Page 4-Saturday. August 11. 1979-The Michiaan Daily

Michigan Daily
Einht in Yar of EditnrinlF dr&

The Summer


VVl -nne rears on orreuo
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI. 48109
Vol. LXXXIX, No. 64- News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students
at the University of Michigan
A 2school's plan
must go furtheir
THE FUNCTION of any educational in-
stitution is teaching its students. But the first
step toward teaching students is understanding
them. While the Ann Arbor Board of Education is
trying, via a court order, to understand its Black
English-speaking students through its new
educational plan, it hasn't gone far enough in its
attempt.
In response to a federal judge's ruling, the
board Wednesday night received a well-
formulated plan to aid teachers in identifying
Black English-speaking students and teaching
them to read standard English. The board deser-
ves some commendation for its request for com-
munity input before submitting its final plan to
the court.
Nevertheless, the plan has some drawbacks.
Although the board is only required to implement
the plan at Martir Luther King Elementary
School, is seems logical to implement it at all Ann
Arbor schools. It if was applied to at least one
other school during this test year, more children
would be reached a year earlier, and it would save
on extra spending of both time and money later.
Also, even if problems in the plan do arise which
must be ironed out, it would be easier to correct
the problems than it would be to start a new plan.
In considering the plan, which is aimed at
teachers, the board must also remember its
ultimate goal: helping the students. Perhaps the
plan could be expanded to study students of other
grade levels who may have similar problems to
the 11 children whose families filed the suit. If
other children have been mislabeled, the school
system owes it to them to rectify any problems,
since based on the King case, these children have
neither emotional nor learning disabilities. The
board might .find that aiding Black English
speakers improves test scores of minority studen-
ts, since it has been shown that test scores are
lower in schools with higher minority populations.
also, the plan is to be implemented only for a
one-year period. But teachers should get constant
reinforcement after this period. Seminars . or
discussions could be made a standard feature
for teachers during future inservice days. And,
should the plan prove unsuccessful, the board
must recognize it's commitment to improving the
program.
The plan will cost the school system an
estimated $41,915, a sum which School Board
President Kathleen Dannemiller said is finan-
cially feasible. While it is a shame some programs
will be cut, it must be remembered the price is
small when exchanged for the benefits these
children will receive.
The problem is an ongoing one which not only
must be corrected, but also must be attacked at
its source. It is hoped linguists and other experts
will continue delving into the mystery of Black
English. The nation will be watching the Ann Ar-
bor school district this year; its efforts and suc-
cess ultimately could revolutionize education.

A new 'U'
president
H AROLD SHAPIRO is a.
"company man." He began
his career at the University in
1964 as a 29-year-old assistant
professor of economics, and in 15
years surpassed the crowd of or-
dinary instructors and was
named July 27as the University's
10th president. The route he took,
through the economics depar-
tment, through a vice-
presidency, and through various
University committeees pointed
only to success in this institution
for the young man from Mon-
treal.
Shapiro majored in business
communication at McGill
University in Montreal.
"Materialism wasn't questioned
much," Shapiro said of his days
as an undergraduate. "We were
happy just to be there and as a
result were very academically
oriented."
That academic orientation paid
off for Shapiro, as he went on to
collect an M.A. and a Ph.D. in
economics from Princeton
University in 1964. With wife
Vivian and two daughters in tow
the newlv-graduated Shapiro

