Ninety-One Years
of
Editorial Freedom
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Mitt U
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Sunny with high tem-
peratures in the lower 40s.
101. XCI, No. 99
Copyright 1981, The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan-Sunday, January 25, 1981
Ten Cents
Ten Pages
MR
ws I
Surviving the interview blues
By PAM KRAMER
It may not be Hitchcock material, but the fearful tension
involved in a job interview isn't easy to ignore. The question
ings like a guillotine, ready to fall if you come up with the
wrong answer: What can I do to get this job?
"The best advice I can give students is: Don't be gross,"
said Prof. Ben Schneider, a psychologist at Michigan State
University who has conducted research on job interviews.
"I generally counsel people to be the way they are, and not
to play games ... but then, again, life's a game."
THERE IS A veritable gold mine of information available
to students who cower at the thought of the impact job in-
terviews could have on their future.
Books detail how to dress for success, videotapes at the
University's Career Planning and Placement office show
*the right and wrong ways to answer interview questions,
and researchers continue to study the psychology of job in-
terviews.
Researchers say interviews are becoming less subjective
now than they have been in the past.
"PET HUNCHES used to be relied on heavily," said
University Psychology Prof. Rodney Lowman. "In some
cases a person's character was judged by how firm their
handshake was, or whether they looked the interviewer in
the eye."
In the past, some interviewers wanted to see how a can-
didate would react in a stressful situation, Schneider said.
"If theyknew somehow in advance that a person was a
smoker, they would make sure there were no ashtrays in
the room. Or, they might set it up so there wasn't a chair for
the student," he said.
Now many companies, in response to the possibility of
bias suits, are setting up training programs to alert their
recruiters to certain biases they may not know they
possess. Also, interviews are more structured now than in
the past.
"WE HAVE A pretty well-organized format that we try
not to deviate from a lot," said George Valsa, college
recruitment supervisor for Ford Motor Company. "A struc-
tured interview is the best way to get job-related infor-
mation, and we can better control "the interview so that'
Equal Employment Opportunity problems don't occur."
The Equal Employment Opportunity Act prohibits
discriminatory hiring practices.
Still, researchers and recruiters agree, some innate
biases exist. First impressions are important, research-
shows, and sometimes decisions are made during the first
five minutes of an interview.
APPROPRIATE ATTIRE is also important, experts say,
because it makes the interviewer feel more comfortable.
The right clothing gives the student a better self-image
which can improve his or her performance in the interview.
See SURVIVING, Page 8
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Ex- hostages
prepare for
Daily Photo by PAUL ENGSTROM
STUDENTS BROWSE THROUGH shelves at University Cellar. Despite handling 60 percent of the student textbook market, the store has suffered severe
financial losses in the past two years.
Money, labor woes hit
By KEVIN TOTTIS
When it opened in the early 1970s, its
purpose was to provide students with
reasonably priced textbooks. Today,
its managers boast, it handles 60 per-
cent of the student textbook market.
And in the 1979 and 1980 fiscal years
the University Cellar lost more than
$175,000.
Employees and board members
give a ,number of reasons for the
losses, but everyone seems to agree
that if the financial problems continue
much longer, drastic changes could
be in order for the Cellar.
"IF WE RUN another couple of
years at a loss of $75,000 we won't be
here," said John Sappington, the ac-
ting U-Cellar general manager.
The Cellar earned $109,000 in 1977
and $36,000 in 1978, Sappington said.
In 1979 and 1980, though, the store lost
$108,000 and $71,000 respectively.
The figures for the losses can be
deceiving, Sappington explained. In
1977, the Cellar lost its property tax
exempt status in a case before the
Michigan Supreme Court and over a
period of one and a half years had to
pay the city of Ann Arbor $85,000 in
back taxes.
THE ACTING manager does not
deny, however, that the losses are not
solely due to the $85,000 in unexpected
taxes.
One of the biggest reasons the store
has lost so much money, Sappington
said, is because it sells so many tex-
tbooks in relation to its other goods.
"Anyone loses money on textbooks,"
he said.
The markup on textbooks is not that
large, he said. "For instance, the
books are sold to us for 80 cents and
sold most places for $1.00. We sell
them at 95 cents," Sappington said.
But general expenses for selling tex-
tbooks are 25 percent, he explained,
therefore bookstores must make their
money selling other merchandise.
ULRICH'S AND Follett's, U-
Cellar's major competitors, make up
much of this lost revenue by selling
Michigan insignia merchandise. Ac-
cording to a clause in the Cellar's
lease with the Michigan Union,
however, the store may not sell any of
this merchandise because it competes
with the stand in the lobby of the
Union.
Sappington said he feels one answer
to U-Cellar's problem could be in
selling the "Michigan" merchandise.
"We think it's appropriate for a
student store to sell Michigan insignia
merchandise. They are in high
- Cellar
demand."
Still another major reason for the
losses, Sappington contends, is a high
level of employee discontent.
"THE LOW morale has cost us," hea
said. In order to help alleviate this
problem "we spent more time
working on our people rather than on
immediate operations."
Kathleen Dannemiller, a member
of the Cellar's board of directors and
assistant to the University vice
president for student services, agrees
that employee strife has been one of
the Cellar's biggest problems.
When the store opened it consisted,
of several autonomous departments
and one "facilitator"-the original
manager, Dennis Webster, Dan-
nemiller said.
See FINANCIAL, Page 2
U.S. I
From UPI and AP
WIESBADEN, West Germany -
America's 52 former hostages - some
exultant, some bitter, some isolated
from guilt and stress - completed
medical tests yesterday in preparatiori
for their final journey home. One said
the-first thing he would do in America
was "kneel down and kiss the ground."
