wkgn AW ""a"nr Today: Cloudy. High 41. Low 16. Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy. High 48. Low 26. One hundred eight year of editori freedom Tuesday February 23, 1999 J )(Dj$" The MChjgA$j Daily 'A question of life or death *Experts give media coverage failing grade "- - By Kelly O'Connor Daily Staff Reporter Intense emotional discussion filled the Michigan Union Ballroom yester- ey as nationally renowned journalists d experts gathered before a crowd of hundreds to debate media coverage of assisted suicide. The responsive audience left few seats empty as they listened to more than four hours of speeches, debates and panel members' accounts of how the issue has affected their lives. The conference, "Covering Assisted Death: The Press, the Law and Public Policy," opened with eynote speaker Arthur Caplan of the niversity of Pennsylvania relaying the findings of his recent study, which analyzed the way the media has por- trayed the assisted suicide issue. Caplan said about 50 percent of the S,400 media stories following the CBS show "60 Minutes" broadcast of a videotape showing an assisted suicide referred to the death as a crime - instead of a suicide or voluntary death. aplan said this is evidence of incom- plete coverage. "If I had to give a grade to the media for its coverage of the different sides of the assisted suicide issue, it would be near failing," Caplan said. Betty Rollin, NBC News correspon- dent, said she agreed with Caplan's negative view of media coverage. "The media has failed to make a clear difference between people wh6 are for assisted suicide and people who are for Dr. Kevorkian," Rollin said. She also spoke about Oregon legisla- tion allowing doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication to terminally ill patients wishing to die. Although some opponents of the law feared it would trigger an overwhelming amount of requests for the drug, this has not occurred, she said. "Opponents said you legalize this and you're going to have a stampede to Oregon," she said. "None of that happened." Mike Wallace, senior correspondent for "60 Minutes," told the audience about how he obtained the videotape of the assisted suicide from former doctor Jack Kevorkian and the process of deciding whether to televise the tape. After viewing it with colleagues, he said, there was no question in their minds that it should be broadcasted. See PANEL, Page 5 Contract talks still st...allIed By Nick Faizono Daily Staff Reporter The Graduate Employees Organization and the University returned yesterday to discussing one of the most integral issues in the past four months of contract negotiations - wages. One day before members will decide whether to act on a recent strike authorization vote, GEO is requesting a 9 per- cent wage increase in graduate student instructors' monthly salary. The University is offering GEO a 2.5 percent guaran- teed increase in wages or the equivalent of the faculty's annu- al salary increase. The University is also offering GEO a recalculation of the amount of hours GSIs work. Under this plan, all GSIs with appointments of .4 - those who work approximately 40 per- cent of the hours of a full-time faculty member - would move up to an appointment of .5. But GEO Chief Negotiator Eric Odier-Fink said this recal- culation is meaningless to GEO since it does not offer GSIs a wage increase. "They're just asking us to do more work for more hours," Odier-Fink said. He added that the recalculation does not even affect the majority of GEO's membership, making it even less useful to the organization. University Chief Negotiator Dan Gamble agreed that the University's proposal was not designed to affect GEO's entire membership -just those with a .4 appointment. "Our goal was to increase the .4s to a living wage," Gamble said. "There isn't enough money allotted to us to give this to (GSIs with) .05 or .10. The money is best spent on the .4s." Gamble added that the University is still concerned with See GEO, Page 7 KELLY MCKINNELL/Daily Members of Not Dead Yet, an anti-assisted suicide organization, listen as a panel speaker delivers his views on the issue in the Michigan Union Ballroom yesterday. Day to defend ative action By YaelKohen Daily Staff Reporter Colleges across the nation plan to participate in the second annual Student and Youth National Day of Action in Defense of Affirmative Action tomor- row. This will be the "first year of a nationally-coordinated movement," said Caroline Wong, a member of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary. Scheduled events include a rally on the Diag at noon and various lectures on campus. Last year, the movement included only two colleges in addition to the University branches of the University of Texas and the University of California system. Since last year, BAMN members said they have seen growth and change in the movement to defend affirmative action. "The amount of response and level of national consciousness has risen tremendously," Wong said. The University of Washington, which came under attack for its affirmative action in admissions policies in 1997, plans to participate in this year's Day of Action. "We're taking the 24th (of February) to celebrate and com- memorate all the good things affir- mative action has done in the past," said