The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, September 10, 1991 - Page 3m
'~~N~~ M.M.."X'~~~ Students find
N 'N *~new, bus routes
N i i rsa r *1N $a . k
e a ยง Nc'e '64 ~ '' ..4 roblemat iC
zN f . s \ N ...'. ' by Tami Pollak o ekns
S. ~. "~. Daily Staff Reporter "What weve done traditionall
AP Photo
Two men have claimed responsibility for creating circular patterns in a wheatfield in Southern England. The men say that they used four-foot planks
with rope reins to flatten the wheat and produce the circles which first appeared in the late 1970s.
Pranksters claim crop circles a hoax
The recent rash of complaints
about the new North Campus buss-
ing schedule might not be the only
rash that comes out of this trans-
portation dilemma.
"A bus that should seat 45 peo-
ple was packed with at least 100 ...
and then I find out today that the
most common way to transmit
measles is in crowded areas like
buses and cars," said an angry North
Campus resident and University
graduate student who was diagnosed
with measles this weekend.
"I called Health Service when I
woke up Saturday morning and they
said to come in right away - that
was at a little after 11. So I got to
the bus stop by 11:30," the student
said. "The next bus didn't come un-
til after 12:00, and when it did
come, it was packed so tight it
couldn't pick up all its stops."
Pat Cunningham, manager of
University Transport Services,said
he has been fielding a large number
of complaints about the new bus
routes and times, but that the
changes were made in response to a
survey done of North Campus bus
riders last year..
"When we did the survey last
winter," Cunningham said, "the
biggest complaints were difficulty
in reading the schedule, and the
times of buses on the weekends."
Cunningham said this fall's
schedule has tried to rectify
scheduling complaints by offering
bus service at 10-minute intervals,
rather than last year's 20-minute
spans, between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00
p.m. After 7:00 p.m., Cunningham
said bus service is offered in 20-
minute intervals until 2:20 a.m.
Sunday through Thursday, and until
3:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday
nights.
The other change, Cunningham
said, and the one that has inspired
the most criticism, is a shift to a
single route pick-up after 7 p.m. and
is have two separate routes - the
Bursley-Baits path and the
Northwood Apartment route=-
until 12:30 a.m.
"Now we've combined the
routes, which makes the ride maybe
10 minutes longer, but we're balane-
ing that by offering service every 10
minutes during the day."
But North Campus students and
residents said that balance has not
been struck.
"The new schedule is much more
problematic," said chemistry TA
and North Campus resident Jean
Marc Buvet. "I don't understard
why they changed it. It makes my
ride home at night 20 minutes
longer."
Other students are alarmed about
transportation on football
Saturdays and other peak traffic
times.
'The new schedule is
much more
problematic'
- Jean Marc Buvet
Chemistry T,4
"On football Saturdays, we are
going to add three extra busses be-.
fore and after the games. We also in-
tend to add an extra bus on
Saturday," Cunningham said.
Cunningham said the new sched-
ule was meant to accommodate stu-
dents' needs and that he would be
happy to listen to complaints and
comments at 764-3427.
"We have 36 transit coaches to-
tal, and at peak times we have 24 of
those running, sometimes at five-
minute intervals that aren't on the
schedule." Cunningham said.
"Right now, we have hired a person
to check the new routes and we in-'
tend to adjust the schedule to ac-
commodate overloading. We are al-
ready making changes, although they
are not on the printed schedule,'
Cunningham said.
LONDON (AP) - The debate
over the origin of crop circles raged
in a wheat field yesterday, where
tWo men who claim it was all a
hoax butted heads with believers in
more exotic explanations.
The appearance of the mysteri-
ous circles, and more fantastic
shapes, have become a summer di-
-version across southern England,
and have also turned up in Canada,
Germany and America's Midwest.
In the absence of a convincing ex-
planation, imagination has run riot.
. "We used to infiltrate their
4.anks when they came up to see the
,circles we had done. We could see
they were expecting something
bigger all the time," said David
Chorley, who demonstrated his cir-
cle-making technique for reporters,
of those who came to see the cir-
cles.
