~4Mt ~~zn 3at Eighty-four years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Friday, January 10, 1975 News Phone: 764-0552 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 Sirica softens the blows JUDGE JOHN SIRICA'S releasing of three major Watergate figures, John Dean, Jeb Magruder, and Her- bert Kalmbach comes as a surprise to almost every Watergate-watcher and participant, including the men and their families. This announcement comes at arn interesting time. The big enchala- das involved in Watergate, John Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman, John Ehr- lichman and Robert Mardian are awaiting sentencing. Sirica might be pulling his punches, giving them light sentences after releasing the others. President Ford used this tactic to soften the impact of giving amnesty to Nixon by offering amnesty to draft evaders. Judge Sirica hasn't given a reason for his action. If it is a softening tactic its success is doubtful. "Maxi- mum John" is becoming known as "Minimum John" because of his light sentences. OF THE THREE MEN released, Dean had served five months of a min- imum one year sentence. Kalmbach had served six months of his six-to- 18 month term and has completed his minimum sentence. Magruder had served seven months of a 10-month minimum sentence. It seems Dean was finally rewarded for his testi- mony, without which Watergate might have never been uncovered. The American legal system should be reexamined. It seems the higher status a person has, the lower the penalty they receive. They are able to use political office and prestige for a reduced sentence or a "get out of jail free card," as Nixon and Agnew did. Separation is no greater hard- ship for families of upper class pri- soners than for families of the lower class. It seems the American system of justice is based on barter and plea-bargaining. -STEVE ROSS F,, tui By GEORGE HARVEY THE FUTURE WORLDS PROGRAM will once again be presented to the University and Ann Arbor communities during this winter term. It will be the fourth year that this popular program has been offered. In the past it has re- ceived national attention for being the first major academic forum for the presentation and discussion of interdis- ciplinary problem/solution - oriented pos- sibilities and probabilities of the world to come. It has bridged the gaps be- tween disciplines in a cooperative and complimentary way by placing them in perspective to the entire body of present knowledge. It has made education meaningful, to many students, for the first time. The program has been the only aca- demic event to receive regular weekly media coverage locally, and substantial national media coverage including ar- ticles in the Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press, and the Futurist Magazine. It has been an event, a happening, and has. added positive excitement and fun to serious academic education. Finally, it has 'been an open forum for reliev- ing the frustration experienced by so many young people in our fast-moving, confusing, and often absurd world through rational discussion and positive presentation, instead of through protests and riots. FUTURE WORLDS BEGAN in the Winter of 1972 as a course mart (student realized) course entitled the Future of Human Evolution, in which prominent university faculty members presented their ideas and those shared by their discipline, on the future. The class re- ceived an overwhelming response . . planned enrollment was limited to 40 students but had to be increased to 180. The positive enthusiasm of both facul- ty and students led to the formation of the Future Worlds Program of 1973 and 1974: a class (Geography 303) with re- spective enrollments of 500 and 350 stu- dents; an open lecture series at Hill Auditorium, which had an average at- tendance of 25,000, jointly sponsored by the University Activities Center (UAC), and most of the schools and colleges, and which brought such noted futurists of the University as Buckminster Fuller, B. F. Skinner, Dennis Meadows, Arthur C. Clarke, Margaret Mead, Ralph Nader, William 0. Douglas, and John Lilly to name a few; and the annual Future' Worlds Conference Festival which con- sisted of seminars, presentations, work- shops, displays, and multi-media activi- ties. WHEN THE FUTURE WORLDS Pro- gram began, there were no major aca- demic programs in the study of futuris- tics at this university or others. In fact, at the time of the program's initial im- plementation it was the biggest forum for the study of this relatively new disci- pline. Today, there are scores of pro- grams around the country pursuing this field of interest. In particular at this university, courses with titles such as Low Energy ,Living, Problems of Energy and Environment, and a few listed in the Science Technology & Future Socie- ties pamphlet have sprouted partly as a result of the vast interest that Future Worlds has stimulated. e W o I°i rls b ias$ is meant that in the past UAC has spent a large sum of money for a name in- stead of a well-constructed and sub- stantive presentation. Consequently, many of the speakers this year, though maybe not well known, will probably add more contributions than those in the