One hundred nine years ofeditonaifreedom
Friday
January 28, 2000
Weather
Today: Blistering, like Bill C.'s Hibiao
Tomorrow: Frigid, like George W.'s wife
Will;
angler
gives
little
to
state
schools
State budget appropriates 2.5 percent to 15 state universities
Jeremy Wu-Tang Peters
ply Staff Reportero
LANSING - According to Gov. John
Engler's Fiscal Year 2001 budget recommenda-
tion, state universities will receive a 2.5 percent
across-the-board 'increase - an amount that
falls well short of what University officials and
many state legislators would liked to have seen.
"We requested an increase close to 5 percent,"
Vice President for Government Relations
Synthia Wilbanks said. "It's what I consider a
rting point," she added.
The funding set aside for higher education
was the source of much debate yesterday after-
noon when State Budget Director Mary Lannoye
revealed the governor's budget recommendation
before a joint session of the state House and
Senate Appropriations committees. Republicans
and Democrats alike expressed concern that the
increases proposed are not sufficient.
Rep. Hubert Price (D-Pontiac) voiced his dis-
content for the proposed 2.5 percent increase.
"I will have a hard time going back to my dis-
trict and explaining why there is an 8 percent
increase in funding for corrections and only a 3
percent increase for higher education," he said.
"At this level it's not fair to ask the universities
to hold tuition increases at 3 percent," said Sen.
John Schwarz (R-Battle Creek), chair of the
Senate Appropriations Higher Education
Subcommittee.
The governor's budget stipulates that any state
university not holding their tuition increase
below 3 percent will be subject to a 1.5 percent
reduction in their base level funding for the
Fiscal Year 2002.
Schwarz said he plans to provide the universi-
ties with enough money so they do not have to
raise tuition significantly.
"We'll try to get enough money in so they can
hold it at 3 percent;" he said.
Wilbanks said she could not yet predict how
the proposed funding levels could impact the
University's tuition.
"It is certainly true that the levels of state
appropriations do have an affect on tuition, but it
is early at this conjecture to speculate what affect
this will have on tuition," she said.
Currently, the state's universities are funded
on a five-tier system that places each school into
a minimum per pupil funding tier. This "floor
funding" suggests, but does not mandate, a level
of state spending for each school.
The University is in the top tier with a funding
floor of $9,000. Because the funding floors are a
suggested minimum amount, it is proposed the
University will receive $9,471 per pupil for the
fiscal year 2001.
Michigan State University is also in the top
tier but its funding does not reach the suggested
level. Instead, it falls below the funding floor at
$7,905 for the fiscal year 2001 mainly due to the
school's large student population.
The bottom tier, which contains schools such
as Grand Valley State University and the
University of Michigan's Flint campus, has a
funding floor of $4,500 per student.
With four other state universities falling
below the funding floor of their respective
tiers, there was much clamor yesterday for an
overall increase in state spending on higher
education.
"We have a caste system ... and it is wrong
that we don't fund our schools at truly equitable
levels," said Sen. Mike Goschka (R-Saginaw).
Price, one of yesterday's more outspoken
opponents of the governor's budget, added, "I
don't know how we can continue down a path
where we provide more for corrections than for
higher education and community colleges."
Prof. talks
6tbout
kinds of
sex drives
By Tiffany Maggard
Daily Staff Reporter
"Promiscuity - the topic excites
i e, or maybe it's just the research on it
that does," said social psychologist and
University alum Carol Travis as she
enticed a crowd of 250 students in
Rackham Amphitheater yesterday. Her
lecture probed revealing research
regarding the presumed differences in
the sex-drive between males and
females.
Travis is both a fellow of the
American Psychological Association
9 a columnist for the Los Angeles
Times and The New York Times.
She said her new research confirms
that there is little or no genetic differ-
ence in the sexuality of men and
women.
In a speech titled "From Penis Envy
to Promiscuity: Our Changing Theories
of Gender," Travis said that the
Freudian theory of penis envy and the
rwinian theory of male promiscuity
Sfemale monogamy are bias models
for explaining sex differences.
"My college professor told me that
my desire to go to graduate school was
the result of penis envy. People actual-
ly take this idea seriously. They think
that when a three-year-old girl sees a
boy naked for the first time, she is
stricken with admiration at this magnif-
icent boyish appendage."
Travis explained that her research
ets Freud's theory, which asserts
penis envy causes females to feel
subordinate to men.
She said even modern explanations
for sex differences are merely forms of
biological determinism that fail to take
into account the concepts of the learn-
ing theory, which attributes behavior to
culture and experiences throughout
life.
"This reductionist temptation to
*leve that biology is everything is no
more important than my old belief that
the environment is everything;' Travis
said.
Travis explained that previous
research on sexuality failed to disprove
the idea that females are sexually sub-
ordinate to males and because of this,
the media and the scientific communi-
ty's views on sexuality are ideological
and skewed.
With this perception, she explained,
J previous research proliferates ideas
t at females are sexually inferior and
that males are uncontrollably promis-
cuous by nature.
"I always wonder about all of these
studies of men having so much sex.
"Don't you wonder who these few
busy women are?," Travis asked.
Travis said more accurate modern
evidence on sexuality disproves many
4 ,arwin's theories that men are natu-
y driven to spread their genetic
material to greater humanity.
The new evidence, she said, exempli-
fies the fact that females were actually
just as sexually active throughout the
evolution of mankind.
