8 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 9, 1995 C IF -. L ; .. ... .,TIT At New note-taking services . at 'U' cover more classes Peekaboo! Bethany Mayer, Natural Resource senior, looks out the blinds at the Art School after class. East Quad to convert apa By Beth Echlin For the Daily It used to be that when student's overslept and missed a class or needed help organizing their notes, they had two choices - borrow them from a friend or go to Supreme Course Transcripts. Now, however, there are two new kids on the block. Jon's Notes, at 229 Nickels Ar- cade, and Blue Notes, above Rendez- vous Cafe on South University Av- enue, are challenging Supreme Course's dominance of the University marketplace. Both Jon's Notes and Blue Notes employ students who have an average 3.5 GPA and are enrolled in the course for which they are to take notes. Stu- dents can make up to $650 per semes- ter. Supreme Course employs only graduate students and prefers the ac- tual teaching assistants of the courses. Blue Notes, which has been in business since last September, offers notes for more than 100 classes. Jon's Notes, new this-semester, offers notes for 40 different classes, and is plan- ning to add more. Both companies have branches on several college campuses around the country, but they are new to the Uni- versity. Supreme Course, long the only such service on campus, asks the professor's permission before pub- lishing. Because many instructors would not grant permission, a large number of students could not buy notes for their courses. A recent court case between the University of Florida and A-Plus Notes established that publishing notes taken from a professor's lecture does not violate the copyright law, even if those companies do not have the instructor's permission. Jan Paris, general manager of Su- preme Course Transcripts, said that even with the court ruling, her service would continue to ask permission. "Supreme Course Transcripts has Students upset that popular rooms will not be available By Tim O'Connell For the Daily East Quad will lose its apartments and most of the converted triples this summer, as the University Housing Division attempts to improve safety and to distribute space more evenly. East Quad residents received flyers last week explaining next year's changes. The pending renovations of existing apartments and suites disap- pointed residents who planned to vie for the popular spots. "I live in an apartment this year, and a lot of students have taken a look at it. They're annoyed that this apartment won't exist," said LSA junior Matthew Kirk. Julie Lavrack, East Quad's coordi- nator of residence education, gave rea- sons for the change: "Our main con- cern had to do with safety. We've had two small fires this year that were due to electrical problems with the kitchen- ettes." No one was hurt in the two fires. The large apartments and suites will be converted to smaller rooms, with closets replacing the kitchenettes. In addition, 36 of the 50 converted triples in the building will be designated as doubles. "What I noticed when we reviewed the building this year was that some students had a huge luxury of space, and others were confined to small rooms," Lavrack said. "The 82 stu- dents who live in apartments and suites had an average of 145 square ft. of living space each, while the 135 resi- dents who lived in converted triples each had an average of 64 square ft. of space. " Lavrack said Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen A. Hartford encouraged the changes. "With the huge disparity, we were looking for a more fair solution. Our goal, which was partly set by Maureen Hartford, was to get rid of as many converted triples as possible."she said. The number ofnon-smoking rooms in the residence hall also will increase this fall. The Housing Division will designate parts of the top two floors as smoking roomsdueto complaints from non-smokers about cigarette smoke drifting through their windows from smokers' rooms below. The current plan was created by Lavrack, East Quad Office Manager John Gose, Building Facilities Man- ager Tracey Gonzalez and Mainte- nance Mechanic Jim Bogi. The plan was received well by the University Housing Division, Lavrack said. Gonzalez will be in charge of the construction contractors on the sum- mer project and said she hopes every- thing runs smoothly. had a very long-standing policy. For ten years, we have always asked the instructor's permission, and will al- ways continue to do so," she said. "My interests are in maintaining the relationship we have with students and professors." This court ruling opened the door for other note-taking companies, which now cover a wide range of classes. But many professors feel that such services encourage students to skip class. Associate sociology Prof. Michael Kennedy has