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May 02, 1968 - Image 4

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Michigan Daily, 1968-05-02

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* y A1 'sugatail
Seventy-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS

_ ,-:

Where Opinions Are Free, 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, MICH.
Truth Will Prevail

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 all reprints.

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1968

NIGHT EDITOR: MARCIA ABRAMSON

Elderfield Report:
Regental Addenda

THE VULGAR SYMPTOMS of unques-
tioning patriotism do not stop at so-
ciety's borders with academe, despite the
fact that the hallowed halls of learning,
allegedly exist to further honest, un-
sprejudiced inquiry.
By adding a blind, flag-waving resolu-
tion to the Elderfield Report on Research
Policies, the Regents last month stepped
backward into some harmful chauvinism.
The Elderfield Report, an outgrowth of
the recent campus-wide debate over the
role of classified research at the Uni-
versity, was not an exemplary document
even before the Regents' new amend-
ment. It seems probable that the mem-
bers of the review committee it estab-
lishes will, of necessity, have to have se-
curity clearance.
Additionally, the report's stated aim of
disclosure of the nature of each project
could be circumvented by merely disguis-
ing military research in the garb of a
non-military title.
Moreover, requiring all contracts to of-
fer "significant contribution to the ad-
vancement of knowledge" or to "contrib-
ute significantly to enhancing the re-
search capability" of the researchers
seems hopelessly vague and meaningless.
THE ONE bright spot among the Elder-
field requirements - the clause which
insists that no contract which has as its
purpose "to destroy human life or in-
capacitate human beings" be accepted -

is now tainted by the Regents' ill-con-
sidered decision to add an exception.
They have decided that destruction of
human life and the incapacitation of
human beings is acceptable after all
"when the nation is engaged in declared
war."
The reasoning behind this hastily-
added stipulation presumably follows the
line of thought that as loyal Americans,
we must rally 'round the flag when it
comes under Congressionally-sanctioned
peril.
Now, the Regents were very careful to
include the modifier "declared;" evident-
ly, they feel that declaration is justifica-
tion.
But is it really? Does a resolution by a
body of men make a war morally justi-
fiable? Does the destruction of human
lives and the incapacitation of human
beings become "right" when "legalized"
by a very mortal Congress made up of
men subject to some very human failings
and, worse, some equally inhuman preju-
dices?
THE ,REGENTS may answer that their
addendum to the Elderfield Report
was constructed out of loyalty to Amer-
ica. True loyalty would take the form of
moral vigilance on the part of the uni-
versities when inherently less humanis-
tic forces in society decide to pull trig-
gers or press buttons.
-DANIEL OKRENT

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2-- The student

Deserters' song:
Amixed chorus

A GrassInequity

IT WAS FITTING that the same day
that police and embattled students at
Columbia were demonstrating what one
observer predictably called "a failure to
communicate," the New York state legis-
lature was passing with only two dis-
senting votes a bill hiking the penalties
for sale or possession of marijuana and,
other "dangerous drugs."
Those looking for a broader context in
which to try to understand the fury at
Columbia should examine the nature and
effects of the widespread "drug" hys-
teria reflected in the legislature's action..
For on the subject of marijuana and its
ilk, the leaders of today blatantly flaunt
the same irrational prejudices which
they had the wisdom to keep decently
veiled at Columbia.
The key feature of the New York bill
makes the present maximum penalty of
fifteen years in prison the new legal
minimum for selling these nefarious sub-
stances to minors. And the new legal,
maximum for these arch-criminals would
be no less than life in prison. In addition
the legislature's bill would give judges
the privilege of sentencing a man to up
to 25 years in prison for selling or pos-
sessing a few grams of this ubiquitous
brown weed.
In the words of one of the bill's spon-
sors, the rationale behind the measure
was to "serve notice on judges that we
are not happy with their failure to apply
maximum penalties in drug cases."
While such a measure would effective-
ly minimize the legal options available
to judges, no evidence was presented to
indicate that stiffer penalties would in
any way deter marijuana sales or con-
sumption by minors.
HAT THE BILL conjures up is the
image of dirty old men loitering
around school yards for the sole purpose
of enticing the unsuspecting young into
trying their funny-shaped cigarettes.
While this facile assumption is strong-
ly rooted in the folk mythology of mari-
juana, what evidence exists indicates
that most minors obtain their contraband
'highs' directly from other minors who
often obtain it directly from Indiana
backyards.
Dire penalties may not only fail to
deter the use of marijuana, but may ac-
tually serve to increase its allure. By
making marijuana a forbidden weed, so-
ciety is implicitly decreeing that all
youths must try it at least once to have
really lived.
For the importance of marijuana lies
not so much in the- relatively mild 'high'
it provides, but rather in the entire sub-
culture which has sprung up around it
and other hallucigins as a direct result

