iIv mir4igan Bait Eighty-two years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich. News Phone: 764-0552 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1972 Nixon's irrational triekery PRESIDENT NIXON has blatantly cut an authorized allotment of federal aid to states for the financing of waste treatment plants. Yesterday, he ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to allot only $2 billion of the $5 billion au- thorized by Congress for the present fis- cal year, and only $3 billion of the $6 billion for fiscal 1974. In doing so, Nixon violates the re- quirements of the new federal Water Pol- lution Control Act, passed by the Senate and House on Oct. 8 over a presidential veto. At a recent news conference, William Ruckelshaus, administrator of the EPA, released a letter to himself from the President, dated Nov. 22. In part, Nixon's letter said: STATED IN THE veto message that even if the Congress were to default its obligation to the taxpayers, to hold ~1m ...elngza D&dg Editorial Staff ( SARA FITZGERALD Editor PAT BAUER............ Associate Managing Editor LINDSAY CHA2NEY ............... Editorial Director MARK. DILLEN .................... Magazine Editor LINDA DREEBEN ........ Associate Managing Editor T AMY JACOBS ............... Managing Editor ARTHUR LERNER ............... Editorial Director ROBERT SCHREINER ........... Editorial Director GLORIA JANE SMITH .................. Arts Editor ED SUROVELL ................Books Editor PAUL TRAVIS .....Associate Managing Editor NIGHT EDITORS: Robert Barkin, Jan Benedetti, Di- ans Levick, Jim O'Brien, Chris Parks, Charles Stein, Ted Stein. COPY EDITORS: Meryl Gordon, Debra Tha. EDITORIAL NIGHT EDITORS: Fred Shell Martin Stern. DAY EDITORS: Dave Burhenn, Jim Kentch, Marilyn Riley, Judy Ruskin, Eric Schoch, Sue Stephen- lon, 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, David Stoll, Terri Terrel. STAFF WRITERS: Howard Brick Lorin Labardee, Ka- thy Ricke, Eugene Robinson, Linda Rosenthal, Zachary Schiler, Marcia Zoslaw. ARTS STAFF: Herb Bowie, Rich Glatzer, Donald Sports Staff JOHN PAPANEK Sports Editor ELLIOT LEGOW Executive Sports Editor BELL ALTERMAN ............ Associate Sports Editor 808 ANDREWS ...........Assistant Sports Editor SANDI S MS .............. Assistant Sports Editor RANDY PHILLIPS ........ Contributing Sports Editor MICHAEL OLIN .......... Contributing Sports Editor CHUCK DRUKIS ........ Contributing Sports Editor JOEL GREER ...........Contributing Sports Editor SPORTS NIGHT EDITORS: Chuck Bloom, Dan Borus, Maro Feldman, George Hastings, Bob Heuer, Frank Longo, Bob McGinn, Roger Rosster, Rich Stuck ASSSTANT NIGHT EDITORS: Brian Deming, Jim Ecker, Mike Lash, Mark Ronan, Bob Simon, Theresa Swedo, Robin' Wagner. STAFF: Jeff Chown, Richard Flaherty, Fred Lucas, Janet McIntosh, Marcia Merker, Mike Pritula, Today's staff: News: Tod Evanoff, Tammy Jacobs, Deb- bie Pastoria, Eric Schoch, Charles Stein, David Stoll, Ter Terrell Editorial Page: Bill Heenan, Robert Schreiner, John Shields Arts Page: Tom Field, Gloria Jane Smith Photo technician: Denny Gainer the line against inflation, through enact- ment of this legislation, I would not de- fault mine." The President's concern for holding the budget is admirable, but once again he displays remarkable short-sightedness regarding priorities. Rather than add to the forces of life, Nixon uses his power to promote death. Compared to the massive defense bud- get, even the authorized $5 billion is a less than negligible quantity. By continu- ing to supply the South Vietnamese Army with U. S. armaments, while restricting spending on pollution controls, the Pres- identpersists in following his irrational path of construction through destruc- tion. Moreover, Mr. Nixon now openly disre- gards a federal law. His actions, there- fore, contradict his alleged role as the representative of the people. -JOHN SHIELDS Merry Xmas? REPORTS ARE OUT that the Detroit Lions will consider playing their Na- tional Football League play-off game in Michigan Stadium, should they first de- cide to win their divisional title. But besides avoiding the clutches of opposing linemen, the Lions would also have to escape the bonds of their con- tract with Tiger Stadium. Should the plan go through, however, the game would be quite a Christmas present for the University's athletic department. And perhaps Athletic Director Don Can- ham will consider playing Santa Claus to the impoverished intramural depart- ment. The profits from such a game, esti- mated by Canham at around $80,000, could well revive the spirit and health of the ailing intramural facilities. -S.F. A free hand ?RESIDENT NIXON announced Tues- day that he was moving Elliot Rich- ardson from the chief spot in the Depart- ment of Health Education and Welfare to the Department of Defense. We who have watched Richardson deal with the Uni- versity's affirmative action programs for equal employment in hiring, have seen him respond to his constituents with a forthrightness sadly typical of other Nix- on administration officials. Before he leaves, however, we'd like him to take a minute and answer - either for the press or the University - a question that has sat on his desk since December, 1970. "Doe HEW have jurisdiction over gradu- ate admissions when the graduate stu- dents are employed as teaching fellows?" If your jurisdiction was limited at HEW, don't worry, Elliot. It certainly won't be where you're headed. -S.F. HRP: