cl ble 3k iwau ttilu Ninety-six years of editorial freedom Vol. XCVI - No. 120 Copyright 1986, The Michigan Doily Ann Arbor, Michigan - Thursday, March 27, 1986 Ten Pages U.s copters take 'Hondurans to battle From AP AND UPI As the Senate yesterday battled over President Reagan's plan to send $100 million to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua, American-piloted helicopters airlifted Honduran troops to fighting between anti- Sandinista rebels and a Nicaraguan government invasion force backed by ar- tillery, gunships and reinforcements, U.S. officials said. White House spokesman Larry Speakes said an undisclosed number of Nicaraguan troops remained in Honduras after a weekend border crossing, with as many as 300 trapped inside the country. He also reported "significant movement" towards the common border by more troops of the Marxist-led Sandinista regime in Nicaragua, as well as fire from artillery, BM-21 multiple rocket launchers and Soviet-made MI-8 gunships into Hon- duras. "THERE ARE a number of Sandinista units at the border," Speakes sasid. "Others are en route to the border." "The situation has not stabilized," he said. It is premature to draw any con- clusion that the military situation in the region is over." Meanwhile, the Senate, slogging through an amemdment-by-amendment battle the GOP is expected to win, fought bitterly over President Reagan's plan to send $100 million in aid to the Contra rebels battling in Nicaragua. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) sought to terminate all aid to the guerrilla forces and Sen. Malcolm Wallop (R-Wyo.) demanded immediate approval of the aid without conditions on how Reagan spends it in his effort to keep Nicaragua's San- dinistas from spreading communist sub- version in the Americas. "PRESIDENT Reagan's policy of shooting first and asking questions later will only See SENATE, Page 5 Students split on gulf con flict By ADAM CORT Students are expressing mixed reactions to the recent fighting between the United States and Libya, but they generally agreed that the incidents may have some negative * repercussions for the United States. Some students said the recent U.S. ac- tion, in which jetfighters damaged or destroyed a Libyan missile base and six Libyan patrol boats, was justified, while others contend that the U.S. provoked the attacks by conducting exercises in disputed waters. "I wouldn't say that we didn't have the right to enter the Gulf (of Sidra, which Libya claims as its own and the U.S. claims is international waters), but testing the Libyans is not a very good practice," said LSA sophomore Chris Drobney. "I disapprove of the general idea of pushing them." SUSAN Shatkin, an LSA senior, agreed that the U.S. provoked the confrontation. "We should act the way we want other people to act," said Shatkin. "Although I condemn (Khadafy's) terrorism, I don't think he acted differently from other leaders trying to protect their sovereign- ty." But Jeana Lee, a first year Inteflex student contended that the exercises were not bad policy. "I think Khadafy was making outrageous demands," she said. "To not exercise our right in the Gulf of Sidra would be consenting to Khadafy's demands." See STUDENTS, Page 3 'Associated rress Honduran soldiers board trucks in Cifuentes yesterday to head for their border with Nicaragua. Nicaraguan soldiers have pursued rebels into Honduras. VP nominee leaves engineering behind By CAROLINE MULLER dean, Duderstadt has been respon- science. Engineering Associate Dean for stadt would favor the College If James Duderstadt is appointed to sible for making the college a leader SENIOR, who is also a member of Academic Affais Charles Vest is the Engineering if he becomes the n Ie position of vice president for in high technology while pushing for a the college's Executive Committee, most likely candidate for acting dean vice president, Vest said Duderst haepinc affairs and provost, the broader liberal arts education for said the committee is expected to ' He did say, however, that Vest "has might be forced to overlook the pl caverst wihavea tough tim enginering students. His successor recommend a faculty member next gained the respect of almost everyone of the college in order to prove his i eplacing the five-year dean of the will face a review of the un- week to the post of interim dean to the in the college for what he has done in partiality. ollege of Engineering dergraduate engineering curriculum Board of Regents, which gives the the past five years." "If anything, we are concerned ti d a u r C of ew adt eas m- ;hat Last December, Duderstadt was reappointed by the Board of Regents as engineering dean, but University President Harold Shapiro announced !Monday that he will recommend Duderstadt as the new vice president to the regents at their April meeting. Duderstadt would replace Billy Frye as the University's second highest administrator. SINCE HE took over the office of that Duderstadt initiated to increase the college's humanities requiements.' "Duderstadt is a man who moves very fast. He has set a pace that we have never before experienced in the College of Engineering," said