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One hundred seven years ofeditorilfreedom

Friday
February 27, 1998

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tlinton
offers to
reduce
loan rates
y Peter RomerFriedman
)ally Staff Reporter
An offer made by Wednesday by
President Clinton to reduce interest
-ates on college student loans is good
iews to state officials and University
tudents.
e reduction Clinton is touting will
ut the interest rate on student loans
rorm 7.8 to 7 percent, potentially sav-
ng each public university or college
tudent who takes out a loan $650 a
ear.
Because all 11,680 University stu-
lents who currently receive loans will
we less money to the federal govern-
ient if the offer is successful, some
Jniversity and state officials are call-
this a step in the right direction for
her education.
"I am pleased to announce that we
are proposing improvements in the stu-
lent loan program that will lower the
:ost of college for millions of students
nd their families while preserving
:heir access to the loans they need,"
Vice-President Al Gore announced at a
press conference Wednesday.
Although the reductions had been
eduled to go into effect on July 1,
nany lenders worried about the losses
n profits that would result from an
nterest rate reduction, said Thomas
Butts, associate vice president for gov-
rnment relations.
"The problem is the bankers and
lenders in the guaranteed (loan) pro-
grams don't like losing money," Butts
said. "They want our students to pay
rore to subsidize their profits through
loan industry."
utts said there are two types of stu-
lent loans - direct and guaranteed.
Lenders fund the guaranteed loan pro-
gram, while the federal government
puts up the money for the direct loans.
Since the lenders have been so success-
Ful, they have started to corner the mar-
ket on student loans, Butts said.
"They've been making so much
See LOANS, Page 7

I

DPS shows

crime

rate

down at

4'

NATHAN-rrLH/uDafy
As part of a collaborative class between the School of Music and the School of Art and Design, students use the state-
of-the-art computers yesterday at the Media Union located on North Campus.
'U' technology may suffer

® DPS cites Community-
Oriented Policing
program as major reason
By Reilly Brennan
Daily Staff Reporter
Despite a shocking murder that
took place on campus this past
September, the Department of Public
Safety's is reporting an overall
decline in the number of crimes
reported during 1997.
"We're working hard to do all we can
to maintain a safe environment on cam-
pus," said DPS spokesperson Beth Hall.
While the overall number of reported
crimes decreased, 1997 was a year of
more reports of aggravated assault,
murder, forced rape and robbery. But
DPS reported a significant drop in bur-
glaries, arson, sexual assault with an
object and forcible fondling.
DPS, which polices the campus,
cites its new Community-Oriented
Policing program as a major factor
in the crime abatement in 1997.
The program, which assigns two
officers to a certain area of campus, is
not only a factor in the overall decline
in crimes on campus, but more specifi-
cally the drastic drop in reports of lar-
ceny, Hall said. DPS reported 1,822
incidents of larceny in 1996 and just
1,454 in 1997 - a drop of more than
20 percent.
"We're very pleased to see the drop
in personal property," Hall said, "and 1
think it can be attributed to our
Community-Oriented Policing pro-
gram."
LSA Junior Jillian Gross, a mem-
ber of Safewalk, the University's stu-
dent-run safety escort service, said
the number of calls the service
receives this time of year has been as
high as usual.

Local Crime Rates
1995 1996 1997
Murder 0 0 1
Forcible Rape 4 3 4
Forcible Sodomy 0 2 1
Sexual Assault 0 1 0
Forcible Fondling 11 12 7
Statutory Rape 1 0 0
Robbery 16 5 13
Assault 24 11 17
Arson 23 17 1-1
Burglary 165 129 66
Larceny 1925 1822 1454
Vehicle Theft 37 31 23
Totals 2206 2033 1597
"It gets pretty high around the time
of finals and midterms because peo-
ple are out late studying in libraries,"
Gross said. "I usually get five to six
calls during my shift from 11 p.m. to
I a.m."
The number of calls' Safewalk
received this past year reflects a feeling
of safety among students. In 1997,
Safewalk received 1,090 calls for walks
in 1996 and 795 in 1997.
LSA sophomore Lisa Manasse said
she has noticed a decrease in crime on
campus since her first year at the
University. But this has not compro-
mised her concern for safety, as she
makes sure she and her friends never
travel alone at night.
"I have noticed a lot less crime going
on this year," Manasse said. "But I'm a
big stickler for making sure my friends
never walk home alone."
Larceny still remains the biggest
problem with which DPS deals,
accounting for more than 90 percent of
the department's reported crimes.

