LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 3, 1996 - 7A AATU Continued from Page 1A "In 1968 student housing was compared to urban slums - students were packed like sardines into crum- bling dwellings with no bargaining power to change their situation and no where to go," Maurer said. * The tenants' union organized a rent strike where many students withheld rent from certain landlords demand- ing that housing conditions be improved. The strike lasted until 1971 for some students, and was extremely successful for most students, Maurer said. The amount of funding the assem- OCRIME Continued from Page 1A Romney, a National Rifle Association supporter, believes such a program is a more effective method of keeping guns out of the hands of unstable individu- als$ Wisecup said. Romney's opponent, incumbent Carl vin (D-Mich.), supported the Brady !ill. Although Wisecup said new technol- ogy is advanced enough to execute instant checks, Rivers contended that it is nearly impossible to use them. "(The instant check is) normally pro- posed by someone that does not sup- port the checks at all," Rivers said. Romney prefers tougher criminal prosecution over gun control measures as an anti-crime method, Wisecup said. * "(Romney is) very concerned with gun violence but she feels the way to address that is tough sentences for crininals," Wisecup said. Both Levin and Romney have sup- ported mandatory minimum sentence laws for gun- and drug-related crimes. The two have recently clashed regarding television ads for the Romney campaign focusing on Levin's record on crime. The Romney camp's ads questioned Wevin's support for mandatory mini- mum sentences for crimes involving firearms and drug trafficking. Levin's campaign has issued statements to counter the attacks, citing specific anti- crime bills Levin has supported. Levin has voted in favor of minimum sentences on several bills and co-spon- sored 1994 legislation to ban military- style assault weapons. Drug education and prevention poli- Ses are less of a partisan issue, itzsimmons said. "Both Democrats and Republicans seem to be very supportive' of increased drug interdiction programs, he said. Rivers agreed that the president and Congress can go even further than drug- education programs in schools and com- munities - it can go to the source. "The federal government controls the borders," Rivers said. "It can stop gs before they get into the country, fore they get into the streets." Special interests and educational institutions have argued that state politi- cians are choosing to fund jails over schools. States should have primary control over education, but federal money can help keep criminals off the streets, Wisecup said. Romney supports the initiation of a law to provide federal money for prison construction for states that adopt "truth On sentencing." bly should allocate to AATU has always been a turbulent issue for members. "A couple of years ago we had the Michigan Party staging walk-outs, members screaming at one another, and all three parties writing and re- writing their own version of the bud- get," Mehta said. "No one could agree about the tenants' union's funding - those were crazy times." The division of the assembly over AATU funding came to a head when the assembly agreed to allocate only $2,000 for the tenants' union in 1991/92. The assembly's allocation came after weeks of bitter debate and disagreement between parties. Maurer agreed. "We have past been a political football assembly's different parties over our funding," she said. in the as the fought State Senate passes: $50M package for road, bridge repairs. But even some MSA members who have criticized the tenants' union in past years, said AATU deserved this year's allocation. "They used to act irresponsibly and expect things from the assembly but they have made a lot of reforms," said MSA Treasurer Jonathan Winick. "The funding we gave them is a good amount." AATU's confidential counseling hotline can be reached at 763-6876. LANSING (AP) - The Michigan Senate yesterday approved a package of bills designed to raise $50 million more for road repairs despite Democratic complaints that it was a feeble response to a looming trans- portation crisis. Democrats said the Republicans were exaggerating the impact of the bills in order to hide from the public their refusal to face up to the need to raise the gasoline tax. "It isn't going to put enough money into the system that it's going to fix our roads and bridges. ... This action today is a sham on the public of Michigan," said Sen. James Berryman (D-Adrian). But Republicans accused them of just wanting to raise taxes without first eliminating waste. "This side of the aisle is saying we are going to spend every dollar as efficiently as possible," said Senate Majority Leader Dick Posthumus (R- Alto). "I was shocked when they said that this package of saving taxpayers' money was a sham." The four measures were approved and sent to the House on mostly party-line votes of 24-12, 21-16, 21- 16 and 20-17. The bills would: Keep the state's 6-cents-a-gallon diesel discount at the pump, but raise the diesel fuel tax that motor carriers pay quarterly to 18.5 cents a gallon, up from 9 cents. Reduce the 2-percent deduction that wholesalers receive for evapora- tion and spillage of gasoline to about 0.5 percent. * Cap the state's liability in law- suits claiming that road conditions contributed to an accident. If the