Page 2 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, May 20, 1988 t MSA. RIORDAN also disagreed with R e g e n t s "MSA represents the students Nielsen's funding plan. "Before a de- who take the time to be represented," cision to pursue a plan like that is Continued from Page 1 he said. "The students support what made, the regents have to be very senting students who disapprove of MSA is doing. My constituents positive that the system we have MSA's policies. know me and know that I'm working right now doesn't work," she said. Williams said MSA's problems for them." "The system we have now does come from unchecked power, espe- LSA junior Sarah Riordan, chair work, and there is no reason to make cially in the hands the president and of MSA's student rights committee, that radical a change with it." vice president. He said MSA must be said the engineering students did not "Self-determination of a student redefined to give students more represent the common student view- representation, point. Efforts to improve the assem- government is important. If the en- "We must do away with political bly must be constructive, not antag- gineering government feels com- parties and have MSA representatives onistic, she added. pletely stifled by MSA, then they should cet oehn o hm selected by their school govern- "They are not trying hard enough create something for them- ments," he said. within the system they have," she se ves instead of changing MSA," M S A President Michael said. "If they don't want to workR Phillips, an LSA senior, said the en- within the existing structure to get In otherbusiness, the regents gineering students are merely cover- something out of it, then thats next year's tuition to help fund reno- ing up their own apathy by blaming fine." vations of the North Campus Com- mons and the Michigan League. 215 S. STATE Nielsen, who dissented, said the in- ANN ARBOR. MI crease is unfair to students. IN BRIEF Compiled from Staff Reports V*/Vt V ?ili YT 313-663-7403m JAPANESE RESTAURANT APPETIZERS QUICK LUNCHES SUKIYAKI TERIYAKI FRIDAY SUSHI BAR UNTIL 2 PM I , Vice President and Chief Finan- cial Officer James Brinkerhoff pro- posed the "student fee" to offset a renovation costs estimated at between $500,000 and $600,000 annually. THE COMMONS, currently under construction, will double in size. Regent Deane Baker (R-Ann Ar- bor) said students will benefit from the improvements made in the facili- ties. "The League and the North Campus Commons are going to be important in providing services to the community," he said. Lefamation suit The University Board of Regents may decide today whether to con- tinue funding the defense of a Uni- versity student in a defamation suit filed by former visiting professor Thomas Rosenboom. The funding dispute arose at last month's regent's meeting, when Regent Neal Nielsen (R-Brighton) questioned whether the University should provide legal aid for students involved in "private litigation." Last September, the student charged the Dutch author and writer- in-residence with fourth-degree sex- ual misconduct. The Ann Arbor Circuit Court dropped the case earlier this year due to insufficient evidence. Rosenboom is seeking more than $10,000 in the defamation counter- suit he filed last October against the student and Kata Issari, a Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC) sexual assault counselor. SAPAC director Julie Steiner said the regents should continue the funding to demonstrate that the Uni- versity stands behind those who re- port incidents of sexual harassment, as encouraged by the University's "Tell Someone" campaign. "Its my feeling that we would have to take down every poster that says 'Tell Someone"' if the regents vote to withdraw funding for the de- fense, Steiner said. "We would be putting (people who report incidents of harassment) in jeopardy.' But Regent Paul Brown (D- Petoskey) said the decision whether to fund a student's legal defense should vary from case to case. Steiner said she has seen "a real reluctance on the part of people who come in our office to make a report" since Nielsen first questioned the University funding in October. - Julie Ziegler Smart invention Frank Filisko, a research professor in the college of Engi- neering, has invented a new "smart fluid" which he said could revolutionize the automotive, robotics, and hydraulics industries. Filisko calls the fluid smart because it can change its viscosity from water-like to the thickness of butter in a milisecond when exposed to an electrical charge. It could be used to regulate torque in mechanisms such as automotive clutch systems faster than the current mechanical methods. "It's as revolutionary as the invention of the first transistor," Filisko said. A u t o m o t i v e Engineering magazine has esti- mated this technology could translate into a $20 billion-a-year business. Another advantage of the fluid is that, unlike other electrically- sensitive fluids, "smart fluid" contains no water, allowing it to withstand temperatures of 150 degrees Celsius without evap- orating. - John McCaffrey Abilitygrouping Ability grouping can positively influence the academic achieve- ment of high-ability students, but has little or no effect on average to below-average students, according to a recent study by University re- searchers James and Chen-Lin Kulik. According to the Kuliks' re- search, which surveyed 109 studies on ability grouping, academically talented students demonstrated greater achievement when taught separately and given more chal- lenging work than the usual aca- demic fare. - Joy Das Gupta DAILY SPECIALS TAKE-OUT HOURS: Mon.-Sat. 11AM-9PM Sun. 3PM-8PM \II ct~a\e0-oi ooffetris Po 10 fi- e~l a ~ ar ld e(0 c o mate nt tMd~ o a\ ' t y P lnee sIn a fll one ye ths e por gaIS challege of help IS use While eI'el 0 xye I Drec d offn" y z Vol. XCVIII- No.3S The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967 X) is published Fridays dur- ing the spring and summer terms. Subscription rates: May through August - $6 in Ann Arbor; $8 outside the city. EDITOR IN CHIEF...............Steve Knopper MANAGING EDITOR..........Jim Ponlewozik NEW STUDENT EDITION ED ITOR...............................Lisa Pollak NEWS STAFF: Kristine LaLonde, Eric Lemont Alyssa Lustigman, Peter Mooney, Ryan Tutak, Veronica W"1'ig,. 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