.. .. . : _ t £ir4igan Daa Eighty-one years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich. News Phone: 764-0552 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the inc'ividuaopinions of stuiff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1972 NIGHT EDITOR: GENE ROBINSON Assessing the Florida vote 'HE FLORIDA primary was a victory for, George Wallace. It was a breeze for President Nixon, a disappointment to John Lindsay, and a flop for Ed Muskie. But to jubilant second place Hubert Humphrey it supplied welcome "momen- tum. He is joined by left-leaning Democrats encouraged by media frontrunner Mus- kie's bad slip, which has opened up the race. The voters, however, who rejected the blandishments of Muskie, also dis- regarded flashy granddad Humphrey, media-slick John Lindsay, George Mc- Govern and the other Democrats. The beneficiary of the voters' disen- chantment was George Wallace - not a progressive candidate who could supply "a dime's worth of difference." Except for their desire to tax the rich, the Wal- lace voters did not align themselves with progressivism in any form. The mixture of populism, racism and know-nothingism that comprised Wal- lace's tally is not the stuff from which either George McGovern or Zolton Fer- ency can grow. The majority, including the Republi- cans, has in fact voted on the right in New Hampshire and Florida. Between them, Nixon and Wallace have taken more votes than all their opponents com- bined. NEVERTHELESS, Hubert Humphrey was encouraged and "felt good" after Tuesday's primary. He even chortled that "among the progressives, I am the lead- er." If indeed he were a progressive, he might indeed be in the lead. But leftist Democratic caucuses, and traditional liberal organizations are ig- noring Humphrey, favoring McGovern, Lindsay and Chisholm. An effervescent Humphrey did come up with some of the bubbly logic Tuesday for which the media labels him a mar- velous politician; but which also clari- fies his 1972 centrist, non-progressive politics. Humphrey boasted that "Florida has been a testing ground, both on the issues, and for myself. In both instances, the test has been successful." BALONEY. Floridians overwhelmingly passed a straw vote referendum to al- low prayer in the public schools and swamped three to one their Democratic governor's efforts to block an anti-busing referendum. Certainly, not very progres- sive, and contrary to Humphrey's Con- gressional voting record that dates back to the forties. If those aren't the issues Humphrey was talking about, maybe he meant the voter's 17 per cent to nine per cent de- cision on the issues dividing him and Senator Muskie. But if so, he has yet to say what those issues are. Or did he mean that Florida voters have passed the test by giving more votes to George Wallace than to Humphrey, McGovern, Lindsay and Muskie all put together? HUBERT CAN prattle all he wants about "momentum" and "a good start" for his personal campaign, but the Florida vote smacks of a much larger defeat.; -ARTHUR LERNER Editorial Page Editor .TAMMY JACOBS. .. Shapiro: To gain a corner in Congress WALTER SHAPIRO looked up from his fifth cup of coffee. "I think I'm going to run for Congress," he said. It sounded pretty stark. People just don't look up from cups of coffee and say things like that. But it's three months later and Shapiro is definitely running for Congress-he announces it formally at a noon press conference today. A natural first reaction would be "he hasi't got a chance." But Shapiro is not announcing a symbolic candidacy-he doesn't want to be a futile figurehead for The Youth Vote. "Symbolic candidacies are bullshit," he says. "I don't really think they teach anyone anything." Depending yon how the Congressional district is bounded-an issue in the courts right now-he has a chance. However, he needs the youth votes from both the University and Eastern Michigan Uni- versity, and he knows it. That's part of the reason he's running, he says. This congressional district, he points out, with its over 50,000 students, has one of the largest concentrations of college students In the nation. "The youngest Congressman seated now is a 31 year old reaction- ary Democrat from Georgia," Shapiro, himself 25 plus one month, is fond of saying. SHAPIRO TRIES very hard to have you understand he doesn't want to get trapped into traditional party politics. "It's proablya one-term thing," he says. "I want to write a book afterwards. I'll be very disappointed with myself if I don't." Of course, not worrying about re-election, he feels, can also broaden the amount of "playing against the rules" he can do. "To get along you go along," he quotes the late Sam Raeburn as saying. Shapiro shows no intention of going along if he's elected. "One more liberal vote out of 435 doesn't mean that much," he. says. "Of course it's better than not having it, but it doesn't much matter if a war appropriations bill passes 287-22 or 286-23." "I trust myself to'creatively disrupt, if necessary," he adds. "I also see the need for a national youth omsbudsman, someone who can bring up youth issues in Congress, and give them that legitimacy. Congress is a great forum." THE ISSUES he wants