sfe £zrthan Tht!1 Eighty-one years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students atithe University of Michigan Black progress at 'U' --a success. story? 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, OCTOBER 15, 1971 NIGHT EDITOR: GERI SPRUNG Making airplanes quieter GOVERNMENT REGULATORY agen- cies, originally created to protect the public's interest, often do exactly the opposite. A dispute over regulating the noise from jets shows how the Civil Aero- nautics Board (CAB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tend to aid the airlines and-airports they are supposedly regulating. Before landing at an airport, jets must fly at low altitudes, often over residential areas. People living as far as ten miles from a major airport have been forced to endure the roar of jets which blocks out conversations and cracks plaster walls. Moving farther from the airport is usually the only escape. Three years ago, however, Congress en- acted legislation requiring jumbo jets to be quieter and told the FAA to im- pose noise controls on older jets if it found them to be technically and eco- nomically feasible., CAB CHAIRMAN Secor Browne told a convention, of airport operators Tues- day that it is unlikely the jets can be muffled at an acceptable cost. Officials from airports in Boston, Los Angeles, and New York promptly disputed Browne's statement. Government reports, they claimed, show that noise reductions are possible. IT IS SIGNIFICANT that the dissenting officials come from cities which have had some of the most serious noise prob- lems in the country. After listening to complaints from people forced to live with noise from jets for several years, these officials are likely to place a higher economic value on quieting the planes than Browne. 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 . ,.Associate Managing Editor ANITA CRONE............. ... ......... Arts Editor JTM IRWIN .......,..., Associate Art Editors ROBERT CONROW.............. .... Books Editor JIM JUDKIS...................Photography Editor JANET FREY.................... Personnel Director JIM JUDKIS.... ................ Photography Editor NIGHT EDITORS: Rose Sue Berstein, Lindsay Chaney, Mark Dillen,, Sara Fitzgerald, Tammy Jacobs, Alan Lenhoff, Jonathan Miller, Hester Pulling, Carla Rapoport, Robert Schreiner, WE. Schrock, Geri Sprung. COPY EDITORS: Art Lerner, Debra Thai. Sports Staff MORT NOVECK, Sports Editor JIM KEVRA, Executive Sports Editor RICK CORNFELD .. . Associate Sports Editor TERRI POUCHEY,.......Contributing Sports Editor BETSY MAHON.... Senior Night Editor SPORTS NIGHT EDITORS: Bill Alterman, Bob An- drews, Sandi Genis, Joel Greer, Elliot Legow, John Papanek, Randy Phillips, Al Shackelford. Business Staff JAMES STOREY, Business Manager. While the CAB chairman claims, "I'm for the environment," his concern shows a typical big business bias. "Overcor- rection of the environment can have very serious consequences," Browne explained. "What we must talk about is the total environment in which people can live but also earn a living." Muffling the noise from jets, however, is unlikely to put large numbers of peo- ple out of work. Jumbo jets, such as the Boeing 747 and DC-10,already have quieter engines than older models. Add- ing porous, sound-absorbing materials to these older planes might actually provide new jobs. Airlines, which are already suffering large losses, would probably re- ceive tax incentives to install the new equipment, which Browne expects- to cost about $1 billion. SINCE IT IS expensive to quiet or retro- fit older jets, the government should insist that the job be done as well as pos- sible. To placate the public outcry for quieter jets, the airlines and federal agencies may try to get by with the smallest possible improvement. Already the FAA has dropped a con- troversial proposed standard regarding measurement of noise within communi- ties, which industry groups had object- ed to. Now airport operators and airlines will be allowed to draft a new standard. Once again the companies required to obey the government's rules will help to make them while the public sits on the sidelines. While the jumbo jets are already equipped with relatively quiet engines, it is also important that the older planes be retro-fitted, since they are likely to remain in service for a long time. Only a small number of airports can handle the jumbojets. Airlines' large losses and problems in filling the new planes will encourage them to continue using the older jets. If these planes are .not quieted and the volume of airplane traffic con- tinues to increase, some areas within a few miles of major airports may become so noisy ' that people will refuse to in- habit them. RETRO-FITTING ENGINES offers the best hope for muffling older planes. Development of jets that land and take off vertically appears to be several years away. Jumbo jets are also unlikely to eliminate use of older, noiser planes. Sig- nificant reductions in noise will occur