Wednesday, August 27, 1969 THE MICHIGAN DAILY page F IvE+' Wednesday, August 27, 1969 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Fiv&' Student power secures liberalized dormitory rules By MARCIA ABRAMSON and SCOTT MIXER In 1967, as students realized that they were entitled to con- trol the way they lived, a full- scale drive began to end one of the most repressive, arbitrary University traditions: d o r m rules. And that drive has been com- pletely successful.' In spring, 19- 69, the Regents finally ended all dorm residency requirements, thus granting each student the right to determine his own life style. In addition, as this supple- ment goes to press, the Regents are expected to soon end the last vestige of the women's cur- few-the requirement of paren- tal permission for eliminating hours of women who do choose to live in the dorms. The resi- dence halls board of governors has already approved the move. The drive against dorm rules was tied in with the continua- tion of the Student Power Movement of 1966. In April 19- 67, student activists won con- trol of the highest appellate student judiciary, then called Joint Judiciary Council. The new JJC promptly announced it would not enforce any rules un- less they were made by students. Bolstered by this decision, student activists in fall 1967 be- gan the campaign against the women's curfew and the limita- tions on visitation by the oppo- site sex, which were both estab- lished by the board of goveinors. These dorm rules were basic- ally designed to prevent sexual intercourse, which is still offi- cially banned in University housing. But many resident ad- visers did not enforce the rules, and many girls who wanted to house governments and staff members had stopped observing the rules completely. And in December, the board of governors eliminated visitation regulations, leaving the decision up to each individual house. The board also ended the curfew for a one-term trial per- iod, stipulating only that par- ental permission would be re- quired for women under 21. The Regents approved this decision in January. The trial was a suc- cess, and in the fall, 1968, ano- ther trial was set for one year -with parental permission still required. But, the board subsequently came to its own decision that it was unnecessary to require par- ental permission, and this was recommended to the Regents on a permanent bass. Also wiped out during the drive-but with less fanfare and debate - were residence hall dress requirements, which forc- ed girls to wear skirts to dinner and established Sunday dress up rules. The rules were so un- popular that dorm staffs elim- inated them quickly as soon as students began complaining. The only remaining dorm rule was the residency requirement for all freshman men, and fresh- man and sophomore women. Students had been complaining about the dorms for as long as there had been dorms, but the complaints meant more as the movement against regulations became successful. In addition, many women argued that the requirement discriminated on basis of sex, and some even talk- ed of bringing a court suit. But dorm housing itself con- tinued to be in demand, as some units were converted into offices and the Residential College took over East Quad. Housing offi- cials began to realize that the dorms would probably be filled even if there were no require- ments, and studies from other universities which had aban- doned required residency back- ed them up. At Purdue, for instance, 95 percent of freshmen live in dorms, and at Wisconsin 81 per cent of the men and 91 percent of the women in the freshman class choose the dorms. In addition, more upperclass- men at the University were staying in the dorms, at least in part as a result of the end of the old living regulations. As a result, the board of gov- ernors and the Regents, after careful study, ended the resi- dency requirement for all stu- dents who obtain parental per- mission. But the decision has not re- sulted in a mass exodus from the dorms. Figures available so far indicate that most of next year's freshman class will live in the residence hails, and that the dorms may have to turn away as many as 500 people. The "liberated" sophomore women are also sticking with the dorms. Only 27 percent of them have chosen not to live in the residence halls next year. The end of compulsory dorm residence has placed the resi- dence halls in the housing mar- ket on an equal basis. It is no longer just sound academic po- licy to try to make the dorms liveable-it is a matter of eco- nomic survival. The change in the dorm's in- age as an elected living arrange- ment rather than an assigned barracks situation should have a profound effect on the dorm dweller. The "I-can't-wait-till-I-get- out-of-here" attitude and the chronic complaints about food and lack of privacy may be re- placed by attitudes of students who have selected a dorm for some of the unquestionable mer- its-prepared meals, reasonable leasing agreements, a multi- tude of educational and recre- ational facilities, and no hassle with a landlord over such triv- ias as garbage collection. The University is selling the dorms in a determined program to attract students, despite the huge surplus of applicants ex- pected for