er 4, 1977--The Michigan Doily
"idtagan a
Eighty-Eight Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Vol. LXXXVIII, No. 23 News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
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By GARTH KRIEWALL
Gloomy, Dismal.
Dreary.
Those three words en-
capsulate the feelings run-
ning across campus in re-
cent days after the release
of the football polls show-
ing the Michigan team
slipping from first to third
in the national rankings.
Students and faculty
alike were noticibly sub-
dued Tuesday when the
poll results were publish-
ed, a far cry from only
days ago when the campus
was alive with pride for its
team.
"I'M EMBARRAS-
SED," said Freshperson
Maureen J. Pellviss. "I
mean, I told all my friends
back home that I was go-
ing to the number one uni-
versity in the country and
the team does this to me.
It's just not fair," she said,
turning away.
Maureen echoed the
feelings, perhaps more ar-
ticulately than can reason-
ably be expected of a
freshperson, of many.
"God I feel awful," re-
marked Tim Broder, an
engineering senior. "When
I picked up the paper this
morning and read that,
T seriously considered
transferring out of this
dump."
In fact, campus ad-
missions reported a wave
of requests for tuition re-
funds by the middle of
Thursday afternoon.
"THEY ALL feel,
'What's the use of continu-
ing,' " said admissions of-
ficial Susan W. Trailor.-
"The feelings of shame
have been pretty power-
ful," she added.
Coach Glenn (Bo)
Schembechler had said re-
cently that he didn't feel
the Wolverines didn't de-
serve to be ranked number
one. He got his wish last
Tuesday.
"Sure, I said that," said
an obviously shaken
Schembechler, reached at
his home just prior to Wed-
nesday's practice, "but I
didn't expect anyone to be-
lieve me.
"FERCHRISSAKE, can't
anybody take a little
joke?" the coach wonder-
ed rhetorically.
University President
Robben Fleming, in the
wake of the outpouring of
emotion released a state-
ment early Thursday say-
imber
ing in part, "Of course
we're all terribly disap-
pointed by the lack of faith
in us by those polled, but
we must carry on. I can
say, that with the help of
students and faculty alike,
we can bear this unseemly
albatross which has been
placed so inopportunely
around our necks.
"I'm sure those polled
acted without malice, but I
only wish they had con-
sidered the cost of their
rash actions," the tenured
president concluded.
MOST UNIVERSITY of-
ficials privately admit this
loss of face could seriously
hinder other activities at
the formerly prestigious
institution, but note that
there may be ways of sal-
vaging the long histories of
quote on occasion.
I
3!
such departments as law,
medicine and geography.
"It'll be tough, but we've
been in tough spots be-
fore," said an unnamed
administrator.
Big Ten Commissioner
Wayne Duke has been ask'
ed to intercede on the uni-
versity's behalf, but to
date, there has been no re-
sponse from his office.
"Well, we were number
one for a couple of weeks,
and can Slippery Rock say
the same thing?" sai4t
Tom Zeickerman, a jour-i
nalism sophomore.
Apparently, most feel
that's small consolation.
S
Garth Kriewall is a graduate.
journalism student who has:
been known to make up ay
Rights of Americans
-
A
-
'I
O
M
The following material is ex-
cerpted from an American Civil
Liberties Union handbook, The
Rights of Women by Susan Ross.
The paperback is available from
the American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU), 234 State Street,
Suite 808, Detroit, MI 48226.
QUESTION. May a company
deny jobs, promotions, or over-
time work to women because of
state "protective" labor laws?
ANSWER: No. The so-called
"protective" labor laws are a
series of state laws passed since
the beginning of the 20th century
to regulate women's -but not
men's - work. It has become in-
creasingly evident that these
laws now restrict women more
than they protect them. Some
forbid women to hold certain
jobs, such as bartender or mine
worker. Others assume that a
woman never wants to work long
hours or at night, and conse-
quently forbid her to do so. Still
others, based on the assumption
that all women are physically
weak, declare that no woman
may lift moderate or heavy
weight or work before and after
childbirth."
Of course, none of these laws
prohibits the unpaid housewife
from working under such condi-
tions; only the paid worker is
"protected." And many of the
"protections" are inapplicable to
the least desirable "female" jobs
- night work is seldom closed to
charwomen. These facts provide
a clue to the real effect of such
"protective" laws. Companies
use them to deny women jobs,
and women workers have used
Title VII to attack this practice.
The most famous case involved
Lorena Weeks, a worker at
Southern Bell Telephone who bid
for the more lucrative switch-
man's job. The company denied
her bid, claiming she would have
to lift a 31-pound fire extinguish-
er, which the Georgia law on
weight lifting for women forbade.
(The company conveniently for-
got that she already had to lift a
35-pound typewriter.) After sev
eral years of litigation, Lorena
eventually won the job and
$30,000 as well to compensate her
for lost wages.
