1976-04-16; Central Michigan Life

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Volume 57 No, 78,
A 1974-7$ Pacemaker award winner
/
Friday, April. 16, 1976
RAs may be urged
not to sign contracts
by DAVID BRABOY
CM LIFE Reporter
Resident Assistants (RAs) may
be urged not to sign their employment contracts for next year in a
protest to* receive certain University
classes free and a special meal
allowance,
Resident Assistants Council
(RAC)    unanimously    endorsed    a
(protest   Wednesday   against   the
University's - rejection    of   the
proposal which would have allowed
RAs to take 16 job-related courses
and a compensation of $2 per meal
for RAs who are required to remain
at their dorms at the end of the
semester after the food commons are
closed,
IN EXPLAINING the protest,
RAC Chairperson Mike Dawson
said, "It's possible that if RAC can
get enough (RA) support a
movement may emerge in which
RAs wiil be urged not to sign their
(employment)   contract"   wjth   the
Power failure
cancels classes
A blackout, which apparently was caused by lightning, cancelled classes
Thursday night. '
The power failure—the second on campus this semester—struck the
entire campus as well as some surrounding areas, according to Gerald
Carvey, assistant division manager of Consumers Power in Mt, Pleasant.
Following what seemed to be at least two near power failures moments
earlier, the lights went out at 7:15 p.m. Power was restored at about 9 p.m.
Although the exact cause or location of the problem had not been
determined at press time, Carvey said he believed lightning was the cause of
the blackout. He said lightning must have struck power lines leading to Mt.
Pleasant. He further theorized that the mishap occurred somewhere between CMU and Deerfield apartments.
According to Carvey, power failures were reported as far south as
Maple Rapids, which is about 20 miles south of Alma.
On campus, all night classes were cancelled and custodians were ordered to lock up all buildings.
No accidents or fires were reported to the Department of Public Safety
during the hour-and-three-quarter power failure. According to Dr. Howard
Varne, there were no major problems in the Health Center during the
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University,
Dawson, Greenbush junior, said
five RAC members will be contacting RAs in all dorms during the
next week in an effort to rally
support for the acceptance of the
defeated proposal.
The tuition-free course option
was defeated by Presidents Council
last week, Dawson said. He said
alternatives to the option currently
are being considered by RAC,
One such suggestion is » special
course designed especially for RAs
be offered.without any tuition fee or
academic credit. According to
Dawson, this would replace the
original 16-course option of the*
proposal.
The class would meet once a
week for three hours with either a
volunteer professor or a speaker's
series to discuss the problems and
difficulties an RA can experience.
While an RA would not receive
creditforthe course, Dawson said, it
would show up on his academic
record.
The $2 meal allowance option of
the proposal also was turned down
by Acting Dean of Students James
Hfll and Housing Programs Director
George v Jennings "for having no
merit**' Dawson said.
DAWSON opposed the decision,
saying, '"We should have had the
meal allowance already, and I don't
think we should have to make an
effort to get something that should
be ours."
The meal allowance option, if
implemented, would cost the
University less than 1,200 annually,
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Complaints sought
Renters to seek reps
A group of six students interested in improving renting
conditions in Mt. Pleasant met
Tuesday and decided upon a plan of
action following last week's "renter's
rights rally."-
The group plans to contact
tenants in every major apartment
complex along with students renting
homes to form a group of
representatives for a meeting
Tuesday. The representatives will
collect   a  list  of complaints  from
others in their complex and
suggestions for solutions, according
to Trina Piepkow*  Olivet    junior.
Piepkow said the group will
form a "master list" of. the complaints to present to James Hill,
acting dean of students,' to plan a
"bargaining table discussion" with
local landlords, leasing agents and
city officials.
Several people at the meeting
expressed  concern  about whether
'Earth Week'
begins Monday
of   environmental
"Earth Awareness
■Hoping to stimulate interest in the importance
quality, Environmental Services (ES) is sponsoring
Week" Monday through Thursday.
