e Mi t oa Bafly
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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.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1971
NIGHT EDITOR: ROSE SUE BERSTEIN
Implementing city goals
WHEN MAYOR ROBERT Harris spoke
Tuesday on his goals for the next
year, he admitted that even accom-
plishment of the programs "would not
be Utopia."
In saying that, the mayor is deliver-
ing quite an understatement. Most of the
goals Harris mentioned are not Utopian
dreams, but rather, necessities for city
life which should have been implement-
ed in Ann Arbor long ago.
But, to implement his goals, the city
will need money, and here the strange
schizophrenia in Harris' views of the
coming year becomes apparent.
In one breath, Harris-and most of the
city's administration-exclaims about the
fiscal crisis facing Ann Arbor, and say
that even a one per cent income tax, if
passed, won't give the city the funds it
needs to keep up "normal" services
through the next five years.
In the next, Harris makes near-prom-
ises about what Ann Arbor "should have
accomplished" by the end of 1972.
HE TWO POSITIONS, unfortunately,
are inconsistent. Harris needs more
money to implement the programs, and
the programs - at least most of them-
must be implemented, if Ann Arbor is to
continue functioning as a reasonable ac-
ceptable place to live.
However, several of Harris' suggestions
can be implemented with a minimum or
zero outlay of funds, and these should
and must be put into effect now, not just
by "the end of 1972."
For example, Harris promised a re-
examination of administrative positions
in City Hall to see if a full time position
being filled by a man could be replaced
by two or three part-time positions for
women who want only part-time work.
In conjunction with this goal, Harris
spoke of having an affirmative action
plan "to promote the hiring of women in
managerial jobs from which women have
traditionally been excluded.
These things don't take that much
money, and an excuse that Ann Arbor
needs to pass the income tax before they
can be implemented does not hold up.
Another of Harris' goals for next year
is to revise city laws to encourage full
participation in both voting and other
city activities by the newly enfranchised
18-20 age group.
THERE ARE several other programs of
this nature that can and should be
implemented despite the desperate finan-
cial straits the city is now in. Ann Ar-
bor may have to wait for some of Harris'
more ambitious plans, but these basics do
not have to depend on a better economy.
Harris has said these programs
"should" be accomplished by the end of
1972. In fact, they should have been
accomplished by now, and can be com-
pleted soon if the city gets to work on
them.
Such programs are vital to Ann Ar-
bor's growthk as a city, and it is admir-
able that the mayor recognizes this. Now,
it is up to the administration to show
good faith by putting some of the plans
-which can be carried out despite the
city's budget crisis-into immediate ac-,
tion.
-TAMMY JACOBS
A iri
By RICHARD GARRISON
ARE YOU INTERESTED in Air
Force ROTC? I was. I en-
rolled in the non-contractual pro-
gram as a freshman in 1966, and
for two years, I spent about two
hours each week learning basic
drill, military courtesies, "cut your
hair," and textbook fundamentals
of national and Air Force polic-
ies. In the fall of 1968, the be-
ginning of my junior year, it was
time to enlist in the Air Force
Reserve and complete the two-
year "POC" (Professional Offi-
cers Course). I enlisted, not with-
out grave doubts, but for rea-
sons I thought to be sound. Be-
sides, I felt that four years of
active duty could be tolerated.
At the time of my enlistment
(and even long before it) I was
opposed to our military interven-
tion and aggression in Southeast
Asia. Perhaps the strongest rea-
son for enlisting was the accomp-
anying promise of never having to
worry about combat. The second
"sound" reason behind my decis-
ion was the promise of a delay of
active duty for graduate studies
- a very attractive proposition
after graduate deferments had
been cancelled and graduate en-
rollments were falling. Finally, I
was a very eager aerospace engi-
neering undergraduate, and my
idea of an exciting career was "re-
search and development" in some
space-project laboratory (w h i c h
the Air Force is famous for). These
are the sort of reasons that en-
listment propaganda concentrate
upon, and that propaganda
worked on me.
BUT NOW, I am most certain-
ly not the same person I was
then. During the three years since
my enlistment my moral convic-
tions, political attitudes, religious
beliefs, life goals, personality, and
even physical appearance have de-
veloped and changed.
Now I am opposed to all war-
fare, and I cannot, in good con-
science, participate in it in an
active or even supportive role. I
want to continue my graduate
work in air pollution control so
that I may eventually teach in the
area of environmental engineering.
