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Page A2 4 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 5, 1985
MSA setting up ad hoc committee


By KERY MURAKAMI
This fall, the Michigan Student
Assembly will begin initiatives to try
'to overcome internal problems which.
are hampering the student gover-
nment's effectiveness.
During the last student government
'elections in April, Kevin Michaels, the
torch-carrier for a moderate party,
said most students didn't know what
MSA is.
"I ASKED people if they knew what
MSA is or what it does," Michaels
said, "and people wondered if it was a
protest organization (mistaking it for
the Progressive Student Network -
PSN), or the liberal arts school
(mistaking it for the School of
Literature, Science, and the Arts -
LSA)."
Michaels later lost the election to
,the progressive VOICE party, but
soon after taking office, MSA began
taking a look at itself.
"During the summer, you have a lot.
of time to look at yourself and see
what's wrong," said MSA President
Paul Josephson. And as the summer
began, MSA formed an ad hoc com
mittee to look at improving itself.
THE MAIN problem the committee
saw was the lack of knowledge and
confidence by students in the gover-
nment.
But MSA's main problem seems to
be its ineffectiveness. "MSA mem-
bers are unable to realize their goals
and objectives because of a number of
problems," wrote Richard Layman
and Eric Schnaufer, graduate studen-
Is on the assembly's committee.
Since many representatives "sit
,round not knowing what to do,"
committees are usually reactive.
"They sit around and wait for an issue
*'to float around their way," Schnaufer
said. "Committees have to be
progressive and implement their own
iinitiatives."
STHE LACK OF effectiveness in
MSA is partially caused by a high tur-
nover rate among its members, where
s,

... MSA needsreorganization
"it's common to have 90 percent of our
incoming representatives come in
with no experience," Josephson said.
"The problem is that people are
always learning what and how to do,
instead of doing (things)," Layman
said.
"In April, we had an experienced
assembly, but it took all year to learn
the issues. Now we have 30 new people
who have to start over," Josephson
said after the election.
ONE SOLUTION, advocated by
Josephson and Layman, would be to
stagger the representative's terms.
About half would be elected in the
spring, and the other half would be
elected in the fall. This way, half the
assembly would always be experien-
ced and able to teach the other half,
Josephson said.
Another alternative, advocated by
Schnaufer, would be to have MSA
elections earlier than April, so that
outgoing representatives would have
more time to teach the incoming
representatives.
Another problem said Layman, is
that MSA representatives have no
clear constituents.
SOME REPRESENTATIVES -

such as those from the graduate
schools and the engineering school -
know who they represent, lbut the
representatives elected by LSA don't
have a clear idea of who they
represent, Layman said.
Students often complain about
MSA's practice of taking political
stands - which are usually very
liberal. "People think of MSA as being
way out left," Josephson said. "They
think we're crazy,,so they think 'let's
forget about them."'
Josephson said the ad hoc commit-
tee has discussed several ways of
"doing a better job of telling people all
the ether things we do," aside from
taking political stands on issues.
FOR EXAMPLE, the committee' is
thinking about implementing a new
University hotline - 76-GRIPE -
where students can call in their
problems.
To solve the attrition rate in MSA,
Josephson has proposed that
representatives be paid a small
stipend. Currently, the elected
positions are not paid. According to
Josephson, the system discriminates
against poor students because 50-60
hours a week are needed to be effec-
tive on the assembly.
Josephson said poor students who
have to work in addition to going to
classes don't have the opportunity to
put in enough hours at the assembly.
Josephson concedes that the
solution has some kinks, especially in
potential pay abuses, but he says it
will probably be included on next
April's MSA ballot as a referendum
vote.
According to Josephson, the
initiativesswill be implemented by the
fall, unless they require a vote by the
assembly, in which case they would
be implemented by mid-fall.
"We realize that many students do
not have the fullest trust in our
abilities," Layman said, "but we
want them to know that it's not from a
lack of concern on our part."

