Page 4-Saturday, January 14, 1978-The Michigan Daily
Eig ht-Eight Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, M1 48109
Vol. LXXXVIII, No. 86 N
News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan

Opening the

mind's doors


By JOHNNY JOHNSON
At the beginning of the Fall se-
mester the Jackson Prison Pro-
ject entered it's third year of tu-
torial work at the State Prison in
Jackson, Michigan. The program
has provided a lifelong experi-

saw most of the learning prob-
lems centered around the non-
English speaking population.
JOSEPHINE CASSAR describ-
ed the students problems as sim-
ilar and basic enough to be able to
tutor them in small groups of
three or four men. "This," ac-


The Jackson

Prison

Project

has proved a beneficial learning ex-
perience for the University students
and one which will leave a lasting
impression.,

ence but a sociological one as
well." This is a segment of socie-
ty that people just don't know
about and haven't cared about
and the Inmate Project attempts
to do something to change our
perceptions of what prison life
and prison inmates are like.
John Risk expressed concern
regarding designing a textbook to
generate more student interest
than the present materials
provide. He went on to say that
"reading skills are something
that needs to be worked on and is
especially difficult once you have
learned to speak and survive in
the world without them."
Eyla Green, another coordina-
tor of the Inmate Project, said
that she has encountered some
residents who are not interested
in learning because they are not
motivated. She said, "many of
the residents lack confidence in
their own abilities and confidence
is primary in motivating these
men."
AN OBSERVATION of each tu-
tor is made by the instructor and

with one to one help and for pro-
viding a positive public relations
outlet with the academic com-
munity, which in this case is the
University of Michigan. He said
the program helps the students
pinpoint their learning problems
and provides the students with a
more therapeutic release, mak-
ing them feel more comfortable
and directly involved in the edu-
cation process. According to
Walker the program also helps
the tutors by increasing their
knowledge of the social problems
of their society.
The Jackson Prison Project, as
well as the other inmate projects
offered through Project Commu-
nity, has proved a beneficial
learning experience for the Uni-
versity students and one which
will leave a lasting impression; It
provides an opportunity to be ex-
posed to a segment of our society
that is all too often pushed aside
and forgotten about.
There is much to do in revising
the field of correctional work and
the prison projects are helping to

ence in human relations.
The "Inmate Project" is well
established in other Michigan
correctional facilities. It is set up
to run for a ten-week period, at
the end of which University of
Michigan students receive four
credit hours for tutoring resi-
dents. The Southeastern Michi-
gan Prison (SMP) program in-
volves residents in the academic
schools of all three of it's com-
plexes.
THE STUDENTS, Rose Alleva,
Josephine Cassar, Eyla Green,
Lori Kanat, Rhonda Leck, Pam
Reed, Sherrill Reeves, John Risk,
Audrey Shiffman, Steve Fraser,
and Bill Erasheki, went to the
Southeastern Michigan Prison as
a part of the University's Project
Community as tutors to work
with SMP elementary and high
school students. The tutors are
finding that most SMP residents
are eager to be helped.
In an effort to find out if the
residents who were involved in
the program were benefitting
from it, the Jackson Prison news-
paper, The Spectator, interview-
ed eight tutors, eight resident stu-
dents and an academic instructor
at the prison, Rodney Walker, at
the end of the program's sixth
week.
It was the general consensus of
all the tutors that residents are
eager to improve their learning
abilities. The interview included
opinions as to how the program
could be improved, and an effort
to expand the program next
semester was discussed by Rose
Alleva, one of the coordinators of
the program and University liai-
son with SMP officials.
ONE OF THE key issues was.
whether the residents learn more
working with the tutor individu-
ally or in small groups. The
tutors and their students differed
in their opinions.
Rhonda Leck found working
with the individual easier. She
found that pupils picked things up
faster than she had expected and

cording to Ms. Cassar, "provides.
the students a more structured
form of tutelage and allows them
to advance at a more rapid pace
than without extra help."
Two inmates stated their pref-
erence for working in small

, ; ;


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,-

k"

y

-A
Photo by Ken Jones courtesy of the Spectator

-mow

UNIVERSITY STUDENT tutors and Southeastern Michigan Prison resident students discuss the '"Inmate
-Project."

