NEWS

The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 3

* ON CAMPUS
Human rights
fellow to lecture
Women's Studies prof. Carol Jacobsen
will deliver a lecture titled "Representing
Human Rights: Women's Criminalization
and Torture" at 4:30 p.m. in room 1636 of
the School of Social Work.
Art program to
sponsor votive
decorating
The ArtsBreak program will spon-
sor glass votive decorating in the
MUG in the basement of the Michigan
Union tonight at 8 p.m.
OAMI to screen
Byrd murder
documentary
The Office of Academic Multicultural
Initiatives will present the documentary
"Two Towns of Jasper" today at 6 p.m.
The screening is part of the MLK Sym-
posium. It will take place in room D1270
of William Davidson Hall at the Stephan
M. Ross School of Business.
CRIME
NOTES
Assault victim
treated at
emergency room
An assault victim was treated at
the University Hospital Sunday, the
Department of Public Safety reported.
The subject was injured during an
incident at Michigan State University.
Trespasser enters
building through
window
A subject was arrested Sun-
day after entering the annex at the
School of Public Policy through a
window DPS said.
Medical bracelet
stolen from MCARE
leased property
An actigraph medical bracelet
- a device that measures a person's
activity level - was stolen Sunday
from Suite D of an MCARE-leased
property on Commonwealth Street,
DPS reported.
THIS DAY
In Daily History
Math anxiety adds
up to problems for
some students

Jan. 31, 1981 - Mathematics may not
be as easy as "1-2-3."
Some students, especially women,
suffer from what psychologists call
"math anxiety."
One female victim said: "I think I
have the aptitude to be good at math,
but I have this fear. ... I think I was
socialized to believe that math was a
masculine subject."
Math Prof. Jack Goldberg compared
math anxiety to stage fright, calling it
"an exaggerated fear-like reaction."
While the number of people with math
anxiety is unclear, counselors have sin-
gled out a few potential causes. Accord-
ing to Goldberg, these include weak math
teachers at a young age.
Psychology Prof. James Papsdorf
believes society is to blame for the disparity
between men and women in cases of math
anxiety because it urges women to enroll in
"more humanistic courses."
Washtenaw Community College
Psychology Prof. Ester Grossman put it
more bluntly: "Women are told to take
cooking instead."
Grossman described math anxiety as
"a self-fulfilling prophecy" that stems
from problems students face when they
are forced to take math in college and
perform poorly, giving them a sense of
apprehension.
In hope of remedying the problem,
WCC will offer a course next month
nir-aA nt vitm of m~ath, nnx-t. Thb0

Blogging
revolution
reaches
University
Nearly 400 University users have
started 544 blogs since Jan. 16 on the
new M-blog website
By Kelly Fraser
Daily Staff Reporter
The University Library is jumping on the blogging boat.
With the recent launch of the M-blog University-wide blog-
ging system, the University Library - working with Informa-
tion Technology Central Services and the Bentley Historical
Library - aims to provide University students, faculty and
staff with an easy way to start their own weblogs.
Susan Hollar, the project's manager, said the service
will grant everyone access to technological tools of the
same caliber.
About 400 University users have created 544 blogs since
Jan. 16, according to the site.
Anyone with a valid University uniqname can create
an unlimited number of blogs. However, as a University-
sponsored site, University computing terms of use apply to
the blogs content, Hollar said.
The site will run as a pilot through the end of the
semester, Hollar said. She added that she is confident
the site will continue afterward.
With the exception of purchasing a software program to
format blog posts, site creators drew from within library
programs and existing resources, including staff. No new
personnel have been hired to run the project, Hollar said.
On Feb. 1, the Library will begin offering technical sup-
port for users.
Hollar said she hopes user feedback will help adapt the
current site to the needs of students and faculty, She said
improvements might include enhancing the blog's com-
menting and group restriction features.
Archivists at the Bentley Library hope to preserve
some of the postings in order to document student and
academic life for future generations. Students may opt
to put their blogs up for consideration through the site.
Hollar said the preservation of blogs is a natural pro-
gression in archiving.
"There's a lot happening in the blogosphere that used to
happen in the print field," she said.
Many local bloggers have expressed support for the
program, including University alum Rob Goodspeed, who
recently endorsed the project on his blog, Goodspeedup-
date.com.
Turned off by advertising on public blog sites, econom-
ics and public policy librarian Kathleen Folger who posts
on her M-blog, Econ Librarian and the social science
librarian M-blog Sshh! said she likes the uniform design
of a University blog.
Folger said the blog allows her to discuss articles or
library events that don't merit a department-wide e-mail
but are still of interest to her.
"(The blog) gives me a chance to talk more informally,"
she said.
While students may be well aware of blogging , Folger
said she hopes the blog service will open up more lines of
communication between students and professors.
Other users include LSA's academic advising office, which
often posts announcements and reminders for students.
The popularity of the site among the student population
still needs to be tested, Hollar said. She added that the
site's success depends heavily on students' first impres-
sions and word-of-mouth advertising.
Education senior Trevor Angood, who began a Face-
book.com group for students with over 500 Facebook
friends, said he would use the site as another way of pass-
ing on information about the University, but added that
many students may still find other existing sites such as
Xanga.com or Myspace.com more convenient.