S, By SUSAN NEWELL and JERRY De GRIECK, DEMOCRATIC CITY Councilman Robert Faber, recently accused the H u m a n Rights Party of "half-truths and c h e a p trickery," (Daily, Nov. 14) on City Council. We had hoped that after a long and stren- uous campaign, everyone might take a short rest from name-calling. Unfortunate- ly, Faber cannot resist taking potshots at HRP and making false charges which de- mand an answer. First, Faber attacks HRP's anti-war legis- lation on the grounds that its sole purpose was to make the Democrats look bad and that it duplicated already existing d r a f t counseling services. It is curious that Fab- er did not raise these objections during the public hearing at which local anti-war groups and many people from the University and community offered suggestions concern- ing what the city might do to resist the war both in symbolic and concrete ways. When HRP drafted into ordinance and re- solution form all of the ideas brought up at that public hearing and presented these and some of our own proposals to the Council, Democrats joined with Republicans to defeat all the proposals. In fact, he and the other Democrats on Council refused even to discuss most of the resolutions be- fore voting them down. SECOND, FABER accuses HRP of ex- ploiting the lettuce boycott issue for its own political gain. We had hoped that the incidents surrounding the lettuce boycott resolution had been sufficiently explained, but Faber obviously felt it necesary to give this dead-horse issue another flogging. So let's run through the facts one last time for him. HRP did not present the resolution in support of the lettuce boycott "premature- ly without permission of the United Farm Workers." We had discussed such a re clu- tion with the UFW for some time, and gave them notice a week in advance that we were introducing the resolution. All the information that was used to draft the re- solution was gotten from the UFW. At the Council meeting, Jerry DeGrieck at- tempted to read fact sheets written by the UFW to explain to the community and the Council the necessity of the boycott. At the meeting, Councilman Faber, rep- resenting the Democrats, called such resolu- tions as the one on the lettuce boycott "in- fantile, . . . and a waste of council's time." Later, when it became apparent that there was widespread community support for the lettuce boycott, they reversed themselves and co-sponsored a resolution with HRP. THE UFW did not, as Faber says, make a last minute desperate attempt to have the resolution delayed. He goes on to crit- icize HRP for making "no efort to gather support for its passage and resolve pos- sible differences." The fact is that HRP did bring in supporting evidence,, but the Democrats and Republicans attempted num- erous parliamentary moves to cut off dis- cussion. Further, the state and national plat- forms of the Democratic platform support the lettuce boycott, therefore, we expected support from the Democrats on this issue. However, platform apparently means little to the Democrats and this is a crucial dif- ference between them and the Ihuman Rights Party. We run on a platform and our elected oficials are bound to it. To the Democrats, their platform is irrelevant to their voting behavior. When the resolution was finally intro- duced at 1:00 a.m. (Mayor Harris placed the resolution toward the end of the agenda), two Republicans and one Democrat walked out in the middle of the discussion. Faber moved to lump the resolution together with several other pieces of HRP legislation and voted against HRP's motion to tahl2 the resolution until after more discussion had taken place and all members of the Council were present. Faber then voted with other Democrats and Republicans to defeat the resolution. THE HUMAN RIGHTS Party believes that resolutions about the war, the lettuce and Farah boycotts, Gay Pride Week and other social and economic concerns are of rele- vance to the people of Ann Arhor and should be discussed and acted upon by the Council especially when the people directly involved call upon the Council to act. The most absurd section of Faber's dia- tribe deals with HRP's "cavalier disregard for the integrity and fragility of the law." He says that "the short term benefits of demeaning the Law in the name of a noble cause poses the long-term threat of exposing the nation's weaker minorities to the un- protected passions of the majority." In other words, "disrespect" for the law neces- sarily opens the doors to repression and chaos. The law is not a sacred document hand- ed down from on high. It is the product of men and women in varied and changing soc- ial and economic conditions. The law has often been used to legitimize and systema- tize social oppression. Laws against vic- timless crimes, draft laws, tax laws, labor laws, laws discriminating against persons on the basis of race or sex - the list of op- pressive and unjust laws is seemingly end- less. Civil disobedience has been one useful tactic used by oppressed groups to call at- tention to such laws. ON THE OTHER HAND, the law can be one instrument to help free people from oppressive and exploitive situations. Saying that one respects "therule of law," :hen, is like saying that one respects people. This means nothing, unless we specify which laws or people, judged according t) which values. On City Council, IIRP has tried to replace, laws that we consider unjust and solely'in the interests