gi e Mirigan Daihi1 Seventy-eight years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich. News Phone: 764-0552 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in al; reprints. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 1969 NIGHT EDITOR: DANIEL ZWERDLING Curriculum committee action:- Students partly to blame THE RECOMMENDATION Monday by the literary college curriculum com- mittee to seat three students with voting power is far from an equitable solution to the problem of determining major literary college curricular policy decisions. Such decisions directly affect students and while expertise and experience must be taken into consideration when making such decisions the role of the student as determined by the student must predomi- nate any such deliberations. e20 d men NEW YORK Democratic representative Ryan spent more than an hour on the House floor last Wednesday attacking the country's role in the Vietnam war.' Loaded with politically explosive ! evi- dence, Ryan lambasted -the Nixon admin- istration for its failure to come to grips with the war. "While our cities disintegrate and our country becomes increasingly disuinted, a war which was ill-conceived fromn the beginning rages on with undiminished fury." He revealed that one third of the 33,063 Americans killed in Vietnam were killed since the peace talks began 10 months ago. Further, 3,459 lives have been lost since South Vietnam agreed to join the talks in December. Finally, he' indicated almost four million refugees are now homeless'in South Vietnam. "The blunt fact is unavoidable that this country has erred tragically in the con- ception and carrying out of this war." UNFORTUNATELY, out of the 435 House representatives only 20 remained for Mr. Ryan's speech. Editorial Staft HENRY GRIX, Editor STEVE NISSEN RON LANIISMAN City Editor Managing Editor MARCIAABRAMSON.....Associate Managing Editor. PHILIP BLOCK..........Associate Managing Editor STE VE ANZALONE ....,........Editorial Page Editor JIM HECK ......,........Editorial Page Editor JENNY STILLER ....... . Editorial Page Editor LESLIE WAYNE .... . .................:....Arts Editor JOHN GRAY.........................Literary Editor ANDY SACKS. . ...... Photo Editor Business Saff GEORGE BRTSTOL, Business Manager STEVE ELMAN . Administrative Advertising Manager SUE LERNER ..............- Senior Sales Manager LUCY PAPP........... ..... .. Senior Sales Manager NANCY ASIN .. Senior Circulation Manager BRUCE HAYDON .................. Finance Manager DARIA KROGULSKI ..... Associate Finance Manager BARBARA SCHULZ.........:....Personnel Manager Thus, equity is achieved only when students achieve sufficient power to de- termine the environment that affects and preconditions their lives. The defini- tion of equity in this case is not clear, but certainly anything less than parity on the committee does not solve "the problem. BUT THE FACULTY cannot be entirely blamed for failing to achieve a solu- tion. First, since the problem is one that directly affects students it seems only sensible that students should be the ones most powerfully affecting the decision. As it stands now, any decisions as made Monday, are virtually the autocatic rul- ings of the faculty made almost psychi- cally as though they can discern from the amorphous students structures that now exist what students desire. As indicated during the meeting Mon- day, were there any kind of cohesive stu- dent organization that, in fact, represent- ed the students in the college, the faculty would have been much more amenable to. parity. Bute no such structure exists and only the fantasy of a possible student union lent any hope to the faculty that students do, in fact, desire an aggregate role in, curricular decision-making: If students are to gain any power in the literary college by fall they must now be- gin to organize into some type of repre- sentative body. It is doubtful Student Government Council could assume such a role. Its legitimate representation lies throughout the university and not just in the literary college.I The proposed student union has de- generated so, it seems not only mythical but almost legendary. A SPECIFIC and concerted attempt by' the various organized departmental forums could prove, to be the answer. Most all departments already have exist- ing student forums and those that do not could certainly form them by fall. To- gether they could represent at least a beginning to a true student union. If such a student group were formed, not only would the faculty be presented with a, much more well-defined onus fort responsibility, but students could begin to take the .major role in seeking student power. In light of this, one is almost encour- aged to thank the committee for its deci- sion Monday. For though it fails in its ability to solve a serious problem, it is indicative of faculty concern while criti- cal of student apathy, -JIM HECK Editorial Page Editor Kenneth Coi By LORNA CHEROT Ken Cockrel is a revolutionary lawyer, who is "tired of being shitted upon" by the repressive forces of the Establishment. He views those who try to institutionalize con- flict as his enemy, as well as those who try to repress it. Ile doesn't know when the actual revolution will come, but he's in the forefront, fighting tile skirmishes, that always precede mass insurrection. Cockrel, who graduated from Wayne State's Law school and has been practicing law since July, 1969, is with the firm of Philo, Maki, Moore, Pitts, Ravitz, Glotta, Cockrel and Robb in Detroit. He works with the Central Committee of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, and their local factions of DRUM (Dodge Revolutionary Union Members) and ELRUM (Eldon Avenue Revolutionary Union Members) in their fight against the automobile corporations. He is also work- ing with Black Students Voice, high school students in the inner city schools. Cockrel is also in close alliance with other revolutionary lawyers-Charles Gary, Arthur Connell and Justin Rabbitts-who try to use their trials' to make political statenents against an "oppressive, racist, capitalistic system." (EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article is composed of portions of a transcribed interview with radical Detroit black lawyer, Kenneth Cockrel. The interview was conducted by Daily reporter Lorna Cherot and Daily Associate Managing Editor Phil Block. Cockrel and John Watson, Detroit Black Panther and editor of Wayne state University's underground news- paper, The South End, will met with several other radical blacks at a forum tonight at 8 p.m. In the Union Ball Room sponsored by the Black Students' Union.) MOST PEOPLE are often naive concerning the law. I think most people fail to realize that the law is merely a codified, structured expression of the way in which pow- ers reign in this society. The rules have been fashioned es- sentially by agents of those who tend to run America. The rules are fashioned in such a way as to facilitate the per- petuation of those persons in positions of power and to in- crease the difficulty of persons who are in opposition to them., In a jury-trial situation, the jury determines the facts. This becomes very important the minute one attempts to use a trial to do two things: one, to try to liberate persons from the clutches of the legal system and two, to try to make a statement or try to use the trial in a political way in order to-advance revolutionary struggle. YOU'RE TRAPPED on two levels:/one, you're trapped by the original law, which frames the issue for the trial and two, you're trapped by the rules of evidence which say that certain things are admissible and certain things are inadmissible because they are irrelevant, immaterial, in- competent and so on. REPRESENT DRUM in lawsuits. There are other revo- lutionary union movement organizations, like ELRUM (Eldon Avenue Revolutionary Union Members), FRUM (Ford Revolutionary Union Members), and PRUM (Ply- mouth Revolutionary Union Members). There are efforts to organize revolutionary unions among newsmen and the united parcel workers. Eleven of thee organizations exist within the structure of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers. DRUM was the first, started at the Hamtramack as- sembly plant. ELDRUM was started at Chrysler's largest plant. As a result of demonstrations July 15, the Hamtra- mack plant was closed down. On Jan. 25 we hit the Eldon Avenue axle plant-the only plant Chrysler has that pro- duces axle assemblies. Since the manufacturing of automobiles is a highly integrated operation, Chrysler announced - right after the demonstrators were busted-it would have to stop all production within 48 hours. THEY HAD TO SHUT DOWN the whole Chrysler op- eration because they had to have those parts - and that's why they responded. It was very serious. We weren't deal- ing with intermediaries and flunkies anymore, like mayors and county counselors, who are nothing but hack handy men for the cats who run this society. Why deal with flunkies' like Cavanaugh, who can't do anything, or city councilman ex-short stop Billy Rogell, or ex-police in- ckrel and the 4 4' 'Revolution' 4 spector Phil Banell, who's a faggot ass honkie. They don't deserve two minutes of your time. You deal with the cats at the head of production, because that's the point of capitalism, racism and imperialism. So the Man got shaky. He went out and got an in- junction - a very bad injunction from Judge Burdock. If you're going to file a lawsuit and get an injunction, you are supposed to pick a judge blind draw. They prob- ably made an arrangement whereby they got Burdock. I haven't -been able to establish whether or not he h a s Chrysler stock, and if he does I'm going to try to get him disqualified. IN ORDER TO PREVENT mob massing they erected gates around the plant. They alleged violence and intimi- dation and that we were sabotaging the plant.- But in the interim between the period of issuance of the injunction, DRUM organizational activities stepped up and other plants became involved. DRUM ran a candidate for the trustee vacancy on Local 3 of the UAW, which is the local that governs the Dodge main plant. March, one of the DRUM officials, ran and he won in the run-off primary. In the final election, of course, the corporation brought in all the retirees to vote and March was defeated. March's backers picked up people and took them to the polls at the 'union hall where they were stopped and harassed by the Hamtramack pigs who are henchmen for Chrysler Corporation. They locked up some of the broth- ers in the union hall and set up a bullshit meeting and the DRUM cats were maced., POLICE CHIEF Chumkacey and the mayor were watch- ing the police mace cats and beat them. They charged a couple of the brothers with assault and battery and with using obscene language. I represented a couple of them in the Hamtramack municipal court and we won. But as a result of this interim activity they are trying to bust a DRUM organizer, "Jan," which is a dect at- tempt to break up DRUM. It's a difficult situation, be- cause we are forced to relate in terms of an injunction under the law. Irrespective of whether the injunction is valid, the theory of law is that in order to test the terms of an injunction you must file a motion to dissolve or modify it. You can't test it by violating the terms of it. They also fired 25 people from the