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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
michigandaily.com
CAMPUS POLITICS
CSJ disbands
constitution
convention
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CARTER CENTER/L Gubb
Dante Vasquez treats Latifah, 9, who had two Guinea worms surfacing from the back of her knee. In 1986, there were an estimated 3.5 million cases of Guinea worm in
20 African and Asian countries. But with the efforts of officials from The Carter Center, like Vasquez, and other organizations, there are fewer than 5,000 cases today.
Dante Vasquez: worm eradicator
Student court rules
that effort needed
campus-wide vote
By MALLORY JONES
Daily StaffReporter
A Michigan Student Assembly
effortto revamp the document that
governs campus life for students at
the University has been deemed
unconstitutional by the leading
campus judicial body.
In a trial that ended late Mon-
day night, the Central Student
Judiciary ruled that the Consti-
tutional Convention, which was
being organized and executed by,
top officials from MSA, violates
the student constitution. They also
ruled that the convention needed
to be disbanded immediately.
When the convention was first
presented as a resolution during
a weekly MSA meeting earlier
this semester, Rackham Rep. Kate
Stenvig said she did not think it
was constitutional. After the reso-
lution passed, Stenvig brought the
case to the CSJ.
Student General Counsel Jim
Brusstar and Rules and Elections
Committee Chair and Rackham
Rep. Michael Benson argued the
case on behalf of MSA. They served
as secretary and vice chair of the
convention, respectively, until it
was disbanded last night.
The justices found that the cre-
ation of the convention was not in
compliance with the student con-
stitution, which states that a con-
vention requires its delegates to be
elected.
in preparing for the conven-
tion, MSA officials opted to invite
all students to apply to serve on
the Constitutional Conventional,
rather than hold a campus-wide
election. MSA President Abhishek
Mahanti then reviewed students'
applications and selected about
40. students to serve on the con-
vention. These 40 names were
then presented to the assembly for
approval.
Stenvig applied to serve on the
convention in one of the eight seats
allotted for MSA representatives
but was not chosen by Mahanti.
CSJ ruled that this process did
not qualify as an "election," which
the constitution deems mandatory,
and the judicial body ruled the
current convention invalid.
"CSJ ruled that the conven-
tion should be proportionately
represented by school or college
and serious questions were raised
about whether or not student orga-
nizations should be represented
at all," MSA Vice President Mike
Rorro wrote in an e-mail to MSA
members after the ruling.
Stenvig's legal representation,
Joyce Schon, argued that includ-
ing so many MSA members in the
convention would just advance the
majority party's agenda.
"I think that the current MSA
leadership that organized the con-
vention in this manner has been
making a series of attacks on the
See CONVENTION, Page 7
2005 grad Vasquez
works in Africa to
end Guinea worm
By KATHERINE MITCHELL
Daily StaffReporter
Dante Vasquez lives in Juba,
the capital of southern Sudan, in
a compound constructed roughly
out of imported crates and ship-
ping containers. He travels the
country as best he can - land
cruiser, motorcycle and, when
necessary, by foot. For some, it
would appear a grueling exis-
tence. But for Vasquez it's busi-
ness as usual.
A 2005 University graduate,
Vasquez now works in Sudan as a
deputy regional technical adviser
to The Carter Center, an organi-
zation founded in 1982 that "is
committed to advancing human
rights and alleviating unneces-
sary human suffering," according
to its website.
Sudan isa country with a histo-
ry marred by civil war stemming
from religious and military strife.
But Vasquez is not there to try to
put an end to the conflict. He's
waging a different kind of war - a
battle against Guinea worm.
Guinea worm is a parasite that
enters the body through a water
source, typically drinking water.
The parasite releases its larvae in
water, which, when ingested by a
host, mate and produce a worm
that can grow up to three feet in
length. The worm can take up to
a year to surface through a pain-
ful skin blister but, when present,
causes an intense burning sensa-
tion as it exits the body.
