Backup goalie Shawn
SHunwick stepped in/
J Move to a hip urban environrment with for an injured Bryan
vague aspirations, go to exclusive after- Hogan and earned a
shutout win over Not
Sparties and do nothing, says HBO. Dame on Senior Nigh
PAGE 5 PAGE 8
(14e1* Iidciigan0 aIlj
Ann Arbor, Michigan
STEM CELL RESEARCH
Battle brews
over possible
tightening of
stem cell laws
Friday, February 26,2010
michigandaily.com
PAINFUL RELIEF
'U' researchers,
students concerned
over bills in state
Senate committee
By VALIANT LOWITZ
Daily StaffReporter
A package of bills moving
through the Michigan Senate
could add additional restrictions
to embryonic stem cell research
in the state, much to the dismay
of University researchers and stu-
dent groups alike.
State legislators are currently
seeking to amend requirements
outlined in a 2008 statewide ballot
initiative that loosened restrictions
on using embryonic stem cell lines
for research, known as Proposal
2. The legislators are also looking
to establish stricter penalties for
those who violate the new rules.
One component of the proposed
legislation is to change the defini-
tion of the phrase "not suitable for
implantation," which is the classi-
fication for the embryos scientists
use for research under the 2008
ballot initiative.
Currently embryos are clas-
sified as not suitable for imple-
mentation if they have diseases or
other defects, but if the bill passes
the classification would include
embryos that lack the potential for
successful implantation, gestation
or healthy development.
In effect, critics of the bill say
that the new laws would force
patients to discard embryos with
diseases, which could otherwise
be used for research to cure those
diseases.
According to Sean Morrison,
director of the University's Center
for Stem Cell Biology Research,
this definition would greatly
inhibit researchers' abilities to find
potential cures to serious diseases.
"The vast majority of embryos
that are discarded as being unsuit-
able for clinical use are not known
to have defects in implantation
or fetal development," Morri-
son wrote in an e-mail interview.
"They are discarded because they
are known to have diseases that
will lead to death sometime after
birth."
Morrison wrote that if the bills
are passed, the pool of usable
embryos for research would
decrease.
"These bills will force patients
to throw away embryos affected
by serious diseases rather than
donating them for stem cell
research," Morrison wrote.
See STEM CELLS, Page 7
SAMANTHA TRAUBEN/Daily
Acupuncturist Li Coger demonstrates how to use acupuncture to alleviate back pain on her son Aaron, during a talk she gave in an honors seminar yesterday.
UNIVERSrITY RESE A RuCH
$14.8M from NIH
to renovate, expand
renowned institute
By LILLIAN XIAO
Daily StaffReporter
The University's Institute of
Social Research received a $14.8
million grant yesterday for reno-
vating and constructing new
additions to its Thompson Street
location.
The National Institutes of
Health awarded the funds to the
ISR through the American Recov-
ery and Reinvestment Act. The
ARRA recently allotted the NIH
$8.2 billion in funding to help the
economy through the advance-
ment of scientific research,
according to recovery.nih.gov.
The grant for the ISR will raise
the total ARRA stimulus funding
for the institute to $48.3 million,
according to a press release dis-
tributed yesterday by the office of
United States Rep. John Dingell
(D-Mich.).
"ISR is internationally
renowned and respected around
the nation for the work they
accomplish," Dingell wrote in
the press release. "This grant will
allow ISR to continue and expand
upon its distinguished research."
The institute engages in an
array of research areas in the
social and behavioral sciences,
ranging from economics and psy-
chology to political science.
ISR Director James Jackson
said the ISR was selected for the
endowment after an NIH scien-
tific panel reviewed applications
from various scientific research
institutes.
Jackson said the review pro-
cess focused on both the quality of
research tobe funded and the fea-
sibility of the funding proposals.
"Those were the two big ele-
ments in the grant," Jackson said,
"How would this improve the sci-
ence we do at ISR? And how the
building would facilitate this."
