4 Page 2 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 14, 1986 BUSINESS Flight Simulators enliven kiddie rides By EUGENE PAK Most University students can probably remember those old elec- tronically-powered rocking horses that stood outside the local grocery or discount store. For just a quarter a youngster could sit atop the plastic animal as it bucked and bounced through an imaginary countryside. Back then that simple ride must have seemed exciting and fun, but today's young people are more sophisticated and demanding. Growing up in the era of high-tech video games and home computers, children have become accustomed to the whirl and flash of electronic enter- tainment. The repetitive bump and bounce of the old riding horse just doesn't compare to the vivid visual and aural thrill of saving the Omega galaxy by blowing up enemy starships with proton torpedos and alpha bom- bs. IN ORDER to enliven kiddie rides, How to start your taw career before you start law school. Start with the Kaplan LSAT an Australian-based company, the Bolwell Group, has developed "Flight Simulators," a new type of ride which will bring state-of-the-art electronics into the kiddie ride industry. Bolwell's Flight Simulators look and work like futuristic mini- spaceships. Designed for children from 3 to 14 years old, simulators allow the "passenger" complete con- trol of the craft, a feature absent form traditional kiddie rides. By shifting th e centrally-mounted joystick, the user can maneuver the craft in elec- tronically-simulated climbs, banks, and dives. A continuous base-to-pilot dialogue and a lighted control -panel display also make the ride seem realistic. "It actually mirrors the control you have with an airplane," said John Winters, an amateur pilot and vice- president of Corporate Directions Inc., an Ann Arbor business con- sulting firm that specializes in helping Australian companies establish operations in North America. ACCORDING TO Winters, the Flight Simulators, which come in three different models, have been i quite successful in Australia and in Kalamazoo, where the ride is curren- tly being market-tested. The simulator's two-minute ride, which will cost 50 cents, has been used over 300 times a week in selected Kalamazoo stores, and according to Winters, "The kids do love it." Gary Blom, an executive in the Bolwell Group, said that the Australian company is marketing the simulator in the United States because of relatively inexpensive business costs. After successfully marketing the simulator in Australia for 18 months, the company decided to bring it to the Midwest to take advan- tage of its well-developed distribution network among merchants. According to Winters and Blom, the 40-year-old kiddie ride industry has suffered a gradual decline over the last five or six years. Although cash box incomes of the rides have remained constant, the increasing cost of manufacturing and servicing have made them less profitable. In- novations in kiddie rides have been virtually non-existent, because manufacturers simply build variations on a common idea, while newer, more exciting forms of enter- tainment - such as video games - are competing for attention and quar- ters. But Winters and Blom are confident that the unique qualities of the Fligh Simulators will allow them to survive or even resurrect the declining coin- slot amusement ride industry. Because can hold anyone who can fit into them, their potential market in- creases by 300 percent over the traditional age market. The fibergalss molded craft is easy to maintain and service, and follows Australian safery specifications, they said. Yet the most distinguishing appeal of the ride is its high -tech futuristic appearance. The three different models have won Australian Design Awards for Excellence, and use elec- tronics in a way never before used in such rides. "We're creating a whole new market (in the kiddie ride industry) by bringing high-technology into it," Blom said. 'U' students show potential for activism prep course. After taking (Continued from Page 1) Kaplan, thousands of LSAT the code, they would really get out," he students score between 40 and said, "or at least they say they would 48. And those scores give you get out." the best shot at getting into the One question in the survey dealt school of your choice and going specifically with the code. It asked: on to the top firms or "Suppose the University imposed a corporations. Call today new set of rules governing the conduct K A P LA Nof students and students did not have a role in drafting those rules. Would STANLEY'H. KAPLAN EDUCATIONALCENTERLTD you be inclined to be involved then?" Eighty-five percent of the students 203 E. Hoover surveyed said they might become in- Ann Arbor MI 48104 volved. MILITARY research on campus 662-3149 and minority recruitment could also ________________________activate students, said Eldersveld. -.... ..