By Peter Romer-Friedman
Daily Staff Reporter
As the century draws to a close, the
world is becoming increasingly
engulfed in the information age - a
time of imniense innovation, techno-
logical expansion and new communi-
cation outlets.
But at the same time, the cost of
staying on the edge of technology
puts financial pressure on research
institutions such as the University.
Gov. John Engler's proposed 1.5 per-
cent higher education funding increase,
which University President Lee
Bollinger labeled "inadequate," could
put the University in a tight situation.
"Technology would be hit very
hard because the level of technology

has skyrocketed above the rate of
inflation," said Kathleen
McClatchey, a manager in the
University's Information Technology
Division. "The use of technology by
faculty, students and staff has
increased tremendously."
McClatchey cited dozens of tech-
nological programs that could deteri-
orate if the state government doesn't
provide the University with sufficient
funding, including the Information
and Technology Division, library ser-
vices, the College of Engineering,
student computing and administra-
tive technology systems.
"From what the governor has pro-
posed, almost everything (regarding
technology) on campus would have

to be cut," McClatchey said.
The statistics on the increased use
and demand for technology indicate
the need to bump up funding at
appropriate levels, McClatchey said,
adding that technology needs to be
updated on a two-year cycle instead
of every five years.
"From November 1996 to
November 1997, there was a 66 per-
cent increase in modem connect hours.
the number of hours people were on
the net dialing into the University,"
McClatchey said. "In 1995, 16 percent
of the incoming class said they use
computers daily. This last year, 41 per-
cent of the incoming class said they
used computers every day."
See TECHNOLOGY, Page 2


Ross calls for campaign investigation

By Mike Spahn
I)aily Staff Reporter
Democratic gubernatorial candidate and University
lecturer Doug Ross called for an investigation today
into possible wrongdoing in Secretary of State
Candice Miller's 1994 election campaign.
Allegations surfaced during the past year that Miller
accepted illegal funds from political action commit-
tees linked to her campaign.
"I don't know that Candice Miller broke the law, but
we're not going to know until there is an investiga-
tion,' said Ross, who is an adjunct lecturer in the
School of Public Policy.
Ross said Gov. John Engler should support an
inquiry into the allegations. Engler is the only one
who has the influence to get Miller to appoint an inde-
pendent investigator, Ross said.
Engler,"has the position to ask her to move," Ross
said. "Who has the influence? I do not. Gov. Engler
does."
John Truscott, a spokesperson for Engler, said the

governor has no plans to pursue an probe into Miller's
campaign finances. He said the Attorney General's
Office is the only one that could appoint an investigator.
"The governor does not do that type of thing,"
Truscott said. "He has no ability to do anything about it."
Engler is in position to ask Miller to clear up the situ-
ation due to his role as leader of the state's Republican
party and his past mentorship of Miller, Ross said.
"Governor Engler has been quite outspoken that
allegations at the national level should be investigat-
ed," Ross said. "When we get investigations in our
own backyard, those need to be looked at too."
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer
recently alleged that a $34,000 contribution Miller
received in 1994 from the Republican National
Committee came from a contributor in Hong Kong
who gave money to a political action committee that
turned the money over to the RNC.
John Long, Miller's chief of staff, said records filed
with the state Elections Bureau in 1995 by the
Republican National State Elections Committee show

the Democratic charges cannot be proved and are false.
"All the monies were raised in accordance with the
Michigan campaign act," Long said. "These accusations
are factless, baseless and reckless," Long told the
Associated Press.
Ross said Miller has not looked into any allegations
recently because an investigation her office commis-
sioned was invalidated by a lower court.
"We effectively have no campaign finance laws in
Michigan right now because Mrs. Miller will not
investigate anything," Ross said.
A complaint filed against Miller is being investigat-
ed by Michigan's Department of State Compliance
and Rules Division, Long said.
Truscott said the attorney general would have
already conducted an investigation if there were valid
claims against Miller.
"Frankly, there's been no allegation of wrong
doing," Truscott said. The Attorney General "would
have been all over this a long time ago"
-The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Arizona state
resolution unlikely
to affect 'U' lawsuits

The healing power of music

PAUL TALANIAN/Daily
Jeanne White-Ginder spoke last night at Rackham Auditorium about her
experiences raising her son, Ryan White, who died of AIDS.
White-Ginder shares
son' sstory of AIDS

y Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud
Daily Staff Reporter
Nearly eight years after her son
Ryan died of AIDS, Jeanne White-
Ginder spoke about the hardships she
and her family faced in front of an
audience of more than 500 at

of the deadly disease. Yesterday,
White-Ginder furthered his legacy
with her emotional story.
"Because of a misunderstood dis-
ease, my life changed overnight,"
White-Ginder said. "When my son
was born, it was the thrill of my life.

By Christine M. Paik
Daily Staff Reporter
A measure that would have eliminat-
ed the use of race and gender as factors
in hiring and admissions processes in
Arizona state-funded programs was
rejected yesterday by the Arizona state
Senate.
If passed, the Senate Concurrent
Resolution 1005 would have allowed
voters to decide whether they wanted to
retain the use of these practices.

The bill was strongly opposed by
University of Arizona officials who
feared it would have threatened the
diversity of their student body. The
measure was; similar .to California's
Proposition 209, which eliminated
affirmative action in the state.
"I'm reassured, but not surprised,"
University of Arizona President Peter
Likins told the Arizona Daily Wildcat.
"It seemed unlikely that it would suc-
ceed in the Legislature, and our con-

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