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Page 6A --The Michigan Daily - thursday, Sepwtea.. . ,4 --
The
Daily makes
progress?
By KERY MURAKAMI
The old Daily joke goes: How many Daily reporters
does it take to change a lightbulb. Four. One to change
the lightbulb and three to talk about how great the old
one was.
tradition is a big part of working at the Daily. The
slgan right below the Michigan Daily on the front
p ge reminds us of the 96-year history of the
paper-one of the few remaining independent college
papers in the country.
the library holds yellowed copies of the paper's first
issue in 1889. And editors pass Daily folklore from
gneration to generation.
Daily legend
For expample, two Daily reporters hopped a cargo
plane in the mid-1950s to Cuba, trying to get an inter-
view with a rebel leader hiding in the hills, named
Castro. Unfortunately, the reporters were caught by
the police and forced to sleep in prison for a couple of
days.
There's also the story of how a young Daily reporter
iOthe mid-60s noticed that a University regent's com-
pany was copying rare books in the University's
library and selling them. The regent was forced to
resign.
But the times, they are a-changing. This article is
being written on a manual typewriter. The same ink
and beer-stained relics generations of Daily reporters
Kave used to write about the Daily for over twenty
years. God, Tom Hayden might have tapped these
same keys when he was editor of the Daily in 1962,
before he helped birth the campus protests later in the
decade .. .
dWell, anyway, back to the present. The Daily has
fought with all the might of its inertia, but this year,
progress has reared its ugly velcro head. The Daily
is .. . getting computers.
Sure, putting out the paper will be more efficient,
%iicker, and the paper will probably have less
mistakes and typos than in the past. Gone will be the
iightly scene of a dozen, cranky, sleepy, tense Daily-
ies running around in anarchy screamingfor eight-
I urs about the damn typewriters not working. What
ill the same cranky, sleepy, tense, people scream
out now? "Oh, the beeping of the computers hurts
y head, and where are the crackers for my brie?"
Changes
But changes are nothing new to the Daily. For exam-
le, we used to make lots of money. Now we lose lots.
This year we should lose about $70,000.
9Last year, though, the paper and its staff made some
4ecisive, and divisive changes, and the paper is expec-
td to lose less and less money every year until one
d y.. .we break even. Probably the biggest change
was deciding to go "free drop." The paper used to cost
1 cents, but because of the Reagan administraton's cam-
Saign against financial aid, no one bought us. Now,
4egardless of whether you want it, we stuff ourselves
ito your mailboxes in the dorms, in wooden boxes in
Wlmost every University building on campus. There's
io escape. If you manage to ignore us, our crumpled
imains will wrap your feet in class.
Another big decision was to come out five days a
reek-Mondays through Fridays-as opposed to six
ays a week-Sunday's through Fridays.
Excellence in journalism
But some things won't change. (Violins, please). The
gailywil continue to put out award-winning
jbwspapers, as well as spit-out bleary-eyed young repor-
trs for the Washington Post and Sports Illustrated.
ou can't learn sex from a book, and on the same prin-
iple (sometimes heartbreakingly so), you can't learn
be journalists from classes, especially the Univer-
ity's communications classes.
Reporters and editors put in a varied amount of time
were, ranging from the "a few hours a week, what was
our name" to the "sixty hours a week, why don't you
o home?"
Because of the stress involved, especially on your
.P.A., relatively few who walk in the doors of 420
Iaynard return very often. That's one of the Daily's
iggest problems, being understaffed. It's also pretty
itimidating at first, because everyone is scurring
round, seeming to know what they're doing. But after
couple of weeks, you too will scurry around with little
ea of what you're doing.
n
Daily Photo by CHRIS TWIGG
Tradition and progress stand side by side. A manual typewriter
used as of this summer at the Daily fronts one of the Univer-
sity's new phones. Computers will replace the antiquated
typewriters this fall.
