The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 12, 1994- 3 *Lobbyist discusses proposed legislation with MSA By RONNIE GLASSBERG lation MCC is supporting. Feb. 1. tion to provide survivors of sexual increase financial aid for students and from the state, an increase of DAILY STAFF REPORTER MCA 2nave *. 44f) 11.----, t "r- , . *.,.t $6.3 In politics today there is constant criticism of state and Washington lob- byists. But at last night's Michigan Stu- dent Assembly meeting, representa- tives met one lobbyist working for them. Patrick La Pline from the Michi- gan Collegiate Coalition (MCC) spoke to the representatives about sexual assault survivors and education legis- Clinton to name DEA *authorit WASHINGTON (AP) - Presi- dent Clinton is expected to tap New York State Police Superintendent Thomas Constantine in the next few days to become the new head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), administration officials said yesterday. If confirmed by the Senate, *Constantine would take over a 3,500- agent organization that has a presence in 53 countries worldwide, including agents in all 50 states. He would suc- ceed former U.S. District Judge Rob- ert Bonner, who left the administrator'sjob last Oct.29 tojoin a private law firm. Bonner was ap- pointed by President Bush. The 54-year-old Buffalo, N.Y., native is a 31-year veteran of the state police force. Constantine did not immediately return a call to police headquarters in Albany, N.Y., last night. Two administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they expected the nomination to be announced by the end of the week. One said he believed that Attor- ney General Janet Reno, who would Wbe Constantine's boss, had met with him about the job. Constantine had confirmed in November that federal officials had approached him about taking the job. He said then that the Clinton ad- ministration was probably interested in him because of his department's drug-fighting activities. "This is a big police department *and a good one with a heavy commit- ment to narcotics investigation," he said. Constantine said that before he would take the DEA job, he'd have some important considerations. "The most difficult and the most important would be my family," he said. "We're a very close family... The second is here at the state police. Governor (Mario) Cuomo has been very good to me." Constantine is the father of five adult children and a 12-year-old daughter. Reno has changed the job a bit in an effort to reduce duplication. Vice President Al Gore's "reinventing gov- ernment" report had proposed merg- ing the DEA into the FBI. Instead, seno set up a separate office, headed *by FBI Director Louis Freeh, that is to ensure that the two agencies work in coordination on operations and to obtain compatible computer and com- munications equipment, among other things. iV1Of1 pays $ 5,55u annually to belong to MCC, which lobbies for students' interests in higher educa- tion at both the Michigan Legislature and the U.S. Congress. La Pline informed the representa- tives of the Michigan Campus Sexual Assault Victims Bill of Rights Act, which died last year in the state legis- lature but is expected to be taken up again for consideration before the House Higher Education Committee it basicaiiy allows a student that is not treated fairly by the university to bring litigation," La Pline said. This is one of the "sticking points" with the universities, he said. The bill has the support of 100 of the 110 members of the house and has received the support of the Michigan Women's Commission - a commis- sion appointed by Gov. John Engler. The bill would require public and private institutions of higher educa- assault with waivers for classes and require them to treat survivors with seriousness. "The idea is excellent. We need to ensure that survivors' rights are spelled out in a logical fashion," said Business Rep. Devon Bodoh. MCC is also working to support increased state funding for higher education. La Pline told the representatives that Engler's proposed budget would appropriations tor the universities by 3 percent, ending a three-year freeze on spending for higher education. In Engler's proposed budget, the University, along with Central Michi- gan University, Eastern Michigan University and Grand Valley State University, will receive a one-time adjustment to raise the funding to. $3,500 per student. If the budget is approved, the Uni- versity will receive $280.3 million million. But MCC is concerned that in- creased funding won't go to the stu- dents. "I think what MSA needs to do is to not see the increase eaten up by administrator pay raises," La Pline said. "You want to see it going to keep- ing tuition down at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor," La Pline added. Auto