Eije tripanailg Weather Today: Cloudy. High 43. Low 25. One hundred ek ht years of editoruleedom Monday February 1, 1999 77 Is 11 , I III 11 11 1 11 1-1 ji. jvm' ilv -, . - .- I I r jap s ate debates Starr's itentions lsss Angeles Times WASHINGTON - President Clinton's impeachment trial, although in recess, became embroiled anew in partisan controversy yesterday as Senate Democrats bitterly accused independent counsel Kenneth Starr of attempting to influence the proceeding. whey leveled that charge in televised iierviews amid published reports that Starr believes hr has the authority to seek the president's criminal indictment before Clinton leaves office. "There is just no end to what this man is willing to do to continue to pur- sue the president" said Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) on NBC's "Meet the Press," referring to the court-appointed prosecutor. "Ken Starr is once again running ok," declared Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on CBS' 'Face the Nation.' "The timing is very suspicious." Some GOP senators dismissed Starr's conclusions as irrelevant to the Senate trial. But several Republicans rued the timing of the disclosure, made by The New York Times, which attrib- uted the information to unnamed Starr associates. Charles Bakaly, a Starr spokesperson, lined yesterday to discuss the inde- pendent counsel's intentions and said of the report's timing: "This wasn't some- thing we put out ... We certainly don't See IMPEACH, Page 7A Code pane 1ss begin, training B Mih e rs CEO contract expires today * Negotiators from both sides say they might reach an agreement at tonight's meeting By Nick Faizone Daily Staff Reporter At the last negotiation meeting before the Graduate Employees Organization's contract with the University expires at midnight tonight, it would not be surprising to find tensions running high between the debating sides. But representatives from GEO and the University said they are optimistic about the outcome of tonight's meeting, despite disagreements between both sides during the past months of negotiations. "What we're trying to do (tonight) is reach an agreement;" GEO spokesperson Chip Smith said. "We're really going work hard to get this done" University Chief Negotiator Dan Gamble said his team is also prepared to settle GEO's contract at tonight's meeting. "We have all the ingredients for a settlement," Gamble said. The contract affects the jobs of 1,600 Graduate Student Instructors and the classes of thousands of undergraduates. Yesterday, GEO called an emergency meeting of its stewards council to get approval for a signifi- cant change of its wage proposal, Smith said. Although Smith said he was unable to discuss the specific changes until after the negotiation meet- ing today, he said the new proposal will be more desirable for the University. "The wages package we're going to submit should get some response from them," Smith said. "It's more of what they want; we're trying to keep the dialogue going." GEO is currently asking for a 27 percent increase in GSis' salaries, a recalculation of how wages are counted and a waive of their registration fee. Last month, Dan Gamble said the University would probably not compromise with GEO unless it lowered its wage request to a single digit. Gamble said yesterday that if GEO's new proposal complied with the University's request, he would also present a proposal tonight that could meet GEO's expectations. "I would provide them with a new proposal that I think they'll like a lot" Gamble said. "I think it will be very acceptable for them" Gamble said the University's proposal would be a combination of an annual increase in GSls' salaries and an adjustment of the way their wages are calculated. He 41so said the University may present information on compensated training programs for international graduate students and affir- See GEO, Page 7A inside: GEO members are also lobbying for paid training for international GSIs. Page 3A iibarks ~ rdyear aster Plan, labor contracts among items on president's agenda i.e Winder fReprter rking on his third year as University president, Lee r continues to look for ways to improve the University as, from research to architecture to student affairs. riday, Bollinger took a few moments to share his r the coming year. Master Plan, a project Bollinger introduced at his ation in 1997, is designed to unify the University's I campus areas. "It will go on y years," Bollinger said. iger's plan could expand to increasing the amount and effi- if the University's transportation and parking and finding a way to North and Central campuses. her of Bollinger's goals for the to work with other colleges in an, including Michigan State ity and Wayne State University, in if common intellectual interest." Bollnger ed that the universities are just tg to discuss how to share knowledge. my firm belief that great universities should build r," Bollinger said. ng the upcoming year, several key issues may be tincluding contract negotiations between the te Employees Organization's and the University use of race as a factor in the admissions process- the Law School and the College of Literature, and the Arts. 's labor contract with the University expires today and lawsuits challenging the University's use of race as a n the admissions process are scheduled to go to trial nmer. ing his attention to the GEO contract, Bollinger cited history of excellent relations between Graduate k Instructors and the University. reasonably confident that there will be a resolution," ;er said. He added he did not expect to see harsh rela- is develop between the groups. :re's so much a tradition of good will," he said. rding the lawsuits, Bollinger said he is pleased with ount of student discussion on campus, although the ity has not taken an official position on the interven- ng pursued by dozens of University studentsin both 'ns. ink this is one of the major public issues of the time," ;er said. Inger also said that "doing very significant fundrais- See BOLNGER, Page 2A iBy Michael Grass Daily Staff Reporter ising simulated cases, more then 40 students and faculty members began annual training this weekend for Code of Student Conduct arbi- tration proceedings. Saturday marked the first part of the three- tiered training process, which is scheduled to continue today and later this month. By the end of the month, the partici- pants will be ready to take part in actu- al Code proceedings, said Gwyn *1swit, assistant