The Michigan Daily-Thursday, February 19, 1981-Page 3 Co-op planned for By ANN MARIE FAZIO Engineering students may have the opportunity to participate in a cooperative education program if the executive committee of the engineering school ap- proves the plan next month. Students in such a program would alternate each semester between working in industry and-attending classes, providing practical experience that is dif- ficult to obtain in a classroom. ALTHOUGH THE aerospace engineering depar- tment has offered a co-op program that involves about ten percent of its students, the college as a whole has never had such a program, according to sophomore Clarke Anderson, chairman of a student committee that will send a co-op plan to the executive committee at the beginning of March. The engineering college has "never developed a feeling for a co-op program," according to Engineering Assistant Dean Leland Quackenbush, partly because theoretical, rather than practical, aspects of engineering are emphasized in teaching and research. The University does offer intern courses, where students work in industry one day a week to ex- perience the job world, Quackenbush said. Some students arrange their own employment and create informal cooperative programs. PLANS HAVE NOT progressed far enough to tell whether budget constraints will stand in the way of the program. But, according to Associate Dean Joe Eisley, finances could be a problem. He said he would favor a small, voluntary program, "but alwasy with reservations about the cost and about what else could be done with the money used for a co-op program." Vernon Phelps, a research engineer and lecturer at the University, said that students who go through a co-op program are more valuable to industry. "They know what they're going to school for. They know the problems in industry and they know what has to be done," he said. Phelps added, however, that students in a co-op engineers program might feel as if they will never get through with school, since the program does take longer than a regular engineering program. Quackenbush noted that non-co-op students may have some advantages over those participating in a co-op program because they graduate earlier. The assistant dean added, however, that he is per- sonally in favor of instituting a co-op program at the University because it would "provide the student with a better view of what he might do in industry and because industries look with favor on students with experience." Cooperative education programs are common in most engineering schools across the country. At a midwest engineering conference held last fall, the University was the only school without such :a program, according to junior Mike Behounek, adx ministrative vice president of the student Engineering Council. Reported VD cases TIMEL A Photo. A FIREMAN CLINGS to a man who nearly fell while being rescued from a burning building Tuesday night in Bangor, Maine. Three people died and several firemen were hurt in the late-night blaze. -HPPENI FILMS CFT - To Catch a Thief, 4, 9:30 p.m., Michigan Theatre. A-V Services-Birth, 12:10 p.m., SPH II Aud. Housing - Black Like Me, 7 p.m., W. Quad Cafeteria,. SPEAKERS Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning - Robert Ross, "Visual Resource Management," noon, 1040 Dana. Med. Ctr. Psychology Service - Bruno Giordani, Gerald Zelenock, "Neuropsychological Changes Following Carotid Endarterectomy," noon, A154 VA Med. Ctr. Medicine - Stanley Garn, "Maternal Weight Gain during Pregnancy: Nutrition for Babies," noon, Med. Sci. II West Lec. Hall. Biology - Frank Butterworth, "Cell Death in Drosophila Fat Body: A Model of Senescence," noon, 1139 Nat. Sci. Vision/Hearing - Bag lunch sem., Steve Easter, "Growth and Organization of the Optic Nerve in Goldfish," 12:15 p.m., 2055 MHRI. Ind. and Operations Engin. - Ben Scribner, "O.R. At Bethlehem Steel Corporation," 3 p.m., 243 W. Engin. Hopwobd - Poetry Reading, Robert Clifford, 3:30 p.m., 1006 Angell. Chemistry - Bernhard Schlegel, "Geometry Optimization and Transition Structures," 4 p.m., 1200 Chem. CREES - Ted Freidgut, "The Persistence of Peasantism: The Triumph of the Private Plot in the USSR," 4 p.m., Lane Hall Commons. Romance Lang. - Fances Wyers, "Jorge Luis Borges," 4 p.m., MLB 4th floor Commons. Computing Ctr. - Bob Blue, "Advanced Aspects of MTS," 7 p.m., 2003 Angell. Libertarian League - James Hudler, "Gay Rights: A Redefinition," 8:30 p.m., Union Welker Room. PERFORMANCES SPAM/School of Music - Sing-in, 19th Century American Music, 7:30 p.m., Clements Library. Canterbury Loft - "In Celebration: A COllage of Music, Poetry, and Dan- ce," 8 p.m., 332 S. State. Eclipse Jazz - Sam Rivers Trio, 8,10:30 p.m., E. Quad RC Aud. School of Music - Black Music and Dance Student Assn., "Tribute to Belinda," 8 p.m., Mendelssohn Theater. School