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Eighty-three years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Thea Sports
Bros. saga
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
News Phone: 764-0552
By JOHN McMANUS
jN THE LAND of Ah Choo
(rhymes with A2) there lived
two brothers; I. M. and I. C.
Sports (rhymes with Schwartz).
Their unusual first names Intra-
mural and Inter-collegiate w e r e
too Latinesque and cumbersome for
their liking so they adopted init-
ials.
Now I.M. Sports was older and
physically a much larger lad than
I.C., outdistancing him on the scal-
es by 32,000 students. (You may
surmise that I.M. is an ulcom-
monly pudgy nipper but remem-
ber that in Ah Choo 32,000 stu-
dents really don't carry m u c h
weight.) I.C. weighing in at a
mere 3,000 students is less than
one-tenth as large.
Some time ago when this Mutt
and Jeff pair were mere striplings,
many students lighter than today,
the two lads were nearly insepar-
able. When I.C. went out to play
I.M. was always invited. And when
I.C., even then the superior atI-
lete of the pair, made some money
for his athletic efforts he shared
it with I.M., sticking a five or
ten spot in the bigger brother's
athletic structures.
BUT OVER the years as suc-
cess and inflation would have it
the boys' guardians segregated the
two brothers. Oh, they were still
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1974
Voter registration curtailed
MASSIVE VOTER registration drives
marked the rise of students to power
in Ann Arbor politics. The demise of
those drives may spell the students'
downfall.
Tuesday night the Republican major-
ity on city council travelled about as far
in that direction as political expediency
dictated. The voter registration plan
they adopted kills rather than takes ad-
vantage of the time remaining to sign up
new voters for the city election April 1.
The Republican plan not only fails to
make any provision for door to door reg-
istration--the backbone of previous reg-
istration efforts-but also features a not-
able paucity of fixed registration sites in
student and low income areas.
The six sites stipulated in the plan
will be open only four days between now
and the registration deadline, and on
each of those dates for only four hours.
THE ADVANTAGE TO the Republican
Party in spending as little city money
as possible on registration is obvious.
Most new voters signed up in registra-
tion drives are students, young people
in general and low income people-the
vast majority of whom are sure to vote
against the Republicans.
Although the city will be hauled into
court 6n the matter-the Human Rights
Party (HRP) filed suit in federal court
yesterday against the plan-the Repub-
licans have clearly stolen a march on
their opposition in council and in the
wards.
One of the reasons they were able to
choke registration so blatantly were the
charges, first made public by Council-
women Carol Jones (D-Second Ward),
that HRP workers were politicking while
signing up voters door to door.
Councilman William Colburn (R-Third
Ward) has been able to argue that the
Republicans were forced to end door to
door registration simply because the HRP
was "breaking the rules" of the process.
IRP SPOKESPERSONS, of course, deny
that their workers were engaging in
any partisan activity. They blame Jones
for giving the Republicans an excuse for
ending the door to door effort.
And Jones, besides sticking to her orig-
inal charges, points out. that the Repub-
licans were probably going to restrict
registration anyway.
The actions of Mayor James Stephen-
son are instructive in this regard. Re-
vising the registration plan authored by
the city clerk-who normally performs
the duty-Stephenson switched the
Third Ward site from a low income co-
operative housing development to Stone
School-in a high income neighborhood.
He also over-ruled the clerk's suggestion
that the Union site be moved to the Fish-
bowl, perhaps because the clerk told him
that more voters were likely to be regis-
tered in the Fishbowl.
Whatever the HRP and Councilwoman
Jones are guilty or not guilty of, the Re-
publicans are reaping the benefit.
TUESDAY NIGHT Councilman Lloyd
Fairbanks (R-Fifth Ward) introduc-
ed a resolution to the effect that voters
be registered only at city -hall. He jus-
tified his proposal on the grounds that
that's the way it used to be. Although
only two other Republicans supported the
resolution, it suggests what the Repub-
lican majority may adopte once it be-
comes politically feasible.
Several years ago the Human Rights
Party and then the Democrats took ad-
vantage of the new 18 year old vote to
expand their base of support. Now the
Republicans are taking advantage of the
prevailing apathy to roll back the years
to their old hegemony in city politics.
Although the combined Democrat-HRP
vote left the Republican tally in the mi-
nority last April, there is no immutable
law that it will have to stay that way.
You have until March 4 to register for
the election in April.
-DAVID STOLL
friendly but . . . they no longer
showered together.
Curiously, the Sports orothers be-
gan to be treated quite unevenly
by their guardians. And in the way
you'd least expect. The smaller
brother I.C. was treated lavishly,
the larger, I.M., niggardly.
