Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Weather
Opinion 4
Chris Zbrozek finally
reads The Crucible'
Arts 8 Local rapper's first
LP filled with pithy
topics, weak rhymes
itijanvaI
.W'17
TOMrORRlOW:
One-hundredfourteen years ofeditorialfreedom
www.michirandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXV, No. 83
©2005 The Michigan Daily
FROM THE EDITOR
The Michigan Daily strives to remain the
ost trusted and respected source of new
nd analysis for the University community
In order to best serve this diverse an
vibrant community and to continu
roviding it with high-quality journalism,
ave formed a commission of Daily editor
.nd staffers to look critically at the Dail
s an institution.
The commission is charged with exam
ning perceptions of the paper among the
Daily's staff and within multicultural
ommunities throughout the University t
nsure that the Daily's work environment
s a welcoming place for a diverse staff.
ave also asked the commission to review
very section's content to ensure that it i
ufficiently comprehensive for a Univer
ity that has changed a great deal since the
aily first began publication in 1890.
The commission will make recom
endations to me and to the other editor
after it studies these issues. To ensure the
ommission's independence, I will not b
member.
Any questions or concerns regarding the
ommission or its work can be directed
o either myself or Editorial Page Edito
uhael Momin, who is a member of the
ommission.
The Daily remains committed to serving
he University community by practicing the
highest standards of journalistic integrity.
Jason Z. Pesick
Editor in Chief
New Greek
rules
party rule
may affect
fall Rush
b Some students speculate
IFC's new party regulations
could depress the size of
this year's Rush class
By Paul Blumer
For the Daily
The days of enormous fraternity par-
ties where anyone can come and let loose
may be over. The Interfraternity Council
recently instituted new rules and regula-
tions for Greek parties.
Effective Jan. 1, the changes to the Greek
social policy will mean big differences
in fraternity parties and events. Some of
the changes include increased restrictions
regarding alcohol and party size.
With the new changes, any event with
more than 25 women or where alcohol is
present must be registered with the IFC
to ensure an increased level of safety at
parties. Unregistered events can be unsafe
because in the event'of an emergency, no
one has official responsibility.
Under the new rules, non-Greek guests
must be on a guest list, and the number
of non-Greek guests may not exceed four
times the number of sober monitors.
Some students expressed concerns
about how the new rules will affect Wel-
come Week and Rush activities. Before
the changes were put in place, fraternities
could host large parties in the fall, hoping
to attract freshmen. With the new regula-
tions, some students feel it may be more
difficult for fraternities to introduce them-
selves to freshmen.
"If the (new) rules are in place (next year),
many freshmen will not see as many frats,
See PARTIES, Page 7
CDC advises immunization
New meningitis vaccine
recommended for all
incoming college freshmen
By Kingson Man
Daily Staff Reporter
With a recent recommendation by a gov-
ernment panel on vaccinations, incoming
college freshmen may have one more thing
to worry about - getting their meningitis
shots.
The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention issued a recommendation last week
for many people aged 11 to 18 to receive the
new meningitis vaccine Menactra, placing
special emphasis on college freshmen living
in dormitories - where the rate of infection
is nearly five times the national average.
While meningococcal infections are rare
in the general population, striking only
3,000 Americans each year, the illness pro-
gresses rapidly and may lead to brain dam-
age or death in 10 percent of those infected.
The new vaccine from Sanofi Pasteur
replaces Menomune and confers longer-
lasting immunity but at a higher cost - $80
to $90 a dose.
With the sudden increase in demand for
the vaccine, Menactra's manufacturer wor-
ries it may not be able to synthesize the drug
quickly enough to meet demand, according
to The Associated Press. Over the next two to
three years, as new factories are constructed
to meet demand, there may be a shortage of
vaccines available to entering high school
and college students. This year, Sanofi Pas-
teur predicts the availability of just over 5
million doses.
At the University, "the vaccine will be
rationed to the people with the highest need,
that is, freshmen living in residence halls,"
said Robert Winfield, director of University
Health Services.
Epidemiologists believe the tight living
quarters in dorms facilitate close contact
between students, which contributes to the
high rates of infection, according to a CDC
advisory committee in a 2000 issue of Mor-
bidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Winfield said UHS is prepared to deal
with possible shortages of Menactra. He said
UHS maintains stockpiles of Menomune,
adding, "The rate of infection decreases sub-
stantially after freshman year."
