The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, June 16, 1982-Page 3
ILLEGAL HOOK-UPS TO BE PROSECUTED
Cablevision pirates beware
By FANNIE WEINSTEIN
The loss of almost $750,000 in potential revenue is
forcing Ann Arbor Cablevision to begin prosecuting
residents who are using illegally hooked-up cable
services, according to Cablevision's general
manager.
"Theft of service is a problem in the cable service
all over the country," said Robbie Blair. "We want to
stress to the people of Ann Arbor that it's illegal to
tamper with our property."
TEN THOUSAND residences-roughly a third of
which are occupied by students-receive
Cablevision, according to an audit of homes hooked
up to the service. However, seven to ten percent of
the 33,000 homes in the potential market receive the
service illegally, Blair estimated.
Hooking into a cable pole or a wire installed for
paid subscribers are two of the ways people illegally
use cable, Blair said. Others break into convenience
boxes located on the sides of houses wired for cable,
I ,
Whin
Yesterday's strong winds combined with this store
a chore for this brave shopper.
faculty coM
(continued from Page 1)
framework under which salary in- money av
_ ~In retur
creases already negotiated will be meyer sai
deferred." Faculty salary increases at least a
now will be based on a sliding-scale and emp
formula which will take into account members,
enrollment figures and state ap- may hav
propriations, Kopmeyer said. future."
THE FACULTY'S 1912-83 fiscal con-
tract calls for more than 8 percent in ALTHO
wage increases beginning September 1. ment wei
The institution's 82-83 fiscal budget of tained by
more than $147 million-$2 million less " Throug
than this year's-includes an estimated the barga
$44,000 in student tuition revenues and laid off,"
almost $100 million in state ap- be issued
propriations. unit;"
"We are expecting an enrollment loss " Tenure
of almost 10 percent," said WSU other Uni
President Thomas Bonner. He blamed or disco
the decline on the area's high unem- "training
ployment rate and less financial' aid not to exc
he added.
"It's just a point in fact. People have gone illegally
into our electronics and our property and started
hooking themselves up," Blair said.
IN ADDITION to the loss of revenue, illegal hook-
ups also can cause maintenance breakdowns due to
tampering with cable wires.
The city ordinance prohibiting the illegal connec-
tions, which became law in 1976, states, "no person
shall make or maintain an operating connection to
public utility or cable television facilities without the
permission of the owner of such facilities."
Violation of the ordinance is punishable by a fine of
up to $100 or 90 days in jail..
No prosecutions have occurred under this law,
however, according to city attorney Bruce Laidlaw.
CABLEVISION is giving violators until 5 p.m. on
June 30 to become legal subscribers. "We're going to
allow everyone the chance to come in on it," Blair
said.
"We prefer to have people as legal customers. We
don't intend to prosecute, but to hook up people
legally," he added.
Those who ignore the notice, Blair said, will be
prosecuted within several weeks of the June 30
deadline.
Other area cable television companies also
acknowledge that illegal hook-ups are a growing
problem and intend to prosecute.
"All I know is that based on the stolen equipment
we've had in the past and things of that nature, our
loss of revenue is about $250,000 a year," said Chet
Parks, general manager of TCI Taft, a Ypsilanti
cable company.
TCI Taft, which purchased Six Star Cablevision
last February, services 18,000 homes in the Ypsilani
area. Prosecution of persons who have illegally con-
nected TCI cable wires could began within four or
five weeks, according to Parks.
'U'coed
fraternity
returns to
rushing
only men
By SUE THAYER
After a controversial decade of coed
cohabitation, the local Theta Xi frater-
nity will return to males-only status this
fall - despite decidedly mixed reaction
from house members.
Faced with both the possible ex-
pulsion of the chapter from-the national
Theta Xi organization and declining
membership, Theta Xi's Michigan
alumni board - composed of 12 alumni
and two house representatives - voted
this spring to revoke the fraternity's
ten-year-old coed policy, according to
TH SCOTT board member Bob Wolf.
"Most members wanted to stay
coed," said Andrea Basile, on LSA
alking sophomore. "For the past ten years,
the house thrived because of the
women."
John Green, an LSA sophomore, said
he may not return to Theta Xi this fall,
in s sinceheis"uncomfortable with normal
fraternities."
ay transfer THE FRATERNITY'S coed ex-
tect against perience has been a rocky one, accor-
nior" faculty ding to Roger Seekman, a senior
mit who has majoring in engineering. The Univer-
ff. "This sity chapter, which began accepting
d until these females ten years ago as part of a coed
to the most housing experiment, has been plagued
atus" with controversy since 1979, when the
Ity members national organization passed a
20 percent of resolution prohibiting its chapters from
dding that it rushing female students, $eekman
t few checks said.
though the The house located at 1345 Washtenaw,
e based on a '%as put on suspension last July for not
evenue, base complying with natioml rules on mem-
ent increase bership and was threatened with
gotiations. suspension by the national
overnors ap- organizatioin. the first reaction of the
nt and next house to. the ruling was "screw the
ty members nationals - we don't need them," said
o accept or
See THETA, Page 1
Daily Pjhoto by ELZABEt
1dy tunnel
front archway on Cass Avenue in downtown Detroit to make wa
promise on concessi
ailable to students. * A faculty member ma
n for the concessions, Kop- seniority rights that pro
d the agreement guarantees layoff to the next "most sen
"minimal increase" in salary member from the same u
oyment protection for faculty been targeted for layc
"especially in programs that procedure will be repeate
e to be discontinued in the rights have been offered1
junior member on layoff sta
Kopmeyer said that facu
UGH final details of the agree- will be guaranteed at least2
re not released, a copy ob- their 8 percent increase, a
the Daily shows that, will be reflected in the firs
h July 1, 1983, "no member of of the fall term. Even
aining unit (faculty) will be remaining 90 percent will 1
and "no notices of layoff will formula for University r
to members of the bargaining salary will reflect an 8 perc
for the purpose of future ne
d professors reassigned to Although the Board of G
versity units due to reductions proved both the agreeme
ntinuance will be granted year's WSU budget, facul
leave" at full pay for a period will vote in September t
eed one year; reject the agreement.