TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 1967
THE MICHIGAN'DAILY
PAGE
TUESDAY. AUGUST 29, 1967 TINE MICHIGAN DAILY PAGE
SGC Seeks Greater Student Influence in
' P olic)
By THOMAS R. COPI
Student power, sit-in bans, non-
student participation, judicial re-
form, new services and new inter-
est highlighted the busiest year in
the history of the Student Gov-
ernment Council.
The beginning of the year was
marked by the apathy which has
always plagued student govern-
ment at the University, but aI
combination of what some have
called "administration errors" and
a student body ripe for protest
culminated in an SGC-guided
sit-in of the administration build-
ing.
The 1500-person sit-in in De-
cember, which highlighted the
abortive "student power" move-
ment, was held in defiance and
in protest of a ban on sit-ins made
by Vice-President for Student Af-
fairs Richard Cutler.
At issue was the role students
should play in decision-making at
the University. Normal procedure
called for Cutler to consult with
SGC before making a rule such
as the sit-in ban, but this was not
done. Affronted by what they
called blatant disregard for stu-
dent opinion, SGC threatened to
break its ties with the Office of
Student Affairs unless the ban
was rescinded.
Combined with the sit-in ban
was the question of what weight
student referendum should have
on University policy-making. A
referendum on the submission of
class ranks to the selective serv-
ice system brought a record 10,-
000 students to the polls in the
November SGC election.
Referendum Results
The results of the referendum
showed that the students were not
in favor of University cooperation
with the SSS. And although Uni-
versity officials had said before
the vote that no such referendum
could be binding, large numbers
of students, led by SGC and Voice
political party, demanded that
the referendum results be incor-.
porated into University policy.
When the OSA refused to sus-
pend the sit-in ban, and reiterated
that the referendum results could
not be binding on the University,
SGC chose to break its ties with
the OSA in order to "better re-
present the students."
Following a massive teach-in at
Hill Auditorium, SGC, which met
several times weekly during the
crisis, came close to backing down
in its demands on the OSA, but
a walkout during a critical meet-
ing left the student governing
body without a quorum, and the
demands stuck.
Student Power
As the "student power" move-
ment broke down into debate as
to just what was meant by 'stu-
dent power", final exams splashed
cold water on the movement, and
as the semester drew to a close,
SGC voted to accept University
President Harlan Hatcher's pro-
posal of appointing commissions
to study the issues in question -
student participation in decision-
making at the University and the
compilation of class ranks.
In another issue, SGC ruled
early in the year that student or-
ganizations did not have to sub-
mit membership lists to SGC as
had been the practice. This deci-
sion was made in the wake of the
University's decision in August to
comply with, a request from the
House Un-American Activities
Committee, to submit membership
lists of several student organiza-
tions. Although Cutler asked SGC
to reconsider the membership rule
change, saying that having no
membership lists might foster
"clandestine" organizations, SGC
passed the new rule, and Cutler
agreed to let it go into effect.
Non-Student Participation
And in action taken during the
winter trimester, SOC opened the
doors for non-student participa-
tion in "student" organizations.
The SGC ruling, opposed by even
a few of the Regents, said that
non-students could actively par-
ticipate and even hold office in
student organizations.
But the question of non-student
participation will be submitted to
the student body in a referendum
to be held during the regular SGC
election in the fall.
Complaints about the role SGC
had played in the student power
movement, and the recurring
complaint that SGC is not repre-
sentative of the students, led to
debate during the SGC campaign
in the Spring as to the best struc-
ture for student government at
the University.
Some of the candidates suggest-
ed a return to the student legis-
lature formi of government that
preceded SGC's formation in 1955,
while others simply wanted to
stay with the current structure.
In the end, the candidates who,
were elected decided to wait and;
see what recommendations the
President's Commission on the
Role of the Student in Decision-
Making would have on this topic.
So once again, SGC finds itself
in a state of flux, unsure of its
role in the University, unsure of
what functions it can and should
carry out.
Meanwhile, by its own decision,
SGC has separated itself from the
OSA; thus seemingly cutting it-
self off from its only source of
revenue. But SGC has applied to
the OSA for money to continue
its operations. In fact, SGC asked
for over $50,000-twice as much
as it received last year. Since SGC
officers admit that there isn't
much chance they will get that
amount, they are talking in terms
of totally separating themselves
from the OSA and getting their
funds directly from the students
during registration periods.
Again, it remains to be seen,
what will actually happen in this
area.
Among the services and activi-
ties SGC wants to fund with its
increased budget are:
0 Student endowed chair in an
area which students would choose
each year. Much of the budget
increase SGC seeks would go to
finance this new plan.
