Page 2-Thursday, April 2, 1981-The Michigan Daily
STUDENTS LOOK FOR EASY CLASSES
Let them take cake

(Continued from Page 1)
get by without a lot of new work.
This point is often overlooked by
students in search of cake courses, ac-
cording to Harris Olson, LSA associate
registrar.
"IF YOU'RE IN a class at the School
of Music with a music major (and
you've had no training), who's going to
think the course is easier?" he asked.
Peer counselors shake their heads
sympathetically when speaking of
students who heard a course was a
blow-off, CRISPed into it, and found out
too late they were wrong.
"We. get course evaluations here (at
the peer counseling office)," said
Friedman. "And you wouldn't believe
some of them. Here, Econ 408, huge let-
ters: 'Blow-off." Consumer Economics
is not a blow-off!"
BUT AN economics major might
think it is, tell an English major about
the class, and the result would be a very
unhappy student.
"You have to be interested in a cour-
se, whether you heard it was difficult or
easy," Friedman said. "An un-
challenging course can cause
stagnation, and that can mean a lower
grade."
Prof. John Vanderneer, who has

taught Biology and Human Affairs sin-
ce the class began six years ago, said
the grading system often gets in the
way of student interest when the grade
becomes more important than the lear-
ning experience.
"STUDENTS SAY it's easy to get a
good grade in the class, but that it's
challenging and makes them think
about things they'd never thought about
before," he said. "Since I think grades
are stupid anyway, that (labeling the
class as an easy A) doesn't bother me."
Vanderneer said the focus of Biology
and Human Affairs is to get students to
learn the material, not to try to get a
high grade "or know the information by
Monday." Because of this, the only
requirements are three take-home
essay exams that can be taken over and
over again until the student has the
desired grade.
"I think there are a lot of people who
just want to sleaze off here and slide
through school, you know, it's
something to do and their parents are
paying for it," Counselor Friedman
said.
BUT THE counselors say that out-of-
the-ordinary courses that might involve
less work or might be easier are a big
help for students who have heavy

schedules.
Film classes often fall into that
category. "Introduction to Film
(Communications 220) is something
that ...no great amount of work goes
into," said LSA senior Cindy Reid-
sema. "All you do is watch a lot of
movies, and there are some lectures."
Requirements are two exams that
are "quite simple," Reidsema said, and
one paper on a recent film. "It's in-
teresting. It enhances film-going, and
makes you think more when you see
films outside of the class, although you
may not be called upon to talk about the
lighting of a scene in the future," she
said.
"PEOPLE THINK of film as Milk-
duds and popcorn and dating, and it
doesn't have the same respect (as some
of the more established arts)," Prof.
Frank Beaver said. "But when students
get into a film course, along with the
opportunity to watch films (and film
clips), they see there's more to it than
that."
Another communications course with
a reputation of being easy is Social Role
and the Mass Media (Communications
201). Overall grade point averages (2.6
for Fall term, 1980) for the class show,
however, that it's not an "easy A."

"THAT'S ANOTHER important
thing," said Rochmar or the peer coun-
seling office. "Some people think of a
cake course as one that you can get by
in with no work, instead of one where
you can get an A easily, with some ef-
fort."
Prof. Marion Marzolf, who teaches
the class this term, said she tries to give
students an overview of com-
munications that is "both interesting
and enjoyable."
The requirements are two objective
exams, one essay exam, and one
project.
"THIS GIVES them different ways to
respond to us," she explained. "Some
students have difficulty in grasping
what seems to be important. . . I've ex-
perimented with different types of
testing, and found the results pretty
consistent - (in how students express
their knowledge)."
So, as course requirements, instruc-
tors, and student interests change, the
question remains: Is there any such
thing as a cake course?
"No," one counselor said. "There are
courses that may have greater or lesser
requirements, but there are no cake
courses. Twinkie courses, maybe-but
no cake courses."

