Miami Hurricane, February 25, 1992

              IN FRIDAY’S HURRICANE
BIG MAN ON CAMPUS
IN SPORTS: Constantin Popa, UM's 7’3” freshman center, is the first Romanian to play college basketball in the United States.
NEWSBRIEFS
SG chief justice resigns
Student Government Supreme Court Chief Justice Steve Cohen, sighting a conflict of interest, resigned from his post Friday, reportedly to become a candidate for SG president.
Associate Chief Justice Tracy Carracedo will be acting as chief justice until SG President Irwin Raij appoints another.
Raij said he will wait until the candidates are all official before he appoints a new chief justice. Raij said most of the members are new to the court.
"I want to wait until I see who's left before I start looking for a replacement,” Raij said.
Cohen said he waited to resign from the court because “there were a few things I wanted to finish.”
Cohen said he’s looking forward to the upcoming
plputinn«*
— DEBORAH MOSKOWITZ
15 license plates stolen
Fifteen license plates were reported stolen from vehicles parked on campus over the last two weeks, according to Department of Public Safety reports.
The stolen tags came from 12 different states. One of two stolen Florida tags was a University of Miami plate. A British Columbia tag was also stolen.
“It is very possible that one individual is making a collection,” said Capt. Henry Christensen of Public Safety.
TODAY’S FORECAST
PARTLY CLOUDY
Wind: Southeast at 5-15 mph HIGH: 82 LOW: 69
Source: National Weather Service
FRANK RECtO / Graphic Artist
Budget deficit forces cutbacks in student aid
‘It's a very difficult situation because the University doesn't have the funds to help replace money which gets cut,’
Martin Carney, director of financial assistance services
By RACHEL MATHASON
Staff Writer
The Office of Financial Assistance Service’s March 1 priority deadline is just around the corner, but this year some students at the University of Miami may have more than just the upcoming deadline to worry about.
Budget deficits brought on by the recession may force several state programs, including the Florida Tuition Voucher and the Florida Student Assistance Grant, to cut their financial aid packages by as much as five percent next year. Martin Carney, director of Financial Assistance Services, said this may leave some UM students in a bind.
"Students are hurting because of
the budget shortfall. It’s a very difficult situation because the University doesn’t have the funds to help replace money which gets cut. There’s a lot of uncertainty right now and we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens,” Carney said.
For the 1991-92 school year, the
UM Board of Trustees appropriated approximately $27 million of this year’s budget to financial aid programs for its students. This figure is up about $3 million from the previous school year.
At this time, no definite decisions have been made for the 1992-93
school year, but the dollar amount is likely to increase once again.
“At the same time as the University is adding dollars to its assistance programs, the state government is cutting back and the federal government, at best, is remaining at about the same level. Unfortunately, there’s really very little we can do about it, and that bothers me,” said Carney.
Despite the budget shortfalls, Carney says the office will continue to offer full-time services.
Jennifer Adams, sophomore, said the shortfall will not greatly affect her.
“It’s not a surprise the stuff gets cut every year,” Adams said. "I have loans too, so I guess I’ll get an increase.”
FIELD TRIP
By CHRISTOPHER CARLISLE
Contributing Editor
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
Well, not exactly. But there were alligators and ibises and dolphins.
Twenty-three residents of Hecht Residential College set out Saturday at 8 a.m. to explore the ecosystem of the Everglades.
“It was amazing to me how many people had lived in South Florida and had never been to the Everglades,” Michael Krenn, associate master of Hecht, said.
"I was real surprised,” Jeff Friedman, senior, said. "I had a picture in my mind of what the Everglades would be like, but it was a lot nicer than I thought. It was so peaceful.”
The Everglades became a national park in 1947. This protected area serves as a wildlife habitat.
The first stop on the trip was the Anhinga Trail, located within Taylor Slough, a marsh with plants, animals and fresh-water marine life.
Vish Rumulla, a residence assistant in Hecht, said, “It was a very good time of year to go. There were lots of nests with hatchlings and you could watch the young being tended to by the older birds.”
