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Eighty-two years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan

SGC seat filled:

Unfair discrimination?

420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.

News Phone: 764-0552


THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 1973

Indians Seeking change

IT IS UNFORTUNATE when any group
is driven to massive civil disobedi-
ence, as is the case with the seizure of
Wounded Knee, South Dakota by a group
of several hundred Indians. As with the
takeover of Alcatraz Island a while back
and the trashing of the Bureau of In-
dian Affairs office in Washington last
year, the Indians are again attempting
to bring the problem of their race into
the pudic eye, where it has been ignored
for so long.
At press time, about 400 Indians still
retained possession of Wounded Knee,
along with 10 hostages. The Indians
were armed, and willing to fight to the
death if necessary, showing how sin-
cere their efforts are.
According to a group spokesperson, the
Indians have used this action as a means
of getting across several demands. These
include a thorough investigation of the
dealings of the Department of the Inter-
ior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
which the Indians feel have not treated
them fairly, a point which they are per-
haps well documented on.
The Indians also requested to have
Senators Edward Kennedy and John Ful-
'oday's staff:
News: Debbie Allen, Laura Berman, Mike
Duweck, Debbie Good, Charles Herring-
ton, Cindy Hill, Debbie Pastoria, Mar-
ilyn Riley
Editorial Page: Martin Stern
Arts Page: Diane Levick
Photo Technician: John Upton

bright meet with them at the site of the
Oglala Sioux to discuss the Indian prob-
lem. There are over 11,000 Indians living
in the Oglala reservation, which is most-
ly barren prairie land, and nearly half
of the work force is unemployed.
The Indian demands seem justified,
and while it is indeed disturbing that
they have chosen violence as a means of
being heard, one wonders what other
means, if any, have been available to
them.
The takeover of Wounded Knee has its
irony, for it is where Federal troops mur-
dered over two hundred Indians 83 years
ago. Hopefully, no similar massacre will
occur this time around-on either side.
An assault is needed, not physical, but
a mental assault on the sensibilities of
the government and Indian officials.
THE INDIAN has become the "forgotten
American." Murdered and relocated
by Americans during the great "Mani-
fest Destiny" expansion days of the 19th
century, the Indians who remain in this
country are only a sad remnant of the
proud race which once ruled this land.
Currently concentrated in reservations
and faced with attempts to strip them.
of racial pride, Indians currently have
one of the, lowest standards of living for
any group in this country, with an aver-
age suicide rate three or more times the
national average.
It is hoped that the Indian takeover
in South Dakota will end peacefully, and
that perhaps some of the Indians prob-
lem's will be resolved. For the Indians are
a race which has suffered too long.

By DAVID FAYE
THE METHOD by which t h e
SGC chose to fill a vacancy
was unfair and deplorable. I'd like
to express my disagreement with
the letter that Council member
Margaret Miller submitted to The
Daily (Feb. 7) in which she ex-
plained and defended the intent
of interviewing board of which
she was a member.
The board felt that the qualifica-
tions for the position included race
and sex. (Unfortunately, Lee Gill,
another member of the board and
SGC Vice President for Minority
Affairs, felt the same way as
Miller. This is nothing short of a
sheer racist and sexist viewpoint.
The seat went to a black female,
Elaine Leaphart. She was only one
of two black females to apply for
the seat, and, in reality, one of
only two people to be considered.
So little importance was out on
those whites and males who ap-
plied that Miller didn't even know
that she interviewed 14 applicants
for the opening, not 16 as she wrote
in her letter and not about 20
as she previously told me. As one
of the applicants for the SGC seat
who had the misfortune of being
both white and mate, I certainly
feel that I have been discriminated
against.
Miller's letter was in reso inse
to an earlier letter written by
Laurie Artz, SGC Vice President
for Council Services, who was up-
set that she had been informed be-
fore her interview that she was
another applicant who could not
be chosen for the open seat due
to her color. Miller described Laur-
ie's charges of racism and sexism
as a "conservative viewpoint."
This is a very misleading state-
ment. It is very surprising t h a t
Miller would say this about a per-
son she knows and works w!th.
Most people, including Laurie her-
self, consider her to be. very lib-
eral. Laurie has been on the Ann
Arbor Committee for Freeing Poli-
tical Prisoners, has worked on the
Mark Green case, has been a mem-
ber of the Counter-Inaugural Steer-
ing Committee, and was a Mc-
Govern worker.
It would be almost as impossible
to write off this article as just
another conservative viewpoint.
This is because I am President
of the Coalition of Liberals a n d
Moderates Party (CLAMP), have
worked on the campaigns of many
liberals, led a successful petition
drive to name a school for slain
Philadelphia rights leader Samson
Freedman, have belonged to many
progressive organizations, and have
been a volunteer for a political re-
form group called Common Cause.
I BELIEVE that most blacks
and most women have only been in-
terested in equal rights, including
equal chances with whites and
males for positions. I believe that
most blacks and most women
would - or at least should - be
insulted to receive jobs solely on
the basis of their race and sex

