4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 13, 1996
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420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed by
students at the
University of Michigan
RONNIE GLASSBERG
Editor in Chief
ADRIENNE JANNEY
ZACHARY M. RAIMI
Editorial Page Editors
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All
other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
FROM THE DAILY
Chas wit e co puters
ITD fails, midterm evaluation on efficienc
NOTABLE QUOTABLE,
'I'm from California and I hate snow. I'm really pissed off
right now because I can't walk in it. I almost fell down.'
- LSA sophomore Dan Henig
Jim LSE SHARP As TOAST
000 0
.4 'j44L
r.I
AlHf.. .TH5 S A R EVISIONIST FAIR' VTALE !
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Avisit to the Angell Hall Computing
tl. Site can be summed up in one word:
pandemonium. Students experience daily
confusion over which system is being used,
and many are outraged at the doubled print-
ing fee - from 4 cents last year to a current
high of 8 cents per printed page. The third
month of the school year is underway, and
the Information Technology Division has
had a fair amount of time to get back into
the swing. Whatever the method to its mad-
ness, ITD needs to get on the ball by orga-
nizing the Angell site in an effective, order-
ly manner and re-evaluating the exorbitant
printing fee.
However aggravating the number system
that Angell used last year, its structure was
much more solidified than the current flag
system. Students now roam the computer
aisles like vultures, trying to beat each other
to an open computer. Often, when these
scavengers finally reach a computer with a
flag in the upright vacant position, they are
disheartened to discover a user who either
does not understand the system or simply
forgot to put the flag in its correct down-
ward no-vacancy position. When students
try to move the cardboard flag attached to
the computer, it often breaks and they are
left to wrestle with Velcro adhesive and a
clumsy "open" sign that won't stay put.
While students were finally adjusting to
the flag system, the take-a-number system
m has resurfaced. When the site becomes
overcrowded, ITD's staff reverts to the old
system to control the chaotic crowds. But
the confusion created by switching methods
seems to cause more chaos than it is worth.
With some modifications, the flag sys-
tem could have been successful. At the
moment, it's not working. Edward Slonina,
the Angell site team leader, suggested an
electronic station allocation system. ITD
has acknowledged the current problem -
but they need to take the knowledge a step
further and look for some form of an elec-
tronic system to implement.'
ITD also needs to examine the doubled
printing fee - in two years, it has gone
from zero to 8 cents. As students already
pay for computing privileges within their
tuition, 8 cents per page - more than copy-
ing at Kinko's - is extreme. ITD claims the
charges are necessary to keep things run-
ning. By the same token, ITD should not
punish students for lack of funding. Instead,
ITD should go to the provost, who allocates
ITD funds, for necessary increases.
Many students are using up their alloca-
tions of $10 per month. ITD needs to con-
sider students' needs. On weekdays, stu-
dents can add money to their account, but
what if their account runs out on a week-
end? Students can monitor their accounts
online, but a much more practical system
would show students the status of their
accounts each time they print, along with
the warning of cost per page that appears
before each job.
In the winter term, ITD plans to set up an
advisory group to look at improving the
current printing system. But ITD also needs
to examine the current station allocation
system in Angell Hall, a heavy-traffic com-
puting site. Between students battling for
computers and disregarding the number
system, Angell Hall has become a hostile
place. ITD needs to remember that they
exist not to create hassles but to efficiently
serve the student body.
Healthy children
Clinton must not leave welfare kids behind
s he prepares for his second term as
fl president, Bill Clinton has his hands
full. Many high-level officials, including
Secretary of State Warren Christopher and
Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, have
announced their intention to leave the
administration. And, Clinton once again
faces a hostile Republican Congress, forc-
ing the president to be extra sensitive when
crafting his legislative agenda. Despite the
flurry of activity, Clinton must not abandon
his commitment to improving health care
access and affordability for all Americans
- especially poor children. ,
Clinton swept into office in 1992 in part
because of his promise to create a universal
health care program that would insure the
nation's 37 million people who lacked such
,benefits. When he became president,
Clinton appointed first lady Hillary
Rodham Clinton to chair a task force
responsible for drafting legislation. The
bill, a sweeping program, met bitter resis-
tance in Congress.
Since then, Clinton has talked publicly
about the importance of taking incremental
steps toward universal coverage. While a
grand, far-reaching bill would be better, his
acknowledgment of the health care crisis is
reassuring; his latest public comments,
coming on the heels of his re-election, sig-
nal a willingness to work. Clinton should
continue to push for health care reform and
make it one of his top priorities in his sec-
ond term.
The New York Times reported Monday
that Clinton may first work to improve cov-
erage for young children. According to
1995 Census Bureau data, 9.8 million chil-
dren under the age of 18 lack insurance.
working to enroll all eligible children in
Medicaid. The Times reported that nearly 3
million children who are eligible for the
federal-state health care program are not
currently enrolled. This is a wise first step.
While it may require the government to
expend great effort, the uninsured children
desperately need adequate health care ben-
efits that Medicaid can give them. This may
not be a dramatic idea or a bold plan - but
it is necessary, and the administration
should begin work on it immediately.
