Thursday, September 6, 1913
THE MICHIGAN DAILY PneTh're
.a c r r:
;
scaping
rom
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By'MARTIN PORTER
It seemed like suicide, but we
were desperate to get out of
Ann Arbor. . Fourteen degrees
farenheit, 9:30 p.m. and we were
going to hitch-hike to Chicago.
Jim, Mike and I were sitting
around discussing some mysteri-
ous nausea that had sunk deep-
ly into our stomachs during the
previous week. No, it wasn't
painful, nor did it disrupt any
normal biological processes. But
classes had become intolerable;
studying had become something
to do when there wasn't any
party going on; the buildings of
Ann Arbor seemed to thrive
bountifully as theyrsucked and
digested every spare cubic inch
of fresh air and sunlight out of
the atmosphere; the walls of
every classroom formed a four-
cornered vise - that gradually
squeezed all the sense out of our
heads; every face on the street
had developed a nasty smirk, a
threatening stare or some diabol-
ical dip of the eyebrows.
"It must be the dope," Mike
piped with his tongue firmly im-
planted in his mouth.
WE ALL LAUGHED. Possibly
we were half-scared that it was
true. Possibly it sounded tob
much like the propaganda that
government researchers had been
riddling us with for years. Any-
way, to succumb now was worse
than cowardice-it was traitor-
ous. To give in would mean to
abandon some long allied buddy.
No, it had to be something else.
Suddenly, the nausea turned
my stomach in a combination of
flips, twists and nose dives. At
the very moment of the disrup-
tion, as if the unrest had set my
mind in motion, I recognized the
origin of our malady. We had
been in Ann Arbor too long.
The novelty of a liberal-youth-
topian-intellectual community had
worn off. The sight of 99 per
cent of the populace wearing blue
jeans had become tiresome. It
was time to return to the real
world. Where old-pruned ladies
are still perplexed by men with
long hair. Where horny old men
gawk at the sight of some well
endowed braless lass. Where the
gas station attendent isn't work-
ing on his thesis in behavioral
psychology. We needed a change.
And so we split.
IT GOES without saying that
rides on I-94 West, 9:30 at night,
are few and far between. An oc-
casional car seemed to slow down
to take a quick glimpse at us-
but the quick glimpse seemed to
reveal three unkempt child-
molesters with horned foreheads.
Who but a bunch of lunatics
would stand out on the highway
in the cold that late at night?
As I said, we were desperate. .
We froze until a light blue
1964 Ford pulled over to the
side of the road.
The driver and his wife were
on their way back home to Kala-
mazoo. Their slightly intoxicated
state of mind was well suited to
alleviate our rather depressed
dispositions. The questions flew
back and forth between the front
and back seats. We began to de-
frost and soon felt obligated to
keep our drunken cohorts enter-
tained.
"Where are you guys off too?"
"Chicago."
"Why so late at night . .?"
"Our lungs started to crave
pollution."
An so on...
THREE EXITS, AND what
seemed like infinite questions
later it became apparent that the
driver was a recent University
graduate (1968). His boring,
rather superficial, questions were
replaced by an earnest desire to
know about the condition of "the
ole Maize and Blue."
"What are the people like in
Ann Arbor today?" His latest
query gave me a chance to re-
construct the same feelings about
Ann Arbor and its inhabitants
that had led to my recent de-
parture.
It wasn't that I disliked or felt
uncomfortable with the people at
the "U". Rather I had just grown
tired of youthful faces. This is
not to say that everyone is the
same. In fact there are as much
of a diverse conglomeration of
personalities, interests, and tal-
ents as you could find any other
place in the world. Certain people
stand out in my mind .. .
DAVID CAME to the Univer-
I
c mmunit
snowing. A young blonde-haired
boy named Gary had just come
to town and needed a job and a
place to crash. In the meantime
he was living on whatever he
could panhandle ($5-10 a day)
and was sleeping in a dormitory
lounge.
"Back home this dude told me
that Ann Arbor was a cool place
to crash . .. so far I have found
people here cold and unfriendly.
Munising in the Upper Penin-
sula where she says, "the only
things that women talk about is
getting balled, engaged, married
or jilted. Ann Arbor has opened
up many things for me . . . and
for this I thank all the people
who live here . . Ann Arbor
is the only place left in the state
where people still think."
