a£id$!Jan Drn
Eighty-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Thursday, January 27, 1977 News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Miranda ruling: A first
step toward a po0ice state
I
MSA notes
SALT
By MIKE TAYLOR
EARLIER THIS WEEK, Governor
Milliken proposed a $9.7 million
increase in state funding of this univer-
sity for next year; other Lansing leaders
speculated that the increase would ac-
tually be closer to $15 -million. Although
the University had originally asked 1' r
$30 million additional aid, this will te
the first year in several that funding has
not been cut, and thus must be looked
upon as a real victory for students here,
even if it could have been a bigger one.
It appears that a planned tuition hike
may now be avertable. Interest inglyv
,enough, this good news ay be at least
partially attributable to a group called
Students Associated for Lower Tuition
(S.A.L.T.).
Mike Taylor is the MSA Students As-
sociated for Lower Tnition representa-
tive.
Almost two years ago, SALT was
formed by several representatives of
Michigan's four-year public colleges and
universities. It had two primary goals.
First, it aimed to maintain the quality
of academic programs and services at
all public colleges and universities in
the state. Second, it was datermined
that access to these programs and ser-
shakes
vices not be limited, be it through high
uition, or discontinuation or curtailment
>f specific programs. '
SINCE THEN, IT'S GROWN to in-
:lude representatives from nearly all
four-year and two-year Michigan public
nstitutions of higher education. Still true
o its original goals, SALT now has two
primary functions.
First, it lobbies in Lansing on behalf
>f students in Michigan public higher ed-
ucation. Although it is primarily interest-
ed in appropriations bills - those that
could increase state support of U of M
and other state schools, allowing student
uition to be lowered - SALT is also
obbying for bills that could help stu-
lents in other ways, such as those that
would increase student representation on
:ollege decision-making committees.
Secondly, it coordinates the exchange
>f important information relevant to stu-
dents at different schools involved in
similar struggles. For example, if the
student government at one school is
working on a course evaluation booklet,
ts task would be made easier if it knew
>f a comparable program at another
chool.
WITHIN THE AREA of lobbying, SALT
ontains a Research Committee and a
Legislative Action Committee. The Re-
up legislature
search Committee investigates all bills dawski, SALT's former L
that pertain to public higher education Coordinator, the protestM
and offers recommendations as to their one; many representative
probable effect on students to the Legis- sed by the turnout andt
lative Action Committee. That commit- in the news media.
tee then turns words into action by lobby- A second rally is be
ing for and against bills, depending on late this term. It will b
their merits or lack of merits, as the junction with a state-wic
case may be. so that those who can'tn
Interesting bills currentiy being work- sing can show thei sup
ed on by SALT include ones that could. jectives of SALT'bystay
make scholarships and student loans eas- that day. More informat
ier or harder to obtain, depending on the nished later, and car pc
bill, ones that could eleminate tuition for ranged here so that thos
Michigan residents and reduce it for non- own transportation will
residents, and one that would revamp tend the rally.
the state community college system.
A third 'SALT committee, the Com- IF SALT IS TO SUCC
munications Committee, has been work- ing its goals, increased
ing on a newsletter due out soon. It will be necessary. 0n
should help to coordinate the actions of students from U of M
students at different campuses involved term's SALT rally. Hop
in .common efforts to, improve their edu- more sizable number w
cational experience. it's time to take action
LAST TERM, a rally protesting re- issues and to Lansing.
duced state support of public higher edu- thesuccess of previous S
cation, sponsored jointly by SALT and pecially the forthcoming
the Michigan Higher Education Students appears that our represen
Association (an organization with similar,
but broader goals than SALT), drew over sing may finally be rea
600 students to the steps of thq Legisla- students' view. Let's giv
ture in Lansing. According to Ted Ga- thing to hear!
egislative Action
was an effective
es were impres-
by its coverage
ing planned for
be held in con-
de class boycott
make it to Lan-
port for the ob-
ving out of class
ion will befur
cols will be ar-
se without their
be able to at-
EED in achiev
student support
y a handful of
attended last
efully, a much
will decide that
on educational
Judging from
;ALT efforts, es-
budget hike, it
ntatives in Lan-
dy to hear the
ve them some-
YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to remain
silent. Anything you say can be
used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to the presence
of an attorney during questioning.
