LOCAL/S TATE
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 13, 1999 -- 3
EDUCATION
Ohio student
investigated for
unterfeting
John Swieton, a first-year student at
Ohio University, was charged Jan. 7 at
the Athens County Municipal Court in
Ohio for carrying a false identification.
More than $5,000 of fake $20
bills were found in a search of
S.Wieton's residence hall room, and
the case is being turned over to the
US. Secret Service.
.;.-The case was dismissed from the
rnicipal court on Jan. 8 because it is
a federal case and the state no
longer has jurisdiction.
Yale prof. suspect
in student murder
Yale University political science
lecturer James Van De Velde had his
class canceled for this semester
because he was named as a suspect for
t murder of Yale senior Suzanne
n .
Van De Velde saw Jovin the night of
her death, Dec. 4, 1998, a mile away
from campus. Van De Velde was Jovin's
senior thesis adviser.
Yale officials said they suspended
Vn De Velde's classes to allow him to
cgpcentrate on his research and do not
wish to implicate him in the murder.
Lyme disease
ccine created
UC-Irvine
Lyme disease is the nation's most
prominent tick-borne illness.
A vaccine created by University of
California at Irvine researcher Alan
Baybour may soon help to counteract
the 10,000 cases of lyme disease that
are contracted each year.
The vaccine was approved by the
Fid and Drug Administration on Dec.
2 . It is ready for immediate distribu-
tion. Improvements are being made to
the vaccine to raise the success rate and
decrease the number of shots necessary
for vaccination.
Missouri officer
alleges racial
discrimination
*ormer campus police officer
James Anderson is suing the University
of Missouri at St. Louis under Chapter
VII of the Civil Rights Act claiming
"unlawful employment practices."
1Anderson said the department dis-
cniinates against black employees, by
inequitable pay, unfair treatment by
superiors and promotion procedures.
;Anderson was fired from his post
I spring after being charged with the
a ult of a prisoner. He was acquitted
of the crime last month.
Harvard accepts
Mlore students in
early admissions
In December, Yale offered 529
students early admission for the fall
1999 semester, leaving plenty of
rW for students applying to the
ersity under regular admissions.
Conversely, Harvard offered 1,186
students early admissions, leaving
only 464 spots for regular admis-
sions students.
;Because nearly 85 percent of stu-
deots accept their admission to
Harvard, Yale officials said admis-
sion is going to be very tough for
students applying for regular deci-
s' .
at year, nearly 48 percent of
Harvard's incoming .students were
admitted early decision.
Florida students
start gay fraternities
Martina Williams, a Santa Fe
Community College student, began
Gamma Alpha Psi three-years ago as a
gay, bisexual and transgendered frater-
n
ow, Williams, along with 30 other
SFCC and University of Florida stu-
dents, have organized themselves into
an official gay fraternity and plan to
begin Rush next week.
Although Gamma Alpha Psi does
not have a national chapter,
Williams said they plan to apply to
be part of the National
In fraternity Council.
- Compiled by Daily Staff"
Reporter Lauren Gibbs.
Progress slow in GEO contract negotiations
By Nick Faizone
Daily Staff Reporter
Although a meeting of the Graduate Employees
Organization and the University reduced tension
between the two groups earlier this week, GEO
members still believe significant progress must be
made to reach a settlement before its current con-
tract expires Feb. 1.
"The tone of the first session was positive,"
said Andrea Westland, chair of the GEO bar-
gaining committee. "However, we still haven't
seen much movement on the big issues such as
pay for international (graduate student instruc-
tors) training, the wage proposal and affirma-
tive action," Westland said.
But Dan Gamble, chief University negotiator, said
he is pleased with how the negotiations are going.
"I think things are going to progress positively
from here on out," said Gamble, who is, the
University's associate academic human resources
director. "We have talked the issues through and
we can now begin to get more serious."
