Seventy-Fifth Year EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS "It Just Doesn't Fit In With My Library!" NEW PROBLEMS: Complexity of City Housing Where OpinIone Are Frew, 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, MIci.. 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. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1964 NIGHT EDITOR: DAVID BLOCK Student Action Group Takes Wrong Approach ifj P04/~r sr 4if4 d fdiog byW9MJ da C0 'I ItAf REPOR4 -4 ptl /"t f,'Tveg, iR'H' By LEONARD PRATT TrHE HOUSING PROBLEM in Ann Arbor today is a very com- plex situation. It is complex first from the standpoint of its causes, enmeshed as they are in city administration and the civil rights struggle. And second it is complex because of its effects on the com- munity, effects ranging from eco- nomic to social and ethical. It is because of this very complexity that we must understand the situ- ation; its importance lies in the fact that it does affect so much in so many unexpected ways. Origins of the current housing situation can be separated into basically two parts. First is the civil rights struggle with its ac- companying emphasis on removing discrimination in housing rentals. The other major cause might be labeled administrative; that is, it derives its importance from the fact that either the city or the University, or often both, is act- ing to promote a change in the point, housing problems were brought to the public eye some eight years ago, when local civil rights groups began to document cases of discriminatory .housing. This documentation brought to the public proof, as opposed to mere accusations, that there was need for such regulations in Ann Arbor. Sentiment within the inherently conservative community g r e w slowly at first, but students and interested citizens gave the move- ment the impetus it needed. Thus ever increasing pressure induced the city council to pass the Fair Housing Ordinance in January of 1964. The ordinance authorized enforcement of most of the demands which civil rights groups had been making on the city. Yet passage of theordinance was niot the end of fair housing problems in the city. For the or- dinance soon was takgen into court in the Parkhurst and Arbordale apartment case. WELL, IT'S BEGUN. A great, seething mass of student-humanity angrily surged onto the Diag yesterday noon and roared approval of Barry Bluestone's dia- tribe against the "sorry conditions" at the University. About 200 showed up. Bluestone could not be heard from the back of the crowd. The occasional "Yea's" to his charges that the administration doesn't care about its students came from a few Voice people already sympathetic to the glories of mass protest. Then one unplanned spectator shouted, "Let's march on the president's house." So off went the by-now 75, carefully avoiding trampling the lawn, to interrupt Mrs. Hatcher's lunch. She asked them to come to tea today and said it was nice that students were demanding something. T IS. There are undoubtedly dissatis- factions and ideas floating around the campus. They don't get expressed or fol- lowed up through Student Government Council. So why not an ad hoc group? No reason, as long as it realizes that the case isn't one of the righteous stu- dent body fighting an unheeding, evil, ignorant administration. As long as the members of that group realize just how very little they really understand. It was the simplism of that Diag "rally" which was most disturbing, the demagogic mass appeal, the painting of the Issues in black-and-white. For a crowd of desperate, repressed people, that kind of appeal is both appro- priate and necessary. For students-who if they are not more intelligent than the masses have little justification for exist- ence-such an appeal is both inappropri- ate and unnecessary. HEN STUDENTS and a whole nation were beginning to express their con- cern with the Negro question, there was good reason for emotions. When the issue is the problem of administering a 29,000- student University which spends more than $150 million a year, however, ap- peals to emotion are simply out of con- text. Student grievances-however passion- ately some might feel them-just do not lend themselves to simple, black-and- white solutions, much less to that kind of analysis. LUESTONE'S VOICE and the large capital letters on the leaflet proclaim- ed that "WE DEMAND" more money for teaching instead of the overemphasis on research, new student housing, better study and parking facilities, increased student wages, lower costs for housing, books and retail goods and "Campus De- mocracy Now." Such an appeal is more than just dis- tasteful to those who realize all the mi- nute complexities of the issues involved. It is actually harmful to the process through which changes will have to be achieved. Attempting to arouse students' emo- tions over University policy is a laughing matter to those who