The Michigan Daily ' michigandaily.com
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, February 9, 2011 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
DETROIT
54-year-old man
traveled to Mich. to
have sex with teen
A 54-year-old Boston-area
man traveled to Michigan to
have sex with a 13-year-old girl
who was his bride in an online
role-playing game, authorities in
Detroit said yesterday.
Charges against John Phil-
lips of Fitchburg, Mass., include
sexual assault, child sexually
abusive activity and accosting
a child for immoral purposes,
Wayne County Sheriff Benny
Napoleon said at a news confer-
ence.
Phillips faces a prelimi-
nary examination tomorrow in
Detroit's 36th District Court,
The Detroit News reported.
Phillips was arraigned Jan. 13
after his arrest in New York state
and remained jailed in Wayne
County.
JACKSON, Miss.
School bus collides
with tractor, kills
three adults
Three adults have died and
several students are injured after
police say a school bus collided
with a tractor-trailer in rural
Mississippi.
Mississippi Department of
Public Safety spokesman John
Kalahar said there were multiple
injuries in yesterday's accident
on Mississippi Highway 8 in Cal-
houn County, about 120 miles
northeast of Jackson.
Kalahar said one of those
killed was the driver of the truck.
The high school students from
Choctaw County were on a trip
to the University of Mississippi
in Oxford. Choctaw school board
member Mike Thomas says the
other two adults killed worked
for the county.
FORT LUPTON, Colo.
Pregnant woman
mistakenly given
abortion pill
A Colorado woman who is six
weeks pregnant says a pharma-
cist at a grocery store mistak-
enly gave her an abortion drug
instead of an antibiotic and now
she fears the error will cause her
to miscarry.
Mareena Silva told Denver's
KMGH-TV that the pharmacist
at the Safeway in Fort Lupton
gave her methotrexate last week.
The drug, intended for another
woman, is used in chemothera-
py and to terminate early-stage
pregnancies.
Silva says she took a pill and
checked the bottle after becom-
ing sick. She was rushed to the
hospital.
Doctors say Silva could mis-
carry or have a baby with birth
defects.
MONT BELVIEU, Texas
One worker still
missing after fire
A liquid gas pipeline exploded
yesterday at a petroleum plant
outside Houston, sending balls
of orange flame and thick black
smoke into the sky and leaving
one worker unaccounted for,
authorities said.
The mid-day explosion burst
open a line carrying mostly
butane and propane pipeline at
an Enterprise Products storage
facility in Chambers County,
company spokesman Rick Rain-
ey said. The flames and smoke
could be seen from downtown
Houston, about 30 miles west of,
the fire, but the flames had sub-
sided significantly by late after-
noon.
Rainey identified the unac-
counted for worker as a contract
employee who was supposed
to be at the site at the time of
the blast but didn't show up at a
secure area where employees are
told to report in case of an emer-
gency. The area of the fire typi-
cally would include eight to 10
workers, he said.
-Compiled from
0 Daily wire reports
PUBLIC HEALTH
From Page 1A
said nanos have been used for
research tool innovations like
the electron microscope and
have also led to improvements
in manufactured products like
cell phones.
"Nanotechnology just isn't
about measuring and seeing,"
Banaszak-Holl said. "Nano-
technology is about the ability
to design, make and use things
at this nano scale."
In response to Maynard's
question about whether nan-
otechnology has the poten-
tial to transform science in
the future, Banaszak-Holl
said "the revolution's here"
already.
Nanotechnology has faced
criticism from a number of
scientists and politicians, who
have raised questions about
the health risks incurred from
using nanotechnologies. Phil-
bert said nanotechnology, like
other similar materials, has
positive and negative effects,
depending on the amount
used.
"Everything is both, in and
of itself, both safe and unsafe,"
Philbert said.
Nanotechnology is simi-
lar to other potentially lethal
substances, but it has certain
therapeutic benefits if used in
small doses, according to Phil-
bert.
