hit £frriyn aiks Eighty-two years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Looking ahead--a stable future for OEO? I 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich. News Phone: 764-0552 FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 1973 In support of renters' rights THE ESTABLISHMENT and enforce- ance of necessary upkeep a ment of effective legislation for the ties, making them liable f protection of tenant's rights is an es- performance. pecially crucial issue in Ann Arbor. The housing shortages near campus HESE MEASURES are allows landlords to charge students ex- aid to Ann Arbor rente horbitant rents that often are accom- ecoulhe an holb panied by poor service. Tenants are often tect their rights. In continuation of this, ti trapped into signing twelve month bills are under constructi, n leases when they only plan to live in Ann billsearegueon Arbor during the school year, and land- to the legislature. The first bill again deals lords often charge unreasonably high deposits. It would require damage deposits which are sometimes not returned. pay their tenants a five per rate on all deposits. It has A public meeting will be held Monday, duced to the state senate f April 16, in the Lawyers Club (law quad) The second bill to be intr to discuss these and any other renters' House would allow renters problems. The hearing will be chaired and to form tenants' unions by State Rep. Perry Bullard and will be pose of bargaining with la open to anyone who wishes to speak. measure would give legal Bullard will discuss collective bargain- these groups. ing and formation of tenants' unions, To gain support for the1 rent control legislation, and the bill re- pieces of legislature and quiring landlords to pay interest on se- more about tenants needs, curity deposits. tive to attend the hearing. This meeting is crucial as far as any Some present local rent nances might be found un future tenants rights legislation being under the present law. But instigated. rent control is passed into 1f Recently a piece of legislation has islation will be protected.1 been enacted called the "Renters Bill of will help this legislation to Rights" which could be the beginning of fairer renting practices in Ann Arbor. AT THE PI)ESENT TIME bi-partisan support am The most significant feature of the legislators for these bills, b bill is that it places the burden of prov- ing damages on the landlord to recover attend the meeting and let damages, rather than requiring the benown. renter to institute court action to recover Members of the investi a justly deserved security deposit. mittees on tenants rights wi The bill allows landlords to assess a and want to find out about security deposit, while placing protecting bor's renters' situation. If n limitations on the practice. it will be logical for them If the bill passes a landlord will not that there are no problems. be able to require more than one and ly, the two new bills wil one-half month's rent for the deposit, chance of passing. and the money will be held in trust for We strongly urge all Ann the tenant. ers to be present in the LaN It also makes the landlord or rental Monday and to participate -onager responsible for the perform- ing. Flmngalittle late E READ WITH some interest Presi- us, he "does not propose tc dent Robben Fleming's statement on lent" despite the dangers the Advocates for Medical Information's villification and abuse." book burning on the Diag Wednesday. How courageous! He tells us he "watched in horror the It was, in fact Fleming relative silence" which he says sur- stood by silently when the rounded the incident. But, he assures ing was announced. The week before the burn T.tff, a firm stand against it. We r stand again on Tuesday, ur News: Penny Blank, Michael Duweck, reconsider. We actually did Eugene Robinson, Judy Ruskin villification and abuse. Editorial Page: Denise Gray, Kathleen It is hard to be impress Ricke moral courage of a man who Arts Page: David Gruber til the act was done to to Photo Technician: Karen Kosmauski against it. ind other du- or their non- certainly an ers, but much done to pro- wo additional for proposal with security landlords to cent interest s been intro- or' discussion. oduced in the to organize for the pur- ndlords. This sanction to two proposed to find out it is impera- control ordi- constitutional if statewide aw, local leg- Your support pass. there is some ong the state ut this sup- unless people t their gripes gating com- ill be present the Ann Ar- o one comes, to conclude Consequent- l have little Arbor rent- w Lounge on in the hear- Editor's Note: This is the last ar- tice in a series of overview articles on the Office of Economic Oppor- tunity. By DAVID YALOWITZ A DECADE of deliberation over the most efficient mechanism for placing money in the pockets of the poor has failed to produce a viable formula for alleviating poverty. The current