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CONFERENCE
From Page 1A
said the Socialist Equality Par-
ty's primary motive is to take
action against "big business par-
ties."
Joseph Kirshore, the national
secretary of the SEP, opened the
event by discussing the economic
state of the nation. He used the
state of California as an example,
noting that the net wealth of the
19 wealthiest Californians is $19
billion, while the state faces a
debt of $26.8 billion.
O Kirshore added that one in
four children in the United States
lives in poverty and the SEP is a
voice for those children and also
a "voice for the working class."
He then detailed a series of
resolutions to be voted on the fol-
lowing day, centering on topics
such as the working class, young
people and defending democratic
rights. After Kirshore spoke,
audience members had the
opportunity to make statements
in support or against the various
resolutions.
Many speakers referenced
the presidency of John F. Ken-
nedy and former President Lyn-
don B. Johnson's era of the Great
Society as examples of prefer-
able governmental involve-
RELAY
From Page 1A
a Relay for Life co-chair, has
participated in the event since
his freshman year and said his
involvement in the organization,
like many other participants,
stemmed fromknowing someone
who battled cancer. He said he
was inspired to get involved after
a close friend with non-Hodg-
kin lymphoma died one month
before Eisman participated in
Relay for Life for the first time.
TREATMENTS
From Page 1A.
Program at the Comprehensive
Cancer Center, has been working
on developing the drug and drug
compounds since 2003.
Wang presented his and his
colleagues' findings at the 102nd
annual meeting of the America
Association for Cancer Research
last week. Ascenta Therapeutics
- a biopharmaceutical company
working to create new medi-
cines to stop cancer - already
has exclusive licensing rights to
the drug and started phase one of
clinical trials on humans last year,
* according to a University' press
release issued last month.
The focus of the human tri-
als is to determine the toxicity of
the drug, which is taken orally
URC
From Page 1A
providing transportation for the
elderly and the environmental
sistainability of transporta-
tion. Steudle said he is optimis-
tic about the Michigan-based
research being conducted by the
URC.

"There isn't any research
going on in California or Florida
or Virginia or Minnesota that
couldn't be done better here," he
said.
The conference helped par-
ticipants understand transpor-
tation's role in light of rapid
changes in technology and poli-
tics, Steudle said.
Though the conference
gave participants the oppor-
tunity to hear some interest-
ing ideas, Steudle said it was
more important for attendees to
focus on solutions for the most
pressing problems for public
transportation. These include
public safety, improving home-
land security, the challenge of
unpredictable oil prices and
declining transportation fund-
ing.
"It's an exciting and challeng-
ing time to be involved in trans-
portation," he said. "We've got
some of the best minds, some of
the best in the country sitting
in this room. When we all work
together, I don't think there's
anything we can't do, and there
is no reason why Michigan can't
be the center of how transporta-
tion evolves and transforms well
into the future."
Tracy Swinburn, center man-
ager at the Center for Value-

COUR
Attendees listen to Lawrence Porter, assistant national secretary ofnthe Socialist EqualityI
Socialism Today Conference" in the Michigan League Ballroom on April 9.

