Dubious improvement: Rape statistics may not indicate reality
Contrary to a Department of Justice report showing rape rates decreasing since 1990, the University is seeing an all-time high in the number of reported rapes. Nationally, the decrease in reported rapes is not necessarily a good sign - there is an insurmountable number of rapes that go unreported. Many women remain reluctant to come forward, thus the national decline may look better on paper than in actuality. Campus reports - although higher than ever - may be a sign that more women are reporting rape incidents.
Genes on the line: State should keep DNA records confidential
Michigan residents' right to privacy may soon extend to the realm of genetic information. Senators Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Salem Twp.) and Dianne Byrum (D-Onondaga) plan to propose six bills to the state financial services committee that would prevent parties from receiving an individual's genetic information without permission, require testing facilities to discard DNA samples after genetic testing except in legal situations, and prohibit health insurance companies from discriminating against individuals based on genetic information.
The guy's guide to real movies
Few things provide more insight into the schism between male and female tastes as movies. Most of the time, gender differences are subdued and subtle: An upraised toilet seat here, a closet full of identical black shoes there. As a species we are pretty good at ignoring the fact that men and women are so fundamentally opposite that not only is the heterosexual union a marvel, but a miracle on the order of Tori Spelling's continuing television career.
02-12-97