BLOOD, WEAT AND SAWD~ The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, December 5, 1995 - 5 Workshop provides students woodworking opportunities Workshop Facts Shop Hours Monday-Friday Saturday Sunday 5-11 p.m. 11 a.m,-6 p.m. 4 -11 p.m. $y Jennifer Harvey Daily Staff Reporter A room full of saws, chisels and wood inhabits the basement of the Stu- dent Activities Building. It is not the site of more University construction. The packed room is the Michigan Union Student Wood Shop. The shop operates as part of recre- ational programming sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs and the Arts and Programs department of the Union. "We try to carve out a little bit of fun in an otherwise busy college experi- ence," said Kurt Vosburgh, student ser- vices associate and facilities manager of the shop. Student shop users said they think the facility is a great asset to the University. "It's a unique facility on any cam- pus. It's a well-equipped, modern woodshop available for student use for merely a dollar and a quarter a day," said Bob Paretti, a fourth-year Medical student and eighth-year shop user. "It's great, I love it. It's really cheap and it's got all the tools you could ever want to use. I think every univer- sity should have one," said Matt Weiser, a graduate student in commu- nications. The facility includes a variety of machine and hand tools and a compre- .hensive woodworking library. "We offer a chance for people to expand on their woodworking hobby .. It's a productive form of socializ- ing," Vosburgh said. Vosburgh said the shop staff tries to teach people traditional methods of woodworking, but does not try to influ- ence their creativity. "Typical is not the way to describe the shop," he said. The facility is open to all students, staff, alumni and theirguests. Vosburgh predicted 20 to 25 people will be in the shop every night this month. Atten- dance is the highest in December be- .cause of gift-making for the holidays, " As soon as discovered (the Student Wood Shop) I naturally gravitated towards its It's recreational and therapeutic. It's a great way to let off creative steam." -- Matthew Schenck Second-year Law student he said. He added some students construct very creative gifts. "They make every- thing from boxes to cutting boards, from desktop mirrors to pepper-grinders and pen and pencil holders."~ Vosburgh said students also create a wide range of wooden products for their local residences: lofts, dining tables, picture frames, desks, chairs and frater- nity paddles. "I've built pretty much my entire apart- .nent full of furniturc there. I don't know what I would do without it," Paretti said. Some students utilize the shop to work on class projects. Vosburgh said mechanical engineering students have used the facilities to create camera models and snow boards. Most students come into the shop with little or no experience in wood- working. "Experience isn't really re- quired," Vosburgh said. "A staff mem- ber can answer real-time questions as they come up. "Everybody helps everybody else. There are some people who are really good and some people who are just beginning," said David Ross, a classi- Use Fees Students Staff Community $1.25/day or $25/term $3/day or $55/term $4/day or $80/term WALKER VANDYKE/Daily The Michigan Union Student Wood Shop, located in the basement of the Student Activities Building, offers a variety of machine and hand tools. cal studies professor and shop regular. Shop users said the instruction avail- able at the facility is very helpful. "Kurt (Vosburgh) is ultimately cool," Paretti said. "It's a wonderful place for woodwork- ing, but it's also a great place to meet faculty and students. I've gotten to know some people quite well," Ross said. In addition to staff knowledge and the woodworking library, students can draw information from any of the many specialty publications the shop receives. Shop users may pay either a small per-use fee or purchase an inexpensive term membership. Vosburgh said the daily use fee goes directly into the shop users' domain. "We use the fees to keep router bits in the cabinet, saw blades sharp and sand- paper rough." The cost of materials is not included in the fee. Students supply all the mate- rials for their projects, except for glue and some nails. The shop does not pro- vide finish materials, wood, rollers or brushes. The shop does have spray equipment for finishes. The University funding is used to purchase and maintain major equip- ment like carving tools, band saws, table saws, radial arm saws, jointers, routers, drill presses, power miter saws and belt and disk sanders. Shop