past. There is still one vacancy in the series and presently UAC is negotiating with Frank Zappa to fill it. For more infor- mation on the UAC Future Worlds Lec- ture Series call 763-0046, or talk to one of the friendly green space men on cam- pus who, will gladly give you a Future Worlds calendar. Last year Barney Niestchmann was pre- sented with the Henry Russel Award for scholarly achievement. Gunnar Olsson was awarded the Collegiate Professor- ship by the Regents. Both of these awards are respectively the highest hon- ors a junior and senior faculty member can receive in the University. Both awards were based partly on their par- ticipation in the Geography Depart- ment's Future Worlds course (Geogra- phy 303.) THIS YEAR Jim Clarkson, Associate Professor of Geography, is the sponsor- ing professor and is working with Seth Comstock and Widd Schmidt who have been primary organizers for Future Worlds since its beginning. The Geogra- phy- Department only recently decided to sponsor the class for the fourth year. The projected enrollment is 500. How- ever; there are presently only 5 stu- dents enrolled due to the late commit- ment of the Geography Department. Also as a reult of this most of the speakers and presentations for the Monday after- noons have only been tentatively sched- uled. Plans are in the making for multi-me- dia presentations, a simulation game, professors from around the University, and a couple of surprises. However, Fu- ture Worlds has been given a firm com- mitment by President Fleming for a February 3-lecture. All class presenta- tions will be conducted in the Modern Languages Building, auditorium 3, from 4-6 on Mondays. For more information call the Geography Department at 764- 0344. THE COURSE CONTENT respective to the students will depend mostly upon the ' sections. There will be 20 sections of- fered for one hour per week and will cover such topics as education, life styles, communication, nutrition, and science fiction. These discussion sec- tions are intended to help students gain a better perspective of the UAC speak- ers, the Geography speakers, and more imnortantly to help direct them towards tonics of personal interest. In summation, the Future Worlds Pro- gram provides some more exciting aca- demics and happenings and hopes to fur- ther stimulate an active interest for the pursuit of frontiers in knowledge, which is something which seems to be lacking in many areas of our society. In its some- what unconventional approach to edu- cation, the program will attempt to pre- sent once again a viable set of alterna- tives for the future of the species and their environment. George Harvey is the pen name of a graduate student at the University and part-time spaceman. Slueeze , ts o f f! Ras: Leave sinking ship Little Green Man Wernher Von Brawn '',TILL THE AMERICAN GOVERN- MENT ever learn? If recent re- ports concerning Gerald Ford's plans to aid the Thieu regime in South Viet- nam are true, the answer is no. It seems that America's Saigon puppets are in trouble again, and need help. So the man who can't fig- ure out how to stop the recession im- mediately comes up with a plan to give South Vietnam three hundred million dollars more military aid in addition to the seven hundred mil- lion Congress has already appropriat- ed this fiscal year. When will they ever learn? It cost America 50,000 lives and uncounted billions of dollars to drive home the lesson that the will of the people can- not be suppressed by even the most powerful military machine on earth. So how can even Gerald Ford be- lieve that American money can in- definitely prop up a corrupt puppet regime that exists without the slight- est shred of popular support? It hasn't worked in the past, and as long as there are Vietnamese willing to die for their ideals, it never will. AND, FULLY APART from the Viet- namese, how can Gerald Ford do this to the American people? May- be Ford did not notice this while skiing in Vail, but there is a reces- sion going on. Unemployment in Michigan recently topped the eleven per cent mark, and will climb high- er before things get better. Imagine what that three hundred million could do for the the state of TODAY'S STAFF: News: Gordon Atcheson, Dan Biddle, Dan Blugerman, Cindy Hill, Jose- phine Marcotty, Sara Rimer, Steve Ross, Judy Ruskin Editorial Page: Tony Duenas, Marnie Heyn, Steve Stojic Arts Page: David Blomquist Photo Technician: Karen Kosmouski Michigan. At the least, it could ease the misery of the workers as they wait for the auto companies to reduce their inventories. At best, it could be used to diversify the state's economy, to make the state less dependent on the whims of the automotive Big Three. But Gerald Ford seems to feel President Thieu is more deserving than the unemployed of Detroit and Flint. Gerald Ford (and others) has a frightening vision of what would happen if the communists took over South Vietnam. With the National Liberation Front flag flying over Sai- gon, it would be apparent to all that the 50,000 Americans who died in Vietnam died for nothing, and the billions of dollars spent in Vietnam were spent to no purpose. PRESENTED WITH THE UGLY truth, the -American people who gave so much for