1996-02-14; Central Michigan Life

              Central I  ICC
Michigan LlrC
WEDNESDAY,
FEBRUARY 14,
1996
VOLUME 78, NUMBER 60
MOUNT PLEASANT, MICHIGAN 48859
©1996 CM LIFE
(517)774-3493
1 8 PAGES
SPORTS
Bonzi Wells and Ball St.
invade Central Michigan
Mid-American Conference
Player of the Year candidate
Bonzi Wells is among the
leaders in five different
statistical categories.
Former Mount Pleasant
High standout Marcus
Mason will also be present
in a Cardinal uniform.
PAGE 10
ARTS
&
ENTEFTTAINMENT
Looking for love?
Two CMU students majoring
in computerized romance
find love in cyberspace.
PAGE 14
CAMPUS
Black        men women
discuss relationships
A discussion in Bovee
University Center proved
differences by focusing on
how black men and women
relate to each other on
campus and in society.
PAGE 3
Board to decide on technology upgrade
By Liz Wishaw
LIFE Staff Writer
Future technological needs of
the university community will be
decided on Friday by CMU's
Board of Trustees.
To develop the most successful
approach, CMU has used both
internal and external consultants to plan for information
technology, according to the proposal made by President
Leonard Plachta.
SGA may
look into
'Central 6'
incident
By Heather N. LaFave
LIFE Staff Writer	
The Student Government
Association is looking into getting an outside mediator to
investigate what happened at a
Jan. 28 party in Washington
Apartments, where three students were arrested.
At Monday's meeting, SGA
discussed what action it should
take regarding the incident.
"Our job as student government is to represent the students, even if it isn't in the best
interest of the administration,"
said Scott Manning, SGA senator and Six Lakes junior.
Kiante Smith, Detroit freshman; Joyclin Stevenson,
Muskegon sophomore; and
Dequon James, Muskegon
Heights sophomore, were
arrested on a third visit after
being verbally warned twice to
disperse from a party in
Washington Apartments by
Department of Public Safety
officers, police said.
Those arrested and other students attending the party, who
See SGA Page 13	
Presented for the Board of
Trustees approval are five different major technology needs that
have been identified, the proposal stated.
The five parts are: completion
for partially networked buildings, which down the road could
connect the entire university to
the same system; a network
design workshop for faculty;
replacement of student registration   equipment;   an   equipment
upgrade for the University
Advancement office and an
upgrade of electrical power infrastructures in all academic and
administrative buildings.
Keith Nelson, associate director of Computer Services, said
the cost of networking the university should be looked at
broadly.
"There is no backbone for the
systems already hooked up,"
Nelson said. "There is no direct
access to networking."
The project will complete most
of the internal building network
wiring in Anspach, Foust,
Pearce, Ronan, Warriner and
West halls.
The networking project will
cost around $253,446 and a yearly up keep cost of around
$13,985.
According to the proposal, the
project begins in March and pro
posed   completion   is   scheduled
for August.
The $75,000 network design
workshop project, scheduled to
begin this month, would result in
a final design for an entire campus network, the proposal stated. The final design is to have
the entire university networked
together on the same system.
See TRUSTEES Page 13
WATER
WORKS
Public Works employee Carlton Phillips, Mount Pleasant
toe water Warn outside Washington Apartments
a leak. The apartments, along with Anspach and
8 hours because of the leak.
LIFE PhotcVBryan I
a 2-Inch 1
R# after corosion to the Kno <
halts, were without water for j
The "Forget Pill"
New drug, 10 times more potent
than Valium, shows up in U.S.
By Emily Gerkin
LIFE Staff Writer
Federal and local officials are
worried about a new drug that's
illegal in the United States, but
can legally be brought across
U.S. borders.
Rohypnol, a form of the drug
called flunitrazepam, is commonly prescribed as a sleeping
pill in Europe, according to the
Office of National Drug Control
Policy. It has sedative characteristics that can slow motor skills,
induce amnesia and relax muscles.
Health officials compare
Rohypnol to Valium, but it's 10
times more potent, according to
the National Institute of Drug
Abuse.
While the drug's causing some
panic, Mark Minelli, manager of
CMU's Health        Advocacy
Services, said there's no mention
of the drug in any of his newest
literature.
"We've been getting e-mail
messages from around the country warning us of this new drug.
It's really hard to find information on it, only a couple of people
really know what it is," Minelli
said.
Flunitrazepam was introduced in Europe in the 1970s
and has been used by cocaine
addicts since the 1980s to
counter side effects of using
cocaine, such as "coming down,"
the Office of National Drug
Control Policy says.
According to the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, it is
most widely prescribed in
Europe as a sedative or hypnotic drug.
The Office of National Drug
Control Policy noted flunitrazepam is commonly used
along with alcohol and other
drugs. It's often used by all
kinds of youths, but gangs are a
constant factor. And there's evi
dence of college students taking
the drug along with beer.
The office warns the drug can
be a gateway to harder drugs
and other drug combinations.
Robert Storrer, prevention
educator for Health Services,
said the drug is most likely to be
abused with alcohol, cocaine and
other stimulants, heroine and as
a disabling agent in date rape
situations.
"Very seldom is the drug used
by itself. It's used to intensify
the other drugs, or help cocaine
addicts come down, make the
crash easier. In the case of date
rape, it makes the woman lose
control of her physical and psychological skills and creates
temporary amnesia," Storrer
said.
Rohypnol is not licensed for
sale in the U.S., but it can be
obtained  easily in  Mexico and
See NEWDRUG Page 7
Spring break destinations are popular places for Rohypnol
By Emily Gerkin
LIFE Staff Writer
With students getting ready
for upcoming trips for spring
break, CMU Health Services
officials are concerned about
access to new harmful drugs.
Texas and Florida are not only
popular vacation spots for students on break, they are also
popular places for people to
acquire and abuse Rohypnol.
Rohypnol is a brand name of
flunitrazepam. Flunitrazepams
are described by the Office of
National Drug Control Policy to
be like the tranquilizers used in
Valium, but 10 times more
potent.
"It's so new that people don't
know what it is, what it can do to
you and why they should watch
out for it," said Mark Minelli,
manager of health advocacy services.
While it's illegal for Rohypnol
to be prescribed in the United
States, it's legal for individuals
to purchase it elsewhere, namely
Mexico and Europe, and bring it
across U.S. borders.
Jim Trolliver, who is helping
the Drug Enforcement Agency
with its Rohypnol research in
Washington D.C. has conducted
studies along the Texas/Mexican
border where many students
bring Rohypnol into the country.
"A vast majority of the people
bringing it into the States are
young, college age students. All
they have to do is fill out a declaration form and have a prescription, which isn't hard to get.
The doctors are practically giving them out down there,"
Trolliver said.
During a three week period,
Trolliver saw 100,000 dosages of
Valium and Rohypnol brought
into  the   United   States   at  one
customs check point.
Trolliver said the government
is concerned with four basic uses
of Rohypnol: its affects whan
taken with alcohol, when taken
with heroin, when taken with
cocaine and when used in date
rape situations.
Date rape is the area CMU
officials are most concerned
with.
See BREAK Page 13