. - .
LOCALISTATE ,
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, April 16, 1997 - 3
MSA jois Ann Arbor income tax debate
investigation by
Education Dept.
*e U.S. Department of Education's+
)ffice of Civil Rights is investigating
Brown University for its Disciplinary
council's refusal to hear a female stu-
lent's allegation of rape against anoth-
r student, The Brown Daily Herald
reported.
The suspect testified in front of the
university's review board, which
:ecides if the case goes to the discipli-
nary .body. The case was dismissed.
ever, the suspect was defended by
Joukoesky, the wife of a long-time
iversity benefactor, causing the
Dpatment of Education to raise ques-
ions about the integrity of the review
board, the newspaper reported.
Students protest
lack of minorities
4 Berkeley
More than 40 law students at the
University of California at Berkeley
donned red armbands last week to
make prospective students touring the
school more aware of a report that
showed a significant drop in the num-
ber of minority students admitted into
graduate programs at the university,
The Daily California reported.
ccording to these reports, only a
t of eight black, latino/a and Native
American students will be part of next
fall's class of more than 270 first-year
graduate students.
Illinois refuses
student trustee
The University of Illinois refused the
ppposal of a student becoming a mem-
bWof the university's board of trustees,
despite the support of several state rep-
reggtatives, The Daily Illini reported.
*x Tate, associate director of public
affairs at Illinois, said the board holds
the belief that trustees must have a firm
understanding of the university and
feels students might not have enough of
that understanding to make educated
decisions.
The board does have student advis-
4but they have no effect on final
decisions.
Texas receives
$170 million
. The National Science Foundation
will give the University of Texas $170
million during the next five years to
c duct research with the National
nership for Advanced
Computational Infrastructure.
r The purpose of the research is to
uphold U.S. leadership in computation-
a science and engineering by imple-
Menting a national infrastructure to
promote the overall level of computing
technology, from kindergarten to cut-
ting-edge scientific applications.
One of the main goals of the pro-
gram is to provide more education
pugh the Internet and online facili-
ties.
Appeal uncertain
for Prop. 209
,egal experts and scholars at the
University of California at Berkeley,
one of the schools directly affected by
last week's Proposition 209 decision,
* not certain whether an appeal will
be granted to try to overturn the initia-
tive that would eliminate affirmative
action in admission policies, The Daily
Californian reported.
Vrious civil rights groups have
afieady requested a rehearing, but
experts said that even if the case is
retried, opponents of Prop. 209 face an
uphill battle because of the vagueness
of their position.
Compiled by Daily staff reporter
Chris Metinko from the University
wire.
By Katie Plona
Daily Staff Reporter
The financial concerns of students proved to be
among the top priorities of assembly members at
last night's Michigan Student Assembly meeting.
The assembly addressed its position on a possible
Ann Arbor city income tax, which was communi-
cated to the Ann Arbor City Council on Monday
night by MSA City Liason Andrew Wright.
The income tax is one of several ways to
increase city revenue that the Ann Arbor City
Council is discussing. The city is considering a
proposal that could tax the income of residents up
to one percent and the income of non-residents up
to half of that number.
"MSA is opposed to the tax,"said Wright, an LSA
senior. "But, at this point, we're mainly concerned
about the definition of (the taxation guidelines)."
Assembly members retroactively approved a
decision reached by the assembly's steering com-
mittee Sunday that allowed Wright to advocate
MSA's stance at Monday night's public hearing.
Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid Sheldon said Wright
made several good observations that the council will
take into consideration when determining how to
increase the amount of money taken in by the city.
"I was very glad Andrew made the effort to
come to speak and I'm glad the student assembly
is taking this issue seriously and studying to make
a recommendation back to local city government,"
Sheldon said.
The resolution passed by the MSA steering com-
mittee and approved by assembly members last
night states that residency status should be deter-
mined by meeting a set of five criteria, including
being a registered Ann Arbor voter and listed as an
Ann Arbor resident on federal income tax forms.
"Students have enough burdens and one more
financial one isn't going to help their academics,"
said MSA President Mike Nagrant.
Nagrant said inflicting students with an income
tax is not common in other towns and should not
happen in Ann Arbor.
The assembly further recommended that federal
aid and grants be exempt from the income tax.
MSA also stated that students should be able to
personally exempt the cost of tuition and room and
board from taxation.
Rackham Rep. Ray Robb said the tax would neg-
atively affect the graduate students he represents.
"A city income tax would be very damaging to
graduate students," Robb said. "It's going to take
money out of students' pockets.'
Sheldon noted that no formal decision has been
made on the issue. A formal referendum would have
to be approved by Ann Arbor voters on the
November ballot in order to implement the local tax.
"We are truly in an information gathering mode'
she said. "That's why I wanted to have this hearing
before we got into the formal budget process.'
Sheldon said the need to find another source of
money for the city is because Ann Arbor is cur-
rently spending more than it takes in.
"This past year we budgeted using our savings
account' Sheldon said.
But the city cannot always rely on this account
to balance its budget, she said.
