Page 16- The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 4, 1986 'U' battles over banner limit on Diag New 'U' phone system installed with difficulties 4 By REBECCA BLUMENSTEIN and PETER OERNER As students walk through the Diag this fall, they may see patches of sky through the fluttering banners hanging from the trees and adver- tising everything from Greek rush to political meetings. The banners are part of the Diag's atmosphere, but for a while this summer, it looked as if they would be limited. In June, the University's Office of Business Operations declared that no banners could be hung between trees, and only three could be rigged to predesignated signposts. At the time, John Weidenback, director of business operations, said the ban would prevent injuried from hoisting the banners and "preserve the aesthetics of campus." Student leaders were not pleased by the move. Eric Schnaufer, a law student, said, "It's either an ad- ministrative blunder or an attempt to sanitize the Diag. The 'U' definitely wants to regulate political ex- pression." Policy reversed But in a sudden reversal, Univer- sity administrators apparently decided to lift the limit. According to University Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost James Duderstaft, a statement ending the limit was read at a meeting of the University's executive officers in July. "I assume they finally realized that it was a big concern for students - so they decided not to push it," Duder- stadt said. He could not recall who read the statement, but speculated it was a joint decision by Vice President for Student Services Henry Johnson and Vice President and Chief Finan- cial Officer James Brinkerhoff. Neither could be reached for com- ment. Though the reasons for reversing the banned policy remain unclear, Michigan Student Assembly President Kurt Muenchow attributed it to "bad PR generated from student opposition." Both MSA and the University Activities Center (UAC) protested the limit. "This is a good example of what happens when students get together and protest an unfair decision. If we hadn't made the fuss, there would be three banners in the Diag," Muenchow said. Muenchow spoke with Vice President Johnson while Intra- Fraternity Council President Danny Kavanaugh and University Activities Center President Nick Bhatt wrote a letter to University President Harold Shapiro opposing the limit. "I think the decision was made to diffuse criticism. (The ad- ministration) was under a lot of pressuree and they wanted to avoid a big stink," Bhatt said. The main benefactors of the rever- sal in policy are fraternities and sororities who will not have to com- pete for banner space during Sep- tember and January rush. By MARTIN FRANK While administrators say the University's new $38 million phone. system will make things more ef- ficient this fall, installing the phones this summer brought complaints from students and administrators alike. West Quad residents and staff com- plained bitterly about their phones being ripped out to switchover to the new system. They reported security problems for female residents,' cockroaches in dorm rooms, and just a general pain in the neck. Both West Quad students and various administrators also com- plained about Centel Business System workers installing the phones, calling them rude, incompetent, and lazy. Beneficial in long run Despite the inconvience, University officials say the new phones will be beneficial in the long run. For exam- ple, the University will now control the system, instead of AT&T, and will not require an outside operator to connect long distance and local calls. The system, said Roxano Block, director of telecommunications systems, will pay for itself in nine or ten years, because the University will save money normally paid to Michigan Bell for local calls. High technology also infulenced the University when they selected Centel in 1984. Dorm rooms will have a data transmissions feature which has ac- cess to the University's computing system. Sam Plice, the University's director of telecommunications and ad- ministrative systems, says this will alleviate long lines at computing cen- ters, especially during exam time. High-tech The new phones, for University em- ployees and office buildings, come complete with call hold, call waiting, and access to a second out-going line. Each phone will have only one line, rather than the many lines of most business phones. But Owen Jansson, administrative manager for the Center for Human Growth and Development, does not find these features very efficient. "I don't even use the hold button anymore because you have to press four buttons (instead of one), and to get the person back, you have to hang up the phone and press some more buttons,"' he said. Security and roach problems The installations caused some more serious problems. In May, a drunken man repeatedly knocked on a female students' door in West Quad, residents said. With no place to go, and their phones ripped out by workers, the student and two friends endured the knocks for close to an hour before the man left. Another inconvience in West Quad was cockroaches who began ap- pearing en masse since the in- stallation began. The control room for the new phones lies next to the bottom floor of food service. A food service official refused to comment, and Centel officials called the charges "far-fetched." But a resident from 4th Adams who wished to remain anonymous claims that cockroaches forced him to change rooms. He said, "I killed three of them one night. In my new room (next door), I killed two more. Then after they sprayed, I killed two more. There were so many dead cockroaches lying around, I had a party for them one night. West Quad residents say they were never told they would be without phone service most of spring term. Rick Jones, an LSA sophomore, said he was "deceived" into signing his lease. "If people knew about the phones, they never would have lived here," he said. "Everything that I knew about the phones for the past year have gone contrary to what has actually hap- pened," said West Quad Building Director Alan Levy in May. West Quad residents were treated to a dinner dance in June. According to Levy, "It's a small way of saying we feel badly about the inconvenience that students have experienced while staying here." 4 0 Daily Photo by JOHN MUNSON Rush is traditionally a time when banners blossom from Diag trees. Will new rules stump the harvest? t-"10 /[ T T A u 1M r SEASONAL SALE 205 N. Main St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (313) 663-2202 Ask For Karen V K L 1 u A N 3 .' I l7p 'student 7hse BEDROLLS SUPERSINGLE. DOUBLE......... $ 6 For Pop, Snacks, & Coffee Vending 3001 S. State, Suite 21 -41 C ' /':. -I w Earn Top Dollars, Bonuses, References, and Experience. 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