2A - Thursday, January 20, 2011 The Michigan Daily -- michigandaily.com 2A - Thursday, January 20, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom MONDAY: TUESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers Questions on Campus WEDNESDAY: Professor Profiles FRIDAY: Photos of the Week Perfecting penmanship Stemming from their interest in Islamic studies, LSA juniors Anthony Chase and Lena Abuelroos are aim- ing to give other students on campus an opportunity to learn the history and writing of Arabic calligraphy. Chase and Abuelroos founded the Arabic Cal- ligraphy Club last fall after realizing that many students on campus, like themselves, were interested in learning how to write Arabic calligra- phy, Chase said. "Both of us have been interested in learning cal- ligraphy for a long time," Chase said. "You're kind of exposed to it a lot just study- ing Arabic, but we never really learn how to do it or just how the art form was developed." Mohammed El Khoja, a local calligrapher from Libya who wrote calligraphy for newspapers in his home country, will start to teach the club's members how to write the most widely used Arabic script as well as dis- cuss the history of Arabic calligraphy at their next meeting. "Right now we're just try- ing to learn the basics, and after we have that down, we then want to branch off and maybe explore other forms of text," Abuelroos said. Though El Khoja didn't formally study calligraphy in school, Chase and Abuel- roos said he has previously worked with many students in Ann Arbor. As the club's membership grows, Abuelroos said she and Chase will continue to try to expand the opportu- nities available to students interested in studying Ara- bic calligraphy. Later this semestertheclub'smembers are planning to visit the Uni- versity's Special Collections Library and see old calligra- phy texts, which are studied by the University's Islamic Studies faculty members. Since its founding, the club has. attracted a diverse group of students and has drawn about 35 people to its first meeting. "We have individuals from all over," Abuelroos said. "A couple of our mem- bers have no exposure to Arabic whatsoever, and they're attending. It's open to everyone." - EMILYKEMPA LSA freshman Leah Dalhy works out in the Intramural Sports Building on one of t new exercise machines on Tuesday, Jan.18, 2011. The i M Building now has a new fleet of workout equipment, including treadmills and elliptical trainers. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com STEPHANIE STEINBERG BRAD WILEY Editer is Chief Business Manager 734-410-4115 ext. 1201 734-418-4110 ext. 1241 steinberg@michigandaily.com tmdbusineoa@gnnail.comr CONTACT INFORMATION Newsroom office hours:Sun.-Thurs.1a.m. -2 a.m 734-a1e-4115 opt.5 News Tips news@michigandaily.com Corrections corrections@michigandaily.com Letterstothe Editor tothedaily@michigandaily.com Photography Department photo@michigandaily.com ArtsSection artspage@michigandaily.com Editorial Page opinion@michigandaily.com Sports Section sports@michigandaily.com Display Sales display@michigandaily.com Classified Sales classified@michigandaily.com Online Sales onlineads@michigandaily.com Finance fnance@michigandaily.con EDITORIAL STAFF Kyle Swanson Managing Editor swanson@michigandaily.com Nicole Aber ManagingNews Editor aber@michigandaily.com SENIOR NEWS EDITORS: Bethany Biron, Dylan Cinti, Caitlin Huston, Joseph Lichterman,Devon Thorsh ASSST^NTNEWSEDITORS:helBrusstaClaireGoscickiSuzanneJacobs,Mike Merar, Michele Narsov;Bienn rsk,,s Kaitlin Williass Michelle DeWitt and opinioneditors@michigandaily.com Emily Orley Editorial Page Editor SENIOR EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS: Aida Ali, Ashley Griesshammer, Harsha ASSISTANTEDITORIALPAGEEDITORS:EaghanDavis,HarshaNahata,AndrewWeiner Tim Rohan and sportseditors@michigandaily.com Nick Spar Managing Sports Editor SENIOR SPORTS EDITORS: Mark Burns,MichaelFlorek, Chanel Jennings, Ryan Karte, Stephen J. 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Additionaicopieshmaybepickedupatthe aily'sofficefor$2Subscriptionsfor talIterm,startingin September,viaU.S.mail are$110. Winterterm (JanuarythroughApri)is$115.yearlong(September throughApril) is $195. Universityaffiliatesaresubjectsto areduced subscriptionrate. On-campus subscriptionsforfaltermare$35. Subscriptionsmustbe prepaid.TheMichiganDOaily isamnember of The Associated Press and The AsocatedCollegitePress. 01 01 CRIME NOTES Nurse is shaken Woman battles but not stirred bus, loses CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Talk on culture CAPS workshop WHERE: Cardiovascular Center WHEN: Tuesday at about 10:50 a.m. WHAT: A female visitor grabbed a male nurse and shook him, University Police reported. The woman was arrested and released pending warrant authorization. Staffer spills water on laptop WHERE: Duderstadt Building WHEN: Tuesday at about 4:20 p.m. WHAT: A staff member using a University laptop reported that she accidentally spilled water on it, University Police reported. The estimated cost of the repair is $600. WHERE: Zina Pitcher WHEN: Tuesday at about 6:15 a.m. WHAT: A female pedestrian was hit by a University bus and taken to the emergency room by ambulance, University Police reported. The woman sustained minor injuries. Gym bag goes for a run WHERE: Central Campus Recreation