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- - I *. .. . . 06
Wednesdy, Novmber 207 *eMihga .
A look at the big news events this week and how important they really are. Conveniently rated from one to10.
rule 66: Just
because it's
a winter coat
doesn't mean
you don't have to
wash it. rule 67:
Don't push the
elevator button
more than once.
rule 68: Criticiz-
ing poeple who
sing Disney in the
dorm showers
is only OK if you
could do it better.
- E-mail rule submissions to
TheStatement@umich.edu
BEHIND THE TIMES
Accordingto a report from the National Endowment for
the Arts released last week, American children are read-
ing less for fun than previousgenerations. As a follow-up
to its groundbreaking research, the NEA subsequently
2 announced its plans to research the growth in children
watching somethingcalled television and usingsomething
called the Internet. The report is expected in 2030.
THE LOGICAL NEXT STEP FOR STEM CELLS
Following an announcement last week that skin cells can
be genetically reprogrammed to act like embryonic stem
cells, supporters of stem cell research are celebrating
what could be the end of the ethical controversy sur-
7 rounding the research. Sticking to their guns, Catholic
bishops across the country retorted that any stem cells
would start the slippery slope: First come the skin cells
that act like stem cells, but next come the cloned robot
cell armies that march to Heaven to kill God.
MOVIN' YOUR BODY LIKE A CYCLONE
With international aid trickling in, officials in Bangladesh
announced last week the death toll from a cyclone earlier
this month hasgrown to more than 3,000 people. The
S news has been equally as devastating for the record sales of
Baby Bash, whose hit single suggests that
"moving your body like a cyclone" is
sexy. A cyclone is a natural disaster
that leaves thousands dead and
many more homeless..
LOCKED AND LOADED
For the first time since 1939, the U.S. Supreme Court
decided last Tuesday to hear a case to clarify the Second
Amendment, in particular a challenge to Washington
D.C.'s 1975 handgun ban. Conservative insiders suggest
9 the other justices watch out forJustice Jon Paul Stevens,
who is expected to get a little trigger happy with his AK-
47 of judicial activism.
3
4
THE FRESH PRINCE OF ANN ARBOR
Adding to a portfolio of work that already lines many
Ann Arbor buildings, the graffiti artist(s) responsible for
spray painting "fresh" on just about everything in town
struck the new Stephen M. Ross School of Business last
week. The damage from the graffiti is expected to be
$10,000 and is expected to be paid by "The Man," who
reportedly doesn't understand art.
A SINGING SENATORS REUNION?
After more than 35 years in Congress, Trent Lott, Senate
Minority Whip and once Senate Majority Leader and
subtle racist, announced Monday his plans to step down.
While"Lott's retirement is good news for Democrats, it
is even better for music lovers, With Sen. Larry Craig
(R-Idaho) likely to be unemployed and former Attorney
General John Ashcroft already out, let's keep our fingers
crossed that the Republican barbershop trio, The Singing
Senators, is heading for a reunion tour.
PERS OF THE WEEK MAXINE MCKEW
Every politician has scrapes with the media, but last week
former Australian Prime Minister John Howard fared worse
than most at the hands of the fourth estate. Although votes are
still being counted, it looks as if former Australian Broadcasting
Corporation journalist Maxine McKew will make the conser-
vative government's resounding defeat a little more bitter by
unseating the Prime Minister in his own Sydney district. McKew,
who interviewed Howard regularly as a TV journalist, has argued
that her three decades in the field have prepared her for govern-
ing. As for John Howard, he learned that too many "no com-
ments" can cost you.
ABOUT CAMPUS
From page 4B
recognizes the sanctity of the store,
said Bob Schumacher, a customer
and University Hospital physician.
"If we got into a fight person-
ally, I couldn't smoke my cigar," he
said to LSA junior Julian Lizzio,
an employee, while puffing on an
Arturo Fuente Reserva Anejo Lim-
itada, the rarest cigar at the store.
Maison Edwards only gets one
box per year in each of the sizes,
Lizzio said. They received three
boxes yesterday, and two had been
purchased by the end of the day.
