6 Page 4-Tuesday, March 18, 1980-The Michigan Daily Cut out the middle urinals and save 'U' The other day as I Was standing in the men's &6m in Mason Hall, it occurred to me that the University could save lots of money by in- stalling only half as many urinals as they do, since men always use every other one, no mat- - ter how close together or far apart they-the urinals-are. Of course, the University would have to install something like urinals in the blanks, or people would still use every other one-but the plant department could make the blanks out of styrofoam, or buy used ones and pot connect the plumbing. It might even work if they just drew pictures, or put up photographs .for the blanks. I'll bet the savings would be considerable. I usually think while I'm in the men's rooms, and in the midst of the leisure which detained :i there in Mason Hall I started to think about :00er ways to save money around here. F erybody is conscious of economy these days. ,'esident Shapiro is an economist, and you can sure that he's going to insist that we all ;4rn the value of money, and establish some priorities about spending it. As Director of the enter for the Advancement of Peripheral :47ought, I'm ready to do my part.. 4ANY DEPARTMENTS in the Univer- i~y-the economics departme'nt among tionm-say that they have more students than -*ir faculty can teach. A new 1980 model sistant professor for any of those departmen-. -would cost about $17,000; he or she would teach five or six courses during the year. To satisfy all the complaining departments would require lots of bundles of $17,000 each, I suspect-and we probably don't have that kind of money around. But there is an alternative solution which I can recommend to President Shapiro and his advisors-and it will cost only one bundle of $17,000, and the students who live in University housing have already agreed to contribute it! Next year, each student who lives in a dorm is going to pay two dollars so that the dorm lounges can have cable television hook-ups. Needless to say, this installation has a high academic priority or it never would have been proposed by the housing office, let alone agreed to by Jack Stegman and the Board of Regents. In the fall, then, when many freshmen and sophomores find themselves closed out of cour- ses, or in classes too crowded for comfort or learning, they will be able to go back to their dorms and watch all the varieties of infor- mation and entertainment a cable-connected tube can offer! And while they're watching, we can let them earn some academic credit so they won't feel like they're wasting their time. Credit can be given in film and video studies for watching old movies, in political science for watching the news, and in anthropology for watching sports. Students who watch the ad- vertisements will get credit for the behavior modification lab, and those who pay keen at- By Bert G. Hornback tention to the special channel that tells the time will get experiential credit in economics-since "time," they say, "is money." There is another way to make dorm living more economical which I want to recommend. If implemented, this little trick will help students defray the cost of room and board and at the same time further reduce the pressure on an overworked faculty to actually teach them something in exchange for tuition. It is well known that dorms are heated to something like 98.6 degrees on the farenheit scale. This is true everywhere, and has been since the times of the Romans. Rather than waste all that heat, I would like to see enterprising students en- couraged to turn their rooms into hatcheries, and go into business. Most dorm rooms are big enough to raise chickens in-and what can be earned will be more, certainly, than chicken feed! Students who do well in this venture should be able to get academic credit for their work, through the LSA Business Internship Program. I haven't checked with Dean Bar- dwick yet, but I suspect that her office might even be able to coordinate the purchase and distribution of fertilized eggs. ANOTHER WAY TO save us all money would be to consolidate the positions of sjgn-putter- upper and sign-taker-downer. As things stand now, various groups hire people to plaster multiple advertisements for everything on all the walls and windows and doors on campus, and the University hires other people to take- them down. If one set of people did both jobs, they could save us a considerable amount of money-and could save themselves a lot of energy, too. As they became practiced and skilled at their work, these versatile folks could put signs up with one hand and take them down with the other, so that only for a split second would the walls and windows and doors be covered with all that offensive huckstering. Eventually-once we got used to unlittered plaster and glass again-they could probably quit printing advertisements at all. Not only would we have made more economic use of personnel and curtailed visual pollution, we would have saved tons of paper as well. The hucksters among us aren't the only ones who litter our world with signs, however. The plant department has a new Assistant Director in Charge of Signs, it seems, and