LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 7, 1996 -3 Assembly's ds for student groups dwindle Mail bomb sent to engineering lecturer at UCB An unidentified University of Cali- fornia-Berkeley lecturer recently re- ceived a mail bomb at his home. The package he received contained two cardboard tubes filled with gun- powder and dipped in wax to look like candles. A note was enclosed instruct- ing the lecturer to light the candles with his family. The note was signed, "Connie and *kids." The lecturer turned the package over to police after he could not determine who "Connie" was. Postal officials are still investigating the incident. They said the bomb is not the work of the Unabomber; who sent bombs to Berkeley's campus in 1982 and'1985. Officials also said the mail bomb did n explode, but contained an amount of powder equivalent to a quarter-stick of dynamite. Winthrop U. employee took money for grades An employee of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., was recently found guilty.of grade tampering for money. Tina Lowery, who worked in a univer- ' ffice, was found guilty ofaltering 65 s s over the past few years. The Winthrop administration's investigation found.Lowery and seven students had been involved in the grade scam. Only Lowery and one student were prosecuted by local law enforcement officials. Both received one year's pro- bation. Winthrop administrators revoked the diplqmas of three students involved in ttampering. Students win TableTop Football scholarship Two sophomores at Olgethorpe Uni- versity in Tempe, Ariz., recently won tickets to Super Bowl XXX and $10,000 in scholarship money for their school by winning the National TableTop Foot- l Championship. al Robinson and Patrick Floyd com- peted in a 200-team tournament'to win the prize. 'fq two mastered the craft of flicking a folded-paper triangle through a "goal post" made by their opponents' hands. Dance caps WSU spirit atvitIes RVashington State University students were treated to "Residence Hall Week" last week. The school's residence hall council offers a week of free activities encouraging residence hall residents to in1tra t with each other. 7The activities held last week in- cluded a bowling tournament, a pool tournament, movie nights and hall Olympics. The council also sponsored a 4ating game much like MTV's 'ged-Out," a Winter Luau dance and drag dance. The drag dance did not require at- t s to be dressed in drag. It in- ci 'a pageant judged by the Gay, ian and Bisexual Association. Stu- d rearned points in the residence h scompetition by bringing canned goods for charitable donation to the dance. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Jennfer Harvey. By Laurie Mayk Daily Staff Reporter Funding allocations approved at last night's Michigan Student Assembly meeting cut its diminishing student group allocation funds almost in half. For the second week in a row, assem- bly members debated the fate of the Budget Priorities Committee, which provides money to campus student groups based on requests and presenta- tions by the organizations. "I think we're going to be completely washed out before the end ofthis year," said MSA Vice President Sam Goodstein. Goodstein said that with just more than $10,000 left to distribute over the rest of the semester, MSA may have to deny funding to student groups request- J {i :R>. ,'x t: ingfundsat BPC'stworemaininghear- ings. However, BPC chair Matt Curin said that although funds are low, the situa- tion is not devastating. "I don't see it as a huge problem," Curin said. Curin said the committee may tap other sources of money - including leftovers from other MSA committee and commission budgets. Curin said he has been in contact with several com- mittee chairs who have indicated will- ingness to aid BPC financially. LSA Rep. Dan Serota suggested last night that money change hands between committees immediately. He proposed transfering $1,875 from the Central Student Judiciary and Advice magazine budgets to BPC. The as- sembly voted to postpone this pro- posal for one week to gather informa- tion on the financial status of the maga- zine. While Goodstein also suggested that committee chairs consider "how much money to free up for B PC," he proposed a 15-percent, across-the-board cut on last night's allocation recommenda- tions. Although members defeated the pro- posal and argued that it was unfair to the groups in question, Goodstein said the cut is a valid solution. "When you're in a budget crisis it's more fair to do it that way because you're treating every group the same," he said. "Even if we do that we're still not going to have any money left after two more hearings." Low on Funds MSA's Budget Priorities Committee is charged with funding student groups through a hearing process. BPC is funded through MSA's internal budget. Allocation to Budget Priorities Committee: $83,000 Funds requested by student groups: $131,089 Funds allocated to student groups: $71,738 Alocated and paid to student groups (as of Feb. 2): $42,631 Allocated and not claimed: $29,107 '7 '# Funds remaining: $10,362 Groups funded: 91 Hearings held: 5 Hearings left: 2 Next BPC hearing, Feb. 28 C U ::1 MSA appoints rep. to GEO baraiin By Laurie Mayk Daily Staff Reporter The Michigan Student Assembly last night appointed an alternate undergradu- ate representative to Graduate Employ- ees Organization contract negotiations with the University. However, the bar- gaining sessions are closed to the public - and to MSA's new representative. LSA first-year student Pasha Amanullah will represent the assembly and University undergraduates when MSA President Flint Wainess is un- available. Campus Governance Committee chair Probir Mehta said that while out- siders are banned from table negotia- tions, representatives should be able to read resolutions and make statements at the openings of meetings. "We could merely introduce that per- son and give them the floor," said Mike Sell, a GEO bargaining committee mem- ber. "Then after they are done, if (Uni- versity chief negotiator) Dan Gamble wants them to leave, then they would have to leave." Mehta said the selection of a first- year student is especially significant in light ofthe administration's alleged tac- tics to "drive a wedge" between under- graduates and their teachers. "This is the wedge group," Mehta said. "The freshmen usually have GSIs (Grad. Student Instructors) as their teachers. I think it sends a clear mess sage to GEO