ISM. AL ANOL RN AMML AJOIL lLuqFm6vALj5TATt The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 26, 1995 - 3 44 Assembly to hire new federal lobbying association Two injured in car accident A car accident on Eisenhower Boule- vard Thursday left the driver, Arjun Kumar, with a critical head injury, ac- cording to Ann Arbor Police Depart- met reports.- Kumar was driving west on Eisenhower about 300 feet west ofSouth State Street when the accident occurred. He had just turned right from State in a borrowed 1995 Mustang when he lost control of the car, police said. He fish- tailed on wet pavement and hit a light pole shortly after 8 p.m. The rear passenger, Salont Raval, also suffered head injuries. The front passenger, Arpita Patel, was treated and released. Both the driver and the rear passen- ger were not wearing seatbelts when the car smashed into a pole, police said. There was no indication of alcohol use. Kumar was discharged Friday from University Hospitals. Fraud investigation underway University staff members may be listed among people affected by a na- tionwide fraud attempt to solicit bank account numbers. The solicitors, who identify them- selves as being from Nigeria, are part of anationwide solicitation fraud, Depart- ment of Public Safety officials said. DPS spokeswoman Elizabeth Hall said the preliminary investigation has re- vealed that the solicitation is fictitious. "We have talked with officers from the Secret Service," Hall said. "It is a scam across the country. "Nobody here has responded to the let- ter so nobody here has been victimized." ,Hall said DPS encourages any staff member who has been contacted by the solicitors to call DPS at 764-8559. Male found drinking, urinating in public DPS was alerted Monday evening to a 28-year-old male observed urinating irpublic. He was seen on the northwest corner of the Diag near North Univer- sity Avenue. Thesubject, who also had open alco- hol, came up negative on a warrant check. Police reports said the man was cited for possession of open intoxicants on the Diag. He was also cited for urinat- ing in public. Trespassing in the dean 's office While trespassing is common at the University, this incident was not. A woman was found sleeping Friday at 1:18 p.m. in the School of Education building. The woman, who is not affili- ated with the University, was sleeping in the dean's office. Letter writer harasses Alice Lloyd resident AcallercontactedDPS Saturday with concerns about harassing mail. The Alice Lloyd resident said she was receiving mail from an acquain- tance in San Diego. Reports indicate that "the letter writer is interested in a relationship, however she is not." - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Jodi Cohen By Michelle Lee Thompson Daily Staff' Reporter Although it will continue to use University resources and look into other ways to raise stu- dents' concerns in Washington, the Michigan Student Assembly voted last Tuesday to hire a new federal lobbying group. Citing the need for quick action and more stu- dent-oriented services, MSA External Relations Chair Fiona Rose presented the motion at last Tuesday's meeting. The motion - to hire the National Association for Students in Higher Edu- cation, at an annual cost of $900- passed without comment or objection. Rose said at the meeting that the External Rela- Student financial aid priority for lobby tions Committee still would explore membership in another national lobbying group, possibly the United States Student Association. Rose said the primary strength of NASHE lies in its concern for student financial aid as a priority for lawmakers in Washington. "All students benefit from scholarships and grants," Rose said. The lobbying group is in its second year of existence, and Rose said she thought University students would get a chance to become involved in NASHE's campaigns. MSA President Flint Wainess said the group would not lobby for as many different causes as previous lobbyists retained by MSA, but that the assembly was finding new ways to become in- formed about "hot issues," most notably through Associate Vice President for Government Rela- tions Cynthia Wilbanks. Wilbanks has assisted the assembly by faxing important information and bulletins to the MSA offices and serving as a information resource, Wainess said. Rose said the assembly,,however, was not sim- ply "lobbying right along with the University." "We pay for everything that's going on at Fleming (Administration Building) and it's per- fectly natural that we tap those resources," she said. Wainess said MSA has increased its credibility - a topic he discussed at Thursday's Board of Regents meeting - and that has helped