2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 3, 1997 Reno declares no need or special investigation NATION/WORLD SAROUND THENTb FDA allows meat iradiation to kill genns WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration approved the irradiation of meat to kill disease-causing microorganisms, a move designed to improvethe safety of the nation's food supply. The technology is generally considered safe and highly effective against food- borne pathogens, but its widespread use in foods has not caught on - in no s I part because of public fears about radiation. The FDA studied irradiation for three years before issuing yesterday's approval and concluded the method kills most pathogens but is safe for consumers, accord- ing to Michael Friedman, the lead deputy commissioner for the agency. It does not make the meat radioactive, and in fact "affects the meat itself very little," he said. The food industry, which prefers such euphemisms as "cold pasteurization" to irra- diation, hailed the FDA move. John Cady of the National Food Processors Association called it "another strong step forward for the safety of the U.S. food supply." Meat is the latest in a long line of products the federal government approved for sterilization by radiation. About half of all disposable medical devices go through the process, along with nipples for baby bottles, wine corks and cartons for j e and milk. Since 1963, producers of wheat and wheat flour have been allowed to WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General Janet Reno declined yester- day to seek an independent counsel investigation of telephone fund rais- 'ing by President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, saying their actions were outside the scope of fed- eral election law. Under strong pressures for months from all sides, Reno said, "The decision was mine and it was based on the facts and the law, not pressure, politics or any ether factor." Republicans criticized her decision as wrong and perhaps affected by loyal- ty to the White House. Democrats called it correct and courageous. She also rejected a special prosecutor to investigate former Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary, concluding that O'Leary was unaware that a contribu- tion to one of her favorite charities may have been solicited in return for her meeting Chinese businessmen. In her explanation, Reno said Clinton's fund-raising calls in October 1994 were made from the White House private quarters, not the president's offices. "This places the calls outside the scope ... of (federal election law) which applies only to solicitations for hard-money contributions occurring within the federal workplace," Reno wrote. AP PHOTO Attorney General Janet Reno announced yesterday her rejection of a special independent council to investigate President Clinton. READ THE DAILY FOR THE 'LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION LAW- SUITS FILED AGAINST THE UNIVERSITY. JOIN THE MOST PROMISING PROFESSION OF THE 21ST CENTURY *.*. . . . . . . *:4 ,. . . Prospective Teacher Education Meeting Wednesday, December 8, 1997 6:00 p.m. Schorting Auditorium Room 1202 School of Education Building Call 764-7563 for more information. LAWSUIT Continued from Page 1. But Pell said both suits attack the same problem - discrimination. "It's the same issue in both cases," Pell said. "Both admissions programs are discriminatory." Vice President for University Relations Walter Harrison said the two lawsuits attack different admis- sions policies, but will bring the community closer to mitigating the public policy debate over affirmative action. "This raises discussion of how the intricacies of these two admissions pro- cedures work and the major public pol- icy question, which is: Should public universities use race as a factor in admission policies to achieve a diverse student body?" he said. Greve said it is too early to speculate whether CIR will bring a suit against another University, but there are "no immediate plans" for another suit. Mary Frances-Berry, a 1970 Law alumna who chairs the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, said she is outraged by CIR's tactics. "I think it is a disgrace that they are going around the country filing these lawsuits," Frances-Berry said. "I think the University of Michigan has made a great contribution in admit- ting women and students of color in creating a diverse student body ... I'm sure the University has not done anything that would make them liable." The lawsuit came as a surprise to the LIKE NORTH CAMPUS? YOU'LL LOVE WILLOWTREEI 1 and 2 bedrooms Plenty of Free parking Now leasing for Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall WILLOWTREE APARTMENTS 769-1313 Look for us at the U-M Housing Fair! EHO University community and received mixed reactions from many Law stu- dents. Law first-year student Mike Michmerhuizen said affirmative action practices are not the only way to achieve diversity in the Law School. "I think it should totally be by the numbers or by the objective criteria" Michmerhuizen said. "I don't think that you need a race-conscious system to get diversity in the law school." Other Law students, however, said the school should