( Ninety-nine years of editorialfreedom Vol. IC, No. 86 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Tuesday, January 31, 1989 Copyright 1989, The Michigan Daily Doctoral students scrutinize Deans Associated Press One whole propeller aseembly of the crushed Sunday night Canadian C-130 aircraft. The crash which killed eight Canadian special forces soldiers occured Sunday night. 'Six klled in air disaster BY JONATHAN SCOTT In response to last week's rejection of a Black professor for tenure by the LSA Execu- tive Committee, three Economics doctoral stu- dents have disclosed published articles that call into question the competence of LSA Dean Pe- ter Steiner, and LSA Associate Dean John Cross. Both Cross and Steiner are high-ranking members of the Executive Committee. Despite the unanimous recommendation of two search committees, the candidate was de- termined unqualified by members of the com- mittee to fill a joint senior position in the sociology department and the Program in Women's Studies. Although Steiner and Cross do not vote in Executive Committee decisions, they are in- volved in policy decisions and the formation of criteria used to evaluate candidates. According to a Jan. 23 memorandum from Cross to the Program in Women's Studies and the Sociology Department, the candidate was rejected, in part, because of what the Executive Committee considered a recent decrease in the candidate's research in her area of study. Both Steiner and Cross declined to comment on the nature of the committee decision. Since this decision, questions have been raised - about both the criteria for judging the candidate, and most recently, the competence of two committee members, Steiner and Cross. "The University has this standard that they apply to women and minorities seeking posi- tions here," said one unnamed doctoral student. "Yet when we look at the scholarship of those who have excelled according to these standards, we find that their work is sloppy and often con- sists of absurdities and esoteric trivia." He continued, "These same people then stand in judgement of women and minority job applicants who tend to study concrete, less ab- stract social issues such as racism, sexism, and poverty." The doctoral students requested anonymity because of a "climate of fear that is part of graduate training in economics." They said they feared reprisals -if it were known that they had publicly discussed some of the problems within the University's Economic Department and the discipline as a whole. Citing a Jan. 1987 article from the Southern Economic Journal (SEJ), one student said that Steiner's academic career in economics is ques- tionable in terms of competence and originality. According to the article, "The Problem of Unnecessary Originality in Economics," Steiner regarded himself and is still widely regarded in the field as the first serious developer of the "peak load principle," a significant theory in the field of economics. In 1957, he claimed origi- nality for "proof and for the implications of the solution" to a central part of this economic the- ory. "...When we look at the scholarship of those who have excelled according to these standards, we find that their work is sloppy and often consists of absurdities and esoteric trivia." - a Rackham doctoral student But the article reveals that Steiner's supposed "originality" for this theory - one he is most recognized for - is in serious question. The '87 SEJ article documents the discovery of a 1929 dissertation that, according to the SEJ, "presented a formal and complete analysis" of the very theory Steiner was to later claim origi. nality for. Steiner has declined comment regarding the allegations. One other economics doctoral student has disclosed another article that calls into question the nature of Cross's academic work in eco- nomics, and he suggests that a considerable de- ficiency in research has characterized Cross's career in the field. According to the unnamed source, Cross has presented a mathematical model of learning be- havior based on the notion of "cardinal utility." Much of Cross's published research in the '70s dealt with this model, claims the source. See Deans, Page 2 FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Canada pulled out of joint cold-weather military exercises yesterday, the morn- ing after eight soldiers were killed in the crash of a C-130 transport plane trying to land in icy fog at 50 degrees below zero. The four-engine Hercules was carry- ing a crew of eight and 10 paratroopers from Edmonton, Alberta, to participate in Brim Frost '89 when it crashed Sun- day night at the end of the runway at Fort Wainwright, said U.S. Army Maj. Sherrel Mock. Six victims were dead on arrival at the Army hospital and two others died later. In addition, three men were in se- rious condition, one was listed as stable and six others were being held for ob- servation at the base's Bartlett Army Community Hospital, Mock said Mon- day. "We don't know if the cold weather had anything to do with it, "Mock said. "Teams are out there right now, going through the wreckage. "The investigation is still in its early stages. They're wondering if it was the weather or something mechanical." A 450-person Canadian paratroop force was to support the U.S. Army's 1st Brigade, 6th Infantry