LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 18, 1996 - 3A
NYU fphysicist
Sspeak at
ack
*lan Sokal, a physicist at New York
University, will speak at 7 p.m. tonight
at Rackham Auditorium about a widely
debated article he wrote in the journal
Social Text.
The article, which Sokal later said
is a "hoax," linked new developments
in the field of quantum mechanics
with formulations of postmodern
thought.
Sokal later revealed the article was
rody of postmodern science cri-
t e.
The speech is part of the "Evenings
at the Rackham" lecture series, which
addresses "matters of scholarly but
popular interest."
The audience will be able to speak
with Sokal and a panel of University
professors
Nhgineering dean
receives award
°Engineering Dean Stephen Director
has received the first Aristotle Award
from, the Semiconductor Research
Corporation.
,The award acknowledges teaching
an4. research excellence demonstrated
by, professors in SRC-funded universi-
t' throughout the country.
_ 1982, Director was named the
director of the SRC Center of
Excellence in Computer-Aided Design
at Carnegie Mellon University. He was
alsothe dean of Carnegie Mellon from
1991 until this September, when he
became the dean of Engineering at the
University.
'U' students win
Amputer contest
University students Randy Ho,
Kurt Steinkraus and Andrew Thaler
won first place in the ACM East
Central Regional Programming
Contest at the 'University of Notre
Dame last month.
-Students in 63 teams from the
Midwest and Ontario were given seven
programming problems to solve using
computer. The University team was
the first to complete five of the prob-
lems.
The team will go on to the interna-
tionaf finals in the spring.
Engineers place
In truck race
he Society of Automotive
ineers raced a Chevy S10 modeled
og a one-tenth scale in an annual com-
petition.
:The group of University students
came in fifth place overall out of nine
teams. They also won third place for
design and presentation. This was the
first time University students partici-
pated in the event.
The track the trucks were raced on
was 10 inches wide, and contained
r1y sand pits, sharp turns and
er.o
The group plans to race again next
y at
tervice day forms
now available
Students interested in community
rice may now register for the Martin
er King, Jr. "Acting on the Dream"
service Day.
Registration forms are available
in the Project Serve office at 2205
Michigan Union and are due by
Dec. 9.
Participants may choose to work
with a community agency in Ann
Arbor, Detroit or Ypsilanti that deals
with an issue of interest to them.
Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Jeffrey Kosseff.
Whe
GROUP MEETINGS
Golden Key National Honor Society,
general meeting and officer elec
tions Michigan Union, Pond Room
7.30 p.m.
Q Women's Book Group, 662-5189, Guil
House, 802 Monroe, 12-1 p.m.
"EVENTS
sQk"gInd RafteA 1996." snnnsnrei h
Nat'l College GOP president stumps for '98
By Jennifer Harvey
Daily Staff Reporter
With the 1996 elections just over, College
Republicans aren't wasting any time gearing up for
the 1998 election season.
Joe Galli, national College Republicans presi-
dent, addressed about 30 members of the
University chapter Friday in the Michigan League.
Galli praised their high level of involvement in this
year's elections and solicited help for 1998.
"You guys are the people that make the differ-
ence," Galli said.
LSA junior Nicholas Kirk, president of the cam-
pus College Republicans, said Galli's visit is proof
of the major effect this fall's College Republican
efforts have had on campus, namely increasing
student awareness of conservative viewpoints.
"We've really turned things around on this cam-
pus," Kirk said.
Galli discussed the results of the 1996 elections,
giving the group a synopsis of Republican success
around the nation. He said that although
Republicans did not win several key Michigan elec-
tions, there were bright spots around the country.
"It was a tough year for you guys," Galli said.
"But the Senate is now more conservative than it
was in the 104th
Congress."
Galli said College
Republicans can
play a major role in
campaigns.
"As CRs, your job
is to get the message
out to your friends
and your peers,"
Galli said. "While
"You need
driving intel4
college camp
National CollegF
Democrats often assert.
"That is the biggest load of bunk," Galli said.
Jason Brewer, president of Michigan State
University 's
C o l l e g e
to be the Republicans
and state chair
ectual force on of the group,
also addressed
PuseSI"the gathering.
He said that
- Joe Galli although the
e Republicans president elections did-
n't go their
way, College
Republicans should be proud of the work they did
this fall.