Show exhibits not fully accessible ANASTASIA 8ANICKII I Jason Magee (left), LSA junior and transfer student from Iceland, speaks with A.J. Guikema, a transfer student in the School of Engineering, about the Transfer Student Network at Winterfest yesterday in the Union. Stude draw1 By JESSICA HOFFMAN FOR THE DAILY Colorful balloons, co popcorn and perforr Amazin' Blue, the Wo Club and the Wolverettes students to the Michigan terday to discover the late groups and organization In its first year, Wint activity modelled after F designed for groups tor members at the beginnin Term - demonstrated th pus offers a vast array o and diverse options for s In the midst of the ba example, a dish from th Coleman silk lite mantel,a detector - all allegedly items -sat on the Ameri Society Student Chapte table. crowds to Winterfest 4 Josh Rintamaki, Engineering se- Winterfest also gave transfer and nior and ANS member, pointed a first-year students a chance to ac- )tton candy, Geiger counter at the items, saying, quaint themselves with extracurricu- nances by "We are here to try and dismiss the lar life around campus. men's Glee myths that nuclear energy is bad. For "The big target is incoming new lured many instance, asmoke detector isn'tharm- students," said Jason Gamel, Union yes- ful unless you eat it." Winterfest co-coordinator. "We are st in student "The main goal of ANS is to edu- trying to get new students involved s. catethepublic,"chimed in ANSmem- and those who haven't been involved erfest - an ber and Engineering senior Peter in the past." Festifall and Peterson. Martin Felipe, whojust transferred recruit new Most student groups, however, had from Eastern Michigan University this g of Winter less politically-inclined motives - semester, stopped into Winterfest to hat the cam- they merely wanted to convince stu- help himself to informational bro- f interesting dents to join their organizations. chures and handouts. tudents. Wolverette and RC senior Dina "It was sort of a spur of the mo- allroom, for Vernon said, "We need a lot of expo- ment stop. And then I thought I'd he 1950s, a sure. Right now we have 13 stick around," he said. and a smoke (teammembers), and we need 16." LSA sophomore Colleen Kelley radioactive Winterfest participants said nu- stayed for an hour after she found out can Nuclear merous students who join a student Winterfest was going on. "I just de- er's (ANS) group in autumn drop out of that ac- cided to walk around and looked tivity by the time Winter Term starts. around." People with disabilities find that the Detroit Auto Show is not altogether barrier- free; one man takes action, confronting the problem head-on. DETROIT (AP) - The shiny cars and trucks rotating on turntables and raised on pedestals at the North Ameri- can International Auto Show are de- signed to entice visitors to take a closer look. At some exhibits, it's not so easy if you're in a wheelchair. At others, where ramps have been built into the displays, access is basi- cally equal. Rick Morgan, who gets around in a motorized wheelchair called a tri- cart, spends part of the auto show each year reviewing exhibit accessi- bility for Moving Forward, a national newspaper for people with disabili- ties. Last week he crowded with other reporters for the unveiling of the Lin- coln Contempra, a show car believed to be the basis of the next Continental. While other reporters climbed three steps to get a closer peek at the sleek luxury sedan, Morgan had no choice but to stay below. On Tuesday, he cornered Ford Chair Alex Trotman to tell him of his finding. A surprised Trotman promised action. Friday - the day before the show opened to the public - a ramp with a plexiglass barrier to prevent a wheelchair from tumbling off the side was in place. The ramp's color matched the black stone and burgundy carpet, blending with the rest of the circular display. "A lot of people with disabilities are not poor," Morgan said Monday from the assist that his friends have dedicated "Rick's Ramp." "They will buy cars like this if they can get a good look at them." Morgan, who has used his tri-cart since an auto accident in 1990, pointed out more positives than negatives during a tour of the exhibit floor. At the Mercedes-Benz exhibit, for in- stance, disabled access was provided by a gradual slope, easily maneu- vered in amanual ormotorized wheel- chair. A bonus, Morgan said, was a white pillar marking the area as handicapped access. "And they didn't hide it at the back of the display," he said. Across the aisle at the Jeep-Eagle display, only stairs were provided to get a closer look at Chrysler's hot- selling Jeep Grand Cherokee. The new Chrysler Cirrus and Dodge Stratus had the same impediments. Chrysler's new Neon subcompacts were at floor level, making them easy to approach. Morgan