Sheldon said other avenues of city funding also
are being explored by council members, such as rais-
ing city service fees or cutting out some programs.
"There just doesn't seem to be a lot of support
for (the tax) around the table," Sheldon said.
You deserve a hug
Student affairs VP reaches
out, touches 'U'
students
"56k
iw
Administrator surveys
students over phone
about experiences
By Matie Wang
DailyStaffReporter
It's 9 p.m. on a Thesday night and the
phone rings.
On the other end of the line is some-
one named Maureen Hartford asking
students for a few minutes of their time.
But it's not a pesky telephone solicitor
asking for money.
It's one of the University's top admin-
istrators, the vice president for student
affairs. Hartford, and members of her
office, are spending late nights on the
phone, surveying students about their
experiences at the University.
Hartford said the survey is intended
to determine the effectiveness of pro-
grams sponsored by the Office for
Student Affairs and to gauge how
undergraduate students feel at the
University.
"We decided we needed to take a bet-
ter look at what our students needed,"
Hartford said. "We want to look at what's
going well and what's not going well."
Hartford said about 500 randomly
selected students will be contacted by
the 22 members of the Office for
Student Affairs. Each staff member is
responsible for contacting about 32 stu-
dents. The project began last week.
The survey, which takes about 15
minutes, asks students if they feel they
students have been responsive to the
survey.
"When students get the call, they
usually enjoy talking about their
University experience," Moriarty said.
Hartford said some students find 'it
hard to believe they have received a
phone call from a University vice preos
ident.
"Some students ask, 'Is this really
r
are a part of the
University and if
they are satisfied
with student
affairs' programs.
The survey also
asks students to
rate the social cli-
mate on campus
and to express
their opinions
about issues such
as diversity on campu
"Some students
ask, Is this really
Maureen ...?'
- Maureen Hartford
VP for student affairs
M a u r e e .
Hartford?'"
Hartford said.
Hartford said:
the office is:
trying to finish
the survey by.
the end of this
week. The;
results will bey
used to develop
a five-year plary
S.
for the office.
When the survey results are com-
piled, the identity of the students will
remain anonymous.
Debra Moriarty, assistant to the vice
president for student affairs, said most
"We will pull the results together an4
we plan to share them with a staff devel,
opment program, Hartford said. "We
will try to work on what we need td
accomplish within the next five years."
WARREN ZINN/Daily
LSA senior Nellie Yeretslan, (right ) presents ESA senior Jennifer Norris with
the Outstanding Student Leader award. The Michigan Leadership Award cere-
mony was held yesterday to honor committed students.
'U'profs rece
prestigious awards
By Christine Palk
Daily Staff Reporter
A prestigious national foundation
has selected two University professors
as among the best and the brightest in
their fields.
American culture and English Prof.
Jonathan Freedman and astronomy Prof.
Douglas Richstone both received the
1997 Guggenheim Fellowship Award,
announced last week by the John Simon
Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
"Getting this kind of recognition
makes one feel part of a larger project
- that people out there notice and are
interested in the kind of work you're
doing, and are encouraging you to do
more of it,' Freedman said.
Keith Lewis, production assistant at
the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
in New York City, said competition for
the fellowships can be tough.
"Normally, we have about 2,800
applications a year and maybe 160 fel-
lowships are given out," Lewis said. "It
is a competition out of a number of dif-
ferent fields and we have experts in the
fields evaluate all the applications in
their particular area?'
Freedman, who said he feels grateful
for the award, plans to dedicate a year
researching Jewish and deviant identi-
ties in 19th and 20th century literature.
"The project that I hope to complete
during my year off is entitled 'Angels,
Monsters and Jews,"' Freedman said.
"I'm taking a year off from teaching to
devote myself to writing"
Richstone said he looks forward to
devoting time to uninterrupted research.
"It's absolutely wonderful,"
Richstone said. "I'm delighted to have
received the fellowship and I'm looking
forward to spending the year working
on (my research) undistracted."
The award will allow Richstone to con-
centrate solely on his research of black
holes and the centers of galaxies without
having other obligations to fulfill.
"It's my plan to spend the whole next
year at the Princeton Institute for
Advanced Study to work on this subject
without having to teach or do commit-
tee work," Richstone said.
Richstone said the award will allow
him to finance much of his research.
Each fellowship recipient submits a
funding request.
"The University is giving me a sab-
batical, which means they provide half
my salary for the year and the
Guggenheim Foundation provides a
large fraction of the remainder,"
Richstone said.
Astronomy Prof. and Department
Chair Hugh Aller has observed much of
Richstone's work.
"Much of the work he's done is theo-
retical in nature as opposed to observa-
tional or experimental," Aller said. "I
think he certainly deserves it. He is one
of the forefront people in the world in
his field in terms of doing theoretical
work of this type"
Lewis said the Guggenheim
Fellowship Awards are presented every
April to individuals with outstanding
achievements to aid them in research
costs.
"We offer them to further the devel-
opment of scholars, artists and scien-
tists in all different areas by assisting
them in engaging research and creating
art," Lewis said.
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U Evolution: Color Photography
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