77, WE One hundred three years of editorial freedom AAW Vol. CIV, No. 120 Ann Arbor, Michigan Friday, September 9, 1994 0 1994 The Michigan Daily adiation committee: no testing done at 'U' By DAVID SHEPARDSON Daily News Editor A committee created by President James J. Duderstadt to investigate the University's role in the use of radia- tion experiments in the 1940s and 1950s has not uncovered any evi- #nce of experiments on volunteers, members said yesterday- At a press conference on Aug 17., the University announced the forma- tion of a fact-finding committee charged with investigating the his- torical records detailing the use of radiation duringthe 1950s. The decision to name the commit- tee was prompted in part by a White House report naming the University 0 one of 45 institutions that had par- ticipated with the government in con- ducting full-body radiation experi- ments dating back to the late 1940s. The use of radiation experiments during the Cold War attracted nation- wide attention when Energy Secre- tary Hazel O'Leary released records showing that at least 18 people were unknowingly injected with plutonium * the late 1940s. And the White House announced that the University was one of 45 universities whose role in radiation experiments is being investigated. The seven-member committee, See RADIATION, Page 2 Pilot to face court martial f£r U.S. MOLLY STEVENS/Daily Ed Davis scores one of his two touchdowns against Boston College last Saturday. Davis starts his second consecutive game, filling in for the injured Tyrone Wheatley against Notre Dame tomorrow afternoon. Blue' clashesith Fighting Irish copter si The Washington Post WASHINGTON - An Air Force F-15 pilot involved in the fatal shootings of two Army helicopters over northern Iraq last April was charged by military authorities yes- terday with two counts of dereliction of duty and 26 counts of negligent homicide - one for each of those who lost their lives. Air Force Lt. Col. Randy W. May, who is based in Germany and was identified as the pilot for the first time, could be sent to prison for a year for each of the negligent homicide charges if he is convicted at a court martial. Pentagon spokesmen said they believed such a sentence would be among the most severe ever for a friendly-fire incident. May admitted to investigators that he carried through with an attack even though he had not positively identi- fied two helicopters that turned out to be friendly. He and others told inves- tigators last spring the shootdown was an honest mistake, the result of a tangled series of misunderstandings and procedural breakdowns involv- ing many different people. But military analysts said yesterday's charges are a clear sign that Air Force commanders intend to hold specific individuals directly ac- countable. Also charged with numerous hooting counts of dereliction of duty yester- day were five crew members of an airborne radar plane patrolling the skies over Iraq on April 14. Investiga- tors concluded they could have averted the shootdowns of the two Army Black Hawks if they had been controlling the air space more attentively. The charges against the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) crew had been expected since late last month, when a review board made its recommendations to Lt. Gen. Stephen Croker, commander of the 8th Air Force. In May's case, a similar group made recommendations to Maj. Gen. Eugene Santarelli, the commander of the 17th Air Force in Germany, where May is stationed. Santarelli is still considering the fate of the other F-15 pilot involved in the shoot down. Fifteen U.S. citizens and I1 for- eign nationals were killed in the shootings. According to transcripts of interviews with May conducted during the inquiry, he acknowledged he bore blame for the tragedy but also said others had a share. "I accept responsibility for the role that I played in this tragic accident," May said. "Knowing my actions have caused not only needless loss of life, but also much pain and suffering for See SHOOTING, Page 2 By BRETT FORREST Daily Football Writer One utterance from Michigan foot- ball coach Gary Moeller surely por- trays the Wolverine outlook heading into tomorrow's contest at No. 3 Notre Dame (2:30 p.m., NBC). "I'm going to leave four players in Ann Arbor I'd like to have with me," he said. A matchup that was hyped as the game of the year just a few weeks ago has since taken on the look of a whip- ping in the making. If the No. 6 Wolverines are to win their last contest with Notre Dame (1- 0) until 1997, they will have to sur- mount several major setbacks. Michigan (1-0) will be without the services of its most consistent offensive line performer from last sea- son (Joe Marinaro), a starting wide receiver (Walter Smith), the team's top outside linebacker (Matt Dyson) and one of the nation's premier tailbacks (Tyrone Wheatley). Junior Ed Davis will get his sec- ond start this season at tailback in place of Wheatley. Tshimanga Biakabutuka, who rushed for 128 yards against Boston College last week, should also prove to be a key performer. "It's going to take a total team effort," Michigan senior quarterback Todd Collins said. "This is just one week of countless tests this season." Marinaro blew out his knee in spring practice and should be ready for Michigan's game against Colo- rado Sept. 24. But in a strange set of circumstances, Moeller lost Wheatley, Smith and Dyson within just the past three weeks. "If you looked at our team after last year and you ... mentioned those four names, you'd say 'God Al- mighty,"' Moeller said. "That's a big part of this football team." See NOTRE DAME, Page 9B Wolpe taps Stabenow asruning mate By SCOT WOODS Daily Staff Reporter Democratic gubernatorial candi- date Howard Wolpe yesterday named primary rival Debbie Stabenow as his choice for lieutenant governor on the party's ticket. Wolpe's selection of the state sena- tor from Lansing was announced at afternoon press conferences in Lan- sing and Detroit. "Mrs. Stabenow has a substantial knowledge of state government and complements (Wolpe's) range of ex- pertise," said David Grey, Wolpe's deputy campaign manager. Stabenow's selection was ex- pected by many. After Stabenow's close finish in the primary, Demo- crats and political analysts mentioned her as the leading contender for the second spot on the ticket. Wolpehow- ever, had downplayed the possibility since the primary. Ann Arbor Democratic Party chair t Doug Scott said yesterday, "I don't think people should be 'surprised." Scott said the choice makes political sense for Wolpe because Stabenow commands a much different constitu- ency. Moreover, she beat him in popu- lous