e Mitriigan Batty
Eighty-Five Years of Editorial Freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Thursday, March 27, 1975
News Phone: 764-0552
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
arkley: Twdry politicos
LIKE AN IMPROBABLE comedy, the
bizarre saga of the Markely
Council officers who voted themselves
a salary continues. Central Student
Judiciary (CSJ) added the newest
chapter to the joke Tuesday night by
ruling the monies the dorm execu-
tives awarded themselves invalid and
must be returned.
The whole affair started last month
when the Council allocated $475 to its
officers at a meeting without a quor-
um. The money was subsequently dis-
bursed immediately. Claiming, as CSJ
affirmed, that the procedure violated
procedure, a Markley resident brought
suit with CSJ seeking a reversal of the
allocation.
At first Markley officers denied
anything was amiss with the arrange-
ment, but just to be on the safe side,
they again voted one week later to re-
confirm the action. But the clowns
bungled it again. Again lacking a
quorum, they voted 25-4 in favor of
theallocation, sixteen of the votes
cast were proxies.
IS WOULD HAVE satisfied pro-
cedure, except that even the
proxies were botched. The challenged
proxies, CSJ ruled, lacked the neces-
sary two signatures to make them
valid.
Subsequently CSJ ruled that if the
salaries are properly ratified by April
5 they will be legal. If Council fails to
do so by that date, the money will
have to be returned, officers will be
fined$50, and the Council itself will
be levied $250.
It could be argued, as we do, that
this action represents personal en-
richment on the part of the Markley
officers at the hands of the residents.
In the past Markley has always been
able to find leaders for its Council
without paying for them. The money
we feel, could be better spent on resi-
dents or activities than officers. $475
buys a lot of beer, if nothing else.
But the rights to sovereignty must
be respected. If Markley dwellers be-
lieve this is just, it is their money. But
we wonder from the 29 votes cast,
how hard they tried to drum up in-
terest in the issue, and how hard they
worked at encouraging attendance at
a teeting where they voted salaries.
All in all, the appearances are sleazy:
exemplary of all the reasons people
distrust public officialsbig or small.
TPHE CLAIM THAT the money was
just a token consideration is be-
lied by the comments Council vice-
president Bill Schurgin made after
the CSJ decision: "There are things
we had planned to do for the students
before the end of the year and right
now I'm so disgusted that they won't
have my help doing it." The sour-
grapes come through clearly. It looks
like it's not the principle of the thing
to Bill Schurgin, but the money.
DAY CARE
Editor's Note: The Editorial Page ori-
ginally planned to run side-by-side, pro-
con statements on the day ' charter
amendment proposal which will appear
on the ballot in April.
On the recommendation of the Repub-
lican Party Headquarters, we attempted
to contact two well-known Republicans
for an anti-day care statement. One re-
fused to write a short essay stating the
case against the day care proposal; the
other was unavailable. A further call to
party headquarters was also unsuccess-
ful.
By CAROL ERNST and
DAVID GOODMAN
AS THE ECONOMIC crisis worsens,
the situation looks bleaker for day
care centers and the people who rely
on their services. In Ann Arbor the 1000
day care spaces available cannot meet
the needs of the 3400 young people under
six whose mothers work outside the
home. Other women who would like to
work can't because they cannot get day
care. These facts indicate that there
simply aren't enough day care spaces.
Many existing centers just barely sur-
vive by the sacrifices of lowering staff
salaries and raising tuition beyond the
means of low income people. Far from
guaranteeing quality, low-cost day care
price
for frc
the budget.
By -passing the city charter amend-
ment on day care funding, the people of
Ann Arbor can change the city budget
priorities. The amendment requires that
1.7 per cent of city revenues be spent
on day services. HRP originally estimat-
ed this would be $314,000; the figure has
been revised to $564,000. The amendment
allows the voters to guarantee a min-
imum level of day care funding with-
out additional taxes, and without cutting
other departmental budgets or causing
layoffs of city workers. The original
$314,000 becomes available since next
year the city will spend that much less
on debt reduction. The additional $251,-
000 can be provided from Community
Development Revenue Sharing monies.
