4 Page 2 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 10, 1986 BUSINESS a: Pickens advocates the common man By DOV COHEN To his advocates, corporate businessman T. Boone Pickens is the American dream in a charcoal grey suit. Pickens, president of Mesa Petroleum,'is a corporate raider. He uses Mesa's assets to buy stock in another company in the hopes of taking it over. T MESA Petroleum, with its 430 em- ployees and $413 million in sales, takes on the big guys. It has tried (and failed) to take over such huge com- panies as Gulf Oil, which reaped $28.4 billion in sales in 1984. A man in a blue suit and red tie, with a wad of tobacco tucked into his left jaw, introduced Pickens . "Today I'm going to give you an American Jegend," he told the audience of 400 in Hutchins Hall on Friday. Listening to Pickens speak reveals ivhy people call him an American legend. He stands for much that people love and hate about the American dream. PICKENS advocates making money. "You're no different here from the people at Harvard, Stanford, or the University of Southern Califor- nia," said Pickens, who spoke at 87 campuses last year. "You all look alike, think alike. The same reason you are here listening to me is the same reason people moved to America. They want a good job, a good standard of living. "And you think I'm going to come here and drop some hint about how to do this quick," he said knowingly. PICKENS says he puts his faith in the common man and stands for the lit- tle guy against the big corporation. Stockholders, not company executives, know what's best for themselves, Pickens says. So when he tries to take over a company, he said he usually makes shareholders an of- fer well above the market price. "Whose money is at risk?" he asked. "If the shareholders are smart enough to make the money and buy the stock, why aren't they smart 'T FOX HILLS CHRYSLER PLYMOUTH, INC. 111 West Ann Arbor Road Plymouth, Michigan 455-8740 CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATING STUDENTS You Have Finally Made It, And We Want To Help You Celebrate Your Achievement. enough to see if they want to be bought out by a takeover bid? Management always steps and says the offer is always either inadequate or grossly inadequate. "I'M ALWAYS amazed to hear about a hostile takeover. It's only hostile to the chief executives, not the stockholder," Pickens concludes. Pickens bases his faith in the com- mon man on personal experience. He started in the oil business in 1955 with $2,500. His company, Mesa Petroleum, is now worth $3 billion. Pickens offered a few hints for business success. "CUT OUT the layers of bureaucracy," he advised. "I don't like bureaucracy. I want decision makers on the line." He also emphasized that excess paper work wastes time. "Don't be a pack rat. The paper work will kill you. I've. found one useless item filed in five different places." Above all, Pickens stresses honesty. "EVEN MY enemies never say I'm dishonest," he said. "When you get out in the business world, you don't have to cheat, you don't have to bend to win. You can stand by your principles - you don't have to cut corners or cheat." "You have to shave yourself every morning and look yourself in the mirror. It's a lot more fun if you win by the rules. I don't think the other is a valid alternative," he said. Pickens''ideas have made him a folk hero to some people. "HE FITS well into the idea of the individual going out and making a dif- ference," said Mike Born, a first year law student. "There's something really attractive about a self-made man. People like the rags-to-riches story." Pickens drew an audience of both skeptics and admirers. "Some people are really into this guy," said one student, adding that some showed up at 1:30 p.m. to get good seats for the 2:30 p.m. speech. "I'VE HEARD a lot about T. Boone. I want to see what he's like in person. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," said Nicole Kelly, a second year student working on her Masters of Business Administration degree. According to Brett Keenan, a second year law student: "His How to start your law career before you start law school. Start with the Kaplan LSAT prep course. After taking Kaplan, thousands of LSAT students score between 40 and 48. And those scores give you the best shot at getting into the school of your choice and going on to the top firms or corporations. Call today ±IKPLAN STANLEY H.KAPAN EDUCATIONAL CENTER LTD. 203 E. Hoover Ann Arbor, MI 48104 662-3149 $0 Down And A Solid Credit Will Enable You To Lease Chrysler Or Plymouth For As $149/Month. History A New Low As SEE OR CALL TONY PIZII Fox Hills Leasing Agent U,*4U GRADUATE TO KINKO'S. Go to the head of the class with a great looking professional resume from Kinko's. