4 Page 2 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 17, 1985 - How to prevent checking woes By MARY CHRIS JAKLEVIC Maintaining a checking account is hard enough without having to hastle with unpredictable store policies or seeing your checks stolen. Taking a few simple steps can ~protect your checks from being used fraudulently, and save you - and the stores you patronize - time and trouble, merchants say. "THERE SHOULD BE a class in high school on how a checking account works," said a manager at Village Corner market. One problem students face is that not all stores accept out-of-state or jut-of-town checks, or checks with non-local addresses printed on them. Ulrich's, University Cellar and the Michigan Union Bookstore all accept o.-of-state checks as long as they have addresses on them. "You have to because so much of our business is from out-of-state students," said Ulrich's Store Manager Tom Musser. STILL, SOME OTHER businesses disfavor out-of-town checks. Diane Brown, marketing coordinator for First of America bank, advises again- st putting out-of-state or even out-of- town addresses on checks. "The more local information the better. Even if you don't use up all your checks in a year and you move out of your dorm, you can always cross out the address and write the new one on the checks that are left." Starter checks, which are blank checks without addresses, can cause problems for students who must use them while they wait for their check- books to be imprinted. A manager at Village Corner market called them "horrible," because they don't offer any in- formation about the owner; anyone can use them with their own iden- tification. She said she accepts blank Harvard adds twitst to fall ori'entation, BOSTON (AP) - One giggling man before classes started Wed- freshman was lowered into a sewer nesday. tank yesterday while others signed up "It's an alternative to having them for a tour of black history landmarks stalking around and just rooting," he in field trips meant to give newcomers said. checks if the checkbook includes a signed card in the front of the check- book with the signature of the owner, but said that many times students forget to sign the card, making positive identification of the check- book owner impossible. GEORGE BOUKAS, manager of 9- West shoe store in Briarwood Mall, said he refuses blank checks for the protection of both his store and checkbook owners whose checks are stolen. "The chances of a starter check having been stolen are ten times greater because there is no name printed on it, so there is nothing to stop someone other than the owner from using it." Ulrich's and the Michigan Union bookstore accept blank checks only at the beginning of the school year, when most students have just opened up checking accounts and have only the starter checks. University Cellar will accept blank checks all year round, but, said general manager Bruce Weinberg, "We're a bit leary of them." MUSSER SUGGESTED that freshmen open their accounts when they come to orientation so that per- manent checks would be ready by the time they arrive in the fall. The most serious checking obstacle is a stolen checkbook. Detective George Gallas of the Ann Arbor Police Department said a common mistake is carrying all of your financial information around when it's not needed. Carrying a Ready Teller card and its iden- tification number in the same wallet is an example. ALSO, MANY STUDENTS leave financial information lying around in public areas, such as dormitories, which can be used by others to obtain false identification cards. If a checkbook or banking machine card is lost or stolen, it should be reported immediately to the bank, and then to the police, since most thieves use the checks within three days ofsthe time they were taken, Gallas said. Another problem cited by store owners is that students write checks to stores immediately after making a deposit into their checking account. If the deposit has not had time to clear, often the check comes back to the store marked "insufficient funds." The store must send the check back again after the deposit has had time to clear. UNTIL THAT HAPPENS, however, the store may not let the student pay by check. Each of the three bookstores keeps a returned check list, so that students whose checks have not gone through are not allowed to pay by check. Jacobson's credit manager Linda Albertzart said that for puchases larger than $50 salespeople might call the customer's bank to make sure the account has sufficient funds to cover the debt. Boukas said, "A retailer accepts your check on good faith, on the assumption that that's your account and you have sufficient funds in it." THOUGH BOUKAS said he has relatively minor problems with student checks, he said that checking fraud by professionals is a danger. Boukas said that last November a team of professionals working in one afternoon under six different names wrote $29,000 worth of bad checks in Briarwood mall, including his own store. 9-West accepts checks if the customer has his driver's license and is not listed with Compucheck, a firm which lists the names of persons who have written three or more bad checks in the past month. 9-West does all it can to make cer- tain that both the customer and his check are legitimate. If a customer does not have a picture ID, a 9-West salesperson will check a customer's signature. 