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e n a te s s
proposes
Pell Grant
increases
By YaeI Kohen
Daily Staff Reporter
A Senate budget resolution
increased the Federal Pell Grant by
$400, Friday- but whether the
increase will translate into real dol-
s remains to be seen as the appro-
riations committee begins to review
budget allocations for the federal
Fiscal Year 2001.
The Senate also approved a $2.7 bil-
lion increase for the National Institutes
of Health, allocating research funds
for studies at various institutions
including the University.
Final allocations by the appropria-
tions committee for the Pell Grant,
which is a federally funded need-based
nt, remain unclear. Last month, Pell
rantmincreases were not included in
the Fiscal Year 2001 House budget
resolution.
The amendment, which increased
the recommended funding level of the
Pell Grant by $1.4 billion for $400
maximum Pell Grant, passed 51-49,
leaving some University administra-
tors to question whetaer they will get
e Pell Grant increases.
"Seeing that it passed so narrowly,
'm not too optimistic it will pass"
Director of the University Office of
Financial Aid Pam Fowler said. "The
Pell Grant needs to be double what it is
today," Fowler said, adding that even
with the Senate's increase recommen-
dation the Pell Grant is still not high
enough.
But Fowler said that although
increases are insufficient, the Pell Grant
11 most likely see a small increase.
"Tsere will be some increases, yes. But
how much that increase will be, I don't
know"
In Fiscal
Year 2000, the Hbsl
appropriations Bu 2001
C o rn m i ft e e
allocated
$3,125 for the
11 Grant after
ongress
authorized Pell Grants at $4,800.
The Pell Grant has to be returned to
the purchasing power that it had in the
1960s, Fowler said.
The appropriations committee is
expected to mark up the overall bill
Thursday.
The Senate budget recommended
increasing NIH funding by 20 percent,
which is right on target for the planned
ubling of NIH funds within a five
ar period.
Although NIH funding looks
promising, funds for science overall
have decreased from last year.
Johanna Ramos, press secretary for
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), said
she expects to see a 20 percent
increase.
Ramos added that an NIH funding
increases is a priority for Democrats as
@11 as Republicans.
John Akouri, press secretary for

U.S. Rep Joe Knollenberg (R-Bloom-
See BUDGET, Page 2

Tuesday
April 11, 2000

bLetter grades
to be added

I

to

RC policy

MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
University seniors and University faculty, including interim Vice President of Student Affairs E. Royster Harper, plant
trees on the Diag yesterday in an effort to resume a senior tradition that ceased 40 years ago.
Trepantin creony
on D..iag reusumes at'U

By Jeannie Baumann
Daily Staff Reporter
Discussion regarding the future
of the Residential College grading
system has ended with a decision to
implement an all-inclusive letter
grading system instead of previous
committee proposals.
The previous proposal, presented by
an RC committee in January, would
have allowed students to attach their
cumulative-
GPAs to their RC grading
transcripts poliCy
and written Current policy:
evaluations. No grades are given
Instead, for classes under a
RC students 300 level.
will receive a Students can elect
letter-grades to have grades for
for all class- 300 and 400 level
es inside and classes.
outside the m Grades given for
program. non-RC classes.
Associate
LSA Dean Robert Owen said he hopes
to have a letter-grading system in
place by the Fall 2000 academic term.
"We are not, in any way, trying to
eliminate the narrative element of
course evaluations in the RC,"
Owen said. "We support them."
RC Director Tom Weisskopf said
he could not comment on changes
to the RC's grading system because
the details of the program still need
to be finalized.
"It's possible to introduce letter
grades and (grade point averages) for
RC students without damaging the
specific, educational philosophy of the
RC. It is also possible to do. so in a
way that could seriously undermine
that philosophy,"he said.
RC students currently receive
written evaluations in place of let-
ter-grades, thus they have no cumu-
lative GPA for all University
classes. But students in the college
can opt for a letter-grade in their

upper-level RC classes. They also
receive letter grades for all classes
taken outside of the RC.
Owen said the addition of grades
creates a more fair academic envi-
ronment for all LSA students.
"The rationale is to promote
equity for all students. The RC is
part of LSA, and it was felt that the
same rules should apply to all stu-
dents," he said.
In the current system, Owen
explained, RC professors 'interpret
the evaluations into a letter grade if
graduate schools or other organiza-
tions request a quantitative assess-
ment of the student's performance.
He said such a system is unfair to
LSA students who are not enrolled
in the college.
"The RC is using a third party,
and that's clearly unacceptable,"
Owen said.
Owen said the grade certification
system still creates a bias.
"Beyond the 30 credits, we don't
think students should be in position
to pick and choose their grades," he
said.
All LSA students can take up to 30
classes pass-fail - one-fourth of the
credits needed for graduation.
The new system includes the
grandfathering policy, so any new
practices in the evaluation process
will not affect any currently
enrolled RC students.
"The old rules will still apply to
them," Owen said.
RC sophomore Rachel Razgunas
said she was upset about the imple-
mentation of any quantitative grad-
ing system.
"Without the grades and with
evaluations, we are able to form a
more personal relationship without
competition and focusing on the
learning, and focusing on the infor-
mation that's being taught to us,"
she said. Weisskopf said he would do
See RC, Page 7

