Wednesday, September 2, 1970
THE-MICHIGAN DAILY
Student Activities-Page Three
Wednesday, September 2, 1970 THE MICHIGAN DAILY
t
.
SG C and student power
Y.:
CENTRAL STUDENT JUDICIARY
By CARLA RAPOPORT
Student Government Council
(SGC) has only as much power
as the University administration
or current student support de-
cides it can have, and on a good
day this may equal a; two-hour
session between SGC, President'
Robben Fleming, a few students
and faculty members, and a
Daily reporter.
. On a bad day, it may lead to
the arrest of 10'7 students for
creating a contention at the
LSA Bldg. over the issue of a
student bookstore.
There is a sharp distinction,,
however, between the ineffec-
tiveness of SGC as a group and
the activities of its members as
individuals. During the past
year, various SGC members were
amazingly productive ini organ-
Sizing and leading drives on a'
number of issues.
Starting in the fall with the
bookstore issue, SGC members'
were able to mobilize large num-
bers of students to support the
establishment of a student-run
discount bookstore - which will
%r be opened this January.
Other active concerns of SGC
members during the past year
included working against ROTC,.
military research, and recruit-'
ing by corporations doing busi-
ness with the military, as well
as working for Women's Libera-
* tion demands and the BAM
strike.
Through speaking at numer-
ous Diag rallies as well as per-
sonally participating in many of
the disruptive tactics undertak-
en last year by SDS and BAM,
SGC members as individuals
worked with students for what.
they saw as needed change at
the University.
But with the exception of
passing strongly - worded paper
motions, .SGC as a group did
little more than generously ap-
prove almost every non-profit
student group which applied for
recognition as official student
organizations of the University.
Council did, however, provide
the Black Action Movement
with much of the funds and
facilities necessary for their
strike's success. r
On an on-going basis, Council
provides various aids for stu-
dents and student groups, in-
cluding a legal aid service which
provides inexpensive legal coun-
seling, a group health and life
insurance plan, and a revitalized
Student Consumer's Union to be
planned in'the fall.
SGC President Marty Scott,
LSA 172 "and Executive Vice
President Jerry De Grieck, LSA
'12 believe that one of the most
important issues facing the Uni-
versity this fall will be the dis-
pute over what disciplinary pro-
ceedings are used to try stu-
dents for non-academic offenses.
This past April the Regents
passed interim rules and disci-
plinary procedures without con-
sulting students and faculty.
The procedures empower an out-
side hearing officer, appointed
by President Fleming, to deter-
mine guilt and specify punish-
ment in student cases ranging
from a warning to expulsion.
SGC contends that these pro-
cedures ignore due process and
that the discipline decisions are
taken out of the community
which is affected by them. y
Student Government Council
recognizes the power of Central
Student Judiciary (CSJ)-an all
'
and
the student court
I
Marty Scott Jerry De Grieck
student judiciary-to hear cases
involving students accused of
non-academic offenses.
Another issue SGC has been
involved in is the dispute over
Gay Liberation Front's request
to hold a conference on homo-
sexuality at the University.
President Fleming vetoed the
conference on the grounds that
it was not educational and it
would adversly affect the Uni-
versity's standing with the legis-
lature.
SGC contends that the stu-
dent government, not President
Fleming, is delegated the au-
thority to regulate the activities
of student organizations. Despite
Fleming's veto of the conference,
GLF has agreed to go ahead and
schedule the conference through
SGC sponsorship.
Another SGC issue which is
likely to be raised in the fall
concerns the housing shortage
in Ann Arbor. In an SGC refer-
endum this past spring, students
overwhelmingly voted to have
the University construct low-
cost housing, which could be
d on e by floating government
loans.
The University has not yet re-
sponded to the referendum.,
Scott and De Grieck say that
SGC must communicate more
actively with students and with
the various student governments
connected with the schools and
colleges in the University.
In order to facilitate such
communication, SGC is plan-
ning to put out a newsletter on
a regular basis beginning this
fall, which will contain position
statements as well as summaries
of Council activities.
By HARVARD VALLANCE
On any campus beset with sit-ins, lock-
ins, trashings or other innovations in pro-
test, its a safe bet that faculty and students
will vie for the right to punish .offenders
of existing rules and regulations.
