hit irlian DatAj 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 Doily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1972 II YM IIIIIYd A I M YI I MI I A 1 I Closed selection in SGC Racism and By JAMES WECHSLER not mean. MUCH CURRENT talk about the Demo- Charles Ei cratic Party's future sounds like aT program for rehabilitation through re- THE SP spectability. The popular analysis is that is discerni the Democrats were caught hanging out tion for a with a lot of shabby characters in 1972 he and a and fittingly punished by the solid citi- formed w zenry. Now, we are told, they can regain Meany an( their status at the political country clubs son. As de only by disassociating themselves from dispatch, the riff-raff. poses Mc( deep cuts Thus Ben J. Wattenberg, whose brood- systems i ing search for the all-American center sytemi led him to espouse the desultory primary and mora candidacy of Henry Jackson, has render- and moras ed this judgment: Nixon was "When the perception came across that It is wha George McGovern was the candidate of t esten the militant women's libbers, the mili- the need tant gay libbers, the stop-bombing- might exte the-dikes people, the lettuce boycott, the pro-school-busers and pro-welfare-rights thecampai people, he got tarred with a heavy brush from the s and there was no way to get the tar But there off'" behind the This is a diverse gallery of liabilities, matter ho' seemingly embracing Cesar Chavez, Roy elaborate r Wilkins and Gloria Steinem (among oth- blur the n ers). Wattenberg's essential concern, he racial. Mr emphasized, is to find "a party leader- achieved b ship and an image that the Southerners the Wallace and the ethnics and the middle-of-the- appeals tol roaders can look at and say 'well, by quotas, sut God, I am a Democrat after all.'" black vote By "Southerners" he presumably does the Nixon IT IS VERY apparent that Student Gov- ernment Council totally reneged on their responsibility to the students in their selection process of a legal advo- cate. When the students last Spring en- trusted to SGC the funds to establish the advocate they expected that an efficient structure would be filled by the most qualified person. Instead SGC did its best to continue a buddy system that is not only typical of itself but of all bureaucracies. Their selection procedure was established with- out considering alternatives and was manipulated so that only a few "bud- dies" who 'are familiar to the council members would know the position was available Quite by accident they chose a com- petent lawyer, Tom Bentley, who has been active in student causes for several years. But Bentley has had very little experience as a lawyer, having practiced for only two months this past summer. And even Bentley, has shed doubts on the present struature of the advocate system. A good portion of his duties, ac- cording to Bentley, are in the fashion of ombudsperson. He acts as an interme- diary between groups and sees that the solution satisfies the complainants. AN ALTERNATIVE structure to the present one would be a full-time om- budsperson and a lawyer on a retainer basis. According to Bentley, an arrange- ment with a law firm might have been made. SGC should have at least investi- gated this possibility. A number of questions have been raised by Council members and a former wo- men's commission member concerning the manner in which Bentley was chosen. Placing ads in The Daily is not suffic- ient notice for prospective candidates. Public Interest Research Group in Michi- gan (PIRGIM) advertised all over the country and in several legal journals when they hired a lawyer. For their efforts PIRGIM obtained a highly qualified and highly experienced lawyer who was making $20,000 before he accepted the job with PIRGIM. Yet his present salary is $3,500 less than that paid by SGC. The most vexing aspect of the whole question is the closed procedures in which SGC did their selecting. Only SGC President 1BillJacobs and John Koza (who is not on Council) inter- viewed the candidates. Council did not discuss the candidates because the vote was taken by mail. Even one member of Council who defended its actions said the procedures were "hap- hazard." THE TRUST that the students put in their government w a s severely abused by the "back-room" procedures used by SGC to select it's advocate. It merely perpetuates a "buddy system" which is neither effective nor fair. -ROBERT BARKIN Julian Bond, Andrew Young or vers. IRIT of Wattenberg'3 position ble in the newly-formed "Coal- Democratic Majority" vhich number of intellectuals have ith the blessing of George d Sens. Humphrey and Jack- scribed in an Associated Press "its appeal for members op- Govern's positions on making in the defense budget, quota hiring and what CDM calls