Wan ted:.
By SARA RIMER
BY JUNIOR YEAR most students have endured
several summers of back-breaking jobs that will
never make impressive resume copy. Tired of numb-
ing teir minds and muscles on assembly lines, behind
restaurant counters, and atop lifeguard chairs, they
begin hunting for the big-time game - the elusive
career-related opportunities that students all over the
country are hotly pursuing. They scramble for the
newspaper, government, and law internships that offer
connections for later employment and big resume play
as bonuses. This year the Washington Intern pro-
gram was glutted with 247 pre-law and journalism
hopefuls fighting for about 54 non-paying positions in
government, consumer affairs offices, and on news-
papers. The New York Intern Program, which focuses
on the big city business world, is reeling from econ-
omic attacks on that front. When program coordinat-
or Carol Leslie called one company and asked for
It doesn't take an economic expert
to predict a long, hot summer for
many students. Even those dull,-
gruelling, but paying jobs are no
longer guaranteed.
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'ractice
Even those dull, grueling, but paying jobs are no
longer guaranteed.
AT THE Michigan Daily grim economic headlines
are bouncing off the front pages and creating gloomy
repercussions in the office. The heat was turned on
full blast a couple months ago when the latest crop
of aspiring Bob Woodwards and Carl Bernsteins hun-
kered down at their typewriters to grind out resumes
and job letters. Since everyone checked off news-
papers from the identical big list of those reputed to
have internship programs, locked drawers or any
other attempts at secrecy were not worth the effort.
However, the original big list is rapidly dwindling as
newspapers slash their programs in budgeting efforts.
When the Charlotte Observer answered one reporter's
job query with a request for a "long, leisurely, per-
sonal letter," several other staff members immediate-
ly began agonizing over the words that would jolt the
managing editor wide aware with interest. However, a
subsequent short letter from the Observer can-
celled the need for any long, leisurely replies. The
paper regretfully announced the elimination of its
eight promised intern slots - shoving the blame on the
sagging shoulders of Wall Street.
THE APPLICATION process resembles a lottery
with no consolation prizes. Editors shake their heads
over the growing pile of clips, often estimating that
thousands are competing for two, four or six spots.
The Talahassee Democrat counselled against any op-
timism, claiming it had "mountains of applicants."
This is one lottery where being the publisher's off-
spring can weight the spining wheel. One paper said
frankly that preference would be given to those with
connections. In the stifening competition, some re-
porters strive to throw punches in their applications
that will distinguish them from the sweling crowd. One
woman breezed through her health details with an
ca" reer'
exclamatory "great! 'for each area. Another an-
swered an editor's reluctance to hire her without an
interview, joking, "Yes, how do you know that I'm not
a 400 pound gorilla?" However, the humorless rejection
slips are slowly filtering in with only a few fortun-
ates as yet employed. Some staff members, holding
fast to their senses of humor in hard times, save
the rejection slips, boasting, "Hey, I got a rejection
from the Miami Herald today."
THE WORDS "Bad News", etched in heavy black
letters, have jumped off the Daily's bulletin board
twice in the last two months. The first flash of gloom
and doom came courtesy of the Journalism Depart-
ment. Anxious to look after its own students during
the job crunch, the department told the Daily's editor;
he would have to limit the number of reporters inter-
viewing with visiting recruiters from three news-
papers. The next "bad news" note reported the death
of the Lansing State Journal's spring internship pro-
gram and the shaky status of its summer program.
White male reporters on the Daily are feeling the
economic bite with particular pain, since this summer
is shaping up as the year for women and nonwhites.
So far, three women and one male have landed jobs.
During one round of interviews on campus, a couple
of Daily reporters took an informal survey and learn-
ed that, with one exception, the women all had con-
siderably longer interviews than the men. They con-
cluded grimly,that white males were not in hot demand
on that paper. Several editors suport their findings,
openly expressing their desire to hire almost exclus-
ively women and blacks.
DAILY STAFFERS are thinking nervously of those
alternate waitress, lifeguard, or factory slots that no
one realy wants as they grit their teeth for one more
round of job letters.
Sara Rimer is Executive Editor of the Daily.
'Some of them are quite easily trained!'
Eighty-four years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Thursday, March 13, 1975
News Phone: 764-0552
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
Time to forgive and forget
the personnel department, which usually hand
tern requests, the voice on the other end inf
her, "We don't have a personnel departmen
more."