Building WHEN: Tuesday at about 12:25 a.m. WHAT: A student reported that his gym bag was stolen during the last 10 minutes he was at the gym, University Police Reported. There are no sects.e dferences WHAT: Northwood Apart- ments resident Katlego Moilwa will talk about the differences between life in Ann Arbor and Johan- nesburg, South Africa. WHO: Global Learn- ing Series WHEN: Today at 7:30 p.m. WHERE: Northwood Community Center Engineering in Africa lecture WHAT: Electrcal engi- neer Moses Kizza Musaazi will speak about sanitation and waste disposal inno- vations that have posi- tively impacted Africa. WHO: College of Engineering WHEN: Today at 4p.m. WHERE: Gerald Ford Library WHAT: A seminar to discuss ways to boost self-esteem. WHO: Counseling and Psychological Services WHEN: Today at 1 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union CORRECTIONS * An article in yes- terday's paper titled "Business hub Venture Accelerator unveiled" incorrectlyidentified Meghan Cuddihy. . An article in yes- terday's paper titled "Campus speaker calls for peacefull two-state solution in Middle East" incorrectly stated the number of people at the event. There were 90 people. " Please report any errorinthe Dailyto corrections@michi- gandaily.com. According to a survey done by AOL News, only 49 per- cent of elected officials could name all three branches of government. In addition, only 57 percent of elected offi- cials know what the Electoral College does. Dining hall chefs in some University resi- dence halls cook meals for nearly 5,000 students each day. Despite having to make massive quantities of food, the chefs strive to make their dish- es as creative as possible. >> FOR MORE, SEETHEB-SIDE,INSIDE 3 A study published in Chemical Research in Toxicology found that polycyclic aromatic hydrocar- bons, a chemical linked with cancer, appears in the body minutes after smoking a ciga- rette, the BBC reported. 0I Supreme Court rules NASA background checks are OK Investigations of gov.'t job applicants to continue WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court yesterday refused to stop federal investigations into the private lives of people who want to work at government installations - even those who don't have security clearances and don't work on secret projects. The high court turned away challenges to background checks of low-risk employees at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasa- dena, Calif., despite claims from those federal contractors that the investigations were unconstitu- tional because they invaded their privacy. "We reject the argument that the government, when it requests job-related personal information in an employment background check, has a constitutional burden to demonstrate that its questions are 'necessary' or the least restric- tive means of furthering its inter- ests," Justice Samuel Alito said. Employees said the agency was invading their privacy by requir- ing investigations that looked into their medical records and asked friends about their finances and sex lives. If the workers didn't agree to the checks and fill out questionnaires on Standard Form 85 (SF-85) and Form 42, they were to be fired. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is NASA's premier robotics lab, famous for sending unmanned spacecraft to Mars and the outer solar system. Unlike other NASA research centers, it's run by the California Institute of Technol- ogy. Lab scientists, engineers and staff are Caltech employees, but the campus and its buildings are owned by NASA. A federal judge originally refused to stop NASA's back- ground checks while the lawsuit made its way through the courts. He was overturned by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Alito wrote, in a unanimous judgment for the Supreme Court, that the justices were not ruling on whether there was a constitution- al right to "informational privacy." "We hold, however, that whatev- er the scope of this interest, it does not prevent the government from asking reasonable questions of the sort included on SF-85 and Form 42 in an employment background investigation that is subject to the Privacy Act's safeguards against public disclosure," Alito said. The lead plaintiff in the case, Robert Nelson, a senior research scientist at NASA JPL, said he was disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision, addingthat it will dissuade some qualified potential employees from working at JPL. 9; Haiti's former dictator Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier, center, gestures to supporters on the balcony of his hotel roonm in Port- au-Prince, Haiti yesterday. Ex-dictator Haiti returns' with pants to stay in country New bacteria threatens citrus crop, believed to be incurable Hundreds of researchers met to brainstorm ways to combat disease VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) - While Florida farmers have lost some of their crop to cold weather for the second year ina row, they saya fast- spreading, incurable bacteria pres- ents a greater threat to their trees and the citrus industry. Citrus greening has destroyed groves in the U.S., Brazil, Asia and Africa. Detected in Florida in 2005, it leaves fruit sour, malformed and unusable. Eventually, itkillsthetree. "Citrus is our signature crop," said Florida Agriculture Commis- sioner Adam