReporter Michael Kan
contributed to this article.
Notable Numbers
1.5
Millions of people in the United
States afflicted with hepatitis B.
Percent of general population
who have the disease
Percent of Asian Americans
who have the disease
Cost for Hepatitis B vaccination
Percent with chronic infection
who die later from liver disease
or liver cancer
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State government
ties up loose ends
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LANSING (AP) - State lawmakers
are set to tackle everything from replac-
ing the state standardized test for high
school juniors to setting higher fees for
manufactured home owners in an effort
to wrap up their two-year session this
week.
The week will be a busy one for
the House and Senate because both
chambers plan to be done for the year
on Thursday. Bills leftover after they
adjourn have to be re-introduced next
year when the 93rd Legislature begins
its session.
It will be especially hectic in the
House, where voting likely will be held
up for hours as many of the 39 represen-
tatives who won't be returning for the
upcoming session will give their fare-
well remarks to their colleagues.
Thirty-seven House members are
leaving because they have served the
maximum six years allowed in the
House under term limits. Two - Dem-
ocrat Jennifer Elkins of Lake and Matt
Milosch of Lambertville - lost their
re-election bids this fall.
The House also has to make time
to finish work on several key pieces of
legislation before adjourning, includ-
ing Senate-approved bills to replace the
MEAP test with a version of a college
entrance exam - likely the ACT and an
ACT work skills exam.
A House committee is scheduled to
take up the five-bill package after the
chamber's afternoon session today,
but leaders may decide to move those
bills without a hearing because time
is running out to get them back to the
Senate for its agreement to House
changes.
House Education Committee Chair-
man Brian Palmer (R-Romeo) has
emphasized that lawmakers need to sign
off on a comprehensive package of leg-
islation that not only makes the Michi-
gan Educational Assessment Program
test more attractive to lIth graders, but
improves the system of administering the
test, scoring it and getting results back to
students.
Last year, MEAP results were delayed
by several months, with scores from
tests taken in January and February
not reaching schools until late August.
Nearly 3,000 tests were lost.
"If we do one little piece and don't
look at the total, we may not be fixing
the problem and we may be inadvertent-
ly causing some other problems," Palm-
er said. "We have to do it as a total."
1.5 GHz 15" PowerBook 512MB RAM
80GB Hard Drive DVD-R/CD-RW
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1.33 GHz 12" PowerBook 256MB RAM
60GB Hard Drive DVD-ROM/CD-RW
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U-M Computer Showcase
Michigan Union, ground level
(734)647-2537
www.showcase.itcs.umich.edu/
wae ends pecembpr 22/s2004
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