Page 4-Friday1 February 23, 1979-The Michigan Daily
Jwbe Attigan faiI
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor; MI 48109
Eighty-Nine Years of Editorial Freedom
Tenants should be influential
in resolving housing problems
Vol. LXXXIX, No. 121
News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Cellar workers lose out
IL AST WEEK'S decision by the Uni-
versity Cellar Bookstore
management to institute a new super-
visory structure is deplorable because
it will remove worker input from the
store and puts too much responsibility
into the hands of new department.
supervisors. The action taken by the
Cellar Board of Directors will also
jeopardize the student discounts the
store was created to provide.
From its origin in 1969 as an alter-
native bookstore on this campus, the
cellar has been well-known for its
student discounts and the large share
of worker input into its decisions.
; The store's management has
claimed that its new supervisory struc-
cure will produce more efficiency and
is necessary to "make sure each area
of the store can develop the roles they
have to play to most effectively serve
the students."
In fact, however, the new system will
probably result in lower work incen-
tive among the employees which will
lessen productivity. Most of the
workers acknowledge the main reason
they stay at the Cellar is because of
their power to affect change within
their own departments: The store has
prospered largely due to the dedicated
efforts of these workers who are such
an integral part of the decision-making
process. With the new system, it is
very doubtful that this type of
dedication will be able to survive,
especially if the workers' initial reac-
tions are any indication.
The new structure also calls for in-
creased salary outlays. Some of the
store's employees assert that the
outlays will rise by as much as $20,000
to $50,000 per year. Where is this
money going to come from? Since the
store is run on a non-profit basis with
the profits converted into student
discounts, the newstrains on the budget
will have to come from the discoun-
ts-another case where the students
bear the costs.
It is quite obvious that the board's
decision is a direct response to the
worker's successful unionization last
month into the Industrial Workers of
the World (IWW). The store's workers
were not concerned with security wage
increases but more importantly were
worried that they would lose their role
in the decision-making process.
Management has just displayed its
power by telling the workers that
unionization will not carry any clout in
the University Cellar.
The manner in which the board
established the new system is also par-
ticularly disturbing. Ignoring the
union's pleas to negotiate the proposed
change, the board went into a closed
executive session and decided to
create the managerial change anyway.
Finally bowing to pressure from the
employees and the Michigan student
Assembly, the board agreed to meet
with the workers yesterday to get their
reactions to the action. But this is
a token gesture after the damage has
already been done. This consultation
should have occurred before the board
created the new system.
Unless the board suspends the new
structure until the union can negotiate
this clause into their new contract, it
will continue to unjustly represent the
students' interests, which is its only
reason for existence.
The student ghetto is a con-
venient term that characterizes
the jumble of apartment
buildings, houses, flats, and ef-
ficiencies which surround the
University's Central Campus.
Although these buildings are
required to comply with the Ann
Arborrhousing code, many of
them rank just above or below
city standards.
Certainly, the stream of
student tenants who change ad-
dresses annually hurts the
quality of off-campus housing
units. Yet, many students, who
arrive at their new dwellings in
September after an abrupt spring
inspection, may expect buildings
of higher quality than the ones in-
to which they actually move.
THE CITY simply does not
have enough inspectors to check
every room students may
discover in any obscure corner of
Ann Arbor. Therefore the respon-
sibility lies with tenants to take
up where the city leaves off and
to protect their own rights.
The Ann Arbor Tenants Union
is an organization which tries to
protect those rights. It provides
information, counseling, and
mediation from the tenant's
viewpoint.
A conspicuous lack of initiative
on the part of the majority of
tenants has muted the efforts of
the Tenants Union. And a
disproportionate number of those
who do show a burst of interest in
housing reform leave the group
after a short time.
"A LOT OF students come in
(to work at the union) and leave.
They don't hang on. They come
into this organization and leave
it, just like they come into Ann
Arbor and leave it four years
later," said Chris Strempek, who
works as a liason between the
Tenants Union and the
psychology department's Project
Outreach.
Tenants call or walk in, ask a
few questions, and then hang up
or walk out. They use the union,
and then toss it aside like a piece
of dirty tissue. While there are
influence from which the tenants
can draw - themselves.
PERHAPS NEGATIVE at-
titudes like this are what inhibits
tenants from joining the hous-
ing reform movement. The
control anyway"' is a self-
By Elizabeth Slowik
~,
management companies and
landlords for basic repairs. A
student whose apartment is
overrun with carpenter ants or'
who has no control over his heat n
the midst of a sub-zero cold snap
has no patience for isolated
vacancy figures. The tenant wan-
ts his problem fixed. y
Many 'times these' typical
problems would not occur if only
a substantial number of Ann Ar-
bor tenants would have presented
a united front to landlords and
demanded that buildings be
brought up to code. Most Ann Ar-
bor tenants are like spoiled
children: They want the Tenants
Union to exist but are unwilling to
work to ensure its existence.