use race as a factor in an attempt to gain a diverse student body. "The Law School is making great efforts to diversify the campus," said Michigan Law Review Editor in Chief Todd Aagaard. "I don't think anything the Law School is doing should be ille- gal." Patrick Hamacher, one of the two plaintiffs in the lawsuit against LSA, said he is unsure about the effects that the new suit against the Law School will have on his case. "I don't think it will hurt our case, but since the Law School is separate, I don't know how much it will affect our case," Hamacher said. While the Law School admits to using race as a factor in admission pro- cedures, it denies admitting unqualified students, according to the Law School's faculty Admissions Committee report released in 1992. "The minimal criterion is that no applicant should be admitted unless we expect that applicant to do well enough to graduate with no serious academic problems," the report states. The report claims that diversity with- in the school enriches the learning experience for all students. "By enrolling a 'critical mass' of minority students, we have ensured their ability to make unique contribu- tions to the character of the law school ..., according to the report. Detroit attorney Denise Lewis, a 1983 Law School alumna, said she fears a lawsuit of this kind could dimin- ish minority representation in the Law School. "I know diversity was certainly important in my experience," Lewis said. "I am of African American descent. I went to school with Native American, Hispanic and international students. It gave us an opportunity to hear different facts and come at it from different perspectives" Law School alumna Leslie Newman, who graduated in 1994, also said diver- sity was an integral component of her education, and has helped her in her current job as an attorney for a non- profit housing organization in Texas. "I learned so much more because of the diverse nature of my class," Newman said. "You learn a lot in law school outside of the classroom. If my class had been all white, my current job would have been more difficult." Some faculty members said the law- suits will be an opportunity to test the legality of the University's admissions practices. "These are very important social issues that should be looked at in court," said chemistry Prof. Robert Sharp. "They very definitely have merit" Prospective Law student Matt Kossen, an LSA junior, said he would like to see current affirmative action policies altered. "Race should be a factor in deter-- mining admission, but should not be a primary factor," Kossen said. "It should be done in such a way to ensure a diverse campus, but not at the expense of other qualified candidates." Even before the filing of today's law- suit, legal scholars nationwide have speculated that the case against LSA could travel to the U.S. Supreme Court and set new legal precedent. Greve, however, said it is not CIR's in~t~ntrnto acrmie the tcsein front of irradiation, and the process has also been etables and poultry. Nichols' attorneys cast blame for bomb DENVER - Lawyers for accused Oklahoma City bomber Terry Lynn Nichols yesterday began laying the foundation of their defense - that their client was not the right-hand man for Timothy McVeigh in carrying out America's worst terrorist attack. Nichols' defense, which began short- ly after prosecutors wrapped up their case earlier in the day, sought not only to distance him from McVeigh, but also to raise new doubts about whether oth- ers were involved in helping mix, pack and deliver an ammonium nitrate and fuel oil bomb to the front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in down- town Oklahoma City. The defense's initial witnesses included several people who remem- bered seeing a Ryder truck at the Dreamland Motel in Junction City, Kan., a day before one was rented by McVeigh - an implication that more than one such truck was used in the April 19, 1995, blast and that the motel approved for spices, pork, fruits and v eg- was a meeting place for McVeigh and other conspirators. The motel owner, Lea McGown,"tes- tified that while McVeigh was a guest there, he often was darting in and out of her establishment in the days beforek bombing. But McGown said she nO, saw Nichols in his company. Bill approves new dollar coin, quarters WASHINGTON - President Clinton has approved what will be the first alteration in America's circulating coins in two decades. On Monday, he signed legislation providing a new, gold-colored do coin with a distinctive edge. It 'Will replace coins bearing the portrait of Susan B. Anthony, when they run out in about 30 months. The government will continue printing dollar bills. Lawmakers couldn't agree whether the new dollar coin should depict the Statue of Liberty or an actual woman or women of historical importance. They left the decision to the treasry secretary. ARONDTHEWORLD Global wanning negotiations continue KYOTO, Japan - Negotiators made slow progress on key issues of a global warming agreement yesterday, but the United States appeared stymied in its efforts to extend new limits on fuel emis- sions to the Third World. A U.S. Senate delegation flew into Japan, and its leader warned that any treaty deal excluding developing nations would be rejected by the Senate. The U.S.