fall. A co-ed floor arrangement is also in the making. There seems to be little opposition from the administration to allowing males and females to occupy alterna- ting rooms on the second floor of Mosher-Jordan Hall, and if the experiment is a success, many more similar housing ar- rangements could become reali- ties in response to student de- mand for them. Cooperafive a ternafive Student protests repressive dorm rules avoid late penalties simply did- n't come in at all or received permision from lenient advisers. The rules were not uniformly en forced. Almost simultaneously, a wo- man's house decided not to en- force the curfew and a men's house voted in 24-hour "open- opens"-every day. After that, the rules were on the way out as JJC and Student Govern- ment Council supported the drive. Women at Stockwell and Bur- sley Halls stayed out past cur- few. They appealed to JJC, and the court ruled that the curfew was illegal because it had not been set by students. The revolution spread quickly, and by December almost every student on campus backed the movement. In many dorms, By LORNA CHEROT If you can't tolerate the regimented life of the dormitory, and can't afford the extravagant rent for an apartment in Ann Arbor, then co- operative living may well be your salvation. Although Inter-Cooperative Council is an autonomous body, it is considered a form of University housing without the myriad list of regulations. There are neither restrictions concerning pets, nor the imposition of dress codes. Also, the posi- tion of "house mother" was eliminated begin- ning with this fall. Issues like work schedules, meal hours, elec- tion of officers and maintenance of the house are determined by the individual houses. There is no overall policy in these matters. The only stipulation enforced by ICC is that contracts of residents under 21 must be co- signed by their parents, because state law for- bids minors to enter a legal contract. Cooperative living is a definite financial sav- ing for the student. Room and board amounts to approximately $80 per month or $750 a year. Yet for the same services, pricesrin the dorms range from $900 to $1200 per year. Actually you get more benefits from co-op living, since there are free laundry facilities, and no definite hours are set for meals. There is also an estimated saving of $20 per month if you live in a co-op rather than an apartment. Although the average rent is ap- proximately $60 per month, expenses for food, electricity and gas could easily bring costs to $100 per month. Yet co-op living demands a special kind of person. The co-op system needs responsible people, who are tolerant and generous and are eager to promote a congenial and informal, yet effi- cient atmosphere. For the financial savings is a result of the fact that co-opers do all the housework themselves. There are 11 cooperatives, which house some 350 roomers and boarders, located on Central Campus. Debs, Michigan, Owen and Pickerill are for men, while Lester, Osterweil, Stevt and Vail are for women. Brandeis is for ma, ried couples only, and Mark VII is reserved for graduate women. Nakamura, the largest house, is the only coed one. But other houses are experimenting with coed living for the summer ,and will make a final decision either this fall or in the winter term. In view of the R gents action in January, which released all men and women under 21 from the confines of the dorms, ICC has ex- panded its holdings to include a cooperative development on North Campus. The 18 house complex has received a $1.24 million, loan from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This complex is ex- pected to house 216 students. The complex will be located on a three-acre site that ICC has purchased from the Univer- sity and 12 students will occupy each of the 18 houses. Each house will be divided into two sitcs containing two doubles, two singles and a bath- room. The suite arrangement may allow for coed living. In addition, each house will have a common room complete with a kitchenette for snacks, group activities, television viewing, and late study. On the ground floor, space will be provided for study areas, a library, four dining rooms, two kitchens, washing machines, photo develop- ment, a work shop, and common rooms for large group-activities. So join the experiment in socialized living, which allows the benefits of group living, with- out costing a person's individuality. 'U' housing: Creative mediocrity By SHARON WEINER From the miniscule cubes of Markley to the cells with strip- ed curtains of Bursley . . . from Mosher-Jordan's elevators to West Quad's somber stair- wells .. . from the rational to South Quad's kitchen, Univer- sity dorm life is a completely unique experience for over 8,000 students each year. Living in University housing is an education in itself - not including actual.classes held in the buildings or educational programs offered by some of the more ambitious dorms. In the dorms of over 1200 population, such as Bursley, Markley, and South Quad, you learn to cope with masses of strangers, patiently accept end- less lines, and tolerate a heir- archy of resident advisors and housemothers who are there to "serve you." The smaller dorms - like Betsy Barbour and Helen