PageA-Thursday, April 13. 1978-The Michigan Daily
Squandered
opportunities
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'Hey Sam, I'm back! How's the old do-it-yourself diet goin'?'
'i6
Eighty-Eight Years of Editorial Freedom.
420Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
LXXXV I, No. 154
News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Sigh. Always the goat.
I've never been successful at
anything. Not even failure, as it
were. Why, last week I had the
opportunity to become the folk
hero of the seventies. And I blew
it. Mind you, the circumstances
were a bit odd, and I'm sure I
would want the notoriety, or even
six-to-ten with time off for good
behavior, but - I get ahead of my
story.
I WAS driving down State
Street toward William from the
south, and traffic was fierce. The
light at State and William was
only admitting two cars through
on each green and I was
terrifically impatieht. I decided
to turn into the driveway by the
Union and cut over to State
Street. Cruising slowly down the
lane, all of a sudden I had cause
to slam on my brakes.
For from between two parked.
cars, out darted a mysterious pin-
stripe-clad white-haired eminen-
ce. Rubbing my eyes, as the
figure sprinted nimbly away into
a waiting limousine, I noticed
that the man was none other than
President Robben Fleming,
leaving the office for the after-
noon:
I was stunned. But the reflex-
action of foot upon brake, history
was preserved. Not changed, no,
but ah, and well it might have
been!
What would have happened had
I been less alert? Or if, heaven
forfend, the brakes had failed?
The sixties had their folk
heroes, all right. Tom Hayden
and Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hof-
fman, the hippies, the Yippies,
those who sat in at Columbia,
those hurt in Chicago, those mur-
dered ruthlessly at Kent. Who
have been the heroes of the
seventies? Have there really
been any? Billy Jack, perhaps?
That trio of feminine fascists,
Bryant & Morgan & Schlafly?
John Sirica? Daniel K. Inouye?
AND THEN it came to me, in a
stunning revelation. I would have
been the new folk hero. The
headlines: 'Michigan Student Of-
fs U' Prexy' or 'Violence Erupts
on Michigan Campus'.
There are some people on cam-
pus who would doubtless have
read the accident as a call to ac-
tion, a kind of revival of that fun-
damentalist revolutionary time a
decade ago. Rallies would be
mounted. Hordes of people would
throw Molotov cocktails at
anything that moved. I would be
it!
Yes, indeed. And I can see the
trial now. A hushed courtroom,
as demonstrators outside march.
A silent vigil, I think, would be
the most tasteful, though in the .
style of the times there would
probably be lots of noise and
By Jeffrey Selbst
call the world), my lawyers
would be preparing motions for
mistrial, suing the auto company
for brake failure, and like that,
The "Free Jeff Selbst" commit-
tee would be formed and William
Kunstler would undoubtedly try
'.A CAUS~E ..A CAU ...
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rr
....L .
state debated creating a Death
Row. I would begin to get a little
nervous.
The lawyers would get me out
based on the misconduct of the
judge, and thereafter I would ap-
pear on Tom Snyder.
Then I would have to get myself
an agent. Endorsements (though
certainly not of brake systems)
would follow. I would run for
local office, and become grey and
CCopier Mowus srvice
All the way up the line
IEN INDICTMENT of former Fed-
eral Bureau of Investigation head
Patrick. Gray and two other
ecutive FBI officials on charges of
priving citizens of their civil rights is
velcome one.
During the early 70's the FBI,
xious to catch up with fugitive mem-
&; of the activist Weather Un-
Sg-pound, plundered the rights of hun-
ille al tapping phones,
g emailsatarching _homes and
Lgthe foilie of Underground
4pers. While the U.S. Justice
Vatment chose to ignore charges of
j, violations initially, investigations
6"'IBI activities were indictments
e product of some three years of
Gray is the first bureau chief to ever
charged with a criminal act, and his
rmer aides, Edward Miller and W.
ark Felt, are the first executives to be
arged.
The indictments shatter an
aginary barrier that has existed/
ien dealing with possible criminal
ings by intelligence officials. Like the
fice of the President, the FBI Direc-
''s seat has been considered sacred
d imnmune ground in the past. Only
th.i these indictments are such
sitlons given their proper perspec-
trace such violations all the way up the
line. Over a year ago, the Department
indicted former New York FBI official
John Kearney on the same charges of
civil rights violations. When it came to
light that Kearney may have been
following orders issued by Gray to
direct illegal activities, the Justice
Department decided to reopen its in-
vestigation. Under a new prosecution
team, sufficient evidence was gathered
to effect this week's indictments.
