Page 4-Saturday, September 17, 1977-The Michigan Daily
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Eighty-Eight Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
The Bakke case:
A test of faith
Vol. LXXXVIII, No. 9 News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Powell incident increases
distrust in Carter govt.
JODY POWELL'S recent attempt to
discredit Sen. Charles Percy (R-
Ill.), coupled with the continuing
revelations on the Bert Lance affair,
makes it painfully apparent that the
Carter administration is not living up to
its promises.
President Carter promised to put the
Watergate years behind us by running
an honest and open administration; but
so far the Carter White House is grimly
reminiscent of those of the recent past.
Earlier this week, presidential Press
Secretary Jody Powell called Loye Mil-
ler of the Chicago Sun-Times Washing-
ton Bureau, and hinted that Miller
should investigate Sen. Percy's possible
use of a company plane for campaign
purposes. Miller could find no substance
to the story, and in fact learned that Bell
and Howell, the company, in question,
doesn't even own a plane. The following
day, Powell apologized for spreading
the rumor, saying it was "regrettable
and dumb." He added that President
Carter agreed with his assessment.
Carter's conception of an honest ad-
ministration must be radically different
from ours if he accepts Powell's expla-
nation. The press secretary told the
truth only after he'd been caught red-
handed.
REGARDLESS OF HIS motives or
regrets, what Jody Powell did was
ethically, if not legally, wrong, and he is
asking us to sweep it under the rug. Con-
fessing his guilt and apologizing for it
does not excuse this reprehensible act.
As press secretary, Powell's only power
is through the press, and using the press
to further his own goals is the most
heinous act he can commit. And for the
President to tolerate this gross abuse of
power is totally inconsistent with his
pledge for an honest administration.
While Powell hasn't been proven
guilty of any criminal offense, he has
fallen far short of the standards set by
Carter for his appointees. His tactics
are no less appalling than those of
Donald Segretti and G. Gordon Liddy,
and he deserves a similar fate. If Presi-
dent Carter hopes to retain our confi-
dence and trust, then he must start liv-
ing up to his promises to clean up the
White House by removing unethical
men like Powell and Lance immediate-
ly.
SPORTS STAFF
KATHY HENNEGHAN.................. .Sports Editor
TOM CAMERON................. Executive Sports Editor
SCOTT LEWIS...................Managing Sports Editor
DON MacLACHLAN.................. Associate Sports Editor
Contributing Editors
JOHN NIEMEYER and ENID GOLDMAN
NIGHT EDITORS: Ernie Dunbar; Henry Engelhardt, Rick Mad-
dock, Bob Miller, Patrick Rode, Cub Schwartz.
ASST. NIGHT EDITORS: Jeff Frank, Cindy Gatuiolis, Mike
Hal in, Brian Martin, Brian Miller, Dave Renbarger, Errol
S~man and Jamie Turner
THE CASE OF the Regents of
the University of California
versus Allan Bakke will be
argued before the Supreme
Court during the week of Octo-
ber 11. It is one of the most
important civil rights cases of
the decade, and its outcome
will have a monumental effec't
upon racial equality in Amer-
ica.
The University of California-
Davis Medical School has a
special admissions program in
which sixteen out of the one
hundred places in the school
are annually reserved for mi-
nority students. Bakke, a white
male who was twicekrejected by
the school, claims this program
is discriminatory, and violates
his constitutional rights. The
question that the Court will
have to decide is whether or not
California's special admissions
program, and many other simi-
lar programs used by other
universities, 'is constitutional.
In his corner, Bakke has a
favorable ruling by the Califor-
nia Supreme Court. Ittdeclared
the program unconstitutional
on the grounds that Bakke's
rights were violated under the
"equal protection clause" of
the Fourteenth Amendment.
He also has a battery of
statistics showing that t h e
grade - point averages a n d
board scores for students ad-
mitted to the Davis Medical
School under the special pro-
gram are significantly lower
than those of non-minority stu-
dents admitted.
Bakke's case has strong mer-
it. It is clear that Davis' special
admissions program is dis-
criminatory to white students.
Bakke's qualifications for med-
cal school are numerically
higher than those of the minor-
ity students. If judged purely
1from this standpoint, Bakke
L should win his suit.
But the case is far more
complex than this. Cal-Davis is
conceding that their program is
discriminatory, but is challeng-
ing the State Court's decision
that this discrimination is un-
constitutional. Summing up the
argument that they will use
before the Supreme Court,
Assistant Council for the Cali-
fornia Regents. Gary Morrison
said in a phone interview, "We
believe that it 'is lawful to
redress the gross under-repre-
sentation of minorities in
schools and professions by
'4
"that the basic goals of the
program cannot be substantial-
ly achieved by means less
detrimental to the rights of the
majority."
Can educational parity be
achieved without some sacri-
fices being made? And is the
desired end of educational par-
ity important enough to war-
MICHAEL BECKMAN
simply a program, it is an
attitude. One that either a
person is for or against. There
is no half-way stance.
It is easy to say one is in favor
of something like affirmative
action; it's quite another to
keep faith in that ideal when
one is forced to make a per-
sonal sacrifice.
