ol'on up The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, January 9, 2001- 7 Sec. of Labor nominatioi brngs rticimo uh AP PHOTO 4vMover Scott Cuccaro works to load a moving van with personal items belonging to President- elect George W. Bush and his family, from the Governor's mansion in Texas. AUSTIN, Texas (AP)-- President-elect had abided Bush stuck by his embattled labor secretary coming. Th nomination yesterday, declaring "I've got dence ofav confidence in Linda Chavez" despite the reve- Knowing lation that she had sheltered and paid an isle- against the gal immigrant in her home. after smug Bush, who said he learned of the case Sun- statutes, no day night, indicated he was not swayed by aliens staya opposition to her confirmation. "I strongly But forI believe that when the Senate gives her a fair money to a hearing, they'll vote for her," he said. she was dri The president-elect faced barrages of ques- controversy tions on the subject on two separate occasions She already yesterday, 12 days before his inauguration. le unions and said of Chavez, "I firmly believe she'll be a ments on su flne secretary of labor." the minimu Democrats promised a vigorous examina- At the st tion of the case. Sen. Edward Kennedy of Zoe Baird's Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the coin- was deraile tnittee considering the Chavez nomination, illegal imm called the new information "very troubling." Chavez w Bush aides were reviewing FBI interviews came to lig with Chavez and the immigrant, Marta Mer- tion in 199 cado, as well as their own discussions with most of the Chavez, to determine whether the nominee ing the Zoc " Amencan to buy TWA ST. LOUIS (AP) - American Airlines reportedly will announce plans this week to buy financially troubled Trans World Airlines Inc., a proposal that would mean the end of TWA, the oldest continuous line in American commercial aviation. Spokesmen for the carriers and other interests involved declined to comment on reports in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal of a complex deal that could clear the way for antitrust approval of United Airlines' pending takeover of US Airways. According to the Post, TWA plans to file for Chapter 1 bankruptcy protection tomorrow, the third time it has done so, as a precursor of the takeover by AMR Corp.'s American Airlines. The takeover would be announced that day. In a brief statement yesterday, TWA said the airline "is always receptive to legitimate business overtures and is open to consideration of business combinations that will be beneficial." But the statement said TWA does not comment on discussions unless an agreement is reached. American spokesman Tim Doke said American also doesn't comment on rumor or speculation. "We are talk- ing to lots of folks about lots of different things all the time," he said. TWA was founded July 13, 1925, as Western Air Express, and merged five years later with Transcontinental Air Transport to form to Transcontinental and Western Air, or TWA. The company changed the name without changing the initials in 1950, when then-owner Howard Hughes made it Trans World Airlines. by the law and had been forth- hey said so far there was no evi- violation. ly housing an illegal immigrant is law, but authorities usually go glers who violate "harboring" it people who let undocumented at their homes. Chavez, providing shelter and Guatemalan women - she said ven by compassion - has added to her quest to win confirmation. was-being strongly criticized by some Democrats for past state- ch issues as affirmative action and in wage. art of the Clinton administration, nomination for attorney general ed because she had employed an igrant as a nanny. as critical of Baird when that case lht. Discussing the Baird nomina- 3, Chavez said on PBS: "I think American people were upset dur- e Baird nomination that she had hired an illegal alien. That was what ypset them more than the fact that she did not pay Social Security taxes" on the nanny's wags. Bush's aides said Chavez helped Mercado for charitable reasons. Chavez told The Wash- ington Post: "If someone came to me needing shelter and needing a helping hand even under the same circumstances, I would try to 1lp them." According to several Bush aides, Chavez told his advisers she did not know Mercado was in the country illegally until the womani had left her home. Mercado said in pubi-hed reports that she tolo Chavez of her illeg.sta- tus three months after moving into her ho141c. "The exact date of that has not been er- mined, at which point she actually did'tow that information," said Ari Fleischer, a Bush transition spokesman. An Immigration and Naturalization official said that if Chavez knew Mercado was uidoc- umented she might well have been in vi'la- tion of the itnmigration law, which caties fines starting at S2,000 per charge. ADMISIONS 'dontinued from Page 1 based on the perception of an undesirable atmos- phere. it is understandable for them to be afraid to come here if, for example, they were to be with gst a few other African Americans in their enter- ing class," Karsh said. Despite the March 1996 