NEWS
One thing at a time
Experts say that while most
students believe they can suc-
cessfully complete a variety of
activities at one time, the stress
multitasking places on the brain
lowers productivity. See page 2.
OPINION
From the Daily:
Passing the buck
Just when you thought Michi-
gan's lawmakers couldn't get any
more incompetent, ttsey passed a
budget on Friday that endangers
the state's onlyvaluable resource:
its universities. Instead of solv-
ing Michigan's budget problem,
lawmakers opted for a quick fix
that piles the fiscal crisis on the
state's universities and may lead
to double-digit tuition hikes.
See page 4.
SPORTS
Swing and a miss
The
Michigan -
softball
and base-
ball teams had a
rough weekend,
losing two games
apiece. See
page 13.
INDEX
vol. cxvii. No. 142
02007 The Michigan Daily
michigandoily. com
NEWS.............................................2
OPINION........................................4
CLASSIFIED...................................6
ARTS.....8
SU D O K U .......................................11
SPORTS .........................................13
Campus Corner owner Gus Batwo disagrees with the legislation that assigns the same $30 deposit fee to full-barrel, half-
barrel and quarter-barrel kegs despite their differences in value.
Deposit on kegs tripled
TEXTBOOKS
'U' wants
earlier
book lists
from profs
By AMINA FARHA
DailyStaffReporter
Long lines at bookstores and
several hundred-dollar bills are
expected costs for students pur-
chasing textbooks. But a University
taskforce is tryingto change that.
"We want to get the text-
book lists out earlier so that
students are either able to buy
them from other students or
able to search for used text-
books," said Prof. Charles
Koopmann, a member of the Uni-
versity taskforce that reported on
the issue.
The taskforce presented a report
to the Senate Advisory Committee
onUniversityAffairsonMay16that
included a plan to provide students
with earlier access to required
reading lists for courses so they can
find textbooks at lower prices.
Senior Vice Provost Lester
Monts created the taskforce last
year after members of the Michi-
See TEXTBOOK, Page 3
BY THE NUMBERS
A report by a University taskforce ranked
39 colleges on their textbook policies
38
The University's ranking
20
OhioState University's ranking
1
Santa Fe Community College's rankig
Brewers hope
increase will ensure
return of kegs
By KATHRYN VAN
LONKHUYZEN
For the Daily
Because of state legislation
effective May 11, collecting funds
for a keg is $20 harder.
The Michigan Liquor Control
Commission increased the secu-
rity deposit stores that sell kegs
of beer pay to beer companies for
each keg they rent from $10 to $30
- an expense that most local party
stores will pass on to customers.
The legislation was spurred
by pressure from large breweries
like Anheuser-Busch that lose far
more than $30 when a keg is not
returned.
"The current cost of a new keg
to us is $152," said Larry Bell,
president of Bell's Brewery in
Kalamazoo.
Breweries like Bell's buy the
kegs from manufacturers and then
allow retailers to use the kegs.
They require retailers to pay a
deposit on the kegs to ensure that
they are returned to the brewery
for future use.
Whenkegsstopped comingback
to stores and breweries the brew-
ers became concerned.
"There was a fairly big economic
issue of them," Wozniak said.
Robert Kesto, owner of Champi-
ons Party Store, said the kegs were
not being returned because most
contain stainless steel that could
be sold for scrap metal for more
than the $10 deposit.
Metal Recycling Unlimited in
Dexter buys stainless steel for
$.70/ lb, while Haggerty Metals
in Plymouth pays $.90/ lb for the
metal.
A half-barrel keg weighs 33
pounds, so at Metal Recycling
Unlimited in Dexter a patron could
sell an empty keg for $29.70.
With the new deposit closer to
the scrap value of kegs, the Michi-
gan Liquor Control Commission
trusts it can curb the problem of
unreturned kegs.
Some brewers, however, don't
think that the $30 deposit is high
enough.
Bell said he proposed a $90
deposit fee and that Anheuser-
Busch wanted a $50 fee.
Bell said the increasing cost
of stainless steel renders the $30
deposit inefficient.
"Given the cost of stainless steel,
we'll have to push for higher," he
said.
Gus Batwo, owner of Cam-
pus Corner, said that he doesn't
agree with the legislation because
customers who purchase a quar-
See KEGS, Page 9