Getting back to the above
questions, no, educational par-
ity cannot be accomplished
without sacrifice. And yes, it is
an important enough end to
warrant such sacrifice.
But, I am applying to law,
school next year. I will possibly
be competing against the same
type of quota systems that Alan
Bakke faced at Cal - Davis.
While I can say now that I am in
favor of affirmative action, I
honestly can't say that I won't
be very disappointed, angry
and upset if I am rejected from
law school because of a special
admissions quota.
That's the importance of the
Bakke case. We are being
asked toctake a stand on an
issue and then asked how far
we are willing to go to back up
our stand. The real key to the
future of racial parity lies in
our own answers to these
questions, not in a court deci-
sion on one individual case.
giving some concession to them
in the admigsions process."
Aligned with Cal-Davis are
many civil rights groups, in-
cluding the NAACP (National
Association for the Advance-
ment of Colored People) which
has just sent a strongly worded
statement to President Carter,
urging. him to file a brief in
behalf of the University. Al-
ready filing similar briefs are
four of the most prestigious
universities in the country:
Stanford, Harvard, Columbia
and Pennsylvania.
There is strong merit on this
side of the case also. Minorities
are severely under-represented
in most major professions, and
due to the inferior quality of
schools in low-income areas -
ian inferiority that people talk
about changing, but not much is
being done about - this void
will not be filled without the use
of artificial methods.
Perhaps the key to the whole
issue can be found in a passage
from the majority opinion of
the California Supreme Court.
It stated that the Cal-Davis
Med School could not show
rant such sacrifices? These are
questions that will not, and
cannot be answered by the Su-
preme Court .Theanine justices
will decide the Bakke case on
purely legal points. My guess is
that the conservative Burgess
Court will rule in favor of
Bakke. But no court can make
affirmative action work or fail.
Affirmative action is more than
Contact your reps.-
Sen. Donald Riegle (Dem.), 1205 Dirksen Bldg., Washing-
ton, D.C. 20510
Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep.), 353 Russell. Bldg., Capitol Hill,
Washington, D.C. 20515.
Rep. Carl Pursell (Rep.), 1709 Longworth House Office Bldg.,
Washington, D.C. 205S.
Sen. Gilbert Bursley (Rp.), Senate,State Capitol Bldg.,
Lansing, MI 48933.
Rep. Perry Bullard (Dem.), House of Representatives, State
Capitol Bldg., Lansing, MI 48933.
Regents should comply with
state Open Meetings Act
Z
HE ANN ARBOR NEWS filed a
civil suit Wednesday against the,
Regents charging violation of the state's
new Open Meetings Act.
The suit says that the Regents are us-
ing a provision in another recently enac-
Ited law, the Freedom of Information
.Act, to "circumvent the spirit of the
'Open Meetings Act." The News feels
"that the Regents are using parts of both
laws, which were enacted to help people
become more aware of what their public
.officials are doing, to, close meetings
which should be open to the public.
The provisions referred to are in Sec-
.tion 13 of the Freedom of Information
Act and Section 8 of the Open Meetings
,Act. Section 13 contains wording which
says in essence that any material repre-
senting an unwarranted invasion of
someone's personal privacy can be
withheld. Section 8, which provides
,number of very specific instances
whereby a meeting can be closed, alsc
says that a two-thirds vote can close any
meeting in which material to bE
Discussed can be withheld under any
other law.
he University Counsel conteridEr
that these provisions allow the Regents
to close any meeting in which theyarE
going to discuss any subject that.coulk
invade someone's privacy.
T HE NEWS FEELS this is not only
far too broad a power, but that the
section of the Freedom of Informatior
Act is itself unconstitutional, because ii
constitutes prior restraint, a direct vio-
lation of both the First and Fourteentl
Amendments.
While we are in no position to make a
judgment on the legal aspects of the
case, the Daily strongly supports the
position of the News. The Freedom of
Information Act and the Open Meetings
Act were enacted as sunshinE
legislation, meant to make it easier for
the general public to know what elected
officials are doing. Instead, the Regents
are manipulating theilaws to make ac-
cess to information even tighter than be-
fore the laws were enacted. This is
clearly not the intention of these laws,
and they were not meant to be used to-
gether to curtail public access.
The Regents serve as a model for
many of the state's smaller legislative
bodies. It is important that they respect
the intentions of these laws and open
their meetings.
Bakke ease goes to prison
THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL
D15 FIELD NEWSPAPER SYNDICATE. 1977
By MARK SHWARTZ
The 1960's principle of "affirmative action"
- already under fire at the university level -
has come under a second-legal attack, this,
time amidst the mounting racial violence that
has plagued California prisons for over a
decade.
The battle hinges on a San Francisco county
judge's order, due to become final this month,
forbidding state prison administrations from
considering race, sex or national origin when
hiring or promoting employees.
THE RULING may affect minorities and
women throughout the country, since the case
is expected to eventually reach the U.S.
Supreme Court. (The high court has already
agreed to consider the controversial Bakke
case in which a white male student applicant
charged the University of California with re-
verse discrimination.)