SOME POLITICIANS have protested
that the amendment would make the
budget inflexible. HRP believes the peo-
ple of Ann Arbor have the right to de-
termine the priorities of our city budget,
and the responsibility to insist that our
government respond to vital hunan
needs.
To insure against abuse and misdirec-
tion, the amendment contains three
broad directives' about the use of the
funding. It states that (1) funding must
go for direct provision of day care
_,oedom
services, not to administrative bureau-
cracy; (2) groups who receive money
for day care services must be non-
profitmaking; (3) the money shall be
used to insure that the needs of low-
income people are met. Within these
directives, the city may set guidelines,
such as funding only quality, licensed
centers, and may determine who gets
how much money to provide what ser-
vices.
The amendment is not a total pro-
gram which will solve all Ann Arbor's
day care problems. Day care problems
can not be eliminated within a society
which does not regard women and young
people as important and equal members
of society, and which treats all people
only as factors of production to be ex-
ploited. The charter amendment does
not. even represent everything the, city
could do right now about day care; it
was never intended to. But it does
guarantee that the city provide a min-
imum amount of funding for day care
services each year. It represents an op-
portunity .for the voters to change the
priorities of the city to provide for this
vital human need.
Carol Ernst is the HRP mayoral
candidate; David Goodman is run-
ning in the First Ward.
for all young people, our community
doesn't even provide adequate services
to those who need them most.
City funding for day care has always
been inadequate - some years it's been
more inadequate than others. From an
all-time high of $200,000 (enough, for
about 100 spaces) this year funds were
cut to almost nothing. Day care funding
clearly has not been a priority of the
politicians and administrators who write
Observations from a besieged capital
Raw Carrots fails the test
IT IS WITH a touch of nostalgia and
quite a bit of relief that we see
the 'raw carrots' (OAIS) test will no
longer be foisted on the University's
incoming innocents. For over twelve
years the exam, a haphazard smorg-
asbord of inane and largely insulting
questions administered during fresh-
man orientation, has served as one of
the primary predictors of student mo-
tivation, personality, career aptitude,
and chance of success.
More often than not, the test was
buried in the middle of a harried or-
ientation schedule. Little did its un-
assuming and often hungover victims
realize that within two days, their en-
tire lives would be laid out before
their counselors in OAIS percentiles.
THE OAIS BATTERY prided itself
in leaving no stone unturned, no
latent proclivity unexposed, no clos-
eted skeleton unprobed, from creativ-
ity potential right down to masculine
orientation.
Certain aspects of the carrots' de-
sign were functionally valid without
being morally bankrupt. But taken as
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Barb Cornell, Lois Josimovich,
Cathy Reutter, Sara Rimer, J e f f
Ristine, Jeff Sorensen, Jim Tobin
Editorial Page: Paul Haskins, Debra
Hurwitz, Mara Letica, Greg Rest,
Stephen Selbst
Arts Page: David Weinberg
Photo Technician: Karen Kasmauski
a whole, the OAIS life slots spoke of
a supreme arrogance on the part of
its creator, Benno Fricke, and the
University counselling establishment
that so religiously took stock in its
predictions at the total expense of
its students. To make matters worse,
many of the most controversial of the
raw carrots categories could be used
by academic counselors to pershape
opinions of their student charges
while the students charges thehselves
were left totally in the dark.
Fricke himself defended limited ac-
cess to OAIS results, claiming, "Most
of the test can be used to help the
University make better decisions
about the students, rather than the
student making specific decisions
about himself."
-HE RAW CARROTS test has, for
the past twelve years, symbolized
all that is impersonal, arbitrary, and
alienating about the University's re-
lationship with its students.
We, are pleased to see its belated
departure from atop the long list of
unpleasantries that students are sub-
jected to during their enrollment
here. An end to OAIS may not repre-
sent the disassembly of the automat-
ed university, but we welcome it any
way, if only because it might delay
for a moment the onset of computer
shock which awaits each future stu-
dent.
