I Eighty-two years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Diverse ideologies necessary for HRP 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich. News Phone: 764-0552 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of storf writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1973 Protecting press freedom IN UNPRECEDENTED actions the Ad- ministration has done much to shake the foundation of the First Amendment providing for freedom of the press. One need only mention Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers or New York Times reporter Earnest Caldwell and the Black Panthers to invoke images of govern- mental suppression of the press. Believing a free, vigorous and unim- peded press a requisite for a thriving de- mocracy, Rep. Jackie Vaughn, (D-Det.), has recently introduced a four-bill pack- age into the State House of Representa- tives in an attempt to combat increasing governmental hostility. THE PROPOSAL has come none too soon. Collectively known as a shield law, the bills would protect journalists from having to reveal their privileged sources of information. This would place report- ers and their sources in a situation com- parable to the status presently enjoyed by physicians and their patients or at-. torneys and their clients. Vaughn said the bills would "protect all newsmen in both print and broadcast media from any conceivable legal action from anybody for refusing to break the confidentiality of their sources or to hand over information." The crux of the arguments against the adoption of a shield law is that it .is the duty of all to come forward with any and all information to insure that justice prevails. The basic premise Is that the reporter would have information the ;po- lice would not possess. BUT RFPORTERS are not policemen; that is not their function. If that was the case, their sources would dry up and disappear. If journalist's sources began refusing to reveal information, fearing that the reporter would be forced to identify the source, the ability of the press to re- port the news would be crippled. The public has a right to know what goes on in their society and in their government. This right would be meaningless if re- porters could be intimidated by the courts or any branch of government. The founding fathers put freedom of the press first in the amendments, know- ing how important it is to our political system. They sought to prevent govern- mental interference with the press even before they were sure exactly how toler- ant of a free press the government would be. As Vaughn has observed: "The past and, present remarks by Vice-President Agnew indicate an utter contempt for the news media on the part of the adminis- tration, and President Nixon's reluctance to keep the press informed of his actions or lack of the same seems to reveal an attitude of malice." SURELY A SHIELD law is needed in Michigan to upgrade the status of the news media. The passage of Vaughn's bill is vital to the continuance of free- dom of the press as we have come to know it. -LINDA ROSENTHAL By ANNE BOBROFF and LISA NORTH THE MEMBERS of the Chocolate Almond Caucus see the Human Rights Party as a coalition of people of varying political perspectives, united around several basic beliefs. The foremost of these is that an independent, radical third party is neces- sary in order to create significant s o c i a l change. The HRP platform details funda- mental changes which all HRPer's believe should be made in many American institu- tions: health care, taxation, the prison system, education, and so on. However, in addition to these vitally im- porant agreements which bind us together, there are differences within the party. Many people would like to ignore these dif- ferences in the name of unity. BUT THE CHOCOLATE Almond Caucus sees such differences as the perfectly na- tural result of the continuing, rapid growth in the membership of our organization. HRP is not a monolith. People of many sorts and degrees of perspectives h a v e always been warmly welcomed. For dif- ferences within the party will not harm it, as long as they are openly recognized and discussed, with decisions made by de- mocratic votes. Just what are the differences in HRP? HRP member David Cahill has suggested in his recent Daily articles that they are between those HRPer's who are into end- less ideological debates on abstract, irrele- vant topics, and those who simply want to get on with the practical business of im- proving things. In short, between the heavy ideologues and the activists. The C-A Caucus believes that Cahill's analysis is inaccurate. "Ideology" is simply a set of guidelines by which people oper- ate in their day-to-day activity. We con- tend that, happily, most people in HRP base their political functioning on an "ideology" so defined. And the differences in HRP are in fact differences in the "ideologies" by which different people choose to guide them- selves. THESE "IDEOLOGIES" within the party are not highly developed systems of thought cutting the party up into sharply defined Letters: subgroups. The Chocolate Almond Caucus itself is a rather vague collection of people who lean in the same direction but don't agree on every point. Other very b r o a d "ideological" perspectives can be discern- ed as well. Precisely because these "ideologies" are vague at pdesent, they must be clarified and developed. For each indicates a dif- ferent way for HRP to proceed