federal court ruling that bars the executive of- fice from dismantling the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) has added an extra dimension to the complexities surrounding t h e anti-poverty debate. But when the commotion generated from t h e headlines subsides, the conditions afflicting out nation's poor will still remain. The controversy over the use of services as opposed to a direct in- come approach has continued for years at the expense of the under- privileged. It has become increas- ingly evident, however, that a real- istic soluiton to the problems of the poor will not be found at either extreme. A program designed to release people from poverty must contain elements of both approach- es. "You have to have both," as- serts Wilbur Cohen (former Secre- tary of Health, Education, and Wel- fare and currently Dean of t h e School of Education here at the University) adding that "income is not necessarily a substitute for services." It is undeniable that there are in- nate flaws in the concept of pro- viding large scale services to the poor. A review of the list of fail- ures throughout OEO's history will attest to this fact. In providing services we are saying that some- one other than the poor knows what is best for them. The fallacies of such broad assumptions have been shown through some of the failures of the OEO and other government agencies which have found it dif- ficult to adequately fulfill needs of the poor without correctly evaluat- ing their priorities as seen f r o m that level. Bureaucratic inefficiency and cor- ruption together with the clout of special interest groups have com- bined in the past to form a power- ful coalition against the interests of the poor. Underutilization has thus appeared where the need was con- sidered vast. Despite the many criticisms of the OEO, it cannot be disputed that the organization, has its pro- per share of successes, as well as its failures., It helped to expose the true dimensions of poverty. Al- so, it has established new prece- dents for community organization and has given the poor a new sense of self-worth. IT IS INDEED distressing that these very contributions of the "xwar on poverty" have increased the gap between those receiving benefits and those who must pay for them. Urban violence and mounting welfare rolls have created a public backlash against the poor result- ing in pressure on Congress to trim anti-poverty measures. Yet, such existing measures are quite insuf- ficient as they stand. Congress only gives the impression of spending too much, causing the public to believe it is paying too heavily for quick results which never material- ize. President Nixon, as could be ex- pected, has capitalized on these sentiments in his recent federal cutbacks. By enacting revenue sharing, Nixon has placed the bur- den, for continued program deploy- ment on cautious local officials. Compounding local governments' initial reluctance to continue these programs is the uncertainty over the exact amounts of revenue shar- ing funds that they will allocate. The outcries of Mayor R o m a n Gribbs of Detroit and his contem- poraries across the nation are suf- ficient proof that revenue sharing is not expected to be as successful as once believed. Furthermore, questions remain as to whether local governments are capable and competent enough to take over these services. ."Is the OEO doomed? W ednesday's federal c ourtI r ling may serve only to delay its dismantling. . . . It is highly doubtfIu~l that Congress can gather enough support to ap- propriate funds for {}EO." Is the OEO doomed? Wednes- day's federal court ruling m a y serve only to delay its dismantling. The Washington D.C. U.S. District court has held that the President has no power to shut down pro- grams enacted by Congress. For the present, the winding down of federal funding must stop. Nevertheless, funds for OEO will run out at the end of the current fiscal year on June 30. There are no appropriations for OEO in the 1974 budget - a point which Act- ing Director of OEO Howard Phil- lips underscores in predicting the agency's future demise. Further, it is highly doubtful that Congress can gather enough sipport to appropriate funds for OEO. Judging from recent Con- gressional failures to override Pre- sidential veto, such as the bill to aid the handicapped as well as the Rural Sewers Bill, this is a rea- sonable assumption. WITH THE THREAT of cut- backs still looming at the federal level, and the questionable pros- pect of program extension .in the various localities, President Nixon has deftly maneuvered himself and his policies into a seemingly un- assailable position. If his intent is to rid the United States of an over- burdened service bureaucracy by totally eliminating OEO and h e subsidiary Community Action Agencies, his goals remain alarm- ingly within reach. The "New Fed- eralism" may turn out to be a mere euphemism