1977-03-07; Central Michigan Life

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Volume 58 No, 65
Mt, Pleasant, Mich, 48859
Monday, March 7,1977
Hike between $1 and $2
Abel announces tuition increase
by STEVE SPALDING)
LIFE Ass't. News Editor
There will be a "moderate" tuition increase next year, President
Harold Abel said during a "State of the University" address to
alumni Saturday.
The increase would be between $1 and $2 per credit hour, Abel
sajd after his remarks to a group of 40 CMU alumni during Saturday's Annual Alumni Conference.
Any increase would be lower than the inflationary rate, Abel said.
Elaborating after the speech, Abel said there is no chance of tuition
remaining stable, "even if we got all our money."
Abel said the 8.7 per cent increase in funding for Central in the
governor's 1977-78 budget appropriation recommendation is
excellent recommendation.
an
"The final amount allocated is very close to the amount recommended by the governor," Abel said.
Abel also said he expects to see a change in the coordination of
Michigan colleges within the next two years, Abel said he expects to
see an advisory council set up for Michigan colleges, but not a
council with legal powers.
"We should have some type of coordination to make recommendations to the governor on funding," Abel said.
However, he said universities would lose institutional autonomy
with a central coordinating council.
"We have gotten along very well with individual boards. I would
prefer to have our own governing board to make decisions on
programs," he said.
"Michigan is one of the few states that haven't moved to a cen
tralized board. I think that speaks well for Michigan," Abel said.
"Some states with a centralized system want to move away from it."
The council would replace the separate governing boards at each
Michigan state college or university.
(See "Tuition increase—" page 9)
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CMU willing to drop charges f
if YSA admits breaking rules
byJOHNGROGAN
CM LIFE Reporter
CMU is willing to request
charges be dropped against the
three Young Socialist Alliance
(YSA) members arrested in
Warriner Hall Oct. 20 if the
defendants will concede they
broke   "reasonable   University
policy," President Harold Abel
said Sunday.
His statement came in
response to an article in Sunday's Detroit Free Press which
said the administration would
drop criminal against the three
YSA members if, in turn, the
YSA would drop a countersuit
SA elections
begin today
■ Students may vote in the student body election today and
Tuesday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. in all residence
halls, as well as from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the lower level of the
University Center.
Appearing on the ballot will be two candidates running unopposed for Student Association (SA) Board of Directors sophomore
and graduate seats.
Students also will vote on approval of the SA constitutional
amendments and an advisory vote on the proposed ice arena.
A valid student identification card will be required to vote, Vicki
Bazan, SA elections director, said.
The present Student Association Constitution requires a 10 per
cent student body vote to validate approval of the constitutional
amendments.
Among tlje 23 proposed amendments are revisions dealing with
attendance and discipline of SA Board of Directors members. Included are procedures for the removal of the student body president
or vice president and a process by which the president may serve
"notice of complaint" to a Board member based on the member's
work or conduct.
Further revisions would grant full Board seats to four student
organizations which presently share half-vote seats.
Other amendments outline the selection and operational
guidelines for the Student Judiciary Committee, which deals with
Constitutional disputes.
challenging the constitutionality
of some University regulations.
The conflict began when the
three - Brigid Douglas, Jim
Garrison and Tom Smith, all of
Detroit - were arrested while
selling campaign literature
outside a speech by former CB,S
News correspondent Daniel
Schorr in Warriner-Auditorium.
They were charged with
trespassing and illegal occupation of a University
building.
In response to the charges,
the YSA defense has filed a
countersuit in Grand Rapids
Federal District CoUri
questioning the constitutionality
of certain- CMU regulations.
Abel, Dean of Students James
Hill and members of CMU's
Board of Trustees are named in
the countersuit.
The Free Press article came
after the Committee for Free
Speech Wednesday released an
18-page FBI memorandum,
documenting five years of
surveillance of Central's YSA
chapter.
Abel disclaimed the contents
of the article, stating he was
quoted out of context. He
labeled the article "inacurate."
"This is lousy journalism,"
Abel said. "It's reporting what I
didn't say. I said I'd be willing to
talk to them (YSA) about it, but
would not be willing to drop
charges (in exchange for the
countersuit being droped)."
Jim Neubacher, Free P.ress
reporter who wrote the story,
was unavailable for comment on
Abel's charges Sunday.
In order for the administration to consider
requesting the charges be
dropped, the defendants would
have to come to'him, a<Jmit gjey
bipke University policy and
agree to follow such policy in the
future, Abet said.
However, he stressed the
CMU administration does not
have the power to drop charges,
but only can request Isabella
County Prosecuting Attorney
Joseph Barberi to do so.