In fact, Attorney General Griffin
Bell announced the dismissal of illegal'
wire-tapping and mail-opening charges
against Kearney shortly after the latest
indictments were returned. While it is
only fair that Kearney be relieved of his
scapegoat status, dropping all charges
- simply because he was following or-
ders - may have been overdoing it.
The Justice Department is certainly
not ignoring others who were "just
following orders." Some 68 FBI agents
face disciplinary proceedings as a
result of illegal activities alleged in the'
investigation. Punishment could in-
clude anything from a letter of censure
in the agent's file to abrupt dismissal.
As far as Gray and his aides, we look
forward to a trial from which not only
will other illegal activities by FBI of-
ficials be detailed, but also from which
the Justice Department can begin to
assemble a more realistic policy for
dealing with intelligence officials who
have no regard for the Constitution.
shouting.
The pudgy judge, rounding the
bend towards ninety, would
regularly admonish the defense
to shut the hell up, while all
newsapers ran editorials. My
defense counsel would try an in-
teresting defense called "sixties
intoxication", arguing that I had
been "hypnotized" by the radical
actions I had seen while growing
up and had been temporarily,
insane at the time.
THE JUDGEMENT would
most likely be summary and I
would be sentenced to life in
prison, or some such. I would be
tossed into the slammer while
some grinning gargoyle of a
jailer swallowed the key. My
cellmate would likely be the
Boston Strangler.
Meantime, outside (as we cons
to horn his way in after most of
the tiresome legal work had been
done. The committee would sell
buttons to raise money.
A simple "Free Selbst" would
be best, maize on blue, ap-
propriately.
And there would be concerts.
Peter, Paul, and Mary would get
together again, and do a benefit
with Paul McCartney and Wings
and Bette Midler (who would do it
because in an interview I would
mention that she's my favorite
singer since the death of Ethel
Waters).
MRS. FLEMING, the bereaved
widow, would visit me in prison,
and the newspapers would make
a big thing of it. The capital
punishment issue would be raised
again and I would be moved tem-
porarily to solitary, while the
respected. My following would
increase among the old radicals
of the sixties, and I would soon
become a representative to
Congress, and then a senator.
And then, the crowning
moment. The governor of
Michigan would ask the Board of
Regents, who would unanimously
approve the nomination, and I
would be voted in as - the
President of the University of
Michigan. And I, unlike some I
could name, would watch my step
crossing the street.
Sigh. Always the goat.
Ie/f reY elbst, a fretrlentt
contribiir ;to the Dailreg
tnlitorial page. ha a rh/ fai
I(t"I fi'..
LETTERS TO THE DAILY
When willprof's appeal be heard?
qe .
Thie announcement of the charges-is
0od for another reason. It marks the
A stice Department's willingness to
.M QPPV' WONT BULD W NEUTMON Some... MY PAWY vj"ILL 8i
-n* WaTiR ON BOMB.. . MY PAWY WONTVSumLo THE i4EU1koW aBwMe.. &
'e
To The Daily:
Tenure for Joel Samoff? The
question is to be answered by the
Executive Committee of LS&A.
The big question of course, is how
will the Executive Committee
vote? A secondary issue, but a
very important one, and one
which up until now has been
overlooked is, when will the
Executive Committee make its
decision?
Once finals are completed,
most students leave Ann Arbor as
quickly as possible. Would the
Executive Committee begin its
decision making process at a
time when most studentsewill be
unable to participate? Will
students, those most affected by
this decision, be robbed of their
opportunity to present their
views? I implore the Executive
Committee either to take up this
question immediately and make
their decision before classes end,
or to postpone their decision until
late September. To do otherwise
would be both irresponsible and
unfair to those most concerned.
- Stewart Mandell
Ann Arbor
'distorted' coverage
To The Daily:
Daily reporter Mitch Cantor is
building an unenviable record for
himself as a distorter, rather
than reporter of campus labor
news. The February 28. Daily
carried a Cantor article distor-
ting positions of the Organizing
Committee for Clericals (OCC)
on the basis of a careless inter-
view with an OCC supporter not
authorized to speak for the OCC.
