LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 29, 1999 3
CAMPUS
U' alum donates
$5M to service
learning center
The University Center for
ommunity Service and Learning was
renamed in honor of Edward Ginsberg,
a Cleveland resident and University
alum, after his family donated $5 mil-
lion to the center. The gift honors
Ginsberg's service to community dur-
ing his lifetime.
University President Lee Bollinger
said at the Board of Regents meeting
last week that the gift will ensure the
continuation of excellent work in com-
unity service on campus.
The center houses ProjectSERVE
and facilitates several programs that aid
disadvantaged children in southeastern
Michigan.
Substance abuse
educator to speak
Mike Green, a recovering alcoholic
who travels the country speaking to stu-
Sents about substance abuse, is sched-
led to give his program "Drunk and
Stupid is No Way to Go Through Life" at
7 p.m. in Rackham Auditorium.
The event is open to anyone. Several
sponsors are helping to bring Green to
campus, including the Office of Greek
Life, Interfraternity Council,
Panhellenic Association, Athletic
Department, 'M-PACT, University
Health Service, Michigan Student
Assembly and Alumni Association.
Panel to discuss
higher ed lobbying
As part of a continuing series on
unique problems in lobbying for higher
education, experts in the field are sched-
uled to gather today in the Rackham
Amphitheater to discuss related issues.
"Panelists include former University
President Robben Fleming, Vice
*resident for Government Relations
Cynthia Wilbanks, Education Prof.
Connie Cook and Kevin Casey, senior
director of federal/state relations at
lyrvard University.
Lecturer to speak
on child welfare
The School of Social Work is spon-
soring a free public lecture tomorrow.
9avid Liederman, president and chief
executive officer of the Council on
Accreditation of Services for Families
and Children, is scheduled to speak.
The lecture is planned for 3 p.m. in
the School of Education's Schorling
Auditorium.
Liederman's lecture, titled "The State
of Children in America: Are We Y2K
Ready?" is dedicated to Fedel Fauri, for-
mer Social Work dean, and his wife.
Lecture to focus on
Ottoman calligraphy
Focusing on innovations of Ottoman
calligraphy in the architecture of the
16th Century, a lecture titled "Legacy
of the Ottoman Empire: The
Architecture of Mimar Sinan," is
scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m.
The lecture's featured speaker is Gulru
Necipoglu of Harvard University. She
hill join University faculty members to
discuss architecture.
Museum program
features dinos
"Strange Body Parts and
Boneheads!" is the Museum of Natural
History's new exhibit, which will
include Dinosaur Discovery Day on
Saturdaybeginning at 11 a.m.
The program will feature dinosaur-
themed events, including demonstra-
tions, multi-media presentations and
"Ask the Bonehead."
Qingle Bell Run set
for Burns Park
Early registration ends today for the
Jingle Bell Run, which is planned for
Sunday at 10 a.m. in Burns Park. The
ent, sponsored by the Michigan
hapter of The Arthritis Foundation,
annually raises money for research and
quality of life programs.
The registration fee of $20 increases
to $27 after today's deadline. People
interested in participating can call 1-
800-968-3030 to register or to receive
more information about the event.
Registration entitles each participant
to a long-sleeved T-shirt and entrance
Oto a prize giveaway.
-Compiled by Daily News Editor
Jaimie Winkler
New charter school proposal introduced
LANSING (AP) - A week after a bill to allow more charter
schools was introduced in the state House last May, it sailed
through committee.
But the bill has been collecting dust for the last six months as
House Republican leaders failed to persuade enough members
to vote for it. House Speaker Chuck Perricone (R-Kalamazoo)
has insisted several times that a deal was imminent, but it never
came through.
Now Republicans are scratching their original proposal rais-
ing the cap on the number of schools that universities can char-
ter from 150 to 225 in favor of a new plan unveiled last week by
Gov. John Engler.
His legislation would raise the cap by 50 next year and 25
each year thereafter. Engler said he doesn't have the votes in the
House to remove the cap completely and must compromise.
He's also added a five-person state oversight board to the plan
in a move to appease lawmakers who want more public scrutiny
of taxpayer-funded charter schools.
