Eighty-Seven Years of Editorid Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Sunday, March 27, 1977 News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan

I


LO OKING
from mo to al
A LMOST A YEAR AGO, Mayor Albert Wheeler was
slapping backs and bear-hugging with Congress-
man Morris Udall on the steps of Kerrytown in an
attempt to beef up the Arizonan's chances for the
Democratic presidential nomination. Udall was in Ann
Arbor collecting votes for the Michigan primary and
our Democratic mayor was doing his best to scare
up some support for the local favorite. Last week,
Udall returned the favor.
In a piece of campaign literature, Republican
mayoral candidate Louis Belcher ran an endorse-
ment from Parker Pennington IV. Pennington. once
worked for Udall during his presidential bid, which
prompted the headline "from Udall ... to Belcher"
over the Pennington endorsement.
Connie LaClair, who is coordinating student sup-
port for Wheeler's reelection campaign, phoned Udall's
legislative offices to try and clear up what she and

BACK

THE WEEK IN REVIEW


other Wheeler supporters thought was a rather mis-
leading endorsement. LeClair claimed that many peo-
ple had been calling Wheeler's headquarters asking
if Udall had endorsed the Republican candidate. Udall
responded with a telegram and gave the Wheeler
campaign a much needed shot in the arm.
"I was ... a little surprised to find I am con-
sidered such a fine fellow by the Republican candi-
date that my name would appear in his campaign
literature," the telegram said.
"In a tough, controversial, often thankless job,
Mayor Wheeler has tried to do what is right for the
citizens of Ann Arbor," Udall said. "I believe he de-
serves reelection to another term."
The Belcher people denied that any connection be-
tween Udall and the Republican, tacit or otherwise,
was intended in the literature. "All we wanted to
do was to show that people with the kind of beliefs
Mo Udall has can support Belcher," said Belcher's
student coordinator, Mark Straton.
Meanwhile, with just a whisper over a week to
go before the April 4 city elections, candidates for
the mayor's post as well as the five city council seats
are preparing to expend a final blast of campaign
energy. And this year, because of the candidacy of
only one incumbent, the races in most of the wards
are still a toss-up.
The biggest determinent in each of the ward races
will be, of course, the amount of pull each of the three
mayoral candidates can muster. And where the Dems
need to muster the most pull will be in the city's
heterogeneous fourth ward. The more voters Mayor
Wheeler and SHRP mayoral candidate Diana Slaugh-
ter can draw to the polls in that ward, the better
the chances are for Democratic council candidate Bob
Hemeryck. And if Hemeryck does win that race, chanc-
es are the Democratic party can regain a majority
on council. But if the moody fourth ward voters turn
out to return incumbent Republican Ronald Trowbridge

Photo by STEVE KAGAN
This handshake last May, when Morris Udall Yswung through Ann Arbor on his way to losing the Michi-

'What do you say we hold her hostage until all this terrorism stops?'

Terrorism and the question
of regulating the media

gan presidential primary, was apparently sincere.
Mo responded in kind last week.
to his council seat, they will most likely bring along
with them bad tidings for Wheeler and a healthy
endorsement for Belcher.
off the Job again
CAMPUS SERVICE WORKERS had barely gotten
back on the job when, the University hauled off
and suspended 31 of them, including American Fed-
eration of State, County, and Municipal Employes
(AFSCME Local 1583) president Joel Block.
Block was suspended for an alleged bomb threat
made on the Administration Building March 4. Most
of the rest of the strikers were disciplined for re-
portedly smashing truck windows and slashing tires
at the University's motor pool at Hoover and Green
Streets. Ann Arbor police are investigating Block's
role in the bomb threat. Administrators say they'll
wait for the investigation's outcome bemore they take
further action.

Al Wheeler helped out when Mo needed him, and
The University said it wasn't going to tolerate
vandalism; the union said the administration was
"head-hunting" and out to break the union, its lead-
ers in particular.
wve know
A NN ARBOR HOUSING is crummy.
So what, right? What renter in town doesn't know
it already? Nonetheless, it took $39,000 of a mayoral
"Blue Ribbon" committee to find it out for sure,
and all the details came out last week in about 400
pages worth of data compiled by the University's
Institute for Social Research.
Conditions are poor, scarce, and expensive, the

