4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, September 25, 1995
JAMES R. CHO SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE
U' research does more t/han
420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed by
studentsiat the
University of Michigan
MICHAEL ROSENBERG
Editor in Chief
JULIE BECKER
JAMES M. NASH
Editorial Page Editors
Unless otherwise 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.
SS for SW
Legal service funding must be maintained
he termination earlier this month of Larry
Fox, a project coordinator on the Stu-
dent Legal Services, is yet another symptom
of the organization's financial woes. This
vitally important student resource for legal
representation and advice is fighting to stay
afloat in the face of inadequate funding and
rising costs. University students must recog-
nize that SLS is funded by and exists for
them, and therefore must ensure its survival
by any means necessary.
SLS is a law office for currently enrolled
University students. It advises students in
landlord-tenant disputes, family and divorce
law, criminal defense and any other case that
does not involve the University as one of the
parties. In addition, it attempts to reform
current law in students' favor-the recently
fired Fox was the only remaining staff mem-
ber working to improve housing law. SLS is
funded only by the annual student fee of
$4.16 and charges nothing at time of service.
SLSis a highly-regarded organization whose
lawyers work hard to meet students' needs.
Unfortunately, SLS is in financial peril.,
For this, students largely have themselves to
blame. Requests for fee increases have shown
up on student ballots repeatedly, but the
service has not been voted a funding increase
since 1991. With the rising cost of living,
SLS simply cannot operate a law office with
such a piddling sum. Lately it has not only
been forced to fire personnel, but has lost
lawyers to better-paying jobs. The issue is
plain: If SLS is to hire and retain competent
attorneys and continue to serve students, it
must be voted a raise.
In response to this problem, the Michigan
Student Assembly has included as part of its
proposed budget a one-time $2,000 expendi-
ture for employee bonuses. MSA is also
considering three referendums on the No-
vember ballot that ask students to approve a
donation of the $18,000 that the University
Board of Regents put in escrow in June, a
$1.84 per-student fee increase, and the re-
moval of a cap on the amount of money SLS
may receive from student fees. These mea-
sures should help to boost employee morale
and make the organization financially sol-
vent for the time being.
MSA is to be applauded for its decisive
move to keep SLS afloat. However, these
measures -with the exception of the $2,000
budget item - cannot go through without
student approval. Students of the University
owe themselves affordable, competent legal
representation. It may not be something most
students depend on every day, but when a
crisis arises, there are few who would not
appreciate the significant savings over pri-
vate legal counsel. Students have historically
voted against SLS funding increases because
they consider the increases another attempt
by the University to pick their pockets. An
investment in SLS' future requires a bit of a
sacrifice, but it is a sacrifice students cannot
afford not to make.
Higher education does not need to be a
money-losing enterprise. It shouldn't
be. As another source of revenue, University
President and C EO James J. Duderstadt wants
to capitalize on the University's $400-plus
million annual research budget in the form
of royalties reaped from patents, licenses
and inventions.
Among higher education elites, the
mighty research universities are driven by
what pundits call "productive scholarship."
In other words, university deans and espe-
cially the provost look favorably on faculty
members who bring in outside money in
terms of research grants or collaboration
with private enterprise. The University wants
faculty members who conduct research that
produces tangible - and hopefully profit-
able - results. That's the definition of a
research university and the University fits
that description perfectly.
The latest buzzwords now floating in the
halls of the Fleming Administration Build-
ing are "spin offs" and "technology trans-
fer," not "undergraduate education" or "the
first-year experience." Nevertheless, the
University's commitment to aggressive re-
search pursuits and profit-seeking ideals
benefit students-and it's not through some
complicated trickle-down effect. It's not a
zero-sum game.
Technology transfer may not make much
sense to the history student cooped up in her
5th floor West Quad dorm room, but univer-
sities have placed this issue on their top
priority list. Universities today see it as a
way to create jobs while feathering dimin-
ishing research budgets. Certainly this pro-
cess hinges on a number of key factors: First,
it means pinpointing and encouraging prom-
ising discoveries; second, carrying the dis-
covery through the labyrinthine patent and
licensing process; third, keeping it hidden
from the claws of competitors; finally, guid-
ing the process into the formidable world of
mass production. Ofcoursethere's no guar-
professors p..ocketbooks
antee that anyone will make money along in biotechnology and medicin
the way. But today researchers are beckoned Duderstadt formed a preside
to scientific pursuits that bear the dollarnsign committee to assist in finding
- that's "productive scholarship." . tal for University start-up bu
"In the old days, the way technology was Technological advances de
transferred from academia to the real world University should not be left t
was through educating students and letting bowels of Randall Laborator
them take their knowledge into the private ment laboratories of Med Sci1
sector," Duderstadt said. "Today, that's not agrees that there need to be i
good enough. We need to do more, faster. searchers often collaborate w
Now we are forming our own companies, who pay to use their intellec
joining partnerships with private industry to Technological development
transfer new technologies faster." quickly when financial ince
The old-fashioned ideals of university tached.
