reporter's notebook
4e Sidi$gan ai1l
Eighty-one years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Talkin
'bout my g-g-generation .. .
0i
Jonathan mille-
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.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1971
NIGHT EDITOR: HESTER PULLING
Awakening of the faculty
MONDAY'S SENATE Assembly action
declaring the University's general
intention to refuse classified research
projects means very little in concrete
terms.
Since the assembly has not yet deter-
mined the mechanism through which
such research will be excluded from the
campus, it still has not really altered the
condition which made meaningless the
old University policy against doing re-
search potentially destructive to human
life..
Nonetheless, the mere fact that Senate
Assembly has taken such a stance signals
the occurrence of very significant chan-
ges within the University community.
First, it indicates that the faculty is at
last becoming open minded enough to
respond to sentiment originating in non-
faculty quarters of the University. For
even faculty members who are highly
defensive about the originality and vi-
tality of their thinking can hardly deny
that Assembly's action was at least part-
ly a response to the turmoil classified re-
search has caused among students.
The student referenda expressing over-
whelming disapproval of classified re-
search, he fasts and demonstrations the
issue has provoked, and the desperate at-
tempts of University groups to present
information exposing the inability of the
old review system to keep war research
from the campus, have certainly had
their effects.
And even if it has only been in keep-,
ing the issue alive for so long in the fac-
ulty's mind that the' predominantly stu-
dent anti-classified-research movement
has affected the faculty, Monday's de-
cision remains an encouraging sign that
faculty ears are not totally deaf:
FAR MORE IMPORTANTLY, however,
Assembly's action indicates that the
faculty no longer believes the University
can maintain its moral integrity by rely-
ing on the good faith of the parties for
whom it does research.
It has long been the internal policy of
the University to avoid research whose
direct results would be injurious to hu-
man life. But until now, the University
has relied largely on the Pentagon to
designate which projects fit this cate-
gory. To secure approval of its proposals,
the defense department merely claimed
that the results would not be used for
destroying humans, and its judgment (or
sincerity) were never questioned.
Recently, however, disclosures such as
the Pentagon Papers and the "Selling of
the Pentagon" documentary have indi-
cated that the government willingly en-
gages in deception when it is necessary to
gain acceptance of questionable activi-
ties.
LOCALLY, THIS means that the Penta-
gon is not above deceiving the Uni-
versity about the nature of its research
projects in order to circumvent Univer-
sity policies prohibiting war research in
its laboratories. By finally admitting this
possibility, the faculty has at last rea-
lized that the University is not an ivory
tower which stands neutrally detached
from society.
Instead, Assembly members now see
the University as a part of society which
must guard the moral integrity of its
operations as much as any other sector.
For if it does not, the University may
unwittingly be used by agencies such as
the government for purposes clearly vio-
lating the moral sentiment of its com-
munity.
To prevent being used in this manner,
Assembly has suggested a complete turn-
about in the way the University deals
with government. Rather than continue
the past policy of accepting all classified
research proposals except those which
would result in the destruction of hu-
mans, Assembly now favors rejecting all
proposals except those that the govern-
ment can prove to be of overriding worth
to humanity.
Thus, Assembly has suggested that the
University take a tough moral stance
which the government must prove it is
in compliance with. And if this is done,
the University will no longer be neutral
at all.
Of course, the procedures involved have
not been finalized, and it is quite pos-
sible that next week's setlement will be
quite contrary to the spirit of Monday's
declaration. But even if little change in
University practices changes as a result
of Assembly's recent activities, we can
at least take heart in the indication that
the faculty is moving toward an aware-
ness of the University's responsibility to
society.
-JIM BEATTIE
Executive Editor
ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE,
the Newsweek of the a b o v e
ground counterculture, calls it the
"drug of the year." Newsweek ma-
gazine, the Rolling Stone of the
establishment, quotes one u s e r
as saying: "Orgasms go better with
coke," and local headshops a r e
experiencing a boom in sales of
the little silver spoons t h a t,
every hipster knows, are as essen-
tial a prerequisite for the genuine
coke sniffer as a nasal spray
atomizer.
Cocaine, once the purview of the
rich and the musically-inclined -
is currently thedrage of the rich
and the tone deaf as well. At
prices which can reach $1,000 an
ounce, the real thing can h e 1 p
a habitual user run up consider-
able debts in a remarkably short
time.
These habitual users consider it
fortunate that such small amounts
of the drug are needed to produce
a high that the cost of their habit
can safely be kept to a modest $50
a day.
For the less afluent, however, a
simple weekend of euphoria can
run to be as little as $10, depend-
ing on the quality and availabil-
ity of the drug.
Sofatt$5 each, a silver, astrol-
ogically customized coke spoon,
complete with neck chain, c a n
hardly add significantly to the
cost of a cocaine habit though
some purists insist that the only
way to sniff is through a tightly
rolled up dollar bill. (Others say
that a $5 bill is even better.)
