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One hundred four years of editorial freedoin
Wednesday
March 22, 1995
IN MEMO ,y 3 e.
.House
begins
debate on
welfare
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON - The House
yesterday opened a harshly partisan
debate on Republican legislation
that would make the broadest
changes in the nation's social wel-
fare system since what was then
called "relief" became available to
poor families during the Depression
.0 years ago.
The revised version of the welfare
overhaul legislation that House Re-
publicans proposed in their "Contract
With America" would modify 40 fed-
eral programs that benefit more than
one in 10 Americans and give states
considerably more control over pub-
lic assistance.
Republicans proclaimed that their
legislation would end generations of
Spendency and dare to fulfill Presi-
dent Clinton's 1992 campaign prom-
ise to "end welfare as we know it."
Democrats denounced the GOP bill
as abandoning some poor families,
particularly children, to save $66 bil-
lion to fund promised tax cuts for
businesses and more affluent fami-
lies.
"Generation after generation, we
ve enslaved these people," said
"conomic and Educational Opportu-
nities Committee Chairman William
F. Goodling of Pennsylvania. "Un-
less we make a change, they will
never get an opportunity to achieve
the American dream."
Ways and Means Chairman Bill
Archer of Texas said that the wel-
fare overhaul would "reverse the
'ecades-long federal policy of re-
arding unacceptable and self-de-
structive behavior. We will no
longer reward people for doing the
wrong thing."
But Rep. Sam Gibbons of Florida
the top Democrat on Ways and Means,
said, "This is a cruel piece of legisla-
tion. It punishes the children-- the
innocent children - because of the
errors of the parent or parents."
Rep. Harold Ford of Tennessee
said that the federal government had
"offered a financial security commit-
ment to poor children with a 60-year
commitment to welfare, and they're
taking it away."
The Democratic talk of cruelty to
children put Republicans on the de-
fensive and signaled a final unravel-
ing of the bipartisan consensus repre-
sented by the last welfare overhaul, a
88 law designed to prepare able
recipients for work. The optimisti-
cally named but ultimately disappoint-
ing JOBS program would be repealed
in one section of the 400-page bill put
together by four House committees.
Rep. Michael Castle of Delaware,
who as a fellow governor joined
Clinton to lobby for that 1988 law,
said he disagreed "with those who say
#!iis bill is cruel" and asked lawmak-
ers to listen to each other this week as
they debate what he called "a big-
bang solution to solving the problems
of welfare."
The changes would extend far be-
yond the main welfare program, Aid to
Families with Dependent Children
(AFDC), and affect food stamps, school
lunches, disability payments, foster
4milies and nutrition supplements for
regnant women and children.
The legislation would terminate
benefits to poor families eligible for
AFDC and deny cash support to un-
married teenage mothers, families
with a parent not in a work program
within two years and all families after
five years on the rolls. Families that
had more children while on welfare
would no longer get extra benefits.
MSA
Assembly rep.
reclaims secret
$786 donation
Follow the leader JOE
Gene Sazyc tries to finish her shopping at Meijer yesterday, followed by her children and their two friends.
Early textbook order may
increase student paybacks
By Amy Klein
Daily Staff Reporter
With Michigan Student Assem-
bly President Julie Neenan and Vice
President Jacob Stern as witnesses,
Rep. Andrew Wright signed a receipt
March 14 to reclaim $786 that was
donated anonymously to MSA.
Wright, however, still denies do-
nating the money and claims his inno-
cence, even after the assembly re-
voked his position as external rela-
tions chair.
His steps to reclaim the money
culminated two months of contro-
versy surrounding the ethical nature
of the donation, given to the assembly
Jan. 20.
"By signing the receipt and col-
lecting the money by no means meant
that I had sent in the money," he said.
Wright claims he retrieved the
money for a third party. "It's obvious
that someone simply gave me the
mechanism for retrieving it."
The transaction was announced to
the rest of the assembly at last night's
meeting. The reaction was silence.
Wright said yesterday that he no
longer has the money.
Stern said Wright's involvement
may be unethical. "Andrew Wright is
a member of MSA. Regardless of
whether the money is his, he nonethe-
less acted as an agent. Thus, I think
the assembly should discuss whether
this is proper ethics, for an assembly
member," Stern said.
Neenan agreed that Wright was
positioned as an agent, a role unfit for
an MSA representative.
"You argue your point in the fo-
rum of MSA, then if people don't
agree with it you, deal with it. As a
representative he should have said
no," Neenan said.
LSA Rep. Jonathan Freeman said
Faculty to receive
letters encouraging
orders by April 15
By Ronnie Glassberg
Daily Staff Reporter
In an attempt to increase the finan-
cial gains to students selling used
textbooks, the University plans to
encourage faculty to place early book
orders.
This year, the College of LSA and
the School of Business Administra-
tion will send letters to their faculty to
encourage them to meet the April 15
deadline for textbook orders. Also,
the University is looking at putting
textbook orders on-line to make or-
dering easier for faculty members.
"We're hopeful that this raising of
awareness will be enough to raise the
percentage of faculty who turn their
orders in on time," said Associate
Provost Susan Lipschutz, co-chair of
the University committee that exam-
ined the textbook issue.
Lipschutz said she also will en-
courage the other undergraduate deans
to send out similar letters.
