4- The Michigan Daily Summer Weekly - Wednesday, July 22,1992
LIrE> ir111 Mn ,± MSIn
OPINION
I
EDITOR IN CHIEF
ANDREW M. LEVY
OPINION EDITORS
GIL RENBERG
DAVID SHEPARDSON
Unsigned editorials represent the opinion
of a majority of the Daily's editorial
board. All other cartoons, signed articles,
and letters do not necessarily reflect the
opinion of the Daily.
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
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Edited and Managed by
Students at the
University of Michigan
0
S urprise! The University Board of Regents
raisedtuition at last week's July meeting by
an average increase of 9.1 percent, which will
provide theUniversity with an extra $25.8 mil-
lion.Including theincreaseof$140in additional
fees for each student, the real tuition increase
was 10.8 percent. While an increase was inevi-
table, both the manner and size of the tuition
jump are unacceptable to students. The United
States is currently in its worst recession since
World Warl. How many times can the students
of this university be subjected to 300 percent
increases in tuition over the rate of inflation?
InProvostandVice-PresidentforAcademic
Affairs Gilbert Whitaker's "Shared Sacrifice"
budget presentation to theregents, he noted that
the role of the budget in planning is to "match
aspirations and resources, actively seek new
resources, and make better use of resources."
This last phrase is code for cutting the budget.
While the typical approach is to criticize the
bloated size of the administration - and it is
indeed bloated - it is time to look for other
places to cut a budget that is spiraling out of
control.
In the Fiscal '93 budget, each department is
forced tomakeatwopercentreductioninspend-
The 10.8% solution
Regents fail to challenge the necessity for massive
tuition increase, opting to indulge in grandstanding
tuition revenueisbeingdedicatedtoan increase
in financial aid. More than $50 million has been
appropriated for financial aid this year, a $12
million increase over last year. This increase
brings the amount of financial aid that the Uni-
versity offers more in line with comparable
ing, totaling some $12 million. Yet, the depart.
mentsaresurviving. Thereissuperfluousspend-
ing throughout the University. Could that $12
million have been reduced one year ago? An
emphasis on 'M' Quality, and similar cost-
cutting programs are necessary to keep tuition
down. The MSA or the administration could
assemble a student committee to give input
prioritize spending and select projects which
students could most live without.
It is important to note that by unanimously
passing the budget, the regents failed to fulfill
their responsibility to the students and the tax-
payers of this state. The debate was confined to
election-year rhetoric which ignored the real
problems of the budget. No regent questioned
the needorimpact of such a substantial increase
and no regent amended any part of the budget.
They passed it giving the administration carte
blanche with no strings attached.
The tuition increase did not all come in the
form of actualtuition. Instead, ahidden$140fee universities nationwide.
was summarily applied to all tuition bills. This Next July, the regents will again raise tu-
represents 16 percent of the total increase in the ition. However, this July's meeting should not
cost of attending the University next year. The be used as a guide. The issues should be dis-
administration should be honest with the stu- cussed, students should be involved in the plan-
dents in announcing tuition increases - rather ning and production of the budget. If the admin-
than a hike in fees to mask the real increase. istration can't find ways to cut the budget,
A total of 46 percent of the incremental maybe the students will.
MSA guilty of negligence
As predicted, no member of the MSA spoke against the tuition increase at last week's Board of
Regents meeting. This is an unforgivable oversight on the part of MSA's executive officers.
The Progressive Party ran on aplatform plankof a tuition freeze. But when the firstopportunity
arose to keep their campaign promise by opposing a tuition increase, MSA was foronce surprisingly
quiet. MSA owes itsconstituency an explanation for dropping the"commitment"toa tuition freeze.
Earlier this summer, MSA passed a resolution "standing in solidarity" with students at Rutgers
who were opposed to a hike in tuition. Itis absurd that MSA was willing to condemn a tuition
increase at a school hundreds of miles away but completely ignored the increase at Michigan.
The student government is supposed to represent the interests of students at Michigan. It does
not. With this most recentchange in leadership of MSA, we have been shortchanged on leadership.
The Assembly must act when it counts rather than let events pass it by.
Another fine mess
While reorganization plan has merit, the proposal to
streamline student services falls short of some goals
t
A welcome exit
Perot's early exit from the presidential race is
fortunate, since there is no risk of his winning
In the days since undeclared candidate Ross him on the short-lists for government contracts
Perot announced he would relinquish his bid throughout the 1960's and 1970's - calling
for the presidency, both major parties and the into question his "outsider" status.
media have hailed his contribution to politics. Some of the scandals that appeared in the
The candidates are now scrambling for the sup- media were fair criticism of the candidate, and
port of his followers, and the media have ex- some were not. But it should be noted that Perot
pressedpity for thevolunteersheleftat the altar. invited this sortof scrutiny by continually dodg-
It is a relief to see him leave the political fray. ing the issues. If he offered the nation a detailed
ThemediaspotlightfocusedonPerotduring planofactionrather thanhisevasions,themedia
the last few months has made clear thathe is not would have had something better to do than to
the answer to the problem ofan entrenched two- dig through his past.
party system, but a demagogue who is a loose Unfortunately for Perot, when he did offer
cannon on the scene of American politics. positionsonissues,hesometimesgotintotrouble.
