The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 28. 1994 - 3
.Resurgent dragon will lead world economy, China reporter tells group
By NIDHI AGRAWAL
For the Daily
Amid cruelty, evil and corruption,
Nicholas Kristof, former Beijing bu-
reau chief for The New York Times,
is cautiously optimistic.
"You canneverbe sure with China.
China may massacre students again,
*but by and large, the trend is towards
a more open system," he said.
Kristof spoke before a packed au-
dience of nearly 300 students and
faculty at Rackham Amphitheatre
about his recently published book
"China Wakes."
Kristof and his wife Sheryl
WuDunn together won the Pulitzer
Prize for their coverage of the
Tiananmen Square massacre. Kristof
hopes his talks spark increased inter-
est in the social and political environ-
ment in China.
"I think the most important
changes in the world are occurring in
China. If China's industrial revolu-
tion can be sustained, it will be of the
same long-term consequence of the
industrial revolutions in England and
the United States.... China's economy
is on a trajectory to overtake the United
States and Japan in the next three to
five decades." Kristof said.
He added, "Economic, communi-
cation and sexual revolutions have
made China a much more open place
now."
Besides the positive changes oc-
curring in China, Kristof also ac-
knowledged the country's readily ac-
cepted tradition of cruelty.
Kristof remembered watching the
People's Liberation Army fire on pro-
democracy demonstrators, and on
himself during the Tiananmen Square
massacre, an event he said only Chi-
nese citizens in Beijing remember
well.
"People were killed right in front
of my eyes. Friends of mine were
killed and imprisoned. Seeing people
killed and talking to peasants who are
ready to do it again is really quite
sobering."
Concerning the United States'
role in the future of China, Kristof
said, "I really feel very strongly that
we need to have more contact with
China. More trade and more ex-
changes."
Despite, the human rights abuses
occurring in China, Kristof supports
Clinton's decision to grant the country
"most favored nation" trade status.
"I think there are going to be human
rights abuses for a long time to come,
but as China opens up, human rights
violations that occur now will be a
little less likely," Kristof said.
In an afternoon presentation be-
fore members of the Chinese Stud-
ies Department, Kristof referred to
Napoleon Bonaparte's remark:
"When China wakes, it will shake
the world." Kristof believes that
time is soon to come.
Kristof is now spending the year
"learning Japanese," preparing with
WuDunn before he takes over as
bureau chief for the Times in To-
kyo.
MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily
Nicholas Kristof speaks at Rackham.
-Committee probes
textbook pricing
nOP launches
new platform
By AGNES MAZUR
For the Daily
Textbook buying and selling is
Iefinitely a big business at the Uni-
versity - the crowds and long lines at
the book stores are plenty of proof.
But some concern has been raised
whether students are really getting
the best deal for their money.
Mike Christie Jr., chair of the Aca-
demic Affairs Commission of the
Michigan Student Assembly, said a
new committee,
formed to look
into the text- 'If we had th
book situation, time for the
plans to identify
theproblem and I would pay
take action. the original
-"Our current
status is to fo- Students.'
cus on the
lower - level
courses where textbO4
the same book
is used year to
year and on making the book lists
available earlier."
For the lists to be available sooner,
Christie said, professors would need
to turn their book request slips earlier
to the Textbook Recording Service
(TRS), which handles 90 percent of
the requests.
The other 10 percent, mostly from
Ohe humanities department, are sent
directly to Shaman Drum. Those sent
to TRS are given to Ulrich's, Michi-
gan Book and Supply and The Michi-
gan Union Bookstore.
During its Sept. 23 meeting, the
committee identified why professors
turn in their slips late. Christie listed
the reasons as "procrastination, late
appointment to a course of a profes-
&or who then has not enough time to
h1
rn
0
p
-
choose the books he or she wants to
use, and revisions of the course done
during the summer to update it."
Christie said the committee also
identified a couple of ways that stu-
dents could improve the book buying
and selling situation.
"One proposal was to improve cir-
culation of Advice magazine and re-
vise its evaluation forms addingques-
tions on how much and how helpful
certain textbooks are," he said. "An-
other proposal was
for TRS and the
e info in on University admin-
ieXt term, istration to work
withthe Student
ne half of BookExchangeto
rice to the expand the range
of the exchange
causing the book-
Irv Scheel storetobelessof a
middleman."
k manager Paul Rosser,
general manager
of Ulrich's, said
the main problem with textbooks was
that the stores didn't get the book lists
early enough.