Another advertising agency knocked outt
economic crunch snapped that it took "a lot ofj
to seek paid internships. New York City busin
pulling in their budget belts are clearly not ea
take on paidinterns. It doesn't take an econor
pert to predict a long, hot summer for many stt
Progre s
By GREG REST lines as contr
WITHIN THE last few years critical. Fc
growing numbers of whites Housing Offi
have begun to feel that discrim- staff selection
ination has been unfairly re- the goal of 1
versed -against non-minorities. to select ther
One area where the "reverse didate for it
discrimination" debate has been regardless of
rather heated is within the aca- religion, ge
demic community. According to tional origin.
"U.S. News" and "Time," col- sentence says
lege and university officials ever, the in
have been complaining for the and minoritie
last six years that the Federal pool and non-
Government has been forcing affirmative a
them into "reverse discrimina- Office has est
tion" in favor of women a n d goals for in-r
minorities - and weakening the And a few li
quality of their faculties in the phabetical lis
process. plicants wil b
Dr. Richard Lester of Prince- Building Dir
ton, found that "employment building. .."'
goals under affirmative action ernment prov
programs are often inflated in ple of contr
relation to the supply of women EXECUTIV
and minority people fully pre- "prohibits dis
pared for college teaching." Al- basis of rac
though Lester supports the anti- sex, or nati
discrimination goals, he 'found according to
the numerical hiring and pro- "affirmative
motion goals to be ill-conceiv- employer ton
ed," and described federal ef- forts to recr
forts to deal with the situation promote qua
as clumsy and misguided. groups forn
THE DAILY APPLAUDS the GEO
for their success in the pursuit
of a just contract. However, now that
the bitterly divisive strike has reached
its long-awaited conclusion, the Daily
finds it important that the opposng
factions in the dispute come together
in the spirit of reconciliation to bind
the wounds and return to the business
of education.
A long strike such as this can leave
a sour legacy of half-hidden rancor
and hurt feelings that can only dam-
age the cooperative spirit which is
essential to the life and function of a
university community. A measure of
understanding from both sides is ne-
cessary to assuage the powerfully par-
tisan feelings which remain. A com-
promise has been reached; it is time
for the threats, counterthreats and
accusations to be forgotten.
The administration's image has
been severely scarred by the walkout.
It is clear the negotiators dragged
their feet in bargaining until a strike
was imminent, and only the show of
force moved them to take the union
seriously.
IT IS NOW UP to the University to
implement the new contracts fair-
ly, particularly in the areas of affir-
mative action and nondiscrimination.
In fairness, however, GEO backers
must recognize the difficulties which
the administration e n c o u n t e r e d
throughout the dispute. Faced with a
belligerent student body on one side
and a power conscious faculty on the
other, every move the administration
made was greeted with suspicion or
anger.
Since the beginning of the negotia-
tions, the GEO leadership has had the
difficult task of reconciling the con-
cessions required of the tedious, prac-
tical process of collective bargaining
with the idealistic promises they made
to their members. The bulk of the
GEO constituency was totally un-
familiar with the machinations of
negotiation and unable to see any
justification for the compromises
leadership was forced to make. They
must accept the fact that in a situa-
tion such as this, where bitterly op-
posing interests collide, compromise
is the only solution which can end
dispute with a chance of continued
cooperation.
FURTHER, DUE RESPECT must be
given to all those who chose not
to strike. Just as GEO members had
to solve the strike dilemma individ-
ually, so did those who remained on
the job. The label "scab" can now be
dropped from the University vocabu-
lary.
The faculty's role in the following
weeks is crucial. If strikers are wel-
comed back with respect for their
individual decisions, the educational
process will resume smoothly. If not,
the ensuing dissention is bound to
hurt the only party to the drama
which is totally innocent: the under-
graduates.
Of late there have been cries from
all corners of the campus for the
University to remain above politics.
We have the chance to achieve that
aim now that the struggle is over.
thrc
radictory and hypo-
or example, t h e
ce states iH i t s
a guidelines: "It is
the Housing Office
most qualified can-
s in-resident staff
f race, sex, color,
ographical o: na-
" The very next
s: "To insure, how-
clusion of women
es in the applicant
-discrimination and
ction, the housing
ablished numerical
resident staff . . ."
nes later: "An al-
st of minority ap-
be compiled by the
rectors of e a c h
The Federal Gov-
ides another exam-
radictory wording.
