4 Page 8-F-Thursday, September 10, 1981-The Michigan Daily 'U' struggling in effort to raise black enrollment - Eleven years ago, the Black Action Movement brought much of the Univer- sity to a standstill when its members staged a successful class strike against the University, demanding a change in minority enrollment policies. In 1969, just before the BAM strike, black enrollment at the University was 3 percent; in February 1970 BAM gave then-president Robben Flemming a list of demands, including one which called for a minimal black enrollment of 10 percent by the 1973-74 academic year. At the February Regents meeting that year, no action was taken on that demand or others requiring the hiring of graduate and undergraduate full- time minority recruiters, black faculty recruiting, support services, increased financial aid, an improved black studies program, a black student cen- ter, Chicano student recruiting, and that students be referred to as black, not Negro, in all University publications. That night a group of black students UNISEX Long or Short Haircuts by Professionals at ... DASCOLA STYLISTS Liberty off State ........ 668-9329 East U. at South U....... 662-0354 Arborland .............. 971-9975 Maple Village .......... 761-2733 protested the Regents' inaction by pulling hundreds of books off the shelves in the UGLI. .Through BAM members interrupting classes to discuss the minority problem on campus, and then holding a forum on black issues, the Movement quickly gained support and endorsements from faculty members and student groups. In their March meeting, attended by 500 people, the Regents presented a counter proposal to BAM, setting a goal of 10 percent black enrollment by the 1973-74 academic year. Members of the Movement were dissatisfied with the proposal, and called a moratorium on University activities. Support for the BAM strike spread quickly. Early in the week several hun- dred professors and teaching assistants joined the strike; the Residential College faculty and students decided to close the College during the strike; and the Institute for Social Research and the School of Social Work shut down, as well. By the end of the week LSA attendan- ce. had dropped by 75hpercent; the College of Engineering had agreed to fund 10 percent new black admissions for the 1971-72 academic year; the LSA, Chemistry, and Economics buildings had closed down; AFSCME, the union of University non-academic employees, had decided to support the strike; dor- ms were not serving lunch or dinner; and the LSA faculty had voted to fund 10 percent black enrollment by 1973 with money from department budgets. On April 1, after more than a week of protests, disruptions, and negotiations between BAM and the administration, the Regents agreed to all of the Movement's key demands, including the goal of 10 percent black enrollment by the 1973-74 academic year. * * * That goal has never been reached. In fact, black enrollment at the University has been declining and now stands at 5.1 percent in spite of University recruiting efforts. University officials are not certain of reasons for the decline. One suggestion from Lance Erickson, associate direc- tor of admissions, is that the Univer- sity's well-known competitive at- mosphere makes it difficult to attract a large number of minority students. Erickson said his office tries every method available to recruit minority students, but added the office is still selective with these students. "The University has been making a genuine effort," said Walter Allen, an assistant professor of Afro-American Studies. But, he said, the effort is less than satisfactory for anyone interested in seeing a more balanced university, representative of society as a whole. Major problems in the University's attempt to solve its low minority enrollment problem, according to Allen, include poor economic conditions and, to a greater extent, the attempt to divide recruitment and retention into two distinct spheres, examining each separately. "These are not isolated problems," he said, "and they cannot be looked at individually." According to one University official, however, the University's attrition rate has declined in recent years as fewer black students have left the University t4 t I Angles Daily Photo by PAUL ENGSTROM This hall in the School of Art leads to infinite creative adventures for students. I before graduating. The official at- tributed the better retention to the creation of counseling and alternative student services such as the Oppor- tunity Program, created in 1964. Many of the services provided through the program are academically oriented, and they include tutoring, academic skills development, depar- tmental referral services, and coun- seling of undergraduates by graduates about educational and career oppor- tunities. Additional minority support programs, such as the Minority Student Services Office, grew out of BAM's ef- forts. The office ran into problems when, in June 1980, MSS Black Representative Richard Garland was discharged for "behavioral problems," according to Thomas Moorehead, University Community Services direc- tor. Because of the budget crisis facing the University, special review commit- tees have been established to review MSS and all non-academic counseling services to determine whether the programs may be eliminated or cut back. The Coalition for the Use of Learning Skills is another minority support ser- vice created in response to BAM. This program has a Counseling Office in 619 Haven Hall and a Skills Development Office in 1021 Angell Hall. The offices primarily serve students enrolled in LSA, and help those who wish to develop and improve basic academic skills. Trotter House is an activity center located at 1443 Washtenaw, named for black activist William Monroe Trotter. It is used by different groups ranging from th Black Student Unionsto frater- . nities, sororities, and school and college organizations. A report on minority recruitment, - enrollment, retention, and graduation at the University submitted to theM Regents last February suggests that ef- forts be made to expand the Univer- sity's pre-college programs. The report also said a strong case can be made for better coordination of services with the goal of providing more effective ser- vices to minority students. UAC... Putting the U in University!! Daily staffwriters Nancy Billyeau, Kevin Tottis, and Pamela Kramer, and researcher Eitan Yanich filed reports for this story. The story was written by Pamela Kramer. .,, -Soundstage -Mini-Courses -Homecoming -Impact Dance - MUSKEL - Michigras -Soph Show -Mediatrics Grad students discuss life at 'U' I -Viewpoint Lectures *Laugh Track U want to