WHEN A SMALL, well-armed bri-,
gade of Hanafi Muslims storm-
ed several District of Columbia build-
ings and took a crowd of hostages
nearly three weeks ago, the reaction
of the media was thunderous. Cam-
eras were everywhere,' recording all
the action almost before it could
take place. There were cameras shoot-
ing film of cameras and cameras
shooting film of cameras shooting
film of cameras. A grisly series of
terrorist acts had become the classic
"media event."
There is little doubt that the
scene ended up in coverage that was
somewhat sensationalized, but it
aroused much more virulent reac-
tion from critics around the nation:
such coverage, the critics said, will
lead to an increased romanticizing
of/ brutal acts, to an increase in the
acts themselves, and may result in
dangerous interference in negotia-
tions for hostages. Furthermore, the
critics say, it may be time to take
a closer look at the possibility of

curtailing the press' freedom in such
matters.
It is difficult to go to the wall
in defense of media coverage that
makes a carnival out of deadly seri-
ous crises, and it is also impossible
to deny that the carnival atmosphere
might go far to make terrorists out
of people who would otherwise go on
harboring their hatreds inside them-
selves.
But the quick reaction that calls
for press regulation is more danger-
ous still. As media defenders have
been quick to point out, there is
little more conducive to violence than
the uncontrolled rumors which would
certainly result from a muzzling of
the press.
And there is a larger point. Who
does one entrust with press regula-
tion? Who does one allow to con-
trol what news one can read and
what news one can't? Well-intention-
ed or not, a government-controlled
press is a knife in the side of the
public interest,.

study said, and for
eight census tracts,"

a student inside the "central
it's even worse.


belcher
To the Daily:
This year we have a Republi-
can candidate for mayor whose
pub1c and private statements
can sometimes vary. This makes
it hard for even an experienced
observer to understand what Mr.
Becher has in mind. To remedy
this, we have undertaken an in-
depth analysis of Mr. Belcher's
statements and we bring them
to you.
Mr. Belcher is outspoken on
the subject of students in poli-
tics. In the past, he didn't seem
to be very gentle. When a stu-
dent councilwoman objected to
an appropriation last year, Mr.
Belcher said,"When you're used
to spending nickels for lollipops
just a few years ago, this seems
like big money."'
He has shown a great interest
in student culture-an interest in
avoiding it, mostly. When ex-
plaining why he voted against
approval of several rock con-
certs, he commented that, "I
had to listen to that counter-
culture crap for four days."
Yet just a few months later,
Mr. Belcher seems in his litera-
ture to show a great concern for
students and their issues.
Mr. Belcher has not had the
highest regard for liberals. At
council, he said, "For all the
liberal tendencies liberals are
supposed to have, their greatest
tendency is toward distator-
ship." Strong words, though he
is entitled to his opinion. But in
his campus literature, Mr. Bel-
cher takes a different line. He
links himself with Morris Udall
and, by the slogan "Progressive
Solutions . . . For a Change"
to Jimmy Carter's, whose slo-
gan was similar. Is Belcher born
again? Or does he say different
things to the Ann Arbor News
and the Michigan Daily?
In his new piece, Belcher
modestly refres to himself as
"Ann Arbor's leading environ-
mentalist." Strong words; who
called him that? If they're true,
he is the only environmental
leader in our country to show a
fanatical opposition to public
transportation. A n y o n e who
says, "You tell the American
people to ride public transporta-
tion and they'll tell you to stick
it in your ear," has a little way
to go before being elected presi-
dent of the Sierra Club.
Belcher is on the record, then
off the record, on the question of
expanding our flying commerce.
In a letter to Republican com-