Controlling nanotechnol-
ogy use is only one of many
issues addressed in scientific
public policy, Parthasarathy
said.
"The challenge of gover-
nance here is not restricted
to the challenge of nanotech-
nology," she said. "We have a
challenge with dealing with
emerging technologies and
how do we go about regulating
them."
The debate on nanotechnol-
ogy often centers on the differ-
ences between science-based
problems and value-based
MSA
From Page 1A
ing Rep. Kyle Summers, chair
of the Rules Committee, and
Interim Vice Speaker Sean
Walser. The amendment calls
for a process of directing com-
plaints about student organi-
zations through the Student
General Counsel and MSA's
Central Student Judiciary, the
judicial branch of the MSA.
"I doubt it will be much of an
issue, but it'sjust a wayto make
sure we stay socially just and
true to our constitution," Bek-
kers said in an interview after
the meeting. "It's an obligation
anyway, but this sets up a pro-
cess to work through the SGC
and CSJ."
LSA Rep. Brendan Fried-
man, chair of MSA's Resolu-
tions Committee, voted against
the resolution and said he was
concerned the amendment to
MSA's Compiled Code gave too
much power to the SGC, who
is appointed by the MSA presi-
dent.
Under the new Compiled
Code, the SGC can suspend
student organizations pending
a judgment from CSJ.
"I see no reason to give
such a vast power to the SGC,"
Friedman said at the meeting.
Another resolution amend-
ed MSA's Compiled Code to
require the MSA treasurer
to present a report on MSA's
financial budget status at the
beginning of each semester
before the new semester's bud-
get is compiled.
The resolution - written
by Finance Committee Chair
Matthew Eral and Finance
Committee Vice Chair Anne
Murkowski - states that the
status report must include the
amounts delegated for and
spent by each committee and
the balance that will roll over
to the next semester's budget.
A second resolution, related
to finance oversight, passed
by the assembly amends the
standing rules to codify the
guidelines that MSA's trea-
surer must follow when pre-
senting a new budget to the
assembly.
The resolution, also drafted
by Eral and Murkowski, will
require MSA budget resolu-
tions to note the total amount
of funds available, include a
summary of where funds are
problems, Parthasarathy said.
Nanotechnology poses a val-
ue-based problem in the public
policy arena, she said.
In response to Parthasara-
thy's remarks, Banaszak-Holl
said only a few members of
Congress hold degrees in the
sciences. Therefore, scientists
themselves aren't able to dic-
tate policy on a national level.
Though legislators may
not be scientific experts, Par-
thasarathy said they do look
to scientists for guidance on
issues like the safety of nano-
technology.
"The infrastructure of how
we make regulatory decisions
is one that is based heavily on
what we call scientific adviso-
ry committees," she said.
Philbert disagreed with
Parthasarathy, saying politi-
cians are often influenced by
public perception rather than
science.
"There is almost no connec-
tion, frequently, between the
science and the ultimate deci-
sion-making because the deci-
sion makers have the direct
imperative to get re-elected,"
Philbert said.
Paula Lantz, chair of the
Department of Health Man-
agement and Policy in the
School of Public Health,
asked the panelists later in
the discussion what they
thought about the capabilities
of agencies like the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration or
Environmental Protection
Agency to regulate nanotech-
nologies.
Philbert responded by say-
ing though regulatory agen-
cies have lost funding, new
technologies have allowed
them to make better deci-
sions. The enforcement of
nanotechnology is difficult
considering the risks and ben-
efits associated with its use,
he added.
"We're always engineering
toward the perfect, and there
is no perfect environment,"
Philbert said.
currently allocated and refer-
ence the financial status report.
Additionally, the treasurer
must have a detailed break-
down of the budget available
for MSA members with ques-
tions about funding allotments.
MSA Treasurer Ambreen
Sayed wasn't in attendance at
last night's meeting and didn't
return several inquiries from
The Michigan Daily as of last
night.
