'- 2 v~ . OPINION No nuclear thugs on campus. 4 ARTS 7 SPORTS Heisman hoopla eats at Bo. 9 Author Ethan Canin intertwines thought and action. +' >o ","+r . . \ti\w:';yq .wi.\kfi:'r?2's\'s fi. , \'N,,'4A.".,:,,.,,' 'C... ... 1£tic toan Baily Ninety-nine years of editorial freedom Vol. C, No. 50 Ann Arbor, Michigan -Tuesday, November 14, 1989 Court Employees, opponents react to agreement DETROIT (AP) - Detroit Free Press Executive Editor Heath Meri- weather walked out into his news- room yesterday and looked back at smiling faces. Meriweather told the 70 or so employees what they already knew, but were waiting to hear from him: The U.S. Supreme Court, by a 4-4 tie, had cleared the way for the Free Press and The Detroit News to par- tially merge their operations. "Whoever said a tie was like kiss- ing your sister didn't have it quite right," said Meriweather. Knight-Ridder Inc., owner or the Free Press, and Gannett Co. Inc., owner of the News, had been seeking to merge their business, circulation and advertising departments since 1986. Editorial departments would remain separate. "We're joined at the wallet but not at the heart," said Joe Swickard, upholds newspaper merger w a " v - ,..., 2 a_ . " MY {ro' . , ree o Ire Court leaves JOAs on 'shaky ground' WASHINGTON (AP) - An evenly divided Supreme Court cleared the way yesterday for the par- tial merger of Detroit's two daily newspapers in its first ruling on a 1970 law aimed at saving failing newspapers. But opponents of the deal said the 4-4 vote suggests such joint operat- ing agreements are on shaky ground. They vowed to fight to restrain fu- ture mergers in any of the remaining two dozen or so cities with compet- ing dailies. ~~,6' ,.R-. ~N . ; Justice Byron R. White removed himself from the case for unex- plained personal reasons. The re- maining eight justices announced their ruling in a terse statement that did not disclose how each voted. The future of such newspaper mergers "is really on eggshells," said a leading opponent of the Detroit agreement, W. Edward Wendover, publisher and editor of The Commu- nity Crier of Plymouth in suburban Detroit. Supporters of the Detroit agree- ment said the papers will remain edi- torially, if not financially, competi- tive. "We're very happy that the last hurdle has finally been crossed," said Sheila Gibbons, a spokesperson for Gannett Co. Inc., owner of The De- troit News. "With the history of the two newspapers, I'm sure you will continue to see heavy competition." Under a 100-year agreement, the Detroit newspapers will combine their business, advertising and pro- duction departments but maintain separate editorial staffs. JOA TIMELINE The' Free Press and News ask the Justice Depart- ment for a limited antitrust exemption to let them cut: costs, by combining all parts of the papers except' the news and editorial departments.. The Justice'Department's antitrust division opposes aJOA. The Knight-Ridder board votes to close the Free Press if a JOA is denied. :Meese approves the-JOAX: U S. District Judge Joyce Green blocks the JOA U .S District Judge George Revercomb in Washing ton, D.C., upholds Meet's ruling Opponents appeal. U.S. Court of Appeals up- holds Meese'sdecision 2- 1. Opponents ask a rehear- ing by the full court; the coiurt votes 5-4 to deny the' r.. .. equest ..::..... The Supreme Court agrees to hear the case. The Supreme'Court splits 4-4, affirming the appeals court ruling. The Supreme Court of the United States approved a joint operating agreement between the Detroit Free yesterday. a Free Press court reporter. Matt Beer, vice president of the Michigan Citizens for an Indepen- dent Press, which had challenged the arrangement, said the organization would not ask the court for a rehear- ing. However, he said giving up this fight didn't mean the door was wide Press and The Detroit News open for other newspaperst such mergers. "We've created thin ice that anyone else who for a JOA will do so carefully said. Michigan Attorney Genera Kelley said he was disappoin the court didn't issue an opini See JOA, The high court split affirmed a AP Photolower court ruling that former Attor- ney General Edwin Meese acted rea- sonably last year when he approved plans by the Detroit Free Press and to form The Detroit News to merge their enough business, production, and advertising applies staffs but maintain editorial indepen- v " ~prdente. Y, Deer al Frank ted that [on, and page 2 The federal Newspaper Preserva- tion Act of 1970 authorizes the at- torney general to give financially failing newspapers an exemption from federal antitrust laws. Student leaders meet to discuss harassment policy input by Kristine LaLonde Daily Administration Reporter Student leaders from almost a dozen different campus groups met for the first time yesterday to discuss how to solicit student input