in the near future. The C-A caucus believes that the only force which can create significant social change is mass movements, such as those of blacks, women, and, historically, trade unionists. The caucus wants to utilize elec- toral politics simply as a forum to voice these views, and 'to push for wh'atever re-, forms we can gettthough present govern- ments. IiRP MUST DECIDE what offices to mostly white, student, middle class con- fines of Ann Arbor, This spring HRP should make at least one ward in Ypsilanti among our highest races. And HRP should also look forward to play- ing a major role in the party's guberna- torial campaign in 1974, and must con- tinue and expand it's commitment to the national Peoples Party.. Also of primary importance is attacking the Democratic Party, both locally and na- tionally. For the Democratic Party is to- tally unable to promote real social change, largely because it seeks to co-opt mass movements, rather than to actively enicour- age them. WINNING RACES is important because it forces people to think in terms of third parties, aids recruitment, and bolsters par- ty morale. However, the party should not have the hysteria about winning that it has ..-:: . :::{::J: sy~:'' '~iiir r:4":'::.::Y{~iS{ .:" :....................' rr,.a: ::: 4 .....;..:1.......... The Chocolate-Almond Caucus does not see local govern- ment as the agent for making significant progress along the road to drastically reordering the priorities of our society. Y, 4f,:V^:{{:{"{":"::{":S::::"':":YJ.:1':}:;.. .r};i.;":"y l: ':{:.:: :"{ 1J2y1Ym m r:::".:1.: Mass meetings can be devoted to discussion of the basic political differences in the party, instead of bogging down in a quag- mire of organizational detail. Another aspect of party democracy is our relation to the world outside the party. Disagreements within the party should not be confined to party circles. Caucuses with- in the party should run candidates'for nom- ination who espouse their viewpoints and people should write letters and articles for news media giving their positions on inter- nal party issues. Voting membership should be open to anyone who supports the core of our platform (income redistribution, community control, etc.) and whose pri- mary political committment is to HRP as opposed to the other political parties. Since our elected officials primary re- sponsibility ought to be articulating t h e party's viewpoint, our nominees will con- tinue to be largely drawn from the 'core' of the party. Also we can be sure of real commitment to the party only with the can- didates who have been active in the party to some degree. Our elected officials will thus usually be- long to some political tendency within the party. As a part of the political leadership of the party - and as members of the party - it is important that they be able to express themselves on issues within the party, outside party circles. This freedom for elected officials reinforces the need for having nominations contested by various political tendencies. THERE ARE A number of other "ideol- ogies" in HRP. Part of being a healthy, growing party is to attract people of dif- ferent viewpoints. Debate among them will be a vitalizing force in the party. And after discussionzvotes will, as always, determine the directions in which the organization will .proceed. Those who hold a minority "ideol- ogy" will continue to try to convince people of their position. But they will support and work for whatever immediate objectives are chosen democratically by the member- ship. Anne Bobroff and Lisa North are active in theIlman Rights Party and the Cho- colate-Almond Caicus of HRP. ;{ _1 4 ,-I run for on the basis of which races and offices give it the best opportunities to argue for third parties and against the sup- port of "liberal" Democrats. Fear of of- fending liberals by running should not be a consideration, for it is in just such 'of- fensive' races that our reasons for opp-s- ing Democrats can be brought out most clearly. Thus HRP must run a strong cam- paign for mayor and run candidates in all five city wards. C-A caucus, taking over the city gov- ernment is of secondary importance, be- cause it does not see local government as the agent for making significant progress along the road to drastically reordering the priorities of our society. Of primary import- ance is expanding HRP's base beyond the had in the past. We shouldn't expect to win all the time, nor is it crucial for par- ty morale. Candidates should not be chos- en on their ability to win, but on their politics. People's ability to criticize the campaign or party should not be contin- gent on them working a certain amount of hours for the party. HRP should have the further politiciza- tion of its own membership as an import- ant goal. Internal education is important to this end. Far more essential is a caucus system in the party. Caucuses will allow new members to see the differences in the party systematically. They will also allow us to elect party officers on a political bas- is, thus giving the officers more basis for making the party's day to day decisions. Tenants sing the blues again , I Just what the doctor ordered jN THIS DULL and commonplace world, Monday's announcement by the Uni- versity medical school that Robert Young, alias Dr. Marcus Welby, would be this year's commencement speaker came as a refreshing note. Besieged by news of the Wolverines dis- heartening cage losses; savaged