users also have access to hand- held routers and lathes, grinders for sharpening tools and a steam bender. The shop has a complete finishing and painting room. "It's well venti- lated, large and warm. It's very difficult to paint a piece in the winter or in a confined space. We offer an alternative to that," Vosburgh said. "I'd be severely limited without the shop. I live in an apartment and there just isn't room to do this stuff," said Matthew Schenck, a second-year stu- Remaining Orientation Sessions l: Wed., Dec. 6, 3-5 p.m. II: Thurs., Dec. 7, 3-5 p.m. I: Sat., Dec. 16, 9-11 a.m. II: Sun., Dec. 17, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. dent in the Law school. "Without the shop I'd be doing something else or nothing." The shop is better ventilated than most shops of similar size. It has a special dust management system that collects the saw dust from the machines and carries it to collection barrels. All hearing and visual safety equip- ment is provided by the shop. Vosburgh said the University's sup- port is essential to the operation of the shop. "We're part of Student Affairs. People don't realize the division reaches out to students to provide a richer expe- rience, a dynamic experience, that's part of the whole U-M sort of thing." Schenck agreed that the facility adds to the university atmosphere. "As soon as I discovered it I naturally gravitated towards it. It's recreational and thera- peutic. It's a great way to let off creative steam," he said. Anyone wishing to use shop facili- ties must first attend a four-hour orien- tation session. Vosburgh conducts about 30 such orientations sessions each year. Several orientations are still scheduled for this semester. The ses- sions are free. The shop will remain open until Dec. 23. - Daily Staff Reporter Tim O'Connell contributed to this report. Pmtesters mntemipt game atEMU YPSILANTI (AP) - A basketball game between Eastern Michigan Uni- versity and San Francisco State Univer- sity was suspended at halftime last night after dozens of protesters took over the court. Officials were about to start the sec- ond half of the game when the protest- ers, demanding an end to police brutal- ity, converged on the basketball court of Eastern Michigan's Bowen Field House. The protest lasted about 30 minutes and the game eventually resumed. East- ern Michigan beat San Francisco State, 111-61. The protest apparently stemmed from the Nov. 7 arrest at residence hall of a black student following a scuffle be- ,tween him and awhiteuniversity police officer. One of the protesters, Black Student Union leader Anthony Garrett, read off a list of demands that included the fir- ing of the officer involved in last month's arrest. EMU spokeswoman Susan Bairley said juni or Aaron Johnson was arrested last month and charged with aggra- vated assault and disarming a non-fire- arm weapon from a police officer. The case now is in court. "The university is investigating this incident from many perspectives," Bairley said. "I think the point that needs to be made is the university has made some very strident efforts to com- municate with the student." Bairley said EMU has been unable to complete its investigation because offi- cials have been unable to talk. with Johnson under the advice of his attor- ney. She said she would not speculate what the university's response would be to the protest last night. Most fans left before the game re- sumed. t Homeless fee effects of cold, less By Maureen Sirhal Daily Staff Reporter As the winds rage and the tempera- tures drop, students are not the only ones to suffer from the cold. J~Many of Ann Arbor's homeless popu- lation will feel the effects of the cold to a much greater degree since the closing of the Ashley Place homeless day shel- ter on weekends. Ann Arbor residents and merchants teamed up in response to the closing by urging Mayor Ingrid Sheldon and the Ann Arbor City Council to keep the shelter open. The closing occurred three days before the Thanksgiving holiday in an effort to reduce costs. ' "The first part of November the funds were just not available," said James Bryant, manager of the shelter. "Dona- tions are down this year and the grants used for single adults is going more towards families." "We give about $100,000 to the Washtenaw County Shelter Associa- tion," Sheldon said. "Community de- velopment has looked at ways we can do something." And so they did. The city approved a ?