WE One hundred four years of editorial freedom lrni Weather Tonight: Cloudy with flurries, low about 20'. Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy, high in the mid-30s. Tuesday April 4, 1995 Mouse Republican leaders move closer to passing tax cut The Washington Post WASHINGTON - House Republican leaders moved closer to locking up passage of a $188 billion tax cut yesterday after persuad- ing rebellious GOP moderatesto support the plan. In return the leadership agreed to a watered-down version of the moderates' de- mands for linking tax cuts to deficit reduction. " House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) voiced growing confidence that the tax pack- age, the "crown jewel" of the "Contract With America," would pass when it is brought to the floor tomorrow orThursday. However, Gingrich warned he would keep the House in session beyond the start of the Easter recess late this week unless the measure is approved. "If we don't pass this, we're not going home," he declared. The tax plan'-including a $500-per-child tax credit, a 54percent reduction inthe capital gains tax and numerous tax breaks for businesses and corpo- rations - has encountered stiff resistance from congressional Democrats, some moderate and fis- cally conservative House Republicans and influ- ential GOP moderates in the Senate. The proposal appeared in serious trouble a week ago, after a bipartisan coalition led by Reps. Michael N. Castle (R-Del.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Glen Browder (D-Ala.) vowed to block passage of the bill unless the leadership agreed the tax cuts would not take effect until Congress completed work on a seven-year plan for eliminating the deficit and unless the tax cuts could be revoked any time Congress fell short of its annual targets for achieving a balanced budget. Yesterday, Castle, Upton and freshman Rep. Bill Martini (R-N.J.) announced an agree- ment with the leadership to support the tax bill in return for legislative assurances the tax cuts. could not take effect until the House and Senate completed work late this summer on a long- term budget to eliminate the deficit by 2002. In the event Congress misses a target for deficit reduction, the House and Senate Budget Com- mittees would have to explain in detail the causes of the problem and suggest solutions for getting back on track. But the moderates agreed to drop their de- mands that the tax cuts would be revoked in the event Congress missed a deficit reduction tar- get, in the face of strong complaints from some House GOP leaders and business lobbyists that the proposal was unworkable and would make a sham of investment planning under the tax bill. Castle, Upton and Martini yesterday hailed the compromise as a breakthrough that would provide what Upton described as "a solid insurance policy for deficit reduction" and tax relief. "Our amendment takes what otherwise would have been a tax bill and makes it part of a real plan to balance the budget," Castle said. Although the Republicans appear close to victory, they are still trying to assuage the concerns of more than 100 Republicans who favor limiting the $500 per child tax credit to families earning up to $95,000, instead of the $200,000 limit in the legislation. Tax Cut Proposal The "Contract With America" promises numerous tax cuts that the House is expected to vote on tomorrow or Thursday. The specifics of the plan: An additional $500 exemption for each child. A 50 percent reduction in the captial gains tax, left over from the Bush administration. Numerous other breaks for businesses and corporations, Golden Apple Award winner Prof. Tom Collier (left) and fellow history Prof. Gerald Linderman shake hands after Linderman introduced Collier's "last lecture" at the ceremony last night in Rackham Auditorium. ,o YY V . ! i C 1 t ROE requirement should be changed, committee says By Jodi Cohen Current ROE Classes Daily Staff Reporter In an effort to offer a more diverse under- Some classes are more popular than others graduate academic experience, an LSA review with students for fulfilling the race or committee is recommending changes to the race ethnicity requirement. For students' or ethnicity requirement to better fulfill its origi- opinions about the classes and the new nal intentions. requirements. See story, Page 3. The committee to review the requirement out- Winter 1994 ROE Student Credit Hours lined both technological and substantive improve- -Sociology Asian ments to the current program in a report released History: 10% Studies: yesterday. The college will phase in the recom- - 2f/0% mendations gradually. sPhilosophy: The report was commissioned by LSA faculty 6% when they originally approved the requirement in omm.: 1991. The mandate states, "After this requirement ,6% has been in operation for two years, the Dean will . appoint a committee to review all aspects of it." tudies: In order to better represent the requirement's 6% intentions, the committee recommended that the name be changed to "race and ethnicity." The Anthropology: ' Other: committee felt that the old name led students and 29% 19% faculty to believe that a course did not have to Mean GPA in LSA courses discuss race as long as it discussed ethnicity. Ewetm.. " We changed the name to race and ethnicity its because we felt that ROE confused what the re- *01 ~ 0 MARK{ FRIEDMAN/Dar ghelc Collier gives bjs 'ideal Iasit'ectre' By Michelle Lee Thompson Oily Staff Reporter Last night, Prof. Thomas Collier gave his "ideal last lecture" on the endgames played in World War II and the conclusion of the Vietnam War. But his lecture wasn't in a classroom, most of the audience didn't take notes, and Collier got a resounding standing ovation from the audience of about 450, mostly current and former students. The history lecturer spoke at Rackham Auditorium as the recipient of the fifth Golden Apple Award, given