T i TODAY Chance of t-storms. High: 87, Low: 65. TOMORROW Clearing, cooler; A High: 75, Low: 54. 1£ iriuulai I iDE... The Senate should shoot down Clarence Thomas. See OPINION Page 4. A century of editorial freedom Vol. C, 144 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Tuesday, September 10, 1991 Tepicigan Daily Congress to w .consider new loan program by Stefanie Vines Daily Government Reporter Students who receive loans may obtain additional aid if a new stu- dent loan program is passed in the 102nd Congress; which will recon- vene today. Legislation introduced by Rep. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.) would scrap the current $10.8 billion-a- year Stafford Loan - also referred to as Guaranteed Student Loans - program and replace it with a streamlined direct student-loan program. Under the current program, stu- dents apply through a private lender, such as a bank, to obtain stu- dent loans. Under the direct stu- dent-loan program students would receive money directly through the University and the federal govern- ment. The application process would be made easier, and decreased costs and taxes could mean lower interest rates. "For students the 5 percent orig- ination fee tacked on to aid will be eliminated, as well as insurance premiums and the need to fill out several applications when applying for aid," said Tom Butts, director of the University's Washington, 'D.C. office. The proposal would also increase the amount families could borrow through the Parent Loan Program - which currently allows parents to borrow up to $4,000 per school year. The proposal would allow parents to borrow the total cost of an education, Butts said. Students who receive no finan- cial aid could still borrow money under the new plan, Butts added. Richard Johnston, vice president for guarantee programs at the Great Lakes Higher Education Corpora- tion, an agency which loans student aid money to private banks, said See LOANS, Page 2 Undercover Students take cover under umbrellas while walking through the Diag during yesterday's rain storm. Committee: oil contamination was a possibility by David Rheingold Daily Staff Reporter Four members of a City Council committee say they suspected con- tamination at a site to which they recommended the city move a house, but did not consider it a serious enough threat to delay the project. The city moved the house from 116 W. William St. to the site, 340 S. Ashley St., on April 21 to serve as low-income housing for the Shelter Association of Ann Arbor. But during the summer, when developers began to drill deeper to install the foundation, they came across an excess amount of oil - which a subsequent test revealed was not toxic and posed no health threats - but will require the city to move the house for a cleanup. The Kline's Lot Housing Committee consisted of council- members Larry Hunter (D-1st Ward), Thais Peterson (D-5th City Council task force suspected oil at housing site, but lacked evidence Ward), Ingrid Sheldon (R-2nd Ward), and former Councilmember Joe Borda (R-5th Ward). Borda said the site's previous use, as an automobile repair garage, con- vinced him that contamination was present. "I didn't suspect it - I knew it. I wanted testing," Borda said. Borda said he spoke out about the possibility cf contamination within the committee, but did not later tell the council. "No, I didn't, because I really wanted to keep it private in the committee," he said. "The reason I spoke out so forcefully against it was that I worked in places like that when I was a kid, and people spilled gasoline all the time." But committee members say they had no proof of contamination. "There had been discussion by staff with the council committee that a garage had been on the site and there may have been some problems, but there was no documented evi- dence," said Housing Services man- ager Larry Friedman, who worked with the committee. Even if the committee had or- dered testing, it might not have re- vealed contamination. The test, conducted by the Traverse Group of Ann Arbor after the developers *drilled deeper in July, showed oil present in only one corner of the basement. "Testing is no guarantee," said Peterson. "We could have tested the lot, tested it in six different places, and still found no motor oil." Furthermore, the excavation of the basement in April revealed no signs of "substantial contamina- tion," wrote former City Attorney R. Bruce Laidlaw in a May 22 memo obtained by the Daily. "Sure we were concerned," Hunter said. "We dug the basement. No contamination was found." But Renuka Uthappa, a member of the Homeless Action Committee (HAC), which in February protested the house's removal be- cause three homeless people were occupying it, dismisses Hunter's remark. "To say that when they dug out the basement (the dirt) didn't seem to have any contamination and didn't seem to be