of business, landlords and de- velopers. Also we have introduced legisla- tion which is progessive and helps to allev- iate problems as far as possible at 'the local level. Further, we have raised issues of concern in our party platform and of concern to the people of Ann Arbor. Per- haps this is, as Faber puts it, "tearing at the basic fabric of the Law". But then again, to Democrats and Republicans alike, "the law" has often been a euphemism for keeping power in this country in the hands of the corporate elite and the poli- ticians who serve their interest. We have been criticized for too much and too radical legislation. We receive this criticism with some humor. We have pro- duced more than twice the amount of legis- lation as the Democrats, and the Republi- cans combined. Most of it has not been passed. But most of it has been the product of radicals using their creativity to make small changes in Ann Arbor and to educate people around the need for real change in society. We do not expect that two HRP council people will substantially c h a n g e society. But we do hope to focus public attention on some important issues.: We hope to continue in our efforts. And we hope that Ann 'Arborites will differentiate between partisan hysteria and a desire for social change. Susan Newell and Jerry De Grieck, a city councilman, are members of the Human Rights Party. eeking viable social changes .0 Are Arabs civi'l liberties endangered? By RIAD AL-AWAR IN AN EDITORIAL (Sept. 29) The Daily lamented the fact that the United States had set up new visa requirements affecting fore- igners travelling through the coun- try and the imposition of "a blank- et restriction on the international community without justification." The Daily claimed that "civil lib- erties are not the exclusive right of U.S. citizens . . ." and that "the United States must consider the rights of foreigners as well." The Daily made one exception to "foreigners with civil liberties" - "countries where Palestinians and their sympathizers are harbored." This means, apparently, that t h e Arabs are beyond the pale of the civil rights allowed the rest of the peoples of the world. The Nixon administration appar- ently agreed with you. Also toward the end of September, a presiden- tial directive set up a cabinet-level "committee on terrorism," repre- sented by several federal agencies, including the FBI and the Immi- gration Service. This committee has had as its exclusive aim the surveillance and interrogation of Arab aliens, especially students, and U.S. citizens of Arab origin. ALONG WITH thousands of in- dividuals of the Arab-American community in the United States, in the past several weeks a number of Arab students at the University and other schools in the area have been singled out for investigation and interrogation by the Immigra- tion Service, ostensibly with re- gard to visa validity. Although questions regarding vis- as fall within the prerogative of the Immigration Service, the Agency is clearly using its otherwise legi- timate jurisdiction for purposes other than that for which it was intended. Some students have been asked questions regarding their private lives which do not directly relate lo the issue of visas. Others, although it has not yet happened on this cam- pus, have been asked about their political beliefs. And since the information asked regarding visas was already free- ly available to the interrogators and on file in their own offices, no new data was gained. Rather, they have merely harrassed and intimi- dated, not only the individuals di- rectly involved, but the entire groep of Arab students on campus. WE HAVE NOT been able to find any other national minority on campus or in the area which has been subjected to similar treat- ment, with the exception of a few non-Arabs who have Arabic-sound- ing names. We can only conclude, therefore, that these police meas- ures have been used to isolate and stigmatize all members of o ii r community. This situation. c o n- jures up the possibility of our een- tually being accorded the trea-- ment meted out to the Japanese in the United States during World War II. Further, these police measures, intentionally or not, have created the impression in our communirv that mere public statements a n d speeches in support of our o w n position in our conflict with Israel is sufficient for us' to be exposed to this federal committee of in- quiry. As university students, our organization is perhaps more vocal than other segments of the Arab- American community, and is there- by more exposed than others to what is turning out to be an an'i- Arab witchhunt. Such intimidation can only have a chilling effect of the freedom of speech protecte i for aliens as much as for citizens, by the Constitution's First Amend- ment. ALL THIS in spite of the fact that, as the Nixon administration itself has freely admitted, no cases of Arab-inspired violence have oc- curred in the United States. On the other hand, the Jewish Defense League has committed a signifi- cant number of violent acts against the installations and foreign diplo- mats of the Soviet Union and the Arab States in the United States. We do not see a concomitant in- vestigation of their activities and membership or of the larger Jew- ish subgroup of which they are a part. Nor do we suggest that there should be. But when we see that the activit- ies of the JDL are glossed over by the police agencies and are treat- ed almost affectionately by t h e media, such as The Daily spread on them September 24 (keeping in mind that The Daily only five days later put the Arabs beyond the reach of international civil lib- erties), we realize that we are on the butt end of the notion that , ;;. ,, U Fl , . ,, ,.. _ 1 + __---- °' 1 t ' " :.r V - , .. x- "y .w % ., r 1 .4t'7The 4,.w I Hijackers of latest U.S. aircraft put in 4x4x4 ft. boxes by Cuban government.