Changes wrack student publications
By ROB EARLE
The computerization of the Daily is only one of the changes that will also undergo changes. Under editor Seth Kluckoff, the Review,
student publications are going through this fall. Many are changing in founded in 19821, will tone down it's "snide" tone in hopes of appealing
hopes of reaching a larger audience. to more conservatives. The "Serpents Tooth" section of the Review,
The Michigan Ensian, the official yearbook of the University, can once notorious for its venomous attacks on liberal persons and
now be purchased when you register for classes at CRISP. Where once policies, will be dulled for a more analytical tone.
students could decide whether or not to contribute two dollars to the On the other end of the political spectrum, the MSA Campus Report
environmental lobby group PIRGIM, they can now elect to purchase is also changing its format to appeal to a wider audience. The Campus
their yearbook, simply by signing and turning in the perforated end of Report, published by the Michigan student Assembly, will be
their Student Verification Form (SVF). graphically redesigned to break up the huge blocks of print that
The Ensian was put on the SVF to call attention to the yearbook. The plagued it over the last year. The editors hope this will encourage
Ensian is the last yearbook in Big Ten schools to adopt the purchase at more students to read the Campus Report and thus increase contact
registration plan, according to Nancy McGlothin, administrative between the assembly and constituents.
associate to the Board of Student Publications. The board oversees the The publication Consider explores two sides of an issue
financial operations of the Ensian, as well as the Daily and the campus weekly. Anything controversial is fair game for Consider, which also
humor magazine, the Gargoyle, frequently published letters and responses to articles published in the
Finances magazine.
Consider, like the Review, Campus Report and Daily, is distributed
Bill Marsh, editor of last years Ensian, said the new system will in- free throughout the campus area. Only the Campus Report is suppor-
crease sales by at least 50 percent, and may even double them. ted by student funds, collected through the $5.23 student government
Marsh said putting the yearbook on the SVF is not a new idea. An at- fee on tuition bills. The Review is privately funded, which the Daily
tempt by Ensian staff members to implement a similar plan three and Consider is supported by advertising and donations.
years ago failed, since PIRGIM already had the spot filled. PIRGIM The Gargoyle, the campus humor magazine, comes out every mon-
was taken off the SVF last year. th or so. The staff sells it for $1 directly to students, usually in the
Marsh and Rebecca Cox, the 1987 yearbook editor, both support the middle of the Diag. Editions of the Gargoyle usually have a theme, like
idea, but are concerned that the increased revenue from yearbook . .
sales might be used to subsuduze the financially troubled Daily, ratheraatyrthrseothnw right. It will frequently satirize another
sals mgh beusd t susuuzeth fiancaly touledDaiyraterpublication, like the Daily's Weekend Magazine (Weak-end), or USA
than buy new darkroom equipment or pay staff members.Today(USAHra) y
Under current board policies, the profit and losses of all three
publications are shared in a common pool.
Aspiring writers have also have more serious outlets for their talent
The Daily will lose about $70,000 in 1986 (more than $100,000 less than with the publication of several literary magazines. Best known of
originally projected). The Ensian, at first expected to make a profit, these is Barbaric Yawp, which publishes original fiction and poetry
will probably break even. written by University students.
Non-fiction writers have the Michigan Quarterly Review to let their
literary spirits fly, though the publication is not restricted to students.
Politics Neither is the Michigan Journal of Political Science. But the Un-
The Michigan Review, the voice of conservative students on campus dergraduate Political Science Association, which published the Jour-
nal, encourages submissions from students.
Students in the college of engineering publish the Anvil, a gossip
sheet/newsletter, while the LSA student government sponsors the LSA
Journal. The Journal, less tongue-in-cheek than the Anvil, is also more
Come See Our issue oriented.
Different
maj ors
divide
students
By MELISSA BIRKS
LSA junior Heidi Breilling will ap-
ply this year to the College of
Engineering. The mechanical
engineering degree she wants is a 128
credit program that usually takes
four-and-a-half years to complete.