"We had college students packing in buses ...
touring the state," Brewer said. "I don't want any-
body to get down. We need to focus on '98, essen-
tially."
Brewer outlined three goals he would like to see
Michigan College Republicans focus on for the
upcoming elections. He said he wants to ensure
that Republicans hold the state governor's office'
and see that U.S. Reps. Debbie Stabenow (D-
East Lansing) and Lynn Rivers (D-Ann Arbor)
are ousted from the seats they now hold. Brewer
said working for a Republican majority in the
state House should be another goal for the
group, because Michigan re-districting will take
place in 2000, when those elected in 1998 are in
office.
College Republicans cannot let their involve-
ment slip if they want to see results. Brewer said.
"It's important to outline now, not in August 1998,"
he said.
Galli agreed Republicans must mobilize now
for 1998. He said he is touring the country and
speaking to the young GOP faithful to make sure
their involvement doesn't trail off from the all-time
high it reached this year. He said 800 college cam-
puses have College Republicans chapters and that
membership totals have reached more than
100,000 people nationally.
"We want to keep them active," Galli said.
other students may
not be as politically motivated as you, they look up
to you.
"I want to challenge you guys," Galli said. "You
need to be the driving intellectual force on college
campuses."
Galli said group members should work to get
out the GOP message on student loans. He said
Republicans are not looking to cut loans, as many
SNRE,
'
restate
commitment to
environment
JEANNIE SERVAAS/Dadiy
Volunteer coordinator Jennifer Richards (left), volunteer mediator Claire Tinkerhess and founder and Executive Director Scott
Pence pass out certificates of completion to new members of the Student Dispute and Resolution Program.
Student medlation lrogra
selects, trains new members
By AjIt K. Thavarajah
Daily Staff Reporter
Recent questions on whether the
University is truly sincere about its
commitment to the environment were
answered for some last month with the
advent of a new endowed chair position.
The School of Natural Resources and
Environment's Theodore Roosevelt
Professorship in Ecosystem
Management was made possible
through a $1.2 million donation from
University alums William and Sally
Searle - and is the first such position
in the United States.
"The chair will advance knowledge
and policy in an area of great impor-
tance, not only to the donors but to
many others, by establishing linkage
between the public and private sectors
in this country and internationally,"
SNRE Dean Daniel Mazmanian said in
a written statement.
Wayne Say, an SNRE administrator,
said he hopes the position will be filled
in the near future. An advisory commit-
tee composed of University faculty
members will compile a list of candi-
dates.
"I would assume if everything goes
as planned, that the person or people
who we choose to fill the position will
commence work in the fall of 1997,"
Say said.
Mazmanian said there are three
unique aspects to the new position.
"The chair is supported by an endow-
ment making it permanent and lasting
in perpetuity," he said. "This topic is
one which challenges us to work on a
large geographic scale and to imagine
our role, humanity's role, in the context
of all other life forms."
Mazmanian said Roosevelt is an apt
name for the chair.
"This chair bears the name of, and
brings all of the weight of, one of the
truly pivotal figures in conservation
and protection of natural resources in
this country," he said.
Say said the idea for the position
originated from a faculty commit-
tee, including three representatives
from each of the five SNRE pro-
grams.
"The position for ecosystem man-
agement grew out of faculty conversa-
tion which expressed genuine con-
cerns for ecosystem science. The
group came to the conclusion that a
position like this would be very use-
ful." Say said.
LSA sophomore David Michaels
agreed with the University's commit-
ment toward the environment.
"It's important that we protect the
environment for future generations,"
Michaels said. "By creating a position
like this, the University shows it's just
not talking about saving the environ-
ment but actually doing something
about it.
"Hopefully the person who (is) cho-
sen will embody the same spirit that
(former U.S. President Theodore)
Roosevelt took toward the conserva-
tion of the environment," Michaels
said.
By Jeffrey Kosseff
Daily Staff Reporter
A group of University students and
community members spent a large por-
tion of the past two weeks learning how
to resolve problems at the University.
The Student Dispute and Resolution
Program, a year-old campus group that
mediates conflicts between students,
welcomed 19 students and two local
residents as mediators yesterday at a
convocation ceremony.
"There is a lot of need for mediation,"
said Claire Tinkerhess, a volunteer medi-
ator at the Washtenaw County Dispute
Resolution Center, who helped train the
group. "It is a great way for students to
take control of their own conflicts."
