The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, November 1,2013 - 3
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, November 1, 2013 - 3
APOLOGY
From Page 1
ment President Michael Proppe
- amongothers.
Quang appeared to contradict
himself in his apology, claim-
ing multiple "individuals (were)
responsible" for the "insensitive,
hurtful, and offensive" content,
while earlier claiming a single
member was responsible for the
incident.
Also on Thursday, LSA junior
Allen Wu, a member of the frater-
nity, apologized in a viewpoint in
the Daily for playing a role in the
creation of the event. His apol-
ogy was in response to a view-
point by LSA senior Erin Fischer,
BATTLE
From Page 1
contact with another male since
1977 from donating. BDU is pro-
posing changing the discriminat-
ing question on the health and
history questionnaire that donors
fill out as a prerequisite to: "Have
you had unprotected sexual con-
tact with a new sexual partner in
the past 12 weeks?"
The sponsor drives invite MSM
to still attend and bring a friend
who is legally able to donate in
ACA
From Page 1
pickup their subsidized prescrip-
tion drugs, pharmacists reported
coverage verification glitches in
the national computer system
and could not issue any drugs.
Since the glitch prevented
vulnerable seniors from getting
their critical medications, the
crisis was much more acute.
"Not that the glitches on the
current website aren't a pain, and
it's certainly inconvenient for
people and doesn't inspire a lot
of confidence," Levy said. "But on
the other hand, it's not the same
as not being able to get your anti-
psychotic medication when you
need it."
It took about five months to
resolve the Medicare website
issue in 2006, but today, the ini-
tial system hiccups are not well
remembered.
In her testimony to Capitol
Hill on Wednesday, Secretary
0 of Health and Human Services
CANDIDATE
From Page 1
election, his family has a history
in local politics. His grandfather
ran for mayor as a Republican,
his father ran for City Council as
a Democrat and his uncle ran as
a Libertarian for City Council.
DeVarti said part of his inspiration
stems from a desire for "beating
that slew of bad luck" that led to
his family members' defeats.
DeVarti also got a taste of the
local campaign trail in 2009 when
he went door-to-door for incum-
bent City Council member, and now
opponent, Stephen Kunselman.
The Mixed Use Party platform
centers on rezoning the city into
which criticized the fraternity
and its "incredibly offensive party
theme."
In his statement, Quang high-
lighted the diverse backgrounds
of his chapter and apologized to
"all of the members of our stu-
dent body, including those of all
ethnicities, and to all women."
He accepted responsibility for
the "harmful consequences of
our inaction to promptly stifle
the event's communication."
The University's chapter of
Theta Xi is working with the
fraternity's national headquar-
ters and the University's admin-
istration to reeducate chapter
members and the student body
to prevent similar incidents from
occurring.
In an e-mail to University stu-
dents Thursday morning, Harper,
Blake Jones and Mary Beth Seiler,
director of Greek Life, wrote that
the party invitation "denigrated
all women and African Ameri-
can/black identified people."
Although the e-mail did not
identify the fraternity by name,
Harper, Jones and Seiler wrote
that their behavior will not be
tolerated as it contradicts the
University's core values and
expectations.
The three also wrote that the
University is working with the
fraternity's national headquar-
ters, which has put restrictions on
the fraternity until it completes a
full investigation of the incident.
Collier, the speaker of the Black
Student Union, said in an inter-
view late Thursday that he was
pleased with the University's ini-
tial response to the incident, but
that more action was needed in
the future.
"I think that it was an appro-
priate response and it's a first
step," Collier said. "There needs,
to be things to follow that. I
appreciated it for the fact that it
shows campus that they are han-
dling the situation and they're
not (overlooking) it, but it's a
first step and it's definitely not
enough."
Kinesiology senior Michael
Freedman, president of the
Interfraternity Council, was
unavailable for comment late
Thursday.
- Daily News Editor K.C.
Wassman contributed reporting.
order to visually show how many
possible donors are left out due to
this policy.
LSA senior Kevin Weiss, Blood
Battle co-chair, said he hopes that
those who do not donate will at .
least encourage others to share.