only if the public puts pressure on Con- gress and the FAA to compel airlines to install the most effective equipment for quieting their engines. Otherwise gov- ernment officials are likely to give in un- der pressure to the airlines' requests for weak regulations while the concerns of the public are forgotten. PAT MAHONEY Assistant Editorial Page Editor On Oct. 6, the Detroit News pub- lished an article outlining the "pro- gress" the University had made in fulfilling its comitnents to in- creased black enrollment and sup- portive services for blacks, madefol- lowing, the Black Action Movement student strike in March, 1970. The following is the response of the steer- ing committee of the Black Student Union to that article. T OO LONG have black people allowed others to present a false picture of the situation of Blacks within the confines of this racist, oppressive system. That ranges from the history books, to the mass media, and right on down to The Detroit News. The News ran an article on the front page of the Wednesday Oc- tober 6 edition on the situation of Blacks at the University. The article was entitled "A Success Story - Black Progress at U. of M." To anyone who is aware of the true situation of Blacks on campus that statement is ludi- crous at best. We, the steering committee ofsthe Black Student Union, are forced to respond to that article. The article points to four areas where the influence of increased numbers of Black students is evi- dent. They are:"a near tripling of financial aid for minority stu- dents in the last three years; an Afro-American and African Stu- dies center that stresses Black cul- ture and history; a tutorial and counseling program that assists 60 percent of the minority students on campus; and, most important- ly, this fall's enrollment statistics themselves." Let's take each point one at a time. FIRST OF ALL, the amount of total financial aid has tripled over the last three years. But let's look at financial aid more closely. Historically, financial aid was awarded in the way of schol- arships for academic achievement. In the last few years, the criteria have been changed from academic achievement to financial peed. Now that more Black students are being admitted from families with lower incomesthehamount of to- tal financial aid has had to in- crease. That in no way means that the university is giving Black students more money. There are just more Black students to give money to. Another factor is that the Uni- versity has been forced to assume a larger part in the amount of money given to students because of the reduction in federal govern- ment grants and loans. But prob- ably the most misleading part of the whole picture is something that Dr. Charles Kidd, Assistant Vice President for Student Serv- ices alluded to. He stated, "The average Black student end up ow- ing about $1,500 by the time he graduates." The reason is that during the four years a student normally stays here the amount of financial aid he/sh- receives gets less and less, and the amount of money he /she is required to pay gets more, and more. During many student's first year they receive a full fi- nancial aid grant. Many people see this as a tactic to lure Black students to the university. But whatever a student gets his first year, it is reduced by $600 his second year. During his third and fourth years the amount of the previous year is reduced by $1,200 and $1,800 respectively. So by the time a student gets to be a senior he is not receiving any financial aid (at least none in the form of .grants). The rationale is that a student should be able to work during the summer to make up the amount. But because of the tight job mar- ket (the unemployment rate in Detroit for Black youth between 16-21 years old is 25 per cent) it is ridiculous to even think a stu- dent can make $1,500 to $2,000 in a summer. Double that with the fact that tuition and room board have increas~ed the last four out of five years, and you get the true financial situation of Black students at the U. of M. Most end up borrowing money, or going on work-study in order to graduate. We, in no way see that as "pro- gress." SECONDLY, let's examine the "progress" of the Center for Afro- American and African Studies (CAAS). Being in existence for only one year, CAAS is trying to meet the needs and aspirations of the Black community in Ann Ar- bor. Yet, many of their efforts have come in conflict with the wishes of the university adminis- tration. -These conflicts revolve around three basic issues. (1) The university refuses to recognize the organizational structure of CAAS. The College of Literature, Science, and Arts (L.S.