THIS SORT of argument is, alas, very'
unlikely to break the silence barrier
in Albany.
The almost religious zeal with which
the adult custodians of the public mor-
ality pursue the exotic challenge of
marijuana and its odious counterparts;
represents a political and moral force
fearsome to behold.
Advisors of in-again, out-again, in-
again Presidential candidate Nelson
Rockefeller fear that a veto of this ab-
surd and -dangerous bill will unleash a
mighty marijuana backlash complete
with the charge of "coddling pushers."
Even if Governor Rockefeller should
courageously veto this ' inflammatory
piece of legislation, the fundamental
problem of society attempting to curtail
marijuana use remains unchanged. And
this attempt to regulate public morality
is both destructive of basic individual
freedoms and farcically ineffective.
ALL FORMS of statistical inquiry reveal
that the use of marijuana is rising
steadily and that only a miniscule pro-
portion of the sellers - let alone the
users - are ever apprehended, regard-
less of the severity of the law.
The scope of the violations of "drug"
laws automatically leads to arbitrary law
enforcement. Those few who do stumble
into the hands of the police are likely to
be the most incompetent and unlucky,
rather than. the most representative, of-
fenders.
But in addition to being a pathetically
ineffective deterrent, marijuana laws -
aside from the draft - are the major
area in which the power of government
runs diametrically counter to the life
habits of typical and relatively law-
abiding students.
These important violations of individ-
ual liberty coupled with the entire col-
lection of false and inflated horror stories
surrounding marijuana, have led many
inherently conservative students to chal-
lenge the wisdom, honesty, and morality
of many of this nation's leaders.
And this profound lack of faith was
one of the prime catalysts of the sort
of student unrest which so violently man-
ifested itself at Columbia.
EVEN IF one is oblivious of the power-
ful practical and libertarian argu-
ments, it is in the interest of those who
cherish some degree of order and dia-
logue between the generations to abol-
ish our barbaric and regressive "drug"
laws.
For these statutes merely serve as fuel
for the much-noticed, but little under-
stood, fires which separate the genera-
tions.

By MARK SCHREIBER
Daily Guest Writer
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the sec-
ond of a series of articles on the
Ann Arbor housing market by Mark
Schreiber, a senior in the literary
college who has been an at-large
member of Student Government
Council. The research paper from
which the series is taken was ori-
ginally prepared for SGC's Stu-
dent Housing Association.
The University's new lease was
printed and distributed by Janu-
ary, 1968. This added legitimacy,
and set the stage for a series of
boycott efforts to secure its ac-
ceptance. It was known before
hand that no major apartment
agency would autonomously ac-
cept the 8 month lease; in a num-
ber of previous discussions with
the larger managers, stiff resist-
ance was shown, mostly based on
the underlying assumption that
profits would be cut. It would be
necessary to show that the mone-
tary loss due to student dissatis-
faction would match or exceed
their expected loss on an 8 month
lease.
The current condition of the
Ann Arbor apartment market aid-
ed this attempt. The existent sur-
plus added a margin of available
housing to which students could
be channelled; one of the major
firms could sustain vacancies
while students found accommo-
dations elsewhere.
THE DECISION to boycott
Apartments Ltd. was due to sev-
eral factors. They are by far the
largest management agency in
Ann Arbor, controlling some 550
units. The Rental Union com-
plaint file indicated that this firm
had the most complaints, and
many of the more serious com-
plaints - withheld damage de-
posits, non-existent repair, etc.
Apartments Ltd. as well' seemed
to have a long standing reputa-
tion for pooramaintenance and
questionable 'practices.
Also, this firm managed build-
ings for a number of outside own-
ers, and only one of the managers
had a significant share of the
investment. The managers would
then be susceptible to the discon-
tent of the owners once boycott
activities were undertaken. Since
severalof the owners-the Ship-
man brothers, Frederick and Rob-
ert Stoll, John Sharemet, and
William Bateman - resided in
Ann Arbor, we felt confident in-
formation would reach them. This
vulnerability was higher than
that of the next major agency,
Charter Realty, which manages
John Stegman's property. Since
this, individual's investments were
wide and varied, it was reasoned
that he could sustain a short-run
apartment loss with little concern.
Finally, the rental office of
Apartments Ltd. was in an ideal
position for picketing. It was close
to campus on Church St. and
South U. The other large agency,
Campus Management, was much
farther away on Huron Ave. The
office itself was located in a new
and partially unoccupied build-
ing.
There were no adjoining offices
that could register complaints
about our activities and bring an
injunction. The fact that Jack
Shipman owned the building, and
that continued disturbance might
hh'irerits fuilre c. iiner',ex -

Graduate Assembly. This yielded
publicity, drew interested parti-
cipants, and spread the responsi-
bility if there was to be any court
action. Pickets were organized on
a rotating basis for the proceed-
ing weeks. After the third week
pickets were moved indoors with
one minor incident - and more
publicity.
When enthusiasm in picketing
waned, several rent strikes against
Apartments Ltd. were begun. Two
buildings on Hill St. were organ-
ized to withhold rent because of
poor maintenance and massive
garbage piles in the backyard.
Some 25 tenants signed a petition
to deposit their rent in escrow
with the Office of Off-Campus
Iousing until Apartments Ltd.
would meet their demands. Within
a week this firm personally con-
tacted the tenants and cleaned
up the place, after a large picture
of the garbage pits was centered
in The Daily.
Another rent strike was started
at the Brown St. complex. This
resulted in further bad publicity,
but no substantial monetary loss to
Apartments Ltd., Student tenants
could be convinced to sign strike.
petitions under unsatisfactory
conditions, but few would actually
send in rent. At any rate, the con-
tinued bad press and the WAIT
(wait for the 8 month lease) ad-
vertisements persuaded more stu-
dents not to rent from Apartments
Ltd.
Following the student elections
in mid-March, the next step was
to publish the list of Apartments
Ltd owners. Addresses were made
available from Off Campus Hous-
ing and names from the City As-
sessor's Office. It was anticipated
that some owners like Jack Ship-
man, and William Bateman did
not wish their association with
Apartments Ltd to be known.
Furthermore, the local owners
wouid be annoyed by complaints
that the management agency was
supposed to handle.
The effect of these pressures
cannot yet be fully evaluated.
There are indications that in
some ways our efforts were mod-
erately successful, in other ways
largely successful. But in no sense
were they a failure.
FIRST, Apartments Ltd. did not
accept the 8 month lease. Repre-
sentatives of the Student Housing
Association were invited by Apart-
ments Ltd. to meet with different
owners on several occasions. These
bargaining sessions did not yield
any substantial results, but pro-
vided a valuable source of infor-
mation. It was acknowledged by
both managers and owners that
the boycott had significantly cut
into their business.
It was later reported that at
least three of their owners were
seriously considering the 8 month
lease and withdrawal of their
property from Apartments Ltd.
management. The disturbance
about John Stegman's alleged code
violations on Albert Terrace ap-
parently prompted a wait-and-see
attitude on their part. Their va-
cancy rate will be higher than ex-
pected next year-but not high
enough to overcomethe antici-
pated costs of an 8 month lease.
The boycott did have a spill

boycott,
They total some 500-600 units or
about 1700-2000 individual spaces,
approximately the 'size of Apart-
ments Ltd.'s holdings.
It is true that some of these
firms would have taken the lease
without student pressures. Yet I
talked and haggled with a num-
ber of these managers and owners.
Some accepted the lease only after
a series of bargaining sessions, but
all indicated that they did not
want their firm boycotted. At any
rate, each of these firms either
sent a letter or made their ac-
ceptance of the lease immediately
known to SHA. A further incentive
was the free advertisement we ran,
listing agencies with the new
lease.
One problem with those firms
on the 8 month lease has been the
rise in rentals. Agencies have
raised their rents 15-25 per cent
per month. Some, but not all of
this increase, can be tolerated.
In the case of a 12 month lease,
students could expect to lose 25
per cent of the summer rent or a
full month's rent if they were able
to sub-let. There are also the un-
counted costs of sub-letting, both
incidental and psychological-the
expense of advertising and the
strain during final exams. A mod-
erate rise in rent would still bene-
fit the student who resided in
Ann Arbor for the 8 month period.
THE SECOND goal of better
maintenance by apartment agen-
cies has been fulfilled tosome ex-
tent. Apartments Ltd. has been
somewhatrmore attentive to up-
keep; Karl Malcolm has been con-
tinually embarassed about the
condition of his buildings. This
firm's repair still seems to be more
reactive than preventive-respon-
ding to serious complaints chan-
nelled through the Rental Union,
but little effort to find these faults
beforehand.
As well, a number of other firms
have been alerted, to student ef-
forts and have taken a closer look
at their repair policies. We still
feel that there are a number of
legitimate complaints that never
reach the complaint service, due
to lack of information or accept-
ance of managerial inefficiency.
This summer will show whether
the agencies, particularly Apart-
ments Ltd., will be more conscien-
tious about return of damage de-
posits.
A THIRD AREA of qualified
success is in student participation
and legitimacy. A number of stu-
dents from different groups and
interests were involved in the boy-
cott proceedings. This led to a
small but activist core to head
student housing activities. Some
have been trained to assume lead-
ership in the next year or two.
Still there have not been enough
students to sustain a mass effort
for more than 2 months at a time;
more students are always needed.
In a larger sense, students, ad-
ministration and the apartment
agencies have come to accept the
Student House Association as a
legitimate and influential force
in the apartment market. The
initial period of newness and
hesitationrhas been overocme.
Students know there is somewhere

First of a Two-Part Series
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (P)-They
refer to themselves as pro-
testors-"Don't call us deserters"
-and insist they are moral refu-
gees from the United States.
The judge advocate of the U.S.
Army in Europe labels them "bums
-not higher class of soldier." The
Pentagon says they are socially
and emotionally immature.
But to the Swedes they are a
bunch of unhappy kids who want
a new home. Sweden is freely pro-
viding it.
"They" are the growing colony
of defectors, from the American
military who, decrying the U.S.
role in Vietnam and the racial un-
rest in the states, are seeking sanc-
tuary in this land of snow and
midnight sun.
According to a recent count, the
list of defectors in Sweden was
over the 30 mark and, according
to Swedish authorities, was es-
calating at the rate of almost one
a day. A militant member of the
group predicts that by the end
of the year the number will reach
2.000-a figure scoffed at by the
Pentagon.
The defectors have turned their
backs on their homeland. They
have left friends and family with
littlehope of return without severe
penalty.
Several weeks ago, the first
American soldier to desert and
seek asylum in Sweden, Pvt. Ray
Jones 3rd of Detroit, and five
other defectors changed their
minds. They returned voluntarily
to their units in West Germany
or home.
one was a New York Reservist
who had been called for duty in
Vietnam. Another said he found
Sweden too cold. Two told author-
ities they were only 'AWOL and
had come to Sweden to examine
the situation.
The hard core defectors coun-
tpred this reverse defector trend
with the announcement that 27
more American service men had
fled to Sweden. They claimed this
brought the total to more than
50 but this was not immediately
confirmed.
There is definite doubt and mis-
givings, however, among those re-
maining. One of the deserters has
become so unnerved that he has
had to seek psychiatric help. Some
have become alarmed to find
themselves in a Communist web.
Others are conferring secretly with
U.S. Embassy officials in Stock-
holm.
Jones, the only one of the re-
turning defectors identified, said
that he simply had had enough of
life in Sweden.
"I AM HOMESICK," he said.
Jones, a' 21-year-old Negro, was
stationed with an Army unit in
Furth, West Germany, near Nu-
remburg, when his unit received
notice in January, 1967, that it
was being transferred.
"I figured we were headed for
Vietnam," he said. "I wanted no
part of the war. I forged my leave
papers and, accompanied by my
wife, took a train to Copenhagen.
From there I went to Stockholm.
"For the first three months, I
was aided by this anti-American
activist group. I didn't agree with
their philosophy so I drifted away
from them: They've hardly spoken
to me since."
Jones played in a band for' a
while, he made speeches and wrote
a play. His blonde German wife,
who speaks four languages, got a
job as an interpreter. A son, Ray
4th, was born four months ago.
Jones got a job teaching ballet. He
still didn't find happiness.
"I found the Swedish people
very cold," he said. "America is my
from perfect but it's my country.
I want to go back there and do
everything I can for my race."
Jones acknowledged that every-

thing appears rosy for the defect-
ors at the moment. They all have
found a friendly reception in
Sweden-organizations willing to
take them under their wing, sym-
pathizers offering temporary room

and board, pretty girls anxious to
set up housekeeping and a gov-
ernment ready to pay each around
$16 a week until he can find a
job.
"Just wait until the honeymoon
is over," Jones said. "Pretty soon,
they'll be wanting to go home,
too."
The majority of the defectors
don't agree.
"OUT OF THE more than 30
guys already here, there aren't
more than a couple who won't
stick it out," says Michael David
Haire, 20, of Beaufort, S.C.
Haire, son of a Marine Corps
sergeant in World War II, was
the second deserter, after Jones,
to flee to Sweden. Contending he
was persecuted by his officers, he
left the 8th Cavalary in Bad
Kreuznach, West Germany, last
August. He had been court mar-
tialed four times, convicted once
for not showing up at reveille and
served 41 days in the stockade.
Haire, who has piercing gray
eyes, beard and a 'flowing mus-
tache, is a leader among the more
'militant and leftist segment of the
group. Throughout the day fellow
deserters flow in and out of his
apartment, which is the center of
strategy meetings.
"I am against the war in Viet-
nam," Haire said. I am against
capitalism; I think capitalism is a
tiger devouring itself. It is chasing
its own tail and, like Little Black
Sambo in the nursery story, it will
some day turn into butter."
Haire, who speaks Swedish well
and who recently got a Job as an
architect assistant at about $100
a month, said he has been helping
in the office of the left wing Front
for National Liberation, or FNL,
which prints anti U.S. pamphlets
by the thousands, raises money
for the Vietcong and throws eggs
and rocks at the U.S. Embassy.
"All of us are left wing, he said,
referring to his fellow deserters,
"but we fall into two categories.
There are those who are con-
vinced the United States will blow
up the world. There are others
who think the United States can
be saved before this catastrophe
happens. Even the Intrepid Four
are split two ways on this ques-
tion.
THE BEST KNOWN of the de-
fectors are the four sailors who
jumped the aircraft carrier In-
trepid off Japan last Oct. 23 and
ultimately wound up in Stockholm,
criticizing what they calledi "the
stupid, cruel and immoral war in
Vietnam.
They are Richard Bailey, 19, of
Jacksonville,RFla.; Michael A.
Lindner, 19, of Mount Pocono, Pa.;
Craig Anderson, 20, of San Jose,
Calif., and John Barilla, 20, of
Catenville, Md s n-
During a brief stay in the Soviet
Union, a Russian peace commit-
tee gave each of the sailors $1,000
and sent them on their way to
Sweden.
Anderson and Barilla enrolled
in a university to learn Swedish.'
Barilla lives on the campus. An-
derson has a room with a family.
Both are loners. They seldom m'ake
appearances. They shun inter-
views.
Much more extroverted are Bai-
ley and Lindner, who have been
given temporary lodging in the
basement of the modest red bun-
galow home of Gosta Ekman, a
Swedish 'actor.
Lindner had just finished a
breakfast of bacon and eggs when
he was found in the spacious sub-
terranean quarters that the two
sailors call home.
The Ekmans were out. Bailey
had spent the night elsewhere. A
phonograph blared pop music. Two
young girls of college age, mini
skirted, one in green mesh stock-
ings were busy washing dishes.

Lindner, who had just been vis-
ited by his parents, seeking to per-
suade him to change his mind, re-
clined on a mattress on the floor
and talked freely about his new
life.

i

*

4
4"

Letters:* racism?

4

THE ARTICLE "Every one of
them is a racist" is so inter-
esting that I wish Mr. Wildstrom
would make his thoughts clearer
thandthey were. Otherwise, he will
find himself in the paradoxical
position of being called anti-racist
and anti-Semitic at the same
time.
It may be that he expects Jews
to be less sensitive, to slurs now-
adays because they are white and
are among the "haves," whereas
blacks have additional rights of
reaction that older liberals disap-
prove of. If so, then he was indeed
singling out Jews within the white
community. If not, then why, was
he not content with referring to
his companions as "white lib-
erals?"
These- are some of the questions
which Mr. Wildstrom should an-
swer if he is a responsible essay-
ist:
If Jews are as assimilated into
white American society as Ger-

Is there any reason why Jews
who still know how to use the
word "schwarz es" should feel a
'collective guilt" for racial crimes
committed in Colonial America
and the United States between
1600 and 1900?
.What is a white racist anyway,
and how are Jewish white racists
different?
OTHER questions: What is a
black racist, and what makes him
more likable than a white racist?
Is there a difference between
black racists and other kinds of
blacks.
Are white liberals racists when
they are "shocked and saddened"
by King's death while being hos-
tile to haters like Carmichael?
Is it "unknowing liberal racism"
for people to have "stayed as the
complexion of their neighborhood
changed," while others moved
away?
Jews are not perfect, but who
is? Liberals have their faults, but

,4

41

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