MSA also passed a resolu-
tion supporting the creation of
a student organization panel
during the University's new
student orientation to help
students learn about opportu-
nities available to them before
they arrive in Ann Arbor in the
fall.
"Many students adjusting to
campus life either fail to gain
awareness of student organiza-
tions or become overwhelmed
by the number of student orga-
nizations on campus," the reso-
lution states.
The resolution, written by
Friedman and LSA Rep. Peri
Silverman, will be sent to Ann
Hower, director of the Univer-
sity's Office of New Student
Programs, and James Brown,
assistant director of the Uni-
versity's Office for Student
Activities and Leadership.
Another resolution passed
last night will create a task
force to "investigate the feasi-
bility of getting North Campus
resources on Central Campus."
Written by Engineering Rep.
Crissie Zuchora and Kunal
Mehta, president of the Univer-
sity of Michigan Engineering
Council, the resolution calls
for the creation of a task force
chaired by Zuchora. The group
will look into the possibility of
improving Central Campus's
access to resources used by
College of Engineering, School
of Music, Theater & Dance,
College of Architecture and
Urban Planning and School of
Art & Design students.
The resolution cites inad-
equate Computer Aided Engi-
neering Network computers,
printing, practice rooms and
studio space on Central Cam-
pus as examples of things to
be improved. The task force
will present its analysis of the
cost and potential effects of
providing these resources and
an implementation plan on or
before MSA's March 8 meet-
ing.
SANCTIONS
From Page 1A
campus in fall 2009. As an asso-
ciate professor in the Depart-
ment of Near Eastern Studies,
Eliav is teaching two courses this
semester - "The Land of Israel/
Palestine through the Ages" and
"Introduction to Rabbinic Litera-
ture."
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald said Eliav currently
holds a tenured position and is
under no additional restrictions
from the University other than
what was originally enforced.
Eliav said he "deeply regrets"
that the incident happened and
hopes to continue to serve his stu-
dents and the University to the
best of his abilities.
"People make mistakes," Eliav
wrote. "Thankfully, as humans,
we can take responsibility for our
mistakes, learn from them, take
the necessary steps to correct
them and hopefully be allowed to
move on."
Around the time of the trial, the
University conducted an inves-
tigation to see if Eliav utilized
University resources while using
a computer to commit a crime.
A Dec. 28, 2008 letter from LSA
Dean Terrence McDonald to Eliav,
which was obtained by the Daily,
outlined the findings of the inves-
tigation.
The letter cites police records
in which Eliav confessed to using
the alias Mark Tegels inhis online
exchanges with the Law student.
The University's investiga-
tion found that Eliav also used
University computers to view a
Craigslist posting and to com-
municate with other Craigslist
members about their personal
advertisements.
The letter states that these
actions were inviolationof several
University policies, including that
faculty members should view their
access to resources as a "privilege"
and must use the resources "with
respect for the public trust." The
policies also state that a member
of the University cannot "assume
another person's identity or role
through deception without proper
authorization."
According to the letter, Eliav
violated these policies and vio-
lated conduct required by faculty
under University policies, state
and federal laws. Along with
bringing negative media atten-
tion to himself, the letter states
that Eliav's conduct "damaged the
reputation of the University and
College."
Eliav agreed to the University
sanctions, according to the letter.
He was required to resign from
the Jean and Samuel Frankel Pro-
fessorship in Rabbinic Literature
and give up all salary and research
funds gained from that position.
Eliav also gave up his leadership
position with search committees
for new faculty in the Department
of Near Eastern Studies and the
Frankel Center for Judaic Studies
at the University.
According to a Dec. 9, 2008
e-mail sent by Gary Beckman,
chair of the Department of Near
Eastern Studies, to LSA Associate
Dean Derek Collins, the Depart-
ment of Near Eastern Studies
received signed letters and peti-
tions from faculty members of
Judaic Studies and Near East-
ern Studies demanding Eliav's
removal from the search commit-
tees.
