Page Six-Student Life.
THE IVIICHIGAN DAILY
Wednesday, September 2, 1970
Page Six-Student Life VHE MICHIGAN DAILY Wednesday, September 2, '1970
The
nion:
Attempting
to,
alter
its, orientation
By EDWARD ZIMMERMAN
A college union. is often the
place where students congregate
and things happen..
The Michigan Union, how-
ever, has been more often used
by alumni than students, until
the student discount store moved
in last year.
This fall; however, a "new
union" image may emerge. The
Union may be the place where
more student activities will be
held, under a plan of University
Activities Center (UAC) ex-
President Wally S t r o m b e r g,
which would move most of the
student activities' offices out of
the Student Activities Bldg. and
into the Union.
A final decision on when that
plan would take effect by Uni-
versity officials has not yet been
reached.
Currently, the Union is an
autonomous institution within
the, University, governed by a
board of directors responsible
only to the Regents. The Union
is funded by an allocation from
each male student's tuition each
year (a similar portion of wo-
men's tuition funds the League).
For entertainment or plea-
sures purposes, the Union offers
a billiard room, bowling alleys,
a merchandise stand which is
simnply termed the "stand" and
a large reading room.
The reading room is located
in the front of the Union, just
off of State Street. It is some-
times used by students as a
lounge where they can catch up
on some sleep or do some study-
ing.
Other facilities include 130
guests rooms, a student-run
credit union, and the Univer-
sity's alumni facilities. The
credit union and the alumni
facilities are autonomous from
the Union. The Union rents
space to these projects, but does
not control them.
Because of financial aid in-
stitutional difficulties (the Un-
ion has been steadily losing
money), the University commis-
sioned Douglas Osterheld, assist-
ant vice president for business
and finance at the University of
Wisconsin, to make a study of
the Union's problems.,
Osterheld's report, issued in
March, 1969, recommended that
the Union be brought more ex-
tensively under University con-
trol, in order to better coordi-
nate its financial and organiza-
tional affairs.
He also recommended that
the Union be granted more
money each year for manage-
ment costs.
However, Osterheld went be-
yond mere financial and institu-
tional review, making, recom-
mendations for re-orienting the
Union from a service organiza-
tion for alumni to a center for
student affairs and activities.
Action on the suggestions of
the Osterheld report are pres-
ently at a standstill. The sug-
gestion to move the student ac-
tivities offices out of the SAB
has been postponed because of
lack of funds.
Stanfield Wells, general man-
ager of the Union, says that it
would cost about $2.2 million to
move all of the student offices
to the Union-and the money is
nowhere to be found.
Another suggestion from Os-
terheld's report to create more
efficient food services, appears
to have more of a chance. The
plan would combine the three
kitchens in the North Campus
Commons, the Women's League
and the Union into one kitchen
in the Union and the food would
be transported to the other
places. That suggestion will be
implemented in the fall.
The Michigan Un i on Grill
(the Mug) which has been los-,
ing money on food sales for the
past several years, will be re-
placed by the new student-run
University bookstore in Septem-
ber.
But the new bookstore will
not begin to sell textbooks until
the winter term. The reason for
the delay in the selling of text-
books, says Thomas Brown,
assistant director of student-
community relations, is because
of a lack of capital necessary for
textbook purchases.
In addition, says Brown, the
manager of the store i§ not ex-
pected to arrive until late July,
"a month and a half after the
textbook orders should have
been in."
When they are finally placed
, 4
--aily-Sara rulwicn
Transforming the kWug into the bookstore
By SHARON WEINER
The struggle .is over. The
people have won!
The battle ofathe paintbrushes
is over, at least temTporarily,
The University= Plant Depart-
ment finally surrendered to the
sleek "Canadian" Blue Panthers
In the war over the plaza sign
in front of the Administration
Bldg.
For over five months last year,
the panthers crept out stealthily
into the night to replace the
word "Regents" on the sign with
the more democratic term "Peo-
ples." And the plant department.
returned it to "Regents" during,
the day.
But the University finally cap-
itulated, after - a month-long
cease-fire during which the sign
remained "Peoples."
"The sign will not be repaint-
ed at this time," University
Plant Manager A. B. Ueker said
in February. f
"We're just going to wait until.
this thing wears out," he added.
But after other groups joined
in the battle and the sign
switched from4 "Peoples" to
"Engin" to "BAM" and back to
"Peoples," the sign was taken
down at the end of the winter
term, and remains hidden, some
say, in a Blue Panther temporary
S
Plaza:
BLUE PANTHERS.
The War of the Brushes
on sale, textbooks may be sold
at their normal retail price un-
til the 1971 fall term. The Re-
gents stipulated that the text-
books could notibe sold at a dis-
count of more than one per cent
for the first year, Brown ex-
plains.
The.financing of the new
bookstore will come from stu-
dents and from the Student
Parking Fund, which. distributes
the parking permits that stu-
dents use when they bring their
vehicles up to the University.
The parking fund has con-
:ibuted $100,000 to 'the new
bookstore from revenues accrued
from the-selling of parking per-
mits. Each entering student will
also contribute," through his tui-
tion payment, $5 to the book-
store 'In his first year. The
money can be refunded when
the student leaves the Univer-
sity permanently.
headquarters as this supplement,
goes to press.
