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Vol. LXXXII, No. 81 Ann Arbor, Michigan-Sunday, January 16, 1972 Ten Cents
Ten Pages
State's
new adult
Effects of Age of Majority measure may
be lessened because of conflicting statutes
By ROBERT SCHREINER
With the state's new Age of Majority Act now
two weeks old, 18- to 20-year olds know they can
purchase liquor-but the realization of many other
opportunities open to them remains much less cer-
tain.
While it is quite possible for an 18-20 year-old
to be elected to City Council sit on the local draft
board, or finance payments on a house or car, it
remains to be seen just when the letter of the law
4 will be turned into action.
It is still too early to tell whether the "new
adults" will make any substantive inroads in the
governmental system. Conflicting statutes and lack
of experience combine to make those in authority
seem wary of providing 18-to-20 year olds with the
chance to exercise their new rights.
The Age of Majority Act of 1971-Public Act No.
79--effectively supercedes all provisions of law
concerning 18-to-20 year olds which are different
from those dealing with persons over 21.
"Notwithstanding any other provision of the law
to the contrary", the act states, "a person who is 18
years of age but less than 21 years of age when this
act takes effect, and a person who attains 18 years
of age thereafter, is deemed to be an adult of legal
age for all purposes whatsoever and shall have the
same duties, liabilities, responsibilities, rights and
legal capacity as persons heretofore acquired at 21
years of age."
Thus, in the areas of governmental bureaucracy.
the "new" adult is as eligible as someone over 21
to become a policeman, a notary public, a licensed
nursing home administrator, or a public schoolbus
driver.
The possibilities extend further, from applying
for admission to the state bar, or sitting on the state
liquor control commission, to performing jury duty
and testifying in court on a criminal offense.
In regard to jury duty, young people will be as
eligible to serve as anyone else-but not until May.
Virginia Nickell, Washtenaw County Jury Clerk,
See CONFLICTING, Page 10
ace unc
Low credit status
may plague youth
By PAT BAUER
Although 18 to 20 year olds are now allowed to
independently control and manage their business
affairs, it appears that the new adults will be less
than warmly welcomed into the business world.
According to a number of Ann Arbor merchants,
18 to 20 year olds will run into a lot of problems
when they first enter business contracts, simply be-
cause of their youth status.
Don Swanson, manager at Howard Cooper Volks-
kvagen says it's "next to impossible for an 18- to 21-
year old to finance a car," even though they are now
legally empowered to do so. "They have no estab-
lished credit," he says.
And that's the way it seems to be working all the
way around.
Because people in this age group-especially stu-
dents-are not likely to have established credit
ratings, regular incomes, or permanent residences, it
is difficult for them to make routine business trans-
See LACK, Page 10
Young drinkers
crowd city bars
By BILL PRITULA
Perhaps the most controversial provision in the
new Age of Majority Bill-the one which allows 18 to
20 year olds to drink and purchase liquor-was re-
lieved of that controversy on Jan. 1.
According to local bartenders and bar owners,
the first two weeks of the new year have passed
quietly, with no problems or incidents. "They fit in
real well," stated one barmaid. "In fact, I thought
the young people acted better than most adults."
Area law enforcement agencies have reported no
problems with young drinkers thus far during the
new year.
For most young people, it certainly was not their
first time in the bars. "It's about time they made it
legal," said 20-year-old Lou Weir as he sipped a beer
at a local bar.
Another youth sitting nearby drinking rum and
Coke added, "It's a lot less hassle now that I can
use my real I.D."
See YOUTH, Page 10
rtain
opportunities
A YOUTHFUL DRINKER enjoys this new privi-
lege . . . others are less clear.
Madison hit
with mass
drug arrest
By TAMMY JACOBS
and GREG DOUKAS
At least 64 persons were arrested in
Madison, Wisc., yesterday on drug charges
stemming from 81 indictments brought by a
state grand jury, and arrests were expected
to continue today.
The arrests, made by Madison city and
Dane County police, took place throughout
Madison and the surrounding towns, includ-
ing several arrests in University of Wiscon-
sin fraternities and at least two arrests in
University dorms.
The grand jury, which has been meeting
since December, was headed by Circuit
Court Judge Norris Maloney, who said that
the 81 indictments were the most he had
ever seen levied by a grand jury.