that American society is sick lly bankrupt.'" Or, as Mr. saying, let us discuss what's America. rdly intended here to dispute of the McGovern defeat and for critical retrospect. One nsively debate the nature of ign's failures - differentiating unders and inept presentations ubstance of issues. e is a deep underlying conflict public Democratic scenes. No w many polite phrases and rationalizations are offered to natter, the explosive issue is . Nixon's large margin was y successful manipulation of e vote through thinly-disguised prejudice and fear (on busing, burban housing). Conversely, ers overwhelmingly resisted tide. The inescapable question confronting the Democrats in this period of reorgai,- ization is whether they will tacitly de- sert (under cover of Nixonian rhetoric) the cause of civil rights in deference to "the mood of the country." IN A SPEECH deserving wider notice than it received, Vernon Jordan, able successor to Whitney Young as e:ecutive director of the Urban League, has de- clared: ". . . These are days that test men's faith in progress and racial equality. The country seems to be entering a period in which the cycle of history takes a down- ward plunge, battering the hopes and as- pirations of black people. The 1970's, like the 1870s, may come to spell the end of a reconstruction period of reform and hope." He assailed liberals who, "in the name of pragmatism and realism," have stead- ily retreated under fire - discovering new virtue in the "work ethic" while ignoring "the unavailability of jobs for the unskilled, for the young and for the poor," succumbing to the busing hysteria "while we seek equal educational op- portunities," downgrading scattersite housing "because of the rush to com- promise with extremists." Decrying the quota furor, he said: "No one has argued in favor of rigid quotas to overcome inequality of oppor- tunity, nor has anyone argued in favor of total reliance upon the goodwill and giod faith of employers and government a.'encies. lnste)d there has been develop- ed a flexible system of guidelines for progress, goals to assure eventual equal- ity of opportunity and timetables to as- sure progress. When we hear these rea- sonable mechanisms for insuring the suc- cess of affirmative action programs la- beled as 'quotas' and attacked, we can only conclude that the artificial issue of 'quotas' is another wall raised to exclude black people." Any reader of Edmond Newton's series on discrimination in this city's construc- tion trades, published in this newspaper last week, will recognize the urgency of Jordan's words. Will the new "Demo- cratic coalition" mute the issue to pla- cate labor statesmen who perpetuate the barriers? "IF THE SECOND Reconstruction does come to a tragic close," Jordan said, "it will be with a bang, not a wimper. It will end with the nation enveloped in grief and in tragic eruptions appalling even to contemplate. But it need not end. There can be no freeze on social justice and racial progress." Will any, practical politicians hear him as they reassess the Democratic Party's course? Or has benign neglect become a bipartisan gentlemen's agreement; James Wechsler is editorial page edi- for of the New York Post. Copyright 1972, The New York Post Corporation. 'the mood of the country' a 41 L I Letters: Jacobs reacts to article New cabinet: Le an and mean THE PRESIDENT'S recent cabinet and budget office appointments present a series of rather humorous, or if you look at it differently, distressing set of contradictions. Roy Ash, who comes to the key White House Office of Mtesvaament and Budget, stresses "cost-benefit" analysis in gov- ernment operations, for example. Yet as president of Litton Industries, his meth- ods have had very little cost-benefit for taxpayers. Tuesday Senator William Proxmire (D- Wis.) charged that two Navy contracts awarded to Litton under Ash's presidency are "two of the most highly inefficient and mismanaged military procurement operations," reportedly far behind sched- ule and likely to result in massive cost over-runs. Elliot Richardson, who is moving to the Defense Department after two and a half years as Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) Secretary, is an able ad- ministrator but has proved a cock in the wind on major policy decisions. After working hard to get a higher education bill through Congress, he ca- pitulated without a whimper when Nix- on vetoed the money for it. He voiced no objection when the President scuttled a coimpromise welfare reform package which his own aides had negotiated with Senate liberals. And although mildly liberal in tendency himself, he has failed to speak out against the President's blat- ant manipulation of the busing issue. It is therefore unlikely that Richard- son will be able to stand