0 KUHN See editorial page P Ninety Years of Editorial Freedom ~E~aiI& SUNNY See Today for details Vol. LXXXX, No.48 Ann Arbor, Michigan-Wednesday, October 31, 1979 Ten Cents Ten Pages LSA board hears first student vs. teacher case By HOWARD WITT An economics student who claims he was un- justly accused of cheating on a winter term final exam last week became the first LSA student to initiate an Academic Judiciary hearing against a teacher, Judiciary members confirmed yesterday. The LSA Academic Judiciary, a student- faculty committee that in the past has heard cases involving academic dishonesty initiated exclusively by professors against students, last Thursday reached no decision on the case of the economics student who ch rged that his teaching assistant (TA) unjuttly lowered his exam grade. ALTHOUGH SPECIFIC details of Judiciary cases are usually kept confidential, Judiciary student member Alexander Pratt yesterday confirmed several facts about the case which another committee member, Communications Prof. Dean Baker, apparently told to a class last week. The student allegedly changed or made ad- ditions to several answers on his final exam af- ter it was returned. The TA, rather than initiating an academic dishonesty case against the student, utilized "disciplinary grading" of the exam. The student sought vindication through the Academic Judiciary. "We did not reach any conclusion that the student actually cheated," Pratt said. "However, the fact that we didn't exonerate him indicates that we couldn't say he did not cheat." THIS STUDENT-INITIATED hearing was the first heard by the Judiciary since new guidelines permitting such cases were ap- proved by the LSA faculty last spring. LSA Associate Dean Eugene Nissen said, "Over the years, there have been several students (who felt they were unjustly penalized for alleged cheating) who have come to me. Before the guidelines were approved, we had no way to accommodate their requests (for a review)." Pratt, who has been a Judiciary member sin- ce last spring, stressed that the details of this particular case are not as important as the precedent that the case establishes. "If a student feels he or she was unjustly accused of any case of academic misconduct, he or she can now initiate a case," he said. Pratt cited one possible situation in which the Judiciary could be utilized by a student. "If a professor tells a student after an exam, 'I saw you copying off of another test, but I'm not going to flunk you, I'm just going to lower your grade,' then that could be grounds for the student to initiate an action against the professor." THE ACADEMIC Judiciary, which consists of seven student and seven faculty members from among whom two students and two professors are chosen to hear each case, is limited in its powers and jurisdiction, Pratt said. "We can tell a professor that we feel that a certain charge was unjust and a grade was unfair, but we can't change grades. If we decide that a student is guilty of academic misconduct, we determine the punishments. A See LSA, Page 2 Nuke panel urges basic plant changes From AP and Renter WASHINGTON-The presidential commission on Three Mile Island called for "fundamental changes" in the way nuclear plants are built, operated, and regulated, but said adoption of its recommendations> still would not "assure the safety of nuclear power." The commission, headed by Dar- tmouth College President John Kemeny, made its recommendations to Carter after a six-month review of the nation's worst nuclear accident, at the' Three Mile Island plant in Middletown, Pa., last March 28. The Kemeny group said that the ac- cident, in which radioactivity was released, "occurred as a result of a series of human, institutional, and mechanical failures." EQUIPMENT FAILURES initiated the events, the commission said, but a series of improper decisions and ac- tions caused "what should have been a minor accident to develop into the Three Mile Island accident." The 179-nage report said training of nuclear operators was deficient and described confusion when the accident first happened. The commission said that low amoun- ts of radioactivity were released but "the major health effect of the accident appears to have been on the mental health of the people living in the region...." THE COMMISSION also examined whether the serious accident could have mushroomed into a catastrophic event, and found "the danger was never-and could not have been-that of a nuclear explosion (bomb)." The 12 member panel's findings are advisory and many of its recommen- dations, including a proposal that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission be abolished, would take congressional approval. In accepting the report, Carter