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One hundred eight years f editorial fredom

Thursday
March 11, 1999



Friends
remember
Groesbeck
By Jaimie Winkler
Daily Staff Reporter
Family and friends of University alum Christopher
Groesbeck remember him as caring and always willing to
help someone in need as they begin the healing process'fol-
l ing his tragic death.
oesbeck's life was cut short when his ex-girlfriend,
Natasha Qureshi, came into his apartment, slit her wrists,
then shot him in the chest before
shooting herself early Friday
morning. Their bodies were dis-
covered that afternoon by a friend
of Groesbeck's.
Groesbeck graduated from the
University last spring with a degree
in political science and history. At
the time of his death, he was still
. deciding whether to go to Rackham
Graduate School in June or begin
Christopher Groesbeck working toward obtaining a teach-
and his mom, Vicki Hill. ing certificate in August.
His mother, Vicki Hill, described
her only son as "everything good in the dictionary you can find?'
She recalled her son as loving, polite, intelligent and free-spirited.
"He hugged everybody and wasn't afraid to shed a tear,"
Vicki Hill said. "There'll never be another kid like him."
Vicki Hill said some ofher son's favorite activities were watch-
ing cartoons and Oakland Raiders' football games on television.
I e's a big kid. He loved cartoons," she said.
riends described Groesbeck as a person who loved life
and lived it to the fullest, often eating 10 Snickers bars a day
and driving more than 80 miles an hour.
Groesbeck's roommate Jacques Kobersy, said Groesbeck
had a "joie de vivre" or joy of life, that personified him.
He said when Qureshi murdered Groesbeck "she took life
that bubbled from his eyes, his smile and his actions. She
took from him the friends and family who loved him, and that
is something we will never recover from."
Hill speculated Groesbeck's caring nature caused Qureshi
to ut her wrists because she knew it would entice him to
ce toward her, allowing her to then shoot him.
See GROESBECK, Page 7A
Proposal could
boost tuition
ollinger tells House committee that
budget could force large increase
By Nick Bunkley
Daily Staff Reporter
LANSING - Gov. John Engler's fiscal year 2000 budget
recommendation would cause the University to raise tuition
rates significantly, University President Lee Bollinger told
the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher
Education yesterday.
Testifying before the committee, Bollinger said the fund-
i jncrease recommended for Michigan's public universities
i ngler's proposal "would not allow us to do what we think
we should be doing."
Engler's proposal includes a 4 percent overall increase in
higher education spending, but a new distribution method
would mean the University could see no more than a 3 per-
cent funding increase. But if next year's increase in tuition
rates is not kept below 3 percent, the University would forfeit
half that amount, resulting in only 1.5 percent more money in
the coming year.
"If we receive only 1.5 percent in state appropriations,"
ginger said, "we think we will have to propose a tuition
increase of between 4 and 5 per-
cent in order to maintain the qual-
ity of the institution."

Last year, tuition rose 3.7 per- al
cent, preceded by 2.9 and 3 per-
cent increases the previous two
years.
Educational quality was a recur-
rent theme of Bollinger's presenta-
tion, during which he told commit- Budget proposal
tee members that a proposed four-
tifunding method disregards the unique needs of the
University - which Bollinger labeled "one of the greatest
research universities in the United States."
The proposal groups universities into tiers based on per-
student funding.
When questioned about the tier system by Rep. John Jellema
(R-Grand Haven), Bollinger expressed disapproval of the pro-
posal, which he also emphasized in a written statement to sub-
committee Chair Rep. Sandy Caul (R-Mt. Pleasant).
"We do think that a formula is an unwise way to go about
th rocess," Bollinger said.
e proposal places the University in the tier with the
highest funding level, along with Michigan State University,
Wayne State University and Michigan Technological
University. The University would receive no additional fund-
ing from its tier under the proposal, which Bollinger said
should be more subjective and less reliant on numerical data.
"In my view, and in the view of legislators, governors and

GEO

members

unite

DHANI JONES/Daily
ABOVE:
Second-year
mathematics
graduate
student
Stephen
Keith, a GEO
member,
participates
in the two
day walkout
of GSis
yesterday.
RIGHT:
GEO
supporters
protest in
front of the
LSA building
yesterday.

