2 U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER News Features APRIL 1988 CALFORNIA Defense research cut ... A cap on Defense Department research funding through its University Re- search Initiative (URI) program promises to cut U. of California, San Diego's (UCSD) share of that program's budget by 40 percent. The results will include a discon- tinuance of summer salaries for15 faculty members as well as the cancellation of three research programs, visitor's programs and funding for seminars and summer schools, unless alternative funding is found. Legislation was passed in December by a joint committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to enact a 14 percent limit on URI funds available to any one state. Prior to the legislation, UCSD and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography received 25 percent of URI funds available to California. * Cynthia Chesy, The UCSD Guardian, U. of California, San Diego HITS gives island students access to de- grees ... The Hawaii Interactive Television System (HITS) has begun to broadcast classesfrom Manoa to other campuses with receiving links, and it will soon link up the university statewide. Hae Okimoto, coordinator for the Manoa campus part of the system, said that since the outer island campuses, with the exception of Hilo, do not go above the community college level, students living on those islands who want bachelor's or professional degrees have to relocate to Oahu, which can be inconvenient, especially economically. HITS will allow these students to attend classes with those at Manoa. They will be able to see the teacher and all instructional material and ask questions over an open television link. The system is already in use by the nursing department. .Dave Stroup,Ka Leo O Hawaii, U. of Hawaii, Honolulu It's Daaaaavid Letterman ... Late night talk show host and Ball State U. graduate David Letterman donated $75,000 to make the school's carrier current radio station possible. The new radio station, which will operate at 540 AM, should be completed by the beginning of the 1988-89 academic year. But when it came into existence on Jan. 26, one student broadcast the first message: "This is Robert Ludwig, and now let's have a party." He then played "Paper in Fire" by Indiana native John Cougar Mellen- camp. Letterman's only condition in donating the funds was that the station be operated, managed and staffed entirely by students. Letterman's attorney relayed a mes- sage from the TV host to the students to "take advantage of this opportunity" and "don't screw it up." Corri Planck, The Ball State Daily News, Ball State U., IN Sigma Nu draws the line ... In response to the growth in liability suits against fraternity members, which can affect their families as well, Sigma Nu fraternity has implemented a comprehensive risk-reduction policy. One clause which has drawn the greatest attention reads: "No alcoholic beverages may be purchased through the Chapter Treasury . . . or coordinated by any member .. in the name of or on behalf of the chapter." This means that social functions are now BYOB, saysJeffrey Lawton, former president of Sigma Nu, Purdue U. "In concept, this policy places the responsibility upon the shoulders of each mem- ber of the fraternity, not just the officers." Sigma Nu social chairman Jeff Brady says, "In the past, the keg was the center of attention. Now we are back to the reason behind a party, where you have fun with good friends." *Brad Klosinski, The Purdue Exponent, Purdue U., IN Sign of the times ... Eastern Kentucky U. has the only sign language interpretive program in the state. Dahlia Haas, project employeefor special education and instructor for many of the interpreting classes, said, "The purpose of the training program is for the prospective interpreters to get an idea of relative strengths and weaknesses.. . It's a new field." This year there are 10 full-time students and seven part-time students in the program. "The program will continue if the funding comes from the federal source," Haas said, which it has from the start. "Interpreters are unique," she said. "It involves the entire person." .Sheri Sparks, The Eastern Progress, Eastern Ken- tucky U. MICHIGAN 'CASHE' available at WMU ... Western Michigan U. (WMU) students may be finding new sources of 'cashe' to pay for their college education, thanks to a nationwide computer bank that can now be accessed from the WMU campus. WMU-CASHE (Computer Assisted Scholarships for Higher Education) can match individual students with more than 180,000 sources of financial aid from around the country, said John A. Kundel, WMU director of student financial aid and scholarships. WMU- CASHE's offerings, part of a national program run by National College Services, Ltd. of Maryland, marks thefirst time such a service is available in Michigan on a non-profit basis. "We've known that private companies have been offering this service for some time," Kundel said, but often charge a substantial fee. Thereare no guarantees of actually receiving a scholarship, but studentswill comeaway with a list of possibilities tailored to their background and in- terests. . Staff Writer, The Western Herald, Western Michigan U. NEW YORK'