she t tian Ratty Eighty-one years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Freeze the rent or squeeze the tenant 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich. 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. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1972 NIGHT EDITOR: LINDA DREEBEN Freeing Angela: Now what? IT IS ENCOURAGING that after 16 months of imprisonment Angela Davis is now free on bail. Through the efforts of her attorneys, a nationwide support movement, and contributions of over $100,000 Davis was able to secure her release on bail Wednesday after the California Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment was unconstitutional. "We got what we came for," her chief defense lawyer commented. But in another sense it is discouraging that a person with the resources and popular support that Davis commands was held for over a year without bail. And it is doubly discouraging that the majority of people in prisons are poor; without widespread support and lacking basic understanding of their legal rights. Here in Ann Arbor, 110 of the 125 in- mates in the Washtenaw County Jail, crowded in unsanitary cells for months, are only there because they could not post bail. Trial, when it finally' coies, often] con- sists of "copping a plea," pleading guilty to a lesser offense, to ease the workload of the prosecuting attorney's office, the overload of the court system and the sentence imposed on the convicted. CHANGING THESE conditions, and similar conditions found in prisons around the country, will require the same efforts utilized to support Davis, but on a much larger scale. It will require good lawyers, but also a good legal system. It will require private contributions, but also government financing to assist these and future victims of the prison system. Most importantly, it will require pub- lic support. One thing that should be clear from the Davis case, the John Sin- clair case and the tragedy at Attica is that action is not taken until the public demands it. NOW, WITH DAVIS temporarily free, the support for her cause must be extended to all prisoners deprived of their rights. If it is not, the legal system will remain in its present state of inertia, relieved that Davis' supporters appar- ently "got what they came for.". It must be made clear, through sup- port for local prison reform and direct pressure on the federal government for national prison reform, that the issue cannot be settled by reluctantly granting one prisoner her rights. -JIM O'BRIEN 'U' and the handicapped By JIM REUS MANY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS w h o rent apartments and houses have need- lessly lost money since they arrived for the fall term. The money, which students have lost by paying unnecessary rent, could amount to tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Since the wage-price freeze began in August, several landlords in Washtenaw County have collected rents in direct vio- lation of federal law. Lee Henkel Jr., act- ing chief counsel for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), stated in a letter to U.S. Rep. Marvin Esch of Ann Arbor that: "A landlord could not rent a residence to any tenant during the freeze for a rent greater than the highest rent charged for the same residence during the base period from July 16 to August 14, 1971. The rent described in this paragraph is the 'ceiling rent.' "If a lease embodies a rent higher than the ceiling rent the landlord may not re- ceive such a rent. To do so is to violate the law." ,ANY LANDLORD, then, who charged a higher rent during the freeze than he charged during the base period could be subject to prosecution for violation of the Economic Stabilization Act. Furthermore, the Office of Economic Planning regula- tions are binding even if the tenants sign- ed the lease well before the beginning of the freeze. Any student who last winter semester signed a lease which charged him more rent per month than the landlord received during the summer base period can file suit for a refund with the IRS. The policy guidelines also stipulate that after the termination of the wage-price freeze, a landlord may raise his rent only if he notifies his tenants of the increase in writing at least 30 days before he act tually raises the rent. The landlord must explain in the notification why the in- crease is necessary, and the increase can- not exceed two and a half ner cent of the base period rent. Nearly all area landlords who r a i s e d rents failed to send the proper notification to their tenants at the end of the freeze. These landlords have illegally been col- lecting higher rents. Consequently, most students who have been paying the high- er rents are entitled to monthly refunds through February, not just the end of the freeze. NOT ONLY have landlords been colect- ing illegal rent, but some have also threat- ened to evict the few students who com- plain that the rent hikes are illegal. Such threats again blatantly violate the Eco- nomic Stabilization Act. Section 10(a of the OEP Economic Stabilization Regula- tion No. 1 prohibits any attempt by a landlord to obtain a higher rent by threat- ening to evict the tenant. If a landlord Bobby4 By JAN BENEDETTIWeek( AH YES, I remember it well- protect back in the easily forgotten Upperc days of 1961. Those were the leg- weekda endary times when girls acted like by mid ladies and enjoyedyes-enoyed a ittle wearing skirts to dinner every day. {>;"Y That, I assure you, was only possible when the dorms were run properly and not like the sort of " 'anything goes' establishments they unfortunately are today. wo Then, all women, freshmen to sen- iors, had to live in dorms-not in UsL apartments or co-ops where they could associate with almost any- PSy body and do absolutely anything they wanted. Men were barred from the dorms, except for certain areas at certain times. Girls could go down to the shower in their nightgowns-"or even stark