SGT. CALVIN HICKS, head of
the city police drug detail, sug-
gested this week that cocaine use
is surging upwards here, despite
the exorbitant costs. "The coke
scene has picked up along with
the heroin," he noted, and con-
fiscated samples have "been way
up there in quality."
Then again, he added, there has
been some "pretty weak" s t u f f
too, but he did not explain how
he told the difference.
But also of interest, apart from
what Mr. Nixon said, and did not
say, was the spectacle itself, in-
side the aircraft hanger sized Hall
C of Cobo Hall.
Nixon's audience was over-
whelmingly white- and affluent
and, not surprisingly for 'such a
predominantly Republican gath-
ering, they warmly welcomed their
President.
Weaving throughout the tables,
however, clearing away the debris
of half-eaten semi-cold beef ten-
derloin and green beans, were a
small number of people who had
sufficient cause to scorn the chiefi
executive for the Secret Service
to make a point of searching
every one of them.
MEMBERS OF Myra W o 1 f-
gang's militantly anti-pay freeze
Hotel and Restaurant Workers
Union, the mostly black, mostly
poor waiters on the tables of the
rich proudly wore the black and
white (and somewhat ambiguous)
"Freeze the Freeze" stickers being
distributed by their fellow union
members outside.
And outside, under the gaze of
hundreds of stony faced, steel hel-
meted, gas mask toting Detroit
police, the nosy crowd of demon-
strators picketed and- chanted
their slogans in vain. It is pro-
bable that Mr. Nixon never heard
them, let alone saw them. He
slipped quietly in and out of the
hall through the back doors.
BY THE TIME Nixon had con-
cluded his "remarks" as the White
House press secretary termed
them, most of the demonstrators
had gone home. The police stood
guard over the long lines of lim-
ousines waiting to transport the
Economic Club members back to
Bloomfield Hills and Grosse
Painte.
Only a small group of militant
demonstrators remained: "O n e,
two, three, four, we don't want
your fucking war . . ." they chant-
ed.
-Daily-Terry McCarthy
But can the surge in sales of
the paraphernalia really m a t c h
the number of people actually us-
ing the drug? Evidence suggests
not.
One young woman clad in a
red and white t-shirt emblazoned
with the word cocaine in a logo-
type style that must make the
soft-drink manufacturers ulcers,
explained simply: "I don't have
the money for the drug, but I
like the shirt."
Cynthia Shevel, owner a n d
manager of Middle Earth said she
doesn't believe that everyone who
comes into her store looking for
spoons and buying t-shirts and
stickers is really a coke user.
"They're just people who iden-
tify with it. We sell a lot of snuff
too, but people don't really like
it," she says.
The case for Angela Davis
WE HAVE BEEN recently confronted
with the terrible reality of the Amer-
ican prison and the American judicial
system, together with the ruthlessness of
those who run it. The massacre at Attica
and the killing of George Jackson have
shocked at least a few into concern over
the legal system which imprisons people,
and the conditions of their incarcera-
tion.
However, these two tragedies have ob-
scured from the public eye an important
case in which the tragedy is only im-
pending and not yet a fact. This is the
trial of Angela Davis for allegedly pro-
viding the weapons used in an abortive
attempt to liberate several prisoners from
a California courthouse.
Even a partial examination of the facts
of her case exposes its ludicrous nature.
She was extradited to California on the
basis of a grand jury indictment 1 a s t
November - an indictment which was
founded on no evidence whatsoever.
This grand jury was selected by four
judges from the almost exclusively white
upper class Marin County population.
Three of these four are at present mem-
bers of the Elks Club, known for its dis-
criminatory practice of not allowing any
blacks as members. The fourth was a
member for 26 years, having just with-
drawn from that organization last year.
WHEN DAVIS was arrested in New York,
she was placed on $250,000 bond, an
astronomical figure for a case based on
such little evidence.
The prosecution bases its case on three
main points: The guns used by Jonathan
Jackson, one of the prisoners slain in
the shootout, belonged to Davis; she was
known to be a close friend of Jackson;
and she left the San Francisco area two
hours after the shootout.
Davis was placed on the FBI's most-
wanted list solely because of this circum-
stantial "evidence."
In order to extradite her to California,
Governor Ronald Reagan signed an af-
fadavit which required the signature of
New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller
to become effective. Rockefeller was leg-
ally given 30 days to ponder the case, and
decide if the evidence was sufficient to
warrant her extradition.
However, Rockefeller signed the war-
rant less than 24 hours after receiving it.
He spent between 16 and 18 of those hours
on the streets of New York, kissing bab-
ies, eating knishes, shaking hands, gath-
ering votes for himself.
