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One hundred six years ofedtorzil freedom
Wednesday
February 5, 1997
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I
IOU' rul4
ental Schoo
ricka M. Smith
uay Staff Reporter
The University was found guilty of discrimi-
ation yesterday after a weeklong civil suit
Ileging racism, but jurors
uled that Dental School
upervisor Linda Vachon
eMarco was not guilty. we
Plaintiffs Delano Isabell,
Dawn Mitchell and Theresa with tl
A ns - three black former , d
al School employees -
ontended they were fired
from the University in 1995
because of their race.
After two days of deliberat- ASSoc iat
ing, jurors emerged yesterday
fternoon to unanimously
rder the University to pay
he plaintiffs a total of $360,000 in lost earn-
ings and to compensate for pain and suffering.
I
ed guilty
of
discrimination
1 supervisor not blamed
But the jurors said DeMarco, the other
defendant in the suit, did not discriminate or
retaliate against the former employees.
Shortly after the trial, Associate Vice
President for
University
Relations Lisa
dsagree Baker said the
University did not
he ju y"YS discriminate
s oagainst the three
workers during
iiinatio their employment.
n a n .! t"We disagree
- Lisa Baker with the jury's
e Vice President for findings on dis-
crimination and
University Relations continue to stand
by our earlier
statements that we believe there was no dis-
crimination; Baker said in a written statement.
The jurors awarded Isabell and Mitchell
$40,868 each for economic loss and $80,000
for non-economic loss. Atkins will receive
$34,982 for her economic losses and $80,000
in compensation.
Baker said in a written statement the jury
must have had reservations because they
awarded the plaintiffs "approximately
one-fifth of what was requested by each plain-
tiff.'
Plaintiff attorney George Washington said
the outcome of the trial was more than just a
victory for his clients even though they would
receive less than the $500,000 each originally
requested.
"For two years and four months the
University has denied racial discrimination;'
Washington said. "We think that shows how
much the University has lied and how outra-
geous their conduct was."
See DENTAL, Page 7
simpson
ound liable
for slayings
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) - A civil jury found O.J.
Simpson liable yesterday for the slashing deaths of his ex-
wife and her friend, a moral victory for grieving relatives
who felt the football great got away with murder.
The jury ordered Simpson to pay $8.5 million in compen-
satory damages and will return Thursday to hear arguments on
whether to award millions more in punitive damages.
" hank God for some justice for Ron and Nicole" said
F Goldman, the aggrieved father who doggedly pursued
Simpson to civil court after denouncing his acquittal. "This
is all we ever wanted. We have it"
As the verdict was read, Simpson remained seated and
stoic, staring straight ahead.
Across the courtroom, a whoop of joy went up from the
relatives of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
"Yes!" screamed sister Kim Goldman, in contrast to the
way she sobbed openly when Simpson was acquitted of mur-
der 16 months ago.
"his is justice!" Denise Brown, sister of Nicole Brown
Si pson, said as she left court.
Louis Brown, who sat stone still as the verdict was
announced, stood and smiled afterward. "I want to get out-
side and scream."
The mostly white panel, forced to start deliberations anew
last Friday after a juror was removed for misconduct,
snatched away some of the vindication Simpson claimed
when he was acquitted of murder by a mostly black jury in
1995. That televised murder trial divided the nation over
issues of police racism, domestic violence and the quality of
justice.
#is civil jury, using the lesser standard of "preponder-
ance of evidence" rather than "beyond a reasonable
See SIMPSON, Page 7
JENNtFER BRADLEYSWIFT/Daiy
Outside the Washtenaw County Courthouse yesterday, three former Dental School employees celebrate
their victory against the University.
'U' spent $500K
on presidential
search process
By Heather Kamins
Daily Staff Reporter
The University spent more than $500,000 dur-
ing its search for University President Lee
Bollinger, more than five
times the amount spent in the
previous presidential search.
University figures released
yesterday show that the 10-
month search to findK
Bollinger, a former
Dartriiouth provost andT
University law dean, was the,
most expensive in University
history.
The University reported Bollinger
spending $90,600 during the
search for former University President James
Duderstadt.