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff will help give your job applica- tions the leading edge. Apply yourself. Come to Kinko's. 540 E. LIBERTY Open 24 Hours 761-4539 Pickens ... dislikes bureaucracy knowledge is pretty straightforward . ta.thereare certain methods for takeover bids . .. A lot of strategies you can get out of a book ... I'm really here to examine him, not his ideas." Although he fascinated his audien- ce, not everyone approves of his methods. "HIS ETHICS are questionable; it takes a guy who doesn't care what other people think to do what he's done," said Kelly-. "I don't approve. But I find him fascinating," she admitted. According to Keenan, "If that's your definition of life - to get rich - then he's a hero. The guy's done it. He's not my hero. But he's an in- teresting guy." "He's my hero," said Eddie Mehrfor, an LSA sophomore. "I've watched him for a year - he deserves all the credit he's gotten. He stands for the stockholders against management. He stands for the little guy against the big corporation," he said. "I firmly believe in everything he spoke about. Some people regard Pickens as a rugged individual, others see him as a gentle giant. Assembly reviews committee (Continued from Page1) say will protect Meunchow, who is running for assembly president, if the BPC is found at fault. Meunchow said last week that he is not biased against liberal groups and that the BPC is "clean." MSA PRESIDENT Paul Josephson, who is running for LSA representative on Meunchow's ticket, initially moved yesterday to call off the investigation because he did not think the BPC has a major problem. Josephson said his motion was not meant to cover up BPC activitites, but that an investigation would be a waste of MSA's time. He added that he thought the investigation was politically motivated, and that revealing the results of the in- vestigation prematurely could sway the election. Meunchow would not comment ex- cept to agree with Josephson that the investigation is "politically motivated." THE BPC is accused of not following its guidelines in funding some groups and fabricating guidelines in order to avoid funding other groups. Steering Committee members who encouraged the investigation cited the BPC's refusal to allocate in full the funds requested by the Freedom Charter Coalition, a liberal student organization. The BPC recommended that the coalition be granted less than one- fourth of the funds it requested "because it would be inappropriate for MSA to fund 75 percent of the cost - it would then be an MSA project." BPC GUIDELINES contain no stipulations regarding what percen- tage of a project's cost the committee can fund. The BPC is responsible for allocating about $20,000 - one-fifth of MSA funds - to student organizations each year. The coalition, which consists of several liberal campus organizations, renueted fund tn nhish a cha rtr IN BRIEF COMPILED FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL REPORTS Zimbabwe leaders join forces BULAWAYU, Zimbabwe - Joshua Nkoma said yesterday that he and his old foe, Prime Minister Robert Mugabe, have buried most of their dif- ferences and intend to merge their political parties as a prelude to a one- party socialist state. Nkomo, who fought alongside Mugabe for years in a bush war for Zim- babwe's independence, charged previously that his followers have been persecuted and that thousands of civilians in his tribal stronghold of Matabeleland have been tortured and slain by Mugabe's government. But Nkomo urged about 30,000 supporters, crowded yesterday into Bulawayo's soccer stadium, to forget the past. He said five months of unity talks had brought agreement with Mugabe on all points except the division among their followers of Cabinet posts and Parliament seats. "What happened to the people of Matabeleland is a tragic story," he said in his first pubic address in almost a year. "A number of relatives were killed, some were detained. But let's forget that. It is history now." Oil price drop may cost jobs LANSING-Falling oil prices on the world market may cost nearly 21,000 oil and gas workers in Michigan their jobs, an executive of a Michigan-based oil and gas company said Sunday. Frank Mortl, executive vice president of the Michigan Oil and Gas Association told The Detroit News that the jobs are in jeopardy along with revenues that the state receives for royalties on gas and oil production on state-owned land. While it's much too early to tell how much the state will be affected by the falling oil prices, state officials said they may have an indication of the future of Michigan's oil and gas industry in April as many oil and gas firms file for drilling permits. A major concern for state officials is the possible loss of royalties. Last year, Michigan received $136 million in royalties for drillings on state- owned lands like the Pigeon River State Forest. Philadelphia mayor responds to MOVE panel criticisms PHILADELPHIA - Mayor Wilson Goode expressed deep sorrow last night for the six adult MOVE members and five children who died in a fiery police assault last spring, calling it "the most tragic day in my life." "Each day I live with its memories," Goode said in remarks prepared for a 15-minute televised address. "I think often of the five children and six adults who lost their lives" in the police bombing of the MOVE com- pound on May 13. "I wish May 13 had never happened," the mayor said. "But it did, and I am sorry for that ... For me, personally, May 13 was the most tragic day in my life." Goode had asked local television stations for 15 minutes of air time to formally respond to harsh criticism leveled at him last week by a panel he had appointed to investigate the city's handling of the MOVE confron- tation. Congressional