LoCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 15, 1997 -
Nte
Woman may
have stolen from
'U' Hospitals
A female allegedly rummaged
through a patient's belongings, took
.hospital supplies and disposed of drugs
in a bathroom Thursday, Department of
.Public Safety reports state. The suspect
.was' later placed into custody by DPS
officers.
The suspect was told by emergency
room staff that she had been dis-
charged, but disappeared before she
qo uld be walked out of the emergency
oom area. After being seen rummag-
ing through a patient's belongings, the
suspect fled from hospital staff. The
suspect was followed by staff to the
East Visitors' elevator before she
: entered a restroom, where she was
located, reports state.
After being taken to the rest area by
a DPS officer, the woman was found to
have pads and syringes. While waiting
0r the woman outside the restroom,
officers heard the lid of the sanitary
napkin container open and shut. Upon
inspecting the container, officers found
a substance that appeared to be
cocaine.
Minors steal
pelvis from lab
Three minors allegedly stole half of a
*uman pelvis from a lab in the LSA
building Saturday, according to DPS
reports.
The three suspects allegedly took the
pelvis and then exited the lab, the caller
said. The caller stated the three men left
through a back entrance near the load-
ing dock. The suspects also smelled of
alcohol, the caller reported. DPS offi-
cers later arrested two of the suspects
nd cited them for possession of alco-
Whol by minors.
Gloves stolen
from 'U' hospital
A male allegedly stole a box of
gloves from University Hospitals on
Saturday and was later arrested,
according to DPS reports.
* The suspect took the gloves and then
fled across the railroad tracks near M-29.
University Hospitals' security attempted
to follow the suspect on foot, but termi-
nated the chase. A police unit was
requested and located the man, who was
then arrested and later released.
Hockey
equipment stolen
A caller reported his hockey equip-
ment stolen from a storage area in the
1100 block of State Street, sometime
between March 24 and April 1, Ann
Arbor Police Department reports state.
The equipment was reported missing
from a basement storage area. The vic-
tim also told AAPD officials his hock-
ey skates had been taken to "Play It
.gain Sports" after being stolen. The
suspect is a male in his early forties.
Several items
-stolen from CCRB
In two separate incidents Saturday,
items were taken from the Central
Campus Recreation Building, DPS
reports state.
0 In the first incident, a caller reported
missing a small blue duffel bag. The
bag contained three M-cards, a baseball
hat and sweat pants.
In the second incident, a coat and
wallet were reported stolen from the
main gym. The caller stated the wallet
contained $50 in cash, several credit
cards and an identification card.
-Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Jenni Yachnin.
Child welfare lecture
brings legislation to light
" Alumnus A. Sydney
Johnson predicts
welfare changes
By Greg Cox
Daily Staff Reporter
The status of welfare in America
faces change in the immediate
future. And the results could be dra-
matic.
At the Fedele F. and Iris M.
Memorial Lecture on Child Welfare
yesterday University alumnus A.
Sydney Johnson, executive director
of the American Public Welfare
Association, stressed that ordinary
citizens can and should go to policy
makers and state their views.
"Policy makers are just people sitting
around a table, drinking coffee out of
plastic cups - they're no different from
the rest of us," Johnson said.
Johnson addressed the welfare leg-
islation passed by Congress last year,
gave predictions on their various
results and listed ways in which indi-
viduals can voice their concerns on
public issues.
The effects of welfare legislation
recently passed by Congress are uncer-
tain, Johnson said.
"It is obviously too soon to see if
those effects will be positive, negative,
or mixed," Johnson said. "It's the first
major change in social welfare since its
conception.'
One negative scenario would have
families facing a decrease in their cov-
erage, Johnson said. On the other hand,
welfare changes could help make fami-
lies more self-sufficient and make par-
ents better role models for their chil-
dren.
Johnson also noted that the effects of
the bill will vary from state to state.
"States' results will be uneven,"
Johnson said. "The biggest determiner
of success will be the status of the econ-
omy."
Some University students reacted
enthusiastically to the lecture and
said they were excited about its mes-
sage.
"He brings political figures down
to our level," said Debby Brown,
Public Health second-year student.
"They're human beings just like our-
selves."
Johnson also noted that University
students have a great opportunity to
influence changes in welfare policy in
the current transitional period.
"More students should consider
careers in public government,"
Johnson said. "In all my years of pub-
lic service, I have never experienced a
period of greater cynicism of govern-
ment. I think that if you look at gov-
ernment programs in comparison to
private sector programs, they stack up
pretty well in terms of efficiency and
waste.'
The lecture series is presented
annually in recognition of former
University dean and vice president
Fedele Fauri, whose leadership in the
field of child welfare spanned nearly
five decades.
Fauri's achievements include serv-
ing as social security adviser for
President Kennedy and as research
director on social security for the U.S.
Senate.
Making preparations
JENNIFER BPADLEY-SWIFT/ Dai
A. Sydney Johnson, executive director of the American Public Welfare Association,
spoke yesterday about the future of child welfare.
Alumnus funds
LSA writing center
Susan T. Port
Daily Staff Reporter
Students buried in writing final
papers might feel more relief next fall
when a new $5-million writing center
opens on campus.
University alumnus John Sweetland
recently donated $5 million to launch a
writing center in LSA to improve stu-
dents' writing skills. The center will be
named in honor of Sweetland's late wife,
Gayle, who was an award-winning
writer, editor and publisher of U.
Magazine, a monthly national college
magazine.
Sweetland said his donation is a won-
derful way for him to remember his
wife.
"We were both very fond of
Michigan," Sweetland said. "And I
thought this would be a fitting tribute to
Gayle. She was a writer all her life.'
