TODAY Morning precipitation; High: 40, Low: 24. TOMORROW Chance of snow; High: 32, Low: 21. ILa It4Dan ait! = NIDE. You rang? A conversation with Lurch. See ARTS Page 5. One hundred and one years of editorial freedom Copyright 1992 Vol. CII, No. 53 Ann Arbor, Michigan- Thursday, January 9, 1992 The Michigan Daily Courses on Soviet Union struggle to stay current by Karen Sabgir Daily Higher Education Reporter Radical changes in what used to be the Soviet Union are causing members of political science de- partments to rethink, rename, and refocus their curriculum. "What should we call a course on Soviet economics or foreign pol- icy ... or any course with 'Soviet' in the name?" asked Charles Elliott, a professor at the Institute of Sino- Soviet Studies at George Washing- ton University. Most of the former republics of the Soviet Union have reformed into the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) at the end of December, marking the end of the Soviet state. Judith Kullberg, a professor of Soviet domestic policy at Ohio State University, agreed that the course Wilder bows out * of pres. contest WASHINGTON (AP) - Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder withdrew from the 1992 presiden- tial race yesterday, citing the de- mands of running his financially troubled state. "I withdraw despite the fact that my campaign was making progress," he said in his State of the Commonwealth address to the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond. "I have said time and time again, my highest priority is to the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia." Wilder, the nation's first elected Black governor, had considered fo- cusing his campaign in the South af- ter poiis suggested he had better chances in Maryland and South Carolina than New Hampshire. Wilder also faced heavy criti- cism home for spending one of every three days in the last year out of the state, while Virginia suffered fiscal cnses. "Balancing the rigors of running a state government and conducting a national campaign have not been easy," Wilder's statement said. Wilder smiled as he left the General Assembly chamber but re- fused to answer questions, saying he was going to have dinner with his family. Wilder's exit offers the remain- ing candidates a chance to seize the support of activists who had been behind the Virginia governor, especially Blacks and Southerners. Tim Raftis, campaign manager for Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, said Wilder's departure "opens up some additional opportunities." It also points up the difficulty of waging a presidential race, Raftis added. titles, as well as content, need to change. "If not this year, certainly next year. In the meantime, certainly the structure has changed," she said. "It's a challenging period to be teaching Soviet politics." Kullberg described the disinte- gration of the Soviet Union as "a real theoretical opportunity to make the study of politics in the So- viet Union more comparative." Kimberly Zisk, an assistant pro- fessor at Ohio State, said she ap- proaches her class on Soviet foreign policy as a political science course, not a current events class. "I focus not on what has happened in the last month, but over the last five years," she said. Zisk added that she addresses such topics as the changes in Soviet foreign policy under Gorbachev and the direction of future changes. Several professors agreed that adapting courses to the recent trans- tion the benefit of taking the poli- tics class over a history class, he said. However, there simply isn't enough information to base an entire course solely on contemporary 'We've tried to make changes, but it's like hitting a moving target.' - Bill Zimmerman political science professor at the University both Communist systems in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union." Professors said they are encour- aging students to read the New York Times to follow daily developments Zimmerman said that although the creation of current events data systems will give students more immediate access to information on political events in the CIS, they will be challenged by the lack of standardized texts on the subject. Wohlforth said not having course-related literature will also create problems for professors. Last year in his Soviet foreign policy class, Wohlforth brought in photo- copies of news articles for his stu- dents. He also suggested they read the New York Review of Books, Atlantic Monthly, and listen to news reports regularly. All professors reported in- creases in the enrollment of Soviet- related courses, particularly those on the military, foreign policy, ad- vanced level Russian language, and most graduate-level courses. Zimmerman pointed out that this is the first time that students' increased interest in these classes is due to improving Soviet-U.S. rela- tions. Enrollment jumps in the past were attributed to negative inci- dents, like the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, he said. Despite many enrollment in- creases, Elliott noted a decline in the number of students in introduc- See COURSES, Page 2 formations will be difficult. "The key is to get the timing right on the new things," said Bill Wohlforth, an assistant professor of politics at Princeton University. If too little time is spent on current developments, students may ques- issues. "We've tried to make changes, but it's like hitting a moving tar- get," said Bill Zimmerman, a politi- cal science professor at the