9-West will ask for ad- ditional ID from people whose signature or appearance varies from that on their ID card. BOUKAS HAS received bad checks from students at the end of the school year and from graduating seniors who are about to leave town. He reports bad checks to the police department and sends a collection agency after the offenders. The most common roadblock for student checkbook writers is the easiest to eliminate - forgetting to bring identification. Musser said, "We feel bad about turning a student away, but he's got to have the proper ID. That's all it takes forus.' to Harvard University a new view of a new world. The odd introduction to college life was organized by Burris Young associate dean of freshman at Har- vard, when he realized that because of the Jewish holidays, he had a few more days than usual to orient fresh- "We want them to open their eyes," said Young, "I've talked to seniors who have never even been on a subway." Young packed 500 freshmen into boats yesterday for a tour of Georges Island, a Civil War fort in Boston Harbor. IN BRIEF COMPILED FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL REPORTS Shawn Moore murder suspect arraigned amid death threats HOWELL, Mich. - The suspect in the kidnap-slaying of a 13-year-old boy stood silent yesterday at a brief jailhouse arraignment held under tight security prompted by death threats against him. Ronald Lloyd Bailey, 26, of Livonia, Mich., who has a history of sex of- fenses involving boys, eluded police for four days after being released under "limited surveillance." With his father at his side holding an arm around him, Bailey remained mute yesterday when District Court Judge Mike Merritt asked for a plea to charges of kidnapping and murdering Shawn Moore, 13. The judge delayed entering a plea pending competency and criminal responsibility evaluations to be held at the state's Ypsilanti facility. Prosecutor Frank Delvero requested the examinations. Britain ousts six more Soviets LONDON - Britain ordered six more Soviets out of the country yester- day in an escalating series of expulsions of purported spies which has plunged Anglo-Soviet relations to one of the lowest points since World War II. The government accused two Soviet diplomats, two embassy clerks, a trade representative and a journalist of spying and ordered them to leave Britain by Oct. 7. Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe said the move was designed "to uphold Britain's national security." The government also cut the permitted level of Soviet official personnel in Britain from 211 to 205. The Soviet Embassy in London quickly accused Britain in a statement of a "provocative and vindictive action of an unfriendly nature and said it was "totally unjustified on any grounds whatsoever." It added that "the entire responsibility for the consequences of this ac- tion rests with the British Side." Smoking hurts U.S. economy WASHINGTON - Disease and lost productivity due to smoking are costing the United States some $65 billion a year - more than $2 for every pack of cigarettes consumed - according to a new congressional study released yesterday. The new estimate from the Office of Technology Assessment, Congress' scientific advisory body, is substantially higher than past calculations of the costs of smoking reflected in increased medical bills, premature death and time lost from work. Our economy is losing more than $10 million an hour because of the smoking habit," said Rep. Fortney Stark (D-Calif.), who requested the study. "This study confirms air suspicion that smoking is not only a deadly habit, but a costly one for the federal health care budget." Stark, chairman of the health subcommittee of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, is pushing legislation to keep the cigarette tax at its current 16 cents per pack instead of allowing it to revert to eight cents a pack as scheduled at the end of this month. Stark's bill would earmark part of the revenue to help pay for federal health care programs. Sweden re-elects socialist; Communists gain influence STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Prime Minister Olof Palme has won re- election in a general election, but results yesterday showed that his party lost parlimentary seats and will be more dependent on support from the small Communist Party. "We've won the victory for the welfare state," the 58-year-old Social Democrat said after votes were counted in the Sunday general election, the country's first since 1982. Palme, who will be serving his fourth term as prime minister, had depicted the campaign as a battle to protect social welfare programs from cuts which he said his non-socialist opponents would make if they won power. First elected prime minister in 1969, Palme served the two terms, one of them for four years - parliamentary terms now run for three years - before being defeated in 1976. He was re-elected in 1979 after four non- socialist governments made up of varying combinations of the three op- position parties. Ulf Adelsohn, whose Conservative Party has not elected a prime minister since 1928, said Swedes faced a "cold shower" for the next three years under Palme, "but they've chosen it themselves." Adelsohn had been figured as the new prime minister if Palme had lost. Two killed in new outbreak of violence in South Africa JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Two black men were fatally shot a mob doused another man with gasoline and tried to set him on fire in a new outbreak of unrest in a black township near Johannesburg, police said yesterday. As the violence flared, parents, doctors and plsychiatrists, concerned about young people caught up in the year long wave of nationwide political unrest, demanded the release of detained children and urged police to stay away from black schools. Police said a mob of blacks in the township of Tembisa attacked an am- bulance and one passenger opened fire, killing two men, in overnight violence reported yesterday.. Furtheredetails were not available and it was not clear whether the at- tack was politically motivated. More than 700 blacks have died since last September in racial unrest linked to protests against the white-minority government and its policy of racial discrimination and segregation. 