ment. Those who presented also
expressed their concerns about
the Democratic Party and the
current administration.
Speaking on behalf of the
party, Kirshore said Obama
"emerged as the candidate of
change" but has not improved
the country since former Presi-
dent G.W. Bush's administration.
From expansion of tax cuts, to
three wars, to ignoring the mid-
dle class as a whole, it is more of
the same," he said.
LSA senior Larissa Benjamin,
"Having the actual experience
where my friend passed away
really enhanced my feeling of
need to this organization," Eis-
man said. "That's why I relay."
Stories similar to Eisman's
were told throughout the field
and were exemplified through
Luminaria, a tradition that
occurs at Relay for Life events
across the country. The night-
time ceremony features paper
bags that line the track in com-
memoration of cancer victims.
LSA sophomore Sam Lewis
said he has participated in the
rather than intravenously like
chemotherapy treatments, Wang
said. While the research team has
come a longway, it has faced chal-
lenges to get to this point, he said.
"With this type of project there
are many, many hurdles to over-
come before you can get to clini-
cal trials," Wang said.
Wang and his colleagues start-
ed formulating the second com-
pound in the summer of 2004. He
said these types of studies usually
take a long time to develop before
being cleared for human clinical
trials, which he anticipates will
happen for the compound by early
next year.
"One thing about drug devel-
opment is that it is a very lengthy
and costly process," Wang said.
While the drug compound
may prove effective in treating
several different cancers, Wang
Based Insurance Design at the
School of Public Health, said she
learned more about the transit
issues in Southeast Michigan at
the conference.
"For me, it's a great chance to
apply what I know from working
in other areas to find out how I
can better help or get engaged
here in Southeast Michigan,"
Swinburn said.
Public Health student Jeri
Stroupe facilitated a panel dis-
cussion on transportation and
public health during the con-
ference along with LSA junior
Mark Bradley, who works at
the University's Transport
Research Institute. Stroupe
said she wanted to get involved
with the conference because she
saw an opportunity to combine
sustainable transportation and
public health to promote health-
ier lifestyles.
"This is just a great way to get
dialogue and discussion going
and having people from differ-
ent disciplines get on the same
page," she said. "There's stuff
here about CO2 emissions and
efficient energy all the way to
social equity issues related to
transportation, so it's a really

broad scope, and it's increas-
ingly important to have people
from these different fields talk-
ing to each other."
Stroupe said the conference
was an opportunity for students
and professionals to discuss
transportation solutions perti-
nent to the region.
"I think it's really significant
that they're hosting this confer-
ence here in Detroit," she said.
"I think it's just asking for revi-
talization, and I think transpor-

president of the University's
chapter of Students for Social
Equality, said she thinks if more
people understood the party's
stances on issues, they would be
more inclined to identify with
the group and its movement.
SEP Chair David North said
in his closing remarks that the
party doesn't support either the
Democratic or Republican par-
ties, calling them "hostile to the
advancements of social equality
and human rights."
In an interview following
event for seven years. This year,
Lewis served as a team recruit-
ment co-chair.
"The purpose is to fundraise
for cancer research, for advocacy
efforts, for education and aware-
ness," Lewis said.
The team that raised the
most was the University's Phi
Gamma Delta fraternity, raising
more than $33,000, according to
the Relay for Life website. The
Kappa Kappa Gamma and Alpha
Epsilon Pi team raised the sec-
ond highest amount of donations
- with a total sum of almost
said treatment results could vary
depending on the type of cancer
beingtreated.
Tests of the drug compound
conducted on mice show the
compounds have promising
tumor-shrinking abilities with
few side effects, according to an
April 6 University press release.
The drug compound works by
activating a protein that kills
cancer cells.
Nicole Fawcett, a spokeswom-
an for the University's Compre-
hensive Cancer Center, said most
drugs available currently target
only specific types of cancer. The
drug developed by researchers at
the center is unusual as it involves
treating a broad range of cancers,
she said.
The newly discovered treat-
ment will likely be replicable in
human cases, Wangsaid.
tation is one of the most critical
drivers of that."
Minetta Van Strien, a gradu-
ate student in the School of
Natural Resources and Envi-
ronment, said she enjoyed the
collaborative nature of the
conference and the exchange
of ideas between scholars and
professionals, adding that the
discussions were relevant to her
education.
"It directly relates to my stud-
ies because I am interested in
transportation but also sustain-
ability." she said. "I think there

