4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday,_September 11, 1995
J e ~rI iuu zi
J~.R Co
SIGN ON THE DTnD L mE
420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed by
students at the
University of Michigan
I I
MICHAEL ROSENBERG
Editor in Chief
JULIE BECKER
JAMES M. NASH
Editorial Page Editors
Don't expect Duderstadt to
pack hA' bags anytime soon
Unless othervise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of a majority of the Daily's editorial board. All
other articles, letters, and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
Stri ngs attached
What occurs when our leaders take 'U' cash?
T his summer, the University held its sec-
ond annual Leadership 2017 program.
The program, which is sponsored and funded
by the University, pays student leaders who
participate approximately $5,000. It is de-
signed to train these students in skills that
will benefit the University and the student
groups they represent.
Leadership 2017 has some commendable
goals. It presents an excellent opportunity
for student leaders to become better educated
about the inner workings of the University.
The more these leaders know about the Uni-
versity, the better prepared they are to utilize
its resources and voice concerns over its
shortcomings. The program also allows lead-
ers of different student groups at the Univer-
sity to meet, communicate and possibly work
on joint ventures, strengthening ties between
student groups on campus. Furthermore, par-
ticipants are required to complete a self-
designed project to advance the work of their
student groups.
Despite the program's good intent, there
were several problems with the selection
process and the funding. Heeding criticism
about last year's closed selection procedure,
the University sent out applications in an
ostensible attempt to open the process to
more students. However, those picked for
this year's program ended up much the same
as last year's: leaders of large student organi-
zations - making the "open" selection pro-
cess little more than a joke.
Even more troubling, students should not
be getting money from the administration
based on their leadership positions at the
University. This could compromise student
leaders' autonomy in making decisions for or
against the administration.
The most glaring example of this possible
conflict is Michigan Student Assembly Presi-
dent Flint Wainess' attendance at the pro-
gram. Wainess clearly stated during last
spring's presidential campaign that he op-
posed Leadership 2017 because student lead-
ers received money from the administration.
His attendance, therefore, contradicted his
campaign position. Wainess cannot simulta-
neously represent students to the administra-
tion and be paid by the administration. His
actions this summer betrayed not only his
campaign position, but his responsibility to
the student body.
The Leadership 2017 program, if contin-
ued, must search for other sources of fund-
ing. Money should be solicited from sources
outside the University, perhaps from alumni
or from corporate sponsors. This would pre-
vent possible conflicts of interest between
the administration and student leaders. The
University might also consider creating a
class that can be taken for credit. This way,
students could get training during the entire
academic term, without giving up their sum-
mers to unpaid work - which would be the
result of uncompensated participation in
Leadership 2017.
Leadership 2017 can be a good program if
properly funded. If the University is truly
dedicated to maintaining a program designed
for leadership development - which would
serve students well - both the University
and student leaders such as Wainess need to
devise an alternative way of running Leader-
ship 2017.
E very year universities across
the country wage war against each other
in a winner-take-all fight to lure top school
administrators - a rare breed of brilliant
educators-turned-administrators with awe-
inspiring track records - to their school
with offers of unlimited power, bottomless
budgets, a new home and hefty salaries.
LSA Dean Edie Goldenberg was one of
four finalists in the recently concluded search
for the next University of Washington presi-
dent. Princeton University wooed former
President Harold T. Shapiro, whose name
was given to the renovated UGLi library.
Former Engineering Dean Charles Vest could
not resist the chance of a lifetime to take the
presidency of MIT.
Whenever a major national position opens
up, University PresidentJamesJ. Duderstadt,
now entering his eighth year in the position,
comes up on every search committee's final
list of nominees. This summer, Duderstadt
was under consideration to replace the retir-
ing University of California president, Jack
Peltason.
The prospect ofa $243,000-a-year job as
president ofthe statewide University of Cali-
fornia system - which comprises nine cam-
puses and 150,000 students - was not
enough to entice Duderstadt away from the
New Athens along the Huron.
For better or for worse, depending on
whom you ask, it seems the 52-year-old
Duderstadt is here to stay. Don't believe
me? Just take a look at the plans for his new
half-million-dollar, 4,500-square-foot retire-
ment home he's building right here in Ann
Arbor - certainly a clear indication that
Duderstadt intends to remain president or at
least stay at the University until he retires.
His retirement home, to be completed in
mid-October, is located on a half-acre
wooded lot worth $170,000 on Glendaloch
Road, on the city's east side near the exclu-
sive Ann Arbor Hills.