Hinckley undergoing
psychological testing

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(Continued from Pagei1)
clinical affairs at the George
Washington University School of
Medicine and Health Sciences, reported
that Brady "continues to make very
satisfactory progress."
"Mr. Brady continues to play catch
and is responsive to command,"
O'Leary said in a written statement
issued'by the White House. "There is no
evidence of complications at this time."
A source said he understood that
Brady uttered his first words earlier
yesterday, calling his wife by her
nickname "Raccoon," while she was in
his hospital room, and then counting
aloud to 10. The source, who asked that
he not be further identified, said the
counting was apparently on command
of medical personnel to demonstrate
regained abilities.
MEANWHILE, court-appointed
psychiatrists examined John Hinckley
Jr., the drifter accused of trying to
assassinate Reagan Monday.
The mental tests were conducted at
the Quantico, Va., Marine base south of
the capital, where Hinckley, 25, has
been kept isolated and under constant
surveillance since his arrest Monday
after the attempted assassination.
The tests were administered to
determine whether Hinckley, the son
of a wealthy Denver oilman, is men-
tally competent to face trial on charges
of attempted murder of the president
and assault on a Secret Service agent.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT sources
say investigators believe Hinckley was
"infatuated" with teen-age movie ac-
tress Jodie Foster and wanted to do
something that would attract her atten-
tion.
The sources said Hinckley wrote an
unmailed letter to Foster in which he
described his plans to shoot the
president and said "I'm going to do it
for you." The letter was found by
authorities, apparently at the down-
town Washington hotel where Hinckley
stayed the night before the attempt on
Reagan's life.
Foster, 18, now a freshman at Yale
University in New Haven, Conn., had
portrayed a teen-age prostitute in the
film "Taxi Driver," in which a New
York cab driver who is fascinated by
guns and revolted by rampant por-
nography in the city plans to
assassinate a Senate candidate.
Meanwhile, a switch in defense
strategy developed yesterday when one
of Hinckley's new lawyers, Vincent
Fuller, sought at a court hearing
yesterday to cancel the psychiatric
tests.
However, U.S. Magistrate Arthur L.
Burnett rejected the request.
Hinckley's original defense attor-
neys, who were appointed by the court,
had asked for the mental tests. Fuller
gave no explanation for why he opposed
testing of Hinckley, who has been under
psychiatric care in the past.