ES members will set up tables in the lower level of the University
Center to.distribute information on environmental quality and preserving
nature, ) . $
Monday's theme is "Go Fly a Kite Day" according to Deborah Alegnani,
Farmington Hills senior. The emphasis; will be on individual responsibility to
the environment. < r
Tuesday is water pollution day, when ES Members will clean-up the
library pond. T
Wednesday is International Bike Day, which stresses using bicycles
instead of automobiles to promote health and air quality,
Thursday will feature a panel discussion on "Energy, Population and
•Food*-Where are we now and where'are we going?" featuring members
from the Biology, Chemistry, Economics, English, Environmental Systems
and Geology Departments. The discussion will be in Room 3D ofthe UC at 7
students will remain interested in
the committee because" the year is
almost over and because so many of
the renters are changing apartments.
"If nobody comes then maybe
We should just concentrate on our
own apartment complex," Piepkow
said, "That's about all we can do with
the time limit." •
"We're going to have to be like
the backbone of this thing," Peggy
Housner, Saginaw senior, said. "All I
care  about  now   is  getting these'
people to come,"
The group also decided to send a
petition signed by 113 people from
their complex which outlines support
of the renters' rights group to the
owner of the complex, who lives in
Lansing.
The committee began action
March 19 to inform students of their
rights as renters and what they
could do to improve living conditions
in, off campus housing, according to
one oi the members.
-..v!*"*"** I-K
*<<*&
CM UFE PHOTO BV KfcVIM LM
1612V' "MANIA "—With vans of every description becdming very popular, business for those who decorate vans
also'blossoms, as illustrated by'the ship scene on this van. Other favorite accessories include "bubble" windows, carpeting, waterbeds, stereo systems and high-back seats.
'Van mania'
Sales soar for versatile vehicles
by JOHN GROG AN
CM LIFE Reporter
Vans. Those wonderfully versatile, practical
vehicles are becoming increasingly popular each
year as people from all walks of life discover this
new mode of transportation.
Siles of new arid Used vans alike are soaring,
eiteatfag an- acute shortage of vans across the
nation, according to area automobile dealers.
DEALERS CAN NOT get nearly enough vans
from the factory to supply the needs and demands
of the public. Likewise, those vans received by
dealerships are sold as fast as they come in. The
waiting lists are endless,
"Vans have been distributed on an allotment
list," Tom Kraphol, general manager of Kraphol
Ford, 1415 E. Pickard Rd., said. "Only an allotted
number of vans are sent to dealers each month
from, the factory."
,faot all dealerships receive the same allotment
of vans, however. Van distribution is decided
depending on the different van manufacturers and
on how each individual dealer ranks with the
company.
According to one Mt. Pleasant dealer who
wished to remain anonymous, the struggle for new
factory vans is a very frustrating one.
"We've simply been unable to get vans," the
dealer said. "We haven't received a single van from
the factory for two years now.
He added the problem lies in dealership
priority./'We apparently don't sit very high on the
priority totem^pole," the dealer said. "The factory
distributes first to all the single line (one maker)
dealers and then the surplus is allotted to various
multi-line dealers like myself." >■ -
In response to this shortage, the big three
•auto dealers all have increased production
markedly, Ford, for instance, has doubled
production in the last year, with similar figures
.quoted by both General Motors and Chrysler.
THIS INCREASE in production, however,
still does not match the increase in demand.
Consequently,-the resale value on used vans'is
unusually high.
"The resale value on the van is nearly 25 per'
cent higher than the resale on the station wagon or
passenger car," Kraphol said. "This makes the van
a very good investment."
Yet, amidst all the talk of shortages and
popularity, production aiid resale, the question Still
remains: Why, of all the different production lines;,
has the van alone soared to the top?