GEO chief negotiator Eric Odier-Fink said
that while the University "started off the term
on a good foot with us," many of GEO's most
crucial issues have been left unresolved.
"The tone at the bargaining table is good,
but they owed us a counterproposal on wages,"
Odier-Fink said. "They said they not only did-
n't have one for us (Monday), but they implied
there wasn't one in the works. This is going to
make many GEO members angry."
GEO wants to increase GSI average month-
ly income by 37 percent, which would include
a 27 percent increase in wages and a wave of
the GSI registration fee.
Gamble said that while he hopes to present a
counterproposal on wages at a negotiation
meeting tomorrow, he does not feel GEO's
wage request is realistic. "The 37 percent
increase they're asking for is pretty ambi-
tious," Gamble said.
Although GEO and the University have not
reached an agreement on wages, they
approved two proposals Monday, the first of
which altered parts of CEO's health care poli-
cies, which are included in its contract. With
the alteration, the University must give a 60-day
notice to all GEO members before it makes a
change in University health care policies.
Prior to Monday, Gamble said, the University did
not have to inform GSIs of these changes.
"Although there was no language in the con-
tract, we made them aware of the changes nev-
ertheless," Gamble said.
Westland said GEO now has a better oppor-
tunity to examine more carefully the
University's health care alterations, such as
dropping or adding H MO vendors.
"Before, there wasn't a set time," Westland
said. "We wanted to make sure we had ample
time to investigate the effects of the changes
for graduate students and organize against
them if necessary."
GEO and the University also agreed upon a pro-
posal concerning GSI grievance procedures,
Gamble said. Previously, when GSIs were working
more hours than their contracts stipulated, they first
had to address their concerns to their department
chair instead of their immediate supervisors.
"This new agreement allows GSIs to bring
their concerns to their supervisors at an earli-
er stage in the procedure," Gamble said.
Gone fishin'
MLK march sponsored
by new campus grou p
By Yae Kohen
Daily Staff Reporter
After 12 years of organizing the Martin Luther King Day
March, the Black Student Union has decided to cancel this
year's march, stating that it is no longer effective in pushing
the University towards progressive change,
The United for Affirmative Action organization, after
learning the march would be canceled, rescheduled it as one
of the events that they will sponsor on Martin Luther King
Day on Monday.
The first Martin Luther King Day march began as a protest
in 1987 "in response to racial incidents directed at the Black
community and the University's refusal to recognize Martin
Luther King Day," according to a press release issued by
Jujuan Buford, speaker of the Black Student Union.
The University has since recognized Martin Luther King
Day and has taken other measures to aid minority student
organizations. Since 1987, the march has been an annual
event.
This year the BSU canceled the march, stating that it
believes it is no longer as effective as it once was.
"The protest aura of it is no longer in it," Buford said,
adding that "it's not a protest anymore, it's commemorative."
But Luke Massie, member of the Coalition to Defend
Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary, disagrees. "It
should be more than a commemoration of a great man.
"We feel that this year's MLK Day march is particularly
important ... to take a stand against racism," Massie said.
Massie said racism still exists on campus. Black student
enrollment has dropped and the continuation of minority pro-
grams has been threatened, Massie said.
But through the years, the number of people attending the
march has decreased, Buford said. The march held on MLK
Day "doesn't seem to provoke students to come out anymore."
"There are other avenues to utilize to further our struggle.
besides marches and rallies" Buford said, adding that teach-ins
and seminars are examples of ways to reach students.
"It is time to explore other opportunities," he said.
The Martin Luther King Day Symposium includes semi-
nars, art exhibitions, lecturers and other events, as well as the
march, scheduled for the next three weeks in honor of Martin
Luther King Day.
Damon Williams, program coordinator for the Academic
Office of Multi-Cultural Initiatives said "I think the day will be
a positive day whether BSU has the march or the United for
Affirmative Action has the march, or if anyone has a march."
Buford agrees: "The BSU is not sponsoring the MLK Day
March, but does support the issues of the day."