"We would love for everyone to
donate, but if they can't, they can
tell someone to donate; they can
get -someone to donate," Weiss
said.
Other than the push for
changed MSM policies, there is
a stronger emphasis placed on
donations this year because of
the Red Cross's recent shortage
Kathleen Sebelius defended andt
apologized for the problems
with the website rollout. Many
conservatives have called fort
her resignation in the face of the
botched launch.1
Not all professors think the
problems represent a temporary
blip, though.N
"I don't think the magnituder
of the problem is being exagger-t
ated," said Public Health Prof. f
Charles Friedman. "The website
was created, as I understand it,N
to enable an end-to-end process, 1
and people are having problems
completing that end-to-end pro-f
cess."t
From 2007 to 2011, FriedmanN
worked at Health and Human
Services, which manages thet
contractors designing the web-
site. He said there is a criticalc
lack of "highly placed, techni- I
cally sophisticated" government(
employees working on the proj- 1
ect. Such experts are necessary
to ask the right questions, writeE
appropriately articulated con-i
tracts and guarantee specificr
services from private contrac-'
three segments: heavy industrial
zones, a mixed-use downtown
area and a restricted mixed-use
residential zone. "Mixed-use"
development entails the combina-
tion of residential and commercial'
real estate.
"We would allow businesses to
expand into residential neighbor-
hoods while strengthening the pro-
tections on those neighborhoods
- odor controls, noise controls and
height limits," DeVarti said.
Although the Mixed Use
Party is a proponent of increased
commercial-residential blend-
ing, DeVarti emphasized that this
approach is not meant to com-
mercialize neighborhoods, but to
inject them with local business
that allows them to thrive.
"We're not talking about Wal-
of blood and platelet donations.
The organization issued an emer-
gency request in July because it
received 50,000 fewer donations
than expected.
All blood types are currently in
need, particularly types O nega-
tive, A negative and B negative.
One blood donation can save up
to three lives. Additionally, hav-
ing lost to OSU last year, BDU is
more determined to win back the
title this year.
BDU holds a similar competi-
tion every winter, historically
against either Michigan State or
a group of Big Ten schools, called
tors. b
"This is a system problem, not g
a problem of individual inepti- p
tude," Friedman said. r
He added that many critics
lack an appreciation for the size e
and complexity of the project - t
getting millions of Americans b
who need coverage to sign up byr
next year. He said it is crucial to s
think about systems in a very dif- p
ferent way when they reach such I
a large scale, and it would not h
work to simply scale up a job to
build a bigger back-end system. 1
Julia Milstein, assistant pro- i
fessor at the School of Informa- c
tion and School of Public Health, a
was less worried. C
"I'm not that worried about l
the system because I think it will t
get figured out, it's just a matter c
of time," she said. "So the issue
I'm much more concerned about r
(is whether) people feel like they t
have affordable options." I
Coverage under healthcare
exchange policies does not start i
until January, and penalties for i
not having insurance do not begin t
until March, although there has s
Mart, we're talking about Washt-
enaw Dairy or Sergeant Pepper's,"
he said: "These are places that
make our neighborhoods more
walkable. It makes it more appeal-
ing towalk to the store to buy some
groceries rather than driving all
the way out to Meijer -I think our
zoning changes are a good way to
really take cars off the roads."
DeVarti added that part of
his personal platform will be to
address student housing in local
neighborhoods. He said he hears
complaints about student high-
rises downtown, but is concerned
that Ann Arbor policies prevent
students from living elsewhere.
Additionally, he said, he wants
to make sure that housing is more
affordable in an increasingly
expensive Ann Arbor.
the Face-Off Blood Challenge.
This past January, the University
won with 1,011 pints compared to
MSU's 943 pints, making this the
fourth win in five years.
Although the competition
between the University and Ohio
State is fun, Weiss said it is good
to work toward a common goal
with another school.
"I may not have the greatest
love or I may not feel very positive
about OSU, but the fact that there
are people there that care about
the same thing that I do really
speaks to what we're doing."
een discussion as to whether the
overnment will push back those
enalties if the faulty website is
not running smoothly soon.
