Miami Hurricane, April 12, 1996

              SALSA ORCHESTRA AT GUSMAN
The school of music featured Wiso Santiago.
See ACCENT, Page 6
UM-FSU SHOWDOWN AT THE LIGHT
J.D. Arteaga (right) looks to dominate 'Noles.
See SPORTS, Page 4
The Miami Hurricane

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 1996
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI * CORAL GABLES, FLA. /\Pp f
VOLUME 73, NUMBER 46
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Heroin overdose lectds-to arrest
NEWS
BRIEFS
IRON ARROW SCHOLARSHIP
The Iron Arrow Honor Society will award $1,000 to an outstanding sophomore. The recipient will be chosen on the basis of leadership, service, and scholarship. In addition, the winner receives a personalized plaque and a recognition plaque in the Ashe Building.
To qualify, a student must have between 30 and sixty credits and a minimum OPA of 3.0.
To apply or to nominate a sophomore, pick up nomination forms at Building 21-H. For more information, call 284-IRON. The deadline is April 15.
By LOUIS FLORES
Staff Writer
Florida State University student Jennifer Sackek needed help.
She took a break from school and the approaching finals for an Easter weekend in Miami, where she has friends and family.
On Saturday, she came to UM to visit some of those friends at Mahoney Residential College. When she left. Coral Gables Rescue workers picked her up off the floor and took her to the hospital.
Police and residents of Mahoney say Sackek overdosed on heroin. When and where this happened is not known.
“I’m thinking she went to Coconut Grove. That’s probably where she got the drugs,” said Simon Rachelson, who lives in Mahoney 335, where Sackek was found. “She probably shot up before she got here. She was high when she showed up, I was told.”
Rachelson said he was at the beach when
rescue workers and police officers came to his dorm. His roommate, junior Kareem Zakharia, was in the room when Sackek was found.
Rachelson said when he returned, at approximately 4:30 that afternoon, friends told him what happened. He learned that his roommate had spoken to police officers at the station. When Zakharia returned, he told Rachelson that Sackek was in trouble, and that she needed help.
It was not possible to contact Zakharia for comment at presstime Wednesday.
Freshman Sean Levesque said he was in the bathroom he shares with Rachelson and
Drugs:
A Part ol Campus Ufa
Zakharia when he heard Sackek gasping ' -breath. The door from the bathroom into his neighbor’s dorm was ajar, so Levesque went to check out what was happening. That’s when he saw Sackek.
“She was breathing really, really weird,” said Levesque, who lives in Mahoney 335, "almost asthmatically.”
Levesque said he saw Sackek laying on a bed, with Zakharia standing over her, splashing water on her face, trying to bring her to consciousness. Levesque said Sackek looked pale, her lips blue.
He said he checked her pulse, and it was weak. He checked her breathing, and her breaths were few and far between.
“I gave her a couple of breaths, and she started choking," Levesque said. “I kept talking to her, and she kept responding.”
A 911 call was made, Levesque said, and when rescue workers arrived, they gave Sackek oxygen, laid her on the floor and start-
ed an intravenous drip.
When Coral Gables police officers Eugene Gibbons and Dale Owens arrived, they found Sackek lying on the floor, receiving medical treatment from Coral Gables Rescue workers.
After taking 16 Polaroid photographs of the scene and seizing plastic objects, including a plastic case containing baggies with what they suspected to be heroin, the Gables officers telephoned Dade County Assistant S'ate Attorney David Weinstein for legal advice.
“They explained to me the facts of the case and asked for a legal opinion," Weinstein said.
Weinstein said he could not say what that opinion was because the case is still in progress, but three hours after first arriving at the scene, in the emergency room at Doctors’ Hospital, Gibbons and Owens placed Sackek under arrest for possession of heroin. She was transferred by ambulance to Ward D at
See HEROIN • Page 2
STUDENT GOVERNMENT SEATS AVAILABLE
The Student Government Senate has openings for the following seats: EBG, International House, two Commuter Seats, Fraternity Row, School of Business. Students are invited to get involved with the new administration and new year. Call Student Government at 284-3082 for an interview.
MIAMI HURRICANE LEADERS ELECTED
The Miami Hurricane Business Manager and Editor in Chief positions were elected Wednesday for the fall semester.
Gregory Kantor will be the newspaper's new Business Manager and Lynn Carrillo was reelected to be Editor in Chief.
Kantor, a sophomore, has worked as a sales representative for the Hurricane for two years, bringing in more than 100 new advertisers.
Carrillo, a junior, was first elected in January by the Board of Publications.
Both candidates will begin their terms in the summer by working on First Impression, the summer publication of The Hurricane staff.
STUDENT SHOOTING
A student was shot with with two possible BB gun pellets while walking through the underpass between Stanford Residential College and Hecht Residential College Monday night at 7:45.
According to a UM Department of Public Safety report, the student was going to the School of Architecture when she felt pain at her left leg, just above the backside of her knee. She reached down and noticed blood.
That’s when she told police she heard two more “pops.” The victim said she believes the shots were made from a BB gun, but she did not see anyone.
The victim didn’t suffer major injuries as a result of the shots.
Researchers 'blind9 sperm
Findings could lead to new contraceptive
Class asks: who killed jfk?
