The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, December 13, 1988 - Page 3
Students
try
all in,
computer centers
BY LIZ ROBBOY
'AND NICOLE SHAW
Gary slouches by the laser printer, spac-
ing out to the sound of his Walkman, star-
ing blankly at the Michigan Daily. He sits
;there doing nothing, though he has a ten-
page English paper due tonight. As number
two on a 25-person waiting list for the
,Macintosh computers at the Undergraduate
Library's Computer Center, he has been
waiting for over an hour.
Although the hours are ticking away
until Gary has to turn in his paper and take
four finals, he subjects himself to yet an-
other University line. Does Gary enjoy
wasting an hour of his precious time? Or is
this the University's newest form of pro-
crastination?
Like Gary, many students aren't aware
that while the UGLi Computing Center is
packed at full capacity during finals, nearby
computing centers remain half-empty.
The computing center at the Dental
School, located across the Diag, holds an
equal number of Macintosh computers. But
unlike the UGLi, nobody camps out there.
In a sleepy stupor, Gary watches others
attempt to finagle their way to the head of
the line. One woman slides a $20 bill to
the person sitting behind the desk, known
as the "computer monitor." A few minutes
later, another person offers the monitor a
large pizza if he'll keep the center open an
hour past closing.
This reminds Gary of the semester's
mid-term computer rush, when one student
became so frustrated that he jumped over
the counter to attack an innocent worker.
Thirty more minutes pass, and Gary's
number is finally called. He saunters to the
counter, request slip in hand. The monitor
hands him the card for terminal number 54,
demanding, "ID, please!"
Gary, realizing that he left his yellow ID
card beneath the pile of socks- on his
dresser, puts on the what the monitors refer
to as the "I-can't-find-it-anywhere" routine.
In vain, he offers his Master Card, his
Comerica card, his meal card, and his car
keys, and pleads, "I've been waiting for an
hour. I have a paper due this evening."
Gary is that one of every 20 students
who will forget to bring his student ID to
the computing center, said computing cen-
ter officials. As a result of his forgetful-
ness, he is turned away.
Too bad he wasted all that time. In the
hour and a half he spent waiting for the
Mac, he could have been at the working at
the empty computer center at the school of
Public Health across from the Mary
Markley residence hall. Or he could have
been at the Chemistry Building's uni
crowded computer center. Or he could have
been at the unknown North Ingalls Build-
ing, a block behind the Rackham Graduate
School.
And this spring, Gary can use one of the
300 Macs to be located at the new com-
puter center Angell Hall. If only he'd re-
member his ID.
-Although Gary is a fictional character,
all of his computing adventures have actu-
ally happened at the University's comput-
ing centers.
MSA
court
Sclears
chair
BY KRISTINE LALONDE
A recent Michigan Student As-
sembly election court case may
prompt a change in the assembly's
election code, making the code more
workable.
The case, which was decided over
the weekend, cleared MSA Student
Rights Chair Julie Murray of
charges of campaign violations by
the Centerpoint Party.
Centerpoint had charged that
Murray had postered over Center-
point campaign material with Stu-
dent Rights committee recruiting
posters. The posters resembled cam-
paign posters for the Student Rights
Party, which ran against Centerpoint
in the fall MSA elections.
The election court dropped all
charges because it could not prove
that committee posters were intended
to help the Student Rights cam-
paign.
In November, Centerpoint
charged that Murray had violated the
section of the elections code disal-
lowing the assembly from endorsing
candidates and also charged that
Murray had deliberately defaced cam-
paign material.
"Centerpoint didn't have a case,"
Murray said. "Their main point was
that because I was in the assembly I
shouldn't be in the political process
gat all..They said I had the intent to
do them harm, but that's not true."
Centerpoint member Laura
Sankey confirmed the lack of proof.
"We couldn't prove intent in using
the Student Rights name to cam-
paign for the Student Rights Party."
The current election code forbids
Sall University students from de-
.stroying campaign material. But
Election Court Justice Laura Miller
said this was unenforceable because
of the unregulated postering system
on campus. She said the code will
change "student" to only include
those involved in MSA campaigns.
Honor society
matches books
BY STACEY GRAY
Usually students do not have
much of a choice but to sell their
books back to major bookstore
chains.
But this year the alternatives are
growing.
Members of Mortar Board, a stu-
dent honor society which performs
community service projects, wants
to provide students with another op-
tion.
Today and tomorrow, students
with books to sell can give their
names and titles of books they want
to sell to Mortar Board members in
the Fishbowl. After winter break,
students can buy those books by
striking a deal with the.book own-
ers.
"It's an advantage over the book-
stores," said LSA senior Julie Bloch,
a member of Mortar Board.
Mortar Board Public Relations
chair Mike Rutkowski, a Business
School senior, said the group isn't
looking to take over the student
book market. "You can do ours and
still get in the student book stores,"
he said. "You don't have to sell your
books. It's just another option."