New tape of Carroll released

Kidnapped journalist appeals
to U.S. and Iraqi authorities to
free women prisoners
BAGHDAD (AP) - The journalist Jill Car-
roll, an Ann Arbor native, weeping and veiled,
appeared on a new videotape aired yesterday
by Al-Jazeera, and the Arab television station
said she appealed for the release of all Iraqi
women prisoners.
The video was dated Saturday - two
days after the U.S. military released five
Iraqi women.
Carroll, 28, was crying and wore a con-
servative Islamic veil as she spoke to the
camera, sitting in front of a yellow and
black tapestry. The AI-Jazeera newscaster
said she appealed for U.S. and Iraqi authori-
ties to free all women prisoners to help "in
winning her release."
At one point, Carroll's cracking voice
can be heard from behind the newsreader's
voice. All that can be heard is Carroll say-
ing, " ... hope for the families ... "
The U.S. military released the women
last Thursday and was believed to be hold-
ing about six more. It was unclear how many
women were held by Iraqi authorities.
Carroll, a freelance reporter for the Chris-
tian Science Monitor, was seized Jan. 7 by the
previously unknown Revenge Brigades, which
threatened to kill her unless all women pris-
oners were released. AI-Jazeera did not report
any deadline or threat to kill her yesterday.
Al-Jazeera editor Yasser Thabit said the
station received the tape yesterday and that
it was between two to three minutes long, but
only a fraction of the footage was telecast.

In a statement,the Monitor again appealed
for her release.
"Anyone with a heart will feel distressed
that an innocent woman like Jill Carroll
would be treated in the manner shown in the
latest video aired by A1-Jazeera," the state-
ment said. "We add our voice to those of
Arabs around the world, and especially to
those in Iraq, who have condemned this act
of kidnapping. We ask that she be returned to
the protection of her family immediately."
U.S. troops clashed throughout the day
with insurgents west of Baghdad. Iraqi
police launched a new raid in a Sunni Arab-
dominated part of the capital, despite Sunni
calls to halt such operations during talks to
form a new government.
The clashes west of Baghdad occurred
in Ramadi, capital of the insurgent-ridden
Anbar province, and began when gunmen
fired at least five rocket-propelled grenade
rounds and rifles at U.S. Army soldiers, a
military spokesman said.
"The soldiers returned fire and called in a
jet nearby to attack the insurgents' position
with their main gun," Marine Capt. Jeffrey
S. Pool said. Two insurgents were killed, but
there were no U.S. casualties, he added.
U.S. troops later called in an airstrike
against insurgents holed up at the Ramadi
sports stadium, raising a column of spoke,
residents said. Two civilians were injured
when mortar shells exploded near the pro-
vincial office building, and one woman was
killed by small arms fire, they added.
In Baghdad, Iraqi Interior Ministry
commandoes searched the notorious Dora
neighborhood, a largely Sunni Arab district
and scene of frequent bombings and kill-