By WILLIAM GOODFELLOW
EXCEPT FOR THE rockets
falling upon the downtown
section of the city, one could
be in Phnom Penh and not even
know a war was going on.
The war is not far awiv. To
the north, west and south, the
rebel forces - fighting under
the banner of the provisional
government-in-exile (GRUNK)
- are les than six miles away;
to the easttacross the Mekong,
they are only three miles away,
and their 107 mm rockets have
a range of over five miles.
Most military experts here are
amazed at the restraint shown
in the rocket attacks. T h e
GRUNK could, presumably,
launch hundreds of rockets each
"On the city's busy
sidewalks, young
school children see vio-
let-colored m il it a r y
fuel in quart wine bot-
tles for fifty cents, as if
it were lemonade."
night, instead they usually fa e
fewer than ten.
Clearly they are not trying to
destroy the city or decimate the
population - 140 people have
been killed byrockets so far
this year -- but rather to in-
tensify the war-weariness of the
two million people crowded
around Phnom Penh.
GRUNK HAS even distributed
leaflets warning of imminent
rocket attacks, telling residents
to flee the city and join t h e
GRUNK.
The rockets are certainly ef-
fective, spreading terror even
among veteran wartcorrespond-
ents. One journalist remarked to
me, "I feel a hell-of-a-lot safer
out on the front. At least there
you know where the fire is com-
ing from, while here in town
you never know where or when
one of those rockets is going
to come crashing in."
Recently more of the rockets
have been coming at nignt,
which decreases the likelilood
of heavy casualties, but probab-
ly increases the psychol>gical
impact. After the 9 p.m. curfew
the city is extremely quiet, so
that the whistle and crash of en
incoming rocket can be heard
for miles around.
In a sense, the U.S. military
aid program in Cambodia is
quite evenhanded. As the Sen-
ate Foreign Relations Commit-
tee reported last year, "T> a
significant degree, the United
States is supplying both sides of
the Cambodian conflict."
THE OTHER DAY, a U.S.
Military Attache remarsed how
"there have been enough M-16
automatic rifles issued by the
U.S. in Cambodia to outfit every
one of Lon Nol's troops plus
every soldier fighting on t h e
other side." And yet troops are
always complaining about a
shortage of weapons.
A trip to Phnom Penh's Cen-
tral Market, and private con-
versations with soldiers, quick-
ly explains this - the ioldiers,
and their officers, are selling
their equipment to get money
enough to eat. A front-line sold-
ier's salary is only seven do-
lars a month, even aerge.-nt
makes only 12 dollars a month.
The Central Market is Phnom
Penh's answer to our Navy Sur-
plus stores - except the items
are not surplus, but f:esh goods
from the U.S. Military Ass st-
ance Program.
Last week, I visited the mar-
ket to get outfitted for a trip
to the front. The stalls selling
military supplies are rec:gaiz-
able because they have no
goods on display, just a young
woman sitting on an upturned
box.
THROUGH AN interpreter, re-
quests were made for a com-
plete field outfit. The Chinese
woman running the stall dis-
patched a number of young
children in all directions. With-
in minutes, they reappeared
with the requested goods, at
bargain-basement prices.
A pair of U.S..issue jungle
boots for $6, a green army shirt
and matching pants for $1.50,
four pairs of army socks for
$2, and, most useful of all, a
flack jacket for $10.
Other goodies included a com-
pass ,for $2 and a canteen for
75c, all U.S.-issue.
And for big spenders, a M-16
automatic rifle can be p u r-
chased for about $50 and .45
caliber pistol for $90.
The U.S. Military Assistance
Program provides all the pe-
troleum products used in Cani-
bodia. Each day, C-130 c a r g o
planes, "borrowed" from the
U.S. Air Force, fly roughly 300
tons of fuel into Phnom Pe:7h
from Thailand. Most of this fuel
is designated for military use.
CIVILIAN FUEL is rationed
- only about half a gallon per
vehicle each week. But long
term residents have not nniced
any decrease in motor traffic on
Phnom Penh's streets.