"BEING STUDENTS," says
Strempek, "we haven't the time
to be out on the streets telling
people we're here."
But a large group of students,
each one putting in a few hours of
organized effort a week, can
make a dent in the housing crisis.
Recently, the Tenants Union
conducted seminars in various
dorms to educate residents on
moving out into the rental world.
The union prepared for a large
turnout but was disappointed.Few
future tenants took advantage of
the program. Eventually they
will be the ones to call the Tenan-
ts Union, moaning because of a
twisted clause in a lease or some
other problem.
The Tenants Union helps all
tenants, not just those who work
for it. But tenants must first help
themselves. Mayor Louis Belcher
won't knock on your landlord's
door.
Elizabeth Slowik is the:
Daily's Features Editor. This'
column, written by members
of the Daily s senior staff,
appears every Friday.
certainly dedicated people who
spend long hours working for the
union, the group involves only a
small percentage of ,those con-
cerned about housing in Ann Ar-
bor. There are many concerned
tenants in this city, but they keep
their frustration to themselves
and don't become involved with.
the Tenants' Union. They have
not mobilized.
Self-righteous housing critics
consistently point out that Ann
Arbor has a .vacancy rate which
is unhealthy for competition, as if
that deduction excuses them
fro any constructive action
other than the usual rhetoric. It
does not; it only exposes their
misconception that housing is
controlled by landlords. It
ignores the reservoir of potential
defeatist atitude that can only
serve to hinder any attempts at
housing reform. Similar attitudes
surface in other areas of student
concern - the search process for
a new University president is an
example. A handful of students
underline concern with action;
but the majority are content to let
its leaders act for them.
This passive concern for
housing rights can be switched
suddenly into active concern
when a tenant suddenly finds-
himself confronted with a
violation of the housing code or
even a simple misunderstanding
with a landlord. The unhealthy
vacancy rate argument does not
console tenants who may spend
months wrangling with
Gays must be understood
.
Iran recognition sensible
F OR YEARS the United States had
conducted the most irresponsible
foreign policy in Iran by backing the
Shah's repressive regime with
military and moral support. But
American diplomacy in that country
finally acted more responsibly last
week by formally recognizing the new
government of Islamic leader
Ayatollah Khomeini.
The Carter Administration's action,
taken just a few days after the
Ayatollah seized power, demonstrates
the government's awareness that
Khomeini is the popular leader of the
Iranian people. This realization comes
after the administration had backed
the Shah and his hand-appointed suc-
cessor Prime Minister Shahpur
Bakhtiar while millions of Iranians
marched in the streets to show their
opposition.
The administration's action should
also increase its influence with the'
Khomeini regime and may be able to
persuade the Iranian leader from pur-
suing revenge against former Shah
suppoiers.
It must be realized, however, that
Carter's decision also reflects the ad-
ministration's desire to urge the
Iranians to resume exporting oil to the
West, especially to the United States.
The U.S. imports 6 per cent of its oil
from Iran and recent government
estimates indicate the American
people will have to pay for the Iranian
crisis through higher gas prices.
Therefore, it is in the best interest of
the United States to begin receiving
regular supplies of oil from Iran.
It is unfortunate that Khomeini' s
government has begun its reign by
executing former generals of the
Shah's military staff. And the Islamic
leader has announced that any op-
ponents to the Islamic revolution will
be dealt with harshly. This kind of bit-
ter rhetoric from Iran's new leader is a
striking parallel to the words of the
exiled Shah and the actions carried out
by his secret police, SAVAK.
If Khomeini truly believes in the
establishment of an Islamic republic,
he and his followers will begin trying to
rebuild Iran and not continuing to
rehash the old divisions which crippled
the country.
-r
A lot of gays -spend a lot of
time in a lot of very straight
working environments-a fact
which will surprise some of the
straight working class even in
1979. Some of us stay in the closet
to avoid being shown the door,
but we're still there, through the
good and bad times, both
professional and personal, that
come with most jobs. We're also
there, holding our tongues along
with our coffeecups, for those oc-
casional mid-morning chats
while co-workers partake
knowingly of Anita Bryant's most
favored, fruit juice and
unknowingly of her least favored
segment of humanity.
But the tone of some of these
conversations has changed in
recent years, as straights have
watched'the image of gays evolve
on television and in films.
Sometimes it's difficult to tell if
progress is the word for the dif-
ference in attitude.
IN 1970, the film of "The Boys
in the Band" portrayed us alter-
natingly as a sick joke and a
tragedy. It was an image
straights seemed to find easy to
live with, and, if it wasn't exactly
a healthy or realistic one, it was,
perhaps, better than having no
image at all by virtue of nonex-
posure.
