The Michigan Daily-Thursday, November 18, 1982--Page 3
Climate right for new
business, experts say
Student
Locater
By K. TIMOTHY MANTYLA
0 At a time when most businesses are
bundling up against the cold economic
climate, several experts are predicting
sunshine, saying now is an excellent
time to expand or even start a business.
Despite high interest rates and a
bleak outlook for the nation's economy,
these business observers, including
several successful entrepreneurs and
one University professor, say that the
resent economic slump has actually
reated many opportunities for private
businesses. A lack of effective com-
petition, an abundance of investment
ioney, and an attitude among many
would-be entrepreneurs that they have
nothing to lose have all combined to
make this an attractive time to start an
enterprise.
"IN GENERAL. there's one thing
businesses have to watch," said
business school Prof. Paul McCracken.
"There is a danger because of preoc-
rupation with the problems and
pessimism of the moment. Strange as
this may seem, now is a very good time
to start a business."
McCracken's optimism was echoed
by Thomas Monaghan, owner of the
successful Domino's Pizza chain.
'The timing is better than ever (to
open a new business)," Monaghan said
pt a recent business school conference.
"It's so easy to compete with what's out
here."
Monaghan started his pizza chain
with one store in Ypsilanti in 1960, and
built it into a nation-wide chain with
'more than 800 stores. "Now, over 50
percent of all pizzas delivered in the
United States are Domino's pizzas," he
said, adding that success in business
depends on "a belief that it will work,
and persistence."
HE SAID THAT expansion or entry
into a field is made easier now because
most businesses are poorly managed,
an opinion shared by University
graduate Fred Alger, owner of a $1-
billion New York investment firm.
"Management is everything," Alger
said, adding that he increased his com-
pany's assets from $7 million in 1964
tomore than $1 billion this year.
Alger said that there is a "surfeit" of
venture capital-money waiting to be
invested-available to businesses,
though he failed to discuss the role in-
terest rates play in the investment
market.
ANN ARBOR accountant Charles
Rubin agreed with Alger, but said "un-
fortunately, not much of the capital is
available in Ann Arbor."
Rubin said his firm has been a con-
sultant to many local businesses and
has recently helped several to expand
their operations.
"I don't think there's as much expan-
sion as there was in the past," Rubin
said, but many people are thinking
about starting a business. This happens
when things aredown. Many are trying
in the sense of 'what is there to lose?' "
APPARENTLY, that attitude is
spreading, according to Carol Roberts
of the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commer-
ce. She reported that her office has
See EXPERTS, Page 6
operators have
your number
By BARBARA MISLE
Parents worry when their kids go to
college, especially when they neglect to
call home. One University student's
father tried unsuccessfully to call him
for a week, and finally called Student
locater to ask the operator to find his
son. The operator explained she
couldn't leave her desk to search for
him.
Not all callers take Student Locater's
services so literally, but there is little
doubt that the operators' work makes
life easier for everyone-especially the
people who just can't seem to motivate
themselves to pick up a directory.
"PEOPLE appreciate the service we
provide and aren't bashful to speak up
and say so," said Jan Batalucco, office
manager of the University's Telephone
Communications department.
Batalucco supervises the 14 full-time
and three part-time operators who
work at the Telephone Communications
office in the Public Safety Building on
Church street.
The operators have close to 70,000
microfilmed numbers for students,
faculty, and hospital personnel at their
fingertips. When a request for a num-
ber comes in, they place a sheet of
microfilm into a microfiche reader and
scan the screen to find the number.
THE NUMBERS are updated every
two weeks from personnel and depar-
tment lists along with copies of every
telephone service order in the Univer-
sity, Batalucco said.
"Unless a department informs us of a
number change, there is no way we can
know," Batalucco said.
Batalucco insists her employees are
courteous, regardless of the nature of
the call. "The most important quality
for an operator is patience," she said,
and with an average of 6,000 calls a day
some of them are bound to be difficult.
"THERE HAVE been some problems
with late-night callers who are
inebriated or under the influence of a
chemical substance," Baralucco said.
"You can tell mostly in the manner in
which they speak. After a while you
come to know those callers, and you can
tell when they actually do need
assistance."
Operators are taught to handle in-
toxiated callers as soon as they begin
their jobs. Even though many of them
See STUDENT, Page 6
Daily Photo by JEFF SCHRIER
Student Locater operator Helen Ducharme uses her microfiche reader to
find a student's telephone number.
Amway officials claim they were framed
-HPPENING-
Highlight
Today is Oxfam America's ninth annual Fast for a World Harvest. Oxfam
invites everyone to fast and donate the money saved by not eating to support
their self-help development projects. Those interested in fasting and/or
making a donation should sign up between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the School of
Natural Resources, the School of Public Health, or the fishbowl.
