few gains
in state
Legislature
By JONATHAN BERNDT
Daily Staff Reporter
They played "We are the Champi-
ons" at the victory party Tuesday night
as Gov. John Engler won re-election
by more than 700,000 votes.
But state Republicans were not as
dominant in the legislative races.
In the state House, which had been
lit evenly, the Republicans seem to
ve picked up only one seat. But it is
enough to give them an outright ma-
jority for the first time since 1968.
"We are operating under the as-
sumption it's 56-54," said Nancy Tay-
lor, the press secretary for the House
Republicans. This puts Taylor's boss,
Paul Hillegonds (R-Holland), in line
to become the House's full-time speaker.
The state Senate remains in Re-
blican control with the same 22-16
split, although the GOP lost one of its
more prominent members, Sen. Gil
DiNello of Clinton Township.
Michael Traugott, a University
political science professor, said the lack
of a coattail effect in the middle races
shows voters are paying attention.
"Voters have become increasingly
sophisticated in their use of the bal-
l, " he said. "For real invisible races
regent of the University, Engler
was very substantial."
The recent races at the bottom of
the ticket went overwhelmingly Re-
publican, with both Andrea Fischer and
Daniel Horning winning, leaving Demo-
crats Paul Brown and James Waters,
both 24-year incumbents, off the board.
Joel Ferguson, the chair of Michi-
gan State University's Board of Trust-
who ran as a Democrat, finished
Fourth in his re-election bid.
Traugott said two factors made those
races susceptible to Engler's influence.
"It's both a statewide constitu-
See REPUBLICANS, Page 2

2 Irran

*rn

One hundred four years of editorial freedom

Clinton appeals to GOP
for harmony in Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) - Presi-
dent Clinton, stunned by a Republi-
can revolution in midterm elections,
accepted some blame yesterday and
promised to move toward the center
of the political debate. Voters, he said,
"sent us a clear message. I got it."
Understating the obvious, a se-
verely chastened president said, "A
lot has changed since Tuesday." He
offered a tortured, often rambling,
explanation for his party's whipping
and challenged the incoming Repub-
lican majority in Congress to help
him govern.
"I reach out to them today and I
ask them to join me in the center of the
public debate where the best ideas for
the next generation of American
progress must come," Clinton said.
He appeared to still be coming to
grips with the GOP takeover of Con-
gress and historic gains in statehouses.
At least twice, Clinton ducked oppor-
tunities to take swipes at Republi-
cans, saying at one point it was time to
"take a little nap, take a little sleep,
take a little rest" before analyzing the
results.
Asked what the voters told him
Tuesday, Clinton said, "I think they

were saying two things to me. Or
maybe three. They were saying, let
me ..." He paused, stumbling for a
moment before quipping: "Or maybe
300."
Clinton accepted some blame for
the astonishing GOP gains at least six
times during the 30-minute news con-
ference. But he also seemed to sug-
gest that voters are demanding ex-
actly what the administration has al-
ready begun to deliver.
"I'm the president. I'm the leader
of the efforts that we have made in the
last two years, and to whatever extent
that we didn't do what the people
wanted us to do - or they were not
aware of what we had done - I must
certainly bear my share of responsi-
bility," Clinton said.
Broadly promising a new era of
consensus, the president said, "If we
can have a bipartisan coalition, then
,.we can be both non-political and more
centrist."
But he did not appear to back off
his legislative agenda. Clinton
strongly defended his economic
policy, stances on abortion and gun
control and plans to reform the wel-
fare and political systems. He sug-

gested that the major problem with
his health care plan was that it was
misunderstood, and vowed to address
the issue - even though aideg have
said he will scale back his previous
plan. "This problem will not go away,"
Clinton said.
He said the voters demanded change,
and they will get it in forms he has
already proposed: a smaller bureau-
cracy by "reinventing government" and
political reform by pushing legislation
derailed earlier this year.
"What I think they said is they still
don't like what they see when they
watch us working here," Clinton said.
"The government is behind the 8-
ball."
As he has before, Clinton com-
plained that part of his problem is that
Americans don't know what he has
done to improve the economy, reduce
the size of government and change
the culture in Washington.
He brushed aside a suggestion that
the midterm debacle will hurt his
chances for re-election. "We've got
plenty of time to worry about the next
election." he said.
"The American people are sick of
the one we just had."