Violet dye is added to the
military fuel so authorities can
easily spot illegal sales. This
gesture turns out to be quite
futile. On the city's busy side-
walks, youngrschoolchildren
sell violet-colored military fuel
in quart wine bottles for fifty
cents, as if it were lemonade
Evidently some of the fuel
never gets the four miles from
the airport to downtown Phnom
Penh. There are reports of en-
tire tank trucks disappearing on
the airport road.
"I'm sorry, but you cannot
have an interview with Marshal
Lon Nol," said the man from
the government broadasting
company. "You see, he is very
sad these days and is seeir g
no one."
FOR THE FIRST time in this
five year old war, senior U.S.
diplomats in Phnom Penh a r e
talking about a "conditional sur-
render." A favorite term is
"Laos-type solution," referring
to the so-far successful co iii-
tion government in Laos.
There are a number of rea-
sons why a "Laos-type solution'"
will not work in Cambodia, but
the most important is that the
"other side," the GRUNK, ab-
solutely refuses to negotiate.
And quite understandably. Lon
Non, Marshal Lon Nol's younger
brother told me, "Why should
the other side negotiate row,
when they think they are win-
ning on the battle field?" Prince
Norodom Sihanouk, formrer
Cambodian Head of State and,
now head of GRUNK, recently
wrote President Ford: "We are
not struggling to gain ministe.-
ial positions in Phnom Penn, or
for the interests of any Com-
munist power ... we will never
accept to negotiate with the
Phnom Penh traitors."
WITH THE Meking River,
Phnom Penh's last surface sup-
ply route, closed to all shippng,
the city is now fully dependent
on a huge airlift fir rice, fuel
and ammunition.
Phnom Penh's airport is nbout
four miles west of the city.
Each day, it is hit with at least
50 rounds of Chinese-made 107
mm rockets and captured U.S.
105 mm artillary. Passengers
arriving on the increii ly
rare commercial flights, after
making a nose dive into the air-
port, are rushed into a huge
fortified bunker, where t h e
formalities of immigration are
carried out. The airport term-
inal is completed deserttd, and
flight crews are outfitted wit'
flack jackets and helmets.
Still, the airport is open, with
,a plane landing or taking off :in
average of once every eigI~t
minutes during the day. To close
the airport, GRUNK would ha.e
to move a few mites closer.
If the airport does clc e, the
end can only be a month cr
two away, at most. It would be
quite impossible to supply a city
the size of Phnom Penh by air-
drop without a full commi-ment
by the U.S. Air Force. The vast-
ly superior fire power of Lon
Nol's forces and the top orwcr-
ity given the airpxAt's defensa,
make it unlikely that the air-
port could be comple-ely closed.
ONE PLACE to take the pulse
of Phnom Penh is beside t h e
pool at the gracious old Hotel
le !Phnom, gathe:'n; place of
the city's foreign press corps.
Three weeks ago the most po-
pular topic of conversation was
whether or not he U.S. Con-
gress was going to vote the S222
million in supplemental military
air for Cambodia. Now all that
doesn't seem to matter.
This week, over i'zed tea and
vodka-tonick(still made wish im-
ported Russian codka). m o s t
conversation concerns evacua-
tion plans. Third country n a -
tionals are wondering whether
the U.S. Embassy will leave
them behind, and th-- New York
Times' newcore ;pondent is
concerned that he will have to
leaverhis seven suitcases be-
hind.
Another sure sign tnat the end
is near is that Phnom Penh's
prostitutes are no longer thik-
ing of Americans as just good
customers. Rathe- they a r e
pleading with anyone holding an
American passport to marry
them so they can be evacuated
from the city.
William Goodfellow is di-
rector of research at the
Indochina Resource Center
in Washington, D.C. Copy-
right Pacific News Service,
1975.
"If the airport does close, the end can only
be a month or two away, at most. It would be
quite possible to supply a city the size of Phnom
Penh by airdrop without a full commitment by
the U.S. Air Force."