CHRISTOPHER CARUSLE/Photo Editor
NATURE WATCHING University of Miami students and faculty watch a coral snake along the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades. Cynthia Jordon, Jay Devaupoly. Vish Rumulla, Candy Jordon, Jeff Friedman, Cathy Thompson and 17 others went on the Saturday morning trip organized by Hecht Residential College. An alligator, below, swims in the Taylor Slough.
Students explore Everglades
Graduation
criteria
debated
By RACHELMATHASON and DEBORAH MOSKOWITZ
Of the Staff
Faculty at the University of Miami are still in disagreement over the new, more restrictive general education requirements for graduation that will go into effect next year.
The final list of requirements was recently approved by the 18-member Implementation Committee on General Education Requirements. This resolution comes after a two-year-long debate among committee members over which classes would be most appropriate for the overall university experience.
According to John Masterson, vice provost for undergraduate affairs, some members of the committee feel each individual school or college should decide how they will meet the core requirements while others feel the committee should set the standards for the entire University.
“The discontent doesn’t represent the entire committee,” Samuel Lee, associate dean of the School of Engineering, said.
Masterson said the requirements were the result of a three to four year process conducted by the Faculty Senate.
In addition to having to take proficiency courses in English, math and writing, all students entering UM next fall will also have to take 24 credits to satisfy the University’s “Areas of Knowledge” requirement. The 24 are broken down into six credits of natural sciences, six credits of social sciences and 12 credits of arts and humanities.
“In previous years, students could pick just about any class out of the bulletin to satisfy these requirements. But now, they will be limited to choosing classes from a master list of 150 courses,” Masterson said.
“A lot of different view points were represented in the committee, ranging from people wanting to see tight restrictions on the courses selected to those who wanted no restrictions at all,” committee member James Nearing, associate professor of physics, said.
The University’s general education requirements are designed to make sure graduates will have knowledge in several areas. Emphasis on in-depth learning will be left up to specific programs in the various schools and colleges.
“We don’t plan to get any more in-depth overall than we already are,” Jo Faulmann, assistant dean of the School of Music, said.
24-hour security lot offered during break
By JULIUS WHIGHAM
Staff Writer
Students afraid their unattended cars will be vandalized or stolen while they are away for spring break can place them under the watch of a 24-hour guard.
University of Miami Department of Public Safety parking service officers will patrol lot 420, across from the Health Center on Pavia Street, around the clock, according to Jayne Gailey, director of traffic and transportation.
Gailey said the service is being offered at no charge.
The patrols will begin at 7 a.m. March 6 and end at 7 a.m. March 16.
“When you drive up, you must sign in with a patrolling guard,” Gailey said. Students will be asked to sign an agreement and release form before entering the lot.
Those who want to remove their cars before March 16 must notify a patrolling guard and present their original agreement.
“Once you remove it, you can’t come back,” Gailey said. "We don't want a situation where students are going to be coming back and forth.”
SAFETY ZONE
New work rules hinder international students
By MONICA ORBEGOSO
Staff Writer
International students seeking work either on or off campus should be aware of new work rules set up by Immigration and Naturalization Services and the Department of Labor.
According to immigration lawyer Eugenio Hernandez, getting a job prior to consulting with the international student adviser at the school could lead to serious violations.
"The student has to make sure he is legally authorized to work, otherwise he is in violation of the status and could be subject to losing his student visa.”
Under the new rules, international students can make use of four choices for work:
■ Curricular Practical Training: Before the new rules went into
effect last October, international students looking for off-campus employment had to ask their advisers to fill out a form stating they were going to supervise their practical training. This training was either an optional or credit-earning course for completion of their degree.
With the new immigration rules in effect, an international student now has to prove the practical training is necessary for graduation.
According to the director of International Student Services, Teresa Poole, 70 international students are in practical training this semester. This is the same number as last year.
“There will be a decrease in the number of students who will
See page 2! INTERNATIONAL