The times continued to draw
the brothers apart. I.C. grew in
'strength, and, somewhat l e s s
perceptibly, in wisdom before all
men. He was clearly the apple of
his guardians' collective eye.
Because I.C. was su :h a good
athlete they gave him better fa-
cilities. The guardians h iened to
appease their young favorite for
they felt new sap rising in their
old members when "titeir boy"
I.C. took the field cloth ~d in blue
and gold.
KINDLY MRS. Cannedham was
hired by the concerned guardians
to nurse young I.C. along Sprawl-
ing, gangly I.M. was left in the
cold. Mrs. Cannedham dotes over
I.C. His locker rooms were spot-
less, his towels fluffy, his every
bead of perspiration carefully
planned and budgeted.
rn shocking contradiction, bro-
thy brother I.M. was an outcast.
When LM. set out to exercise he
was confined to sordid old gyms
which, truth be told, could not
accommodate all of him.
When I.M. showered, it was as
often with cold water as hot water.
"A lusty young man can t have
too many cold showers," the guard-
ians told him.
When I.M. endeavored to towel
off he was not a few times turned
away to drip dry. Even his locker
room was disheveled. Broken
locks, dirty floors, abandone i band-
aids and even an occasiooal plump
red tampoon greeted I.M. s view.
(You see I.M. was bisexial al-
though I.C. was not).
tespite the inequities of their
treatment the brothers were friend-
ly. I.C. was by far the more cul-
tured athlete and I.M. would
spend long autumn afternoons
watching I.C. show off. indeed
I.M. would prance in the stands
tugging at his "Boone's Farm'
and urging his brother on, affec-
tionately caling him "Blue" or
"Big Blue."
Even here there was no equal-
ity, for I.C. would charge his bro-
ther several dollars just to watch
him.
There was no doubt about it, lit-
tle I.C. was quite tatented ath-
letically and at the box office. And
it was for this very reaso-1 that the
guardians lavished their attention
on I.C. while I.M. languished.
And so in the fullness of time,
I.C. and I.M. were no longer able
to romp together as they had in
their youth. Now I.M. would wait
until I.C. was through = e f o r e
using the facilities, if he waie al-
lowed to use the facilities at all.
DENIED FACILITIES, I.M. be-
came constipated and contorted,
his face turned yellow and then
rich brown. His eyes rolled gently
on deep bilious swells.
Mother Cannedham furrnwed her
considerable brow over poor I.M.
The guardians were summoned, the
patient whisked away to a fortress-
like building with narrow slits for
windows where with surgical pre-
cision, and in the nick of time. his
wallet %as removed.
Billfold in hand the guardians re-
vived I.M. and told him his facili-
ties were on the way. With one
voice they exulted: "Maize and
Blue and your wallet too!"
John MicManzus is a Daily staf
writer.
Student rights in
U' housing decisions
By RON BECK
AN URGENT BATTLE of vital
concern to every tenant of Uni-
versity owned and operated hous-
ing is in progress. I refer to the
continuing struggle for the control
of University Housing policy be-
tween the University Administra-
tion and the student dominated
HousingPolicy Committee (HPC)
Today the small nucleus of stu-
dent rights advocates who have
championed student tenant rights
. in an effective voice in the formu-
lation of University Housing pol-
icy, will attempt an open confron-
tation with Vice-President for Stu-
dent Services, Henry Johnson in a
joint meeting of the HPC and the
Office of Student Services P o l i c y
Board (OSSPB). The meeting,
scheduled for 12 noon in the South
Quad (basement) Library, should
command the attendance of all
University tenants because their
right to self determination in hous-
ing policy is greviously threaten-
ed.
OVER THE PAST several months
HPC has engaged in a continuing
effort to focus attention on t h e
power struggle which prompted to-
day's meeting. Previous articles
and editorials have attempted to
clarify the basic differences be-
tween student interests and Univer-
sity interests in the setting of pol-
icy. There can be no doubt that
such interests often clash. Recog-
nizing'this, previous generations of
students engaged in lengthy and
sometimes violent confrontations
with the University to insure them-
selves of an effective voice in the
formulation of Univrrsity Housing
Policy.
Student interests had tinalv been
achieved with the establishment of
the present OSSPB, and its sub-
sidiary unit committee structure.
(HPC is one of five unit commit-
tees established under the provis-
ions of Regental By-law 7.05 to in-
sure "effective" student participa-
tion in University decision mak-
ing.)
BUT, NEARLY a decade of con-
frontation, culminating in the with-
drawal of all SGC participation
f r o m predecessor "advisory"
boards, was necessary to prompt
this solution.