In a city that caters increasingly
to the health-conscious and eco-
friendly, Maison Edwards stands
out as an old-fashioned, tobacco-
savoring stronghold.
And thank God it has. Bergman
and Schumacher said the cigar
shop serves a few vital purposes
besides being a respite in a student-
saturated campus. For example,
the cigar shop can help out a mar-
riage. If your significant other can't
FACEBOOK
From Page 9B
JJ Prescott, an assistant pro-
fessor in the Law School, goes to
another extreme. He doesn't accept
friend requests from current stu-
dents because he's concerned by
the idea of a mutual free-flow of
personal information.
"It's sort of like a student walk-
ing up and knocking on my front
door," he said.
Prescott said that even though
he likes the students who friend
him and "doesn't want to be a jerk,"
he's hesitant to cross Facebook
boundaries.
"In some sense the students
(who friend me) have put me a little
bit of a tough spot," he said.
For some adults, Prescott
included, confusion surrounding
Facebook hinders the functional-
POLLACK
From Page 5B
confused at times, not knowing
if building a boat of cork was the
smartest direction to take his life.
But Pollack, with the help of his
architect friend Garth Goldstein,
finished the boat and set sail in 2002
on the Douro River in Portugal.
Pollack's father Henry said his
son has always been one to perse-
vere. In the case of the cork boat,
this characteristic served him well.
But some University officials
have had enough of his pioneering
stand the smell of smoke, you can
hang out at Maison Edwards, enjoy
your cigar and drop your clothes
off in the hamper as you enter the
house.
No such luck for man's best
friend, though: Bergman said he
had to stop bringing the family dog
to the store because it was getting
difficult to get the smell of tobacco'
off of him.
The conversation abruptly
switched to the new music playing
in the store. The soundtrack came
from an iPod, piping a wide variety
of tunes gently into the room. Clas-
sical music, polka and even "The
Victors" are fixtures.
The mention of polka, specifi-
cally the oom-pah style, led to a
chat about the music scenes in Mil-
waukee and Madison, Wis., as well
as the Bastille Day festival in Mil-
waukee.
And then the conversation
drifted back to the local Ann Arbor
scene from the 1960s and 1970s.
The men traded stories about old
faces in Ann Arbor - Schumacher
mentioned that filmmaker Ken
ity of the networking tool.
"'m concerned in some sense
if using Facebook to interact with
students is appropriate," he said.
"There's not alot of guidance."
After Prescott was informed
that, his profile was in fact
unblocked and visible to the entire
Michigan community, he noted
that it was a testament to how
Facebook "unsavvy" he and prob-
ably most other professors were.
His profile is now blocked.
John Bacon, a lecturer in the
American culture department,
takes a similar approach to Face-
book.
He has a profile because his book
publisher told him to make one, but
it's blocked.
Bacon also doesn't accept any
friend requests from current stu-
dents.
"Bad idea," he said.
He said that it's important for
spirit.
Pollack is the head of Savethe-
BigHouse.com, a group that is
protesting the renovations of Mich-
igan Stadium, especially the luxury
boxes. His crusade had drawn ire
from some University officials and
the Athletic Department. Jason
Winters, chief financial officer of
the Athletic Department, said in an
e-mail that Pollack's "commentary
is nonsense."
Pollack unveiled an alternative
renovation plan last year, the Big
House Plan, which recommended
an additional 10,000 bleacher seats
and an elevated second concourse
Burns was excellent at volleyball
and that musician Iggy Pop had
been his camp counselor.
Iggy - or Jim Osterberg, his real
name, as Schumacher pointed out -
had been a counselor at the Varsity
Day Camp. Schumacher said Iggy
was a long-haired ball of energy,
always running around and trying
to convince girls from a neighbor-
ing camp to hang out. This stood in
stark contrast to Iggy's father, who
ran the camp.
"His dad was like a Marine,"
Schumacher said.
The talk about Ann Arbor music
continued for a bit longer - espe-
cially about a band named the
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, whose
members used to bring parrots on
stage with them. The conversa-
tion touched on Belgian bars in
Philadelphia, the media's role in
Americans'. fear of death, the use
of antibiotics in newborn children
and riding public transportation
while tripping on LSD.
