ews: 76-DAILY dvertising: 764-0554 it I4an 2ID *rnt One hundred seven years of editoIr freedom Wednesday April 15, 1998 t, < : 8 I Michigan *Theater" returns to roots By Peter Meyers Daily Staff Reporter By the time University students return from summer break, the Michigan Theater will be very dif- ferent from when they left town. The historic theater is undergo- ing a $4.4-million renovation that will peel off the current facade to restore the theater to its 1928 look. Several rooms also will be added to the theater's north side. The north side addition will include a 200-seat screening room that "will have state-of-the-art equipment," said Michigan Theater Executive Director Russell Collins. Unlike the main 1,700-seat the- ater, which hosts traveling Broadway shows, rock concerts and other per- formances, the screening room will only be used for movies, Collins said. The new room will increase the selection and frequency of movie screenings. Most movie distributors don't allow theaters to run movies for less than seven straight days, Collins said. With all the events the theater is used for, it can rarely set aside seven days for consecutive showings. The theater opened in 1928 as a place to view silent movies accompa- nied by live organ music. This "mul- timedia" design set up the theater to cater both to video and musical per- formances, he said. The renovations will be extensive, beginning with the theater's facade and adding decorative turrets to the corners of the building. The marquee itself, which dates back to when the See THEATER, Page 2 £ ~1 Harrison u for Hartfor presidency p d By Jennifer Yachnin Daily Staff Reporter Vice President for University Relations Walter Harrison is one of three finalists for president at the University of Hartford. "I'm very flattered to be asked and very excited to be learning about the university," said Harrison, who was informed he was a finalist about two weeks ago. Harrison currently is visiting Hartford to become acquainted with the students and campus, although he said he is familiar with Hartford from his days as a student at nearby Trinity College, where he graduated from in 1968. "I'm very happy at Michigan, but this was a good opportunity to see if I would like to lead a university," Harrison said. "I'i here to learn about the University of Hartford and for them to learn about me." The two other candidates are Rosanne Wille, provost at the City University branch of Lehman College in New York and Stuart Fagan, provost of Roosevelt University in Chicago. In addition to his post as vice pres- ident, which he has held for nine years, Harrison was also appointed as secretary of the University this past January when University President I ee Bollinger combined the two jobs. As secretary, Harrison oversees the uses of the official University seal on documents and diplomas and acts as a liaison between the University Board of Walter Harrison One of three finalists for president at the University of Hartford Has acted as vice president for University rela- tions for the past nine years Appointed as secretary of the University in January by University President Lee Bollinger Regents and the rest of the University Community. Regent Philip Power (D-Ann Arbor) said that if Harrison were to leave the University, the loss would be felt by the board. "It will have a pronounced impact because he is a liaison between the Board of Regents and the communi- ty," Power said. "Obviously someone would have to be found to fill that position." Power added that Harrison brings to his current position a wealth of infor- mation about the University communi- ty and its internal systems. "He brings to the post great knowl- edge and understanding of the University," Power said. "He's a very able guy." See HARRISON, Page 5 SARA STILLMAN/Daily The Michigan Theater is to undergo a $4.4-million renovation this year that will restore the theater's original 1928 appearance and add a new screening room. I I linton race OUSTON (AP) - Giving a sharper focus to his rational dialogue on race, President Clinton yesterday rged Americans to look to the world of sports as an xample of how individuals of different races can join n a common effort. "It is important that people see that in athletics in erica that the rules are fair, that people get their fair hance," Clinton said in leading offa 105-minute nation- Ily televised discussion on the role of race in sports. An avid fan of college basketball and major profes- ional sports, Clinton is well versed in sensitive issues , white dominance in coaching and sports team wnership. He said that if professional sports wants ore minority coaches but cannot find them, "then here's something wrong with recruitment." The meeting, broadcast live on ESPN, was the second f Clinton's three planned nationally televised town hall eetings on race. The first was in Akron last December. The 11-member panel discussed several topics but tudent regent ifort still faces hallenges y Gerard Cohen-rignaud aily Staff Reporter ast month, 60 percent of students voting in the Mich ent Assembly winter elections approved a fee inerf esignated to fund a campaign aimed at establishing a ent seat on the University Board of Regents. Now Iv eaders are waiting for the day in June when the regents ecide the fate of the fee increase. "The regents run the University, and the students certa eserve a seat at the table to decide how their own lives oing to be run," said Student Regent Task Force Co-C ram Elias, an LSA sophomore. The $4 increase in MSA fees would be used to hire a 1 >ather the 310,000 signatures necessary to add a ques statewide ballot asking voters to voice their suppor1 he installation of a student regent. MSA leaders are currently considering various firms he signature gathering campaign. Among the candidate dvantage Consulting, which charges the industry norr 1 per signature. forum focuses on sports returned often to the relative shortage of minorities in top sports management jobs. Georgetown University basketball coach John Thompson said blacks must be given more opportunities, even if they are not seen as sure-fire coaching successes right away. "I'm sick of us having to be perfect to get the job,' Thompson said. But Thompson took exception when former Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown also suggested that black college stars turn more often to black agents in launching their professional sports careers. Joe Morgan, a member of baseball's Hall of Fame, said baseball has made only small progress. While noting that some of the greatest players in base- ball history are black, "once they're finished, there is no place for them to go" in the sport business, he said. Morgan said baseball has failed to aggressively recruit talent in urban black areas. One reason for that, he said, is a lack of black scouts for major league teams. Clinton said he was optimistic that talking about race in the context of sports can help the nation deal with broader racial issues. "America, rightly or wrongly, is a sports crazy country," he said. "And we often see games as a metaphor or symbol of what we are as a people." At the close of yesterday's program, Clinton said he hoped the message would get through to America's youth that athletics can help develop racial harmony. "The lessons learned from athletics carry over into good citizenship, including attitudes about people of different races," Clinton said. "If that happens, we're going-to be a lot better off." Black men have found enormous success in American sports. Many of the best marketed and high- est paid professional athletes, such as basketball's Michael Jordan and baseball's Ken Griffey Jr., are black. Yet certain glamour positions, such as quarterback in professional football, are dominated by whites. Doin' the worm SARA STILLMAN/Daily Ann Arbor resident Yukari Nibun uses the National Bank of Detroit ATM on Main Street yesterday, one day after it merged with Banc One Corp. Bank mergers may affect job market By Jason Stoffer Daily Staff Reporter Three of the largest banking mergers in history were the buzz this week on Wall Street, but experts say the effects of the bank- ing industry's consolidation will be felt in cities outside the nation's financial capital - including Ann Arbor. The financial press reported Monday that BankAmerica Corp. and NationsBank Corp. agreed to join forces in a $60 billion merger, and that Banc One Corp. and First Chicago NBD Corp. will combine Brophy said the new financial ser- vices firms will increase efficiency by streamlining overlapping opera- tions. He said streamlining may make fewer jobs available in the short run to students seeking to enter the banking industry. "If you put bank A and B together they'll be looking to eliminate jobs, and there will be bankers put out onto the street,' Brophy said. "In the short run, its going to be tough (for college graduates) to get jobs (in banking). If nothing else, it'll put downward pressure on starting salary." :.. n.. _ I I