The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
IM SPORTS
From Page 1
Benson and Buddin met with
Nicole Green, assistant director
for the Intramural Sports Pro-
gram, to discuss the scoring pol-
icy that they felt was "outdated"
and "sexist."
Green said the University relies
"heavily" on a couple of sports
organization's policies with
regards to IM rules. She said the
program pulls from the National
Intramural-Recreational Sports
Association, a national organiza-
tion for collegiate intramural and
recreational sports and National
Federation of High School.
But according to the intramu-
ral rules section on the NIRSA
website, the rules are only a "sug-
gestion."
"Many of the examples provid-
ed are guidelines developed and
used at other colleges/universi-
ties," the website states. "NIRSA
recognizes the fact that there is
national diversity of programs,
and some situations/rules may be
neither appropriate nor feasible
for every institution."
Green said the University is not
the only school that follows the
NIRSA guidelines for IM sports.
"Every other school and uni-
versity that I know does this," she
said.
Green said the University
addressed this concern by creat-
ing the "A" league, which gives
equal points for men and women.
Other U.S. colleges and uni-
versities are mixed on the matter.
Intramural leagues at Harvard
University and Northwestern
University, for example, makes
no distinctions between points
scored by men and women.
The University of California
at Berkeley and the University of
Wisconsin at Madison use poli-
cies similar to those used at the
University of Michigan.
Green said one reason the poli-
cy is in place is to make up for the
fact that some high schools don't
offer certain sports for women.
Normally Benson and Buddin
would just present the issue to
the student government tomor-
row and voting would take place
a week later.
Benson said he wanted student
government to vote on the issue
immediately, calling the issue
"urgent."
Even if the resolution is
approved, though, Green said the
move would be a binding one.
"I don't think a resolution
from student government would
change," she said. "The IM sports
department is not under student
government."
LSA senior Jenny Kurnit, an
IM soccer player, said she thinks
the University's policy should be
changed. She said she plays on a
co-ed team that features women
who all played varsity soccer in
high school - something none of
her male teammates did.
"It's an assumption that the
guys are going to be better athlet-
ically than women," Kurnit said.
BLOCK'M'
From Page 1
the stunt as of last night.
"Once the students get the hang
of it, I think they'll really get into
it," Chinsky said.
Chinsky initially proposed the
block 'M' to the Athletic Depart-
ment last year. He kept lobbying
over the summer, and on Saturday,
he'll get his chance to start a new
Michigan football tradition.
Mark Riordan, the Athletic
Department's assistant director of
marketing, said he was impressed
by Chinsky's persistence.
"I think it's an interesting idea,"
Riordan said. "It's kind of neat, and
is something to try."
The block 'M' is still an experi-
ment, and no one is quite sure
whether it will work. If too many
students move around, the block
'M' could become an amorphous
blob of blue in an otherwise maize
student section - not the effect
Chinsky is shooting for.
LSA sophomore Jared Game-
lin said that while Michigan foot:
ball games are already bastions
of school spirit, another tradition
could add to school pride.
"If it works, I think it'll stick,"
Gamelin said. "As long as people
wear their yellow shirts and aren't
too drunk, it should work."
Chinsky, a Pennsylvania native,
said he was inspired by friends at
Penn State University talking about
the 'S' formation students make in
the student section during some
football games.
Chinsky and a few of his friends
wenttothe Big Houseseveralweeks
ago, using the block 'M' painted on
the east sideline seats to plan their
own in the student section. He said
he plans to go to the stadium Friday
to chalk off the 'M' so fans in the
student section know who should
be wearing blue and who should be
wearing maize.
The organizers will hand out
about 1,000 blue shirts and several
thousand maize shirts, which are
intended to form an outline so the
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 7
block 'M' is more noticeable, Chin-
sky said. The telecom company
AT&T is sponsoring the shirts, he
said.
Some students were more skep-
tical about the experiment. It
depends on students sticking to
their assigned seats, a relative rar-
ity in Michigan Stadium.
"People would want it to work at
first, butI don't think it'll last long,"
LSA senior Brittanny Evans said.
"People move around to different
sections, and they don't want to
worry about what they are wear-
ing."
LSA senior Sabrina Shingwani,
the president of the Michigan
Student Assembly, said the block
'M' could give the Wolverines an
advantage by firing up the crowd
and distracting the opposing
team.
"Football is a Michigan tradi-
tion, and the block 'M' would be
one more thing to look forward to
at every game," she said. "Anything
that'll distract the other team, I say
'let's do it,' "she added.