CDC's Advisory Committee on Immuni-
zation Practices issued the recommendation
in response to findings in the past decade that
showed rates of meningitis infection were
substantially higher for. college students.
A 2001 paper in The Journal of the
American Medical Association concluded,
"Freshmen who live in dormitories have an
independent, elevated risk for meningococ-
cal disease compared with other college
students."
This massive vaccination strategy adopted
by the CDC parallels a similar effort in the
United Kingdom where a variant of the dis-
ease, meningitis c, was sharply decreased,
according to a report by the National Foun-
dation for Infectious Diseases. The goal of
the vaccinations is to eliminate "herd infec-
tion." "Herds," or age cohorts, tend to con-
gregate, harboring and spreading infection
among their members. By targeting individ-
uals 11 to 18 years of age, the CDC hopes
to create an inoculated age group that will
impede the transfer of disease to future gen-
erations.
"If you can get enough people immu-
nized, you break the cycle of outbreaks,"
Winfield said.
Joseph
Stiglitz
speaks at
Hale Audi-
torium on
Feb. 15.
GLOBALIZATION GURU
NOBEL PRIZE WINNER DISCUSSES THE DANGERS OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
By Alexa Jenner
Daily Staff Reporter
By 4:00 p.m. yesterday, the 400-seat Hale Audito-
rium was overflowing with people. Cramming into
the aisles and the doorways, students, professors and
members of the general public waited in anticipa-
tion to hear the 2001 Nobel Prize winner and famous
economist, Joseph Stiglitz, speak.
"A lot of us have looked forward to this all month
- he's an amazingly sharp and intelligent guy," said
Economics graduate student Farzana Afridi.
Stiglitz's contributions to the field of economics
have allowed him to be recognized worldwide. He
is well known for helping create a new branch of
economics known as, the "Economics of Informa-
tion" which is used by policy analysts. Stiglitz has
written books that have been translated into many
languages for an international audience, including
his international bestseller "Globalization and its
Discontents."
Stiglitz addressed the ideas in these books as well
personal experiences in his speech on globalization
last night. Hosted by the Gerald R. Ford School of
Public Policy, Stiglitz's speech was part of a series of
lectures funded by the Citigroup Foundation, honor-
ing President Ford's long affiliation with Citigroup.
With opinionated rhetoric and good humor, Sti-
glitz explained to an intrigued audience potential
problems with globalization and the free market.
"Economic theory predicted the capital free mar-
ket should lead to stabilization, but in reality it did
not lead to economic growth or stabilization," he
said.
He said Third-World countries have instead been
hurt by the opening of free markets, because they
receive loans during good economic times and are
forced to pay back loans during recessions.
"The general preset of banking is never lend to
anyone who needs the money, so what happens is
that when the economy is in a boom the bankers are
shoveling money into the economy (of Third-World
countries). But when the economy goes down they
say we're not sure you're going to be able to repay us,
we don't trust you." he said.
He went on to discuss problems with the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund - the international organiza-
tion that manages global finances and gives loans to
struggling countries. Stiglitz's book "Globalization
and its Discontents" argues that the IMF puts the
interests of the United States over those of poorer
countries, and he discussed this in his speech.
"The last head of the IMF said poverty was not his
business," he said.
But he conceded that there had been a change in
attitude and the IMF was working more toward rec-
ognizing poverty.
Along with discussing debt relief, Stiglitz talked
about what he said are problems with opening up the
markets to trade. "It is one of the most pretentious
areas of globalization, but the theory is everyone
should be better off," he said.
"Instead, it created anxiety everywhere in the
world. Why were all these people better off and
didn't know it? Because in reality they were worse
See STIGLITZ, Page 7
After elections, Iraqi democracy remains an untested proposition
A marginalization of
in post-Saddam politics
fuel the insurgency and
Sunnis
could
extend
tion, did not vote on Election Day. Instead, many stayed at
home out of fear of violence or to support a boycott orga-
nized by clerics opposed to U.S. occupation.
"The results reflect the intimidation and fear the Sunnis
have regarding the unstable system of government that they
14 percent.
Pintak said the overall effectiveness of the election has
yet to be determined.
"It is a wildcard now, and anyone who tells you that
they can predict what's going to happen is blowing
Prof. Charles Krohn said.
"The Shiites, for the moment, want the U.S. to stay
because it acts as a buffer against any Sunni insurgency,"
Pintak said.
"Until we get a government in Iraq that we can work