. SLAVES See Editorial Page f: 'I L Sic i!3au i Iai1 BOGUE High--57° Low-Mid 40s See Today for details Vol. LIX, No. 26 Ann Arbor, Michigan-Friday, October 6, 1978 Ten Cents Twelve Pages Students criticize course evaluation secrecy By JOHN SINKEVICS Student evaluations of classes and professors are often the most important factors that a student considers when choosing his or her courses. The fact that a certain teacher is well-prepared, or another unfair in grading, is something many students feel they should know. But formal student. course evaluations, despite being distributed to a great number of classes, very often do not see the light of day. They may remain within departmental circles, with results rarely being released for student scrutiny. THIS POLICY is a major source of aggravation for coordinators of the Student Course Evaluation Project. They are pressing administrators, particularly in the Literary College, to release evaluation results to students. "Some of the departments seem to feel that they are above being evaluated," said Barbara Roberts, a coordinator in the Office of Academic Counseling (OAC). "A lot of the professors are not very enthusiastic about it - they're afraid that the results might be used against them and will affect their job security." The computerized course evaluations which are being used by most departments include statements such as: "The grading system was clearly defined," with a set of responses ranging from "Strongly Agree" to "Strongly Disagree." AFTER A CLASS has completed the questionnaires, their responses are processed. However, the results may or may not become readily accessible to students, depending on the individual department and professor. Most departments enlist the aid of the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) to draft and process the evaluations. The center provides a battery of questions from which professors can choose 25 to round out the forms. This year, with the prodding of such diverse groups as the Michigan Student Assembly (MSA), the Educational Innovation Program (EIP), and the OAC, eight items have been included which a professor can choose to place on the questionnaire, and which would be released directly to the OAC for student use. ALTHOUGH BACKERS of the student-oriented evaluations agree that this is a good start, many want to provide students with even more information about classes and professors. "We want to get more comprehensive," said Chris Parent, a student assistant at EIP. "We'd like to be able to give students information concerning books used, time involved, and projects required, in addition to the attitudes expressed by former students." According to the results of a study released by CRLT this summer, more than 90 per cent of the classes and professors evaluated for the Winter '78 semester were rated "excellent" by students. Yet there is still considerable faculty apprehension over the evaluation process. "WE HAVE our own internal evaluation process, and we -don't feel it is necessary to release resulting information'to See SECRECY, Page 5 Israeli boats shell Syrians in Beirut; battle raiies in cit Y BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Israeli gunboats shelled western Beirut last night in an apparent warning to Syrian x peacekeeping troops to stop battering Christian areas in the eastern part of V:. :<. The Israeli military spokesman in '~ Tel Aviv said the vessels fired on a Palestinian guerrilla naval base in M...N ,~,' , southwestern Beirut. However, the of- ficial Lebanese radio said three gun- boats fired on the Ramlet Baida, a Moslem residential quarter, then with- N - drew when Syrian artillery opened fire on them. No casualties or damage were ;~V..VVV~.. .reported. n Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan told reporters in Tel Aviv earlier .V yesterday, "The Syrians are acting veynegatively ..but wehrthis i mean to the negotiations bet- ,, ~. ween Israel and Egypt ... I really can't ..~.4"~VVVVsay. a In Washington, the State Department said it was informed by Israeli officials a . that the gunboats shelled the base to VV... thwart a planned operation by guerrillas of Al Fatah. THE SYRIAN artillery was firing on the ravaged Christian sector of Beirut _.for the fourth straight day, seeking to pound entrenched Christian militiamen ....pinto submission. Some Lebanese of- . ficials pinned hopes on a possible DlPhoto by ALAN BNK United Nations intervention to stop the Dail Phto y AAN ILISKY bloodshed. Sink or swim Witnesses said a three-day Christian assault on Syrians holding two key Paces varied yesterday afternoon as students ambled, shuffled, roamed, scampered, and floated across a rain-soaked Diag. bridges controlling the northern roads and supply routes into the city had SEAR CH GR OUP TO BE PICKED SOON: K Alum rep O se eection plan' tam..Y I failed. In what diplomats saw as a bid to rally civilian morale, the rightist militia vowed they would turn their guns on Syria should the fighting con- tinue. Western Beirut was the stronghold of leftist Moslem militias and Palestinian guerrillas during the 19-month civil war that ended in November 1976. It has remained outside the battle between Syrian troops and rightist Christian militias in the eastern sectors. Israel has vowed not to allow Lebanon's Christians to be destroyed, but had refrained from intervening in Lebanon-apparently for fear of en- dangering Egyptian-Israeli peace talks set to begin Oct. 12. POLICE SAID the casualty toll has climbed to 1,000 killed and 1,700 woun- ded in eight months of Christian=Syrian' battles for control of the tiny Mediterranean state. Phalangist radio told Christian civilians holed up in their makeshift .basement bunkers that the Syrians were being heavily reinforced and no end appeared in sight to the constant rain of artillery fire. In a statement issued in Geneva, the Lebanese Red Cross said: "The civilian population, hospitals, dispensaries,* See BEIRUT, Page 6 J Hearings probe GSA job status By SHELLEY WOLSON University research assistants began their round of testimony yesterday as hearings reconvened in the litigation between the University and the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO). The Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) ordered