&A.) has indicat- ed that the constitution adopted by the staff of the Center is "not acceptable." (2) The Center does not have the power to hire its own staff. All instructors at the level of assistant professor and above must have joint appointments, i.e., in CAAS and some other depart- ment. Whaththis does in effect is prevent the Center fr'om. hav- ing any high level staff that function solely in behalf of the Center. The future of the Center's staff- ing is at the mercy of various other department. Because of this, there is no way that the Center can build the strong base needed for its continuance and growth. (3) The budget of the Center for the current year was reduced by $50 000. Is that what The News meant by progress? Thirdly. The News mentioned. the increase in the number of Black student on campus. Here, we would like to take issue with the numbers The News presented. Acknowledged is the fact that the number is increasing, however, to say that it is "a record number of Blacks - somewhere around 2000." i- a slight exaggeration. The number is 1,700 at most, around 5 per cent of the student body (not 6%/2 to 7 per cent as the administration would have us be- lieve). THE FOURTH AREA that the article mentions is supportive services for Black students. Dr. Kidd was certainly correct in saying that "the CULS (Coali- tion for the Use of Learning Skills) program has been tremen- dously effective in helping Blacks from economically disadvantaged families catch up." We herald the achievements of CULS. But there is a second major part in the area of supportive services for Black and other minority (Chicano, In- dian) students. It is the Oppor- tunity Program. The Opportunity Program was set up specifically to recruit Black students and pro- vide "the educational assistance and financial aid necessary for the completion of each student's educational objective." The 'ma- jority of Black students are Op- portunity students. Now let's ask the question: What "progress" is taking place in the Opportunity Program? The answer is, none. In fact, an ex- amination of the facts will reveal attempts to modify .(if not elimi- nate) the program. This sum- mer, a major job of "reorganiz- ing actions" took place between administrative offices. Affected in the switches was the Office of Special Academic Projects, under which. the Opportunity Program falls. The director of Special Pro- jects, Dr. Gilbert Maddox (host of the popular television show, "Profiles in Black") received an appointment in the journalism department and decided to resign. Instead of a new director being selected, the Office of Special Academic Projects was phased out. The components of the of- fice were divided up and placed in various other parts of the Uni- versity. The Opportunity Program is now in the Office of Academic Affairs under the coordination of Dr. William Cash, assistant to the president. THE OVERALL EFFECT of all this skillfull reshuffling is that the Opportunity Program as an entity almost does not exist any longer. But in a further attempt to de- ceive the Black community in Ann Arbor, President Robben Fleming has set up an Opportunity Pro- gram Advisory Committee. This committee, made up of students, faculty, and administrative repre_ sentatives has advisory power only. The committee does not have the power to monitor funds for activities, establish priorities, or select staff. It can only survey and review the program. It may offer recommendations to the Ex- ecutive officers regarding pro- grams, but it is has no assurance that the recommendations will be acted upon. We, the steering com- mittee of the Black Student Union, do not see all this as pro- gress. We see this as trickery. Those are the four areas around which the "success story" is based. The Detroit News procedes to paint a picture of the situation of Black students at the University of Michigan that is not only dis- torted, but just down right false. But The News did something else that we object to even more. It went around campus, talked to a few Black people they saw on the street, and presented their opinions as the views of Black people at the University.. One in particular we would like to cite. The statement by "a leader of the Black Student Union" that the "patronizing attitude by white stu- dents - especially white members of radical groups" angers some blacks. This so-called leader said: The real violence during the BAM strike - the rock-throw- ing and the scuffles with police --was done largely by white. radicals who thought they knew what was best for blacks. Those radical groups even accused us of selling out when we ended the strike. It's absurd that a bunch of white middle class students who are tripped out on LSD half the time can ser- iously imagine they can help blacks. First of all, that statement was not made by any present member of the , steering committee, and therefore is not a leader in BSU. Secondly, that statement is not a position of BSU, and in no way expresses the feelings of the steering committee. We realize that one of the main reasons that the strike was the success that it was was because of the wide- spread student and worker sup- port the strike received. We ap- preciate that support. To say that radical groups are made up of "a bunch of white middle class stu- dents who are tripped out on LSD half