The big moment - homecoming -
was set for 3 p.m. EST today, when
their special Air Force jet lands at
Steward Airport near West Point, N.Y.,
after the flight from Wiesbaden and a
stopover in Ireland.
Up to the last moment, stories
emerged of cruelty and brutality in
Iran and one diplomat, Malcolm Kalp,
said he spent 374 of the 444 days' cap-
tivity in solitary confinement because
he tried to escape.
"I WAS CHOKED, kicked in the groin
and punched," he said.
As the 50 men and two women
prepared for their 5 a.m. departure, the
joy of coming home was overshadowed
by word that three of the Americans
were in isolation in their hospital
rooms, suffering from severe
depression and other psychological
scars of their ordeal in Iran.
Military sources at *the Wiesbaden
U.S. Air Force Hospital said the three
were being kept under observation in
their rooms because of their
psychological conditions.
STATE DEPARTMENT spokesman
Jack Cannon said several of the
Americans were having serious
problems adjusting.
"There were several in worse shape
than others. Many are suffering from
guilt and stress," Cannon said.
One former hostage has refused to
etiiurn
leave his room. Another kept pacing the
halls in agitation. One soldier refused to
shake hands with his officers.
THE NATION's official welcoming
celebration will be held Tuesday after-
noon at Andrews Air Force Base in
suburban Maryland, with Vice
President George Bush and Secretary
of State Alexander Haig in attendance.
State Department spokesman William
Dyess said he didn't think that former
President Carter or any officials from
his administration had been invited tot
the Washington ceremonies.
The festivities at Andrews will be
followed by an elaborate~ ceremony at
the White House, where President
See EX-HOSTAGES, Page 7
Reform or
die, court
tells'Jiang
PEKING (AP) - Chairman Mao
Tse-tung's widow Jiang Qing, ac-
cused of framing and persecuting
Chinese leaders in a quest to become
"empress," was sentenced today to
death - but given a two-year chance
to reform.
Former Vice Premier Zhang
Chunqiao, adjudged a fellow "chief
culprit" in Jiang's "Gang of Four,"
was given the same suspended death
sentence, which means China's
Supreme Court will review the sen-
tences in two years to decide
whether to execute the two.
EIGHT CO-DEFENDANTS were
given sentences ranging from 16
years to life. Six of them already
have been in custody for more than
nine years, which will count against
their sentences.
All faced possible death sentences
on charges of frame-ups, per-
secutions and armed rebellion plots.
Jiang had been expected to be sen-
tenced to death, with the sentence
suspended for two years to give her
a chance to reform through labor.
Throughout her trial, which ended
a month ago, she remained defiant
and denounced her accusers and
judges as "revisionists" who had
turned their backs on Mao's policies.
I
Cheap drinks,
local cornics a
hit at 'U' Club
By STEVE HOOK
"Americans are just going to have to conserve more
gasoline-that's all there is to it. I was thinking about
this the other day as I was cruising up and down State
Street looking for broads.'' (A ripple of laughter, some
groans, hissing.) "But seriously, folks ...''
Okay, so this isn't The Tonight Show or Second City. All
right, so you've heard some of these jokes before, and many
of the others are in dubious taste or are simply flat. The
comics onstage will hit on a few, and its just a buck to get in,
so you get what you pay for. The drinks are cheap too, so you
can intoxicate yourself through the slow moments.
THIS IS "LAUGH Track," an experimental, surprisingly
successful production approaching its third week at the
'University Club. The Wednesday night shows-organized by
students Mark Cendrowski and Cindy Glazar, and sponsored
by the University Activities Center-offer a string of aspiring
comedians from Ann Arbor and beyond. Already, calls are
coming in from Detroit' and Chicago from up-and-coming
comedians seeking an audience.
For nearly two hours, the humorists take the stage one by
one to tell jokes, perform card tricks, attempt imper-
sonations, and generally do whatever is necessary to get
laughs-the crude, but passionately sought rewards of these
performers.
Nobody is getting paid, except for the one or two "feature"
guests who bring with them experience from professional
clubs such as Detroit's Comedy Castle. (They get about $25
for an appearance.) Most of the amateurs are studen-
ts-"class clowns, who were a crack-up in high school and
now have a chance to perform before a real audience," ac-
cording to Cendrowski.
THE AUDIENCES for the first two Laugh Tracks have
been large, with more than 225 paid customers for each show.
See LOCAL, Page 8
ODAY
Blondie
F YOU'RE MALE, blonde, and have just committed
a serious crime, you may not go to jail if Judge
Richard Delin is presiding over your case. The
Nassau County (Long Island) Judge said yesterday
he could not send a teenager, who pleaded guilty to man-
slaughter, to jail because the 19-year-old has "beautiful
hunna hairt" admih ha . anht-se u aii1tad in mnison I n.
Chew Trident
President Reagan may
have quit his smoking habit
by chewing jelly beans, but
the health insurance trace
association has advised the
president to kick his jelly
bean habit. "Jelly beans
have no nutritional value,
and are among the worst
varities of candy for your
energy." One nutritionist suggested that Reagan should
switch to a substitute snack. "If he likes the chewy feeling,
he should try raisins, and if he likes the shape of jelly beans,
perhaps he should substitute grapes instead." And don't
forget to brush three times a day. Q
The wisdom of Solomon revisited
You're sitting peacefully in a lecture room, listening to
the professor expound the virtues of Plato. Suddenly your
nn nn~r fi . _- h_ rar on*V-1-
especially common during lectures on Plato, Solomon war-
ned that "a whole generation is incapable of abstract
thought. . . but many of these students do still tend to ex-
claim 'wow!' in lectures on Parmenides." Bemoaning the
fact that "medical researchers get all the government
grant money," Solomon said the object of his study is to call
public attention to the untapped resources of the liberal arts
and humanitiesmi
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