of Music Band/ Repertory Band, 8 p.m., Hill Aud. UAC - Soundstage Coffeehouse, 8 p.m., Union U. Club. U. Musical Society / Cross Currents - Guarneri String Quartet, 8:30 p.m., Rackham Au. Ark - Julie Austin, blues guitar, 9 p.m., 1421 Hill. Union - COncert of the Month, "The Galliard Brass," 8 p.m., Union Pen- dleton Room. MEETINGS Psychology - Committee of Undergraduate Studies, 3 p.m., K 108 Lloyd, W. Quad. Med. Ctr. Bible Study - noon, F2230 Mott Library. MES -,Organizational Mtg., 4 p.m., Good Time Charley's. Regents - meeting begins at 11 a.m.; public comments, 4 p.m., Regents Room, Administration Bldg. Campus Weight Watchers -5:30 p.m., League Project Room. Intervarsity Christian Fell. - Mtgs., 7 p.m., League, Union. AA - 8:30 p.m., N2815 U. Hosp., 2nd level, NPI. Botticelli Game Players - noon, Dominick's. MISCELLANEOUS Computing Ctr. - Chalk Talk, "Simple FORTRAN Debugging with *IF," 12:10 p.m., 1011 NUBS. Computing Ctr. - "Integrated Graphics, Part 2," 1 p.m., NC Computer Ctr. Sem. Room. Housing - Soul Food Dinners, must RSVP, 4:30 p.m., Alice Lloyd caf., Markley caf.; 5 p.m., W. Quad caf. American Cancer Society - Student/Faculty tea, 5 p.m., 3503 Chem. International Night - India, 5 p.m., League cafeteria. Friends of Filipino People - Forum, "Philippine/U.S. Relations," films, This Bloody, Blundering Business, Controlling Interests, 7:30 p.m., Int'l. Ctr. Guild House - Poetry reading, Emery George, John Glowney, Beatrice Lincoln, 7:30 p.m., 802 Monroe. Hillel - Slide presentation, "El Salvador - COuntry in Crisis," 9 p.m., Hillel, 1429 Hill. To submit items for the Happenings Column, send them in care of: Happenings, The Michigan Daily, 420 Maybard St., Ann Arbor, MI. 48109. " ." decline in. LANSING (UPI)-Reported cases of gonorrhea dropped in Michigan last year for the first time since 1963, but ef- forts to fight it this year may be ham- pered by budget cuts, health officials said yesterday. The state Department of Public Health also reported a decline in syphilis cases and said an outbreak late last year of a gonorrhea strain resistant to penicillin apparently has run its course. . THERE WERE 34,951 cases of gonorrhea reported-down 4.6 per- cent-still left it the state's second most common communicable disease after influenza. There were 1,163 syphilis cases, a 7.7 percent decline but still above 1977 and 1978 levels. For the first time in 40 years, however, no infant was born with congenital syphilis. Officials, attributed the decline in venereal disease to expanded preven- tion efforts, aided by increased federal funding in 1972 and more state aid in 1977. THE OUTLOOK in this .recession- Michigan marred budget year is not so good, however, and continuing the trend of decrease may be impossible with reduced staffs, officials say. "We're at a point where we'd almost be happy just to maintain the status quo," said. Joseph Ploussard, chief of the health department's venereal disease control divisions. In Detroit, he said, a staff of 28 in- vestigators is down by six with no hope of returning to full strength due to a hiring freeze. Detroit, with 14 percent of the state's population, has 58.5 percent of the syphilis cases and 45.3 percent of the gonorrhea. Officials noted there were 17 reported cases of a gonorrhea strain resistant to penicillin, 14 of them in November and December in Flint and Detroit. Ploussard noted the outbreaks involved only two chains of infection. .Y, YET TIE IESS. BUY YOUR 1981 MICHIGANENSIAN NOW The MICHIGANENSIAN Yearbook is the best way to capture your years at Michigan. Let us help you remember the 1981 Rose Bowl and the 1980 Foot- ball, Basketball, Hockey, and Baseball seasons. Also included in this year's MICHIGANENSIAN are the various organizations, scenes from concerts, plays, and campus life, and this year's college graduates. Reserve your copy now for only $15 at the Student Publications Building, 420 Maynard. Limited Edition. Deadline March 6. Books available for pick-tip in April. Add $2 for delivery. To reserve your copy of the 1981 MICHIGANENSIAN please send in this fornm with your payment. Thank, you for your support. Name D___________________________ ote______________ Ann Arbor Address____________________- - Moiling Address _______________________________________ Paym~ent (S15.00) Mail Fee (S2.00) Check Nvnber- l t "I I HAVE YOU CONSIDERED , EDUCATION A CAREER IN MEDICINE? S RESEARCH .SERVI.CE This young Alcoa engineer is shown modifying a program on a programmable controller, one of the tools he uses to automate existing equipment. At Alcoa, engineering imagination and creativity are vital resources. And that's what we look for in entry-level engineers - people Electrical Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Industrial Engineers, R&D, Safety. Alcoa Campus Recruitment March Contact University Placement Office for