annually by Students Honoring Outstanding Under- graduate Teaching. "I can't believe you gave me this award," Collier said. "I gave the committee time to reconsider but they assured me this was the best they could do." The speech, titled "Hey, What Hap- pened?" focused on the topics of Collier's vo classes - "History of the Vietnam War" and "War and American Society in the 20th Century." Collier said history was seen many different ways by people of varying experience and intention. "Almost from the minute an event oc- curs, whether it's O.J. Simpson or what- ever, the story starts to change," Collier said. "I think you can open history if you play with the questions." He gave accounts of World War II and the Vietnam War, highlighting specific events by sharing his own experiences. Collier was a Marine colonel and served three tours of duty in Vietnam. Collier also shared his opinion of the bombings of Japan during World War II. "My personal opinion is that instead of dropping the bomb on Hiroshima, we should have strapped Undersecretary Jo- seph C. Grout to a parachute and dropped him on Hiroshima and said, 'As soon as you get on the ground, start talking,"' Collier said. He began his speech by describing the series of events leading up to the Smithsonian Institute's recent decision to scrap a textual explanation on its upcoming Enola Gay ex- hibit. "The idea that you can't tell it like it is because it will offend some groups in society is a mistake. It's just a mistake," Collier said in response to a student question. "The neat thing about him is that he's sort of able to relate the personal aspect to the historical account," said LSA junior Wendy Merry, who took Collier's Vietnam War class last winter term. SHOUT chairman Gabi Loeb, an LSA senior, said, "He touched on, using specific examples, the basic fundamental ideas of history - to ask questions, to find out what really happened." But Collier remained modest about his teaching abilities throughout his speech, even cutting it short by saying, "Basketball is basketball," and dismissing the audience so students could catch the NCAA Basketball Finals on TV. quirement was about for many people," said David Schoem, assistant dean for undergraduate educa- tion and chair of the ROE review committee. George Sanchez, director of the American culture department, agreed that the title change was representative of moving toward a focus on the overall goal. "I think that the change ensures that both issues are dealt with in the context of the course," he said. The committee also recommended that there be an R&E Instructional Board comprised of faculty knowledgeable about the requirement. One role of the board is to provide instructional support to faculty members teachingcourses whose content includes race and ethnicity. "The R&E instructional board will make rec- ommendations for improving teaching of R&E courses," Schoem said. The report states, "Some faculty and TAs (teaching assistants), perhaps even a great many, lack experience and training in leading discus- sions in this content area." Associate mathematics Prof. RobertMegginson said that if these changes are implemented, the R&E requirement could be improved greatly. "I would like to see most of the changes here imple- mented, in particular the support functions that an expanded R&E board can serve," he said. The committee recommended required train- S No 46 - ota i DAILY GRAPHIC ing for professors and TAs teaching R&E courses. In addition, it called for an emphasis on smaller classes encouraging group discussion. "Some students felt that their ROE course was very good, and some felt that it didn't meet ROE requirements," Schoem said. The report states that "some students of color have raised concerns that some approved courses may not adequately address the criteria of the requirement." Schoem said courses should be reviewed, especially in light of student complaints. "Up until now, there has been no process to review courses," he said. The committee recommended a "re-certifica- tion" process every five years to "insure the integrity of the requirement, serve as a construc See R&E, Page 2 Man sues A2 police over diarassment In rape case By Frank C. Lee Daily Staff Reporter An African American male has filed a civil suit against the city of Ann Arbor, the Inn Arbor Police Department and an AAPD tective in protest of the AAPD's handling of the serial rapist investigation. Blair Shelton, a former suspect, filed suit Friday seeking damages in excess of $10,000 for injuries suffered. "including but not lim- ited to, loss of emnlovment and wales se- Pass/fail will not be option for last-term foreign language By Cathy Boguslaski Daily Staff Reporter Students who enter the University next term will not have the option to take the last semester of their language requirement pass/fail. The LSA faculty voted almost unanimously yesterday to deny the use of the pass/fail option in any class used to fulfill the last term of a language requirement. The option is still available in all other classes. "There was overwhelming support from the faculty present" for the proposal, said LSA Dean Edie N. Goldenberg. placement. Some get the help they need, but others find themselves helplessly and painfully lost," she said. "But that doesn't mean pass/fail is not also a problem." A romance languages professor said that stu- dents who are only hoping to get a "C-" - the minimum grade required to pass -- do not ad- equately prepare themselves for class or partici- pate and give only minimal effort. . Martin said, "(The change) will only be posi- tive if the language departments now take advan- tage of this and improve the courses." Another professor from the romance lan- MOLLY STEVENS/Daily Blair Shelton (right) and his attorney discuss his suit which was filed against the Ann A -.- n . - . . - S- - --- - -'ALwr . a. 1. w - - - I