Future affordable health cov-
rage relies heavily on whether
he younger demographic will
uy into the system. A large
number of young, healthy people
igned up will drive insurance
rices down by covering the
igher costs incurred by a less
ealthy elderly demographic.
Most students will be able to
atch onto their parent's health
nsurance until they're 26 years
ld. Milstein is more concerned
bout people between the ages
if 26 and 35 because they are
ess easy to educate, compared
o students clustered on college
ampuses.
Milstein said despite the cur-
ent difficulties, proponents of
he law should be in for the long
aul.
"Yes, we should talk about
mplementation and how to get
it right, but let's not lose sight of
he bigger picture here," Milstein
aid.
"We've spent so much money
making the city look beautiful,"
he said. "That being said, if we
really want to maintain a diverse
community, I think we need to
redouble our efforts and make a
commitment to bringing up the
lower segments of our community
so they can continue to live here."
DeVarti is confident in both his
ideas and his party's, and he hopes
that this confidence - combined
with his freshness to the politics
scene - may give him an edge.
"In one way, yes, I have less
experience. I've dealt with fewer
people. I haven't dealt with as
many issues," he said. "The fact
that I haven't been around for so
long gives me perspective. That's
the flipside to youth and inexperi-
ence."
TEENS
From Page 1
Whiteside showed that one in
10 teens in the University of
Michigan Hospital's emergency
department had used prescrip-
tions for nonmedical reasons.
Prescription painkillers were
the focus of the study.
Most of the admitted emer-
gency-room patients were seek-
ing help for a sprained ankle, a
fever or another routine, non-
drug-related ailment. Notably,
only 15 percent of the patients
misused drugs that a doctor
prescribed; Whiteside said
this may indicate they used
their parents' or friends' left-
over medications. A negligible
amount of teens purchased the
pills online.
Data on prescription drug
abuse is typically gathered in
schools, and most often reflects
that about eight percent of
teens have misused prescrip-
tion drugs. This recent survey
shows a slight increase to 10
percent.
A study from the University's
Institute for Social Research
demonstrated that prescrip-
tion drug abuse starting in
adolescence can lead to long-
term abuse. About a third of
the opioid-abusing 18-year-olds
studied continued misuse into
their early- to mid-20s. Twelve
percent of those aged 18 to 24
reported non-medical use of opi-
oids.
Both Whiteside and Sean
McCabe, a research associate
professor in the University's
Substance Abuse Research Cen-
ter who led the latter study,
found that teens mostly used
these drugs to experiment or get
high.
However, young adults who
continually use prescription
drugs non-medically often
engage in other destructive
behaviors.
Compared to those who never
reported nonmedical use of opi-
oids, those surveyed were four
times as likely to engage in binge
drinking in the two-week period
prior to their engagement in the
survey and 17 times more likely
to report marijuana usage in the
year prior to the survey, McCabe
wrote in an email.
There's a slightly higher
likelihood for those on public
assistance to use these drugs
non-medically, Whiteside said.
Suburban and rural teens are
also more likely than inner-city
teens to misuse prescription
drugs.
The longitudinal study
McCabe led included responses
over a four-year period from
27,268 young adults from the
national Monitoring the Future
study, which has been conducted
annually by the University since
1975 to survey trends in illicit
drug use. It will be published in
an upcoming issue of Addiction.
More than 475,000 emer-
gency department visits in 2009
concerned misuse of prescrip-
tion opioids. That's double the
2004 rates, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
The explosion in use - and
misuse - of prescription pain-
killers is often publicized and
Whiteside cited a move by the
Institute of Health in 2003 as a
major contributor to the surge
in use.
In 2003, the Institute of
Health began to emphasize
more aggressive treatment of
pain. One result of this was left-
over medication, which allows,
for instance, teens to scavenge
through their family medicine
cabinets for unused pills.
Since 2007, the IMS Institute
for Healthcare Informatics has
reported that hydrocodone -
more commonly known as Vico-
din - is the most-prescribed
drug in the United States.