ONE CAN ONLY surmise that Rockefel-
ler is a man of remarkable concen-
tration, who is very intent in his decis-
ions affecting political prisoners. This
was in fact reinforced by his recent de-
cision to retake Attica prison at any hu-
man cost.
Clearly, Davis constitutes a direct
threat to the authorities. Thus, t h e y
label her a threat to society and put her
away.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE must come to
grips with these injustices. They must
protest the frame-up which Davis' case
most obviously has been from the start.
They must see that as a black, as a Com-
munist, and as a woman, Angela is a per-
secuted individual.
But more importantly, it must be seen
that it is her radical ideology which
strikes fear and apprehension into the
hearts of Rockefeller and his kind.
A n vtiinn i hiihina neireon~t antisn_-
Seeking answers to
Atticaun
By PAT MAHONEY
Assistant Editorial Page Editor
TWO WEEKS AFTER the carnage at Attica Correctional Facility
in which 42 people were killed, proposals for preventing another
tragedy have begun to pour in.
The prison guards' union has recommended that the "6 to 10 per
cent" of New York's prison population that is "incorrigible" be sepa-
rated from the rest. Gov. Nelson Rockefeller has authorized prison
authorities to hire 100 new employes, largely guards, and Attica offic-
ials predict privately that even more will be put on the payroll.
All of these suggestions, however, show no awareness of some of
the basic causes of unrest at Attica and other prisons,
CONFLICTS BETWEEN INMATES and guards, inadequate voca-
tional training of prisoners for after they are released, and inhuman
living conditions have fueled increasingly frequent prison revolts. In-
stead of trying to reform obsolete state and federal penal systems,
though, authorities have reacted by tightening security.
Last week about a dozen guards at Attica refused to obey in-
structions to let several hundred inmates out of their cells for the first
time since the uprising. Only after other guards - armed with rifles
to shoot at the prisoners if they became disorderly were stationed
at nearby cantage points - were the inmates allowed to get some
exercise.
Prison guards are so fearful of another rebellion that they have
broken convicts' toothbrushes in half to make them less useful as
handles for homemade slashing weapons. After the revolt was crushed,
prisoners' eyeglasses were taken away. Jerry Rosenberg, a leader of the
rebellion, has not had his glasses returned yet.
Insensitive responses to prisoners' needs and demands, though, is
far from new at Attica.
MOSLEM INMATES have complained about the frequent use of
pork in prison menus. Pork was used often because pigs are com-
paratively cheap and easy for the prison's farm to raise. In the last
fiscal year, the farm produced 1,559 pounds of chickens, and about
15,000 pounds of beef but almost 50,000 pounds of pork. Prisoners' diets
have been determined on the basis of cost, not nutrition or what the
inmates wanted, admits Deputy Corrections Commissioner Wim van
Eekeren.
Commissioner Russell Oswald says the New York prison system
is "starved" for funds. And to a certain extent he is right. Since 1967,
the correction agency's appropriation has fallen from 4.8 to 3 per cent
of spending for all state purposes.
TOTAL APPROPRIATIONS for the department, though, have
risen. Most of the $5 million increase this year was spent on adminis-
tration overhead. Several new top-level and middle-management jobs
were created and $200,000 was devoted to new offices.
Meanwhile vocational training programs at Attica and other New
York prisons suffer from a lack of funds. Even for existing programs,
equipment is often obsolete.
Outside of New York state, similar programs are also starved by
a shortage of money. The Department of Labor has funded test pro-
grams under which persons charged with crime are allowed to be
committed to training and placement assistance for 90 days prior to
judicial consideration of their cases. The training staff makes recom-
mendations to the court on further disposition of the case, which may
include additional employment.
IN ONE WASHINGTON, D.C. project, participants in such pro-
grams committed further criminal acts at a rate less than half of that
of a control group that did not receive the manpower training services.
Even more dramatic results were obtained by 52 rehabilitation
projects in 50 states. Training in office machine repair, metal fabri-
cation, woodworking and other topics was offered. In Georgia, rates
of recidivism, or relapse, were 15 percent for inmates who had received
training compared to 60 per cent for those who did not. Similar re-
sults occurred in Minnesota, Tennessee, Florida and Texas.
Only a small number of inmates, however, are involved in these
programs. About 4,000 defendants, three-tenths of one percent of all
Middle Earth sells no cocaine
spoons, only a rather too large for
the purpose ivory salt spoon at
35c.
"I see them at shows," Shevel
says, "but I consider Cocaine to
be a hard drug - we don't sell
syringes or needles either."
Little Things, just down t h e
stairs, has no such compunctions.
"THEY AREN'T coke spoons,
they're salt spoons," explained
Little Things president Issac Stein.
looking over a display at the de-
vices in a large, lighted cabinet.
