P tC ti, Cl tl 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.