Sen. Jim Sasser (D-Tenn.) accepts defeat at a news conference yesterday.

Analysts, students predict deadlock in Congress

By KELLY FEENEY
and JOSH WHITE
Daily Staff Reporters
After GOP candidates stormed into
control of the House and Senate Tues-
day for the first time since 1954, both
Democratic leaders and long-stand-
ing "career politicians" have been sent
packing, putting a new face on Con-
gress.
While the newly elected members
won't take office until January, stu-
dents and professors speculated as to
what will be in store for the United
States as a result of the radical change.

Political Science Prof. Sidney Fine
predicted a few months of harmony
between the GOP House and Presi-
dent Clinton, but said it probably will
not last.
"They are all saying that they will
try to cooperate, and I believe that
there will be efforts at working to-
gether in the beginning," Fine said.
"After this temporary lull, however,
people will be thinking about 1996
and the differences between (Clinton
and the Republicans) may cause
gridlock."
Political Science Prof. Ken

Kollman agreed.
"I don't think that the Republi-
cans and the president will be able to
work well together," he said. "It will
be a long battle, and it seems like it
will endure for the next couple of
years, and I think that we may see
some use of the veto pen."
Some students feel that even with
GOP dominance, policy making will
be just as divided, if not more divided,
than it has been during the Clinton
administration.
"With the Democratic president
and both houses controlled by the

opposition party, I think that gridlock
is only going to increase," said LSA
junior Jay Rhee, "and that whatever
progress they've been able to make in
these first two years is just going to
evaporate.
"Even when (the Democrats) had
control of both the Senate and the
House there were so many divisions
within the party that (Clinton) couldn't
get anything passed."
According to some University stu-
dents, the midterm election results
were not so much an affirmation of
conservative views as they were a

negation of what's been going in
Washington during the past few years.
"In general, conservatism is
sweeping the country," said LSA se-
nior David Mitchell. "But, I think
more specifically that (the election)
was definitely more a protest vote.
There is a general dissatisfaction with
government."
Ian Goldenberg, a first-year Resi-
dential College student, said, "The
widespread GOP victories are an af-
firmation of the long-held American
belief that limited government and
See REACTION, Page 2


Phone registration to begin
on a trial basis this semester

By AMY KLEIN
Daily Staff Reporter
In an attempt to end frustrating
lines and Angell Hall traffic, the Uni-
versity Registrar's Office will debut a
touch-tone telephone registration sys-
this semester.
CRISP dates, which were mailed
yesterday, begin on Nov. 16 for gradu-
ate students and Nov. 21 for under-
graduates.
The University follows many other
mid-western schools-including East-
ern Michigan University, Michigan
State University and Ohio State Uni-
versity - in the introduction of tele-
phone registration.
* Essentially, the new system will
resemble the 19-year-old computer-
ized CRISP method, while eliminating
the long waits caused by a limited
number of CRISP operators.
Replacing the 25 temporary opera-
tors hired in previous years will be 128

phone lines.
The CRISP notification form is
identical to last semester's, allotting
each student a date and time for regis-
tration. Instead of reporting to Angell
Hall this November, students can
CRISP from anywhere in the world,
during or after their appointed time.
In addition, telephone CRISP will
be open past business hours, from 7
a.m. until midnight, and on week-
ends.
Lynn Addleman, an assistant regis-
trar for Student Services, believes the
new system will be an asset to students.
"One of the great things is the
amount of benefits this gives the stu-
dents. You can do this from any and
many convenient locations.It will mean
an end to those lines," Addleman said.
Overrides, previously written to stu-
dents and given to a CRISP operator to
enter, will now be processed electroni-
cally by individual academic depart-

ments.
"In September we began allowing
departments to give electronic over-
rides based on student ID numbers,"
Addleman said. "For students this
means everything's already entered
when they call in."
Students will have the opportunity
to ask the computerized voice to con-
firm their new schedule. If a time con-
flict or other mistake is discovered,
students can fix their choices before
hanging up. Drop/add procedures will
also be available over the new tele-
phone CRISP.
This semester, the CRISP office
will keep the walk-in computerized
system open for students reluctant to
use phone registration.
Peter Kessler, an academic service
clerk in the Registrar's Office, thinks
some students will still use the human
operators.
"While the touch-tone version

