Computer page debuts See Page 5 Ninety-five YearsLI ~U ~~1 Covered of Two to four inches of snow with Editorial Freedom highs near 30 degrees. al. XCV, No. 110 Copyright 1985, The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan - Tuesday, February 12, 1985 Fifteen Cents Ten Pages 85 jo By CARRIE LEVINE First of a series This year's college graduates should be smiling. They are about to enter a bright job Sarket with improved salaries and placement opportunities, according to a Michigan State University study. Overall, employers across the coun- try expect to hire 9.2 percent more bachelor's degree graduates at salaries as much as 4 percent higher, predicts the report, "Hiring Trends for 1984-85." The study was based on surveys of 658 businesses, industries, governmental agencies, and educational institutions f all sizes that hire new college aduates. OPPORTUNITIES are on the up- swing particularly in the technical and scientific sectors of the economy. St. Who?. fag ers climbto b market brightens Organizations with the brightest hiring prospects include the petroleum companies; hotels and recreational facilities;. automotive companies; chemical and drug manufacturers; and, to a lesser extent, public Carers A ,look abhcad conglomerates. At the University of Michigan, more recruiters have interviewed students since September than during all of last year, reports Deborah Orr May, direc- tor of the Office of Career Planning and Placement. "Certainly all indications say that hiring will be up, based on what we can tell from interviewing," says Lou Rice, a counselor at the office. PLACEMENT officials expect hiring quotas to jump nationwide. And despite Michigan's troubled economy, job op- portunities are on the rise statewide as well. "Michigan is definitely up," says Jack Shingleton, director of MSU's placement office and author of the 67- page study released in December. "We aren't turned around completely, but we're better." In 1983, hiring of new college graduates sunk to its lowest point since World War II, Shingleton said, but since then, the trend has reversed. HE attributed the turnaround to the strengthened economy coupled with employer's need to compensate for early retirement and other belt- tightening measures. But he hesitates to say the job outlook would be as rosy for the Class of 1986. "It's pretty hard to predict so far in advance because things change so rapidly," he says. This year's study predicts that elec- trical engineers will be in the greatest demand. Mechanical engineers, com- puter science majors, accountants, and general business administration majors follow close behind. DECLINES in job opportunities are expected for students majoring in retail, physics, natural resources, and social science. (See accompanying chart.) Liberal arts and natural resources majors fell on the bottom of the starting See STUDY, Page 2 PIRGIM No. Three From staff and wire reports The Wolverine basketball team is now the third best college team in the ountry, according to The Associated ress poll of sportswriters and broad- asters released last night. Michigan jumped five spots from last week's number eight rating in the poll. The Wolverines moved to seventh, up from tenth, in the United Press Inter- national poll, which surveys a group of coaches. In other polls, Michigan is ranked third by the USA Today and nin- th by ESPN. "They're the .hottest . team in the. ountry, but they're'hot as good as top- ranked St. John's or number two Georgetown," said Drew Esocoff, a sports assistant with ESPN who voted Michigan third. The Wolverines, 18-3 overall and 9-2 in. the Big Ten, are riding a nine-game winning streak, including wins over 10th-ranked Kansas, 11th-ranked Iowa, and Illinois (15th in UPI, 17th in AP). Most recently, Michigan needed a tough defensive performance in the inal 20 minutes of Saturday's contest gainst Illinois to overcome a 26-24 See NUMBER, Page 9 petitions for support By NANCY DRISCOLL The Public Interest Research Group in Michigan will submit a proposal to the regents on Thursday asking for a one-year extension on its funding con- tract. PIRGIM, which is part of a nation- wide consumer action group that studies issues such as hazardous waste and student financial aid, has drawn fire in recent years from both students and the regents over the way it gathers monetary support. STUDENTS who wish to give money to PIRGIM need only check a box on their Student Verification form to have the $2 fee added to their tuition. This system has been in effect since 1972. Under the original guidelines written by the regents, any organization that had thersupport of at least 50% of the students could use the same funding mechanism. And 13 years ago, over 16,000 students'signed petitions suppor- ting the group, the largest drive in the University's history. The regents stipulated that continued support of at least a third of the studen- ts would"be-required to use the system. Because of changes in the University's registration system, the student sup- port requirement was lowered to 25 percent, then 20 percent, and finally eliminated altogether in subsequent contracts with PIRGIM. THE GROUP'S current funding con- tract expires April 30, 1985, and the organization says it needs a year to study alternate means of financial sup- port. LSA SOPHOMORE Barry Horowitz, the PIRGIM local chairman, said the current funding system is outdated. See PIRGIM, Page 3 R i !Daily Photo by ALISA BLOCK Rain?! Raindrops-surprisingly enough--bead on a window in Tappan Hall overlooking the President's house yesterday after- noon. Throughout the day, Ann Arbor battled a slippery mixture of rain, snow, and ice, the result of a storm spreading from the Gulf States to the Great Lakes. ..... .. . .... .............. .... ....... ............ ..................... .. ............ Education I secretary supports aid cuts WASHINGTON (AP)-William Ben- nett, the new secretary of education, said yesterday that President Reagan's budget cuts may force some students to give up their stereos, cars, and beach vacations to pay for college. Bennett acknowledged that eliminating loans and grants for more than a million college students would force some families who are already sacrificing "to tighten the belt even fur- ther." BUT HE suggested that other studen- ts will simply have to forego luxuries. He likened it to a "divestiture of cer- tain sorts: stereo divestiture, automobile divestiture, three-weeks-at- the-beach divestiture." I do not mean to suggest this will be the case in all circumstances, but it will, like the rain, fall on the just and in- just alike," said the former philosophy professor. Bennet, at his first news conference, also said the belt-tightening could make people more cautious about spending $20,000 on a college education. He cited a new report from the Association of American Colleges that concludes the bachelor's degree has lost much of its value. Sea ofmiser% '84 tax returns due April 15 U oers outdoor adventures By RITA GIRARDI April 15 will mark the 73rd anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. It is also the deadline for filing this year's in- come tax returns. For some this coincidence might only be a humorous historic fact. But for others drowning in a sea of Internal Revenue Service jargon the analogy is an ironic twist of fate. FORTUNATELY, there are a number of tax-help life preservers available to students confused about filling out their returns. One of these is the Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offered through Project Community. The VITA program has offices on the third floor of the Michigan Union and offers free help in tax preparation to both students and members of the community. According to LSA senior John Borradaile, a co-director of the program, VITA expects to give tax assistance to about 1,000 people this year. BORRADAILE and LSA senior Douglas Graham head a group of 165 student volunteers who have gone through eight hours of training with a certified public accountant. Only about 30 percent of the people who use the tax service are students, according to Borradaile. "We're very concerned with servicing the elderly and low income," he said. VITA now operates an extension service at National Bank and Trust on S. Main and also has a mobile unit to visit the homebound who need its services. Although Borradaile said that the majority of student returns are "basically routine", the most common problem they have concerning taxes that are paid on grant money. There are also a number of foreign students and out-of-state students who come in with questions con- cerning visa types or how to report two state incomes. Because VITA is a nationwide program sponsored by the IRS, there is no extra penalty charged if your return has been filed incorrectly. Although any normal penalties will be assessed as usual. Returns prepared by the program also go through a quality review process conduc- See APRIL, Page 2 By GREG MEENAHAN The next time you're looking for something interesting to do at the University, why not try rock climbing. Or wind surfing. Thanks to a new program, the folks at the North Cam- pus Recreation Building can help people carry out those and other not-so-exotic activities like cross-country skiing and canoeing. The NCRB's Outdoor Recreation Center, which opened its doors in September, supplies University students and Di-TODAY- Drive-in gift shop staff members with affordable rental equipment, infor- mation, and organized group trips, said Dick Pitcher, NCRB director. "I'VE RENTED camping gear several times during the fall-tent, sleeping bag, and all that stuff, said Mike Ward, a programmer in the industrial engineering depar- tment. "I've even been rock climbing with the recreation program. It was a great time." The center is offering a number of spring break See STUDENTS, Page 2 pretty good idea." Owner Dick Finley patented the idea of a drive-through florist and gift shops and opened two Affor- dable Love stores after realizing that lots of people enjoyed taking gifts home but, like him, dreaded having to buy them. "Gift giving, I thought, for the male commuter was always very difficult," said Finley, 38, who is also a sales executive for a Pittsburgh metals company. Confident of a market, he went into business in October, building two Reagan administration, the PBS airwaves are filled with soft-sell product plugs, and some public stations are turning their studios into high-priced lecture halls. "People who work in public TV and raise money have been trying an awful lot of things for a long time, but anytime your back is against the wall, you work even harder," said Michael Soper, PBS' vice president for development. During an ex- perimental phase in the early 1980s that provoked much in- ternal '3 dphntp nvpr lInVw~nmmri-i,,c m , Npw Vn~-r c rnin TAI~ P i ,I rI I