,manupjer .
headed for the University in Ann
Arbor. Now he is the University's
president.
within ten years Shaprio
became chairman of the Depar-
tment of Economics; three years
later, he assumed the vice-
presidency for academic affairs,
after Frank Rhodes left the post
for Cornell University.
The vice-president for
academic affairs "deals with
educational budget and problems
that involve" the entire
"curriculum of the University,"
according to Adviser to the
Executive Officers and former
LSA Dean William Haber. The
academic affairs vice-president
See SHAPIRO, Page5
accepted the city manager's post
in Cincinnati, one of the largest
cities in the nation to have a
government structure em-
phasizing a bureaucrat instead of a
politician. It is also considered
the most attractive position of its
kind in the nation, and was the
archetype of city manager
municipal systems.
Cincinnati has 9,000 city
workers and a budget of $142
million - $100 million more than
Ann Arbor's. He will be faced
with a labor crisis and racial ten-
sions. The police force there has
been working without a contract
since Dec. 31. Relations between
the police force and the city's
black community have been
strained since May 8, when a
police officer and a black man
were slain in separate incidents.
Cincinnati clearly has more
challenging problems than Ann
Arbor's potholes and parking
structures. But that is not to say
his time here has been boring. In
1977, an investment scandal in
which the city entered into ar-
bitrage transactions, which tur-
ned out to be illegal, nearly cost
the city a chunk of its budget as
See MURRAY, Page5
but with apprehension as to its
functional capabilities. No one
has denied that the University
Hospital needs to be replaced.
At the center of the controversy
is the cost and size of a sleek,
modern replacement. The Com-
prehensive Health Planning
Council for Southeastern
Michigan (CHPC-SEM), charged
with making recommendations
on health care facilities to the
state Department of Public
Health but void of real checks on
health care providers, contends
the University is asking for a
hospital toobig and too expensive
for the needs of southeastern
See' U', Page 14

Strikes and
near strikes
UNIVERSITY Cellar book-
store employees may
strike, campus skilled trades
workers did strike, and city em:
ployees narrowly averted a
strike. In retrospect, it was an
unusually active summer for
area labor organizations.
Still off the job are more than
300 University skilled trades
workers, including plumbers,
electricians, and other
tradespersons. Talks have been
stalled since Thursday, when
union and administration
negotiators met for a second time
with a state mediator. One issue
reportedly blocking a settlement
is the extent of sick pay
provisions provided by the
University.
Strikers have indicated they
are prepared to hold a long strike
and they have been picketing on
campus locations since their con-
tract expired Aug. 1.
The strike has affected all
skilled trades construction taking
place on campus. Work has been
halted at the new underground
law library, the Taubman
Medical Library, and the Gerald
Ford Library on north campus,
all of which are under contracts
with outside firms. Renovations
of Michigan Stadium, being per-
formed by both University and
outside tradespersons have
ceased with the help of round-the-
clock picketing. Although the
outside firms have threatened to
obtain injunctions to remove
picketers from the work sites,
none have been served.
Some University deliveries
have been slowed by the
picketers, but emergency ser-
vices usually performed by the
striking workers are being com-
pleted by supervisors.
Meanwhile, University Cellar
employees are still negotiating
with the management of the
student-owned, non-profit
bookstore. The workers,
organized by the Industrial
Workers of the World last-
January, want a contract
provision guaranteeing a certain
level of employee participation in
the management of the store.
Threats of a strike during the
fall book rush have prompted in-
tensified negotiations that both
sides agreekhave been produc-
tive. A strike would affect the
thousands of students who pur-
chase their textbooks at the store
in the Michigan Union.
Earlier in the summer, city
workers represented by the
American Federation of State,
County.and Municipal Em-
ployees (AFSCME) averted a
strike when bargainers for the
unioln and the city reached an
agreement only hours before the
strike deadline. The AFSCME
local sought parity with police
and fire workers and a 45 cents
per hour cost of living increase.
They received a 25 cent per hour
cost of living adjustment.
Summer-in-review was written by
Editor-in-Chief Elizabeh Slowik,
Daily staffer Mark Parrent, and
Editorial Diretor Judy Rakowsky.

Administrator
to leave A2
THROUGHOUT his six-year
tenure as Ann Arber's City
Administrator, Sylvester Murray
often applied and interviewed for
similar jobs in other cities. The
fact that these were always
larger, more complex
municipalitiesrand Murray
always placed highly was an ob-
vious clue that Ann Arbor would
eventually lose him.
Last week it happened. Murray
Plans for a new
,' hospital
rpHE UNIVERSITY has been
accused of being arrogant, of
playing politics. One member of
the University Board of Regents
declared in July that if the
University must suffer one more
delay on this project, he would
reveal the politicking that has
been going on inside and outside
of Lansing. And all the University
wants is a new hospital.
Once reknown as a leading
medical center, the University
Hospital has grown old. Like an,
elderly person, its insides are
worn out, in constant need of
renovation. It is looked at fondly,,