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August 24, 1965 - Image 14

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 1965-08-24

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PAGE FOUR

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

rrlTl lQna'V Atrrttsytca Kart <

_A E _..EM I h G N l I X U

UrM)AY, AVUUST 24, 1965

SGC epresenave o'U' Students
The term Student Government
Council is a misnomer.
Its elected members are chos-
en by less than a quarter of the
students. The six ex-officios rep-
resent no one. Its powers prescrib-
ed by the-Regents are "hardly gov-.
ernmental. And it does not directly j
advise anyone, hence its functions
are rarely conciliar..
Yet, the 11-year-old body man-:
ages ,if only through the inde-
pendent efforts of its members, to
provide an agency for "meaning-f:
ful student participation" in the.- - ;:. ...:::_.
University as stated in its pur-
pose.
SGC Plan
This purpose, along with com-
position, officers, functions and
procedures, have all been recorded
in a constitution. Called the SGCI
Plan, it was adopted by the Re-
gents in 1954 as a successor to a1
larger but weaker Student Legis- Eager Candidates Await Resultsof SGC 'Count Night'
lature which had existed since o
the mid-1940's. ternational Student Association son, the Daily editor could not ob- -Council organized a "stay-in" make use of University billboards
The Council plan was and is a and the University Activities Cen- jectively judge the workings of at the Michigan Theatre to pro- to proclaim their activities.
good basic description of what: ter. Council if he held a seat on it. test the 25 cent increase in prices Punishments
SGC is-and what it isn't. Due to the merger of the activi- Due to a revision in the SGC by the Butterfield Theatres in Ann In the case of the fraternity

ECONOMIC WELFARE:
Student Union Bargains

By ROBERT MOORE
"Why can't I keep my money?"
is a classic complaint of nearly
every freshman after about one
month of exposure to Ann Arbor
feees, foods and fashions.
The University of Michigan Stu-
dent Employees' Union was formed
to answer that question, and to go
one step beyond: to promote ways
to raise wages and lower costs; in
effect giving the students more
money to keep.
Its name is actually a misnomer;
it is not a group for student em.
ployees alone. All students inter-
ested in their economic welfare are
eligible to join, and UMSEU has,
in fact; been considering changing
its name to the University of
Michigan Student Economic Un-
ion.
Unique Place
But whatever its name, the
UMSEU has a unique place in the
annals of student freedom. It is
the country's only student eco-
nomic union at a college.
It is one of the largest student
groups on campus, with over 600
members, and is officially recog-
nized by the University as a col-
lective-bargaining agent for the
students.
The four main goals for this
year, its second on campus, range
from books to meals, as stated by
President Barry Bluestone, '66:
-Study of alternatives to the
present Ann Arbor housing sys-
tem, particularly study of low-
cost, University-built apartments;
-A campaign to draw statewide
attention to students' economic
situation through a conference of'
250 to 500 clergymen and union
leaders;
-Change in residence halls
rules that force working students
to eat their meals at the dorm
they work at, and
-A change in a 1929 Regents'
ruling that bans University enter-
prises, thus eliminating a chance

0

The 20 members are to be ties sections of the Union and the
drawn from two student sources. League last year, the UAC rep-
The president, executive vice-pres- resentative replaces the represen-
ident and 10 regular members are tatives of the merged organiza-
chosen in semi-annual elections tions.
by all ID card-carrying students. Daily EditorI
The remaining six come from the The Daily editor at one time
largest student organizations: In- held a seat on Council. However,
terfraternity Council, Panhellenic last year, Daily Editor H. Neil
A s s o c i a t i o n, Interquadrangle Berkson, '66, withdrew the Daily
Council, Assembly Association, In- from Council. According to Berk-
Michigan chr isti an
fellowship
a group of students
discovering together
moral, cultural and intellectual relevance
. . a solid purpose- for living .
through faith in Jesus as the Christ
Free Picnic * Aug. 28
Games o Food * 3:30 P.M. * Folksinging
Meet at SAB
Iner VarsityChristan Fellowship

elections rules, the president and
executive vice-president are now
popularly elected. Previously they
had been elected by Council. The
president chooses the administra-
tive vice-president and treasurer,
with the approval of Council.
This elected and selected body
sits down on Wednesday nights
to exercise the prescribed func-
tions. These range from recogniz-
ing new student organizations to
discussing University policy-mak-
ing.
In line with its mis-name, how-
ever, Council spend a lot of its
time trying to change these func-
tions and get in on some of the
decision-making.
Past Glories?
Numerous Council members have
wrestled with student affairs ad-
ministrators, trying to win realj
power over students. Some exam-
ples from last year:
ACTIVIT
In an attempt to introdu
to the wide and varied extrac
versity, the recently formed U
hold an Activities Day on Aug

