,. Eighty-three years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 News Phone: 764-0552 HPC: By RON BECK If you are a University tenant, a n portion of your life is affected by p decisions originating in the UniversityI ing Office. The condition of your lawn paint on your walls, the presence (o sence) of adequate recreation and e tional facilities and services; all these affected by University policy. The University decides what you have in your apartment (utilities,z ances, furniture, etc.), what you ma may sot add to this (appliances, pets, paint, etc.), who will service your plaints, and under what conditions. 11 live in a dorm it even decides what when you will eat, not to mention the tents of your mailbox. Indeed, if you live in University o and operated housing the University combination parent landlord/city go WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1973 Revenue sharing politics TEE REPUBLICAN City Councilmen Monday cancelled a revenue sharing contract with Tribal Funding Inc. They claim the group has not complied with the terms of the agreement, but that ar- gument is at best legally suspect, and the motivation behind it seems equally ques- tionable. Tribal Funding has provided only one of 24 indoor rock concerts called for in the $17,000 contract approved last March. Although the concert series need not be completed until next spring, the GOP argues that contract has not been com- plied with. However, legal support for their con- tention has been virtually non-existent. The city attorney looked into the mat- ter but did not issue an opinion. The Re- publicans went ahead anyway and will undoubtedly face a lawsuit from Tribal Funding executives. } Perhaps sensing the weakness of the allegation, the GOP has also charged Tribal Funding with a city zoning viola- tion by renting office space from the Rainbow People's Party (RPP) in an area prohibiting such commercial uses. While this charge is correct, it does not appear to be justifiable grounds for ter- minating the federal grant, but merely another attempt at legalistic hocus- pocus. PRIOR TO THE contract cancellation, Tribal Funding had been on the verge of closing a deal for a new com-, munity ballroom site. With the building secured, Tribal Funding spokespersons say the organization could easily hold the necessary concerts. Furthermore they believe the conser- vative, business interests in the city do not want the group to acquire any capi- tal investments in the community. The Republicans have long opposed all the revenue sharing appropriations to local social service groups and have most vigorously attacked the allocation to Tribal Funding, which is closely tied to the radical RPP. Clearly the opposition drew out of the marked political differences between the straight-laced Republicans and the RPP members. UNFORTUNATELY TRIBAL Funding entered into the rent agreement with RPP. Because of the overlapping nature of the groups, the arrangement spawned charges that RPP in effect was renting from themselves, thus subvert- ing the revenue sharing contract's in- tention. Although the rental did not violate the contract, the action was very poor judgment on the part of the organiza- tions involved and may have prompted some anti-Tribal Funding feelings. Still, the Republican vote Monday night has no legitimate rationale - only an intense dislike of RPP and associated groups. Hopefully any legal action will bring a hasty reversal and restore the contract with Tribal Funding. Rubber stamp short range planning objectives and speci- najor fication of policy for resolving specific is- )olicy sues) and long range (determination of long Hous- term planning objectives, and specification , the of policy for the attainment of such ob- r ab- jectives.) duca- ! Security: Policies concerned with ten- e are ant health and safety, policies concerned with protection of tenant privacy and per- w i 11 sonal property and policies concerned with appli- protection of University-owned property. y or In each of these areas student efforts to new formulate policy have met considerable re- corn- sistance, and in some they have been to- fvou tally futile. As regards staffing a compre- tand hensive policy statement was adopted, but con- over the years it has been gutted of its or- wned ginal meaning. is a This document, insuring the participation vern- of students in the staff selection process, has been finaly "legislated" out of exist- ence by University attorney Roderick 4 Daane. According to Housing Director Feld- kamp, Daane has ruled that this parti- cular decision-making power is an adnin- istrative power which can not be shared. Thus the 1973-74 version of the staffing policy document places this decision-mak- ing authority solely in the hands of Feld- \ kamp and company. A similar situation exists in most other areas of policy "control" as exercised by this committee. Over the years policy-mak- ing has come to mean policy advising, and ' advising has come to mean offering opin- 'i a