And since the University is a state-sup-
ported institution, students and faculty
must also vie for that privilege with the
state's legislature and citizens.
Following last year's massive strike for
increased black enrollment, the Regents,
under pressure from the legislature and
the public, voted to "temporarily" remove
disruption cases from the jurisdiction of
the student court, Central Student Judi-
ciary (CSJ) as well as from various faculty
boards. Judicial power was placed in the
lap of a single hearing officer to be ap-
pointed by President Robben Fleming.
Pending the creation of an entirely new
court system, the hearing officer is now
the sole determinant of a student's guilt
or innocence and can hand down punish-
ments ranging from reprimands and fines
to suspensions or expulsion.
The Regents' action greatly angered stu-
dent leaders andt many faculty members,
and the decision promises to be a cause
of considerable controversy this fall.
. Before the Regental decision, the all-
student CSJ seemed to be finally closing
in on its long sought after goal of recog-
nition by the faculty and the administra-
tion as the legitimate body for the trials
of students charged with breaking campus
regulations.
CSJ is the appelate court for all lower
courts on campus. Any complaint one might
have with a dorm or organization's judi-
ciary can be appealed to CSJ. If the 19-
member panel rules that your "legal person"
has been violated by the actions of any of-
ficially recognized student organization, it
may seek redress of your grievance in the
form of voluntary retribution from the
organization or disbanding of the organ-
ization.
CSJ and its predessessor, the Joint Judi-
ciary Council, have long had jurisdiction
over cases involving, violations of SGC.
statutes.
Residents of Chicago House in West Quad
last year nearly succeeded in having the
Inter-House Assembly-the governing body
for the residence halls-disbanded for vio-
lating a host of SGC regulations. While the
organization still governs the dorms, it was
forced to severely -rewrite its constitution
before the beginning of this fall term.
Although such questions involving viola-
tions of SGC regulations clearly concern on-
ly students, disruptions of lectures or ob-
structions of hallways concern others as
well.
CSJ: i al by peers
,1
Since 1965-66, when the student power
movement began to move on the campus,
the administration and faculty have rather
consistently insisted that classroom dis-
ruptions be classified along with cheating
and plagiarism as infractions of "academic"
regulations and heard by each college's fac-
ulty administrative boards.
Since such protests also involve violatiops
of SGC statutes which bar interference with
normal University functions, students have
consistantly demanded that such cases be
considered "non-academic" and that the
defendants be tried by their immediate peers
in an all-student judiciary.
Last year a significant milestone was set
when the University gave de-facto recogni-
tion of a student's right to be tried by his
immediate peers when it prosecuted through
CSJ SDS and several individuals for a lock-
in against a naval recruiter. SDS and one
protestor were found guilty of violating SGC
regulations and given light fines. The Uni-
versity has also submitted several other dis-
ruption cases to the court.
A committee on a Permanent University
Judiciary was created last spring to' bring
the subject of disruption out of legal limbo.
The committee consists of three college
deans, three faculty members, four students
and two Regents.
The committee is charged witi the
formidable task of coming up with 'a pro-
posal for a new system of trying disrupters
that will meet with the approval of stu-
dents, faculty, and administrators. 4
While committee members are striving for
an answer that will be tolerable to all par-
ties concerned before the first demonstra-
'tions hit the campus this fall, no one close
to the negotiations is optimistic that any
solution will be ironed out before the fall
term begins.
Possibilities for a' new disciplinary system
being bantered around the negotiating table
include a hearing officer or "arbitrator"
acceptable to both sides who would deal
with both "academic" and "non-academic"
violations.
Some observers say another compromise
might entail a disciplinary court consisting
of faculty and students-with a majority
of students-that would hear all disciplinary
cases involving not only students, but fac-
ulty meinbers as well.
In .accepting the legitimacy of such a
court, a student would have to redefine his
peer group to include all members 'of the
University community.
Because approval of a new judical dis-
ciplinary system and the beginning of school
will probably not coincide, student leaders
have expressed- serious concern over the
possibility of a major confrontation this fall
in the event that any of this year's disrup-
ters are brought before a hearing officer.
David Brand, president of the Literary
Cdllege Student Government. says that he
can't conceive of any such hearings not
being disrupted.
