Stop whining about your GSI's accent.
The Statement

Ann Arbor Michigan

www.michigandaily.com

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

FRIEZE FALLING

Student
reports rape
near campus

DPS issues crime
alert about reported
incident
By JESSICA VOSGERCHIAN
Daily StaffReporter
Police are investigating a rape
reported near campus, an Ann
Arbor Police Department official
said.
An 18-year-old University stu-
dent told police on Monday that
she had been raped at knifepoint
last week. She said the incident
occurred on Feb. 28 at about 5p.m.
on a Mary Street sidewalk.
The student went to the Uni-
versity Hospital for treatment on
Monday, which is when police
became involved.
She told police that she was
scared to come forward at first,

but when friends returned from
Spring Break they persuaded her
to seek help.
The student said she was walk-
ing home to a University residence
hall from the Intramural Sports
Building when a man she didn't
know pushed her to the ground,
AAPD Sgt. Jeff Connelly said.
She told police that the man held
a knife to her throat, pulled down
her pants and raped her.
Thestudenttoldpolicethatwhen
the man moved the knife away and
reached behind his back, she kicked
him. She said she was then able to
get up and run to safety.
The student had bruises and
scratches on her arms on Monday,
Connelly said.
The student described the
attacker as a middle-aged white
man around 6 feet tall with a
medium build and missing teeth.
She said he had graying brown
See RAPE, page 7A

PETER SCHOTTENFELS/Daily
A backhoe tears down a section of the Frieze Building on State Street yesterday. The building is being demolished to make way for the construction of North Quad, a
new residence hall slated for completion in 2009.
POST-POP 2
KEEPINGrTHE
APPLICATIONS COMIN\G


Minority applicants
say 'U' rhetoric key
part of their decision
to apply
By CHRIS HERRING
Daily StaffReporter
Hundreds of members of Brown
Chapel, a predominantly black
African Methodist Episcopalian
church, gave University Presi-
dent Mary Sue Coleman a stand-
ing ovation after she delivered a
resounding reaffirmation of the
University's dedication to diversi-
ty at an Ypsilanti banquet hail two
weeks ago.
After the address, a dozen
attendees hugged Coleman and
thanked her.
Because voters passed a ban on
the use of affirmative action by
public institutions in November,
speeches like the one Coleman
gave in Ypsilanti may be one of the
most important factors in encour-
aging underrepresented minori-
ties to apply to the University.
One of the biggest concerns
University administrators had
about the effects of the affirma-
tive action ban was that it would
hurt the school's image in the eyes
of minority high school students,
making them less likely to apply.
"If students don't apply, there

28 percent drop in the number of
black applicants during the next
admissions cycle.
It is widely believed that the
decline in applicants was a result
of a Supreme Court order, to stop
using a point system, which auto-
matically awarded points toward
admission to underrepresented
minority applicants.
Once the point system was
removed, the number of minority
applicants plummeted. Coleman
said the Supreme Court's ruling
was misunderstood.
"There are some misconcep-
tions that we lost the case," she
said in a 2004 interview with The
Washington Post.
People know the University lost
its battle against Proposal 2, which
banned the use of affirmative
action. What many are unsure of,
however, is what the school plans
to do to keep the number of minor-
ity applicants from dropping the
way it did back in 2003.
IMPACT ON PROSPECTIVE
STUDENTS
After California voters banned
affirmative action in 1996, minor-
ity applications to the University
of California at Berkley and Los
Angeles dropped dramatically.
But if Proposal 2 will have such
an effect at the University, it hasn't
happened yet.
Accordingto preliminary admis-
See APPLICATIONS, page 7A

Former women's basketball coach Cheryl Burnett on the sideline during Michi-
gan's 58-62 loss to Ball State at Crisler Arena in November of 2005.
.
Alossspileup
coach resigns

DER EK BLUMKE/Dail
Cass Tech High School seniors (from left to right) Ashley Grant, Rayna Wright
and Dwayne Riley talkto a guidance counselor yesterday about their college plans.