Aids to distraught tenants

A FTER MONTHS of partisan hag-
gling, City Council last month fi-
nally approved a revised tenant's rights
handbook which landlords are required
to give their tenants. And it's about
time.
Earlier Council acceptance of the re-
vised booklet was stalled by Republi-
cans who claimed it contained too harsh
a tone against city landlords.
-While concessions made by Council
Democrats reduced the overall quality
of the version, it still is an essential tool
for informing tenants of their rights and
how they can assure those rights are
not abused.
Though some Council observers say
the handbook was finally approved by
Council Republicans in an effort to un-
dermine support for an upcoming city
:election referendum which provides an
:even more comprehensive rights
booklet, the important thing is that the
updated edition will be in the hands of
tenants within the next several weeks.
The present booklet weathered
through Council with some important
,additions. It includes new sections on
,city housing code requirements, unen-
;forceable lease clauses, and steps a
tenant can take to withhold rent.
HE REVISED booklet is an in-
valuable tenant aid, but it doesn't
preclude the need for passage of the

proposed referendum. Entitled the Fair
Rental Information Act, the proposal
calls for a booklet consisting of three
sections: one written by impartial au-
thors selected by the mayor; one writ-
ten by pro-tenant attorneys; and one
written by pro-landlord attorneys.
This is the booklet tenants ideally
should possess. They need advice from
all sides not advice resulting from
political squabbling. Such a booklet
would be provided for in this spring's
referendum.
The need for the tenant's rights han-.
dbook doesn't suggest landlords are a
malicious group of people or that every
tenant should take his landlord to court.
The handbook which passed Council
- as well as the one called for by the
upcoming referendum - merely
provides facts and explanations which,
if followed more often in this town,
would help neutralize the bitter rela-
tionship between landlords and tenants
which is all too often unnecessary.
PHOTOGRAPHY STAFF
ALAN BILINSKY ............................ Chief Photographer
ANDY FREEBERG .........................Chief Photographer
BRAD BENJAMIN ......a............... Staff Photographer
JOHNK o.A...-............Staff Photographer
PETER SERLING. ...................Staff Photographer
.CHRISTINA SCHNEIDER................ Staff Photographer

groups because this allowed the
tutor to reach everyone in the
class.
Another resident student said
that since he had been working
with a tutor things have "fallen
into place," whereas before he
was having trouble with spelling
and comprehension.
ANOTHER SUBJECT of dis-
cussion was the materials used in
the classroom. Lori Kanat felt
that the material needed a more
relevant connection to the resi-
dent's lives. "When the material
is more worthwhile for the stu-
dents, the rate of accomplish-
ment, both educational and per-
sonal, is greatly increased." Ms.
Kanat also felt that the experi-
ence at Jackson is two-fold; "Not
only is it an educational experi-

his evaluations are recorded on a
standard form which rates the
tutors in areas of 1) fairness and
impartiality with residents 2) at-
tending to the task at hand 3)
patience in tutoring situations 4)
dependability and 5) skills in
questions and discussions.
Rodney Walker felt the tutors
were an asset to his classes. Resi-
dent teachers' aides work with
the University tutors on instruc-
ting them about the different
needs and abilities of different
students. The resident aides
provide insight into the educa-
tional setting at Jackson and help
the tutors with specific problems
they may encounter in their
tutorial tasks.
Mr. Walker praised the
program for providing students

bring about a long-overdue
.change - a chance for outsiders
to enter the prison weekly and
work in close connection'with the
inmates in hopes of bringing a
much needed interest and con-
cern for resident welfare and
social contact inside the prison
walls.
For more information regard-
ing the Prison Projects offered
through the University next se-
mester, call the Project Commu-
nity Office or stop in at the office
which is located on the second
floor of the Michigan Union.
Johnny Johnson is editor of
The Spectator, a newspaper
published weekly by residents
of the Southern Michigan Pen-
itentiary at Jackson, Michi-
gan.