After Mortar Board posts the list
its involvement ends. "We are a non-
profit group," Bloch said. "We're
going to handle no money at all."
Students will decide the book prices
among themselves.
Mortar Board is the second std-
dent group this semester to offer an
alternative to campus bookstores.
The first was the Student Book Ex-
change-Textbooks for Less. Unlike
Mortar Board, SBE helps out with
the actual buying and selling while
Mortar Board never touches the
books or the money.
Although the success of the drive
depends on the number of people
who sign up, Mortar Board members
are uncertain about student response
to their efforts. "It's a new thing *,
we're not sure what kind of reaction
we'll get," Rutkowski said.
But Mortar Board's success de-
pends on the number of students
who sign up. The greater the
turnout, the better chance students
have to find books they need.
Da Friars is comin! File Photo
The Friars (left to right) Andy Feyrick, Bernd Brandle, Jim Brunberg, Michael Behm,
Hamilton Chang, Sven Larson, Beau Kelly, and Rick Woodman, will sing their Study
Break Concert tonight at 8 at Rackham. Tickets are $3 at Ticketworld or at the door.
English majors rise in number
BY MARION DAVIS
The number of English majors
has more than doubled in the last
eight years at the University - a
trend that shows no sign of abating.
"English is seen as a good ma-
jor," said June Howard, associate
chair of the English Department.
Howard said the trend, which has
been rising nationally as well,
shows that liberal arts majors are
being taken more seriously than they
have in past years.
"Having a B.A. in English is
very valuable" in any field, she said.
The number of students enrolled
in English classes increased 5 per-
cent this fall, after going up 19 per-
cent the year before.
"Businesses today are not only
looking for engineering or business
majors, but also for someone who
can communicate with other peo-
ple," said junior Christa Alessandri,
who is majoring in English and
communications.
English Department Chair Robert
Weisbuch attributes the increase to a
reorganization of the curriculum.
More experienced professors are now
teaching earlier classes so English
majors will establish relationships
for future classes, he said..
Weisbuch said the department is
trying to get away from the old
British attitude toward English. "We
want to make it more interesting and
exciting - such as teaching 18th
Century Poetry from a satire point
of view," and not in the traditional,
textbook way.
More students are also coming to
the English Department because,
Weisbuch said, the concentration re-
quirements are more simple. "In the
early '70s it took a page-and-a-half
and seven categories of requirements
to describe (the major) in the course
guide," he said. "It can now be de-
scribed in two or three sentences."
Weisbuch pointed out that the
increase of student participation in
the department also draws students to
the department. "We gave students
more freedom to choose their own
electives," he said. "We created a
more open and friendly department
for students and we had a tremendous
amount of student input" in im-
proving the major.
Although he hailed the increase in
English majors, Weisbuch said he
worries about an imbalance between
the number of students and tenure-
track professors to instruct the
classes. "We need more people,"he
said, adding that he does not want to
see the amount of large English lec-
ture classes increase along with the
number of majors.
This fall, the department has
added two tenure-track assistant pro-
fessors, four visiting professors, and
several one-year lecturers.
-Music(
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What's happening in Ann Arbor today
Reagan talks to
WASHINGTON (AP) - Presi-
dent Reagan told tribal leaders yes-
terday that American Indians "should
have the right to choose their own
life" and said he doesn't recall his
controversial remarks on their
"primitive" ways.
Indian leaders, after a long-sought
meeting with Reagan at the White
House, said they were willing to put
the controversy surrounding his
Indian leaders
comments in Moscow last May be-
hind them, and look forward to fur-
ther dialogue with the administration
of George Bush.
White House spokesperson Mar-
lin Fitzwater said the president met
with 16 tribal leaders for about 20
minutes, outlining a 1983 statement
in which he endorsed self-determina-
tion for Indian tribes.
bo &
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Comparative Perspective" -
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Commons, 12 noon.
"Introductory Lecture on
Steiner's Thought" - Prof. E.
Katz: " The Descent of the Logos",
1923 Geddes, 8 pm.
Minds at War: Nuclear Reality
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public meeting room, 12:10-1 pm.
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"Large-Field Rayleigh Matches
of Normal Trichromats &
Polymorphism of Cone Pho-
topigments" - J. Jenness,1057
MHRI, 12:30 pm.
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Rm. 1000, 10th level, 12 noon.
Meetings
Lesbian and Gay Rights Orga-
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Women's Action for Nuclear
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Tagar: Pro Israel Student Ac-
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U of M Archery Club - Coli-
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Furthermore
Indian Movie: Uphaar - Video
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Islamic Coffee Hour - 1003
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University Chamber Choir &
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Christmas Oratorio, Hill Aud. 8 pm.
Herb David Guitar Studios -
Show and Demonstration by guest
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