researchers looking down on entrepreneur- Students may complain th
ial collaborations with scorn are long gone. sponsibilities divert faculty r
When talking about technology transfer, re- their teaching priorities. In re
searchers and administrators, in particular, have taken advantage of the d
think about the development many, years tation of the University's res
ago of the commercial production of Vita- The number of applicants wh
min D; it began simply as a theory, in a ticipate in the Undergraduate1
professor's laboratory at the University of portunities Program or the me
Wisconsin - the school has since yarned Biomedical Research Program
millions in royalties. eted. Not only has the Univer
The hands-down winner in technology and succeeded in bridging the
transfer has to be the Massachusetts Institute faculty members and student
of Technology, headed by former Michigan allowed students to work sid
Provost Charles Vest. Since the mid-1980s, those same professors engag
the school has spun off 80 small businesses edge research as well.
that have created thousands of jobs. Fifteen Some would even go so fa
of these new companies are now publicly new technology developed atr
traded with an estimated value in excess of tutions should be open for alla
$2.5 billion. the highest bidder. (Nike dealt
Frustrated with the University's appar- ing, of course.) Certainly t
ent lack of success in technology transfer, favors collaboration betweenr
and eyeing his former colleague at MIT with private industries because oft
envy, Duderstadt fired several patent law- generates -maybe we are in t
yers in the University's technology transfer selling our services to the hi
division in massive 1993 shakeup of the But we shouldn't delude ourse
division and brought in Robert Robb from ing that what's good for the U
Texas, a tried and proven expert in spinning have a detrimental effect on u
off commercial enterprises from on-campus emphasis on research and "pro
discoveries. Robb came to the city of trees arship" only makes faculty n
from BCM Technologies, a part of Baylor knowledgeable teachers.
College of Medicine in Houston. In six years, - -J ames R. Cho can be
Robb helpedspin off 12 companies-'mostly e-mail atjcho
e. In addition,
ntial advisory
venture capi-
sinesses.
eveloped at the
o fallow in the
y or the base-
I. Duderstadt
ncentives; re-
,ith industries
tual property.
moves more
ntives are at-
at research re-
members from
eality students
epth and repu-
earch activity.
o want to par-
Research Op-
dical school's
m has skyrock-
sity attempted
e gap between
ts, it has even
e by side with
ed in cutting-
r as to say that
research insti-
and not sold to
notwithstand-
he University
esearchers and
the revenue it
the business of
ighest bidder.
Ives into think-
University will
s students. The
oductive schol-
members more
reached over
o)(umnich.edit.
JIM LASSER
' ~
SHARP AS TOAST
in prison, with religion
YEAH... H.EALrTH SERVICE S fOLD ME TH^AT '-
?ULLED A MUSCLE !!V MY 9ACK......
Sprng Arbor shouldn't
I ast week, Howard Simon, executive di-
rector of the Michigan chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union, asked state
Attorney General Frank Kelley to declarei
that Spring Arbor College is unqualified toj
teach classes to the state's correctional facil-
ity inmates. Simon is correct in his assess-1
ment that signing a contract with the reli-l
giously exclusive Spring Arbor College vio-J
lates the state's civil rights laws.
Spring Arbor, according to Dean Natalie
Gianetti, requires its faculty "to be active+
Christians who embrace Jesus Christ in their+
everyday living." The school received+
$560,000 from the Michigan Department of
Education and the Michigan Department of1
Corrections last year for administering classes
to inmates in four prisons. Michigan law
requires that every state contract contain a
clause stating that the contractor does not
discriminate on the basis of religion or other
factors. While it is entirely legal for the+
Jackson County school to be religiously ex-;
clusive as a private institution, it is not legal1
for the college to accept public funds for1
performing public services. It contradicts
the American principle of a separation of
church and state.
Spring Arbor Provost Mark Sargent con-
tends that state payments to the college should
be considered similar to the process by which
the federal government administers Pell
Grants to individual students. Pell Grant re-
cipients are free to spend public money at;
receive state contracts
any school they choose, even a religious one.
Sargent's assertion is preposterous. Prison
inmates are a captive audience whose state-
regulated rehabilitations should not include
programs with any religious overtones.
Furthermore, the state of Michigan should
be enforcing its own laws. Sargent also ex-
plained, "We've not made any attempt to
hide the fact that we are a Christian institu-
tion and would be interested in employing
people who are Christian." This seriously
calls into question the state's conduct. Either
officials in the departments of Education and
Corrections are unaware ofthe anti-discrimi-
nation requirement for federal contracts, or
they chose to ignore it. Both scenarios sug-
gest an imperfect and irresponsible adminis-
tration of state government and they deserve
a closer look. The fact that an attorney
general's office spokesperson downplayed
the situation because Spring Arbor has no
contract with the state for the coming year is
also unsettling. The state government would
better serve its citizens by minding its obliga-
tion to uphold civil rights rather than accept
the lowest bid on government contracts.
