This week is Earth Week, and students should take this opportunity to educate themselves about the environment. The movie "Sandlot" is a cross between "Stand By Me" and "The Bad News Bears." Alison Levy reviews the film. The Michigan football team won its first game of the season Saturday when Peter Elezovic booted a 31-yard field goal to give the White, 21-20. Today Chance of showers; High 52, Low 38 Tomorrow Partly cloudy; High 54, Low 39 WEi .ti One hundred two years of editorial freedom al S1 o 15AnAbr ichgn-Mdy il 12993 199*TheMic iaDily Federal jurors deliberate on King beating Judge tells jurors to ignore "external consequences of your verdict' LOS ANGELES (AP) - It's a different court in a different town, but the key question is the same: Did the four officers who beat Rodney King abide by police rules in subdu- ing him or did they beat him to do him harm? Lawyers pulled out all the stops in a two-month trial in which prose- cutors maintained that the white of- ficers not only used excessive force in the beating of King, a Black mo- torist, but did so intentionally. Nearly a year after a state jury in suburban Simi Valley acquitted the officers on most assault charges, set- ting off an explosion of rioting in Los Angeles, the hot potato that has left a city unnerved is in the hands of a federal jury deciding whether King's civil rights were violated. Before the case went to the jury Saturday afternoon, the panel was warned by U.S. District Judge John Davies to ignore "any external con- sequences of your verdict." Deliberations, which lasted about 2 1/2 hours Saturday, resumed at noon Sunday to allow jurors to at- tend Easter services. They deliber- ated for five hours, as scheduled, without reaching a verdict, then re- cessed for the day. The defense introduced new technological evidence and offered colorful courtroom demonstrations. Prosecutors were no less dramatic in calling civilian witnesses who gave emotional accounts of the beating to remind jurors how horrible the scene appeared on March 3, 1991. If convicted, the officers face up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. The opponents in this civil rights trial essentially put on two cases: the emotional case and the factual one. On the emotional angle, the- government called King to the stand for the first time to tell of his pain as officers beat and shocked him with an electronic stun gun. "I was just trying to stay alive," he said. In final arguments, Justice Department attorney Barry Kowalski acknowledged that King had little to add factually. "The government called Rodney King to testify not because he has a perfect recollection of this incident," he said. In the factual arguments, prosecu- tors showed the videotape of King's beating and had a Los Angeles Police Department use-of-force ex- pert analyze the officers' actions. Sgt. Mark Conta, head of physi- cal training and self-defense at the city Police Academy, said Officer Laurence Powell should have stopped beating King after his baton blows knocked King to the ground. "An officer should use only the force that is reasonable and neces- sary to overcome a suspect's resis- tance," Conta said. "Officer Powell was completely outside of LAPD policy." About 32 seconds into the video- taped beating, Conta said all blows and kicks by the defendants were unreasonable. The defense's emotional case hinged on courtroom demonstrations - two policemen rolling around on the floor to show how King could have grabbed an officer's gun, an at- torney swinging a baton and Koon taking the stand to accept responsi- bility for his officers' actions. Sgt. Stacey Koon, a 14-year police veteran, cast himself as the consummate cop, a cool, forthright leader who knew better than anyone else what should be done. He said he was sure King was under the influence of PCP and thought he had the strength of "The Hulk," a cartoon character. Akira Abe, a research fellow in internal medicine, enjoyed the wide variety of jazz performed as part of the Earth Day celebration Saturday.