FORUM
From Page 1
standing of what the ethical issues
are and also about the science -
what it is and what it isn't - because
I think there's a lot of misunder-
standing about the whole issue of
stem cell research."
As a public institution, the Uni-
versity can't take a stance on one
side of a ballot measure, even though
Coleman and other officials have
spoken out against restrictions on
stem cell research. But the Univer-
sity can sponsor educational events
about political issues.
LSA senior Landon Krantz, presi-
dent of the Student Society for Stem
Cell Research, said Michigan's laws
were outdated and inneed of change.
"While there are researchers
around the country who are try-
ing to find cures for tens of diseases,
researchers in Michigan are bound,"
he said.
The controversy surrounding
the practice lies in the idea that an
embryo would need to be destroyed
to get the stem cells for research.
Embryonic stem cell research oppo-
nents arguethatthose embryos could
be implanted in a woman's womb
and grow into a fetus. The Michigan
initiative - labeled Proposal 2 on
the November ballot - would only
authorize research on embryos that
would have been discarded.
Scientists say embryonic stem
cells could yield cures to a number
of diseases, including Hunting-
ton's, Parkinson's, diabetes and
Alzheimer's. There are two main
types of stem cells: embryonic and
adult. Embryonic stem cells have
the potential to develop into any
type of cell. Adult stem cells are fur-
ther along in development and are
already specialized.
Sean Morrison, director of the
University's Center for Stem Cell
Biology, said the Stem Cell Initiative
wouldn't give scientists complete
freedom with regards to human
embryos; just the ability to conduct
stem cell research.
Stemcellsdivideamongthemselves
soone cellcanproduce aline ofdaugh-
ter cells. Currently, the government
only funds research done on embry-
onic stem cell lines that were taken
before 9 p.m. on August 9,2001 - the
day President Bush announced his
decision to prohibit the use of federal
funds for research on embryonic stem
cell lines created later. That leaves 21
lines available for federalresearch. Six
of those arecontaminated.
All other embryonic, stem cell
research must be pursued privately.
While many states offer funding and
support, Michigan does not. Michi-
gan law prohibits any research that
destroys embryos for non-therapeu-
tic purposes. Stem cell research in
Michigan is limited to existing stem
cell lines from other states.
Lawrence Goldstein, director
of the University of California-San
Diego Stem Cell Program, spoke
at the event, saying that blocking
Michigan scientists from embryonic
stem cell research would have nega-
tive effects on the economy.
"Some of your very brightest
scientists who are located here in
Michigan will be unable to contrib-
ute to that progress and unable to
spit off companies in Michigan that
do this," he said.
University of Pennsylvania Bio-
ethics Prof. Jonathan Moreno dis-
cussed policy and ethical issues
facing the research. Asked who
should have the upper hand in stem
cell legislation, he said a combina-
tion of federal and scientific regula-
tion was the best course of action.
Krantz said the event enlightened
audience members about the ben-
efits of embryonic stem cell research
both in terms of health and for the
* state's economy.
"It reinstated the understanding
thatinthe end, it's all about cures,"he
said. "They sort of hit home that this
year is Michigan's chance to even the
playing ground and get involved in a
remarkable opportunity."
China dairy stock price plunges amid recall FURoPAg1
BEIJING (AP) - The stock price
of a company at the center of Chi-
na's tainted milk product scandal
plunged today as more countries
expanded bans on Chinese milk
products to include candies and
other goods.
The tainting has sickened nearly
53,000 Chinese infants who drank
contaminated baby formula and
has already cost the head of the
country's food safety watchdog his
job. Four deaths have been blamed
on the contaminated milk powder.
One of China's biggest milk pro-
ducers, China Mengniu Dairy Co.,
saw its stock price plummet almost
60 percent in Hong Kong trading
Tuesday after its products were
found tainted with the industrial
chemical melamine.
Mengniu, China's No. 1 dairy
producer in total volume, said only
a small portion of its products were
contaminated and blamed the con-
tamination on "the illegal acts of
some irresponsible milk collection
centers and raw milk dealers."
"The board wishes to sincerely
apologize for the incident and any
inconvenience caused to the pub-
lic,"thecompanysaidinastatement
to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The resignation yesterday of Li
Changjiang,who headed the Gener-
al Administration of Quality Super-
vision, Inspection and Quarantine
since 2001, comes a year after he
and the government promised to
overhaul the system in response to
a series of product safety scares.