he has dedicated himself to making his job a busy and important one. So far I've seen six new sign posts-north of Mason Hall and behind the UGLI-warning pedestrians of "truck crossings." These signs-diamond-shaped stereotypes of trucks, warning notices, and posts-must have cost something like $500 each to manufacture and install. Add to that cost the salary of the Assistant Director in Charge of Signs and you start to see just how much too money much money the University has! Presuming as I do that University students, faculty, and staff think-or are at least capable of thought-I object to these truck crossi signs, and insist that they be removed. Eve .those of us who have no direct, first-hand ex- perience of trucks going to and from the Mason Hall or Graduate Library loading docks know from our general experience of this world that where sidewalks and driveways intersect, vehicles often cross at counter-purposes to pedestrians. Even the campus dogs-who seem not to read very well-manage these intersec- tions safely. If they can do it without the help of signs, then-like our ancestors-so can we! I object to those signs for aesthetic reasons,! suppose, as much as I object that they are a waste of money. But since nobody will listen to a complaint about what this place looks like-beauty is not a cultural value any more, I fear-than I will complain on economic groun- ds. Maybe the best way to complain, however, would be to take pictures of those signs and send them to Lansing-as examples of our having too much money to spend here. Hmmmn. The next time I see President Shapiro-in the men's room, at the next urin@ down but one-I'll ask his advice. Bert G. Hornback is a professor of English Language and Literature. U .-. p^ .' ' ' .' . ' ,F' G Y 6 C' t 't ',. I il Feiffer Niney Years of Editorial Freedom Vol. XC, No. 131 News Phone: 764-0552 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan HEAI6S ~t- AFFMCf 116 A6 Of AFFECT MC. OF VAST $xtAL- S-AlD A (C't-OVC '~r ThE 6WOF 61vI J -1O66Th6R -L tpl~uYT- AFFCT ME - 4 aI I New budget has problems SW ITH INFLATION raging at an annual rate of 18 per cent, it is nt surprising that President Carter has decided in recent weeks to re-make his fiscal 1981 budget. His latest proposals, which include the largest budget surplus in more than 30 years, could do much to repair the ravaged U.S. economy. Achieving this balanced budget-which is necessary if the country is to pull out of its economic tailspin-will involve sacrifices by a number of Americans in various interest groups. Carter said as much on Friday when he announced his revised budget. Of course, he failed to mention that only in the last three years, under his administration, has inflation taken off with such speed. It is terribly unfortunate that the country must now pay for Carter's and r Congress' mistakes. There do not really seem to be any alternatives to the sacrifices, however. But there are some alternatives to Carter's revised budget. In his haste to come up with a solution to the inflation problem, Carter had made two philosophically egregious mistakes in his new budget. First, and most important, the. surplus budget undercuts any unified, rational energy plan for the country. (In one sense, Carter cannot be blamed y for this, because he has yet to come up with a workable, unified, rational energy plan which can be undercut.) If we are to reduce our dependence on foreign energy, then public transportation programs and alternative energy sources must be expanded. Yet, Carter proposes cutbacks in funds for both these areas. Further, his proposed 10 cents per gallon gas taxwill notieffectively spur, oil conservation. Rather, it is a price increase just high ehough to place' significant new burdens on those already hard-pressed to pay for necessary fuel for their cars, and too low to encourage the wealthy to decrease their gas consumption. Perhaps what is needed to equitably spread the burden of reduced energy supplies is a gas rationing plan. Or perhaps a significant gas-tax plan similar to that proposed by presidential candidate John Anderson would effectively deter the rich from wasting gas. Second, Carter's revised budget contains no cuts in defense allocations. It is unfortunate that Carter has succumbed to the new Cold War mood of the country and directed excessive funds to defense. Such short-sighted, hasty budget decisions as Carter has made only promise further problems in the future. He may succeed in achieving a budget surplus in 1981, but he is only delaying the catastrophic effects of America's energy dependence. OF EX)( -- -9 It is a hard exam, but you are Well prepared. You breeze through the identifications and the first essay. You begin answering the final essay question, when you remember that your professor made an announcement relating to it. You cannot recall what he said. Trying to get your professor's attention, you raise your hand. It's useless. He doesn't see you because he is busy making an an- swer key. With time quickly expiring, you ask a woman sitting near you. She explains that the professor wants an answer that only incor- porates the readings. LSA-SG Form With that information, you