1995-01-20; Central Michigan Life

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1995
INSIDE
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ITS WAT TO
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SEE PAGE 3
LIFE Photo JENNIFER WADE
Former soccer coach Rick Trainor answers questions about the elimination of the soccer program.
Former coach:
Soccer could
have been
salvaged
By JAMES COOK
LIFE Sports Editor	
Former soccer coach Rick Trainor and CMU
Athletic Director Herb Deromedi have very different ideas as to why CMU's soccer program was
canceled Dec. 8.
When the program was dropped, Deromedi
explained, "In order to have fielded a truly competitive Division I program, we would have had to
invest a considerable amount of money in staff,
scholarships and facilities. Unfortunately, we're in
the middle of budget cuts, and there's no place for
this money to come from."
Trainor disagrees.
"I just don't buy the excuse that
there are no alternatives," Trainor said Wednesday in an interview with CM LIFE. "(CMU's)
story makes it appear that it
couldn't be avoided."
Deromedi   said   the   program
had its faults.
"It   became   obvious   as   we
looked at it that the soccer prog- Deromedl
ram  had  some  real  limitations," Deromedi  said
Thursday. "In order for it to continue, it was going to
be more costly."
With nothing to lose, Trainor has reversed the
Held. He is on offense and CMU officials are on the
defense, trying to justify their decision to cut the
men's soccer program.
And Trainor has unleashed a barrage of accusations.
"This is to bring the university line, percentagewise, with the goals of gender equity," Trainor said
of Central's decision. "There is no doubt about it."
CM LIFE obtained a first draft of a five-page
letter Trainor plans to present to the university
community. In it, Trainor attempts to disassemble
the athletic department's case to drop the soccer
program.
Most striking is his claim that cutting the soccer
program only saves the university approximately
$5,OOO; about the cost of a year's tuition, according
to Trainor.
He also claims the university had a predisposition to drop soccer as a varsity sport and never made
an attempt to save it, adding that he thought the
program was a casualty of gender equity.
On this point, Deromedi disagrees.
"Gender equity is not the reason that soccer is not
here," Deromedi said. "When it comes down to it,
See SOCCER Page 5	
200 union jobs will be cut after two years
AFSCME contract OK'd; workers could be employed by ARA or laid off in '97
By JENNIFER ACKERMAN
LIFE Staff Writer
University
and  AFSCME
administrators
members  settled
on a contract effective through
Oct. 31, 1996 . . but Kim Ellert-
son said when it expires, so will
200 positions.
Although there is no formal
contract drafted, President Leonard Plachta said Wednesday he
will approve the document
according to the guidelines the
American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees Local 1658 ratified Sunday.
Part of those guidelines,
according to Ellertson, vice president for Business and Finance,
include university layoffs for
employees of less than 15 years
after the contract expires.
"Two hundred of 300 positions
will be eliminated after 1996,"
Ellertson said. He noted that
employees will have the opportunity to apply for positions with
ARAMARK, the private corporation that recently began managing CMU's Dining Services.
In response to Ellertson's comment, local union president Gerald Mester said, "If he's taken the
position in January of '95 that
200 people will lose their jobs in
1996 — that's a serious matter."
Mester said that the university
and the union will go through a
bargining process again in 1996.
"I'm sure we'll be looking at a
very bitter negotiation in '96, but
I'm not sure all those people will
be gone," Mester said.
The new contract grants an
immediate 3 percent wage
increase, -which will not become
part of employees' base salaries.
AFSCME members will receive a
3 percent base salary increase
effective Nov. 1. In addition,
workers will see increases in university contributions toward
health and dental insurance.
"It's as official as it can possibly
be," Ellertson said. "We're bound
to it."
Although Mester said the bargaining unit is "not pleased" with
the agreement, he said that it did
relieve uncertainty among the
300 maintenance and food service workers who have been
working without a contract since
May.
"Our membership is somewhat
relieved," Mester said. "We're
happy to have the process pretty
much behind us. We're not saying
that we got a great deal . . . We
still have mixed emotions."
Under the new contract agreement, the university will be permitted to change some 12-month
positions to nine- or 10-month
positions. In addition, CMU will
be allowed to subcontract work
currently performed by AFSCME
members, although the university is not allowed to layoff an
AFSCME worker to do so.
According to a university press
release, after October 1996, CMU
will also be allowed to subcontract work currently performed
by AFSCME if "it does not have
See CONTRACT Page 2	
Plachta
UFE POoto CHRISTINA BOWLES
AIR DEVIL
Going where no man has gone before is Rick Benevento of the Bud
Light Daredevils dunking squad. Benevento and his teammates
used trampolines for monster jams during halftime of the CMU-
Ball State men's basketball game Wednesday evening.
Program Review recommendations delayed
Although final Phase II program review recommendations
were scheduled for release today,
they will not be revealed until
Tuesday.
According to Deborah Slade,
assistant vice provost, the rankings are in the final draft stage,
waiting for Davenport's
approval.
But, Davenport left for a convention  in  Phoenix earlier this
week, according to Pam Husa,
administrative assistant to the
provost.
"Richard didn't want to release
his rankings and then leave
town," Husa said. "With the
release now set for Tuesday, he
will be here to back up his recommendations."
Under program review guide
lines, 20 percent of all university
programs will be given high
priority — allowing them additional funding or possibilities for
expansion. Sixty percent of programs will be maintained. The
final 20 percent of programs will
be classified as requring substantial redirection, which could
mean elimination, reduction in
size, merging, redirection in focus
or no additional resources.
Keep the
Dream Alive
Martin Lather King, Jr.
1929-1968
Speaker for
King Week
warns against
repeat of histor
!   By TODD FETTIG
!    LIFE Staff Writer	
History tends to repeat itself.
Just ask 22-year-old Ronald Reece, who attended
|   Wednesday night's historical perspective sympo-
i   sium ofthe civil rights movement, the mid-point of
j   CMU's celebration of the Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr. Week.
Before transferring to CMU, Reece, a Saginaw
I junior, had
I keynote
j speaker Wil-
I lie Thompson
j for a psychol-
; ogy class at
j Delta Col-
1 lege.
"He's a real
j phenomenal
' speaker,"
i Reece said.
Reece   had
already
I  heard
I  Thompson's
message of the tendency history has of repeating
itself. He heard the message again, 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Bovee University Center Auditorium.
So, in a sense, he witnessed history repeating
itself.
But about 80 other students, faculty and community members heard Thompson's warning for
the first time.
See SPEAKER Page 2	
Committee formed
to investigate
technology level
By CINDY TROMBLEY
LIFE Assistant News Editor	
Preparing CMU to compete with other universities in the technologically advanced 21st century is
the goal of the new technology committee.
The 12-member committee formed last week and
plans to address four aspects of technology: computing, networking, telecommunications and distance learning, said James Scott, chairman of the
committee.
Scott, assistant to the dean for technology in the
College of Business Administration and professor of
office and information systems, said the committee
will compare the current role of technology at CMU
See BOARD Page 5	
H
Y
BLOWOUT
Women's basketball
team rips Ball St.
by 27 points
SPORTS page 6
DO IT WITH
SOME VERVE
The Verve Pipe
does Warriner
Auditorium tonight
ETCETERA page 8