agency drafts deficit cutting tax proposals WASHINGTON - The Congressional Budget office has drafted a long list of tax options to help erase the federal deficit from limiting the deduc- tion for "three-martini" business lunches to taking away soldiers' tax- exempt housing allowances. Several items will be considered this week by the Senate Budget Com- mittee as it writes a 1987 budget. The chairman and senior Democrat on the panel agree the budget will need some new revenue. Some of the money raisers on the CBO list already have been passed by the House as part of a major overhaul of the income tax and will be weighed by the Senate Finance Committee when it writes its.version of tax revision. The CBO does not recommend that any of the tax changes be enacted to reduce the deficit; the agency is barred from recommending anything. And it seems unlikely that any major tax increases for deficit reduction will be approved so long as President Reagan is so adamantly opposed. Nevertheless, the CBO report says Congress would have an easier time reducing the deficit to mandated levels if it used a combination of higher taxes and spending cuts, rather than relying solely on spending reduc- tions. Satellite damaged by comet MOSCOW - Clouds of comet dust chipped away at instruments aboard the Soviet satellite Vega 2 as the space probe streaked across the path of Halley's comet yesterday in the closest encounter ever with the celestial body. Despite the loss of 40 percent of its power from damage to the probe's solar panels, American scientist Carl Sagan praised the Soviet Institute for Space Research for the "brilliant success" of the mission. Three instruments on board were also knocked out by the micro-meteors that surround the comet, hazards that have officials at the European Space Agency in West Germany worried. High-tech tracking equipment in Darmstadt, West Germany, will give the world the closest pictures yet of Halley's comet. If all goes as planned, the European Space Agency control center will begin receiving radio signals of the first pictures Thursday at about 2 p.m. EST as Giotto approaches the famed comet. Four hours later, the satellite will move to within 310 miles of what is believed to be the core of Halley's comet, operations center spokeswoman Ria Weiland said. Vol. XCVI - No. 107 The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967 X) is published Monday through Friday during the fall.and winter terms. Subscription rates: September through April-$18 in Ann Arbor; $35 outside the city. One term-$10 in town; $20 outside the city. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and subscribes to United Press International, Pacific News Service, Los Angeles Times Syndicate, and College Press Service. $2,1500 3 rd AnnualPy Entrepreneurial Award The Pryor Foundation will present this award for the best prepared, most innovative Business Plan submitted, detailing the startup for a new enterprise which could be pursued by the contestants. Open to any individual or group of undergraduate or graduate students who- are officially registered at The University of Michigan during the 1985/86 academic year. Your idea may center on 'a consumer or an industrial product or service, or on a real estate project. The idea will remain your property, and The University of Michigan will make all reasonable effort to protect that ownership. Editor in Chief.............. ERIC MATTSON Managing Editor ......... RACHEL GOTTLIEB News Editor ............... JERRY MARKON Features Editor............ CHRISTY RIEDEL NEWS STAFF: Eve Becker, Melissa Birks, Laura Bischoff, Rebecca Blumenstein, Marc Carrel, Dov Cohen, Laura Coughlin, Tim Daly, Nancy Driscoll, Rob Earle, Amy Goldstein, Susan Grant, Stephen Gregory, Steve Herz, Linda Holler, Mary Chris Jaklevic. Phillip Levy, Michael Lustig, Amy Mindell, Caroline Muller, Kery Murakami, Jill Oserowsky, Joe Pigott, Kurt Serbus, Martha Sevet- son, Cheryl Wistrom, Jackie Young. Opinion Page Editor..........KAREN KLEIN Associate Opinion Page Editor... HENRY PARK OPINION PAGE STAFF: Gayle Kirshenbaum, Peter Ephross, David Lewis, Peter Mooney, Susanne Skubik. Arts Editor................NOELLE BROWER Associate Arts Editor...........BETH FERTIG Books.................REBECCA CHUNG Sports Editor............... BARB McQUADE Associate Sports Editors ...... DAVE ARETHA, MARK BOROWSKY, RICK KAPLAN, ADAM MARTIN, PHIL NUSSEL SPORTS STAFF: Emily Bridgham. Debbie deFrances, Liam Flaherty, Jon Hartmann, Darren Jasey, Christian Martin, Scott Miller, Greg Molzon, Jerry Muth, Adam Ochlis, Duane Roose, Jeff Rush, Adam Schefter, Scott Shaffer, Pete SteinertDouglas Volan. Business Manager ........ DAWN WILLACKER Display Sales Manager. CYNTHIA NIXON Assistant Sales Manager.. KATHLEEN O'BRIEN Classified Manager. GAYLA BROCKMAN Finance Manager.......... MIKE BAUGHMAN Marketing Manager.......... JAKE GAGNON DISPLAY SALES: Eda Banjakul, Diane Bloom, Phil Educate, Albert Ellenich, Debbie Feit, Ma- son Franklin, Heidi Freeman, Traci Garfinkel, John Graff, Jennifer Heyman, Beth Horowitz, Parker Moon, Carol Muth, Debra Silverman, The written business plan should describe -a n - i iw w- r.. i e - - -nr a -s -l r .vr l in i the new product or service, rr -..n1 ir: r . - ni:-: .r- 2..a:in - I m