01 he ichigan Bat-IV Vol XCVI- No. 9 The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967 X) is published Monday through Friday during the Fall and Winter terms and Tuesday through Saturday during the Spring and Summer terms by students at the University of Michigan. Subscription rates: through April - $10.00 in Ann Arbor; $20.00 outside the city. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and Sub- scribes to United Press International, Pacific News Service, Los Angeles Times Syndicate, and College Press Service. Today lto U'in Octo (Continued from Page 1) where her 15 or so classmates and professor carried on a discussion, trying to look natural. Later, the crew met the brown- haired freshman for her jam-packed chemistry lecture. Grace said the large class would contrast well with the smaller discussion class. Finally they filmed Brown in her dorm room and eating in the South Quad cafeteria. Brown was selected by the Today show from a list of a dozen incoming freshmen provided by the University. The show's producers in New York narrowed the list down to .five, and chose Brown after interviewing each one. SEPTEMBER 16th to SEPTEMBER 20th STATE STREET GIVEAWAY feature ber show BROWN SAID when the Today show called her for an interview in early August, "I was in shock...It did take a while for it to finally sink in." Grace and a camera crew visited Brown at her home in the Upper Peninsula for a day a week before she came to Ann Arbor to show the dif- ference in her lifestyles. The crew filmed Brown working at her summer job as a receptionist, eating dinner with her family, packing clothes to get ready for school, and talking with friends who stopped by to visit her. The program's profile will contrast Brown's expectations of the Univer- sity with her actual experience here. So far, she said, "It's pretty much what I expected. I'm really enjoying it." "I KNEW the food wouldn't be great, I knew it would be a lot of work," she said. The academic reputation of the University was in- timidating, she said, but hasn't found the workload too heavy despite 17 credit hours. The Today show will profile a male student at Brown University, Grace said. Other taped pieces will focus on the financial crunch facing students and colleges, famous alumni from both schools, what students do for fun, the pros and cons of "megasports" at the University, and glimpses of general campus life. As part of the campus life piece, Grace and his crew went into the Un- dergraduate Library and interviewed two women. LSA junior Kara Bet- tigole, who told Grace that her paren- ts "would be surprised if they saw me studying," is looking forward to the show's airing. "I'm excited about it," she said. "I think it's going to be really cool." Bettigole, a member of the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority, told Grace (jokingly, of course) that one of the greatest problems of University life is the "lack of male companionship." World Premiere First Big Screen Boardsailing Movie IVIP STEPS TO TAKE: 1. Pick up a "giveaway bag" (stuffed with mii from any participating State Street Area s restaurant. 2. Then ask any participating State Street Are chant for a registration form to enter the drav 3. Stop by the Michigan Theatre Saturday, Sept 21st at 3 p.m. for the final drawing. REGISTER NOW AT ONE OF THESE LOCATION Win a trip to the, Bahamasl. IMAGINE YOURSELF AND YOUR CHOICE COMPANION UNDER THE GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND SUN... TURNING SPRING BREAK INTO A TROPICAL ADVENTURE. GAME RULES: 1. 2. Student I.D. is required to register. Registration may be in person or by mail to the State Street Area Association, P.O. Box 4128, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. 3. No purchase or other consideration is required to enter. 4. Only one entry per person is permitted. 5. Prize drawing will be held at the Michigan Theatre on September 21, 1985. 6. Entrants need not be present to win. Editor in Chief..................NEIL CHASE Opinion Page Editor ............ JOSEPH KRAUS Managing Editors..........GEORGEA KOVANIS JACKIE YOUNG News Editor................THOMAS MILLER Features Editor..............LAURIE DELATER City Editor...............ANDREW ERIKSEN Personnel Editor............. TRACEY MILLER NEWS STAFF: Jody Becker, Laura Bischoff, Nancy Driscoll, Carla Folz, Rachel Gottlieb, Sean Jackson, David Klapman, Vibeke Laroi, Carrie Levine, Jerry Markon, Eric Mattson, Amy Mindell, Kery Mura- kami, Christy Reidel, Stacey Shonk, Katie Wilcox. Magazine Editor ............. RANDALL STONE Arts Editor .................CHRIS LAUER Associate Arts Editors ............. JOHN LOGIE Movies ..................... BYRON L. BULL Records......................BETH FERTIG Sports Editor..................TOM KEANEY Associate Sports Editors ............. JOE EWING BARB McQUADE ADAM MARTIN PHIL NUSSEL STEVE WISE SPORTS STAFF: Dave Aretha, Eda Benjakul, Mark Borowsky, Emily Bridgham, David Broser, Debbie deFrances, Joe Devyak, Rachel Goldman, Skip Goodman, Joh Hartmann, Steve Herz, Rich Kaplan, Mark Kovinsky, John Laherty, Scott Miller, Brad Morgan, Jerry Muth, Adam Ochlis, Mike Redstone, Scott Shaffer, Howard Solomon. Business Manager .........DAWN WILLACKER Sales Manager ............ MARY ANNE HOGAN Assistant Sales Manager..............YUNA LEE Marketing Manager ............CYNTHIA NIXON Finance Manager ...............DAVID JELINEK m