'E ORDER 11246
scrimina'ion on he
e, color, raliglon,
Donal origin," but
HEW guidelines,
action requires the
make additional ef-
uit, employ, a n d
lified members of
merly excluded",
en and minorities.
rent contradic-ions
some whites to
nature of sicial
it is important to
factors underlying
action policies. Af-
ion was largely de-
viate the stagger-
roduced by many
ugh a
others. This could natnally les-
sen tendencies to discrimi late
and bring an ideal situation clos-
er to reality. Affirmative acti n
works at achieving this aim.
THE ALLEGED adverse ef-
fects that many charge affirm-
ative action with are not nearly
as extreme as implied. Dr.
Mary Lepper of HEW's Office
for Civil Rights countered Les-
ter's complaints of ruptured fa-
culty traditions and stsndards as
in fact, surveys have shown
that from 1968 to 1972, numbers
of blacks on campus facilities
increased only from 2.2 per cent
to 2.9 per cent, and the number
of women from 19.1 per cent
to 20 per cent.
The University of Michigan
Affirmative Action Office re-
vealed that from 1973 to 1974,
the total number of instruction
positions held by minorities and
women increased from 11 8 per
cent to 20 per cent, and tenure
ladder positions (includng As-
sistant Professor, Associate Pro-
fessor, and Full Profesor class-
ifications) increased from 14.67
per cent to 16.05 per cent. It
does not seem that such n rate
of change would cause a very
rapid deterioration of standards.
Another area for consideration
is admissions to the University.
Pat Wilson later added that the
complains from rejec e1 whites
cannot be attributed solely to
minority goals.
THE ADMISSIONS Of'ce has
all kinds of other goois to ful-
fill as well; for example, limit-
ed numbers of studen's are ad-
mitted into the scnools of en-
gineering, nursing, or literature,
and there is a set goal as to
how many in-state students are
to be admitted. All in all, it
does not seem that society "or
the white race" or the non-mi-
nority male is nearly as oppres-
sed by the effects of affirmative
action as minoritoes and wo-
men have been in the past.
In conclusion, there are two
ways to view the issue: either
as affirmative action or as "re-
verse discrimination'. One at-
titude is more concerned with
positive steps take,, and the
looking glass
SIDNEY HOOK, of the Com-
mittee of Academic Non-dis-
crimination and Integrity, pi e-
sented several arguments
against "reverse discrimina-
tion" at a recent House sub-
committee hearing. Hook first
protested that discrimination is
deplorable, whether used for
that it, wom<
These appar
have caused
question the
justice.
However,
examine the
affirmative a
firmative acti
signed to ale
ing effects p
"In fact, many biased whites simply hide
their prejudice behind a veil of radical think-
ing. A Black Panther once said he would
prefer a southern white racist to a northern
white racist because at least the southerner
would openly admit his racism."
?:"}t - .: 'v.{ q' .,fl,.VWr.".r: .sS :: "{ r a nwi"m:?:r}}a U'.v
other with negative reacimon.
Andrews made an i itrresting ol-
servation: "One main reason
for negative reaction is because
people don't unders+and . . . or
because people understand but
don't buy."
THERE SEEM ;o be people
who agree with the idea', prin-
ciples of affirmati"e action but
are turned off by thio methorls
used - they see the white male
being discriminated against,
which is true from a short eight-
ed view. Maybe these people
would support aff,rnatix'c ac-
tion if the HEW were Io period-
ically reevaluate its programs
and to emphasize 'ne temporary
state of the goals set 'that is,
that they are intended to last
until the effects of past discrim-
ination are erased). Maybe thcn
the divisions brought about by
"reverse discrimina;ion' will be
less intense and affi:mativ ac-
tion wil be closer to achieving
its goals of social justice and
unity.
Greg Rest is an LSA fresh-
-wan with an hiterest in the
social sciences.
Endless verbiage to cease
THE 1974 CONGRESSIONAL elec-
tions brought to Washington a
host of freshman legislators deter-
mined to streamline the creakingly
antiquated structure of the United
States Congress. The House has de-
posed numerous of its antediluvian
committee chairmen, clearing the way
for more legislative responsiveness
from that body. The Senate fight to
change the filibuster rules is nearing
success.
Under the new rules, a 60 per cent
majority will be needed to cut off
debate, as opposed to the current
two-thirds majority. Senate conser-
vatives are already howling about
how this rule change will expose the
legislative process to "the tyranny of
the majority."
In theory, the conservatives would
seem to have a point. But, as Al
Smith said, let's look at the record.
Historically, the filibuster has been
used by a willful minority to frustrate
the wishes of the majority. To cite
legislation could muster the 67 votes
necessary to cut off what had by then
become the traditional Southern fili-
buster.