Eldon' Avenue as- sembly plants. So there's action being taken now to force them to rehire those persons and this time you've got to go through the union. Now, you're fighting both the union and the company. But in certain tactical positions it's necessary to perhaps not fight the union, because tacti- cally you've got to decide that if you're not in a position to protect the persons who support your position, then you are in trouble organizationally. THE ADC TRIALS in Ann A r b o r involved a simple charge of tresspass. The violators were not charged with being poor people who defined themselves as being oppressed, who are trying to do something about forcing an unresponsive structure to disgorge more in the way of benefits. In that trial there was not an awful lot of success, at least not in my judgment, in attempting to use the trial as a vehicle for some sort of serious left, radical, revo- lutionary, liberal reformist political expression. The issue was very narrowly drawn, the judge was not a particularly bright judge. The judge was also wed lock stock and bar- bel to the jive plantation structure that you have in Ann Arbor. The issue was crystal clear. Everybody was "guilty." I assume that those who participated took the position that what they were going to do was get busted in order to demonstrate their solidarity with the mothers. TO ME it's kind of ridiculous for a person to place himself or herself in that situation without having made some prior assessment of what the consequences would be. It's a very light beef. To me it's kind of like, a bullshit thing for persons to even be concerned with being extri- cated. I had no particular interest in representing anyone up there, to be perfectly honest, because the situation was one which was cut and dry. Also, the strategy which was adopted was,. in my judgment, almost counter-revolution- ary. I don't think it makes sense for people to get busted for bullshit. I think that there are more revolutionary ways to support those mothers. WE HAVE REPRESENTED people in a whole bunch of cases, with varying degrees of success, defined in terms of making political statements. I represented John Wat- son, for example, who was charged with assault and bat- tery against TV-2 reporter Joe Weaver. I was able to run that very effectively and accomplish two objectives. First, to win, which was very important to me because John is a brother with whom we are engaged in certain activities. He's a member of the Central Committee of DRUM. He's a member on the Central Committee of the Black Pan- ther Party and a number of other things. So it was important to me that John Watson be kept contrast that with the ADC mothers' trial. The whole trial was run in such a way as to make it crystal clear that in reality Watson was not on trial. In our defense, we tried TV-2. We'tried Joe Weaver. We tried Wayne State University. We tried, by implica- tion, the Chrysler Corporation and the rest of -the Estab- lishment that is opposed to the serious development of revolutionary forces - and we won., WE'RE NOW REPRESENTING John Sinclair in re- lations to his narcotics' cases. Johh is also being tried in Oakland on assault and battery - resisting a police of- ficer. Now there are a lot of approache's that can be taken towards John's trial. John could decide that in his trial we're going to run a White Panther thing. We're going to put on a bunch of witnesses, who got on bells, longihair and all the rest. And maybe we'll take our dicks out and shake them, you know what I mean. But John Sinclair could get busted, like right now he's got his third narcotics bust coming up, and he's charged with possession and sale, which has a mandatory sentence upon conviction of 20 years to life. If John is really con- sistent with what I regard as being his hip political po- sition, it would be a gas if he simply said, "Yeah, I use dope. I think dope is beautiful," which he has, in fact, said. But then, are you prepared to do 20 years for him? He has something to say about that. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED in having your lawyer go in and demonstrate to the world how knowledgeable you are, politically, that's great. That also might mean that you're going to lose. And the question as to what kind of approach is going to be taken in a trial, is not a question which is resolved exclusively by the attorney. All of these are political decisions and they are de- cisions that are made other than by Charley Gary or Ken- ny Cockrel or William Cumbshil, Arthur Connel or Justin Rabbits. What has to be understood is that lawyers don't have any kind of monopolistic rights to determine what the strategy of the defense is going to be. That's the position that Charley Gary took when he represented Huey, A LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Sociology students plan attack 1i To the Editor: FOR OVER two months, the Sociology Students' Union has been working diligently to revamp and revitalize the undergraduate program in the Sociology Department. While the participation by students and the constructive demands put forth by them have both been very encouraging, the response by the elite which "represents" the faculty has been deplorable and definitely a nega- tive contribution toward improving student-facul- ty relations. Last Thursday's meeting of the Undergraduate Education Committee was typical of the faculty's intransigence and sorely exposed the dogmatism which faces the students. This committee, the lowest in a long line of bureaucratic structures constituting the hierarchial decision-making sys- tem, is composed of three students elected by the Sociology Students' Union and three faculty