If you desire an attorney but can-
not afford one, one will be appoint-
ed nrior Ito questioning.'
Delivered countless times on tele-
vision con shows, the "Miranda"
warning is as much a part of civila
liberties in Amerida as trial by jury
and the presumotion of innocence.
It reminds frightened, intimidated
suspects that they are entitled to
imnortant rights designed to prevent
unfair convictions. It forces possibly
overzealous police to think twice be-
fore bullying potential defendants.
But now police have been offered
a criopling loophole to circumvent
the intent of the Miranda warnings,
with a Supreme Court.decision Tues-
day that said criminal suspects do
rot have to be informed of their
rights until after they are arrested,
and officially placed in police cus-
tody.
As so many rulings of the Nixon-
Burger Court have been, this was an
unfortunate step backward. Bit by
bit,. the conservatices of the Supreme
Court are nullifying some of the most
important decisions on civil liberties
to come out of the Warren Court
of the 60's. Now, police have regained
official access to abusive power ev-
ery bit as dangerous as a loaded.
pistol.,
Now, it's probably unfair to con-
stantly assume the worst of our law
enforcers. Many strive for even-hand-
edness and restraint. Others, how-
ever, are less enamored of rulings
they feel "coddle" criminals and will
no doubt seize any opportunity to
gain the upper hand. These are the
police who will now postpone the
official arrest of their suspects so
they can question them before advis-
ing them of their rights.
Miranda's impact to date has been
rather limited, and there's every
chance Tuesday's decision will all but
erase its iippact on civil liberties.
Coercion may soon creep further back
into the first stages of the justice
procedure as unscrupulous police try
to "trick" 'their suspects into making
incriminating statements before that
person is actually arrested.
It's becoming increasingly harder
for the High Court to rationalize its
slow but concerted efforts to counter
the advances of the Kennedy-John-
son era. This time, Burger et. al. sim-
ply claimed the Miranda provisions
have been interpreted "too broadly,"
as if there were a limit to the fair-
ness and justice Americans deserve
in court.
Fortunately, the Court has not yet
seen fit to take away the rights them-
selves - only the warnings about
those rights. Best stay on your toes,
however - and commit those Miran-
da lines to memory. The Nixon-Bur-
ger conservatives are still relatively
young, and it's not unfair to assume
the worst is yet to come.
11
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Don't sell out PIRGIM
rHIS FRIDAY the University Board
of Regents will finally lay to rest
the issue of PIRGIM funding which
has been hashed and rehashed over
the last 18 months to the satisfac-
tion of no one. We hope that they
will not be so rashly expedient in
their decision as to lay PIRGIM it-
self to rest too.
The controversy began in the fall
of 1975 when the University switched
from the old wait-in-line type of reg-
istration to the new CRISP system.
PIRGIM used to have volunteers sta-
tioned at the registration lines who
would ask each student if she or he
wished to support PIRGIM, and try
to talk them into it if the student
said no. But the advent of compu-
terized registration pushed PIRGIM
out into the cold. It simply was "no
longer feasible for PIRGIM workers
to be in the Crisp lines." So, for the
fall of 1975 the regents approved an
emergency plan which called for each
student to be automatically assessed
Photography Staff
a $1.50 PIRGIM fee. Then, if the stu-
dent didn't want to contribute, he or
she had one week to walk over to
the Student Activities Building to ob-
tain a refund.
This plan so infuriated the stu-
dents, thatthe Regents set up a com-
mittee to investigate alternative
funding methods. In January of 1976,
the committee proposed two possible
plans, a negative check-off and a
positive check-off.
THE NEGATIVE check - off plan
called for a form to be sent out with
each student's tuition bill which the
student would fill out and return on-
ly if he or she did not want to sup-
port PIRGIM.
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HEALTH
SERVICE
Under the positive check-off
a student would be charged the
only if he or she did fill out a
that would accompany tuition
plan
$1.50
form
bills.
Jauine Lubens............
Brad Benjamin...........
Alan Bilinsky.............
Scott Eceker..............
Andy Freeberg...........
Christina Schneider.......