New- Out in the wil1ds By LYNN WEINER Everyone hates it at first. Especially the freshmen who discover they've been placed in the new 1200-student, coed Bursley Hall on North Campus by the University Housing Office, while their first, second, and third choices have been ignored. But after the jokes about "mail by dogsled" and the different zip code have worn off, the student either moves back to central campus or stays and learns to appreciate not being within walking distance of Angel Hall. The commuting is the main disadvantage. An average 10 min- ute ride can be miserable when shared with over the legal limit of passengers stuffed on a miserable bus at 8 a.m. And an occasional "wildcat" driver strike or erratic service can be frustrating, especially during finals week. But the beauty of North Campus and the dorm itself balance the disadvantages. Bursley is clean, big rooms, carpets in the halls, "soft-serve" ice cream in the dining hall, and the best food in the residence hall system. The dorm is equipped to provide a complete living environ- ment for the student. It contains a library, pool and ping-pong rooms, a photo dark room, weight-lifting rooms, music practice rooms, snack bar, nice lounges .. . It also has more than its share of peeping toms, and sadistic jokers, encouraged by the dorm's relative isolation. The isolation also causes what may be a unique cohesiveness among the students of Bursley. Or perhaps attempts as "socialia- tion of the freshmen" and cultural programs carry more weight out in the wilds. The composition of the residents is probably more musical than the average dorm because of the proximity to the School of Music. Nursing, engineering and literary school students make up the bulk of the rest. But whether the student calls it the "Bursley Hilton" or the "overgrown high school," he usually isn't neutral to Bursley. Burs- ley has both the highest transfer-out and the highest return rate of the dormitory system. berry -- offer similar divertise- ments, with the added advant- age (?) of sit-down dinners and girls-must-wear-skirts- i n - t h e dining-room types of rules. And the food - nowhere, I'm sure, in the entire state can you get the selection offered here in the dorms. Green roast beef or ground round just isn't prepared similarly anywhere else. But not only are they unusual, the kit- chen staff is creative and even clever. For instance, if something like applesauce or fruit cock- tail has a wilted lettuce leaf or a sprig of parsley on top, it's salad; if not ,it's dessert. Or the things ground round turns to after the first day. Chili and chop suey and spag- hetti and beef piew-- a veritable international center. But the food is only half of what you're paying for. The room itself deserves some men- tion. Not much, but some. If you're lucky, you get a sink in South Quad. If you have no luck at all, you'll get the bathroom facilities of a Stock- well or West Quad. Actually, the situation is dismal enough to leave for the resident to adjust to without prior description. But location is actually the most important critereon (all dorms are more or less dismal.) Location either attracts or re- pels the majority of Bursley re- sidents to their home in the North Campus woods, repels most residents of the Hill, and reconciles most of South Quad to the swill produced in the kit- chen. But the people - yes the people - are what constitute the true character of a dorm and contribute to your perman- ent memories of the University, The people make a dorm great, or disgusting, Perhaps you'll be rooming with an exotic Arabian prin- cess (if such things still exist) - and you're a Zionist. Or maybe as a potential anarchist you must learn to live with a future WAC or a ROTC supporter. But whatever or whomever, your roommate will afford you the opportunity to pretend to be what you're not or may even become a friend with whom you don't have to play roles. Whether your memories be of the bats of Stockwell, (who fly in from the graveyard across the street) or the Bursley bus tride, East Quad's architecture or walks up the hill, your dorm experience, will - fortunately or not - be forever fused as an integral part of the University experience. And with recent changes in dormitory rules, if you don't like the experience, you can now move out without waiting until your junior year, "Safety belts? Not if I'm just going down to the supermarket." -Kathleen Farrell (1943.1968) "Safety belts? They just make me nervous. Besides, they wrinkle your clothes." -Louis Claypool (1931-1968) "Who can ever remember to use the darned things?" -Gordon Fenton (1921-1968) What's your excuse? : ' Advertising contributed aOU~ c, for the public good. ._ . _. Camera Shop Whatever your photographic needs may be- We Can Serve You! Authorized Dealer for most nationally advertised merchandise Cameras repaired in our own modern repair shop STUDGNT BOOK SGRVICG THE SMALLEST STORE IN TOWN THE BIGGEST STOCK OF USED TEXTBOOKS (nlen new hnnkq ne nn th, n' nk e c..nnli U NOTICE TO FRESHMEN: One counseling service the University of Michigan dloes not provide is helping you choose the place where your clothes will be properly dry-cleaned and laundered. 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