up to the mili- tary brass unless the President stands behind him. And although this nation is supposedly dedicated to civilian control of the military, Nixon has never shown any inclination either to stand up to his generals or to stand behind Richardson. CASPAR WEINBERGER, who is moving from the budget office to HEW, is such a vicious budget-slasher that around Washington he is known as "Cap the Knife." As budget director, Weinberger or- dered 10,000 people cut from the HEW Today's staff:' News: Robert Barkin, Pat Bauer, Judy Staschaver, Sue Stephenson, David Unnewehr, Ralph Vartabedian Editorial Page: Lindsay Chaney, Marcia Zoslaw Arts Page: Richard Glatzer Photo Technician: Tom Gottlieb C1Ijg Aiit"ja Bat~ir payroll, although Secretary Richardson managed to resist the reduction at the time. It seems unlikely that he is coming to HEW in order to advance the cause of social progress. PETER BRENNAN, the construction un- ion chief who is likely to be our new Secretary of Labor, is most notable for the massive hard-hat rally in support of the President's war policies which he organized in New York City two years. ago. The rally followed an incident in which construction workers beat up anti-war demonstrators on Wall Street. The construction unions are also noted for their discrimination against blacks and other minority groups. While Bren- nan has urged the unions with which he is affiliated to hire qualified minority members for apprenticeships, critics have called his efforts hopelessly inadequate. Although labor unions were once the spearhead of progressive change in this country, Brennan's appointment is ob- viously an attempt by the President to hold on to the blue collar support he re- ceived in the last election. It is also clearly an appeal to the most illiberal part of the labor movement. The new cabinet appointments indicate that progressive causes appear certain to take a back seat to the lean and mean Nixon administration dogma. -DAVID STOLL Election reform RESULTS OF A recent Gallup poll re- veal that seventy per cent of Ameri- cans are disgusted with the present style of political campaigns. Leading gripes are the high cost of campaigns and "too much mudslinging." Voters are also asking for shorter cam- paigns and a clearer definition of the issues. The changes demanded are valid changes, especially in view of the fact that per centage of voter turn-out Nov. 7 was the lowest since 1948. While the call for clearer discussion of the issues sounds idealistic, practical re- forms could help shift the emphasis from the present image-oriented "selling" of a president. Over seventy per cent of those polled, for instance, favored a proposal for a law that would limit campaign spending more effectively than do present laws and restore that principal of equal op- portunity supposedly so intrinsic to American politics. Furthermore longstanding demands To The Daily: IN AN ARTICLE in the Novem- ber 30 issue of The Daily, Robert Barkin raised a number of ques- tionsconcerning the SGC L e g a 1 Advocate, Tom Bentley, as well as the manner in which he was hired. Unfortunately, Mr. Barkin printed a large number of half-truths and blatant lies. * Barkin states that Ms. Zeta Zumeta charged that the procedure used to hire Bentley was discrim- inatory. FACT. During the summer, Ms. Zumeta came to my office and asked if the person we were going to hire was a male. I told her we were suggesting Tom Bentley at which time she told me that she intended to sue SGC if we did not hire a woman for the position. I told her at the time that I refus- ed to be coerced or blackmailed in- to discriminating against a person eminently qualified for the job be- cause of sex. To my mind, there is a substantial difference between discrimination and affirmative ac- tion. * Barkin charges that SGC did not adequately advertise for t h e position because we did not run ads in the New York Times, the Detroit Free Press, the State Bar Journal and Detroit Legal N e w s as did PIRGIM. FACT - The type of person SGC was looking for was not at all sim- ilar to what PIRGIM was seek- ing. SGC was looking for a quali- fied young lawyer who has had : x- perience with student government, preferably on this campus. It should be obvious that a person with these qualifications would not be job hunting in the New York Times. 