ions. Opinions are seldom solicited on ma- . jor issues, if they run counter to the Uni- participat * versity's predetermined intentions, they are generally ignored. versity H Most typically the committee is "permit- The Da ted" to choose between equally bad alter- as justifi natives, which are affirmed to be the only lection p rules alternatives the "higher-ups" (i.e. Univer- According ife. city Vice-Presidents,Executive officers, or legally a Regents) will accept. thus its s o the If the committee chooses to ignore the full autho s, so "good advice" of the Housing office and in- implies ( decis- novate its own policy, it is likely to find that all U Ieter- its "ex-officio" chairman, Mr. Feldkamp, ing powe for Feldcamp? John Feldcamp listening to student complaints. Roderick aane Compounding the fuel crisis ment, making and enforcing its own and affecting every aspect of your l SOME YEARS AGO it occured tc tenants of the university that person heavily afected by University policyd ions, should have a voice in the d mination of those policies. This co tion, strongly supported by SGC, le the formation of a Housing Policy Con tee, a committee comprised of student ants and faculty members (specificall cluding Housing staff from votingr bership), with students holding the m ity of the memberships. The committee was granted a neb charter to establish policy in matters cerning University Housing and lef flounder in setarch of a meaning fort words. Ultimately, it has discovered have no meaning. Over the years it has become involv policy issues concerning, at least, the lowing categories of housing relevant is * Staffing: Establishing a proce (policy) for the recruitment and selecti (housing) staff. Budgeting: Establishing an annual tal Expenditures Budget and priorities setting (annual) rents in keeping above. * Operations: Maintainance and C Improvements Policies (on-going) special programs policies - educatio creational, etc. (on-going). t . Planning: Annual (determinatio THE RESIGNATION of John Love as chief energy adviser to the Nixon Ad- ministration may well be indicative of the President's refusal to deal seriously with the energy crisis. In his resignation statement Love cited his lack of access to the President as rea- son for his leaving the energy post. The resignation followed speculation that Love was about to be fired. Apparently Love's "crime" was advo- cating the rationing of gasoline, a serious step no doubt, but one consistent with the magnitude. of the fuel shortage fac- ing the nation. The Administration's disdain for ra- tioning may be the product of an ana- chronlsttc ideology that finds govern- ment planning of the economy abhor- rent. It is ironic that this attitude which did so much to produce the energy crisis should also prevent the adoption of a reasonable approach to the problem. 'T IS MORE likely however, that this re- fusal to turn to the rationing stems from a calculated decision to insulate the business community from the effects of the shortage. As one inside source put it, the Administration was more concerned with "quieting the stock market than solving the energy crisis." President Nixon would have us believe that the energy crisis can be overcome through voluntary cooperation - dial down the thermostat, put on a sweater. And the oil companies assure us that we are the best milage ingredient in our cars. But behind this rhetoric of togeth- erness and cooperation, lie policies that would place the hardship of the energy crisis on Americans of low and moderate income while allowing oil profits to soar. The Administration's alternative to gas rationing appears to be an increase in gasoline prices. In a recent statement Herbert Stein, chairman of the Presi- dent's Council of Economic advisers, indi- cated that price increases would cut gas consumption some 24 per cent. HIGHER PRICES, however, only cut consumption by pricing certain seg- ments of the population out of the gaso- line market altogether. Those who could no longer afford to drive would be left at the mercy of the nation's inadequate public transit systems. Quite understandably, the oil industry also favors an increase in prices for gaso- line and other fuel products, for it would allow already lucrative profit margins to rise. Yes, we can make it through the fuel shortage together, some of us with heatless homes and gasless cars, and some of us reaping big corporate profits. The effect of gas rationing, on the other hand, would be to spread whatever burden the fuel shortage imposes equal- ly upon the nation's motorists while keeping prices down. The Administra- tion's consistent opposition to such a policy indicates a willingness to let this burden fall upon those who can least af- ford it. RATIONING ITSELF is not a very hap- py prospect. It involves a large ad- ministrative bureaucracy with fiascos that are almost inevitable in such or- ganizations. And of course, most people will feel that their ration is just not ade- quate. Moreover, holding prices below their market level is not economically feasi- ble over the long run. But rationing amounts to the most sensible and equit- able solution to the fuel shortage. Power play TE CURIOUS EVENTS surrounding the resignation of John Love from his position of presidential energy ad- viser is an excellent example of the bu- reaucratic "bargaining games" for power that occur within the government and that often have strong effects on what actions are taken.