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Weighty questions
The dubious placement of a
scale in a B-School bathroom
Until last week, the first-floor
women's bathroom nearest the front
entrance of the Ross School of Busi-
ness Executive Residence Building
used to house a scale - the balance-
beam kind with adjustable weights
you find in a doctor's office, or inthe
locker room at the Central Campus
Recreation Building.
The bathroom for Business
School men next to the one with the
scale did not have a scale.
"There isn't any campus-wide
guideline for installing scales in
campus bathrooms and therefore
no database to indicate which bath-
rooms have scales and which don't,"
said Diane Brown, spokeswoman
rooms were converted into
rary offices, it was quickly r
once Business School adm
tors received an e-mail que
the rationale behind it:
"The scale's presence
ladies' room was not intentit
it has been removed," DeGr
in an e-mail. "Our faciliti
apologizes and in no way i
to offend anyone."
No one can say how the'
to keep one scale for the ladi
School of Business came a
might have been an individu
while helping to switch thef
ingsofthehotelrooms-turne
es, thought that the wome
appreciate it and put one a
or she might have had thev
career ambitions at heart it
the scale - a concern, unfor
ly, not without statistical sui
ABOUT CAMPUS
tempo- because, why else would it be there?
emoved "Ifyou wanttolook atit in a funny
inistra- way, it does make sense because
stioning people in the business school like to
quantify everything," Haroutunian
in the said. "But I don't think that's it."
inal and The scale's presence was ques-
oat said tionable at best and it's removal
es staff appropriate, if at the least to *assure
ntended that men and women receive equal
facilities, Haroutunian said.
decision "I think it's best that they're
es of the removed," she said. "It's not a gym
bout. It and there's no reason for them to be
aal who, there. The fact that [the Business
furnish- School] removed it means they think
ed-offic- there's something wrong with it."
n might other students miss the trusty
ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOHN OQUIST
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
We're young. We need to
experiment. When you're
21, you're old already, and
ugly."
- NATALIE WINSTON, a 12-year-old girl
protesting South Africa's "kissing law," which
forbids romantic physical contact for anyone
under16
side. He post-lunch inst
women's be hard to enc
n saving CCRB, and ever
rtunate- their weight son
pport. "I really mi
Sue, a first-y
who refused to
because she did
ciated with the
one at home," s
was really conv
"I went up to him and said,
'Sir, don't push me any-
more,' and he said that I
was low class."
- MARVIN NICHOLSON, a trip director for
Barack Obama, on an incident involving Fox
News host Bill O'Reilly, who shoved Nicholson
in order to interview the senator at an event
for the University's facilities and Increases in a woman's weight
operations, in an e-mail interview. lead to reductions in her family's
"Honestly, it is the first I've heard of income and career prestige, accord-
a bathroom having them." . ingto a2005 studyby NewYork Uni-
So how did the scale find its way versity researchers. The study also
to the bathroominrthe first place?Or, found that the correlation between
more curiously, why would what's career accomplishment and body
probably the only scale in a public mass is even stronger among young
restroom other than a locker room women. On the other side of the
be found in the Business School? gene pool, men experience no such
Facilities staff members at the correlation between body mass and
Business School said the scale is economic situation.
likely a relic from the days when The Business School's women
the school's building housed hotel had mixed responses to the exis-
rooms for visiting participants of tence of the scale and it's subsequent
the executive education program, removal.
School of Business spokesman Ber- Business School sophomore
nie DeGroat said in an e-mail. Anoush Haroutunian said she had
But while the scale had man- always found the presence of the
aged to be the only one to maintain scale puzzling. She said she assumed
a place in the school after the hotel students had asked the school for it
They'll 1
lights on
What happe
can't go horn
As soon as e
dents pack up
for the few p
free days in bet
semesters. Dor
plans are inacti
locked. But for
home isn't a via
sle and expens
forts home has1
What happ
can't go home?
becomes 'a dif
abandoned ha
post-apocalypt
students who li
pus, the lockis
buildings for t
lonely two wee
comfort of a fat
Students wh
in an off-camp
to temporary,,
sleeping and
tions offered £
rument. Scales -can ing. In the past, students were given
counter outside the empty rooms in the Northwood
yone needs to check apartments or Oxford Housing.
metime. ' Housing spokesman Peter Logan
ss that scale," said said the 10 to 20 people who took
ear MBA student advantage of term break housing
give her last name those years were then left to the
n't want to be asso- Oxford room's kitchenettes and
subject. "I don't have their own ingenuity to survive the
he reasoned, "and it two weeks.
enient." This year, the University
arranged set up for a discounted
-KIMBERLYCHOU rate at Extended Stay America
Hotel, a hotel a stone's throw from
Briarwood Mall where guests can
stay for days or years. Although
i for you the hotel wouldn't release any infor-
mation about how many students
ns to those who stay there, a representative said it's
common for students to stay there
efor break inbetween semesters.f
The lobby of the hotel, while con-
xams end, most stu- veniently to-the-point for men and
and flee Ann Arbor womentraveling for business, offers
'recious homework- no opportunities for chance meet-
ween fall and winter ings or room for gathering. One
mitories close, meal chair with a small end table faces
ve and buildings are the front desk. The whole place is
a few students, going quiet. There are no pools or chil-
ble option - the has- dren running up and down the halls
e exceeds any com- to distract guests. .Each room has
to offer. the usual bed, desk and bathroom.