IT IS DIFFICULT enough to get 33
Senators to agree on one thing.
It would be next to impossible to get
40 senators in unanimous agreement,
and with sufficient motivation to
keep a filibuster going.
A determined block of southerners
and other conservatives has been
fighting this rule change every step
of the way. But observers seem to
feel that their efforts are nearing
defeat. This defeat should be wel-
comed by all who are interested in
an efficient and responsive Congress.
True, some colorful traditions will
die. No longer will the District of
Columbia phone book be read into
the congressional record. And the
record for the longest continuous
speech will probably sit in the Guiness
Book of Records unchallenged for
or against women and minori-
ties. He further asserted that
the present practices violate
two fundamental principals of
human morality - justice and
.human welfare - since the sys-
tem of award by merit benefits
the entire community, and vio-
lation of this system downgrades
human welfare.
In addition, Hook said that
preferential treatment by race
or sex sets a dangerous pre-
cedent for society: "It not only
sets groups against each other
and promotes discord, but it
also devalues what it means to
be a citizen of the United States,
since what once was a precious
right, equal justice under law,
becomes a privilege to be doled
out at the pleasure of an admin-
istrator." Hook concluded that
discriminatory, preferential
practices are establishing rew
racial and cultural barriers ra-
ther than eliminating old ones.
SOME WHITES charge that
discrimination against non-mi-
norities is practiced here at the
University. Although. Housing
Director Archie Andrews said
there have been no complaints
concerning staff selection prac-
tices from individuals, he said
there have been people in gens-
eral who felt that hiring meth-
ods were unfair. Pat Wilson,
years of discrimination. Even
if discrimination were to in-
stantly cease, the damage it has
incurred would remain. The psy-
chological disadvantage t h a t
minorities are saddled with are
among the most difficult effects
of discrimination to erase. Wo-
men and minorities are fighting
to break away from the stereo-
types asigned to them in a
white-male dominated society.
KATHY SHORTRIDGE, of the
Affirmative Action Office, cit-
ed the "bright young man" mo-
del which women compete with
in job-seeking. She said many
women, concerned wi*h holding
onto their feminine stage, do
not want to respond with ag-
gressive behavior. Otjers react
passively to the mode!, leaving
themselves open to accusations
of incompetence or lower qual-
ifications. There are a multitude
of factors, characteristic to cer-
tain minorities, which often n-
fluence employers.
Therefore, it is naive to as-
sume that discrimination ends
just because someine says so.
In fact, many biased. whites
simplythide their prejudice un-
der a veil of liberal thinking. A
Black Panther once said that
he would prefer a Southern
white racist to northern white
racist, arguing that the South-
erner would at least openly ad-
Letters to The Daily
law school
To The Daily:
THE UNIVERSITY of Michi-
gan has long prided itself on be-
ing not only one of the top
centers of higher education in
this country but also an being
one of the most progressive.
This image is somewhat reserv-
ed since, for the majority of its
students, the courses are rele-
vant; the professors are help-
ful and the education, therefore,
is innovative. But Michigan has
failed miserably where minority
students are concerned.
After finally being convinced
in 1970 that minority students
should be admitted in numbers
roughly related to the percent-
age of minority residents of the
state, the University has been
dragging its feet on all other
forms of affirmative action.
presentation on its work force,
it would be called racist. Of the
large number of workers within
the Law School (custodial, cler-
ical, etc.), only six or seven
are black - well below 10 per
cent representation. In any other
situation this would be called
racism. Of the many posidons
within the administration only
the financial aid officer is black.
WHAT OF the curriculum?
Blacks are being trained to be-
come corporate lawyers for
large firms. There is precious
little training to help tne needs
of the poor, black community.
There is no course on rac sn
and how it can be attacked.
There are no courses explaining
how to set up a small, one or
two man practice in the bI a c k
neighborhoods. The legal aid
program suffers from 1lnck of
sufficient facilities for all w h o
- - "__ _ .._ _.... _ _
tain areas, sometimes very far
removed from the black com-
munity's needs. This has got to
stop! The Black Law Students
Alliance has seen the need to
rearrange the structure of this
Law School to make it more
relevant to the needs of black
students. When proposals to af-
fect such a change were submit-
ted theyadministration decided
that they should be shuffbiJ off
to a "committee".
The frustration we, black law
students, feel now compels us
to ask for the public's aid. Only
the people can make this public
institution explain why it has
shown reticence in moving
ahead with affirmative action.
We call on you to shake the
conscience of this University
and make it a school for all
neonie