isn't much the school can do,"
Coleman said in an interview after
the speech. "They have to apply
first."
Some high school seniors even
went so far as to say the rhetoric
from adminstrators after the pas-
sage of Proposal 2 did more to
convince them that the campus is
welcoming to minorities than any

affirmative action program had.
PAST TROUBLES
Administrators have often
officials hailed a 2003 Supreme
Court case that upheld the use of
affirmative action in admissions,
but though the University was
permitted to continue using race
as a factor in admissions, it saw a

In girls, obesity might cause earlier puberty

Early onset can lead
to increased anxiety
and depression
By ANGELA KEMP
For the Daily
1 While munching down pizzas,
ice cream and candy might be one
of the best parts of being a kid, new
research from the University sug-
gests that eating too much might
bring childhood to an early end for
obese females.
Researchers at C.S. Mott's
Children's Hospital found obe-
sity is leading to an early onset of

puberty in young girls, according
to a report published in the March
issue of the journal "Pediatrics."
Premature puberty in girls has
been linked to increased anxiety
and depression, said pediatric
endocrinologist Joyce Lee, who
led the research at the Univer-
sity.
other dangers of early puberty
include teenage pregnancy, earlier
initiation of alcohol use, reproduc-
tive cancers and a higher likelihood
of adult obesity, the report said.
Lee said more research is need-
ed to understand the precise rela-
tionship between obesity and early
puberty.
The research team is focusing

on identifying the underlying phe-
nomenon by which obesity causes
to puberty.
Until the physical relationship is
fully understood, interventions for
weight control will hopefully slow
puberty's onset in children and
minimize health risks, Lee said.
"The impact of weight status on
puberty is a question of consider-
able importance, given that rates
of obesity among children in the
United States have doubled over
the last two decades," the report
said.
The study followed 354 girls
randomly selected from across the
United States.
The girls' heights and weights

were recorded periodically
through childhood at ages 36
months, 54 months and grades
one, four, five and six. The chil-
dren were considered overweight
if their Body Mass Index reached
a score of 30 - a BMI of between
18 and 24 is considered healthy for
females.
The presence of puberty was
recorded at three annual labora-
tory visits where girls were given
physical examinations in fourth
through sixth grade.
The annual physicals examined
the presence of puberty through
different measurements of breast
development and the onset of men-
struation.

Burnett's record at
Michigan was 35-83
By DAN FELDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
Cheryl Burnett retired yester-
day morning during an evaluation
meeting with Athletic Director
Bill Martin after a five-year run
as Michigan women'sabasketball
coach, according to an athletic
department press release.
When Burnett was hired in
2003, she had a simple plan.
"I don't want to put too much
pressure on myself," said Burnett
at her inaugural press conference.
"But let's do this, and let's do this
quick."
Four seasons later, Burnett
leaves Michigan having failed at
her mission.
Michigan was just 35-83 (297)
under Burnett and 10-54 (156) in
Big Ten play.
"Michigan is a very special place
of which I've been privileged to
be a part," said Burnett in an ath-
letic department statement. "Our
staff has worked extremely hard to
build a foundation that will bring

tremendous success in the future
for Michigan women's basketball.
I wish the players, administration
and fans great success in the years
to come."
After a press conference follow-
ing the Wolverines' first round loss
to Wisconsin last Thursday in the
Big Ten Tournament, reporters
asked Burnett whether she was
concerned about her job.
"That's not a decision that I
make," Burnett said. "You'll have to
ask my administrators what their
position is. I've always felt a great
amount of support at Michigan."
According to the release, Bur-
nett was the one who ultimately
made the decision to leave.
See COACH, page 7A

Year
2006-07
2005-06
2004-05
2003-04

Big Ten Record
3-13
0-16
1-15
6-10

Overall
10-20
6-23
5-23
14-17

A DISMAL RECORD
Former women's basketball coach Cheryl
Burnett's wins and losses


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