Secret society Jiolds initiation ritual By JANET RAE Dressed in black robes and hoods, 10 to 20 members of the Vulcans, a secret *Engineering honor society, par- ticipated yesterday in early-morning initiation rites for new members. According to witnesses of the ceremony at the West Engineering Ar- ch, new initiates were doused with shaving cream, after-shave, and mfouthwash while they kneeled with their heads resting on an anvil near the Engineering Arch. IT WAS REPORTED that as many as five initiates were brought out in- dividually from inside the West ngineering Building. The dousing ceremony was accompanied by chan- ting "something about being neophytes," witnesses said. "Brother Pluto," a leading figure in the initiation, said the initiation "em- bpdies humility . .. hence the untidy ceremony." He said all initiates were participating voluntarily in the rites, which he claimed were only a small mart of an initiation ceremony that "egan at 8 p.m. Thursday. One witness reported overhearing a member telling an initiate that sham- poo and towels were available inside the building. "IN THE REST (of the initiation) there's nothing that would amuse you at all," Brother Pluto told a Daily repor- ter present at the ceremony. "We just tell them what our organization is about, which is none of your business." Other participants said faculty mem- $ers are involved in the society and that no one is ever physically harmed during initiation. "The dean is ayare of our existence," said one unidentified member. Vulcan members said that "about 75 percent of the people (involved in the initiation) have keys to this building" by virtue of leadership positions they hold within the College of Engineering. Annette Tilden, spokeswoman for ,engineering college Assistant Dean of Student Services Leland Quackenbush, said Quackenbush "was aware there was an initiation" and reported thatthe assistant dean is faculty adviser to the Vulcans. Quackenbush was out of town and could not be reached for comment. According to a student who asked to remain unidentified, this year's "tap- ping," or initiate selection, took place in part during an Engineering Council meeting. Robed figures alledgedly en- tered the meeting and intoned, "there *are those among you that are deemed better than the rest," placed black hoods over three council members' heads, and led them from the room withoutexplanation. Selection to the secret society, foun- ded in 1904, is reportedly based on the initiates' level of activity within the - College of Engineering. The Michigan Daily-Saturday, March 14, 1981-Page 3 Reagan budget could cripple Midwest, North, coalition warns AP Photo AN AMBULANCE AND medical aides wait outside Damascus International Airport yesterday for hijackers to release more than 100 hostages, who have been held captive for 13 days aboard a Pakistani International Airlines Boeing 720-B, shown in the background. Hosuiages 10 be* released fro-m hijacked jetoday WASHINGTON (UPI) - President Reagan's proposed budget will widen the gap between the Sun Belt and Frost Belt by further crippling the economically distressed Northeast and Midwest, a congressional coalition warned yesterday. After an hour-long meeting with budget director David Stockman, congressional members of the Nor- theast-Midwest Coalition said Reagan's chief cost-cutter is "somewhat flexible while not deviating from the bottom line." "WE BELIEVE that this budget will widen the gap between regions," Reps. Thomas Downey (D-N.Y.) and ,Carl Pursell (R-Mich.) said in a statement. "The result would frustrate the president's goal of national economic recovery." According to the coalition, during 1975-1979 the Frost Belt states sent $165 billion more in taxes to Washington than they received in federal spending. During the same period, the coalition said, the government spent $112 billion more in the Sun Belt than it collected in taxes from the region. REAGAN'S PROPOSAL to slash government funds for economic development and increase defense spending will further widen regional disparities, the congressmen said. "Even if the administration found savings worth one percent of the proposed defense expenditures for fiscal 1982, the result would produce enough money to save the Economic Development Administration and restore full funding for Urban Development Action Grants," their statement said. The Economic Development