T Y.. i "" . f1 Y !i " i _. _ _.. _ }1 Ilk /4 ^'f f k _ LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 24, 19 State Dems start year with family based bill 97 -3 Suspect steals from Uncle Ed's OH Shop A caller who works in Uncle Ed's Oil Shop at 1800 Pauline St. reported to the An -Arbor Police Department that he had . been robbed at gun point Wednesday night. According to AAPD reports, the caller said a masked man approxi- mately 5- feet 7- inches wearing a black sweat suit came into the store right before closing and stuck a small e er revolver in his face. "he suspect then took a green NBD deposit bag containing more than $350 and several personal checks, according to the report. He en allegedly proceeded to flee on fotyelling "Now who's the man? Who's the man?" AAPD is currently investigating several suspects. n artists rob derly woman An elderly resident living at 200 East Davis St. reported to AAPD that she had been robbed Tuesday night. Acording to AAPD reports, the caller said she was approached by two men who claimed they were giv- ing free maintenance inspection of houses. The caller reported that several its were missing, including wood sculptures and medicine from her bedroom. The caller became suspicious when the two men began to leave with large bulges in their jackets and began to laugh loudly. The suspects were chased by the caller for three blocks and were spot- fed driving a blue and red truck with t license plate covered up. AAPD h no suspects. Resident of apartment found with cocaine A resident of Stadium Palace Apartment Complex called the A PD reporting that a fellow resi- ton the second floor was causing a disturbance by blasting loud music and yelling several obscenities at an imaginary woman, according to AAPD reports. AAPD arrived 10 minutes later and convinced the suspect to open the 'door. He was subsequently attested when police discovered 14 grams of cocaine and several unreg- red firearms. AAPD is still is tigating. 2 wallet thefts in 2 days A caller reported that her wallet was stolen in the Michigan League on Tuesday night. The wallet was taken from the com- ntant's purse while she dined at the League buffet. According to Department of Public Safety reports, the caller said the wallet contained more than $200 and several credit cards. Awaitress also reported that a suspi- cious man was seen moving from table to table without ordering food. DPS is currently investigating. In a separate incident, a caller report- ed her wallet was stolen from the l*hipan Union. The green wallet con- taining more than $160 in cash was left unattended for several minutes at an ATM machine. - Compiled by Daily Saff Reporter Ajit K. Thavarajah By Jeffrey Kosseff Daily Staff Reporter In an effort to be "family friendly" state Democrats are opening the 89th Michigan State House with The Quality of Life Act of 1997. The package of bills includes proposals for tax credits to families supporting children and depen- dent elderly, poor families and households that use child care services. State Rep. John Freeman (D-Madison Heights) plans to propose legislation to give the working- class poor a tax refund. The bill is modeled after the federal earned income tax credit. "If the federal government wants to encourage the policy of independence, we at the state level should also," Freeman said. Under Freeman's legislation, recipients of the federal earned income tax credit may receive a state tax credit equal to one quarter of the federal credit. "People's wages aren't going up all that much;" Freeman said. "This will help." Freeman said he hopes the Republican-dominat- ed state Senate will also support this bill because it encourages working-class people to find alterna- tives to welfare. "They ought to embrace it," Freeman said. "If Ronald Reagan embraced it, I don't see why the Senate shouldn't." But some Republicans see Freeman's bill and. the entire package as simply partisan politics. "This is pandering to politics at its worst," said state Sen. Mike Rogers (D-Brighton). "(The pack- age) sounds good, but it's fluffy and they have not talked about how they're going to pay for it. I think it's irresponsible." State Reps. Karen Willard (D-Algonac) and Dennis Olshove (D-Warren) are sponsoring bills to give tax credits to families with dependent adults and sick children. Olshove's bill provides an income tax refund of up to $2,400 to families supporting incapacitated children, mentally-ill relatives and invalid elderly family members. Olshove said he began working on the legislation after he campaigned door-to-door and discovered many households caringfor sick family members. "You'd besurprised how many people have hos- pital beds in their homes;" Olshove said. "This bill is a way of easing the cost." Willard's bill gives families tax exemption for adults who depend on their family for more than half of their support. "You're basically taking care of an adult who requires time, support and also money;'"she said. "It's often difficult for people to care for their loved ones:" Willard said the Republicans who do not support her bill are contradicting a family values platform, However, some Republican senators said they support the legislation because they believe it will ultimately save the state money. "It is less expensive for states to provide income tax credits for people to take care of the sick at home rather than in an institution," said Sen. Bill VanRegenmorter (R-Jenison). "It reinforces a strong family values concept. Evaluation forms undergo changes Volunteer David Thomas looks through plants to record whether they are blossoming Thomas has been volunteering at the gardens for three years and keeps a garden of I 'U' conservatory to get * Directors hope to attract more students with renovations By Susan Port For the Daily Attempting to reach out to University students, the Matthaei Botanical