*CAMPUS "
U.S. Rep. to give
Wallenberg
lecture tonight
U S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) is
*cheduled to deliver the University's
Wallenberg Lecture tonight in
Rackham Auditorium at 7 p.m.
Lewis, who serves as a member of
the House Ways and Means
Committee and is chief deputy
Democratic whip also co-chairs
both the Congressional Urban
Ciucus and the Congressional
Caucus on Anti-Semitism.
He has been involved in social
movements and the human rights
struggle in the United States for
more then three decades including
being a founding member of the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee which was responsible
for sit-ins and other student activi-
ties.
The annual University Wallenberg
Lecture was established in 1985 to
commemorate University alum Raoul
*Wallenberg, who is known for saving
the lives of thousands of Hungarian
Jews.
Prof. Pollock
named to Herrick
Professorship
Industrial and Operations
Engineering Prof. Stephen Pollock was
appointed to the Herrick Professorship
Of Manufacturing by the University's
Board of Regents.
Potlock, who served as the chair of
the industrial and operations engineer-
ing department from 1981 through
1990, is an internationally recognized
scholar known for his work in the
mathematical modeling of systems and
his operations research in public sys-
tems.
Pollock joined the University fac-
Slty in 1969 after graduating from
Cornell University and the
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology with degrees in physics
and operations research.
The Herrick Foundation of Detroit
established the professorship in
1995 to honor accomplishments in
the field of interdisciplinary manufac-
turing education and research.
.Center for
Japanese Studies
presents lecture
Bernard Faure, religious studies
professor at Stanford University, is
scheduled to present the lecture "A
Gem of a Woman: Nagas, Jewels
and Transgressive Women in
Medieval Japan" on Thursday. The
:vent will be held in room 1636 of
the International Institute and
begins at noon.
Faure will focus his discussion on
the relationship between medieval
Japanese Buddhism, women, local
cults and "imperial" ideology as
shown through the various biogra-
phies of medieval Japanese women.
Family reading,
cience program
launched
The University's Exhibit Museum
of Natural History and the Ann
Arbor District Library have teamed
upt sponsor a family reading and
scierrce initiative which began this
m9rrh. The emphasis of the pro-
grarj will be mystery rocks and
eriuptions and will feature hands-on
Wscience workshops.
Registration for the program's
workshops is required in person or
by phone two weeks prior to each
session.
ssThe workshops will be held at the
LOvJig Branch Jan. 15, Feb. 5 and
,March 18 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., at
the Exhibit Museum on Jan. 30, Feb.
:27 and March 26 from 1 p.m. to 2
p.m. and the West Branch on Feb. 19
*nd March 11 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
iThe programs are being funded by
a $43,000 grant from the Institute of
Museum and Library Services. The
:grant will help develop a multi-year
' family reading program which
incorporates informal science edu-
cation.
The goal of the partnership between
the Exhibit Museum and the Ann Arbor
District Library is to combine and
*enhance the two existing programs.
Jo Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
JseGingrich.
LOCAL/S TATE
The Michigan Daily - Monday, January 10, 2000 - 3A
EMU lecturers receive bargaining nghts-
By Marta Brill
Daily Staff Reporter
In the wake of the decision by members of the
Michigan Employment Relations Commission to
grant lecturers at Eastern Michigan University
union status, University of Michigan lecturers are
coming together to organize as a group.
Sandra Palaich, a Romance Language lecturer, is
a member of the newly formed Lecturers
Employment Organization. They are working in
conjunction with the Graduate Employees
Organization to collect information and seek sup-
port from lecturers from different LSA depart-
ments.
LEO is hoping to combat many of the same
issues that prompted EMU lecturers to file a peti-
tion in April 1998 requesting union status.
EMU chemistry lecturer Julie Frentrup said with
collective bargaining rights, the EMU Lecturers
Organizing Congress hopes to accomplish a
greater consistency of salaries across departments,
higher overall salaries, a better health care plan and
more imput in the curriculum.
Since previously no official avenue existed for
lecturer's imput in designing the curriculum,
Frentrup said, there was no effective way for lec-
turers to have an impact on their courses.
The difference between the 700 tenure track fac-
ulty at EMU and the 400 EMU lecturers is found
primarily in their contracts. Lecturers have similar
degrees and teach similar classes, but are hired on
a term-by-term basis and are not eligible for tenure.
