WEu *rnt News: 76-DAILY Advertising: 764-0554 One hundred seven years of editoril freedom Thursday January 22, 1998 I a I 11RVA SAYS NFA mi: iiliglig1 1 1 i; I 11 1 i II i!;j ffi i: imi1:1 I Neims to resign as 'U' Fint ghaCellor U Cites a desire to 'pur- sue other opportunities' as reason for departure By William Nash Daily Staff Reporter Charlie Nelms announced his plans retire after a relatively short - but eventful - career as chancellor of the University's Flint campus. He will officially step down July 31, making his stay in Flint just less than four years. Before taking the position in Flint, he was chancellor at Indiana University at Richmond for seven years. "It wasn't a specific person, or event. I just wish to pursue other opportuni- *s," Nelms said Tuesday. "Eleven years is a long time being chancellor." Nelms would not reveal what other opportunities he is pursuing, but he indicated that he plans to move out of the state of Michigan. Former University President James Duderstadt appointed Nelms to the top job at Flint in September 1994. Nelms was the first choice of both *uderstadt and the faculty advising committee set up to assist in selecting the new chancellor. Nelms "built a new spirit of cooper- ation with the community and trans- formed Flint into an urban university," Duderstadt said. The change from being a university in an urban area to being an urban uni- versity that deals directly with the sur- rounding community was one of *lms' main focuses. He helped create the Center for University Outreach, which deals with the community's economic and social problems, and he acquired 25 acres from the failed AutoWorld to be used for the school. Although Nelms is actively involved with the community, he said what he will miss most - the students - is unique to the univer- *y. "With a campus this size, you know and interact with a lot of stu- dents," Nelms said. "I'll miss know- ing the face I'm handing the diploma to." There has not been a great deal of public speculation as to who will take Nelms' job. President Lee Bollinger will have the final decision regarding the appointment. "I can only hope that our search for a $W chancellor leads us to find a per- son of Chancellor Nelms' caliber," Bollinger said in a written statement. "I expect to announce plans for a search for Chancellor Nelms' successor in the near future." Dan Haggerty, president of the Flint See CHANCELLOR, Page 5A Clinton denies allegations of affair The Washington Post WASHINGTON - President Clinton had long ago planned to devote yesterday to build- ing up public interest in next week's speech on the State of the Union. Instead, he spent his afternoon with a revolving door of reporters, in a campaign to keep his presidency from buck- ling under the force of allegations about his relationship with a former White House intern. In a remarkable series of three interviews in which the president was questioned bluntly and without apology about adultery and obstruc- tion of justice, Clinton denied having had a sexual relationship with a then-White House intern, 24-year-old Monica Lewinsky. But he also repeatedly refused to say whether he ever discussed with Lewinsky how she should answer questions about their relationship. While declining to describe his relationship or his conversations with Lewinsky in any sig- nificant detail, Clinton was emphatic that he never encouraged her to lie to attorneys seek- ing a statement from her in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case. "I did not urge anyone to say anything that was untrue," Clinton told interviewer Jim Lehrer of PBS's "NewsHour" program. It was precisely this allegation that had engulfed the White House yesterday in a furor that aides acknowledged threatens to be the gravest legal and political challenge Clinton has faced in his five years as president. An allegation that Clinton and Washington lawyer Vernon Jordan, Jr., one of the president's closest advisers, coached Lewinsky to commit perjury in the Jones case prompted Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr on Friday to secretly seek and gain authority from a three- judge panel to expand his investigation. Only late Tuesday evening did Clinton and his lawyers learn of Starr's new avenue and of the potentially damaging evidence - includ- ing taped conversations between Lewinsky and a co-worker - he has already assembled. Within hours of the news of the allegations breaking at midnight Tuesday, the White House was in the midst of a full-blown media frenzy, with senior aides and lawyers meeting and talking by phone through the night about how to respond. The most important element of the See CUNTON, Page SA APPHOTO President Clinton applauds his wife; Hillary, at a black-tie dinner held last night at the White House. I An affirmation of action ,, maAw 1' N 'x,-"-'' F' aAt' .