"They called us 'superior intel-
ligence' and this was the biggest
laugh of all," said Chorley.
He claims he and his friend
Douglas Bower were just two
bored guys who dreamed up the cir-
cles one night in a pub.
Patric Delgado, who has writ-
ten books claiming paranormal
forces are at work in the fields, was
unimpressed by the demonstration
near Chilmark, 40 miles southwest
of London.
"Straightaway you can see ev-
erything you would expect to see
in a hoax. The plants are broken, it
is extremely ragged and obviously
a hoax. There is nothing to impress
us here except two very fit 60-year-
olds," he told reporters."
No "little green men" had been
spotted descending from flying
saucers, and there had always been
the dreadful thought that it might
be just one gigantic hoax.
The paranormal theorizers said
it couldn't be done, the circles were
too perfect.
Yesterday, the Today newspaper
blared the claim by Bower and
Chorley that they were responsible
for most of the thousands of cir-
cles that have appeared since.the
late 1970s - using two boards and
a piece of string, and a sighting
mechanism made out of wire and
fixed to a baseball cap.
Delgado and his supporters said
they would meet Bower and
Chorley at a "secret destination"
today for "some very heavy ques-
tioning."
Dr. Terry Me)den, formerly as-
sociate professor of physics at
Dalhousie Y ,iversity, Halifax,
Nova Scotia, sia d ysterday that the
claim by Bower and Chorley didn't
explain everything.
Meaden, who heads the crop cir-
cle study group, CERES (Circle
Effect Research, with the ES added
in honor of the Roman goddess of
agriculture), claims to have proved
that they are caused by eddies of
wind running along hillsides.
"I have no doubt that Bower
and Chorley are responsible for
some hoaxes. We have seen an in-
creasing number of improbable cir-
cles and figures in recern years,
which were obviously not genuine
because of the amount of damage
done to the crops."
I
TA union, University at odds over contractual issues
Ah
by Lynne Cohn
Daily Faculty Reporter
Graduate Employees Organization
(GEO) members - 60 percent of about 30
staff assistants and 1,800 teaching assistants
(TAs) - make up only 3 percent of the to-
taj student population.
However, these people are responsible
for about 40 percent of teaching at the
University. The union is currently involved
iq a series of mediation sessions with the
Odniversity which could have an impact on
4l1 University students this fall.
University TAs have been working
without a contract since April. What GEO
members view as fair working conditions
for TAs and what the University views as
fair remains drastically different.
At a meeting tomorrow night, GEO
members will consider a proposal for an in-
4pfinite strike if an agreement with the
University cannot be reached.
T 4s receive a salary plus a tuition
waiver if they teach more than 10 hours per
week (a .25 fraction). GEO President Tom
Oko, a sociology TA, said, "That is the way
a large percentage of graduate students get
through grad school."
A full-time TA - .5 fraction or 20-21
hours per week - receives about $1,100 per
month as well as a tuition waiver, an
amount which many TAs say is less than
adequate.
Oko said GEO members believe it is fair
to expect a salary increase that matches the
rate of inflation. He said it is fair to demand
partial tuition waivers for lower fraction
TAs - TAs who fall under the .25 fraction
do not receive any tuition assistance from
the University.
In the past 10 years, Oko said TA salaries
have increased roughly one percent.
The University's head bargainer with
GEO, Colleen Dolan-Greene, said, "The bar-
gaining process is over a whole host of is-
sues -- never looking at it as one isolated
issue."
. She added that given current economic
problems, such as the lack of a state budget
and the questionable federal financial situa-
tion, "it's a tenuous year."
Dolan-Greene said, "The Uidversity's
offer of a 4.5 percent salary incre,,e could
be viewed as a very fair offer." The iwion is
asking for a two-year plan with a 6 percent
raise for each of the first and second years.
If the salary increase and other demands
are not met, the union will consider gong
on strike this semester.