Travis said such evidence has been
The last hurrah
Request could
push lawsuits
against U' back
By Michael Grass
West Quad Bureau Chief
The trial dates for the two admissions lawsuits
facing the University could be delayed by one year
if a federal court grants an extension to lawyers
seeking for additional time for trial preparation.
In 1997, the Washington, D.C.-based Center for
Individual Rights filed two lawsuits against the
University, charging that their clients were unfairly
denied admission to the University Law School and
College of Literature, Sciences and the Arts because
of the use of race as a factor in applicant evaluation.
The motion, filed by the lawyers representing a
coalition of students allowed to intervene in the cases,
asks for the period of discovery - a time to review
and study trial evidence - to be extended to Aug. 31.
The discovery phase for the -cases is currently
scheduled to end in March.
"The anti-affirmative action case depends on a
very simple lie, but the truth, which is what the
students intend to bring into the court room, is
very complicated. That is why we need more
time," said Miranda Massie, a lawyer representing
student intervenors in the Law School case.
In August, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in
Cincinnati overturned a lower court's ruling bar-
ring the students from intervening in the cases.
With that ruling, the students are the first to be
allowed to become intervenors in a case dealing
with affirmative action.
If a federal judge denies the motion and the cur-
rent schedule is followed, the trials will begin this
summer.
When that schedule was set last August, Massie
said she had a few hesitations with the time frame.
"We expressed concern at the time," she said.
Massie contends in order to have a fair trial, she,
the other defense attorneys, the student intervenors
and expert witnesses need more time to prepare.
"The truth is complicated," Massie said.
But Massie said she expects CIR to attempt to
block the motion.
"I expect that the plaintiff's lawyer will contest
this motion," she said.
_ Terry Pell, senior legal counsel for CIR, said
since he had not seen the motion, he could not give
comment on the matter.
Massie said the time frame the motion would set
is adequate to finish the discovery process.
"Those time frames are absolutely not inflated
by a day," Massie said.
According to the motion, expert reports would
be submitted by the end of July, with the discovery
period coming to a close Aug. 31.
Final motions would be submitted by Nov. 15
See LAWSUIT, Page 2
FOUND ON THE SERVER/Daily
Working the last nightside of their lives, the Daily's outgoing editors know that their post-Daily
lives aren't looking too bright.
Clinton proposes $350 billion taxcut,
more health care, education funding
WASHINGTON (AP) -President Clinton pro-
posed a $350 billion tax cut, big spending increas-
es for schools and health care and photo ID licens-
es for handgun purchases yesterday as he offered
the final agenda of his presidency. "The state of
our union is the strongest it has ever been," he said.
At the start of an election-year, Clinton issued a
stinging rebuke in his last State of the Union
address. "For too long this Congress has been
standing still on some of our most pressing nation-
al priorities," he chided.
The president noted that next month the United
States will achieve the longest period of economic
growth in the nation's history, and called on
Americans to "set great goals."
The president offered a long litany of initia-
tives, many of them sure to be rewritten or
ignored by Congress. His tax cut proposals were
intended primarily to promote educational oppor-
tunities and expand health insurance and child
care for lower- and middle-income Americans.
The initiatives included relief from the "marriage
"For too long, this Congress has been standing
still on some of our most pressing national
Issues."
- Bill Clinton
U.S. President
David Wallace sneaks his name on the front page. Ha ha.
safety legislation, campaign finance reform, an
increase in the minimum wage and votes on long-
stalled judicial nominations.
Republicans ridiculed Clinton's proposals but
did not rule out working with him on such issues
as education and health care. "If we enacted all the
new programs the president has talked about, we'd
spend just about the entire surplus on bigger and
more expensive government," said House Speaker
Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.
Clinton was greeted by applause and hand-
shakes by Republicans and Democrats alike. His
wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea, home from
college, were in the audience. His speech will go
into the record books as his longest State of the
Union address: 89 minutes, besting his 1995
record of 81 minutes.
More than an hour into his speech, Clinton
flubbed a line meant to credit Gore with helping
making communities more "livable." Instead,
Clinton said "liberal" - not once but twice. The
audience - Gore included - guffawed.
penalty" - an idea first championed by
Republicans - and a new program of retirement
savings accounts.
Most of the proposals were released in advance
but the White House withheld Clinton's gun
licensing measure until the last minute to build
suspense. Similar to a plan offered by Vice
President Al Gore, itwould require handgun pur-
chasers to first obtain a state license showing
they have passed a background check and a gun
safety requirement, such as a training course or
an exam.
States could choose not to participate in the
program. The National Rifle Association con-
demned the plan as pointless and unworkable.
"Every state in this country already requires
hunters and automobile drivers to have a license. I
think they ought to do the same thing for handgun
purchases; Clinton said. "I hope you'll help me
pass that in this Congress."
Clinton called for passage of a patients' bill of
rights to strengthen consumer protection, gun-
Orange Crush is back in style
By Jacob Wheeler
and Chris Grandstaff
Daily Pop/Soda critiques
According to sources who refused to
identify themselves, Orange Crush is
back in style.
Crush was as dead as Jimmy Hoffa"
But in the past three months, students
all over college campuses have been
spotted with orange tongues.
Recent University reports have stated
that Orange Crush is an aphrodesiac
P, yeah you know me, have circulated
of late - especially on the University
of Michigan campus because of the
drink.
University Regent Rebecca
McGowan hypothesizes that, at this
This issue commemorates the last night at 420
Ma nard St. for the Daily's graduating seniors.
'vebeen with you forfour years in times o
celebration and times of sorrow. We've learne
so much from the editors and staffers that came
be ore us.
Now we ass this 109-year tradition into very
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