PARSONS SUSPENSION: A CALL TO ACTION See Editorial Page Yl r e Sir iAau Iaitj SLIGHTLY HAZY 11igh-35 Low-27 Increasingly cloudy, warmer. *VoI. LXXX, No. 131 Ann Arbor, Michigan-Thursday, March 12, 1970 Ten Cents Twelve Pages h. Parsons. case renews dispute over. discipline By ROBERT KRAFTOWITZ Daily News Analysis The issue of rule enforcement and discipline within the Univer- sity community, a spasmodic focus of student power advocates for the past four years, has, this week, once again been brought to the fore: In two successive days, a college administrator and a group of stu- dents assembled as a court, took contradictory actions in a case in- volving a student alleged to have struck a faculty member. Each considers its action to be valid. The administrator, literary col- lege Dean William Hays, summar- ily suspended the student, Robert Parsons, '70, pending action by the administrative board on the charge. The group of students, Central Judiciary (CSJ), "ordered" Hays to lift the suspension, maintaining that it had sole jurisdiction over the case. The conflict is merely a micro- cosm of a larger issue involving objections by student leaders to the faculty's authority, delegated by the Regents, to handle all forms of student discipline. The students demand that this au- thority be removed-at least with respect to so-called non-academic cases, such as disruption or acts of violence. And with the dispute over the proposed Regents bylaws concern- ing the student role in decision and rule-making swiftly approach- ing a climax, the actions by Hays and CSJ take on a particular sig- nificance. The bylaws, which were pro- posed by Senate Assembly, the faculty representative body, and S t u d e n t Government Council, would grant the power to adjudi- cate non-academic cases involving students to courts composed solely of students. Although the Regents have yet to release their own draft of these bylaws, the executive officers-the vice presidents and President Rob- ben Fleming-have expressed con- siderable doubts about the pro- posal., Until the bylaws are adopted, the nature of the University's ju-; dicial system will remain largely unclear. The Regents have never officially recognized the existence of CSJ, much less its right to jurisdiction over non-academic cases involving students. However, in the past year, the administration has for- warded several cases of student disruption to the court. Although this would imply tacit recognition of CSJ's authority, the authority officially exists only when the administration or the faculty choose to route the cases to CSJ. And, following each of the dis- ruptions which have taken place here since last fall. Fleming and other executive officers have as- serted that the cases could just as easily be taken to civil courts and to the governing faculties of the schools and colleges. As long as the administration and the faculty share this view, the regental delegation of sole jurisdiction in non-academic cases to student courts remains unlikely. In such a situation, student leaders express concern that the actions taken by SGC over the past four years in an effort to assume control of non-academic rule making and adjudication will be negated. These actions, all of which have never been recognized by the Re- gents, and are therefore techni- cally of no effect, began in No- vember, 1966. At that time, the judicial sys- tem at the University revolved around Joint Judiciary Council (JJC), a group composed entirely of students. While JJC had appel- late authority in all non-academic cases, their action was subject to reversal by the Subcommittee on Standards and Conduct, a group composed of three faculty- mem- bers and two students. In addi- tion, the president of the Univer- sity has always retained the power to reverse a verdict by a Univer- sity judiciary body. The extent of the faculty's jur- isdiction was still unclear. While the faculty was specifically em- powered to hear appeals of sus- pensions and expulsions ordered by JJC, is was loathe to accept the original responsibility of discip- lining students for non-academic offenses. This was made clear in Decem- ber, 1967, when the literary col- lege administrative board declined to involve itself- in the case of a student who participated in a pro- test against a visiting navy ad- miral. The board said it was still unsure of its proper role in "such disciplinary matters." Meanwhile, in April, 1967, JJC announced it would, from then on, only hear cases involving vio- lations of rules made by students. In December, SGC began adopt- ing major changes in its "Council Plan". None of the considerable changes made since then have been officially recognized by the Regents, however. Among the first amendments, was the adoption of a student "Bill of Rights." Among other things, the Bill of Rights asserted that students, have the right "in all non-academic cases, to be orig- inally judged only by a judiciary drawn from and responsible to a democratic constituency to which they belong."