2 - Tuesday, February 26, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com *I (The Midigan Dailm 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com ANDREW WEINER RACHEL GREINETZ Editor in Chief Business Manager 734-418-4115 ext. 1252 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 anweiner@michigandaily.com rmgrein@michigandaily.com AALL TIED UP Bringing Uganda to Ann Arbor Robert Wyrod is an assistant professor in the Women's Studies Department and has focused his academic career in sociological research on gender and sexuality in the developing world, specifical- ly Uganda. He graduated from the University in 1989 with a degree in cellular and molecular biology and received his doctorate in sociology from the University of Chicago in 2007. What classes are you teach- ing this semester? I teach a large lecture course on the global AIDS epidemic, and I teach just a really small seminar for juniors who are going to do an honors thesis their senior year. the students in my AIDS class. If you could teach any class at the University, what class would you teach? I have to say that I really like the global AIDS epidemic course I'm teaching right now. It's nice because it builds on my research experience, but it also draws on my undergraduate education in the sciences. It gives me a chance to bring together science issues, social science issues and stuff surrounding arts and culture. It's a pretty neat class, and it's really challenging because you don't feel like you're an expert in any- thing. I've been really happy with Can you tell me a little bit about your research? I'm a sociologist. I do eth- nographic or anthropological research in Uganda. I've spent about a year and a half doing fieldwork in one slum community in the capital, Kampala, and I've been looking at how conceptions of masculinity in this community are changing in relation to the AIDS epidemic, so whether or not the AIDS epidemic has made peo- ple think any differently about what it means to be a man in this African context. - MOLLYBLOCK Newsroom 734-418-4115 opt.3 Corrections corrections@michigandaily.com Arts Section arts@michigandaily.com SportsSetin sports@ihioandaily.com Display Sales dailydisplay@gmail.com Online Sales onlineads@michigandaily.com News Tips news@michigandaily.com letterstothe Editor tothedaily@michigandaily.com Editorial Page opinion@michigandaily.com Phatagraphy Section photo@michiandaily.com Classified Sales dailydisplay@gmail.com Finance finance@michigandaily.com NATASH AJANARDAN/Daily Art & Design freshman Sophie Kelly constructs a cardboard shelving unit using only zip ties to connect the pieces at the School of Art & Design Monday. CRIME NOTES Drug theft WHERE: University Hospital WHEN: Sunday at about 4:35 p.m. WHAT: A patient attempt- ed to steal medicine from a drug box in the Emergency Department, University Police reported. He was caughtbefore he could sucessfully steal the drugs. CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Pin the tale Tea time if EIif )OA New words WHERE: Modern Languages Building WHEN: Sunday at about 9 a.m. WHAT: Graffiti done in spray paint was found on the outside wall of the building, UniversityPolice reported. The time frame of the incident is unknown and there are no suspects. WHAT: As part of the Week of Pinspiration, stu- dents are invited to pin inspiring quotes and pic- tures to bulletin boards. The goal is to motivate others. WHO: Center for Campus Involement WHEN: Today from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union Stolen identity Watch yourself Depression WHERE: University WHERE: 300 Block of East Hospital Hoover Street con erence WHAT: Students are invited to come and sample teas from across the globe. Information about the teas such as health benefits and history will be discussed. WHO: Center for Campus Involement WHEN: Today from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, Pendelton Room Muggin' it WHAT: Students can decorate their own mugs and learn about easy dessert recipes that can be made in the mug for the Week of Pinspiration. Demonstrations of recipes will be provided, and attendees will get to sample the desserts. WHO: Center for Campus Involvement WHEN: Today at 6 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, U-Club room Horsemeat was found in IKEA meatballs made in Sweden, BBC reported. The meatballs have been recalled from several Euro- pean countries where traces of the meat were found. The first tainted meatballs were found in the Czech Republic. The Syrian civil war has claimed 70,000 lives according to recent estimates. What should Americans do? >> FOR MORE, SEE OPINION, PAGE 4 Iceland is attempting to ban all porn, the Asso- ciated Press reported. the Icelandic government said the movement is to pro- tect children from seeing not only graphic sexual images, but also intense sexual imag- es of extreme violence. EDITORIAL STAFF Matthewnlovin ManagingEditor mjslovin@michigandaily.com Adam Rubenfire Managing News Editor arube@michigandaily.com SENIOR NEWS EDITORS: Alicia Adamczyk, Katie Burke, Austen Hufford, Peter Shahin, K.C. Wassman, Taylor Wizner ASSISTANT NEWS EDITORS: Molly Block, Jennifer Calfas, Aaron Guggenheim, Sam Gringlas,Danielle Stoppelmann,Steve Zoski Melanie Kruvelis and opinioneditors@michigandaily.com Adrienne Roberts EditorialPaeEditors SENIOR EDITORILPAE DInORS:esaseen,SaraSklb,Derk Wlfe ASSISTANT EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS: Sharik Bashir, Daniel Wang EverettCook and Zach Heland ManagingSports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITORS: Steven Braid, Michael Laurila, Stephen Nesbitt, Colleen Thomas, Liz Vukelich, Daniel Wasserman ASSIS NSPS E IaOnS:sanielFeldman, GregGarno, Rajat Khare, Liz Nagle, Jeremy Summit, AlejandroZiga Kayla Upadhyaya ManagingArts Editor kaylau@michigandaily.com SENIOR ARTS EDITORS: Elliot Alpern, Brianne Johnson, John Lynch,Anna Sadovskaya ASSIsTANT ARTS EDITORS: Sean Czarnecki, CarlinDuan, Max Radin, Akshay Seth, KatieStees, Steven Tweeie Adam Glanzmanand Terra Molengraff Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com SENIOR PHOTO EDITORS: Teresa Mathew, Todd Needle ASSISTANTPHOTO EDITORS:KatherinePekala,PaulSherman,AdamSchnitzer Kristen Cleghornand NickCruzManagingDesignEditors design@michigandaily.com Haley Gldberg MagaaieEgditor statement@michigandaily.com DEPU sAGZIsE EO R: Paeige Pear Josephine Adams and Tom McBrien CopytChiefs copydesk@michigandaily.com SENIOR COPYEDITORS:Jennie Coleman,KellyMcLauglin BUSINESS STAFF AshleyKaradsheh Associateeusiness Manager SeanJackson sales Manager Sophie Greenbaum ProductionManager Meryl Hulteng National Account Manager Conno ryrd Finance Manager Q ry CeculationManage The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friiay during the fall and winter terms by students at the university of Michigan. One copy is available free oftcharge toallreaders.Additionalcopiesmay bepickedupattheDaily'sofficefor$2.subscriptionsfor fall term, starting in Septembervia U.S.mail are $110. Winter term(January through April)is $115, yearlong (Septemberthrough April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate.On-campussubscriptionsfortaltermare$35.subscriptionsmust beprepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and TheAssociated Collegiate Press. a 0 0 WHEN: Sunday at about 5:50 p.m. WHAT: A patient's check and ID were reported stolen sometime between Feb. 17 and Feb. 24, University Police reported. The crime was reported by her son. Another family member is a possible suspect. WHEN: Sunday at about 3:20 p.m. WHAT: Two vehicles were involved in a traffic accident, University Police reported. There were no injuries to the drivers involved and damage to the vehicles is currently unknown. WHAT: The 11th Annual Depression on College Campuses Conference will be held. New research find- ings, programs and coping mechanisms that are not destructive to students will be the main topics of discussion. WHO: Depression Center WHEN: Today from 1 p.m. to 6:30p.m. WHERE: Rackham Graduate School MORE ONLINE Love Crime Notes? Get moreonline at michigandaily.com/blogs/The Wire British cardinal will skip upcoming papal conclave Syria gov't says it's prepared to hold talks with opposition Britain's highest- ranking Catholic leader recuses himself VATICAN CITY (AP) - In a season of startling change for the Catholic Church, the lat- est break with tradition was as unexpected as it was a wake- up call to the 115 men who will elect the next pope. Britain's highest-ranking Catholic leader resigned and removed himself Monday from the upcoming conclave, saying he did not want allegations that he engaged in improper conduct with priests to be a distraction during the solemn process of choosing the next leader of the church's 1.2 billion-member flock. It was the first time a cardi- nal has recused himself from a conclave because of personal scandal, according to Vatican historians. The Vatican insisted that Pope Benedict XVI accepted Cardinal Keith O'Brien's resig- nation purely because O'Brien was nearing the retirement age of 75 - not because of the accu- sations. But O'Brien himself issued a statement Monday saying he would skip the conclave because he wanted to avoid becoming the focus of media attention at such a delicate time. "I do not wish media atten- IOt I MI4Nk t l 1th I R IA5IM I H M I LAMLUIU' tion in Rome to be focused on me - but rather on Pope Bene- BEST ORE? dict XVI and on his successor," BES 'UB? said O'Brien, who had been archbishop of St. Andrews and iEST .. i BAR Edinburgh. "However, I will pray with them and for them kEST ORE- that, enlightened by the Holy lEST ' /"4BESi Spirit, they will make the cor- rect choice for the future good IZZA ~ BESi of the church." Through his spokesman, AIR AST? O'Brien has contested allega- ~ lions made Sunday in a British newspaper that three priests .1i FS A t omionts tod e ain alleg-sh and a former priest had filed complaints to the Vatican alleg- ing that the cardinal acted inap- propriately with them. There were no details about the behavior, and the Observer 8 9 newspaper did not name the priests. It said the allegations 71date back to the 1980s. The cardinal's action comes in the wake of a grassroots campaign to shame another cardinal, retired Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, into refraining from participating 1 3 7 2 9 because of his role protecting sexually abusive priests. Mahony, however, has defi- 5 2 4 antly said he would participate in the voting for the new pope. 4 7 3 1 6 The difference boils down to the fact that O'Brien him- self was accused of improper behavior, whereas Mahony was shown to have covered up for 8 other priests who raped and molested children. 