Ad- ministration, condemned to death by the administration, and the Urban Development Action Grant program, to be cut and merged with a more general block grant program, are emerging as key budget battlegrounds. THE PROGRAMS are designed to encourage economic development by targeting federal funds to the nation's most distressed areas and pushing for substantial private-sector funds for every federal dollar spent. While Stockman and Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige have vowed to kill the Economic Develop- ment Administration, a bipartisan ef- fort to save the program is being moun- ted by congressmen from the Frost Belt states. "The administration should be moving toward, not away from, programs that encourage private in- vestment in towns and cities where in- vestment is most desperately needed," the Downey-Pursell statement said. Another coalition member, Sen. Donald Riegel (D-Mich.) told a news conference following the meeting with Stockman that the administration's rush to enact its economic proposals creates "a real danger we may back in- to a plan without knowing its im- plications." "From the Reagan point of view, the plan has to work in all sections of the country," he said. "A flaw that leaves one section of the country crippled could bring the whole plan down." DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - Political prisoners prepared to leave Karachi, Pakistan, early today to be exchanged for more than 100 hostages held in Damascus in aviation's second-longest hijack, a government spokesman said. A government spokesman said the departure had been delayed but would not say why. Unofficial sources said authorities were awaiting assurances from Libya - the eventual destination - that they would be granted asylum before dispatching the aircraft carrying the prisoners. LIBYA'S OFFICIAL NEWS agency said the North African country would "accept' the plane, but did not say whether this included asylum. The hijackers had demanded the release of 55 prisoners in all, but Pakistani officials in Damascus said they could not locate one of the prisoners. A Pakistani military jet left Karachi for Damascus late yesterday and airport officials reported the freed prisoners were on their way. A government spokesman said later that none of the prisoners was on board. There was no ex- planation of the military aircraft's mission in Damascus. THE HOSTAGES, WHO include three Americans and two U.S. resident aliens, were described as "terribly worn out" from the 12-day ordeal. Officials here expressed hope that the drama, which began March 2 when a trio of heavily armed Pakistanis seized the plan on a domestic flight, would end this weekend. Libya agreed to accept the political prisoners and hijackers, and the Karachi plane took off for Tripoli, of- ficials said. Syria's state-run television said the hostages will be freed once the Pakistani political prisoners are certified to be the ones requested by the hijackers. According to this report, the certification would be made by Syrian authorities during a stop by the Libya-bound prisoners in Aleppo, Syria, early Saturday. Syria and Libya are close allies and last September agreed to unify their two states. Poletown will fall to GM plant LANSING (AP) - The Michigan Supreme Court gave General Motors Corp. and the city of Detroit permission Friday to raze "Poletown" and replace the neighborhood with a new Cadillac assembly plant. The court ruling rejected the claim of the Poletown Neighborhood Council that the condemnation of private property for the benefit of a business enterprise violates constitutional protections. "TODAY'S DECISION has an impact far broader than the city of Detroit and its residents," said Attorney Ronald Reosti, who represents the Poletown Homeowners Association.} "It jeopardizes the homes, churches and neighborhoods of every city where a large corporation wants the property HAPPENINGS- FILMS AAFC - Dressed to Kill, 7, 8:45,10:30 p.m., MLB 3. Alternative Action Films - The Front, 7, 9 p.m., MLB 4. Cinema Guild - Ann Arbor Film Festival, 7,9, 11 p.m., Michigan Theater. Cinema II - The Harder they Come, 7, 8:45, 10:30 p.m., Angell Aud. A. Mediatrics - Safety Last, 7, 10:15 p.m., The Freshman, 8:40 p.m., Nat. Sci. Aud. Meekreh - Start the Revolution Without Me, 8 p.m., Markley Concourse Lounge. PERFORMANCE Canterbury Loft - "The Caretaker," 3,8 p.m., 332 S. State. Asian-American Association / East Wind - Charlie Chin of NYC, folksinger/songwriter, 7 p.m., William Monroe Trotter House. AMC productions - multi-media rock concert, "Everything's Turning Gray,"8 p.m., Mendelssohn Theatre. PTP/Theatre and prama - "All the Way Home," 8 p.m., Trueblood Theatre. Office of Major Events - Romantics, 8 p.m., Hill Auditorium. University Musical Society - Hakan Hagegard, 8:30 p.m., Rackham Aud. The Ark - Rosalie Sorrels, 1421 Hill St. MISCELLANEOUS Engineering - "Tech Day," 8 a m.