are aware of what goes into the making of that policy. They rightly sense the gross oversimplification. FOR THOSE who are won over, however -and there undoubtedly will be some -it will be quite difficult to give their grievances the concerted and essentially boring study which is necessary. Blue- stone decried the way SGC buries im- portant business-such as a grievance list he presented there a number of weeks ago-in committee. Well he might-in referring to SGC committees. Yet by his own admission, during the few parts of his speech when he turned away from the mass appeal, only small groups giving intense consid- eration to narrow areas of concern can gain the knowledge from which mean- ingful recommendations must be made. Those students who come to tonight's "mass" meeting of the new student group expecting immediate and radical solu- tions through demonstrations, strikes or boycotts-and it is likely that most of those who come will expect this-will be sorely disappointed when they are as- signed to committees. If they stay around at all. If it wants to build and keep a mem- bership, the new group will have to pro- vide excitement. The "march" on Hatch- er's house is only a first indication. Yet if it does this, there is little chance that anyone in the administration will listen. If the group takes its minority of emo- tionally-charged students and demon- strates, it will most likely, and 'rightly, be ignored. If it takes its minority and instead presents sound recommendations based on understanding of the issues, it faces the problem of being too small. THE ONLY METHOD is combining size and rationality. The group could have begun with small units of dedicated and intelligent people delving deeply into spe- cific problems and then gone to the cam- pus at large. The appeal would have much more force, command much more respect for being well documented and for presenting viable creative alternatives. As it is, it seems the procedure is being reversed. If the reason for this reversal is the aversion for the committee method of study-based on disappointing experi- ences with SGC-the reasoning is mis- guided. There is nothing inherently weak or ineffective about committees. The meaninglessness of SGC's studies is not a result of the committee method but of the ineptness of those on SGC. It will be most unfortunate if nothing comes of Bluestone's efforts, for there is definitely a need at the University for the expression of reasoned student opin- ion. Without doubt, there are many cru- cial issues. BUT THE NATURE of the problems, the fact that grievances about adminis- trative procedures are just not equivalent to grievances about civil rights, the fact that where rationality is required, stu- dents cannot be expected to act appro- priately when the appeal is to emotional simplism, these factors militate against success for the student action group born yesterday. Hopefully, the group will reassess its course. -JEFFREY GOODMAN field. FROM THE civil rights LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Second Look at Goldwater Rally To the Editor- I WOULD LIKE to make a few observations on the caliber of reporting in The Daily for Sun- day, September 27, on the rally for Senator Goldwater in Detroit on September 26. You included a paragraph which reads as follows: "His speech in Detroit's Convention Arena at- tracted approximately 9,000 sup- porters, one third of whom were of high school age or less. The speech was interrupted several times by short demonstrations from youthful supporters, who also booed Romney when he appeared at the platform." I am taking issue with this para- graph because I believe to be true published evidence that newspaper reporting which flirts with the truth but never settles down to an honest marriage with it has often deliberately been used in efforts to convince the public that a par- ticular political candidate enjoys little public support. * * * NOW, as a matter of fact, I was in Cobo Hall Convention Arena Saturday night, two hours before the rally and I stood in the halls watching the people stream in. According to an official in the Customers Relations Department of Cobo Hall, whom I called on thismatter,athe seating capacity for Saturday night's rally was slightly over 12,000 people. In the hall, I saw that almost every seat was filled except a few hundred at the very top of the vast arena and there were people on the three lower levels standing and sitting in the aisles. Saturday night was a rainy night and Detroit has been without newspapers since July, and yet 12,000, not 9,000 people came out to give a "thundering" en- dorsement to Senator Goldwater. (That last phrase is a direct quote from the news commentators on Detroit's Television Station, WWJ, Channel 4.) Both Detroit television stations on their nightly newscast gave the attendance figure as over 12,- 000 and they were joined in their estimate by