r R++M w uY i Wrurriiwri rernrir rrii rr fryr.w ri rr r rr ri rr , ADMINISTRATIVE ABUSE: iIlr £frd*$gan Paity Eighty-four years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Thursday, February 13, 1975 News Phone: 764-0552 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 Cut off aid to Thieu govt. ONCE AGAIN, THE Ford Adminis- tration has chosen to display its somewhat twisted sense of priorities. Defense secretary James Schlesinger has announced that his Department plans to continue aiding the Thieu regime, for at least another two years, and will request $1.4 billion in aid to Saigon for next year. "We must not abandon our ally," is the cry being raised by Pentagon propagandists. Which raises a very interesting question: What is the nation that claims to be the bulwark of the world's freedom doing in an alliance with the likes of Thieu? Thieu and freedom are antithetical concepts. Recently, the Saigon government finished another in its continuing series of crackdowns on the press, closing eight newspapers that had offered mild criticism of the regime. The Tiger Cages are too well known to bear recounting here. But for all the repressive nature of his govern- ment, Thieu is not a communist, and thereby merits an American subsidy. America loves dictatorships, so long as they are not communist dictator- ships. The Shah of Iran is about as democratic as Genghis Khan, so, na- turally, he becomes the bulwark of American interests in the Persian Gulf. Mussolini would be comfortable with the political philosophy of the Chilean colonels, but they draw an American subsidy that was denied the democratically elected Allende regime. Gerald Ford loves dictatorships, so much in fact that he feels them more worthy of aid than the American poor. Ford's budget included a price raise for Food Stamps, a ceiling of five per cent on Social Security bene- fit hikes, a cut of 1.5 billion in social service programs, and an increase in aid for South Vietnam. To put it mildly, this does not make much sense, and it is heartening to see that Congress is not allowing it- self to be fooled. Congress recently cut the Administration's $1.4 billion aid request for South Vietnam in half, thus incurring the wrath of Schlesin- ger, who claimed that the aid cut would not "enhancetour credibility or demonstrate our resolve." He is right. Cutting off aid to Sai- gon would demonstrate that the United States is weakening in its resolve to prop up any dictatorship that calls itself anti-communist. And that would not be such a bad idea. -THE DAILY STAFF GEO By DAVID GORDON While and MARK KAPLAN ant iss S OF 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, issues the GEO, representing 2,- Non 200 teaching assistants, research fusest assistants, and staff assistant, "sexua officially went on strike against non-di the University. reserv What has forced the GSA's in- inatea to taking such drastic action? al cou GEO was certified as the of- Clas ficial bargaining agent f o r refuse GSAs in a MERC-sponsored this is certification election last April. the m For eight months GEO nego- mentc tiated with the University ad- tion h ministration in an attempt to the sa win its first contract. threate On January 21, mediation of crease the contract talks broke down, priceo officially creating an impasse and in between the two parties. GEO, thosev in an attempt to avoid a strike to cons that would interrupt the educa- ject ti tional process, suggested b o t h a GSA sides submit their proposals to Rec. a third party empowered to ad- es ush judicate the dispute with a bind- unit an ing decision. contra The University rejected this their j+ proposal of binding arbitra.on anionI out of hand. The union felt ar- classifi bitration would offer a solution protec without confrontation, though a clau we realized arbitration c o u I d Unio jeopardize certain of our de- es that mands, especially those affect- ing quality of education. We were willing to make this com- promise. le IN RESPONSE to our corm- pre promise offer, the Administra- tion presented its fact-finding ate plan: to wait up to two m,,nths sttr for a third party's recommenda- tions swh ich the administ- anion has made no commitment :a fol- ditiono low. Such a course of a:tion higher would place us in the .ilme Unionf position in April as we are in everyI today. gaining In the past two weeks GEO wotild has held three large and en- gotiatio thusiastic mass meetings. Dur- who wt ing the same period, faculty would have put increased pressure on ure of the "U" to make its position Univer at the table more flexible. Uni- every versity officials often talk about enjoys the need for rational discus- Affir sions, and deny that pressure fusesft can influence them. Their be- havior belies those pronounce- already ments. Unfortunately, :he only tion p1 thing they respond to is nres- formti sure. i frWhile Itis for this reason that GEO Up 8 p has been forced to take strike body, action. cent of What are the issues separat- pronos ing GEO from the adminisTra- uation. tion? In a statement to faculty Majo senate on Friday, Pressilant on the Fleming said that essenlially In an4 economics is the only real is- from t