The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, February 26, 2010 - 7 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, February 26, 2010 - 7 EYE OPENING AARON AUGSBURGER/[ The Brehm Tower at the W.K. Kellogg Eye Center yesterday. The brand new center, which cost $132 million to build, will open on Monday, according toa press release dis- tributed yesterday. The building will house clinical facilities like suites for refractive surgery as well as laboratories used to study both diabetes and ophthalmology. ily HAGE From Page 1 Hage's endeavor, despite that it means her office will be losing a great colleague. "It's a terrific career move for her," Scarnecchia said. "I knew that Eastern Michigan was look- ing for a new general counsel and it makes perfect sense that they are hiring Gloria because she is so talented, - a great leader, very talented attorney and she has really helped to build the strength of our office and so she will bring all of those experienc- es with her to Eastern." University President Mary Sue Coleman echoed Scarnecchia's sentiment, saying while she will miss Hage, she is excited for the opportunity Hage will have at EMU. "I really regret that she's going because she's been just such a wonderful person to have at the University, but EMU is really lucky," Coleman said in an inter- view earlier this month. "They're getting someone who is extreme- ly knowledgeable and I'm thrilled she has that opportunity, but I'll really miss her." Hage - who earned both her bachelor's degree in English lit- erature and her juris doctorate from the University - described her decision to move to Eastern as "the opportunity to move to a great school, be a general counsel at a real good school." According to Eastern Univer- sity spokesperson Walter raft, Hage's responsibilities as gen- eral counsel will include over- seeing the University's entire legal department and all its legal activities. "I am delighted to welcome Gloria as a critical addition to the Eastern Michigan University leadership team," Eastern Michi- gan University President Susan Martin said in a press release. "Gloria has an outstanding repu- tation in the education and legal community, and we know she will make a strong contribution." Hage's new appointment came following an extensive search by Eastern Michigan's Execu- tive Council, a team comprised of presidential cabinet members and other University adminis- tration officials. The search was prompted by an announcement made in November that East- ern Michigan's current General Counsel Ken McKanders - who has served EMU since 1987 - would be leaving effective Febru- ary 28, 2010. In the Office of the Vice Presi- dent and General Counsel at the University, Hage's primary role has been managing the legal affairs of the University with a special focus on employment law and staff benefits. In her capac- ity as deputy general counsel, Hage advised the University on legal issues affecting its schools and colleges, the University of Michigan Health System and regional and off-site facilities. Hage's role at the Univer- sity leaves big shoes to fill, and according to Scarnecchia, the Office of the General Counsel has already begun its search for a replacement. "It's a loss for us, but we have a lot of talent in this office and I will be appointing a new deputy general counsel from within most likely," Scarnecchia said. "I'm going through that process right now and then we'll probably hire a new staff attorney to take over some of the substantive legal work that Gloria had in her area of responsibility." Despite the loss, officials from both schools agreed the strong relationship between the Univer- sity of Michigan and EMU would yield opportunities for Hage to work with her former colleagues again in the future. "The universities are in align- ment," Kraft said. "It also helps us to have someone who is from the area, familiar with this region, certainly familiar with Michigan and the issues that Michigan faces." Scarnecchia agreed, adding that she's pleased Hage will still be "a neighbor down the road" at EMU. "think there'll be a lot of back and forth phone calls between the University of Michigan and Eastern at least for a while," Scarnecchia said. Hage said she's also looking forward to continuing to work with her University of Michigan colleagues. "I anticipate that there will be many opportunities to col- laborate with the University of Michigan and the other public universities in the state in the future," she said. Prior to serving as Associ- ate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Hage served as interim vice president and gen- eral counsel before Scarnecchia was hired about two years ago. Hage has also served in the role of assistant general counsel for the University and as interim chief human resources officer in 2004. Before coming to the Univer- sity in 1992, Hage was an asso- ciate attorney at Butzel Long, a law firm with offices throughout Michigan and in Washington, D.C. and New York. - Daily News Editor Kyle Swanson contributed to this report. University researchers say package of bills could put big limits on stem cell research From Page 1 Morrison wrote that one example of this is in the case of embryos that carry the gene for Huntington's disease. "Patients always elect to dis- card embryos that are found to carry the Huntington's disease gene rather than using them for fertility treatment," Morrison wrote. "However, these embryos would not meet the restrictive new standard for 'unsuitable for clinical use' in these bills because the embryos probably implant and develop normally." He continued: "As a result, Michigan families would be forced to discard these embryos rather than having the option to donate them for research to cure Huntington's disease." But according to State Sen. Tom George, chair of the Senate Health Policy Committee, oppo- nents of the bill are misinterpret- ing what the bill would actually require. "All of the hyperbole is simply untrue," George said. The bills seek to clarify the Ian- guage used in Proposal 2, espe- cially