the Detroit Press, an emergency newspaper. Now, just where did your estimate come from? * * NOW AS FAR as the arena au- dience being one third composed of high school age or under sup- porters, there are a few facts which contradict this assertion. I have already indicated that I was in the audience and could see from the first'people who arrived until the hall was filled that this was not the case. I have a younger brother who is Wayne County Chairman for Teenage Republi- cans and he shared the respon- sibility for the teenagers who were in the hall. As a matter of fact, the teenagers who demonstrated numbered about six hundred. They had been recruited to engage in a torch-lightprocession toescort Senator Goldwater from his hotel to the arena. A section of seats had been reserved for this num- ber in the back of the main floor of the hall and its was these six hundred young teenagers that demonstrated on the floor. One third of 12,000 people is 4,000 and one third of 9,000 is 3,000. There remains at last 2,400 youngsters to account for and frankly, the only other young people I saw were those that ac- companied their parents along with an expected proportion scat- tered throughout the arena with- out chaperons. BUT THIS PROPORTION did not make up anywhere near one third of the audience - which would be 3,400 youngsters by reli- able estimates of the total cowd made in Detroit. I just wonder if this reporting is of thesame caliber as the notice that appear- Civil Rights To the Editor: YOUR ARTICLE on the situation in McComb, Mississippi in the Daily of Sept. 26 depressed me greatly. It is clear from the em- phasis of the story that you do not understand the way things work in Mississippi and especially in McComb, one of the most dangerous parts of the state. The arrest of 20 Negroes in an attempt to blame the civil rights movement for the four bombings of Negro homes and churches since Sept. 20 exactly parallels the claim made by white Mississip- pians that the three civil rights workers murdered in Philadelphia, Miss., were actually "hiding out in Chicago or in Mexico and laughing about the publicity they were getting." It is just another case of the injured party being charged with doing the injuring. It is not uncommon for a person involved in the civil rights move- ment in Mississippi to be badly beaten and then arrested for as- sault and battery. I was told by a Gulfport, Miss., policeman: . you know there's no law in Mis- sissippi." What laws they do respect are explicitly designed to preserve and promote racial inequities there and to make illegal any attempts to change the present setup. The "criminal syndicalism" statute, un- der which 25 Negroes were just arrested is disturbingly similar to South African tactics. According to the New York Times of Sept. 25, "It forbids' virtually all ac- tivity that would lead to political or social change in the state." Bare facts without background are inherently misleading. The story as it ran in the Daily does a great disservice to the civil rights movement. -Barry Goldstein, Grad To the Editor: A S THERE ARE only seve didates for the six seats upcoming Student Gover Council elections, I sugges students be asked to vote f candidate they do not wan simplifies voting and co procedures as it is easier f dents to vote for one pers stead of seven; and it is to count the one person wit votes instead of trying to out the six persons with t most votes. It would also be interest have an election where th didates try to tell voters wh also save a candidate tim should not vote for them.. -Yee C. Cher Dear To the Editor: I WOULD LIKE to remi students at this school w registered to vote in Michiga they have until Saturday, C 31, to apply for their absent lots for the November 3 ele This is a vitally importan tion for all of Michigan an our obligation as citizens of nation to cast our ballots f candidates of our choice. C still a government of theI our votes are an expressionc lie opinion and therefore I shape our community, sta' nation. I urge every student a school who is qualified to Michigan to obtain an at ballot before the October 31 line. All you need do is t your township or city cle request and application. f absent voters ballot, comp and return it to the same c mail. -George Ror Governor THE CASE originated when the manager of the apartments re- stand- fused to rent an apartment to a Negro, Bunyan Bryant. The Ann Arbor chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality reported the in- cident to the city's Human Rela- tions Commission, which had been set up under the housing ordinance to sift discrimination reports and determine whether or not they SGC should be prosecuted. HRC rec- ommended that the city prosecute the case and so it was arraigned in n can- Municipal Court last spring. in the But in the interim, Michigan's nment new constitution had come into t that effect, with a civil rights