said the recommendations "will be studied very carefully" and that after an analysis he will make a report to{ Congress and the nation. See NUCLEAR, Page 5 An other depression? Doily Photo by LISA KLAUSNER Impending impersonations While the evening hours of Halloween are still distant these children on Felch Street are already gearing up for their feast of sweets and treats. MICHIGAN LEADERS SPLIT SUPPOR T: Carter gains share of state Dems By KEITH RICHBURG The fissure in Michigan's Democratic Party widened into a canyon yesterday, with supporters of President Carter's reelection and backers of Sen. Edward Kennedy ( D-Mass.) lining up on op- posite sides. Just five weeks after some top party leaders came out with an early endor- sement of a Kennedy candidacy, most of the state's remaining Democratic elected officials yesterday formally en- dorsed the president for reelection. The Carter backers include Secretary of State Richard Austin and Senate Majority Leader William Faust. AT A LANSING press conference festooned with Carter reelection placards, Austin and 35 legislators praised Carter's "outstanding record of accomplishment" and his "experience, courage, and high moral attitudes." Yesterday's endorsement formalizes a split that has been developing in the party for months and is likely to erupt into a heated and lively battle once the scrapping begins for delegates to the 1980 Democratic National Convention. Since the state's Democratic primary election was repealed two weeks ago, delegates to the national convention will be chosen at party caucuses in April, increasing the importance of the party leaders. The state's top Democrats now seem evenly split between Carter and Ken- nedy. The Carter camp can boast Austin, Faust, and Detroit Mayor Coleman Young, who will chair the platform committee at the 1980 conven- tion. There are, however, an equal number of prominent, state party leaders on the Kennedy side, including House Speaker Bobby Crim, Attorney General Frank Kelley, and House Floor Leader Joseph Forbes. THE KENNEDY backers had formed themselves into an official' draft organization, which is expected to be disbanded'this week since Kennedy now has formed his own exploratory com- mittee to run his campaign. The Ken- nedy campaign committee in Washington is expected to name its own political operative for the state to take over the fundraising and organizing, although the early supporters here ex- pect to play an active role in the cam- paign. The Carter Michigan campaign is being spearheaded by a 22-member Carter-Mondale reelection committee, headquartered in Detroit and con- sistipg of Young, Austin, Faust, and two prominent union leaders - AFL-CIO Michigan president William Marshall and United Auto Workers Region 1A Director Robert Battle. The UAW, the state's most powerful union, could play a pivotal role in the delegate selection process if the union makes an endorsement in advance of the April caucuses. So far, the union leadership has let membe's choose their own sides, although Presideni Douglas Fraser's reluctance to endorse any candidate so far has been based largely on the fact that Kennedy was not officially in the race. Fraser has been a Carter critic and a long-time supporter of Kennedy. The union president became disenchanted with Carter's budget priorities and led a direct challenge to Carter in a con- demnatory resolution at the party's 1978 mid-term convention in Memphis. 'Uprofs d-i By WARREN HEILBRONNER Fifty years after the stock market crash plunged the nation into confusion over its financial future, it is unclear to many if the United States again rests on the brink of economic disaster. The. predictions of two University economists symbolize the uncertainty over the economy's future. Economics Prof. Daniel Fusfeld said he thinks a depression is imminent, while Prof. Gardner Ackley doesn't see the current recession developing into a catastrophic economic slowdown. "IF YOU LOOK down the road six months, things aren't all that bad," Fusfeld said. "But it's .my personal opinion that we're heading toward a major depression." "There will be hardship," Ackley said. "The unemployment rate should be eight to nine per cent next year, which I think is pretty serious and costly. But we are a wealthy society. We can survive." "We have lots of safety nets, such as unemployment compensation and food stamps," Ackley added. FUSFELD SAID the depression he expects "may or may not be introduced by a financial crisis, which was the trigger in 1929. (This time) it might isagrede start with a whimper, not a bang (as) we find ourselves sliding off into a con- tinually worsening situation. "We've learned how to prevent the sort of depression we