"I don't understand why the Uni-
versity will not have a central clear-
ing area where the requests will all
come in."
Irv Scheel, textbook manager of
Michigan Book and Supply, also cited
late arrivals of book lists as the reason
students got less money back during
buy-back.
"If we had the info in on time for the
next term, I would pay one half of the
original price to the students," Scheel
said. "But if we don't have the order
form, I can only pay 15 percent back."
Scheel added, "We asked for the
information on April 15 and we only
got 8 to 10 percent of the forms back."
From Staff and Wire Reports
WASHINGTON - Hoping to
seize control of the House for the first
time in 40 years, about 300 Republi-
can incumbents and GOP candidates
yesterday signed a manifesto outlin-
ing changes they pledged to write into
law if they win a majority in the
November elections.
The 10-point platform, which
Democrats denounced as unworkable
and a fraud on the public, promises
action on a balanced-budget amend-
ment, a presidential line-item veto,
massive family tax cuts and other
popular issues. It made no mention of
health care legislation.
The pact was endorsed at a bois-
terous flag-waving rally outside the
Capitol.
A band blaring patriotic music and
red, white and blue bunting provided
a colorful backdrop for adoption of
the GOP "Contract with America,"
designed to harness what Republi-
cans see as a tidal wave that will
sweep Democrats from office.
Republicans gambled that this
unprecedented attempt to unify be-
hind a series of domestic issues would
allow them to pick up 40 seats they
need to elect a speaker and run the
chamber for the first time since 1954.
Most independent experts predict
Republicans will gain about 25 seats,
narrowing the Democrats' current78-
seatmargin but falling shortofmajor-
ity control.
John Schall, the Republican can-
didate from Michigan's 13th Con-
gressional District, which includes
Ann Arbor, was among those in Wash-
ington to sign the contract.
"Congress will not change until
those who are controlling the Con-
gress change," Schall said in a pre-
pared press release. "For too long,
we'veelected people who go to Wash-
ington promising action but who do
nothing."
Lynn Rivers, Schall's Democratic
opponent, called the balanced-budget
amendment a "gimmick."
"There are not enough dollars in
any other part of the budget to make
that work, unless you're going to go
into social security Medicaid and
Medicare."
Leading Democrats were quick to
denounce provisions of the pact,
charging that it would add $800 bilt
lion to the deficit and cut taxes prima-
rily for the rich at the expense of
Medicare and Social Security recipi-
ents.
White House officials have said
the Republican contract does not
specify where all the spending cute
would be made to offset sweeping tax
reductions of more than $100 billion;
The House GOP platform includes
an anti-crime package, a two-year
limit for welfare payments and a shuti
off of welfare for teen-age mothers
who have children out of wedlock, a
vote on a constitutional amendment
to limit the number of terms lawmak°-
ers can serve, and a $500 tax credit for
each dependent child.
Other provisions cover a reduc-
tion of the capital gains tax, an in-
crease in the earnings limit for Social
Security recipients and more tax
breaks for business.
The legislation could be voted
upon within the first 100 days if the
Republicans have a majority in the
House next January.
This thin volume is sold for $100 at Michigan Book & Supply.
Rosser and Scheel agreed that not
much can be done to reduce the price
of new textbooks since they are set by
the publishers.
On the other hand, Karl Pohrt, owner
of Shaman Drum, said, "I would say
that there is nothing that can be done
about centralizing at U-M because it is
such a large institution.
"The losers in the deal would be
the faculty because they would have
to make decisions much earlier than
they do. It serves the students best if
the faculty has the time to decide."
Pohrt said the University's faculty
faces so many pressures in research
and publishing that it would be unfair
to give them a rigid deadline for turn-
ing in their book requests.
"I have a daughter who is in col-
lege and I pay for her tuition and
books, but I feel that it's worth it. I
want those four years to be as high
quality as possible," Pohrt said.
Hispanic/Latino groups
encourage unity at 'U'
Survey: Companies moving toward 'downsizing'
By DEVON PEREZ
For the Daily
Unity among the Hispanic/Latino
community was the focus of a semi-
nar for first-year students last night,
,highlighting ways for minority stu-
dents to succeed at the University and
beyond.
Katalina Berdy, the Hispanic/
Latino representative at Minority Stu-
dent Services, hosted the event at the
Trotter House, which was part of the
Tmonth-long Hispanic/Latino Heritage
Celebration.
About 40 students attended the
event, including those representing
various Hispanic/Latino organiza-
tions. Various groups and staff mem-
bers presented students with informa-
tion about the different services avail-
able to Hispanic/Latino students.
