Earth week events end with free food, ice cream
The Thai Place restaurant will sponsor free food for an environmental action fair Friday night. The event, sponsored by Free the Planet, is part of a week of speakers and presentations themed “Conserving Here on My Planet” (C.H.O.M.P.) to commemorate Earth Day.
GW and outside groups, including Students for Fair Trade, Eco-Artware, Naked Juice, Amnesty International, the Sierra Club and Greenpeace will be set up in the Marvin Center rooms 301-302 from 7 to 9 p.m. The first 50 people to attend will receive a coupon for a free pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and 20 percent off an entr?e at the Thai Place, located on Pennsylvania Avenue near Washington Circle.
-Kate Stepan
GW professors’ study find racial profiling widespread
Although significantly more American minorities said they were victims of racial profiling than whites at some point during their lives, almost all Americans agreed the procedure has negative consequences, according to a study recently released in the report “Racial Profiling in America: The Public’s Perceptions and Experiences.”
Two GW professors, Ronald Weitzer and Steven Tuch, conducted the study in December.
About half of blacks and a quarter of Hispanics said they were victims of racial profiling by police officers. A third of blacks and a fifth of Hispanics reported that someone in their household was subjected to the practice. However, almost no white citizens said they experienced racial profiling.
But almost all citizens – 90 percent of blacks and 75 percent of whites and Hispanics – said racial profiling is wrong.
Those who said racial profiling is acceptable were more likely to change their opinions if the pollers told them racial profiling was ineffective. Sixty-two percent of blacks, 53 percent of Hispanics and 58 percent of whites said they would change their minds if racial profiling were proven not to deter crime.
Weitzer and Tuch will present their findings at a conference in Nashville, Tenn. in May. The National Institute of Justice funded the study.
GW researcher links race to breast cancer
Researchers found a gene thought to help prompt breast cancer may be more active in tumors of black women than white women. Although breast cancer is more common in white women, black women suffering from the disease are more likely to die from it.
Chief researcher for the project, Dr. Patricia Berg of the GW Medical Center, told the Associated Press the study of the gene was a “promising lead.”
After studying the gene – BP1- in patients with a specific type of leukemia, Berg tested breast cancer tissues from 46 patients. The gene was active in 89 percent of the tumors in black women, while only in 57 percent of white women’s tumors.
Though other cancer experts called the study “intriguing,” they said a larger test group would be needed to determine BP1’s role, according to the AP.
Berg’s study was published in the Journal of Breast Cancer Research Tuesday.
Hawaii Club holds lu’au
The Hawaii Club Ohana will host a lu’au Sunday afternoon, featuring authentic food, dance and live music. Club members will perform hula and Tahitian dances.
Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. The event will take place in the Marvin Center Grand Ballroom.
Tickets cost $10. E-mail [email protected] for more information.
Students, experts discuess race relations at GW
Mount Vernon will host a “Race in the University” discussion Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. in Post Hall.
Students can discuss their experiences concerning race and racism and their opinions of classroom discussions about race relations in a small group setting.
Hors d’oeuvres, cheese, fruit platters and desserts will be provided.
E-mail Carol Hayes at [email protected] for more information.
-Julie Gordon