New regulations and procedures
were introduced in an attempt to
restore consumer confidence and
preserve export markets after a
string of recalls involving tainted
toothpaste, faulty tires, contami-
nated seafood and in March 2007,
pet food containing melamine that
was blamed for the deaths of dogs
and cats in the United States.
Li's resignation came as inves-
tigators revealed that China's big-
gest producer of powdered milk,
Sanlu Group Co., had received com-
plaints as early as December 2007
linking its infant formula to ill-
nesses in babies. Months later, tests
revealed the milk was tainted with
the industrial chemical melamine,
which causes kidney stones and can
lead to kidney failure.
Even then, Sanlu delayed order-
ing a product recall until Sept. 11,
after the close of the Beijing Sum-
mer Olympics and in the face of
rising concern from New Zealand
partner Fonterra, which owns a 43
percent share in Sanlu.
Melamine, used to make plas-
tics and fertilizer, has been found
in infant formula and other milk
products from 22 of China's dairy
companies. Suppliers trying to cut
costs are believed to have added it
to watered-down milk because its
high nitrogen content masks the
resulting protein deficiency.
The number of sick children
reported by the Health Ministry
has jumped from 6,200 to nearly
53,000. Of those, 12,892 remain
hospitalized, with 104 of them in
serious condition. Another 39,965
childrenwere treated and released.
The huge jump may have been
because health officials combed
through hospital records from May
through August to trace the origins
of the contamination.
Baby formula and other milk
products have been pulled from
stores around the country and
Chinese dairy products have been
recalled or banned in Japan, Singa-
pore, Brunei and HongKong.
On Tuesday, Malaysia expanded
its ban on Chinese milk products
to include candies, chocolates and
any other food containing milk,
and the country's Health Ministry
said it was still determining how,
many products in Malaysia would
be affectedby the ban.
"We are in the process of identi-
fying all products from China like
biscuits, candies, chocolate and so
on," said Noraini Mohamad Oth-
man, director of the ministry's food
safety and quality division. "It's a
precaution."
Taiwanese officials said they
were conducting a sweeping food
inspection to assure consumers
that local milk supplies are free of
chemical contamination.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan said Tai-
wan'sHealthDepartmentwouldsend
expertsto Chinatobetterunderstand
how the contamination occurred.
The discovery of the tainted milk
is especially damaging because
Sanlu was considered one ofthe most
reputable brands in China, winning
an industry award in January and
being featured on state television
last fall asa domestic company with
stringent quality controls.
the suspects at gunpoint.
Upon searching them, police
found a camera that belonged to
one of the housemates and the
suspect's weapon, which turned
out to be an air gun, Monroe
said. After searching the vehicle,
police confiscated a real gun that
belonged to the owner of the
vehicle, he said.
. Monroe said all four were
arrested as suspects in the origi-
nal assault but that only two of
the suspects would face further
charges. One was charged with
larceny, assault with a dangerous
weapon and possession of stolen
property. The other suspect was
charged with carrying a con-
cealed weapon.
Both suspects who were
charged are scheduled for
arraignment for today at 1 p.m.
Their preliminary hearing is set
for next Wednesday.
Jiao, who still hasn't recov-
ered the keg tap, said he didn't
expect the incident to change his
house's party habits.
Job Fair 2008
Today!
2:0-6:00pm / The Michigan Union
Discuss full-time job and internship opportunities
with organizations fromacross the country
Meet with different organizations each day
Connect with organizations interviewing this fall
at The Career Center
Visitoutr Website for a list of participating
organizations (ww.careercenter.umich.edu)
Because...one day can make I IIhe difference!
For more information contact usat:
w734)76.7ee
www~ucareereentersumich.edu
Cosponsored with
Bloomberg - Verizon
Free coffee
Free bagels
Free magazines
Free WI-Fl
8 a.m. to noon
All U-M students welcome.
Fall 2008
September 24
October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
November 5, 12, 19
Winter 2009
January 14, 21, 28
March 4, 11, 18, 25
for more information call 734/615-6449
The University of Michigan College of Literature,
Science, and the Arts presents a public
lecture and reception
in Three Acts
Early Earth,
M Gondwana
and Recent
Climate Change
Eric J. Essene Collegiate
Professor of Geological Sciences
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Rackham Amphitheater
LSA 4:10pm
The Alumni Center is located at 200 rletcher St., at the corner
of rletcher and Washington, next to the Michigan League.
Visit www.umalumni.com/students
for more information on student programs!
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN