er.'6: ncertain prefaceEA
THE SUMMER OF 969 has been one more of preparation
than of events. In national and international politics as
well as in Ann Arbor the summers events have been over-
shadowed by the context in which they found meaning
Summer for the international scene has meant uncertain-
ty. The summer has seen no visible progress in bringing an
end to the fighting in Vietnam although President Nixon has v ,
~.withdrawn token troop contingents from that war and prom -/1Tr
ises more withdrawals.
Uncertainty also marked President Nixon's around the . .
~ world tou. His arguments for a new Asian security pact, in-
cluding as a prime obj ective regional self defense so this°
country could avoid involvement in new Vietnams, has brought Ex <
little positive response. Both on Vietnam and the larger Asian
question a groundwork for change has been laid but nothing
F much has happened yet.
° Increasing threat of armed conflict between China and
b the Soviet Union, tension in the Middle East and the fighting
b: .,in Ireland also fall into the category of events awaiting
development or resolution.
Nationally, the biggest single event was the successful
' completion of the Apollo 11 mission placing the first man on
the moon./
Of mhore mundane character, but perhaps greater political<
/ significance, was the passage of the Nixon administration's
Safeguard ABM system. Again, although that particular ques-
tion has apparently been resolved, it set off the opening shots
' x ~of a congressional battle against the military the outcome of mY
5. ~which is far from known.r,
UNKNOWN QUANTITIES as well are the two new appointees
to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Warren Burger ands 'a"4 x
newly nominated justice Clement Haynsworth have yet toN
*prove their real meaning to the court. Most observers believe "
that together they will bring about a substantial conservative
Yxshift, but only the upcoming cases on drug use, the rights of ~~C nen
privacy and the rights of those accused will be able to confirm
r or disprove the predictions.
Also laying the groundwork for further developments was
Edward Kennedy's removing himself from the 1972 presi ...'* - ~ ~
dential race after an accident on'Cape Cod caused the death . *...%
cofnaepassngery in the car he was driving. His absence from t, : ,.
contention may open the field for other cniae ri a
have the effect of narrowing it to Hubert Humphrey. ~' *.
EVENTS HERE in Ann Arbor have been similarly inconclu- s<
sive. The events in themselves will be less significant than
the political issues they raise.
In the University the only question resolve wsfha"o
gar the bookstore-there won't be one. But even on that it is
reasonable to expect the fight over this question will not .die
entirely.
f xI? 5F = i rOther issues-policy board control in the Office of Stu-
'E r ,s dent Affairs, language and other required courses and mili.
tary recruiting- remain essentially unresolved. and await
~ ~ *~ ~further development.
~More important than what has taken place in the Uni-
e ~versity this summer have been questions significant to the3
r-a v Ywhole community. The greatest single event of the summer
s . r.. . <. was the South University street disturbances of mid-J u n e.'
'Law 9Young people were there assaulted by the force in arms of
al'i ord r c me t Souh U iveritythree county sheriff's departments, the local police, dogs, tear
gas and clubs. But again more significant than the event it-
self are the whole plethora of issues it has raised.
EMERGING out of the disturbances as an important force in
Ann Arbor is the Trans-Love White Panther Party com-
munal complex.
As the focus for Ann Arbor's street people Trans-Love was Aa
instrumental in bringing peace to South U after the disturb- ARM! passed - the fight against
ances. And by taking positive and continuing action the Trans-
Love people brought Sunday afternoon rock concerts to the
city.
Trans-Love showed signs this summer of becoming an im-
mensely important force in local events. However, the convc-
tion of John Sinclar, Minister of Information for the White
t Panther Party, and the arrest this week of several other prom-
The b igg e st single inent party members may mean deep problems for the comn-;
event was the successf ul muAlso growing to greater significance as a result of the dis-
cm eio f theAol turbances is the emergence of widespread dissatisfaction with
competio teSheriff Douglas Harvey, especially in the University commun-
lo 1 mision lacig "ity. Two organizations, RECALL and REMOVE, have been set
$ ~up to oust the Sheriff. 3
thRirtmno h ~~ UT THE OTHER side of the conflict has taken shape as well. -
7. *
40
?d Citizens%
*i
AI
444'
t h e m i it a r y o es'o
moon.j A group calling itself Concerned Citizens has organized in a
i ~support of Sheriff Harvey and has petitioned the city for re- 4
* strictions on the park concerts and legislation to end distribu-
tion to minors of The Ann Arbor Argus and White Panther$ Y
. ~Party literature because of what they consider obscenity.z.
kr~ .2 Both in Ann Arbor and in the world at large the summer "x
S. has meant the accumulationi of contending forces. Events have
served to sharpen some issues and to create others. The de- x w
b velopment of these issues and the eventual conflict or conces-
sion between the contentious forces remains to be seen.
-CHRIS STEELE
Co-Editor.
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r. N ... ..*
.* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ../N
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .....~... .*~. .
~ A~L*~r4R
Growing to greater sig-
nificance as a result of
the disturb~ances is the
emergence of wide-
s p r e a d dissatisfaction '
with Sh e r iff Douglas
Harvey, especially in the
University community.
r4