Barberi Sunday declined to
comment on whether or not he
would drop charges if requested
(See"YSA-"page9)
Extreme heat and smoke aamage was caused when fire struck
the home of Robert Waltmire, associate professor of secondary
education Saturday. According to the Mt. Pleasant Fire
Department, the fire started when the pilot light from a stove
ignited fumes from glue being used to install a formica counter
top. Firefighters were called to the scene at approximately 5:20
p.m., according to Fire Chief Jack Lawson. The blaze was extinguished in just under two hours, with no injuries reported and
no damage estimate availabfe(LIFE photo by Rolii'e Mikan).
Vote scheduling urged
FA will not use delay tactics
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Running to rehearsal for Sunday's concert in Warriner
Auditorium is Maroon Band member Chuck Copua, Utica
freshman, followed by BobTersky, Portage sophomore. Friday's
heavy rains caused two campus areas to flood as water backing
up was responsible for a large "lake" forming behind Sloan Hall
and another between Warriner Hall and' the Religious Center.
(LIFE photo by Pant Eckman).
Faculty Association (FA)
officials say they will do nothing
to delay a possible decertification vote requested by the
Free Faculty.
Ronald Johnstone, FA
president, and J. Norbert
Musto, FA executive director,
Friday saRl they had received
notification of a hearing to be
conducted at CMU March 15 by
the Michigan Employment
Relations Commission (MERC).
The hearing is MERC's first
step toward scheduling a
decertification vote.
Johnstone and Musto each
said while there were tactics
available to the FA to delay an
election, thfe"union would not use
them, "because it's to the advantage of all the faculty to have
this question disposed of as soon
as possible," according to Musto.
They declined to elaborate on
the type of delay tactics
available to the Association.
"We've got to assume they've
got 30 per cent of faculty
signatures," Johnstone said,
"We've said all along we're
going to be cooperative and do
Inside;
Sophomore residency
waived—page 3
-Cxgers could clinch
MAC title-page 11
—Regionals next for
Women's basketball
t&sm—pnge 12
what must be done to clear up
this issue."
Signatures of 30 per cent of
the faculty in the bargaining
unit had to be gathered by the
Free Faculty before MERC
would consider authorizing an
election. According to the
contract between the University
and the FA, faculty in the
bargaining   unit   include   "all
regular, full-time, full-salaried
faculty who hold faculty rank
and carry at least one-half load
in teaching or''research; regular
part-time faculty who carry at
least one-half teaching load; and
professional librarians, coaches,
counselors and department
chairpersons."
At the March 15 hearing, Free
Faculty  members will present
the signatures they have
gathered for MERC's
verification. If the MERC
commission finds at least 30 per
cent of. the signatures are valid,
it will schedule a decertification
vote.
Losing a decertification
election would remove the FA as
the collective bargaining agent
of Central's faculty.
Trustees ok contract
with ice arena architect
byJIMREINDL
LIFE Ass't News Editor
CMU's Board of Trustees has okayed the
signing of a contract with the architectural firm
which will complete preliminary work necessary
before a proposed ice arena can be built here.
President Harold Abel said Board Chairperson
Alfred Fortino gave him the go ahead Friday to
sign a contract with Daverman Associates of
Grand Rapids. The firm will provide the details
for the Use and Finance Statement required by
the state legislature.
The statement describes how the proposed
arena will be Used and how its construction and
maintenance will be financed. It will be filed with
the legislature's Joint Capital Outlay Committee,
which must approve any building project
financed through bond sales. CMU administrators
have said bonds will be sold to finance construction of the proposed arena.
University Architect Anthony Paparella
Saturday said a "letter of intent" will be sent to
Daverman Associates by the end of the,week,
fhjsj will allow .work, to begin on the Use and
Finance Statement while the contracts are in the
mail. ■■' •■■■'•.'■■■
The Board of Trustees approved Daverman
Associates at its hieeting Feb. 16. However, the
delay in signing the contract resulted when
Trustee Leo A. Farhat questioned whether there
was fee competition among architectural firms
seeking the contract.
Arthur Ellis, vice president for public affairs,
said he was not prepared to answer Farhat's
. question at the time but he would check with the
respective firms.
He reported his findings to Abel last week and
recommended the president request the Board's
permission to sign the contract with Daverman
Associates.
The firm will be paid the standard state fee
which  is  computed  as  a  percentage  of the-
project's cost. The percentage is lower as the cost
of the project rises.
According to Paparella it is too early to
determine the actual cost of the proposed arena
project because the construction contract has not
been awarded.
However, Ellis has predicted the proposed
arena will cost between $2.5 and $3 million to
'  (See "Ice arena1-" page 9h
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