Provost J. Bernard Machen said yesterday that
the search costs are justified
because the Board of Regents
was faced with a unique set
of circumstances during the
search. In addition to initially
hiring attorneys to devise a
search plan that intended to
comply with state open meet- K
ings laws, the board was then
"I think anybody that understood what we went
through would understand the cost," Machen said.
"That was a lot of money, but that was the only
way we could conduct the search under the condi-
tions we were facing."
The University spent about $125,000 for legal
advice about the search process and more than
$100,000 worth of litigation fees in defending
itself in a suit brought by three local newspapers,
The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press and The Ann
Arbor News. This October lawsuit forced the
University to conduct most of the presidential
search in public.
"I think it is truly unfortunate the newspapers in
this process, through a series of last-minute legal
maneuvering, forced the University to almost
double the cost (of the search),' said Law School
Dean Jeffrey Lehman, chair of the presidential
search advisory committee.
Regent Lawrence Deitch (D-Bloomfield Hills)
said the University was committed to conducting
a search that followed the state's open meetings
laws.
"We had to defend our process;" Deitch said.
"We've chosen a wonderful president. I wish it
had cost less, but it took what it took"
The money to pay the $503,186.39 bill for the
1996 search will not come from students' tuition,
Machen said. It will be taken from money the
University earns from interest-bearing invest-
ments. This money is primarily used for renova-
tions and improvements in University facilities,
Machen said.
"Obviously spending $224,000 to defend our-
See EXPENSES, Page 7
AP PHOTO
Fred Goldman hugs Wis daughter, Kim, following the verdict in the wrongful-death
civil suit against O.JiSmpson yesterday. The jury awarded Goldman $8.5 million.
Two army
ortiern Is
SHAAR YESHUV, Israel (AP) - Two
transport helicopters shuttling elite troops to
Lebanon collided yesterday in fog and rain and
crashed in flames into a rural settlement,
killing all 73 soldiers aboard. It was Israel's
worst military air disaster.
At about 7 p.m., a bright, white burst of light
illuminated the night sky five miles south of
the Lebanon border. One of the two CH-53
Srsky helicopters smashed into an empty
gu st house, which exploded into flames.
"There was a huge explosion," witness
Rachel Fromovitz told The Associated Press.
"They crashed right above us, and the heli-
Clinton: Inc
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Clinton
reached back to poll-tested campaign promises
yesterday for a State of the Union address
emphasizing voter-friendly ideas: a massive
increase in college student aid, health insurance
for needy children and a balanced budget by
hel copters crash in
srael killing 73 people
faced with a lawsuit during
the search that forcedI
increased legal expenses. Lehman
As a result, the legal bill
totaled about $225,000 - almost half of the total
expenditures.
Left in the dark
copters came down in a fiery blaze."
The accident appeared likely to raise new
questions about Israel's costly involvement in
Lebanon - as well as the decision to send in
the troops by helicopters despite the stormy
weather. Officials said the helicopters were fer-
rying soldiers to Lebanon as part of a troop
rotation.
Smoke poured from one helicopter as it went
down, Yoav Frenkel told Army Radio."The sec-
ond helicopter lit up in the air as it fell;' he said.
Despite extensive damage in ShaarYeshuv, a
communal settlement in the eastern Galilee,
there were no known injuries to anyone on the
ground.
Military chief Lt. Gen. Amnon Shahak said
the crash killed 65 troops serving in south
Lebanon and eight air force crew members.
Dalia Golan, nurse who lives near the crash,
rushed to try to help any survivors, but heard
only "very, very weak cries" from the empty
building that one of the helicopters hit.
"They must have been the last cries of the
wounded who were trapped inside," she told
Israel TV "I bent down over the first of the
victims whom I saw ... but there was no
pulse, and everything was torn apart."
See CRASH, Page 2
rease college student aid
finance reform, a subject of embarrassment to
the White House, was in that category, along
with balancing the budget and reopening last
year's welfare law to restore benefits for legal
immigrants.
Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, the only black
Two weeks after his inauguration for a second
term, the president was on strong footing as he
faced a Republican-led Congress suspicious of
his proposals. His political confidence, shaken
by the Democrats' devastation in 1994, was
restored by his re-election, and his approval rat-
I I