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Vol. LXXXIX, No. 90
Ann Arbor, Michigan-Thursday,,
January 18, 1979
Ten Cents
Ten Pages
Lesbian mother
wins custody
By KEVIN ROSEBOROUGH
Margareth Miller's two and one-half
year battle for custody of her daughter
Jillian ended yesterday when the
Michigan Supreme Court, in a lan-
dmark decision, awarded her per-
manent custody, reversing lower court
rulings.
"Two and one-half years of trauma
and pain has ended," said an ecstatic
Miller of yesterday's ruling. "Jillian
has been living with me since the court
fight started, but we never knew when
someone might come and take her
away."
THE SUPREME Court, ruling on the
issue of child custody by a homosexual.
parent for the first time, stated in their
decision that " the record does not
present clear and convincing evidence
that the change of custody is in the best
interest of the child."
Although the Supreme Cour ruling
overruled an earlier decision that many
charges were made because of Ms.
Miller's sexual preference, there is
some question as to the broadness of the
ruling. Homosexual parental rights
weren't mentioned specifically in the
Court's decision, so the scope of the
ruling in relation to these rights is still
open to interpretation.
Miller's ex-husband, Paul Miller,
gained custody of Jillian, 12, and their
son Rick, 16, after petitioning Oakland
County Circuit Court Judge Frederick
Ziem in September, 1976 for a change of
custody. Ms. Miller had had custody of
the two children for four years after the
couple was divorced. Ms. Miller, who is
a research assistant at the University's
Institute of Social Research, was also
living with her female lover.
"SAY THE word 'lesbian' (in court)
and everyone jumps out the window,"
said Miller, 38, of the proceedings. Rick
moved in with his father, but Jillian
was allowed to stay with her mother,
and the lengthy legal battle was on. The
case was heard in Oakland County Cir-
case
cuit Court twice and the Michigan Court
of Appeals twice before being heard by
the Supreme Court.
"Judge Ziem relied not on the facts of
the quality of the parenthood that the
children were receiving to make his
decision, but on his presumptions about
what lesbianism is and means," said
Miller's attorney, Michael Moran.
"You can't adjudicate on the basis of a
person's status - you must take the in-
dividual facts of a case. The judge
(Ziem) was considering the case on the
basis of (Miller's) homosexuality, even
though there was no proof that went
against the existence of good paren-
thood."
See LESBIAN, Page 2
Carter gives vote of
confidence to Iran
Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG
Margareth and Jillian Miller smile after winning a two-and-a-half year court battle in which the lesbian mother was awarded
custody of her daughter.
1,000 FEARED DEAD IN TREMOR:
Fighting, earthquake r
By AP and Reuter northeast province of Khorrasan, formed to supply food for survivors left
TEHERAN, Jan. 17 - Less than 24 killing up to 1,000 people. homeless by the quake.
hours after the shah left the country, The earthquake - the second major A major earthquake in the same area
Iran's delicate political situation slid one in the province of Khorrasan in four last September destroyed the town of
into confusion yesterday amid reports months - destroyed three villages and Tabas and left 15,000 people dead.
of dozens of deaths in heavy army local press reports said the death toll Yesterday's tremor was reported cen-
shooting in a major provincial city. may reach 1,000. tered on Birjano, 155 miles east of
Informants said anti-shah militants So far, the official death toll is only Tabas.
had bombarded an army garrison in 199 with 650 others injured, but rescue IN THE United States statements of
Ahwaz with messages from loud- teams were still digging for bodies. support for Bakhtiar appear to have
speakers Tuesday night. Troops TWO HELICOPTERS and three giant become more reserved in recent days
angered by the anti-shah comments C-130 Hercules transport planes were as opposition to his 11-day-old gover-
rushed into the streets yesterday mor- used yesterday to fly relief supplies nment continues unabated.. This sen-
ning to confront the demonstrators. from Teheran to the disaster zone. In timent has been echoed more forcefully
Local press reports said hundreds of addition, two tankers carrying in the private comments of ad-
soldiers shouting "Javid Shah" (Long kerosene and water have also been sent ministration officials.
live the Shah) ran through the city to the area. Undersecretary of State David
mowing down dozens of people and Iran Radio said that a committee Newsom told interviewers Tuesday
spraying buildings with bullets. working on behalf of the exiled religious night that while the administration con-
ADDING TO Iran's problems yester- leader Ayotallah Ruhollah Khomeiny, tinues to support the Bakhtiar gover-
day, a major earthquake struck the the Shahs chief opponent, had been nment, it recognizes that Iran is in the
)ck Iran
process of "political change."
One aspect of the rapid turn of events
in Iran that has struck officials here is
that the once-pervasive U.S. influence
has virtually disappeared with the
shah's departure for a still-undisclosed
destination in the United States.
THE SHAH arrived in Egypt on
Tuesday andI diplomatic sources said he
will visit Morocco later in the week.
The precipitous decline in U.S. in-
fluence in Iran was a theme Newsom,
stressed repeatedly in his comments on
the Public Broadcast Service's "Mac-
Neil-Lehrer Report."
Other officials point out that if the
United States was unable to save the
shah, it would have even less chance of
ensuring the survival of the Bakhtiar
government.
Despitethe limited U.S. influence,
State Department spokesman Hodding
Carter said yesterday that the United
States still hopes to play a role in easing
tensions.
As for the shah's future, Secretary of
State Cyrus Vance as recently as last
Thursday was describing the shah's
then-impending departure from Iran as
a "vacation.,,
But Newsom, under questioning
Tuesday night, passed up the oppor-
tunity to characterize it as such. Asked
whether the shah plans to settle per-
manently in the United States, Newsom
said, "We do not know as yet what his
plans are."