OCC Chairperson Marianne Jen-
sen reached Cantor before his ar-
ticle went to press and protested
the inaccuracies. Irresponsibly,
titled " 'U' Hiring Freeze Gets
No Union Reaction." Untrue! On
March 21 Cantor had interviewed
two OCC spokespersons who had
protested vigorously against the
hiring freeze. He had been given
a copy of an 0CC leaflet which
said, "According to the Univer-
sity Record (March 13, 1978), at
least half of the potential deficit
will be eliminateed through our
increased sweat. Three and a half
months of not filling a job through
vacancies, means forced over-
time, speed up through increased,
work loads, and no transfers or
promotions.. . . Let's get some
control over our working lives!
Let's get a union-NOW!"
When Cantor reached OCC
Vice-Chairperson Mary Braun on
March 23, she repeated the OCC
position put forward in the
leaflet. Even picking out the
mildest of her words, Cantor
could not distort her meaning
completely: the hiring freeze
means speedup and no
promotions for campus workers.
The content of the OCC literature
and the interviews with OCC
spokespersons flatly contradict
the article's headline.
Cantor's article claimed the
hiring freeze "has drawn a few
grumblings but no action from
local workers and their unions."
Well, first things first! Someday
10,000 UM workers will hit the
bricks when management an-
nounces its intention to take $1.5
million out of our hides. But to
walk out now takes organization.
Organizing is where the campus
labor struggle is at now. As soon
as we are organized, then we will
deal with UM management.
The only weak voice from
campus labor was AFSCME
Local 1583 President Dwight
Newman, who reportedly said,
"They (the University) have a
right tn hire anv time they want
neutron bomb
To The Daily:
In response to your article
April 6 about the members of
Congress who wrote a letter to
Carter urging him NOT to scrap
the neutron bomb, I felt moved to
write Robt. Carr (D-E. Lansing)
the following letter:
Dear Rep. Carr:
You are mistaken, mistaken,
mistaken about the neutron
bomb. The very thing that makes
it so appealing to the military,
and now, apparently, to you, is
also its greatest danger - it is
usable. Production and
deployment is simply another
short-sighted step toward in-
creasing national insecurity.
Like a paranoid individual, we
are creating the world that we
fear most, and are doing so by
our sane, calculated efforts to
avoid that world.
Who can suppose that at some
point in this mad arms race the
Russians are going to throw up
their arms and say "You win"
and settle for something less than
parity? Who can blame them for
wanting to build missile bases in
Cuba in response to production of
the neutron bomb? Not only do
we have the equivalent on their
borders, but we'd be scared stiff
if the Russiahs had such a usable
weapon and we didn't. We may
believe ourselves to be several
years "ahead" in this aspect of
the arms race, but you can be
sure that in ten years the
Russians will have the neutron
bomb if we do. Then how secure
will we be?
It's hardly a matter for taking
sides - us or the Soviet Union.
The real enemy is the Bomb and
the Way of Death that is insanely
producing it. We fool ourselves if
we believe that we are less likely
to become the world's next Hitler
mament, not the facile support of
every latest piece of death
technology and gimickery that
comes from the Pentagon and the
giant defense contractors. There
will always be new pieces of
technology, new toys of the
wealthy and powerful. There is
no final weapon. And ultimately
we will win no security in the
world through our insane search
for the final weapon and for ab-
solute military might.
For the sake of sanity, for the
sake of our children, for the sake
of peace,' do reconsider your
position.
- Bill VanWyke.
"
henry 's sculpture
To The Daily:
Think back at how Picasso's
early works were received by his
contemporaries or how
Duchamp's Nude Descending a
Staircase was regarded at the
l New York and Chicago- Armory
Show. These works,' now held in
respect, were new to the public
eye. So too is the John Henry
sculpture.
Henry's sculpture, placed next
to the Museum of Art, is on loan
by the artist for the duration of
the show, "Chicago: The City and
its Artists, 1945-1978," until April
23. The exhibition, organized by
Diane Kirkpatrick's graduate
seminar on Chicago art and the
graduate students in the Museum
Practice program, focuses on
what may be new to many people.
Even in its short tenure here on
this campus, the Henry sculpture
has been a center of attraction:
people approach it, explore its
polished sides and create com-
plementary companion pieces.
For that alone it has achieved its
purpose. Not only does it
represent a distinguished sculp-
tor and make passersby open
winter-dreary eyes, but it heralds