the time" is to us ter- ribly ridiculous. We dare the per- son who made that statement tio come forward so that it can be ascertained whether or not he has the right to speak in the name of BSU. THE STEERING COMMITTEE of BSU detests the fact that The News would present such a gross- ly misleading and inaccurate ar- ticle. We would hope that the demand for honest reporting by the public would cause The News to stop. I4 4 4 I fU.S. capitalists face Japanese compeftiton By ZACHARY SCHILLER THE UNITED STATES government is caught in a growing contra- diction over Japan. The Japanese have been asked to assume a role as military protector of American investments and interests in Asia. However, the U.S. wants. the Japanese to act as a subordinate power, acting in deference to American desires. The Japanese, if they do begin a military buildup, obviously want to look out for them- selves first. Thus, there is a growing struggle between the U.S. and Japanese economic powers. The country rebuilt through American aid now chal- lenges the U.S. as a competitor in the world market. Japan is not only a competitor, it is a powerful one. This power results mostly from the fact that Japan can produce goods more cheaply than the U.S. through lower labor costs. Thus, Americans buy Japanese products instead' of those of do- mestic make,' and widen the balance of payments deficit originally created by American military expenditures in Japan. 0 NOW, JAPAN'S DEFENSE MINISTER Naomi Nishimura has of- fered a plan to lessen the American balance of payments deficit. He said Monday that the government of Eisaki Sato is prepared to double its expenditures for U.S. military hardware. The Japanese would therefore spend $1 billion during their next five year plan on American military equipment Nishimura also declared that he was in favor of a change in Japan's prohibition against sending troops obroad. Although the defense minister suggested only that soldiers should be authorized to go on rescue and relief missions, it once again reminds us of Japan's growing economic and military power. The U.S. is confronted with an incontrovertible fact: no longer can the U.S. totally dominate world economy, -exploiting both. A markets and resources at will A and controlling the destiny of .; many of the world's nations. For the first time since the end of World War II, the U.S. is con- fronted with competition for both foreign and home narkets and resources. That a struggle is in the offing between these two great powers is. " self-evident to American leaders. According to the New York Times Secretary of the Treasury John Connally stated in a press briefing last week ". . . we want our bal- ance of payments improved. The Sec. John Connally Letters to The Daily Grad Assembly To The Daily: A NEW GRADUATE Assembly -which a salesman would prob- ably dub "smaller but better"- is being formed by the present GA and the graduate governments of the 11 Graduate Schools. A new structure is needed, be- cause in the last year, the sphere of "duty" of GA has changed, and its present structure is no longer applicable to its needs. Be- fore last spring, there was no "Rackham Student Government," and so GA assumed responsibil- ity for "Rackham issues" as well as campus-wide ones. Now that there is a Rackham government, GA is freed from Rackham responsibilities and can concentrate on campus - wide af- circeus maximus Addicted to pinball-Help! -by indsay chan y OUR UNIVERSITY president recent- ly announced a crack-down on pin- ball pushers and the institution of a pinball rehabilitation center. We talk- ed to the President just prior to his departure for South Korea where he will study Asian efforts to smash the International pinball ring. "Mr. President, why did you make this sudden decision to wage an all-out war against pinball use?" "Well, we were not aware until re- cently of the extent to which pinball use and addiction had spread on the Uni- versity campus." "What is the extent of use here?" "I don't have any figures, but it is very widespread. We know that the situation here is much worse than on any other campus in the country." "How was pinball introduced to the campus in Ann Arbor?" "To the best of our knowledge, it started in the dorms two years ago. We think South Quad got the first machines in the spring of '70. They were so pop- ular that other dorms followed suit, and by the next fall, they had spread all over campus. Now, this fall, there are big nushers outside the dorm vstem. "Was he addicted by then?" "Just about. It got worse and worse. Bill spent almost all his time playing pinball. As fast as he got a quarter, he ran to the nearest pusher. His grades went down; he was always broke." "It sounds terrible." "It got more terrible. Bill would spent every night wandering from one pinball pusher to another. He dropped gut of school. He sold his clothes to get money to play. Finally he started stealing to support his habit." "What finally happened?" "He turned himself into the