Initial indications uere that those
new policy boards would, at last,
provide an effective mechanism for
student participation in University
decisions. The then VP of Student
Services Robert Knauss, fostered
an atmosphere of mutual trust be-
tween the Administration and nis
newly-created policy hoards, pledg-
ing to resign rather than overrule
their policy decisions. Further, he
made the Director of Housing clear-
ly accountable to the policy deter-
minations of the housing unit com-
mittee (HPC), issuing clear direc-
tives to this effect. . -t
Almost unnoticed by the generrl
student body, a vast change has
come over these working relati:,n-
ships under the direction of the
new VP of Student Services, Henry
Johnson.
JOHNSON has declared that not
only HPC but OSSPB and its en-
tire range of unit policy comm t-
tees are not realy poiicy-making
committees at all. Rather they are
mere "advisory" groups. If this
interpretation is left to stand, the
efforts of an entire generation t'f
students has been in vain.
Regental By-law 7.05 asures stu-
dents of an "effective" voice but,
unchallenged, the University can
redefine this away. The Univer-
sity has its own interests to pro-
tect. This is why former genera-
tions of students were so insistent
upon the creation of an impartia
student-faculty committee to forn:-
ulate policy which is sensitive to
the interests of both the University
and students.
Today's generation of students
have their interests to protect as
well. And these interests are not
served by allowing the University
to strip the OSSPB or the Housing
Policy Committee of their author-
ity to arbitrate between University
and student and to formulate b:nd-
JoLeDai:A farewell
It was believed
tory arrangement
balance. between
that a satisfac-
for achieving a
University and
EDUCATION AROUNDM ERE has gone
to hell. Papers are graded by com-
puters, promising young instructors are
deactivated by the tenure system, and
innocent students spend more time think-
ing of grade-point averages than poetry.
Joe Lee Davis, the English professor
who died of a heart attack Tuesday, was
a guardian of the old values. Those of us
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Gordon Atcheson, Cindy Hill, Mary
Long, Judy Ruskin, Chip Sinclair, Jeff
Sorensen, Becky Warner
Editorial Page: Brian Colgan, Paul Has-
kins, Marnie Heyn, Joan Weiss
Arts Page: Ken Fink, Sara Rimer, Jeff
Sorensen, Doug Zernow
Photo Technician: Ken Fink
who heard him read Whitman's "Leaves
of Grass" or explain the Southern literary
renaissance knew that teaching, to Joe
Lee Davis, was much more than a job.
It was said that Joe Lee was Ann
Arbor's Southern-writer-in-residence, and
you had to believe it when he explained
that he was born in Kentucky and said
those Southern words the way they were
meant to be pronounced, like "Ala-
bammy" and "Louisianny." Joe Lee, as
his 'name suggests, was the real thing.
TEE LITTLE MAN with the thick white
beard and the proud, strong voice
gave us brilliance, but never without joy,
and those of us who knew him are sadder
with his passing.
-DAN BIDDLE
Editor
TH1 MILWAUKEE JOURNAL
Foblhrr-Hall Synid'sst.. i974
,r , vo
(HERRYGATE
FairyTales Dept.
By BOB SEIDENSTEIN
"WHO CHOPPED down that cherry tree?"'
"I cannot tell a lie."
"I didn't ask you if you could tell a lie. I know that already
from the time you told me that your friend Johnny Dean raided
the cookie jar. Now, who chopped down that tree?"
"Johnny."
"Richard Milhous!"
"Yes, father?"
"Is that an axe you're trying to hide behind your back?"
"A what?"
"You heard me, an axe!"
"Oh, this, well, yes, I guess it is an axe. How about that,
I wonder how it got here."
"You had better do some explaining young man."
"Yes sir. This certainly is mysterious. I'll ask my friends,
maybe they know."
"I expect some answers by dinner time."
"I'll do my best father."
"WELL, WHAT DID you find out?"
"A couple of foreigners did it."
"What! You mean to tell me that foreigners came in
here and chopped down that tree!"
"That's what my friends said."
"How do they know?"
"They've been investigating all day. They wouldn't lie to
me."
"This is amazing! Why would some foreigners want to chop
down our tree?"
"I don't know father."
"Richard, could it be that a young man of honor would want
to let others take the blame for his own actions?"
"It could be, father. Why don't you talk to Johnny Dean about
that?"
"I can see we'll never get the truth out of you."
"BUT I'M ACTING in complete candor."
"In that case just give me all the cherries and we'll try
again for some resolution of this problem."
"I can't."
"What do you mean you can't?"