Elaine Harden, assistant to the engineering dean. "Dean Duderstadt has fairly large shoes to be filled by anyone," said Thomas Senior, a professor of elec- trical engineering and computer final approval. The next step will involve setting up a national search committee to review qualifications of candidates applying to serve as the new dean. The process usually take several months, Senior said. Senior declined to comment on speculation by members of the Engineering Council, the college's student government, that VEST, a professor of mechanical engineering, would not comment on whether he thinks he will be chosen to succeed Duderstadt. He said the most difficult problem facing any new dean will be "keeping up the aggressive pace that's been set up so far, and helping the large numbers of new faculty members to realize their aspirations." While some speculate that Duder- ne might not teeL obiUged tom e con- cerns of his (former) coleagues," Vest said. PERHAPS the most controversial move in Duderstadt's administration has been the elimination of the college's humanities department, for- cing students to take their social science classes alongside their LSA peers. The move drew strong See ENGINEERING, Page 5 Duderstadt ... faces challenges Candidates -upset at low: turnout in MSA election By WENDY SHARP Michigan Student Assembly elec- b tion candidates expressed disappoin- tment last night at the low number of students - an estimated 5,500 - who voted in this week's MSA elections. Assembly officers had expected an increase over last year's count of 6,000 voters, citing MSA's campaign to publicize itself and increased student knowledge about the assembly due to the Daily's increased circulation. "THERE were a number of problems with the organization and that hurts the number of votes and Wme," said Kurt Muenchow, who is running for president on the Meadow Party ticket. "There were big, big problems with the organization with this election." MUENCHOW cited as evidence student confusion over when to vote at Mary Markley dormitory. Election advertisements said the residence hall would, be open for voters last Junior Archite See MSA, Page 5 rests on a statu TODAY Charmed serpents EADLY SERPENTS have attacked so many RCPlayers promote student playwrights By ALAN PAUL There are few outlets for unrestrained student creativity, but East Quad's RC Players are proving to be a haven for student playwrights. Usually, student playwrights have to work with professors to get their plays produced,. but tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday the RC Players will present two student- run plays: Charlie Schulman's "Angel" and Naomi Saferstein's "Little Jokes." "Angel," about a Nazi fugitive who is discovered singing in a South American nightclub, is Schulman's third RC Players production. His first two, "The Bir- thday Present" and "The Ground Zero Club," received Hopwood awards, and placed him in the top three at the Young Playwrights' Festival in New York. Both plays were later produced off-Broadway. SCHULMAN, a junior in the Residential College, credits the RC Players with giving the oppor- tunity to experiment with new ideas. "It's the best opportunity to do what I want and not answer to a hierarchial system," Schulman said. "This ('Angel') is risky. It's the kind of material that wouldn't be done if we didn't have the RC Players." Saferstein, a Residential College junior, agrees that the student-run organization provides great ar- tistic freedom. "I write what I'm thinking about, not for a specific audience," Saferstein said. "It's great to know that I have the opportunity here to get produced. I don't have to cur- tail anything because I'm trying to satisfy a decision-making board." MARTIN Walsh, co-chairman of the Residential College of Drama Department, has served as an ad- visor, who provides guidance, but not authority. LSA senior Kara Miller, who has a part in "Angel," said the student orientation of the RC Players makes the production of the plays more easygoing. "I love the RC Players," said Miller, who is appearing in her twelfth RC Players production. See STUDENTS, Page 2 Daily Photo by ANDI SCHREIBER cture student Kevin Putz mulls over his MSA election ballot, as senior Art student Kari Ederer! ue in the Art and Architecture Building yesterday. tations and sometimes music to attract and catch live snakes such as cobras and pythons. The most recent victim wounded by a snake bite was Professor Mahdi Adamu, the university's vice chancellor, who was reportedly attacked when he was in his sitting room, the daily said. The newspaper said university students it interviewed confirmed an alarming incidence of snake bhites non anus use to cure farm animals and house pets ranging from parakeets to goats. "The Chinese had used it for thousands of years on cows, horses and pigs and com- mercially useful animals but they never used it on dogs and cats," said Allen Schoen of New York. "They ate their dogs and cats." Acupuncture is safer and usually less expensive than surgery, Schoen said, and often of- INSIDE LIBYA: Opinion opposes Reagan's military maneuvers in the Gulf of Sidra. See Page 4. i