Chief Photographer
Staff Photographer
Staff Photographer
Staff Photographer
Staff Photographer
Staff Photographer
Editorial Staff
Rob Meachum...................Bill Turque
Co-Editors-in-Chief
Jeff Ristine..........i...... Managing Editor
Tim Schick .......... ....... Executive Editor
Stephen Hersh ...........Magazine Editor
Rob Meachumn. ,,.... ,.......Editorial Director
Lois Josinovich..................Arts Editor
STAFF WRITERS: Leslie Brown, Tom Cameron,
Ernile Dunbar, Henry Engelhardt, Rob Evan,
Jeff Frank, Gin y Gatzlolis, Enid Goldman,
Mike Halpin, at y Ienneghan, Geoff Larcom,
Scott Lewis Don MacLachlan, Rick Maddock,
Brian Martin, Bob Miller, Brian Miller, Billy
Neff, Jahn Niemeyer, Eric Olson, Dan Perrin,
Dave Renbarger, Pat Rode, Cub Schwartz,
Errol Shifman, Tom Shine, Jamie Turner, Mark
Whitney, Greg Zott.
Business Staff
Deborah Dreyfuss ............ Business Manager
hathleen Mulhern ... Assistant Adv. Coordinator
David Hanan ................. Finance Manager
Don Simpson .................. Sales Manager
Pete Peterson ..........Advertising Coordinator
Cassie St. Clair.............Circulation Manager
Beth Stratbord ............Circulation Director
We were strongly opposed to the
negative check-off system then, and
remain so now. PIRGIM should only,
be supported by those who wish to
support it, they should bear the bur-
den, no matter how small, of mail-
ing in the form. Students who pre-
fer not to contribute should not -be
required to do anything. They sim-
ply should not be assessed the fee,
period. But, what worries us now is
that several Regents, including Sarah
Power who voted for the negative
system last time, favor cutting uni-
versity ties with PIRGIM funding all
together.
PIRGIM doesn't have the funds to
go out to each student and solicit
a contribution. But, they could sur-
vive with the positive check-off sys-
tem that we advocate, while still be-
ing fair to the students.
PIRGIM hastalways fought for
consumer and student rights, and
often has been the only lobbyist group
to tackle Detroit Edison, Michigan
Bell, and Consumers Power when
those monopolies try to raise already
exorbitant rates. If the Regents cut
PIRGIM off from the University's
failing, there will undoubtedly be no
one left to battle f'or us in Lansing
- and we just can't afford that.
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Gwen Barr, Linda Brenners,
By SYLVIA HACKER and
NANCY PALCHIK
Question: I'm confused about all the stuff in the
papers about PBB. Could you write something on it?
How will I know if it's in my body? How dangerous
is it?
Answer: PBB, polybrominated biphenyl, is a poison-
ous industrial chemical. Used as a fire retardent, it
was mistakenly substituted for an additive usually used
in cattle feed in 1973, and caused sickness and death in
numerous Michigan farm animals. Unfortunately the
meat and dairy products of poisoned animals were sold
in markets for a year or more before the problem was
diagnosed. PBB is stored in human body fat, and sci-
entists estimate that about 90% of Michigan residents
have it in their bodies. However, the amount of the
chemical needed to cause immediate or future illness
remains unknown.
In November of 1976, a study was conducted by a
New York scientist of farm families .exposed to large
amounts of PBB, and a unique cluster of medical prob-
lems was reported. However, the data must be further
studied before definite conclusions can be drawn.
Some controversy arose last summer when the Mich-
igan Department of Public Health discovered PBB
and its less toxic cousin PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl)
in the breast milk of mothers. PCB has widespread in-
dustrial use in insulation, paints, soaps, etc. T h e
question revolved around the advisability of breast
feeding infants. Many of the women had PBB and PCB
levels higher than the limits set as "safe" by the
FDA for commercial milk. The coordinator of the La
Leche League and the state health director felt that
breast feeding should continue, but the New York scien-
tist studying the farm families disagreed. The most
recent word from the Michigan Department of Public
Health, based on several studies, is that there is pre-
sently no reason to discourage the practice of breast
feeding for the general population of nursing mothers
but it might be advisable for women living on contamin-
ated farms not to do so.
