4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 13, 1996 Cbie:wtjcb toat aat7lu 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..