Tyson Marsh, an associate stu- dent member of the University of Washington Board of Control. The Day of Action movement was organized through the University's BAMN chapter, Wong said, adding that BAMN members who sent e-mails to schools across the country encour- aging them to participate in the National Day of Action received many responses. It's important that there is a whole day devoted to the fight to defend affirmative action rather than just See DAY, Page 2 MARGARET MYERS/Daily Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger performs last night at the Palace of Auburn Hills In front of a nearly sold out crowd. Aibright urges tesolution to talks Author shares views on death penalty ® "Dead Man Walking" author speaks about her experiences, which inspired an award-winning movie By Robert Gold For the Daily Speaking before an audience that filled nearly two-thirds of Rackham Auditorium, Sister Helen Prejean, author of "Dead Man Walking," shared her experiences yesterday deal- ing with death row inmates and families of victims. Prejean opened her two-hour talk by discussing the need to take an in-depth look at the controversial issue of capital punishment before making a decision. Explaining her views through personal stories, she said people would not support the death penalty after learning more about it. "You can't see it, but next to me is a bag of stories, "said Prejean, whose book inspired the award-winning movie by the same name. "I travel across the country and tell stories. That's what.I do." Prejean dedicated most of her talk to discussing her expe- riences with death row inmates - specifically Matthew Poncelot, who was portrayed in the film. Her story started, Prejean said, when she had naively volunteered to write to a death row inmate in the early '80s. "I never dreamed I was about to have a passport into a strange country,' Prejean said. She said she felt the same way most people might feel about prisoners. "In the back of my mind was 'prisoner-death row inmate - not human," Prejean said. But during the next two and half years, Prejean said, she Day of Action Events 10 a.m. - "The Ballot Threat, the Movement & the National Situation, Union Pond Room. 12 a.m. - Rally on the Diag 2 p.m. - "Affirmative Action and the Law," Hutchins Hall 3 p.m. - "Sexual Harassment and Racism on Campus," Union Room 2105 B. 6:30 p.m. - "Affirmative Action and Education,"Hutchins Hall Tenure committee proposes revision By Nick Falzone Daily Staff Reporter After spending more than two years reviewing current University tenure policies, the faculty's tenure commit- tee proposed a revised edition of the University's policy to the faculty's governing body yesterday, calling for the addition of an appeals process for tenure candidates. Tenure Committee Chair Charles Garvin, a Social Work professor, told members of the Senate Advisory Committee for University Affairs that one of the primary rea- sons his team revised the current policy was to increase a candidate's involvement in the tenure attainment process. Garvin said candidates currently have little involvement in the process. "We don't want the (non-tenure track) faculty member to just send in their dossier at the beginning and look for their name in the newspaper at the end," Garvin said. "We want them to have input and feedback every step of the way.' But many SACUA members said they believe the revision would give a tenuire candidate too much power. Los Angeles Times RAMBOUILLET, France - In more than two hours of intensive talks Sunday, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright urged ethnic Albanians to withdraw their remaining reserva- tions about an autonomy plan for sovo, in effect clearing the way for TO air strikes on recalcitrant Serbs. Albright said the Albanian negotia- tors are "working very hard and are moving toward a yes" on the peace plan that was drafted for the separatist Serbian province by the United States accept the proposal and the Serbs reject it, NATO is prepared to launch a bombing campaign against Serbia. But if the Albanians also reject the peace plan, bombing would be impos- sible. Albright told reporters gathered in a drizzle outside the Rambouillet City Hall that the Serbian government has not relaxed its opposition to a NATO- led force to police the agreement. The Serbs said Saturday that they had accepted the political aspects of the accord. Albright, who also met for a little JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily Sister Helen Prejean, author of "Dead Man Walking,"signs a copy of her book after her speech at Rackham Auditorium yesterday. tims, Prejean said she experienced feelings of extreme out- rage and guilt. "When we feel outrage, it is hard to remember the princi- ple," Prejean said. "At this point, I was hanging on to this principle by my fingernails." After the speech, Prejean said she still struggles with her feelings on the subject. "Whenever I am in the presence of victims' families, I experience great guilt," Prejean said. "I always sort it through; I still go through it." Despite the emotional and controversial aspects of Prejean's discussion, many audience members repeatedly broke into laughter when she gave more light-hearted anec- dotes. At the Pnd oA 'f he~r talk, the auiepnce gavePrejen a stand-