so little will start questioning the power structure that made the Vietnam war possible. And the power structure will have nothing with which to defend itself. Fortunately, Congress, long the tool of presidential policy, is beginning to see the sordid reality that lies be- hind Ford's attempt to save face. They recently placed a ceiling of $337 million on aid to the Cambodian puppet regime. Our own Marvin Esch supported the bill, pointing out that all American aid has ever meant to the Cambodian people is death. CONGRESS HAS STARTED on the right track. It should reject all attempts by Ford to increase aid to South Vietnam. Stuffing money down the rathole of Saigon and increasing the misery of the South Vietnamese people in a futile attempt to save Ad- ministration prestige is a policy that is neither fiscally nor morally justi- fiable. -JOHN KAHLER This year's program will essentially consist of the same format as in the past. The UAC series, organized by Ron Wil- son, will include such notables as Weh- ner Von Braun, pioneer of the rocket engine and presently the director of the Marshall Flight Center for NASA; Gene Rodenberry, creator of the television ser- ies Star Trek, accomplished science fic- tion author, and winner of the Hugo Award; Jean Houston, a leading con- sciousness researcher and conducted the original LSD experiments. The lecture series will also include a panel discus- sion on energy. However, the guests for this have not been confirmed. ONE CHANGE IN THIS year's ap- proach to organizing the lecture series has been to invite speakers not so much for their popularity, but more for how well they speak based upon content and presentation. This one change was deemed necessary through past experi- ences with "well knowns" who charge enormous fees for what can best be re- ferred to as "canned raps." By this it ALSO INCORPORATED into the Fu- ture Worlds Program. will be the Con- ference Festival on April 4 ,5, & 6. In the past this has been a time of joint efforts on the part of many university depart- nients, offices, individuals, and the Ann Arbor community. Geodesic domes, so- lar shields, and discussion panels, and various contiguous happenings such as the Festival of Life, and the Future Feast. Many people involved themselves in a personal way through projects, mo- vies, and general gallavanting. The organization for the Conference Festival is handled by a conglomeration of students from the Geography Future Worlds class, UAC, and various organiza- tions in and outside the University. For more information call the UAC Future Worlds office at 763-0046. The Geography Department became involved in Future Worlds through the efforts of Barney Nietschmann and Mi- chael Naimark, the original organizers of the course. Last winter term the spon- soring professor was Gunnar Olsson. The local day care fund By DAN RUBEN "IT HAS BECOME obvious to me that child day care centers just can't make it unless there is some source of funds outside of fees that the centers can get." These are the words of Frances Harmon, the Director of the Model Cities Child Care Center, where 90 per cent of the children are from low income families. With the termination of the Model Cities Pro- gram at the end of 1974, and with it most of this Center's funding, Ms. Harmon said that "the existence of the Center would be in grave jeopardy" if more funds are not forthcoming. Another day care center, the Ann Arbor Child Care and Development Center, has a present deficit of $12,- 000 to $15,000. According to Lucille Tooson, the Direc- tor of the Center, the cost per child per week is $42. Because many of the children come from low income families, only $26 per child per week is received. Tlis Center, too, will have to close soon if new funding does not become available. "EVERYTHING BOILS down to money", said Jacki Miller, Director of the recently opened Discovery Cen- ter, "which is crummy because we don't have much." Ms. Miller, who has received no salary, has had to donate some of her own money to keep the Center open. Any day care center designed to serve low income children must expect that the parents can only pay minimal fees, if any. Therefore, without an outside source of money, there is no way such a center can remain open. For low income parents, it is crucial to know that there is a place where concerned adults will take care of their children at a cost they can afford. Relieved of the child-caring burden, the parents are able to go to school or work in an effort to improve the situation for themselves and their families. If these centers and others for low income families do not survive, the parents will be forced to go on wel- fare. If the government insists upon ignoring the hu- manitarian concern of providing a healthy social and learning environment for low income children, it might at least view the problem from an economic stand- point. Does it not make more sense to provide money to run day care facilities than to have to support entire families on welfare? IN 1971, THE Congress in an unusual display of initia- tive and compassion, passed a rather sweeping child care measure. The original Senate version would have provided free day care for