to bring to this forum are, for the most part, radical. A major part of his platform will be a nationwide man- datory deferred tuition plan for all students, which he feels will open up colleges to student control. "I realize the folly of running a totally-student oriented cam- paign." he says. "But I feel the populist issues I want to bring to the rest of the district are in no way contradictory to the campus issues 'm focussing on now." However, one thing Shapiro does have is the credentials of a youth-centered candidate. He's an almost-Masters in history, the assistant resident director of Alice Lloyd's Pilot Program, where he teaches two courses. His course on Politics and the Media has been fairly popular- the readings are a bit too abundant, perhaps, but the papers are easy to do and he tells good stories. He knows his stuff. He ought to. After graduating from the University, where he was an Editorial Page Editor on the Daily staff, he went into the "real world" for a year-long stint on Congressional Quarterly, a specialized news operation focussing on Congress. There, he learned enoughvabout Capitol Hill residents. to write a trivia book on the lives, loves and voting records of little-known Congressmen. He came back to Ann Arbor for graduate work, but spent last summer being a Nader's Raider, which makes him perhaps the first of that band of muckrackers to run for Congress. SHAPIRO IS NOT a party man-his so-far mostly non-existent ties with the Demicratic party will probably be his biggest drawback. And with that handicap, it is left to the future to show whether any one, however qualified, can simply look up from a coffee cup and announce he's running for Congress. 5i "Why not a simple constitutional amendment declaring the courts unconstitutional?" r -' Letters to The, Daily Fleming: Showing sexism PRESIDENT ROBBEN FLEMING has once again shown his true colors on affirmative action to end discrimination in hiring -/ this time unwittingly. In response to a Detroit News reporter's question earlier this week, Fleming said the University would "vigorously resist" federal measures which would force -fed- eral contractors to hire women and mi- norityapplicants with lower qualifica- tions than white male applicants, when discrimination against such applicants exists. "To say we must hire someone whose qualifications may be only slightly bet- ter than the lowest qualified current member of a department is absurd," Fleming said. Fortunately for Fleming, but unfortun- ately for women and minorities, the new federal order that contains that require- ment exempts public institutions such as the University. Instead, it is subject to the "spirit, not the letter" of the law, according to the federal official in charge of monitoring the University's attempts at affirmative action. ]BUT FLEMING'S misguided statement does give these federal officials a ba- rometer reading for where too many University officials stand on providing more job opportunities for women and minorities. The Unversity can start numerous file reviews to allegedly achieve salary equity, set nice-sounding-but not-yet-realized goals and timetables for increased hiring of women, and put some women on as advisors to give assistance, but not much heeded advice. But it apparently is not willing to go out of its way to seek applicants with fewer qualifications, but perhaps better potential - which is, after all, the es- sence of affirmative action. What Fleming and other administra- tors fail to realize is that in order to get adequate numbers of blacks and women into top level positions, the University may have to lower its qualifications. For more often than not, these groups have been discriminated against through- out their professional careers - and may not have been able to build up an im- pressive backlog of credentials or degrees from prestigious universities because of that. IT IS TOO BAD that when the Depart- ment of Health, Education and Wel- fare comes to review the University's af- firmative action plan later this month, it will be looking at statistical data on hir- ing rather than at prevailing attitudes like Fleming's. Because as long as the University is not willing to take the truly positive steps that are needed to end sex and racial discrimination in hiring, the Uni- versity affirmative action plan can hard- ly be considered an affirmation. --SARA FITZGERALD Managing Editor SGC reaction To The Daily: IN YESTERDAY'S edition of The Daily (March 15) a statement was made in the SGC editorial by Rose Sue Berstein that I, as a member of the Research Policies Committee, "felt it all right to permit defense department secret contracting." This statement was totally incor- rect. My position on the matter, as explained to SGC, was the same as was put forward to the Re- gents -- that research contracts which do not permit publicationl within one year should not be per- mitted. Furthermore, I hold the posi- tion that no work with 'direct m li- tary applications should be con- ducted by the University. In addition, my position of de- fense department funding of re- search is that no blanket prohibi- tion against such funding should be made, since up until the last few