naked"-and not be afraid of running into a member of the opposite sex. Girls were more c more modest then and they were more protected. BUT / there has been a violaion. It is the tenant who must be knowledgeable of which stip- ulations apply in which cases. It is the tenant who must file the violation forms and turn them in to the IRS. Unless there is some tenant organization to co-ordinate and explain to ,tenants what they can do to get " their rent back, many tenants will never know they are losing money. This is especially true since the highest illegal rent increases have been in poor sections of the- community - the' areas where people are least likely to real- ize the rent increases are illegal. Tenants also must have a third party account to deposit their rent money while their vio- lations claims are being considered by the IRS. The Ann Arbor Tenants Union already has an escrow account set up in accordance with the GEP suggestions. It has copies of the GEP regulations, and the people working in the union know what to do when violations are suspected. The experience with the freeze has cost student tenants large sums of money. But it has ,brought into the open another im- portant fact: it is naive to think that area landlords are serving their tenants' inter- ests. WITHIN THE PRIVATE enterprise sys tem the landlord's objective is to make pro- fits. The landlord serves .the tenant only because of the free competition among landlords for the tenant's patronage. This' competition is the tenants' only safeguard. Unfortunately, in Ann Arbor's tight housing market, most landlords do not have to worry about competition- they can make fat profits by charging rents which are too high, and still be as- sured of tenants to fill their buildings. attempts to evict a tenant, it is he who violates the law, not the tenant who re- fuses to pay rents that are above the base period amount. There are a few isolated instances where students have received refunds from their' aandlords. Several landlords comply to some degree with the OEP Regulations. Hall Management, Ann Arbor Trust, Sum- mit, and Hamilton and a few others have quietly given refunds ranging from $5 to $30 per month to students who have com- plained about the violations. But most students are ignorant of the freeze regulations. Consequently, they con- tinue to pay or have payed too much rent. LANDLORDS HAVE also capitalized on the disorganization of students and t h e ineffectiveness of the IRS in processing complaints. The few complaints that students have filed with the IRS have not been handled efficiently. The IRS has neither the bur- eaucracy nor the number of investigators necessary to handle the many complaints it has received. Students who have talked with IRS clerks get conflicting and confus- ing reports as to what the guidelines are. When President Nixon instituted the freeze he admitted that the OEP could not possibly handle the volume of complaints that were likely to ensue. He said at that time he would have to rely on the honesty and integrity of the American people to make the freeze work. Unfortunately, area landlords haven't been too honest. At the . same time students have been quite naive about the rent freeze stipulations. T h result is that students have lost a lot of money. State Rep. Roy Smith (R-Ypsilanti) has al- ready asked the governor and attorney general to initiate an investigation of nine- teen area landlords. BUT EVEN IF tenants are aware that violations exist, they will accomplish little unless they are organized. The burden of correcting violations is presently entirely on the tenant. It is the tenant who must ask to see the previous lease to determine if Al 4 '9 N AN OFFICE of Student Services memo Vice President for Student Services Robert Knauss speaks of a "hesitancy to encourage handicapped students to at- tend the University because of a feeling of inadequacy of access and educational programs," That statement constitutes a confes-, sion of the sorry state of University pro- visions for handicapped students. The sittation, though acknowledged by the administration, is inexcusable. The "handicaps" such students have to contend with include the inaccessibility of the General Library, Student Activities Bldg., EconomIcs Bldg., and Rackham Bldg. to people in wheelchairs and a lack of ramps, elevators and suitable bath- rooms within buildings. The lack of curb cuts, transportation to and from campus for people in wheelchairs and accessible housing accentuates the problem. It is this hostile environment which unfairly handicaps these students. More ramps and elevators, and a bus or van would alleviate much of their distress. Business Staff ANDY GOLDING Business Manager BILL ABBOT.........Associate Business Manager HARRY HIR1SCH.............. Advertising Manager FRANCINE HYMEN ............... Personnel Manager DIANE CARNEVALE...............Sales Manager PAUL W3NtLOFF ............ Promotions Manager STEVEN EVSEEFF ... ... Circulation Manager DEPARTMENT MANAGERS AND ASSOCIATES: Classi- fied: Judy Cassel, Jim Dykema, Dave Lawson; Cir- culatlon: William Blackford; Display: Sherry Kastle, Alan Klein, Karen Laakko; National: Patti Wilkin- son; Layout: Bob Davidoff; Billing: L'Tanya Haith. THE UNIVERSITY, according to Leon- ard Greenbaum, chairman of Mayor Robert Harris' Committee on the handi- capped, is using the "circular argument" that there aren't enough handicapped students within the University to merit a major overhaul in facilities. The small number of handicapped students, though, may be partially attributable to the in- ferior provisions for their attendance at the University. Nonetheless, if the students that are here are to be recognized they must be' accorded access to University facilities. Since handicapped people have to have the best credentials to compete in the job market, often needing more than a college education, the University must not further cripple their opportunities. The Student Government