ings. More than 80 suspects were arrested,
including eight Sudanese, four Egyptians, a
Tunisian and Lebanese, according to Maj.
Faleh al-Mohammedawi.
The raid occurred despite calls by Sunni
Arab politicians for a halt to such operations as
the country's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish politi-
cians are discussing formation of a new nation-
al unity government, which U.S. officials hope
can win the trust of the Sunni Arab community
- the backbone of the insurgency.
Sunni Arabs have accused the Shiite-led
Interior Ministry forces of abuses against
Sunnis. Ministry officials insist the raids
are necessary to combat insurgents.
Iraqi police and soldiers, most of them Shi-
ites, are frequent targets of Sunni insurgents.
In the latest attacks, a suicide car bomber
slammed into a commando headquarters
where police were training in Nasiriyah,
about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad,
killing one policeman and wounding more
than 30, police reported. A roadside blast in
western Baghdad killed an Iraqi policeman
and wounded another, police said.
In the Kurdish-run city of Sulaimaniyah,
the country's health minister Abdel Mutalib
Mohammed announced the first confirmed
case of bird flu in the Middle East. World
Health Organization officials said tests
showed that a 15-year-old girl who died this
month in northern Iraq suffered from the
deadly H5NI strain of the bird flu virus.
Tests were under way to determine if the
girl's 50-year-old uncle, who lived in the
same house, also died of the virus, officials
said. The uncle died last Friday after suf-
fering symptoms similar to bird flu, Iraqi
health officials said.

News anchor alum
in stable condition


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Woodruff undergoes
surgery to relieve swelling
in his brain
NEW YORK (AP) - With "World
News Tonight" anchor Bob Woodruff,
a 1987 graduate of the University Law
School, showing improvement Monday,
a reeling ABC News division was com-
ing to grips with what his injuries mean
for the future of the recently revamped
newscast and its ratings prospects.
Woodruff, seriously hurt Sunday by a
roadside bomb in Iraq along with cam-
eraman Doug Vogt, was being treated at
a military base in Germany and may be
transferred to the United States as soon
as today, ABC News President David
Westin said.
"We have a long way to go," Wes-
tin said. "But it appears that we may
have also come some distance from
yesterday."
Woodruff, a former Michigan resi-
dent, and Elizabeth Vargas have been
"World News Tonight" co-anchors for
only a month, new on-air standard-
bearers for a news organization severely
shaken by the cancer death of Peter Jen-
nings last August.
They were appointed to duties that
i nlhi A r, n nfternrn Whzir.o ot live

to the newswatching public, some ana-
lysts suggest viewers curious about the
story could provide a short-term boost
to a broadcast second in the ratings to
NBC's "Nightly News."
"I have no idea if it will be a last-
ing difference," said Jim Murphy, who
recently stepped down as executive
producer of the "CBS Evening News."
"This doesn't happen much in American
journalism, that a big star gets hurt like
this. I just hope he's going to be well."
While NBC continues to dominate
the evening-news ratings, the Vargas-
Woodruff team was too new to tell if
viewers would embrace them. CBS is
still waiting to see whether Katie Couric
is interested in jumping to its broadcast;
her potential impact adds more mystery
to the competition.
ABC's Westin was taking a long-term
view, hoping viewers would appreciate
jet-setting anchors and betting that their
experiences now would pay big divi-
dends in 10 or 15 years, said Andrew
Tyndall, a consultant who studies the
broadcast news divisions.
"This is someone who cares about
what the future of his organization
will look like and who will represent
it," Tyndall said. "He can't go back
on this plan."
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shown improvement or hasn't gotten any
worse and they say that's good news.
It wasn't immediately clear whether
shrapnel had penetrated Woodruff's
brain or if he was suffering from a
concussive injury, said former NBC
News anchor Tom Brokaw, a Wood-
ruff family friend.
"The doctors had told them once they
arrived that the brain swelling had gone
down. In Bob's case, that had been a big
concern. Yesterday they had to oper-
ate and remove part of the skull cap to
relieve some of the swelling," Brokaw
said on NBC's "Today" show.
Vogt was filming a standup report
with Woodruff and both were standing
in the open hatch of an Iraqi military
vehicle when the bomb went off. Vogt's
injuries were less serious, ABC said.
Woodruff also had a broken collarbone
and broken ribs, Brokaw said.
With traumatic brain injuries, doctors
can't really tell what is going to happen
during the first 24 or 48 hours, said Dr.
Maurizio Miglietta, chief of surgical
critical care at the New York University
Medical Center/Bellevue.
"Sometimes it takes days or weeks
to figure out what the long-term con-
sequences are going to be," Migliet-
ta said.
Woodg~ruff. 44_ and hot a46

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