Jackson said the money will
be used solely for constructing
and renovating the ISR Thomp-
son Street site, which will include
building three main areas - data
storage, gathering facilities and
research space. The renova-
tion will include the addition of
50,000 square feet to the building,
See ISR, Page 7
HOW MANY DUM DUMS DOES IT TAKE...
B i
CAMPUS CRIME
'U' students charged in fed.
court for fake ID shipment
Federal agents
intercepted package
with 48 fake IDs
Staff and Wire Reports
Two University students and
one Michigan State University stu-
dent have been charged in federal
court after authorities intercepted
a FedEx package from Toronto
with 48 fakeID cards, according to
The Associated Press.
The package was being shipped
to an apartment in Ann Arbor,
according to the AP. LSA sopho-
mores Barak Leibovitz and Samuel
Hamburger were confronted by
immigration agentsyesterday.
Michigan State University
freshman Zachary Firestone was
arrested when he drove from East
Lansing to pick up 21 of the 48 ID
cards, federal agents told the AP.
Hamburger said in an interview
that he is not involved in the inci-
dent outside of the fact that he lives
with Leibovitz.
"I have nothing to do with this,"
Hamburger told The Michigan
Daily. "I justsigned my name when
a package came to the house. I had
nothing to do with this whole ID
operation."
Agents say Michigan State Uni-
versity student Zachary Firestone
was arrested when he drove from
East Lansing to pick up 21 of the 48
cards, according to the AP.
In the interview, Hamburger
said the incident is being blown
out of proportion and that right
now he's only concerned about the
negative media attention.
"Everything is being blown out
of proportion," Hamburger said.
"We are all doing fine. Everything
is fine."
- The Associated Press and
Daily Staff Reporter Devon Thorsby
contributed to this report.
Engineering senior Edward Wagner uses deductive reasoning to try to guess the number of dum dum suckers in the jar at the
FUNgineering festival yesterday. The festival was part of Engineers Week.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
City Council to vote on texting ban
UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION
'U' official Hage to take helm of
general counsel's office at EMU
Law would prohibit
using GPS and other
devices in car, on bike
By A. BRAD SCHWARTZ
Daily StaffReporter
Using electronic devices like
cell phones, computers or GPS
units while driving may soon be
illegal in Ann Arbor.
The Ann Arbor City Council
will vote on a resolution on Mon-
day banning the use of handheld
electronic devices while operat-
ing a car or bicycle on Ann Arbor's
streets. City Council voted to con-
sider the ban at their meeting last
week.
Councilmember Stephen
Rapundalo (D-Ward 2), who pro-
posed the ordinance, told coun-
cilmembers at the meeting that
driving while using an. electronic
device is "a major public safety
concern."
"I think we've all experienced at
one time or another, while driving,
seeing somebody else who wasn't
paying attention because of their
distraction with cell phone use
and caused either near accidents
or accidents," he said.
The ordinance specifically bans
the use of a handheld electronic
device to "talk or listen to another
See CITY COUNCIL, Page 7
Hage starts new job
on Monday after 18
years at the 'U'
By DARRYN FITZGERALD
Daily StaffReporter
Officials at Eastern Michigan
University announced last week
that a top attorney for the Uni-
versity of Michigan will be head-
ing to EMU to take over as the
school's general counsel.
Gloria Hage, who will begin
her appointment on Monday, will
join the EMU executive team
after an 18-year run at the Uni-
versity of Michigan. She is leaving
her current position as associate
vice president and deputy general
counsel in the Office of the Vice
President and General Counsel, a
position she has held since 2003.
"I have learned a lot during my
time here and I feel very fortu-
nate to have been able to serve the
University for the 18 years that I
have," Hage said of her time at the
University.
Suellyn Scarnecchia, vice pres-
ident and general counsel at the
University and Hage's boss, said
the University was supportive of
See HAGE, Page 7
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NEW ON MICHIGANDAILYCOM
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INDEX
Vol. CXX, No. 103
©201 The Michigan Daily
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