But members of the UAA, who are holding the march, see
it as an effective way to unify students against racism.
"We wanted to incorporate the fight for affirmative action
... and the integration in the school systems from kinder-
garten on,' said Michigan Student Assembly Rackham Rep.
Jessica Curtin, first-year student.
Other organizations on campus have joined the UAA in
sponsoring the MLK Day march and an invitation has been
extended to the BSU to join them in their protest, Massie said.
"The march is on and we're expecting a large turnout;"
Massie said.
In the end "most people don't know who sponsors what,"
Williams said, adding that people will go to what they want
despite the change in sponsorship.
AP PHOTO
Denny Stacey, 16, ice fishes on Grahm Lake in Battle Creek, Mich. The ice where
Stacey was fishing was 8 inches thick yesterday.
Ho usin offering
Ramadan meal plan
COME AND WRITE FOR THE DAILY! ATTEND A MASS MEETING
AT 7:30 TONIGHT IN THE STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BUILDING.
420 AYNARD ST.
ADDITIONAL MEETINGS JAN. 19 AND 21.
N Some muslim students
fast from sunrise to sun-
set this month
By Yae Kohen
Daily Staff Reporter
Muslim students who fast during
the month-long holiday of Ramadan
don't have to lose all of their money
on residence hall meals they don't
eat.
During Ramadan, many Muslim
students fast from sunrise to sunset
every day. This year, the holiday
began Dec. 20 and ends Monday or
Tuesday.
Students who want to get a partial
rebate for the meals they miss for
Ramadan must fill out a request
form at the University Housing
Office before 5 p.m. Friday.
Housing will credit 70 percent of
the meals to students Entree Plus
accounts. This percentage works out
to $3.15 for lunch and $4.13 for din-
ner.
"The other 30 percent is a fixed
cost assessed that is retained by
housing," said Alan Levy, director of
Housing public affairs.
Education junior Ayesha Hai, a
member of the Muslim Students'
Association, said the fast "is a boost
for spirituality" and helps Muslims
concentrate more on religion and
God.
"The fast is a religious obliga-
tion" said Near Eastern Studies
associate Prof. Sherman Jackson.
Students can use Entree Plus in all
residence hall cafeterias and at
snack bars across campus. Any
unused Entree Plus dollars will be
credited to students' accounts at the
end this semester.
Levy said about 50-60 students
apply for Ramadan meal rebates
each year, but numbers are even
lower this year.
Levy attributes the low number of
applications this school year to the
timing of Ramadan and the
inclement weather, which has made
getting back to campus difficult for
some University students.
For these reasons, University
Housing has extended the applica-
tion deadline from this past Monday
to Friday, Levy said.
During Ramadan, Muslims must
wait until after sunset to eat or
drink, Hai said.
"Overall we usually get 30 to 40
people" who eat together after sun-
rise at either a restaurant or some-
body's house, she said. "We try to
eat together."
The holiday meal plan for reli-
giously observant students began in
1991 as a collaboration between
University Housing and the Muslim
Students' Association, Levy said.
"It is part of (Housing's) recogni-
tion of diversity on campus," Levy
said.
Jackson described the alternative
meal plan as an expression of the
University's good will.
"If this reimbursement is indica-
tive of what the University's attitude
has been, then that's a good thing,"
Jackson said.
Housing extends the option of an
alternative meal plan to students for
other religious holidays, including
Jewish students who observe
Passover.
I
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NOBODY lives by BREAD alone.
So we throw in SOUP & SALAD, too.
UNLIMITED SOUP, SALAD & BREADSTICKS LUNCH: $4,95!
-When we say unlimited soup, salad and
\-- breadsticks, we're not kidding. So even
though it's only $4.95, you still get as much as you want of all
three - fresh garden salad, warm garlic breadsticks and great
I -41 11i -
/& 1°,1 I lJ I)/A
5l
oups like our Zuppa Toscana.
I i .
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