The Ford Fairlane pulled into
a gas station to let us off. One
"The novelty of a liberal-youth-topian-intellectual community had
worn off. The sight of 99 per cent of the populace wearing b I u e
jeans had become tiresome. It was time to return to the real world."
I I+'i" : .. 4 .V
sity from his predominantly
Jewish high school in New Jer-
sey. He is majoring in political
science and planning on going to
law school. For him, Ann Arbor
was his first exposure to the
midwest. "At first I hated it
here, I felt out of place. Little
things like the fact that they
call soda, "pop" really made a
difference. I was sensitive to
their accent and of course they
could pick me out a mile away.
"I soon adjusted and learned
that all that hype about Eastern
superiority is- a bunch of bullshit.
Right now I am living with three
other people from Michigan."
IT SEEMS LIKE the street
people of Ann Arbor pack up and
leave during the winter. It -was
strange seeing someone pan-
handling on S. State while it was
Some people even curse at you
if you ask for spare change.
They might think that they are
cool but actually they are just
as closed-minded and greedy as
their parents."
UNFORTUNATELY I never
got the name of the barber I
talked to at a small local bar-
bershop. He has'been working in
Ann Arbor for the last 15 years
and has noticed a gradual decay,
in the quality of the student body.
"It used to be that students
cared about the way they looked.
Now they wear rags and thing
that the only way to live is to be
dirty. I can't help but think
this is affecting their minds."
ride had taken us across the
state.
AN ENORMOUS neon Mobil
sign seemed to light up the en-
tire gas station complex. It had
begun to snow quite heavily by
now and we could imagine that
this oasis of petroleum, grease,
and concrete would be the closest
we wouldcome to the real world
tonight.
A gawky 16-year-old attendan'
was on duty when we walked in
to get a cup of coffee. He quickdy
shoved some magazine that he
had been reading into the top
drawer of the desk, and greeted
us with a wide-toothy "Howdy."
"Good-evening," we replied
only out of necessity. We hoped
that he wouldn't mind if we sack-
ed out in the gas station for the
night.
"Where you off to tonight?" he
asked with that same wide-toothy
grin.
"Chicago." We were involved
with collecting the correct change
to feed the coffee-monster that
had already devoured two of our
quarters. We stared at the ma-
chine as it overfilled three stryo
foam cups with some visceral-
dark liquid. At least it was
warm.
"Why so late at night," the
kid demanded.
"Our lungs started to crave
pollution," Jim joked. The line
was successful with the driver
of the Ford . . . maybe the kid
would get off on it.
THE KID LAUGHED. So did
we-but for a different reason.
"Where ya comin from?" The
kid now felt like he had made
three friends and wanted to know
more.
"Ann Arbor," Jim answered.
The kid was impressed, evert
though Jim had tried his best to
answer in the most matter-of-fact
way. Unfortunately to this gawky
16-vear-old, anybody from Ann
Arbor is hot-shit.
So once again we were forced
to explain everything we knew
abo'it the place and its people.
His questions revealed so many
misconceptions that we had to
think twice whether or not we
were talking about the same
place.
"Is it true that the cops smoke
marrywanna . . . is it true that
you can pick up any chick on
the street and get laid? . . . is it
See ANN ARBOR, Page 7
I MET A girl once
disagree with that
ment. She had come
who would
last state-
down from
City
council
realigns
I ,,
Daily Photo by DAVID MARGOLICK
Center offers wide
range of services
By DIANE LEVICK
supplement co-editor
Although a fire wiped out the
Washington St. Community Cen-
ter facilities last December, it
didn't . destroy the spirit of its
component orga'nizations.
Now located for the most part
at 603 E. William, the service
organizations are carrying on as
best they can in a much smaller,
cramped atmosphere, hoping to
eventually move to a larger
building.
One of the groups, Drug Help,
has continued its 24-hour crisis
phone line (761-HELlP) staffed
by "crisis-skilled" teams which
are sent out to deal with prob-
lems that cannot be handled over
the phone.
Drug Help also .conducts short
and intermediate - term drug
counseling for families or indi-
viduals.
Staff members are trained with
the use of tapes and role-playing:
trainees pair off and put them-
selves in the role of the listener
and the person requesting help.
