1992-03-11; Central Michigan Life

              Central
Michigan
WEDNESDAY
March 11, 1992
Sleet and snowstorm stifle school
By Jennifer Chrisman
LIFE Assistant News Fditor
Frozen car doors and locks.
Slippery roads and sidewalks.
Most people throughout Michigan associate these things, as
well as heavy snowfall and bitter
winds, with January — not mid-
March.
But freezing rain, ice and thunderstorms saturated much of the
state before the snow arrived to
cover up the frozen mess.
Parts of mid-Michigan were
looking at 6 to 9 inches of snow,
said Keith Dicks, weather forecaster at the National Weather
Service office in Houghton Lake.
Forecasters expected snows to
taper off by Tuesday night with
temperatures dropping to about
10 degrees, Dicks said. Flurries
are expected to continue throughout the week with temperatures
reaching the 30s by Saturday.
The snows, however, didn't
taper off before CMU officials
halted classes after 4 p.m., with
many before that time finding
instructors unable to get to campus and leaving hallways of
academic buildings covered in
notices of individual canceled
classes.
Many students spent Tuesday
calling academic departments to
find out if they could legitimately
skip out on a course session.
"The phones been ringing
pretty steadily," said B.R. Smith,
broadcast and cinematic arts
chairman. "Our work study students are handling most of that.*'
.... The BCA department called off
a couple of classes Tuesday — one
in the morning and one in the
afternoon — because faculty
couldn't make it to Mount Pleasant. Smith said.
"We have had a ton of calls, but
our classes are on schedule," said
James Hill, business law and reg-
LIFE Photo/Brent Henderson
Sigma Pi member David Fcran, Fraser senior, struggles to remove   the ice from his car window Tuesday afternoon in the Sigma Pi
parking area, 1016 S. Main.
ulations chairman.""" "" "
All business law and regulations faculty made the trip from
as far away as Midland, which
was hit harder by the storm than
Mount Pleasant, Hill said.
"We've had hundreds of students calling in," said Myrna Pea-
body, psychology department secretary. "In most cases, I'm sure
they're jumping for joy."
The psychology department
canceled a few afternoon classes,
but most went on as scheduled,
Peabody said.
Until 4 p.m., that is.
Public Relations staffers
started calling area television
and radio stations as soon as
administrators canceled Tuesday's later afternoon classes, said
Rae Goldsmith, director of CMU
Public Relations.
The   biggest   problem   in   the
Public Relations office Tuesday,
though, wasn't snow or ice,
Goldsmith said. The phone rang
off the hook with students trying
to find out what classes would
meet.
"The very best thing they can
do is listen to the radio (for infor
mation )," she said. "We need our
(phone> lines open so we can
cancel classes."
CMU canceled classes on the
Mount Pleasant campus, as well
as in extended degree courses in
Gaylord, Lansing and Saginaw,
she said.
Other mid-Michigan schools —
such as Saginaw Valley State
University and Delta College —
also called off classes Tuesday,
Goldsmith said.
Canceling classes i.s a decision
usually left to the University
president but this time around —
and in December when classes
were canceled because of inclement weather — Provost Robert
F'ranke made the call.
Both times, the president was
out of town.
"It seems unwise to risk people's lives," said Franke, vice
president for Academic Affairs.
The 4 p.m. cancellation time
could include 3:30 p.m. classes
and students should use common
sense when deciding to hit the
road and head for class, he said.
"I assume folks will just use
their judgment on that," Franke
said.
CMU didn't limit cancellations
to classes, though.
While offices were open until 5
p.m., at least two meetings —
Student Government Association's weekly session and
Academic Senate's biweekly session — also were canceled.
"If the   University   feels   that
• after   4   p.m.    commuters   shovild
not be driving, our (SGA) commuters shouldn't be driving either,"
said SGA Treasurer Stephanie
Brown, Romulus senior.
She said it's the first time this
year  the  group  has  canceled  a
See SNOW Page 17
Buchanan to stop here
Republican candidate scheduled for speech
in University's Warriner Auditorium Monday
By Bill Tomson
{.IFF Staff Writer
Winning the upcoming
Michigan primary March 17
could prove an important victory for any of the presidential
candidates.
And some candidates — such
as political commentator and
Republican Pat Buchanan —
are setting up shop in mid-
Michigan to campaign before
the primary.
Most organizations for the
Republican    and    Democratic
nominees don't know where
their candidates will appear
more than a day in advance.
While confusion and uncertainty obscure exactly where
and when candidates will campaign in Michigan, some dates
and places are set tentatively.
Buchanan — apparently the
exception to the unorganized
rule — is scheduled to speak in
Warriner Auditorium Monday
at 10 a.m. writh a press conference following at the Bovee University Center.
The primary puts 3.5 percent
of the total national delegates
up for grabs for the remaining
three Democratic hopefuls —
former California Gov. Jerry
Brown, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and former Massachusetts
Sen. Paul Tsongas.
Republicans — Buchanan,
former Louisiana state Sen.