0 Draft counseling service, to
advise male students on the vari-
ous possibilities for service in the
different branches of the armed
forces, conscientious objection
and student deferments. This is
also a new service which SGC
hopes to be able to provide, if it
can get the necessary funds.
O Expansion of the present le-
gal aid service from four to 12
hours per week. There has been
an increasing demand for this
low-cost legal service, and SGOC
feels that the demand warrants
an expansion of the service.
* Increased support of the
Student Housing Association, an
SGC group doing research in the
area of student housing in Ann
Arbor. Part of the SHA's increas-
ed budget would go to pay for the
use of the facilities of the Insti-
tute for Social Research.
RESIDENCE HALL GOVERNMENT:
IHA Coordinates Dorm Activities
SGC President Bruce Kahn Urges Complete Structural Reorganization
MI
SUB
S
7
CRIBE
64-055
NOW
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By JENNY STILLER
Inter - House Assembly, dedi-
cated to making life in University
residence halls as enjoyable as
possible, is one organizationmthat
all freshmen belong to from the
moment they arrive on campus.
Formed in February, 1966, from
the merger of Inter-Quad Council
and Assembly Association, IHA
coordinates dorm activities and
provides an outlet for students
to express their views on various
aspects of residence hall living.
One of its major functions'is to
help inform incoming freshmen
on campus activities.
"IHA provides reinforcement
for students," explains Stephen
Brown, president of the organiza-
tion. "When we present the case
of all the students who live in
University housing, it carriesI
much more weight than the opin-
ion of just a few houses or halls."
One positive action during
IHA's first year was to survey
women students as to their opin-
ions towards eliminating sopho-
more hours. As a result of work in
this area by IHC, Panhel, and
SGC, sophomore hours have been
dropped this year on a trial basis.
This year Brown hopes to
"liberalize guest visitation rules to
bring them in tune with modern
times." He will also try to estab-
lish a uniform dress code for the
dorms.
"We hope to be making our
own rules in as many areas of
dorm life as possible," he adds.
"IHA wants to increase student
power through added student re-
sponsibility."
Based in part on the concept
that dorms should contribute
more actively to the intellectual
and academic lives of residents,
IHA encourages faculty members
to speak at the various houses.
This year something new will be
added-faculty members in resi-
dence at Gomberg and Hunt
Houses in South Quad.
IHA also coordinates social ac-
tivities between the residence
halls. One such program, the
"brother-sister" relationship be-
tween Allen-Rumsey and Palmer
houses may be expanded. Orien-
tation programs in this line con-
sist chiefly of inter-house mixers,
while the IHA Spring Formal
highlights later events.
The coordination program is
aimed at eliminating the dispari-
ties among the degree of activity
present at the house level. Some
houses have a fairly active "house
spirit," while residents of others
"couldn't care less" about what
their houses do. IHA hopes to in-
crease spirit on both the house
and quad level.
"This year's opening of Baits
housing to underclassmen will
provide IHA with a great chal-
lenge," Brown predicts. "Inter-
house coordination will be more
difficult than ever with many
s t u d e n ts, especially freshmen,
commuting to classes from North
Campus."
Brown also hopes for more stu-
dent control in the selection of
dorm staff personnel.E
"We have already arranged for
a system of staff evaluations by
students," he explains. "Now I'd
like to see students become part
of the decision-making processes
for interviewing prospective staff
members."
Second only to SGC in size, IHA
membership includes all dorm
residents. Its operating funds are
drawn from the 50-cent dues each
member pays as part of his house
dues.
As outlined in its constitution,
IHA has a government divided
into two parts, with the smaller
subordinate to the larger. They
are:
0 A presidents' council com-
posed of 55 members. Normally,
the president of a house is the
house's representative on council.
However, in cases where the size
of the house is much larger, or
smaller than average, representa-
tion on council is enlarged or de-
creased. For example, Couzens
and Stockwell halls each have two
people on the presidents' council,
and Oxford housing has three,
one from each of the three types
of housing. In addition to these
house representatives, the IHA
president and other IHA execu-
tive members are also on the
council.
" An executive board. com-
posed of 12 members, containing
all the executive members of IRA.
The IHA president and executive
vice-president are elected by the
presidents' council and these two
then appoint the other board
members.
The presidents' council acts as
the legislative branch of IRA. It
is here that all new policies are
originated and coordinated.
The executive board acts in an
administrative capacity, running
the every-day operation of the or-
ganization and submitting mat-
ters to the presidents' council for
consideration.
Providing a united font to the
administration for students who
wish to improve all factors of
dorifitory living, IHA is dedicated
to helping its membership - the
dorm population -improve their
living conditions in the University
residence halls.
T MICHIGAN DAILY NEEDS
YOU!-JOIN THE STAFF TODAY
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