-Third World impasse trou- bled other negotiators. "This seems to be one of the major problems that could eventually ... break the whole process," said Joergen Henningsen, the environment chief of the European Union. Yesterday was the second of 10 sched- uled days of negotiations, involving 1,500 delegates from 150 countries, to produce a protocol that would strengthen the 1992 Climate Change Treaty. Delegates hope to mandate cutbacks in industrial nations' emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases linked to the threat of global warming. 16fI~k I '1 1 These "greenhouse" emissions, most- ly products of fossil fuel burning, allow sunlight through but trap the heat that Earth emits back toward space. An authoritative U.N. scientific stu ly says continued emissions at current rates could raise average global temperatires by as much as six degrees Fahrenheirby 2100. 61 killed in Russian explosion MOSCOW - Sixty-one coal-n ers were killed in a huge underground explosion in Siberia yesterday, leaving Russia in mourning for one of the worst mining catastrophes in its history.-, A methane blast ripped through eial mine after a new shift of workers had come down the shaft to start work"but before the previous shift had left. "There are about 100 rescue worIrs at the site,'said Col. Vasily Romanov, a Civil Defense chief in Sibe n* Kemerovo region. "Unfortunately one has yet been found alive?' Michigan Students. Have you seen the Internet news and information service that everyone's talking about? W... ~.t * V~~'~ %.~ ,*>.-.. m, *.I~ ~- '.- ..:. ~-. ~- ~ - -- N S., .5 5. S - Up-to-the-minute Internet broadcast From leading sources Personalized to your interests The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by, students at the University of Michigan. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are__ $85. Winter term (January through April) is $95, yearlong (September through April) is $165. On-campus su scriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of the Associated Press and the Associated Collegiate Press. _r ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St.. Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. PHONE NUMBERS (All area code 313): News 76-DAILY; Arts 763-0379; Sports 647-3336; Opinion,764-0552; Circulation 764-0558; Classified advertising 764-0557; Display advertising 764-0554; Billing 764-0550. E-mail letters to the editor to daily.letters@umich.edu. World Wide Web: http://www.pub.umich.edu/daily, NEWS Jodi S. Cohen, Managing Editor EDITORS: Jeff Eldridge, Laurie Mayk. Anupama Reddy, Will Weissert. STAFF: Janet Adamy, Reilly Brennan, David Bricker, Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud, Rachel Edelman, Margene Eriksen. Megan Exley, Alero Fregene, Maria Hackett, Mike Haven, Stephanie Hepburn, Debra Hirschfield, Steve Horwitz, Heather Kamins, Jeffrey Kosseff, Neal Lepsetz, Ke''' Mazur, Chris Metinko, Pete Meyers, William Nash, Christine M. Paik, Lee Palmer, Katie Plona. Susan T. Port, Diba Ra, Alice Robinson, Peter Romer-Friedman, Ericka M. Smith, Mike Spahn, Sam Stavis, Heather Wiggin, Kristin Wright, Jennifer Yachnin. CALENDAR: Katie Plona. EDITORIAL Erin Marsh, Edi ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Jack Schillaci, Jason Stoffer. STAFF: Kristin Arola, Ellen Fredman, Lea Frost, Eric Hochstadt, Scott Hunter, Jason Korb, Yuki Kuniyuki, David Lai, Sarah Lockyer, James Miller, Joshua Rich, Megan Schimpf, Paul Setille, Ron Steiger, David Taub, Matt Wimsatt, Jordan Young. SPORTS John Leroi, Managing Editor EDITORS:Nicholas J.Cotsonika, Alan Goldenbach, Jim Rose, Danielle Rumore. STAFF: T J. Berka, Evan Braunstein, Chris Duprey, Chris Farah, Jordan Field, Mark Francescutti, Rick Freeman, John Friedberg, James Goldstein, Rick Harpster, Kim Hart, Josh Kleinbaum, Chad Kujala, Andy Latack, Fred Link. B.J. Luria, Kurt New, Sharat Raju, Pranay Reddy, Kevin Rosefield, Tracy Sandler, Richard Shin, Mark Snyder, Nita Srivastava, Dan Stillman, uma Subramanian, Jacob Wheeler. ARTS Bryan Lark, Jennifer Petlinski, Editors WEEKEND. ETC. EDITORS: Kristin Long, Elizabeth Lucas SUB-EDITORS: Aaron Rennie (Music), Christopher Tkacyk (Campus Arts), Joshua Rich (Film), Jessica Eaton (Books), Stephanie Jo Klein (TV/New Merji), STAFF: Matthew Barrett, Colin Bartos, Sarah Beldo. Carolyn Burtt, Neal C. Carruth, Anitha Chalam, Brian Cohen, Gabe Fajun, Chris Feax, Laura Flyer, Geordy Gantsoudes, Anna Kovalski, Emily Lambert, Stephanie Love, James Miller, Rob Mitchum, Joshua Pederson, Ryan Posly, Anders Smith-Lindall, Julia Shih, Gabriel Smith, Prashant Tamaskar, Ted Watts, Michael Zilberman, Curtis Zimmerman. PHOTO Sara Stillman, Ed ASSISTANT EDITORS: Margaret Myers, Warren Zinn STAFF Louis Brown, Daniel Castle. Mallory S.E. Floyd, John Kraft, Kevin Krupitzer, Kelly McKinnell, Bryan McLellan, Emily Nathan, Paul Talanian." COPY DESK Rebecca Berkun, Editor STAFF: Alison Goldman, Jason Hoyer, Debra Liss, Amber Melosi, Jan Woodward. ONLINE Adam Pollock, Editor STAFF: Marqunia Iliev, Elizabeth Lucas. GRAPHICS Jonathan Weitz, Editor STAFF: Alex Hogg, Michelle McCombs, Jordan Young. BUSNES TAF eaanMore Check it out.