The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, June 16, 1981-Page 11 LEARNING SEMINAR A 'UNIQUE' EXPERIENCE Seminar draws educators By JENNIFER MILLER Daily staff writer Graduate students and faculty members from psychology and education fields are being provided with a unique "think tank" in the form of an inten- sive, month-long seminar on learning and motivation in the classroom. Ann Marie DeBritto, an education and psychology graduate student, said the seminar has been a rewarding experience for her that "just hit the nail on the head perfectly." THIRTY GRAD students and faculty members from across the country have assembled for the Summer Institute on Learning and Motivation in the Classroom, co-sponsored by the University School of Education. Discussion and study group time revolves around the speaker of the day, whose lecture is open to the public. Scott Paris, a professor of education and psychology and an organizer of the Institute, said the seminar "is a rare opportunity for students." The In- stitute's goal is to "make bridges between psychology and educational practice. Hopefully, it will generate some new approaches and ideas," Paris said. STUDENTS ARE offered an "intensive interac- tion" with the istinguished speakers, Paris said. This aspect of th' seminar seems to be the most rewarding for students. DeBritton said that the Institute "is more per- sonalized" than most conferences or seminars. "You feel less threatened," De Britto said. Another graduate student, Jan Jacobs, agreed. "The idea is that people get to know each other very well-there is a social contact," she said. The student and faculty group has dinner with the day's speaker, and sometimes they talk until late at night, Paris said. A FEW OF the topics covered in the seminar are student motivation and attitudes, cognitive theories of reading, writing and arithmetic, and social policies involved in education. The discussions will focus on the current issues in education and psychology, Paris said. The Institute's concept is a first for Michigan, Paris said. A book on the lectures will be published next year. Co-sponsors of the intensive seminar are the Bush Program in Child Development and Social Policy, Chicago-Michigan Center for Cognitive Science, the Rackham Graduate School, and, the Combined Program in Education and Psychology. Twin City twister A tornado looms over the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, where two men were killed and more than 70 people injured by the violent storm Sunday. An aerial survey of the widespread damage showed there was only one twister, not three as previously reported by the weather service. Amtrak service to be continued Court: prisoners 'lack of comfort' is legal From AP and UPI WASHINGTON - Convicts have no right to "comfortable prisons," the Supreme Court ruled yesterday, declaring that overcrowded state in- stitutions may keep two inmates in a cell designed for one. The 8-1 decision - a landmark inter- pretation of the Constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual punishment" - reversed an order that Ohio stop "double-ceiling" inmates at its Lucasville state prison. "THE CONSTITUTION does not mandate comfortable prisons, and prisons which house persons convicted of serious crimes .cannot be free of discomfort," Justice Lewis Powell wrote for the majority. "These con- siderations properly are weighed by the legislature and prison administration rather than a court." Standing alone - and vehement - in dissent, Justice Thurgood Marshall ac- cused his fellow justices of glossing over Lucasville's problems and declared the prison "is overcrowded, unhealthful and dangerous." THE MAJORITY opinion em- phasized the case was the first in which the high court defined the limits the Constitution imposes on state prison conditions. However, in a concurring opinion written by Justice William Brennan, he warned the ruling should not be "con- strued as a retreat from careful judicial scrutiny of prison conditions." Justice Marshall voiced the fear that federal judges would read exactly - ' siucha retreat into Powell's opinion. (Continued from Page 3) AFTER THE $735 million recom- mendation passes the Senate, Morgan said, it will be routed to the conference committee along with the House recommendation. The two proposals then will be considered until a com- promise is reached, possibly within a month, Morgan said. The House has also approved a $735 million appropriation for Amtrak, but it has added $82 million in relief from in- terest payments on debts owed the government, Morgan said, adding that she predicts the Senate will agree to the relief of payments. Clark Charnetski, chairman of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers said that because of the committee action, the Amtrak system of major train lines is not in immediate danger of elimination any longer, but the future of the commuter trains is still in doubt. THE SENATE recommendation requires the commuter lines to be profitable, while the House recommen- dation mandates Amtrak be respon- sible for the continuance of commuter lines now in existence, Charnetski said. The administration has agreed to the $735 million figure for Amtrak, accor- ding to administration aides. Amtrak had initially asked for $835 million, so the total budget will be reduced, which is what the administration desired in the first place, said Amtrak spokeswoman Marciniak. "The goal of Amtrak is to become in- dependent of the federal dollar," said Marciniak, "and we are determined to meet that goal." Amtrak should be in- dependent of subsidized operating costs by 1985, which is ahead of initial ad- ministration estimates, she said. CANNON, IN his arguments for fur- ther funding, stressed the need for a national railroad rather than a single strip down the East Coast, Morgan said. ' n - If the Senate does agree to drop the requirement that Amtrak pay interest on the debt owed the government, the figure of $735 million plus $82 million to pay the interest will be given Amtrak each of the next three years, according to Morgan. Morgan said she was optimistic about passage of the bill and the future of Am- trak. There will probably be no cuts in service under the proposed budget that would not have been made anyway, she said. RECENT COST-saving measures adopted by Amtrak include a reduction of the Washington staff by one-fourth, a hike in the-charge for meals served on the train, and a charge for several ser- vices now offered for free, said Char- netski. Marciniak said one way to reduce costs in the future is diversification. Stations could be developed into com: 'merciat -enterprises. - . .