Perot's initial appearance on the election Hesaidhe wouldnotappoint gays tohiscabinet.
scene was a welcome addition to a slew of what Then he waffled. Then he said he would end the
seemed to be mediocre candidates. While these military's long-time ban of gays.
candidates were pandering to voters, Perot was When talking tough about his plan for a
talking frankly about finding solutions to prob- "War on Drugs,"Perot said he wouldconduct a
lems in government. Moreover, Perot said he "house-by-house" search of some neighbor-
wasagainsttheGulfWar,pro-choice,andpulled hoods. This sort of blatant disregard for civil
no punches when attacking President Bush's liberties added credibility to Quayle's claim.
economic policy. Forced to stand up to all of this criticism in
The more voters heard of Perot, the less the media, and falling in the polls which he held
inclined they were to vote for him. His populist so dear,running for president nolonger seemed
rhetoric about dodging Congress and acting on "fun" for Perot. So he quit.
what "the people" wanted affirmed Vice Presi- But what is truly sad about Perot's now-
dent Dan Quayle's assertion that Perot held defunct campaign is that Americans were not
"contempt for the Constitution." When asked offered something they deserve - another
toughpolicy questions thecandidatecouldrarely choice. Perot did mobilize a chunk of the elec-
come up with more than "get a consensus" or toratethat was tired of thestatus-quoand willing
"bring in ateamofexperts"or"justdoit!"Those to volunteer for change.
types of easy answers to political problems Since he threw in the towel, Perot has met
simply would not wash in this year of tough with state heads of his volunteer offices from
issues and tough choices. across the country. Perot now says he will stay
And then there were the scandals. Perot involved in the race, but only as a figurehead or
allegedlypaid$50milliontobuyanewspaperor a "protest vote," and he may fund other candi-
atelevision station that wouldprovide favorable dates. It seems the former corporate tycoon is
coverage of the Vietnam War as a favor to more comfortable in his old role as a power
President Nixon. He spied on his employees at broker than as a political candidate.
Electronic Data Systems to ensure that they Who knows? There may even be a third
measuredup to his standards.He bullieda Texas party in the works. That might cffer the nation
reporter who wrote an unfavorable story in a the change thatitneeds-solong asPerotis not
Texas magazine. He used his influence to get at the top of the ticket or calling the shots.
0
T here is no doubt that the average student,
unless incredibly motivated, finds it an ex-
traordinary challenge to navigate the so-called
services offeredby the University. The red tape
is cumbersome and students often find them-
selves frustrated rather than finding what they
want.
Enter Vice President for Student Affairs
Maureen Hartford, along with a plan for the
reorganization of student services attheUniver-
sity - a plan approved at the recent July meet-
ing of the University Board of Regents.
The reorganization of the Office of Student
Affairs seeks to eradicate some proverbial red
tape, in favor of a centralized, conveniently
located operation that would serve most of the
students' needsunder oneroof.Thisis supposed
to be accomplishedby the creation of a Dean of
Students office, ledby Associate Vice President
for Student Affairs Royster Harper.
Though such a change is certainly due, there
are several fundamental problems with the
changes as outlined. The plan calls for a variety
of organizations - currently spread haphaz-
ardly throughout the University bureaucracy-
to be concentrated within the portfolios of three
associate deans of students. One of the three
associate deans would be responsible for pro-
gramming at the University, another would be
responsible for counseling and related services.
The third associate dean position - and the
most disturbing -is the one responsible for the
"multicultural portfolio."
This portfolio includes all matters and of-
fices previously set up to deal with "minority"
concerns, including the Office for Minority
Affairs and Minority Student Services (MSS).
Grouping these offices together seems, at first,
agoodidea.Until,thatis, the other groupsunder
the "multicultural" umbrella are examined.
Under the plan, the same Associate Dean
willberesponsible forMSSaswilldeal with the
International Center - an unlikely pairing, to
say the least.
It seems that, unless this position is reexam-
ined, minority and diversity issues willcontinue
to get the short shrift from the Student Affairs
office.
In addition to this problem, the issue of
leadership is also a question mark. It is unclear
what role Dean of Students Harper will play in
this new office.
According to the administration, the area of
responsibility under Harper will shift from her
current responsibilities within the Office of Stu-
dent Affairs to an oversight role. There seems to
be little definition, however, for this oversight
role.
On the surface, Harper's position is no more
than another unnecessary level of bureaucracy
in an already clutteredadministration.Onehopes
that is not the case. Regardless, Harper's posi-
tion should be clearly defined- or eliminated
if unnecessary. Furthermore, the new office
raises a question of cost. At least three new
positions are being created and funding be-
comes an issue in this era of cutbacks.
Hartford says the money for the positions
being created will come from other positions
that have been "frozen" for several years, and
are now being eliminated in favor of the new
positions.
While the fact that there will be virtually no
increase in cost is very comforting, it is curious
that these positions could be eliminated with
such relative ease. It is no secret that there is
room for streamlining within the administra-
tion.
If executed correctly, the changes in the
Officeof Student Affairs could besweeping and
effective. That means garnering as much stu-
dent input as possible, meeting student needs,
and trimming - rather than bloating - the
University's sprawling bureaucracy.
The current changes simply do not accom-
plish that.