OPINION
Friday, July 18, 1986

Page 6

The Michigan Daily

Vol. XCVI, No. 9-S
96 Years of Editorial Freedom
Unsigned editorials represent the majority views of the Daily's Editorial Board
Cartoons and signed editorials do not necessarily reflect the Daily's opinion.
Aid scare

Athlete-students

ONCE AGAIN Governor Blan-.
chard is offering state aid to the
University conditionally, and once
again the contingency is an in-state
tuition ceiling. For the third con-
secutive year, Gov. Blanchard has
overstepped his bounds and limited
the University's decision-making
power over its own budget. The
University, admittedly in a sensitive
position, should nevertheless fight for
its autonomy so that it can make
tuition decisions reflective of its
financial needs. ,
Because of Gov. Blanchard's con-
tinuing policy of conditional aid, in-
state students were awarded a tuition
freeze in 1984 and 1985. Consequently,
out-of-staters faced consecutive in-
creases of 7 and 8 percent and the
University ran deficits of 1.4 and 1.9
million. Obviously, increases in state
aid were inadequate to maintain the
University with a freeze on in-state
tuition.
State appropriations to the Univer-
sity dropped from covering 60.7 per-
cent of the University's operating ex-
penses in 1975 to 47.5 percent by 1983..
Since 1983, Governor Blanchard has

capitalized politically on a renewed
Michigan economy by increasing
funds but not meeting 1975 levels
while demanding that in-state tuition
increases be avoided. Blanchard is
out of line, theregents are elected to
govern the University, including its
general budget; the Governor should
not use his economic influence to dic-
tate University budgetary policy.
The University has fallen behind its
peer institutions: as it struggles to
stay even, many others have
progressed. The University asked for
an increase of $35 million from the
state this year and received $14.4
million. If the state had complied with
the University'strequest then Blan-
chard's 4.3 tuition increase limit
could have been met. To break even,
the University will have to raise out-
of-state tuition 8 percent again. With
a 12 percent increase in Universty
Housing costs slated for the Fall, out-
of-state students are going to be
doubly hit. It is imperative that the
University not kowtow to Blanchard's
election year politicking and protect
its ability to raise tuition equally for
both in-state and out-of-state studen-
ts.

M I[CHIGAN'S BASKETBALL
team will have to do without two
promising recruits next year. In-
coming freshmen Terry Mills and
Rumeal Robinson failed to reach the
standards established by the NCAA
proposition 48 bylaw and will have to
sit out a year. While it's encouraging
that this rule is being enforced, it's
questionable whether the University
should be admitting students who are
incapable of meeting minimal NCAA
standards.
Proposition 48 requires that
athletes receive a combined score of
700 on the SAT and a GPA of 2.0. The
rule was designed to combat the prac-
tice of Universities admitting players
who are unqualified to attend their
schools. Many of players were later
found to be cheating to maintain their
eligibility, usually with aid of their
coaches.
For example, at the University of
Southern California players were
given credit for junior college courses
which they never attended.
The fact that the rule is enforced so
visibly in the Mills and Robinson cases
indicates that it is effective. These
players will have a year to work to
regain their academic eligibility.
Also, the team will have to do without
both a promising guard and a
promising forward. This will force
Coach Bill Frieder to recruit athletes
qualified to attend the University and
will send a message to high school
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athletes that they have to be students
too.
Perhaps a more effective solution
to the problem would be to raise ad-
misson standards for athletes to a
reasonable level. Athletes should only
be admitted if their grades indicate
that they would have a decent chance
at academic success. To a large ex-
tent the Admissions office already
does this, which is demonstrated by
the fact that 17 out of 21 of Frieder's
players have graduated.
Still, the fact Mills' and Robinson's
standardized test scores were so low
indicates poor judgement by the Ad-
missions office. Though the SAT is not
a good indicator of ability, especially
for disadvantaged students, it isn't
unreasonable to demand a combined
score of 700, which requires an-
swering correctly only one-fifth of the
math questions and one-third of the
verbal.
Hopefully, Mills and Robinson will
succeed at the University despite
their low scores. The basketball team
holds mandatory study sessions and
offers tutors to their players which
helps many to achieve at a higher
level than they would otherwise. With
this in mind there may be some
justification for admitting athletes at
a lower standard than is applied to
other students. In the cases of Mills
and Robinson, however, it seems the
University has gone too far.
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7

Win for Americans

ILLER BEER isn't the only
hing made the American Way.
American League all-stars' 3-2 upset
of their National League nemesises
showed that even for the down and out
there is always hope.
In case anyone reading this is not a
baseball fan you should know that
Tuesday's game marked only the
second victory in fifteen years for the
American League. Year in and year
out the senior circuit has humiliated
the hapless A.L. all-stars. The game
has been as suspenseful as the
Roadrunner against the Coyote, the
U.S. versus Grenada, or a student
trying to influence the University
administration.
The victory holds significance for

stepped on underdogs everywhere.
Much as the smaller David used a
slingshot to fell Goliath, the equally
unimposing Detroit second baseman
"Sweet" Lou Whitaker used his bat to
hit a two run home run providing the
victory margin.
Thee American League's success
should give hope to those fighting
seemingly lost causes. Particularly
those still waiting for the Tigers to
regain their 1984 form or for congress
to refuse Reagan anything or for
Dominoes, to deliver a late pizza....
Perhaps next year things will return
to normal, but until then, the
American League will have shown skeptics
that with persistence anything is
possible.

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