section for the which allegedly pre-empted the t. This civil rights field in the state; in unting other words, local rights laws were, or stu- held by the State Attorney Gen- on in- eral to be invalid under the new easier constitution, which had delegated h most the authority to try rights cases figure to its own Civil Rights Commis- he six sion. This opinion was used in the defense of the manager, and so ting to the case became not only a case of :e can- his guilt or innocence, but of the ly they very constitutionality of the Fair 1e and Housing Ordinance. MUNICIPAL Court Judge Fran- n, '65 cis O'Brien ruled the ordinance unconstitutional early in May, so line ending the first phase of the struggle over the ordinance; the case has been appealed to Circuit Court Judge James R. Breakey, nd the and whatever the decision there 'ho are the issue is certain to be appealed in that to the Michigan Supreme Court for )ctober a final decision. ee bal- The importance of the case is ction. that its significance reaches far it elec- beyond Ann Arbor; it is a state- d it is wide issue, as it will provide a a free precident for future law enforce- for the ment in the rights field. It will Durs is be the basis of future decisions as people; to whether state civil rights law of pub- is to exist independently in Michi- help to gan or whether it will co-exist te and with local regulations. And as such, the housing ordinance case it this will set the pattern for all future vote in Michigan civil rights movements. bsentee * * * dead- AS OPPOSED to the civil rights o write housing situation, the administra- rk and tive housing situation breaks down or the into two sections. First and most lete it prominent of these is the sub- lerk by standard housing situation and second is the very recent question cney of high-rise campus housing. Substandard housing is, in itself, probably the least complex of all the issues involved in current housing difficulties. Basically it is simply housing, either student or otherwise, that is below standards set forth in legal building codes. Of course there is great variation within this range; "below local building codes" includes everything from a leaky pipe or a frayed light cord to falling plaster and lack of heating. A second matter which must be noted is the vary- ing time sequences involved in the different substandard locations; some buildings remain on the sub- standard role for only a few weeks, time enough for their owners to effect the necessary repairs. Others have obviously been sub- standard for months if not years with little likelihood of the owners ever voluntarily modernizing them. Substandard items with either a very short time of repair, or of a'very minor nature, do not really enter into the housing problem. What is of concern are those major long-neglected items which indicate that their owners are not at all concerned with the quality of the housing they pro- vide; their sole interest is in their margin of profit which increases as their repair bills decrease. * * * THE SIZE of this problem was indicated several weeks ago when City Manager Guy C. Larcom re- ported to the city council that there were "at least" 317 cases of substandard housing in Ann Ar- bor. The city has been working under great handicaps in its at- tempts to enforce both city and state building codes. (Ann Arbor, incidently, is one of the few cities in the state which at least makes the attempt to enforce state build- ing codes.) Primary problem is, of course, the money to pay the manpower to keep such an in- spection program running; this simply has not been forthcoming. Ann Arbor, therefore, finds it- self in the unenviable position of promoting housing regulations without enforcing them. An end to this absurdity may be in sight if Larcom's request for additional funds is granted. High-rise campus housing is a problem new to the University. So far as most people are concerned, the issue presented itself only this fall when it became known that a Milwaukee firm, Towne Realty Inc., and 'an Ann Arbor builder, Robert Weaver Inc., were cooper- ating in the construction of an 18-story apartment building on South University. Several problems occur with the construction of this building. The major one is parking; the build- ing will house some 800 students, and the cars which these will add to already congested South Uni- versity traffic will be phenominal. The city and the University are now considering joint study of the problem by an independent study organization. THE SECOND PROBLEM is that of a blesing in disguise. High- rise apartments are needed in that they will ease the burden of stu- dent housing on the University. Yet a multiplicity of these apart- ments, such as will appear if this one is successful and no limita- tions are put on, such building, could easilyucongestAnn Arbor traffic beyond repair, make the parking problem literally impos- sible