But the suit against the California Depart-
ment of Corrections (CDC) may have more
immediate life-and-death consequences. Sin-
ce 1968, one hundred eighty-four California
convicts have been fatally stabbed, beaten,
strangled or shot - in many cases the result
of racial tensions. This year alone 12 prison-
ers have been killed in California prisons in
apparent acts of racial retaliation.
Of the state's 20,500 convicts, about 45 per
cent are white, 34 per cent black and 19 per
cent Mexican-American.
IN AN EFFORT to reduce the racial vio-
lence, the Department of Corrections has
been attempting to increase the percentage of
nonwhite staff to approximate the convict
percentage statewide. Since 1965, minority
representation among California prison
guards has increased from six per cent to 26
per cent today.
State prisons director J.J. Enomoto's belief
that employing more non-white guards and
women will help alleviate racial violence
stems in part from his own experience as a
prisoner. He served 18 months in various Cali-
fornia "relocation camps" established by the
U.S. government during World War II for the
detention of thousands of Japanese-Ameri-
cans.
"I can't help but have some personal feel-
ings about the necessity for affirmative kinds
of help for minorities and women," Enomoto
says. "When you figure that over 50 per cent
of our prison population is black or brown,
why shouldn't there be a fair representation
of that in our Department?"
give preference to minorities and women
when determining civil service test scores;
* promoted a black female parole agent
over an allegedly superior white male can-
didate;}
" made certain positions open only to fe-
male or Mexican-American applicants;
" and approved unn cessary requirements
for bi-lingualism whe" filling certain posi-
tions.
The CCOA took its case to court and won a
decision early this year by San Francisco
Superior Court Judge Byron Arnold, who
declared the Department's affirmative action
policy unconstitutional.
The ruling stunned prison administrators'
who feared the court order would perpetuate
racial strife among convicts and staff as well.
"I THINK THE -issue certainly has caused
low morale and resentment," said San Quen-
tin prison spokesman Del Pehrson. "But im-
plementation of affirmative action was a nec-
essary step. Unfortunately it has split the De-
partment along racial lines. I always
thought everyone wearing green (uniforms)
should be on the same side."
Department of Corrections spokesman
Philip Guthrie agrees and blames the current
crisis on the officer's association. "CCOA is
primarily white. A lot of white guards have a
high degree of prejudice, maybe out of ignor-
ance. They feel it is unfair that race is used as
a basis in hiring correctional officers."
Guthrie's legal opponent, CCOA director
Kenneth Brown, agrees that affirmative ac-
tion has lowered morale among guards, but
vigorously opposes what he calls an effort to
establish quotas.
"I THINK THERE'S a backlash," Brown
says. "We are saying two wrongs don't make
a right. We sometimes feel it perpetuates
racism to conduct reverse racial policies."
Brown argues that additional minority
guards do not ease racial problems. "We had
an expert psychiatrist from Syracuse, New
York,'testify that blacks don't necessarily
deal best with blacks, browns with browns,
and so on.
Brownladds, "We encourage aggressive re-
cruitment of minorities and also encourage
minority training. But qualification and only
qualification should be the sole criterion for
hiring ... We're saying the Constitution is
color-blind."
CORRHCTIONAL SGT. Marshall Perkins,
minorities would stay in the system. Because
of hostility from other white guards, they felt
ostracized. This was coupled with the hostility
they felt from the inmates eight hours a day.
Consequently, many blacks and Mexicans left
the department for better paying jobs.
"The hostility has diminished today, some-
what," he says. "You now have a peer group
you can rap with about your problems, and
some white officers are less aggressive when
they have to deal with a group instead of an
individual."
OF THE 475'uniformed guards employed at
San Quentin, 76 per cent are white (compared
to 41 per cent of the convicts), 18 per cent
black and 4 per cent Chicano. About six per
cent are female.
Christine Horylev, one of San Quentin's
twenty-eight women officers, says she can
"understand the feeling of anyone qualified
who is turned down because of affirmative ac-
tion requirements. But sometimes you have
to sacrifice for the better long-term benefit."
Horylev began work nine months ago and
does everything her fellow male guards do
except strip-searches of prisoners. She works
one day a week in the watchtower where she
handles weapons, but she has'never worked
inside a cellblock because the prisoners pro-
tested it as an invasion of privacy.
"Women are trained to talk their way out of
situations rather than fight," she says, "so we
are able to arbitrate peaceable solutions to
conflicts where perhaps men are not. Being a
woman in my work may be an advantage in
bringing out the best in men."
HORYLEV HOPES the latest court ruling
will be reversed. "Because of affirmative ac-
tion, opinions have changed quite a bit. Men
who were dead set against it when I started
work here now say'there are a lot of good
women officers. I've been really lucky to
meet a lot of men who've gone out of their way
to help me."
San Quentin Lt. Richard Martinez - a
member of the Chicano Correctional Workers
Association - believes Judge Arnold's ruling
will not halt affirmative action.
"It really doesn't bother me," the lieuten-
ant says. "I'm on the recruiting team here
and we're going to continue spending quite a
bit of time hitting at the chicano community.
It's going to take a long time.
But black officer Marshall Perkins is less
optimistic: "If the court order is upheld, the
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