years the DOD was playing the role of benefactor for much basic scientific work in this coun- try. True, it would have been better if the United States had found a different source of money for its scientific research, but this was the reality of the situation, a n d could easily become reality again. My opinion is that the University should keep its options open, with- in the constraints of strong stu- dent scrutiny. -David Klein, 74E March 15 More on SGC To The Daily: I SEE The Daily is back on its anti-SGC kick again. It's hard to believe, but this Rose Sue Ber- stein editorial is even worse than the one she did last election! Her one partly-valid point is in her suggestion that SGC ought to co-operate with existing co-ops ra- ther than establishing one of its own. I say partly because her sub- sequent comments about co-op membership point up the first problem with her suggestion. These co-ops are intended eith- er solely or primarily for the serv- ices of their members, while an SGC co-op would inevitably in- volve every student. It would. therefore, be expensive. It would also require a more rigorous or- ganization. I might also remind her that SGC has a rather limited budget. The same people who voted for the SGC co-op voted againist the money which might have helped to start it. The comments about student re- presentatives may be valid. There is no way to know, because, among other things, Berstein does not say how many positions were open, or what, if any, time limit was set for selecting representa- tives. The complaint against the Re- search Policies Committee candi- date was priceless. Am I to as- sume that only those students whose position agrees with yours have the right to be represented on student-faculty committees? If Berstein is so upset by SGC's inaction she might consider run- ning herself. One advantage to the paper would be that she would no longer have time to write inane editorials like this one. --Charleen Cook, '72" March 15 Letters to The Daily should be mailed to the Editorial Di- rector or delivered to M a r y Rafferty in the Student Pub- lications business office in the Michigan Daily building. Let- ters should be typed, double- spaced and normallyshould not exceed 250 words. The Editorial Directors reserve the right to edit all letters sub- mitted. 4 Black convention: Stressing unity By GAYLE POLLARD THE NATIONAL Black Political Convention recently held in smoggy Gary, Indiana really ac- complished more than most ob- servers realized. Despite the con- fusion, disputes, and Michigan de- legation walk-out, the assembly of some 4,000 delegates and alter- nates, united to initiate national black political strategy. The adoption of the National Black Agenda and other resolu- tions such as the anti-busing stance showed the militancy of the group. And militancy was not anticipat- ed from the delegations comprised of black democrats, black repub- licans, old line Civil Righters such as NAACP members, a smattering of students, UAW members, and elected officials. But regardless of the philosophical persuasion, t h e common denominator according to Rev. Jesse Jackson of People Unitedto Save Humanity (PUSH) was blackness. Another prominent figure at the conclave, Imamu Amiri Baraka, chairmen of the New Jersey dele- gation (formerly LeRoi Jones) opened the parley by calling f o r "Unity without uniformity," a n 'apt theme for the session. Because that's exactly what hap- pened in this steel town last week- end. Blacks from all political per- suasions attended the sessions - pan-Africanists, assimulationists, integrationists, separtists, and na- tionalists - the whole spectrum came. NATURALLY there were has- sles. Some delegations such as Michigan's, contained older black people and established represent- atives as opposed to some states' delegations, which were dominat- ed by students. But the conflicts were not al- ways students versus older dele- gates. Barake described the dis- putes as "family arguments." Although different leaders sug- gested diverse strategies, a 11 agreed'that the political power of the some 7.5 million registe.'ed, and 6 million unregistered black voters needs strengthening. Plans for national black poli- tics included Jackson's calling for a third party - an independent national black political party. But while the country preacher as Jackson is often called argued in- dependent politics, Gary's mayor Richard Hatcher argued for giving the Democrats one more chance although "the price will be high." While some delegates wished to retain their party and orgainiza- tional loyaltiesaothers favored the independent party, but no decis- ion was made. The majority of black people have been enfranchised a short while - specifically since the ted- eral Voting Rights Act of 1904. Regardless of the type of stra- tegy, some effort is definitely needed to make the black vote more potent. FOR YEARS, national Civil Rights organizations such as the NAACP have been trying to em- power black folks. Groups 1 i k e these should be respected because they laid a foundation. At the convention, however, the NAACP opposed the preamble to the National Black Agenda, find- ing " the document a "doctrine of racial