Univer- sity of Michigan. "An awful lot of emphasis will be on the demise of Aill 1 "' 7 Bksh recoversg r6 R e ° c6 R -.,- afeda t °SR c s at states dmner TOKYO (AP) - President Bush collapsed to the floor at a state dinner yesterday, felled by what the White House said was stomach flu. After a night's sleep, he was reported "up and about" and ready to resume his schedule for the final day of his Japan trade mission. White House spokesperson Marlin Fitzwater said Bush still was suffering "some weakness" from his illness but did not require further medication and planned to keep most of his schedule, including a one-en-one meeting with Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa. "The doctors are certain that there are no other illness or prob- lems related to this," Fitzwater said. "The president is human. He gets sick." Fitzwater refused to say whether Bush lost consciousness after vomiting and sliding to the floor during the incident at a state dinner hosted by the prime minister. Bush was stricken at 8:20 p.m. (6:20 a.m. EST) while sitting at the head table. After Bush dropped plans to visit a Kodak plant, Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher planned to go instead. Fitzwater said the president's collapse had not affected the trade mission and laughed when asked if it would hurt Bush's plans to seek reelection. Bush has said only a major health problem would keep him from running for re-election. Bush was "taking it easy" after rising this morning, Mosbacher told a group of Japanese and U.S. businessmen with whom the president was to have had breakfast. Vice President Dan Quayle, on the campaign trail, told a group of Republicans at a country club in Litchfield, N.H., late yesterday af- ternoon that "I just talked to the president. He's up and about." Bush's sudden illness sent shock waves around the world, raising See BUSH, Page 2 President Bush waves to reporters.as he is whisked away after collapsing at a state dinner yesterday in Tokyo. The White House says the President had a stomach flu. 'Severe' trade talks yield no result In Japan TOKYO (AP) - Thorny U.S.- Japanese trade talks were bogged down over sales of American cars and parts in Japan yesterday. Nego- tiators went back to work in the, morning after struggling in late- night meetings described by both sides as "severe." "We feel progress has been made but they are not buttoned up at this point," White House spokesperson Marlin Fitzwater said about the trade disputes. "There's a lot at stake." He said the talks between U.S. officials and Japan's Foreign Ministry resumed yesterday morning. The White House said Japanese officials were balking at demands that they buy more from U.S. au- tomakers and suppliers. However, President Bush, in a television in- terview before his collapse at a state dinner, said, "We're making progress." The two sides headed back to the table shortly before midnight yes- terday after a contentious day dur- ing which Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher, according to one account, denounced a Japanese proposal as not fit to show Bush. Seeking ways to reduce Japan's $41 billion trade surplus over the United States, the two sides were discussing targets for Japanese pur- chase of U.S. cars and parts. Japanese auto exports account for 75 percent of the total deficit. Bush has made opening Japanese markets a centerpiece of his trip here, hoping that increased exports will help create jobs at home and hasten the United States out of its recession. Bush predicted in an NBC News interview that he would have "things to point to when we leave here" as successes on the trade front. While the president spent yes- terday's meeting with Miyazawa and top advisers, as well as U.S. and Japanese businesspeople, the work- ing negotiators made little appar- ent headway on the trade issues. One U.S. official said the Japanese had made concessions. The talks got off to a rough start, Mosbacher heatedly rejecting Tokyo's proposal for increased purchases of U.S. autos and-parts. "I would be embarrassed to show this to the president," he See JAPAN, Page 2 Judge sets redistricting hearing for January 24 by Erin Einhorn and Travis Mc Reynolds Daily City Reporter A Washtenaw County Judge yesterday scheduled a full hearing for Jan. 24 on City Councilmember Kurt Zimmer's (D-4th Ward) lawsuit against city Democrats over a new ward boundary plan, which he calls "unconstitutional." After a preliminary hearing, Circuit Court Judge Donald Shelton said he would hear ex- pert-witness testimony at the hearing. Zimmer, who filed the suit last month, ac- cuses fellow council Democrats of gerryman- dering - reapportioning electoral boundaries for political gain - and requests that the old ward boundaries be used in the April 6 election if a new plan cannot be designed before that time. sively to do it," he said. Members of the Democratic caucus deny the accusations. They maintain that the changes reflect the desires of their constituents, who prefer as little change as possible in the redistricting process. They also say voters are independent enough to look at the merits of individual candidates, rather than party platforms. Zimmer yesterday asked for an early hearing date, arguing that council candidates have already begun campaigning in the new wards and any delay could cause confusion to the voters and wasted effort on behalf of the candidates. Howard King, a Republican council candi- date, for example, lives in the 5th Ward under .. .. ..