The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 6, 1983- Page 5 Edlucational TV bill sparks a battle in Senate hearing WASHINGTON (AP) - The gover- nment has no business playing program director and ordering television stations to air more educational shows for children, the broadcast industry told Congress yesterday. "If we want students to learn more, we should keep them in school for another hour rather than send them home to watch TV - to an environment where the teacher has no supervision, no guidance, no review," said Dr. John, Abel, senior vice president for research at the National Association of Broad- casters. "Expecting broadcasters and paren- ts to assume the role of professional teacher is unrealistic," he said. Abel's testimony before a joint hearing of two House subcommittees followed the introduction of a bill by Rep. Timothy Wirth (D-Colo.). The measure would require every commer- cial TV station in the country to provide at least one hour daily of educational or informational programming designed for children. Wirth, chairman of the House com- munications subcommittee, introduced the bill after announcing results of a survey that found the average com- mercial TV station airs 61 minutes of educational or informational programming per week for children. By contract, each station averages 152 minutes of cartoosn per week. The 61 minutes of educational programming represents less than one percent of the available airtime each week, Wirth said. Abel said Wirth's survey results were inaccurate, noting that 326 of the 850 commercial TV stations polled had responded and that an upcoming NAB study would show substantially larger amounts of children's programming 'If we want students to learn more, we should keep them in school for another hour rather than send them home to watch TV.' - Dr. John Abel National Association of Broadcasters are available. The House survey is also unfair, he continued, because it fails to take note of the children's programming available through public and cable television. "I happen to believe that everybody has a responsibility and you can't aly it off on public television or cable.... Are we going to be serious as a nation about educating and socializing our young? It seems to me we have an obligation to ask those who use a very precious resource - the airwaves - to assist." Wirth said. Yesterday's hearing on the role of television in educating the nation's young people featured several wit- nesses who endorsed Wirth's bill and his suggestion that commercial broad- casters weren't doing enough for children. 'This is not an either-or-situation,' said Dr. Eli Rubenstein, a professor with the Bush Institute for Child and Institute of Modern Greek Studies MODERN GREEK LESSONS Lang. Structure, Reading Comp. 994-4309 Family Policy at the University of Nor- th Carolina. "Television can be ex- tremely helpful as an adjunct to formal education." "And it seems to us that this hours-a- day requirement is the rock-bottom amunt of time that should be devoted to children's programming," added Dr. Sharon Robinson, director of instruc- tion and professional development for the National Education Association. Meanwhile, Sen. Robert Packwood (R-Ore.) introduced a bill that would repeal the equal time and fairness doc- trine laws "and other resrictions on the freedom of the electronic media." Rent aCar from Econor- Cr ~* We rent to 19 YR. OLD STUDENTS! Choose from small economical cars to vans. Special WEEKEND rates Pick up services upon request We accept cash deposits OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK ECONO-CAR 438 W. Huron 761-8845 ANN ARBOR Daily Photo by TOD WOOLF Cream of the crop Sigma (hi member Robert Bentley falls prey to a mass of shaving cream at yesterday's "cream your coach" competition, part of the fraternity's annual Derby Days to raise money for charity. Reagan offers aid, to A v Arizonra food v Cii s WOMEN and POWER A Series OCTOBER 6 LANA POLLACK State Senator 8 P.M. AT GUILD HOUSE, 820 Monroe Program s sponsored by GuildHouse Campus Ministry and funded in port by Michigan Commission/United Ministries in Higher Education (For more information call GUILD HOUSE, 662-5189) President Reagan declared Arizona a major disaster area yesterday, but some embittered flood victims com- plained of the way state authorities have handled the storm crisis that left 15 known dead, two missing, thousands homeless and caused damage estimated at about $300 million. In what is being called Arizona's wor- st disaster of the century, American Red Cross surveys indicated about 3,000 houses, mobile homes, and apartment knits had been destroyed or damaged by the flooding that began over the weekend. The numbers were expected to climb. THE presidential declaration, which will bring federal recnstruction funds to the state, coincided with rising fears of looting and disease in Arizona's flood-' ravaged south. Police at Clifton near the New Mexico border slapped the debris-strewn copper mining town with a 10 p.m.to-dawn curfew to ward off looters. The Red Cross put out a call for more volunteer nurses Tuesday night as it opened a 16th emergency shelter, the 15 others housing more than 2,900 people, to accommodate evacuees from the Holly Acres subdivision southwest of Phoenix. The declaration makes the state and local governments eligible for 75 per- cent of the costs of rebuilding public facilities, and also provides residents and businesses with low-interest loans and other assistance. "Unfortunately, Arizona is not com- pletely out of the woods yet," the National Weather Service said in a statement. VISA hires coordinator (Continued from Page 3) "(STUDENT participation) is going to be enormous," Gittleman said. "Students seem to be out there and willing to work." In December, the assembly will evaluate how effective Gittleman's ef- forts have been, and determine whether to continue funding the position, Rowland said. MSA may fund more positions to help coordinate volunteers, Rowland said, if it is apparent that one person cannot handle the work. SOME STUDENTS who work with MSA originally suggested the assenbly fund several positions that would not only coordinate volunteers, but would help to better organize MSA's commit- tees. Richard Layman, who helped formulate the proposal for Gittleman's position, wanted the assembly to fund four separate jobs. "I don't think the volunteer coor- dinator will work," Layman said. "It lacks the mutually reinforcing positions that are necessary." Layman said he originally proposed that three other workers assist the volunteer coordinator. The three would deal with public relations, organization, and helping committees to focus their goals and ideas. Z 0 2i 4 0 O II Ma~rn'-, Inrtcweor vI