for his proposed hatchet job. Nixon's actions appear unsym- pathetic to those OEO programs which, although unsuccessful by his subjective standards, must be both maintained and improved. Despite restricted resources, health, em- ployment, education, legal, and family planing programs h a v e made important advances. While, in many cases their success can- not be measured in conventional terms, their overall effects m a y begin to stirface in the years to come. If these programs are elim- inated, there will be nothing to ade- quately take their place and to continue the advances that have already begun. Furthermore, pro- gram deployment allows for con- tinued diversity - it breeds exper- imentation in a positive direction. IN SEEKING improvement of economic services, perhaps an ac- ceptable guideline would be to -e- strict services to those which will concentrate on developing abilities to earn fitujre incomes. Also, ser- vices should put major emphasis on the maintenance of the legal rights of the poor as well as pro- viding adequate health care and family planning. Why, some critics ask, should the government continue to give money to the poor at expense of the average taxpayer? Steve Schlesinger, Administrative Assist- ant for the local OEO, in reply, states that "the old saying is that people should pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but nowadays people can't even afford to buy boots." Visions of poverty in the publiz s eye conjures up images of some transitory stage which can be es- caped by a lot of sweat and toil, Americans just don't seem to real- ize that Horatio Alger is dead. There is' a deeper meaning to poverty when all avenues of es- cape are obstructed - when the color of your skin, your educational background or social status deny any attempts to gain some sense of self-sufficiency Poverty expands into a more prevailing and entrap- ping atmosphere of dependency. The OEO, as originally conceiv-, ed, did not wish to continue a mas- sive handout to the poor. Rather, its goal was, and still is, to im- prove the ability of the under- privileged to become self-suffic- ient. Only the government has the resources to back such essential services, and only the government has the responsibility to its people to provide such services. Steve Schlesinger sums up the problem in this way. "Is the coun- try going to be committed to hu- man needs or material needs? "It's a question of one's values, I guess." Dar id Yalowitz is a staff Writer for the Daily. 4 'Y _ _ ,,. ....... . . . .. va: ..t ..v:. fir.' . . OMu4 By The International Center Staff Editor's note: This is sixth in a series of articies on travel abroad written by members of the Interna- tional Center Staff. AN AURA OF intrigue, haunting music and inexplicable violence beckons the adventuresome to the Middle East. This stereotyped im- age still prevails in the Western mind, even though the M i d d l e East possesses a diversity, hospi- tality and history which may sur- pass that of Europe. The Middle East also has some unique advantages. The hugh influx of tourists who've invaded Yugo- slavia and Greece in their ever widening search for warmer and more exotic campsites has yet to hit the Middle East in force. Des- pite cool official relations, Arabic speaking people welcome "Yankee" tourists with a genuine warmth. Syrians, Egyptians and Iraquis may be so friendly that their hos- pitality takes a while to get used to. Some general notes on the touchy subject of Arab-Israeli relations- travelers with U.S. passports and Jewish surnames may not be able to enter Syria, Iraq and perhaps Egypt but will be welcome in Le- banon and probably Jordan. VISIT ARAB countries first, then go to Israel, either by flying to Cyprus or Istanbul then to Tel Aviv or by crossing the Allenby Bridge. If you do travel to Israel first, ask officials not to stamp the I ~'||g'p"' lent guide to Mideast travel Israeli visa in your passport. Re- quest a loose paper with the vi.a on it instead. This method helms ensure subsequent entry to Arab countries. Women traveling in the Middle' East may have to be a bit cau- tious and extra sensitive to culturil cues. American women have an especially had reputation for pro- miscuity. If you choose to dress by casual campus standards (b i- less, cut-off levis, short skirts), be aware that you may be inhibiting cross-cultural communication and inviting hassles. Be sensitive to the political sit- uation in the Middle East. Listen to everyone and argue heatedly with no one. Taking pictures near anything military can be danger- ois. Avoid shots of bridges, bord- ers and policemen. EGYPT The least expensive country in this area, as well as the-most pop- ulous and the poorest, Egypt has a lot to offer the student traveler -the Pyramids, Sphinx, the Valley of Tombs and extensive museums. In the summer Cairo is hot and dusty. Try a trip to Alexandria, the elegant Mediterranean