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One hundred eightyears ofeditorzfreedom
Tuesday
March 9, 1999
Vol clx@x5/1
GEO fi alines
plans
forwaout
By Nick Faizono
Daily Staff Reporter
After almost five months of negotiations -
and less than 24 hours before the Graduate
Employees Organization plans to hold a walkout
in protest of what it believes is a mediocre con-
tr with the University - many GEO mem-
bO said they are unhappy with what the
University has to offer them.
GEO spokesperson Chip Smith said the
University has left the organization with no
choice but to demonstrate its dissatisfaction
through a job action.
"There isn't a single member of GEO who
wants to go on strike, who wants to stop their
teaching and research to protest," Smith said.
"But the University is forcing us to walkout;
0es
Details o
Members remain dissatisfied with University
they're saying 'Let us see what you've got."'
GEO Chief Negotiator Eric Odier-Fink agreed,
stating that the University is provoking GEO to
"make us show our teeth" by its lack of movement
on the organization's most important issues.
But University Chief Negotiator Dan Gamble
said the University is not trying to push GEO to
do anything radical and is actually discouraging
the organization from walking out tomorrow.
"The University is not trying to test anything,"
Gamble said. "We believe there is nothing more
harmful to undergraduates than interrupting
their education."
Gamble said the University encourages under-
graduates to break the picket lines of protesting
graduate student instructors to ensure the contin-
uation of their educational process. He added that
the University has also recommended faculty
members cover the discussion sections of GSIs
who choose to walkout tomorrow and Thursday.
But Odier-Fink said he believes the
University's behavior is immoral - demonstrat-
ing that Gamble in particular has neither respect
for GEO members nor their concerns.
"Gamble says we're hurting undergrads just so
he can say we're greedy, horrible people," Odier-
Fink said. "But if we're so terrible, why are most
of us trying to get a contract that we'll never work
under? I'm not paid a dime for any of the work I
do (negotiating the contract) and I haven't had a
life since these negotiations began."
Odier-Fink said although he will graduate
from the University in April, his and other mem-
bers' work will benefit future generations of
GSIs throughout the country.
Gamble said neither he nor the University is
trying to present GEO in a negative light, adding
that his goal is to settle the contract with the
organization.
But Odier-Fink said this is impossible because
both sides disagree so strongly on one of the
most integral negotiation issues - fraction
recalculation for GSIs.
Currently, the University is proposing all GSls
with a .4 appointment - those who work
approximately 40 percent of the hours of a full-
time faculty member - be given .5 appoint-
ments. But Odier-Fink is disappointed with this
proposal, since it only affects about 500 GEO
members with a .4 appointment and not its entire
membership.
Smith said since this distribution is not equi-
table it does not address GEO's concern that all
of its members receive a living wage, adding that
every cent of the salary he receives from his .25
See GEO, Page 7
DISK DESPAIR
murder
continue
to emerge
by laimle Winkler
Daily Staff Reporter
Days after the sudden and tragic
deaths of a University student and
alum, those who knew the victims are
still trying to make sense of the puz-
zj tragedy - and cope with the con-
s ences.
A friend discovered the bodies of
LSA senior Natasha Qureshi and her
boy friend
Christopher
Groesbeck, a
recent University
graduate, Friday
afternoon at
Groesbeck 's
apartment on East
Kingsley Street.
Both died early
Friday morning
Qureshi as a result of gun-
shot wounds.
LSA junior Melissa Jones, who lives in
the Kingsley complex, went on a Spring
Break trip to Toronto with Qureshi,
Jones' boyfriend and a mutual friend.
Jones remembered meeting Qureshi at
a irthday party for the friend. "She was
her boyfriend Chris," Jones said,
adding that did not see Qureshi or
Groesbeck much after the initial meeting.
When Qureshi was invited to
Toronto, "she had just broken up with
her boyfriend," Jones said. "I didn't
mind -- she seemed very friendly.
Everyone had a great time. I didn't
sense any sadness or anger in her'
During the weekend trip to Toronto,
Jones said, Qureshi never talked about
an thing personal, including her rela-
t ship with her parents or boyfriend.
An autopsy performed by the
Washtenaw County Medical Examiner
revealed that Qureshi "sliced her wrists,
shot him (Groesbeck) three times then
shot herself in the head." said Ann Arbor
Police Department Sgt. Michael Logghe,
adding that the bullet that killed
Groesbeck went through his lung and two
other shots penetrated his neck and chest.
£I ureshi and Groesbeck had been
ng offand on for nearly a year-and-
a-half, Logghe said, but police were
never involved in previous disputes.
The two lived in the same apartment
building. Similar Valentine's Day stick-
ers still hung in both of their apartment
windows on Sunday.
See MURDER, Page 7
faculty
By Nika Schulte
Daily Staff Reporter
Students who are hesitant to attempt
more than one concentration but are
interested in pursuing an additional field
of study may be able to work toward a
minor as early as next fall semester.
At an LSA faculty meeting yesterday,
more than 50 members unanimously
approved a resolution that will change
the faculty code to incorporate academic
minors into the LSA curriculum.