members of the assembly communicate directly with state legislators. "We've shown that we can get appointments with key legislators with no problem," Wainess said. "They will talk to us." Nwpaperr strikers~:?, Registmation has become easier since 1st CRISP., protest at A2Beau Protesters waited until students returned for more visibility By Heather Miller For the Daily Five striking employees of The De- troit News and the Detroit Free Press picketed for several hours yesterday outside the Free Press's Ann Arbor bureau at South Fifth and East Liberty streets. The only reporter in the bureau is Maryanne George, who returned Aug. 10 after being told she would be re- placed. On July 13, six unions representing 2,500 workers walked off the job over salary, benefit and staffing level dis- putes. Approximately 44 percent of the Free Press's strikers have returned to work, said striking Free Press reporter Nancy Costello. Costello said the protest "wasn't re- ally just about (George).... We want more visibility in Ann Arbor." Costello said they decided to picket in Ann Arbor yesterday because most students were not in town when the strike began and when George returned to work. "Students need to know that they shouldn't be buying the newspa- pers," she said. Bob McGruder, managing editor of the Free Press, said he was unaware that the protest had occurred. However, he did say that "the Guild can protest wher- ever it wants." Written by an unknown source in blue chalk on the sidewalk in front of the bureau's entrance were the words, "A scab works here." Also in blue chalk, By Melissa Kowalls For the Daily It would be difficult for most stu- dents to imagine registration before CRISP. However, as potentially an- noying the current process may be, the University has continued throughout the years to make getting the ideal sched- ule easier. CRISP, which stands for Computer- ized Registration Involving Student Par- ticipation, replaced the Arena System in 1975. The process used to take place in Waterman Gymnasium, near where the current Chemistry Building stands. In- side, students were handed punchcards for each class they wanted to enroll in and were herded from line to line en- rolling for one class at a time. "I remember seeing pictures of reg- istration lines into the Gymnasium go down State Street to the State Theater area, stretch back across the Diag, and wrap around University buildings," said Tom McElvain of the Registrar's Office. "The average student regis- tered from eight hours to two days straight." McElvain said the change to CRISP was much-needed, but at the same time, was a great risk for the University - being the first on-line registration sys- tem used in the country. For the first time, students could see their schedule being created on a com- puter screen in front of them without delays in the process. CRISP was a significant improvement in scheduling, although the procedure still required the use of computer terminal operators. This past year, touch-tone CRISP was introduced to University students and 128 phone lines now direct them through the registration process, eliminating the computer terminal operators. "CRISP is the same as it always was," McElvain said, "except now students talk to a computer instead of a real person and they have the convenience of 18-hour registration service." Education junior Katie Hollenberg is not sold on the benefits of touch-tone CRISP. "If you have a straightforward sched- ule, phone CRISP is much easier, but if you have any problems, it is a hassle and can waste so much time." Hollenberg said she feels a combina- tion of walk-in CRISP and touch-tone CRISP would better assist students with scheduling problems. Currently, students solely use touch-tone CRISP for registration, with the exception of some overrides. All walk-in CRISP options were dis- solved with the installment of the touch-tone system. Hollenberg is not the only one who is suggesting improvements forthe CRISP system. The Registrar's Office is work- ing toward upgrading CRISP once again, McElvain said. "There is a good possibility that in one to two years, the University will' transfer to an on-line screen-based reg- istration system and Wolverine Access is one logical choice," McElvain said. Through this new variation ofCRISP, students would be their own terminal operator inputting all scheduling data into the computer and seeing an up-b dated schedule with each new enrolled class. McElvain said students would benefit from the speed ofthe process- data could be entered more quickly than through phones - from seeing results on-screen, and from the ability to personally fix scheduling problems. Another option