;, . .... -i ........!fin. .r......f ....... >, . .: .3.!i.'+: :. __ __ OPINION Twenty years past due #'>/.o f/.'/rk ./. / r i:.rS"'+,,?f/,' '.rS 4rfi. /5. , :f. ./'l,;;r:r ~i 4 ARTS 5 SPORTS 7 No veggie alternative MI icer Roberts now scores well with fans Ninety-nine years of editorial freedom Vol.C, No. 82 Ann Arbor, Michigan -Tuesday, January30,1990 ,",yeghte Nurses, hospital ratify contract BOWLING IS FUN! by Joanna Broder Daily Health Issues Reporter Registered nurses at the Univer- sity hospital voted late last week to ratify a new contract which promises the nurses benefits such as higher salaries and hourly bonuses for over- time work, ending approximately 10 months of negotiations. Representatives from the Univer- sity of Michigan Professional Nurse's Council (UMPNC) and med- ical center officials, negotiating on behalf of the University's Board of Regents, signed the contract yester- day. Spokesperson for the UMPNC Deborah Stoll said the contract was something the nurses could live with for the next year and a half. "Hopefully it will improve work- ing conditions for nurses at the Uni- versity," she said. * Both parties reached a tentative contract agreement on January 11, with the aid of a court-appointed fact finder. Contract negotiations have been in the workings since last March and the former nursing con- tract expired on May 30, 1989. Representatives from both sides then agreed to extend their contract on a week-to-week basis. But nurses dissatisfied with the way negotiations were going went on strike July 19. The hospital sought an injunction to bring the nurses back to work, arguing that the strike was affecting the hospi- tal's ability to care for its patients. Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Melinda Morris granted the injunc- tion and ordered fact finder Barry Brown to hear evidence from both sides and issue a report with recom- mendations for a fair contract. Brown issued his report in early December. The new contract contains many key provisions for the hospital's reg- istered nurses: EThe nurses will now receive a ten percent pay raise which functions retroactively to the end of May, 1989. Their pay will increase ten percent more in June. ENurses will also receive more pay for overtime work, resolving one of the key issues of the dispute. Previously, nurses had no choice in whether or not to work overtime. Now in addition to the usual time and a half pay, nurses will get five dollars more per overtime hour until June, at which point that bonus will double. Stoll said the availability of financial incentives would encourage enough nurses to work extra hours to compensate for those who do not want to work overtime. "With those types of bonuses in effect, hopefully it will no longer be necessary to mandate people to work overtime. There should be sufficient volunteers to cover the open hole in the schedule," she said. ENumerous work load review committees will analyze the work- load and nurse-to-patient ratios on the different units. The review com- mittees will make recommendations during joint meetings with the direc- tor of nursing. See NURSES, page 2 City to on abc ' zone' by Josh Mitnick Daily City Reporter In an era when the abortion issue has been thrown into state legisla- tures, Ann Arbor voters may have a chance to take some control of the issue by making their city a "zone of reproductive freedom." City clerk spokesperson Herb Katz said a petition to put the zone proposal on the April 2 election bal- lot garnered the required number of signatures. The clerk's office made the final determination on the num- ber yesterday. If approved, the referendum would amend the city charter to protect those seeking and giving abortions in Ann Arbor in the event the state passes legislation outlawing abor- tion. The amendment - which is patterned after the the city's contro- versial pot law - would make abor- tion punishable with a maximum fine of $5. The amendment is designed to supersede any state law restricting abortions by prosecuting infractions under local ordinances. A total of 3,723 signatures were verified as belonging to city voters - just three more than the required 3,720 signatures. The citizens group that circulated the petition had sub- mitted over 4,100 names last month. I 1 vote r tion issue The successful petition drive made last night's City Council vote on a resolution to place the same referendum on the ballot irrelevant. In that vote, a majority of coun- cil Republicans rejected an appeal to join in a symbolic support for the referendum. The council voted 6-5 in favor of a resolution to place a referendum on the ballot, falling one vote short of the seven needed. Supporters of the referendum ap- pealed to council Republicans to voice their unanimous support the resolution, making the referendum a bipartisan issue on the ballot. Republican Mayor Jerry Jernigan said he believed abortion is not a partisan issue in Ann Arbor because all councilmembers have espoused pro-choice views. Jernigan said he opposed the reso- lution because the referendum was already on the ballot and said he didn't believe the city charter should be amended. Councilmember Terry Martin (R- Second Ward) said such an addition to the city charter would be inappro- priate because it would preempt state government. She said the charter should not address moral issues like abortion. See