U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Holip oodo i State ofTexvas to stop the use of affirmative action at the Univer- sity of Texas at Austin, the university's law shool has still been trying to attract minority students, said Shelli Soto, dean for admissions at the university's law school. "We've been working the past few years since :Hopwood to develop programs and initiatives, that are within our legal constraints, that move ' ward achieving diversity," Soto said. These programs and initiatives include pre-law' ohsitutes at schools that have a high minority enrollment like University of Texas at El Paso and alumni scholarships aimed at minority students. A voter-passed initiative in Washington restricted public institutions, including the Uni- 4zyersity of Washington, fiom using race as a fac- tor in 1998. University of Washington Law School Associ- ate Dean Richard Kemmert said the 1998 initia- tive and others like it hurts public schools in that they loose intelligent and diverse students to pri- vate colleges that use affirmative action. "Before, we were able to admit quite qualified minority students that maybe wouldn't have stacked up numerically to white students, but now that has been completely eliminated," Kem- mert said. But some schools tend to be vague in how race is incorporated into the admissions system. Yale University, ranked No. I in the nation by U.S. News and World Report in 1999, has a 30.6 percent minority enrollment and still uses race as a factor in admissions, said Director of Admis- sions Jean Webb. "We do consider race as one factor in our admissions process," Webb said. "It gives us the freedom to choose the best students for our law school." Each applicant to Yale Law School has to go through a process of "reads": The dean or direc- tor of admissions reads an application first and then two or three faculty members also read the application. Any reader at any stage in the process can include the applicant's race as a fac- tor in his or her decision, Webb said. MEDIA re AP PHOTO This group of wrecked Ford Explorers was shipped to Corpus Christi to be used in a lawsuit against both Ford Motor Co. and Bridgestone/Firestone inc. Ford, xplorer owner settle suit - BABYSITTER NEEDED: For 22 month old boy. Weekend evenings and some days. Flexible hours, good pay. Looking for someone who is eiergetic, enthusiastic, and loves kids. Transportation a pins and 'd~edncs rq. 95-634ask fur Annmarie. 'ABYSITTER/MOTHER'S HELPER needed in home for 1 yr. old & 3 yr. old. 5-10 hrs./wk. Hrs. flexible. 994-9817. Andrea. Babysitter/Nanny needed in my SW Ann Aubor home. 2.5 days/week. Transportation and references required. Call 662-4739. CARE FOR MY CUTE 6 MO. old baby in jpy west side home Wed and Fri mornings. Car required. Good pay. (734) 930-1970. CAPE FOR MY SWEET baby in my Ann C m'op home, 10-15 hrs./wk. Good pay, xible hrs. Infant exp. preferred. Call 662- 6824. CHILD CARE needed in our home. 10-15 hrs/wk. Flex. sched. 1 mile from campus. Please call 761-1306. CHILDCARE NEEDED for infants in oar .home. F'.exible hones and wages. Please call Carolyn at 734-668-0948. NEED HELP caring for twin girls. Flex. 9- 12 hrs/wk., n-smkg., ref req., 734.663.6544. NEEDED- ENERGETIC STUDENT to help 2 young girls with creative activities 2-3 afternoons/wk. Girls are ages 9 and 11, and joy sports, drama, music, dancing, Wioking, crafts, and others. Must have own transportation. References, experience as a nanny pref. $11 per hour. Call 647-7369. RESPONSIBLE, caring person " needed. Work afternoons 8-12 hrs/ week (2:30-6pm) and get paid for 20! 2 boys (5&7), west side of Ann Arbor. Must drive. Dan 669-7606, 663-0152, danschul@umich.edu, dschu@hciasachs.com RESPONSIBLE, RELIABLE, non-smoker, for child care (1 child) on Thursdays 9AM- PM. Westside Ann Arbor. References, car quired. 663-4585 WE ARE LOOKING for a responsible person to provide child care for one child one Bahamas Party Cruise 279 5 Days "Most Meals.-Free Parties "Includes Taxes lJamaica $439 aNightsAir &Hotel"Save$150onFood& Drinks Cancun $399 7NightsAir&Hotel FreeFood &30HoursofDrinks springbreaktravel.com - Our 14th Year! 1-800-678-6386 Spreit Pre k ! Panama City Beach, Florida San~dpiper PeaC60VC ~Sert 1-800-488-8828 www.sandpiperbeacon.com nouce1'.nt Continued from Page 1 "Things have never been this good" in terms of race relations, said Steven Holmes, citing a recent New York Times poll. But, some panel members offered a contradictory view - that there is room for improvement in cov- ering race issues. "I don't think it's an overstatement to say race remains the nation's most vexing problem," Boyd said. The media is accustomed to covering race in the United States in the context of conflict, Boyd said. What began as a genuine battle in the South for civil rights evolved into something much more elusive. Covering race today is "definitely less stressful and consider- ably safer," said public affairs specialist Moses Newson. formerly a reporter for African American Newspapers in Balti- more. Newson recounted how he and two other black reporters and a photog- rapher were "attacked, beaten quite badly" when they attempted