Division (Light), in a major land battle that was the centerpiece of the Brim Frost ground exercises near Fairbanks. But after the crash, Canadian officials canceled their forces' participation and recalled their remaining aircraft and sol- diers, Mock said. "They canceled because of the equip- ment they lost (in the crash)," Mock added. "The aircraft was bringing in equipment ranging from snow machines to cold weather gear." Military planners call Brim Frost "the premier cold weather training exer- cise in the free world." But temperatures plunging to more than 60 below zero during the past two weeks have been too much of a test. The bitter cold has caused metal and rubber fatigue in trucks and aircraft, stalling equipment and generally slow- ing maneuvers, Mock said. "But we've been able to land air- craft," he said. "Another Canadian C-130 had landed an hour earlier, the third aircraft in the flight was diverted to the Fairbanks air- port because the runway was blocked." Detroit JOA opponents to continue legal battle .....- BY JENNIFER MILLER Opponents of the joint operating agreement between The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press are refusing to capitulate after their three year struggle. The executive committee of The Michigan Citizens for an Indepen- dent Press, led by State Senator John Kelly, met Sunday night and decided to ask a 13 member federal appeals court to rehear the U.S. Appeal Court's decision approving the JOA last Friday. The JOA exempts both newspa- pers from anti-trust laws if the attorney general determines that one of the two is "a failing paper." Committee attorneys William Schultz and David Vladeck held a news conference yesterday announc- ing the decision to appeal. Representatives from the com- mittee said the JOA violates the First Amendment and "puts newspa- pers in 26 other cities in jeopardy." This 500 member coalition of advertisers and newspaper readers had also filed the first federal court ap- peal to counter former attorney gen- eral Edwin Meese's approval for the newspapers' partial exemption from antitrust laws. The committee faced a delicate situation due to the newspapers' de- cision to begin the merger on Feb. 2. Committee members said they must move cautiously and quickly before implementation begins - "Then it will be impossible to stop it (the JOA)," said Kelly. The committee had the option to seek a rehearing at the federal appeals court or go directly to the Supreme Court. "If we went straight to the Supreme Court, Rhenquist would just uphold Thurgood and Meese...other courts just make more sense," said Kelly. By going instead to the appellate court, the committee leaves its op- tions open. If a federal appeals court again upholds a joint operating agreement between the two papers, the committee will still be able to take it to the Supreme Court. Pressed for time, the committee wants the U.S. Court of Appeals to block the partial merge until all thirteen judges can rehear the appeal, Schultz and Vladeck said. The newspapers still plan to pro- ceed with the merge on Feb. 6 un- less another stay is issued by the court, said Free Press Publisher David Lawrence. "Every issue has been heard...," he said. "Fair is fair, and we need to proceed." The motion for a new stay will be filed by Wednesday, Schultz said. If the JOA goes through, the newspapers will combine advertis- ing, circulation, production and other business operations, but the papers will retain separate news and edito- rial departments. Joint Operating Agreements were established with the intention of preserving editorial voice and competition for newspapers in dan- ger of financial failure. Knight Ridder Inc., owner of the Free Press, has threatened to close the Free Press if the JOA is not up- held. Knight Ridder claims to lose about $12.7 million a year on the Free Press. The JOA will allow the two papers to split all profits and losses evenly after five years. The newspapers have already an- nounced their intent to raise their newsstand and advertising prices if the agreement should go into effect. DAVID LUBLINER/Dolly Fine Feathered Friend e Reagan may testify at North trial Ben wetherbee, age 3, and his mother take notice of this rose-crested cockatoo in an Ann Arbor pet supply on Packard. Students want alcohol- free dorm roommates WASHINGTON (AP) - Oliver North's Iran-Contra trial will begin today with President Bush free of a subpoena seeking his testimony but with former President Reagan still "subject to call," the judge in the case said yesterday. "made no showing that President Bush has any specific information relevant and material to the charges of the indictment which makes it necessary or appropriate to require his appearance." The judge said the diary subpoena BY ROBIN PICK LSA sophomore Deborah Berne requested a roommate who did not drink when she applied for housing last year. She was placed with a compatible roommate but, it was question on the housing application for students who wish to live in al- cohol-free rooms. A similar question on cigarette smoking presently appears on the application. bill to the state legislature. The bill requests 44 private col- leges and 15 state universities in Michigan to add a question to hous- ing applications that would allow students to be matched with room-