involving Wolverine Access that is being looked into is in- cluding the time schedule and course guide into the process. "Students would be able to sit down at the computer, read the description of: a class, search for its availability and, enroll, all at the same time," McElvain said. "There is the possibility of inte- grating more things on-line." There is some concern about the sup- ply of computers with a move to an on- line system, and the current facilities are being evaluated for what increased use would require. Touch-tone CRISP will remain a part of registration if and when this upgrade takes place, offering students two ways to register, McElvain said, in an effort to reduce the initial pressure put on computer use. "We want to empower the students," McElvain said. "They have the best idea of what they want and these sys- tems are here for serving students in the easiest, most convenient way." "AMI'N"CAP/'aiy Newspaper strikers Nancy Costello, Michael Hodges, Renee Murawski and Mike Betzold picket in front of the office of Maryanne George, the Detroit Free Press's Ann Arbor reporter, who returned to work recently. "A scab parks here" was written in front of the entrance to the parking lot where George parks. The words were washed from the sidewalk shortly after the pro- test broke up. Costello said they will be protesting again at the Ann Arbor bureau, but did not say when. "You won't really get the full story from reading the paper. They haven't bargained fairly. But we don't have a vehicle to get the story out. That's why we have to picket," she said. "It's a powerful human drama story." Kmart to sell auto service departments for $112M TROY (AP) - Kmart is selling its money-losing auto centers to Detroit entrepreneur Roger Penske, whose plan is to make them into winners like his Indy Car racing team, trucking business and dealerships. The $112 million deal converts 860 service centers at U.S. Kmart outlets into Penske Auto Centers. "It takes us out of a business we didn't, perhaps, know as well a should have," Kmart Chairman Floyd Hall said yesterday at a news conference to an- nounce the divestiture. In addition to the cash, which Kmart will use to retire debt, the company will receive ongoing income from Penske Auto Center Inc. through royalties, rent and payments for administrative sup- port, Hail said. He said the discount retailer has been losing "in the teens of millions" of dol- lars a year on its auto service business. "The agreement reinforces the com- mitment of Kmart Corporation to focus our energies on our core business strengths," Hall said. "Plans for an electronic communi- cations network to serve modern edu- cation are being launched by the Big Ten and the University of Chicago... The (closed-circuit system) will be an intercollegiate co-ordination of technical resources including elec- tronic systems, computers, and re- cording devices. Corrections S'A headline in yesterday's Daily incorrectly stated that a revised Senate bill would cut $10 billion in direct loans. The bill would cut student loans. .A headline in yesterday's Daily incorrectly stated that there was a fire in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building on Friday. A gas leak triggered the fire alarm. 0 The volleyball photo on Page 1B yesterday was not of Emily Carr, but of Jeanine Szczesniak. M A photo in SportsMonday yesterday was not of defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, but of defensive line coach Bobby Morrison. Wha GsROUPMEETINGS Q Alliance to Defend Affirmative A tion, open meeting - outreac committee, 995-8958, Model Languages Building, Room B11' 8 p.m. Q Hellenic Students Association meeting, 764-4736, Michiga Union, Kuenzel Room, 8 p.m. Q IMPAC Auditions, Michigan Unio Anderson Room, 6-10 p.m. Q University Christian Outreach, Bib Study/Dinner, 764-2915, 71 Catherine Street, 6-8 p.m. ~ :~.. 7777777779 it's happening In Ann Arbor today C- ch rn 9, in, an an, le 16 Christianity Still Valid Today?" sponsored by Christ is Victor Magazine, Chemistry Building, Room 1650, 7 p.m. Q "FORUM Registration Sessions," sponsored by Career Planning and Placement, 3200 Student Activi- ties Building, 1:10-1:30 p.m. and 3:10-3:30 p.m. Q "Free Mumia Coalition," meet- ing, Modern Languages Build- ing, Room B119, 7 p.m. Q "Information Meeting for Discus- sion/Activity Group for Prisoner Legal Advocacy Project, Hutchins Hall, Room 132, 12:15 p.m. U "Volunteer information Meet- Ing," sponsored by UM Medical Center Volunteer Services, Uni- versity Hospitals, Ford Amphitheatre, 4-5 p.m. U "Why Is the US in Bosnia?" sponsored by UM Young Socialists, Michigan Union, Parker Room, 7 p.m. STUDENT SERVICES I U - -1