11 £ xc I1a *ail News: 76-DAILY Display Ads: 764-0554 Classified Ads: 764-0557 One hundred eight years of editonril freedom Monday November 2, 1998 . '; . ! l: .::- ~ " . ...''"I.. ,¢. "'.,Y!.h 1, rr 4' S "v i: . ^ . I OoP predicts modest .pickups WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans and Democrats alike have abandoned their extravagant expecta tions for tomorrow's midterm House races. Early Democratic hopes of regain- ing the chamber and more recent sug- gestions of huge GOP gains have largely evaporated. What's left on the eve of Election Way are predictions from both parties of modest GOP pickups - perhaps 15 or fewer seats. The GOP now con- trols the 435-member chamber 228- 206, with one Democratic-leaning independent. A few dozen well-financed, aggres- sively contested races around the coun- try were being fought to the wire and getting most of the attention from national party leaders. "There will be a lot of races that vill be decided by 1,000 and 2,000 votes," said Rep. Martin Frost (D- Tex.), chairperson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Democrats need a net gain of I1 seats to regain effective control. But history is working against them. Since World War II, the party holding the White House has lost an average of 27 seats in midterm elections. While polls suggest that President linton's Monica Lewinsky problem will not be a factor for most Americans as they vote in congres- sional elections, there also is evi- dence that strong GOP gains would add momentum to th impeachment process while Democratic gains could slow it. Both parties engaged in a blitz of last-minute TV and radio ads in tar- eted districts alluding to the contro- rsy. Neither party was positioned to score a House blowout like the GOP landslide in 1994. For one thing, few seats have been truly competitive this year - only about 40 or 50, about half the usual. Most incumbents of both parties were cruising to re-elec- tion. And in the 34 open seats, where cumbents are retiring or running for ther office, both parties have the same exposure - the need to defend 17 seats. Some of these races saw the most intense activity. Few were as hard fought as the battle for the southern Indiana district repre- sented for more than three decades by retiring Rep. Lee Hamilton. In her third bid for the seat, Republican former state Sen. Jean Leising was running against Baron Hill, a retirement plan- er and a former state senator. study: Jeff11"eIrson father of slaVe's son uestions linger as case closes OAR BY FRiEDLIS/Daily Julie Lin watches as Rong Zhao works on Chinese writings at Dragon Fest '98 on Saturday in the Chemistry Building Atrium. DRAGON F"omESzT '98 0 Toxicology reports indicate no heroin was in Giacherio's system By Jenmir Yachnin Daily Staff Reporter Despite remaining questions, investigators will close the case of Chris Giacherio, who died last month from an overdose of cocaine and alcohol. Toxicology reports from the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's office conflict earlier reports that the LSA sophomore had taken heroin within 24 hours of his death, Ann Arbor Police Lieutenant Jim Tieman said. "The medical examiner has named it an accidental death by a combination of those two" drugs, Tieman said. Giacherio was found unresponsive in the bathroom of a friend's home located at 909 Packard Rd. on Sept. 15. Emergency medical personnel were unable to revive him. Witnesses originally told AAPD investigators Giacherio had taken heroin earlier in the evening, Tieman said. But later, they changed their story and said he was using cocaine. "It bothered us that people were telling us something and it wasn't showing up in the toxicology report," Tieman said. Giacherio was not alone at the time of his death, Tieman said. At least two other people were in the apartment although they were probably asleep. The two witnesses admitted to tak- ing drugs with Giacherio, Tieman said, but will not be prosecuted because there is no evidence of their actions. "The only evidence we have that they were using (cocaine) is their word," Tieman said. The witnesses removed all residual evidence of drug use before AAPD officials arrived, he added. The medical examiner's reports will now be sent to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's office for review, Tieman said. It is unlikely criminal charges will be made against the two witnesses because "no one forced Giacherio to take the drugs." The investigation will be closed. Tieman said, but some questions will remain unanswered. "I'm still curious to why people would tell me one thing ... and that couldn't be found in his body," Tieman said It is possible Giacherio was taking a "fake drug" or substance that had been sold to him as heroin, Tieman said. "Not all drug dealers have scruples," Tieman said. Marijuana and cocaine are the most prominent drugs in the Ann Arbor area, Tieman said. "Our undercover officers are constant- ly making purchases of it," Tieman said. "Ann Arbor is not immune from drug use." In September, the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Association began a task force to examine the environment of the Greek community in relation to alco- hol abuse. "The reason alcohol abuse has been taken into the forefront is because it is a nationwide problem," said Kinesiology senior Bradley Holcman, IFC's presi- dent. "A lot of people see alcohol as not a drug." Programs on drug abuse are not required by IFC, Holcman said. Individual fraternity chapters are responsible for educating their members about substance abuse. "Ninety-five to 100 percent do address the problem," Holeman said. "But they don't go through an inten- sive three-day program about drug abuse." See GIACHERIO, Page 7A By Dave Lu For the Daily On Friday night, 8-year-old Teddy Eyster and his l0-year-old sister, Athina, saw first-hand what they had learned about China in history class. With hundreds of people in attendance during the 5-hour event, Dragon Fest '98, a cultural bazaar sponsored by the Chinese Student Association and the Chinese American Society of Ann Arbor, showed off colorful tradi- tions of Chinese Americans. Modeled after the night street markets of Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and