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TOMORROW
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WNSIDE...
The world is Pearl
Jam's oyster.
See ARTS
Page 5.
One hundred and one years of editorial freedom
Vol. CIl, No. 39 Ann Arbor, Michigan- Thursday, November 21, 1991
I
CC party
.corners
LSA-SG
elections
by Purvi Shah
Daily MSA Reporter
The brouhaha over the dearth of
non-Conservative Coalition (CC)
candidates vying for LSA student
government seats may be eclipsed by
the fact that a CC candidate was
omitted from Tuesday ballots and
added yesterday.
BALLOT BOX
Two same-sex
couples sign
up as partners
by David Rheingold
Daily City Reporter to domestic partners that they nor-
-
Although polls officially closed
last night, CC candidate for LSA-
SG president Brett White said Elec-
tion Director Carrie Pittman indi-
cated elections would be repeated if
CC candidate Andy Russell loses.
Russell's omission from the bal-
0* lots does nothing, however, to
change the fact that the election
slate of 16 candidates is dominated
by 15 CC members.
Poll workers said many students
questioned the purpose of voting af-
ter discovering on LSA-SG ballots
that only one of the two major par-
ties was running. After voting for
LSA-SG candidates, LSA sophomore
Roopa Oasbaz said, "What the point
was I don't know."
Mark Bernstein, a former LSA-
SG representative and Students for
Academic and Institutional Devel-
opment (SAID) party member, said
LSA-SG has been a valuable tool to
the Michigan Student Assembly in
the past because it appoints three or
four candidates to the assembly ev-
ery year.
, See ELECTION, Page 3
What sharp teeth you have KIS
This very ferocious allosaurus dinosaur head is on display at the University's Natural Science Museum. The
museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
Late turkey-day brings stress to
students; 'no thanks,' they say
Two couples registered under
Ann Arbor's Domestic Partnership
Ordinance yesterday, the first day it
was in effect.
The ordinance allows any two
unmarried people - whether
they're heterosexual or homosexual
- to register their relationship
with City Hall.
Sally Johnson and Nona
McKenna, of Dexter, became the
first registrants in Ann Arbor, the
only city in the state of Michigan
with such an ordinance.
The couple refused to comment.
The City Council passed the or-
dinance at its Nov. 4 meeting, after
listening to 103 people speak about
it during a public hearing that lasted
more than four hours.
The city clerk's office has since
received about 40 inquiries concern-
ing the ordinance, but so far only
two couples have actually regis-
tered, said City Clerk Winifred
Northcross.
"We've been told that a lot of
people who'd like to come in and
register their relationships are wary
of this," Northcross said. "They're
worried about their careers. They're
professional people, people who
have clients that might be concerned
if they do that. And it is public in-
formation."
Chris McCown, who registered
with Jayne Miller yesterday, said
one reason for the low turnout
might be that recognition by the
city comes with no clear and imme-
diate benefits. For instance, the or-
dinance does not require that em-
ployers extend the same job benefits
mally extend to married couples.
"The difficulty with people tak-
ing advantage of this ordinance is
that it's a big step to take when
there isn't a clear ... benefit to cou-
ples," McCown said.
McCown and Miller are both
'employees of the city Department
of Parks and Recreation.
Yet Miller said the ordinance
has other intrinsic values.
"It's important in that it's a
symbolic recognition that these re
'It's important in that
it's a symbolic
recognition thatthese
relationships are valid
and these
relationships are
important in society'
- Jayne Miller
lationships are valid and these rela-
tionships are important in society,"
Miller said.
Last spring, the city decided to
grant some benefits to McCown and
Miller, including sick and funeral
leave, much like those it extends to
married couples. Miller said she
sees the next step as extending
health insurance benefits to city
employees who register themselves
as domestic partners.
The city administration is cur-
rently studying such a proposal.
City Finance Director Dean Moore
said that based on preliminary fig-
ures, he estimates the city would
See ORDINANCE, Page 2
by Joshua Meckler
Daily Staff Reporter
Last year at this time, most
University students were home
with their families, getting ready to
enjoy a huge Thanksgiving day feast.
The Macy's parade was on televi-
sion, and a warm fire was crackling
in the fireplace.
Yet this year, because
Thanksgiving falls a week later than
usual, the food and flames have been
replaced by a feast of books and the
fire of stress.
Since the beginning of the
semester, students have endured 11
straight weeks of class without a
break, and some say they are starting
to feel the effects.
"These past two weeks, it seems
as though professors try to get as
much done as they can before
Thanksgiving. and the workload
piles up, creating mega-stress," said
Oren Harary, an LSA senior.
Sandy Spiroff, a senior in actuar-
ial science, said she too is feeling
pressured. "I have a lot of every-
thing - meetings, things due, and
group projects."
James Hansell, a lecturer in psy-
chology and a clinical psychologist
at the University psychological
clinic, said this year's late
Thanksgiving vacation could impart
extra stress on students.
"I'm sure it could add some
stress because one way to handle
stress is to get away.
"Particularly for the freshmen
- people away from home for the
first time. It's a long stretch to go
See STRESS, Page 2
As LSA junior Jenny Mandel
studies in the UGLi, she thinks
about eating turkey and sleeping in
her own bed at home.