By Jacquelyn Nixon
Daily Staff Reporter
On the eve of the University's 1858
winter commencement, President
Henry Tappan began the tradition of
planting the senior class oak tree.
The tradition, which ceased about
40 years ago, was revived yesterday
when about 100 people planted a new
12-foot oak on the Diag near the flag-
pole. The tree-planting ceremony
was part of the Office of Develop-
ment's Annual Giving Program.
Ken Blochowski, director of Stu-
dent Programs for the Alumni Associ-
ation, said the association "decided to

continue the tree planting tradition in
order to leave seniors with a lasting
memento on campus. This was one of
the traditions that had gone by the
wayside and was fairly easy for stu-
dents to do. 2000 is a perfect time to
start over," Blochowski said.
LSA seniors Seema Pai and Brain
Elias opened the event with personal
speeches followed by the Men's Glee
Club octet, the Friars, who sang
"Yellow and Blue."
"The Tappan oak has been a culmi-
nating experience. I have such respect
and value for Michigan tradition and
it's nice to see members of the com-
munity come together like this," Pai

said. "The tree is a dedication to the
students and is a step forward in the
new millennium," Pai said.
Steve Grafton, executive of alumni
relations said, "one thing that will
continue is the legacy and the strength
of your legacy is your connection to
your alma mater"Quoting Tappan, he
said, "this old tree will die, but the
young trees will live on."
The location was chosen by
seniors through an online poll in
which suggestions ranged from
Angell Hall to the Michigan Stadi-
um. The members of the Senior
Pledge Program presented the Uni
See TREE, Page 2

Democracy Project
tackesoil reserves

By Hanna LoPatin
Daily Staff Reporter

As the world's reserves of certain fossil fuels
slowly dry up many question how the oil-depen-
dent United States will find energy in the next
millennium.
The issues of fossil fuel reserves was debated
last night in front of a small, but dedicated, group
of students at the Michigan Union as part of the
Democracy Project, organized by the Voice Your
Vote commission of the Michigan Student
Assembly.

SNRE junior and MSA Rep. Mona Gupta
moderated a panel of four experts from both sides
of the fence as they discussed the development of
alternative sources of energy and the sustainabili-
ty of fossil fuels.
Environmental Issues Committee Chairwoman
Brianne Haven, an SNRE junior, said, "It's good
to see a meeting of the minds. There's problems
on both sides that need to be worked out."
Panelist Mike Miller, chairman of the Michi-
gan Oil and Gas Association, said a need exists to
find alternative sources of energy, but that until
See OIL, Page 2

Environmental activist Bruce Kiracofe speaks yesterday at the Michigan Union on the consumption of
oil and associated environmental problems.

Acupuncture
effective for
some patients
By Shabnam Daneshvar
Daily Staff Reporter
One of the most heated debates in modern medicine
been the enduring clash between conventional
medical techniques and .._ _
the less discussed meth- Alternative Medicine
ods of holistic, or alterna-_
tive, medicine. First in a three-
According to the latest Part series about
opinion from the Journal popular and non-
A M -;i a conventional

WRC hold first conference;
protests continue nationwide

By Jen Fish
Daily Staff Reporter

As anti-sweatshop activists were arrested in protests on
college campuses nationwide during the past week, Univer-
sity activists gathered in New York on Friday at the first
Worker Rights Consortium conference.
The WRC, a primarily student developed organization
designed to enforce labor codes of conduct in the produc-
tion of collegiate apparel, has generated controversy coast-
to-coast as student activists push their administrations to
become part of the organization.
The University of Michigan joined the group in February
along with the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Indi-
ana University. The decision was seen as a great boost to the
WRC, as its nrevious members were comnrised of only six

"We're going to put the FLA
on trial."
- Ned Bertz
Member of Iowa Students Against Sweatshops
The election is expected to be held sometime before
June, which is when the governing board is scheduled to
hold its first meeting. Before then, the WRC's 44 member
schools will continue working together to further organize.
The conference also held a panel discussion for members to
discuss the structure of the WRC and air concerns about the
organization. LSA junior and SOLE member Peter Romer-
Friedman characterized the conference as a good beginning to