Letters
years ago, he voted to put the E
repeal of the $5.00 fine on thet
ballot. The voters rejected his
attempt to erase it from the
books. Now his literature says c
"Lou is satisfied that the law f
works." He was never satisfied
until April 4 came near. Does he
tell the voters in the 5th Wardi
that he'sysatisfied, even now?
Perhaps we make too much oft
these things. After all, politics is
politics. And this is nothing new
for the Republicans. A few yearst
ago, they ran an ad in the Ann I
Arbor News that said, "The
revolutionists have spread the I
word. 'Come to Ann Arbor this
summer. It's an open city under
the permissive policies of the i
Democrats.'" They didn't putt
this ad in the Daily then. Why
should they tell students abouti
Lou Belcher's real record now?
-Dave Ettinger 1
virtues f
To The Daily:f
All too often the students of
the University of Michigan re-
ceive only one side of the dis-
cussion concerning student gov-
ernment. Officers from 1972-74
are still the dominant stories
concerning the Michigan Stu-
dent Assembly, even though
their time passed before most
current students arrived on
campus. Much attention is also
paid to the seemingly carnival
atmosphere at some weekly
MSA meetings. What is not
realized is that most of the As-
sembly's work is done behind
the scenes during the week and
that the meetings are partially,
although by no means primari-
ly, an opportunity to let off
steam.
This semester has provided .
a perfect example of the type
of hard work to which we are
referring. Scott Kellman and
Steve Carnevale, the president
and vice-president of MSA, have
been working on various MSA
projects in excess of forty hoursa
per week each. They practically
live in the office. One major
project, although not the only
one, has involved the issue oft
additional space for student or-1
ganizations and activities. Scott
and Steve have realized that an
acute shortage of student space
exists (as has everyone for
years) but they did something
about it. They went to the Re-a
gents in January, roughly one
month after taking office, and
presented a preliminary report
Concerning the vital need forj

to

the

student space. Much of this
time was spent in the MSA of-
fices during sleepless nights. A
survey assessing the needs was
sent to all two hundred and
fifty organizations, and the re-
suIlts were tabulated and inter-
preted. They had to deal with
numerous University depart-
ments, many of which were un-
cooperative and wanted no part
of dealings with students.
Despite the obstacles, they got
the job done. On March 17, Scott
Kellman and Steve Carnevale
made a presentation to the Re-
gents concerning the need for
more student space .and detail-
ing five alternatives for provid-
ing this space. All indications
that the University is ready to
act favorably as a result of the
report and efforts.
Student government is not
just a circus. Scott. Kellman
and Steve Carnevale have prov-
en that student government can
function responsibly and can
get things done on behalf of
the students.
All the undersigned are MSA
members or officers.
Irving Freeman, Chris
Bachelder, Brian Laskey,
Ron Wilcox, G.J. DiGiuseppe,
John Gibson, Sandra Schlump,
Michael McDonald, Andrea
Beggs, Stewart Mandell,
Michael Lieberman, Michael
Taylor, Ken Wang, Luke
Cutherell, Elana Storm,
Gerry Rosenberg, Richard
DeVore, Wendy Goodman,
Daniel Browning, Blanche
Trerice, Michele Sprayregen,
Irving Girshman, Larry
Pulkownik, Kevin McMichael,
Jon Lauer and Ron Wiens
exploits
To the Daily:
MSA elections are rapidly ap-
proaching. In order to vote in-
telligently, students must be
aware of MSA's latest exploits.
Recently, students circulated
a petition to attain MSA funding
for the Child Care Action Center
-$7,500 for the next operating
year. Over 1,300 students signed
their names to that petition. Al-
though MSA has agreed to put
the issue on the April 4 referen-
dum, it is doing everything in
its power to confuse the issue.
After nestling the Child Care
question in a group of other ref- -
erendums, MSA decided to in-
troduce a constitutional amend-
ment which will retoactively af-
fect the Child Care question by
increasing the required mandate
from 50 ner cent plus one to 75

aly
lessons
To The Daily:
The bitter defeat of the
AFSCME strike is yet another
victory for the union-busting
administration at U-M. While
most AFSCME workers were
back at work on Monday, at
least 28 were not,Msuspended
for their "misconduct" during
the strike with the possibility
of as many as 37 workers threat-
ened with being fired. These
victimizations are furthertproof
of the university's desire to see
the destruction of the union.
Just as important as support to
AFSCME while it was on strike
are the efforts of students and
campus workers to protest these
reprisals and continue to support
the struggle for the very exist-
ence of the union. Noareprisals!
U-M has been on a two-year
vicious union-busting drive. Be-
ginning with the defeat of GEO
in 1975, every major campus
labor struggle, carried out in
isolation has been beaten back.
The decertification of UAW lo-
cal 2001 and the recent declara-
tion of war on GEO further
proves this.dAestrategy to roll
back these defeats must include
the fullest laborusolidarity,
meaningdrefusal to cross picket
lines and the need fora cam-
pus-wide strike, including ,a
student boycott of classes. To-
ward this end, the Spartacus
Youth League calls for a single
campus-wide union for all em-
ployees, excluding supervisory
personnel and campus cops.
Given, that students make up
the bulk of the campus and the
camous unions lack any real
social muiscle, student partici-
pation in the strike could have
made a real difference. The only
way to combat the videspread
st'udent scabbing was to call
on students to honor the picket
lines, boycott classes and help
shut the university down tight.
Only the Spartacus Youth
League fought for this perspec-
F'rom the beginning of the
strike the militancy of the.
workers was dampened and
undercut by the sell-out leader-
ship of Joel Block, uncritically
supported by the reformist Com-
munist Party. Block discouraged"
strikers from forming massive,
tight picket lines, advising work-
ers to only "slow down" scab
trucks. Block preached reliance
on "friends of labor" Democrat
Al Wheeler and the Board of
Regents, rather than rely on the
m;nhi;i 7 atia nft tim