The textbook committee was
formed over the summer by Provost
Gilbert R. Whitaker Jr. and Vice Presi-
dent for Student Affairs Maureen A.
Hartford in response to student con-
cerns.
Faculty members place orders to
the Textbook Reporting Service,
which serves Michigan Book and
Supply, the Michigan Union Book-
store and Ulrich's.
Dave Richard, general manager
of Michigan Book and Supply and
Ulrich's, said that last year the Text-
book Reporting Service only received
9 percent of the total orders by the
April deadline.
When professors order textbooks
before the deadline, Richard said, the
bookstores buy used books at 50 per-
cent of a new book's cost.
"I certainly hope (the letter) will
be beneficial. I would much rather
buy my used books from a student
than from a wholesaler," Richard said.
He said it costs the same amount for
him the purchase used books from a
wholesaler or a student.
Lipschutz said the University also
will look into putting textbook orders
on-line to make ordering easier for
the faculty. "It would be through the
University, but the bookstores would
See TEXTBOOKS, Page 2
G I think the
assembly should
discuss whether
this is properL
ethics for an
assembly member."
- Jacob Stern
MSA vice president
he thinks that the anonymity of the
donation made the situation look more
suspicious than it may have been.
"To pull stunts like this is just
plain rude. It pokes in people's ideas
of what the ethics should be," he said.
The donation was accompanied
by instructions that the money be used
to fund two additional delegates to a
student conference. MSA refused the
donation.
Ten dollars was taken from the
initial donation of $796, per the in-
structions attached, to place an adver-
tisement in The Ann Arbor News to
return the money to its original source.
"It's like I said (in February),"
Stern said. "I don't think it's a good
idea for a student government to take
money with strings attached."
Wright was recalled from his po-
sition as external relations chair in
February after an MSA investigative
committee circumstantially connected
him to the anonymous donation.
Wright said yesterday that he knew
the donor and agreed to help because
the person shared his feelings toward
the conference.
"I did know the person when they
gave the money to MSA and they are
not connected to MSA. It was a mem-
See ASSEMBLY, Page 2
Smith says
he hopes for
probation
From Staff Reports
Former Michigan football captain
Walter Smith said yesterday that he
expects to be sentenced to a six-month
probation for a domestic violence
charge to which he pleaded no contest
Monday.
Smith was
arrested March
6 after his girl-
friend, a 22-
y e ar - o ld :
Pittsfield
Township
woman, called
the police after
an argument.
His sentencing Smith
is scheduled for
April 13.
"She acted wrongly and admitted
it," Smith said. "She got mad and
called the police to scare me (but)
we're still cool."
Smith said the woman, the mother
of his 4-year-old son, will make a
statement at his sentencing, admit-
ting the mistake and asking the judge
for a minimum sentence.
As for his National Football
League chances, Smith said. "It
could affect me real bad, but it wasn't
such a big deal that it will affect
me.
Police find possible
ln Obetween set
and Tkyo attac
The Washington Post
TOKYO, March 22 - Police
wearing gas masks and riot gear this
morning raided offices of a secretive
Buddhist religious sect that has been
linked in the past to the lethal nerve
gas reportedly used in Monday's ter-
rorist attack on Tokyo's subways.
Police took documents and other
material from 25 facilities of the group
known as Aum Supreme Truth,
headed by a fanatic guru whose writ-
ings have included admiration for
Adolf Hitler, loathing for the United
States, fear of the Japanese govern-
ment and statements about the power
of poison gas.
No arrests were reported this morn-
ing, and police officially said the
searches concerned a suspected kid-
napping last month.
But media analysts connected the
massive police raid to Monday's sub-
way disaster, when eight people were
killed and thousands injured by fumes
that police said were caused by a
World War II nerve gas called sarin.
No one has claimed responsibility for
the attack.
Circumstantial evidence linking
the religious group to the production
of sarin, plus the frequent statements
about poison gas by its "Venerated
Master," Shoko Asahara, fanned me-
dia speculation that the guru might
have a role in the subway killings.
The speculation became so intense
that the religious group finally called
a news conference and issued a force-
ful assertion of its innocence.
The national police agency con-
tinued combing subway trains and
stations yesterday for clues to
Monday's crime but declined to say
anything about possible leads. The
police would not confirm media re-
ports that a potential suspect in the
case had been felled by fumes at a
downtown subway station and was
under guard at a hospital.
All 12 of Tokyo's subway lines
were open and running without inci-
dent. Ridership was way down yes-
terday, partly because the first day of
spring is a national holiday in Japan.
The Nazi-developed poison gas
sarin was released Monday on three
of those lines by people who left open
containers of the potion, or newspa-
pers soaked with it, on trains.
At stations on those lines, signs
were posted yesterday expressing sor-
row for the victims and apologies to
other passengers.
A Tokyo riot police officer escorts a member of the "Supreme Truth" sect
from its headquarters yesterday. More than 2,500 police officers, wearing
riot gear and special protective clothing, raided at least 25 sect facilities
during an investigation of Monday's terrorist attack.
'U' environmental groups prepare for 25th Earth Day
i
Michigan Stodent
A- - v wW A-- I A I-- II---------1--1-
By Daniel Johnson
".Now is the time for citizens to take back
environmental groups to coordinate environ-
office to roll back 25 years of environmental
,I