The 40-hour training program pre-
pared students for settling disputes by
instructing them on how to be objec-
tive, prepare written agreements and
make ethical decisions through activi-
ties including lectures and role playing.
Mediators are trained to settle conflicts
including landlord-tenant disagreements,
roommate problems and family troubles.
Although the written agreements,
which are signed by both parties, may
be used in courts, the mediators are not
required to testify in court.
"Everything in mediation is confi-
dential:' said Scott Pence, founder and
executive director of SDRP.
The written agreements that result
from the sessions, which generally last
two or three hours, are the result of com-
promise, and agreed to by both parties.
The mediators guide the discussion
between the two parties without giving
their opinions on the situation.
"Mediation is definitely effective,"
said Pence, an LSA junior. "Eight out of
10 mediations result in a mediated
agreement, while five out of 10 court
orders are successful because one side
always loses."
New members agreed that mediation
is a more viable method to solve con-
flicts than the court system.
"I saw this as a great way to get
involved with the student community,"
said Ben Hofstatter, an LSA senior.
"When you have people mediate, it is
better than going to a judge or jury."
Although the training over the past
two weeks consumed a large part of the
mediators' time, most had positive
comments about the experience.
"Conflict will always be around,"
said Alison Gehle, an LSA sophomore.
"I'm also learning basic communica-
tion skills."
For some students, working at SDRP
is preparation for a future career. Alisa
Shen, an SNRE graduate student, said
she hopes learning how to mediate will
prepare her for a career settling envi-
ronmental land disputes.
"I really think it will give me useful
skills for what I want to do later in life,"
Shen said.
Pence said there are some negative
aspects of mediation.
"(Mediation) is faster, but it's not
easier" Pence said. "There are emo-
tions involved with mediation, and you
have to deal with them."
Although SDRP has existed since
October 1995, it has only mediated four
conflicts.
"The longer we exist, the more cases
we will get," said LSA junior Jennifer
Richards, who is also the group's vol-
unteer coordinator. "I hope that the
whole University will know we exist by
the end of next semester."
Pence plans to take "a more grass-
roots approach to reach out to students."
This includes going to large lecture
classes and informing students of SDRP.
In addition to volunteering at SDRP,
some of the students also volunteer at
the Washtenaw County Dispute
Resolution Center, where they gain
experience in mediation.
Currently, there are 17 volunteers
returning from last year. Between 30
and 40 students applied for the positions
this year.
Pence also hopes to involve media-
tion in the University's curriculum.
"We're going to try to stretch this 40-
hour training into a class," Pence said.
SDRP can be reached at 647-7397 or
over e-mail at mediation@umich.edu.
WRITE TO THE MICHIGAN DAnLY.
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_________________________________________________________ .1
U U
Evenings at the Rackham presents
Sokal's "Hax
and the Debate Over Reason,
Truth and Objectivity
Monday, November 18
7:00 p.m.
Rackham Auditorium
(main floor)
Alan D. Sokal, Professor of Physics at New York University and author of a
controversial "hoax" article published in the journal Social Text, will share his
views on what the Social Text affair* does and does not prove.
Respondents to professor Sokal will include:
Professors Julian Adams (Biology), E. Valentine Daniel (Anthropology),
Donald Herzog (Political Science/Law), Amir Mufti (English/Comparative Literature),
. Q ua Rnc tTlfnru-/KnrimrnmZlntV hn'Q SnAie and Lawrence Sklar (Philnsnnhv
.................
J "Public Hearing for MSA Ballot ques- Wide Web
tions," sponsored by Central J Campus information
' Student Judiciary, Michigan Union, Selection, app
Rm. 3909, 7 p.m. today by 5 p.m. a
' J "Test Anxiety Workshop," sponsored Union
d by Counseling and Psychological J English Compositio
Services, call CAPS to register, Tutoring, Angel
764-8312, 3-5 p.m. 4440, 7-11 p.m.
Q "The Dow at 6,000, and Now What?" J Northwalk, 763-W
Prof. John Hussman, sponsored by Lobby, 8 p.m.- 1:3
) Michigan Economics Societv. SEB. Psychologv Peer Aca
4n
11
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ad
Centers Staff
cations due
CIC Michigan
Board Peer
Hall, Room
ALK, Bursley
a.m.
lemic Advising.
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