A couple years later, the
television film "That Certain
Summer" said roughly, "Ah, yes,
gays may be sick, but they must
be seriously understood."
Straights bought that, too, until
"Serious Understanding" time
came around, at which
point-what is the ex-
pression?--'It looked great in
the store window, terrible when I
got it home."
Today, we've got gayness as a
plot premise for a-television
comedy series-"Three's Com-
pany," whch hawnatle some of
the lowest, cheapest shots at gays
since .Ms. Bryant decided to
make the world safe for
heterosexuality. Some of our
straight co-workers find this
image unnervingly comfortable.
CERTAINLY, IT is 'an over-
simplification to say that the gay
image in films and television has
By the Social Acceptance for Gays Organization
from straights, resentment from
gays, And a generalized sense of
separation between gays and
straights that hardly needs rein-
forcing.
Some of us with straight co-
workers and friends who do not
know about us want these people
whom we choose to spend much
of our time around to know that
we are not a threat to them-but
neither do we wish to be
"Furthermore,
a good
number
of us simply are not unhappy,
or, at any rate, have areas of un-
happiness that are totally unre-
lated to being gay; straights
must come to see that they don 't
hold a monopoly on non-sexual-
ly-orien ted problems."
more, a good number of us sim-
ply are not unhappy, or, at any'
rate, have areas of unhappiness
that are totally unrelated to being,
gay; straights must come to see
that they 'don't.hbld a'monopoly'
on non-sexually-ori-entedd
problems. In any event, a sizable
number of us would be very
pleased if our feeling good about'
ourselves didn't seem such a'
terrible disappointment in some
quarters.
Straights are selling out-and
their-humanity sadly short'
when they opt for grudgingn
tolerance toward us as their
home remedy for dealing with'
gays. It may be, as William Osler
remarked, that "The desire to
take medicine is perhaps the=
greatest feature which,
distinguishes man from
animals," but surely life is too'
short for people to be taking,
medicine they don't need for a
sickness that doesn't exist. Our.
differences simply aren't worths
the irritation value-or the con-:
descension-that underlies
grudging tolerance.
Admittedly, straights may be
some time in coming to -under-
stand this. They may also some
time in appreciating that we are
a "social problem" for them only
as long as they insist that we be
one. In the meanwhile, we'll still
be our usual part of their daily
working environment, hoping, at
some point, to see their mid-
morning juice glasses-and their
judgments-spiked with a
healthy dose of Awake.
The Social Acceptance fok
Gays Organization is a camput
group dedicated to open
discussion of gay issues. For
general information and coun}
seling, call the Gays Hotline
anytime at 662-1977.
taken a decade to go from "sick
joke" to just plain "sick" to just
plain "joke"; there are, after all,
other examples of the gay image.
And yet, some of the
heterosexuals we work with seem
to have approximated this
evolution in terms of how they
think of us-from situation
tragedy to situation comedy in
one great leap.
For straights to hear jokes
about gays and laugh is, on the
one hand, a good sign, since a
sense of humor is part of good
perspective and can also be a
part of respect. On the other
hand, these jokes are often
denigrating to the concept of gays
as simply a part of humanity, and
this point is not being lost on the
gays who hear the jokes. In this
sense, they invite condescension
threatened. And it is a threat to
us to be viewed either as situation
tragedy (to be pitted and so con-
descended to) or as situation
comedy (to be laughed at and
condescended to). These are easy
extremes to embrace, and for an
extremely easy reason: neither
involves understanding. We
require and deserve something
better than the grudging tolerance
that results from either of these
approaches.
THE IDEA that we should be
pitied may stem from the notion
that we are inherently unhap-
py-an expectation of thq
straight community presumably
based on the fact that we are dif-
ferent. For one thing, we aren't
that different; in terms of per-
sonal worth and humanity, we
are no different at all. Further-
Letters
Tenure
To the Daily:
I would like to express my deep
concern over The Daily's poor
coverage of the Regents meeting
on Feb. 15. In the long front page
article covering that meeting,
"Patients defend program before
Samoff Student Support commit-
tee, nor the specific new
proposals and statements made
by the students.
I would like to point out that
speaker Bruce Kozarsky made
three specific proposals for
changing the tenure process.
Citing LSA's Tenure guidelines,
vote in tenure and promotion
decisions . . . at the department
level," and creation of an LSA
Tenure Review Committee with
student voting members. Also,
speaker Mervat Hatem commen-,
ted on the need to open up the
tenure process and acknowledge
the relationship that good
The Daily failed to report these
specific new proposals and
statements made by students
behalf of student elected bodios
(MSA, LSA-5). In so doing t1e
Daily has s.ontributed to the
students lack of knowledge abo it
issues of student concern, and
thereby perpetuated the Unive-
civ' aix, t17o emin nrcn