"Well, I can give you almost all the cherries, but 18 are
missing. It doesn't matter though, they're not important."
"They're not important? Young man, if I don't get all those
cherries you're in big trouble. Where are they?"
"Johnny Dean ate them."
"What are those red smears on your hands and face?"
"Oh those - I'm not sure, but they're not cherry smears and
I can prove it."
i
Letters to The 1
GEO out. We will now proceed with the <
TTEayMERC concession. In the past two i
To The Dai l adays, we have collected over 900
IN THE COURSE of organizing certification cards, the first step
over the past few weeks, we have in the MERC procedure. This nu-
had contact with graduate em- bi weE oere.nThirdnrn-
ployees in many different depart- ber is well over the one-third re-
sandreceivedfedbaquired by MERC to begin the pro-
very divergent viewpoints, from thee dierent lad o ion at if
the militant radicals of the Political Fleming lives up to his promise not
Science department to the mem to raise obstacles during the MERC
phers at the other end of GEO's process, we will have a certifica-
political range. These people all U-~ tion election in approximately 30
doubtedly view the events of the days that is, around the middle of
past few days with very different March.
feelings. One issue on which all are T
united, however, is the need for a Thus, we feel we are now in a
written contract and a union to strong position. President Fleming
protect the needs of all graduate has given in on one very import-
employes. ant issue. In addition, 530 TF's and
Several hours before the m a s s 83 other graduate employees have
meeting on Monday, President made it clear that they are angry
Fleming suddenly made a major and distrustful of the admmistra-
concession: he waived, in writing, tion. We will all be watching care-
his option of raising legalistic ob- fully the administratim's conduct
stacles if we would seek unioniza- during the coming 30 days. Should
tion through the auspices 'f the Fleming at any point go back on
Michigan Employment Relations his written word to us, it is clear
Commission (MERC). that 613 employees - and many
Many graduate employees around others who are now willing to give
campus, who had been willing to Fleming another chance -- w il I
strike prior to this concession, felt take militant action. (It should be
that our victory was substantial noted that the porportion -- one-
enough that we should accent third - of the total number of TF s
Fleming's offer and temporarily who voted to strike in Wisconsin's
call off the strike vote. Others successful work stoppaga ii the
viewed President Fleming's sud- spring of 1971. Wisconsia r figures
den capitulation with great dis- were 1800 total; 600 voting to
trust, and wanted to continue to strike).
pressure the administration by go-
ing forward with preparations for IT IS IMPORTANT for all of us
a strike. The latter were, not sur- to be aware that there s room in
prisingly, those who attended Mon- our ranks for all of the divergent
day's mass meeting in largest nurn- viewpoints which exist now among
bers. graduate employees. 'This is be-
THE EXECUTIVE Committee cause we function democ-atically.
recommended to the mass meet- GEO is not its Executive Commit-
ing that a strike still go on as a tee, or even its Reps-e'entatives'
means of maintaining pressure, but Council, but its entire membership.
that aditionnah. we aent Flem- Everyone can talk up her - his
Henry Johnson
ing policy decisions.
EVERY student tenant has a
vested interest in preventing t h e
University from becoming its own
arbitrator in matters of housing
policy. If at all possible, attend
today's meeting.
Ron Beck is a member of the
Housing Policy Committee.
ally
ant forum, outside of mass meet-
ings, for everyone's voice to be
heard.
We will be sending our certifica-
tion cards in to MERC Wednesday,
Feb. 27. If you haven't signed one,
go to your departmental rep or to
our office: Room 9 First Floor,
Michigan League.
-The Representatives'
Council of GEO
right to life
To The Daily:
I FIND THE "flexible" morality
of Perri Knize (letter, Jan. 31) re-
pulsive and somewhat frightening.
If she is flexible enough to kill
an unborn child - she admits that
abortion may be murder - what
is to stop her from being flexible
enough to kill me, if I happen to
interfere with' her happiness? "Un-
fortunate unborn children" indeed,
Ms. Knize! Unfortunate that they
are utterly helpless and not re-
garded as important enough to
merit "life, liberty, and the pur-
suit of happiness" like their moth-
ers.
It's time women started taking
responsibility for their actions. If
they don't want children, t h e y
should use contraceptives (of
which, incidentally, Catholics do
not wish to deny the world).
Besides, unwanted pregnancies
do not necessarily make for un-
wanted children. If our mothers
had aborted all their unexpected,
inopportune pregnancies, t w o
thirds of us wouldn't be living right
now. Yet we are, and most of us
have not become "criminal and
anti-social" adults.
I'M NOT asking that you keep.
your children if you decide that
I A" - Xr.-