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Letters
to
The
response
To The Daily:
DOUG KIM presented to my
office the petition and letter
concerning the Housing lottery
which appeared in the Micni an
Daily, on March 19, 1975. I
met with Mr. Kim on March 17
and responded to the three
questions raised by Mr. Kim as
follows:
1. The decision to utilize a lot-
tery was not made until the
end of February. A lottery was
not considered until it became
apparent that in many of our
halls the reapplication prncess
would need to terminate at the
first step when students reapply
for their own rooms. Ra'her
than have the chaos which
would result when eligibihwv for
residence halls would be based
on whether or not students wish-
ed to return their own room a
clear consensus developed that
a lottery of all residents w h o
wished to reapply was the pre-
ferred approach. The Michigan
Daily coverage of the dihcns-
sions that led to this consensus
ment declines in upper level
and graduate programs may
also occur. As explaine I in
Housing literature most of the
students on the Ann Arbor Cam-
pus are housed in private facili-
ties. Only Freshpersons are
guaranteed space in University
owned and operated housing.
3. Many of the factors which
appear to cause the increased
demand for residence halls are
new and could not be predicted
earlier with any certaintv. The
construction of additional stu-
dent housing has been detered
for several reasons. Stabl. en-
rollment, accelerated construc-
tion costs, unavailability Gf low
interest loans, and residence
halls rates which no longer yied
monies for additional ,tudent
housing are the reasons why
additional student housing has
not been built. Whether changes
in several or all of these deter-
ants to additional student hous-
ing will occur is still uncertain.
Mr. Kim met with the Regents
on March 20, 1975. This letter
will hopefully respnid to his
concerns. If this letter o, other
ment of the University of Mich-
igan. The attitude of that de-
partment is no longer just an-
noying, but has become infur-
iating. In the latest incident,
I find it completely unaccept-
able that the University of Mich-
igan Lacrosse Club, of wnich
I am a member, has had to
change their regular se ison
schedule (for which printed
schedules had already been
made) because the football team
needed, for spring practice, the
field on which we were to play.
I am aware of the arguments
put forth in support of the em-
phasis on football. If you want
a winner, everybody must be
willing to make sacrifices. And
of course, if a lacrosse game
could draw 100,00 people, we'd
get priority too. But what is
being missed here is the real
reason for collegiate athletics.
It doesn't exist for the fans to
watch, nor does it exist to pro-
vide athletes for the pros, nor
does it exist to make money;
it doesn't even exist to win.
Athletics exist for the athletes;
for the individual benefhts to
Daily
majority of Athletic Department
attention despite the fact tnat
many more people ace engaged
in other intercollegiate acid in-
tramural sports.
In REALITY, I don't begrudge
football its importance, except
where it restricts the opportun-
ity of others to engage in the
college athletic program. Un-
fortunately, at the University of
Michigan, every other :ports
program suffers due to the em-
phasis on football. The Ath-
letic Department likes to brag
about the great Universy of
Michigan athletic tradidion. In
actuality, this tradition is steep-
ed in just a few sports.
YOU MIGHT say that Cornell
doesn't have excellence in
sports, however; that :t doesn't
win national chamionahips.
This would be inaccurate. In
the last eight years, Cornell
teams have won 4 natianal
championships (2 in hockey, 1
each in lacrosse and crew),
which, I believe, is 4 more than
the University of Micigan.
There is another serious prob-
athletic experience that way.
From watching a football game
at Cornell one gets a feeling
of closeness to the team -- a
feeling that this is a team of
your peers. At Michigan this
is lacking; I feel as if I am
watching the pros plat. You
might say that this is good since
the pros play better football,
but even this argument is fal-
lacious. The "pro" game at
Michigan lacks two main ad-
vantages or real pro football.
The first is that Michigan is an
inferior pro team. Since the
pro teams are made un of only
the "best of the best" college
players, the pro game is that
much better. Secondly, w i " h
the pros there is a certain per-
manence. You can watch and
identify with a player or play-
ers of a certain team for years.
At Michigan, no aanmer does a
player become re:zgiab'e as
a separate entitly before he
graduates.
THE PROBLEMS I have in-
dicated are not ri re of the
University of Michigan alone;
they are problems basic to col-
I I I ~ ~ ~