Photo illustration by SUNE WOODS
Course on assasination of JFK to be held in fall
By KIM WEISSMAN
Staff Writer
Who really shot JFK?
It is a question that has baffled nearly every political analyst in the world. Communications professor Thomas Steinfatt is offering an entire course on the assassination of JFK for the Fall 1996 semester.
The course, CCS 218: Political Communication, is open to undergraduates who are above the sophomore level, as well graduate and law students. A maximum of 24 students will be allowed in the class.
Steinfatt said the course is tailored toward any student interested in that particular part of American history. Specifically, it will analyze the notion of government conspiracy.
“For the most part, people believe in the legitimacy of the U.S. government,” Steinfatt said. “We vote, and we think
the government will act in the society’s best interest. However, after the JFK trial, people began to wonder, ‘Was it a government conspiracy?' This has sparked a major controversy.”
The course is divided into three parts: a brief introduction of the early history of the Kennedy family from the Irish Potato Famine to the 1960 election; the Kennedy presidency; and the focus, the Kennedy assassination itself.
Steinfatt plans to teach the course with videotape footage of actual news coverage from such sources as NBC, ABC, CBS, and A&E.
“Basically, I will lecture off the movies," Steinfatt said.
Focusing on key points, he will pause between clips to take a closer look at the information. Students will end each class with a discussion session, attempting to narrow down and rule out the common theories. No text is required
See JFK»Page 2
By ELAINE HEINZMAN
Staff Writer
With the help of a synthetic chemical compound that “blinds" sperm cells, the creation of a new male contraceptive may not be far away.
Joseph C. Hall, assistant professor of biochemistry at North Carolina State Universi., has produced a sugar analogue that reportedly prevents sperm from fertilizing egg cells.
Hall said that the analogue inhibits the enzyme activity necessary for sperm maturation and fertility in male rats without altering their hormonal balance.
“The analogue appears to have a short onset of negligible effects on the libido and no residual effects after the dosage has been discontinued,” he said.
The “B” form of a male enzyme, N-acetyl-beta-D-hex-osaminidase, is injected into sperm cells after they leave the testes, giving them “eyes” so they can recognize, bind with and penetrate the egg cell membrane. The analogue developed by Hall inhibits fertilization by preventing the egg cell from recognizing the sperm.
Hall, who has worked on the analogue since 1987, said a resulting male contraceptive would probably be manufactured as a pill or capsule.
“Like most sugars, the analogue could be crystallized to powder form to make a pill. One would have to stay on it every day," Hall said.
According to the results of his work, the analogue produced a 98 percent success rate in vitro (in a test tube), and a 92 percent success rate in vivo (in a live specimen).
The sperm cells of rams, pigs and bulls have also been used in testing the analogue's contraceptive effectiveness. The compound's effects on sperm maturation in primates have not been studied. Hall said he and his graduate student researchers plan on collaborative work with primate centers in Oregon or at Duke University.
"The physiology of [non-primates] is similar enough that evolutionary biology conserves enzymes related to the function” of sperm development, Hall said.
Hall said the activity of enzymes and inhibitors also needed to be more closely observed.
“We need to find out any other enzymes involved. If the inhibitor is not potent enough, we can crystallize the enzyme and look at [its interaction with] the active site and synthesize better inhibitors,” he said.
Future experiments might also include studying the analogue's toxicity, effects of long-term dosages, and potential chemical effects on the brain.
Despite the public's potential excitement over such a development in contraceptive technology. Hall said the compound’s actual success in human models is still uncertain.
“You don’t jump up and down, even though the public does,” he said. “If we can encourage other scientists to go in this direction, other people may develop other types of inhibitors.”
Involvement breakfast recognizes top leaders
By SUZY BUCKLEY
News Editor
President Foote commended the “Hurricane Andrew Class of 1996" Thursday morning for excelling despite their windy, rainy and turbulent start at UM
The eleventh annual Celebration of Involvement breakfast and awards presentation, held at the Palm Court, honored both individuals and student organizations for excellence, improvement, and their contributions to UM.
“This represents the University’s opportunity to recognize our truly outstanding student leaders," Mark Trowbridge, director of student activities, said.
Mark Jacobsen, assistant director of student life for student organizations, said that this year was the first time graduate students and student organizations were included in the awards ceremony.
“It’s been a while since we have recognized graduates and eg)lire organizations," he said. “I hope wp con-
tinue this tradition.”
Winners included AWARE! for the Most Active student group, Larry Kanitz of the Sailing Club for Most Outstanding Advisor, and the Marine Mammal Stranding Team for the Most Improved organization.
The Indian Student Association won the Best Individual Program or Event award for their “Duwali” program, and Susan Frauenglass, a Doctoral student in clinical psychology, won the Graduate Award for Excellence.
Chris Blanco, head of Dean’s Dozen for the School of Engineering and past first vice-president of the Inter Fraternity Council, received the 1996 Award for Excellence in Student Involvement. Blanco was selected over 16 other highly active, qualified nominees.
“I’m completely shocked that I won, and was so nervous when my name was called," Blanco said. "My four years at UM have been the most rewarding of my life.
SUZY BUCKLEY/ News Editor Vice-President for Student Affairs William Butler awards Chris Blanco the 19% Award for Excellence in Student Involvement