WASHINGTON (AP)-President
Carter expressed confidence yesterday
that the Iranian people would be able to
restore a stable government and
economy to their strife-torn nation after
the departure of the shah.
Carter also called on the exiled
Iranian religious leader, Ayatollah
Khomaini, to support the new civilian
government headed by Prime Minister
Shapour Bakhtiar. He said the prime
minister has won the support of the
Iranian military "and many of the
religious opponents" of the Shah of
Iran, who left the Persian Gulf nation
Tuesday, ending his 37-year rule.
AT HIS FIRST news conference in
five weeks, Carter said that despite the
overthrow of the Cambodian gover-
nmentrby Vietnamese-backed Cam-
bodian insurgents, "We do not detect
any immediate threat to the border of
Thailand from the Vietnamese."
But in an apparent warning to Hanoi
and Moscow, Vietnam's chief ally in the
communist world, he said. "We have
warned both the Vietnamese and the
Soviets, who supply them and support
them against any danger, that they
might exhibit toward Thailand."
Turning to economic matters, the
president said the fiscal 1980 budget, to
be made public Monday, will more than
meet his goal of a deficit of less than $3
billion.F
HE SAID THAT any fair analysis of
the new budget, which goes into effect
Oct. 1, would show that it adequately
meets the needs of defense as well as
"meeting the legitimate needs of those
who are most depending on gover-
nment."
Carter said that "the total alloction of
funds for the poor will be increased" by
$4.5 billion. But he offered no specific
figures for individual programs to
illustrate how the increased funding
would be distributed.
And the president said California
Gov. Edmund Brown's call for a con-
stitutional convention with the aim of
amending the Constitution to prohibit
budget deficits was "extremely
dangerous."
CARTER DEFENDED his decision
to invite former president Richard
Nixon to a White House state dinner
Jan. 29 for Deputy Prime Minister Teng
Hsiao-ping of China as "entirely
proper."
He said Nixon had opened up "an
avenue of communications and con-
sultation" with Peking, adding that
Teng and other Chinese officials ex-
See CARTER, Page'2
LSA-tSG _hitsr
Stechuk
protest
endorsement-,
By ADRIENNE LYONS
The Literary College Student Gover-
nment (LSA-SG) last night passed a
resolution condemning President Bob
Stechuk's endorsement against the
Yigal Allon lecture last month and
tabled a second resolution which would
have protected the organization from
future endorsement abuses.
"It (the first resolution) establishes
LSA-SG's position with regard to the in-
cident," council member Bruce Kozar-
sky said. "It condemns the incident,
clarifies the original intent (of the en-
dorsement of the Palestine Human
Rights Committee-PHRCleaflet) and
disavows council from the endor-
sement."
THE TROUBLE began at former
Israeli foreign minister Allon's lecture
December 17, when Stechuk, using the
council's name, endorsed a leaflet
sponsored by the PHRC, which opposed
j Thursday
* The government's economic
report is optimistic for the
coming year. See story, Page 2.
" The past is reborn at the Ben-
tley Historical Library. See
story, Page 3.
eProposal D, which officially
raised Michigan's drinking age to
21 in December, is causing
problems for bar owners. See
story, Page 10.
* Michigan's cagers hope to
recover from their three-game
slide. See story, Page 9.
e Reed the Today
column, Page 3
shapes up for '79
By JOHN SINKEVICS
University officials and professors
have griped about the deteriorating
writing skills of incoming freshpersons
as well as graduating University
students for many years. As a result,
the University's English department
devised a special writing program last
summer which will be in full swing by
fall term of 1979.
Under the direction of the English
Composition Board (ECB), the
program involves a series of pre-tests
for incoming freshpersons which in-
dicate to instructors the level of com-
petence at which the students are per-
forming. On the basis of these tests -
which are taken during orientation - a
student is placed in a special tutorial
program, an introductory English
composition course, or is allowed to
forego basic composition requirements.
BECAUSE THE new writing
requirements are not fully effective un-
til the fall of 1979, the ECB set up
special introductory composition sec-
tions for the current school year in
English 125 for students whose
assessment essays indicated need for
tutorial help. Those students who suc-
cessfully complete this course then get
credit for English 125.
Next year, students placed in the
tutorial program will have to complete
the requirements for that course before
they can take the English composition
course.
Until this year, the University relied
primarily on Scholastic Aptitude Test
scores (SAT) and results from the Ad-
vanced Placement (AP) test in English
to determine exemptions for advanced
students from the composition
requirements. The new program in-
cludes the University's own writing test
and subsequent composition
requirements beyond a student's frosh
year.
Entitled "The Upperclass Writing
Requirement," the program operates
in conjunction with the curriculum of a
student's concentration,, and is over-
seen by the ECB. Most departments at
See NEW, Page 2
Ease on
down the
snowy
road
By DIANE SILVER
According to one University student,
the South University entrance to the
Engineering Arch is the most enter-
taining place on campus these days.
"The ice is so bad that everybody either
slips or does a little dance on their way
by," she mused.
For many people, the dance ends
(literally) on an embarrassing note,
and the slick conditions are not con-
finndl to the Tnivtrcrty rnnrt
Union dorm supporters to rally
By MITCH CANTOR
At least 50 students are expected to
attend today's Regents meeting in the
Administration Building as a last
measure in a week-long student lob-
THE RECOMMENDATIONS, tabled
last month by the Regents, originated
out of the Sturgis Report, a study com-
pleted last year which evaluated the
Union's facilities. Though the four per-
students to make long-distance calls to
the Regents from the Michigan Student
Assembly (MSA) office for no charge.
MSA allocated $500 to the drive
earlier this month.
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