Student peers offer help BY AMY KOCH The "peer tutoring" class provides students with a welcome alternative to professors' often intimidating and sparse office hours. In the "classroom" section of the Church St. Computing Center - O previously reserved for monotonous Mac music and croissant chomping - well-trained student tutors rectify problems from brainstorming essay topics to correcting grammatical er- rors on graduate school applications. For free. Mark Freedman, an LSA senior waiting in line for help on law school applications, explained that "it is easier to relate to people my age. Professors are so far past our level of writing that it is intimidat- ing to seek their help." LSA senior Beth Beck said she was iot fearful of professors. Rather, she attempted to make a second ECB appointment for help with graduate school applications only to learn that only one appointment was per- mitted per term. Her tutoring session D"definitely helped," she said. "I had so many spelling errors and just one could end the world." The peer tutoring idea began three years ago when Teaching Assistants reported consistent problems in stu- dents' writing. The English Composition Board responded by implementing ECB 300, a course to train qualified students to give needy peers unlimited, anxiety-free writing laid. The program began as phone help The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 29, 1988 - Page 3 State Reps. call for.SSC 0 inquiry BY MIGUEL CRUZ 53-mile round particle accelerator WITH WIRE REPORTS will enable physicists to probe the Five Michigan Representatives fundamental nature of matter. directed the General Accounting Of- The Texas site was selected from fice yesterday to investigate the fair- among seven finalists for the pro- ness of the U.S. Department of En- ject. Stockbridge, Michigan - o- ergy's choice of Texas as the site for cated midway between Ann Arbor the $4.4 billion Superconducting and Lansing - finished near the Super Collider. bottom of the pack. "Some have suggested that certain The GAO was also asked to de- procedural inconsistencies in the termine if the Energy Department DOE's overall site selection process had considered Texas' offer of $1 may have led to a decision that did billion in financial inducements in not reflect a true and accurate its proposal. evaluation of the technical merits of several... site proposals, including Regardless of the outcome of the- the proposal submitted by the state investigation, it is not likely that of Michigan," said a letter to the the decision would be reversed. "It GAO signed by the chair of the would be very politically awkward House Energy and Commerce for the DOE to admit that it made a Committee, Rep. John Dingell (D- mistake," said University Physics Trenton). Prof. Lawrence Jones. The letter was signed by four Stockbridge resident and anti-col other Michigan representatives: Bob lider activist Jan Vorndran said the Carr (D-East Lansing), Carl Pursell issue is much simpler: "Michigan (R-Plymouth), William Ford (D- has nobody politically important to Taylor), and Bob Traxler (D-Port theReagan administration, and no- Huron). body important to the Bush The Energy Department on Nov. administration," and no congres- 10 said Waxahachie, Texas, was the sional investigations will change preferred site for the project, whose that, she said. Bethlehem won't celebrate Xmas DAVID LUBINER/Dally LSA senior Steve Silverman helps LSA senior Jill Freeberg with an English paper at the Church St. computer center as part of the English Composition Board's tutoring program. sessions. Being too impersonal, it progressed to the Undergraduate Li- brary. The present computing center location, though, offers convenience with both location. and time flexibility. ECB Program Coordinator Emily Jessup initiated the peer tutoring program at the University. "This is not just ECB - it is a whole tutor- ing program complete with screen- ing, training program and a high success rate." She said students do not enroll just for the credit. "The tutors are knowledgeable and committed to the program," she said. "They want to be good tutors." One does not merely CRISP to be enrolled in ECB 300 and be deemed