know.more? Call 763 -1107 2105 Michigan Union 1% __ _ ~ -- - ---.. ...._ "......,,,y tl By SUEINGLIS Football games, dorm food, English papers, chemistry hourlies, Drake's, Dooley's, Charlie's-and, of course, the cliche "Where 'ya from, what's your major?" This is the stuff un- dergraduate years are made of. But there is no Dooley's or Charlie's in the life of a graduate student. And while an undergrad may feel free to drop in on the party of a friend of a friend, many grad students say that would be taboo in their social circles. IT'S ALL part of the transition from keggers to dinner parties. And that's part of a -bigger transition from un- dergrad to grad lifestyle. Grads tend to live among the "real" people in Ann Arbor, in fairly quiet neighborhoods,,.somewhat distanced '1t-SHIIRT 'PDINT!N Ann Arbor's fastest! From 10-800 T-shirts screenprint- ed within 24 hours of order Multi-color printing our specialty. You supply art or use our expert design staff. Hundreds of surplus T-shirts only $2. each. Located behind the Blind Pg cate 208 s First St Phone994-1367 ! C trAE N P R IN T from Central Campus. Some say an "undergraduate avoidance" tactic exists among them. Many grads point out that the things which seemed important to them at age 19 years often lose their appeal by age 27 or 28. "THE TIME YOU had at 19, you don't have at 27," explained Martin Burke, now working on a Ph.D. in history. "You really can't afford to blow a weekend off." According to Burke, grad parties don't draw "loud and boisterous people," and they usually break up by about 1 a.m. when people start to feel guilty about wasting time. Grad students also say they tend to drink less frequently than they did as undergraduates. And some say they consciously avoid places where "sophomoric behavior is more prevalent." According to one medical student, graduates prefer to fraternize moren with "townies," choosing bars like Del Rio or Old Town over places traditionally frequented by un- dergraduates. Law and Business School students say Dominick's during the day is a populai spot among them. MOST AGREE that the social life of a grad is not as active as that of an un- dergrad. Most attribute* their "isolation" to the fact that many of them are from out of state, and don't come here to live collectively. Also, the very nature of their academic work tends to isolate them because grad programs are generally rigorous and demand a great deal of time. And by the time you're a grad student, you've broken off most finan- cial ties with home; economically it's a good idea to live farther away from campus, where rent is cheaper, accor- ding to many students. Some, however, say they choose to live farther away from campus as a "retreat from undergraduate noise" and as a means of maintaining a "real"' perspective. "We deliberately live away from campus," said Ann Moyer, a Ph.D. student in history. Moyer explained- that student life per se is something you grow tired of after four years as an un dergrad. She acknowledged that some graduate students consciously avoid undergraduates. "I find the sorority sister, frat rat type abhorrent," she-* said. Although most grad students say they" meet few people outside of their own' area of study and that a social life as a grad student here requires a genuine effort, most agree that they are not unhappy with their lifestyle. "You're working on something you're going to devote your life to," said one medical student. !( A2 theater gives students a 6 chance to participate Ar I (Continued from Page 3) Venetian comedy slated for the Men- delssohn Theatre stage September 24-27 and October 1-4. It will be followed by Athol Fugard's The Bloody Knot (second and third weekends of Oc- tober), and Arthur Kopit's Wings, the two weekends after that. THE FINAL SLATE of plays to be I i 1 1 44 IVA Dance A- r _ I Don't forget our second floor. Theatre Studio 711 N. University (near State St.) Ann Arbor separate classes for: children: ballet, creative movement adultsr ballet, modern jazz for current class schedule staged by PTP is the seven-year-old Guest Artist Series, which matches a professional designer or leading player with a student cast. THE POWER CENTER is the biggest and most imposing of the University's auditoriums, and as such is rarely used by theater groups other than PTP to stage productions. Still, one en- thusiastic bunch does provide an excep- tion twice a year: MUSKET, the stagestruck arm of the University Ac- tivities Center, presents a major musical extravaganza early in Novem- ber and another in April. If theater were a sport, there would probably be a statistic to honor the theater troupe with the highest percen- tage of successes per productions staged. In Ann Arbor, that honor would probably go not to PTP or to Musket, but to the no-budget Stage Company, which operates out of the cramped Can- terbury Loft on State Street. CANTERBURY LOFT also houses the productions of sundry non-resident companies. Among them are the Drat- man Theatre Company, which is hot for Sam Shepard's plays; the Creative En- semble Theater, a primarily black showcase for undergraduate actors and directors. The Residential College operates primarily out of East Quad, and has a faculty and facility quite separate from the Theater Department's. A few times a year, the RC performs; their specialties are Brecht and Beckett. Ann Arbor Civic Theater schedules six to ten productions a year, by and large standards like Rodgers and Hammerstein hits and drawing room comedies. The company was once rather indisposed to use student per- formers, but has recently shown strong signs of change. LAST, THE LESS flashy offerings of, the university Theatre Department. The Showcase series provides an oppor- tunity for less experienced directors to display their wares in the Frieze,' Building's Trueblood Theater with somewhat less commercially viable works. The department's bottom run is for Studio shows,'one act plays staged in the round in Frieze's Arena Theatre. There are usually six to ten of these a year. With the exception of the Best of Broadway and MET shows, virtually all the above-mentioned theater of- ferings have auditions open to any in- terested student. Theater Department audition notices are posted in the 0 basement lobby in the Frieze Building; Musket and all the rest post in their headquarters or in their performing spaces. Most also advertise their audition dates in theDaily. Now remember, speak fromthe diaphrahm, don't be afraid to look the director in the eyes, and try not to let your voice quaver too much. Break a leg. j \yI That's where we hide the frames, trade books, art prints and posters. QUIET COUNTRY DINING 5 MINUTES FROM E - W