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One hundred eight years ofedioralfreedom
Thursday
October 22, 1998
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GEO
begins
contract
bargaining
1y Paul Berg
Daily Staff Reporter
Amidst chants of solidarity, organized labor
vocacy signs and the sound of bagpipes, about
300 supporters gathered to rally yesterday in sup-
port of the Graduate Employees Organization
before the first round of contract bargaining last
night.
The current three-year contract expires Feb. 1,
1999. Before the next three-year period's terms are
agreed upon, GEO members said they intend to
earn major concessions from the administration.
"If they want the negotiations to go smoothly,
ey are going to have to sign some checks," said
ric Odier-Fink, the CEO's bargaining committee
co-chair.
Statistics distributed by the GEO at the rally
show the average graduate student instructor
receives $1,133 per month, and 42 percent of this
goes toward their rent.
Based on numbers from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics for 1994-95, 26 percent of a worker's
paycheck should go to rent. If this standard were
to be met, the University would have to increase
graduate student instructor wages by 59 percent to
$1,796 a month for the average GS1.
Their statistics also indicate that GSIs teach 50
percent of undergraduate class hours at the
University, and bring in $50 million in tuition
annually.
A Rackham Regents Fellow earns 55 percent
more than a GSI, and an average Washtenaw sec-
ondary school teacher earns 49 percent more,
according to GEO's statistics.
GEO President Eric Dirnbach said that among
the 19 proposals the AFL-CIO affiliated union
will seek at the bargaining table is an agreement
that GSIs and all graduate employees will contin-
ue to receive the health care package currently
provided, with some changes.
"There should not be a one-year wait for dental
benefits," Dirnbach said. "Many GSis do not work
consecutive semesters, and are deprived of those
benefits."
GEO also voiced it's support for affirmative
"If they want the negotiations to go
smoothly, they are going to have to sign
some checlks."
- Eric Dirnbach
GEO President
action.
"We must combat and eliminate discrimination
in hiring to have equity and in admissions to offer
a diverse pool for graduate student hiring,"
issue, but the diversity argument is too narrow. We
want them to advocate the moral position as well.
"We are not asking " said Dirnbach. "These are
demands."
Afler the rally around the cube in Regents
See GEO, Page 8A
Dirnbach said.
"The administration is on the right
side of this
TAKING A STAND
200 rally for
affirmative action
By Nika Schulte
Daily Staff Reporter
With umbrellas for potential rain in
one hand and protest signs in the other,
more than 200 University students, fac-
ulty and community members gathered
in front of the Michigan Union yester-
day to voice their support for affirma-
tive action.
The rally, one of the key events in the
first day of the 2 Days of Action in
Defense of Affirmative Action, served
as a reminder of the University's nation-
al role in the defense of affir-
mative action.
"We are leading the debate,"
Shannon Ewing, a United for,
Affirmative Action member
told the crowd.'
The days of action come
near the one year anniversary
of two lawsuits challenging
the use of race as a factor in admissions
at the University's College of Literature,
Science and the Arts and Law School.
"We must make a stand before
Michigan becomes California, before
Michigan becomes Texas, before our
campus becomes homogenous in popu-
lation, said Ewing, a Law student.
Also speaking at the rally was Shanta
Driver, an organizer for the national
chapter of the Coalition to Defend
Affirmative Action By Any Means
Necessary.
She encouraged students to remain
idealistic in their support of affirmative
action even though the ultimate rulings
of the suits will be decided in the court
system.
"The question of equality is deter-
mined in the streets, not in the court-
room back chambers," Driver said.
Although fliers and itineraries were
posted throughout the campus, from
elevators in residence halls to stalls in
the bathrooms, student group members
said the turn out was not as much as
they had hoped.
"You always want the numbers to be
bigger but it definitely made an effect,"
said Agnes Aleobua, a member of
United for Affirmative
Action and senior at Cass
Technical High School in
Detroit.
While many attributed the
low turnout to conflicts with
school commitments, some
students such as LSA senior
William Johnson did not hes-
itate to step outside of the.classroom.
"It wasn't much of a question,"
Johnson said about his decision to skip
class. "This is something that affects the
quality of the student body."
Event organizers said that although
the crowd was larger than last year's ral-
lies, the movement is stronger because
those who attended are dedicated to
progression of the cause.
"These are definitely the core people
that are building the movement,"
BAMN member Luke Massie said.
Across the street, LSA senior Matt
Phillips watched the rally as he waited
for a bus. Phillips said he attended
See ACTION, Page 2A
Mudbowl
tradition to
continue
By Jeimifer Yaclmin
Daily Staff Reporter
The 66th annual Mudbowl, sponsored by the Sigma Alpha
Epsilon fraternity, will be held Saturday despite the removal of
SAE's traditional opponent-the campus' chapter of Phi Delta
Theta fraternity - from campus Tuesday.
The proceeds from the event are normally donated to the
University Hospitals' Mott's Children's Hospital, but this year
the proceeds will be split between the hospital and a fund cre-
ated in memory of LSA first-year student Courtney Cantor,
who died Friday after falling from her sixth-floor Mary
Markley window.
The Phi Delta Theta national headquarters revoked the local
chapter's charter following an investigation that revealed the
fraternity had violated an alcohol-free housing policy initiated
in the spring of 1995. The investigation was spurned by
Cantor's death.
Cantor attended a party at the Phi Delta Theta fraternity
house, located at 1437 Washtenaw Avenue, after participating
in carry-in ceremonies at the Chi Omega sorority, where she
was a pledge.