The FDA has established certain tolerance levels of
PBB in food and cattle feed. Any products lower than
these levels are free to go to market. This means that
contaminated products are still being sold, but they
are considered "safe" because of their presumably
low levels. There is some disagreement among scien-
tists about the safety of these low levels in meat and
dairy products. Although they see no immediate health
hazard, they are worried about PBB buildup in the
human body and long-range cancer possibilities. How-
ever, the Michigan Agriculture Commission, after hold-
ing hearings on the question, has decided not to lower
PBB limits in food. They feel that lowering limits now
would not recover enough PBB to justify the cost, and
it would ruin Michigan agriculture.
All we can do right now is to keep following the re-
search and the controversy, and cross our fingers once
in a while that we survive all the technological advanc-
es in our society.
Question: I have often heard that switching drinks
(alcoholic) will make you drunker and also give you a
worse hangover. Is this true, and if so, why?
Answer: According to the National Institute on Al-
cohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the notions that switching
drinks will make youeither drunker or give you a
worse hangover are basically myths. The main factor
that will get you drunk is the amount and not the
form of alcohol you consume. And the more alcohol
you consume; the greater will be the probability that
you will have a hangover. The type of drink may, of
course, affect the amount of alcohol you consume as a
12-ounce bottle' of beer, a 4-5 ounch glass of wine and a{
1 -ounce of whiskey or the average cocktail all contain
about the same amount of alcohol. Similarly, the spac-
ing of drinks can beean important factortas it takes
about one hour for each of these DIrinks to be mets'
bo'ized once it is in the bloodstream.
The myth that switching drinks will make you drunk-
er or give you a worse hangover is a popular one. Pos-
sibly, the act of switching drinks may encourage an
individual to drink more than he or she is accustomed
to consuming. It is also possible that mixing certain
types of drinks (beer and sweet liquors for example)
may be more upsetting to your stomach. But with re-
gard to the probability of an individual getting drunk
or having a hangover, the main factor is still the
amo'int of ethyl alcohol consumed wi'hin a given period
of time.
I
Letters
to
the
PIRGI
To The Daily:
THE REGENTS of the univer-
sity are about to decide wheth-
er to continue the negative
check-off privilege of PIRGIM
for another year. It is the posi-
tion of the. U.S. Labor Party
here on campus and of its alum-
ni members that not only should
this special interest group for'
Wall Street's zero-growth poli-
cies 'lose its looting rights to
the students' wallets, but it
should also be invited to fold
ed the basis for Tudor England's
flowering under the economic
policies of Thomas Gresham.
Later on in the seventeenth cen-
tury, defeated followers of Oli-
ver Cromwell, who had attempt-
ed to restore Greshamite poli-
cies in decadent Stuart Eng-
land, flocked to the American
colonies and set the intellectual
atmosphere for Franklin, Jef-
ferson, and especially Hamilton.
GUIDED BY THE enlightened
policies of these far-seeing gen-
tlemen, the United States
through its Constitution was able
saw an industrial explosion
which firmly laid the foundation
for the U.S.'s world leadership
in science, technology, and the
resulting standard of living.
Pitted against the, gigantic
achievements inspired by the
Idea of Progress which traces
its roots to the Florentine Ren-
aissance, quackery like that ad-
vocated by Nader, Commoner,
PIRGIM; and the Rockefeller/
liberal clique is particularly
pathetic and vicious in the face
of the problems currently faced
by the human race. These scur-
rilous charlatons should be tak-
Dally
nored as Lincoln ignored the
peace overtures of the Confed-
erate government in early, 1865.
It is the mighty tradition of
this world-historical nation that
it refuses to compromise with,
simpering fears and unscientif-
ic flim-flam in the pursuit of
its goals of human creative de-
velopment.
Martin Keller
boycott
To the Daily:
IN RESPONSE to your editor-
ial urging University HousingF
Council to end the boycott of
ber, United Farm Workers' head
lettuce has been in the dorms
on a fairly regular iasis. They
would have heard that the stu-
dent vote was only an advisory
vote, and that other factors also
were considered. They would
have heard that the students,
through the power of referend-
tim, can end the boycott if they
so wish.
But, the Daily did not choose
to send a reporter to the meet-
ing, and therefore did not hear
all of this. Unfortunately, . t h e
Daily and so many others took
hi4, 611 cc,,,,radthe vnte At only