Engler's legislation also would exempt charter schools from
the cap if they were aimed at students with discipline problems
or built in the same location as day care centers. The day care
center proposal is meant to encourage more businesses to open
charter schools.
House Democrats are gearing up for a fight. Minority Leader
Mike Hanley (D-Saginaw) said the governor's plan gives "lip
service to the oversight issue."
Rep. Rose Bogardus (D-Davison), ranking Democrat on the
House Education Committee, complains that Engler's oversight
board is a bad idea.
"The last thing taxpayers deserve is another unelected, unac-
countable board looking after their tax dollars," she said. "This
is just another Engler power grab that does nothing to ensure
more accountability or quality in the classroom."
Engler wants to push the legislation through before the
Legislature goes on break Dec. 10 so new charter schools could
open next fall. Charter school advocates think they will have
enough votes now that additional oversight would be provided,
but it's unclear if Engler has done enough to encourage doubters
to raise the cap.
The Senate, meanwhile, has a long list of bills to tackle in the
final two weeks of session.
Topping the Senate agenda is an issue long pressed by
Republican lawmakers - prohibiting local communities
from forcing employees to live in the city where they work.
The Senate passed the bill in May, but the House passed a
different version so the bill has returned to the Senate for
approval.
As passed by the House, the bill would ban residency require-
ments as a condition of employment unless they're included in
a collective bargaining agreement or employment contract.
Married couples who work for different cities also would be
exempt from all residency requirements.
Since the original Senate version would have banned all resi-
dency requirements outright, the bill may to go to a House-
Senate conference committee to hammer out a consensus.
According to the Michigan Municipal League, about 80
Michigan cities require police officers, firefighters or other
public employees to live within city limits. Backers of such laws
argue it should be up to a local government, not the state,
whether residency should be a requirement.
Other legislation that may draw controversy in the Senate are
bills to permit people who already own wolf hybrids, bears and
large cats to keep them, although they wouldn't be permitted to
breed the animals. Owners would have to obtain licenses for
existing pets and no new.owners would be permitted.
Also before the Senate this week is a bill designed to outlaw
identity theft, or obtaining personal information of another per-
son with the intent to use it unlawfully. Some people have found
their credit histories ruined by people who steal their credit card
and Social Security numbers and use them to make purchases or
to rack up large debts.
Under the bill, the felony would be punishable by up to five
years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 or both.
According to sponsor Sen. Glenn Steil (R-Grand
Rapids)there are programs on the Internet that allow computer
hackers to gain control of another person's computer. Anything
that is stored on a computer is potentially vulnerable to identity
thieves, Steil said.
Gore presents Parks with
congressional gold medal
DETROIT (AP) - A packed
house at the Detroit Symphony
Orchestra Hall stood up last night
and paid tribute to the woman who
refused to do just that more than 40
years ago.
Months after she was honored by
Congress as the mother of the civil
rights movement, Rosa Parks
received the Congressional Gold
Medal from Vice President Al
Gore.
"I believe in my heart that just as
we honor you, Mrs. Parks, we still
need your support," Gore said. "As
we look at what she has done and
what she is still doing, we need to
honor her."
Parks, 86, was lauded in June by the
House and Senate leadership and
President Clinton for an act of defi-
ance. On Dec. 1, 1955, the seamstress,
tired after a day's work in
Montgomery, Ala., refused to give up
her seat to a white man on a segregat-
AP PHOTO ed city bus.
Her arrest set off a lengthy bus
boycott by thousands of blacks that
lasted until about a year later when
the Supreme Court declared
Montgomery's bus segregation law
unconstitutional and it was
changed. The boycott was led by
the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.,
then a local minister.
The medal ceremony was part of a
benefit to raise money for a non-prof-
it organization Parks created to pro-
mote racial and social harmony. The
medal is the highest civilian award
given by Congress.
"I hope and pray that it will come
and we will go into the world with
freedom for everybody," Mrs. Parks
said last night.
Aretha Franklin performed follow-
ing the ceremony.
During the June ceremony in
Washington, D.C., Parks was present-
ed with an artist's drawing of the
medal, which was not yet finished.
"I thank God that she was not
afraid," said Ruby Dee, a film actress,
who co-hosted the event with husband
Ossie Davis.