and shrink the rest of the University's campus into absurd- ity beside the gargantuian build- ings. High-rise housing problems have been further complicated by a series of misunderstandings as to the nature of the buildings and of the University's relation to them. Construction officials at first were said to have given the impression that the University had given full approval to. the project. This progressed to such an extent that officials of the Office of Stu- dent Affairs thought it necessary to deny any connection with the building project. As in many other housing'situa- tions, the University finds itself on the horns of, a delemma. On the! one hand, it wants the ad- ditional housing and certainly cannot put itself in the position of' stifling private enterprise on its campus for any reason. Yet it is undeniable that the Univer- sity has a responsibility to keep its campus , area functioning smoothly and reasonably attrac- tive. The solution to this problem can lie only in cooperation between University, city and the builders concerned. But it is much too early to tell what form this cooperation will take or when its effects will begin to be felt. The components of the housing situation, both from the civil rights standpoint and from the administrative standpoint must be clearly separated in our minds. For theysoperatedentirely indepen- dent of one another and will have entirely independent effects and resolutions. THERE ARE two things which must be avoided in thinking about the housing situation. First, the complexities and difficulties fac- ing those attempting to cope with these problems must never be un- 4 4 .4 I STANLEY QUARTET PREVIEW: Begins 16th University Season: Premier of Memorial to Kennedy i By JEFFREY K. CHASE THE STANLEY QUARTET, rec- ognized as one of the finest quartets-in-residence in the coun- try, is entering its 16th season at. the University. For the first of its four Ann Arbor concerts this year, on Oct. 7, the Quartet will feature Schubert's "Quartet in A minor, Op. 29," Beethoven's "Quartet in C major, Op. 59, No. 3" and the premier performance of the "Quartet No. hard and Carter have accepted these commissions and have re- sponded with imposing composi- tions. Forty works comprise the con- temporary portion of an impres- sive repertoire and the program- ming of one classical, one contem- porary and one romantic compo- sition in each concert has become the trade-mark of this resident quartet. The members of the quartet- Gilbert Ross and Gustave Rosseels, year, the composition is in four sections, played without pause. "The Quartet is a brief work of several moods ranging from the robust, the almost jovial, to a quiet solemnity. Its totality, how- ever, is not a programmatic eul- ogy; it is, rather a musician s humble statement of remorse." In addition to four string quar- tets, Cooper's recent works in- clude several sonatas-for piano solo, and for viola, violin, cello, and flute, each with piano. His Disqualification Reversal BARRY BLUESTONE, Student Govern- ment Council's source of vitality, has sacrificed principle in rationalizing his support for disqualifying one student last week from being 4a candidate for Stu- dent Government Council. The student in question was assisted by friends in getting petitions filled in order to qualify as a SOC candidate. In so do- ing an election procedure was violated. Bluestone, in a letter to the Daily, ex- plained that he opposed the petition re- quirement last spring and intended to attempt to revise the Credentials and Rules Committee ruling to disqualify the candidate. That the disqualified student would have been only the seventh in a field of candidates seeking six offices is adequate empirical justification for concluding the petition requirement is neither a neces- sary nor a desirable qualification for SGC candidacy. Bluestone is correct in raised at last week's meeting, it seems the student in question failed to appear in person before SGC to appeal the C & R committee's ruling. Instead a committee on her behalf pleaded her case. This in addition to the -assistance she received obtaining signatures led Bluestone to rea- sonably, if not correctly, conclude that she was not running for SGC as an in- dividual but as the proxy of a committee. Our inspired SGC representative decid- ed that such a candidacy "violated the spirit" of Council. Apparently there is neither a resolution disqualifying candi- dates absent from appeal proceedings nor one articulating the "spirit of SGC." Oth- erwise these would have been the express- ed reasons for disqualification. It appears that he judged it is his prer- ogative to define and defend the "spirit of SGC." In order to effect his judgment he utilized the spuriousapetition ruling. It is because nuisance laws are used in COOPER AND THE STANLEY QUARTET 4" by ~ Paul Comenr. violins: Robert Courte. viola: and "Concerto for Harpsichord and