Films
CG-Nashville, 6:30 & 9:30 p.m., Lorch.
Mediatrics-Singin' in the Rain, 7 p.m., Swingtime, 9 p.m., Nat. Sci.
CFT-The Big Sleep, 7:340 p.m., To Have and Have Not, 5:45 & 9:30 p.m.,
Michigan Theatre.
AAFC-German Documentary Films, 7:30 p.m., Aud. A, Angell.
Women's Studies-With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's
Emergency Brigade, 12 p.m., Aud. C, Angell..
Eumenical Campus Center-FESTAC '77, 7:30 p.m., Rackham Am-
phitheatre.
Public Health-What Price Health?, 12:05 p.m., M2525SPH II.
Performances
Ark-Cathy Fink and Magpie, 9 p.m., 1421 Hill.
UAC Musket-Runaways, 8 p.m., Power Center.
Michigan Union Arts Program-Wanda Middleton, soprano, 12:15 p.m.,
Pendleton Room, Union.
Theatre & Drama-The Trojan Women, 8 p.m., New Trueblood Arena.
Speakers
Medicinal Chem.-Alexander Weis, "Dihydroazines: What Are They Good
For and Recent Advances in Their Chemical Behavior," 4 p.m., 3554 CC Lit-
tle.
ME/AM-R. Dibble, "Simultaneous LDV and Laser Raman Scattering
Applied to Reactive Turbulent Fluid Dynamics," 3:45 p.m., 133 Chrysler
Center.
Japanese Studies-Jenny Corbett, "The Current Economics Situation in
Japan," 12 p.m., Commons Room, Lane.
Communication-Michael Pacanowski, "Organizational Communication
as Cultural Performance," 1 p.m., 2035 Frieze.
Vision/Hearing-Claudia Stuermer, "The Order of Retinal Axons in the
Goldfish Optic Tectum,"12:15 p.m., 2055 MHRI.
Economic Development-David Gordon, "Settler Agriculture in Kenya &
Zimbabwe: Problems of Transition," 12:10 p.m., 340U Lorch.
Biological Sciences-Steve Heideman, "Organization & Funstion of
Microtutules: Clues from Their Polarity Orientation," noon, 1139 Nat. Sci.
Western European Studies-Gisele Podbielski, "The Italian Economy
Today and the Special Problems," 4 p.m., 5208 Angell Hall.
Computing Center-Mark Hersey, "IBM PC & MTS," 3:30-5 p.m., 171
BSAD.
Art-Rudolf Arnheim, "Objective Values," 7:30 p.m., Art & Arch. Hall,
N. Campus.
Chemistry-Ching Shan Li, "Conducting Polymers," 4 p.m., 1200 Chem.
Ann Arbor Democratic Party-Tom Blessing, former County Drain Com-
missioner on the Allen Creek Drain, 7:30 p.m., Ann Arbor Public Library,
343 S. Fifth.
Meetings
Me. Cntr. Bible Study-Mtg., 12:30 p.m., F2230 Mott Children's Hospital.
Campus Crusade for Christ-Mtg., 7 p.m., 2003 Angell Hall.
Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship-Mtg., 7 p.m., Union.
Sailing Club-Mtg., followed by shore school lectures, 7:45 p.m., 311 W.
Eng.
Graduate Employee's Organization-Mtg., 7:45 p.m., E. Conference Rm.,
Rackham.
Alliance of Lesbian and Gay Male Social Work Students-Mtg., 5:15 p.m.,
2075 Frieze.
Regents-Mtg., 11 a.m., Regents Rm., Fleming Admin. Bldg.
New England Literature Program-mass meeting, 8 p.m., Aud. D, Angell
Hall.
Ann Arbor Libertarian League-Mtg., 7:30 p.m., basement of Dominick's,
812 Monroe.
Miscellaneous
Scottish Country Dancing-beginning class, 7 p.m., intermediate class, 8
p.m., Union.
Puerto Rico Association-open house for new members, 8 p.m., Pendleton
Room, Michigan Union.
ISMRRD-Conference, "Applied Techniques in Behavior Management,"
9 a.m.-4 p.m., Chrysler Ctr.
League-Int. Night, Vienna, 5-7:15 p.m., Michigan League.
Museum of Art-Art Break, Karin Bonde, "Esther Before Ahasuerus,";
Guercino, 12:10 p.m.-12:30 p.m., Museum of Art.
Library Science - Convocation, Jane Ann Hannigan, 1:30 p.m., Hussey
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (UPI) - Founders of the
Amway direct selling empire said, yesterday a for-
mer Amway employee and "certain persons in the
Canadian government" prompted fraud charges
against them and their company in Canada.
