The Michigan Daily - Saturday, November 19, 1983 - Page 3 Students should cash in on merchant credit By ALYSSA FIRST It's something you always dream about - your first credit yard. And although most students don't realize it, they're eligible for credit while still in school. Many Ann Arbor department stores make it easy for itudents to establish credit. Of course the rationale behind this is that once the student graduates, he or she will continue to spend their rising income in that particular store. HUDSON'S Briarwood store, for example, requires only that students have some form of income and a checking and savings bank account. Jennie Schrettner, manager of Hudson's cash office, said "it is a good idea to start early because most places want to see esablished credit and it is really hard to establish credit once out of school." "Hudson's won't give you a credit card unless you have an established credit record - other credit cards," she added. SEARS, LOCATED at Briarwood Mall, also encourages students to start applying for credit cards before they graduate. The store gives credit to applicants who are still in school "special consideration," according to Sidney Stewart of Sears. Sears' credit policy is based on a point system. Under this system, applicants are awarded points based on the number of years at an address and at the same job. BECAUSE students would have difficulty accumulating points under this system, Sears takes into account the amount of income a student does have, references from parents holding Sears credit cards, and part-time jobs. Usually, Sears wil allow a college student $200 worth of credit. In addition, to attract customers, Sears has a national program in which they solicit students through the mail by sending them credit applicatons. At Jacobson's, students are eligible for "courtesy accoun- ts." Although a co-signer and part-time employment enhan- ces a student's chances of establishing credit at Jacobson's, it is possible for a student to acquire credit without these. On a larger scale, American Express makes credit available to students who are graduating within six months and plan to work in a field similar to their course of study. Being a student, however, does not help when it comes to getting a bank loan. Usually, the most important prerequisite to obtaining a loan is a full-time job. But there are student loan programs under which students can apply for funds. Several Ann Arbor banks participate in this program, which has a $5,000 limit for out-of-state studen- ts and a $2,500 limit for in-state students. fUtilit company' seeks$750 million rate hike LANSING (UPI)-Consumers Power Co. yesterday asked the state Publiv service commission for three rate i- creases totaling more than $75 million-reportedly the largest percen tage electric rate hike ever requester by a Michigan firm. The lion's share of the request-more than $550 million-relates to the firm's highly controversial Midland nuclear power plant. It is likely to come under the heavies attack in rate hearings, even thoug, consumer advocates concede that denying any increase for Midland could push the state's second largest electric utility into bankruptcy. ESSENTIALLY, Consumers asking for a preliminary rate hike $192.7 million or 13.1 percent in mid- 1984 and a final order adding another $19.6 million, or 1.1 percent, by the end of the year. These increases would go for general expense charges including costs relating to operations and maintenan- ce, raising capital for construction; taxes and depreciation. The final increase, $564.2 million, would not come until the much-delayed Midland plant is operating. The latest company estimate places that some time in mid-1986. Consumers officials say fuel cost savings from the operation .of Midland will cushion the impact of the third in-, crease, perhaps reducing it to $490 million or 27.7 percent. Those would be passed on in separate proceedings, however. Skaters at the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink inl giant Christmas tree is hoisted into place yesterday. New York watch as the -HIAPPENING S Highlight The University is hosting the annual Blue and Scarlet Tailgate Brunch at Crisler Arena today at 10 a.m. Tickets are $10 and proceeds will go to the Mott Children's Hospital and the Children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Films Cinema II-- Coup De Torchon. 7 & 9:15 p.m., Angell, Aud. A. Hill Street Cinema - High Society, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m., 1429 Hill. Mediatrics - Atlantic City, 7 & 9 p.m., Nat. Sci. Aud. Ann Arbor Film Coop - Apocalypse Now, 6:30 & 9:15 p.m., MLB 4. Cinema Guild - Das Boot, 7 & 9:40 p.m., Lorch Hall. Classic Theater - Cabaret, 7:35 p.m., Michigan Theater. Classic Film Theater - New York, New York, 945 p.m., Michigan Theater. Alternative Action -Star Trek H: The Wrath of Khan, 7 & 9:15 p.m., MLB 3. Performances Men's Glee Club - with the OSU Men's Glee Club, Patrick Gardner con- ducting, 8p.m., Hill Aud. School of Music - Opera, Albert Herring by Britten, Gustav Meier con- ducting, 8p.m., Mendelssohn Theater. Carillon Demonstration - Burton Tower, 11 a.m. Flying Taxi Theater - "Mrs. Warren's Profession," 8:15 p.m .,Perfor- mance Network, 408 W. Washington. Black Sheep Theater - "Bullshot Crummone" by Ron House and Diz White, 8:15 p.m., 138 E. Main Street, Manchester. Organ conference - Performances by Uwe Droszella, room 215 Hill, 1:30 p.m., David Sanger, Hill, 4 p.m., and Almut Roesslet, Hill, 8:30 p.m. Second chance - Masquerade. Performance Network - "Waiting for Godot," by Samuel Beckett, 8 p.m., 408 W. Washington. Theater and Drama - "Devour the Snow," by Abe Plosky, 8 p.m., New Trueblood Arena. Speakers stitute of Continuing Legal Education - David Chambers, "Custody Af- ter Divorce: Recent Developments," 9 p.m., room 116 Hutchins Hall. Rudolph Steiner Institute - Otto Wolff, "Steiner's Wholistic Approach to Health and Healing," 8 p.m., 1923 Geddes. Meetings