As the customers prepared to go
their separate ways, Bergman again
touched on the importance of hav-
professors to be objective with stu-
dents at all times.
"In the same way that it's good
to have a personal connection with
a professor, it is still professor-stu-
dent," he said. "It's not just pals."
Bacon also said that the access
to personal information on both
ends of the Facebook spectrum
concerns him.
"There are things that are per-
sonal to my students that I should
not necessarily be privy to. I don't
need to know where they were Sat-
urday night," he said. "It's not my
business."
Westlake, however, thinks pro-
fessors shouldn't be so reserved in
their relationships with students
on Facebook.
"Students know if they have a
question I'll get back to them really
quickly and that I'm approach-
able," she said.
Westlake's profile showcases
to decrease congestion in the stadi-
um's upper rows. Pollack calls the
luxury box plan a disgrace to the
University's values and tradition of
equality.
Pollack doesn't even live in Ann
Arbor, though he often flies in for
football games and regents' meetings.
It was about four and half years
ago when Jack Mazzola was pre-
paring for the grand opening of
his coffee shop in Greenwich Vil-
lage, Jack's Stir Brew, when Pollack
peered in and entered, asking if it
was too soon to get a cup of joe.
Although Mazzonla hadn't offi-
cially opened the place yet, he
ease or Ulcerative Colitis?
more personality than other pro-
fessors' profiles. Under her work
info category, she described her
position as Visiting Assistant Pro-
fessor at Auburn University as
"Token Queer" and the same posi-
tion at Bowling Green University
as "Liberal Scapegoat." But West-
lake said she thinks professors and
students should be judged by their
performances in the classroom and
not by the content of their Face-
book profiles.
Westlake said she sometimes
writes on students' walls if she
sees something on their status that
is funny or if it's one of their birth-
days. Still, she said that student
and professor online relationships
must maintain a sense of profes-
sionalism.
"You have to be mindful of
maintaining the same kind of rela-
tionship with students as you do
in the real world," she said. "You
invited the man in. At that time,
neither of the men knew that years
later they would be living with a
family on an Amazon reserve, that
they would be in Michigan Stadium
cheering on a football team from
a school neither of them attended,
that Jack's Stir Brew would become
so successful, or that they would
become best friends.
Not long after the launch of the
cork boat, Pollack left Washington
for New York City and began work-
ing as acommunications consultant
and freelance speechwriter. He
has written speeches for the likes
of Edgar Brogman Jr., the CEO of
ing a place like Maison Edwards in world in which he grew up.
his life. He said it gave him a spot to "We used to have to walk 20
reminisce about the old times and miles in the snow to buy the drugs
pass stories on to the shop clientele to listen to music," he said.
thatspan severalgenerations.Right He then stood up and walked
before he left, he imparted some out into the snow.
joking words of wisdom about the - DAVE MEKELBURG
wouldn't just call them up, and it
seems to follow that you wouldn't
just friend them either."
Alexandra Bisker, a junior in
the School of Music, Theatre and
Dance, has taken some of West-
lake's classes and exchanges mes-
sages and wall posts with her
on Facebook. She said that her
perception of professors doesn't
change after seeing their Facebook
profiles.
"They're people. They drink.
They smoke. They have lives and
lovers," she said.
But Maggie Horne, an LSA junior,
said she's skeptical of professors
bursting onto the Facebook scene.
"If the professor's intention is
to be a resource for the students,
I think that that's good," she said.
"But I think if it's to talk about
their interests or their families or
their personal lives, I don't think
that's necessary or professional."
Warner Music, Kathleen Blanco,
the governor of Louisana, and Carly
Fiorina, former chief executive of
Hewlett-Packard.
In his spare time, Pollack still
lobbies the University and media
outlets to see the other side of the
stadium renovations, and his pro-
testations have gained an audience,
even if it's not with the University.
Even if school officials behind the
renovation plan dispute his opin-
ions, they would do well to remem-
ber that they're dealing with the a
man who built an entire boat out of
corks and sailed it on a river in Por-
tugal.
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