One hundredfve years ofeditorialfreedom *&t1 Tonight: Mostly cloudy, chance of snow, low -10'. Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy, chance of snow, high 5'. Friday February 2, 1996 politicians to debate Contract expires; GEO pickets ' tomorrow nightatW U 'James Carville and Chuck Yob to speak about GOP and Democratic platforms in Michigan Union By Stephanie Jo Klein Daily Staff Reporter *wo well-known political figures will take to the podium tomorrow night as part of a large effort to educate the University community about political issues. James Carville, a senior political ad- viser to President Clinton, and Chuck Yob, state chair for Phil Gramm's GOP nomination bid, will debate tomorrow night at 5:30 in the Michigan Union Ballroom. he forum will enable the two politi- undits to address topics of concern to University students. In a joint effort, the Michigan Student Assembly, LSA Student Government, College Demo- crats, College Re- publicans and the University Activi- ties Council are 'Ysponsoring the "Polls show that college students have less and less faith in political in- stitutions," said MSA President Carville Flint Wainess. "(Forums) such as Saturday's debate, I think, are a way to reverse that trend." Wainess is scheduled to moderate the debate and said he hopes the inter- ve format will encourage students in the audience to ask questions. College Republicans President An- gela Jerkatis said she is looking forward to the interaction between both parties. The debate, Jerkatis said, "will in-. form students about the presidential race coming up ... if college students took a more active role in choosing the president, they could make a difference he future." Warville has been brought into the national spotlight through. Clinton's presidency and has long been active in the Democratic Party. His marriage to Mary Matalin, deputy campaign man- ager for George Bush's re-election bid, also caught the public eye, as did their best-selling book, "All's Fair: Love, War, and Running For President." Yob has been active in more than 25 Republican campaigns since 1970 and member ofthe Republican National mmittee. He is also the president of Industrial Belting and Supply Inc., based in Grand Rapids. By Anupama Reddy Daily Staff Reporter Members of the Graduate Employ- ees Organization picketed outside cam- pus buildings yesterday, chanting, "What do we want? Contracts. When do want them? Now." The mock strike is the latest in a series of attempts by GEO to generate public support and awareness. Mem- bers started this week by handing out fliers and ended it by marching in circles outside the LSA and Modern Languages buildings, and the Fish- bowl. GEO members hoped to inform stu- dents of yesterday's failure to reach a full contract agreement. Earlierthis week, both parties agreed to extend contract negotiations for two more weeks. GEO President Scott Dexter said the union's steering committee will send out strike authorization ballots to its 1,200 members at the end of next week. If a majority approves to strike, then the committee will make the final decision around Feb. 22. "At this point, I think an indefinite strike is unlikely," Dexter said. "(But) a one- to three-day work stoppage might be necessary given the University's level of commitment. "It's a bargaining chip," he said. Barbara Murphy, a member of the University's bargaining team, said the current state of affairs is due partly to GEO's inability to prioritize its is- sues. "We're trying to bargain as effec- tively as we can, (but) we don't have a feeling about which issues are most important to them," Murphy said. She also didn't believe striking would achieve significant results. "The strike wouldn't accomplish much because you aren't bargaining," Murphy said. "Ifyou're striking, you're not talking." GEO member Monika Cassel said she didn't want to strike but would if necessary. "I would rather do my teaching," Partial Agreement Contract negotiations began Oct. 31, 1995 and GEO's current contract expired yesterday. But the University and GEO have agreed to extend talks until Feb. 14. The University and GEO have reached agreement on: Changing titles to Graduate Student Instructors N Same-sex domestic partner health benefits The joint committee on academic excellence Proposals not agreed upon: Wage percentages International graduate student instructor training M Affirmative action policies Cassel said. "But if we agitate now, the sooner it'll be over." Students observing the demonstra- tions had mixed feelings about the union, but several said a real strike would paralyze the University. "I don't agree with a total strike. What about the students? What about our classes?" asked LSAjuniorNathalia Chasin. LSA first-year student Bonnie White said, "I was glad they weren't yelling at me for going to class. They basically handed me a flier, and that's fair enough." LSA sophomore Corey Stoughton said GEO's intention in passing out fliers was good, but the fliers lacked real information on the issues. "It seemed to me that the pamphlets were more political than informative," Stoughton said. "Bringing it to students was a great idea, but not very success- ful. Dexter said he was pleased with GEO's visibilty and its members' high spiritsyesterday, and stressed that teach- ing was the union's chief concern. See GEO, Page 2 Members of the Graduate Employees Organization picketed various campus locations yesterday, including the Diag, to urge administrators to come to a contract agreement with the union. GEO contracts expired at midnight last night,and members of the group are trying to gather undergraduate support for their cause. Photos by WARREN