cl be 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