Other women have challenged
laws forbidding overtime work
(and overtime pay rate) and clos-
ing certain jobs to women, and
they have all won their lawsuits,
even though the companies ar-
gued that the male sex was a~
"bona fide occupational qualifi-
cation" for the work or jobs
which the women were trying to
get. The Federal Courts have
flatly rejected this claim and
have ordered the companies to
stop using these laws to
discriminate against women
workers. The Courts have been
joined by the federal agency that
administers Title VII - the
Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC)
This is the first installment
of a weekly column by the
Michigan chapter of the
ACLU. Each week, one or
more questions about civil
rights will beanswered.
p
711ltIi, aliL NLTwtj r l'Qys
Burger Court's assault on
ersonal freedom must stop
N
AY RIGHTS, which have been vio-
lated this year from Dade Coun-
, Florida to Washington- state, took
other kick in the teeth yesterday
when the Supreme Court upheld a rul-
ig that homosexuality is "immoral"
#d is just case for job dismissal.
The case concerns the dismissal of
high school teacher James Gaylord of
Tacoma, Washington. Gaylord was
ismissed from Wilson High School in,
972, after nearly 13 years of service
When school officials learned he is a
pmosexual. The Washington State Su-
preme Court upheld the school's right
to fire Gaylord based solely on the fact
that he is a homosexual, and the U.S.
Supreme Court refused to hear the
teacher's appeal, thus letting stand the
ruling of the State court.
Although he was charged with no
improprieties, Gaylord was fired be-
cause officials said his homosexuality
would be a detrimental influence on
tudents and the "learning at-
mosphere" in the school. They argued
that they had "sufficient cause" to fire
Gaylord on the assumption of his
homosexual acts. t
Gaylord's attorney argued that his
constitutional-rights to privacy, liber-
ty, freedom of expression and equal
protection under the law were violated
by his firing.
The Supreme Court's refusal to
hear the case is a brazen disregard for
,the rights of one of the nation's most
;oppressed minorities. Homosexuals all
over the country have had their lively-
hoods placed in jeopardy by this ac-
tion. The Court may well have opened
the floodgates to mass firings of gays
by bigoted employers.
But the scope of this ruling isn't lim-
ited to homesexuals alone. Gaylord
was fired because of a Washington law
which permits a public employe to be
dismissed if he or she is found to be
immoral. By refusing to hear the ap-
peal, the Supreme Court has implicitly
upheld an employer's right to fire any
"immoral" employe, not just homo-
sexuals. Since the Court has not de-
fined "immoral," it is impossible to
say just what a court would consider
sufficient grounds for dismissal, but
the possibilities are ominous. Many
people consider it immoral for a man
and woman to live together out of wed-
lock. Would some state courts consider
this sufficient grounds for dismissal?
However unlikely this might be, the
fact is the Court has left open such a
possibility.
W~HAT PEOPLE do in the privacy
of their own homes is, and must
remain their own business, so long as it
doesn't deny anyone else his or her
rights. Once we begin to limit sexual
freedom who knows where it will end?
And once we permit employers to fire
employes they find "immoral," we are
only a frighteningly small step away
from allowing employers to dismiss
employes on the basis of their social or
political views.
Under the leadership of Chief
Justice Warren Burger the Supreme
Court whittled away large chunks of
our personal freedom, of which this is
only one example. The time to end this
attack on the rights of the individual is
now, and the only way to do so is by a
constitutional amendment. Everyone's
right to sexual freedom, not just homo-
sexual's, must be protected at all cost.
And if a constitutional amendment is
the only solution, then steps should be
taken to initiate one immediately.
Letters to
fleming
An Open Letter to President
Robben Fleming:
September 16, 1977
Dear President Fleming,
Thank you for your letter of
July 25. It's always nice hearing
from you, though it seems to me
that the only time I get a letter
from you is when you announce a
tuitionahike. I amtsorry that you
feel that you don't know me well
enough to write at other times. If
I heard from you on a regular
basis, perhaps I might not dread
those white envelopes from the
Office of the President that seem
to appear about this same time
every year. T
Surely you must'realize how
this association of your office
with tuition hikes affects your im-
fige among the students. Perhaps
you are ashamed of your role as
financial "hit man" for the Uni-
versity and feel that students
don't like you and therefore don't
want to hear more from you. If
you would write us more often,
you might overcome this unfair
image of yourself. I am sure that
you feel, as I do, that the rela-
tionship between a university's
president and its students ought,
to be more than that of seller and
buyer. Might I encourage you to
write us a bit more frequently
and about happier matters?