-News Item. "some people are more equal than others." Foreigners have traditionally been treated hospitably in the Arab countries, including students a n d researchers from the University. it would be unfortunatedif, as te have already threatened, the Arab countries hosting these Americans begin to treat them as we have been treated here. Riad Al-Awar is president of the Organization of Arab Students at the University. Letters to The Daily: PIRGIM responds To The Daily: IN YOUR ARTICLE "PIRGIM: Local money funds research pro- jects around state" (Nov. 28), the statement is made that PIRGIM is "not now engaged in any local re- search projects"; such is not the case! Students at U of M are presently involved in six projects either dealing directly with Wash- tenaw County and Ann Arbor, or which will have ramifications af- fecting Washtenaw County and Ann Arbor. The projects run the gamut from consumer protection to health-care protection to sexual discrimination. The projects are: 1) an investiga- tion of banking procedures in Ann Arbor, 2) a 'watchdogging" of the FDA's enforcement actions con- cerning Dangerous Toys, 3) an in- vestigation of charges of sexual dis- crimination in the job placement industry, 4) a study of alternatives to prison, 5) an investigation of Housing Code enforcement in Ann Arbor, and 6) a state-wide study of Ambulance service and the reg- ulatory effectiveness of the Mich- igan Department of Public Health. The condition of PIRGIM at the University is far from one of in- activity. The position of PIRGIM is far from that of state benefac- tor. -Jay Tower 37 per cent of the electorate vot- ed against political government by a Democrat. 18 per cent of the electorate vot- ed against political government by a Republican. 100 per cent of the electorate de- monstrated a distrust of political government in one way or another. Industrial society requires an in- dustrial democracy which will be based on the social ownership and control of the means of production and distribution. Then each of us will participate daily in p o li c y making where we work. We shall choose our industrial administra- tors from among the ranks of our occupational peers of whose qual- ifications we shall be well inform- ed without a lot of ballyhoo. Bed- sheet ballots and election snafus will then be a thing of the past. --Ralph Muncy Nov. 30 ' A1MI and the pill To The Daily: IN RESPONSE to Joe Graedon's letter in Tuesday's Daily concern- ing Advocates for Medical Informa- tion, AMI does not give out "in- accurate" or "scare" information. This charge is made on the basis that AMI allegedly was informing the public that side effects cf te morning after pill included "lock- jaw and hallucinations". As one of the AMI staffers re- sponsible for conducting the tele- phone survey on the morning after pill, I can say this is absolutely false. AMI never said that halloo-, inations and lockjaw were possible side efects of the morning after pill. Then, it is absurb to challenge the credibility of AMI based upan a- statement the group did not make. AMI agrees with Grandon that the information that AMI provides should be accurate and relevant. I am in agreement wjlh Belita Cowan's suggestion in Tues- day's Daily that AMI in the fuNtre issue press releases to insure that the papers get the facts straight. AMI is concerned with intorm- ing, not frightening people in -re- gards to the morning after pill. Our ad in the Daily subscribes to this intention by suggesting that people phone us or drop by for informa- tion. We do not tell people that we concretely know that the morn- ing after pill causes cancer. W e do tell people that the use of O!ES (diethylstilboestrol) as the morn- ing after pill is dangerous as it is a very powerful drug that is Yet experimental as all the 'side effeLts of it are not known. AMI informs people of both sides of the auestion: we inform pople ter. It is not a "scare" to want people to be informed when they get a drug of ALL possible side effects. In my own personal experience and in the personal experiences of many of the patients who have call- ed us the doctor did not even in- form us of what we were being given, of how it worked, of w'iat all the possible side effects wer2, or that the use of DES as the morning after pill was "experi- mental". Some of us also were not asked about our family istor- ies and were not asked if we WANTED to be in studies being conducted on the morning after pill. And, many of us were NOT FOLLOWED UP after taking the morning after pill. In this context AMI is challeng- ing the monopoly on medical know- ledge that doctors protect. A41 is also challenging the ethic of unquestioning obedience to author- ity that leads patients to see the doctor as omnipotent, accepting his /her word as authority despite his/her level of competence. AMI is working for the demystification of the medical art and direct eon- trol of health institutions by health workers and the people they serve. -Jackie Rodgers AMI Staffer Nov. 28 .l "9I -,