Ann Arbor Go Club - 7p.m., 1433 Mason. Tae Kwon Do Club - Practice, 9-11 a.m., CCRB Martial Arts Room. Women's Aglow Fellowship - Thanksgiving praise and worship for born- again Christian women, 9:30 a.m., Forsyhte Intermediate School, 1655 Newport Road. Ann Arbor War Tax Dissidents - Noon, Pine Room, Wesley Foundation at State and Huron. Miscellaneous Football - Michigan vs. Ohio State, 1 p.m., Michigan Stadium. UM Ski Club - recreational cross country ski clinic with U.S. ski coach Jim Young, 8 a.m., & 3 p.m., Henderson Room, Michigan League. Vice President for Student Services, Trotter House, Minority Student Ser- vices - Puerto Rican Week Dinner-Dance, Ambassador Room of the Bronze Wheel, 27225 W. Warren, Dearborn. Straight Shooters Turkey Shoot - noon to 6 p.m., Indoor Range, top floor North University building, ammunition and rifles supplied. Art Sale - Exhibition and sale of fine art reproductions, Pond Room, Michigan Union, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To submit items for the Happenings Column, send them in care of Happenings, The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Malicious Intent State calls for LANSING (UPI)-The State Correc- Even if th tions Commission is asking lawmakers plan, separ to adopt a plan calling for eight new required to prisons it says will be needed to house struction. projected inmate population in mid- "The plan 1990s. said Gail L Release of the plan comes amid con- Corrections cerns over an expected record year for that's got ac new prison commitments and worries don't know. that the state's early release law may AT PRE be losing its effectiveness. about $35 m UNDER THE plan, one prison would prison. be near Plymouth, one near Lansing A 1980 lav and one in Lapeer County. A fourth the plan and should be in Detroit, while sites for the state must others are less definite. sites. " eight n he Legislature approves the rate measures would be actually fund the new con- n really is what we need," ight, spokeswoman for the Department. "Whether chance to actually happen, I SENT, she said, it costs million to build one 500-bed w requires development of d establishes procedures the follow in selecting prison ,0 ew prisons Prison officials are concerned because the state Emergency Powers .Act, which cuts inmates' minumum sentences to ease prison crowding, is having a smaller impact each time it is employed. "We may get to the point where it has a very small effect," Light said. Light also said the prison system is expecting 7,000 new commitments in 1983, up from 6,400 last year. Speculation points to the longterm ef- fects of the post-World War II baby boom as the reason. A prison population in excess of 17,000 is expected by the mid-1990s. Guards strike at nuclear weapons plant . OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (UPI)-Striking guards picketed a top-secret nuclear weapons plant yesterday and warned their temporary replacements were not adequately trained to protect the government facility from a terrorist at- tack. The 260 striking members of the In- ternational Guard Union of America Local 3 manned picket lines around the Y-12 warhead parts plant and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory-both of which utilize large amounts of highly radioactive materials. THE FACILITIES were being protec- ted by supervisors and replacement Union memb ers expected to reject bus contract (Continued from Page 1) president of the Transit Union. He had been sitting in on the talks since they began Tuesday for the first time since the 12,700 drivers and other Greyhound employees struck Nov. 2. COUNCIL member Roy Golden of Kansas City, Mo., pledged to do "ever- ything I can" to keep the proposal from being approved. "I don't like it at all," Golden said. "In fact, it stinks." The council had voted 18-12 to offer the proposal to members, with a recom- mendation that they reject it, on con- dition that Greyhound halt service and stop using replacement personnel. But John Teets, chairman of the parent Greyhound Corp., rejected those conditions and the union dropped them, setting a Nov. 29 deadline for com- pletion of the voting. Greyhound said it carried nearly 6,000 passengers Thursday on about 500 buses for an average of 12 riders per bus - about 5 percent of what it said was a normal load. Before the strike Greyhound carried 6 percent of the nation's intercity bus load. Correction Minnie's Coop no longer plans to host- a viewing and panel discussion of "The Day After" as advertised in yester- JOL i guards while a group of ":security in- spectors" from Energy Department in- stallations in South Carolina and California were "on call" in case they were needed. For security reasons, DOE officials refused to disclose the number of stand- in guards or say if a contingent of ar- mored vehicles-normally used to carry guards-were being used to patrol the facilities. The Y-12 plant produces nuclear warhead parts for every atomic missile system in the United States' arsenal. DOE spokesman Jim Alexander said there was "no question that we have taken adequate measures to protect those facilities." "We have been through strike situations before. These contingency plans have been under way for a long period of time. We're comfortable we have a very secure situation," he said. No violence was reported and no talks were scheduled in the strike, which began at 11 p.m. Thursday when union leaders rejected a final contract offer from Union Crbide Corp., which operates the two facilities under conract with DOE. The guards were seeking an across- the-board $2 an hour "pay adjust- ment," plus A 10 percent wagt increase, but later lowered the request to a$1 hourly raise plus a 6 percent increase. Daily Classifieds Bring Results Y '4 r, - ~-y: ' v S y.3 - CA U 'ply /srr o -=s~ <1 ,. f. / //, n n '7iN I"7 Any graduating senior who applies for the American Express'Card between now and December 31st, 1983, will receive a T-shirt as a gift. f