Letters to

sexual danger
To The Daily:
It should be made clear, once and
for all, that it is as dangerous for
a girl entering puberty to be
living with a heterosexual father
as it is for her to be living with a
homosexual mother! If recent
statistics on incest Are to be
credited, an adolescent girl is
much more likely to be sexually
approached by her father than by
any other adult. As a matter of
fact, sexual molestation and
abuse of children of either sex are
almost exclusively perpetrated
by men. Women (lesbian or
heterosexual,) tend to respect
and protect children.
-Itala Rutter
Asst. Prof. Romance
Languages

I tfCN gnu lMoAMA I 'VE BEEN EATING SlkiAR

Out F-T °
t7

recognize that because of the
rejection and the alienation so
much of the heterosexual society
imposes upon gays, that many
gays become very much alone,
lost and without a sense of love
and unity. We notice that much of
the gay action in Ann Arbor, for
example, remains in the streets,
bars, and rest areas. Many gays
find refuge from their true iden-
tity by joining various cults or
fundamental "Christian" or
charismatic groups which
though offering companionship
and a sense of belonging
nonetheless rob a gay of his/her
own sepse of self and forces
him/her to prostrate their total
identity in favor of the total
domination of the heterosexual
(and "healthy") majority. They
will still find themselves in a very
sorry and repressed situation. We
think there is only one alternative
for the gay Christian and that is
to face the truth about their own
beautiful personality (including
sexuality), God has given them.
We feel that an organization such
as the Metropolitan Community
Church which recognized Jesus
as Savior in a most personal way
can go a long way in correcting
the problems that exist in Ann
Arbor's gay community. We have
evidence of how an accepting
Christian community has benefit-
ted gays already in many places.
We know that Christ-love alone is
the real answer to human
situations.
There will be an organizational

The Daily
for further information. We look can get off the ground and star-
forward to a good response to this ted. There is much to be done
invitation so that Metropolitan Planping Committee
Community Church of Ann Arbor MCC
Civil Liberties Handbook
Q. Are seniority rules illegal if they operate to lock women
workers into low-paid jobs?
A. Yes, Seniority is a fairly complex subject, but it is an essen-
tial component of many industries and must be understood
because senioritymarrangements often have a highly
discriminatory effects.
Seniority, or length of time with the company or the job, often
determines a worker's right to bid for better jobs that open up
and to keep a job when there is not enough work to go around.
That is, the company gives the person who has been working for
the longest time the first chance to bid for a new, better-paying
job. It will also lay off the person who has been there the shortest
time first and keep the person who has been there longestOther
fringe benefits, such as first choice on vacation time or pension
pay, may also depend on work seniority, and wage scales often
are set by seniority.
Many employers measure seniority in a particular depar-
tment rather than in the whole company. Under department
seniority, every time a worker starts in a new department he or
she loses all the seniority built up in the former department. In
these circumstances, most workers hesitate to move into a new
department, even one that will pay better in the long run,
because of the short-term wage cut and the possibility of being
laid off. Since past hiring practices have given men the choice of
better-paying departments, the workers locked in by this
system are women. Once again, a neutral employment
policy-departmental seniority-operates to discriminate
against women.
Given this situation, the courts may order the company to use
a seniority system based on time with the company rather than
with a department within the company. Then when a woman
worker moves to. a new department, she will not have to
sacrifice her seniority in competition with the men who have
worked for a longer time in that department but for less time
with the company.
Courts may devise, and have done so in the past, other
snitionst n the discrimination caused by departmental-

P.S. Thanks for your
enlightened editorial!

fine

1ST FIELD NEWSPAPER SYNC
STHIE MILWAUKEE

for gay christians
To The Daily:
The Metropolitan Community
Church founded by Reverend
Troy Perry is an organization
nationwide which ministers to
gay Christians. It became
necessary to create MCC because
as we know so many of the
organized Christian Churches
wrongly condemn the physical
love between two men or two
women as somehow necessarily
more sinful than physical love