I am, in every sense of the word,
incompatible with active duty in
the Air Force and have been liv-
ing for some time now in desperate
fear of my pending commission
and active duty tour.
The change in me has not been
sudden, and is perhaps best, il-
lustrated by my performance in
AFROTC. In the fall of 1968 I re-
ceived a cadet rating of "good to
average," which meant that I
had done what I had to do as far
as filing papers and filling out
forms without overly inconvenc-
Force
ROTC:
Playing for
keeps
gation on incompatibility w a s
suspended in Oct. 1970 pending
an official decision on my C.O.
claim.
I SPENT EIGHT months p r e-
paring and submitting my C.O.
application, which included a'fav-
orable recommendation from an
Air Force chaplain. The request
was denied in August of this year,
and shortly afterwards I received
notice of a renewed date for the
incompatibility investigation.
The denial of the C.O. came as
a terrible disappointment and has
left me with a strong sense of
bitterness and hopelessness. There
is little or no chance that this in-
compatibility hearing, will lead to
discharge; such requests are den-
ied almost as a matter of course.
The Air Force, it seems, is never
willing to admit that some of its
lost sheep won't stray happily back
home. The Army ROTC branch,
here at Michigan at least, seems
much more reasonable and real-
istic; allowing that not all persons
will make good or even accept-
able officers. They have allowed
students who are strongly opposed
to service to withdraw before com-
missioning.
Now I am trapped with the
prospects of a probably commis-
sioning and the reality of having
to live with myself and my de-
cisions. If I accept my commis-
sion, I will continue every effort
to be discharged. If I refuse my
commission, I will probably be
activated for four years at an
enlisted grade, which would be no
small disaster for both the Air
Force and myself. I feel that my
only just obligation to the Air
Force is repayment of the money
that they gave to me along with
other cadets, and this I am quite
willing to do.
I WANT to emphasize the ser-
iousness of enlisting in AFROTC.
If you are interested in AFROTC,
think twice, three times, [or bet-
ter yet forget it unless you can
be positive that you will not
change in the years following your
enlistment. You can be positive
that the Air Force will not change,
and will refuse to recognize any
changes in you.
0
-Daily-Sara Krulwich
Rich ard Garrison and his un if orm
ing any cadet "superior" to me.
I finished the program in t h e
spring of 1970 as "marginal at
best" with some question as to
whether I could even perform as
an officer.
I was the first cadet to elect
the POC course work on a pass-
fail basis after realizing the worth-
lessness of grades in courses con-
sisting almost entirely of formal-
ized student briefings on subjects
practically unknown to them. And
summer camp in 1969 provided no
more attraction to military Iif e.
There I saw money wasted on ill-
used facilities; and spoke w i t h
several unhappy young officers.
My performance was again poor,
and I was rated in the "lower five"
out of 25 cadets in areas of lead-
ership and personal relationships.
I made inquiries in the fall and
winter terms of 1969 about leav-
ing the program. I was discourag-
ed, however, from pushing t h e
matter further after learning of
possible involuntary duty for four
years if it was proved that I had
"wifully evaded" the terms of my
contract.
I made few friends and even
fewer accomplishments in t h e
program. I found little reason to
respect the cadets given authority
over me, and considered the cler-
ical and drill duties associated with
running the cadet corps, to be a
pointless waste of time. General
opposition to many of the corps
policies including physical a p -
pearance (uniforms and haircuts),
formal reporting procedures just
to speak with an officer in h i s
office, and organization by way of
an inflexible "chain-of-command,"
made things difficult.
-Constant avoidance of corps ac-
tivities such as military b a 1 1s,
dinners, and awards ceremonies.
made these years progressively
worse. I stopped wearing the uni-
form altogether the last term, be-
cause I was tired of giving people
the impression that I supported
military activities,
THE SUMMER of 1910 was the
critical turning point. Through
renewed church attendance and
discussions with clergymen, I be-
gan to rediscover my religious
faith. Closely connected to these
efforts I began thinking m o r e
seriously about life, death, war-
fare, and being an officer in the
Air Force.
I saw no way to serve in t h e
military without at least passive-
ly supporting war and killing. I
also thought about my life with
respect to education and realized
that man's environment was vast-
ly more important than the next
advancement in aerospace tech-
nology., But, I had also finished
the AFROTC program, and my
commissioning was only awaiting
my December 1970 graduation. It
was time to act, before the situa-
tion became any worse.
