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One hundred seven years of editorz lfreedom
Wednesday
November 5, 1997
-- ..
'to
Janet Adamy
aily Staff Reporter
The University will pay more to defend itself
g t the anti-affirmative action lawsuit target-
g"s admissions policies than the University of
exas did when it fought a similar suit last year.
UT received pro bono legal services from one
f Texas' largest law firms, Vinson and Elkins,
Hopwood v. University of Texas Law School
the case that challenged the school's race-
ased admissions. Services that are "pro bono
ublico," Latin for "for public good," are donat-
d free of charge by lawyers.
But University President Lee Bollinger said
fight I
receiving pro bono services was not an option in
the University of Michigan's case.
"Even if the option were available, I would
have opposed it," Bollinger said. "For a case of
very high magnitude, you want the legal services
you get from a formal relationship."
The University has hired the Washington D.C.-
based law firm Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering. The
firm's senior partners charge between $220 and
$395 per hour, but have agreed to give the
University a 10-percent discount.
The University selected the law firm to
defend itself against the class-action lawsuit
filed by two applicants who claim that the
awsuit
University's affirmative action policies prevent-
ed them from being accepted to the College of
Literature, Science and the Arts.
Vice President for University Relations
Walter Harrison said that while the lawsuit will
clearly be expensive, it is impossible to estimate
how much it will cost because the University
doesn't know how long the case will last.
"The important thing is not the cost, but the
principle, Harrison said. "We believe that the cost
of having a diverse student body is worthwhile.
That principle is worth the cost of the lawsuit."
Patricia Ohlendorf, UT's vice provost and
general counsel, estimated the bill would have
at
any
cost
been more than $1 million had her university
funded its legal defense.
Instead, the Hopwood case only cost UT sev-
eral hundred thousand dollars for direct expens-
es, such as expert witnesses, court reporters and
printing, said Ray Farabee, vice chancellor and
general counsel for the UT system.
UT also was represented by the state's attor-
ney general, which is consistent with the law in
the state of Texas. Farabee estimated that the pri-
vate law firm was responsible for nearly three-
fourths of the work in the Hopwood case.
In Michigan, state universities are constitution-
representation by the state attorney general.
Terry Pell, a senior counsel at the Center for
Individual Rights, which represented the plain-
tiff's side in the Hopwood case, said the case
cost CIR between $3 and $5 million.
"There's also expenses and expert fees, so I
would push (the fee for the Hopwood case) to
the high end," Pell said.
Harrison said the University plans to fund the
defense for the lawsuit through Veritas - the
University's insurance company owned by the
University Board of Regents. The source of
funds could change, however, if the costs
See LAWSUIT, Page 2
ally autonomous and therefore
cannot receive
I
Elections yield few surprises
Council
teaders,
eep
seats
By Peter Meyers
and Mike Spahn
Daily Staff Reporters
Yesterday's local elections produced a
sparse overall turnout and virtually no
surprises. In the three contested Ann
Arbor City Council elections, all three
incumbents secured easy victories.
*It's going to be business as usual,"
said newly re-elected Councilmember
Pat Putman (R-4th Ward).
Ann Arbor voters re-elected
Putman, David Kwan (R-2nd Ward)
and Heidi Herrell (D-3rd Ward). For
the second consecutive election, the
council has survived an election total-
ly unchanged.
Voter turnout in Ann Arbor was low,
as is common for off-year elections.
proximately 12,000 votes were cast
city-wide.
"I think the community is relatively
self-satisfied with the council," said
Republican Mayor Ingrid Sheldon.
Ann Arbor voters were apparently sat-
isfied with the political "balance" on
city council, she said. The ratio will
remain three Republicans to seven
Democratic members with a
Republican mayor.
nn Arbor wards generally voted as
cted. The 2nd Ward has historical-
ly been a Republican stronghold - no
Democrat has held a council seat there
in nearly a decade.
"The 2nd (Ward) is really a bear,"
said Douglas Scott, chair of the Ann
Arbor Democratic Party.
Similarly, the 1st Ward is strongly
Democratic - in this term's election,
no Republican candidate challenged
mocratic incumbent Patricia
reen-Dixon (D-I1st Ward).
Politics, luck
keep 'U'from
winning Nobels
By Michael Davidson
For the Daily
The story is well known: a certain high profile and big bud-
get area of the University, despite its reputation and legacy of
success, somehow cannot manage to bring in the final prize.
Except nobody expects that final prize to be the Nobel Prize.
A little-known fact is that in the nearly 100 years the Nobel
has been awarded, no researcher at the University has won the
prize. Given out annually in the fields of physics, chemistry,
economics, literature and medicine and physiology, the Nobel
represents academia's most famous and prestigious award. The
Nobel Peace Prize also is given for humanitarian gains.
The story behind the University's perpetually falling short
is one of bad luck, politics, geography and a conscious deci-
sion to pursue fields that don't fall easily into any category.
So when the prizes were announced last month, it came as
no surprise that the University found itself shut out - again.
Physiology Prof. Louis D'Alecy, chair of the faculty's gov-
erning body, sees the University's lack of success as a matter
of being outside the scientific establishment.
"There is a certain political element and we're out of the
loop;" D'Alecy said. D'Alecy believes that part of that element
is that the Royal Academy of Sweden, which selects the prize
winners, gets its information about possible candidates from the
same sources, usually scientists at schools and institutions that
have won awards in the past. "There is a continuity of informa-
tion that closes ranks as opposed to a broad view" D'Alecy said.
Chemistry Prof. Thomas Dunn agrees that politics has
been influential in the University's coming up short.