% Love, who was reportedly one of the few in the upper levels of the Nixon Ad- ministration who favored gasoline ra- tioning to deal with the energy crisis, was apparently to have been shunted to a rather meaningless position as a result of the creation of the Federal Energy Administration. To some observers' sur- prise, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wil- liam Simon is to head the new adminis- tration. Love felt that his continued position as head of the Energy Policy Office would soon be made pointless by Simon's agen- cy and so he resigned. Love had also been criticized for not recognizing the heating oil shortage soon enough as well as reportedly not having the managerial ability to coordinate vari- ous bureaucratic groups concerned with energy. The major effect, of course, is that the important Nixon administration energy advisers now favor high prices to curb ion in the determination of Uni- ousig pohcy. ane ruling, which Feldkamp cites cation for the vision of staff se- olicy, has sinister imolications. to this ruling the University is ccountable for all its decisions, staff administrators ''must" have rity to make these decisions. This and is rapidly coming to mean) University grants of decision mak- r to students are "inoperative." nvic- )a to mnit- ten- y ex- rem- lajor- ulous con- ft to these they ed in fol- sues: edure on of Capi- s and with apital and n/re- in of arguing against the recommendations of his own committee. Ultimately its policy sug- gestions are, indeed, overruled by the "higher-ups." A case in point is the 5 per cent increase in family housing this year. This exact pattern was followed. The Housing Policy Committee has re- peatedly attempted to innovate procedures for meaningful student participation in each of the five major decision-making areas identified, and the University has repeatedly found ways to carve the core from these proposals. The listing of examples could run to several pages. The effect has been to reduce the Hous- ing Policy Committee to little more 'han a rubber stamp; a futile gesture which lends its legitimacy to the myth of student In the Housing Policy Committee, at least, this trend is being oposed. If the University is no longer wiling to voluntarily grant its student-tenants a voice in the determination of Housing Office p licy, then some foundation for the establishment of that power must be identified. Many students feel that the appropriate base for this power is the Lease Agree- ment between the University and its var- ious student tenants. Provisions could be written into this document granting to the Housing Policy Committee (or some other appropriate group) specific authority over many important policy areas, and the Un!- versity would be legally bound to honor the provisions of that agreement. Policy decisions of such a body would not be subject to constant reversals by the "If the committee chooses to ignore the 'good advice' of the Housing Office and innovate its own policy, it is likely to find its ex-officio chairman, John Feldcamp, arguing against the recommendations of his own committee." {,},: ":, :*" ..ii41 v 4, , M11. °i;{: .' .w:.Y .v W% x.S w" . ... (+.dCW. "tv "..:"UD.curfr,.........1. .}; av..rv4""1 . University Executive Officers or the Board of Regents. A sub-committee has been established by the Housing Policy Committee to investi- gate this possibility and to recommend ap- propriate changes in the basic lease agree- ment. But securing University approval of a revised lease will not be easy. The University has never indicated an interest in sharing its power with students, and will probably be strongly opposed to a lease which requires them to do so. A Housing Policy Con mittee decision to re- vise the lease might well be reversed by any number of people, ranging from the University attorney to the Vice-Presidents, to the entire Board of Regents. In the final analysis, however, the decision of whether or not students secure and retain a voice in the determination of hous- ing policy will be a student decision, as it rightfully should be. If the student tenants of the University of Michigan really want this voice, it is within their power to have it. But there will be a cost involved: a cost in work houhrs, organization, and committ- ment. No one really knows how much of a confrontation might be necessary to force the University to accept this kind of lease revision. A petition drive? Demonstrations? A rent strike? No one can say. But everyone is agreed that the final decision will rest with the student tenants, and