without any consideration of their
qualifications. The same is hope-
fully true for those whites and
males who are unfairly favored by
bigoted institutions and businesses.
This same logic should apply to an
opening of SGC.
Miller even stated that "to ideal-
ly represent student body," five
of the twelve SGC members-at-
large should be women and o n e
should be black because the stu-
dent population here is 39.9 per
cent women and 8 per cent black.
She claims she's "enlightened'; I
claim she's regressive. If this type
of thinking aplies to blacks and
women for the open SGC seat, why
wasn't the search extended to in-
clude other minority groups who
are totally unrepresented on SGC?
How about foreign students? Or
how about Chicanos? What about
Italians? Or Communists? Or
homosexuals? Or even members
of CLAMP and other parties whose
supporters have no reoresentation
on the current council? In ft-c,
this regressive idea can be ex-
panded to include countless minori-
ties with their own interests.
Obviously, this type of repre-
sentation for the current 19-member
SGC (of which 6 are non-voting
members) is mathematically im-
possible; it would have to become
an extremely larger body. It
should be just as obvious that just
because a person is a member of
a certain group, it does not mean
that he or she will be an advocate
of that group's interests, and just
because a person is not a mem-
ber of a certain group, it does not
mean that he or she can't repre-
sent them. For example, there are
many whites who have supported
the civil rights movement and
many males for women's rights.
Think of any person in Congress
and you will realize that he or she
has definitely supported and help-
ed many groups that he or she
does not belong to.
If this were not true, then our
entire representative system would
be worthless. This country h a s
strived so long and so hard to meet
its original idealistic belief that
all men are created equal, be-
cause quota systems discriminate
against most people (including,
in fact, most minorities), t h e y
serve as a serious roadblock to
this goal. This country in general
and this university in specific
should begin CLAMPing down on
quotas wherever they may appear
or be suggested. Of course, t h i s
doesn't mean that minority mem-
bers shouldn't be enthusiastically en-
couraged to run for SGC or other
governments. Part of the problem
in the last Student Government
election was that only S of the 20
people on the ballot for SGC were
women and only 2 were black, and
other minorities had less or no
candidates. This is a shame in it-
self.
IN THE MEANTIME, the pat-
thetic way in which a person was
chosen for the SGC opening should

have been completely done over.
First, this is because of *he way
the interviews were handled. My
interview lasted only about ten
minutes, during which I was asKed
about four questions. Some of the
interviewers just held private con-
versations among themselves with-
out even listening to my answers.
They knew I was a white male,
and that's all that mattered. In
fact, none of the interviewers even
bothered to ask what qualifications
I had for the position. I was told
as I left that I should not be upset
if I was not selected because they
were looking for a black or a
woman, and preferably a black
woman.
Secondly, before many interviews

even took place, SGC President
Bill Jacobs held a meeting wit:
about eight or nine peopu, includ-
ing members of his GR1OUPIJN-
TEGRITY Party, Lee Gill, and
Margaret Miller. They pre-picked
Betty Martin, one of the two black
female applicants for the seat who
also happened to have oeen defeat-
ed in the INTEGRITY Party slate
for SGC in the last election. Five
SGC members later walked ou- at
the next SGC meeting ii protese,
while Lee Gill incredibly calledr
them "racist." The followng week,
Elaine Leaphart, the other black
female applicant, defeated Betty
Martin 7-2 for the seat.
Thirdly, the Compiled Code that
SGC follows specifically states that

"the nominating board shall be
composed of five Council members
appointed by Council. ' Yet, there
were only four interviewers. This
is a clear violation of the rules.
FINALLY, Thomas Bentley,
SGC's Legal Advocate, has called
the Board's actions positive dis-
crimination. I must not end this
comment, however, without stating
that it is not meant to be a per-
sonal attack on Miller at all, but
instead a condemnation of her
opinion on a controversial issue on
which we have a clear and honest
disagreement and on whizn we are
worlds apart.
David Faye is the president of
CLAMP.