During the meeting, LSA
Student Government representa-
tives implored the faculty to
approve the resolution, which
had already been approved by the
curriculum committee and the
LSA executive committee.
LSA-SG representative Steve
Sharpe asked the faculy to join
the many universities across the coun-
try that already offer the opportunity to
formally explore subjects that they do
not want to major in because they may
not be considered "marketable."
"Peer universities offer the option
and don't lose any credibility by doing
so" Sharpe said.
After the vote was taken, both stu-
dents and faculty broke into applause.
"I am absolutely elated." said LSA
junior Jeff Harris, a member of LSA-SG.
"This shows the faculty is excited about
having the major/minor program."
While Harris said he is excited about
the options the resolution presents, he
indicated that the "real work" is just
beginning.
"This was really the easy part. Most
of the work is ahead of us," Harris said.
Associate Dean for Undergraduate
Education Robert Owen said yester-
day's vote does not finalize the details
because each department will be
responsible for developing the curricu-
lum and working out specifics.
The vote "is the green light for the
process to continue within the individ-
ual departments," Owen said.
Owen stressed that all departments are
not required to offer minors nor
implement them by a certain time.
"It is up to individual depart-
ments if they wish," Owen said.
LSA Interim Dean Pat Gurin
said current students may be
able to take advantage of the
program if departments move
fast enough.
But Robert Megginson, who chaired
the task force that explored the option
of offering minors at the University,
said departments that do choose to
develop a minor curriculum will have
to have their programs approved by the
curriculum committee before imple-
mentation.
Interim Romance Languages and
Literature Department Chair Steven
Dworkin, who attended last night's
meeting, said he would be surprised if
his department did not develop a minor
program.
"The romance department accom-
modates the educational needs of stu-
dents," Dworkin said.
See MINORS, Page 2
JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily
LSA first-year student Rachael Hopkins sends e-mails to her friends as her younger sister Maddie watches. The two
were working In the Angell Hall Computing Site yesterday.
Some studelt unhappy
Wticomp,-uter upgrades~
By Nick Bunkley
Daily Staff Reporter
Information Technology Division
staff members spent Spring Break
installing all new computers in the
Angell Hall Computing Site, but not all
students said they are happy with the
changes.
The site's new Macintosh computers
do not have floppy disk drives -
meaning students must find alternate
methods to save and transfer their files.
"Disk drives are an issue, in that
there isn't one," said Karin Mayer, an
Engineering senior who was using
one of the new Macintosh computers
yesterday.
Dino Anastasia, manager of ITD
Campus Computing Sites, said he is
aware that some students have com-
plained about the lack of disk drives.
"However, it should be noted that
Apple Computers no longer makes a
computer with a floppy disk drive in
it," Anastasia said.
Nathalie Welch, a products
spokesperson for the California-based
Apple Computers, said the company
decided to nix floppy disk drives in its
newest line of Macintosh computers
for several reasons.
"The three main things that the flop-
py disk drive was invented for are no
longer valid," Welch said, adding that
quicker and more advanced methods
are available for the file storage, hard
drive backups and software distribution
that floppy drives used to handle.
Welch said e-mail provides a reli-
able way to send files between sever-
al computers, eliminating the need for
a floppy disk.
Another option for University stu-
dents is storage space on the
Institutional File System network,
which allots each student a private file
directory accessible from any computer.
The problem with IFS, said LSA
senior Tibor Tuske, is that it is unreli-
able and many students are unfamiliar
with its use. While writing a paper in
the Angell Hall Computing Site yes-
terday afternoon, Tuske said the com-
puter he was using would not let him
save to IFS.
Anastasia said ITD is "in the
See COMPUTERS, Page 7
Shake it
I
Steinem to visit
U,' give speech
By Yael Kohen
Daily Staff Reporter
Gloria Steinem, one of the nation's
most renowned feminists and political
activists, plans to speak at the
1 versity on Thursday as part of the
ce ebration of Women's History
Month.
"She is one of the most popular,
widely known and powerful feminists
of our time;" said LSA senior Colette
Stevenson, a member of the Speaker
Tn:fv t a asrsi - -:ron^7 C.P: -i' s
University's Hillel chapter, but was
entirely organized by students.
"We've done every single thing -
including getting the funding" from
faculty, Stevenson said.
Ticket distribution to students
began yesterday at the Michigan
Union Ticket Office and will continue
until 1 p.m. today, after which time
tickets will become available to the
entire community. Each student is eli-
gible to receive two tickets free of
r.h ra
St..nm
speech:
11When:
~Thursday
7:30 pA~m. to
X "pickets
Michign
Office untl
Ip~m,
today.
Welfare role
new for reps.
By Emina Sendljarevic
Daily Staff Reporter
During the month of March, more than 65 Michigan
legislators plan to participate in a program that will
allow them to learn more about their local welfare pro-
grams.
The "Walk a Mile" project, sponsored by the Michigan
League for Human Services, is an attempt at more interac-
tion between the legislators and their welfare-receiving con-
stituents.
As part of the project, some Michigan legislators are
matched with a local welfare family by the local sponsoring'
JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily
r~r n pnd niim sltnthe wa1kwav4 awned by Ann Arbor Reality Inc.
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