President Richard DeVos and Chairman Jay Van
Andel, two other executives and the company's
Canadian subsidiary were charged in Ottawa with
conspiring to defraud the Canadian government of
more than $28 million from 1965 to 1980.
"AMWAY Corporation and its executives are
totally innocent of any wrongdoing and do not owe the
Canadian government one cent in extra customs
duties," the founders said at a news conference
yesterday.
"There was no fraud, no coverup, no conspiracy to
defraud Revenue Canada," DeVos said.
"Certain persons in the Canadian government have
been wrongly trying to impose millions of dollars in
duties on Amway," Van Andel said.
DEVOS SAID that "violates the spirit and letter of
free trade," and charged Amway was "a victim of an
anti-American trade war by . . . certain officials in
the Canadian government."
DeVos and Van Andel, who founded Amway in 1959,
said the Canadian government was fully aware of
how they exported to Canada and valued goods to
establish customs and tariff duties.
The fraud counts said the founders and vice
presidents William Halliday Jr. and C. Dale Discher
created a trail of false invoices to mislead Canadian
customs on the value of products shipped into Canada
for sale by Amway distributors.
Prof. criticizes treatment
of black students at 'U'
(Continued from Page 1)
Part of the solution of this problem,
according to Yates, is the expansion of
CULS, which is currently under budget
review. Ther is a need, he said, to
"bring together the special interests
and needs of the students into cohesive
groups, and provide them with options
which insure that they will have a high
probability of graduating from college
with the degree they want." He said
this means increased emphasis on peer
counseling, career orientation, and
course tutorial programs.
"The support of the entire faculty,''
Yates said, "is essential in order to do a
better job of educating the black
student and providing a better quality
of education while he attends the
University."
After the lecture, Wilton Barham,
associate director of CULS, said he
agreed with Yates on the need for bet-
ter individual counseling and more
focused instructional programs.
BE IN THE
FOREFRONT
OF TODAY'S
TECHNOLOGY
Air Force scientific
engineering of-
ficers plan tomor-
row's weapon
systems. If you
have a scientific or
engineering de-
gree, you can join
a dynamic team.
See your ideas ma-
terialize. Contact
an Air Force
recruiter today.
MSgt. Dave Walters
561-3405
n
A greatv y of We
iiI
Yates
... demands more aid to CULS
Senate panel passes
divestment
(Continued from Page 1)
autonomous control over how the in-
stitution uses its funds.
But State Rep. Perry Bullard (D-Ann
Arbor), the bill's sponsor, says the state
has the authority to enforce what he
considers civil rights legislation.
BOTH MICHIGAN State University
and Eastern Michigan University
already have pulled their investments
from companies working in South
Africa.
The University of Michigan policy
adopted in 1978 asks companies to
"work toward the enhancement of
political, economic, and social rights
for their employees in South Africa." If
the University determines that a com-
Corrections
An article in yesterday's Daily
("Counseling review hits high gear")
containedtatypographical error which
changed the word "not" into "now."
Robert Sauve, an assistant to the vice
president for academic affairs, ac-
tually said the counseling review was
not set up specifically to look for budget
cuts.
An article in the Nov. 16, 1982 Daily
("Mayor retreats: Ann Arbor will keep
$5 pot law") reported that a study on ef-
fects of marijuana decriminalization
was made through the Institute of
Social Research. The study, conducted
by researcher Richard Stuart, is not af-
filiated with ISR.
legislation
pany is not making sufficient progress
for its workers, officials say, it will
divest from that firm. The University
has divested from only one such com-
pany in four years.
Supporters of the legislation passed
by the Judiciary Committee maintain
that the presence of U.S. corporations
in South Africa supports the economy of
a racist government. Further, they
say, these companies will only leave
South Africa if investors protest the
firms' practice by divesting.
THE REGENTS say the University
can serve South African blacks more by
trying to influence the companies in
which it invests to work for social
progress in the country.
University Regent Thomas Roach
(D-Saline) said last night he would oppose
University compliance with the bill. "I
don't think it's constitutional, and I
think our response (to the South African
situation) is better than Michigan
State's" Roach said.
The bill, which passed the House last
May, includes an amendment that also
would ban investments in companies
that deal in the Soviet Union. Full
Senate action is expected before the end
of the month, according to a Bullard
aide.
THE DAILY
CLASSIFIEDS
ARE A GREAT
(313)261-LSA TWAY TO GET
FAST RESULTS
CALL 764-0557
Pilot pens!
You have to
hold onto
them wth
two hands.
-Rodney Dongerfield
"Get your claws 'f yPltp n .
I don't get
no respect!"
~People just hove a hunger
for my Pilot Fineflner. You know why.
nno&v~A AS ILI EEEFA EIt" Eu~lurEt I
m