the conference, Kirshore said it
is important the Social Equity
Party continues to take an active
stance on political issues.
"This is a society that is domi-
nated by a tiny layer of the popu-
lation: the Democrats and the
Republicans. The experience of
the Obama administration has
demonstrated that the Demo-
cratic Party is no less represen-
tative of the working class than
the Republican Party," Kirshore
said. "Members of the working
class are being driven down."
$18,900. There were 182 teams,
comprising 3,246 people, partici-
pating in this year's event.
As people ran and walked
around the track, entertainment
was also provided on the field,
including a show by the Univer-
sity comedy troupe ComCo and
another by Michigan football
players.
Michigan State Universitywill
have its Relay for Life event this
weekend. As of Sunday afternoon
the university had 91 registered
teams and raised more than
$84,000.
According to the study, the
compound displays the abil-
ity to eradicate entire tumors.
Additionally, unlike many cur-
rent drug therapies on the mar-
ket, including chemotherapy,
the compound caused little to no
harm to the mice.
The researchers have also
identified markers in tumors
that indicate which sites the
compound will be most effective
in treating. These markers will
help physicians determine which
patients would benefit most from
the treatment, according to the
press release.
While no human trials of the
drug compounds are underway,
University researchers are work-
ing with Ascenta Therapeutics
to further test the compounds
before human clinical trials can
begin.
will be a lot of things that I can
use for my masters project here
and even the papers I have due
next week."
Rackham student Khawar
Abbas Khan, who is also study-
ing in the SNRE, said the confer-
ence allowed him to increase his
knowledge of the transportation
industry.
"This conference has been
really good for me because,
before this, I didn't have any
idea about how to make trans-
portation more sustainable,"
Khan said.

FLOREK
From Page 1A
the players on the ice - the only
time he had done it this year. He
clapped and tried comforting
senior goalie Shawn Hunwick.
Hunwick skated expressionless
to the bench.
Hunwick had trouble keep-
ing it together during the press
conference. Senior forward Carl
Hagelin had glossy eyes before
he took the podium, and senior
forward Louie Caporusso was
robotic.
It was the pain of being so
close.
But the fact they got this far,
the extraordinary circumstanc-
es that allowed Michigan to
experience this agony, was lost
in the shuffle of bleach-blonde-
haired men hugging and crying.
When exactly did you believe
this team was going to win the
National Championship?
When Hagelin's shot with
a minute left on senior night
bounced off a defenseman and
slid between Jerry Kuhn's legs,
it was lucky. When he put it off
the post and in during the final
seconds of overtime, something
special was going on. When the
refs upheld sophomore Kevin
Lynch's goal against Nebraska-
Omaha, it was justification.
When Boston College lost
in the first round of the West
Regional it was divine inter-
vention. And when Hunwick
performed two miracles against
North Dakota, officially qualify-
ing him for sainthood, God was
officially on Michigan's side.
Nowhere along the way was
there a sense that this was the
best team in the country. But
they were going to win it.
"If you look when we were
sitting in Miami, I don't think
anybody thought we were going
to go play for the National
Championship," Hunwick said.
They caught the magic that
all teams need to go deep in the
tournament. And two hours
before game time, a throng of
Michigan fans lined the players'

Monday, April 11, 2011 - 5A
entrance, going four rows deep
on either side. On the outskirts
was senior forward Scooter
Vaughan's mom.
"We have to sit in the same
order," she told those around
her. "We can't mess with the
mojo."
The year had become one
long series of superstitions. The
underachievers all of the sudden
overachieved. Don't mess with
what's working. You stick with
the same lineup for every NCAA
Tournament game, even if that
means sitting a second-round
NHL draft pick. You sit in the
same order. You dance to "Can't
Turn You Loose" during the sec-
ond intermission.
You don't tempt fate.
This was a talented group
of players who bought into the
team aspect and rode the mojo
to the finals. It wasn't the best
team in the tournament, but, as
Berenson said after the North
Dakota game:
"The best team doesn't always
win."
Saturday, the lineup was set,
the seating arrangement was the
same, the dancing had finished.
It was a tied game, but Michigan
was going to win. The rituals
had been performed.
Then a scrum along the
boards turned into a man
streaking down the middle,
uncovered. One-timer. Game
Over. Emptiness.
And more than an hour later,
after the seven seniors had
peeled off their jersey for the
last time, the emptiness was still
there. The team filed out to its
bus, carrying nothing - there is
no consolation trophy. Eventual-
ly they'll see the season for what
it is: one that saw a team inex-
plicably find a way to go further
than it technically should have.
But not now. Not when liter-
ally 20 feet to their left, mem-
bers of Minnesota-Duluth posed
with the National Championship
trophy in the hallway.
So close after coming so far.
-Florek can be reached at
florekmi@umich.edu

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