She will seclude herself in coming
weeks, studying to beat out others
who want to get into the prestigious
school.
LSA junior Jeanne Marbut decided
last year to "do something towards
foreign service is Asia." This year,
she is taking prerequisites in political
science and Chinese. She usually
studies with other students because
they can share ideas.
Apples and oranges
According to Simone Taylor,
assistant director of career planning
and placement, comparing liberal ar-
ts students like Marbut with students
like Breilling, specializing in a cer-
tain field, is like comparing apples
and oranges.
Study pressures, competition, and
direction after graduation are part of
any students' academic life. But dif-
ferent concentrations influence these
factors differently.
In math and science classes, tests
are usually multiple choice. With
every seat in a large lecture hall filled
during an exam, the most efficient
way to grade is by computer. Grading
based on the mean score means
everyone's grade is affected by
everyone elses.
In other math and science tests,
surgical precision is required to
unravel complicated formulas. One
mistake in application-even if the
final answer is correct-means less
points.
"When I take an exam, I have to
concentrate perfectly because in
math you have to be perfect," Brilling
said, "It's -not like misspelling
something on an English test."
When exams are returned, the first
thing on everyhone's mind is what the
mean is.
"Everyone at this school is used to
being on top," Breilling said, "People
are always asking you what you
got-they're not really interested, it's
how they did compared to you."
Competition among liberal arts
students shows itself in mental ban-
tering and trying to out-philosophise
and out-discuss other people. Studen-
ts are still concerned about grades,
but tests in classes like political
science or sociology, are more sub-
jective and are not usually graded on
a curve.
"I can't say 'Oh, I got a C but so did
everyone else' I still feel bad for
myself. regardless of what everyone
else did," Marbut said.
The best grades in the typical
liberal arts class go to a student who
is a competent writer and can concep-
tualize ideas.
Stereotypes
While engineering and, business.
majors are perceived as money-
oriented and narrow, and liberal arts
majors are seen as lost and unsure of
what they want to do, the stereotypes
break down quickly.
The chainging job market, for
example, bring surprises for both,
specialists and liberal arts majors.
According to the University's
placement office, trends are
changing. Peterson said there are
some engineering majors entering.
other areas like business, law and
medicine. Within engineering, some
prospects are brighter than
others-electrical and computing
engineers are doing better in their job
search than areonautical engineers..
Most engineers, though, have a job
within three months after graduation
with a starting salary of about $28,000.
6
U
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Breakfast
R special:
E
A
K
F
A
S
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1 egg, I toast,
1 small juice, jelly,
coffee or tea, $1.25
Full Breakfast Menu
Including:
Homemade oatmeal .60
Poached egg .45
French toast $1.30
Grilled Pecan Rolls .80
Bagels .45
New Look At
THE LITTLE
LEAGUE
COFFEE
SHOP
New entrance and
redecorated dining room
PARTHENON GYROS .
Carry Out Service
Jaztut ut994-1012
FINE GREEK FOOD
GYROS & SHISH KABAB Now
ISANDWICHES We Serve
Open seven days a week
a f Hours: Mon.-Set. II-10 BEER & WINE
MOUSAKA PASTITSIO DOLMADES * SPINACH PIE
GREEK SALADS & PAMRIES COMBINATION PLATES 226 S MAIN at
LIBERTY " ANN ARBOR
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Regular $8
SSupercut® 715 N. University
is now 6$6 668-8488 .
Swith this
with this ~ ~Briarwood Mall
coupon.6688
One coupon per
person, please.O n
Shampoo & Blowdry R CC * a Week.
Available at "'""''"'" *
S Avial at. "4 No Appointment
Additional Cost. OR FREE BLOWDRY Necessary
vOffer expires Just Come on In!
Oct. 30, 1986 ($3.00 Value) H
Luncheon
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Grilled Items
Chili $1.35
Cold Sandwiches .81
Soups .80
30-$2.50