-in "other words, a judiciary comprised of students. In early 1968, SGC amended the constitution governing JJC to al- low future amendments of the JJC constitution to be passed without the approval of the vice president for student affairs. In spring, 1968, an ad hoc com- mittee composed of students, faculty members, and an adminis- trator began meeting to draft See DISPUTE, Page 7 Over By DAVE CHUDWIN A call for commitment, change and action to "Give Earth a Chance", was the theme last night as over 13,- 000 people attended the kick- off rally for the University's teach-in on the environment. "We canndt defer for long a confrontation with the real debt that we owe to nature-the total reorganization of our system of productivity to make it compatible with the ecosystem," ecologist Barry Commoner told the mam- moth crowd that filled Crisler Arena. q4 Commoner, along with Sen. Gaylord Nelson, geneticist James Shapiro, Gov. William Milliken, actor Arthur Godfrey and Univer- sity President Robben Fleming, emphasized the urgency of en- vironmental problems and the need for a sustained effort to solve them. "The important fact is that we're sitting on a delayed-action bomb and we had better defuse it as quick as we can," Milliken said. "Our responsibility is not just to save our own skins but to have humanity." M Despite wide agreement that en- vironmental problems exist, the peaceful rally was not without dis- sension. Many of the speakers were heckled by audience members and criticized in a fake program produced by Students for a Dem- ocratic Society, which also organ- A.ized a card section. "If any good is to come of meet- ings like this, it's going to take sustained interest and changes in our national life," said Fleming, who opened the event and acted as master of ceremonies. Milliken, agreeing with Fleming, said that the fight to preserve the environment cannot be won by government alone. Milliken pled- ged, however, that the state would live up to its responsibilities in dealing with the issue. "People must be our first con- cern," Milliken said, no matter what the effects on business or the economy. Noting student concern with en- vironmental problems, Milliken proposed a "clean earth corps" to help students work on action pro- jects in their own communities for a semester or term with mini- mal pay. Milliken said he would ask the Legislature to appropriate enough money to fund such a project on a pilot basis this summer. In an unexpected addition to the program, Ed Fabre, L'71, a member of the Black Action Move- See 13,000, Page 7 13,000 attend i k-off on environment ~*w LSA * 7C * * discipline maintained; set protest, today -Daily-Jim Diehi SEN. GAYLORD NELSON (D-Wis) speaks at the ENACT "kick- off" rally yesterday Nelson said population must be controlled to solve the environment crisis. -Daily-Randy Edmonds STUDENTS dump non-returnable cans on the front lawn of Coca-Cola's local bottling plant as part of ENACT's demonstra- tions yesterday. A ver By STEVE KOPPMAN "The streets don't belong to the cars-the streets belong to the people!" A blue and white '59 Ford sedan was hacked to death on the Diag yesterday afternoon-fifty miles from the city that Henry Ford made into the birthplace and cen- ter of the American auto industry. Before the execution, however, the car had been tried and found guilty. And later in the afternoon, some 200 people created a sea of non- returnable cans in the front lawn of Coca-Cola's local bottling plant. Both demonstrations were part of the ENACT teach-in which began yesterday. On the diag, people stomped for an hour on the car's engine, [li*et: Cars are guilty' SDS plans protest of Atlantic Richfield Co. smashed its heavy steel body, and turned it over several times. "Dr. Sigmund Ford" testified on behalf of the car at the mock trial which proceeded the execu- tion. "The automobile is essential to the maintenance of the Ameri- can's psyche!" he declared. "You can't take it away from him! How else could he know his power and virility? How can we show our neighbors we're stronger and more powerful than they are without a Lincoln Continental?" Judge Andy Feeney didn't think much of the case against the auto either. But then, he didn't get to see much of the trial - most of the time, his eyes were fixed on a new copy of Auto Racing. But the 'people' paid the court no heed. When the judge ruled that a dozen defendants were guilty of conspiring against the car, they attacked him and turned the trial over to the thousand or so students gathered in front of the Graduate Library. They found the "four-wheeled monstrosity" guilty of murder of the. American public, crossing state lines to pollute, inciting traf- fic jams, creating physical and psychological dependence, and dis- criminating against the poor.' The crowd seemed unconvinced, when "Rob Rockyfeller," con- nected with a "major founda- tion" declared that detailed test- ing had revealed auto exhaust was only half as poisonous as aspirin. Besides, he said, if nitrates do damage the lakes, so much the better-they can be turned hfto farmland to feed the starving multitudes. When first informed of the dem- onstration, a Coca-cola employe said, "We don't want the cans." it soon became apparent the demonstrators did not want them either. " An ENACT spokesman told Coca-Cola employes who left the building to view the deluge that the company, as the largest bev- erage manufacturer in America, should take the lead in ending the production of non-returnable cans and containers. Non-returnable cans, the dem- onstrators argued, are extremely damaging to the environment- each