1997-09-03; Central Michigan Life

              Central Michigan LIFE
Volume 80. Number 5
Mt. Pleasant.   Ml 48859
©1997 CM LIFE
7<S \/cnr$ of $crzung the coifmumiti/
WEDNESDAY
September 3, 1997
20 pages
New conflict of interest
policy creates concerns
Tenure hiring numbers reach
second largest in history
By shawna McManus       Some A-Senate members fear plan cemed     senator
uf|'?fV.;;: ,      s     t     will 'defy the democratic process'   wil'   'T'V ^
l hi*     Aiadt'iiiu-     Senate                                     J r                                 resolve   the   objec-
passed    a    policy   Tuesday tion        informally,
which   will  clear  up  any  faculty      then be reviewed at the following Haniels   said.   The   nominee   will
committee nominees' conflict s ^\~      Senate   Executive   Hoard   meeet lit-    informed    of   any   objections
interest   before   election   to   com         ing. made by the senator,
mittee.                                                                         The    identity   of   the    nomine*' It     the    objection    cannot     be
Klame   Daniels,   assistant   pro-       and  th*'  reason   for the objection resolved    informally,   the   execu-
tessor   ol   management   and   law.       will  not   be discussed  during the tive   board   will   meet   with   both
said the conflict ot interest policy      Senate    meeting,    which    raised parties   and   make   a   (letennina-
concerns any  senators t hat   have       some concern on the part of some t ion    by     secret    ballot.    Daniels
senateis. said    The   final   decision   will   be
"This    defies    tho    democratic decided   with   a   majority   vote   of
process."   saul   .James   Scott,   pro those present
fessor of Office  and   Information "It   is   really   up   to   the   person
Systems.    "The   executive   board with   an   objection   to  prove   that
will huddle together, and the rest there    is   a   conflict    of   interest."
Senate meeting and request that       of the   Senate   will   not   find   out Daniels said
the      election       be       postponed.       about  it." In    other    business,   elections
Daniels   said.   The   objection   will           Tlu-    nominee    ami    the    con took      place     tor     the     Cieneral
personnel services.
Of the .r>() temporary faculty. 23 teach less than three-quarter
me.
time
objections to nominees. These
senators may raise an objection
before a meeting and notify the
Senate chairperson
Senators    may    also    raise    an
objection   of   the   nominee  at   th*'
Darrow said hiring numbers vary year to year. The largest
group of tenured and temporary faculty hired was 100 in 1970.
This is the second largest lure of tenure faculty in CMU's history with the record set at 71 for the 198.H-S9 school year, followed
by   Y.\ in   19.S9-90.
Sixty eight faculty opted t<» retire with the retirement incentive
program Many retired in May. but several will retire at the end
of t his se i ii est er and two will ret ire in  May  li'l,S.
17dm-at ion Su hcom m ittee.
Representatives     elected     were
Oleii   Williams,   associate  professor of physics forth*' natural sci
emes university program. Tanya
Domina.    assistant    professor   of
human environmental studies
for the College of Education and
Human Service's, and David Aim,
biology faculty for the College of
Seo ASENATE F'age 8	
Strike
legislation
may have
little impact
By Angela Cook
i ^ \ S: \~ W ■!•?*
Spurred by the recent strike
at Ferris State University, a
house lawmaker is preparing
legislation to impose penalties
on striking faculty members,
but this mav have little impact
at CMU.
Rep.       Ken        Sikkema K
GrandvilUA is preparing to propose a law to th*' State House ot
Representatives that would
crack down on public university
employees who decide' to strike
for any reason during classes by
deriving them  their paychecks
"The legislation I have
requested mirrors (the current
law i which provides for tines
against public school employee.-
and employers." ho said "Tin-
same penalties should exist for
public universities and their
employees."
Sen. .Joanne Emmons said
she will be very interested m
this legislation when it arrives
in the Senate and said strikes
on the university level can be
very harmful  to students
"If th*- students pay for tin-
class and it doesn't start that's
detrimental to students." she
said. "It's been really hard on
students at  Ferris."
David Smith, president of
CMU's Faculty Association and
associate professor and chaii of
religion said tins legislation
could prove detrimental to state
universit ies.
"In general I don't think anti-
strike legislation is a good thing
in higher education," he said
Smith said faculty at state
universities often strike for
educational reasons, and if faculty are discouraged to strike,
the education at that university
may suffer.
He also said administration is
not always interested in heightening the quality of education
but    rather    m    the    economics
See STRIKING Paqe fcs
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S^-r-'A l-MRTCN • CM  LAP
CMU's Jazz Percussion and Steel Drum Ensemble performed Monday afternoon at the Montreux - Detroit Jazz Festival. The percussion ensemble performed four steel band pieces and three small group jazz pieces.   Director Robert Hohner, has   recorded five
CD's with the group and the latest is scheduled for release in late 1997.
Crossway
stop signs
will arrive
right away
■ Students should use
caution when crossing
Washington Street
LIFE Staff Reports
Students crossing
Washington Street should be a
bit more cautious as the final
touches to the road construction
project are finished up this
week.
When the resurfaced road
opened Friday, lines for a crosswalk used by students to walk
to and from the Towers had
been moved to Washington
Street and Ottawa Court.