superiority." The staid or- ganization also attacked the as- sembly's anti-busing stance. But the majority of the dele- gates overruled the old c i v i right's organization's position as they tentatively but enthusiasti- cally accepted the militant round- ing preamble and the National Black Agenda. And as the nation, ranging from the White House to the ordinary Americans, took note; the dele- gates from 43 states and. Washing- ton D.C. set about mapping out black political strategy and trying to better the black American's way of life. A steering committee of dele- gates from all 50 states and the District of Columbia will meet in two weeks to finalize the national black agenda. HOPEFULLY the outcome will illustrate black potence. At least now many politicians realize that lots of black folks don't favo. bus- ing for integration and black children consistently the minority at school. But the convention's success de- pends on the black turnout this election year. If the unity estab- lished in Gary permeates the black black communities across this country - if more blocks vote - and in a maner which increases our power - thien the convention will have surely been successful, and the session sched- uled for 1976 in Philadelphia prior to the next national presidential election will be worth attending. 9 -. ROSE SUE BERSTEIN... For a serious St. Patrick's . 0.0 Quest ioning STRESS' value UCH OF THE criticism that has re- cently been levelled at the Detroit Police Department's STRESS program in- dicate problems which are far more seri- ous than is evident from that criticism. STRESS has been blasted most recent- ly for the involvement of four of its of- ficers in the March 9 shooting of five Wayne County sheriff's deputies, and has also come under fire for a $50,000 lawsuit filed against four STRESS officers in- volved in a shooting death last November, The STRESS unit was formed little more than a year ago in response to in- creased crime in certain areas of Detroit. STRESS agents work in an ' undercover capacity, acting as decoys in the city's high crime areas. This fact is significant because it gives into acting in a criminal manner. Entrap- ment is an illegal police action. BEYOND ENTRAPPING a potentially dangerous individual so that he may be arrested there is also the possibility that STRESS agents can take advantage of their particular situations for the pur- pose of settling personal vendettas, The STRESS program lends itself well to this type of behavior, since its under- cover operations are veiled from public view. Another disturbing feature of the STRESS operation is the fact that the officers involved are placed in situations where they are either forced to shoot first or can do so without excessive fear of being prosecuted for it. THE TRILLS of "My Wild Irish Rose" and "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" will probably float alosg with 300,000 Irish people on New York's Fifth Ave. tomorrow in the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. But this year the music will be strictly civilian, because the Pen- tagon has denied military bands permission to play in the parade, deeming its theme too controver- sial. And this year's theme - a pro- test of British involvement in Northern Ireland - could certain- ly be construed as controversial by the Pentagon. Despite the hope of parade chair- man and retired judge James Comerford that the parade n o t carry political overtones, but merely honour St. Patrick, various groups in New York have mobiliz- ed to make clear - especially on St. Patrick's Day - their view that Britain should withdraw from TTl efor~ tentially a. very powerful weapon. In adition to the boycott, Irish Republican Army (IRA) sympa- thizers have asked marchers in to- morrow's mammoth parade to wear black armbands in memory of the 13 Irish victims of British gunfire last Jan. 13. Both of these suggestions are sound ones, representing dignified ways to observe a holiday mmve often noted for drunken brawling than for solemn protest. THE STRIFE in Ulster is ad- mittedly clouded with ambiguity and misunderstanding. But, as with other controversial conflicts, a clear majoriy of those affected would like their country to dis- sociate itself from the mess. Polls indicate that Britons want out of Ireland, and IRA guerrilla actions against British troops in- dicate that they too want Britain out of Ireland too. IRISH RESISTANCE 1 e a d e r s such as Bernadette Devlin hope for a unified socialist state of Ire- land, with increased economic t op- portunity for all the Irish, Pro- testant and Catholic alike. But no progress can be forged, and there can be no pea-e in Northern Ireland, while campaigns of terror rule the streets, while British troops patrol Belfastand Londonderry, while British r u 1 e governs the Irish spirit. The British government must be made to realize that although Ul- ster cannot bear much more havoc and destruction, the fighting will continue indomitably until t h e British troops - who even the British people do not think should be in Ireland - leave. SO, WHEN YOU r u m m a g e through your closet tonight in search of the bright green shirt that commemorates St. Pat.rick's