by the numbing weather: and disillusioned by the shenanigans of King Richard's co- horts, certain members of the college 'community still retain enough sense of reality to seek wisdom where it surely exists. As the forenost expert in his field, easily outpacing James Kildare and Ben Casey (to say nothing of "The Doctors,") Young will doubtless expose the occupa- tional descendents of Hippocrates to an angle of their profession undreamt of in their four years in the University's hal- lowed halls. It would be easy to insinuate that this angle might include something like "Make-up and the Doctor" or "How to Look at the Camera While Speaking Today's stuff: News: Debbie Allen, Laura Berman, Terry Martin, Chris Parks, Charles Stein, Rebecca Warner Editorial Page: Linda Rosenthal, E r i c Schoch Arts Page: Mara Shapiro, Gloria J a n e Smith Photo Technician: Rolfe Tessem Editorial Staff SARA FITZGERALD Editor PAT BAUER ............... Associate Managing Editor LINDSAY CHANEY ................ Editorial Director MARK DILLEN .................... Magazine Editor LINDA DREEBEN ........ Associate Manrging Editor TAMMY JACOBS .................. Managing Editor ARTHUR LERNER ........... .... Editorial Director ROBERT SCIREINER ........... . .Editorial Director GLORIA JANE SMITH .................. Arts Editor PAUL TRAVIS ..... ... Associate Managing Editor ED SUROVELL ..... ......... . Books Editor ARTS STAFF: Herb Bowie Rich Glatzer. Donald Sasin. NIGHT EDITORS: Robert Barkin. Jan Benedetti, Di- ane Levick, Jim O'Brien, Chris Parks, Charles Stein, Ted Stein. COPY EDITORS: Meryl Gordon, Debra Thal. EDITORIA NIGHT EDITORS: Fred Shell Martin Stern. DAY EDITORS: Dave Burhenn. Jim Kentch, Marilyn Riley, Judy Ruskin, Eric Schoch, Sue Stephen- son, Ralph Vartabedian, Becky Warner. TELEGRAPH/ASSOCIATE NIGHT EDITORS: Prakash Aswani, Gordon Atcheson, Laura Berman, Penny Blank, Dan Blugerman, Bob Burakoff, Beth Eg- nater, Ted Evanoff, Cindy Hill, Debbie Knox, into the Microphone in Your Lapel." But editorial judgement should be reserved on Marcus Welby until after he speaks (rumor has it he will speak on The Doc- tor-Patient Relationship), to look at pos- sible ramifications of the medical school's decision. FOR INSTANCE, perhaps the Law School will fall into line next and invite E. G. Marshall or Raymond Burr to their graduation exercises. The nursing school could resurrect "Julia", alias Diahann Carroll, for their ceremonies. The political science dept. could have a field day with such guest speakers as Fess Parker (Mr. Smith goes to Wash- ington) or Hal Holbrook (The Senator.) ROTC grads could hear Vic Morrow ("Combat") or, if they're less tactically inclined, Phil Silvers ("Sergeant Bilko") or Robert Crane (Col. Hogan of "Ho- gan's Heroes.") And of course computer aficionado should have the opportunity to listen to that machine of a thousand words, HAL, (from the movie "2001.") If nothing else ,it might at least keep students awake through what normally would be just another boring lecture. And the medical students should pay par- ticularly close attention to Mr. Young. AFTER ALL, perhaps it's true that "Father Knows Best." -WILLIAM ALTERMAN A hep Pentagon GROOVY! In helping returning prisoners of war to understand the current jargon of the younger generation, the Pentagon has prepared for them a pamphlet containing a dictionary of teenage slang expressions which the POWs may be unfamiliar with. According to the pamphlet, one's father is the "big daddy." Getting high on drugs or alcohol is being "blasted." Other hit phrases, explains the Pentagon booklet, are "Do you dig?" "Lay it on me, dude," and of course, "right on." Those of us who keep with the latest slang are amused, for much of the jar- gon above has already faded from popu- lar usage. One wonders if the use of these terms reflect a lack of ability on the part of the To The Daily: THE OFF-CAMPUS housing sit- uation in Ann Arbor presents a very real and regrettable problem to students seeking a viable alter- native to dormitory living at the University of Michigan. Not only is rent disproportionately high in this city for the size and quality of apartments which are available, but the large management compan- ies which rent these buildings do their utmost to avoid servicing the maintenance needs and requests of their tenants. This problem, which is at best irritating and frustrating, became glaringly apparent to the residents of our apartment during a recent effort to have a hot water circulat- ing pump installed in our building. Without this pump, residents on the top floors cannot get hot water during periods of high usage; af- ter dinner to wash dishes and at night when taking showers. This piece of equipment is routinely in- cluded in buildings of two stories or more, yet our apartment had none. Calls to our landlord were made on a regular basis begining in De- cember. Each phone call brought assurance that the pump had been ordered and that installation was imminent. Yet the middle of Jan- uary saw no results. We became increasingly irritated over the sit- uation and suspected that we were being given the proverbial "run- around." Phone calls to several local plumbing wholesalers con- firmed our suspicions; the pumps were in stock and readily avail- able. Finally, as a last resort, we called the city building and safety inspector and explained the situa- tion. The city in turn called our landlord. Some 45 minutes after our call to the