ens to those who Then there's an extended kitchen-
Not much. Campus ette complete with a fridge, sink
ferent entity - an and stove. While the latter facili-
mlet with an eerie ties makes the rooms operational
ie quietness. And for enough, the hotel's location leaves
iterally live on cam- nothing for holiday-left-behinds to
ng up of University do but cruise the mall and hope to
he holiday means a catch abus back to town.
ks without even the of course, even taking a bus back
niliar bed. to campus won't provide much
o haven't yet nested respite from monotony. . During
us abode must look break, where once were whisking
arguably acceptable bikers might as well had tumble-
eating accommoda- weeds. The sidewalks that usually
by University hous- guide inappropriately clothed walks
of shame, serviced nothing but
morning jogs. Ann Arbor turns
into a veritable no-man's land, said
Engineering senior Tanut Sukhum-
dhanakul, who stayed in his apart-
ment duringthe entire break.
"It's really quiet," he said. "You
can't really do anything. I didn't
really do anything."
The decision to stay in Ann Arbor
was because of difficulty justifying
the money and time for a 24-hour
flight to Thailand for just a two-
week visit, Sukhumdhanakul said.
Instead, Sukhumdhanakul
played in the snow as much as pos-
sible, engaging in snowball fights
and building snowmen with his
few friends who stayed. Besides an
escape up north to go snowboarding
for a few days, he spent the bulk of
each day playing Halo 3.
Sukhumdhanakul and friends
hosted Christmas and NewYear Eve
parties, small affairs that are likely
faint renderings of the epic holiday
escapades campus would create if
its students were allowed to spend
two weeks without classes together
in Ann Arbor.
But since a two-week Ann Arbor
party is out of the question, the
option for students looking to avoid
a frozen ghost town is travel.
LSA sophomore Erina Uozumi
said she went home to Japan over
break, but said the most popular
decision for international students
is to travel - often to landmark
American cities.
Uozumi, along with many other
international and otherwise home-
barred students, agrees that when
it comes to Ann Arbor over break, if
you can't go home, get out of dodge.
- EMILYBARTON
TALKING
POINTS
Three things you can talk about this week:
1. Downloading Al Qaeda videos to your cell phone
2. The future of democracy in Pakistan
3. Presidential politics
And three things you
can't:
1. What you did over
winter break
2. The Spears
fa mily
3. 2007
BY THE NUMBERS
Number of people 50 and older living with H.I.V. in the
United States so 2001
Number of people 50 and older living with H.I.V. in the
United States in 2005
Percent increase over this time period
YOUTUBE
VIDEO OF
THE WEEK
David Caruso's
one-liners
No episode of CBS's crime drama
"CSI: Miami" is complete without
one of David Caruso's signature
one-liners. In every episode, Caru-
so, as Lt. Horatio Caine, makes a
wisecrack or tough-guy vow in the
same tone of voice just before the
show's theme (The Who's "Won't
Get Fooled Again") blares and cred-
its roll.
In the context of the episode,
the one-liners can seem clever and
convincing. But the editor of this
video crammed dozens of the lines
together, which shows just how for-
mulaic they really are.
Here's howyou canwow family and
friends withyour ownone-liners.
Step one: Think of a clever pun
or tough-guy vow. Leave a pause for
dramatic effect. For example: "They
brought the war to us. Now we
(pause) are gonnabring it to them."
Step two: During the dramatic
pause, put on or take off your sun-
glasses. You'll look awesome.
Stepthree: Carryaboomboxcued
to play the scream from "Won't Get
Fooled Again." Play it after deliver-
ing the line. Repeat.
- GABE NELSON
See this and other
YouTube videos of the week at
youtube.com/user/michigandaily
THEME PARTY SUGGESTION
Dreams of summer - It's winter in Michigan,
which means cold weather, gray skies and a dor-
mant party scene until March. In order to combat
feelings of depression and isolation, we suggest
you gather with friends and celebrate warm
weather. This might involve decorating your room
with palm trees, drinking margaritas or listening
to Jimmy Buffett's "License to Chill." Or all three.
Throwing this party? Let us know. TheStatement@umich.edu
STUDY OF THE WEEK
Parents in denial about their overweight children
Many American parents with obese children do not admit that this
is the case, according to a study led by Matthew Davis, a professor of
pediatrics and internal medicine at the University.
Researchers surveyed 2,060 adults, gathering the height and weight
measurements for the participants' children and using these figures to
computebodymass index. A child with aBMI greater than the 95th per-
centile for children of the same gender and age was deemed obese.
For parents with an obese child ages 6 to 11, 43 percent responded
that their child was "about the right weight," 37 percent said "slightly
overweight" and 13 percent said "very overweight."
Parents with overweight children ages 12 to 17 were somewhat more
aware that obesity was an issue, the study found. Fifty-six percent of
parents reported that their child was "slightly overweight," 31 percent
said "very overweight" and 11 percent said "about the right weight."
- BRIAN TENGEL
"For children to see people cut up with knives, it's a
horrible situation."
- TOBY TANSER, a member of the New York Road Runners board of directors who is training
in Kenya, on the violence that has erupted over the disputed results of the country's presidential
election on Dec. 27
Sorc: enes o "Die "eCot "l n Pe"nto
J