families with incomes up to $6,900, with a graduated fee scale for higher income families. The House version set the cut-off for free day care at $4,320. Fearing a Nixon veto, the Senate agreed to support the weaker version. Nonetheless Nixon still vetoed the Bill arguing fatuously that it would threaten the role of the family in American life. Nothing could do more to demoralibe a family than to leave it with no alternative to welfare. Had this pro- posal been signed into law, the problem of child day care would largely have been solved. Instead, we have the present crisis. In Washtenaw County, day care has stumbled along with the help of about $600,000 per year from the Michigan Depart- ment of Social Services, a figure which does not come close to meeting the need. In Ann Arbor, in 1973, day care receive a small boost from revenue sharing funds which has kept many centers barely alive up to this time. Now, either new funds will have to be made available or else the day care centers for low income families will die. This is the stark choice that must be made. THERE IS HOPE. This new year will bring new re- venue sharing funds to Ann Arbor, and with these funds, day care could be saved temporarily. Over the next six years in fact, $12 million of revenue sharing money will be available to the City. The first install- ment will be $2.4 million and will be paid early this year. Although $123,750 of this money has been pledged td day care. City officials must recognize that low income day care centers are near death and that this figure may not be sufficient to avert such a disaster for long. Further, the Human Rights Party is circulating peti- tions for a charter amendment which would call for a minimum annual appropriation to day care of 1.7 per cent of the city budget. This amendment must be signed and passed next April as an important stop-gap measure to insure the continued availability of day care centers. BUT THE BURDEN should not have to fall so heav- ily on the cities to provide this necessary service. Con- gress is moving, in its usual sluggish way, to pass a new child day care measure. Senators Mondale (Demo- crat, Minnesota) and Javits (Republican, New York) have introduced a bill similar to the one passed in 1971. The details of the bill will be worked out in hear- ings, and a vote should come some time this year. Whether Congress will act in time to prevent many deserving day care programs from going under, re- mains to be seen. Dan Ruben is a staff writer for the Editorial Page. ,I j1t " t4S -rleONE FROM RED WOOP FtFESr WH O s FRM " F- .OOR ND GVE t -MERIC -;-41(t t ,t - C 4_ S t ''' Y ,,.f.,-'F Letters to The Daily protest Rhodes To The Daily: ON MAY 4th, 1970, 4 students were cut down by the forces of "law and order" at Kent State. Those murders flowed out of a system which runs on war and exploitation. The students who died at Kent were the victims of American imperialism, just like the hundreds of thousands who died in Indochina. Their murders were calculated to stop the people from resisting an unjust war and the system which gave rise to it. However, the students who died at Kent did not die in vain. People have massive demonstration demald- ing an end to the whitewash and the indictment of the real crin- inals, like Rhodes, who ordered the Guards on to the campus The struggle that the Kent students were waging in 1970 continues today in Indochina and the U.S., and many of the is- sues remain the same today. W_- believe that we must unre to fight against U.S. aggre:;sion and demand an end to )I aid to Lon Nol and Thieu. Further- more, we demand universal, un- conditional amnesty for all war resisters, and an end to attacks on workers and oppressed peo- ple, as well as students. Joel Dickman,i New American ment Michael Taussig sor, Anthropolo partment, I.M Norma Diamon fessor, Anthrop Department, U Dallas Kenny,P World Media P January 1, 19 memtvber, wide diversity of opinion. Mo'.e- Militarize the University? Un- less Mr. Haskin is relerrng to g, Prfes- the physical presence of uni- gy De- forms, I doubt if pe car, give any examples of this one. The id, Pro- military does not force its op - -ology ions on anyone. .M. Most ROTC studen:s may not New have been among the anti-war roject demonstrators, like the kind that K5 invaded and ransacked Norrh Hall in 1972, but many v, e r e RO ,C against the war. ROTC students are people whose free opinion isn't stifled by associa'ion with ,ly to the a military organization. il Haskins MR. HASKINS is showing his cement of ignorance and emotions when he look on the military estainlish- ment within the U.S. govern- ment. I invite Mr. Haskins to visit North Hall, leaving ,his prejud- ices behind, and personally ex- amine what goes on in ROTC. Talk to the officers, the NCO's, the students, and loot over courses and curriculum. I think he'll find some revelation;. Personally, I w,)Ad like to thank SGC for its .endorsement. This is my fourth year in AFROTC, and it would'va help- ed to have had credit for the work I put into my courses. Many should be cross-listed in the history and political science To The Daily: I WOULD like to rep recent editorial by Pau criticizing SGC's endori 1