As a listener, according to staff
member John Hinkle, one tries
to let oneself be a "sounding
board" to reflect feelings, values,
and attitudes of the other person.
COMMUNITY S W I T C H-
BOARD (663-1111) offers another
kind of hot-line phone service.
Operating between 10 a.m. and
10 p.m., Switchboard keeps an
up-to-date list of happenings
around town, such as movies and
concerts. It is a general informa-
tion and referral number, but it
isn't designed to handle crises.
Switchboard includes Ride
Switchboard, which lists rides
wanted and rides offered. It's a
good deal if you're trying to
find a ride home on school vaca-
tion - or if you just feel the
need to leave Ann Arbor for a
while.
For those who have run away
to Ann Arbor, Ozone House,
another non - profit volunteer-
run organization, provides coun-
seling services which involve the
family, too.
Ozone considers the act of
running away as potentially con-
structive and strives to open up
lines' of communication between
the runaway and his or her par-
ents. Family counseling sessions
may attempt to reunite families
when this seems to be a solu-
tion. If, however, the problems
cannot be resolved, Ozone House
can arrange for temporary or
permanent, foster placement in
licensed homes.
THE THREE year-old Ozone
House, funded by the city and
given a grant by the National
Institute of Mental Health, is
winning acceptance of its pre-
ventative family counseling ses-
sions as well, which aim to
avert runaway episodes.
Ozone runs an emergency
See CENTER, Page 7
By GORDON ATCHESON
Editor's note: The following is a
news analysis by our City Council
reporter.
Ann Arbor may sfill have a re-
putation as a city dominated by
radical politics, but that reputa-
tion is fast becoming a myth
since the Republicans took con-
trol of city hall several months
ago.
The Republicans scored deci-
sive victories in last April's gen-
eral election when they won a
majority of seats on City Coun-
cil, including the mayorship.
Until then, a tenuous coalition
of liberals and radicals ran city
government. Their most widely
publicized achievement was in-
stituting a $5 fine for the use and
sale of marijuana, but more sig-
nificantly, they tried to reorder
city priorities toward human ser-
vices such as child care, health
care, and drug help programs.
Now, however,, the liberal
trend in city government has
been reversed. The Republicans
hold seven of 11 seats on coun-
cil and can pass nearly any leg-
islation they desire.
COUNCIL IS presented with
legislation in two forms: ordi-
nances and resolutions. Ordi-
nances must be approved by coun-
cil on two separate occasions b'e-
fore becoming law, while resolu-
tions need only be voted upon once.
Generally six votes are required to
approve any piece of legislation but
a few measures require more
votes. City laws can be repeal-
ed by a six vote tally.
The city itself is divided into
five wards, each represented by
two council members. They are
elected for two-year terms with
one seat in each ward up for
grabs every year.
The mayor is also elected to a
two-year term and is a voting
member of council.
Having run on a platform of
"financial responsibility," victor-
ious mayoral candidate James
Stephenson and his GOP cohorts
will in all likelihood drastically
Jerry DeGrieck (HRP - First
Ward) a n d Nancy Wechsler
(HRP - Second Ward) won seats
last year in largely student
areas. This year HRP failed to
capture any council seats.
First Ward councilman Norris
Thomas, the only incumbent
Democrat to run this year, was
easily reelected. In the student
"Clearly the city's policies are no longer
hammered out on the council floor but
are decided privately among the GOP
council members in t h e i r caucus ses-
sions"
change city priorities by funnel-
ing more tax dollars into the po-
lice, fire, and sanitation depart-
ments while cutting back on hu-
man services.
In April, Stephenson ran a
slick, expensive media-oriehted
campaign which helped sweep
Republicans to victory in the
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Wards.
Currently two Republicans rep-
resent each of those areas.
IN ADDITION to the seven
Republicans, two Democrats and
two members of the Human
Rights Party (HRP) now sit on
council.
HRP is a locally based third
party mostly made up of students
who support a socialistic form
of government. HRP has run
candidates in the last three gen-
eral elections.
The HRP council member
dominated Second Ward, Carol
Jones, a 19 year-old University
student and self-proclaimed "rad-
ical Democrat," won a narrow
victory over her HRP opponent.
Stephenson, who has dominat-
ed local GOP politics for the last
five years, served as Fourth
ward Councilman from 1968
through April, 1972.