They are also not required to do research.
"The university claimed that we were casual
labor with no connection to or interest in the uni-
versity," Frentrup said. "The judge said we are a
stable unit with an interest in our jobs and educa-
tion."
Frentrup said the administration at EMU also
claimed the lecturers had a high turnover rate. "We
are short-term because of the way the university
sets up our contract,' Frentrup said, "not because of
the way we perform our job."
"I've been a 'temporary' employee for 15 years,"
Frentrup said.
Frentrup said college administrators are trying to
phase out the tenure system by filling professor
spots with lower-paid lecturers. She compared the
trend to sweatshop labor.
University lecturer Brenda Gunderson said she
has no complaints about her lecturer status,
because it allows her to focus on teaching. Since
lecturers are not required to do research, her pri-
mary duty is to teach.
"It's what I want to do and what I like to do. And
when you like something, you do it well,"
Gunderson said. She said, unlike the lecturers at
EMU, she is directly involved in designing the cur-
riculum for her courses.
EMU lecturers are the first in the state to receive
collective bargaining rights, Frentrup said, adding
that this reflects a nationwide trend, and will set a
precedent for lecturers at other colleges and univer-
sities.
Palaich said the MERC decision to grant EMU
lecturers union rights is "very encouraging." LEO.
meets once a week, and right now is only made up:
of lecturers in the Romance Language department,
but Palaich says they are in the process of collect-
ing information about lecturers in the other LSA:.
departments.
LEO wants to begin implementing changes by.
doing away with the four-year rule in the Romance
Language department, where lecturers can only stay,.
at the University a maximum of four years. Palaich.
said the department is constantly training new pea-
pie, while qualified lecturers are forced to leave.
"There are no exceptions to that rule. It hurts the,
education process, it hurts the students, it hurts the
department," Palaich said.
I
State lawmakers
may pass few bills,~
in election year
AP PHOT
GOP nomination hopefuls, from left, John McCain, George W. Bush, Alan Keyes, Orrin Hatch, Steve Forbes and Gary Baur
pose for a photograph at the New Hampshire Republican State Committee Party Fundraiser in Durham, N.H. yesterday.
DEBATE
Continued from Page 1A
Michigan has 58 electoral votes,
which is more than the first three pri-
mary states - Iowa, New Hampshire
and South Carolina - combined, Patru
said.
The debate offers the opportunity
for all the candidates to share their
views with the Michigan public,
said Pat Rosenstiel, regional politi-
cal director for Forbes.
"We think (the debate) is real impor-
tant to share our ideas with folks, gain
momentum and gain support through-
out the state, Rosenstiel said. "This is
clearly a free horserace now, he added.
There are "six people in the
debate and that pretty well waters
down the effect of the two main can-
didates," Schwarz said, but added
that having both Bush and McCain
in the same forum will "get some
repartee between the two of them
that we have not seen before."
Tim Russert, host of NBC's Meet
the Press, has been chosen to moder-
ate the debate along with panelists,
Rick Albin and Suzanne Geha of
WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids.
The three segments of the debate
include questions by the panelists
directed to the candidates, candi-
date-to-candidate questions, and
then Russert will pose questions
submitted by Calvin College stu-
dents to individual candidates.
The 7 p.m. debate will be held in
Calvin College's 1200-seat Fine Arts
Center and broadcast live on MSNBC
and on radio stations across the state.
GOP Debate
Who: Six GOP candidates
seeking the party's presiden-
tial nomination
What: A debate among the
candidates on issues includ-
ing taxes, health care, social
security, education
Where: Calvin College's Fine
Arts Center in Grand Rapids.
When: 7 p.m. tonight
Look for additional cover-
age from Grand Rapids
In tomorrow's edition of
The Michigan Daily
LANSING (AP) - After a month
long holiday break, state lawmakers
return to the Capitol this week to pre-
pare for an election year's load of work.
Members are expected to dive back
into a pile of issues left unfinished
- when they adjourned for the year on
Dec. 9 - more school improvements,
farming concerns, pornography, high-
way funding and a new state budget.
But nothing is likely to happen fast.
Although the Legislature is required
by the state Constitution to gather on
Wednesday, no formal action is sched-
uled
Lawmakers will scatter again after
Wednesday, returning to listen to Gov.