Eliav added that he thought the
conduct of the University and the
Department of Near Eastern Stud-
ies regarding the incident was
"fair and measured."
Fitzgerald said if an incident
like this happened with another
professor in the future, the Uni-
versity would respond to the situ-
ation depending on individual
circumstances.
"Ithinkin anysituationlikethis
the University would approach
those unique set of circumstances
and try to do what is best in those
unique set of circumstances," he
said.
Other University sanctions
included ineligibility for any
chairmanship at the University
for five years and Eliav's resigna-
tion fromtheexecutive committee
of the Frankel Center for Judaic
Studies and his head fellow posi-
tion in the Frankel Institute for
Advanced Judaic Studies. His
resignation from the institute also
meant he had to teach full time
during the 2009-2010 school year
in order tofulfill his professorship.
Eliav was officially removed
from the Frankel Endowed Chair
position on Jan. 26, 2009, and his
appointment was relocated to
Near Eastern Studies, where his
salary was supported through the
University's general fund.
In a Jan. 30, 2009 e-mail, Col-
lins wrote to Eliav that due to his
resignation, Eliav would no lon-
ger be identified as "head fellow"
of the research group on Jewish
Material Culture nor as Jean and
Samuel Frankel Associate Profes-
sor for Rabbinic Literature. Alater
e-mail clarified that Eliav would
still be able to identify his sub-field
areas of expertise.
Eliav requested a leave of
absence unrelated to the sanctions
for medical reasons, he wrote in
the e-mail interview. He returned
to teach at the University in fall
2009 after his leave of absence
during the previouswinter semes-
ter.
Collins's letter also noted that
this was the second time Eliav was
brought before the University due
to an incident of sexual miscon-
duct. In 2006, an undergraduate
employee of Near Eastern Studies
filed a complaint against Eliav for
inappropriate speech and physical
contact, which was later decided
to be unfounded.
While Eliav was on leave, the
Program on Judaism and Chris-
tianity in Antiquity replaced the
Program in Judaism and Christi-
anity in the Greco-Roman, until
both were eliminated in March
2009. Both department programs
were replaced by individual pro-
grams in the Department of Near
Eastern Studies and advised by
faculty members, including Eliav.
Eliav wrote that the set up of
the programs was always infor-
mal and their dissolution was due
to uncertainty in the department
as well as his courtcase.
"At the time, with all the uncer-
tainty involved, we felt it would
be better to let it go and allow
students to pursue their stud-
ies according to their individual
interests," Eliav wrote.
FLU
From Page1A
virus last year resulted in the flu
season beginning in September
and peaking in November, Ernst
said. This meant that UHS had to
adapt its procedure to cope with
the increase in students visiting
the clinic. This flu season, how-
ever, is more similar to previous
years, he said.
"Normally, we expect to see
an increase in activity between
NovemberthroughMarch ... If you
look at what's happening over the
last few weeks, we've been seeing
a steady increase in cases of both
confirmed and suspicious activity
attributable to influenza," Ernst
said.
Carol Chenoweth, clinical pro-
fessor of epidemiology and a Uni-
versity Hospital epidemiologist,
said the number of influenza cases
at the hospital has been increasing
since January and that there have
been 37 confirmed cases at the
hospital in the past week.
UHS has continued to adopt
some of the strategies for handling
fluvaccines this year asit didwhen
dealing with the HIN1 virus like
encouraging people to wash their
hands and insisting that infected
students remain isolated.
When individuals are experi-
encing symptoms like fever, aches
and coughing, they shouldn't be in
public places, Ernst said.
"If people are sick with the flu,
they should not be in their class-
room until their fever breaks,"
Ernst said. "We do not want sick
kids in the classroom ... That's
what's going to cause the spread of
the virus."
Ernst also said requiring stu-
dents to get a doctor's note from
UHS to miss class without penalty
is problematic, as it could increase
the risk of the virus spreading.