Cantor was seen drinking at the party and reports released by
the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's office state her
blood alcohol level was 0.059. A blood alcohol level of .08
constitutes driving while impaired in Michigan.
All Phi Delta Theta chapters are scheduled to become alco-
hol free by July 1, 2000.
"Phi Delta Theta can't play (in Mudbowl) this year," said
SAE Vice President Kyle Krywko. "That part of the tradition
can't go on and we're upset about that."
Krywko said he could not publicly disclose the opponent
replacing Phi Delta Theta in this year's game.
Theta Chi member Chad Fernandez, an LSA sophomore,
said his fraternity has been invited to participate in the event,
but he said the house has not decided if it will.
SAE raises funds for the Mudbowl through local sponsors
and donations from SAE active members and alumni, said
Krywko, an LSA junior.
"At this time this will be the most important time to be giv-
ing to a philanthropy," Krywko said.
Half of the proceeds this year will be donated to the Courtney
Lisa Cantor Scholarship Fund for Student Travel to Israel, orga-
nized through Temple Israel of West Bloomfield, Mich.
The campus chapters of Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta
Delta Delta sororities are also invited to compete against each
other during halftime of the Mudbowl, which kicks-off at 9:55
a.m. Saturday
"If they canceled (Mudbowl) it would be a shame," said
Andrea Gomez, vice-president of public relations for Tri-Delt.
The Panhellenic Gavel Club - comprised of campus
sorority presidents - voted Tuesday to cancel all Greek
social activities for homecoming weekend in .honor of
Cantor, but because Mudbowl is a charity event and is not
governed by Panhel or the Interfraternity Council,. it was not
affected, Gomez said.
The Ann Arbor Fire Department assists the fraternity by pro-
viding water from fire hydrants, but has not yet agreed to do so
this year.
The AAFD "usually make a last minute appearance,"
Krywko said. "They usually come ... it's something they like to
do,"
Krywko said the University did not pressure the fraternity to
See MUDBOWL, Page A
AP PHOTO
Saline resident Aimee Bingham carries a sign as she and others attend an affirmative action rally
outside the Michigan Union yesterday. The 2 Days of Action continue on campus today.
Environment proposal unites candidates
By Mike Spahn
Daily Staff Reporter
*The sun shines, the birds chirp, and the sky radiates above
the beautiful green grass. A voice begins to talk
about the need for a cleaner, safer environment. i@fj&Do
Out walks U.S. Sen. Spencer Abraham (R- UtK H
Mich.), talking about redeveloping brownfields
and cleaning Michigan's air. But it seems a contra-
diction - the conservative U.S. senator talking
about his support for a ballot proposal that would
spend money to clean the environment, also citing
numerous other supporters from both parties.
Certainly, this scene extracted from a commer -_____
cial for the Clean Michigan Campaign, which
Gonsors Proposal C on November's ballot, displays the
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raw
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"greening" of both Abraham and Gov. John Engler, as sup-
porters and skeptics have charged.
Proposal C would allow the State of Michigan
f'o "@a to borrow up to $675 million to finance environ-
*5t@@ mental and natural resources protection programs.
. Part The money would focus on the clean-up of conta-
six of minated sites, improve water quality, repair parks
m n ei and prevent pollution in the future.
part Engler, the original sponsor of the proposal,
said that while borrowing money is not the ideal
IIway to pay for such an initiative, the state should
take advantage of the strong economy to borrow
this money.
"We can afford to borrow the money, and by authorizing
the borrowing now we're putting in place a funds source for
several years that will allow us to move much more aggres-
sively while the economy is strong," Engler said
The Clean Michigan Campaign pumped millions of dollars
into commercials for the proposal, featuring politicians from
across the state supporting the plan. Ed Sarpolus, spokesper-
son for the EPIC/MRA polling firm, said the proposal will
pass easily.
"They didn't have to spend a dollar on it, and it would
pass," Sarpolus said. "Basically, it was an opportunity for
everybody to look good and make some money."
Sarpolus said polling numbers last year showed Abraham
losing to "everybody in the state," and this is a way to help him
See PROPOSAL, Page 2A
Lab on a chip' facilitates DNA analysis Happy New Year
M Three 'U' professors collaborate
to engineer chip that will make
*NA analysis cheaper and easier
By Gerard Cohen-Vrlgnaud
Daily Staff Reporter
In the not-so-distant future, police officers may
be able to identify individual human DNA at a
crime scene within minutes.
Investigators might carry hand-held devices
engineering Prof. Carlos Mastrangelo have devel-
oped a prototype "lab on a chip," which could sig-
nificantly reduce the costs and difficulties associ-
ated with DNA testing.
To analyze DNA, scientists usually combine a
DNA mixture and enzymes, heat the blend, sepa-
rate the molecules by size and examine the
results.
Using current conventional methods, scientists
perform these steps separately. The whole process
would be combined by using computer chips.
hnei-~A nnfthe nanarnl wmnAA i rc a.nd hi c'fi-llnwt
ed by the National Institutes of Health's Human
Genome Project, only measures 1/2-centimeter-
by-3 centimeters and would cost about $6 to man-
ufacture, Burns said.
One of the chip's great advantages is its porta-
bility and ease of use. DNA could be analyzed by
a layman on site where it was collected. Police
detectives would no longer have to send away a
DNA sample to a laboratory and wait weeks for
the results.
"We'd like to take the laboratory to people who
ran licetait nn, lnntinrn " Ruarke.t.cnaul " re dn't h-
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