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 764-0552 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.