Dane County Dist. Atty. Gerald Nichol said
the arrests were mostly for such things as
heroin, acid and - other "hard" drugs, and
that they were mostly for sale of narcotics.
However, Holly Lassee of the Madison
Defense League, a community organization
that gives legal advice, said that there were
+ also some arrests for possession of mari-
juana.
In one dorm room, it was reported, the
police found about half a dozen sticks of
dynamite, and police also picked up -,ome
guns during some of the arrests.
Nichol told local newsmen that there was
$50,000 street value worth of illegal drugs
confiscated in the raids.
Police last night refused to comment, and
campus police said although they "cooper-
ated" with city police, they were not in-
volved directly in the arrests.
According to John Wallman, associate
editor of the Wisconsin Daily Cardinal, about
20 of the 64 people were not listed in the
indictments but were picked up and charged
during the sweep of those indicted.
This would indicate that there were at
least 40 indictments still outstanding last
night. Both the Madison Defense League and
the People's Office, a hotline run mostly by
University of Wisconsin students, had infor-
mation that 80 or more additional arrests
were expected.
Some 42 of those arrested were arraigned
yesterday afternoon, and. most of those are
now out on bail. Conflicting reports had
most bails set at between $1,000 and $2,500
but Lassee cited one instance of $10,000 bail
that the Defense League had heard of.
The People's Office representative said
"this is the biggest drug bust in the state's
history."
Rumors that "a big bust' was coming this
weekend had run around ,campus during the
last few weeks, but had been mostly ignored,
Lassee said. "Those kind of rumors happen
about once every three months around here
anyway.
Whites leave
nation's eities
WASHINGTON A') - New government
figures indicate school desegregation in many
big cities this year was accompanied by
white flight to the suburbs or private schools.
According to a recently-released U.S. Of-
fice for Civil Rights survey of 76 big-city
school districts, most of the cities which
show dramatic desegregation gains are act-
ACCEPTANCE SOUGHT
PESC dispute
By DANIEL JACOBS -
and ALAN LENHOFF
unresolved
Daily News Analysis
In the past, University officials have
accepted certain responsibilities for provid-
ing aid and services to those members of
society who lack either the wealth or certain
qualifications for attendance at the Uni-
versity.
A number of solutions have been since
instituted: Enrollment quotas, scholarships,
extension programs, recruiting, and the like.
But now, a group calling itself the Pro-
gram for Educational and Social Change
(PESC) has challenged the validity of these
traditional solutions and has proposed some
innovative alternatives for an "open uni-
versity."
Established by a group of professors,
teaching fellows, students and members of
the Ann Arbor community, PESC has opened
an assortment of regular University courses,
as well as two original courses, to the gen-
eral public for free auditing this semester.
The result has been a conflict between the
old and the new.
Allan Smith, vice president for academic
affairs, released a statement Thursday which
advised PESC that such free auditing would
be in conflict with established University
policy. The normal fee for a non-enrolled
student to audit a University course is $30
per credit hour for Michigan residents, and
$95 for non-residents.
PESC, however, has decided to continue
its program despite Smith's statement-an
unusual act of defiance against a top Uni-
versity official.
In their official publication, the members
of PESC declare that they have initiated
their program "because we are teachers,
learners, scholars, intellectuals, radicals,
brothers and sisters in a communal en-
deavor to change the way we teach and learn
and live." Many PESC courses emphasize
independent study and offer a variety of
means for University students to incorporate
them credit-wise.
Not all of the instructors of PESC Loutses
are University professors. John Sinclair, for
instance, will direct a course called "Com-
munity Control of Prisons," and Charles
Thomas and Hank Bryant of the Black Eco-
nomic Development League will instruct an
exploration of the social and political make-
up of Washtenaw County.
Students desiring academic credit for these
courses may elect them as "independent
reading" courses under the direction of a
PESC professor.
PESC members dismiss recent objec-
tions to the validity of the Thomas and
See PESC, Page 6 .
Daily-Jim Judkis
Nose frost
When the temperature drops below zero and stays there, the campus' chilling winds
are good reason to stay at home. These frozen figures will know better next time.
COMMUNIT Y WEEK
Sinclair poetry eading to
begin fund.rIsiig actions
Bombing run
A ground crewman makes an adjustment to a rocket before installing it in a bomber
making raids on the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos. The bomber will take off from the
aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea off the coast of Vietnam. (See story, Page 3).