ply: Don't cross!
The Spartacus Youth ague
alone demonstrated militant,
class-struggle solidarity with the
strikers. The Young Workers'
Liberation League, buried in the
phony Student Support Commit-
tee, uncritically tailed every be-
trayal of the Block bureaucracy.
The Student Support Commit-
tee refused to call for a student
boycott of classes, and even re-
fused an SYL request that they
not meet in East Quad, which
was then being picketed! The
Revolutionary Student Brigade
in turn simply tailed the SSC.
The actions of the RSB and
YWLL were in keeping with
their tradition of capitulating
to the methods and politics of
the trade-union bureaucracy. In
1975, during the GEO strike,
RSB and YWLL supporters re-
fused to support a motion, rais-
ed by an SYL, supporter in
AFSCME, to honor GEO picket
lines and stay out. A small
workerist clique, the Clericals
for a Democratic Union, justi-
fied its supporters' scabbing by
reducing to a "tactic" whether
one crosses or honors picket
lines! The "militants" of the
YWLL, RSB, and CDU proved
to be nothing more than mili-
tant scabs!
The SYL is a revolutionary com-
munist organization that seeks
to win students not only to the
principles of militant unionism
but to the program of revolu-
tionary Marxism. As the youth
section of the Spartacist League,
the nucleus of the Trotskyist
vanguard party, we point to
the SL as the future party that
will lead the working class to
overthrow capitalism. The
AFSCME strike has demonstra-
ted that without that revolu-
tionary leadership, the working
class can only go down in de-
feat.
Spartacus Youth League
March 23
comic
To The Daily:
In response to the comic strip
pertaining to Detroit's murder
rate found on the editorial page
of March 15's Daily:
Being a resident of Detroit,
I believe that you did a seri-
ous injustice to myself and oth-
er residents of the city by print-
ing the comic. Yes, it is true
that Detroit has the highest
murder rate in the country, but
I would think that this fact only
serves to emphasize the point
that any progress niade in this
.1-nfl A nnnt 4h. P a nrntcAfnt

I'm his bodyguard... why?'

Phoirgraphy Staff
ALAN BILINSKY ANDY FREEBERG
Co-Photographers-in-Chief
BRAD BENJAMIN........... Staff Photographer
JOHN KNOX . .... Staff Photographer
CHRISTINA SCHNEIDER ... Staff Photographer
Buu;ness Staff
DEBORAH DREYFUSS........Business Manager
COLLEEN HOGAN ....... .. Operations Manager
ROD KOSANN Sales Manager
ROBERT CARPENTER ...... Finance Manager
NANCY GRAU.. ............Display Manager
CASSIE ST. CL AIR.........Circulation Manager
BETH STRATFORD .........Circulation Director

srAi WEITERS: Owen Barr, Susan Barry,
Brian Bianchard, Michael Beckman, Phillip
Bokovoy, Linda Brenners, Lori Carruhers, Ken
Chotiner, Eileen Daley Ron DeKett. Lisa Fish-
er, David Goodman, L4arnie Ileyn, Robb Halm-
es, Michael Jones, ILeni Jordan, Janet Klein,
G .egg Kruppa, Steve Kursman, Dobilas Matu-
ois, Stu McConnell. Tom Meyer, Jenny Mil-
ter, Patti Monte: urri, Torn O'Connell, Jon
?ar,sius, Karen Pau, Stephen Pickover, Kim
Potter, Martha Retalick, Keith Richburg, Bob
Rosenbaum, Dennis Sabo, Annmarle Schiavi,
E zabeth Slowlk, Torn Stevens, Jim Stimpson,
Mike Taylor, Pauline 'Poole. Mark wagner, Sue
Warner, Shelley 'w:.n, Mike Yellin, Laurie
Young and Barb Zals.
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

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