Arbor. and sorority system, a non-rec-
--Council conducted an extend- ognized group could not rush or
ed study of student economic wel- hold parties. SGC capitalized on
fare, registration and course avail- this fact to create a series of
ability, parking conditions and regulations on "membership selec-
possible innovations in the educa- tion."
tion offered at the University. Like the civil rights bill, the
The study was based on a griev- regulations aren't aimed at say-
ance report written early last fall ing who must be accepted in af-
by Barry Bluestone, '66. Council filiate houses. They only ask that
divided into committees to study selections not be "discriminatory."
specific areas of the report. The Council has created a fact-find-
final reports were then submitted ing body to report alleged discrim-
to the appropriate administrators ination in University-recognized
for action. However, none has been groups. And it has set up a tri-
taken. bunal to try such cases. Verdicts
-Following up a decision by the of discrimination could lead to
Regents, Council attempted more withdrawal of recognition. Thus
vigorous enforcement of its right far in the year no cases have been
to withdraw recognition of student tried although the membership
groups. At the University, non- committee has collected the mem-
recognition is tantamount to non- bership clauses of all recognized
existence. The student group could student organizations.
not use University facilities, could Despite these exciting moments,
not solicit members and could not the formulation of policy can be
a tedious process. The procedures
section of the Council Plan makes
IES DA Y all meetings open to the public.
But few students venture up to
ce the new incoming freshmen the Council's chambers on the
urricular activities at the Uni- third floor of the Student Activi-
University Activities Center willi ties Bldg. to watch the proceed-
;ust 27 in the Union Ballroom. ings.

7
i
1

Barry Bluestone Speaks Out

to buy low-cost books at a Uni-
versity-run bookstore.
Biggest Achievement,
Bluestone said that he felt the
biggest achievement of UMSEU's
first year was the University's in-
stitution of a $1.25 minimum wage
and the formation of wide-spread
faculty support for the UMSEU
projects.
Last year, UMSEU worked to
better the students' economic posi-
tion through pickets at the admin-
istration building, discussions with
Regents and administrators and
publicity.
This summer, UMSEU prepared
a statement of its principles which
it presented to the Board of Reg-
ents shortly after the Regents ap-
proved dorm fee and tuition hikes.

But the UMSEU does not repre-
sent a program as much as it rep-
resents a philosophy. The UMSEU,
Bluestone explains, is founded on
four basic principles:
-Students shouldn't have to
pay exploitative prices;
-De-facto financial discrimin-
ation exists at this University,
where an academic elite is, in
fact, an economic elite, and the
poor are not given a chance;
--Sales taxes are regressive,
since the ,poor are hurt by them
and the rich helped, and
-The University is presently a
narrow community in sociological
terms and it needs o wider spread
of students from all economic
classes.

0

Booths, manned by representatives of the major student
organizations on campus, will be set up all day. The repre-
sentatives will introduce their organization with posters, dis-
plays, skits, printed material and conversation.
All student organizations depend on the new freshman
class to fill the place of graduated seniors. People are need-
ed in all organations.
Follow the "Balloon Man," symbol of the day, and meet
the students and their organizations at UAC's premier of this
unique introduction to the extracurricular life at the Uni-
versity.
"Daily Day" will be held on Saturday, August 28. Come to
the Student Publications-Building at 420 Maynard and meet
The Daily and the students who put it out. Watch for an-
nouncement in the early editions next fall.

Insipid
Those who do aren't likely to
return. Council discussion is a
rather insipid morass of parlia-
mentary gymnastics.
The elected representatives tend
to divide into student activists and
fraternity playpals. The former
have a demanding outlook on stu-
dent' issues. The latter couldn't
care less. RHence, Council finds' it-
self able to agree only on motions
concerning Viet Nam or Home-
coming.
Affairs vital to students are
thus committed to meager atten-
tion. There are some exceptions,
and these have been Council's
higbpoint.
New Blood
New liberal blood, like the mem-
bers who ran on a slate called
Governmental Reform of Univer-
sity Policy, has been infused into
Council hopefully to raise Coun-
cil's steadily decreasing prestige.
To engineer an increase .in
SGC's prestige, SGC, led by Presi-
dent Gary Cunningham, '66, and
Executive Vice President Harlan
Bloomer, '66, plan to set up a book
exchange on thte Diag during the
early weeks of the fall term.

WELCOME TO MICHIGAN

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