Berdy said the goal of the event
was "to make (first-year students) feel
ike they are part of the community
and to show them that role models are
available." In this regard, she called
the event a success.
Margarita Garcia-Roberts, a so-
cial science research associate, urged
students to "make an effort to seek out
those faculty and staff who have en-
countered similar situations."
Speakers also urged Hispanic/
Latino students to use their cultural
heritage to establish a network of re-
sources on campus that can be used to
overcome prejudice, discrimination
and other barriers minority students
face. They also advised students to
establish social ties with other His-
panic/Latino students.
Throughout the night, the mes-
sage of unity within the Hispanic/
Latino community was emphasized
as a means of excelling at the Univer-
sity, and in life after graduation.
Berdy said, "The University ex-
perience is not only classroom expe-
rience. A total development in all
areas of life is necessary to develop
the skills that will help (Hispanic/
Latino students) to succeed in life."
Los Angeles Times
More big companies cut jobs over
the past year, despite the improved
economy, but the cutbacks themselves
generally grew smaller, a new survey
shows.
In a hopeful sign for workers, the
survey also found that many compa-
nies cutting positions in one part of
their businesses are offsetting the pain
by adding jobs elsewhere.
Still, amid new indications that
"downsizing" is paying off in im-
proved profits for many employers,
even more firms plan to eliminate
positions in the coming year.
The American Management As-
sociation survey, which polled 713
major U.S. companies with an esti-
mated 2.6 million workers, showed
that 47.3 percent of the companies
eliminated positions from mid-1993
through mid-1994. That was up from
46.6 percent in the previous 12
months.
The reasons most often cited for
the cutbacks involved anticipated or
ongoing business downturns. But for
the first time in five years, fewer than
half of the employers gave that as
their rationale.
Instead, employers increasingly
are making sharply focused layoffs
during good times or bad to fine-tune
their operations, said Eric Greenberg,
the AMA's research director.
He said these job eliminations re-
flect a trend in corporate America
toward slashing payrolls down to "ab-
solute, irreducible cores of perma-
nent employees."
Meanwhile, 25.8 percent of em-
ployers said they expected to cut jobs
in the coming year. Since companies
normally underestimate layoffs, re-
searchers figure that about twice as
many companies actually will make
cutbacks.
By comparison, at the same time
last year, 21.6 percent of the compa-
nies anticipated layoffs.
While continuing cutbacks have
made American workers increasingly
insecure about their jobs, there were
signs that things are getting a little
better for employees.
For instance, the combination of
smaller layoffs and increased hiring
meant that the net reduction in em-
ployment over the last year was 5.2
percent among the companies sur-
veyed, versus 8.4 percent the previ-
ous year.
Employers, for their part, could
take heart in a finding that 50.6 per-
cent of the companies that have cut
staff since 1989 have netted higher
profits, a somewhat brighter finding
than discovered in other surveys.
For instance, a study released last
October by the Wyatt Co. consulting
firm found that only 46 percent of the
companies it surveyed boosted their
profits by cutting employment.
Both the AMA study and the Wyatt
survey found that cutbacks work best
when they are part of continuing pro-
grams, rather than one-time efforts,
to reduce costs and boost productiv-
ity.
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Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Predoctoral Fellowships in
Biological Sciences
1995 Competition
80 fellowships will be awarded for full-time study toward the
Ph.D or Sc.D. degree in cell biology and regulation, genetics.
immunology, neuroscience, structural biology=,biostatiktics.
epidemiology, or mathematical biology.
Correction
Ron Jackson is the president of the Black Greek Association. This was incorrectly reported in Friday's Daily.
Fellowship Terms
Three-year initial awards,
with two-year extension
possible
Eligibility
Less than one year of post-
baccalaureate graduate
study in biology:
college seniors;
first year graduate students;
M.S., D.0.. D.D.S., D.VM.,
U
$14,500 annual stipend
$14,000 annual cost-of-
education allowance
Group Meetings
0 College Republicans Weekly
Meeting, 668-4664, Michigan
2275, men and women, begin-
ners welcome, 8:30-9:30 p.m.
Q U-M Students of Objectivism,
913-5530, MLB, Room B122,
Events
a "Origins of Stalinist Mentality
Brown Bag Lecture," with
If an M.D./Ph.D. student:
not in a funded program
No citizenship requirements:
I.S. citizens may study
abroad:
others must study in the
I
;" On heP.I stit :nrt ind wina.