Putnam. "The sheer economic impact it has on our state - it doesn't matter whether you live in a condo tower on Miami Beach or you live in Zolfo Springs, Flori- da, this impacts you as a Floridian because the demise of the Florida citrus industry would have envi- ronmental, economic and social impacts." The disease has been particu- larly devastating because it takes years for citrus trees to reach peak production, and the disease targets young trees, making it difficult for growers to replace those that have been lost. "It's probably is one ofthe biggest negative impacts in Florida today, short of the housing collapse," said Louis Schacht, a Vero Beach farmer whose family has grown oranges for 60 years. Trees don't pass the bacteria to each other. Instead, greening - also known as yellow dragon disease, HIB or, in Chinese, Huanglongbing - is spread by insects. There is no cure. Hundreds of researchers from more than a dozen countries con- verged on Orlando last week to talk about the disease and hear the lat- est research. They found hope in one announcement: A University of Florida-led group of international scientistshas assembled thegenome sequences for two citrus variet- ies - sweet orange and Clementine mandarin - in an effort to deter- mine why trees are so susceptible to greening. Eventually, they hope to engineer varieties that aren't. "There is nothing we have today that is effective against the bacte- ria," said Dan Gunter, chief operat- ing officer of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation Inc., which funds research on greening and other citrus issues. Two percent to 3 percent of Flor- ida's citrus trees die in a typical year because of things like cold weather, bugs or old age. But since greening emerged, 4 percent to 5 percent have been lost each year, experts said. Since most of Florida's oranges become juice, while California mainly grows those found in lunch boxes, greening could eventually affect consumers at the breakfast table. Lawyer argues Duvalier's right to participate in politics PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Haitian authorities want Jean- Claude Duvalier to leave the coun- try, but the once-feared dictator will not go and could even choose to get involved in politics, one of his lawyers said yesterday. Defense attorney Reynold Georges told reporters that it is Duvalier's right to remain in Haiti, but that he is free to travel. He stressed that Haiti's government has not ordered Duvalier to return to France following his surprise return on Sunday. "He is free to do whatever he wants, go wherever he wants," Georges said of the once-feared strongman, known as "Baby Doc." "It is his right to live in his coun- try ... He is going to stay. It is his country." Georges said a Haitian judge who met with the 59-year-old for- mer leader, who apparently does not have a valid Haitian passport, asked him when he planned to leave. "They wanthim to leave," he insisted. Georges portrayed the former leader as an esteemed ex-president iB who might choose to help a small Duvalierist political party during his time in Haiti, though he gave no details on what the help might involve. Duvalier, who assumed power in 1971 at age 19 following the death of his notorious father, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, faces accusations of corruption and embezzlement for allegedly pilfering the treasury before his 1986 ouster. He returned to Haiti on Sunday evening after being exiled for nearly 25 years. Alice Blanchet, a special advis- er to Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, refused to speculate about Duvalier's plans to stay in a country struggling through a dire political crisis following the problematic Nov. 28 first-round presidential election, as well as a cholera epidemic and a troubled recovery from the last year's dev- astating earthquake. "Let justice do its job, run its course. He is a citizen and no one is above the law," she said in a Wednesday e-mail, adding that Duvalier "remains available to the prosecutor" while he is in Haiti. On Thursday, Duvalier stayed at the upscale Hotel Karibe in the hills above downtown Port- au-Prince and spoke publicly only through his lawyers. Duvalier and 4t his longtime companion Vero- nique Roy were seen eating break- fast on his balcony. Outside, on the rutted streets of Port-au-Prince, there were no signs of widespread support for Duvalier. When he was led to a courthouse on Tuesday, support- ers staged demonstrations on his behalf but they were tiny by Haiti standards. More than half the nation's people are too young to have lived through his govern- ment. Most Haitians who remember the Duvalier years hoped he had left for good, closing an era of terror and repression that began under "Papa Doc." Human rights groups say tens of thousands of people were killed during the 29-year father-and-son dictator- ship, while many others were maimed or forced into exile. Haitian authorities moved toward trying Duvalier for alleged corruption and embezzlement committed during his brutal 15-year rule by opening an inves- tigation on Tuesday, but specifics about the probe were scarce. Duvalier defense attorney Gervais Charles said a judge of instruction will decide whether there is enough evidence to go to trial. It's a process that can take up to three months.