Today marks the long-anticipated grand opening of the Michigan Student Assembly's Coursepack Store in the Michigan Union. Motivated by the exorbitant prices of coursepack royalties, the Students' Party proposed the idea as part of its campaign platform in the March 1997 MSA presidential election, planning to produce 30 coursepacks for Winter Term 1998 in conjunction with the Michigan Union Bookstore. But as a result of numerous delays and legal snags, the assembly's plans haven't materialized until now. Professors should take advantage of the student-run store, which has the sole intent of helping students save money.
MSA allocated $10,000 to get the store on its feet and cover the overhead costs, which will be reimbursed with this semester's earnings. When MSA failed to follow through with its plans last January, many students were disappointed and skeptical. But MSA has finally come through and made good on its promise of providing students with a royalty-free alternative to commercial copy services. The assembly is able to do this because of an exception to U.S. copyright laws allowing for royalty-free use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes.
Up and running at last, the experimental non-profit store produces coursepacks at a mere two to three cents per page, aiding in savings and convenience with prices ranging from $6.75 to $26.96, a welcome change from the all-too-familiar $30 to $100 coursepacks. The store eliminates the high costs tacked on by other distributors because students only pay for the cost of the paper and the individual copies instead of overhead fees, which are funded by MSA student fees each semester.
But are the days of overpriced coursepacks over? Deemed a pilot program, the store substantially reduces the cost of some coursepacks, but will only accommodate a total of about 130 students in five classes this semester, a far cry from the 30 classes previously projected by the assembly. After Jan. 29 or when all the coursepacks are sold, organizers plan to evaluate the store's success and make improvements for following semesters.
The store also represents something of a legal risk for the assembly to take. Michigan Document Service, a commercial coursepack store, once tried to use the "fair use" exception of the copyright laws to produce cheap coursepacks, but faced a lawsuit and eventual closure as a result. Since the student-run store is operating under the guise of a non-profit organization, the "fair use" claim should be more legitimate, but only time will tell whether or not the store finds itself in court.
Fed up with the current system and high prices of coursepacks, many professors have foregone the various commercial copying services and encourage their students to access course materials on the World Wide Web or from the Undergraduate Library Reserves. The coursepack store will prevent students from these inconveniences and should be supported fully by all professors, as it is a convenient and inexpensive alternative to high prices at commercial outlets.
In an unlikely and promising turn of events, General Motors Corp. is planning to build two new auto plants in Michigan and Ohio, two states that have seen manufacturing industries desert them in past decades. GM has already drawn up blueprints for the plants and hopes to begin construction in April. The two new factories that will spring forth in Lordsville, Ohio, and Lansing, Mich., are designed to cut production costs of compact cars. If GM realizes its plan and constructs a new factory in Michigan, the state will undoubtedly benefit in many ways.
The state of Michigan is well-known as the place in which Henry Ford invented the moving assembly line and his Model T automobile. Detroit subsequently became America's industrial capitol during World War II. But since the mid-1970s, workers in the auto industry have seen their jobs downsized and their factories shipped to southern states and abroad. Cities such as Flint, whose workforce and general population dwindled to less than half of what it was in the early 1980s, have been crippled by deindustrialization. The Big Three have relocated their industry over time to locations where labor is cheap and unions are weak - if even in existence. When workers retired, GM refused to replace them with a new crop of workers, favoring machines over men. When factories became outdated, GM invested capital elsewhere. Although unemployment is a mere 4.3 percent in the United States, manufacturing jobs are being lost as the service sector grows. Far fewer well-paying manufacturing jobs exist for Michigan residents and all Americans than a generation ago.
By building these two new plants, GM will be going against the trend of past decades. Even though the old plants in Lordsville and Lansing will be scrapped for the newer, more efficient ones, GM is making a statement by investing capital in the Midwest - that through innovation and efficient production, the Big Three do not have to turn their backs on the United States to realize long term profits. GM can save - and even expand - jobs in the United States by developing technology that reduces capital costs, making cuts in labor costs unnecessary. These new factories, which have already tested well in Brazil, will cut costs up to $2,000 per car. By investing in Michigan and avoiding the loss of jobs, the auto industry can ensure that related industries stay strong and that the state's economy provides job opportunities for its citizens.
Following a 54-day strike by the United Auto Workers this past summer, GM promised to spend a greater amount of money on capital investment in Michigan plants. With the introduction of the new plant, GM appears to be fulfilling its promise. "We recognized finally after this strike that after three years and $4 billion worth of losses, this head butting wasn't going to work," GM Vice President Mark Hogan told the Detroit Free Press last week. The key issue of contention in the strike was the belief that GM did not intend to keep industrial jobs in Michigan or any of the other states that comprise America's rust belt.
As GM has increasingly depended on independent part producers, the UAW has answered back by asking for union representation in these plants, which it has not gained in most cases. GM should guarantee UAW representation in the new plants as well as in independent plants that provide them with parts. The success of GM's new plants will only come to fruition if no jobs are lost and if the UAW is allowed to represent its workers. Both GM and the UAW should work in harmony to improve their relationship, but more importantly, they should collaborate in improving Michigan's economy. Michigan cannot afford to lose the industry that helped put it on the map.
01-11-99
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