that their decision will be measured by their willinginess to pay the price, what- ever it is, necessary to force the Uni- versity's acceptance of tenant demands. Ron Beck is a member of the Housing Policy Corn mittee. II To The Dail .. . ... . Letters:* Living in a prisoner's Void ly: I AM SERVING a 10 year to life sentence in Ohio's $42 million version of Auschwitz, and for the past twenty months, Iahaverbeen content to mope about vegetating like the animal the Courts said I was. True, I have been many unsoc- iable things, but I won't argue whys and wherefores. After all this time I begin to think and sort out the differences in my life. Being a high school drop-out in the penitentiary does not mean I am incapable of thought and now I discover that man does not mean anything if he is all ane and that people are the only {ones of value, family, friends and warm times. I have none of these things. I was content in knowing -ha- I was strong and that lone wolves survive these places, but there is a deeper side of loneliness and my mind now is beginning to graap the importance and value of a friend. I have many 'friends' in here, but they cannot provide perspec- tive of life on the outside, they are suffering the same miserable thing I am. I have to know that that bleak wall and this closet are not the only things to live for, th at is why I must go through this letter writing thing in order to attract some attention that may get me a needed friend. I have sent letters of this nature to some of the nearby Ohio col- leges, but it appears that apathy is abundant with Ohioans. Besides that, who ever heard of any civil- ized people living here. So I ry to remember the places I've been and the people I've met while I was kicking around Monroe and Detroit many, many years ago, but names and addresses fail me. I was impressed with the real- ism of the people in those cities, and their general ability to grasp certain situations. Of course. be- I have nobody to rap to, it is necessary that I try to make some- one aware that I am here, and that I need a real friend. I guess that forwhatever hope there is in a new day is why I in writing. If you have a school pap- er and can place this ad for me, then I will have taken a major step forward, if not, then I will have to start all over again. The ad I would like to have runs as follows: "Twenty-nine-year young LEO doing ten to life has had no mail in twenty months. All alone and in need of a friend. Would like to hear from anyone, hex, race, phil- osophy is unimportant (age to 50). Don't know much, exceot that I am alone and really dig people- people are all that matters any- more. Norman Kosky No. 133536 - Box 787 - Lucasville, Ohio 45648." I know that my advertisement is kind of long but how does one de- scribe a void in 15 words or less? To save space many of the words could be abbreviated, but I leave that up to your own discretion. If all this is for naught, I can at least salvage and savor the fact that I have earnestly tried. To whoever is reading this, I want to thank you for your time, effort and consideration in bear- ing with me. I know that your schedule is more than likely busy and full and that it would appear I have written a book - at least a short story trying to express my- self so I had better recite one of those recipes for good-bye. Who- ever you are, thank you and take care. Pax Homini. -Norman Kosky No. 133526 Box 787 Lucasville, Ohio Dec. 3 lIme excuses To The Daily: THE MERCHANTS' contention that the tagging of nonreturnable cans and bottles would be too dif- ficult and expensive seems ridi- culous. The merchants would not have to tag or mark every can that they sell. Simply, the merchants would only have to give the buyer of nonre- turnable containers a receipt which entitles the buyer to return t h a t number of containers for a deposit refund. The receipts could be tokens, or stamps, etc., and could be given at the checkout counter. The Ann Arbor stores, in cooperation with the city, could work out a system in which the deposit receipts and containers could be returned to anv AnnsArbor store, evenif the containers were not bought at that store. All the stores would pool their deposits in a central fund. The merchants would get back money from the central fund as they re- turned their deposit receipts. Each store would be charged or paid a contemporary amount of money for the excess- number of nonreturn- ables sold over the number of used containers accepted back 'y the store. Each store would then pay some amount for not handling its share of empty nonreturnables. T h o s e stores that handle more than their share would collect from those charged. Each receipt could have an identification symbol on it so as to make it impossible for the stores to beat the system. It might even be posible to com- puterize the operation to make it very easy. A system similar to this could readily be worked out. -Graydon Nance, grad 'IE oLD SHELL (ANDr ALL. -IME CO1EQOIL c.QMt*4165) GAM~E } .1 vI t A L