"You should be a cop asking all
these questions."s
Mr. Stein suggested talking with
the -manager of his paraphernalia
depoartment - "I don't buy this
stuff, I just buy all the beautiful
things in this part of the store,"
he said, gesturing towards racks
of clothes. He wore a shirt with
purple stars.
Joe Cyberski, manager of the
department, could not, however,
be reached for comment.
"He's down at court," explained
Issacs.
"At court, what did he do?"
"He's sitting on a jury th i s
month."
Mr Issacs said he didn't know
how many of the spoons he w a s
selling, but it would be safe to
say that at least some of them
are not used for spooning salt.
Medical opinion on -cocaine is
largely unanimous: It's bad for
you, the doctors say, though it is
not physically addictive.
NOT ONLY DOES the habitual
sniffer develop problems breath-
ing, but other, long term, effects
of the drug can ultimately kill the
user.
But coke's popularity seems to
be increasing and perhaps one
reason may be the extreme versa-
tility of the drug.
It can, as one user says, "be
snorted, injected, or even used as
a suppository - but that is -not
the common method." And its
uses seem to be a varieated as its
many methods ad administration.
"It makes me feel really good,
but more specifically, it enhances
evertyhing I do like eating food,
or smoking dope, or running
around outside feels good. The
more physical and sensual, t h e
better it is," said one user in an
interview this week.
The user, a young administra-
tor at the University, feels the only
drawback with Cocaine is "the
cost."
"I've heard the reports and they
all say that in large amounts you
can be poisoned and with prolong-
ed regular use you can destroy.
your sinuses, but with people like
me - poor people - you can
never afford enough to do your-
self any harm."
OVERALL, COKE use is p r o -
bably up. "There'll be as m u c h
snorted as there is to sell," ex-
plains one, very part-time dealer.
"I can't get enough of it."
But, as is the case with so
many fads, visibility of the sym-
bolism may exceed the extent of
the actuality.
"Itrmust just look good to walk
around shooting drops up your
nose to east the pain of rotting
sinuses ahd casually twirling a
silver spoon around your little
finger.
THERE ARE two kinds of peo-
ple, insiders and outsiders, and
in Detroit last week President
Nixon attracted about an equal
number of both.
What he said, and didn't say,
is still being argued about. Is
there a pollution free auto engine
in the works? Nixon said so,
Ford's Lee Iococca denies it.
W ill wage-price controls re-
main in effect after the freeze
comes to an end next month?
Nixon seemed to stay so, no one
knows for sure.
"It's stupid," said a plainclothes-
man as he stood on the grassy
knoll overlooking the entrance.
"The trouble is, these kids can't
compete. They should try living
in some other country, they could
never do this there. I've got a son,
he's got long hair, but I brought
him up never to behave like this.
We're all against the war, God,
we all know we've made a mistake,
but this doesn't help. Maybe I'm
old-fashioned."
The
through
security
well dressed hurried
the police lines to the
of their automobiles.
'A
4
-Daily-Terry Mcuarthy
Letters to The Daily
Nixon economics
To The Daily:
I READ Dan Boothby's analysis
of Nixon's economic policy with
interest and pleasure. (Daily
Sept.21). The insights seems per-
ceptive and the language reason-
able. However, I do have a few
observations, as well as some ob-
servations to offer Mr. Boothby.
First, I cannot agree that NEP
r e p r e s e n t s no fundamental
change in US economic institu-
tions. The creation of permanent
wage - price controls of some
sort, and a permanent body to
to oversee their implementation,
is almostas revolutionary as the
New Deal legislation was in its
day. Traditionally, the public has
fought any attempt at long-range
wage-price control.
Be that as it may, the defects,
as pointed out in the article, are
substantial. Perhaps the most
serious, and one on which I wish
ou had dwelt a bit longer, is that
any controls will be effective only
if the public cooperates. The re-
action of the AFL-CIO to a mere
90-day freeze on wages and prices,
suggests that such cooperation is
unlikely.:
And this puts a rather serious
crimp in the suggestions in the
article. For if the public is un-
willing to take even these slow,
faltering steps towards a less
chaotic economy, how can they
be expected to submit to more
drastic measures?
But let's assume that every-
one cooperates to make these
changes work, and that somebody
in washringtan finally brings up
the more daring step of redistri-
bution of income. Who is going
to pay for it? The corporations?
Not likely! They have spent
years learning how not to pay
their fair share of taxes, and no
matter how many loopholes we
close, they will probably always
find another one.
Thenburden, then, is likely to
devolve upon the "top 20 per
cent", namely the middle class
-you and me. Personally, I would
be willing to have my annual in-
come reduced somewhat, if it
will help redistribute the overall
wealth more equitably.
1
I-*EMUIW'IIWEIH' t U I I
In closing, let me add that I