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SPORTS, PAGE 8 ARTS, PAGE
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www.michigandaily.com

TuesdayNovember 28,2006

Plan B at a
pharmacy
near you

BENJIvUELL/Ualy
LSA freshman Christina Hong demostrates the vulnerability of her ground floor window in Couzens Residence Hall. Sixteen rooms were broken into at the Hill-area dorm over
Thanksgiving Break.
Thanksgiving thieves ht the Hi

After long debate,
pill available
over the counter
By ALESE BAGDOL
Daily StaffReporter
Several Ann Arbor phar-
macies have recently begun
selling the controversial
morning-after pill over the
counter.
It took about three and a
half years of national debate
for the controversial contra-
ceptive to hit American store
shelves, including the ones at
University Health Services.
The Food and Drug
Administration denied Plan
B-manufacturer Barr Phar-
maceuticals' applicationtwice
and ultimately approved over-
the-counter sales of Plan B for
customers who are at least 18
years old in late August.
Part of the delay was due
to concern that over-the-
counter sales would increase
"risky behavior" among girls
as young as 11 or 12, according
to David Hager, agynecologist
who advised the FDA during
the debate.
The FDA has since con-
ducted six independent
studies showing that over-
the-counter sales of Plan B do
not increase sexual activity
among young girls.
"Studies showed that
women did not have more
unprotected intercourse
because Plan B was available,"
said Susan Ernst, director of
the gynecology department

at UHS. "I don't think the
increased availability of Plan
B will affect sexual activity at
the University."
Despite the studies, the
FDA only approved the sale of
the contraceptive to women
who are at least 18 years old.
Ernst said she disagreed
with the age restriction.
"It was an unusual ruling
by the FDA to impose an age
limit on something like this,"
Ernst said. "I don't think its
necessary, but it's what the
FDA decided to do."
To enforce the age restric-
tion, Plan B will only be sold
under pharmaceutical super-
vision, meaning that it will
not be available at gas stations
or convenience stores without
pharmacies.
The FDA stipulated that
Barr Pharmaceuticals must
take necessary measures to
ensure compliance, including
sending anonymous shoppers
to check on stores.
The pill is only effective if
taken within 72 hours of sex-
ual intercourse. Advocates of
Plan B say selling it over the
counter will give more women
access to the pill during the
necessarytime frame.
"Plan B is more effective
the sooner it is taken," Ernst
said. "We tried to simplify it,
but there were still barriers
that prolonged the process of
securing a prescription of Plan
B in a timely manner (prior to
the FDA ruling)."
Plan B is a form of emer-
gency contraception that is
intended to serve as a backup
See PLAN B, page 7

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venteen rooms Another room in Alice
Lloyd Residence Hallwas also
broken into broken into over the break. A
window screen was slashed
By DREW PHILP here, too. The Department of
Daily StaffReporter Public Safety said the break-
in appears to be connected to
xteen dorm rooms in those in Couzens.
zens Residence Hall Many Couzens residents
broken into or had their said they think the thieves
dow screens cut during scaled a ledge on the south-
nksgiving Break, cam- eastccorner of the building and
police said. For all their slashed the window screens to
ts, though, the thieves gain access to the rooms.
't take much - only two DPS has no suspects.
s and several rolls of LSA freshman Britney
ters were missing from Faulkner, a victim of one of
ooms. the break-ins, said she found

the window screen missing
and a handprint on her room-
mate's bed when she returned
to her dorm Sunday. Nothing
was missing.
All of the rooms on the
ground floor of Couzens
have sliding glass windows
and come equipped with a
bar that can be placed in the
track of the window. When
properly installed, the bar
prevents the window from
sliding completely open.
"The people who (barred
their windows) avoided hav-
ing their rooms broken into,"
DPS spokeswoman Diane