Henry Landau will build the $470,000
two-story residence that comes with a
ground-floor den and master bedroom that
opens to a deck. (Negotiations for an Ethernet
connection between Duderstadt's retirement
home and the University's computers net-
work are still in the works.)
Duderstadt currently lives in the Univer-
sity-owned mansion, the President's House,
located on South University. The 13,000-
square-foot, 22-room residence has housed
all 11 University presidents since it was built
more than 150 years ago. But Du'derstadt
elected not to sell his other three-bedroom
home on Delaware Drive on Ann Arbor's
south side, which he bought 25 years ago
while still a lowly assistant engineering pro-
fessor.
What is it about Ann Arbor or the Uni-
versity that convinced Duderstadt he can
never leave? Was it the passage of Proposal
A in 1993, which slashed the cost of home
ownership by shifting the burden of school
finance to sales tax? Is it a recent 14-percent
salary increase that put his annual compen-
sation past the $230,000 mark? (There is
also some speculation that Nike provides
Duderstadt with athletic apparel that he wears
during home football games.)
Could it be the University's stellar aca-
demic credentials? (We barely made the top
25 this year. We placed 24th in the annual
U.S. News and World Report ranking of
U.S. colleges, tumbling three spots from last
year.) Certainly credit rating agencies will
look favorably on Duderstadt's decision to
build his retirement home in Ann Arbor -
raters and investors like to see stability at the
top.
Whether Duderstadt's commitment to
remain at the University will result in a mass
exodus of deans and faculty members re-
mains to be seen. Last year witnessed the
retirement of the long-time provost, Gilbert
R. Whitaker, and the resignation of the deans
of the College of Engineering, Rackham and
the School of Natural Resources and Envi-
ronment. If this is any indication, then many
more schools will be minus leadership in the
near future.
As a weekly columnist who spends far
too much time looking over building per-
mits and city records and surfing not the
World Wide Web but Lexis-Nexis, I know
it's time to get some fresh air away from the
confines of Ann Arbor - to get a new
perspective on life. Maybe Duderstadt will
join me?
- Cho is an LSA senior. He can be
reached atjcho@umich.edu.
JIM LASSER
SHARP AS TOAST
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
'The conduct that
Sen. Packwood Is
(accused of) ...
would have been
unacceptable at
the time Christo-
pher Columbus
discovered
America.'
-Sen. Richard Bryan
(D-Nev.)
Pack it in
Sen. Packwood's ouster has a positive side
LETTERS
Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.), after al-
most three years of political wrangling
and a call for expulsion by the Senate Ethics
Committee, has finally resigned from the
Senate.
Packwood's decision to resign, which he
proclaimed to be "the honorable thing to do,"
came in the face ofan overwhelming 10,145-
page compilation of evidence that shows the
true extent of his misdeeds. In a 6-0 decision,
the Senate Ethics Committee, led by Sen.
Mitch McConnell (R-Kan.), called for
Packwood's expulsion.
The committee's report depicts a senator
who tampered with evidence, repeatedly ha-
rassed and exploited female subordinates,
and pressured lobbyists to provide consult-
ing fees for his ex-wife in order to lower his
alimony payments. His original diary tapes
revealed that Packwood believed he had com-
mitted a felony in his efforts to evade cam-
paign contribution limits. Despite Pack-
wood's self-proclaimed "honorable" resig-
nation, the evidence in this report leads to the
conclusion that Packwood has conducted
himself most dishonorably.
The Packwood affair is only one in a long
line of Congressional mishaps. It is easy to
cite the case as another example of corrup-
tion and abuse of power in an institution
already besmirched by the recent conviction
of Rep. Mel Reynolds (D-Ill.) for having sex
with a minor on his campaign staff. How-
ever, although Packwood is resigning in dis-
grace, this sordid affair should not make
Americans lose sight of the fact that the
Senate properly policed itself and recognized
Packwood's abuse of his position.
In light of the overwhelming evidence
against.Packwood, expulsion would seem to
be the Senate's only option. But a unanimous
call for expulsion from the Senate has not
happened since before the Civil War. Given
this, the process leading to Packwood's res-
ignation may be a sign of hope that the Senate
can, in fact, govern itself. Perhaps this is
evidence that the body of government that
has lost the trust of so many Americans is
finally making a change for the better.