'SThat distinction has long shielded bishops from Vatican sanction. Armed rebel groups halt boycott on Rome political conference BEIRUT (AP) - Syria said Monday it is prepared to hold talks with armed rebels bent on overthrowing President Bashar Assad, the clearest signal yet that the regime is growing increas- ingly nervous about its long-term prospects to hold onto power as opposition fighters make slow but persistent headway in the civil war. Meanwhile, the umbrella group for Syrian opposition par- ties said it had reversed a deci- sion to boycott a conference in Rome being held to help drum up financial and political support for the opposition. Walid al-Bunni, a spokesman for the Syrian Nation- al Coalition, said the move came after a phone call between the group's leader, Mouaz al-Khatib, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Al-Bunni told pan-Arab broad- caster Al-Arabiya the decision was made based on guarantees al-Khatib heard from Western diplomats that the conference would be different this time. He did not elaborate. The boycott had put the group at odds with its international backers. The Syrian talks offer, made by Foreign Minister Walid al- Moallem during a visit to Mos- cow, came hours before residents of Damascus and state-run TV reported a huge explosion and a series of smaller blasts in the cap- ital, followed by heavy gunfire. State-run news agency SANA said there were multiple casual- ties from the explosion, which it said was a suicide car bombing. Britain-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosions tar- geted a checkpoint, adding there were initial reports of at least five regime forces killed and several wounded. The talks proposal marked the first time that a high-ranking regime official has stated publicly that Damascus would be willing to meet with the armed opposi- tion. But al-Moallem did not spell out whether rebels would first have to lay down their weapons before negotiations could begin- a crucial sticking point in the past. The regime's offer is unlikely to lead to talks. The rebels bat- tling the Syrian military have vowedto stop atnothingless than Assad's downfall and are unlikely to agree to sit down with a leader they accuse of mass atrocities. But the timing of the proposal suggests the regime is warm- ing to the idea of a settlement as it struggles to hold territory and claw back ground it has lost to the rebels in the nearly 2-year- old conflict. Opposition fighters have scored several tactical victories in recent weeks, capturing the nation's largest hydroelectric dam and overtaking air bases in the northeast. In Damascus, they have advanced from their strongholds in the suburbs into neighborhoods in the northeast and southern rim of the capital, while peppering the center of the city with mortar rounds for days. Monday night's explosion struck about 800 meters (yards) from Abbasid Square, alandmark plaza in central Damascus. It was followed by several other smaller blasts thought to be mortar shells landing in various districts of the capital. The explosions and subsequent gunfire caused panic among residents who hid in their apartments. On Thursday, a car bomb near the ruling Baath Party headquar- ters in Damascus killed at least 53 people, according to state media. While the momentum appears to be shifting in the rebels' direc- tion, the regime's grip on Damas- cus remains firm, and Assad's fall is far from imminent. Still, Monday's offer to nego- tiate with the armed opposition - those whom Assad referred to only in January as "murderous criminals" and refused to talk with - reflects the regime's real- ization that in the long run, its chances of keeping its grip on power are slim. Asked about al-Moallem's remarks, U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the offer of talks was a positive step "in the context of them rain- ing Scuds down on their own civilians." But he expressed cau- tion about the seriousness of the offer. "I don't know their motiva- tions, other than to say they continue to rain down horrific attacks on their own people," Ventrell told reporters in Wash- ington. "So that speaks pretty loudly and clearly." If the Assad regime is serious, he said, it should inform the U.N. peace envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi of its readiness for talks. Ventrell said the regime hasn't done that yet. Andrew Tabler, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, called the offer "a sign of weakness." "I think everybody knows, including Bashar Assad, that they (the regime) can't hang onto the whole country," Tabler said. Mustafa Alani, an analyst with the Gulf Research Center in Geneva, said the regime has "reached the conclusion that they are heading toward a major defeat eventually, and this is the right time to negotiate." "They are not losing miles every day, but they are losing substantial ground every day. So the regime is not genuine (in its offer) because it has changed, it's genuine because it is responding to a major shift in the balance of power on the ground," he added. Alani cautioned, however, that the regime is also eager to keep the idea of talks alive in order to forestall any Western decision on arming the rebels. As long as the possibility of negotiations is still on the table, the U.S. and the European Union - which have so far provided only non-lethal aid - will be reluctant to open the flood gates on weapons for the opposi- tion, he said. 4 H'