Brown said.
Brown said she can't
remember there ever being so
many robberies in the same
place at the same time.
LSA freshman Domenic
Terenzi, who lives on the
ground floor, said he does not
think the bars are enough to
prevent entry.
"With the bar they gave us,
the window still opens at least
8 inches wide," Terenzi said.
He squeezed his head and
upper body out of the barred
window to demonstrate.
"Next time they update the
halls, I hope they get a better

locking mechanism," he said.
LSA freshman Lai Ho also
lives on the ground floor, but
her room was not broken into.
In addition to the window
bar, Ho's window was fitted
with a side-mounted window
lock. She said it is the only
side-mounted lock on the
floor that she knows of.
Although nothing was sto-
len from Terenzi's room, he
said he was still distraught
about the break-ins.
"It's helpless to know that
people have totally free reign
in my room," he said. "This is
my home. It's helpless."

Pot debate lights up,
but outlook still hazy


'08 ballot push
moves forward
By ANDREW GROSSMAN
Daily StaffReporter
Two groups are making
headway in their quests to
liberalize Michigan's mari-
juana laws.

One is trying to legalize
recreational use of the drug.
The other is focusing on its
medicinal purposes.
Yesterday, the state Board
of Canvassers approved the
form of a legislative petition
to place a proposal on the
November 2008 ballot legal-
izing marijuana use and culti-
vation in Michigan.

Medical and Recreational
Peace, a group based in Eaton
Rapids, is backing the initia-
tive.
Initiative supporters must
gather about 304,000 valid
petition signatures in six
months to get their proposal
on the November 2008 bal-
lot.
See MARIJUANA, page 7

BOXED IN

'U' aim:
greens
over
grease
Look for healthier
food on campus
by January
By ANDREA COOMBES
For the Daily
It's 11 p.m. After studying
all evening, you're in desper-
ate need of a snack break.
You remember the Markley
Residence Hall's November
special, a quarter-pound
hamburger, fries and a foun-
tain drink for only $3.99.
You consider it, and then you
think about the extra inches
it will add to your waistline.
Maybe you should try
something healthier. But is
that even a possibility?
It may be soon.
A commission formed by
University President Mary
Sue Coleman, called the
Healthy Community Initia-
tive, is planning to roll out
a healthy food blueprint for
campus by March. But for
some that's not soon enough.
Another group may beat
them to it.
Ruth Blackburn, a nutri-
tion specialist at the Univer-

Rackham student Amy Taylor in the People's Food Co-op in Kerrytown. Taylor was one of three graduate
students who started a project to evaluate students' food choices on campus.

sity, oversees three graduate
students in the Human Nutri-
tion and Dietetics Program at
the School of Public Health.
They're working on a proj-
ect that aims to put healthier
options in residential dining
facilities by January.
Blackburn said that many
of the campus food retail-
ers carry products that were
popular with students in the
past, but that some universi-
ties are looking into healthier
food options that are more

reflective of current nutri-
tional trends.
Students who want to
use Entree Plus - dollars
that come from their stu-
dent accounts and can be
used via an Mcard at places
like the Michigan Union
and dorm vending machines
- don't have many choices
for healthy eating. Campus
vending machines are mostly
filled with chips and candy
bars. The Union features res-
taurants like Wendy's and

Subway.
Other options include
dorm food shops like the Blue
Apple in Bursley, which sells
mostly snack foods, and the
Halfway Inn in East Quad,
which mostly offers typical
American food.
Three graduate students -
Amy Taylor, Katie Gwyther
and Liz Wiseman - started a
community nutrition project
to evaluate students' current
convenient store selections
See FOOD, page 7

Two Ann Arbor police officers stant in front of a storage closet, which was originally a bathroom in City Hall's
basement. The officers said relocating the police station will bring more space and better facilities. City Coun-
cil presented three options for a new location last night. The first is to build on the parking lot behind the Ann
Arbor District Library. The second is the west side of the existing City Hall. The third is to acquire The Ann Arbor
News's and Tio's parking lots on East Huron Street. FOR MORE, SEE MICHIGANDAILY.COM/THEWIRE.


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michiaondaily.com O P I N I ON

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