oily doesn't hold much water when they had been warned beforehand that there was a possibility of more contamination," she said. Developers did not encounter the obviously oil-tainted dirt until July, as they drilled deeper to in- stall the foundation. The house was already above the open basement. The city then ordered a preliminary test. Hunter said he not advocate any prior tests because the law did not require them, and he only suspected a nominal amount of oil present. "What need would there be to, test it if we were told it was not against the law to put the house there?" Hunter said. "We expected a small amount of oil. You can find a small amount of oil anywhere (in Ann Arbor)." But before moving the house, the main deterrent against testing was an estimated cost of $15,000 and a tight schedule, Friedman said. "I guess there just wasn't the time to go through the tests because of the schedule when the houses were going to be moved," he said. "We didn't have a lot of money to work with," Sheldon commented. - Sheldon said the council decided to move the house instead of give it away or demolish it because HAC was pressuring the council's Democrats for more low-income housing. The Republicans, she said, who then held a 6-5 majority on the council and wanted the house moved to make way for the Kline's parking structure, needed an additional two votes to enter into lease, buying, and selling agreements. "We needed eight votes and the only way we could get eight votes was to make concessions to the See OIL, Page 2 Clarence Thomas prepares for Senate hearing on Supreme Court nomination WASHINGTON (AP) - Clarence Thomas will speak for himself today after a summer of vigorous political campaigning by supporters and opponents of his nomination to the Supreme Court. "There's a fight on," President Bush declared on the eve of Thomas' con- firmation hearing. "I am confident we're going to win it," Bush said as Thomas and his questioners made final preparations for Senate Judiciary Committee * consideration of the nomination. After two months of avoiding public stands while others attacked and defended him, Thomas will be asked to detail his views on con- tentious subjects as he makes his case for confirmation to take Thurgood Marshall's place on the high court. Like Marshall, Thomas is black, but he has staked out conservative positions in sharp contrast to Marshall's staunch liberalism. So there will be tough questions from liberal Democrats concerned about how Thomas, 43, would vote on such issues as abortion, privacy and civil rights. Bush said that when he nomi- nated Thomas, "the administration applied no litmus test on specific is- sues that might come before the Supreme Court. We did not question Judge Thomas on possible decisions or cases that could come before the court. "Similarly, I have confidence that the Judiciary Committee will want to preserve the independence of the court as it explores the record of Judge Thomas," the president said in a written statement. Supporters of Thomas have high- lighted his rise from a poor black family in segregated Georgia to im- portant positions in Washington, where he chaired the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and became a federal appellate judge. The opposition coalition of civil rights and labor organizations has focused on Thomas' opposition to affirmative action programs and on writings concerning "natural law" that suggest he would vote to over- turn women's right to abortion. Ralph Neas, director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, said the White House has tried to divert attention away from Thomas' "awful public record" by emphasizing his storybook rise from poverty in Pin Point, Ga. "What is really at stake is Clarence Thomas' vision of the Constitution," said Nan Aron, di- rector of the liberal Alliance for See THOMAS, Page 2 Police officers break up EMU fraternity party, make 37 arrests. by Gwen Shaffer Daily Higher Education Reporter What began as a typical frater- nity party at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) Friday night ended with 37 arrests and the possi- bility of future disciplinary action against the two houses hosting the party. More than 1,000 people gathered for the invitation-only party at the to disperse the crowd "were unable to break the party up," it was de- cided that "several other law en- forcement agents would be needed to quell the possible riot situa- tion," the report states. Officers 'There was no violence. I believe the Thirty-seven arrests were made after the crowd began throwing bottles, beer cans, and rocks at offi- cers trying to break up the party. Three police officers were struck - including one hit in the chest by a full can of beer - but none needed medical treatment. The crowd was completely dispersed by 4 a.m., ac- cording to police reports. .. ,.. ...:.. .. . ,: . ' ' ;~.