sue. That is simply not so. standin gives economics is an import- sue, serious non-economic are also at stake: -dicrimination: the 'U' re- to include the category of al preference" in r h e scrimination clause, thus ing the right to discrim- against gays in the nor m- rse at "U" affairs. s size: the University has d even to bargain about sue which is so crucial to aintainance and improve- of the quality of educa-4 ere at the U of M. At rme time, as the University tens that any wage in- will be bought at the of reducing the work force nereasing work loads for who remain, they refuse sider class size as a sub- hat should be included in As' contract. ognition: the "U" propos- hering people out of the nd the protection of CEO's ct simply by changing job title. More than one has seen its members re- ied out from under its tion by agreeing to such se as the "U" offers. n security: GEO propos- t each GSA pay, as a crtn- eight per cent increase effec- tive September, 1974, an &ddi- tional five per cent, effective January, 1975, and seven per cent, effective September, 1975. We asked that, in lieu of tui- tion, GSAs pay a $200 per term fee to the University. The administration has, mere- ly offered what former V i c e President Allen Smith effered a year ago: increases equivalent to the faculty! Contraey to Pie- sident Fleming's allegations, CEO's proposals constitu~e a unified package. When we re- quest a contract, we are peak- ing of more than simply money. We are asking everybody at the University to honor our picket lines. We believe no student honoring GEO picket lines should be placed in a position of competitive academic disadvan- tage with respect to any other student. We are thus asking fa- culty, whether sympathetic to our strike or not, to respect the students' decision and not to issue reprisals against those who honor GEO lines. IN THE LAST analysis, our strike centers on the issue of University priorities. We see strike stance GEO strike:W. wins, who lose's? By WAYNE JOHNSON Undergraduates would support the GEO strike a lot more if they believed it could somehow help them. But what does the average undergrad have to gain from boycotting classes? Nothing. If any concessions are made by the University on class size, they will be minimal. The goal of twenty-five students per section is very nice but very unreasonable considering the University's financial problems. Obviously a lot of waste can be cut from the budget, but I doubt enough can be saved to hire the additional graduate students a twenty five person limit would require. Vni'ersity officials often talk about the rd for rational discussions and deny that ssure can influence them . . . Unfortun- ly, the only thing they respond to is pres- e." Who has a better idea? THER'S A LOT of hot air blowing around in the upper echelons of government these days. Both Presi- dent Ford and Congress have spent the last month hurling charges and counter-charges at each other's eco- nomic proposals. Tuesday night, the President ac- cused Congress of delaying solutions to the country's crisis, while the leg- islature has vowed not to coooper- ate with Ford's program because of its "ineffective" nature. Even Senate Republican leader Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania has now jumped ship and declared his opposition to Ford's economic package. Unfortunately, however, Congress has not come up with a comprehen- sive alternate to Ford's proposals- which doesn't make for a very strong case when the opposition has a detailed plan down in paper and ink. To date, the only legislative answer to Ford's 167 page energy/economic TODAY'S STAFF: News: Glen Allerhand, Ellen Breslow, Dave Burhenn, Tom Preston, S a r a Rimer, Stephen Selbst Editorial Page: Barbara Cornell, Paul Hoskins, Debra Hurwitz, W a y n e Johnson, Greg Rest Photo Technician: Karen Kasmauski Arts Page: Chris Kochmonski WCOM 70 C9ANNEL 34 APPY AK NEWCA6T.' GA, FFp P p ?PIP SEAR ? UNEMPLOYME' !I" $.2 f REALLY, FRANK? 67Ic #WORKIN6- 0! A ! Pon program has been a four-page paper in protest of his ordered $3 per bar- rel in foreign oil import fees. Such response can hardly be termed an economic alternative. ' Congress has spent a majority of its time criticizing Ford's program without drawing up one of its own. Although the criticisms are justified, vocal dissatisfaction is only the first step in rectifying Ford's budget pro- posal - which favors defense and armaments rather than social serv- ices and human concerns. It's about time for Congress to stop mouthing high-sounding plati- tudes and spineless criticisms and start devising a well-reasoned, com- prehensive economic plan before Ford's program is foisted on the American people because there was no alternative. --THE DAILY STAFF Editorial Staff GORDON ATCHESON CHERYL PILATE Co-Editors-in-Chief LAURA BERMAN........Sunday Magazine Editor DAVID BLOMQUIST ... .. .. Arts Editor DAN BORUS ...........Sunday Magazine Editor BARBARA CORNELL ... Special Projects Editor PAUL HASKINS..............Editorial Director JOSEPHINE MARCOTTY ....... Features Editor SARA RIMER ...................Executive Editor STEPHEN SELBST.................City Editor JEFF SORENSEN .............Managing Editor STAFF WRITERS: Glen Ailerhand, Peter Blats- dell, Dan Blugerman, Clifford Brown, David Burhenn, Mary Harris, Stephen Hersh, Debra Hurwitz, Ann Marie Lipinski, Andrea 4OW AAOUT 1415? THE 3I ANp IRS APM110 MASIVE PYIN SAY iHAr A'5AIN....IN[70 MY LAPEL PIN! CHUCA'C$ CNU1CK of employment, a fee (no than Union dues) to the for the service it rend-rs GSA as his or her har- g agent. This oropos il distribute the cost of ne- ons fairly among those ould benefit from it, and assure the union a rmeas- financial securr . The sity rejects this, although other union on campus such protection. mative action:the 'U' re- to include GSAs in its y existing affirmative ac- rogram, written to c o n- with H-EW g utdelines, minority students iake er cent of the graduate they comprise only 4 per f the GSA popular, )~n. Our al is to remedy this sit- r differences also exist question of eionomics. attempt to elevate GSAs he lowest Big Tel salary ng, GEO has proposed an as a major thrust of our strike the reorientation of University priorities towards the needs of previously neglected constituent groups in the University com munity. In the light of this, CEO is heartened by the support oth- er sectors of the community have given us. On , Monday, Faculty Senate urged GEO to postpone our strike for two days. Why did we refuse? GEO had been negotiat- ing for eight months with the Administration; we had already postponed our strike vote six days to give the Administration more time to bargain fairly with us. It was not until we initiated a strike vote that the Admin- istration bargained seriously with us. Wenegotiated 1 on g hours over the weekend without the Administraion making an offer that was acceptable. Con- trary to Fleming's statement to the faculty senate, substantial differences remain. Contrary to the oninion of the Faculty Sen- ate, these differences could not have been settled in two days of further negotiations. WHAT HAS been gained at the table has come as a direct result of pressure put on the University. At this point, it is CEO's feeling that quick agree- ment will come only by main- taining and increasing the pres- sure on the administration. If pressure is maximized, our strike will be a short one. No one enjoys the disruption of the educational process. David Gordon and Mark Kaplan are GEO spokesmen and former negotiators. If the administration does relent on class size, who will pay for the extra TFs? The GEO has a simple answer: not the students. But if not the students, then who? Will secret Arab money be floating in soon? Will contributors abandon the United Negro College Fund and give to good ol' U of M instead? No, tuition will f rise and the grads will shrug their shoulders, an international t gesture meaning "too bad, sucker." After all, the GEO also demands a $200 fee in lieu of tuition for its members. While they might fail to win the decrease, which y demand will be abandoned first, class size or $200 per term? Only the negotiators know for sure. The argument that better pay will mean better Graduate Student Assistants is a difficult one for undergrads to decipher. They know from experience the low level of competency held by many GSAs. Perhaps a higher wage would eventually attract "better" e graduates. But once again, what good are better TFs if you can't afford the tuition? Undergrads, it seems, would not benefit much from higher paid instructors. So far these thoughts have been intensely pragmatic and not entirely fair. Obviously better wages, job security and a fee instead of tuition would raise the standard of living for the harried v SAs. They do deserve better than their present deal which' requires them to pay their employers for the job they hold. But these are not issues with which undergraduates need con- cern themselves. By refusing to hold classes and enlisting the - support of other unions. GSAs will win their demands for higher pay. The boycott of all classes is a diversion with little meaning to the center struggle. Undergraduates are mere transients, bodies that fill seats and take notes. If 75 per cent of the bodies don't .how up, there is no loss except to themselves. A university is not a factory that can be closed down by stopping production. The product is education, obtainable from books as well as live sources. If a TF doesn't show up for class, the students are absolved of blame. It just isn't fair to equate those classes with ones taught by professors that meet no matter what. I noticed a lot of students trying to rationalize their attendance to the strikers. Inevitably they were told that crossing a picket line is a sin no matter how you look at it. Don't accept this ex- planation unless unionism runs through you like blood. To support the GEO, undergrads are only compelled to'say aloud, "I support the GEO." Anything else is wasted ;effort. No reason for you to suffer for people who stand outside in such cold weather. They can do it all themselves with no loss of efficiency. Wayne Johnson is a staff writer for the Editorial Page. Letters: Faculty members boost GEO To The Daily: ' WE, THE undersigned mem- bers of the university faculty community wish to express