The administration also is considering
assisting families who do not qualify for
Medicaid to purchase private insurance for
their children. With the advent of managed
care and a resulting increase of Health
Maintenance Organizations, coupled with
more cost-conscious strategies on the part
of health care providers, the price of health
care is becoming more reasonable. With a
little government assistance, more children
will be able to have health care
Meanwhile, the president must continue
to work on keeping Medicare solvent.
Current government estimates show that the
program may go bankrupt in less than 10
years. The president should immediately
appoint a bipartisan commission to develop
a plan to save Medicare - this should
accompany any of the smaller steps the
administration is considering.
As the president prepares his second
inaugural speech and parade, he must not
forget about the millions of Americans
whom he vowed to help gain access to
insurance. Of these, nearly 10 million are
children who desperately need adequate
health care to survive. Clinton has a chance
to grab his place in history by increasing
Rose fights
for students
TO THE DAILY:
While I am pleased to see
the Daily addressing the
always-important issue of
student fees ("Dangerous
Delegate," 11/11/96), I'd like
to (speak) about the comment
attributed to me concerning
my stance on three spending
referenda to be voted on by
students in this month's MSA
election.
You report me as saying I
have misgivings regarding
these three spending referen-
da. This is true. I would like
to see MSA work towards
comprehensive restructuring
of the student fee, rather than
adding three new piecemeal
portions to the fee.
But you didn't report that
I went on to say that I take
seriously my duty to repre-
sent the will of the students,
and as such, I will present to
the proper administrators any
fee questions approved by the
voters. At that point, we shall
work together to consider
what it is the student voters
request.
You are correct in noting
that the office of MSA
President must uphold. and
not undermine, students
wishes. For this precise rea-
son, I have always been, am
and shall continue to be com-
mitted to encouraging collab-
orative and mutually respect-
ful relations between stu-
dents, staff and faculty.
FIONA ROSE
MSA PRESIDENT
Other ways
to preveont
pri nt ing
bankruptcy
TO THE DAILY:
In a Nov. 7 article,
"Students angered by
increase in ITD charges for
printing" it was stated that
documents won't print in the
Campus Computing Sites if
students run out of funds.
While it is true that printing
will be denied if one's com-
puting allocation runs out
during the month. I'd like to
explain someoways to avoid
any interruption of service.
The cost of basic comput-
ing services for the majority
of students is covered by the
computing allocation. For
example, the cost of the basic
computing package (e-mail,
file storage on IFS and Login
Service) is $1.95 per month.
That leaves $8.05 of the $10
monthly computing alloca-
tion available for printing up
to 100 pages/month. A sub-
scription to dial-in service
would add $440 ner month.
out of funds, check your sub-
scriptions to make sure you
are subscribed only to ser-
vices which you need.
Instructions for doing this are
available on the ITD web.
Connect to the URL
http://wwwitd.umich.edu and
search for "check subscrip-
tions" or call the ITD
Accounts Office at 764-8000
forhelp.
® Use your own funds.
You can set up a UMCE Self-
Funded Account with a $25
minimum deposit of your
own money. The ITD
Accounts Office can set this
account up for you so that
when your UMCE Individual
Account runs out of money,
the UMCE Self-Funded
Account can be used to pay
for printing and other UMCE
services.
You can withdraw any
unused money when you
close the account. The ITD
Accounts Office is located on
the lower level of the
Michigan Union.
v Departmental funding
may be available. You may
want to check with your
department about other fund-
ing sources. ITD distributes
allocations for departments to
use at their discretion. Many
of them provide funding for
UMCE services to their grad-
uate students, faculty, and
staff. If you are approved by
your department to use
departmental allocation
funds, you can have your
accounts set up so that if
your Individual Account runs
out of money during the
month, your Departmental
Account is used; if the
Departmental Account runs
out of money, then your Self-
Funded Account is used.
KITTY BRIDGES
DIRECTOR, PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT AND
DEPLOYMENT AT ITD
Red Cross
discriminates
against gays
TO THE DAILY:
Donating blood is an act
of community service that
not all individuals have the
right to do. There is a long
list of "types" of people who
cannot donate blood.
Sexually active gay men are
one of the groups. Even
though the practice may be
completely safe, we still can-
not donate blood. It is true
that I have lied so that I
could donate, however, why
should I have to lie? Why
aren't other people who prac-
tice safe sex denied this com-
munity service? I want to
donate blood. Hopefully,
someday the Red Cross will
stop discriminating and allow
all people to donate. I under-
Give property
TO THE DAILY:
It was very nice to read
that the Greek system on
campus is genuinely interest-
ed in community service
("Greeks hit the streets to
clean up for winter seasons,"
11/11/96).