to cover the desegregation of Little Rock's Central High School. White newspapers consistently ignored or covered up race issues. "They would not cover race. They would not cover anything outside their zip code," said author and Pulitzer Prize winner David Halberstam. "It drove us crazy." Black newspapers covered the early civil rights movement. "Most black papers lived hard and died young, said Gene Roberts, former managing editor at the New York Times. Roberts added that the average life span of a black paper was nine years. When papers in the North recog- nized the civil rights movement, "change was inevitable," Roberts said. The results were critical to the success of the civil rights movement. The attention brought the movement to America's living rooms in such a way that it could not be ignored, he said. But after the initial explosion, there was no defined battle to cover. "Race as a journalistic story was not quite as sexy," Boyd said. The issues have changed. Wide- spread institutional inequality is no longer the focus of the media or its American audience. Delaney attributed this shift in atti- tude in part to "racial fatigue." Steven Holnes agreed. "The country is tired of black people. I don't think people are tired of Hispanics or Asians," he said. This shift has colored the media's coverage of race in recent years. But the fight is not over, said Wilkins. Black children, he said, are .still being killed - "maybe not 'boom, you're dead' but 'boom, we're not going to educate you."' The pan- elists agreed affirmative action is one of the mtore explosive stories today. Websites on the Internet devoted to race relations are the modern equiva- lent of the South's black newspapers last century, picking up issues that the networks overlook, said Chicago Tri- bune columnist and editorial board member Clarence Page. CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) - A woman paralyzed in a rollover crash of a Ford Explorer with Fire- stone tires reached a settlement yes- terday under which Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone agreed to make public thousands of pages of internal memos and reports. "We're talking about an incredi- ble, locked-up vault of informa- tion," said Mikal Watts, a lawyer for 43-year-old Donna Bailey. "This case will go a long way toward uncovering some of the secrets around these tire failings." Bailey, a former rock climber and weightlifter who was paralyzed from the neck down in a wreck last March, had sued the companies for more than S100 million. Under the settlement, she also received an undisclosed sum of money - "enough to take care of her for the rest of her life," Watts said. The documents prove Ford knew about the rollover problems as early as 1989; that a 1995 Explorer redesign did nothing to stabilize the vehicle's structure; and that Bridgestone/Firestone was long aware of its tire's fail- ings, said Roger Braugh, another lawyer for Bailey. As part of the settlement, the companies also promised to analyze the failings of 300 tires, many of which were not among the 6.5 mil- lion recalled in August, Watts said. Ford has long blamed Firestone tires for at least 200 fatal crashes leading up to the August recall. Bridgestone/Firestone, in turn, ja blamed the Explorer's design. Bridgestone/Firestone spokes- woman Christine Karbowiak said in a statement that the company was pleased to settle because "protract- ed litigation would serve no useful purpose. Bailey was injured after t'he treads peeled off a Firestone tire, causing her friend's Explorer to roll over. 1The tire was not among thcse specified in the recall. Yesterday's settlement does not indicate there were problems with tires that weren't recalled, Kar- bowiak said. Bailey's lawyers believe they have documents that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra- tion never requested from the com- panies. The lawyers said the new analy- sis and release of documents could spur the recall of additional Bridge- stone/Firestone tires, and could prove that defects were more wide- spread than the companies have admitted. "This is defiitely a victory," said Joan Claybrook, president of tOe consumer group Public Citizen. "When they get all this data together, I helieve it's going to show there needs to be a better recall."- Bailey insisted public disclosure be included in the settlement agree- ment, her lawyers said. INTRODUCTORY ZEN meditation course, 5 Thurs. eves. 6:30-8:30, begins Jan. 11. Zen Buddhist Temple. 734/761-6520. ,f year old Friday mornings from 1030 to 1:30. Person should have experience in child x development. $10 per hour. Maybe more roommates hours. Please call after 1:30pm 647-1595. tickets & travel ROOMMATE WANTED for 4 bdrm. appt. 1131 Church Street 663 8979 0 DIRECT! #1 internet based company -oii.s offering WHOLESALE Spring Break packages by eliminating middlemen! ALL Destinations! Guaranteed lowest Pricet 1-800-367-1252 www.springbreakdirect.com s SPRING BREAK- Nassau/ Paradise Island, k Cancun, and Jamaica from $449. Air, Hotel, Transfers, Parties, and More! Organize small group- earn FREE trips plus commissions! C" Call -800-GET-SUN-1