..... - v
GA cuts ba
by Erin Einhorn
Daily Staff Reporter
Before his General Assistance
checks stopped coming last month,
Joel was living in an apartment
with his girlfriend.
They struggled to make ends
meet.
Their Ann Arbor home was run
down, but it had a roof. They both
lance budg<
82,000 impoverished, able-bodied
adults on Oct. 1.
Now, more than a month later,
Joel, like many of his friends, must
dress for work at a homeless shel-
ter and sleep on a cot.
"I just started working again,"
said Joel, who refused to give his
full name. "And the system is just
shutting doors left and right."
He said he works 40 hours a
week at a restaurant in order to
make $600 per month - which
must cover all his expenses.
Renting the cheapest apartment,
he said, would cost $350. He said he
must additionally pay for food,
electricity, laundry, and personal
needs and transportation to and
from the restaurant where ' he
works.
GA, which amounted to $144
plus food stamps, used to cover the
extra costs. It used to keep Joel off
the streets.
"I've seen my friends go from
having places of their own and a
sense of self-worth to seeing them
living in the gutters," he said.
put some on street
"It's sickening to see what the
government is doing to people ...
It's sad the government is hurting
the people it supposedly wants to
help."
But representatives from Gov.
John Engler's administration said
they think cuts were necessary in
the face of a budget deficit problem
dating back to the early 1970s.
GA cuts D
political in
by Mona Qureshi
Daily Staff Reporter
A backstage rivalry between the
Democrat-led Michigan House of
Representatives and Republican-
led Senate explains many of the
problems behind the state General
Assistance (GA) cuts.
Mary Dettloff, a spokesperson
for House Speaker Louis Dodak (D-
Birch Run), said Democrats op-
posed the cuts as well as compro-
-mises offered by Republican Gov.
"We had no choice," said John
Truscott, Engler's press secretary.
"We have a balanced budget re-
quirement, and you can only spend
as much money as you have."
They said they decided to cut
GA on the premise that able-bodied
adults would be able to find jobs
or support themselves better than
See CUTS, Page 2
ropelled by
iighting
John Engler's administration from
the beginning. Additionally, com-
promises offered by Democrats
have been rejected by Engler and
Republicans in the Senate, she said.
As the Oct. 1 budget deadline
for the new fiscal year approached,
said Dettloff, the rivalry intensi-
fied. Two weeks before the budget
was due, Budget Director Patti
Woodworth told the legislature
that revenues would be lower than
See POLITICS, Page 2
Tomorrow: Michigan joins six
other states that have no gen-
eral assistance programs.
worked hard and saved money for
the day when they could live to-
gether without depending on
monthly checks.
But recession winds chilled
hands receiving government assis-
tance when a $1.3 billion budget
deficit caused the state to cut Gen-
eral Assistance (GA) funding to
AEL Namerow elected new IFC president
Forget your umbrella?
Kriesta Watson, an [SA sophomore, uses her coat to protect her head
from yesterday's rain and wind as she waits for the bus.
New MCC stance on tuition
caps matches 'U' position
by Barry Cohen
Bruce Namerow of Alpha Ep-
silon Pi won the presidency of the
Interfraternity Council (IFC) at
executive board elections last
night, defeating Jarred Silverman
of Theta Chi.
In his speech before votes were
cast, Namerow focused on the
BYOB issue.
"Fortunately, it has been left
up to houses and representatives to
decide among themselves what the
policy should be," Namerow said.
After winning the election
with an undisclosed number of
votes, Namerow clarified the di-
rection he would like to see the
move on and accomplish a lot of
new goals, and we're all going to
work together like never seen be-
fore. Also, I hope the students at
the University come to see the
Greek system for what it really is.
We are concerned and responsible
people," he added.
Namerow also. said he would
like to address many important is-
sues that have been swept under the
rug by the BYOB issue such as: the
need to implement sexual and al-
cohol awareness programs
throughout the Greek system and
the importance of voting drive to
increase the Greeks' voice in the
Ann Arbor community.
"I have every confidence in
Bruce's ability to take the Greek
system in some solid and new di-
rections," said LSA senior Matt
Commers, the outgoing IFC presi-
dent.
Jeff LeMaster captured the ex-
ecutive vice-president position, de-
feating three other candidates. He
said that he would try to handle
any infractions of the BYOB policy
See IFC, Page 2
Alcohol policy committee member rips task force
by Stefanie Vines
Daily Government Reporter
The Michigan Collegiate
Coalition (MCC) and the
University have disagreed on the is-
versities to the inflation rate.
The University, however, op-
posed such a tuition cap - and has
since been at loggerheads with
MCC, which receives 35 cents from
by Ben Deci
Daily Staff Reporter
A member of the committee
that is nearing completion on a new
alcohol policy for the Greek sys-
a policy on Joe and Jane Greek."
Lewis, president of Chi Psi fra-
ternity, said, "(They) want the
pressure coming from the national
organization, not University of
target campus is not necessarily a
negative thing and is not influenc-
ing the committee. "Target campus
is not always concerned with alco-
hol issues, that is not the primary
II