I HAVE a few other comments
about your letter that I would like
to make:
Your letter noted that the aver-
age tuition increase is 8.75%, and
elsewhere in the table you in-
clude helpful tables representing
the percentage of increase in the
various schools of the Univer-
sity. However, I notice that you
tactfully omitted the rate of in-
crease for Rackham graduate
students in Ph.D. programs. My
tuition for 12 hours last fall as an
instate resident was $636. Tuition
for the same 12 hours this fall
with be $1,080. That's an increase
of over 76 per cent. While I ap-
nhmiA the ffnrt n the TTnhuvr-
awaits these students upon com-
pletion of their degrees. I must
say that I resent this kind of
"help" in making career deci-
sions and I further resent the fact
that those students who must
study the longest to get their de-
grees must go deepest into debt
- especially when many Ph.D.
students have families to support
on their restructed incomes. I am
unable to understand the reason-
ing behind this.
I appreciate your reading this
letter and welcome any com-
ments or explanations - public
or private - you might care to of-
fer.
Financially yours,
Edward L. Smith, Jr.
cliches
To The Daily:
As a former editor of The
Daily, I have often defended the
newspaper's reputation against
attacks of editorial incompe-
tence. It used to be a task to
which I could address myself
based on a firm conviction that
the newspaper is among the best
put out by college students. But
both my case for the Daily's edi-
torial excellence and my own
willingness to defend it are seri-
ously diminished when the paper
prints embarrassingly bad copy.
Such a problem, I argue, exists
in former Daily city editor
Stephen Selbst's letter to the edi-
tor appearing in the issue of Sep-
tember 24. The letter is dully
written and filled, with cliches.
While ideally, all copy should re-
ceive close attention, letters
should uniformly be poured (sic)
over, especially when written by
former staff members, just to
avoid needless embarrassment.
Citing examples, I assert that
the use of the "insultingly" with
reference to the word "obvious
is insultingly obvious. And why is
"news reporting" characterized
as "best"? Isn't there a set of
fresher expressions? I could go
on and on, but you get the point.
The letter contains superfluous
Te Daily
Selbst is spoiled by the fact that manding educational standards.
Michigan's style of play over the Why should we make that assum-
past several years has been exac- tion? Could it mean that stu-
tly as these phrases suggest, and dents are brighter than they were
so he has probably heard them ten years ago? Is it a reflection of
before. Adjectivessare not cliches superior teaching in recent
if they describe a situation ac- years? Not likely, you might say.
curately; I feel I know exactly But as likely as any assumption
what the author means in his use that Billy Frye or The Daily has
of "relentless" and "swarming." made. Because you are attempt-
Choice of modifiers is within ing to use five arbitrary letters to
the realm of the author. I suggest measure learning and draw some
that if Mr. Selbst wishes to once significant concludion.
again be the author, he rejoin the We do need a challenging and
Daily staff in that capacity. But demanding college program. But
not before he cleans up his gram- "grade toughening" does note
mar. His version of the second achieve educational superiority;
sentence above read "a task .I Our focus must be on education
could address myself to...," a bad itself. We are in the business of
case of a dangling preposition. teaching and learning, and ifP
Yours for better journalism, students, aren't meeting high'
Frank J. Longo standards we should examine the
* academic curriculum and.
Frank J. Longo, managing teaching methods before we.
sports editor of The Daily in "crack down" on the student'
1973, is now an actuary in body.
New ork ity.Our present "grade inflation".
New York City. may be a reflection of a positive
grades trend away from stressing.
grades and competition instead,
To The Daily: of actual learning. We want to
In Sunday's editorial, The move away from the bell-shaped
Daily wholeheartedly endorsed curve that forces human learning
the notion that our professors and into neat statistical formulas. We
instructors have been far too want to move away from the re-
lenint aoutgradng andthe volving door policy that admits
time has come to crack down. students uncaringly only to flunk
Billy Frye, dean of LSA, is a long-_ them out the following term.
time opponent of progressive I am presently learning to be a
change or affirmative action in teacher. As a teacher I will not
education, and I am not surprised decide before I meet my class
that he has made such a state- what grades the children will re-
ment. But I am shocked that The ceive. Instead I will strive towar-
Michigan Daily would back such ds helping every student to be a
educational elitism, successful learner.
The Daily assumes that the rise Debra Goodman
in gradepoint means less de-
lick, Keith Richburg, Julie Rovner, Dennis Sabo, Anpnarie
EDITORIAL STAFF Schiavi, Paul Shapiro, Elizabeth Slowik, Mike Taylor, Pauline
ANN MARIE LIPINSKI JIM TOBIN Toole, Sue warner, Linda Willcox, Shelley Wolson, Mike Yellin,
Editors-in-Chief and Barb Zahs
'LOIS JOSIMOVICH...................:.... Managing Editor
GEORGE LOBSENZ.................... Managing Editor BUSINESS STAFF
STU McCONNELL ........................... Managing Editor DEBORAH DREYFUSS.......................Business Manager
JENIFER MILLER........................ Managing Editor COLLEEN HOGAN........................Operations Manager
Contact your reps
Sen. Donald Riegle (Dem.), 1205 Dirksen Bldg., Washington,
D.C. 20510
Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep.), 353 Russell Bldg., Capitol Hill,