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Mitc ian
Ninety-six years of editorialffreedom
Ann Arbor, Michigan - Tuesday, September 17, 1985
1:IatIQ
Vol. XCVI - No. 9
Copyright 1985, The Michigan Doily
Eight Pages
FIRST TIME SINCE 1914
U.S.
soars
to
record
Daily Photo by DAN HABIB
Grand Prix
Keith Hayes, a coordinator for the 4th annual National Collegiate Driving
Championships, drives a Dodge Daytona Turbo Z yesterday at Chrisler
Arena. The competition, sponsored by Dodge, promotes safe driving
habits, and offers a top prize of a $5,000 scholarship and the use of a Dodge
Daytona Turbo Z for one year. See story, Page 6.
frade
WASHINGTON (AP) - The
nation's broadest measure of foreign
trade soared to a near-record $31.8
billion deficit from April through
June, pushing the United States into
the status of a net debtor for the first
time in 71 years, the government said
yesterday.
Simply put, that means Americans
now owe more to foreigners than
foreigners owe to Americans, a
position the country has not been in
since 1914.
THE COMMERCE Department
report said the $31.8 billion deficit in
the current account during the second
quarter was 4.9 percent higher than
the $30.3 billion current account
deficit incurred during the first three
months of the year.
The current account measures not
only trade in merchandise but also in
services, mainly investments flowing
between the United States and other
countries.
The report showed that foreign
assets in the United States grew by
$39.5 billion during the first six mon-
ths of the year while U.S. investment
abroad was growing by only $3.2
billion. That would mean a
deterioration in the country's invest-
ment position of $36.3 billion during
the first six months of the year -
enough to wipe out the $28.2 billion in-
vestment surplus held by the United
States as the year began.
BY THE END OF 1985, economists
predict the country could be in debt to
foreigners by as much as $100 billion,
making the United States-the world's
largest debtor country, substantially
ahead of the previous leaders, Brazil
and Mexico.
However, economists are split on
how serious a threat this situation
poses for the United States.
Some economists say there is no
parallel with debt-plagued developing
countries because the American debt
represents a smaller percentage of
the overall U.S. economy, the biggest
in the world.
But other economists warn that,
now that the United States has slipped
Officials to discuss 'keg policy'
By VIBEKE LAROI
Housing officials and building directors plan to
discuss tomorrow how they can better enforce the
residence halls' alcohol policy, and whether beer
kegs should be allowed in dorms.
The agenda item for tomorrow's staff meeting
comes in response-to a decision-made by Jerral
Jackson, building director of Couzens Hall, to in-
stitute a "no kegs" rule in his residence hall. The
alcohol policy adopted by the housing office makes
no mention about kegs, although it says that no
alcohol consumption is allowed in public areas and
that the legal drinking age in Michigan - 21 years
of age - must be respected.
JACKSON said the enforcement of his keg
policy would depend on the individual situation
and the outcome of the staff meeting.
Building directors had mixed responses when
asked whether they agree with Jackson's rule
although they agreed that any policy should be
campus-wide.
"I am uncertain as to whether there will be any
specific policy outcomes from that meeting," said
John Heidke, associate director for housing
education. "We will move towards a reasonable
division-wide decison on consistency."
"NO DECISIONS have been made as of yet.
There is a need to clarify the policy but also a need
to talk to people about the policy," said Jan
Kralovec, the new alcohol-health educator.
"I think we need a consistent policy and I think
everyone is pretty much in agreement with that,"
she added.
"The housing division needs to come to grips
with it (the keg policy) rather than single
buildings," said Alan Levy, building director at
West Quad.
"We are trying not to act like policemen...
that's a horrible position for residence staff. . . but
I don't think any of us like kegs," Levy said.
He said his aim is "to see a lot more student par-
ticipation in generating a productive way of han-
dling alcohol."
"I don't have a stand on the keg policy. I support
the alcohol policy that came out in January 1983,"
said Chara Weiss, Mary Markley's building direc-
tor.
ROSALIE Moore, building director of Martha
Cook, also did not say whether she supports
Jackson's keg policy or not. However, she said "I
don't police parties in people's rooms. Your room
is your own home and I'm not going to go knocking
on their door . . . I assume they're following the
law."
Deba Patnaik, the building director of East
Quad, said he supports the policy of no kegs in the
residence halls.
"This keg attitude is a cult attitude, a gang at-
titude . .. drinking has been such a social, cultural
phenomenon. . . and an assumption is if you don't
drink you're not being social," said Patnaik.