Since then, however, Whi-
teside said both the medical
and political , communities
are regulating prescriptions.
Every state now has automated
prescribing systems, which
ensures that patients receive
potentially addicting prescrip-
tions only when needed. Doc-
tors, she added, are becoming
increasingly aware of the prob-
lem.
Whiteside expressed the
importance of screening inter-
ventions, especially for teen-
age boys, who are particularly
unlikely to get annual check-ups.
"I think that primary care is
a good place to talk about sub-
stance use, but I don't think
that regular primary care alone
would solve the problem," Whi-
teside said.
McCabe added that prescrib-
ers play a key role in limiting
painkiller abuse. He stressed
the need for careful prescription
of medication, monitoring of
patients' usage and, when need-
ed, referral for substance-abuse
treatment.
"Indeed, an evidence-based
protocol for assessment and
education among prescribers is
needed: one aimed at preventing
non-medical use, ensuring safe/
secure storage and dictating safe
disposal."
#BEATSTATEN EWS
Before you watch Michigan beat MSU
on Saturday, support the Daily in its
annual football game Friday.
" ICC postpones trial of Kenyan president
African Union
claims it needs
even more time to
prepare for case
THE HAGUE, Netherlands
(AP) - The International Crimi-
nalCourtonThursdaypostponed
the trial of Kenya's president on
crimes againsthumanity charges
until February, but the African
Union said that's not enough
time and stepped up pressure for
a one-year deferral.
The judges made the
announcement while an AU min-
isterial delegation was meeting
behind closed doors with mem-
bers of the U.N. Security Council
in New York to press the case for
the yearlong deferral of the trials
of President Uhuru Kenyatta and
Deputy President William Ruto
on the ground that the stability
of Kenya, is at stake.
An AU letter on Oct. 12
requesting a deferral said the
delay would give Kenya time to
beef up counterterrorism efforts
in the country and East Africa.
Ethiopia's foreign minister,
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
who led the AU delegation, told
reporters afterward that African
council members would intro-
duce a resolution in the Security
Council "very soon" that would
authorize a one-year delay.
He acknowledged divisions
in the council, saying: "There
are those who support, those
who have some difficulties with
it."
But the AU hopes members
will recognize the "grave" and
"extraordinary situation" in
Kenya, which has been the target
of terrorists and is involved in
Somalia, where al-Qaida-linked
terrorist groups are active, he
said.
Agshin Mehdiyev, Azerbai-
jan's U.N. ambassador and the
current Security Council presi-
dent, called the meeting "very
interesting and very useful," but
said there was no outcome yet
because it was just an informal
discussion.
International Criminal Court
judges said Kenyatta's trial,
which had been scheduled to
start Nov. 12, will now begin Feb.
5. They expressed deep regret at
the latest delay in the long-run-
ning preparations of the case.
Hours earlier, prosecutors
said they would not oppose a
delay because they needed time
to investigate undisclosed issues
raised by Kenyatta's defense
attorneys.
The ICC charged Kenyatta
and Ruto with crimes against
humanity, including murder,
forcible population transfer and
persecution, for their alleged
roles in postelection violence
that left more than 1,000 peo-
ple dead in late 2007 and early
2008. Kenyatta also is accused
of responsibility for rape and
other inhumane acts carried out
by a criminal gang knownr as the
Mungiki, which were allegedly
under his control.
Kenyatta - who was elected
president earlier this year, even
though he had been indicted
by the ICC - insists he is inno-
cent, as does Ruto, whose trial
is already underway. Kenyatta's
lawyers have called for the case
against him to be delayed or
dropped, saying the evidence is
tainted by false testimony from
prosecution witnesses.
Pressure for a deferral has
intensified followinglast month's
deadly terror attack by militants
on a Nairobi mall, which under-
scored the country's strategic
importance in eastern Africa.
Under the Rome statute that
created the world's first perma-
nent war crimes tribunal, the
U.N. Security Council can defer a
case for a year. It has never used
that power.
Ethiopia's Ghebreyesus
stressed to reporters that a
three-month delay in Kenyatta's
trial "doesn't help."