ap- pointed by the chairman, of the Sociology de- partment, Albert Reiss. The meeting was called to consider the Students' UniolNs proposal to re- structure the undergraduate concentration pro- gram. This carefully thought-out proposal advo- oates a re-organization of the introductory courses to avoid the present redundancy in them, and abolition of all course requirements to allow the individual student to take the courses which will most interest and best benefit him. AT LAST Wednesday's Student's Union meeting it was decided that not only should the three elected representatives attend the following day's meeting, but that other interested students should go as non-voting observers. The meeting room, the office of committee chairman David Segal, that 'Segal, a hard-line bureaucratic megaloman- iac, would run things the 'ay he so desired re- gardless of the wishes of the student representa- tives His constant I'm willing" to do this and "I won't" do that, showed a total lack of understand- ing of how a democratic student-faculty commit- tee should operate. Yet this is the only group which students have any representation on what- ever. Both the Committee on Educational Policy (COEP) and the Executive Committee, the ulti- mate decision-making body, are 100 per cent f a- culty composed. Such a system makes it impos- sible for the student voice to be adequately re- presented. TOMORROW, the Sociology faculty is holding a meeting to discuss the students' proposal. As ludicrous as it may seem, the Sociology depart- ment still holds closed faculty meetings even though the literary college as a whole, realizing the hypocricy in deciding student issues behind students' backs, opened theirs. Mr. Truzzi, ob- viously fearing intimidation by students, argued that "the faculty could get notling accomplished if students were present." It is becoming increasingly apparent that per- haps the reverse is the real case. Segal, trying to appease us some way said that he would recom- mend that a few representatives be allowed to at- tend but, he said, "This is the most you could hope for." Another example of faculty coopera- tion. Tonight (7:30, 3rd floor SAB) the Students' Union will meet to discuss tomorrow's faculty meeting. The only course of action, as I see it, is for all students to attend that meeting and lowed to continue. If the other faculty members have not been aware of what has been going on, I would hope that they now take immediate steps to rectify the situation. As for the students, they too must be prepared to take action. The Soc- iology departments regarded in most schools as one of the most liberal groups, has remained, stagnant in the face of changing times. It is we, the students, who are suffering and it is we, the students, who must act. -Marc Van Der Hout SGC vice president April 1 A decision on militarism (EDITOR'S NOTE: The following letter was sent to President Fleming.) 'WISH TO commend you on your terming the upcoming trial of the SDS protesters as a "test" case. But'-is it actually a "test" of "whether a Student Judiciary is prepared to deal with a question of this kind" or will it be a "test" of another issue? The issue at hand is not whether CJS is an effective body, nor whether the ban against dis- ruptive sit-ins is valid, but rather it is a "test" to see if the university community will allow military recruting to be continued; and more broadly, whether the university will tolerate any type of militarism on its premises. I for one am opposed to any type of military activity on campus. Ah?, you say to yourself, ano- ther one of those left wing radicals. I hate to dis- illusion you, but I have never belonged to a left wing organization. In fact, the only organization that I attest membership to is humanity. WITH REGARD to the situation at Eastern and Osh- kosh where black students have been expelled from colleges because they've been "disruptive" - are univer- sities more or less an autonomous seat of justice? Is there any reco'urse for these students in a civil case or before the administration? I don't think so. I don't think there's any effective re- course. We can't fail to recognize that the legal system is clearly reflective of political realities of this country. The Supreme Court is backing up.. The Court's being attacked, for example, in relation to tying the hands of cops. You know, cutting loose the floodgates of criminals back into the streets, with decisions like Miranda, Escobedo, etc. etc. You see President Nixon issuing a statement that the Jus- tice Department is considering, very seriously, adopting a policy of pre-trial detention for persons who appear likely to commit another crime. THIS IS FACIST shit. Any time they talk about this shit publicly, all you're really talking about is trying to get a ratification of a public practice. I'm representing one of the students at Eastern Mich- igan University who was charged with inciting to riot. The other 13 who were arrested - two of them white - are charged with conspiracy to create a disturbance, which are misdemeanors as opposed to Smith's charge which is fel- ony. Harold Sponberg, who's the president of EMU, is not enlightened enough to know that if he grants amnesty that would be an effective means of institutionalizing con- flict - he's not even that smart. But is he smart enough to have made an accurate assessment of the capacity of dissident students on that campus to effectively maintain or sustain a student strike? I'm inclined to think he made the latter assessment. Life reduces itself to questions of persons weighing the amount of power they have to bring against persons who oppose him. I think he accurately concluded that the 4