The Michigan Daily - Monday, December 7, 1998 - 5A

Ioffa to head Teamsters

Chess nuts

WASHINGTON (AP) - James P Hoffa claimed victory
"yesterday in the election to lead the Teamsters and promised
to bring a new militancy to the union once headed by his
father.
"Everything looks great and we will be elected," the
etroit labor lawyer said on NBC's "Meet the Press." He said
e's already at work trying to restore to the Teamsters the
influence it once had in the American labor movement.
Hoffa's election was assured Saturday when his opponent
Tom Leedham conceded defeat.
"This union has been through a civil war," Hoffa said. "We
have got to pull it together, we have got to restore the finan-
cial integrity of this union, we've got to restore confidence
and hope in this union, get the people back to believing in
their union."
He said two objectives will be to balance the union's bud-
get without raising dues and to fight for better contracts.
"We're going to see a new militancy in the Teamsters Union
our negotiations," Hoffa said.
Teamsters election headquarters said that with 396 of 541
kbcals reporting, Hoffa had 136,325 votes, Tom Leedham had

98,377 votes and John Metz, who did not campaign, 15,028.
Leedham, chief of the union's warehouse division, conceded
defeat on Saturday.
A federal officer was overseeing the procedure under a
deal struck with the Justice Department a decade ago to help
loosen the grip of organized crime.
Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, on CBS's "Face the
Nation," offered Hoffa her congratulations. "He has said that
he wants to pursue a goal of fiscal integrity, of organizing
rank and file. We support him in that, and I look forward to
working with him," Herman said.
The 1.4-million-member union has seen its membership
decline in recent years and its top leaders end up in legal trou-
ble. Incumbent Ron Carey won election under government
scrutiny in 1991 and was narrowly re-elected in 1996 over
Hoffa. Carey was later ousted after investigators found that his
campaign benefited from an illegal fund-raising scheme.
Hoffa's father Jimmy Hoffa was an effective and highly
popular labor leader who allegedly had close ties to organized
crime. He disappeared in 1975 and is presumed dead, a vic-
tim of Mafia infighting.

MESSIAH
Continued from Page IA
"I'm astounded by its magnifi-
cence," Neidhardt said.
Neidhardt also observed the many
opportunities the Martha Cook resi-
dents had to interact with the
University administration and faculty.
LSA senior Susan Daron,
Neidhardt's escort, agreed.
"It's a very good opportunity for us
to get to know the officers of the
University and its academic leaders,"
Daron said.
All four Messiah soloists also attend-
ed the event, including contralto Ellen
Rabiner. Rabiner said she enjoyed the
event thoroughly.
"It's beautiful and very elegant,"
Rabiner said.
During the dinner of Cornish game
hen, Martha Cook honey bread rolls
and hazelnut torte, the residents had the
chance to become better acquainted
with their guests.
Meredith Hockman, an LSA junior
who escorted Education Dean, Karen
Krane Wixon, said she saw this as an
excellent opportunity to develop connec-
tions with important University figures.
"It's a good way to network with
people," Hockman said. "How often do
you get to talk to the dean of a school
in such an informal setting?"
Following the dinner, many Martha
Cook residents performed for their
guests in the musicale. Most of the
musical selections hailed from the
Baroque era, the time period when
Handel wrote the Messiah.
Leslie Calhoun, an LSA sophomore,
saw the musicale as a wonderful
chance for the Martha Cook residents
to give back to the University commu-
nity.
"A lot of people here have con-
tributed to UMS or the Martha Cook
Building," Calhoun said. "This is our
way of thanking them; it's an opportu-
nity for us to share our talents.'

FIRESIDE
Continued from Page 1A
been skyrocketing for more than a
decade"
The cost of books also impacts the
niversity library system, Bollinger said
cause the library purchases many of
the same books. He added that the
University community needs to focus on
financial aid to help students tackle the
icosts of higher education.
"I'm generally not in favor of free
public education ... at the same time, I
do not think education should be avail-
able depending on your wealth,"
Bollinger said.
LSA junior Aaron Gillum asked
*olinger to address issues affecting the
University as it enters the next millenni-
um, including the impact of the U.S.
News & World Report magazine's annu-
al college rankings.
'"The U.S. News & World Report is
one of the most distorted pieces of infor-
mation arounq," Bollinger said. "It is true
the great public universities do not have
the resources of private institutions." He
added that the reports often fail to con-
Oder the contributions of a university's
graduates to their fields.
Bollinger spoke briefly on the issue of
affirmative action and the lawsuits fac-
ing the College of Literature, Science
and Arts and the Law School challenging
the use of race as a factor in their admis-
sions processes, which are expected to
go to trial this summer.
"I remain optimistic at the end of the
day," Bollinger said of the lawsuits. "You
nd students who have been a part of
diverse student bodies ... supporting
what universities have done.:
Students also inquired about
Bollinger's personal life, such as his
daily schedule, experiences as a student
and advice on life.
"The point is that over a lifetime, if
you can become greatly familiar with
something ... it greatly enriches your
,life" Bollinger said. He discussed with
udents his favorite authors, including
William Shakespeare, whose work he
said he tries to read every day.
"Overall, it was a more invigorating
and philosophical conversation than I
had expected," LSA senior Kristin
.Gusselin said of the event.
Gusselin said the conversation's open-
ness surprised her, and she appreciated
Bgollinger's attempt to read some of his
favorite authors each day. "I could really
late to that because I try to read the
ble every day," Gusselin said.
PutIthe paper
chase behind you...

PEN PALS
Continued from Page IA
projects with the students," Moudgil
said.
"Next Friday, we're going into
Pittsfield Elementary to make gin-
gerbread houses," Moudgil added.
Moudgil said he is making plans
for the pen pals to meet each other
for an activity at the end of the year.
Next semester, Moudgil said K-
grams organizers hope to add sever-
al 'elementary schools i Ypsilanti
and more University residence halls
to the program, bringing the total
involvement to more than 1,600 stu-
dents on both ends.
"K-grams is open to everyone on
campus, but you have to live in a
residence hall to actualy be a pen
pal," said Moudgil.
Moudgil added that there are
other opportunities for students who
-4

live off campus.
Shah said University students and
their pen pals each send three letters
in a semester, alternating every two
weeks.
Benkert said anyone can easily
spend the several minutes it takes to
write letters to a K-grams pen pal.
"It's such a simple commitment,"
she said. "If you want to do more,
you can. If you want to do less, you
can do that too."
Benkert admitted the University
students get just as excited to
receive their letters as their younger
pen pals do.
"We don't know when the letters
are coming, so you open your mail-
box, and you'll see people go,
'Yeah! I got my letter!'" Benkert
said.
"They'll go around and share their
letters with their friends," Benkert
added.

DARBY FRIEDLIS/Daily
Rackham graduate student Gerald Good contemplates his move as he waits for
the chess master to play his next piece Saturday.

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