1991-08-28; Central Michigan Life

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News
In Brief
LOCAL
Get Acquainted
Day planned
I Students looking for an
opportunity to make new
friends, meet CMU faculty
and   enjoy   free   food   may
;• want  to take  advantage  of
■ Get Acquainted Day.
•■#.; The 13th annual " event,
sponsored by Minority
Affairs is scheduled for 4 to 6
p.m.   in   Warriner  Mall.   In
? case  of rain  the event will
: take place in Bovee University Center's Terrace Room.
f Free hot dogs, ice cream,
punch and popcorn are available for all who attend.
£ "Anybody who's anybody
will attend this event," said
Steve Clark, assistant
director of Minority Affairs.
"Members of the faculty and
every student organization
will have tables set up to
meet students.
5    "We  also  have   plans   for
-live      singing,      including
; soloists and possibly a duet,"
Clark said.
- President Edward B.
Jakubauskas also is
expected to address the
crowd at the event.
STATE
Abusive school owner
may face   prison
ROCHESTER   HILLS   —
An Oakland County woman
let youngsters  play all day
| an^lpcked^hjgh-schpjol 2
children   in   an   attic   for   a *
; $1,500 tuition at her alternative ; school,    investigators
, and parents say.
, iir; "My   son   was    cheated,"
: said  Pam  Elken  of Beverly
Hills,    who   enrolled   her
7-year-old   son   Brett   last .
year.
Margaret Dwyer, 52, of
the Detroit suburb of
Rochester Hills, could face
up to 70 years in prison if
convicted of seven criminal
counts stemming from her
': operation of the school from
its opening in 1988-89 until
it closed last soring.
NATIONAL
Pet saves owner,
kitten's lives
I NEWPORT, S.C. — A
teen-ager says he and his
kitten were saved from a fire
by a universal symbol for
firefighters — a Dalmatian.
-■?!■:. Dirk Tanis, 15, said he fell
asleep Saturday after
starting to cook and awoke
to the family dog, Spuds,
biting his hand.
*kTanis ran from the house
and called 911. Meanwhile,
he said, Spuds grabbed
Gizmo, a 5-month-old kitten,
by the scruff of the neck and
took her out of the house.
INTERNATIONAL
|US approves sale to
'terrorist countries
jit WASHINGTON — The
% government has approved
| the sale of more than $300
I million in high-technology
' items to Iran and Syria in
recent years, even though it
i; says those countries support
it terrorism, according to
| documents obtained by The
| Associated Press.
i£6i The Commerce Depart-
iment used loopholes in
f, federal regulations to legally
| approve the exports, some of
! which had potential military
\ use. • .--,:
f^From   late   1987   through
^September      1990,      U.S.
companies   got   government
permission  to  ship  computers, aircraft parts, navigational, radar and communi-
: | cations  equipment  to j Iran i|j
Spinning the wheel
Art gallery offers students plenty
Page 8
Center of attention
CMU's Droski anchors MAC's biggest line
Page 10
Central
Michigan
WEDNESDAY
August 28, 1991
*mm
VOLUM Ef74rt*GMi&fR £j
Rallying for a purpose
Nearly   300   people   attended   a   rally   in   front   of   Park   Library
LIFE Photo/Nile Young
Tuesday evening to support striking clerical workers.
CMU Union Council   gathers   at Park Library
By Crystal Harmon
1 li-E Assistant  Mows Fditor
About 300 people gathered
Tuesday night in front of Park
Library for a CMU Union
Council rally in support of
striking clerical workers.
Clerical workers and their
families, as well as members of
on-campus and off-campus
unions sang songs, gave
speeches and urged one other
to stick together until a fair
contract is negotiated.
UAW 6888 bargaining team
member Debbie Mathewson
said the purpose of the rally
was to maintain high spirits.
"We hope to be able to show
that support is out there in the
community on campus," she
said.
The crowd went wild when
Denny Bettisworth, president
of the Council of Department
Chairs, announced that
moments earlier the council
unanimously voted "no confidence in the administration."
Faculty Association President Rod Kirk cited CMU's new
logo as a symbol of an aloof
administration.       ,
"When those folks put the
administrative tower on all the
stationery," Kirk said, "that's
when they stopped climbing out
of the damn thing to see what's
going on out here."
Kathy Tucker told the clericals that the 250 members of
the Mount Pleasant Education
Association unanimously voted
Thursday to support them until
they "obtain a fair and ethical
contract."
