2 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, June 17, 2002
NURSES
Continued from Page 1
Many factors have contributed to the present nursing short-
age including low salaries, work environment difficulties and
less appeal to the profession.
"There is less interest in nursing for a number of reasons.
One is how attractive the work appears to the people consider-
ing it. Traditionally nursing has drawn the bulk of its people
from white women, and their job opportunities have expanded
substantially," said Harvard School of Public Health Prof. Jack
Needleman, the lead author on a staffing study published May
30 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Hinshaw said there has been a 30 percent decrease of inter-
est in the field of nursing in the past decade and a half
The University's nursing school has seen the effects of this
decline. "We have seen some drop in enrollment in the last five
years but not as much as the national drop, which is 21.5 per-
cent below" she said. Calarco said she thinks one reason there
is a lack of nurses is because of the demands of the profession.
"Part of it is the work itself is challenging ."
The work environment has upset many in the nursing
field, Hinshaw said. The mandatory overtime, high stress
levels and lack of respect are some of the complaints from
nurses. The ability for a nurse to feel valued is imperative
for their job performance. "The relationship between
physician and nurse is important for communication and is
better for the retention of nurses."
One of the biggest reasons for the current shortage is
because of the mass layoffs in the 1990s. "I think this hospital,
like many across the country, was facing a lot of financial
challenges-and did many things to decrease their costs. We
hired more aides than RNs. People did not decrease, but there
SHOSHANA HURANDDay
Nurse Kelly Howell takes care of a patient in the Birth Center
at University Hospital
were less RNs," she said. "We know after several years now
that that was probably not the best way to do things. That is
why we have made such a focus on recruiting."
Hinshaw said the layoffs had a major effect on the field
of nursing. "(They) depressed the market (and) told peo-
ple not to come into nursing because there were no jobs,"
she said. She added that another reason nursing is not
always an attractive profession is because nurses will
reach their highest salary in only seven to eight years.
Unless nurses go back to school to attain a higher degree,
they are limited in their careers.
"You top out way too early," Hinshaw said.
GOVERNOR
Continued from Page 1
"The lieutenant governor has got the
experience and vision for Michigan,"
Washtenaw County Republican Chair-
woman Marlene Chockley said, adding
that Posthumus's concerns for the
economy and education are essential
for the state.
Brewer said Posthumus has been
responsible for much of the suc-
cessful legislation of the 1990s such
as tax cuts and welfare reform.
"Those are things that Posthumus
shepherded through the legislature,"
Brewer said. "(He) has a solid
record that I think he can run on."
On the other hand, Posthumus
opponent Schwarz is attempting to
grab moderate voters and was
helped by his endorsement last
week by former GOP Gov. William
Milliken, a moderate to liberal
Republican.
Washtenaw County Democratic
Chairwoman Patricia Scribner said
more people will be focused on this
year's race in order to find a candidate
who will address the issues Engler
failed to resolve during his 12 year.
tenure.
"People are tired of Engler,"
Scribner said. "They're going to be
looking at a candidate who meets
their needs."
With education being the only area
spared cuts for the 2002-2003 fiscal
year, K-12 schools and public univer-
sities have been a high priority for
Engler, University Vice President for
Government Relations Cynthia
Wilbanks said.
She added that she hopes the new
governor recognizes the importance
of higher education for the future of
Michigan.
"I think it's a two-way relationship. I
would hope that the new governor is
considerate of the fact that higher edu-
cation is an important priority of the
state," Wilbanks said.
"We are in a strong position to pro-
vide the graduates that this state needs
to go forward."
HATE CRIMES
Continued from Page 1
could see hate crime legislation on
the president's desk," he said.
Jeff Sheffo, press secretary for
Senator Gordon Smith (R-Oregon),
said the fate of the hate crimes bill
depends on "a matter of different
factors coming together."
"Obviously it's very important,"
he said, while adding that the issue
being debated during an election
year may have an impact.
"Republicans in general have
some philosophical and moral prob-
lems with the bill," he said, adding
that this "hasn't changed" since the
bill was debated in 2000.
Despite the political wavering on
the issue, Frederick McDonald-Den-
nis, University director of the office
of Lesbian, Gender, Bisexual and
Transgender affairs, said he thinks a
hate crime bill including sexual ori-
entation is a positive and very strong
step forward.
"I think the impact would be
tremendous," he said.
McDonald-Dennis said he feels it
is already difficult to be open and
honest about sexual orientation
because it could single out individu-
als as potential targets for hate
crimes but that the steps toward
including sexual orientation in hate
crime legislation are encouraging.
"It certainly let's us know that the
state is concerned," he said.
He said he believes people are
more educated now about the need
for the inclusion of sexual orienta-
tion in hate crime legislation, but it
is still "unfortunate" that is has
failed to be included thus far.
"I really urge our state govern-
ment to take this legislation very
seriously and make it more broad-
based," he said. "When we don't see
ourselves in the law, it renders us
invisible."
"It says to perpetrators that on
some level its OK to do this, that we
don't value these people (the LGBT
community)," he added.
Ruben Duran, an Engineering jun-
ior and a member of Young Ameri-
cans for Freedom, said he is against
the idea of hate crime legislation as
a whole because when prosecuted,
hate crimes receive harsher penalties
than regular violent crimes.
"Any kind of legislation of this
nature is placing one class of human
beings above another," he said.
He said that violent crimes are
"not by any means acceptable," but
that the use of hate crime legislation
to combat specific types of violent
crime is not the solution. While this
type of classification brings crimes
of this nature to light, he said it
gives more protection to certain vic-
tims than others.
Duran said he felt it was more
important to give all violent crimes
equal weight in the eyes of the law,
regardless of distinctions that might
set the victims apart.
"Bad things committed against
individuals should be given equal
attention," Duran said. "If we want
equality, this is this not the way to
get it."
Currently, there are 27 states with
hate crime laws that include sexual
orientation as one of the victim cate-
gories, 18 states - including Michi-
gan - that have hate crime laws that
only pertain to race, religion and
national origin and five states with
no form of hate crime law.
4
ITORIAL Zac Peskowitz, Editor
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4
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