SGC's discrimination defended

J

Editor's Note: The following is an
explanation of the other side of the
SGC controversy.
By MARGARET MILLER
BACK OFF, you allegedly op-
nressed white University of
Michigan males! Your mere pre-
sence at Midwest, U. makes y o u
elite.
The structure of government
and industry enhances your power
and has given you money, posi-
tion, education and ultimately wo-
men - control over half your own
race and all other races.
White males, you built this coun-
try to suit your own needs, to
protect your own interests. ft was
constructed with the blood and
sweat of blacks, women and emi-
grants who toiled in hopes of gain-
ing your favor - and who even
today get nothing but your dis-
dain.
Your constitution states that "All
men are created equal" and means
just that. Equality is extended to
men - white men - in this so-
ciety, but what of the rest of is?
Our equality is founded in only
those things, positions and dollars
you are willing to give, up with
your own hands. God help us if ie
try to take a part of the pie with-
out your explicit permission or
blessing! Or without your first
having a taste of it to be sure you
don't want it yourself.
SUCH IS the case with the ap-
pointment of Elaine Leaphart to an
opening on SGC. A white male,
David Faye, and Laurie Artz, (a
white female, I am alarmed to re-
port) wanted the seat for himself
(and herself) and felt he (and she)
had more of a right to that seat
than Elaine, a black female fully
qualified to hold the position and
representative of a large group of
students on this campus wha until
now have had no representatio:i on
SGC.
When informed that he was not
going to get this political plum
because the seat was being re-
served for a more representative
person, this white male was shock-

ed and irate and demanded that he
,was qualified for the position and
therefore, should get it.
This reaction is not unzommon
among white males confronted with
the fact that in 1973 the tables just
may be turning. I have heard
many forlorn young men complain-
ing that they could not get a job
because they were not black, fe-
male, or a member of another
minority group.
They seem to forget that for
centuries (literally centuries) be-
fore 1973 minorities have been de-
nied an equal place in this society
because they were not white and
male.
If our society was perfectly
structured and equal along racial
and sexual lines, then we would
hear no complaints by white males
that they have been "discrimninat-
ed" against, and we. could judge
each person or apolicart strictly
on that person's " iualifications'.
I'm not certain such a judgment
would be desirable, but it could
be done 'with objective computers
and the like.
But at present we don't live in
such a perfect society. We must
try to equalize the situation as ex-
pediently as poss*ble. Granted, we
could do this slowiy by taking each
new opening and judging men, wo-
men, black and white all on equal
criteria.
BUT TO DO that would mean,
for example, in order to get a
reasonable (let alone equal) num-
ber of women on the faculty at the
U-M, we would have to wait for
all the faculty currently employed
to give up their tenure. Then each
position in turn would look for
applicants and choose either a man
or a woman. If half these posi-
tions were filled by men and half
by women it is easy to see that
even after half the faculty has re-
tired, died, or quit there would be
only 25 per cent women on the
faculty.
Giving women and minorities
preference for the interim speeds
this process. And I see no reason
why, in our mobile and frantic
society the process should not be
speeded.
Certainly there is enough of the
pie to go around! Previous so-
cieties were not advanced enough
to allow the luxury of equality and
affluence for all. Now we can af-
ford it and it is only the blockades
put up by white males and like-
minded members of the status quo
who keep us all from having every-
thing.
We must definitely reorganize
our criteria for distributing money
and power and position. I don't