accident resulted either in someone's death or loss of vital functions, noneconomic damages could not exceed $500,000. If the suit involved bodily injury or property loss, noneconomic damage awards would be capped at $280,000. And if the person had no'insurancp, economic damages would be limited to $300,000, and no noneconomic damages would be allowed. ® Speed up the process by which land needed for public projects, including highways, is condemned. That could aid the acquisition of land for new baseball and football stadi- ums in Detroit. Require competitive bids for all- road projects, limit administrative costs of state and local road agencies to 10 percent and provide for audits of how local agencies use road funds. Democrats criticized minor parts of the package, including lack of Democratic involvement in its develop- ment. ..:, ': . ;; AP PHOTO Proud plate papa Richard Watkins of Bay City proudly shows off Michigan's new commemorative license plate ati yesterday in Lansing. Watkins' design was one of more than 4,300 submitted in May. unveiling ceremonies LETTERS Continued from Page IA consider themselves above the rules," Neal said. "As long as that impression persists, we are hampered in our ability to bring our institution together." Medical School Prof. Louis D'Alecy said Neal has set a construc- tive tone for further consideration of these issues. "It's a good starting point, D'Alecy said. "(Neal has) made a credible case that the administration and faculty are going to deal with the problem in a forthright way." In the letter, Neal outlined a three- part plan that will govern salary issues during the interim period between full- time presidents. Jackie McClain, execu- tive director of human resources and affirmative action, will oversee the development of a formal compensation policy for executive officers; the regents will pursue issues surrounding the agreement; and Neal pledged to consult the regents on issues of high- level employment agreements during his time as president. The Board of Regents also released a statement on the salary deals yesterday. The statement reiterated the regents' concern about the deals and their desire to see a permanent salary policy imple- mented. "The duty of the Board of Regents is to prudently and fully examine the facts of these matters and then take actions appropriate to those facts," it said. The statement also said that the regents "have forwarded these seven employment agreements to our inde- pendent counsel for review of their cir- cumstances." Neither Regents Rebecca McGowan (D-Ann Arbor) nor Deane Baker (R- Ann Arbor) would comment specifical- ly on the statement's implications. Baker said there have been no unusu- al meetings between the board and Neal, and that no tensions exist with Neal. "We see him in the regents meetings and at other times" Baker said. "I don't think there's any kind of contact that's different than there's always been." McGowan said it is coincidental that the regents' statement and Neal's state- ment were released on the same day. "We did not know about Dr. Neal's statement," McGowan said. "They were two separate statements. They were not coordinated." Harrison said reports of the deals may have done short-term damage to the University's reputation. "It has had some negative influence in the state," Harrison said. "If this was presented in a different kind of context, it wouldn't have been so negative" Dunn blamed both Duderstadt and the regents for an atmosphere of secre- cy surrounding the salary agreements. "Jim did a hell of a lot of things that seemed covert," Dunn said. "It was kind of a habit with him. ... The regents have got some blame. They're not very good at communicating, either." Harrison said Neal's statement was not written with the intent of repairing the University's public image. "(Neal's) principal concern was the reactions by people within the University community,' Harrison said. Duderstadt said a permanent policy on executive compensation should be worked out with the next president. "The real person who should be working with this issue and working with the board should be the next University president," Duderstadt said. Dunn agreed, and emphasized the importance of leaving the president flexibility for the future. "it would be a terrible mistake to add another layer of supervision," Dunn said. COME JOIN US FOR PRAISE AND WORSHIP EVERY SUNDAY! Worship at 9:30AM * Christian Education at 11:00AM Classes for all ages, including college students Meeting at Tappan Middle School 2251 East Stadium Blvd. 1/2 mile from Packard & Stadium Sunday morning student shuttle service: 9:00 East Quad 9:05 Michigan Union 9:03 Mar 9:10 Stoc tha Cook kwell 9:15 Markley Please call 662-0194 or 973-KNOX for more information and/or directions. Are you thinking about law school? Do you want to collect tips from admissions deans? Plan to attend .. LAW DAY - Collect application information and explore law education options with over 90 law schools, paralegal programs and test prep services. " Attend the Law School Admissions Panel. XOMANTIC ESCAPE . Cozy log cabins, -75 nightly, incl. hot tub, canoes, & more. raverse City. 616/276-9502. SPRING BREAK reps. wanted Acapulco from $529, Cancun from $429.90, other des- tinations avail. Call Dan at Regency Travel 665-6122. 209 S. State Street. STUDENTS ANYWHERE in the U.S. on Continental $159 or $239. 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