city, they contacted us. By some strange coincidence it was at this time that we were fin- ally promised a specific time and date that the pump would be in- stalled. After weeks of waiting, we now have hot water all day long. How- ever, we find it difficult to leave unsaid the disgust we have for the way in which management com- panies run their business. Requests for routine maintenance w o r k are answered only with promises. Con- tinued complaints meet with con- descension on the part of the land- lord and a total refusal to accept responsibility for the lack of serv- ice. It's always the fault of some- one else in the office that work orders are "lost" and not filled. To delay maintenance work for a year is to delay it indefinitely for each year new students move into the building and must rediscover old problems. The student has few avenues of recourse. The tenant's union has little power. Withholding rent is not a viable alternative. All one can do is make his fellow tenants aware of the situation through The Daily. And we urge other tenants w ii h similar problems to call the city. UAC supported To The Daily: AS ONE who is familiar w i t h the media, I am well aware of the proverbial clout that the written or spoken word has. For this rea- son, I would like to draw attention to an article in Wednesday's (Jan. 24) edition of The Daily. It was about Mediatrics, the new UAC film group. What bothered me was that the writer did not give a par- ticularly objective view of this new organization. Certainly Mediatrics exists for reasons other than to drive Friends of Newsreel out of business. Indeed, the article cites that as "one of the reasons" Med- iatrics exists. What about the other reasons? Maybe it's a pet peeve of mine, but it often seems that organiza- tions involved with the so-called "Establishment University" are never given quite the respect they deserve. UAC is giving students and faculty a chance toesee good movies at a decent rate without ripping them off. Let's not forget that - and give this new organiza- tion a welcome. -Hilary Kayle WCBN News Personnel Di- rector Jan. 24 Abortion insensitivity? To The Daily: THE INCREDIBLY crass flag- waving and self-congratulatory in- sensitivity that Martin Stern of- fered in "Abortion Reform" (Daily, Jan. 26) has prompted me to reply. Thenclearimplication that ob- jections to abortions are the patri- mony only of those who are guided by a theological-view of life is real- ly too much. Those of us who have honestly faced the dilemma be- tween a woznan's right to control her body and the rights of t h e unborn,, can only marvel at the unbelievable facility with which Mr. Stern can consign the latter to the casualties of the incinerator can or bathe the issue in such antiseptic terms as "after-the-fact birth control". When I finally made a private decision not to support the abor- Get involved-- write your reps! Sen. Philip Hart (Dem), Rm. 253, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515. Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep). Rm. 353 Old Senate Bldg., Cap- itol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515. ,I Inn' r.I.nmjlul ci WPjll enil vntly" W"' I" I " tion reform issue as proposed (be- ing an alien, I couldn't vote) it was not as a co-conspirator in a puta- tive Great Catholic Plot to Enslave Women, but rather as a conscious subscriber to a Western European humanistic tradition that has hith- erto accorded some importance to the value of life, in whatever form. Consequently, I have always es- chewed casulstic interpretations of "just wars", capital punishment, and any other attempt to merely "dismiss" life on some societal, so- cial darwinistic or "revolutionary" proposition. Similarly, it had always appear- ed to me as peculiarly inconsistent to protect society by defending the rights of the unborn, while pro- tecting society by means of capi- tal punishment; rejecting t h e former, we have proceeded to ac- cept the latter. Having de-emotionalized and de- '""" a ". 0 * *" 1 1 " 4 grounds, but I suspect that some of those who eventually decided to oppose it were (and are) heavily dissuaded by such inane back-slap- ping claptrap. -James Maharg Romance Languages Jan. 26 Oops, not running To The Daily: I WOULD like to take this op- portunity to clarify my position in regards to the Human Rights Party primary election. Though my name will appear on the ballot, I am not a candidate. Due to diffi- cult circumstances I was unable to withdraw my name before last Monday's deadline. I encourage people to participate in the primary and to make sure they are registqred to vote. The HRP candidate in the First Ward is VIN ywu dignity of every human life. Be- cause of the recent truce in Viet- nam, many will have a tendency to forget the suffering of those in other parts of the world and, there- by, neglect this necessary affirma- tion of life. The earthquake in Nicaragua last December claimed numerous lives and hundreds of thousands were left homeless. The suffering there is similar to the misery that was caused by our bombs in Viet- nam. It is out duty as human be- ings, just as it was during the war, to try to alleviate the human an- guish that exists. The American Red Cross is send- ing donations to Nicaragua. Mon- ey can be sent to the local R e d Cross chapter (on Packard). In- dicate that it is for the earthquake victims. Perhaps this type of aid is a viable alternative to the decade of i r '