write your final essay, hand in your blue book, and head for Ft. Lauderdale, where you bask in the glory of your expected academic success. AFTER VACATION, you are shocked when you get back your test. Not only do you receive a "D," but also a note to see the professor. The professor tells you and the woman who sat near you that you both cheated during the exam, and that he has therefore lowered your scores 30 points. You won- der what you can do. What you can do is bring your case to the LSA Academic Judiciary. The Judiciary will decide if you are guilty. If you are, it will determine a penalty. What is the Academic Judiciary? According to the University Bulletin it was "established to adjudicate cases of alleged academic misconduct by students in the LSA College." THE BULLETIN continues: "The Academic Judiciary has accepted the delegated respon- sibility to hear charges of academic dishonesty, to make determinations of truth or falsiity of ueioh harge and. if nnfir- How to get" out of an academ ic jam cases. But now students can initiate cases on their own behalf, to ask the Judiciary for a judgment on whether they have violated the Academic Code. A student can request a hearing when a faculty mem- ber unilaterally accuses him or her of academic misconduct and levies a punishment. If the Judiciary finds the student in- nocent, the faculty member might withdraw his penalty. IF THE professor stands firm, the student may then appeal to the Grade Grievance Board. This move is more likely to be suc- cessful, since the Judiciary has backed the student's claim. The Board may then ask the professor to change the contested grade. The complaint procedure, no, matter which- party files the complaint, begins with filing the charges or request with the LSA Office of Student Academic Af- fairs. All parties involved then receive a copy of the complaint and the available evidence, the Code of Academic Conduct, and a copy of the Judiciary's procedures. Next, a hearing is held before the Judiciary. Each case is heard by a board composed of two faculty and two student mem- bers. All proceedings of the case remain confidential. The board considers the facts and circum- stances, decides guilt or innocen- ce, and determines the penalty (if any). AT THE hearing everyone in- volved has an opportunity, to present evidence concerning the case and to call or question wit- nesses. When there is no further testimony or questions. the par- penalties have included letters of reprimand placed in a student's file, disciplinary probation, monetary fines, reduction of course credit; imposition of extra hours needed for graduation, suspension, and expulsion. UNDER NO circumstances does the Judiciary issue, con- done, or recommend the assign- ment of arbitrary grades. In fact, in instances in which a faculty member levies a penalty in ad- dition to that prescribed by the Judiciary, the Judiciary can modify its original penalty. Finally, if a student is found guilty, he can appeal on procedural grounds for a hearing LETTERS TO THE DAILY: Show courtesy on buses by previously uninvolved mem- bers of the Judiciary. An appeal to the dean may be made only if the punishment is suspension or expulsion. Students also have non-judicial means to redress general grievances: Students can appe an unfair act through th' grievance procedures established by the department of College; students can register a .complaint with the College om- budsman; and students can make the dean of their College aware of their complaints by contacting the' Dean's Ear, a service operated by the Students' Coun- seling Office (SCO). Students, faculty member and administrators should know the rules regulating academi misconduct. For additional in- formation visit the Office of Student Academic Affairs. LSA-SG Forum is a bi- weekly column covering significant issues addressed by the Literary College Student Government. This article wag written by Bruce Brumberg, a student member of the LSA Academic Judiciary. A . ............ ... 'Jo To the Daily: Twice within the past three months I have been standing on an overcrowded bus and have witnessed people who have refused to voluntarily give up their seat to a woman who was carrying a baby in her arms or in a baby carriage. This situation is probably the best example of a pervasive problem at the U of M: students are allowing themselves to be dehumanized by a huge, impersonal bureaucracy. Based on this observation, I think it is time for everyone to carefully examine the manner in which we treat one another and try t become more humane. Who knows, if everyone becomes more considerate of the needs of others, life at the University may become more bearable and even pleasant. In sum, let's prove that we are still human by showing simple courtesy and compassion towar- ds others. And next time you see a woman or man with a baby in her/his arms, who has no place t- sit, please offer her/him your seat. -Robert Peters March 13 ICYRUS. WOUt.o Y17t.1 MIND IAaNts 1146 RAP FOe AN rWGR RX .- UP Picture caption' inaccurate To the Daily: Such editorial irresponsibility n ... ..n ...fl in :. n ,tr,... tivists. I have no objections to the/ nhntnranh nr s+ instead I am