Gardens conservatory is about to undergo its first major renovation in more than 30 years. Brian Klatt, assistant director of the gardens, said itsis time for the conser- vatory to undergo a transformation. "There is a real need to remodel the physical characteristics," Klatt said. A new walkway system will be made to increase accessibility to the displays. Extensive additions to the plant collec-. tions will include a bog garden with Venus' fly traps and other plants dis- played in a more natural environment. Already, the orchid collection has been upgraded. "The various renovations will pro- vide and better interpret the relation- ship between the cultural and natural world," Klatt said. Garden Director James Teeri said the conservatory aims to be more visitor friendly. "We are trying to make a much more visually pleasing and informative exhibit," Teeri said. Klatt said he is enthusiastic about the renovations. "The mission is to take a good look, gain knowledge and pass it on," Klatt said. While the conservatory was designed primarily for student usage, many stu- dents are unaware of the conservatory's existence, Teeri said. LSA first-year student Kelly Brown visits the gardens - but she does so as a requirement for a practical botany class. "I never heard about the conserva- tory before I signed up for the class," Brown said. "it seems like the classes are the only students there." By Janet Adamy Daily Staff Reporter University students in more than 12,000 classes graded their teachers in a new and improved way last semester. The updated version of the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching's teacher evaluation form that students completed is more influential and detailed than ever, said CRLT Director Connie Cook. Cook said the forms' usage has expanded since they were first intro- duced in 1975 to provide instructors with student feedback. "Over the years as teaching has become increasingly important at the University, the forms have become one of the criteria for tenure, promotion and merit pay" Cook said. "Because itis dif- JoSH IGGS/Dally ficult for administration and fellow facul- at the Matthael Botanical Gardens.- ty members to know the quality of a col- his own. league's teaching, they often rely on stu- dent ratings to provide that information." Cook said one of the major changes in n e w o othe forms is the addition of questions that allow instructors to compare themselves to other teachers in their departnent who Teeri said one of the reasons for the teach classes of conservatory's low attendance levels is similar sizes and that the garden's administration has levels. "not paid enough attention to public The new The ra programs in the past." forms nore Along with boosting attendance to clearly identify reSponSe the gardens, the planned renovations whether theilr also will help visitors learn more instructor being varied. about "the role of humans in interac- evaluated is the - Rob tion with the natural world," Klatt lecturer, discus-C said sion section LSA first-year student Natalie Zorn leader or lab said miore students should take advan- instructor. tage of what the conservatory has to Cook said the department began offer. planning the changes three years ago "The lab is a lot of fun. More stu- when instructors expressed a need to dents should know about the conserva- make the forms more user-friendly and tory," Zorn said. "The renovations contain more meaningful data. CRLT should bring in more students." representatives met with groups of fac- The full renovation cost has not yet ulty from the schools and colleges and been determined, Teeri said, but the consulted student groups including the University and private donors are fund- Michigan Student Assembly, the Black ing the project. Student Union and the University's The main renovations will begin in Panhellenic Association, late spring. Chemistry Prof. Thomas Dunn, who chairs the faculty's governing body, said the "grossness" of the questions on the conference. the forms in the past have not allowed "It requires a tremendous investment for a fair evaluation of teaching. by the medical students who are "People are new, they're in a large involved in the program;' Schwartz class and don't have much contact with said. the professor and they tend to rank Suarez-Benet them low," Dunn said. "The latest intent trying to said he is excited to have Kozol , secure and Jordan par- ticipating, and expects between 300 and 400 peo- ngela Wandera ple to attend. tant professor The Medstart Free billiards. Satellite sports. "I Conference will Food & drink specials. begin at 8 a.m. tomorrow in the Towsley Center of the University Medical School. Workshops College Night. 500 pitchers tii' 10. will run until 5:45. Student fees are No cover wlstudent ID 21+ $15; non-student fees are $40. e CI is an improvement to compare things in the same categories." Education Prof. Valerie Lee said the only difference she has seen in the forms is that the results have come more slowly than in past years. "My own feeling is that if the University is serious about evaluating the way teachers are teaching, they'd better go way beyond the CRLT forms:' Lee said. While different schools, colleges and departments place varying amounts of weight on the evaluation results, nearly all of the assessments areused to evalu- ate teaching. Chemistry chair Robert Kuczkowski said the forms are factors in ranking the cuality of teaching and handing out awards in the department. "The range of responses is so varied that sonetimes you have difficulty find- ing patterns" Kuczkowski said. "You often wonder why some students thought you were the most wonderful teacher and others just couldn't stand you." Dunn said students don't always eval-, uate lecturer's by appropriate criteria. "Itsis possible for some people to play a bit on ige eothe theatrical . aspect of lectur- S15 5O