"If it's required for a student to
have a note, then that creates a bit
of a problem in that the students
are coming here just for getting a
note," Ernst said. "Students should
not be out and about if they are
sick. They should not be conva-
lescing in public."
Brian Porter-Szucs, an asso-
ciate professor of history at the
University, said he has a strict
attendance policy for his classes
and doesn't accept notes from
UHS. However, he does allow stu-
dents one absence.
"One thing you learn very
quickly in this job - that when
finals come around, a lot of people
get sick," Porter-Szucs said. "So I
don't know whether it's legit or
not, and I don't want to be in the
position of being the jerk who
says to somebody who was really
sick, 'I don't believe you' or be the
sucker who says to somebody who
really wasn't sick that they could
get free credit."
However, other instructors like
Rostom Mesh, a graduate student
instructor in the Department of
Comparative Literature, have a
different approach as Mesli said
he accepts doctors' notes from stu-
dents who were sick.
Chenoweth said though stu-
dents aren't as likely to contract
the flu as the elderly, they are more
at risk than the of contracting the
HNIvirus.
"Older people seem to have
irmmiunity to the HINT virus..."
Chenoweth said. "That is the
primary virus that is circulating
this year. Unless people start get-
ting vaccinated, I would expect
that it's probably going to be
affecting the younger people and
children."
Engineering sophomore Ben
Brelje said he decided not to get
the flu vaccine this year.
"Last year I got vaccinated
because I was in the dorm and it
was convenient," he said. "This
year I haven't gotten an e-mail
or anything about it, so it's not
immediately apparent, and I've
never gotten the flu - even when
I (don't) get vaccinated - so it's
never really been a problem for
me."
Rackham student Andres
Pletch said he decided to get the
flu shot since he couldn't afford
the time wasted if he were to
become ill.
"It would be awful if I got sick,
considering how much work I
have to do," Pletch said.
LSA freshman Sophia Park said
she was sick last semester and was
required to get a note from UHS
for one of her classes. She said she
was frustrated that she had to get
a new note for every day she was
sick.
"The only problem with UHS
is that if you're sick one day, then
you have to go the next day and get
another note and it would just be
the same diagnoses over and over
again," Park said.
- Chip Switzer contributed
to this report.
DISEASE
From Page 1A
"The drug affects activated
lymphocytes, and it drove them
to suicide," Ferrara said. "These
are the cells that are continuously
activated and attacking the tis-
sues of the animal or the patient,
and so this is able to arrest this
disease ... called graft-versus-host
disease."
Bone marrow transplantations
are currently reserved for the
most life-threatening hematolog-
ic malignancies, or cancers that
affect blood and bone marrow,
according to Ferrara.
Ferrara said though Glick has
been working with research on
Bz-423 for about five years, it
wasn't until about three years ago
that they began their collaborative
research.
Drawing on his extensive expe-
rience with bone marrow trans-
plants, Ferrara assisted Glick in
devising an experimental system
that would track the effects the
drug has on the individual cells.
The findings of the study "show
that only the activated ones that
were causing disease were the
ones that this drug killed, whereas
other normal cells would not be
killed," Ferrara said.
He said he believes it will be at
least one year before clinical tri-
als of the drug will be released to
patients. According to Ferrara,
the drug will provide a treatment
different from others currently on
the market because it's being test-
ed on mice instead of in a test tube.
Rackham student Daniel Wahl,
a third-year medical student
and one of the co-authors of the
recently published paper, echoed
Ferrara's sentiments about the
significance of the new drug and
wrote in an e-mail interview that
the drug will provide more effec-
tive treatment for patients.
"This research is very excit-
ing for the future of bone marrow
transplantation," Wahl wrote.
"If the beneficial effects we have
observed in animal models can
be translated into the clinic, this
new drug could be an important
new tool to treatthe side effects of
bone marrow transplantation."
0