resolution coordina- tor for the Office of Student Conflict Resolution. A panel of five students or a fac- ulty or staff member decides whether a student violated the Code, the University's internal discipline policy. Student panelists are nominated by their respective student govern- nts and faculty members are her nominated by Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford, by a school or college dean or by the faculty Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, Hulswit said. The College of Literature, Sciences and the Arts has the largest number of Code student panelists with 24 mem- See CODE, Page 7A he respon- sibility for on the 108-year tradition of The Michigan Daily has been passed to new hands, beginning with this issue. We congratulate and thank the graduating senior editors and riters, whose dedication and houghtfulness established the highest standard of journalistic ethics, which we hope to continue. There will be some changes in the pages of the Daily, as always with transitions. We hope you, our readers, will regard them as improvements and enjoy and appreciate each new issue to come. - The editors SARAH SCHENCK/Daily Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mlch.) joins several other politIcians for an annual conference hosted by the American Israel Pubiic Affairs Committee yesterday at Hillel. - POlS ur e sdents to be aCtive By Kelly O'Connor Daily Staff Reporter Lobbyists, politicians and students con- cerned with the future of the state of Israel gathered yesterday for a conference hosted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The all-day conference, "From the Great Lakes to the Dead Sea," drew 150 students from seven colleges and universi- ties in Michigan and featured speakers including U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-Ann Arbor), who both spoke about lobbying in Washington, D.C. The conference began at 9 a.m. with infor- mational sessions to inform participants on aspects of U.S. involvement with Israel. The sessions included Amatzia Baram, a well- known professor in Israel who is visiting Georgetown University this year. After a lunch break, students listened while various political leaders spoke about the importance of student involvement with politics. Levin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, began his talk by asking students to remain strong in their commitment to activism in spite of the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton, which Levin called "extremely dis- couraging and intensely partisan." "Don't let all these events turn you off to the absolute necessity of being involved in public life' Levin said. Rivers lead a discussion about how stu- dent lobbyists can best prepare themselves for what they will face meeting legislators in Washington, D.C. Being prepared and knowing what ques- tions are appropriate in a lobbying session are very important, Rivers said. "There is a tendency to say, 'we give you money.'That is very uncomfortable forthe law- maker," she said."There is an ethical problem." Lobbying is about compromise, Rivers said. "If you're getting someone to agree with you on half your issues - good," she said. "Chalk it up to a victory" When asked to describe a typical dayin the job of a U.S. legislator, Rivers said every day is unique. She added that the impeachment pro-. ceedings occupy much of lawmakers' time. "Impeachment has become the bloody accident on the highway of life and everyone has slowed down to gawk," she said. Levin told the audience a story about an experience that affirmed his belief in the See AIPAC, Page 2A Environmental justice topic Super celebration turns sour of Amb panel discussion Effects ofpollution By Yael Kohen Daily Staff Reporter The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee panel discussion on environmental justice in the Midwest and the Middle East on Saturday highlighted effects of pollution and environmental conflict among nations. The panel discussion was part of a weekend-long confer- ence aimed at increasing student activism among the Arab community and fighting ethnic stereotypes. Experts traveled from all over the country to address sev- eral issues including student activism, issues of identity, women's issues and media stereotypes and discrimination. There is a "need to organize" said Amer Ardati, ADC con- ference coordinator and treasurer, adding that more network- ing must occur between Arab groups across the nation. Speakers on the environmental justice panel addressed the problems in the United States as well as the Middle East. Environmental justice activist Kathryn Savoie spoke about the environmental racism that exists in the United States - not only among Arab-Americans, but other minor- impact relations ity groups as well. Poorer minority neighborhoods tend to have bigger prob- lems with pollution and contamination than wealthier white neighborhoods, Savoie said. "The EPA does a better job" protecting white communities, Savoie said. She cited the fact that fines for polluting in nicer white neighborhoods are higher and therefore corporations are less likely to dump waste there. Adjunct Michigan State University assistant Prof. Rosina Hassoun stressed the importance of water in the Middle East and the problems that arise because of it. Water is "seen as a major issue in the region," Hassoun said, adding a list of common problems associated with water including agriculture, waste disposal, pollution and class struggle. Part of the problem in Israel is the different water systems the Arabs and Israelis use, Hassoun said. Hassoun said there are three schools of thought pertaining to the conflict of water; the first is that water problems are See CONFERENCE, Page 3A Black History Month Black History Month begins today and the University schedules various events and activities to celebrate. NEWS, PAGE 3A She's all that' and then some The teen movie makes a comeback with Rachael Leigh Cook and Freddie Prinze Jr. in 'She's All That.' ARTS, PAGE 5A Second-half collapse The Michigan women's basketball team falls apart in the second half, dropping a 70-46 decision to Wisconsin yesterday. SPORTSMIINDAY, P 1agelB Denver Broncos fans jump through fire on Larimer Street in downtown Denver yesterday as they celebrate the Broncos 3419 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Denver police sprayed tear gas onto rowdy fans following the victory. www. michigan daily. corm - - - ------- ----- I 4