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Doily Photo by KATE O'LEARY
Caffeine
This student relies on a popular quick-pick-me-up - Diet Pepsi - while poring over notes during a late night
study spree.
'U' neleats campus drug problem.e
(Ctinued from Page 1)
referring them for help at University
Hospitals, Health Services, or one of
the Washtenaw County programs. cte
Prevaux said that he never had to . " *f .*..0..«*. . 99504949
refer a student to a substance abuse Alcohol/Health Education. . . . . 764-013.1
program, but knows that many ,
freshmen begin "experimenting" Alcoholics Anonymous ... . 663 6225
with drinking when "Mom and Dad
aren't there." Ann Arbor Consultation Srvcs99 9"
TO TRY TO COMBAT the drinking Beyer Hospital Alcohol
problem at the University, official
policy prohibits alcohol consumption Therapy Program ...,484-, 20
in all public places in the dormitories, - Me
including the halls and bathrooms. WFgIIO n@" "*.....1- 2.1211
The policy is not very effective,
however. Custodians still find empty Chelsea Community Nospital .". 474-1311
beer cases in the halls and in garbage
cans. Child and Fa iy Services of
Substance abuse does not stop with + Ot i'y .... 9* 71 - 5 0£
alcohol, Bruhnsen said. Many studen- " " C"ny .. .97 -5 2
ts who have the money for cocaine do Cs gnt7
lines for fun. Bruhnsen said that * I*V*g CIntVr ..........4 -542 "
cocaine gives users a "false sense of
power and security." Cou s lig SOrv 1Ws$64Ta1
This is because today's society is a ..........s48n- 725
"chemical society," where there is a ' .'.'.'.'..." .'
"pill for every problem," Bruhnsen Faculty and
said.
Program . . . .. 764-422
This thinking begins in college, he
added. "At the college age, students Health Services*764"83201
learn how to become an alcoholic "
Bruhnsen said, adding that a high Huron Oaks Catherine McCauley 572,4300
tolerance to alcohol and the ability to
drink others "under the table" are Psycholo alCli c 4 44 " 764-3471
tips to look for in alcohol abusers.
This fall, health educator Sarris and SlineCommunity HospitalSu
Jan Kravola, an administrator for the. .. .... .
newly-formed residential hall Alcohol Abuse Center 4 4 9
Education Program, will begin Abuse44*45
working with Health Services and Share House485-3769
Counseling Services to develop
programs to educate and aid in Universit y HNO if0a 764-51A2
preventing students from becoming 4 444 * * *
alcohol abusers. E Ia*ainaa m. a. Al La - a s . a

Daly rnoto by DAI
A marijuana plant grows in a student's back yard. The penalty for possession of pot in Ann Arbor is $5.

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Thousands of 'U' students move into dormitories

By LAURA BISCHOFF
Move in day is a hassle, when 9,152
students will move into the dorms in
the course of three days this fall.
"There's always a general con-
fusion," said Greg Pettigrow, a
resident advisor (RA) in Markley
Hall. Between 30 and 40 people will
move onto Pettigrow's hall the first
day, he estimates, and many people
build lofts so the halls are full of fur-
niture and lumber.
PARENTS always think their child
should have the best room with the
best view, said Robin Rawlings, a
Resident Fellow (RF) at East Quad.
This causes more hassles, she said.

"The kids are mellow about moving
in, but the parents are always up-
tight," Pettigrow said. "The kids go
through orientation so they know what
they're getting into."
But students don't necessarily have
all the answers either. "They (the
students) ask dumb questions and I
look at them and think 'you've got to
be kidding,' and then I think, 'well,
when I was a freshman
Rawlings said.
NANCY Thomas, an RA at South
Quad, said when she explains that an
RA is on duty every night in case of
emergencies, students always ask the
classic question, "Oh, does that mean

you stay up all night in case I get
locked out?" The on-duty RA does
have keys for all the doors, but does
not stay up all night.
The problems encountered on move
in day range in seriousness. For

assigned roommate, Rawlings said.
She tells them to deal with it, she said.
Last year, four female freshmen
arrived on campus to find that room
had not been reserved for therw
because housing overbooked the dor-

'The kids are mellow about moving in, but
the parents are always uptight.'
- Greg Pettigrow
resident advisor in Markley

example, students and parents
sometimes try to change rooms
because of the color or religion of an

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. INTERNATIONAL FOODS & GIFTS
. frc n China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, j
Ph illippines, India, Thailand, Mexico
and Latin America..

ins.
EVERY freshman is guarantee
housing in the dorms, so eventuall
rooms were located for them. While
they waited, the women stayed with
RAs in South Quad.
Thomas had a freshwoman room-
mate for two days and said "it was
more of a pain for her than me." The
freshwoman finally was transferred
to a single in Bursley Hall, although
she wanted a double on central cam-
pus.0
"Move in day is great because you
just sit there and watch (the fresh-
men) in total cluelessness," said Ken
"Nate" Deighton, an RA in South
Quad.
His freshman year, Deighton said
he and his roommates hauled a loft up
eight floors by rope and brought it in
through the window because it
wouldn't fit in the elevator. They later'

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