protested vocally against such companies. "I issued a couple of strong statements in class stating that note-taking services are defeating the purpose of attending classes." Greg Artz, an LSA senior major- ing in history, admitted to skippping class. "Basically, I'm too lazy to go to the class so I buy the notes so I don't have to." Many other students said they use them as supplements. Adena Edwards, an LSA first-year student who had just purchased notes for the first time, said they helped her organize her own notes. "I took this class before and now I'm taking it with this (the notes) and it seems better," she said. Jason Tink, manager of Blue Notes and a 1992 University graduate, said the notes are essential for some students. "We currently work with the Uni- versity department of disability and provide the service for free for stu- dents who are dyslexic or have other problems that interfere with their note- taking." Dan Mulligan, a first-year LSA student, is one such student. "I have attention-deficit disorder, and I use them so I can pay attention in class. When I try and take notes myself I concentrate too much on that - then I can't really listen to what's being said." Sam Goodin, the director of Ser- vices for Students with Disabilities, complimented all of the local compa- nies. "All three have been very gener- ous and provide their services for free and that's a great thing." But some professors resent the fact that they are not asked for permission before companies sell lecture notes. Some have even banned auditors from entering their classrooms. Kennedy said it is unprofessional not to ask the instructor. "In the past I have always refused permission for any of these services, and I think it represents a degree of insolence by these services that they would not even seek my permission," he said. Note-taking services said their notes are only a study aid. A disclaimeron aBlue Notes poster states, "Blue Notes are to be used only as a note supplement." The same mes- QUALITY DRY CLEANING AND SHIRT SERVICE 332 Maynard St. across from Nickels Arcade 668-6335 Notes on notes Here's a comparison of local note- taking services. Supreme Course Transcripts: Semester: $29.95 Test packets: $12-20.00 (depending on course) Weekly notes available: No Daily notes available: No Jon's Notes: Semester: $29.99 ($24.99 for some classes) Test Packets: $8-18.00 (depending on class) Weekly notes available: No Daily notes available: No Blue Notes: Semester: $27.00 Test Packets: $15.00 Weekly notes: $8.00 Daily notes: $3.00/hr Note: Exam packets include all lecture notes taken before the exam date.- Weekly ntes are; notes for one course for one particular week. Daily notes are notes for one particular lecture sage was also posted in the store. Jon's Notes, in a recent memo, emphasized that "our notes are not to be used as a replacement for lecture." Kennedy said he did not believe that such notes were being used merely as supplements. "How can I know that's what it's being used for?" he asked. "I would recommend if it is being used as a supplement that they be handed out for free." Michael Majernik, a Business School junior, thought Kennedy was@ over-reacting. "He seems to feel that his lecture's being violated. He seems to have a grudge against Blue Notes," Majernik said. "I think it's slightly childish of the professor. I mean, as long as they're getting information about this class I don't see why he should care how." Majernik said he used the notes to supplement his own, when he attends class. "The professor will never write anything on the board except an out- line at the beginning." LSA sophomore David Mustalish has used all three note-taking services. "I've got a busy schedule and oc- casionally I'll sleep in and miss my class," he said. "The professors al- ways do stress the importance of go- ing to class, and I believe that to a certain extent. But if I miss it, it's either this or nothing. These are better organized than, say, a classmate's notes." Aid to fight Mich crime WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal money to hire new police officers has started rolling into smaller communi- ties across the country, including $16.7 million for more than 200 Michigan towns and suburbs. The money for the thousands of police officers and sheriff's deputies in America's communities with fewer than 50,000 residents is being pro- vided under the $30 billion crime bill, which became law last year. "This latest round of new police will bring the total number of cops hired in Michigan as a result of the crime bill to 484, and there are more new police to come," said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.). The state will get 244 officers under the latest round of grants. Two r y{ IL ..OIL for . aMN6 e r, d~at e A date axiCL -t .i (Raft the RiversWi d << < N. 0 I