NEW F*OR 1980:
'U,'
calendar changes proposed
The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, January 10, 1979-Page 7
Court rejects law to
save aborted fetus
r
By JOHN SINKEVICS
For several years many students
and faculty members at the University
have sought changes in the academic
calendar prompting two professors to
devise' alternatives to the present
system. Now officials say they hope to
make a final decision on the proposed
revisions within the next two months.
"We've received a great number of
student and faculty opinions on the
calendar and now we're in the process
of seeing what costs might be involved
in making the changes," said Vice-
President for Academic Affairs Harold
Shapiro. "But it won't affect next
year's calendar (1979-1980) because
that has already been approved."
THE PUSH FOR a change in the
present calendar is the result of a num-
ber of complaints from both students
and the faculty. Major gripes have been
that final exam days for Fall term end
too close to Christmas; that the
semesters in general have too few class
days, especially for courses which meet
on Tuesdays and Thursdays; and that
the Fall and Winter terms have an
unequal number of class days.
To alleviate these problems, the
Senate Advisory Committee on Univer-
sity Affairs (SACUA) appointed
Physics Professor Lawrence Jones to
find a solution in the summer of 1978.
Professor Ernest Zimmerman, chair-
man of the academic calendar commit-
tee also came up with his own proposal,
and the two model calendars were
presented to numerous departments,
faculty groups and student
organizations for consideration during
the fall of 1978.
The two alternative calendars have
distinctly different goals-the Jones
plan aims for a consistent number of
days in each Fall and Winter term,
whereas the Zimmerman proposal calls
for maximizing the total number of
class days in each term depending on
the characteristics of each calendar
year.
UNDER BOTH plans, classes would
start on the Tuesday following Labor
Day during the Fall term and on the
Monday following Christmas vacation
during the Winter term. Jones' plan,
however, would call for utilizing
weekends as study days, thus
eliminating the traditional number of
days now allotted before the
examination period. The Zimmerman
proposal would preserve the three
study days now in effect, but depending
on the peculiarities of each calendar
year, would also utilize weekends
during study days.
Jones said that one advantage of his
proposal is that it is consistent-there
would be 67 days of class in the Fall
term and 69 days of classes in the Win-
ter term each year. By contrast, the
Zimmerman proposal would range
from 66 to 72 class days each term,
simply because of differences in the
calendar each year.
There have been various reactions to
the two calendars and Shapiro said
that each plan received substantial
support from different groups. Several
groups have added their own input and
have suggested 'changes in certain
areas of each proposal.
THE GOVERNING faculty of the
Literary College (LSA) found that star-
ting classes on the Tuesday following
Labor Day was unacceptable because
orientation of students and teaching
fellows would have to occur before
Labor Day weekend. However, a
suggestion for starting classes on the
Wednesday or Thursday after Labor
Day met with general approval.
The Senate assembly, however, ex-
pressed no reservations about starting
on the Tuesday after Labor Day, and
Jones said the general consensus of
many groups has favored such a move.
"My role was to generate discussion
on the subject and get some additional
input on the proposed changes," said
Jones. "I really have no strong feelings
on it either way-I'm not going to go
campaigning for my proposal."
Shapiro said that after economic con-
siderations have beep completed,
(budgeting additional funds for the ad-
ditional class days), a formal calendar
proposal will be submitted to the
University's schools, faculty members
and student government bodies for ap-
proval. After that, it is up to the Board of
Regents to make the final decision on
the revisions.
"It will be another month or two
before that happens," said Shapiro.
"We expect that when it does go into ef-
fect (for the school year beginning in
the Fall of 1980) it will be in the nature
of an experiment. We'll assess the new
calendar at the end of that school year
and see if it fits well into the rhythm of
academic life."
By AP and Reuters
WASHINGTON - The Supreme
Court' yesterday struck down a state
law that required a doctor performing
an abortion to try to deliver the fetus
alive if there was a chance it could sur-
vive.
The law had required every physician
to try to preserve the life of a fetus "if
there is sufficient reason to believe that
the fetus may be viable."
But by a 6-3 vote, the justices ruled
that the law was too vague because it
exposed doctors to possible criminal
charges for not trying to save the life of
a fetus that "may be viable."
"The present statute does not afford
broad discretion to the physician. In-
stead, it conditions potential criminal
liability on confusing and ambiguous
criteria," Justice Harry Blackmun
wrote for the court.
"It therefore presents serious
problems of notice, discriminatory ap-
plication and chilling effect on the
exercise of constitutional rights," he
said.
The decision upheld the ruling of a
three-judge federal court which had in-
validated the law.
The practical effect of the ruling will
be to keep the states from setting a cut-
off point for abortions at an earlier
stage of pregnancy than some
physicians would consider necessary.
Blackmun, writing for the majority,
contrasted the state's "may be viable"
formula with guidelines the Supreme
Court laid down six years ago in
specifying at what point the state may
intervene to require live-birth methods.
A viable fetus was defined in the lan-
SWP can keep donors secret
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Socialist
Workers Party has won the right to
keep its contributor list secret because
of government harrassment of its
members and supporters, under an
agreement reached in federal court and
made public yesterday.
The order - signed by a three-judge
panel that heard the lengthy case -
was filed Jan. 3. It followed an
agreement reached between the
Socialist Workers and the Federal
Election Commission last month.
