Wednesday, July 26, 1995 -The Michigan Daily -3
NWROC boycotts
Borders over sale
of newspapers
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Meredith Conn and Meghan Smith learn how to adjust their camera settings during a photography class. The three-
week seminar is part of "Summer Discovery at Michigan," a program for high school students to study on college
campuses.
4jngler links universities,
~~~wihstate wt nentporm
By Christina Rieske
Daily Staff Reporter
The support for striking newspaper
workers has extended far beyond labor
unions. The National Women's Rights
Organizing Coalition held a protest last
Saturday outside Borders Books and Mu-
sic, boycotting the sale of the Detroit
News and Free Press papers.
Ileen Cheff, an NWROC member and
lawyer for the organization, said she sees
Borders' continued sale of the paper as
an offense to those fighting for an im-
proved quality of life.
"I think basically that anyone who is
interested in defending their rights really
needs to be supporting this strike," Cheff
said. "Borders shouldn't be carrying a
scab newspaper. It should be doing the
little it could do to support these workers."
Borders has taken a neutral stance on
the strike and a commitment to their cus-
tomers' choice of newspaper.
"Borders has no opinion on the strike;
that is why we continue to sell the paper,"
said Tom Rogers, assistant manager of
Borders Book Store's Ann Arbor location.
"Whether it's banned books, contro-
versial authors or newspapers with striking
unions, Borders remains committed to of-
fering a wide range of materials on many
topics representing different viewpoints
and tastes," stated a press release fromBor-
ders. "It is the individual customer's ulti-
mate decision to buy or not to buy."
Members said that NWROC's call for
a boycott of Borders bookstores is the
organization's way of placing pressure on
the papers to settle the contract disputes.
"It will influence labor struggles
throughout the Detroit Metropolitan area
and across the country for years to come,"
stated an NWROC publicity flier.'Conces-
sions and consequent decline in jobs and
workers' living standards has in turn led to
the continued decay of cities like Detroit."
On July 13, 2,500 newspaper workers
left their jobs after contract negotiations
came to a halt. There havebeen continuing
protests by workers and many others sup-
porting the strike.
The Detroit News and Free Press have
been publishing a joint daily paper with a
reduced staff.
The striking unions have launched
what they feel to be successful cam-
paigns to get advertisers and subscribers
to boycott the paper, said Dennis
Romenoski, president of Teamsters Lo-
cal 372 last week.
"We are asking advertisers not to
place ads.... People are supportive and
many are withdrawing their subscrip-
tions," Romenoski said.
The paper has tried to resume normal
distribution in the Detroit Metro area, al-
though NWROC feels the efforts are futile.
"The management is distributing a
lot of papers that were never asked for,"
Cheff said.
NWROC plans to be in front of Bor-
ders again today at 5 p.m. and on Thursday
at Borders Dearborn location. There were
about 25 people on the picket line on Sat-
urday and NWROC Ann Arbor organizer
Jodi Masley said that they had a effect on
customers entering and exiting the store.
"We had several people decide not to
go in after talking to us.... It really
shook up Borders," Masley said.
By Marisa Ma
Daily Staff Reporter
If Governor John Engler's Michi-
an Information Network plan flour-
hes, Michigan schools, libraries and
other non-profit sectors will soon be
speeding along the information super-
highway.
Presented on June 30, the MIN plan
puts forth initiatives to connect public
schools and universities, libraries and hos-
pitals electronically over television, tele-
phone and computer.
The statewide system will bring
ichigan into the information age, Gov.
ngler said in a press release.
"Technology is changing so fast, we
can barely keep up with what's on the in-
formation superhighway," Engler said.
"Make no mistake, telecommunications
technology has the power to bring us in-
formation and resources from around the
world - instantaneously and cost effec-
tively."
One example is distance learning, in
which a high school student can take a
lass at the University hundreds of miles
way through a television screen and tele-
phone lines.
The Michigan Terminal System at
the University is planned to be linked to
the K-12 schools for access to informa-
tion, and in the future for distance learn-
ing.
"More and more people will have ac-
cess to the resources at the University li-
brary," said Doug Van Houweling, dean
academic outreach.
The MIN advisory commission cre-
ated by the governor will hold public
hearings about the MIN plan and de-
velop more awareness of technological
possibilities statewide.
"Make no mistake, telecommunications
technology has the power to bring us
information and resources from around the
world - instantaneously and cost-effectively."
- Michigan Gov. John Engler
Van Houweling, who also serves on
the MIN advisory commission, said Uni-
versity students will be affected in the
long term.
"If they graduate, they will haveeasier
access to the resources at the University,"
Van Houweling said.
Hospitals and libraries will also be
connected on the system. Van
Houweling said more local doctors can
use the information to better serve their
patients.
Some doctors are even providing
post-op checkups over the television
screen using telecommunications tech-
nology.
Robert Van Ravenswaay, a technol-
ogy policy consultant to MIN, said tech-
nology is expanding and Michigan
schools shouldcatch up with other univer-
sities like Georgia Tech and Purdue,
which offer distance learning to Michigan
employees.
"Within the last two or three years,
we're moving away from the excitement
of having personal computers. ... Net-
works are getting bigger and bigger and
encompass telecommunications," he
said.
Funding to deliver communication
services such as satellite or special tele-
phone lines will be mainly left up to the
schools and universities.
The User Empowerment Authority,
which will replace the advisory commis-
sion, will decide whether state resources
already invested in telecommunication
technology may be reorganized to assist
in funding.
In addition, the authority will coordi-
nate the networks in an unified statewide
system.
The MIN office, which will be cre-
ated on Oct. 1, 1995, will act as a pur-
chasing agent for the users to collectively
buy telecommunication services. The
physical infrastructure of the networks is
currently in place.
The MIN office will also increase
electronic dissemination of state govern-
ment documents and information.
Engler envisions taxes filed and
MEAP tests taken electronically. In a few
years, he hopes that all state government
documents will be published on the
Internet.
The Michigan Government Televi-
sion channel, offered through the cable
companies to homes and organizations,
will allow people to watch state House,
Senate and governor's meetings.
MGTV is expected to be broadcasted
this fall.
Interactive telephone communication
between viewers and the decision-makers
is expected to be the next step.
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