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Ninety-four years of editorialfreedom
Ann Arbor, Michigan - Friday, May 11, 1984
Vol. XCIV, No. 4-S
C*pyright 1984
The Mihigan, Daily
Fifteen Cents
Twenty Pages
LSA panel examines curriculum
i
By ANDREW ERIKSEN
Six faculty members, a student, and
an associate LSA dean will work this
summer on projects which may lead to
sweeping changes in LSA.
The eight members of the Blue Rib-
bon Commission are studying ways to
change the curriculum and the makeup
of the LSA student body in response to a
report saying that the number of
college-age students in the state will
drop significantly by the end of the cen-
tury.
"WE'RE GOING to be working on
topics that we assign ourselves," said
Albert Hermalin, professor of sociology
and a member of the commission.
Jack Walker, professor of political
Members to work on
projects during summer
science and newly appointed associate
dean for academic appointments, is
completing a study for the commission
on demographics. Meanwhile, Sociol-
ogy Prof. Howard Schuman is conducting
a study based on surveys given to in-
coming freshman students.
The study on demographic trends is
trying to forecast the enrollment for the
next 15 years, Walker said. The student
surveys will ask why students chose the
University or why they didn't.
LAST FALL, the Dean and the
Executive Committee of LSA appointed
the commission in response to the
decline in the number of high school
graduates and as a result of a report on
LSA distribution requirements by
English Prof. William Alexander.
"In the Alexander Subcommittee
report, it recommends the formation of
a committee to study distribution
requirements," said Jack Meiland,
associate dean for long range planning
and a member of the commission. "I
think that committee is the Blue Ribbon
Commission."
The commission released its interim
report last month. They said the
present distribution requirements were
in disarray - "In part because almost
every undergraduate course, no matter
how specialized or otherwise un-
suitable, can be used to satisfy them."
"WE HAVE become aware," the
report said "that some potential
students, while convinced of the distin-
ction of our faculty, often choose other
schools because they do not expect (the
faculty's) high quality to affect the
education they would receive here."
The report responded to the potential
drop in the number of students in three
ways. One suggestion is to increase the
See COMMISSION, Page 15
Neighbors protest-
mid-town development
By ERIC MATTSON
Carl Brauer has to receive permission
before he can put a parking lot behind
his 124-year-old house. The area is
zoned for business already, so the city
merely has to approve a site plan for
the parking lot before Brauer can lease
the house to a business.
But in an Ann Arbor Planning Com-
mission hearing Tuesday night, the
ongoing conflict between commercial
developers and downtown residents
erupted over the seemingly innocuous
issue.
SEVERAL members of the Down-
town Neighbors' Association protested
the conversion of Brauer's house at 415
N. Fourth Ave. to commercial use,
saying the area is already over-
developed.
The commission tabled the decision
until May 22 in order to give Brauer a
chance to modify his plans to meet the
city code.
Eight speakers said that turning the
house on Fourth into a business is sim-
ply part of a trend to wipe out the
residential areas of downtown.
"I GET THE feeling that Ann Arbor
is going to be turned into one big office
before we're through," said Roger Ker-
son, founder of the Downtown Neigh-
bor's Association.
Kerson is a resident of Braun Court, a
seven-house development near
Brauer's house which is also slated for
commercial development.
Kerson and other members of the
Downtown Neighbor's Association are
supporting a City Council resolution
proposed by Lowell Peterson (D-First
Ward) which would turn the area into a
strictly residential neighborhood.
The group has already collected over
300 signatures on a petition opposing
the conversion of Braun Court into a
domed shopping area.
Ann Arbor resident Paul Brown
complained that "we are building
commercial space - alot of it vacant, a
lot of it unused - and at the same time
we're wiping out residential space."
KERSON PASSED out copies of a
resolution passed by the City Council in
1976, which stated in part: "The focus
of development. . . in this area should
be on maintaining the existing balance
See GROUP, Page 13
Associated Press
Hot leather
Firemen contend with flames fanned by high winds yesterday following an
explosion and fire at a Peabody, Mass. leather company. At least eight
people were injured in the incident.
Jackson may go to Moscow
to fight Olympic boycott
From AP and UPI
Democrats picked up the Olympic torch yesterday,
with Walter Mondale and Jesse Jackson calling on
President Reagan to become involved personally in
efforts to bring the Soviets back to the summer
games - and Jackson offering to go to Moscow him-
self.
The Soviet Union announced Tuesday it could not
send its teams to the Summer Games in Los Angeles
and set the tone for similar announcements by
Bulgaria and East Germany by citing fears for the
security of athletes and asserting that the United
States was violating the spirit of the Olympics.
JACKSON met with Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin
at the Soviet Embassy in Washington yesterday and
then said he would go to Moscow if that would help
persuade the Soviets to reverse their decision.
"Our young men and women in their formative
years ought to learn to participate in athletic games
and not in war games," Jackson told reporters. He
said the presence of Soviet athletes at the Olympics
"would be a major step toward peaceful relations."
He called on Reagan to "take the initiative" and
give the Soviets assurances of security and protection
for their team.
See BULGARIA, Page 15
Inside:
" A Washington, D.C. firm is helping MSU find
a new president. See page 3.
" The Russian withdrawal from the 19114
Summer Olympics is one of many Olympic
blunders. See Opinion, page 6.
b The Natural is a diseased culture -- like
yogurt gone bad. See Arts, pages.
" Casey Close has been getting shelled on the
mound, but has been a cannon at the plate. See
Sports, page 18.
Outside:-
" Mostly sunny today with a high near 70.