As I stand wet and shiver-
ing at the bus stop on
Washtenaw and South
University, I wonder if they
would be generous enough to
allow a very small part of
their property to be used for
a bus shelter. Although it is a
major stop used by the
University community, Ann
Arbor Transit Authority
claims it cannot build a shel-
ter to replace the one on
southbound Washtenaw
which was recently run down
by a truck. Apparently the
width of the right-of-way
between the sidewalk and the
street is not sufficient to build
a shelter meeting the require-
ments of the Americans With
Disabilities Act. By relocating
the sidewalk by only a foot or
two onto "Greek property," a
shelter could be built for the
100 or more members of the
community who use that stop
throughout each day. Though
giving such a right-of-way is
not technically giving up
property, it would be a very
noble philanthropic act.
DEANO SMITH
RACKHAM
Edit photos!
TO THE DAILY:
It might be wise for the
Daily's editors to be more
careful in the photographs
they reproduce. In Monday's
sports section (11/11/96), you
can see an individual in the
crowd proudly displaying
their extended middle finger.
While not personally
offensive to me (nor probably
to anyone after that game), it
would be prudent for the edi-
tors to be more -careful
reviewing everything they
publish and not just the arti-
cles.
JED CHRISTIANSEN
ENGINEERING JUNIOR
Prop. 209
TO THE DAILY:
You are sadly misin-
formed about Proposition
209 here in California
("Hanging from the tower,"
11/11/97). Did you know that
the demonstration at the
clock tower in Berkeley was
not at all peaceful, as you
reported, but a violent temper
tantrum exhibited by an elit-
ist few? The majority of vot-
ers in California demanded a
rtrn toindi;Ai,,a rAhtc
MILLER ON TAP
'20/20'is
decadent and
depraved TV
I can hear Edward R. Murrow rotat-
ing in his grave. I used to take criti-
cism of the media with a grain of salt.
After all, I'm a journalist. Many of m
favorite people are journalists. Our
is to kick over
rocks and shine
the light of truth
into the scum-cov-
ered hovels of
A m tri a e yf(is that idealism I
smell?) People s
who are unwilling
to believe there is
scum get a little
uncomfortable.JAE
Killing the mes- ta rLE
senger is very "in" MILLER
these days.
But lately I find my faith wither-
ing. Maybe we're as bad as everyone
says we are. Maybe the media are a
bunch of sore-licking, wound-tearing
toadies without the brains to do any-
thing better than dredge up thepworst
and most terrifying that our cultu
has to offer and lay it bare, with no
comment or conviction.
As usual, allow me to elucidate
with an example.
I was watching '2020" Friday
night. The first story was that of a
wealthy woman with two children who
leaves her husband to marry a convict-
ed serial murder on death row and is
now going back to law school to help
with his retrial defense. The recon
consisted of men who watch too mu
sports on TVand the effects it has on
their marriage.
There's so much about this that
chaps my behind. Let's try this in
order.
First: What a freaking waste of
time! "2020" is one the most highly
rated news programs on TVBecause
it's an hour long it does not have the
time restrictions that the regular n
work news does. Since they havey?
18 minute segments, "20/20" has the
ability to explore issues in far greater
depth than DanRather and other
toupee journalists. This program came
in the wake of the election, meaning
that Hugh and Barbara had things like
campaign finance reform, the death of
the Republican revolution and
Congress' new bipartisanism to
choose from. And they choose a red-
neck wedding.
Second: What possible signifi-
cance does this have to anybody?
"20120" didn't even make an effort.
There was no claim that the story was
an allegory of the plight of married
women in America, no attempt to
make it a touching story of a love
struck suitor trapped behind bars. The
guy was obviously guilty. He had that
raccoon-in-a-garbage-can grin aboto
him, practically bragging to the cay
era that he had fooled this woman into
believing he was innocent and that he
had suckered her into nuptials. And
she ... well she was so stupid as to
defy description.
The story about the TV sports
addicts had pretty much the same
problems. There is nothing about these
people that is of interest to anybody
else. Woman meets man. Man watches
too much TV Woman is unhapp
W o a i h s m n w ud w t h l.TV . W ell so what. Your husband watch-
es too much TV and you want him to
be more attentive. And I want a pony.
Important things happen everyday
in this country that could be on the
news. Instead I'm treated to marriage
counseling in a double wide trailer.
Isn't that nice, a treat for me. Here's
that same story in one sentence: Idiots
shouldn't marry.'
I kept expecting Hugh Downs to
interrupt the broadcast with a late
breaking announcement about the
sinking of the Maine. This really is the
rebirth of yellow journalism. If this is
the gruel we keep offering to the pub-
lic, no wonder they hate us and mis-
trust us. This kind of thing isn't even to
the level of "Hard Copy" and the like.
At least they're honest about what they
do. They are very comfortable with th
fact that they exist solely for the p
pose of cheap titillation (and who am
I to bad-mouth cheap titillation?) But
"20/20" is still under the impression
that they are the vendors of serious
news.
It was the worst kind of transgres-
sion: Sensationalism dressed in the
clothing of sanctimony. It was so lurid
and vile. In both cases, the people
involved were in rather serious em
tional trouble. But the point of t
show wasn't to address that. The point
was to stick the camera in their faces
and humiliate them because they are
too stupid to know better, to bolster the
egos of the viewership.
"20/2" desre to hmaeits colle..