Wednesday, March 28. 2001
Nation/World
Section A · Page 7
Crashed U.S. fighters identified in Scotland
The Associated Press
LONDON — Search teams found a body and the wreckage of an F-15 jet near a mountaintop in the Scottish Highlands where two U.S. fighter planes disappeared, the Royal Air Force said yesterday.
The aircraft — each with one pilot on board — disappeared 45 minutes after taking off Monday from Lakenheath air base, 75 miles northeast of London.
The U.S. Air Force at Lakenheath identified the missing men as Lt. Col. Kenneth Hyvonen and Capt. Kirk Jones. There was no immediate indication of their ages or home states.
British and American military aircraft, plus police, air force and civilian rescue teams, carried out a search in deteriorating weather Monday and from first light yesterday.
F-15 wreckage and one body were spotted yesterday near the summit of 4,296-foot Ben Macdhui, the tallest peak in the Cairngorms, which rise in the central Highlands of Scotland and are Britain's highest mountain range.
The F-15 accident and the crash Monday of a U.S. Army reconnaissance plane in Germany that killed two pilots are the latest in a string of American military accidents in recent weeks.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley said recent fatal U.S. military accidents did not necessarily mean there was a problem with force readiness.
"They're not all the same type of airplane. They're not all in the same part of the world. They're not all doing the same sort of mission. It's very diverse." Quigley told a Pentagon briefing.
The crashed reconnaissance plane, a twin-propeller Army RC-12 used to locate radar and electronic communications, went down in a forest near Nuremberg, Germany.
Fatal training accidents are by no means rare. On March 3, an Army C-23 Sherpa crashed in Georgia, killing all 21 people on board. On March 12, five American servicemen and one New Zealand army officer were killed when a U.S. Navy F/A-18 mistakenly hit them with bombs during training in Kuwait.
On Feb. 12, two Army Black Hawk helicopters collided during a nighttime training session in Hawaii, killing six soldiers.
Statistics show U.S. military aviation has become safer in recent years. For the fiscal year ended last Sept. 30, the military aviation accident rate was 1.23 per 100,000 flight hours, the lowest ever recorded.
Judge: race in admissions wrong
Michigan law school plans to appeal ruling
The Associated Press
DETROIT — Dealing another setback to affirmative action, a federal judge ruled yesterday the use of race in admissions at the University of Michigan law school was unconstitutional.
U. S. District Judge Bernard Friedman, in a case closely watched by educators across the country, acknowledged there was a "long and tragic history of race discrimination in this country."
But he said the law school's goal of achieving a racially diverse student body was not a compelling state interest — and even if it were, the school had not narrowly tailored its use of race to achieve the goal.
"Whatever solution the law school elects to pursue it must be race-neutral," the judge said. "The focus must be upon the merit of individual applicants, not upon characteristics of racial groups."
The ruling conflicts with another federal judge's decision upholding a similar admissions policy used for University of Michigan undergraduates. The two cases could ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The university said it would appeal Friedman's ruling immediately.
"His ruling overturns over 20 years of settled law and the practices of virtually every selective college and university in the country," said Liz Berry, associate vice president and deputy general counsel. "But we are confident that we will prevail because of the overwhelming evidence that diversity is critical to education."
The ruling was praised by the Center for Individual Rights, the conservative legal group that brought both Michigan lawsuits.
Given the millions of dollars spent by the university to defend its position, the ruling is "a huge shot across the bow for the entire higher education community." said Terence Pell, the organization's chief executive.
Affirmative action has been abandoned by public universities in Florida, Texas and California, and the use of race and gender in awarding public contracts has also come under strong legal attack around the country.
The Michigan law school case was brought on behalf of Barbara Grutter, who said she was unfairly denied admission in 1997 because minorities with lower grades and test scores got preferential treatment.
The law school adopted its affirmative action policy in 1992. It relies first on an applicant's grades and exam scores. But it also gives consideration to applicants who have lower scores but
ON THE NET
University of Michigan lawsuit:
University of Michigan lawsuit:
http://www.umich.edu/~urel/ad
Center for Individual Rights:
http://www.cir-USA.org
"may help achieve that diversity which has the potential to enrich everyone's education."
The university argued the law school's policies complied with a 1978 Supreme Court's decision which allowed consideration of race in admissions but outlawed racial quotas.
Miranda Massie, an attorney for a group of students who intervened on the university's side, said Friedman's ruling would intensify racial inequalities.
"We don't need any institutions in this society to be reserved for white people alone," she said. "If this decision is sustained, that would be its impact."
In the undergraduate admissions case, U.S. District Judge Patrick Duggan affirmed Michigan's standards in December, saying they were a constitutional way to achieve diversity. That case was brought on behalf of two whites denied admission.
The Michigan cases appear ultimately headed to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. If federal appeals courts come to conflicting conclusions, the Supreme Court may feel compelled to sort it all out.
Graduation Announcements
Order Now!
1-800-433-0296
or order online:
www.CBgrad.com
Keyword: Kansas
Kansas &
Burge Unions
864-4640
6th and Michigan
Now Leasing for Summer and Fall
841-PLAY
1029 Massachusetts
- 1, 2 and 3 bdrms •
•water/trash paid •
•washer/dryer •
•on KU bus route •
covered parking avail.
841-4935
or visit us at masterplanmanagement.com
$850 1st Prize
$350 2nd Prize
Undergraduate & Graduate Divisions
DEADLINE: April 2nd, 5:00 P.M. For Rules and Details, contact:
Jeff Bullington
864-8994
jbullington@ukans.edu
Sarah Goodwin Thiel
864-2299
sgthiel@ukans.edu
Angela Rathmel
864-8834
aroads@ukans.edu
@ THE GRANADA PH:842-1390 CHECK OUT pipelineproductions.com FOR DETAILS
www.anfz.com
Ballroom Kansas Union
Student Alumni Association, and a
grant from the City of Lawrence
Discover the Difference
$5 OFF
Any service with minimum $20.00 purchase
841-6886 Holiday Plaza 25th & Iowa
Coupon #8
Expires 4/04/01