-4 p.m., Chrysler Ctr. Rec. Sports - Children's Sports-O-Rama, 2 p.m., NCRB. Michigan Orchestra Association - Workshop, 9 a.m., MacGregor Center, Wayne State University. S International Folk Dance Club - Workshop, advanced - intermediate, 9 a.m., Michigan League; beginning, 1 p.m., CCRB Activities room. Society of Automotive Engineers - Tune-up clinic, 9 a.m., Walter E. Lay Automotive lab. School of Music - Froydis Ree Wekre, master class, 1:30, Music Recital Hall. Philosophy Department - Symposium, Hugo Bedau, "Utilitarianism and Moral Codes," 10 a.m., panel discussion, 11:30 a.m., MLB 2. Extension Service - Stress Workshop, 3 p.m., Michigan Union, conferen- ce room 5. Theosophical Society in Ann Arbor - Tape recording of a "Krishnamurti of private citizens," he said. "In essence, the public welfare has been subordinated to the dictates of major corporations." BUT THE"DECISION was a victory for state and local officials who have hailed the proposed General Motors Corp. plant as the salvation of a city which has been raveged by the auto in- dustry slump. The Cadillac plant will replace two Detroit factories being closed by GM. GM Chairman Roger Smith praised the court's ruling saying "Now we trust the cities of Detroit and Hamtramck will be able to proceed quickly preparing the site so the first part of it will be ready for construction by May 1." The court majority said the Poletown project will produce clear public benefits justifying 'condemnation because of the jobs created, but dissen- ters warned the ruling takes the state into "a new realm of takings of private property." IT WAS NOT immediately clear how the high court outcome will affect the efforts of the neighborhood council to sell city and GM officials on Students learn to behavior (Continued from Page 1) fear by talking to himself or herself before the test, Papsdorf said. For most students, the behavior modification has short-term effects. About 75 percent of the class views the project solely as an academic exercise, Papsdorf explained. When the term is completed, old habits return. "My program was a complete failure," said LSA junior Joe Polgar, who attempted to improve his study habits. The program wasn't a bad idea, he said, but he admitted he wasn't serious enough about it. Joe Donoghue, an LSA junior who wanted to cut down his smoking said, "It held for a while, but when my life situation changed I started smoking more." But some people do succeed in changing their behavior for a longer period of time. modifications they claim could save large numbers of home and historic buildings which currently face the wrecker's ball. The state Commerce Department, acting at Gov. William G. Milliken's request, has agreed to review the residents' ideas and discuss them with the city and the giant automaker. No commitment has been made to press for the changes, however, even if they prove feasible. The council claims the current GM plant will uproot some 3,400 persons, many of them elderly, and require demolition of 140 businesses in the neighborhood which straddles the Detroit-Hamtramck border. Charlie Garlow, a volunteer with the Poletown Neighborhood Council, said the group would file suit in federal court and was considering appeal of the state court ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Our attorney is looking at the opinion right now to see if an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court would be a good thing," he said. MANN THEATRES VILLAGE 4 375 N MAPLE 769-1300 Daily Discount Matinees TUESDAY BUCK DAY Se 'm Ae A( BSTh-o~ ,,-+ d P e... itanc, A MATN PITT RONALD SHEDL0PRdu~ x SALLY FIELD TOMMY LEE JONES "BACK ROADS" Aiso Srooq DAVID KEITH Woe.,gtAP' Uc,)R 1,-, y HENRY MANCLINI Tno by ALAN O~dMARIErt. ii RCMAN Aof 'ho'ophy JOHN A At T',TT A P~A fd y RONALD SA HE'O ,,I yARTIN 11, 1:15 3:15 5:15 7:30 9:30 1:15 4:30 8:00 ME* Nothings going to i