ing and tend to neglect the con- tent of the lec- rt Kuczkowski tusre," Dunn said. .m t ca "I'm hoping that hemistry chair in the future we can find a wayto have a better overall view of what people's teaching is like, not viewed narrowly in terms of classroom performance." Cook said one ofherconcems is a lack of student effort to fill out the forms. "I think students don't realize how important these ratings are in regard to tenure, promotions and merit-based pay" Cook said. "Itsis important for stu- dents to take ratings forms very serious- ly because their results have an influence on the careers of their instructors" First-year Music and LSA student. Heidi Meisenhelder said students could put more effort into filling out the forms. "If they gave them to me at the end of class, then I didn't really have time to think about it," Meisenhelder said. "But if they gave them to me at the beginning, then I put more thought into them." MEDSTART Continued from Page 1 "My own intention would be that attending students would get involved in the topic and pursue research pro- jects depending on their interest in the area," Danziger said. By bringing together professionals and leaders from various fields, the Medstart Conference seeks to address many problerns facing today's children and adolescents through an interdisci- plinary approach. Educators will demonstrate how var- ious disciplines interact by presenting the specific roles each one plays in childand health safety issues. Angela Wandera, assistant professor of orthodontics and pediatric dentistry, said her presentation will link oral health issues with the theme of the conference. "It's going to be in keeping with the there of the conference," Wandera said. "We're trying to ensure a promising We're and secure future for the ensure a children of Michigan, and future of the world, by increasing edu. cation and Assis access to care." M a r y Schwartz, prograr coordinator for the conference, praised student volunteers for the enormous amount of time and energy she said they put into planning tl S' Want My MTV!" All videos-all night wNJ Chuck Jasman. $1 cover. . Ann Arbor's Biggest & Best Modern Rock Dance Parties Correction Prof. Thomas Dunn and Fiona Rose mediated Monday's Affirmative Action Symposium. This was incorrectly reported in rsday's Daily. What's hg FRIDAY 0 "The Composition of the Continental Crust: The View from Down Under," lecture by Roberta Rudnick, sponsored by The Department of Geological Sciences, C.C. Little Building, room 1528, 4 p.m. J "Conversations with Courtney Clixby," programming sponsored by Unions Network Television, channel 24,3 p.m. and 8 p.m. * "Delivering Shabbat Meals," spon- sored by Hillel, 1429 Hill St., 3 p.m.-4:15 p.m. * "Race Unity Dance," sponsored by The Bahai Club, Trotter House, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. "Summer Programs Study Abroad Fair," sponsored by The Office of International Pro rams, Michigan Union, Pendelton oom, 3-5 p.m. -."Race, Whiteness, Feminism: A ped- agogical Perspective," sponsored by The Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Rackham (ALLN LAR appening in Ann Arbor this weekend Building, West Conference Room, 12-1:30 p.m. U "Weekly Rummage Sale," sponsored by Kiwanis Club of Ann Arbor, Kiwanis Building, 200 South First St., corner of Washington, 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. j "Welcome Back Shabbat," spon- sored by Hillel, 1428 Hill St., fol- lowing services SATURDAY U "Careers in Social Work," sponsored by CP&P, Rackham, 10 a.m.-12 noon U "Multicultural Career Conference: Pre-conference Workshop," Sponsored by CP&P, Angell Hall, Aud. C, 10.a.m.-12:30 p.m. J "Student Co-Op Mass Meeting" Sponsored b Inter Cooperative Council, Michigan Union, Anderson Room, 1-3 p.m. J "US Job Search: Strategies for International Students," Sponsored by CP&P, International Center, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. SUNDAY U "Epiphany Service of Holly Communion," sponsored by The Lutheran Campus Minestry, Lord of Light Lutheran Church, 801 South Forest Ave., 10 a.m. U "Huron Valley Greens and Student Greens," meeting, 995-3065, 7- 8:30 p.m. Q "Lenard Nimoy," Sponsored by Hillel, 1429 Hill St., 7 p.m. U "Israeli Dancing," Sponsored by Hillel, 1429 Hill Street, 7:30- 10:00 p.m. U"Now the Feast and Celebration Liturgy for Holy Communion," opening performance, sponsored by Lutheran Campus Minestry, Lord of Light Church, 801 South Forest Ave. 11:30 a.m. J"Sunday Service," bible study, spon- sored by Laymen's Evan elical Fellowship, Ann Arbor YMCA, 10 a.m. Are you.* ...tired of the cold? ...anxiously awaiting the return of warm weather? Why not have even more to look forward to a Summer Abroad". Cometo the -01 "SUMMER Programs * TUYAROAD FAIR!TDYA* Friday, January 24, 1997, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Michigan Union Pendleton Room If you're looking for a change of scenery this Summer, come to the Fair and talk to past participants about their experiences abroad. Don't miss out! We can show you all of the exciting Summer programs the University of Michigan has to offer! For more information contact the Office of International Programs, G5I3 Michigan Union, (313) 764-4311, oip@umich.edu. *_____________7V ____,Fv *7575 CALENDAR POLICY: The calendar's purpose is to provide a place for organizations to announce free events open to the !:University community. However, we can only print announcements the day of the event. Announcements for events that charge admission will not be run. All items for THE CALENDAR must be mailed or delivered to the Daily at least three days before publication. Events on *riday, Saturday or Sunday must be submitted by 5 p.m. Wednesday prior to the event. We can not accept requests over the telephone, and we can not guarantee that an announcement turned in within three days of the event will be run.