Results of
walkout
debated
By Nick Falzone
Daily Staff Reporter
As shouts such as "Three, five, seven, nine, do not
cross our picket lines" and "Solidarity forever" rang
throughout the air yesterday, many members of the
University community became fully aware of the
Graduate Employees Organization's dissatisfaction with
its current contract with the University.
GEO Chief Negotiator Eric Odier-Fink said he
believes the walkout was a success, visibly, for his orga-
nization, stating that five major television networks --
ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and UPN - all covered the
protest yesterday. Odier-Fink said the amount of cover-
age the event received was proof that the average citizen
cares about graduate student dissatisfaction at the
University.
But University spokesperson Julie Peterson said she
believed classes continued yesterday largely uninterrupt-
ed by GEO's protest. Peterson said of the 11,850 under-
graduate classroom hours taught weekly at the
University, 34 percent - 4,050 - are headed by gradu-
ate student instructors. Peterson said that since less than
one-third of the University's approximately 1,600 GSIs
walked out yesterday, most classes met as scheduled.
GEO officials said many of the organization's members
chose not to teach classes, stating 250 graduate student
instructors stepped out onto the picket lines yesterday.
But not all GSIs are members of GEO and many of
them, such as Leslie Stafford, taught their classes yester-
day in spite of the walkout.
Stafford, a GSI who teaches a Spanish class, said
while she understands why GEO members chose to
walkout, she is satisfied with what she receives from the
University.
Stafford said she felt awkward she had to cross a pick-
et line in order to teach her class, but said she expects
GEO members to respect her right to teach her students
as she respects their right to picket.
"Some of the GSIs on the picket line were somewhat
hostile to me as I walked by," Stafford said. "They
seemed to be shocked I was holding a class."
The walkout, which lasted for 10-and-a-half hours -
from 7:30 a m. to 6 p.m. - was met with mixed emo-
tions from much of the undergraduate student body.
Some students, such as LSA senior Monica Patchen,
chose to carry on their days normally and attend classes
despite GEO's request that they stay out of University
buildings.
Patchen said she went to her classes yesterday, taking
special care to attend her lecture, because she knew she
would still be tested on the material presented. Patchen
added that since she has a test today she did not want to
miss a review session being held by a GSI in one of her
classes yesterday.
But Patchen, like some undergraduate students, said
she still believes GSIs deserve more financial recogni-
tion for the work they do with undergraduates.
"I think they teach a lot of our classes," Patchen said.
"We have a better relationship with them than with most
of our professors. I think they deserve a raise though I
See GEO, Page 5A

Contract negotiations are
underway for GEO members

By Nick Falzone
Daily Staff Reporter
Recently, negotiations between the
University and the Graduate
Employees Organization have been
described as lackluster by both sides
- stalled and seemingly unending.
GEO members said their disappoint-
ment with the University's lack of
movement on their issues was one of
their primary reasons for staging a
walkout yesterday and today.

But as GEO's protest drew to a
close yesterday, the organization's bar-
gaining team met with the University
once more and presented them with a
new package, one that might settle the
contract negotiations sooner than
Chief University Negotiator Dan
Gamble anticipated.
"Our team believes we're reaching
what should be the end of negotia-
tions," Gamble said, adding that he
was not expecting to receive the pack-

age at all, especially immediately after
GEO had been protesting its contract.
GEO Chief Negotiator Eric Odier-
Fink said he also felt optimistic about
the University's response to the pack-
age, saying he believed the debating
sides could sign a temporary agree-
ment at today's negotiation session.
"It would not surprise me at all if we
were done" today, Odier-Fink said.
CEO's former package was com-
See NEGOTIATION, Page 5A

Learning the inside of local government

By Kelly O'Connor
Daily Staff Reporter
Some Ann Arbor residents got a taste yes-
terday of what local government does as they
gathered for a day-long conference on the
subject in the Michigan Union.
The participants are involved with
Leadership Ann Arbor, a seminar sponsored
by the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce for
new and current residents who want to expe-
rience first-hand the different aspects of the
local community.
There are about 48 participants in this year's
class who meet monthly to learn about every-

thing from Michigan's prison system to how
health care works in the state. The conferences
usually include a visit to an organization or
facility involved with the day's topic.
Yesterday's "Local Government and U-M
Day" began with a look at local politicians'
jobs and included other activities such as a tour
of the William L. Clements Library and a panel
discussion on different aspects of the
University.
David Skaff, leadership co-chair for the
conference, said it tries to bring together peo-
ple from all occupations.
"It gives a broad cross section of people who

are leaders in the community," Skaff said,
adding that program organizers strive each year
to improve the program in any way they can.
Program participant Marty Nisbet said he
joined the group to learn more about the Ann
Arbor area after his recent move from
Ontario, Canada.
Nisbet said part of the program allows
each participant to visit a facility or organi-
zation in the community and spend the day
there. Nisbet chose Dawn Farm of Ypsilanti,
a fully functional farm that houses people
recovering from substance abuse problems.
"They slop the pigs, they feed the chickens,

they raise rabbits," he said. "It's an opportuni-
ty to go see it. When else could you?"
Speaking on everything from the "junior
high" behavior between legislators of oppos-
ing parties to the current debate over Gov.
John Engler's plan to shift power in the
Detroit public schools, State Rep. John
Hansen (R-Dexter) gave listeners a candid
look at the journey that lead him to his job.
Hansen said once he decided to run for the
seat and take "a 50-percent pay cut," finding
a way to raise the money to run his campaign
and attracting votes was a challenge that did-
See HANSEN, Page 7A

UT prof. discusses wake
of admissions decision

By Sarah Lewis
Daily Staff Reporter
In 1996 Sheryl Hopwood, a white student who
was denied admission to the UT's law school,
brought a lawsuit against the school, arguing that
several black students with lower admissions
scores than hers were admitted.
In March of 1996, the Hopwood case was

The ruling covered programs like admissions poli-
cies, minority recruitment and scholarships.
David Montejano, an assistant professor of his-
tory and sociology at UT and the director of its
Center for Mexican-American studies, spoke on
the repercussions of the Hopwood case at the
Michigan Union yesterday.
Montejano said the initial reaction on campus was


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