"It is really difficult for TAs to go on
strike," Oko said. "Many are torn - they
want to see a pay increase, but they are dedi-
cated teachers who want to see benefits for
themselves but don't want to screw stu-
dents over."
He said the GEO has recognized TAs'
dual loyalty and has been accommodating.
"In the last two work stoppages, TAs were
allowed to hold class off campus. We're
trying not to hurt the students. We are try-
ing to protect undergraduate education."
Oko cited TA preparation time as an im-
portant addition to TA contracts. Under the
most recent contract, "A TA doesn't have
to read a book or see a movie if he or she has
to grade a paper on it," he said. GEO is try-
ing to make preparation time a requirement
and include that time in payable hours.
Dolan-Greene said many faculty mem-
bers and University administrators recog-
nize the dual nature of TAs as students and
employees, but most place higher impor-
tance on the role of the student.
"They are students before they are em-
ployees," she said. "Given this dual nature,
there are some issues which are academic
issues."
Dolan-Greene said the academic issues are
legitimate matters "because they are stu-
dents, but they are not bargaining issues."
TAs receive credit for their teaching po-
sitions as well as a salary based on the frac-
tion of 40 hours they teach per week.
Though TAs are not automatically GEO
members, GEO contracts cover all TAs and
staff assistants on campus.
Under the most recent contract, how-
ever, the University automatically deducted
1 percent of the TA's gross salary from all
TA paychecks, for GEO dues, increasing the
union's coffers and clout.
Oko said the University has cut 200 TA
jobs in the past five years while at the same
time increasing class sizes.
"At this point, we have to do something
to stop the erosion of the bargaining unit,"
Oko said. "It doesn't say too much about
what the University views as quality
education."
I
Entree Plus sales increase over last year
by Joshua Meckler
Daily Staff Reporter
University students, apparently
in response to a newly-expanded
E~ntr6e Plus system, have signed up
for over $2,000,000 in accounts,
about $700,000 more than at this
time last year.
As recently as last fall, Entr6e
Plus could be used only in residence
hall cafeterias and snack bars - the
system has since expanded to in-
dlude several restaurants and the
Union bookstore.
Larry Durst, business manager
for University Housing, said he ex-
pects more students to sign up for
accounts. "My guess is that we still
have a market out there for two or
three thousand students."
Almost 9,000 students have
signed up for Entr6e Plus so far this
year, compared to slightly less than
7,000 at the same time last year.
From July 1990 through June
1991, University students spent
$1,608,000 on Entr6e Plus accounts,
Durst said. That total was computed
after approximately $300,000 in re-
funds to students. This year, Durst
said he expects students will spend
$3,000,000 after refunds.
The University Housing
Division stands to profit from the
increased student expenditures.
The Housing Division extracts 2
to 3 percent of all Entree Plus sales
made by each individual vendor. The
percentage varies for each vendor,
Durst said. Furthermore, Housing
collects rental fees for the Entrde
Plus machines - $2,700 a year for
an I.D. card reader and $3,400 a year
for a card reader/cash register
combination.
"We know it's legitimate for
them (vendors) to pay part of our
costs," Durst said. The money, he
said, goes to the Housing Division
and is in turn used to run Entr6e
Office operations.
Increased Entree Plus sales this
year could benefit students, Durst
said. Any money left over after cov-
ering expenses, he said, could be used
to defray student costs. "We can use
it to keep room and board rates
down."
Frank Cianciola, director of
University Unions, said he does not
believe vendors pass on their Entr6e
Plus expenses to consumers. "I
don't think their (vendors) costs are
any different than they would be in
the commercial world."
Managers of Little Caesar's, the
Union Bookstore, the ticket office,
Wendy's, and the North Campus
Commons Bookstore all said the
Entr6e Plus fees they had to pay
were not not passed on to students.
Students sign up for Entree Plus
by specifying a dollar amount -
$100, $300, $500, $700, or $900 -
which is then added to their tuition
bill. Any money remaining at the
end of the year can be held over to
the next year's account or is re-
funded to the student's University
account.
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