the phrase, 'unsuitable for clinical use,' so that everyone is on the same page before mov- ing forward with the research, according to George. "If you have confusion that doesn't serve anyone," he said. George said the legislation wouldn't ban the use of embryos that carry genetic diseases for research. Instead, the proposed legislation limits the ability to discard embryos based on non- disease characteristics like hair or eye color. "All of the provisions are less stringent than what they have in Massachusetts and California," he said. "The penalties that we have for violating the act are in CITY COUNCIL From Page 1 person," send or receive texts or verbal messages, use the internet or view an electronic map. Driving or biking while using a cell phone would be a primary offense, meaning a violator could be pulled over for that reason alone. Anyone found in violation of the ordinance would be subject to a $125 fine or a $300 fine if the driver caused an accident. Exemptions from the ordi- nance include using a hands-free device or using the device to talk to police, fire or medical person- nel during an emergency. Police officers and firefighters are also exempt. At the meeting, Rapundalo said there is a large body of research suggesting that using electronics behind the wheel is dangerous. Rapundalo said the reason behind excluding hands-free devices from the proposed ordi- nance is because it would be diffi- cult to enforce, not because those devices are any less dangerous. "There certainly are studies that clearly show that there is no difference with handheld and the level of distraction and that of hands-free, so they're pretty equivalent there," he said. "But v line with the penalties that are used in other states that have similar laws." George also said opponents of the bill didn't show an interest in the writing of the proposed legis- lation when input was welcomed during various public hearings and meetings. "If they don't like the defini- tion, then they had the oppor- tunity to change it," he said. "However, their response was to do nothing." If passed, the bills would also mandate that researchers dis- close information to the state about decisions patients make when seeking fertility treatment, like what they want the embryos to be used for and whether their current children have any birth defects. Morrison wrote that forcing researchers to release this infor- mation would discourage people from using state-run fertility treatments. "I suspect that many patients would be uncomfortable knowing that their doctors would be forced by these bills to make detailed reports to the state government," he wrote. "Patients who are uncomfortable with the govern- ment tracking their reproductive decisions might end up going out- side of the state for fertility treat- ment." But George said the bill cre- ates a reporting requirement that involves a one-page summary submitted annually that shows the total number of embryos being used for research. George said the reporting requirement would be an aggre- gate count, and would thus be "blind data." "It is ludicrous to think that someone would not seek treat- ment because of a one-page reporting requirement," George said. George also said all state-sup- ported institutions are already required to submit stem-cell research reports to the federal government, and therefore there wouldn't be any new reporting required from the University. Pri- vate institutions, though, current- ly don't have to send such reports, and would then be required by the state to do so if the bills pass through the state government, he said. State Sen. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor) expressed concern that if passed, the restrictions would negatively affect the state's stem cell research industry. "The bills seem to be intended to harass researchers," Brater said. "We have the potential to be a world leader in stem cell research. The proposals are already embedded in the consti- tutional amendment, and they are totally unnecessary." Brater went on to say that the University of Michigan has the facilities necessary to attract researchers to the state. But restrictions in the bills - like placing researchers in prison for something as minor as not fil- ing paperwork properly - would dissuade out-of-state researchers from coming to Michigan, reduc- ing job opportunities in the state, she said. "Health care is one of the most profitable sectors in the Michigan economy," Brater said. But George said if passed, the measures in the bills wouldn't discourage researchers from coming to the state. "Researchers will come if they're paid," he said. George said the proposed restrictions are similar to those placed on tattoo parlors in the state. Tattoo industry regulations like mandating the use of clean needles and licensing don't cause tattoo parlors to be outsourced to different states, he said. "If we invest the money into the industry and pay our research- ers, they will be attracted to the state," George said. The University's chapter of the Student Society for Stem Cell Research recently vocalized its opposition to the proposed restrictions by participating in Capitol Day on Tuesday, when advocates for stem cell research met in Lansing to protest the bill. "The citizens of Michigan were able to voice their opinions when Proposal 2 came on the ballot," Engineering sophomore Shwetha Suresh Maddur, political advo- cacy chair of SSSCR, wrote in an e-mail interview. "These restric- tions are slowing down the efforts of scientists to cure diseases." Morrison wrote that though some proponents of the bill have said they respect the measures that the 2008 ballot initiative allow, he is skeptical about their true intentions. "When proponents of these bills say they accept the results of Prop. 2 and just want to regulate the research, that's like me say- ing that I accept we need an auto industry but just want to regulate it by making it illegal for cars to have wheels in Michigan," Mor- rison wrote. But George disagrees, saying both researchers and politicians need