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-
Detroit) announced yesterday that
Parks' organization, the Rosa and
Raymond Parks Institute for Self
Development, would be the recipient
of $1 million in federal funds.
Parks moved to Detroit in 1957
after losing the seamstress' job and
her family was harassed and threat-
ened. She joined the staff of U.S.
Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) in
1965 and worked there until retir-
ing in 1988.
Lawmakers initially used the
Congressional Gold Medal to honor
military leaders but began using it dur-
ing the 20th century to recognize
excellence in a range of fields, includ-
ing the arts, athletics, politics, science
and entertainment.
The first such medal was given to
George Washington in 1776 for "wise
and spirited conduct" during the
Revolutionary War.
More than 320 medals have been
awarded. Recent honorees include
Frank Sinatra, Mother Teresa and
South African President Nelson
Mandela.
Rosa Parks receives the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor from Vice
President Al Gore at a benefit tribute concert in her honor yesterday.
i
State capital plans
changes for tourists
-1
LANSING (AP) - Every weekday
during the school year, the state Capitol
echoes with the chatter of schoolchild-
ren. Tour leaders estimate they see one
school group every 10 minutes on
Fridays, a number that has strained the
building's facilities.
But Capitol staff are hoping to
change that with some new construc-
tion projects, including additional tour
rooms, a lunch room and more
restrooms. They're also working on
some extra perks for the Capitol's
300,000 visitors per year, including a
small history center and a gift shop.
The space for these projects opened
up this fall, when 23 House lawmakers
moved from the Capitol to the new
House Office Building across the
street.
While some members of the House
and Senate leadership will retain their
ornate Capitol offices, most of the
building's office space is now empty
and awaiting more than $350,000 in
renovations.
"This has been a long time in plan-
ning. I can't remember how long, but
before the House Office Building ever
went up'" said Jerry Lawler, executive
director of the Michigan Capitol
Committee. The committee, made up of
lawmakers and administrators, is
responsible for determining the
Capitol's uses.
On the first floor, a new tour orienta-
tion room, a room for media and two
lunch rooms already have been added,
Lawler said.
Capitol tour guide Chris Benson said
the lunch rooms make a huge difference
to the 3,000 school groups that visit
each year.
"It will really take a lot of pressure
off the state museum," said Benson,
referring to the nearby Michigan
Historical Center, which used to househ
the only lunch room in town. "Ninety-
nine percent of these groups bring sack
lunches, so it's a mess."
Also on the first floor, more
restrooms and an expanded snack shop
are expected to be complete by spring,
Lawler said. Right now, lines form out-
side the restrooms when school groups
take breaks, while the snack shop is lit-
tle more than a narrow counter with a
popcorn machine.
Workers also have begun transform-
ing part of the basement into a new
headquarters for Capitol security,
Lawler said.
Lawler estimated that the history
center and gift shop would need at least
an additional $200,000 to get off the
ground. The Legislature hasn't yet
approved money for those projects;
money for the current projects came
from previous budgets.
Lawler said the history center might
include historical documents as well as
computers that would teach visitors
about the history of the Capitol and
about the legislative process.
As for the gift shop, Lawler said he's
asking other states about the startup costs
and labor involved. He's also asking for
input from the Board of the Friends of
the Capitol, the nonprofit group that
played a key role in the $58 million
restoration of the Capitol in 1992.
Lisa Daume, 35, who was visiting
the Capitol for the first time last week
along with her daughter's fourth-grade
class, thinks a gift shop would be a hit.
"The kids went crazy in the shop at
the museum," said Daume, of Monroe,
who noted that her 9-year-old daughter
Erin bought a book and a pencil at the
Historical Center.
PRESENTED BY:
THE PANHELLENICASSOCIATION, INTERFRATERN/TY COUNCIL, M-PACT
UNIVERSITY HEALTH SERVICE, MSA and THE UM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
DRUNK AND STUPID
IS NO WAY TO GO THROUGH LIFE
ALCOHOL AWARENESS PRESENTATI@N
Green, a former Division II
football player and a
recovering alcoholic
has been traveling the
nation for several years
talking with students
about making the right
choices when it comes
to alcohol. Never
preachy, he mixes
his message with anecdotes,
humor and facts. This will be his 8th
annual appearance at the University of Michigan.
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