Those who disrupt the disruptions hear-
ings, of course, would also be brought be-
for a hearing officer, and the chain re-
action that might ensue could go a long
way towards destroying the uneasy peace
that has prevailed between students, ad-
ministrators, and Regents concerning judi-
cial matters at the University.
{ i
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By ROB BIER
If you can't find your nicne
at the University, you probably
don't have one.
But don't despair even if you
can't find "your thing" among
the over 400 recognized student
- organizations and as many more,
less official ones. The birth of
new groups and the death of old-
ones is one of the few things
that happens with any regular-
ity at the University. All you
have to do is find some kindred
spirits and start a group of your
own.'
However, before striking off
on your own, take a close look
at what is already here. Coming
up with something truly unique
is becoming harder each year
with the present list ranging
from "A" for anarchists through
"Z" for Zambians. And there is
something else to remember,
too: You don't want to join only
the same organizations you were
in in high school. ,
After all, you know what they
are like, but you may -.ever
again get a chance to perform in
a sychronized swimming show or'
learn to fly an airplane or dis-
cuss Marxist-Leninist doctrine
for hours or, original thought,
work for a daily newspaper. If
nothing else, you will meet peo-
ple who think differently trom
those you have known, and that
is an education itself.
Roughly, student organiza-
tions break down into a number
of categories. There are the aca-
demic and professional organ-
izations, connected, at 1 e a s t
vaguely, with the various de-
partments and smaller schools.
Some, such as the American So-
ciety of Civil Engineers, are stu-
dent chapters of national pro-
fessional organizations. Others
are more or less local, such as
the Oceanological Society or the
Michigan Forensic Guild.
Then there are the athletic,
hobby and social organizations,
which is a catch-all for a lot of
weird things that do not fit any-
where else. Things like: Eden'
Health Foods, learning how to
grow and use organic foods;
Scottish Dancing Society, self-
explanatory; and Ann Arbor
Poetry Workshop. Photography,
archery, rugby, Bach, karate--
on and on goes the list.
If you are a student from out-
side the United States, there are
33 national and regional stu-
dents groups. Nearly as many!
religious organizations exist.
And in either case, if you can't
find one to fit you, just go see
the people at the International
Center or the Office of Religious
Affairs and see about starting
your own.I
Numerous theater groups ex-
ist, both musical and otherwise,
and all are relatively easy to
join, although experience is al-
ways a plus. Then there are the
half-dozen or so student pub-
lications, and last, but certainly
not least, political parties and
discussion groups.
Once again,.there is a com-
plete spectrum of activity, start-
ing on the far right with Young
Americans for Freedom, moving
'through the legitimate middle
with Young Democrats and Col-
lege Republicans and blossoming
out on the left with a plethora
of groups and accompanying
philosophies.
But to draw the line at only
those groups recognized by Stu-
dent Government Council and
registered with the Office of
Student Affairs would be a most
grevious error. Many issue-re-'
lated groups do not exist long
enough to be bothered with
gaining recognition. Ot h e r s
would rather not become that
legitimate. And they are often
the most specialized Hof all.
The list goes on, seemingly,
forever. But the best way to
find out about the groups
around campus and off it is not
this all-too-brief article.
A good starting place, before
you even land in Ann Arbor, is
that booklet in your orientation
packet. When you do arrive,
ead signs a lot. Many groups
will be holding mass meetings
to which any even vaguely in-
terested people are invited. You
will find the Diag (thespiritual
heart of the University) filled
.th people manning card
tables, each one making a pitch
for his or her organization.
At first, it is probably best to
just browse and save any real
involvement for after you iman-
age to regroup and figure out
how much you want to give to
one group or the, other.
A word of warning, however:
If you are a really enthusiastic
type you are in danger of find-
ing something new and actually
fascinating which will soon be
threatening to take up all your
time. (And no one knows that
better than a Daily reporter.)
While a good deal of the stuff
you have been fed concerning
the difficulty of college is most-
ly fiction, there is a grain of
truth which must be discovered
before charging of full tilt into
the world of SDS, the Gilbert
and Sullivan society or what-
ever.
Once you have the truth, and
the myths do die fast, if stub-
bornly, then go out and get the
kind of education you really
. 3 .-411 _ _ _ - n
fill
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