Macomb and Oakland counties. Stabenow was elected to the state House in 1978, and to the state Senate in 1990. She is a former chair of the House Economic Development Com- mittee, and is best known for her 1993 sponsorship of a Senate amendment that eliminated property taxes as a means of supporting public schools in Michigan. Grey said Wolpe had three criteria for selecting his running mate. "First, he wanted someone who could take over if he were incapacitated; he wanted someone he could work well with and who would take a substan- tial role in the administration; and, he wanted someone who could help the ticket beat (incumbent Republican Gov.) John Engler," Grey said. The only real obstacle fur Wolpe in choosing Stabenow was 'lhe bitter tone of the last few weeks of the Democratic primary campaign. Harsh attacks by Stabenow during the neck- and-neck race reportedly stung Wolpe personally. Stabenow's allegations of check-bouncing have since been picked up by Republicans in their television commercials. But Scott said Democrats will treat the issue as a fight within a family - a fight that has now been resolved. Indeed, Grey said Wolpe and Stabenow have a "wonderful" per- sonal relationship, noting the two were friends long before they were rivals. Grey mentioned Stabenow attended Wolpe's 1992 wedding, and said they've known each other for 20 years. Wolpe and Stabenow will be in Flint this weekend at the state Demo- cratic Party convention. Scott said local party officials will try to get one or both of the candidates to stump in Ann Arbor, but was not overly optimistic. Because Ann Arbor is a traditional Democratic stronghold, Scott said he expects Wolpe and Stabenow to con- centrate on parts of the state where Democratic support is "shakier." ow running mates, Debbie Stabenow and Howard Wolpe, faced off during a Democratic debate held July 26 in Southfield. Humans survived by being all thumbs, SUNY anatomist says Newsday A new look at the fossil record suggests a facile, powerful thumb - not a big brain - is what allowed humanity's early ancestors to take up the use of tools, an anatomist reported yesterday. Randall Sussman, of the State Uni- versity of New York at Stony Brook chool of Medicine, said the fossil ord shows at least two tool-mak- ing prehuman species (Homo habilis and Paranthropus robustus) existed at the same time in ancient Africa, but with very different brain sizes. What they had in common were human-like thumbs. The findings suggest tool use "is not related to brain size," Sussman said. "Brain size doesn't tell you any- *ing about whether the animal was a tool-maker or not." What is important is whether the creature was able to grasp and use tools with precision. "Today's apes are power-grasp- ers, and the very first hominids - Australopthicus afarensis-were also power-graspers, but not precision- graspers," he said. The oldest homi- nid known, 3.5-million-year-old H. afarensis (Lucy), was apparently not a tool-maker, and "there are no tools in the fossil record" at that time, Sussman said. The recent findings, Sussman said, indicate that tools were likely to have been used by early hominids at about 2 million years ago. Even today, he said, "Apes have hands with long, curved fingers and diminutive thumbs. Humans and our more advanced hominid ancestors have relatively short, straight fingers with broad fingertips and relatively short, stout thumbs with broad fleshy tips." His findings, published in "Sci- ence," will probably be controversial. "There will be a lot of people who will take a while to digest this. It goes against the traditional dogma," Sussman said. "People have a preconceived idea that if you're a tool-user you've got to be a hunter, stealthy, adept, and living at the top of the food chain. But there is no problem in my mind in seeing chopping, pounding and digging (with tools) in a vegetarian early hominid," he said. The idea of studying thumb bones as a guide to tool use is a "simple but elegant analysis," Leslie Aiello, an anthropologist at University College in London, wrote in an accompany- ing article in "Science." "Sussman has given us an appar- ently foolproof way of determining which of our early ancestors would have had hands that functioned in a way similar to our own," Aiello wrote. SUNY's Sussman compares two tool-making prehuman species that lived at the same time in his study, published in "Science." He attempts to link the two species' hand structures with the existence of tools. In the past, researchers have said use of tools correlates to brain size. Both species studied' by Sussman had varying brain sizes, but both made and used tools. Sussman found that the common factor was their human-like thumb, which enabled their tool-making and using abilities. In the past, too few fossil thumb bones had been found to allow de- tailed analysis, Sussman said. But because numerous bones have been uncovered in the past 30 years, Sussman added, "We can now exam- ine thumb morphology (shape) in a comparative-functional analysis to ad- dress the question of which ... homi- nids engaged in tool behavior." Restroom renovation to deter sexual activity Mason Hall mens' bathrooms feature lower stall doors, warning sign By LISA DINES Daily Staff Reporter The Mason Hall men's restrooms have a new look this fall in an effort to deter illegal sexual activities that have taken place there. Last May, the University com- pleted a series of renovations includ- ing lower stall doors and partitions, walls scrubbed clean of writing, and signs that read, "People engaged in illegal activities will be prosecuted." Complaints by Mason Hall custo- dians and University students of inci- dents of sexual activity in the Mason Hall bathrooms prompted the Uni- versity to form a committee to study the problem. Sgt. Dave Betts, the Department of Public Safety's crime prevention coordinator, served on the committee that suggested the modifications. Betts said the renovations were planned prior to articles in The Michi- gan Daily and The Ann Arbor News last spring about the situation. "We're just trying to make it a little more open so people don't have that cloak of secrecy ... while still allowing privacy because going to the bathrooms is a very private act," Betts said. Jim Toy, then co-cordinator of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Programs Office, also served on the committee. Toy said he does not think the renova- tions will eliminate all activity. "I'm hoping the changes will at least serve as a deterrent to the behav- ior," he said. See CHANGES, Page 2 rN ' S'+Em: r 'o' tar y c ,. . } , y INSIDE Delegates agree to un funds for nopulation stabilization