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( Three floors of Almost Everything! UofM INSIGNIA SOUVENIRS BACKPACKS Seco OFFICE SUPPLIES PHOTO SUPPLIES CALCULATORS, BOOKS AND ACCESSORIES Thir COURSE TEXTS NEW AND USED (We have course lists from your instructors) rst Floor GREETING CARDS PRINTS & POSTERS CANDY & SNACKS and Floor ART & ENGINEERING SUPPLIES FOR THE STUDENT AND PROFESSIONAL ird Floor d PROFESSIONAL BOOKS SPECIAL ORDERS TEXT BOOK OFFICE THE LIST 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 & book & supply 341 East Liberty (at the corner of Division Street) 313-665-4990 Store Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:30 pm Saturday 9:30-5:00 pm Speakers "Chinese State Making in Comparative Perspective" - History Prof. R. Bin Wong, Univer- sity of California, Irvine, Lane Hall 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 and the Tnner Conflict of De- fense Policymakers - John C. Schwarz, religious educator, Ann Ar- bor Public Library, Main Library public meeting room, 12:10-1 pm. "Magmatic Metamorphism" - Eric J. Essene,.4001 C.C. Little, 4 pm. Coffee and cookies at 3:30 pm. "Large-Field Rayleigh Matches of Normal Trichromats & Polymorphism of Cone Pho- topigments" - J. Jenness,1057 MHRI, 12:30 pm. "Receptive Fields for Salt taste: How They Develop" - C. Mistretta, 300 N. Ingall Bldg., Rm. 1000, 10th level, 12 noon. Meetings Lesbian and Gay Rights Orga- nizing Committee - 3100 Michgan Union, 8 pin. Trotter House, 4 pm. Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament - 2209 Union, 7 pm. Tagar: Pro Israel Student Ac- tivists - B110 MLB, 7 pm. U of M Archery Club - Coli- seum, 7-10 pm. TARDAA - 296 Dennison, 8 pm. MCMUG - "Presentation Manager: The Face of OS/2", Ford Amphithe- atre, 3-4 pm. Furthermore Indian Movie: Uphaar - Video Viewing Rm.(2nd floor), MLB, 7 pm. Free admission. Islamic Coffee Hour - 1003 EECS, 12:30-1:30 pm. Performances University Chamber Choir & Chamber Orchestra - Theodore Morrison, conductor, J.S. Bach Christmas Oratorio, Hill Aud. 8 pm. Herb David Guitar Studios - Show and Demonstration by guest artists of new and latest electric and acoustic sound effects, etc. "Stick-Grid" - At the ARK, 637 Main, 7:30 pm. Early Music Instrumental Recital - Recital hall, School of Music, 8 Dm. Vivaldi, Frescobaldi. Corner of Packard & State hours - 7:30a.m. - 2:30p.m. All week Phone number 761-7540 Now 20% Off Your Next Purchase In our Men's and Women's Departments 0 BIG TEN DELIGHT Waffle Sausage Links & UNIVERSITY BREAKFAST 2 eggs any style Hash Browns Nonsale Merchandise Only Sale Thru December 16th I i I i 'H I