the hearings before Administrative Law Judge Shlomo Sperka, to determine the employment status of Graduate Student Assistants (GSAs). So far, only teaching assistants have testified for the GSA's case. The hearings, which have been going on since last May, will determine whether GSAs are students - or en- ployees. If MERC rules that they are employees, GSAs will be entitled to full bargaining rights under the Michigan Public Employment Relations Act. Research assistant Diana Collins was the first to testify yesterday and was questioned by GEO counsel Mark Cousens. Research assistants Bill McGee and John Patterson also testified. With the research assistants' testimonies, Cousens tried to show that the work they do has nothing to do with the work for their dissertations. The three research assistants all work on outside projects for the University. Meanwhile, Detroit lawyer Robert Veracrusee, representing the Univer- sity administration, tried to show that out of their jobs, research assistants were receiving some kind of extra training and skills and were therefore not producing anything for the Univer- sity. However, through the research assistants' presentations, Cousens tried to show that they all had prior ex- perience and skills in their respective fields before starting their jobs as research assistants. Collins, a Special Education PhD candidate, said that she had had 13 years of previous work with handicap- ped children before she began her work as a research assistant and that she had not done work for her dissertation. Psychology PhD candidate Patterson in response to similar questioning, described his prior knowledge of com- puter programming before becoming a research assistant in the Psychology Department. He also explained his work in computer research and his dissertation plans. "I wrote a program for my employer but not for my dissertation research," he said. He added that later on he might be able to adapt that program for his dissertation. By STEVEN SHAER Despite misgivings among students as to their role in choosing the new University president, Robert Forman, executive director of the school's Alumni Association, said he is satisfied with the Regents' selection plan. The plan calls for a committee of ten alumni to submit names of candidates to the Regents. Students and faculty members would have similar commit- tees composed of ten and 15 members, respectively. The Regents said they would examine recommendations of the three committees, but wouldn't be bound to choose a president from those names. FORMAN SAID the Regents have "been generous in sharing the respon- sibility" of choosing a president. He said an alumni selection committee will be named within the next ten days. Alumni Association President Samuel Kurgliak, who will determine the basis on which committee members will be appointed, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Forman disagrees with some studen- ts who believe the Regents want too much power in the selection process. "The Regents are men and women highly motivated who want the Univer- sity to be governed by the best," he said. "They have made a public appeal that anyone can be nominated." FORMAN SAID he's in no position to say whether the Michigan Student Assembly (MSA) was justified in passing a resolution stating that it will not participate in the selection process unless student representation is in- creased. He said the resolution represents MSA's '.'vested point of view. They can see if their interests are being served beter than I can." But Forman said alumni input in selecting a president is important. "THE ALUMNI are the ony non- transient group among the three groups," he said. "They put their education into the market and should have a say in the University." Forman said the image of the University is based on the accomplish- ments of alumni and they have a con- tinuing interest in maintaining stan- dards at the school. Friday " Three men are in custody in St. Louis, accused of involvement in a bizarre plot to steal a nuclear submarine. See story, Page 12. " -Novelist Isaac B. Singer has been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. Singer's works are lauded in a story on Page 5. " Governor William Milliken, unset over his guhernatarial "I feel that 300,000 people should have a say in the University," said Forman, whose organization has a membership of 40,000 alumni. The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, which represents faculty members, stated earlier this week it is satisfied with the faculty committee's role. All three of the advisory groups must have a list of their committee members submitted to the Regents by October 16. Griffin changed tune on tax proposal championed in race I lying suspect arraigned; psychiatric tests scheduled By KEVIN ROSEBOROUGH John Maddox, charged with murder for the September 12 slaying of Univer- sity custodial supervisor William Van Johnson, stood mute yesterday during his arraignment in Circuit Court. A plea of not guilty was entered for him by 1,,Rrtc I F1eAIn William Delhey, the Washtenaw County prosecutor, said that a psychiatric test is not an unusual move by the defense in the case of a serious crime. He also stated he would await the results of Maddox's examination before deciding whether an additional test at the Forensic Center in Ypsilanti By BRIAN BLANCHARD More than three years ago Republican Sen. Robert Griffin voted to kill an amendment to a tax cutting bill almost identical to the one he has since made the selling point of his reelection cam- paign. Griffin aides in Washington and in Michigan confirmed yesterday that the two-term senator voted to table-and JFAF .Y l'EV V may have tried to convince voters that the idea, which originated in a Newsweek column by economist Milton Friedman, is his. A press release dated Tuesday, Oct. 2-which describes a new bipartisan coalition in the Senate formed to back the tax indexing legislation during debate this week-states, "(The amen- dment) follows the lines of tax indexing legislation first proposed by Griffin nearly 18 months ago and incorporates features of similar bills introduced by each of the other three senators," Gary Hat .,+ (Tj'nl n ) ,nhnrt Thnla (R.