resort where Caesar used to hang o it. Here, amidst the cool water and hot sand, you can stay in beautiful hotels which used to be palaces. Egypt's night life includes gamb- ling casinos, night clubs and belly dancing in huge tents. The Am-r- ican University in Cairo is a great place to meet fellow students. Tra- vel, hotels and restaurants a e cheap. Second class air conditioned is probably the best deal by rail. If you go third class you may oe up all night with the onickens and goats, but you could meet s o m e friendly Egyptians from the poorer classes. ISRAEL Contrast strikes the "'aveler to Israel, a modern state with an an- cient religious heritage. The di - ferences between Tel Aviv and Old Jerusalem, the modern port of Fi- lat and the parched Negev a n d concrete and green grasz enclave, with supermarkets in the desert are heightened by the image of tank convoys destroyrng the seren- ity of the Sea of Galilee. It's possible to take bus tours to some territories occupied by Israel in 1967 - the West Bank (Bethle- hem) or the Syrian Golan Heights - but the Gaza Strip is still off limits to the public. While gener- ally more expensive than the rest of the Middle East, transport is reasonable. You can buy a two week ticket on Egged Bus Lines for about ten dollars and travel just about anywhere. IRAN' Land of the Persian Empire, Iran has a strong sense of its history and is again growing in power. The mosques and rose gardens of Isfahan, the ruins of Persepolis and the resorts os the Caspian Sea are some things not to miss. Tehran is a fairly expensive city, hut modern and exciting.,Take ad- vantage of the cheap, efficient pub- lic transport system - it's air- conditioned. If you like caviar, in- dulge yourself in Iran. It's supposed to be the best in the world. LEBANON The most Western and cosmo- politan country of the Arab Middle East, Lebanon governs peoples of diverse religious and political ideol- ogies in a delicate parliamentary republic. The active cafe life is an obvious remnant of the Frenwh influence. In the summer Beirut's Baalbeck temple presents live per- formancbs between its towering columns. From December to April, you can take a twenty minute drive from Beirut, on the Mediterran- ean beaches, to ski in the moun- tains. While Beirut is fairly expen- sive, YMCA rooms and some fa- cilities at the American University are available for two dollars a night. Service cars from Beirut to Damascus cost about two dollars, to Amman about four, TURKEY Istanbul bustles with so many levels of activity that you suspect it could remain largely mysterious after years of acquaintance. A contrast between poverty and im- mense wealth in a rich historical context marks this capital. Try living outside in a camp- ground and commuting in on a "dolnus," a type of taxi-bus. The covered bazaar is becoming a bit "touristy", but it's still possible to get beautiful custom-tailored suede at some of the cheapest pric- es in the world. Istanbul's night life catees to a variety of travel- ers from the "Hilton men" to bare- foot hitchers on the way to Nepal. Letters to The Daily should be mailed to the Editorial Di- rector or delivered to Mary Rafferty in the Student Pub- lications business office in the Michigan Daily building. Letters should be typed, double-spaced and normally should not exceed 250 words. The Editorial Direc- tors reserve the right to edit all letters submitted. D remain si- of "personal himself who book burn- ting we took epeated that ging AMI to d take some ed with the awaited un- ake a stand 4- -"4------°-r-- - '4- -t rv a >t,, -y ti .-.-'.. 'of . A look at city employment practices: Women at work By LINDA ROSENTHAL ENTERING THAT bastion of democracy, Ann Arbor's very own City Hall, I heard a whistle. Was this the place to study sexual discrimination? A good question, but only one of a myriad. Sexual discrimination is not just rhetoric that politicians employ to win elections. No, it's more than that - much more because unfortunately, it is a reality. The city has 191 women on its payroll of around 1500. Of these women employees, 63 per cent were listed in the "clerical" area. Additionally, 31 per cent were listed in. the "technical" area, with 3.4 per cent in super- visory positions and 2.6 per cent performing in an administrative capacity. Comforting is it not? All these women employed in such an "enlightened" city such as Ann Arbor; a city that approved the resolution regarding the Affirmative Ac- tion Program clear back in Sept. 29, 1969. This is a program "to recruit and upgrade black employees" by having "an active con- tinuous search" . . . in all parts of the State." WHAT ABOUT women? Discrimination be- cause of sex has already been given lip-serv- ice recognition. What is the city doing to rectify such a gross inequity? People working in personnel seem agreed that Ann Arbor is a "unique town." Over and over again they