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One hundred six years of editorialfreedom

Wednesday
August 6, 1997

Regents discuss M-Care plan
Aleather Kamins receive free health coverage under the new plan, support President Bollinger's action to I
and Katie Plona employees choosing any other plan would pay the M-Care Preference Initiative and mov
Dily hcfs Editsrs f

postpone
ve ahead

Via a telephone conference call, the University
Board of Regents will convene today to discuss the
proposal of the M-Care Preference Initiative.
In the two weeks since the regents postponed
approving the section of the Hospital budget con-
aining the M-Care proposal, hundreds of
University faculty and staff have voiced their con-
cerns about the initiative's repercussions.
nder the M-Care proposal, all University
zen loyees would be urged to select M-Care as
their health insurance HMO. Although they would

ncreased races.
University President Lee Bollinger said the bar-
rage of responses has prompted him to advise the
regents that the M-Care proposal not be established
at this time without greater scrutiny.
"I have now concluded that this proposal needs
further consideration before we decide to imple-
ment it, Bollinger said in a statement released
Monday. "It is my intention to table the discussion
of M-Care proposal until the fall."
Members of the Senate Advisory Committee for
University Affairs last week approved a motion to

wt nng an ateatetve source o revenue tor
the hospital.
"Accordingly, we will not include the M-Care
Preference Initiative in the budget for the
University of Michigan Health System that we
will present to the Board of Regents during our
special meeting via telephone conference call on
Wednesday morning," Bollinger said. "We will
present an alternative way to balance the Health
System budget, as required by the resolution
passed by the regents at their meeting on July
18."

MCare
Money and r,
Medicine:
Current rates:
M-Care - $0.00 -
* Blue Cross Blue
Shield of
Michigan/United of
Omaha - $0.00
2 HAP - $0.00
Rates under proposed M-Care Preference
Initiation:
M-Care - $0.00
3 BCBS/United- $41.32
8 HIAP -$34.91
- rates signify an active single person's
employee contribution per month.


Post office
*to leave
arcade
By Jason Stoffer
1)iily StaffReporter
The Nickels Arcade post office, a campus
fixture for more than 50 years, will close
sometime around Christmas.
The Maynard Street post office station,
beloved by many area residents for its central
location, classical architecture and historic
charm, will be relocated to a larger and more
modernized station on South University
Avenue.
During the fall and winter semesters, lines
pour out the crowded post office's door and
extend the length of the arcade. The daily
stream of people with packages in arm are a
boon to other arcade businesses, said Audrey
Seifman, manager of the Arcadian, a Nickels
Arcade retailer.
"Nobody in the area is happy about (the
move) - whether they be store realtors,
postal workers or students," Seifman said,
"(The post office) is very convenient, it
brings a lot of traffic here and all area stores
use it on a daily basis"
The post office station is moving to the
Galleria mall, which houses Burger King,
Tower Records and Campus Collectibles.
The post office's new location will allow the
office to expand to almost four times its cur-
rent size.
University students expressed mixed reac-
tions regarding the closing.
LSA graduate Michelle Treiber said the
current post office's notoriously long lines
are an inconvenience to customers.
"If (the new station) is going to be bigger

anu taster then it n eter, reiter said.
"This post office is incredibly slow."
But Rackham student Orlando Martinez
described the closing as "horrible.z
"I spend all my time on campus (around
State Street) so the new station is not goingn
to be quite so convenient for me," Martinez
said. "It's a bad deal for people who work or
own businesses in the area." .
A series of inconsistent statements by post
office officials and Wilson White, Nickelsr
Arcade's property management company,
cloud genuine motivations for the move.r
"One of the most important reasons we
are leaving is that we were unable to get ay
long-term lease at Nickels Arcade" said Bob
Fulmer, customer relations director for the
Ann Arbor post office. "At the Galleria, we
have a long-term lease, more space and
lower costs."
Ron White, a Wilson White property man- oHDAN DsAN CAP/5t
ager, said the post office spokesperson must (Top photo) Nickels Arcade postal employee
have been misinformed. Fran Stofflet assists customer John Medley, a
"We just found out that the post office is Rackham student. (Bottom photo) Recent LSA
See ARCADE, Page 3 graduate Reimar Scholler deposits mail.

Clinton seals
student tax cut
By Christine M. Paik
Daily Staff Reporter
President Clinton signed into law yesterday a bill that will
make higher education more accessible to working and mid-
dle-class families.
The bill consists of two parts, the HOPE scholarship and
the tax break for lifelong learning, both of which will con-
siderably decrease costs of higher education for middle-class
families whose annual incomes do not exceed $100,000,
said Rick Miller, press spokesperson for the U.S.
Department of Education.
The HOPE scholarship is a tax credit of up to $1,500,
available for the first two years of college.
The lifelong learning tax break will allow third-year,
fourth-year, and graduate students to receive a 20-percent tax
credit on the first $5,000 of tuition through 2002, and the
first $10,000 of tuition for every year thereafter, as well as
decrease interest on student loans being paid by recent grad-
uates.
Tom Butts, associate vice president for University rela-
tions, said the new tax breaks for higher education are impor-
tant to the University.
"For Michigan (the tax breaks) will be very substantial,"
Butts said. "In terms of immediate impact on students, you
will see credit kick in as early as 1998"
With these tax cuts in education, the government hopes to
make at least two years of college accessible for all students.
"Everyone can benefit," Miller said. "People currently
enrolled can get tax credit through the HOPE scholarship,
and the lifelong learning tax break will help to alleviate some
of the tax burden of students who have already graduated."
An estimated 505,000 students in Michigan should bene-
fit from these tax breaks.
Miller said the bill is a major milestone in the history of
American education.
"This is the biggest federal investment in education since
the GI. Bill," Miller said. The G.1. Bill has traditionally guar-
anteed a paid education to any soldier who fought in a war.
"It is so significant in that it makes education accessible,
which is essential in this global economy."
Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-Ann Arbor), who voted for the
See CLINTON, Page 3


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