~ Earth Week starts on a high note by Randy Lebowitz Daily Staff Reporter Saturday's sunshine was not the only reason students and Ann Arbor residents went to Palmer Field to relax. The Earth Week kick off event - a concert titled Illuminations '93 - was also a reason. The event was sponsored by the University Activities Center's Eclipse Jazz, which provides free jazz concerts on campus. Eclipse Jazz co-Coordinator and LSA senior Jeff Koch said this event was a good way to start Earth Week. "Jazz music is so tied up in is- sues of multiculturalism and our unification as a people and a planet," he said. The concert was delayed two hours because of an electrical problem, which Koch attributed to a combination of incorrect wiring and damp ground. As a result, the first act - Francisco Mora, an African Cuban ensemble - had to play acoustically. Other acts included the 1940s and 1950s bebop group Teddie Harris; the avant-garde student ensemble Kingdom of Not; the University Creative Arts Or- chestra; Detroit's Michael Fletch- er Gospel Chorale, and African American female jazz ensemble Straight Ahead. Paul Keene, School of Music graduate student, pointed to the significance of the concert. "This is important because it draws people together using music as a language for people to think about things," he said. In addition to the music, vari- ous groups including En- vironmental Action (ENACT), Greenpeace and Amnesty International sponsored informa- tion booths. Between acts, repre- sentatives from these groups addressed the crowd. ENACT member and LSA se- nior Christa Williams said, "Your education does not stop in the classroom. In fact, there's so much more to be learned by going out into the community and doing See CONCERT, Page 2 I *Senate delays discussion on Clinton job plan WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate took a two- week recess without approving President Clinton's $16.3 billion jobs package, despite efforts by Democrats, including Michigan Sens. Donald Riegle and Carl Levin. Debate over the measure is set to resume April 20. Under an arrangement set up by both parties, each party at that time will have a chance to offer an alternative to the job-generating bill. Republicans want to strip from it the $4 billion intended to pay for extended benefits for the long-term unemployed. They also want to trim the jobs portion and pay for it by cutting other programs. The jobs section is a key part of Clinton's economic recovery plan. Last Monday, Democrats again found enough votes to end a GOP filibuster that stalled the bill for over a week. This time, the vote to halt the delays was 11 votes short of the 60 needed to clear the way for a vote on final passage. Levin and Riegle voted with the 49 members. Riegle attributed the delay to political maneuvering by Republicans eyeing the White House in four years. DeBoer case may spur laws allowing out-of-state adoptions LANSING (AP) - More is at stake in a highly publicized battle for the custody of a 2-year-old girl than the heart-wrenching issue of who she'll live with. Chances for relaxing Michigan's adoption laws also might hinge on the dispute between Jan and Roberta DeBoer, of Ann Arbor, and the girl's biological parents, Daniel and Cara Schmidt, of Blairstown, Iowa. "Right now, it would be a logical and reasonable question to have: Are we going to be creating one DeBoer situation after another?" conceded Monica Linkner of Lathrop Village. Linkner, a member of Parents for Private Adoption, said the bitter DeBoer-Schmidt battle is not a reason for Michigan lawmakers to shelve adoption changes proposed after months of study. "That situation, unfortunately, could arise in any case. The reason this case is so highly publicized is a measure of how rarely it does happen," said Linkner, who adopted a child in a private adoption out of state. Currently, Michigan law lets only agencies do adoptions. Changes proposed a year ago by a House Judiciary Committee subcommittee would permit private, or direct, adoptions. In those adoptions, biological parents and adoptive parents deal with each other with the help of attorneys. Backers say birth mothers prefer private placements because it gives them, not an agency, final say in who will adopt their children. The DeBoers plan to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to overturn a 3-0 Michigan Court of Appeals decision telling them to return the child. Three Iowa courts, including the state Supreme Court, upheld Schmidt's right to his child. Last month, a Michigan court's decision that it would be in the child's best interest to stay with the DeBoers was overturned by the state Court of Appeals. The DeBoers plan to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court. The Schmidts' attorney, Marian Faupel, said lawmakers should take a lesson from the long, bitter fight. "We think that to the extent Michigan is considering relaxing its See ADOPTION, Page 2 Cultural fest showcases dragons, dancers by Peter Matthews Daily Staff Reporter School of Business poet and dancers. An enthusiastic and ethnicalv- brotherhood "no matter what color." School of Music radate student I i r -