Singapore, Dragon Fest '98 took place in the atrium of the Dow Chemical Building. Night Authentic culture marks celebration markets in Asian countries are fes- tivals that are held daily and fea- ture food, games and music. "I went back to Taiwan this sum- mer and found that the Asian aspects of America were not authentic Asian," said Kenny'.i, the CSA Program Coordinator who conceptualized the event. "I wanted to have a festival with night markets modeled after those in Taiwan. You can't expect any- thing like this in the U.S." With decorations imported from Asia and authentic Chinese food cooked by Ann Arbor residents and restaurants, Dragon Fest '98 attracted not only students but Michigan residents as well. "There is a large Chinese popu- lation in Washtenaw. Including the Detroit Metro area, there are 15 to 20 Chinese organizations," said Mei-yu Yu, 1998 CASAA presi- dent. "CASAA is a community organization devoted to furthering Chinese culture." Dragon Fest '98 included not only authentic Chinese food like dumplings and sweet rice but it also featured entertainment and See DRAGON, Page 2A GEO unhapy with contract negotiations By Paul Berg Daily Staff Reporter In the first three meetings for contract negotia- tions between the University and the Graduate Employees Organization, both sides had difficulty coming to a consensus. After the meetings last week, members of each negotiating team did not even agree on how the bargaining is going. "It was disconcerting," GEO bargaining com- mittee spokesperson Chip Smith said. "The University team broke one ground rule by only giving replies to four- out of six of our proposals, and they didn't seem very serious." Academic Human Resources Director Dan Gamble, chair of the University's bargaining com- mittee, had a different take on the negotiations thus far. "We made some progress," Gamble said. "I think we're moving along at a pretty good clip." Smith said the two parties reached a fundamen- tal disagreement concerning the issue, of International Graduate Student Instructor training. Before they start teaching, international gradu- ate students must first take part in a three-week training session. Smith said the University doesn't pay them for the more than 120 hours of training, and some of them are not paid for living expenses during this time. American GSIs receive similar training while on the University's payroll. The GEO team believes these potential IGSIs should be paid for three-week training sessions because they are often mandatory for employment. "They are promised a level of appointment that, they do not get if they fail this training," Smith said. "This is mandatory, and they should be paid for it." Gamble said these international graduate stu- dents are not yet employed when they partici- "We made some progress. I think we're moving along at a pr t clip" - Dan Gamble Academic Human Resources Director, speaking about GEO contract negotiations pate in the training and, therefore, have no place in the negotiations. "They are not covered by the contract," Gamble said, adding that another party is dealing with this concern. Negotiators from both sides are more optimistic about the issues of medical and dental benefits. Graduate student employees receive dental benefits during their third consecutive semester. But GEO members said this prevents them from reaping full benefits because graduate employees often leave for periods in the middle of their appointment and must "start from scratch," Smith said. Currently, graduate employees and faculty receive the same health care benefits, but the GEO would like the two groups to be handled separately. "Right now, our choices are tied to the faculty, but they are a non-bargaining unit," Smith said. "We want their benefits guaranteed as a sort of ground floor. If M-Care steerage would have been implemented a while back, we would have been bound by that administrative plan," Smith said, in See GEO, Page 7A By Gerard Cohen-Vdginaud Daily Staff Reporter President Thomas Jefferson, one of the country's founding fathers, appar- ently fathered a child with his biracial slave Sally Hemings, according to a newly released study in this Thursday's sue of Nature. Eugene Foster, a retired pathology professor in Charlottesville, Va., led a team of researchers who studied Y- chromosomes in 14 modern-day descendants of Jefferson's uncle, his nephews and Hemings' children. Y-chromosomes are passed on through male lineage. Because Jefferson had no surviving sons, the researchers analyzed descendants of *fferson's paternal uncle. The results of the DNA analysis led the researchers to conclude Jefferson fathered Hemings' last male child, Eston, while another theory that her first child, Thomas, was the president's son has been deemed unlikely. Since 1802. when a Richmond Conference brins focus to U' APA studies By Nika Schulte Daily Staff Reporter Combining literary readings, a concert and workshops, more than 200 students and professors' from around the nation came to Ann Arbor for the eighth annual East of California Conference. The regional fall meeting for the Association for Asian American Studies attracted visitors from schools such as the University of Maryland and Brown University to discuss how to better define Asian cultural groups and fortify Asian studies programs at colleges and universities. "Asian American studies is a relatively young field that is growing," said Hien Duc Do from San Jose State University. "With this growth comes headaches and tension as to how we define our- selves." American studies program because its director, Gail Nomura, is leaving the University. The conference "is especially critical now that the program status is shaky," said LSA senior Ronnie Rhoe, a conference coordinator. While students are not able to major in Asian American studies at the University, they can major in American culture with an emphasis on ethnic studies. LSA junior Seema Pai said she attended the conference to learn strategies to strengthen the University's program. "Not having the opportunity to major in Asian American studies is a big problem considering the amount of Asian American representation on this campus," Pai said. "A lot of students feel very vic- timized." a iN I