rehabili- tation center. Now he's making r e a 1 progress. Should be cured in another month or so." "THAT'S GOOD. What type of treat- ment do you use at the rehabilitation center?" "We call it substitution therapy. We give the patients some other type of game to play like chess or monopoly - something that doesn't cost money." "Don't they get addicted to the sub- stitution game?" "Sometimes, but they can keep the habit under control much better than with pinball." fairs. So the change in "duties" also necessitates a change in structure, for as the present GA is constituted, .,it would be du- plicating representation from Rackham departments. Besides Rackham, there are ten other graduate schools at this University which also are entit- led to contribute to the "graduate voice" of GA. The proposed new structure insures their represen- tation. As proposed, the new Graduate Assembly will have 14 members-- one from each of the four disci- plines within Rackham and one from each of the other ten grad- uate schools, selected by the grad- uate student gover'nments(or equivalent) in the schools. The new GA will have the same duties and responsibilities for campus - wide affairs as does the present GA: it will continue tc serve as the "voice" of the grad- uate student body to faculty, ad- ministrators and other on mat- ters of concern to grad students, and to make graduate appoint. ments to SACUA and other Uni- versity-wide committees. We feel this new GA will have several things going for it. It will assure that the post-baccalaure- ate community as a whole is rep- resented: it will facilitate com- munication to the various schools, since its members will be involved with the governments in their schools and this presumes they are involved with their fellov grad students; it will be a body that can "focus" on issues, since the "housekeeping" will be done within each school by its own government ,and it will have a workable size. Representatives from the grad- uate governments are meeting now to complete plans for th new GA. We hope this new body will be an efficient and effec- tive organization for graduate concerns. -Jana Bommersbach President, Graduate Assembly. t i i a r a r 3, e it only way they can- be improved, in a sense, is to the detriment .of other nations. Other nations have to give up something in order that we might gain something." It so happens that "other nations" are reluctant to give up what few advantages they have over the United States simply for the bene- fit of our balance of payments. Moreover, it is possible that nations like Japan will be able to overcome unilateral actions taken by the U.S. to improve its com- petitive position. THAT JAPAN HAS REACHED a sophisticated state of technology and production is evident from its changing technique in marketing and image-making. Until recently, the Japanese have relied almost en- tirely on the ability of their products to sell themselves. The cheap- ness of Japanese goods is better publicity than any public relations campaign. However, while the image of Japanese products has changed over the, years, the image of Japan itself has not. Most Americans, for 'instance, still see the Japanese as our enemy of World War II-an image which stands directly in the way of the Japanese desire for economic expansion. Thus, both government and business are expanding their public relations budgets for an image-building campaign. "We're going to double or triple our expenditures in this area in the next one or two years," says Masaya Miyoshi, deputy director in the Federation of Eco- nomic Organizations, Japan's most powerful collection of business organizations. The Foreign Ministry has proposed a $3.5 million increase in its external information budget, including $1.5 million for image-building in the United States. THE JAPANESE ARE BEGINNING to realize that to compete with the United States on an international level, they must also compete with the American image abroad. The United States must face up to the fact that it is not the sole investor exploiting foreign markets and resources. As the U.S. replaces its ground combat troops with air power and technological weaponry in Vietnam, for example, the Japanese enter that country for eco- nomic purposes. Japanese consumer goods have now flooded the Vietnamese mar- ket, while growing Japanese interest in Vietnam was reflected in a vast increase in aid-from $4 million between 1960 and 1969 to $32 million in 1970. One Japanese executive remarked recently, as reported in The "Well, its really a gradual process. It begins when the student starts play- ing on a regular basis. Maybe two or three times a week. Then the student begins to really .enjoy himself, and starts playing every day, usually just h ... "' fnn . A4,sHn. 'Pnn11 the cti - "TELL ME, Mr. President, have you had many addicts come to the rehabili- tation center for treatment?" "We've had a few so far, and let me tell you, they are really tragic cases." "Would you be able to give an exam-