According to Neil Miller of *M & M Chevrolet,
4580 E. Pickard Rd., the van has gained recent
prestige as a sporty street vehicle.
"I think the van right now is the hot rod of the
decade," Miller said. "It's the boulevard machine."
He continued the van now is being used for
. purposes other than the traditional usage as a,
commercial vehicle. "It's a more personal type of
transportation now," Miller said. "People want
them for recreational and personal transportation
usage now."
Kraphol's reasoning behind the van boom is
one of practicality.
"It's an awfully sensible way to go," he said.
"The gas mileage is as good as that of a standard
car, they have plenty of room, you can't go wrong.
They're practical.
"WHAT THIS unit has done is replaced the
station wagon. The van is taking over as the, new
family car," Krapohl added.'
Besides; offering practicality, vans offer- a
reasonably s'afe type of transportation, according
to area police.
No specific problems unique to vans have been
found in recent years, police say. They listed the
van as having comparable maneuverability to the
average passenger car and better visibility.
"The major hazard of driving* vans is that
there is nothing between the driver and the front •
of the van," Capt. Ed Barr, of the Mt. Pleasant
Police Department, said. "Your chances of getting '
hurt  are much  greater in  a head-on  collision
because you are right Up front."
(See "Vans
page 8)
Court to decide cases
v , ■ ■■'*.■
ill prevents unlawf uI evictiofi
HEALTH FA/ff-Speakers and
films highlight the third annual
Health Fair (see story page 3).
WiiM
« Bill prevents unlawful
eviction—Pago 2
e Fair features self-help,
plans—Pago 3
•   Central   opens   MAC
season    today—"Page   6
V-
by.LORIEMOY
CM LIFE Reporter
> Landlords will ,have to go to
court to evict tenants instead of
using force or other measures if a bill
now headed for the Michigan Senate
is passed, <
House Bill (HB) 4597, sponsored
by' Rep. Perry Bullard, D-Ann
Arbor, was approved by the
Michigan House' Tuesday. If it
becomes law, it would become effective in April of 1977.
THE BILL permits a- tenant
who is unlawfully kept oUt of his
residence to collect actual damages
or $200j .whichever is greater.
Unlawful eviction is defined as
cases when a landlord threatens to
or uses force to. prevent peaceful
possession, changes the locks
without giving the tenant a. new key,
removes -or   destroys   personal
"The bill hopefully will serve as a deterrent and
force the landlord to a court hearing. It's very important that nobody be thrown out of a rented house
without due process of law."—Rep. Perry Bullard, D-
AnnArbpr.
property, boards up the premises,
removes doors, windows or locks,or
shuts off utility services.    .
Exceptions to the above are
allowed if the landlord acted under
court order or interfered ohly briefly
in or'der to make needed, lawful
repairs or inspections,
1 The landlord or owner also is
exempt if,he had specific reasons to
believe the tenant had abandoned
the premises or if the current rent
had not been paid and the tenhut did
not respond within a week to the
landlord's inquiries about the
abandonment.
"The bill hopefully will serve as
a deterrent and force the landlord to
a court hearing," Bullard " -said
Wednesday, It's very important that
nobody be thrown out of a rented
house without due process of law."
The bill has been debated for
about a year, according to Bullard,-
along with HB 4598, which still is
before the House.
HB 4598 is designed to protect
tenant's rights to privacy ih their
rented home. The bill specifies and
limits the conditions under which &
landlord can enter a tenant's home.
The bill states landlords may
not enter a tenant's home unless'the
tenant's permission has. been jjobtained, specifying the date, period of
time and purpose for entry.
<   However, a landlord, may enter <
a tenant's home without notifying
the tenant if he  has reasons to
believe   an ' emergency    situation
existed. '
Other provisions of the bill
specify landlords' right to enter for
inspection or repairs.
Bullard said representatives
still are negotiating • with landlord
groups over ithe second bill, but'they
hope to vote by the end of May.;,
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