* Students now have the
option of CRISPing either by
phone or in person. By calling
a number provided in this
semester's course guide,
students can reach one of 128
different lines that connect
them with the University's new
system. This can be done at
the student's appointed time
or anytime during the CRISP
period.
should work the same as the walk-in
version, we're still going to run both
systems concurrently this time around.
There may be things that only CRISP
operators can help with," Kessler said.
In addition, the Registrar's Office
will create a telephone number specifi-
cally for student questions.
"We will have operators to deal
with problems that are not mechanical.
People will always be manning those
phones," Addleman said.
Many University students ex-
pressed interest in registering forclasses
by telephone.
See CRISP, Page 2

Union to use seasonal
displays in place of
religious decorations

BY JENNIFER HARVEY
Daily Staff Reporter
The Michigan Union will be get-
ting all dressed up in the coming months
thanks to the efforts of concerned stu-
dents, staff and faculty.
Union officials held several forums
last month on holiday decorations and
cultural and religious representations
to get feedback on ways to decorate
the Union this year.
The forum consisted of representa-
tives from 18 University groups. Based
on their input, the Union has desig-
nated both the Study Lounge and the
ground-floor showcase for cultural
displays.
"We've adjusted to accommodate
student requests for more space," said
Union Director Audrey Schwimmer.
In addition to the two existing dis-
play cases, groups may make reserva-
tions for space in the Study Lounge.
Space on two four-sided pillars cov-
ered with 8-by-6-foot panels will be
available by the end of this week.
Display and exhibit space may be
reserved by any MSA-registered stu-
dent organization or University depart-
ment on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Consideration will be given to the
National Conference Calendar of Holi-
days and Festivals and available space
in making reservations.
No fees are associated with reser-
vation of the exhibit and space loca-
tion, except in the event of improper
cancellation or damages. All costs are
covered by the Union budget.
INS

Display space may be booked for
a maximum of 12 days. The space
may be reserved up to two years in
advance.
Schwimmer said that she antici-
pates many groups will come forward
to take advantage of the new opportu-
nities.
"So far we've had really good feed-
back from the forum participants. They
seem eager to get started," she said.
The forum also discussed the issue
of Union-sponsored decorations. Past
Union decorations, such as Christmas
trees and wreaths, have been a source
of controversy at the University. The
forum offered suggestions for change.
The Union will sponsor seasonal
decorations instead of decorations
with religious affiliations. Winter
decorations will be up from the end of
November through January, and
spring from February through April.
Vice-chair of the Hillel Govern-
ing Board, forum member and Resi
dential College junior, Darone Ruskay
spoke positively of the Union changes.
"I'm neverhappy when I go into the
Union and see Christmas decorations.
We're in a multicultural environment.
It is my belief that the Union should
take an active role in the process of
education. lam pleased with the idea of
seasonal decorations. This is a step in
the right direction," he said.
The Michigan Union turns 90
years old this month. A list of
events surrounding the
celebration is on Page 7.

Recovering alcoholic
warns students against
! one-night binges

By APRIL WOOD
Daily Staff Reporter
Smashed. Wasted. Annihilated.
Terms like these were among many
attention-grabbing phrases incorpo-
rated into a speech given at Rackham
Auditorium last night by Mike Green
as part of Alcohol Awareness Week.
Green, a recovering alcoholic,
travels the nation speaking to college

"It is really difficult to get people
to come in for an alcohol program,"
Green said, although an audience of
more than 200 fraternity and sorority
members were quickly drawn into
Green's speech through his enthusi-
asm and personal experiences.
Green captured the audience by
discussing subjects many college stu-
dents can understand, such as getting

IDE

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