John Engler's Jan. 19 State of the State
address. The real legislative session
won't begin until Jan. 25.
"You'll see a very heavy education
theme, more freedom for parents and stu-
dents," Engler spokesperson John
Truscott said of his boss' wish list for the
year. He said the administration will
make another run at approving more
charter schools, an effort that floundered
last month.
But this year's elections may put a
damper on legislative action, as law-
makers' attention turns toward cam-
paigning once summer nears. Hot
issues often are shelved until after the
November election.
"Campaign years always mean fewer
bills are passed," Truscott said.
The election will affect the House -
where all 110 seats are up for grabs -
more then the Senate, whose members
aren't up for election until 2002.
"It matters more in the other chamber
than ours," said Senate Majority Leader
Dan DeGrow (R-Port Huron). But he
.:
A
added it only takes problems in one
chamber to sidetrack a key issue.
Two major issues are looming over
the Legislature as it returns:
-- Tax cuts: Engler may propose fur-
ther tax relief in his State of the State,
address; Truscott said "we're looking
seriously at it."
- Electricity deregulation:*
Michigan homeowners and busi-
nesses would get more freedom to
select their electricity supplier. A
coalition of utilities and business is
pushing legislation putting now-vol-
untary deregulation into statute, but'
the matter remains in a Senate com-
mittee and final agreement has not
been reached.
House Speaker Chuck Perricone
(R-Kalamazoo) said there won't be
much action this week, but the
House Constitutional Law and
Ethics Committee will meet
Wednesday to discuss a package of
bills to restrict adult entertainment.
I
Privacy experts:
Laws fail to protect
family history
--r--
LANSING (AP) - Keeping genetic
information in the hands of patients and
out of the hands of health insurers is a
step in the right direction, many privacy
experts agree.
But passing a genetic privacy law in
Michigan won't really offer much pro-
tection if health insurers can routinely
ask for family history, say critics,
including Cindy Hughey, director of the
Michigan Jewish Conference.
"An insurance company could still
take you and put you in a high-risk cat-
egory" based on your family history,
even if you have no symptoms of can-
cer or other health impairments such as
heart disease, Hughey said. She wants
the bills now before the Legislature
changed to ban health insurers from
asking about family history.
Insurance companies say they
already ask for family history and
should be allowed to continue, even
though coverage decisions usually rely
more on an applicant's current health.
"Family history, just like ... whether
you're old or young, whether you have
dangerous hobbies, whether you're a
smoker, whether you're the ideal
weight, all of that is used to figure out
what the risk is," said Larry Kish of the
Life Insurance Association of Michigan
in Lansing.
"If you, the insurance company,
don't have all the information you
need to decide (a person's risk level)
... you make bad decisions on what
to charge."
The issue has been the topic of sev-
eral heated discussions during House
committee hearings. The package of
genetic privacy bills already has
passed the Senate, and is likely to be
taken up by the full House soon after
lawmakers begin the 2000 session
this week.
A 1996 federal law already bars
insurers from considering a genetic pre-
disposition as a "pre-existing condi-
tion" for anyone who buys through a
group health insurance plan, unless the
disease is active when the person signs
up.
But that doesn't help the nearly 13
million Americans nationwide who buy
health insurance on their own.
Following the recommendations of the
Michigan Commission on Genetic
Privacy and Progress, lawmakers are
trying to make genetic protection the
same for all.
The Michigan bills affecting insur-
ance are part of a package that also
requires patients give their informed
consent before genetic tests are taken,
and that bans employers from requiring
genetic tests or information as a condi-
tion of employment or promotion.
The insurance bills would ban health
insurers and health maintenance com-
panies from requiring customers to sub-
mit to genetic testing or disclose genet-
ic information in order to get their
health insurance renewed or to get
health insurance in the first place.
They don't ban insurance companies
or HMOs from using genetic test
results they obtain in other ways,
including through a patient's medical
records.
"It's certainly a good effort, but
they don't go far enough," said
Wagenheim, the ACLU's legislative
affairs director.
100s of
Listings
from Area
Landlords,.
General
Information
and Advice
about Finding
Off-Campus
Housing,
Reps from
over 50
Rental is tth
Companies
and Housing 'OCpuss'nl
OrgnizHous'sing air
° + , .
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