Or is it? Even after members of the ethics
panel issued their ruling, politics seemed to
be the order of the day for Majority Leader
Bob Dole (R-Kan.). Mere moments after
proof of Packwood's incredible wrongdo-
ings were made public, Dole lobbied to allow
Packwood to stay in office for 90 days -
enough time for the powerful, albeit dis-
graced, chairman ofthe Senate Finance Com-
mittee to push through important Republican
legislation, a cornerstone of Dole's presiden-
tial campaign. By claiming it would take
Packwood time to "get his things in order,"
and therefore insisting that the senator be
allowed to stay and vote for 90 days, Dole put
himself to shame while the rest of his party
admitted Packwood had to go.
Just days later, however, Packwood's date
of departure was set for Oct. 1. As he leaves
the Senate, Americans can breathe a sigh of
relief - not only at his leaving, but at the
message it sends: that behavior such as his
can not and will not be tolerated.
Daily neglects
to mention
safeguards in
Mcard
To the Daily:
I appreciate freedom of the
press as much as anyone, but there
were numerous misstatements of
fact in your Mcard editorial
("DUMCard," 9/8/95) which I
would like to clarify:
1. First of America cannot add
any fees, change any fees or
change any card options with-
out the approval of the Univer-
sity. The card is the property of
the University, not First of
America.
2. First of America is contrac-
tually obligated to provide a "no
minimum balance account" op-
tion for the duration of the con-
tract.
3. Ifa card is lost or stolen, the
value of the CashChip may be
lost just as when you lose your
wallet or purse you risk the loss
of any cash.
4. The BankStripe (or debit
stripe), along with a confidential
PIN (Personal Identification
Number) known only to the
cardholder,allows the cardholder
to access their bank account with-
out First of America. No funds
are actually stored on the stripe.
Use of the Mcard in an ATM or at
a merchant location requires the
use of a PIN, thus protecting
against unauthorized use (unlike
Entree Plus).
5. Merchants cannot legally
charge a transaction cost to the
cardholder and any merchants
charging such a fee should be
re.nnrted fin the Micard OCffice.
proceeded
without inci-
dent, partici-
pants had an
opportunity
to provide
comments.
We listened
to those
comments
* ,.~4 ~ 3
/ #"
Sound
familiar? It
should, for
the notion of
the "Com-
pany Store"
is exactly
what the
HEOCORE D AN
and as a result made program
changes to respond to issues and
concerns that were expressedre-
garding accessibility, utility and
safety.
We appreciate and encourage
constructive and fact-based com-
ments about the Mcard as we want
to provide a service that is high
quality and meets the needs of
students. The Mcard program is
new, large and complex, and the
communication of accurate in-
formation is the most difficult -
yet most important - part of the
program.
Up-to-date information is
available on the Mcard Home
Page (url: http://www.umich.edu/
-busfin/mcard.html) and com-
ments may be sent by email to
mcard@umich.edu.
Robert E. Russell
Assistant Director,
Financial Operations
Mcard Project Director
Resist 'U'
schemes to
control your
pocketbook
To the Daily:
There once was a small town
where everybody worked at the
sam facto'rv. The owners of this~
University
has seen fit to
introduce with the creation of the
new "M-Card."
It would be easy to sit back
and ignore this latest outrage, to
say, as did the English Attorney
General in Ireland of rebellious
activities in 1914, that "this ac-
tion is no more mischievous than
any that have come before." Yes,
let us pay this card no mind, and
utterly forget the lessons of his-
tory. The English ignored the ac-
tions of the Irish rebels, and the
next thing they knew, 8 million
men lay dead in France, and Ire-
land was a free nation. While it is
perhaps not in our power to fo-
ment armed rebellion or encour-
age mass slaughter, we can still
show the administration and the
supporters of the "M-Card" that
we have minds of our own. Let us
not allow the University to func-
tion in loco parentis by holding
our purse strings.
Refuse to accept this new card.
Refuse to accept the asinine and
offensive advertising campaign
created by the supporters of this
card, before the administration
begins to believe that the students
at this University are truly like
the benighted "Theodore M.
Cardman," whose life sadly re-
volves around gloating over foot-
ball victories and the grudging
realization that "graduation re-
quires I library visit per year."
Students at Michigan are sup-
posed to be among the best and
I
I
1
I
I
I
I
i
I
I
I
I
I
:
1
.
----- ----- I
I
0~ I~
0 I
0'i
m=I
7MKI
CD il
CL . mcI
Lo ~
o EI
_ f tII
U) I
a, ~ e I
HOW TO CONTACT THEM
Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid B. Sheldon