ZINN/Daily State House OKs 65-mph speed limit LANSING (AP) - With House ap- proval yesterday of 65-mph speed lim- its on most Michigan freeways, Gov. John Engler has an idea that may bridge the gap between that and a Senate- passed 70 mph limit, an aide said. "It falls somewhere between the two," said Engler's legislative lobbyist, Jeff McAlvey. Engler'sproposal would allow the state Transportation Department and state po- lice to immediately raise speed limits to 65 mph on most freeways now at 55 mph -just as the House bill would. It also would allow the department to review the 175 miles ofmore congested urban freeways to see if raising speeds to 65 from 55 mph would be safe, again mirroring the House bill. But the proposal makes provisions for taking some stretches of freeway to 70 mph one yearafter the initial change, McAlvey said. The measure that passed the Senate would cap the speed limit on Michigan expressways at 70. Engler's plan would require study of traffic, accident and fatality rates, which would dictate whether and where the The Bill That Passed the House Would: Immediately "' raise speed limits to 65 mph on most Michigan freeways now at 55 mph. Make provisions for taking some stretches of freeway to 70 mph one year after the change. speed limit could safely go to 70, McAlvey said. In return, the governor would ask the Legislature to pass a measure making failure to wear a seat belt a primary offense, McAlvey said. Such a seat belt bill passed the House Transportation Committee yesterday by See SPEED, Page 2 Center for Learnmg to help coordinate community service By Jeff Eldridge Daily Staff Reporter In a school where 5,000 students per- form voluntary community service ev- ery year, coordinating different groups and initiatives under the same banner can be a difficult task. Answering this challenge is the goal of the Center for Learning Through Community Service, a project that is the brainchild of Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford and Vice President for University Rela- tions Walter Harrison. "I was interested because when I was a student, I took a class involving com- munity service," Harrison said. "I U' students accept the FutureCar challenge universities be more responsive to the community and they can contribute to the community-development pro- cess." Project SERVE Director Anita Bohn said the Center for Learning Through Community Service could help boost volunteerism on campus. "It has the potential to be great." Bohn said. "It could be one-stop shop- ping for people who want to get in- volved in service." Currently, Project SERVE is coordi- nated from an office in the Michigan Union. The group would have offices in the new center. "For SERVE, it has the potential to give us a lot more space," Bohn said. "We've got 200 people running out are more of a 12-by-18 of- N - face" By Laura Nelson D 1Staff Reporter hanks to the efforts of University students, the Big Three automakers may be mass producing cars that get 80 miles per gallon by the year 2007. The University of Michigan is one of 12 universities across the country se- lected to compete in the FutureCar Chal- lenge, a contest that challenges stu- dents to design a mid-sized car three times as fuel efficient as today's cars. The Partnership for a New Genera- t of Vehicles - a research collabo- ration between U.S. automotive com- panies and 11 government agencies - has been working to design a car with this degree of practicality and fuel effi- ciency since 1993. "One of the best things we've done is get universities involved," said Rob- ert Mull, director of PNGV at Ford Motor Co. "It takes a lot of creative Westerday, the University's FutureCar Challenge team unveiled its plan to modify a 1996 Ford Taurus stock car over the next two years, so that it gets 80 miles per gallon of fuel without reducing performance or in- creasing costs. learned more about studying at that time than I ever did in class." B a r r y Checkoway, di- rector of commu- nity service and service learning, said volunteerism at the University has grown over time. "The Univer- sity has a long tra- the subject I was "There students serving more people than ever. " - Barry CheCkoway Director of community service and service learning Bohn also said the current office location is very beneficial and the center's location on Hill Street could be less cone venient. Hartford said the center will try dition of community service," Checkoway said. "There are more stu- dents serving more people than ever." The Center for Learning Through Community Service, to be located at 1024 Hill St., will house offices for different service groups in one central location. This would allow for more communication among different groups while allowing them to operate inde- pendently. Hartford said there has been consid- erable student input in the planning of the center. "Michigan has a very, very long track to increase student and faculty involve- ment in service organizations, as well as connect the community to the Uni- versity. Hartford said there is a plan "to loof at all 83 counties in Michigan as being possible locations" for service. She also said there may be an effort to expand opportunities to gain aca- demic credit through community ser- vice. Harrison said he is pleased that many University deans have expressed en- thusiasm for the center. Checkoway said it is still too early to tell how many people will be needed to STEPHANIE GRACE LIM/Daily Engineering seniors Enrico Cacandin, co-project manager of the University's FutureCar team, and John Lommel work on a .._, sa.i _ ninn _ ,+ 4_minn +hp l Ini.a.oi4sv'n ,,I turear .Tha teamgave demonstrations vesterdav. I