DURING THAT time he voted
against measures making posses-
sion of marijuana a misdemean-
or instead of a felony, preventing
discrimination on the basis of
sex, and most other liberal legis-
lation.
At the Monday night council
meetings, the other Republicans
follow the Stephenson line almost
without exception. Clearly the
city's policies are no longer ham-
mered out on the council floor
but are decided privately among
the GOP council members in
their caucus sessions.
At press time, it appears that
the $5 marijuana penalty will
probably soon become just a fond
memory. In Stephenson's inaug-
ural speech, he called marijuana
dealers "social poison" and said
they should be driven out of busi-
ness.
The GOP clearly favors busi-
ness interests over consumer con-
cerns. Consequently, council may
delay action in the vital area of
rent control. HRP has pushed for
rent controls for several years
while the Democrats have recent-
ly begun to take steps toward
such legislation. While cam-
paigning, all the Republicans
running for council flatly opposed
any type of rent control.
ALTHOUGH the council mem-
bers hold the legislative power,
the day-to-day affairs of local
government are handled by the
city administrator.
Unlike council members, the
administrator is a full-time
salaried employe of the city. As
we go to press, the city is still
seeking a new administrator fol-
lowing the retirement of Guy Lar-
com, who held the post for 18
years.
The administrator is selected
by council to act as 'its liaison
with the various departments of
city government. Although the
administrator does not have a
vote at council meetings, his or
her opinions often carry a great
deal of influence.
During meetings, council re-
ceives reports from the city ad-
ministrator, city attorney, and
mayor concerning problems fac-
ing local government. Private in-
dividuals are also permitted to
address council.
Until four years ago, the Re-
publicans ran council almost
without opposition. But in 1969,
the people elected a Democratic
mayor and council majority.
THE DEMOCRATS' cyontro l
ended last year when the HRP
Stephenson
council 'members won seats
which previously belonged to
the Democrats. The power then
rested with party coalitions as
the Democrats llied themselves
with either HRP or the Repub-
licans depending on the particu-
lar issue at hand.
But now council and city gov-
ernment in general have ap-
parently returned to the pre-rad-
ical politics era of Republican
control and conservatism.
Third party struggles to
reunite for lo cal power
By CHRISTOPHER PARKS
If Ann Arbor's radical Human
Rights Party (HRP) had played
baseball i n s t e a d of politics,
sportswriters would probably
have been moved to call them
a "Cinderella team."
They rose from humble begin-
nings. HRP's story began in the
winter of 1971, when a hand-
ful of young radicals from the
University's Student Government
Council and various left-wing
groups such as International So-
cialists decided to found a new
party.
First time out they stubbed
their toes. A write-in effort gar-
nered only about 150 votes. The
electorate was more concerned
with preventing right - winger
Jack Garris from seizing the
mayor's office than electing a
new party.
BUT THEY PERSERVERED.
Throughout the summer months,
the faithful held together, at-
tracting some publicity when
they stood on picket lines with
striking workers at Rendix's
-The requisite two thirds of
the states ratified the 26th
amendment granting the vote to
18 year-olds, and
-The state supreme court
ruled that students must be al-
lowed to register to vote in their
college towns.
SEVEN MONTHS, thousands
of leaflets and door-to-door
contacts later, the insurgent rad-
ical party captured two of the
city's five wards and effectively
blocked Democrats from being
elected in the three others.
Euphoria gripped the party.
Jubilant HRP workers were op-
enly predicting they would de-
stroy the Democratic Party in
the city by closing them out of
liberal and student dominated
wards.
Sinclair. For years it has stood
at the center of the city's "hip-
pies, drugs, and rock 'n roll'
scene.
HRP nominated Rainbow's
Genie Plamondon as its candi-
date in the Third Ward in the
1972 election and received in re-
turn a generous outpouring of
Rainbow's energy and creativity
in support of the cause. Rain-
bow influence was strongly ap-
parent in HRP's sophisticated
posters and rock 'n roll-style
voter registration rallies.
0 The left-wing ideologues:
These are the founders, those
who were around at the begin-
ning. Their titular leader Eric
Chester has a record of radical
activism stretching well back in-
to the sixties. He now divides his
time hetwen Madisnn Wiscon-
MEREMHEEE