Rondy Scheidt, president of
Michigan    State    University's
clerical/technical union, shared
the story of her union's 1988
strike.
"We were very scared. We
were threatened. After a week,
we began to wonder . . . But
you will be successful," Scheidt
said amidst cheers and
applause. "You will win. You
will be victorious.
"And when it's all over, you
will have some of the best
stories to tell for a long time."-
Jim Draper, president of
CMU's chapter of American
Federation of State, County
and Municipal Employees, told
the   striking   clericals   he   was
See RALLY Page 1 5
Message
of flier
is untrue
By Cindi Smith
LIFE Copy Editor	
Some information distributed
to the campus community is a
source of confusion for many
student employees.
A passage from the CMU
Student Employment Handbook
was misinterpreted, said Pat
Podoll, manager of Student
Employment.
The actual handbook passage
reads as follows:
"CWS employment may not
displace regular (or full-time)
employees (including those on
strike) or impair existing service
contracts. Employers are
cautioned against using students
in jobs traditionally filled by
full-time personnel. Replacement is interpreted as displacement."
The flier, which was distributed Aug. 19, quoted the
handbook passage and also had
another paragraph about the
possibility of penalties for
student employees who
performed clerical worker
duties.
The fliers were circulated
throughout campus and stated
that "it is important to understand that CMUSA-UAW 6888 is
anticipating a strike action effective Wednesday, Aug. 21,-1991.
Those students who DO WORK
and are work study will have
their names and social security
numbers listed as in violation of
the above and may be involved in
litigation following a strike. Both
CMU and the student(s) may be
involved in penalties."
The flier is - unsigned, but
United Auto Workers Local 6888
is not responsible, said Shary
Gaunt, clerical workers' union
president. "I was very distressed
when I heard about this."
The organization did disperse
fliers that included the
handbook quote, but those fliers
did not also threaten students
with litigation, she said.
See FLIER Page 2
Chairs cast
vote of no
confidence
By Shannon Owens
LIEF  St iff Writer
Thirty-three of 37 academic
department chairs approved a
resolution of no confidence in
the president and his
administration at an
emergency meeting Tuesday.
The statement declared the
department leaders have no
confidence in the leadership of
President Edward B. Jakubauskas and his "executive
committee."
This was the first such resolution passed in more than 20
years.
Earlier Tuesday, President
Edward B. Jakubauskas said it
would be a "mistake" for faculty
to vote no confidence in him.
"I have confidence they
wouldn't    do    anything    that
See VOTE Page 2
Jakubauskas responds to walkout
Sitting on the couch in his
office Tuesday afternoon. President Edward B. Jakubauskas
glanced several times at the
clerical workers carrying picket
signs outside his window.
"Some of them come up to the
window and wave or make
faces," he said.
Many have criticized
Jakubauskas for not talking —
or not answering questions —
about the clerical strike. LIFE
Editor Karen Emerson met
with the president Tuesday to
talk about the clerical situation
and its impact on the University community.
Q: What are your goals for
this school year?
A: "To survive."
Q: What do you mean?
A: "Collective bargaining is a
big item right now. (The
clerical union) is not the only
group that needs a contract this
year. The Supervisory-
Technical workers' contract
expires next week and then we
have the police and broadcasters.
"This is a heavy issue. The
real problem is when you have
fiscal problems and collective
bargaining happening at the
same time. It's really horrible.
"If you're on an economic
upswing, you have money to
give them. But a combination of
economic problems and collective bargaining is hard.
"The state has a billion-and-
a-half-dollar      deficit       and
everyone is feeling that now."
Q: Are  the  state's financial
problems        the       biggest
problem here?
A: "It's hard to meet the needs
(of the University) without
money . . . You get into this
constraint. You can't, do everything you want.
"You have to raise tuition
when the state money doesn't
come through.   I don't want to
make it impossible for students
to go to school. I'm a parent of
four college students, one who's
just finishing and three who
are done. I've had to pay tuition
— I know what it's like. I worry
a great deal about the students
who can't go to college because
they can't afford it.
"And   you   can't   control   the
state."
Q:   Do you like your job? •
A: "There are aspects of it I
enjoy a great deal. I like being
involved with the students and
the entertainment. We
developed the advisement
program this year, and I take
great pride in that we got that
going.
"... But    I    don't    like   this
(strike). It's hard on people."
Q: Is  the   University  better
prepared    for   bargaining
this year than  it was with
the Faculty Association last
year?
A: "We    learned   the    lessons.
See Q& A Page 15
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