12 Ic4ng { News: 76-DAILY Display Ads: 764"554 Classified Ads: 7640557 One hundred seven years ofeditori'lfreedom Wednesday September 23, 1998 S A ilissioll! Clinton ratings rise In polls Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON - Buoyed by ini- tial reaction supporting President Clinton, the White House and congres- anal Democrats expressed hope yes- day that the public's general disinter- est after viewing the president's video- taped grand jury testimony will help stall any impeachment drive on Capitol Hill. Opinion polls showed that the presi- dent's job approval rating rose six points after his four hours of testimony was aired Monday, and his defenders now believe that this kind of sustained support could throw water on Vublican attempts to remove Clinton m office. Even several GOP members of the crucial House Judiciary Committee conceded that the edge may have shifted to the Democrats, noting that constituents in their districts did not come away angry after watching Clinton defend himself in the Monica Lewinsky sex-and-perjury scandal. ne of them, Rep. Asa Hutchinson -Ark.) suggested that the panel should be mindful of public opinion before it releases the rest of the report from Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. "The Judiciary Committee needs to always consider public 'opinion," Hutchinson said. "There's a possibility of backlash against anyone who is not handling this fairly." Clinton's lawyers took advantage of Wnexpectedly good showing by tak- ing the offensive for the first time in weeks, saying in a letter to Judiciary Committee members that Starr had left out of his report information that would bolster his defense. Hyde acknowledged receiving the letter from Clinton's lawyers, but disagreed that any information was purposely excluded to be unfair to t president. He also shooed away nocrat complaints that his com- mittee is not acting in a partisan spirit,the material - which includes testimony by former Lewinsky friend Linda Tripp, Clinton secre- tary Betty Currie and presidential friend Vernon Jordan - is set to be made public no later than next Monday. "We're doing our job," said Judiciary Committee Chair Henry Hyde (R-ll.) "We're following our mandate." * yde said he expects a recom- mendation from his panel soon, and then a full House vote by early October, on whether to move to the next step - a formal impeachment inquiry. He also signaled that he would like to begin preliminary hearings on the controversy after the Nov. 3 elections but before the current 105th Congress e ires at year's end. ut after all the pre-release hype that Clinton's position would sink with the airing of his testimony, the opposite appeared to be happening. Instead of Republican leaders mar- shaling more momentum toward a vote on impeachment, the public's approval of Clinton's performance as president not only continued to hold strong, but actually was build- ing. A Gallup poll conducted yester- 4for CNN and USA Today showed that 66 percent of respon- dents still approved of the job Clinton is doing, six points higher than the figure Sunday, the day before the broadcast. Clinton, in New York attending a meeting on the global economy with the Japanese prime minister, declined to discuss the uneasy balance hiween the public's approval, of his k as president and the House Republicans' desire to push on toward impeachment. "I don't have anything to add to whatever the White House is saying about all this," he said during a brief appearance at a New York hotel. "RPli r i+ nr not I hunvn't rnA tha Family still grieving loss of Williams By Nikita Easley Daily Staff Reporter For some people on campus, today is just another day. They will wake up, fix breakfast and maybe call a loved one before entering the hustle and bustle of the world. But, for the Williams family, Sept. 23 will never be the same. A year ago today, the University community awoke to reports that one of their own had been murdered. LSA senior Tamara Sonya Williams was stabbed to death on Sept. 23,1997, by her boyfriend Kevin Nelson. Nelson was fatally shot by a Department of Public Safety officer when he refused to release his knife. Williams' grandmother, Jeanette Hart, said the family has been coping with the tragedy. "It's hard, but we are coming along," Hart said. " am a very religious person and through church, a lot of friends and the help of God, the family has stuck together." "You never get over it, but you learn to live with it, she said. Laconda Williams, Tamara Williams' older sister, said she has been able to handle the death of her sister better than she expected. "My sisters and I are really close and they help me get through it" she said. Hart added that she had realized a few days earlier that the anniversary of Tamara's death was approaching. "We haven't planned any vigils for that day" Hart said. "We plan to take flowers to the cemetery and have dinner at my house." Yvonne Williams, Tamara's mother, now has custody of Tamara's three- year-old daughter Kiera Williams. Hart said Kiera Williams is the pri- mary reason the family has stuck so close together. The family wants her to have a normal life. "We have a lot of love and are rais- ing an adjusted little girl" Hart said. Hart added that Kiera Williams is attending school and is aware that "her mommy is in heaven." Once in awhile she even mentions her late mother. Kiera had a dream that her mother was going to buy her a Barbie NATE BOZEN/Daily A help wanted sign posted in the window of Steve and Barry's on State St. along with University paraphernalia advertises open positions. With the current low rates of unemployment, students have been able to easily find jobs around Ann Arbor. Vibrnt economy leads to sturong campus jotp)Lb markeLt are coming along ...the fahas stuck together.' -Jeanette