'' k' ; '_: t .; ..;1 :. i 9 . , OPINION 4 ARTS 5 SPORTS EAlana Davis excels off the track as well as on\ \ 8 Idaho abortion bill endangers women Life in the North country Jr Ube If dr tan ailt! Ninety-nine years of editorial freedom Vol. C, No. 119 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Thursday, March 29, 1990TMichigan cc accuses Action of libel Graduation speakers con firmed by Daniel Poux Daily MSA Reporter Accusations were flying at Tues- day night's Michigan Student Assembly meeting, as opposing par- ties in the spring elections argued over the meal credit reform issue. Members of the Conservative Coalition filed charges against the Action party, attempting to get a re- straining order on their campaign materials which they say display li- belous information. The controversial Action posters implied that the CC was misleading student voters by taking responsibil- ity for meal credit reform, and stat- ing the Resident Halls Association was the student group which initi- ated the reform effort. The case went before the Central Student Judiciary, MSA's highest court, but after two hours of an in- formal hearing, the restraining order was denied. A separate MSA election court will hear the case in a formal hearing this Sunday and until then, the controversial posters will stay up. "We filed charges because we Dollars For Better or... ...For Worse want the MSA system to work for both sides," said MSA President Aaron Williams. "During the past elections, the courts were used against us; this just goes to show that there's something wrong with MSA's judicial system." Action representatives said the Coalition is seriously misleading the student voters, and using the meal credit issue to garner uninformed votes. "A lot of students do not know a lot about MSA or about the parties on the assembly," explained Action party presidential candidate Jennifer Van Valey. "They've seen fliers around campus, and they're making a misleading and incorrect associa- tion." Furthermore, MSA Rackham rep- resentative Corey Dolgan has stated that he will take responsive action by filing ethics charges against MSA members Rob Rielly and Joe Sciarotta, arguing that the two vio- lated sections of the assembly's Compiled Code. See LIBEL, Page 2 could Fourth in a five-part series by Andrew Gottesman and Adam Schrager Daily Staff Reporters © 1990 T HE MICHIGAN DAILY The color of money for the Big Ten Conference may not be the blue and white of Penn State. Financial concerns could be a major stumbling block in the Nit- tany Lions' admittance to the con- ference. Many conference officials are worried Penn State's addition could raise costs without guaran- teeing more revenue to other Big Ten schools. "It's going to cost us a bundle," Michigan Assistant Athletic Director for Finance Robert DeCarolis said. "I haven't done the exact figures, but I can't see this situation making us any money." Two of the three committees formed by the conference to study the transition are examining finan- cial issues. The TV/Revenue Shar- ing and Competitive Format/Bud- getary Impact committees, chaired by Noelle Vance Daily Administration Reporter With the elimination of a Uni- versity-wide commencement cere- mony, individual departments and schools have been trying to attract their own prominent speakers. As of today, 14 people have confirmed they will participate in the celebra- tions. Louis Sullivan, secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services; University alumnus Lawrence Kasdan, director of The Big Chill and The Accidental Tourist; and Frank Poposs, president of the Dow Chemical Company will be among the principal speakers. Sullivan will address Medical School graduates, Kasdan will speak at the LSA ceremony, and Poposs will speak at the Business School's ceremony. Students and deans selected the speakers who will participate in the ceremonies of 17 of the University's 19 graduation ceremonies, said the coordinators of the various depart- ment activities. The School of Ar- chitecture and Urban Planning and the School of Information and Li- brary Studies will not have speakers. "Our student population re- quested somebody who was a female professional," said Cara Voss, execu- tive secretary to the dean of the Col- lege of Dentistry. The college will hear June Osborn, the Dean of the University's School of Public Health. At the School of Business Ad- ministration, students nominated speakers and the dean made the final See SPEAKERS, page 2 Hot dog! STEVESZUCH/Day Bruce Inosencio, [SA sophomore, dresses his hot dog at McDivit-White corner yesterday. The dog was purchased from the street vendor "Beiner's Weiners". The Penn State-Big 4 Ten marriage might not be the windfall many thought it would. Tomorrow: Penn State's addition has fueled speculation of further expansion, not only in the Big Ten, but nationwide. douse I by Minnesota Athletic Director Rick Bay and Ohio State Athletic Director James Jones respectively, address the economic ramifications of expanding the conference. The overriding cost would be travel. At the least, getting to and from the Penn State campus would dent already dilapidated athletic budg- ets. "There's no doubt the addition of Penn State is going to be very cost- ly from a travel standpoint," Indiana Assistant Athletic Director Harold Mauro said. "It's definitely going to add to our budget. Travelling (to Penn State) is really difficult for us. We have to fly into Harrisburg or Pittsburgh and then take a long bus ride." The only team able to fly directly into Penn State without chartering a plane will be Ohio State. Other schools would be required to charter or switch planes in Pittsburgh or Washington D.C., hubs of US Air and United Airlines respectively - the only commercial airlines to fly Nittany into Penn State. Without switching to commuter planes, teams would be required to take a two-plus hour bus ride from Harrisburg or Pittsburgh - the two closest major cities to University Park. Travel problems have led Penn State President Bryce Jordan to promise to lengthen the local airport runway. The expanded runway would allow larger, non-commuter planes to land, said Penn State athletic department officials. Airfare