IN BRIEF
Compiled from Assoiated Press and
United Press International reports
Fire erupts in Caesars Palace
LAS VEGAS-A fire erupted in Caesars Palace Hotel on the Las Vegas
Strip yesterday, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of guests from the upper
floors. Casino gambling went on as the fire burned.
A fire department spokesperson said the blaze, which broke out shortly af-
ter 10:15 a.m. in the hotel's 14-story central tower, was quickly extinguished.
The casino was not evacuated.
There were no reports of fatalities. The only reported injury was a
firefighter who suffered burns.
The fire was the third major blaze at a Las Vegas luxury hotel within the
last five months.
Pickets close non-union coal
mines after rejecting contract
Roving caravans of pickets closed non-union coal mines in West Virginia
and eastern Kentucky yesterday, a day after United Mine Workers rank and
filers soundly rejected a three-year contract endorsed by their president.
Striking miners were "flipping back and forth" between Kentucky and
West Virginia, making short, surprise stops to set up picket lines, said Ken-
tucky state Trooper Chuck Woodard.
The first outbreak of lawlessness in the six-day-old strike was reported in
West Virginia where a truck driver allegedly fired shots when a group of
pickets tried to stop another vehicle. The individual, identified as a coal
company employee, was charged with brandishing a weapon and released
after posting bond.
English Parliament may cancel
Moonies' tax exempt status
LONDON-Nearly 100 members of Parliament yesterday urged the
government to cancel the tax-exempt status of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's
Unification Church in a sequel to the longest libel case in English legal
history.
A High Court jury decided Tuesday the sect was not libeled in a 1978 Daily
Mail newspaper article that said the church broke up families and brain-
washed converts.
Conservative Party legislator David Mellor introduced the tax-status
motion in the 634-member House of Commons deploring "the activities of the
Moonies sect as alleged by the Daily Mail and found proved by a High Court
jury."
ousted Thai leader launches
coup to recapture capital
BANGKOK, Thailand-Forces loyal to ousted Prime Minister Prem Tin-
sulanonda were reported driving on Bangkok from three directions yester-
day in an attempt to retake power. But the military commander who toppled
Prem in a bloodless coup said he had "20 times" more troops than Prem and
ordered them to "suppress drastically any threat of disorder."
Witnesses said at least 10 truckloads of troops loyal to Prem reached
Saraburi, 55 miles northeast of Bangkok, and there were unconfirmed repor-
ts that soldiers also were moving on the capital from the north and south.
Despite the tense faceoff, Bangkok was quiet, with traffic normal and
most businesses open.
Haig to visit Middle East
WASHINGTON-Secretary of State Alexander Haig Jr., who departs
tomorrow for the Middle East, hopes to nail down the framework of an
greement on stationing American forces as part of a peace-keeping force in
the Sinai Desert, informed officials said yesterday.
He also wants to underline for Saudi Arabia the general U.S. commitment
to defend the oil-rich Persian Gulf against Soviet-inspired aggression, said
the officials, who asked not to be identified by name.
Haig will visit Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia during the eight-
day trip in addition to scheduled stops in Madrid and London. Officials said
yesterday other stops also are being considered.
Drug decreases chances
of second heart attack
BOSTON-A new medicine tested in Europe helps protect heart attack
victims from suffering a second, fatal seizure, researchers say, and the
drug's manufacturer is seeking approval to market it in the United States.
The drug, called timolol, reduced the death rate among heart attack vic-
tims by 39 percent in a 33-month experiment.
"We are very enthusiastic about these results," Dr. Terje Pedersen said in
an interview. "We think they represent a breakthrough in the management
of these patients.".
He predicted timolol or a similar drug may someday be taken routinely by

as many as 80 percent of the people who have survived heart attacks.
Produced by Merck Sharp & Dohme, the drug has been used for six years
in Europe for treatment of angina chest pain and high blood pressure. But it
has not been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for distribution in
the U.S.
Vol. XCI, No. 148
Thursday, April 2, 1981
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a

Hash Bash begins to fade;
attendance low this year

(Continued from Page1)
street," said LSA freshman Richard
Cohn, referring to the participants in
the event. "People come here and get
high on our Diag. Next year we should
fool them and have it on the second of
April."
THERE MAY NOT be a next year,
according to Ann Arbor Police Captain
Kenneth Klinge. "It's near the end of its
existence," he said yesterday.
Litter, a sad product of last year's
Bash, was not so much a problem

yesterday, probably due to the fair,
windy weather and the sparse atten-
dance.
LSA freshman Mark Mazur, a
newcomer to the Bash, said he believes
it has outlived its usefulness and
"defeated its purpose." Police Chief
William Corbett, also a newcomer
because he assumed his position last
summer, said "students are
discouraging this type of activity
because they are concerned about their
image or class disruption."


Editor-in-Chief .................SARA ANSPACH
Monaoging Editor ............JULE ENGEBRECHT
University Editor................ LORENZO BENET
Student Affairs Editor ...... , .....JOYCE FRIEDEN
City Editor....................ELAINE RIDEOUT
Opinion Poge Editors ..............DAVID MEYER
KEVIN TOTTIS
Arts Editor.....................ANNE GADON
Sports Editor....-............MARK MIHANOVIC
Executive Sports Editors...........GREG DEGULIS
MARK FISCHER
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BUSINESS STAFF
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BUSINESS STAFF: Bob Abrahams. Meg Armbruster
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