sup- port for our colleagues in the GEO in their effort to improve the conditions of employment for graduate employees. We regret that no way has been found to avert a disruptive strike. In our view the respon- sibility for the current impasse lies primarily with the univer- sity administration, for having consistently denied the GEO the respect and consideration to which all members of the uni- versity community are entit- led. We therefore call upon the administration to bring the strike to an immediate end by meeting essentially tne tc.ms proposed by the GEO. AJldkion- al faculty members wishing to associate themselves with this statement are urged to tele- phone Thomas Weisskopf .t 662- 8274. W. H. Locke Anderson (Eco- nomics), Alton Becker (Linguis- tics), Frithjof Bergman (Phil- osophy), Ann Borkin (Linguis- tics), Charles Bright (History), John Catford (Linguistics), Dav- id Chambers (Law), Mark Ches- Hamilton (English), Max Heir- ich (Sociology), William H u n t (History), Jol Isaacson (History of Art). Robin Jacoby (History), De- borah Keller-Cohen (English Language Institute), Kenneth Langton (Political Science), John Lawler (Linguistics), Ron- ald Lee (Economics), Harold Livesay (History), Margaret Lourie (English), Jean Mann (Psychology), Richard M a n n (Psychology), Michael Manove (History), Elizabeth M e e s e' (Economics), Bruce McGowan (English), Alfrey Meyer (Poli- tical Science), Richard M i t- chell (History). Andre Modigliani (Sociology), Theodore Newcomb (Psychol- ogy/Sociology), Bernard Niet- schmann (Geography), 11. L. Owens (History), Elizabeth Pleck (History), Joseph Pleck (Psychology), Charles Pyle (Linguistics), Leonard Radin- sky (Zoology), J. Duncan Ro- bertson (Romance Languages), Kenneth Shapiro (Natural Re- sources), Tony Skillen (Phil- osophy), Robert Sklar (His- tory). Michael Taussig (Anthropol- ogy), Thomas Tentler (History), Maude Walker (Anthropology), ter today, the picket lines for the GEO strike gradually di- minished until they became non- existent. That seems to be the attitude of the faculty and rtu- dents in the Medical and Nurs- ing School (of which I ax a part) - total apathy with re- gard to the conflict between the T.F.s and the University's ad- ministration. In the past few weeks, and presently, I haven't heard one instructor or fellow classmate of mine mention the prevailing strike. All attitudes have been expressed as, "We're unaffected so why have an opin- ion?" How convenient! The medical profession has always tried to achieve a separate and elite status, and by not con- tributing a thought to this in- evitable situation, further o u r distance. But, we are a part of this University and should take a stand in this strike, whe- ther it be in favor of the T.F.s or not. It's time to b r e a k down these archaic and unne- cessary barriers and become aware of the. world outside our own. -Shari Kolodny February 12, 1975 aanm-ain" by their parents and the media, are poorly equipped to deal with the problems which will face them and their environment in the next twenty years. We are said to be overly deoendent, humorless, unrealistic and pas- sive while parading as dynamic moralists; a most disturbing capsulization of *wa1.v-o n e years of thoughtful existence. After long and honest con - eration of this tragic a ;sess- ment, I discovered what annov- ed me most about i's climds: not the fact that judgernet (n a generation so young and un- tested as our own was pre'ua- ture but rather that the observa- tion was a painfully accurate one. Even though introspecrion can be a most devastating exer- cise, indulgence in the soul- searching process is cffen, as now, necessary. GIVEN our allegedly overde- veloped capacity for self regard along with our undeniably uit- ical insight into the nyoxruosy and corruption of -na.iy of our most basic institutions, where do we go from here? The ques- tion bears repeating because even though we are energetic students gathering valuable data future to be or are we, lilre the Democrats, satisfied with a a mere negation of the status quo? My fear is that too many of us are concentrating on the pitfalls and failures of our sys- tem without constructing a bet- ter road back to good health, without preparing for tne re- sponsibility of participation which will soon be ours, not as naive bystanders but as con- scientious adult activisLs. If we don't know where we re go- ing, it's my guess it won't be worth the trip. I REMEMBER the American Revolutionists similarly had no pattern for their future and knew only what they didn't want. But America has come a long way, our frontier days are behind us and more care and responsibility is demanded of us now than perhaps ever be- fore. We really have no right to give up hope - each time we raise our foot to take the next step we affirm our belief in hope. I am unable to accept failure by default and I do not believe and never will believe we are so coddled and pamper- ed as to have lost all our ini- tiative and spunk. I'm not call- HN1e~e'Thib LOTrOM LINE, FRANK.... FNER Y 006716 WILL. NEVER S'E TRE' SAiME AWC N ! HEITf48R WILL YOUt, FRER' /I HD.' NC ro.' /Q0! V NOW,TURNIN6 Tro CFIN N$EWJOS .P. i - - sA