0 Barkin insinuates that Bentley is being overpaid because his sal- ary is slightly above that of the average lawyer with similar exper- ience in the community. FACT - The primary considera- tion when determining a person's salary is the responsibility the posi- tion bears. Mr. Bentley's position requires a great deal of know- ledge, hard work and long hours. There are probably very few law- yers in the Ann Arbor area with responsibilities commensurate with those Bentley must bear. * Barkin charges that the legi- timacy of the Legal Advocate Search Committee is in serious question. He also quotes Bill Do:.bs, a member of the search commit- tee as saying that he was never contacted. FACT - The legitimacy of that committee has never been ques- tioned publicly or privately with tne exception of Mr. Barkin's article. All members of the committee were notified of pre-arranged meetings by mail or telephone. It is true that Mr. Dobbs was only notified by mail for the simple reason that he refused to tell SGC his telephone number and he is not listed in tne telephone directory. When the de- cision to recommend Bentley was being considered all members of the committee were notified by phone or mail. At that time and until the present no member of the committee voiced any objec- tion to that recommendation. 0 Barkin charges that Vic Gut- man has been hired at a salary of $4,000 to be Bentley's secretary even though he has no legal train- ing. FACT - $1,800 has been allocated for Gutman's salary on a per hour basis. (Indeed, Gutman personally informed Barkin of this fact t a e night before Barkin wrote the ar- ticle). While it is true that Gutman has no legal training, it is also true that his position requires no legal training. The small amomt of work that does require a legal secretary is handled by SGC's Ad- ministrative Secretary who has had extensive training and experience as a legal secretary. Perhaps the most serious flaw in Barkin's article is that he saw fit to discuss Bentley's competence in a scanty twenty-five words, and does soyby quotingvvague unnadm- ed observers, and a second y L a r law student. Barkin did not dis- cuss at all the work that Bentley has done since he was hired. In- deed, in the two and a half months that Bentley has been working for SGC he has proven himself to be quite effective. A question that might properly be asked at this point is why would Barkin print what he himself knows to be factually incorrect and trivial. Two weeks ago I was in- formed that "Barkin was on ano- ther muckraking trip." Perhaps Barkin feels that he must employ yellow journalism techniques to get a front page by-line for his portfolio. I doubt very much if stu- dents ondthisbcampusarenserious- ly offended by Barkin's name in print on the front page of T h e Daily. However, students on this campus should be offended if the only way Barkin can achieve this goal is by attempting to soil the reputation of a qualified lawyer working hard for student interests. -Bill Jacobs President, SGC Nov. 30 EDITOR'S NOTE: Jacobs is cor- rect that SGC has so far allocated only $1,800 for Gutman's salary. However, the per-hour wage is based on a $4,000 annual salary. Zena Zumeta denies telling Ja- cobs she would sue SGC if a wo- man were not hired for the advo- cate position. Zumeta says she told Jacobs she would sue if a woman more qualified than Bentley was found, but was not hired. The Editorial Directors regret that Jacobs felt it necessary to engage in a personal attack on Daily reportereRobert Barkin. Further- more, we feel the tone of his letter indicates a hunger for vengeance unbecoming the president of Stu- dent Government Council. The Daily stands by its story. Dope co-op To The Daily: I HAVE VIEWED with disgust the immature, selfish and elitist attitudes of many of my fellow white middle-class students on this campus. The recent proposal by S G C member David Hornstein for the establishment of a Student Dope Co- op, and the support given that pro- posal by some other SGC members, adds another to the list of "far- out", smug actions advocated by some students. If SGC can think of nothing bet- ter to do with $2,500, I will help them with some suggestions. Give the money to a student who wants to attend this University, but whose parents are not wealthy enough to send him or her. Use the money to begin a program to combat racism on campus. Give the money to a day-care center, Trotter House, or the Women's Cri- sis Center. Finance a study to find solutions to Ann Arbor's housing problems. Send the money to the parents of the students killed a short time ago at Southern Uni- versity in Louisiana (does anyone remember that?) The basic issue is that there do exist real problems on this cam- pus, and in this country. As stu- dents, we have the choice of ignor- ing them, and playing cute games, such as Mr. Hornstein would have us do, in an isolated 1950's-style campus atmosphere, or we can take up the challenge to create an- swers to some of these problems. The choice to make a difference is ours. -Marcia Fishman, '75RC Nov. 30 Workers To The Daily: "HE WHO PAYS the piper calls the t-ne." He who works for pay, under capitalism, gives more in goods and/or services, to his em- ployer