I wrote a letter to the AFROTC
commander explaininghmy feelings
of incompatibility towards mili-
tary duty, and an investigation
was begun. I also read the current
material concerning conscientious
objection and felt that I could
honestly and sincerely request dis-
charge on this basis. The investi-
,.. .. _
Protecting womens' rights
4
THE PASSAGE OF the Equal Rights
Amendment (ERA) in the House of
Representatives marks a significant mile-
stone in the fight for legal recognition
of women's rights.
But without Senate passage of the
amendment, free of repressive riders, lit-
tle will have been gained by the House
action.
It is important to remember that the
House acted only after 48 years of con-
tinuous prodding. It is also noteworthy
that the amendment approved Monday
had sufficient support among the tradi-
tionally more conservative House so that
it could be approved in its original form.
The riders which had been proposed
would limit the amendment, which now
Editorial Staff
ROBERT KRAFTOwITZ
Editor
JIM BEATTIE DAVE CHUDWIN
Executive Editor Managing Editor
STEVE KOPPMAN .......Editorial Page Editor
RICK PERLOFF .. Associate Editorial Page Editor
PAT MAHONEY .... Assistant Editorial Page Editor
LYNN WEINER' Associate Managing Editor
LARRY LEMPERT AAssociate Managing Editor
ANITA CRONE...................Arts Editor
JIM IRWIN. .. ..Associate Art Editors
ROBERT CONROW .. Books Editor
JIM JUDKIS ... Photography Editor
JANET FREY ........... Personnel Director
JIM JUDKIS ... ..... ... Photography Editor
reads: "Equality of rights under the la
shall not be denied or abridged by t
United States or by any state on accou
of sex," to allow laws which exempt w
men from military service and gove
such areas as working conditions, chi
custody, and domestic relations.
STIPULATIONS LIKE these have be(
justified for years on the assumpti
that they "protect" women from jo
which would require over-exertion, fro
the rigors of military service, consider(
too strenuous for females, and fro
equitable domestic situations which mig
entail such earth-shaking crises as motl
ers who work. j
There is no reason to urge passa
of the amendment if the Senate is goi
to burden it with provisions that w
render it ineffectual.
There is, however,,an acceptable rid
which has been proposed by a group(
labor women. This rider would exter
any special privileges accorded membe
of one sex to the other.
Concerned individuals should regist
their support for Senate passage of a
unadulterated ERA, one that will ler
dignity to all persons, regardless of the
sex.
-ROSE SUE BERSTEIN
*
Lw
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nt
o-
rn
ld
en
on
ibs
m
School busing for integration:
A black perspective
;I By RICHARD E. HODGES (DOC)
m WHY THE "hell" haven't we
)m heard more from the Black
ht Community on how they feel about
h- the bussing problem? Look at the
city of Pontiac!
ge All I see on television, read in
the papers, and hear on the radio,
n9 is strange dialogue coming from a
ill not too "bright" but "alright"
busty blond. Indeed traveling
er around the "country" preaching
of the evils of bussing. While all the
of time I'm asking myself; why
nd doesn't she travel to the other
'rs side of her "own" town, where
she would get a more attentive.
and much more concerned aud-
er ience.
D~n With government intervention
1d damn near "a sure thing" b o t h
ir Black and white, hadabetter get
up, off, their asses and start
working towards an alternative to
a "mamonth" city wide bussing
foul-up.
Dig! I would like to take this
opportunity to impress upon the
white people of Pontiac, Detroit.
and while I'm at it I might well
include the whole nation; of the
need for this nation to be more
exposed to how Black people feel
on this vital issue of bussing. I
Say this because their definitely
seems to be a "news lag" to the
way Black people feel about bus-
sing.
Then after both Black and white
have their say through the media,
I would recommend they get to-
gether! How!, you ask. V e r y
simple; by using that almost for-
gotten, but "still alive" P a r e n t
Teacher Organization. Using the
P.T.O. as a forum, to voice still
more public opinion, to cover that
all encompassing issue of bussing.
Which I'm sure would cover all
the underlying issues of politics.
economics, and most important of
all method of instruction.