THE PARTY filed the suit in 1974,
with the support of th6 American Civil
Liberties Union, contending that
publishing the names of contributors to
its political campaigns would subject
the donors to abuse.
Federal law requires parties or
committees raising money for use in
federal elections to report the names
and addresses of contributors, but the
Socialist Workers Party asked for
exemption to protect the rights of
donors.
The court agreed to a stipulation of
settlement that acknowledged Socialist
Workers Party claims of government
efforts to disrupt, infiltrate and other-
wise harrass the party in the past and
the potential for future difficulty for the
small and controversial political party.
"THE RECORD discloses that the So-
cialist Workers Party and persons con-
nected with it have been subjected to
systematic harrassment and contains
specific evidence of past and present
harassment of members, contributors
and recipients of expenditures due to
their associational ties," the court set-
tlement says.
The'agreement allows the party to at-
tach to its campaign the statement that
"A federal court ruling allows us not to
disclose the names of contributors in
order to protect their first amendment
rights."
A woodpecker knows where to peck
for insects by stethoscopic hearing.
dmark 1973 Supreme Court decision as
one "potentially able to live outside the
mother's womb, albeit with artificial
aid."
That decision gave American
women a virtually unfettered right to
terminate pregnancy during the firs
six months.
Blackmun noted that the Pen-
nsylvania statute provided criminak
penalties for a physician found to hav
violated the law by failing to convert an
abortion into a live-birth delivery.
The Pennsylvania law, he said, "con
ditions potential criminal liability on
confusing and ambiguous criteria."
Under the Pennsylvania law, a doctor
could in certain cases be prosecuted for
murder.
Justice Byron White, joined in dissent
by Chief Justice Warren Burger and
Justice William Rehnquist, said thd
wording of the Pe nsylvania statut<
was no looser than th t of the Supreme
Court's 1973 decision.
He charged the majority ruling took
back from the states, "A substantial
measure of the power to protect fetal
life."
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Monday through Friday from
Dec. 11 to Dec. 22 and
Jan. 2 to Jan. 12. First ski
is Tuesday afternoon - January 16.
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Offered by
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in cooperation with
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Club poses renovation problem
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(Continued from Page 1)
ding to John Kowalczyk, the OSHED
sanitarian who performed the inspec-
tions, most of the structural problems,
which in part led to the health code vio-
lations, have yet to be alleviated. "I've
been holding off until a decision is made
on the future of the Club. But if the Club
is going to stay open, I'm not going to
take any more excuses," said Kowalc-
zyk:
In the meantime, poor service has led
to patron dissatisfaction, and the
University football team's experience
is an obvious example.
It had been a long-standing tradition
for the football team to eat in the Union
and last semester, the team began
dining in the 'U' Club. But after only a
few weeks, the team terminated its
association with the Club. "The football
team was paying nine dollars a head for
one meal," said assistant manager
Vicks, "and they were being served ab-
solute shit."
STAN WELLS, the director of the
Union and manager of the 'U' Club
from 1976 through 1977, said that he
didn't know what caused the problems
in service. "You'll have to ask other
authorities," he said. "I have no com-
ment."&
The poor service has been attributed
to constant confusion over leadership of
the 'U' Club and everpresent financial
woes.
According to Larry Pulkownik, the
president of the Union, there has been
continuous confusion over who exactly
runs the 'U' Club. "Until 1976 the 'U'
Club operated as a separate entity from
the Union, but when the Club began
losing money an agreement was
reached that Stan Wells would take
over the operating management of the
'U' Club."
Under this agreement the Union
would be responsible for paying for
various utilities and would allow the
Club to occupy Union space free of
charge.
"THIS AGREEMENT was fought
over for two years," added Pulkownik.
At the end of last term, a new
agreement was drawn up whereby the
'U' Club would exist as a separate en-
tity from the Union. The 'U' Club will
now have to pay rent and utilities,
although it will continue to receive an
annual $31,600 subsidy from the Union.
Pulkownik doubts that the Club will
be able to continue operating under
such an agreement. "I don't think the
'U' Club will be able to pull it off,
primarily because it isn't a student-
oriented organization. What is needed
is a student-oriented, possibly student-
run, food service."
IN AN EFFORT to attract more
students, a reduced membership fee of
$3 a year was instituted in September
Billiards
for students. Currently, however, there
are only 159 student members.
The total membership of the Club in
1977-78 was 1,636. Potential members
include faculty, staff, students, and
University alumni, numbering 45,000 to
50,000. According to the Sturgis Report,
'U' Club membership was under four
per cent of that potential.
N orman Herbert, treasurer of the 'U'
Club, contends that the Club did make
money this past fiscal year. Its income
is up approximately $6,600 from the
previous year, althougn as of last Oc-
tober 30, the Club owed the University
$193,000.
"The Club did break even recently,
but this was with reduced services and
without paying rent to the Union or any
utilities," said a member of the Union
board of directors, who asked not to be
identified. "It is unlikely that the 'U'
Club will be around after this year," he
added.
CURA: THE NEW DIALOGUE
Fidel and Cuba opened a new dialogue with the Cuban-American
community by inviting a delegation to return for a series of dis-
cussions, Dec. 1978 relating in part to political prisoners. Many of
these people had not seen Cuba or members of their families
since the revolution. Maurice Font, a member of the delegation
will show some slides of his visit and participate in a discussion
of this new dialogue.
International Center, Michigan Union
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