Reportedly acting on behalf
of all oppressed -peoples in the
Universe,. the Blue Panther
squads began their guerrilla tac-
tics of last year with only paint
cans (of blue And white acrylic
water-based paint) and brushes
for weapons.
The method of attack is fairly
simple. "Peoples" has the same
number 'of lettersr as " Regents,"'
m iaking the repaint job quite
easy. ,
And the counter-attack is
equally. simple-it's merely "a
nuisance,".'according to plant
department officials.
Why did the panthers choose
the sign as their focus of angry
attention?
One theory revolves around
the genesis of the plaza's official
title: The name was proposed
and adopted by-of course-the
Regents themselves.
While there is no record of
the closed session discussion on
the naming of the plaza-the
University administration had
informally dubbed it Jefferson
Plaza (after the neighboring
street) - the following appears
in the minutes of the June, '69
Regents meeting:
"It was resolved and approved
that the area lying immediately
e a's t of the Administration
Building be dedicated and here-
after known and labeled as 'Re-
gents Plaza' in grateful memory
of legions of men and women
now deceased who have render-
ed loyal and devoted Serviceas
Regents of the University of
Michigan."
"Regent lindemer voted no on
the above resolution," the entry
concludes.
While the, minutes do not say
so,_ the name was suggested by
Regent Otis Smith (D-Detroit)
who explains he 'found the list
of people who have, in the past,
served as Regents "rather im-
pressive."
At the end of April, a score-
board in the Student Govern-
ment Council office showed the
panthers to have compiled near-
ly 1,000 points, with the Regents
managing a paltry 102. One
point is awarded for each hour
that the sign bears the artwork
of a team.
But although the battle may
be won, the war is by no means
over.
Some say there are plans for
the erection of a new "Regents
Plaza" sign this fall. But the
panthers remain undaunted.
"We're prepared to paint for-
ever!" one Blue Panther zealot
says. ''We're planning to ex-
pand the program for the fall,"
help The American Red Cross.
We dort know where
US welI be needed next.
hlpiYou s dont eithed for the public good
A'advertising contributedfothpulcg d°
ADVERTISEMENT
-Daily-Thomas R. Copi
he adds, but he refuses to, dis-
close details for the fall offen-
sive.
According to the group's Min-
ister of Culture, who prefers to
remain anonymous, there are
about 200 Blue Panthers on
campus, and "we're still grow-
ing".
The group has been recog-
nized by SGC as an "official
student organization", he notes.
and includes among its members
several SGC members, two min-
isters of the Universal Life
Church, members of the Uni-
versity's track and gymnastic
teams, several sorority and fra-
ternity members, representatives
from the Daily and WCBN,
several persons arrested in the
LSA sit-in crisis, a black stu-
dent, and the president of one
of the houses of South Quad.
"We are non-sectarian", he
adds.
4,
*
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/
FOLLETT'S FOIBLES
By E. Winslow
I
ii
An afflulent Soc Psy prof, waxing stormy,
Shouted, When . lecture on poverty,
don't ignore me!"
...
r
V
s
s, 1
JOE;
= t
VOL
Folletts bookstore does so
much more for me".
Peculiar
Life
Form
Spreads Across Campus
A hippie replied, "Though I am
Educationally enriched by each exam
Help stamp out poverty (yours.) save up to
33 /% on used textbooks
Book bills being what they are, savings up to thirty-three and
one-third per cent can represent a nice piece of easy money. All
you have to do is buy good-as-new used texts for all your courses
here at Follett's. And we carry a complete line of art, drafting
and school supplies at budget prices, too. So join Follett's fight
against poverty. The buck you save will be your own.
ODD , b u t captivating.
cells containing small clus-
ters of strange creatures
(students) h a v e recently
been on the., increase here
at U of M. These organisms
respond to their g r o u p
name of "co-op" while each
one has a first name too.
T h e y are friendly little
things, though, being com-
posed entirely'* of friendly
people a n d can be ap-
proached and handled safe-
ly. There is a rare dicho-
tomy in their nature, how-
ever, which through some
undefinable fascination has
lately lured students closer
and closer to t h e m until
they are absorbed in a new,
breathing, growing co-op!
This is the duality: at first
they annear to be very
some of them just weird.
B u t a second look shows
them to be a highly ad-
vanced, thorough-bred type
of school life since much of
the unreality, dullness, re-
strictions, and expense of
dorm, Greek, and landlord
living have been crossed
out. What remains in the
co-ops a r e: togetherness,
humanity, opportunity, col-
or, a family, music, owner-
ship, no - two - rooms (or
people) -alike, m o r e free-
dom, less expense, and work
and satisfaction instead of
rituals.
In a co-op, rent is cheap-
er because there is no land-
lord. We' care for our own
houses and land, cook and
eat our own food, and clean
un nr num mSdn - n'r
Two houses - a private
home and a sorority house
- have just been bought
and added to the co-ops on
central campus making a
total of 13 houses there,
And an entirely new co-op
community is now being
built on North Campus and
will open in the fall for 216
roomers plus space for 75
additional boarders.
At this time, one of our
houses is for married stu-
dents only, while there are
also three apartments f o r
married students in other
houses. Most of the other
houses are co-educational.
Collectively we are known
as the I.C.C. - Inter-Co-
operative Council. You can
get more information at
the I.C. office. room 2546
40
curett s isthe
M ear for being
Ignorant--poor'
I
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