Nrle £ifryI$an &ait 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.-