The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, May 20, 1981-Page 3
' Chinese trip 'successful'
Shapiro details new
exchange agreement
By JOHN ADAM The University faculty group, headed
University President Harold Shapiro, by the president and his wife, toured
after returning from a two-week tour of three major Chinese cities - Beijing
mainland China, said at a press con- (Peking), Shanghai, and the inland city
ference yesterday the trip was Xian.
"positive and encouraging." Shapiro commented . on the dense
An exchange program was ten- crowds of people on the city streets and
tatively agreed upon between the likened it to the flow of a continuous
University and China's Ministry of Times Square crowd on New Year's
Education whereby faculty and Eve. "When you get to Tokyo (after
graduate students will be able to work leaving China) you think things have
and study in China as early as the fall of quieted down," the University
1982, said Shapiro. president said.
"THE EXCHANGE IS on the basis of SHAPIRO SAID HE regretted not
reciprocity," Shapiro said, which will having more opportunities to sightsee.
enable about nine Chinese students to But, he explained, the delegation's
study and conduct research at the vigorous daily routine had the faculty
University while the equivalent number members and administrators up by
of Michigan scholars will go to the nine 5:30 in the morning and so exhausted
Chinese institutions that the University them that they were in bed to 8:30 or 9
faculty group visited, at night, leaving little time for sight-
Shapiro said the program would be seeing. He said he was .especially
beneficial for both University and disappointed that he was unable to see
Chinese scholars, saying he was en- the Great Wall of China.
couraged by the research possibilities Some of his more pleasurable
available in China. moments came during the morning
The primary areas of interest for walks where he and his colleagues
University researchers will be the (about half of whom spoke Chinese)
humanities and social sciences with would stroll about the streets talking
some. additional interests in geology with people and reading the many
and paleontology, said the president. public bulletins.
The Chinese scholars will be primarily Apparently the Chinese were im-
concerned with research in the physical pressed with the foreign delegation
and medical sciences, and engineering, from the University. News of their
Shapiro said. discussions appeared in the
BUT, HE NOTED THAT the newspapers and on the evening TV
laboratory .facilities in China are not news.
well equipped enough to warrant the SHAPIRO SAID HE WAS impressed
sending of physical scientists and with the size of the challenge facing the
engineers from the University. Chinese people and noted their deep
Daily roto by JRCKIt BLL
UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT Harold Shapiro, just back from China, outlines
the tentative agreement on a student/faculty exchange program. Shapiro
said the trip was a success, and lamented only the fact that he had too little
time to sightsee. Shapiro spoke yesterday at a local press conference.
commitment to modernization.
"There are wide disparities in
China," he said. Manchuria is
relatively highly mechanized, yet in Q
other places men and women still till the
soil with plows and water buffalo, he
said.
Shapiro said it is critical to the world
that China solve its problems such as
population control. He said the Chinese
are now campaigning for one child per
family.
"There are two ways of viewing
China," he said. "Either as an enor-
mous potential or an enormous bur-
den." He said he preferred to view it as
the former.
Shapiro said the absolute numbers of
people participating in the exchange
program set up these past weeks will be
small, but that the general format of
the deal is greatly important.
West Quad
building director
dismissed
By MARK GINDIN
Leon West, the building director of
West Quad dormitory for the past 13
years, was relieved of his duties Friday,
marking the culmination of a long
series of disputes between West and the
administration, according to Larry
Moneta, University Central Campus
Area Housing Director.
"My philosophy (about how to run a
dorm) and their (the housing office's)
philosophy came into conflict," West
said yesterday. He said he did some
things differently than the Housing Of-
fice would have liked.
UNIVERSITY OFFICIALS would not
elaborate on the reasons for West's
dismissal as building director. Housing
Office officials said West would be
transferred to another job until his con-
tract expires next year. They said
West's new job had not yet been deter-
mined.
"I like to think I did a good job" while
building director, West said. Obviously,
he said, noteyeerybody agrees because.
he no longer has a job.
"I am very sad to be leaving," said
West, adding, "These have been the
best 13 years of my life." The job at
West Quad "made a significant dif-
ference in my life," he said, adding that
he would not prefer any other job on
campus.
LARRY MONETA WILL become in-
terim building director until the
University finds a replacement, accor-
ding to Monets.
West's removal on Friday was a
"total- shock to everybody," said
Dorothy Hiser, West's secretary. "We
all had a rotten weekend" because of
the announcement, she said.
"I will be leaving West Quad a better
place than I found it," said West. The
maintenance department of West Quad
is "the best on campus" and there are
thousands .of dollars in improved lan-
dscaping, West said.
THERE ARE TWO WAYS to move up
into the administration from the job of
building director, West said. Either you
must have the desire to move up or the
See WEST, Page 7
Walking the line
MEMBERS OF THE Employees Against Arbitrary Action walk a picket line
established in front of the Wordprocessors shop on State Street. The
picketers are protesting what they say are unfair labor practices. They
claim the Wordprocessors owners have tried to block shop unionization and
have violated a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board. Yesterday's
pickets were the most recent development in a two-year, ongoing dispute
between the store's management and some employees.