a tutor. Rather, students must submit a writing sample, have a faculty recommendation, and be interviewed to be considered for par- ticipation. Then, if accepted into the course, a series of reading, writing, theoretical exercises and "mock" tu- toring sessions qualify students for work. There are currently 15 participants in ECB 300 - half are English ma- jors and the others are concentrating in education, economics, and politi- cal science. LSA senior Steve Silverman, a peer tutor, sees the program as "very successful" since it is such a novel approach to University education. He said students are generally indoctri- nated to be competitive with each other, but here students actually help to make "a positive difference in peers' papers." Also, "we are a valuable resource to complement classroom instruc- "__ I L _ _ 'I IX r -~ - 1 tion," he said. "We fill in area between classroom in and evaluation." State landlords vie for tenants BY ALEX EULENBERG WITH WIRE REPORTS The heat is on for apartment landlords across Michigan. Their latest advertisements promise free heating, rebates of the first month's rent, microwave ovens and other in- centives in a fierce competition for winter tenants. But for Ann Arbor's student community, such gimmicks just aren't necessary, said Fred Gruber of Ann Arbor's Gruber-Morris Man- agement, which owns apartments in *Ann Arbor. "Students register, buy their books, and rent their apartments," Gruber said. Well-located property and "concentrating on getting good people" is what Gruber said he relies on to draw tenants to his apartments. But elsewhere, Michigan land- lords have seen the need to offer po- tential tenants extra benefits. In Tra- verse City, for example, Kathy Rodgers has felt it necessary to pay new tenants' winter heating costs if they move into her Le Grand Vue apartments. "Everyone's buying homes, that's the problem," she said. So far, Rodgers' two-week-old offer hasn't drummed up any busi- ness. "To be honest, I've received zero response," she-said. Many landlords say they need gimmicks to attract prospective ten- ants, who have lately been lured away from apartment living by in- creasing numbers of affordable houses and condominiums. But Jonathan Holtzman, president of Holtzman & Silverman, a real estate company in Farmington Hills, sees things differently. "It's not so much oversupply, but low mortgage rates," he explained. Given a choice, Holtzman said, most Americans would rather own their houses. When interest rates are high - as they have been until re- cently - people become renters. "And when all of a sudden. down, people become buy said. "This is a normal cycle no magic in what I'm talkir This is a capitalist society,; ple get to choose what th with their money. The A Dream is to own, not to ren the grey BETHLEHEM, Occupied West struction Bank (AP) - This Palestinian town where Christ was born has canceled its traditional joyous Christmas celebrations in solidarity with the I year-long revolt against Israeli I occupation. "We don't see any reason to rates go celebrate Christmas," Deputy Mayor yers," he Hanna Nasser said yesterday. "We have to show concern for our dead and for our detainees." ,ees More than 300 Palestinians have thers been killed and 5,000 arrested since gand out. the uprising begand Dec. 8, 1987, ywantCO~ in the occupied West Bank and Gaza icy want Strip, which Israel captured from American Jordan and Egypt in 1967. Eleven t. Israelis have been slain. Six Palestinians from Bethlehem and surrounding refugee camps have C been killed and hundreds are among the total of more than 7,000 wounded. A spokesperson for the Israel military government said he was unaware of the decision anil declined comment. Cancellation would be a blow to Israel at a time when much of the world focuses its attention on Bethlehem. Manger Square, usually decorated with bright strings of colored lights, will remain dark and its 40-foot Christmas tree will be left bare, Nasser said. Last year's Christmas, when the rebellion was three weeks old, provided a foretaste. Mayor Elias Freij canceled the Chrsitmas Eve reception and the Boy Scout parade was smaller, but streamers and lights went up in the square and the tree blazed with blinking neon balls. Only about 2,500 visitors came, 75 percent fewer than in 1986. Spy shuttle laun kept under wrap S I THE LIST What's happening in Ann Arbor today Speakers. "Man and Earth in the Distant Past II" - Prof. Ernst Katz, 1923 Geddes Ave., 8-9:45 pm. Free admis- sion. "Contrast in Crustal Structure in the Appalachian Orogen" - Robert D. Hatcher, Jr., University of Tennessee, 4001 C.C. Little, 4 pm. Coffee and cookies at 3:30 pm. Technology and the Third World - Robin Barlow (Economics), Felix Kaufmann (EMU), 1005 Dow, 3:30-5 pm. "Is a Poison -a Gift? The Ety- mology of German .