Council Com- mittee for the Psysically Handicapped is attempting , to change the University's present policy from an incremental indi- vidual approach to broad understanding and a general attack on the difficulties handicapped students face at the Uni- versity. LAST WEEK, 13 University administra- tors spent their working day in a wheelchair as part of an SGC project to sensitize people to the needs of handi- capped students. On the basis of their experience they concurred on the need for ramps, elevators, curb cuts and other facilities for the handicapped. The University should' live up to its dedication to enlightenment and educa- tion by making itself accessible to han- dicapped students. -MARCIA ZOSLAW --Di y-Rolf Tessemn sox, coeds and the.dorms .. kday nights at12:30 sharp, )rm doors were locked to the girls from intruders. lass women had to be in on ys by that time, freshmen night. The doors were open elater on weekends. What beginning in 1962 the old rules were arrogantly tossed aside. First, senior women got keys which al- lowed them to get into the dorm at any time-provided they check- ed in by 7 a.m. If a girl wanted to Personally, I can't imagine that any mature man could have intercourse in a dormitory. wally when it occurs there are accompanying chological problems." -Housing Director John Feldkamp Winter, 1968 .., w wm rfi.:': :r..;titw;.;;"?"i{:"::i:::v"}":{rir. .:'i"^. i:?:. ::: ...... er' campaign. It was all started, no doubt, by radicals and malcon- tents. I remember the President of SGC, Bruce Kahn, saying. "Stu- dents should be telling the Univer- sity that they no longer expect ad- ministrators to make the rules for their lives.",, He wanted to "confront" the Regents, arguing that "power lies in numbers and if you demand your rights en masse, the Univer- sity will be unable to prosecute all of you." It sounds f'oolish to me, too, but I read it right in The Daily. By Spring of 1970 the malcon- tents had succeeded and hours were eliminated entirely. BAD DECISIONS seem to come in waves. It was also decided in 1968 that visitation policies (when a girl could have a man in her room with the door closed) would be set by house vote-a shocking decision. But the liberal housing director John Feldkamp rationalized at the time, "Personally, I can't imagine that any mature woman could have intercourse in a dormitory. Usually when it occurs there are accompanying psychological prob- lems." He continued that inter- course would not necessarily dis-. turb men since "their attitude is different." Last spring, the last rule was thrown out the window. Now any girl can live outside the dorm. Don't parents care any more where their children live? But there are still a few good old-fashioned girls around. Mar- tha Cook Residence Hall is pri- vate'y owned and operated. The girls apply to live there and I know that they like it. You must visit the place, it is so beautifully decorated with a large statue of Venus de Milo at the end of the main corridor, a classic image 'of all that is Woman. MARTHA COOK girls voted to have visitation hours restricted to weekends. Residents feel that there. is a real sense of "home" about the place, the girls are just like a family, all 142 of them. The girls say they like wearing skirts to dinner and being served by waitresses. Their rooms are cleaned once a week by maids who, as one girl puts it, are "friends, part of the family." So here we are in 1972, eleven years later. What have all these changes accomplished? The girls nowadays are not like those well- behaved girls of eleven years ago. If you ask me, the downgrading of the standards of dorm life sig- nals the ultimate downfall of Am- erican culture as we know it. took at the ancient Romans and what happened to them. Mark my words. & 1. Ir " Y" "",- ryy% wrr"}n .r r * ws *w f i "M \' I- I- Letters to The Daily Housing deposit leth of assistants everywhere "we don't makes the rules." Daily: Who does, Mr. Feldkamp? ould a modern coed want? THEY did want more, and To The THERE ARE quite a few sen- iors and graduate students living in Baits Housing. Some of them are depending on fellowships or other financial aid to support them. Some of them will not be able to attend school without this aid. University awards will be announced April 1. However, the Office of Univer- sity Housing has determined that these students must commit a $45 deposit March 14 if they wish to keep their rooms for the coming year. Thus, a student not lucky enough to receive a fellowship and unable, therefore, to attend school has the added pleasure of -Bruce Stephen Levine, grad. Feb. 15 More women To The Daily: THE RECENT 7-1 vote by the University Regents to reject the faculty plan to revise the Uni- versity classified research re- striction, points up the necessity to elect more women to office in this state and in the nation. The single dissenting vote was cast by the lone woman on the Regents, Gertrude Huebner (R- r _. -. . i . J t1... , stay out overnight, she signed a "blue slip", which gave the name and address of her overnight host- ess who had to be over 25 or mar- ried. It is rumored that there were many slips signed by Betsy Bar- bour in those days. In'subsequent years, the liberali- bation snowballed, and all the fine rules which protected our girls were criticized as irrelevant and old-fashioned. In 1962, senior women were al- lowed to live outside the dorm, and by 1964, so were junior women. Of course if a girl was under 21, she had to have her parents' per- mission. Men could always live outside the dorm after their fresh- man year. But, then, as everyone knows men are more mature and better able to take care of them- selves. When the seniors and juniors started to move out, those boy- crazy sophomores and freshmen started running the dorms, want- ing to throw out all the tried and true standards. rl 1AC., t n.c _ - s- nf C fn 4. 9" ! n - M . ' .w , - ; : j, ~i~ .' . = a ' -1 , . >;' * I \,,. f - -' - ~'"~%~ .W '"""~"~