IRS COMPLAINT
Tenants are reimbursed
after Phase1 rent increase
By HOWARD BRICK
A poetry reading by John Sinclair tonight
will open a week of fund-raising activities
by the Ann Arbor Tribal Council, a coalition
.of community organizations which aim to
expand the facilities of their newly estab-
lished Community Center.
Tonight's program will mark the first pub-
lic reading in three years for Sinclair, who
was recently released from jail pending his
9%-10 year sentence for possession of mari-
juana. Also reading poetry with Sinclair will
be Ed Saunders, Donald Hall, and several
other local poets.
The Tribal Council was formed last spring
with the goal- of "building a strong alterna-
tive community that deals with the needs
of the people of Ann Arbor." For the past
few months, the council's energies have pri-
marily gone into the new Community Center
at 502 E. Washington St.
The Center serves as the headquarters
for Ozone House, a counseling service for
local youth; Drug Help, a drug counseling
service; and the Free People's Clinic.
The Clinic offers free medical service to
members of the community and plans to
offer free dental services in the near future
if adequate funds can be raised. An art work-
shop and a People's Ballroom for social
events are also planned for construction if
The Tribal Council also hopes this week
to further aid its various committees which
include a People's Defense committee which
provides legal counseling and maintains a
bail fund, a People's Food committee which
runs a food co-op dealing in fruits and
vegetables, and a People's Education com-
mittee aimed at establishing a day care.
center and free school in Ann Arbor.
The Tribal Council will hold a community
dinner on Thursday. At the dinner, the
Council will report on the activities of its
various committees.
By SUE STEPHENSON
Nine tenants of Hall Management Com-
pany have been reimbursed for irregularly
imposed rent rates during the price freeze.
Hall Management, however, included no
letter of explanation concerning the reim-
bursements, and in many cases tenants
didn't receive the correct amount. One ten-
ant said, "Hall Management's books are all
fouled up. Some tenants didn't receive
enough, while others received too much."
Those reimbursed, who are tenants of 939
Dewey St. filed a complaint with the IRS
against Hall Management. "We were told
by IRS," explained one of the tenants, "that
they would then investigate all of Hall Man-
agements' ownings besides 939 Dewey St."
"If Hall Management is found guilty, as
much as a $5,000 fine may be imposed," de-
spite the recent reimbursement, he con-
tinued.
According to Craig Hall, of Hall Manage-
ment, "We really want to know. exactly
what's right according to the law. We were
going on the basis of what a lawyer had
given us. . . . However, if IRS finds out we
were justified in charging the increased
rates, we will come back and collect."
He added, "If we find that we were not
within the law when we increased the rent
rates in some of our other buildings, we'll
refund their money."
According to Ann Arbor Tenants Union
member, John Lavelle, "many tenants in
Washtenaw County are entitled to such re-
imbursements."
The Internal Revenue Service's Office of
Emergency Preparedness Economic Stabili-
zation Phase I regulations state:
" A tenant may not be charged more for
his unit than was charged for that particu-
lar unit last year.
* Every tenant has the legal right to de-
mand to see the last year's lease for his
unit. These records mustnbe available for
public inspection according to regulation
3787.
f It is not important when the lease was
signed, but rather when it became effective
-the date the tenant moved in or could
have done so. If the effective date of the
lease is after August 15, the rent for that
lease may not legally be raised, regulations
3760 and 3950.
* No tenant may be evicted for refusing
to pay an illegal rent increase, regulation
Lploring academic
reform
By CHRIS PARKS
Next year a limited number of University
students may be able to participate in small
programs in experimental, individualized edu-
cation.
A commission, appointed by literary col-
lege dean Frank Rhodes, has been meeting
over the last few months to draw up a pro-
posal for research programs on the subject
of extra-classroom education.
The commission was established in Novem-
ber in response to President Fleming's Sep-
found to fund its operation through the lit-
erary college.
The commission, consisting of Associate
Vice President for Academic Affairs William
Hays, psychology Prof. Wilbur McKeachie,
geography Prof. Ann Larimore, romance lan-
guage Prof. Paul Elie, and physics Prof. Oliver
Overseth, its chairman, has been meeting
weekly since late November "trying to as-
semble some ideas for individualizing educa-
tion," Hays said.
The commission's report, which is slated to