to read the proposed legisla- tion to better understand the pro- visions outlined within it. "Any industry has an automatic response to oppose oversight," George said. "I am very disap- pointed with this response, which has portrayed legislators as cave- men thinking in the past." The bills now await votes in the State Senate Health Policy Com- mittee. ISR From Page 1 according to the press release. "A large part of what we do at the University of Michigan really relates to collecting data and making that data accessible," Jackson said. In addition to renovating those spaces, Jackson said ISR officials hope to add conference rooms and a 220-seat auditorium with two floors of research space above it. "One of the important things we do in the social sciences is to bring people together for confer- ences and scientific meetings," Jackson said. "So we're going to increase our capacity to do that by having meeting room space and a major auditorium that will be on the first floor." Jackson said the award will also give the ISR an opportunity to start updating the facility with video conferencing and other communication technologies. "ISR was built in 1955, and there has been a lot of progress made with regard to how we communicate, so we're going to be upgrading our facility," Jack- son said. In addition to enhancing the facility, Jackson said the con- struction will provide opportu- nities for employment for local workers. "We're expecting to create temporary and 'long-term jobs because construction's going to create opportunities for people to work," Jackson said. Jackson added that with the new space the institute will be able to employ more researchers. Currently the staff of ISR con- sists of research scientists who generally have a Ph.D. in one of the social behavior disciplines, research assistants and associ- ates who are involved in data collection and administrative support staff, according to Jack- son. "The new building and new opportunities will mean we'll probably be hiring people on all those levels," Jackson said. Dingell praised the grant and wrote in his press release that it will help bring more jobs to the area in an important area of research. "ISR's expansion provides a unique potential for job growth: opening up new positions for the unemployed in Michigan and solidifying opportunities for tal- ented college graduates," Dingell wrote. The next step in the process will be for the University's Board of Regents to approve the award and construction plans, which could take anywhere from 14 to 18 months, Jackson said. it's a matter of, can you enforce one or both?" A 2006 study by the University of Utah found that talking on a cell phone - even with a hands- free device - is just as dangerous as driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent, the legal limit in Michigan. Another study done in 2005 by the Insurance Institute for High- way Safety found that talking on a cell phone made a driver four times more likely to get into an accident. At the meeting, some council- members called into question the provision prohibiting the use of GPS devices. Repaundalo defend- ed the provision by explaining that many cell phones have GPS capabilities. "I think this simply identifies the fact that it's as much a dis- traction as use of a cell phone," he said. Councilmember Tony Derezin- ski (D-Ward 2) said he's hopeful that the ordinance might serve as a model for a future statewide ban. "Sometimes the local commu- nities are the laboratories for laws the state usually adopts, some- times long after," he said. Seven states have laws banning talking on a cell phone while driv- ing and 21 states and the District of Columbia ban texting while driving. President Barack Obama issued an executive order last October banning federal employees from using a cell phone while driving on official business. This was part of a larger campaign by the U.S. Department of Transporta- tion to curb distracted driving, according to distracted.gov. Legislation banning texting while driving has passed both houses of the Michigan Legisla- ture, but hasn't yet been signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jen- nifer Granholm, though she has vocalized support for the ban. At the meeting, Ann Arbor mayor John Hieftje said the city shouldn't wait for the state to pass a law similar to the city ordi- nance. - "If anyone had the idea of wait- ing for the state to do something on this all we have to do is take a look at what happened with smoking," he said, referencing the statewide smoking ban in indoor public places, which will go into effect May 1. Councilmember Stephen Kun- selman (D-Ward 3) suggested an age restriction of 16 or above to prevent police from detaining children for using a cell phone while biking, but councilmember Margie Teall (D-Ward 4) coun- tered by saying young people should be warned against this kind of behavior. "I would hope that the messag- es are still getting out to young- sters that this is not a good idea," Teall said. "If it takes a police officer to give a gentle reminder that this isn't the smart thing to do, I think we'll all be the better for that." Rapundalo said police officers would have to make a judgment call on an individual basis. Many students said they sup- port the proposed ordinance and they feel using an electronic device while driving or biking is often hazardous. LSA freshman Meredith Luneack said there have been sit- uations in which she felt endan- gered by distracted drivers and thought the ban was a good idea. "Maybe if I had a car or was more active on a bike I would feel differently, but I feel it would keep me a little safer," she said. LSA sophomore Amira Belwa- fa said she supports the ban and even thought higher fines would be a good idea, but didn't think it would be popular with the major- ity of students. "I think there's a lot of people who are attached to their cell phones who are going to think this is a terrible idea," she said. hhe wire~ WANT TO KNOW THE LATEST HEADLINES? Follow the Daily's news blog at michigandaily.com/blogs/the wire