See STAFF, Page 6
deficit
into the status of net debtor, the debt
is likely to grow at astronomical levels
in the coming years, hitting by one
estimate $1 trillion by 1990.
The problem is that the United
States for many years was able to rely
on overseas investment earnings to
cover its perennial merchandise trade
deficits. Now, however, the country
will be running a trade deficit and an
investment deficit as dollars flow
abroad to pay interest and dividends
to foreigners.
This imbalance, some economists
predicted, will result in belt-
tightening by Americans as the coun-
try tries to cope with the foreign debt
U.S. debt
climbs
quickest
in world
WASHINGTON (UPI) - The
United States posted a $31.8 billion
balance of payments deficit from
April through June, more than enough
to plunge the country into debtor
status for the first time since World
War I, the government said yester-
day.
As the bottom line measure of
economic performance, the debt
rating includes both staggering mer-
chandise trade deficits and weak sur-
pluses in the sale of services like in-
surance, engineeering and tourism.
THE NEWS was accompanied by a
notable silence on the part of ad-
ministration officials, in sharp con-
trast to special news conferences in
the past two weeks to point out a lower
unemployment rate and an increase
in retail sales.
See U.S., Page 3
MSA
continues
search
for 1VP
By JERRY MARKON
The search for a new vice president
for the Michigan Student Assembly
continued yesterday as President
Paul Josephson considered several
minority candidates for the position.
Josephson has interviewed at least
five candidates, but Eric Schnaufer,
MSA's vice president for personnel,
said he has encountered "problems
with time commitment and desire to
do the job."
The president has until 5 p.m.
Friday to nominate a replacement for
LSA junior Mickey Feusse, who
resigned on Sept. 8 because she didn't
feel she could work 40 hours a week as
vice president, as other MSA officers
asked, and still keep her job as a
See JOSEPHSON, Page 6 s
'Today' comes to 'U'
for show u
By ERIC MATTSON
A month from today, 8 a.m.
classes may be less crowded than
usual if students choose to stay home
and watch themselves and their
University on national television.
Host Bryant Gumbel of the Today
show will be stationed in front of the
steps of the Graduate Library Oct. 17
during a two-hour special program
on higher education. Jane Pauley
will be at Brown University in Rhode
Island as part of the same show.
BECAUSE MUCH of the program
will be taped and produced ahead of
time, a two-man Today show crew
and a field producer came to Ann
Arbor over the weekend to film
pieces for the special.
The show will focus on the Univer-
sity of Michigan and Brown to show
the contrast between a large public
university and a smaller private in-
stitution. Field producer Steve
Grace, who supervised the taping in
Ann Arbor over the weekend, said
the University was chosen because
of its academic reputation, its size
)n colleges
and the aesthetic quality of the cam-
pus.
"We probably picked it for the
same reason the students did," Grace
said.
UNIVERSITY officials were ec-
static over the exposure the Univer-
sity will receive next month. Bob
Potter, director of University com-
munication, said he is "absolutely
delighted, because it gives us the
kind of recognition as a major
university that I think is ap-
propriate."
Cindy Brown, an LSA freshman
from Norway, Mich., is looking for-
ward to the show for a different
reason. She will be featured on the
program as a "typical" University
student.
The NBC camera crew trailed her
as she went to classes Friday.
GRACE AND the Today show han-
ds met Brown outside the LSA
Building just before 11 a.m. and fol-
lowed her into a sociology course
Daily Photo by ANDI SCHREIBER
A camera crew from NBC's Today show films students on the Diag as they are interviewed by field producer
Steve Grace for a special segment on higher education.
See 'TODAY,' Page 2
TODAY-
Reagan as Rambo
music from his own favorite film, "Kings Row," as the
fanfare for his 1980 inauguration. Rogin goes so far as
to say Reagan's dedication to the "Star Wars" defense
system may come from "Murder in the Air," a 1940s
movie in which he starred as secret agent Brass Ban-
4. rk - 41 ... 1
from those entered in a Rose Bowl ticket drawing. The
victors will be allowed to purchase two dozen tickets to
the New Years Day game. Kickoff is scheduled for 2
p.m. Of course if the Wolverines make the playoff,
you'll have another chance to purchase tickets. Each
INSIDE
LUNCHTIME: Sports gets Bo's views on the win
over Notre Dame. See Sports, Page 8.
I