feel the spirit of "competing" for
these based only on "qualifica-
tions" is appropriate. Again, every-
one should be able to have and do
whatever he or she wants.
* * *
BUT BACK to the specific case
at hand for which I have been so
widely reprimanded.
Elaine Leaphart, to dispel any rf
David Faye's fears, is highly qual-
ified for the position she was given
-probably more qualified than
Faye because he had earlier been
rejected along with his entire
CLAMP slate by the voters in te
last SGC election.
She represents the black students
on this campus who have lacked
representation until now. A Febru-
ary 8 letter claimed she did not
represent black students, hut that
letter was written by a white male
student and how the hell would he
know? Even if Elaine doesn't re-
present all the black students, at
least she represents some n o w
where none had been earlier this
semester.
Second, I was attacked by Laurie
'Artz for telling her on the phone
that she needn't come to apply for
the seat because she wasn't black
- but the important part of the
story was left out. The true reason
I even spoke to her on the phone
was to make arrangements for
soecial inerview because Artz had
the London flu.
Faye also disclaimed Artz' con-
servatism by citing several radical
organizations she belongs to. I
congratulate her on her progres-
sive general politics, but her sex-
ual politics leave more than n lit-
tle to be desired. If she sees the
necessity of radical change in oth-
er areas, why doesn't sne realize
the need for radical solutions to
racial and sexual discrimination?
As for the claim that appointees
should be insulted for having been
chosen on racial and sexual
grounds, I would say that they
should be insulted by Faye's claim
they are unqualified and he is qual-
ified.
IN THE FUTURE I hope this
type of grievance will not be ne-
cesary as groups on campus who
could wield power organize to as-
sert power (and I don't mean you,
Status Quo). When other groups
are as powerful as white males and
the society does not fall apart in
the hands. of those of us who white
males would choose to call incoin-
petent perhaps these petty atten-
tions to race and sex will not be
paid.
Margaret Miller is a SGC mem-
ber at large.

4

F I
V

4~

}

letter from the editor
On suing the University

By CHRISTOPHER PARKS
Co-Editor
IT SEEMS almost everybody's
suing the University for some-
thing, these days. The Indians
have done it a couple of times, out
of state students are doing it, and
Mark Green may well do it. It is
even rumored that more suits than
we are now aware of may be in
the works.
Yesterday, Gene Robinson and
myself went to court to sue the
University on behalf of The Daily,
We are suing, along with SGC,
Herself magazine and others, to
force disclosure of the faculty lists.

The reason for the suit is simple:
There is no way The Daily can
monitor the University's progress
in ending race and sex discrimina-
tion if lists of individual faculty sal-
aries are not at our disposal.
Without these figures available
for our own independent perusal
and analysis we cannot honestly in-
form the University community on
this vital issue.
THE DEEPER question, how-
ever, is why The Daily-or any
other campus institution-has to
take the drastic (and expensive)
step of taking the University to

'Now some big city newspapers will try to blow
this up all out of proportion.'


Letters:
To The Daily:
RECENT OCCURRENCES have oblig-
ed the civilized world to witness once
again the revolting spectacle of Israeli
ruthlessness toward its Arab neigh-
bors. Within a single twenty-four hour
period, on the 21st day of February, var-
ious units of the Israeli armed forces
participated in the commission of two
heinous acts: the first directed against
the sovereign territory of another state,
the second against a foreign passenger
aircraft, and both -- ultimately -
against human beings. Different events,
yet similar in that they underscore,
tragically, Israeli's utter disregard for
human lives that do not happen to
be Israeli.
And yet we hear Golda Meir calling for
"peace and neighborliness" from the
Arab countries. But it should not be for-.
gotten, in retrospect, that it was Israel
that rejected Jarring's peace initiatives
in implementation of Security Council
2?ntleinn '))o1h i m aa ini -i ac

Israeli's revolting spectacle

of the Libyan airliner, but neither act letter to express my appall and dis-
has a plausible justification. gust with the blatant sexism present in
Daily reporting. On two past occasions
NOR SHOULD the "courage" of the The Daily has been in contact with our
two "heroic" Israeli airmen, who shot organization and has both times display-
down the passenger airplane with more ed extreme and insulting discrimination
than 100 persons aboard, go unnoticed! directed against women.
It is this same "courage" and "heroism" The first occasion was in an article on
that helped to make Israel what it is the Bach Mai Hospital Fund Drive
today. The incontrovertible facts remain (Daily, Feb. 4). In preparation for that
that the pilot of the Libyan airliner was article both Terry Winter and I, two
not aware that he was over Arab ter- spokespersons of the organization, were
ritory occupied by Israel, and that no interviewed. We both contributed equally
communication between the Libyan air- to the information conveyed in the in-
liner and the Israelis had taken place, terview for the article. When the article
thus disproving the contradictory fabri- appeared the next day, there was abso-
cations initally put forward by Israeli lutely no mention of my presence at the
authorities, interview what-so-ever, while Terry Win-
No one wishes to see continued in- ter was quoted several times and was
justice and loss of life in the Middle titled co-ordinator. In this organization
East, or anywhere else, but no change Terry Winter and I are both co-organiz-
can come about while Israel is allowed to ers. This was made clear to the report-
do as she pleases, ignoring international er but was neglected in the article.
codes. of decency, nor while the Amer- Then at the SGC meeting on Feb. 8, I
, nr~~a anarlt-l nrnn a hi-hfrlr-