would mention that this in a lle-a town 'where there are lots of Equal Opportunity Employers but "are kept by law from saying we are actively seek- ing women." "A little while ago," Garrett said, "we did a little survey of how women felt towards employment." The returns were interesting: All the women were aware of chances for advancement but saw not particular advant- age in applying. "They were happy in their clerical positions," opined Garrett. RESPONDING to what the city is doing to improve the situation Garrett replied, "We are embarking on an educational program to acquaint women with opportunities. The problem is there is no money for training-- we are asking for it next year." The money would come from city taxes. The future outlook approximates bleakness. An influx of women into the so-called elite positions is not likely. Garrett speculates that women feel it is expedient to apply for tradi- tionally female jobs. An interesting development is that men are now applying for those traditional female jobs. It is in the area of clerical work that the highest turnover occurs. The average turn- over rate (4 per cent) is small compared to most cities and private industry. The small turnover infers difficulty for women trying to break into the more "execu-, tive-type" positions. If there is no opening and new nositions ano nt hein-- ceated. what ment head. Enthusiastic about the situation, she finds "no real discrimination." She says Harris began pushing for the creation of pro- fessional part-time positions for men and women. Mack admits, "Today we are not completely successful in getting women into power," but she attributes this to the fact that most executive positions are preferably full time jobs, and women in Ann Arbor usually seek part-time employment. Mack also finds there is a problem in distribution of jobs due to basic human na- ture. She says by nature most city-employed of women in higher positions. Later an order from the mayor and Council went out to the personnel director to recruit women for these better jobs. "This was successful to a de- gree." Departments now have career ladders for every job. For example, there are 60 classifications for those on clerical staff. "Anyone can rise." Confirming what Grarret said about -men applying for female positions, she adds that much publicity was given to the Human Rights Ordinance about no sexual discrim- ination. This encourages men who, for ex- job, it's hard comparing, but most male counterparts make twice as much." SALLY PATTEN is unusual - not just be- cause she is a woman or because she works for the city. She is unusual because she is e m p 1 o y e d as a draftsperson. When her husband was admitted to the u n i - versity, she needed a job. She said, "A police friend recommended I take a look at City Hall. He said it was a good place for women --g-ood pay." This was in the summer of 1970 "when no one was hiring; not because I was a woman - it was just a bad time." She called on a Monday when the jobs w ere posted and a drafting position was available. Being qualified for the job she was hired without difficulty and receives equal pay for the work she is doing. There aren't many Sally Pattens around. IMAJOR -HOWARD ZECK is in charge of the police patrol division. Currently, there are five voen in his division. "The only time a woman receives special consideration is when two big burly 6"4" males are engaged in a fight and someone has to stop them." The only problem with the women is outfitting them, for he says it's hard get- ting uniforms that small. Also, "one needs a little different hat because of the differ- ence in heads and styles of hair. Now the women are wearing skirts but possibly the unin'(Willm mOnMn -tlnr ,,ill rt-onmmnd frnmit- to ride with us." She hastened to add those were only a few. She also said there were two women in the detective bureau and she knows of no problems confronting them due to their sex. UPION FIRST MEETING, Anita Busbee, asst. city personnel director, was eager to talk of sexual discrimination. It is her opinion that "there is traditional discrimina- tion and problems still exist." "The attitudes of people towards hiring women is changing - especially those in a position to do something about it, but im- plementation is slow." She was glad to add, "The situation is changing - there is an awareness of a need to change and that is a start." Bemoaning the situation, she cited three main problems: -traditions still exist; they have not been eradicated -women are not aware o fthe new op- portunities -women have to branch out into different areas such as civil engineering. SIMPLISTIC AS it may sound, qualified women are going to have to deluge the city if they want to improve their lot as far as employment is concerned. Early this year, the city advertised throughout the state for an assistant attorney. Of the replies, not one was a woman. ........... - I