"I'm not trying to detract from people who have won the
award in the past, but Michigan has not had a very good rela-
tionship with the top level of the scientific establishment,"
Dunn said. He pointed to the University's small number of
members in the National Academy of the Sciences.
Dunn also sees another aspect influencing the University's
lack of success.
"After World War II and up until the 1970s, the University
started to concentrate on the social sciences, and because of
this, there weren't many high profile people (in the fields where
the Nobels are given)," Dunn said. "The University also took
longer than it need to to get off the ground in big research.
"Compare what we had in starting up money to what
Berkeley and other private schools got and you can say we
were a bit late getting out of the gate;" he continued. "There's
no doubt we did not build up our programs in the physical
sciences, and they're still lagging now."
Lee Katterman, coordinator of research communication
for the Office of the Vice President for Research, disagrees
with that assessment and points to other areas where the
University is strong.
"Michigan has a remarkable breadth of intellectual activity,
especially for interdisciplinary research," Katterman said, point-
ing to a group studying the brain from both a neuroscience and
social science standpoint. This is an example that shows
University research that does not fit neatly into a Nobel category.
See NOBEL, Page 2
JOHNKRAFT/Daily
Chris Kolb celebrates his re-election as Ann Arbor councilmember for the 5th Ward at the Ann Arbor Brewing Company last night. Kolb, a
Democrat, ran uncontested. In the two other contested local races, incumbents held onto their seats on the Ann Arbor City Council.
"It's just been such a strong
Democratic ward that it's very difficult
to get a viable candidate to go through
the long tedious job of getting elect-
ed," Putman said.
Losing candidates accepted defeat
with varying attitudes.
"When I started this, I knew I had a
tough task ahead of me," said Parma
Yarkin, the Democratic challenger in
the 2nd Ward who received 1,031
votes to Kwan's 1,651.
Despite the loss, Yarkin said the
experience was a good one.
"It was a fantastic experience,"
Yarkin said. "I think it would be fun to
run against (Kwan) again."
Ed Koster, the 3rd Ward Republican
challenger, blamed himself for the
loss.
See ANN ARBOR, Page 7
Republicans
take top races
The Associated Press
Republican Gov. Christie Todd Whitman narrowly survived
a Democratic challenge to win a second term in New Jersey
yesterday, while GOP candidates rolled to off-year election
runaways for governor of Virginia, mayor of New York City
and a seat in Congress.
Whitman made it with a 47 percent to 46 percent count
over upstart Democrat Jim McGreevey early this morning -
a margin of less than 20,000 votes out of 2.3 million cast. A
third entry, Murray Sabrin, a Libertarian but a foe of abortion
rights unlike the other two, was getting 5 percent.
While the close count in New Jersey mixed the GOP mes-
sage, the Republican Party chair said the elections of 1997
See ELECTIONS, Page 7
Election winners
Ann Arbor City Council:
* Ward 1: Patricia Vereen-Dixon (D)
U Ward 2: David Kwan (R)
* Ward 3: Heidi Herrell (D)
Ward 4: Patrick Putman (R)
Ward 5: Chris Kolb (D)
Proposal A: Passes
Proposal B: Fails
State:
David Jaye (R), 12th district
state senate primary
Dennis Archer (D), Detroit mayor
Around the Nation:
Christie Todd Whitman (R), New
Jersey governor
0 Rudolph Giuliani (R), New York
mayor
Inside: Jaye easily secures 12th
District Senate Seat. See results, Page 7
St
is'
By Steph
Daily Staff]
Safety
arrests ar
students
health off
conseque
cinogenic
"Some
r do
up
people ar
who wan
LSD c
leaving l
perceptio
gic acid d
Fifty-fo
udents
say LSD
prevalent at
anie Hepburn program, LSD was born - but not tried
Reporter by Hofman until five years later.
officials say few LSD-related Elizabeth Hall, spokesperson for the
e made on campus. But some Department of Public Safety, said there
say the drug is prevalent, and have been few LSD-related arrests in
ficials warn of dire, long-term recent years.
nces associated with the hallu- "There were zero arrests in '94, one
substance. arrest in '95, two arrests in '96 and no
people try it once and then arrests so far in '97,' Hall said. "I do not
it again. Some people want to know if this is representative of how
to the experience and some many students are actually doing the
e scared of it," said a student drug."
ted to remain anonymous. An anonymous student said LSD has
hanges the mind's chemistry, a prominent place in some circles on
ingering effects and altering campus.
n long after any dose of lyser- "A lot of people on campus do LSD.
diethylamine is taken. The difference is that most students use
bur years ago, a Swiss chemist, it in moderation," said the student.
ONT-AFUS
No. I In a three-part series,
This week, Daily staff
reporters Stephanie Hepburn
and Alice Robinson investigate
the use of LSD, cocaine and
heroin at the University in a
three-part series.
LSD: Are hallucinogens back in style?
Tomorrow
Cocaine: How popular Is-the stimulant?
Friday
Heroin: Is pop-culture's drug here?
"You are completely affected by your
environment" the student said.
The controversial drug has gained
notoriety in the fields of medical
research, biology and psychiatry and
drug culture throughout the years.
Hofman states in his book, "My
Problem Child," that he wanted to
Assembly
backs
affinnative;
action
By Susan T. Port
Daily Staff Reporter
More than 50 University students
packed the League Ballroom last night
in an effort to influence the Michigan
Student Assembly's stand on affirma-
tive action.
After hours of agitated debate, MSA
members voted to support the
University's current admissions policies.
But the assembly may have to wait to
hear a consensus from the student body.
A resolution to place a question on the
JOHiN KAFT/Daily
Sanjiv Gupta was among the many students present to pledge their suppport for
affirmative action last night at the Michigan Student Asembly meeting.
r