$5,000 grant to the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County during last night's City Council meeting. Begin- ning Dec. 16, the day shelter will be open on the weekends and will remain open through April. Washtenaw County matched the grant with a $5,000 dona- tion. Those funds will cover costs of hav- ing a staff member open the building and stay there during weekends. While shelter officials claim a partial victory, their funding is still meager and volun- teers are desperately needed. With the number of homeless people in Ann Arbor, advocates say there is still much more that could be done. The Shelter Association has received much criticism since its September de- GM appoints its president to chairman post DETROIT (AP) - General Motors said yesterday that President Jack Smith, chosen as chief executive ofthe world's largest automaker after a 1992 board- room coup by outside directors, will become chairman Jan. 1. Chairman John G. Smale will move aside to head a newly formed executive committee of the GM board. He led the board in that 1992 revolt, which was triggered by billions of dollars in losses from GM's North American operations. Chairman and chief executive Robert Stemple was forced out, Smale became the first GM chairman since the 1950s who was not a GM executive, and Smith was charged with turning the com- pany around. "Now, some three years later, it's clear that GM's management team under Jack Smith's leadership has turned GM i around," Smale, a C ' former chairman of Procter & Gamble Co., said in a state- ment annoucning the move. Smale The company earned record prof- its of $4.9 billion last year, including $690 million from North American au- tomotive operations. Smith will continue as president and chief executive. The company also said Harry J. Pearce, a GM ex- ecutive vice president, will become vice chairman and join Smith as the second company executive on the 13- member board. "The changes announced today will permit (Smale) to continue the leader- ship role he has played on the GM board, while permitting him to reduce his day-to-day involvement in GM's governance," Smith said in the an- nouncement. "The fundamental role of GM's di- rectors in overseeing GM's manage- ment and affairs will continue," Smith said. JUDITH PERKINS/Da-y Jesse, an Ann Arbor homeless man, feels the effect of cold Michigan weather as temperatures drop as another winter season begins. This effect has been magnified by the recent weekend closing of the Ashley Place shelter. MIC HIGA N RECORDS - T phone: 663.5800 1140 south university (above goodtime chaleys), AA mon.-thurs.: 9:00a-10:00p sundays 1 fi. & sat.: 9:00-11:00p 11:00-8:04O cision limiting homeless individuals' stay in the sheleter to 60 days. "This (policy) is not too harsh," Bryant said. "Before we would have some people stay here for years." .The Homeless Action Committee, a group of political advocates for the homeless, criticized the policy, stating it did not meet the needs of the home- less. "(The shelters) are not providing ser- vices needed," said Vivan Louie, HAC member and Social Work first-year stu- dent. "It starts the minute you walk in the door. After that, they bar you for a year." Though HAC is concerned for the homeless community, members are not taking an active role in keeping the shelters open. "We are not service providers," Louie said. "We are merely educating people." The night shelter, located on Huron Street, also suffers from a lack of funds. It provides a place for the homeless to sleep at night. "Ther are about 1,250 homeless in Ann Arbor," Bryant said. "But the night shelter can only take 52 men and 22 women. That is not a lot considering how many more do not have a place to sleep." Bryant also said that the University could do much more to help with the problem, especially during the holidays when the campus is vacated. "The University could open up one of those buildings and use it for a warm- ing center," Bryant suggested. As the colder temperatures approach, residents and merchants are concerned that the homeless have no place to go. "The day shelter is a nice place to come," said Perry Shepard, who is homeless. "If we go to the park it's cold and the police tell us there is no loiter- ing. If we walk the street it is still loitering. Not all of us are derelicts and drunks." University Director of Community Relations James Kosteva said the Uni- versity has not taken any direct action relating to the shelters despite the con- sistent problem of the homeless wan- dering through University buildings. "Safety and security of our students is the University's primary concern," Kosteva said. r flo 'ig real music.-ef WoR KING CLASS HEROy 442 -0 I ,. ,J,, 'C,4e todAy. w~e Will wind ~'V tie yeafwihv cvf 4Rnq 4Z-°°' oFf Wivp ~ SD all S _____________________________ I I