had in 1929 to 1933," Fusfeld said. "We can avoid get- ting run over by that car. But that's not the situation now." Domestic factors caused the financial 'crisis. of the1930's, but Fusfeld said he believes the economic problem today is more international in scope and requires either a world-wide remedy or more drastic domestic measures. "One of our chief weapons, monetary policy, has largely been neutralized by the (expansion of) the Eurocredit system (which) is creating dollars at a mad pace." WHEN THE U.S. imports goods, the producers are usually paid in dollars by means of credits at U.S. banks. These credits are then loaned repeatedly, spreading American dollars throughout the world market. Such widespread use of the dollar minimizes the effect of domestic monetary policies designed to control the money supply, Fusfeld said. He ad- ded that most of the problem today is attributable to U.S. trade deficits with See ECON, Page 2 Chrysler's 3rd quarter loss sets U.S. corporate record From UPI, Reuter, and AP DETROIT-Chrysler Corp. yester- day reported a third quarter loss of $460.6 million, more than any U.S. cor- poration has ever lost in an entire year. With help on the way from the United Auto Workers union, bankers, and other Chrysler dependents, the company reaffirmed its conviction it can survive if the government provides temporary financial help. The struggling auto maker, which has lost more than $743 million through the first nine months of 1979, blamed the disastrous third quarter results on lower sales, delayed production of its 1980 models, and costly steps to reduce a huge bcklog of unsold cars and trucks. CHRYSLER, THE nation's No. 3 auto maker, also said government regulation, the gasoline crunch, and the recession were hurting the auto in- dustry as a whole. Chrysler's latest quarterly loss amounts to $7.15 per share of common stock. In the comparable quarter of 1978, the company lost $158.5 million, or. $2.68 a share. For the first nine months of last year, Chrysler losses were $247.8 millio or $4.15 a share. Per-share losses so far this year are $11.41. Chrysler, said company President Lee Iacocca, is only the most dramatic example of adverse pressures on the entire auto industry. "THE COMBINATION of gover- nment regulation, fears over gasoline availability and the spreading recession have caused even our largest competitors to report pre-tax losses for the third quarter," he said. The reference was to Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., both of which suffered operating losses in the third quarter but were kept in the black by tax write-offs. Chrysler had built up a huge backlog at mid-year because, of the public's switch from big, gasoline-guzzling "land yachts" to smaller, more fuel- efficient cars:. The company, predicting further losses in the fourth quarter, said it was reducing vehicle production for the remainder of the year. It gave no figures on the extent of the cutback. ... pessimistic . . . no depression coming f mhouse had been abandoned for years." Garwood said he and his partner checked the house, and found all the first floor doors locked and covered with cobwebs. They did, however, find a cellar door unlocked, crept in and found four freshly-dug graves. The two officers put in a call for two backup cars, but eventually were supported by six other cars and six other officers. "We eventually had the house surrounded with patrolmen," Garwood said. "We crept in quietly and found nothing in the graves." The of- ficers then started up the stairs, which were rickety and swung back and forth, true to creepy-movie fashion. Gar- Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith's latest energy brainstorm. Galbraith figures the best solution to the gas crisis is to tax fuel at $5-a-gallon to reduce consumption and cut oil imports. "Gasoline prices at the pump should be raised by taxes to a penalty level," Galbraith said recently. "One thinks of $4 or $5 a gallon, although even, this is not astonishing by European standards." Galbraith would keep you mobile by issuing gas stamps which would allow "a basic purchase for household and pleasure driving at present prices, or . . .-at -a level somewhat below." Cars certifiably in use for car pools and business purposes would them more accountable to neighborhoods, the establish- ment of a Board of Bribery to set civic corruption standar= ds, and making all businessmen wear clown suits. Lead singer Biafra paid the $1,254 candidate filing fee despite the probability he will share about two per cent of the vote'with several other underdogs. It could only happen in Califor- nia. On the inside The snorts nane has a storv on .Tohn Wand1er Michigan i r- - _____________ , i II