Hart, TamaraWilliams' grandmother car, Hart said. Tamara Williams was a hard work- ing, 20-year-old student who planned to attend law school after graduation. She was raising her two-year-old daughter, tutoring sixth-graders in the evenings and taking classes at the time of her death. Tamara Williams, Nelson and Kiera Williams were living in University housing at Northwood V Their neighbors, other Northwood residents, heard screaming and final- ly gunshots a little after midnight on that fateful Tuesday. Both Williams and Nelson died in surgery early that morning. Williams murder affected many people in the University community. It marked the first time a DPS officer fired a gun at someone in the line of duty. After the murder, critical-incident debriefing counselors were brought into DPS. DPS Director Leo Heatley said DPS training has not changed since last year as a result of the incident. "We reviewed all of the policies and procedures, and I am satisfied with See WILUAMS, Page 7 By Paul Berg For the Daily Low rates of unemployment and an overwhelming need for new workers among area employers have pro-. duced an unusually open job market for University stu- dents. The fourth quarter Employment Outlook Survey for 1998, 'published by temporary employment agency Manpower Inc., indicates that 56 percent of Ann Arbor employers intend to increase their workforce this fall, the highest percentage in Michigan and more than double the Midwest average. "Employers are asking us to find people, find out what hours they can work and working out schedules around the new employees," said Gail Reamer, Manpower's vice presi- dent of operations. "That kind of thing was unheard of five years ago." The survey has been conducted since 1965 and was revised by the University's Survey Research Center in 1976. Its statistics are determined by the answers of 15,000 employers nationwide, and the survey examines 10 different industries. See JOBS, Page 7 Politicians differ odn Proposal B By Mike Spahn Daily Staff Reporter Michigan, nationally known for its automobile industry, cherry festival and prestigious universities, has recently been gaining fame that has moved it to the forefront of a national debate. The debate strikes a chord with every person who has ever felt the pain of a death in the family. Physician assisted suicide began centuries' ago across the globe. Since its conception,a the practice has been; legalized in parts of Europe, but its use in w : the United States con-° tinues to spark contro- = versy. And with Jack Kevorkian, the for- mer physician now nicknamed the "Doctor of Death," residing and prac- ticing in Michigan, the state has taken the lead in this national discussion. Last March, the state Senate and House of Representatives passed a bill sponsored by Sen. William Van Regenmorter (R-Hudsonville) that bans any individual from aiding in the death of another. After Gov. John Engler signed the bill late this August, the bill became law, imposing a fine and possi- ble jail time on anyone caught aiding in a person's suicide. That bill could be voided if a ballot initiative making physician assisted sui- ril 14cxi fnr tminnlli l1l mntnilly Nl es on Nov. 3. The group gathered 379,000 signatuves to get language on the ballot in support of assisted suicide. In addition, former Kevorkian lawyer Geoffrey Fieger received the Democratic nomination for governor in July and is currently using the issue to attack Engler. Merian's Friends, named for former Ann Arbor resident S g. Merian Frederick who ended her life with Kevorkian's aid, fought >n Par for more than a year to an get the language on the ""e * t- ballot, including a last- mes series minute attempt to sub- stitute their language 1 ffM G for the bill that passed the Legislature. Ed Pierce,tchair of Merian's Friends, said the process of getting signatures was a very difficult one, but he thinks it will pay off in the end. The group was forced to hire a firm to col- lect most of the signatures, at a cost of $750,000 to the group. "All the polls have held up fairly well," Pierce said. "Sixty percent are for the initiative, 35 percent against. But we're currently polling again." But Proposal B faces stiff opposi- tion from a coalition that Pierce said has threatened to spend $5 million to assure the proposal is defeated. The opposition includes the Catholic Conference, the Michigan Medical rnrit- anti the Rinht to I fe JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily David Goldstein, an audience member at yesterday's assisted suicide forum at the Mendelssohn Theatre, poses a question to Jessica Bird, a speaker at the event. 'U' hosts forumon0assisted suic.ide''! By Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud Daily Staff Reporter Questions surrounding physi- cian-assisted suicide are proving crucial in a year when Michigan voters will be asked to approve a ballot proposal legalizing euthana- sia in November. Conflicting opinions were dis- cussed last night at a public forum titles "The Aid-in-TDvinn Vnte- Are Edward Pierce, one of the three fea- tured speakers and chair of Merian's Friends - the organization that has led the fight for physician-assisted suicide - started off the discussion with a question that encapsulated the forum's intent. "Five years ago, I asked myself, 'Should it be legal?"' Pierce said. "I thought it should be legal - for my wife fnrmvrhildren fnrvn'nrentc for and scope in the physician-assisted sui- cide debate. If approved, Proposal B would allow terminally-ill patients with six months or less left to end their lives with physician prescribed medication. Patients would be obliged to start the process themselves, get confirma- tion of their illness from two physi- cians and consult a psychiatrist before medication is prescribed. There would ha a seven-dav waitino nerind and I I