that we support them." "If we put the full undergraduate support behind G EO, I think the admin- istration will do much more in expedit- ing the negotiations," Amanullah said. Sell said that while G EO understands the negotiations are not designated as a public hearing, it disagrees with the administration's tally of who should be allowed in the meetings. However, Sell said, the fight for access would have to be advanced by the students. Gamble said that if GEO feels it neces- sary for students to be informed, the union should make it a priority to disseminate information to the assembly, instead of introducing a student representative. "GEO then has a responsibility to keep them informed," Gamble said. A student representative can be help- ful outside the bargaining room, Mehta said. He suggested that MSA and GEO work together to develop campaigns and pamphlets to educate students on GEO's role at the University. "We can make an extra effort to get students involved - not just MSA," Mehta said. Sell said that while GEO was aware of MSA's support through specific propos- als, the appointment of an additional rep- resentative "came as a pleasant surprise." "What MSA can do," Sell said, "is serve in a very public way." KRISTEN SCHAEFER/Daily Comedy night Lalo Lopez, part of Poncho Productions Comedy Duo, reads from Poncho magazine to a full house of University students last night at Trotter House as part of Chicano History Week. SACUA members re;quest slr finI" ading ASfrom- provost's office By Anupama Reddy Daily Staff Reporter Members of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs have asked the Office of the Provost to pay a quarter of their salaries, citing diffi- culty in recruiting new SACUA mem- bers. Committee members said heavy time committments to SACUA and a recent decline by eligible faculty in accepting SACUA nominations have compelled them to request funding from the ad- ministration. Unlike the chair of SACUA, who currently receives funding from the pro- vost for half of his salary, the rest of the nine-member board relies solely on their respective college or school to fund their salaries. SACUA Chair George Brewer said departments are reluctant to encourage some of their professors to run for a three-year term as a SACUA member because of the extensive time committment. "We calculate that SACUA mem- bers spend 20 to 25 percent of their time on faculty governance business," Brewer said. "That's a lot of service ... for three years." Brewer said SACUA nominations are often declined. "Out of 23 (nominations), only four We calculate that SACUA members spend 20 to 25 percent of their time on faculty governance business." - George Brewer SACUA chair accepted. (This) emphasized the prob- lem of getting people to run," Brewer said. Provost J. Bernard Machen said lie understood SACUA's dilemma, but said the money that SACUA requested was more than the committee's current bud- get. "I'm not capable of doubling any unit's budget," Machen said. "Even if I thought it was the right thing to do, I couldn't afford it." Machen instead advocated increas- ing faculty involvement in the Senate Assembly. "More money is not a viable an- swer," Machen said. "If you had more faculty involved, interest in running for SACUA would be greater and more candidates would run." But SACUA members said that many issues are not under the Senate Assembly's jurisdiction and would eventually end up on SACUA's table. 'Machen says SACUA focuses too much (on issues) and more should be distributed out to Senate Assembly," Brewer said. "Eventually everything comes back to SACUA." SACUA member Thomas Dunn said the original intent of SACUA's request for more funds was to receive some written acknowledgement from the University regarding SACUA's impor- tance, but lie wanted the words to be sincere. "Words are cheap," Dunn said. "lf a provost writes a letter does he mean this ? (There's more guarantee) if he gives some money." SACUA member Valerie Lee ques- tioned the University's focus. "It is hard to get people to run. It's hard to make time (committments) less," Lee said. "Does the administration care about this?" Join the graphics staff. Call 76-DAILY today. great scores. . Law School usiness School et co ol Graduate Schoo Medical School great teachers... Kaplan helps you focus your test prep study where you need most. ur teachers wil show you the proven skills and test-taking techniques to help you get a higher score. get a higher score KAPLAN 1-800- KAP-TEST "' 7} What's happening in Ann Arbor today GzOUP MEETINGS AIESEC Michigan, general member -meeting, 662-1690, Business Administration Building, Room 1276, 6 p.m. Q American Baptist Student Fellow- ship, free meal, meeting, 663- 9376, First Baptist Church, 512 E. Huron, 5:30-7 p.m. Q Environmental Justice Group, meet- ing, 668-1378, Dana Building, Room 2046, 5 p.m. 3.-Hindu Students Council, Yoga/ Meditation Session With Ema Stefanova, 764-2671, Michigan Union, Pond Room, 8 p.m. Q LaVozMexicana, meeting, 994-9139, Michigan League, Room D, 7 p.m. Q Ninjutsu Club, beginners welcome, 761-8251, Intramural Sports Building, Room G-21, 7:30-9 p.m. Q Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do Club, men and women, beginners welcome, 994- Placement, EECS, Room 1200, 6:30-8 p.m. J "Dental School Application Pro- cess," sponsored by Career Plan- ning and Placement, Dental School, Kellogg Auditorium, 6:10- 7:30 p.m. J "Galileo Probes Jupiter," Evenings At Rackham Series, sponsored by Rackham School of Graduate Stud- ies, Rackham Amphitheatre, 7 p.m. J "International Opportunities for Engineering PhDs," sponsored by American Society for Engineering Education, North Campus, GG Brown Building, Iacocca Room, 4:30 p.m. J "Marketing Your Graduate Degree," sponsored by Career Planning and Placement, 3200 Student Activi- ties Building, 5:30-8 p.m. J "Preparing for an International Ca- roar 11cn nnrnr h, b r gre, OPan- "The December '95 Elections in Russia: Domestic and Interna- tional implications," Nikita Lomagin, brown bag lecture se- ries, sponsored by Center for Russian and East European Stud- ies, Lane Hall Commons Room, 12 noon J "UNUM Life insurance Company Information Session," sponsored by Career Planning and Place- ment, Michigan Union, Watts Room, 7-8 p.m. STUDENT SERVICES J Campus Information Centers, Michigan Union and North Cam- pus Commons, 763-INFO, info@umich.edu, UMeEvents on GOpherBLUE, and http:// www.umich.edu/-info on the World Wide Web a