time a person has a soft drink, they noted, he discards a can, which is then added to the refuse which has to be disposed of, and which slowly eats away at streams, land and air., Returnable deposit bottles, on the other hand, can be reused, lessening the amount of refuse produced, they said. Coca-Cola, the ENACT spokesman charged, was in fact phasing out its own returnable bottles. "We sell what the people want!" responded a Coke employe. One plant official claimed the company was already operating a plant which bought back non-returnable cans, and melted them down for aluminum. After dumping the cans and discussing the issue, most of the demonstrators stayed to clean up. The frowns on the faces of bot- tling company employes turned to amused smiles as the protesters placed the cans in large garbage bins. A policeman on the scene said he had no plans for any arrests or charges resulting from the inci- dent. An ENACT spokesman suggested that students start weekly i e- turns of non-returnable cans to local stores and supermarkets which don't give customers the alternative between returnable and non-returnable containers. By MARTIN HIRSCHMAN Editor and LARRY LEMPERT Plans for a noon Diag rally today followed by a de- monstration in LSA D e a n William Hays' office were soli- dified yesterday after a meet- ing between students and the literary college executive com- mittee. After a two-hour discussion with an ad hoc delegation of students headed by Student Government Council President Marty Mc- Laughlin, the board decided in closed session that it would not revoke the summary suspension of SDS member Robert T.- Parsons. Hays ordered Parsons summarily suspended last week for allegedly striking engineering Prof. John Young during a demonstration against General Electric Co. re- cruiters at the engineering place- ment office Feb. 18. Parsons denies the charge. The suspension drew strong criticism from the ad hoc group of students that planned today's demonstrations. They argued that Parsons had been denied due pro- cess and that only students should be allowed to try other students. Hays and the executive commit- tee have argued that the suspen- sion was ordered under powers delegated to the dean by the LSA faculty, and that it was warranted by the seriousness of the charges against Parsons. Although they declined to revoke the suspension, the executive com- mittee noted, ir a statement re- leased after the meeting, that Parsons voluntarily withdrew from school on March 9, six days after ,his suspension was ordered. The committee said that a notation on his academic record would indi- cate that the suspension was only in effect for those six days. . ADMiSSIONS BAM, Fleming' debate issues By TAMMY JACOBS Members of the Black Action Movement (BAM) met with President Robben Fleming yesterday to discuss differences between black demands and the suggestions Fleming intends to present at the Regents meetings next week. Yesterday's meeting, according to Walter Lewis, a mem- ber of the group, was an attempt to "clarify the ambiguities" contained in a letter in which Fleming presented his propos- als to BAM members last week. Dean William Hays a vv.....a .. ... .. .. ._. 1 A. See LSA, Page 7 12, By RICK PERLOFF Students fdr a Democratic So- ciety is planning a protest against recruiters from the Atlantic Rich- field Co. today or tomorrow, charging that the company is in- volved in the construction of an Alaskan oil pipeline which SDS claims will cause significant eco- logical damage. The nature and time of the pro- test has not been disclosed, but it is understood that a small com- mittee has been given responsi- hilit for its organization. recruiters since the Dow Co. pro- test earlier this month. The ecological damage involved in the pipeline construction was explained in an article by Fred Miller in "Up Against The Wall Street Journal," a newspaper largely written by campus SDS Mfembers. Miller wrote that Atlantic Rich- field's involvement in the con- struction of an 800 mile pipeline from the Alaskan North Slope to Valdez "may have disastrous con- sequences for the Alaskan ecosys- CRITICIZE DEAN HAYS Students oppose suspension - BAM had originally demanded that the proportion of blacks be increased to ten per cent by 1973- 74, but the administration's pro- posals only promise to double "disadvantaged" student enroll- ment by that time. Students considered "disadvan- taged" may enroll through the University's Opportunity Awards program, which has flexible ad- mission standards. A majority of the students' in the program are black. However, the black students pointed out to Fleming that even if the amount of blacks enrolled By BOB SCHREINER A majority of students at the University appear to strongly disagree with the de- cision made Monday by literary Dean Wil- liam Hays to summarily suspend SDS- member Robert Parsons for actions during Parsons denies the charge. Hays. said Parsons will be allowed a hearing if he chooses. The most common opinion among those surveyed was that Hays should not even have considered the question of suspension Then it would be a more democratic type judgment." Strelow disagreed with disruption tac- tics, however. "You can't deny certain stu- dents the right to work for these com- panies," he said. "Picketing or debating is all right "