+' '. ... ' Rally energizes supporters on Diag By Susan T. Port Daily Staff Reporter Music, chanting and more than 150 students and faculty members filled the Diag in the bit- ter cold yesterday in support of affirmative action. Academics for Affirmative Action and Social Justice, a new group on campus comprised of University graduate students and faculty members, organized the rally and march that fea- tured students, fac-_ ulty speakers and "The main performers, AAASJ co-founder Nadia Kim said it was time for graduate stu- action ! dents and faculty members to breaka their silence and speak out m on the importance of affir- mative action. "There was a need for not only under- .... . reflect the real world. In fact, tWe need to be the, real world inside the Law School to do our job effectively," Scarnecchia said. "We can't teach' lawyers to go out and do justice in a law school that is forced to be racially segregated"' LSA sophomore Sarah Douglas said she was impressed by the amount of people who came to the Diag to support affirmative action. "I think it's great that so many students and faculty members came out to support such an important issue," Douglas said. "I - think their point is really clear and the audience is very 'rmalovereceptive." AAASJ co- founder Tom - Eduardo Bonilla-Silva Guglielmo said yes- sociology professor terday's rally was intended to make it crystal clear that University students and faculty members sup- port affirmative action. "We felt there was a need for those schooled in theses issues to get involved," said Guglielmo, a Rackham second-year student. Sociology Prof. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva said he joined AAASJ because he felt it was important as a professor of color to speak up. "The main goal is to defend affirmative action," Bonilla-Silva said. "Undergraduate students have been in the forefront, and we wanted to be apart of that." LSA sophomore Sylvia Robinson, who participated in the rally, said that despite the advances that minorities have made, affirmative action is still a necessary pol- cy. "I feel until institutional racism in lower education is abolished, we need affirmative action," Robinson said. graduate students but for graduate stu- dents, faculty and staff who study issues such as social justice to really have a voice," said Kim, a Rackham first-year stu- dent. "Basically, we wanted to unleash all that we know about inequality." Law Prof. Suellyn Scarnecchia, who spoke at the rally, urged the audience not to let the University go back to segregation in higher education. "We need to find the courage to speak out and be heard and be counted among the sup- porters of affirmative action," Scarnecchi said. "Because we want to educate, not seg- regate." Scarnecchia said that as a professor at the Law School, her job is to prepare profession- als to lead, hold power and settle disputes in a multicultural society. "The Law School community needs to MARGARET MTYERS" /Dil An affirmative action supporter pickets yesterday In the Diag as part of a rally organized by Academics for Affirmative Action and Social Justice. REUIVE MICHIGAN'S ROSE BOWL WIN AND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! Huerta: labor a For a limited time o y Savor the Wolverines' national championship for years to come with a glossy, full-color poster of The Michigan Daily's front page. The Daily also book com- ,, memorat- ing the season that wl , be on sale sn ie vital need By Lee Palmer N Sily Staff Reporter SHundreds of nennle chanted Viva I 'U' Engineering grows despite national deCline By Christine M. Paik Daily Staff Reporter In a world connected by the information superhighway, cellular phones and high-tech automobiles, the need for engi- neers is at an all-time high. But as demand continues to build, analysts say there is a nationwide movement away from the engineering field. Gregg Schuckman, public affairs director of the American Association of Engineering Societies, said the number of engineering bachelor's degrees being granted at universities in the United States has decreased over the past decade. "In 1988, we awarded 71,386 bachelor's degrees and it dropped every year until 1992, when it was at 63,653," Schuckman said. "That's a 10 percent drop in five years. Since that time, it has come back up to last year's total, 65,091, but that's less than a 2 percent increase." This trend means big bucks for students willing to go into Martin Luther King!" and "Viva Caesar Chavez!" in the Mendelssohn Theatre last night. The voices were led by Dolores Huerta, a woman who has been described as the most prominent Mexican-American labor leader in the United States. Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers of America with Caesar Chavez more than 30 years ago and has dedicated her life to improving the working and living conditions of U.S. farm laborers. "It's great to come here to Ann Arn N1 1 A a w ,-.ra,;ln EMILY NATHAN/Daily Dolores Huerta speaks last night before an enthusiastic crowd at the Mendelssohn Theater. She is regarded as a prominent labor leader in the United States. -Z77 I-- I - A - - -- -3 T C s- -Y I I Caesar nassed awv. " heluedl me out;' said L'A junior Carlos