BLACK SCHOOLS have always
suffered a great deal from lack
of funds. But! Right now I'm ask-
ing myself how much we have
suffered from a school system
that was designed, built, and run
by whites. I would not hesitate
to say we have suffered a great
Brothers and Sisters! I must beg
your pardon for saying it, but I
smell a "rat". And when you
place the rat in front of a mir-
ror, you are surprised to find
that, what you see in the mirror
is not a "rat" in reverse, but that
old question of "Decentralization".
I'll be damned! That problem of
who will control the Black schools,
we already know who controls the
white ones.
I wonder why we forgot! Oh
yea! It was the drug war that
broke out, the sixteen insane kill-
ings by Detroit's insane police unit
called "stress", plus the wage-
price freeze didri't help any. Damn
no wonder we forgot! Here it is
again though, only this time un-
der different circumstances, and
further away from being a real-
ity. Some people would say that
you can't equate bussing with an
attempt to ward off decentraliza-
tion. Well; that's what they say!
I say you can; just by asking who
will control the bussing operation.
NATURALLY, AND quite logi-
cally the responsibility would be
turned over to the local authori-
ties, more specifically the local
board of education. It's "cool" to
be a Black superintendent of
schools, but where you want to
be to really control the school
system in your neighborhood is at
the board of education level.
Hell white people control their
schools, I see no reason why Black
people should not control t h e i r
schools. Now!, Don't forget what I
said a little while ago! Just in
case you forgot let me refresh
your memory- I said that; I be-
lieve a school can not be an ef-
fective educational unit when it's
method of instruction is split.
And you can "cool believe", that if
there's a sizeable amount of white
kids in "all" of Detroit schools
you know the white man will try
to control all of the schools.
Any city board, of any sort,
whose structure more or less re-
presents the racial as well as the
economic composition of that city
will always find the Black people
at the lesser end. And as "we"
all know the less representation
you have, the less control you
have over your destiny. Can you
dig that!
BESIDES, AS soon as Black
people start getting better paying
jobs they will automatically start
to improve their own schools.
Some people would say that in
order to get better paying jobs.
to pay for the improved schools.
you have to have a better educa-
tion. Hey! Believe it or not I
agree one hundred percent. All
I'm saying is this, and that is.
the white man's way of teaching
is 'cool for white kids, but for
Blacks it's a mental bore.
Letters to The Daily
r~
j ' Y ?
vii e n
i
HR-RIP hippo
To The Daily:
WHILE WE were happy to see
that the Human Rights Party
hippo received tongue and cheek
coverage in a recent Daily editor-
ial, we feel you did not repre-
sent our views fairly.
Although members of the Hu-
man Rights - Radical Independ-
ent party do not always agree with
3ll of Zolton Ferency's political
views, we believe his handling of
queries by reporters about ou r
hippo was more than adequate
and not "just more of Ferency's
bull" as you reported in your
editorial. You also reported that
the hippo is the natural predator
of the pig - this is a rumor that
has been going around Ann Ar-
bor for months and though up till
now we have nothing to dispell it,
it really has little basis in fact.
-Nancy Wechsler
Coordinator HR-RIP
October 13
Planning Commission
To The Daily:
ON OCTOBER 12 and October
26, the Ann Arbor City Plan-
ning Commission will hold public
hearings on a proposed Subdivi-
sion Control Ordinance, to become
Chapter 57 of the City Code. Since
this ordinance covers the entire
subject of subdivision, area and
site planning, it will govern the
nature of future development in
In deleting these public infor-
mation provisions the City Plan-
ning Director noted that they
would entail considerable expense
and that - in any event - the
public is protected adequately by
the zoning process. Neither of
these assertions is true. At the
outside limits, the cost of admin-
istering a full public information
program would amount to the ef-
forts of one staff member, hardly
a high price to pay for public
knowledge on the crucial issues.
Moreover, zoning does not deter-
mine traffic patterns or open
areas or building locations or
residential patterns within plan-
ned developments, all of which af-
fect deeply the quality of life in
this city.
If your readers still care about
our city - what it is and what
it is becoming - they will want
to know how it is to be developed.
And they will want an opportun-
ity to tell the Planning Commis-
sion and the City Council what
they think of proposed plans. The
Planning 'Commission may deny
our citizenry both these rights on
the pretext of saving a few dol-
lars.
Readers who want to preserve
their right to know and be heard
should speak out at the hearings
on October 12 and 26.
Prof. Stanley Siegel
Law School
Oct. 7
4w
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