Week in Brief

JULIA TIERNAN/YH KERRY-ING THE TORCH: On Mon., Apr. 19, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), JE '66, a Vietnam veteran, defended the U.S.'s involvement in Kosovo in a speech to the Yale Political Union.

 
Yale profs debate Kosovo policy

Yale professors weighed in on the conflict in Kosovo at "Perspectives on the Kosovo Crisis," a panel sponsored by the International Affairs Council at Yale on Thurs., Apr. 22.

The panel's six participants were Political Science Professors Charles Hill, Bradford Westerfield, Pauline Jones-Luong, and Allan Stam; Yale Law Professor Ruth Wedgewood; and Derek Boothby, a United Nations Studies fellow.

Hill, Westerfield, and Stam criticized the U.S. for failing to develop a coherent military plan to address the complexity of the Kosovo crisis. They questioned whether air strikes alone will have an effect on the policies of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

While Hill and Westerfield supported the introduction of ground forces into Kosovo, Jones-Luong opposed such an action, asserting that it would exacerbate already-strained U.S.-Russia relations. "For the first time, the Russian political elite and the Russian people are agreeing: they are decidedly anti-American," she said.

--Kate Feather

Yale union pushes for safety protections

Local 34 union representatives and workers are pressing Yale to implement recommendations for workplace safety proposed by a University task force four years ago. The push stems in part from a lawsuit filed on Thurs., Feb. 17, by Linda Morrissey, an administrative assistant at the Yale School of Medicine who claims her supervisors failed to protect her from a co-worker who verbally threatened her on Mon., Jan. 18.

The original safety report was drawn up in October of 1995. It recommended new training, the distribution of printed materials, and the creation of a committee for preventing workplace violence.

According to Yale Director of Labor Relations Brian Tunney, the University is currently involved in negotiations with union representatives and is considering implementing certain sections of the 1995 report by the end of next year.

--Fabián E. Rosado

YHHAP awareness week has fewer panels

Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project (YHHAP) held its semesterly awareness week from Mon., Apr. 19, to Fri.,
Apr. 23. The events, however, included fewer panels and raised less money than last semester's fast.

The week kicked off with the traditional YHHAP "fast," wherein students donate the price of a day's meals to YHHAP, which distributes the funds to local and national causes. According to YHHAP organizer Rebecca Silber, SM '01, about 20 percent of the student body participated in the fast, raising about $10,000, two to three thousand dollars less than last semester.

The week's two panels focused on the current famine in North Korea and the issues surrounding suburban sprawl.

Silber thought the week achieved its goal of raising awareness about issues of hunger and homeless. Fast participant Denise Wong, JE '02, agreed. "Hunger and home-lessness are serious problems in New Haven," Wong said. "Awareness week was a great way to connect with the New Haven community."

--Jane Gao

176 laid off at Starter Corp. in New Haven

Since the New Haven-based Starter Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Mon, Apr. 19, 176 city employees have lost their jobs with the sporting apparel company. At Starter headquarters on James Street, former employees carried their belongings to the parking lot and some hugged in the parking lot. The company, whose stock devalued 50 percent this year, had been moving toward financial demise for some time. "I've seen a lot of people laid off, especially in the last year or so," former employee Michelle Dayton said. "A lot of us had seen our close friends laid off."

"We're understandably disappointed," Michael Kuczkowski, spokesperson for Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., said. "It's obviously a function of the economics beyond the borders of New Haven." The mayor's office pledged to help the laid-off workers with job training. He said he remains optimistic about the city's job market, citing the planned Long Wharf mall as one potential source of jobs.

--Sarah Donaldson

YCC elections marked by low turnout

JULIA TIERNAN/YH YCC President-elect Jamie Ponsoldt, MC '01.

Yalies expressed an overall lack of interest in last week's Yale College Council (YCC) elections: only 33 percent of the student body voted, and most of those elected only won by small margins.

In the presidential race, Jamie Ponsoldt, MC '01, received 653 votes (36 percent of the total vote). Josh Kaplowitz, ES '00, Ponsoldt's only official opponent, received 493 (27.2 percent). Write-in candidates took in 458 votes (25.3 percent).

Other tight races included secretary, treasurer, and UOFC chair. Laura McGevna, ES '01, was elected secretary, defeating Stephanie Schmid, TC '02, 27.9 to 22.3 percent. Libby Smiley, JE '02, was elected treasurer with 40.3 percent of the vote, over Yanev Suissa's, CC '02, 29.6. Jennifer Lee, PC '01, won UOFC chair with 41.1 percent over Mukul Bakhshi, JE '02, who received 29.5.

Addisu Demissie, DC '01, received the only clear mandate. Demissie was elected vice president with 1007, or 55.5 percent, of the votes. His opponent Anthony Quackenbush, BR '02, captured 322 votes (17.8 percent).

The new officers see the election results as a sign that the YCC should be more open to student feedback. "I think that we need to change the image of student government so people feel they have more of a say in what needs to be done," Smiley said.

--Marissa Leung

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