ZONE, page 2 Mike Ryan, a first-year engineering student, practices his hall bowling skills as his hallmates from 4th Reeves in Mary Markley hall cheer him on. .LSA to base credit on class time by Michael Sullivan Political science and history con- centrators will be spending more time in class starting Fall Term 1991, when those departments adjust to a, LSA Curriculum Committee decision to reduce class credits awarded in upper-level classes. Last fall the curriculum commit- tee approved a motion to base class credits solely on time spent in class. Exceptions will be made for some classes such as labs and seminars. The decision will effect political science and history students more than others, since those departments routinely offer four credits for classes meeting only three hours a week. History Professor Sidney Fine disagreed with the committee deci- sion: "I.think it is foolish to equate contact hours in class with credit hours." He said the workload in history courses justified giving four credits and students learned more if they took fewer classes per term. "I'm quite upset and I think many of my colleagues are equally upset," Fine said. Department of History Chair Thomas Trautmann expects his de- partment will "lower the number of credit hours (per class) appropriately - and change concentration re- quirements." Both Trautmann and acting Polit- ical Science Chair John Kingdon said their departments are unlikely to increase class time. "To add an hour to all these classes would not be a realistic op- tion," said Kingdon, citing the ex- pense of additional professorial or teaching assistant time. The curriculum committee's deci- sion aims to eliminate the inequity of credit rewards. "Students said they did as much work for three credits as for four," explained Committee Co-Chair and Chemistry Professor Henry Griffin. Griffin also said the decision would simplify students' course se- lections "by eliminating the variety of credit hours offered per course," allowing students to make decisions based on academic interest rather than credit. See CREDITS, page 2 Bush unveils $1.23 trillion budget Bush reduces defense spending, increases foreign aid WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) - President Bush yesterday sent Congress a $1.23 trillion budget for fiscal 1991 that keeps new spending below inflation and recognizes "remarkable changes" in the world by scaling back defense and reward- ing democracies. Bush called the spending plan an *"investment in the future." But Cheney proposes U.S. base closin gs WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) - Defense Secretary Dick Cheney rec- ommended closing or scaling back more than 60 U.S. military bases and ending operations at 12 overseas facilities yesterday, a plan that im- mediately drew congressional fire. "I understand the problem they're faced with, but it's absolutely vital that Congress have the guts to make the right decisions as we go through Democratic leaders in Congress pounced on it as a "standpat budget" and challenged its claim to halve the federal deficit, to $63.1 billion. Fights loomed with the Demo- cratic-controlled Congress on a range of fronts: Bush's desire to cut Medi- care and capital gains taxes, to close military bases he considers outmoded and , on the other hand, to preserve some expensive weapons. But Sen. James Sasser (D-Tenn.) called it a document of "low aspirations," adding "it predicts huge fiscal problems ahead and then goes on to propose no change in course." Bush would increase spending on space, education and the environment and the war on drugs. Losers, this year, are Medicare, college student loans, farm subsidies, energy con- servation grants and mass transit. The president's budget for the fis- cal year that begins Oct. 1 calls for $36.5 billion in spending cuts and other deficit-reduction measures. It projects a 7 percent increase in revenues, to $1.17 trillion, without a general tax increase and just a 3 See BUDGET, page 2 Across the border Ann Arbor resident Margaret Martin looks through clothes from "Across the Border." The store will be selling items from Latin America all week in the Union. Pesky computer virus plagues campus disks by Laura Masini Not Nyquil, Vitamin C or even chicken difficulty purging it because unknowing stu- soup can cure students of a virus plaguing dents have been reinfecting the whole system campus this winter. A remedy exists, by using damaged disks. however, and it only takes about 30 seconds Like its biological counterpart, the virus is to restore complete health. non-discriminatory; it may affect any A computer virus, which destroys disk unlocked disk that fits into any Apple files and renders them irretrievable, is Macintosh computer. continuing to spread despite attempts to Not until the virus manifests itself does a control it. user know it is present. Two strains of the The virus, known as WDEF, spreads virus, both affecting disks in nearly the same easily and quickly, said Senior Computer way, have been detected at campus sites. Systems Specialist Jim Sullivan. Like a Computer center monitors recommend all biological virus, it spreads by coming in con- Macintosh users safeguard against the virus tact with disks. When the user opens a file by cleaning their disks before use. A thrncn n fnrtt- Adick.the virni trancfre in ,wto"dinrtan n r'm br hnam i, ehrnPA tn i