1£. Ninety- nine years of editorialfreedom Vol. I C, No. 92 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Wednesday, February 8, 1989 Copyright 1989, The Michigan Daily Disbanded U-council reconvenes today BY FRAN OBEID The panel which proposes University conduct rules will meet today for the first time since 1987, six months after the University's Board of Regents threat- ened to disband the council this May unless it can prove itself to be effective. The University Council, a nine-member body of students, faculty, and administrators, will set up its first regular meeting during an informal dinner at the Michigan League tonight. The council's first task will be to implement the University's policy on speakers and protesters' rights to free speech. The regents approved the overall policy, written by the University's Civil Liberties Board ear- *ier last year, in July. In the past, council members have left meetings in frustration because neither students nor administrators were willing to compromise their views on the code of non-academic conduct. Student council members have traditionally opposed the code, while administrators have advocated it. "The guidelines will make the council workable. We're aiming to get something produced before the end of the year so we can get some feedback, though it is probably unlikely," said council member Julie Murray, See Council, Page 6 Gov. one BY PATRICK STAIGER Gov. James Blanchard focused his annual State of the State address last night on education. Though strong on rhetoric, the speech lacked con- crete plans for Michigan colleges. "I was disappointed that (the governor) didn't include higher edu- cation institutions in his 'Schools of Tomorrow' plans," said Sen. William Sederburg (R-East Lans- ing), chair of the Senate Appropria- tions Subcommittee on Higher Edu- cation. "I think he missed an oppor- tunity." In his speech, the governor called for doubling the pre-school education program; a program to "reward qual- ity in schools"; and a $50 million program to place computers in Michigan classrooms. "It is time for a strategy that goes beyond today's crisis or next year's school budgets. It is time for a strategy to guide us through the 1990s and into the 21st century - a strategy for Michigan's 'Schools of Tomorrow.,' focuses ducation "We must set tough performance standards for our schools - includ- ing a rigorous core curriculum, competency testing for new teachers, and higher student performance on math, reading, and science tests," Blanchard said. Rep. Morris Hood (D-Detroit), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education, said he "applauded the emphasis on education" in the governor's speech, but expressed concern over funding for Michigan colleges. "My concern is that higher education be affordable," Hood said. "I just hope the funds are available in the state." "The governor is a real fiscal conservative as far as education is concerned," Sederburg said. "Tonight he challenged the education estab- lishment to increase its productivity without increasing its funding." In the past few years, state legis- lators have been critical of Michigan colleges for increasing student tu- ition to compensate for low state funding. University of Michigan tu- ition, for example, has risen 25 per- cent in the past three years. The governor also emphasized fighting crime and unemployment, boosting education and business, and improving the state's environment in his 25-minute speech to a joint session of the legislature. On the environment, the governor said he would push for a law that would require polluters to clean up hazardous wastes and allow the state to collect triple damages from those who do not. The governor, however, made no mention in his speech of the contro- versy over storing nuclear waste in Michigan, over which demonstrators expressed indignance outside the State Capitol yesterday. All of Blanchard's major new proposals were revealed over the past week as his aides carefully orches- trated a series of headline-grabbing leaks to various newspapers. Associated Press Governor James Blanchard stressed his strat- egy for Michigan's "schools of tomorrow" in his state of the state speech yesterday in Lansing. I Local residents may face waste management tax BY KRISTINE LALONDE Third in a three-part series Ann Arbor taxpayers will bear the brunt of much of the city's efforts to fix its overflowing landfill. The city - already in a budget deficit - has proposed a solution which will cost $20 to $50 million to establish. After that, it will cost more than $15 million a year, about three times the amount Ann Arbor currently spends for solid waste manage- ment, to maintain. Members of the Solid Waste Task Force, which the City Council appointed in 1986, hope Ann Arbor will implement a recycling program, a composting system, a system of separating recyclables from garbage at the landfill, and a waste to fuel conversion facility. If the programs operate as expected, the amount of waste deposited in the landfill will decrease 87 percent by 1995. City councilmembers will explore many sources, including the state government, for funding. Last December, the Michigan De- partment of Commerce granted Ann Ar- bor's waste management division a $260,000 grant for research into the city's waste control problems. But these efforts are barely scratching the problem's surface. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has $150,000,000 to distribute for waste programs statewide. But the applica- tion process is competitive and Ann Arbor is only one of many cities facing a landfill crisis. To generate more revenue, the city will raise fees levied to private garbage haulers for dumping trash in the landfill. In fact, councilmember Jeff Epton (D- Third Ward) said future fees may be ten times as high-as the current amount. Epton said revenue from the addition would be crucial to funding. "I can't imagine how we're going to (fund) most of what we have to do in the future if we don't get (the addition)," he said. But even with raised fees, the city will have to depend on taxpayers for most of the money. The city's solid waste management is currently funded by a property tax, but these taxes are limited by the state. So lo- cal officials will have to ask city residents for a special tax. City Administrator Del Borgsdorf said local taxpayers are usually receptive to taxes for specific issues such as parks or street maintenance. He is optimistic that See Waste, Page 6 Congress turns down pay raise i "1 Lester WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress voted yesterday to take away its 51 percent pay raise and rushed the legislation to President George Bush, who signed the measure hours before a midnight *deadline. The raise would have become law at midnight without Bush's sig- nature on the resolution rejecting it. Lawmakers were anxious to end the public outcry against the $45,500 increase, which left them feeling, in the words of one repre- sentative, like "cannon fodder for trash television and talk radio." First, the House voted to reject the raise by a vote of 380-48. Less than three hours later, the Senate followed suit by a vote of 94-6. Although Bush had supported the raise, spokesperson Marlin Fitzwater said his boss "will abide by the wishes of the Congress." The congressional votes also denied large raises for top federal executives and federal judges. Some lawmakers predicted that defeating the raises would accelerate an exodus from government service. Indeed, Chief Justice William Rehnquist said in a statement: "I deeply regret the congressional action, which has prevented the fed- eral judges in this country from receiving a well-deserved pay raise...We will not be able to attract and retain the kind of judges we need...unless we pay our judges fairly and equitably." Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.), said Bush told Senate Republicans yesterday he might ask Congress to approve lesser raises for the judges and executives. With its votes, Congress rejected raises proposed by a presidential commission and endorsed by then- President Ronald Reagan. Senators and representatives would have seen legislative ability." The Senate last week voted 95-5 against the raise, but the wording of that resolution differed from the House version approved yesterday. Sen. James Jeffords (R-Vt.), who had voted against the raise, voted for it yesterday. Jeffords said he cast his vote yesterday to make clear his view that judges are badly in need of a pay raise and because, unlike last week's measure, this one did not curtail lawmaker's rights to make speeches for fees. Theother senators voting for to sustain the raise were Democrats Christopher Dodd Of Connecticut, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Spark Matsunaga of Hawaii; and Republicans Frank Murkowski of Alaska and Ted Stevens of Alaska. Despite overwhelming House margin, members were clearly torn between their desire for a pay raise and the public scorn heaped upon them for considering the increase. The chamber applauded loudly when Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, (D- ill.) told colleagues in a rousing speech before the vote, "each mem- ber of this House, Democrat and Republican, is worth a salary of $135,000 a year." Protestors candidate University JESICAG ""E'E"/ Daily angered by the LSA Executive Committee's recent rejection of a Black woman who was selected by two search committees to fill an open joint position at the march in front of the LSA Building. talks on turn to Judaism BY GIL RENBERG Julius Lester is a man with two heritages. Lester, a professor in the Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, is a Black Jew. "I am a Jew; I am not a Jewish convert," Lester told a crowd of 200 gathered in the Hillel auditorium last night. In his talk, he gave "an overview of my spiritual odyssey" toward Judaism. Lester grew up in the midwest and the south. His father was a Methodist minister. "My strongest memories are of sitting in church on Sunday mornings and hearing my father preach," he said. Despite the influence of his father, Lester did not feel he was a true Christian. Even as a child, he said, "Jesus was not very interesting to me and didn't seem real." However, while he found the New Testament boring, he was fascinated by the Old Testament. In his teenage years he declared himself an atheist, much to his father's chagrin. Still, although he recognized no religion, "God spoke to me." One day, while visiting a synagogue with a friend, he saw the Torah, the holy book of scriptures and law, and felt a "surge of unknown love." Lester said "God entered" his life when he realized that he was "nothing," compared to permanent bodies like mountains and seas. In 1968, while moderating a radio program about relations between Blacks and Jews. he was branded an Protesters say LSA went out of its way to reject Black prof. BY JONATHAN SCOTT Nearly 100 demonstrators yesterday protested LSA's recent rejection of a Black woman candidate who two University search committees recommended to fill an open senior joint faculty position in sociology. The candidate was removed from consideration by the LSA Executive Committee two weeks ago despite the two committees' unanimous support. "When LSA should be going out of its way to encourage the hiring of minority candidates, in this case they broke with their usual policy of approving search committee decisions, and effectively blocked the hiring of a qualified minority candidate," United Coalition Against Racism member Barbara Ransby told a crowd of protesters and observers in front of the LSA Building. Ransby pointed out that the Executive Committee The decision in review Jan. 23: After an 18 month search, the LSA Executive Committee rejects a Black woman candidate to fill an open tenured faculty position at the 'U'. The candidate had received the unanimous recommendation from two University search committees. Jan. 26: Sociology Chair James House and Director of Women's Studies Abby Stewart both publicly challenge the Executive Committee decision. Jan. 30: UCAR requests a meeting with Duderstadt to review the decision. Feb. 3: Duderstadt declines a meeting with UCAR and advises the group to raise concerns about minor- ity hiring with Provost and Vice President for Aca- demic Affairs Charles Vest. 4' NM