Removing Guinea worm is an
excruciatingly delicate process.
Extrication methods involve
wrapping the worm around a
small stick and slowly turning it
to pull the worm from the body.
CONTINUING SERIES:
A FT ER T HE Y WA LK
However, because the worm
wraps itself tightly around the
host's muscles and bones, twist-
ing the stick must be done with
extreme care so as to not break
the worm. The process can take
many weeks or, in extreme cases,
months.
There is currently no vaccine
or cure for the' Guinea worm,
meaning health activists and vol-
unteers like Vasquez must focus
on prevention through other
See AFTER THEY WALK, Page 7
BIG HOUSE INCIDENTS NEXT STOP: STUFFING
Man pushed by Bill Martin
regrets not pressing charges
Kahn says athletic
0 director's apology
wasn't sincere
ByJOELLE HECKER
For the Daily
The Department of Public
Safety employee who was alleg-
edly pushed by Athletic Director
Bill Martin during a Michigan
football game last month said he
now regrets not pressing charges.
After Eastern Michigan Uni-
versity sophomore Arif Kahn
denied Martin entry into the
Regents Guest Area after the Del-
aware State game Oct. 17, Martin
grabbed Kahn's windbreaker and
slightly pushed him, according
to a police report. Martin apolo-
gized for the incident on Oct. 26
and Kahn did not press charges
against him.
Kahn said that in Martin's
apology, the athletic director
claimed he was running late for a
meeting and that there is usually
a police officer at the entrance
who recognizes him. Martin also
noted in his apology that the con-
fusion was due to recent policy
changes he was not made aware
of, according to Kahn.
Kahn decided not to press
charges because he wanted a
"quick, easy resolution," and he
thought taking it to court would
be "too big of a deal." Kahn said
See INCIDENT, Page 3
UNIVERSITY RESEARCH
Pharmacy intervention program
shows promise to help mentally ill
MARi$SA MCCLAIN/Daiiy
Students head home for Thanksgiving break on the Amtrak train yesterday evening.
CA US GROPS
The Daily elects new slate of editors
Program could help
mentally ill manage
*medication schedule
By ESHWAR
THIRUNAVUKKARASU
Daily StaffReporter
Patients who forget to refill
their prescription medication
may soon receive help through
pharmacy-based intervention - a
hands-on approach to encourage
mentally ill patients to take their
medications.
Marcia Valenstein, associ-
ate professor for the Univer-
sity's Department of Psychiatry,
recently led a study that proved
the value of such a program.
The randomized trial com-
pared patients who received the
MedsHelp pharmacy interven-
tion with those who received
usual pharmacy care. Published
in this month's online edition of
Schizophrenia Bulletin, the study
reported an 86-percent adher-
ence to refill dates for the inter-
vention group - nearly 25 percent
greater than that reported for
patients without assistance.
"The reason we started the
study is because people with seri-
ous mental illnesses often have
difficulty taking their medications
See RESEARCH, Page 3
Next class will serve
year-long terms
starting in January
By LIBBY ASHTON
Daily Staff Reporter
The Michigan Daily has elected
a new class of editors who will offi-
cially begin a yearlong term this
January.
Each year, the Daily holds
staff-wide elections to appoint its
editor-in-chief and editorial page
editor, while the other sections
hold smaller elections to deter-
mine their editors. The elected
editor in chief appoints other key
positions that are confirmed by
the Daily's senior editors, includ-
ing managing editor - the paper's
second in command.
Elections for editor in chief and
editorial page editor take place in
one roughly 12-hour block of time.
During elections, the entire Daily
staff asks the candidates ques-
tions relevant to how they would
approach the position. Each staff
member's vote is counted equally.
After standing through about
eight hours of questions, Business
junior Jacob Smilovitz - the Dai-
ly's current managing news editor
- was elected as the paper's next
editor in chief.
See EDITORS, Page 3
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