said he has talked to Chrysler exhibit managers in each of the past two years and gotten no- where. "As long as someone we would call 'whole' cannot get any closer than I can get, then that's fine," Mor- gan said. "It boils down to equal ac- cess." Pontiac this year became the first exhibitor at the show to have its prod- uct presentations offered in sign lan- guage. Lynn Lashbrook alternates between Pontiac's two major displays, narrating without uttering a word. "We just figured it might be a good idea," said Ben Tatoris, exhibit manager for Pontiac. "People seem to like it from the comments we get." Auto show spokesperson John Love said the goal of the Detroit show. is to be free of barriers to any disabled person. He concedes the show has a way to go. "We're asking manufacturers as they update their properties or build new ones to be certain they are barrier free in their design," Love said. "We need to continue to educate and prod in some cases to make sure we will end up barrier free." Cihnton dazzles European politicians at NATO summit BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Joshing with fellow NATO leaders one minute, announcing major agree- ments the next, President Clinton is a big hit in Europe. Several other leaders at the NATO summit that ended yesterday were effusive in their praise. Outside, Bel- gians in cowboy hats waited for hours hoping for a glimpse of the president. And Europe's press, only weeks after partisan coverage of transatlantic trade battles, treated Clinton like a show- biz star. "Clinton Steals Show in Brussels," headlined the largest Dutch newspa- per, De Telegraaf. "Clinton Seduces the Europeans," said Liberation, a trendy French daily. Italy's La Republica said, "Albeit with a few slipups, the 'American kid,' by now with a gray tuft of hair, has passed the test." The German media focused heavily on Clinton's jovial greeting of their portly chancellor, Helmut Kohl, whom the president likened to a sumo wrestler. But Kohl himself saluted Clinton as the embodiment of a fresh-thinking postwar generation that welcomes increased European unity. "He acts and reacts in meetings without being surrounded by a big crowd of advisers," Kohl said. And he said U.S. officials for the first time sought to understand the Russians' psychology and avoid hurting their pride. French President Frangois Mitterrand, whose country perenni- ally spars with Washington over ev- erything from trade to TV shows, found little ground for disagreement during a chat with Clinton, aides said. Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers described the U.S. leader as "friendly, courteous and very clear in his state- ments." One of the few negative notes was sounded by Britain's Daily Mail, a conservative tabloid that said Clinton "had trampled on the ashes of the once-vaunted 'special relationship' between Washington and London. "He pledged U.S. commitment to a united Europe that sounded suspi- ciously like the superstate of French dreams." However, for others one of Clinton's most appealing aspects was his repeated conviction that a strong, unified Europe was in America's best interest. "We have renewed the transatlan- tic partnership based on a new more mature relationship between North America and Europe," said NATO Secretary-General Manfred Woerner. "And let me add one thing as a per- sonal impression but more than that: I think everybody was impressed by the strong leadership, resolve and the personal conviction of the American president." I Correction: The following courses fulfill the new LSA Quantitative Reasoning Requirement: Communication 206, 406; Economics 401,402; Honors 252; Mathematics 105, 115, 127, 128, 175, 185, 186, 215; Philosophy 296, 414; Physics 125, 126, 140, 240, 160, 260, 401; Political Science 185; Residential college 222; Sociology 210, 310; Statistics 100, 170, 402. The following courses fulfill half the requirement: Chemistry 130; Economics 210, 202; Geological Sciences 222, 280; Mathematics 116; Sociology 231, 430. This was reported incorrectly in yesterday's Daily. BINDERS, KEEPERS. Group Meetings U East Quad support group for lesbians, gay men, & bisexual people, call 764-3678 for info. 0 FIlipino American Student Association, Michigan Union, Kuenzel Room, 7 p.m. U Gay Jewish Coffee Hour, Sweetwater's Cafe, 123 W. I! T 1 - - - - - U Students ofObjectivism, Michi- gan League, third floor, Room B, 7-9 p.m. U Volunteers in Action, mass meeting, at Hillel, 7:30 p.m. Events 0 CNA Insurance, sponsored by CareerPlanning and Placement, T «:-- ,- - rn Q Multiple Inflation-Output Equilibria: Lessons from the Russian Transition, sponsored by the Center for Russian & East European Studies, Lane Hall Commons Room, 4 p.m. Q Rosh Hodesh Service, at Hillel, 7:30 p.m. Q ZS Associates, sponsored by / I