alone for Michigan's 13 athletic squads, which travel with hundreds of athletes, could cost over $150,000. Minnesota and Iowa - both more than 700 miles away from Penn State - may encounter even greater expenses than Michigan, which is a little more than 300 miles away. "Adding Penn State will be ex- pensive especially for us and Min- nesota if things remain the same," said Christine Grant, Iowa associate Lions' athletic director and Competitive Format/Budgetary Impact committee member. "We want to come up with a more logical way to have compe- tition which might not be such a financial burden on everyone in- volved." Grant's committee is studying schedule changes which would alle- viate added travel costs. Specifically, splitting the conference into divi- sions to reduce the number of trips for each school and/or ending the current double round-robin men's and women's basketball schedules have been suggested. But even these ideas are not solu- tions amenable to everybody. For example, abandoning the double round-robin scheduling would mean the loss of an automatic NCAA basketball tournament bid and the possibility of infringing upon many traditional rivalries. "I can't see us confining our ac- tivity to an Eastern division of the conference," Michigan President James Duderstadt said. "These are roar important issues. We don't want to lose the tradition of a Michigan- Minnesota or Michigan-Wisconsin rivalry. I'm less worried about finan- ces than I am about scheduling." Illinois Media Relations Director Alexis Tate does not worry about fi- nances either. Tate said in due time, the finances surrounding the deal will make everyone happy. "There may be negative numbers initially, but we're looking at the long-term goals," Tate said. "The- oretically, it would increase revenue down the road once you get over the current hump of scheduling in the two major sports of football and basketball. The television deals will figure in nicely and more than adequately cover the discombobula- tion of travel costs." But the fact that the Big Ten's only revenue sports - football and basketball - will most likely be the last to join because of schedule com- mitments, throws a question mark See PENN STATE, page 3 Conference marks 20 years since BAM Copi challenges Brater for council seat in by Mark Katz Daily Minority Issues Reporter In 1970 the University's founda- tions were shook by a student movement which shut down classes, buildings and food services. The Black Action Movement (BAM) began when a group of Michigan students led a strike at the University, demanding increases in minority enrollment and other insti- tutional accommodations for minor- ity students. Twenty years later, BAM partici- pants and other student activists from the last 50 years will come to- gether for a conference to examine the years since the BAM strike. "The University since BAM: Twenty years of Progress?," spon- sored by the Office of Minority Af- fairs, will be held this weekend. The conference will feature a day-and-a- half of speakers and panel discus- sions dealing with subjects ranging people of the 70s movements; it is a working conference where people will be dealing with the issues," said Henry Davis, academic administrator in the Office of Minority Affairs and chair of the BAM Conference Plan- ning Committee. In addition, past BAM partici- pants will be informed about current issues by student activists from the United Coalition Against Racism (UCAR) and the Black Student Union (BSU). After being briefed, activists of former years "can offer insights (as to how to) build the multicultural university of the fu- ture," Davis said. UCAR member David Maurrasse said he would like to see a good deal of discussion about what is going on now. "I want to see more awareness of the problems and how they haven't been solved," he said. "The point (of the conference) is to relay by Josh Mitnick Daily City Reporter There's more to this year's Third Ward city council race than just Democrats and Republicans. Libertarian Mark Heiselman has thrown his hat into the race along- side Democratic incumbent Liz Brater and Republican challenger David Copi. Even though Heiselman openly admits his chances of win- ning are slim, he says Libertarians will decide the Third Ward race be- cause he is instructing half of his party's voters to support either Brater or Copi. Last year coun- Copi cilmember Nelson Meade, a Demo- crat, won by only 5 votes. As a result, the real battle in the Third Ward is being fought between the Democratic and Republican camps. The ward includes the section of the city between Packard and Washtenaw, near East Quad and North Burns Park When Third Ward voters go to the polls April 2, Brater will be seeking a second two-year term on council. Brater, a member of Ann Arbor's housing coalition, is work- ing to set up a housing trust fund that would encourage developers to construct affordable housing units. "Market forces in Ann Arbor are not going to-foster affordable hous- ing," said Brater. "There are develop- ers that would be interested in build- ing the housing if they had the nec- essary support. If the city keeps al- lowing luxury condominiums to be built, we're going to squeeze out land for affordable housing." Brater also favors inclusionary Ward 3 Instead, Copi believes the city needs to lobby the state and the fed- eral government to assume more re- sponsibility for the homeless. Ann Arbor can only do so much, he said. "It's not a problem that you can solve on a local basis." Copi has been involved in city politics since he was a third-year law student at the University. In 1968 Copi worked to secure students vot- ing rights in Ann Arbor. Alongside the American Civil Liberties Union, Copi challenged local requirements that discriminated against student voters, rejecting their right to vote in Ann Arbor. A local attorney and landlord, Copi says he would bring financial expertise to the council and focus on local problems. "I'm more interested in fixing the streets than what's go- ing on in Nicaragua," he said. Copi feels Ann Arbor should consider privatization to deal with the city's solid waste problem. Op- eration of a Materials Recovery Fa- s;...