than he gets in wages. Gov- ernment agencies, schools and col- leges, book publishers, advertising agencies broadcasters and other employers get more from their em- ployes than they pay for. The usefulness or non-usefulness of the employment is not the full or only determinant as to whether !employment is humiliating, de- meaning or compromising. Mr. Castleman might answer Pro- fesor Slosson's query as to 'what alternative Mr. Castleman wv o u l d suggest"v(Daily, Nov. 22) by ad- vocating a society in which goods and services are produced for the use and enjoyment of all instead of profit for a few; a society in which the ownership and control of the tools and other means of wealth production will be restored to the ownership and control of the working class whose members created the tools and other means of wealth production. Then every worker would have the material requirements which should be his and also enjoy, even more fully, the satisfactions which Profesor Slosson claims to be the reward of useful employment. -Ralph Muncy Nov. 27 Prostitution To The Daily: IT WAS INTERESTING to notice that the criticisms of Michael Cas- tleman's article on prostitution came from males. It is also interesting that most of the anti-abortion speakers I've heard have been men as well. As a woman, prostituted in many ways, I find many good and sal- ient points in Michael's article -- points that many men seem to find it in their own best interests to miss. Claims 'ripoff' To The Daily: GRANTED, AS a student I am "buried in books" and "abstract- ed out of existence" so that about p~ractical living I know nothing, innt isn't there any way for me and those of my ilk to stop the local businesses (who aren't buried in books and presumably have an in- side tip about the exact nature of existence) from ripping us 4ff? Recently I bought a top from a local store - just one of those m- chine-washable, stretchy nylon things. The first time I wore it, the color stained onto the blouse I had over it. I went back to the store and spoke with the manager- ess. She asked whether I wore "anti-persoirant." When I replied in the negative, she said that was the reason for the stain - my B.O. Patiently I exolained that I own- ed several such tops (though not purchased from her store) and of those none had ever stained, though I hadn't worn anti-persoirant with them. I added (gratuitously I thought) that even with deodor- ants, perspiration invariable leaks through. "Not a good anti-perspir- ant," she replied (I wonder if she has stock in "Mitchum"? S h e sounded just like a T.V. commer- cial). I begged her pardon - was she suggesting I change my life style to suit her personal ideas about body aroma? "You should w e a r anti-perspirant. "None of our cus- tomers have complained about their purchases," she complained. I then asked if she was implying that the problem rested not at all in the manufacture of the gar- ment but in me completely, that out of hundreds of thousands of people my perspiration alone was so extraordinary it harmed this top, even though it had neve af- fected any of my other ones? She said, "Yes." - Insult added to injury, I would say. For a fact I know my "perspira- tion problem" is no worse than anyone else's (indeed, it is batter than most people's, a point wnich I can demonstrate empirically' ; moreover, the woman's reasoning (if so you can call it) was pa- tently that of either a pristine ignoramus o an unsuccessful con- artist. I realize how absurd my com- plaint sounds! The episode was trivial, but the fact that students are being had left and right, up and down by the "foxy" capitalists all over this town is, I think, not. -Doris Othy Nov. 19 $ for death To The Daily: FIFTY BILLION dollars annually for instrumentstof hate, fear and death: enough to kill much of the human race should be plenty. Pre- sident Nixon recommends more overkill. He recommends $75 bil- lion annually. Wouldn't it be more sensible to use the overkillnmoney, to use $25 billion on making friends and in- fluencing people and on a united world? A world divided against it- self cannot stand. The military puts its faith in vio- lence and brute force. It is edicat- ed to the arts and sciences of kill- ing and crippling people and de- stroying valuable property. The cruel military stands on the neck of humanity. -Ernie Sheffield Minneola, Florida Nov. 25 a S 41 Ai . -S /_ j /, .. ° . i ' ,: °r. ? +F r' ., -Kathleen Nov. 28 Cook, Grad. Mistake To The Daily: IN MY LETTER to The. Daily (Nov. 28) on Advocates for Medi- cal Information I mistakenly gave the impression that AMI was re- sponsible for misleading informa- tion. In actuality, the fault lay with the Daily because statements were lifted out of context and in one case virtually fabricated in the ii ,, I.T: I *