gave and explained to The Daily that I
had presented the proposal at the meet-
ing and was therefore mnore responsible
for it's outcome. He also explained
that we are both spokespersons for the
organization and are working jointly, and
cautioned The Daily against the misre-
presentation present in the first article.
In the article "SGC helps local Viet aid
group (Daily, Feb. 9)" The Daily has re-
peated it's performance. Terry Winter
is quoted four times, while my partici-
pation at the SGC meeting is entirely ne-
glected, my name not even being men-
tioned.
IN BOTH these articles The Daily has
not only grossly misrepresented the ac-
tual event, but has succeeded in making
the participation of a woman virtually
invisible. I am personally insulted by
The Daily's neglect of my ;nvo'vement,
but more importantly am disgusted by
The Daily's inability to accept and ac-
curately report the equal participation
of man a nd %xnmrn i n .n flfni

court to accomplish its ends.
The answer, simply put, is that
the University is among the most
arrogant, and secretive institutions
ever to flourish in an allegedly de-
mocratic society.
Not a single member of this com-
munity of roughly 40,000 sits on its
governing body-the Regents.
The Regents-none of whom live
here-come to town once a month
and make vital decisions behind
closed doors. Often the only infor-
mation available to them is that
which comes from the executive of-
ficers whom they've hired.
They do hold so-called "public
comment" sessions, but like the
women in My Fair Lady, "they lis-
ten very nicely and go out and do
precisely what they want," if they
haven't already done it.
WHEN IT COMES to decisions,
the Regents make all the big ones
but a lot of the little ones are cov-
ered with the same veil of silence.
Most pernicious of all is the pro-
cess for hiring and firing, or, as
we say in the polite language of
academia, "tenure."
Tenure decisions are made by a
faculty committee. The member-
ship of the committee is secret,
their meetings are secret, the in-
formation on which they base their
decisions is secret and their report
is secret.
Almost everything of significance
which the University does is secret
until it becomes a fait accompli.
Except for a few token represen-
tatives in "advisory" positions,
students who comprise the bulk of
the University community and are
raison d'etre, are completely shut
out.
Students have no power, little in-
fluence and in many cases not even
the "right to know."
SO WE TAKE the University to
court, and no carping about loyalty

Sylvia's Si gns
THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 1973
Pisces should exercise temper control.
Pisces. (Feb. 19 - March 20) Don't read
too much into intentions of a lover, you'll
only upset yourself over nothing. Avoid over
sensitivity. Turn to the subconscious. A
good day to leave A2.
Aries. (March 21 - April 19) Opportunity
flourishes today, especially where finance
concerned. Confine actions within own
neighborhood. Danger looks with great dis-
tances. You may be followed.
Taurus. (April 20 - May 20) Honor is the keyword of the day.
Your actions are finally rewarded. Positions open to you. Lover
or partner extremely sensitive, watch for small signs. Give token
of affection.
Gemini. (May 21 - June 20) Don't argue with professors. Today
they tend to be more knowledgeable. A good day for flirtations.
Others are quite responsive to you.
Cancer. (June 21 - July 22) A lender or borrower you may be
but do it discreetly, losses may be heavy if you gamble wrong.
Love seems to have been eliminated from your life today. Try
meditation.
Leo. (July 23 - Aug. 22) Partnerships may be prosperous so join
hands together. Arbitrate where oppositions occur. Egotistical,
you can certainly influence others in your favor.
Virgo. (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22) Date may stand you up. Don't judge
too soon. Wait for explanations. Pressures high. A new friendship
in the offing. Be a do gooder.
Libra. (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22) Poor love life today could result
in depression. Turn to physical activity for release. Place your
interests in friends you regard as faithful. Rewards will come
later from one you trust.
Scorpio. (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21) Day starts well, but think before
you speak as it progresses. You may offend someone close to
you. You find supnort for your suggestions but dark shadows

r'