P Nnty toan Ninety-six years of editorial freedom 1 atui Vol. XCVI - No. 110 Copyright 1986, The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan - Thursday, March 13, 1986 Ten Pages 'U'faces worst ever 'housing crunch By EVE BECKER The housing crunch is on and is greater this year than ever according to Student Legal S rvices, which is conducting a research project to determine the causes of the housing crunch. Larry Fox, an attorney for Student Legal Services, said he has noticed a rise in rents, an increased demand for student housing, and cases of in- timidation by landlords. Because landlords can be mdre selective about tenants, students are reluctant to complain to their landlords, he said. "IT SEEMS to be even worse now than it was," said Fox. "Students are i scrambling now to find housing. It's starting earlier so landlords can pick and choose." The low vacancy rate, 0.79 percent for Septmeber, 1985, caused rents to escalate, making the University's rents second only to Northwestern University in the Big Ten schools. SLS is conducting a housing resear- ch project to identify the problems Rand pose solutions to Ann Arbor housing problems on and off campus. "WE'RE TRYING to do a study to put together a report to see whether the University should try to provide more housing," said .Marc Fried, an LSA junior who is working on the report. "We're going to try to get the University to work with the city." "There's little question that there's a housing crunch this year," said associate director for housing John Heidke. The resident halls are filled to over 100 percent capacity, and the University must provide rooms first to incoming freshmen, so some retur- ning students may not be accom- modated, he said. Fox said the high cost of off-campus housing may discourage students from attending the University and has a "4isproportionate impact on minority students. I think the Univer- sity has a responsibility at least in that area to provide for students who come here." THE ANN Arbor housing research project will study the need for ad- ditional housing, the rents students pay, the effects of downtown development on the costs of housing, See SLS, Page 3 Regents react to PIRGIM f4 eproposal Daily Photo by CHRIS TWIGG Cool and creamy LSA sophomore Amy Silverman takes off her mittens to enjoy an ice cream cone yesterday, as temperatures hovered in the upper 30s. MIfichigan Right to Know proposal passes Senate By NANCY DRISCOLL Members of the University's Board of Regents yesterday expressed con- cern that the Public Interest Resear- ch Group in Michigan's (PIRGIM) proposed funding system may not be constitutional and predicted that it will not be approved by the board-. PIRGIM, which is part of a nation- wide consumer action group, is currently gathering students' signatures in support of a "refusable/refundable" funding system with the University. This type of funding system would automatically assess students a $2 fee unless they request not to be billed by checking a refusal box on their Student Verification Form. Students would also be able to request a refund at a later date. ON MONDAY the Supreme Court upheld a federal ruling that declared unconstitutional Rutgers University's funding system for the New Jersey PIRG. The third circuit court of Philadelphia ruled in August, 1985 that Rutgers' system, which required students to pay a mandatory $4 per semester fee - even though it was refundable upon reque§t - violates some students' constitutional rights. The court, however, did notrule on the constitutionality of the type of system that is being lobbied for by PIRGIM. Nonetheless Regent Deane Baker said he believes PIRGIM's proposed system could be affected "in a major way by that case." Baker said the courts opinion "clearly states that PIRGs are not educational organizations, they are political." He added that PIRGIM is filed as a lob- byist organization in the state of Michigan. IN FEBRUARY of last year the regents voted to terminate PIRGIM's funding contract with the University, which had allowed them a positive- checkoff fudning system on SVF for- ms. The, contract was terminated because of a lack of student support. Under bylaws created by the regen- ts in 1972, any organization that had initial support from 50 percent of the student population and one-third sup- port thereafter would be eligible for the special funding mechanism. Because of changes in the registration process, in subsequent contracts with PIRGIM the regents lowered the margin of continued sup- port needed to 25 percent, 20 percent, and finally waived the requirement altogether. BUT THE regents decided last February that to requalify for such a system, the student group must again prove that they had support of more See PIRGIM, Page 5 By LAURA COUGHLIN with wire reports Senate approval yesterday of legislation which would give Michigan residents access to information about toxic 'chemicals in the workplace met with mixed reactions in. Ann Arbor. The legislation, known as the Right to Know, was passed unanimously by the State House of Representatives earlier this year, but needs to be signed by Governor James Blanchard before it becomes law. THE BILLS allow residents of a county to obtain lists of hazardous chemicals used in their areas, requires firms to supply such lists to local fire chiefs, and gives employees the right to refuse to work with some hazardous materials. "We support the package," said Andy Buchsbaum of the Public Interest Research Group in Michigan, although he said that there were faults in the bill. Buchsbaum said that although the information will be available to the public, people will have to write away for it. This, he said, unnecessarily delays communication. WES PRATER, a spokesman for the Ann Arbor Fire! Department, said a Washtenaw County proposal is better because it provides for local distribution of information. If the state law goes into effect, the county law will not, but when the state law is renewed after April 1, 1987, ex- perts expect that it will be similar to the country proposal. "The county Right to Know bill is a much better regualtion, but a little bit is better than nothing," Prater said. ECHOING Prater, Buchsbaum said, the state proposal "does not provide local access for information and it doesn't provide for local enforcment." But he praised the bill that automatically sends lists of the locations of toxic waste to fire fighters. "We'd rather have all three bills than nothing at all," Buchsbaum said. Following passage of the measures, the Right to Know Task Force, a coalition of groups, hailed the Senate's ac- tion as "a tremendous victory for the citizens of Michigan." Scott Tobey, chairman of the task force, said the group encourages people who are exposed to toxic chemicals to begin demanding the information the law provides. 