While exact plans for the center
aren't finalized, the program will find
ways to improve students' writing
through tutoring and helping graduate
student instructors teach writing more
effectively.
Sweetland said a problem today is that
there are too few students who under-
stand the importance of writing well.
"Its very hard to find students who
can write well," Sweetland said. "It's
crucial to be able to transmit ideas into
the written word?'
Sweetland, who said he received
his writing base at the University, said
he hopes his donation will give some-
thing back to the Ann Arbor campus.
"I hope it makes better writers out
of the students," said Sweetland, who
graduated from the University with a
bachelor's degree in economics.
"Michigan is a great school with
great students, and a great history,
and I am trying to make sure it has ;
great future."
LSA Dean Edie Goldenberg said the
Gayle Writing Center won't be limited tc
English majors but will be open to al
LSA students.
"We are establishing the writing
center in order to draw together facul-
ty from all across the school, not just
from the English Department,'
Goldenberg said. "The center will be
helping those who are dedicated tc
education to improve the teaching of
writing."
Goldenberg said the center will be .
critical component in the University's
efforts to enhance the undergraduate
learning experience.
"The goals of the writing center is tc
improve the teaching of writing and tc
make sure every student who goes
through Michigan has a strong prepara-
tion in writing," Goldenberg said.
LSA first-year student Pam
Hirschman said she would go to the
writing center next year if she needec
writing help.
"It sounds very helpful," Hirschman
said. "I wish I had the resources right
now to help me through my papers."
English Department Chair Martha
Vicinus said graduate students can learn
how to teach better writing through the
center's new lecture series.
"There will be fellowships for under-
graduate and graduate students to come
together and improve our capabilities of
teaching writing," Vicinus said. "The
writing center is to teach composition
more effectively in LSA."
Goldenberg said other universities
may use LSA's writing center as a model
to build their own programs, similar to
the school's introductory classes that
have been copied nationwide.
ADDIE SMITH/Daily
Devorah Goldstein demonstrates pouring wine into a wine glass last night at a Chabad House program demonstrating how
to prepare a Passover Seder, the traditional Jewish meal at Passover, which begins next Monday night. Chabad House,
located at 715 Hill St., will host an actual Seder dinner on Monday at 8:30 p.m.
Bill would require most inmates
to earn 1doma efore parole
DETROIT (AP) - No diploma, no
parole. That's the idea behind a bill in
the state Legislature.
The bill sponsored by state Rep. John
Freeman (D-Madison Heights) would
require most inmates to earn a high
school diploma or its equivalent while
in prison to qualify for parole.
Supporters say lack of education is a
key cause of crime.
"Education is a keystone to prisoners
re-entering society and having solid
futures," said Carl Taylor, a Michigan
State University criminologist. "We
simply cannot afford any more ignorant
folks in this society."
Some say the law is unfair and could
cause further prison overcrowding.
"I recognize education is an impor-
tant component in rehabilitation. But
we shouldn't tie the Parole Board's
hands'" said state Sen. Bill Van
Regenmorter (R-Hudsonville), chair of
the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"It might mean that prisoners the
board deems safe to re-enter society but
who failed to get a high school diploma
can't get out. In those cases, they'd be
taking up bed space that could be used
to house murderers and rapists?'
Beth Arnovits, executive director of
the Lansing-based Michigan Council on
Crime and Delinquency, said the bill
should be amended to require the hiring
of an independent monitor to "make sure
the bill is not being used to deny parole.'
Freeman's measure states that a "pris-
oner whose minimum term of imprison-
ment is two years or more shall not be
released on parole unless he or she has
either earned a high school diploma or
its equivalent in the form of a General
Education Development certificate."
Almost 90 percent of the state's
40,916 inmates are serving sentences of
at least two years, according to the
Department of Corrections.
The bill would let the department
waive the requirement for inmates with
learning disabilities or who aren't profi-
cient in English. It also would require
English instruction for prisoners
unskilled in the language so they could
begin working toward a GED.
The average Michigan inmate has a
10th-grade education, according to a
January report by the corrections
department.
According to the report, only 20 per-
cent of inmates have graduated from
high school and only 6 percent have
attended college.
The data also found four in five have
no skills and were jobless at the time of
their conviction.
GRouP MEETINGS
OAllanza, 995-6732, Michigan Union,
Pond Room, 7:30 p.m.
U Cleptomaniacs And Shoplfters
Anonymous (CASA), Self-help
group, 913.6990, First Baptist
hurch, 512 E. Huron St., Room
102, 7-8:30 p.m.
O Dyke Discussion Group, East Quad,
Second Cooley Lounge, 9 p.m..
U Free Mumla Coalition, 995-8958, East
Quad, Madrigal Lounge, 7 p.m._
1429 Hill St., 7 p.m.
Q "Ancient Chinese Secrets: Lineage
and Legend in Nineteenth-Century
Chinese Gynecology " sponsored
by The Center ?or Chinese
StudiesnLane Hall, Commons
Room, noon
0 "Evolution: Color Photography Show,"
sponsored by The Photography
Department, Pierpont Commons,
Atrium, all day
Q "Habitat for Humanity,"tsponsored
by Hillel, 1429 Hill St., 1-3:30
by The Michigan Animal Rights
Society, Michigan Union,
Pendleton Room, 8:30 p.m.
0 "University Women's Golf Open
Season," sponsored by Women's
Golf Club, University Golf Course,
8 a.m.
SERVICES
U Campus Information Centers, 763-
INFO, infoc umich.edu, and
www.umich.edu/-info on the