------ ---- ----- - - "I COOKIES NIGHT OWLS TAKE A STUDY BREAK! Buy 2 or more of Mrs. Peabody's cookies or brownies after 9:00 p.m. and get a FREE beverage! Open tilli1.m. dilyCOUPON MUST BE I Opn tll II ~m.dail PRSENED ITHPURCHASE 715 N. University OER VALID THROUGHj 761CHIP MAY 2,1986 TAMARACK CAMPS FINAL INTERVIEW DAY THURSDAY, APRIL 17 SIGN-UP CAREER PLANNING & PLACEMENT Positions still available for: Cabin Counselors a Specialists in Waterfront and Small Crafts, Arts & - Crafts, Nature & Outdoor Projects, Photography, Video, Computers, Horse- back Riding, Amateur Radio * R.O.P.E.S. * Trip Leaders " Unit & Specialty Supervisors Secretary " Food Service & Maintenance Staff " Nurse& Clinic Assistant " Physicians (1 week) eSocial Worker * Travel Trip Bus Driver " Staff for Silverman Village (emotionally impaired). Also Forester/Construction positions at Smokler Pioneer Village Camp Tamarack - Brighton Camp Maas - Ortonville Teen Adventure Trips Tamarack Camps are sponsored by the Fresh Air Society of Metro Detroit EMERGENCY GEO Membership Meeting ARE YOU READY TO FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU WANT? Eldersveld cites the second prerequisite to activism as an ex- planation of the low turnout for student government elections, despite the high potential level of activism on campus. "A lot of students, feel, 'What can I accomplish by voting for students in MSA,' " he said. Less than one-fifth of the student body voted in the most recent Michigan Student Assembly elections. Eldersveld also said the in- volvement of friends in a political cause helps make students active. "Students socialize each other to in- volvement," he said. "They learn form each other, take cues from each other." The study also showed that students in the social sciences and humanities were more likely to be activists than naturual science students were. "One has to guess at the reasons for this: Courses, professors, peers," Elder- sveld said. THE STUDY noted that the Univer- sity of Michigan was one of the first colleges to become politically active in the 1960s. Tom Hayden founded the Students for a Democratic Society here in 1962 and "this was one of the first schools to have sit-ins," said Eldersveld, who has taught at the University since 1946 and chaired the political science department in 1969- 70. IN BRIEF COMPILED FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL REPORTS W. German calls Libya war unlikely, but situation serious BdNN, West Germany, - A West German newspaper quoted Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher as saying yesterday after meeting special U.S. envoy Vernon Walters that there is no danger of war betwen the United States and Libya. Walters, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, flew on to Paris. later yesterday - the third stop in his mission to garner West European support for Washington's policy toward Libya. "There is no danger of war, but the situation in the Mediterranean is very serious," Genscher was quoted as saying in an interview with the Hamburg-published Bild newspaper. Western businessmen in Libya said yesterday they were ordered to move their workers into Libyan military camps in an apparent effort by Khadafy to deter U.S. retaliatory strikes on the installations. About 1,000 Americans were involved in the transfer, according to Khadafy. "We are not sure what we're going to do but we're stalling for time," said a Swedish businessman, one of two West European businessmen who said they were called to an evening meeting with Libyan officials. CIA has secretly funded Contras, U.S. officials say WASHINGTON - The Central Intelligence Agency, barred from providing military aid to Nicaraguan rebels, secretly funneled several million dollars to the Contras for poltical projects over the past year, U.S. government officials say. The officials said the money went to the rebels' political umbrella group, the United Nicaraguan Opposition (UNO), to pay rebel officials and supporters, open offices in Europe and Latin America, and take trips to seek foreign support for their cause. The money came out of the CIA's overall budget, over which President Reagan and CIA Director William Casey have wide discretion. The CIA must inform the two congressional intelligence committees of such covert spending, and officials said notification'did take place. Israeli officials swap jobs JERUSALEM - The feuding partners in Israel's coalition government agreed on a new compromise yesterday that would see the finance and justice ministers swap jobs in a bid to save the government, Prime Minister Shimon Peres announced. Peres had delayed the weekly Sunday Cabinet session twice, for more than 13 hours, to allow his leftist Labor party and the rightist Likud Bloc headed by Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir to seek agreement. Under the pact, Finance Minister Yitzhak Modai and Justice Minister Moshe Nissim will exchange jobs, he said. Both are leaders of the small liberal faction of Likud Bloc. The conflict began earlier this month when Peres demanded Modai leave the Finance Ministry by yesterday, the day the compromise was reached, for publicly criticizing Peres and his economic policies. Likud said the coalition agreement prevented Peres from firing Modai without Shamir's approval. The two parties argued over who should replace Modai and Peres' demand that Modri not return to the Finance Ministry after Shamir takes over the premiership in October. The bitter dispute brought the government to the brink of collapse, with Likud ministers threatening a mass resignation. Filpimos rally against Aquino MANILA, Philippines - Thousands of supporters of deposed ruler Fer- dinand Marcos, chanting "U.S. kidnappers, release our beloved President," rallied in Manila yesterday in the first major demonstration. against the government of President Corazon Aquino. At nightfall, about 5,000 protestors went to a suburban traffic circle which they vowed to occupy until daybreak, when they would proceed to a hotel where a session of the Marcos-controlled National Assembly which Aquino abolished, will be held today. Reporters at the three-hour rally estimated the crowd at about 10,000. Police said 20,000 had attended, while organizers put the figure at 1,2 million. "We are still for Marcos," and "Cory is Dumb," the crowd chanted. Demonstrators carried placards reading "President Reagan: Release Marcos," and "Bring Back the Duly elected President." Car plows into La. crowd PONCHATOULA, La- A car driven by the elderly mother of the parish sheriff went out of control yesterday and plowed through a crowd walking to the Strawberry Festival, killing one person and injuring as many as 30, authorites said. Three people, including a 17-month-old child, were critically injured, authorities said. Pontchatoula Police Chief Ernest Peltier said 30 people were injured. while Tangipahoa Parish Chief Deputy John Dahmer put the number at 26. "It sounded like firewords-pop-pop-pop," said Kim Zabbia, who was in her front yard when the accident occurred. "People were yelling, telling people to get out of the way. The last person she hit was a lady, and she carried her on the hood of her car most of the block." The driver of the car was identified by police at Inez Layrisson, about 80, mother of Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff-Ed Layrisson. She suffered cuts and bruises in the accident and was under observation at Seventh Ward Hospital, Dahmer said. Mrs. Layrisson had a heart attack or a stroke and pressed down on the accelerator of her vehicle when she became ill, he said. The car was going about 20 miles an hour when it struck the crowd, he said. 01 ie Michigan Uailg Vol. XCVI -No. 132 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. 4 ANSWERS TO AUTO QUIZ 1) No! Only a degree. 2) Livonia VW-Mazda only 20 minutes from Ann Arbor via M-14 Call us collect at 425-5400 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. $0 Down And A Solid Credit History Will Enable You To Lease A New Chrysler Or Plymouth For As Low As $149/Month. SEE OR CALL TONY PIZII Fox Hills Leasing Agent I 4' i Summer Fall Spring WASH INGTON OR LONDON INTERNSHIPS SUMMER OXFORD S1986 Full Academic Years In " Oxford University " London School of Economics Editor in Chief ............ERIC MATTSON Managing Editor ......... RACHEL GOTTLIEB News Editor.............JERRY MARKON Features Editor..........CHRISTYkRIEDEL NEWS STAFF: Eve Becker, Melissa Birks, Laura Bischoff, Rebecca Blumenstein, Marc Carrel, Dov Cohen, Adam Cort, Laura Coughlin, Tim Daly, Nancy Driscoll, Rob Earle, Ellen Fiedelholtz, Amy Goldstein, Susan Grant, Stephen Gregory, Steve Herz, Mary Chris Jaklevic Philip Levy, Michael Lustig, Amy Mindell, Caroline Muller, Kery Mura- kami, Jill Oserowsky, Joe Pigott, Kurt Serbus, Martha Sevetson, Wendy Sharp. Cheryl Wistrom. Opinion Page Editor..........KAREN KLEIN Associate Opinion Page Editor... HENRY PARK OPINION PAGE STAFF: Rosemary Chinnock, Peter Ephross, Leslie Eringaard, Gayle Kirshen- baum, Peter Mooney, Susanne Skubik, Caleb Southworth. Arts Editor............. NOELLE BROWER Associate Arts Editor .......... BETH FERTIG Books ............... REBECCA CHUNG Film ................... SETH FLICKER 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 Steinert, Douglas 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 Benjakul, Diane Bloom, Phil Educate, Albert Ellenich, Debbie Feit, Mason Franklin, Heidi Freeman, Traci Garfinkel, John Graff, Jennifer Heyman, Beth Horowitz, Debra Led- erer, Parker Moon, Carol Muth, Debra Silverman, Mvid ;A7ir;.. I 'A