The ACLU's position is not an argument
against the existence of religiously exclusive
institutions. These institutions provide alter-
native educations and experiences to their
students that a publicly funded college or
university cannot supply. It is simply not
their duty to involve themselves in the public
affairs of the state.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
if the
administration
paid him and he
got out of working
at Pizza Bob's,
then Idthink he
pulled a good
scam.'
- Michigan Student
Assembly Rep. Matt
Curin, on MSA President
Flint Wainess'participa-
tion in Leadership 2017
;
b VtI d/
lyi
(/t 1
T
VIEWPOINT
With Trammell goes a piece of childhood
By Julie Becker
I'm not a big sports fan. To
put it mildly. In factI continually
exasperate this paper's editor in
chief-a former sports editor-
by replying, when he refers to
some sporting great, "Who?"
But there is one name in sports
I do recognize, one player of
whom I'd describe myself as a
"fan." Alan Trammell has been
my favorite baseball player since
I was old enough to understand
what the game was. For me, his
departure from Tiger Stadium last
week meant more than the end of
a baseball era. It meant that I, at
two months short of 21, am get-
ting old.
I can recall precisely when I
decided Trammell was my favor-
ite, although not precisely wh'
In second grade, a fifth-grader's
survey named several Detroit Ti-
gers and asked us to raise our
hand forour favorite.At 7,I knew
nothing about the Tigers, but for
Becker is an LSA senior and
a Daily editorial page editor.
some reason, I raised my hand for
Tram. Perhaps it was because I'd
seen him on television; perhaps
because my father's name is
Allan. I'll probably never know.
Whatever the reason, from that
day forwardI was a declared Alan
Trammell fanatic. I looked for
him in the games on- TV; I fol-
lowed his statistics in the news-
paper; I even wrote him a fan
letter once, although I can't recall
if I actually mailed it. Some girls
had crushes on movie stars; I
dreamed about a baseball player.
My affection for Trammell
soon grew into an affinity for
baseball itself. My father spent
hours teaching me about the game,
describing players and strategies,
teams and rules. My parents and I
followed the 1984 season with
unbroken excitement, culminat-
ing after the final game of the
World Series with me dancing
around the house waving my
"American League Champions"
pennant. (So I was a geek. It was
fifth grade. We all have our little
embarrassing moments.)
As I got older, however, my
interest in baseball waned. Partly
it was due to the fact that-aside
from the brief glory of 1987 -
the Tigers never again approached
the magic of 1984. Partly it was
that I simply became interested in
other things. Partly it was that the
players I had come to identify
with the game - Lance Parrish,
Larry Herndon, Tom Brookens
- left the Tigers one by one,
replaced by men I had little desire
to follow.
Except for Tram (and his
equally famous partner Lou
Whitaker). Even as they, too, were
getting older, even as Trammell
was plagued by one injury after
another, I knew that to turn on a
Tigers game was to tune in to my
favorite player. Even as I began
to read newspapers for the news
section rather than the sports, I
still often turned to the baseball
page to take note of Trammell's
batting average. A habit begun in
early childhood, whose remnants
remained.
Until now.
Alan Trammell and Lou
Whitaker's predicted retirement
brings home to me the realization
that nothing lasts forever. I
haven't been to a Tigers game in
years, and nowadays my father
and I are more likely tc discuss
block grants than baseball. But
Trammell was always there, a
part of my childhood that was
still current. His departure makes
me feel much the way I did when
I packed away most of my
children's books, when "The
Cosby Show" went off the air,
when I realized that Nerds candy
was a truly disgusting thing. It is
just one more small reminderthat
my little-girl world is slowly but
surely disappearing.
In one sense, Alan Trammell's
retirement really won't make
much difference. To baseball,
maybe, but not in my practical
life. In another sense, however, it
makes all the difference in the
world. 20 years from now, I prob-
ably won't remember the classes
I went to last week. But I will
remember the day Alan Trammell
walked out of Tiger Stadium, tak-
ing a piece ofmy childhood along
with him.
OW TO CONTACT THEM
State Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith
(D-Washtenaw County)
410 Farnum Building
Lansing, MI 48909
(517) 373-2406
LETTERS
'U' should improve accessibility of computers for students
State Rep. Mary Schroer
(D-52nd district, North Campus)
99 Olds Plaza Building
1 ninr NAI AOC200a
State Rep. Liz Brater
(D-53rd district, Central Campus)
412 Roosevelt Building
1 an~cincfdMI ARQOCI
To the Daily:
What's up with computing on
months of September and Octo-
ber.
So, what's the story here? The
past few years have seen a shift
the University needs to respond
to the increased demand for com-