for the University's anti-harassment policy. The students, all members of University President James Duderstadt's students' advisory commission on the policy, met with him to address the commission's objectives. Duderstadt - who set up the commission to advise him last month- stressed the complexity of balancing free speech and protecting the rights of those who are harassed. "It is clear that you cannot legislate attitudes in the University community any more than you can in society... but it's clear that (people) are feeling real pain - their rights are being infringed upon," Duderstadt said. Duderstadt warned the commission members to stay on track with their discussions so as not to lose sight of the policy. However, he said the members had free reign to discuss whatever they chose. Commission members agreed they would not likely come to a consensus on the policy. "We have such a diverse crowd; to agree on anything meaningful will be difficult," said member Mike Schechter, who is vice president of the campus American Civil Liberties Union. At yesterday's meeting the groups concentrated on general administrative issues rather than the policy itself. The members agreed to: " discuss expanding commission membership for an even broader spectrum of opinion; " meet with administrators, especially members of the University's legal counsel; " set a flexible completion goal for the work; " make individual presentations on personal opinions of the policy; " set a tentative schedule and maintain a progress check at weekly meetings; " meet with members of the faculty and staff advisory commissions on the policy; Guerrillas attack El Salvador- SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) - Rebels held large parts of several poor neighborhoods yesterday and battled soldiers in a third day of the worst fighting the capital has experienced in a decade of civil war. At least 305 had been killed and 378 wounded since the rebels attacked Saturday night in their biggest offen- sive since1981, according to the armed forces mortuary, civilian morgues and hospitals and unofficial military figures. Rebels were holding ground in an arc of heavily populated northern districts. Military planes fired rockets yesterday afternoon into the eastern neighborhoods of Venecia and Conacaste, trying to drive out guerillas. Some rockets struck homes, killing several civilians and wounding others. 'A bomb hit the house and killed my mother and my little sister. A plane dropped the bomb.' - Ricardo Alexander Perdomo, victim of rebel attack Ricardo Alexander Perdomo said in a hospital: "A bomb hit the house and killed my mother and my little sister. A plane dropped the bomb." He said guerrillas gave him first aid. See EL SALVADOR, page 2 Balmy days LSA sophomore Sean Kerman takes advantage of a rare November hot spell yesterday. Kerman was fortunate to be able to study his statistics in the fresh air of the Diag. N.Y. doctor speaks on resident reforms by Daniel Poux Daily Staff Writer "Long hours are bad medicine," said Bertrand Bell, chair of the New York State Health Board's Bell Commission, which recently proposed state regulations that would sharply limit hospital resi- dents' working hours. Dr. Bell spoke to the University Hos- pital's Department of Internal Medicine about resident physician working condi- tions yesterday during a forum sponsored by the University's House Officers Asso- ciation. The association, which serves as the union for 750 University Hospital resi- dents, is currently pressuring the hospital to improve working conditions for its in- terns and residents. In his nnpninpo remarks- Rll c ited the residents. Bell spoke of the "sicker, quicker" syndrome; in other words, patients who would have died 30 years ago now live because of medical technology advances, but they require more medical attention and are rapidly transferred from department to department. Most of this attention and paperwork is required from already over- worked hospital residents, Bell said. "Residency requirements have changed little in the past thirty years, while hospi- tal conditions have changed drastically. Medical science has changed, the patients Bell pointed to a 1986 study at the Harvard University Student Hospital, which concluded that medical residents The association, which serves as the union for 750 University Hospital residents, is cur- rently pressuring the hospital to improve wor- king conditions for its interns and residents. have changed, and the sickness' have changed, but the strenuous demands on medical residents remain," Dr. Bell said. suffer from abnormally high levels of chronic depression, substance abuse, and marital and family problems. aU' hospital residents union demands lighter schedules t l A RiAI A V '7Cn -C I-- t _.: . . _......_.. --A 44117- ,.__ -_ '' - -'- -