David Duke and President
George Bush — will compete for
3.3 percent of the delegates.
Buchanan is visiting Central
because of the work put in by
Rochester Hills sophomore Dar-
rin Dimitry and others in the
local Buchanan for President
committee, said Scott Sterling,
executive director and treasurer of the Pat Buchanan
Michigan Campaign.
Dimitry and other committee
members are enrolled in the
Campaign '92 class, team-
taught by James Wieghart,
journalism department chairman, and Delbert Ringquist,
political science chairman.
The committee the students
formed is part of a class project.
Brown will visit Michigan
today and organizers at CMU
are trying to get him to visit
before the primary, but don't
know his specific plans. Supporters hosted an organizational
meeting at Good Vibrations,
208 S. Main.
See MICHIGAN Page 2
Two democrats fall
from campaign 1992
By Shawn DeMaagd
LIFE Staff Writer
The campaign trail ended
early for two Democrats and
many people now are trying to
guess which remaining contenders will sink or swim in the
Great Lakes State next week.
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin withdrew from the presidential race
Monday while Nebraska Sen.
Bob Kerrey pulled out Thursday
— leaving three Democrats on
the ticket for Michigan's primary Tuesday.
The Harkin and Kerrey campaigns failed because both were
short of cash, said Randy Peter
son, president of CMU's University Democrats.
Harkin ended his run for
President about $300,000 in
debt while Kerrey's tab totaled
upward of $1 million, said Peterson, Kinde sophomore.
"They couldn't raise funds
like they needed to," he said.
Kerrey also backed out
because he wants the vice presidency and didn't want to jeopardize his chances by criticizing other candidates to win the
presidential nomination, Peterson said.
"By getting out early he saved
See DEMOCRATS Page 2
Room and board hike
options under review
By Todd Schuiz
I IFF Mannnmq Editor
While CMU's room and board
overall percent increase might
drop next year, many students
still could face an estimated $140
rise in costs.
If the Board of Trustees
approves any of three budget
models submitted at its Feb. 28
meeting, Central's room and
board percentage increase will be
lower than that of 1991 - 92.
CMU's rate also would be lower
than most Michigan schools for
the next academic year.
Trustees are reviewing models
for increases of 1 percent, 2 percent and 4 percent, said John
Fisher, director of Business for
Residences and Auxiliary Services.
Should Trustees approve the
highest model of 4 percent, the
cost of room and board for a student on the 20-meal plan would
increase $142 from $3,582 to
$3,724.
But even the 4 percent plan is a
drop from Central's 6.93 percent
hike for 1991 - 92. Estimates for
1992-93 ranks the 4 percent
boost seventh among 12 Michigan
schools.
"Our models are low in comparison to the way the economy is
going and what other schools are
doing," Fisher said. "They would
have been up around 6 or 7 percent if it hadn't been for increased
occupancy."
The rule requiring students
with less than 35-credit hours to
See ROOM Page 2
News  3
State, Nation, World  3
Opinion 4
Arts, Entertainment  8
Sports  10
Full Court Press  11
Crossword  17
Comics 16-17
Classified Ads  16-17
Police Log  15
Catch all the inside stuff and
stats about CMU men's and
women's basketball on Full
Court Press, page 11.
Building fits MMC's needs
By Colleen Newvine
LIFE News Editor
Mid Michigan Community
College's president believes a
downtown Mount Pleasant structure would exemplify the Harrison school's goals.
The MMCC Board of Trustees
recently authorized a $10,000
environmental study of the former Borden Condensery, located
at Broadway and Oak, for a permanent Mount Pleasant location.
President Charles Corrigan
said the building's renovation
would help renew downtown and
enhance the area — educational
goals of the school.
"That's what we're about," Corrigan said.
Borden Co. designed the building dedicated in May 1908 and
operated it as a creamery until
1960. Among the structure's later
uses are storage and sales of farm
products, and warehousing for
Bader Milling, a local feed company.
"It's a part of the community.
Maybe more than anything else,
that's what makes it so attractive
to us," said George Dunn, president of Middle Michigan Development Corp.
But that's not the only factor
behind MMCC's consideration of
renovating the two-story brick
warehouse for a long-term lease.
Dunn started working with the
community college to find a suitable location several months ago
and said the downtown building
meets the school's needs for many
reasons.
Its location, the proximity to
many of its students, existing
support facilities such as local
roads, services available in downtown like restaurants and stores
are a few. The setting with the
Chippewa River and Island Park
adjacent to the more than nine
acres also provide justification
for further study at the site,
Dunn said.
"I can't think of a neater place
for a community college than
along a river in downtown," Dunn
said.
The building's age and design
contribute to the college's enthusiasm for the proposed site and
Corrigan's belief it will mirror the
image of the school itself.
"It has an aura of antiquity
and respectability," Corrigan
said. "It's a sincere structure. It
has a feeling of permanance.
"It's architecturally different
from everything in Mount Pleasant," he said. "We're different
from CMU."
A community college can offer a
See MMCC Page 9
■ _aM