'U' official justifies following of protesters By ROB EARLE Police and campus security guards followed protesters from North Cam- pus to Central Campus last Friday because the officers believed the protest would continue elsewhere, University Public Safety Director Leo Heatley said yesterday. Heatley said either a police or security officer heard one of the .Profs. question warmer superpower relations By ADAM CORT University professors voiced mixed reactions to a recent Associated Press poll indicating that Americans don't think nuclear war is likely in the next 15 years, and that relations are im- proving between the two super- powers. The professors agreed that a nuclear conflict is unlikely, but war- ned that relations are still strained. The poll released yesterday in- dicated that although most people believe the Soviets are a military threat to the United States, nearly three-quarters of the 1,512 adults questioned think a nuclear war with the Soviets is not likely to occur before the turn of the century. THE POLL also indicates that. 47 percent of those polled believe relations between the United States and the Soviet Union "had improved under President Reagan." Faculty members responding to the survey agreed that nuclear war is unlikely to occur in the immediate future. "The threat of nuclear war is always present," said Ronald Suny, a Russian history professor, "but I'd have to agree with the poll that a nuclear war is very unlikely." United States diplomatic history prof. Bradford Perkins agreed, saying that the chance of a nuclear conflict between the two nations is "very, very small." REACTIONS were mixed, but generally in disagreement with the public's positive view of relations between the two countries. Political Science professor, Raymond Tanter said he sees only marginal improvement, if any. "Relations have improved because (the countries) are not calling each other names, but there has been no resolution in those areas like Third World influence that will bring real improvement," he said. Suny agrees that "Relations have improved since the low point of late 1983 and early 1984," but he added that "it was Reagan that drove them that low." SOME professors were skeptical of the public optimism. History Prof. Gerald Linderman said, "I think that Americans are still feeling a post-summit optimism though nothing has happened to justify that confidence." People are "optimistic because they saw a cor- dial relationship" between the two heads of state, but there have since been no developments that hint upon a friendly personal relationship, he said. . The professors agreed that relations will continue to be strained. Though Tanter does not believe the future is entirely grim, he said he does not expect progress in either arms control or Third World relations in the near future. "It would be foolish to relax our ef- forts to control arms," said Linder- man. protesters at the Stearns Building on North Campus say the protest would move to another building, because the building had been closed to the public. VICE President for Student Affairs Henry Johnson was appointed by Shapiro to investigate the incident, in which campus security and Ann Ar- bor police officers followed demon- See PROTEST, Page 5 Activist promotes Mid-East Relations By ELLEN FIEDELHOLTZ Reconciliation of the Arab-Israeli conflict will be impossible until each side views the other as equal, said a Palestinian speaker who holds Israeli citizenship last night. "'I'm not here to draw maps," said Mohammad Darouwshe, who believes that coexistence of Palenstinians and Israelis is the only way to make peace in the war-torn Middle East. STEREOTYPES play a large role in the conflict, the lecturer told an audience of 50 in the Union. Both Arab and Israelis grow up with pat definitions that categorize their op- ponents. Palestinians are automatically associated with terrorism, while Israelis are seen as invaders and killers, Darouwshe said. But both sides actively participate in murders, he said. "Killing is killing. Death is death. Ten people See POLITICAL, Page 2 Daily Photo by CHRIS TWIGG- Mohammad Darouwshe, an Israeli citizen who was born in Palestine, speaks to a crowd in the Michigan Union last night. TODAY Bun lovers 7 Ut'T T MA PUTIV APihp hav hnn build and that the two entrepreneurs are in the process of working out a regular route. Their innovative creation features a countertop, and enough stools to set ten hungry residents. Most students expressed sur- prise at seeing a red vehicle which resembled a bus outside their dorm selling hot dogs. LSA junior Joe Saul said, "It's a ,great idea and definitely one of the The first time he proposed, Bostwick was turned down. "I just wasn't ready to get married in 1928," said Ar- thun, who was at college in Dillon preparing for a teaching career. Bostwick and Arthun each married someone else, raised families and lived in different towns in western Montana. They never corresponded. But Bostwick's wife died last year. Last winter, an INSIDE- DECAY: Opinion discusses America's decaying campuses. See page 4. u..a a -- - - *. I I