However, unlike th*' previous
crosswalk, students need to pay
extra attention to traffic as the
new location hasn't had a stop
sign installed yet.
Duane Ellis, city engineer
and director of Public Works for
Mount F-Measant. said city workers should have the new stop
sign up "probably by
Wednesday."
"We had to wait four- days to
get clearances from underground utilities." he said.
Ellis said the new crosswalk
location should also help relieve
the congestion of vehicles trying
to turn out of Ottawa Court.
Another part of th*- construction project expected to be finished this week are conduits
which contain wires powering
street lights on Washington
Street. For the last few nights,
the lights have not been on.
Consumer Energy crews were
working on the project Tuesday
and power to the' lights should
be restored soon. Ellis said
The- conduits will make future
wire repairs easier smce the
wires wiii hi' in a pipe, he >aid
"In the past, the wires were
buried under the pavement or
strung above on the lines." Ellis
said.
"Now with th*' conduits, there
will be several access points
where they will know where the
wires are."
The remaining road construction on Washington Street
includes curb repair and other
minor work that will not affect
traffic.
Colleagues, friends gather to remember Johnie Smith
By Angela S. Vandenberg
A near capacity crowd attended a
memorial m honor" of .Johnie Smith, assistant professor of history, Tuesday night in
the Bovee I'niversity Center Auditorium
to pay tribute to and remember a man
who contributed not just to ('Ml', but to
everyone he know.
"I)r. Smith did more for ('Ml' and its
students than most of us manage in
careers that are much longer." said I)avid
MacLeod, interim chair of the history
depart ment.
MacLeod said he first met Smith, at the
time a (Will graduate student. 12 years
ago
All   departments   want    bright,    intelli
gent and excit ing teachers. MacLeod said.       some of her memories ot  Smith   She said
adding Smith  had  surpassed   all of those       Smit h had a way of making things happen
q i laht ies.
"Smitty brought us students. He h-ought ns
enthusiasts tor history."
MacLeod saul
Every student should
have one great teacher in
college that makes a difference, he said
".Johnie did that time
and time again,"
MacLeod said of his colleague and friend
One col league of
thi
that   were
and   trying   to   change
morally wrong.
"When his dissertation was over he
asked me to go somewhere quiet with him
to talk ami he told me he wonted to sing
th*- Battle Hymn of the Republic because
of the vnd of his dissertation," the colleague said with tears in her eyes. Along
4£, ' i with the speaker, the crowd sang an
^iwl excerpt of the Battle Hymn of the
Republic.
SMITH A   second    colleague    from    WSU    said
Smith was a remarkable thinker and   performed extremelv well  what were consid-
Smith's   from   Wayne   Stat*-   I'niversity.   a      ered tlu- most difficult classes in his field,
school    he   previously   attended,    shared "I've been here since 19ht> and he is the
most remarkable graduate student I have
ever seen at Wayne State," Smith's colleague said.
Robert Smith, graduate student and a
residence hall director in Thorpe Hall,
shared a memory about the time Smith
spent with him discussing his independent study on African history.
"T wouid have my books m my hand
with everything highlighted but th*' chapter title and he would rattle off everything
I should have highlighted," Robert Smith
said.
"Except he never had any books and
that7s what kind of bothered me." Robert
Smith said with a laugh.
See TRIBUTE Page 8	
Fish, reptile top pet list for students living on campus
By Emily Gerkin
t I* t   A.,-- •/.■■!■■<
For' most students, coming to
('Ml' means leaving their1 loved
ones behmd. and that includes
not only mom and dad but
Sparky. Fluffy and Tweety too.
The end result'.'* A mad dash of
students flocking to local pet
stores and the animal shelter to
find new companions. Campus
rules, according to Residence
Life, limit students to having
tropical fish in th*- residence
halls And most local landlords
have strict rules and penalties
which hunt and prohibit what
kinds of pets students can keep.
Vicki Love, owner of Fish Head
Aquariums,   \'.i'Z'.\ S.  Mission St.,
said lish are definitely th*- most
popular selling item to students.
but sales have gone down m the
past  five years.
She said tlu- most popular fish
arc goldfish, bettas and African
cichhds - a type offish that eats
smaller fish.
"They usually can't afford a
lot, so they buy a bowl or' small
set-up," Love said
II they can afford more, Love
said reptiles are also popular A
total package including a snake,
lights and a heating rock can
cost more than $200
Bill Emhrev, owner' of the Zoo
I'et Shop, 112 S. Mam St . said
oscar or dempsey fish are his
biggest   sellers, as well  as small
turtles. His pet shop also oilers
larger animals such as puppies,
hamsters, rabbits and kittens.
Some students only keep their
pets for th*- school year and then
return them because they cant
take them back home or into
their new residence.
"We g"t a lot of returns at the
i-nd of the school year, especially
big, nasty fish," Love said.
"Sometimes they toll us up front
that they or.lv want them for the
year or semester because Mom
or Dad won't let them bring
t hem home "
Embrey   agreed   that    most   of
PETS K
LmH
SABR1NA BURTON • CM LlFt
Freckles Bosma, 4 months, owned by Vicki Townley, Rockford
junior, spends most of her time playing in the blinds of Vicki's
apartment in Yorkshire Commons.