=LL as Op- posed to English .III" - Prof. Robert Hinderling, Max Kade Distin- guished Visiting Prof., Rackham East Conference Rm., 4:10 pm. "Perspective on Soviet Arme- nia" - Ared Misirlian, International Center, 12 noon. Buffet Lunch: $1 Students/$1.50 other. "Recent Development in the Turkish Economy" - Prof. Tansu Ciller, Bosphorus University in Istan- bul,1310 Kresge Business Library, 4:30 pm. "Spin Gymnastics - What Can We Learn About Macromolec- ular Structure?" - Gerhard Wag- ner, Biophysics Research Division, U. of M, 1300 Chem. Bldg., 4 pm. "Career Opportunities in Non- Profit Organizations" - Susan Church, Exec. Director, Michigan Women's Foundation, Kuenzel Rm., Michigan Union, 12 noon-1 pm. "Why Are There So Characters in Chinese Novels?" - D. Ral- ston, Lane Hall Commons, 12 noon. "Stress Management - Com- mittmentConntrol Challenge" - 1520 Dana, 7 pm. Undergraduate English Associ- ation/YAWP Magazine - Fourth Floor Michigan Union, 7 pm. United Asian Organizations - Trotter House, 4 pm. Shotokan Karate Club of Michigan - CCRB Martial Arts Rm., 7-8:30 pm. Lesbian and Gay Rights Orga- nizing Committee - 3100 Michigan Union, 8 pm. Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament - 2209 Michigan Union, 7-8:30 pm. Tagar: Pro Israel Student Ac- tivists - B110 MLB, 7 pm. U of M Archery Club - Coli- seum, 7-10 pm. German Club - 2011 MLB, 6:15 pm. Furthermore Alpha Xi Delta Presents the First Annual Mr. Lung's Con- test - Cast your vote for the best "lungs" in the Fishbowl. All proceeds go to the American Lung Association. Nov. 28, 29, 30. Call 747-9052. Poetry Reading - A.K. Ramanu- jan, West Conference Rm., Fourth Floor, Rackham, 4 pm. Islamic Coffee Hour - 1003 EECS, 12:30-1:30 pm. Revolutionary History Series - "Revolution in Russian: 1905", 118 MLB, 7-8 pm. Indian Movie: Bazaar - MLB Video Viewing Rm, Second Floor, 7 pm. Free admission. Performances CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla (AP) - NASA set an invisible count- down clock in motion yesterday for Thursday's launch of space shuttle Atlantis with five military men who reportedly will deploy the $500 million Lacrosse satellite to spy on the Soviet Union. NASA and the Pentagon say the flight and its cargo are top-secret, but reports have circulated widely about the satellite, and even the WEEKEND MAGAZINE Fridays in The Daily 763-0379 Soviet Union has discussed the mission through its news agency, Tass. The weather could be a problem for launch day. A preliminary forecast for Thursday called for overcast sky, brisk winds and iso- lated rainshowers - unfavorable conditions that would prevent NASA from giving the go-ahead for liftoff. HEALTH FITNESS CHEMICAL ENGINEERING GRADUATE PROGRAM We invite Chemical Engineering seniors and those in Chemistry or related majors to apply to the M.S. and Ph.D programs in Chemical Engineering. Assistant and Fellowship stipends up to $16,000 are available now and for Fall 1989 for study in biotechnology, composite materials, polymer science, and other "high-tech" areas of Chemical Engineering research. For information and application materials contact: Dr. B.W. Wilkinson, Coordinator of Graduate Recruiting Department of Chemical Engineering Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824-1228 (517) 355-5135 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY MSU is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer .. 1-- I LOOK YOUR BEST!!M If your hair isn't becom- ing to you--You should be coming to us! DASCOLA STYLISTS Opposite 'ocobson's maple village 44.,932 761-2733 I Complete Service i