The Michigan Daily-Saturday, July 7, 1979-Page 9
Senate votes
to assess
penalties for
expressway
speeding
LANSING (UPI) - The state Senate
voted yesterday to assess penalty poin-
ts against motorists caught driving
over 55 on roads where the speed limit
was 65 or 70 before the energy crunch.
The proposal was rejected on the first
pass, but approved minutes tater on a
20-3 vote - the minimum number
needed for passage. It now faces
scrutiny in the House, which
traditionally has opposed penalty poin-
ts for so-called "energy" speed
violations.
Lawmakers backing penalty points
claim it will put more muscle in the 55
mph speed limit because drivers will
know they face points as well as a fine if
they exceed the speed limit.
UNDER THE bill, motorists arrested
for exceeding 55 would be assessed one
point against their licenses. During a
declared energy emergency, they
would be assessed two points for
driving 5-10 mph over the limit, three
from 10 to 15 over and four for speeding
15 miles over the limit.
Proponents of the bill also noted that
traffic deaths have declined
dramatically since the 55 mph limit was
adopted in 1974.
"I don't see anything wrong with
saving human lives," said Sen. Basil
Brown, (D-Highland Park).
"THAT WOULD be good politics,
even for us."
But Sen. Jack Faxon, (D-Detroit),
said penalty points "only make the poor
pay more" because he said urban
drivers are more likely to get picked up
for speeding.
"I think it's time to meet the issue
squarely, head-on," said Republican
Leader Robert VanderLaan of Ken-
twood, who sponsored the points
proposal.
Ruling on Black English case could take months
By ELEONORA DI LISCIA
Lawyers in the Black English case
presented fiani arguments last week
and now await the judge's decision, but
neither side is willing to predict what
that ruling will be. They do admit,
however, that they expect it will be
weeks or even months before the judge
will reach a decision.
The case concerns 11 children who at-
tend Martin Luther King, Jr. Elemen-
tary School in Ann Arbor. Attorneys for
the children charge the school with
ignoring the children's black dialect
and labelling them as emotionally or
learning disabled. According to eviden-
ce presented in court, giving children
such labels lowers their self-esteem and
reduces the quality expectations a
teacher may have of their work.
ATTORNEYS FOR the children
argued before federal District Court
Judge Charles Joiner . that Black
English should be recognized by the
Ann Arbor school district. "Recognition
should include assessment of the-home
language to see if Black English was
dominant and to take the language into
account whenever the school took
negative action against the plaintiff
children," said attorney Gave
Kaimowitz.
Negative action includes being
placed in special education classes or
speech therapy, being held back in
grade level, or being suspended from
school, according to Kaimowitz.
Kaimowitz maintained that while
standard and Black English differ lit-
tle, "the differences are very
significant."
JOHN WEAVER, attorney for the
Ann Arbor Board of Education, argued
that the children did not have a
language barrier, since they were able
to understand teachers and students
who did not speak their dialect.
Language had not "impeded par-
ticipation in any program. Ann Arbor
had not failed to take any appropriate
educational actions," Weaver said.
Weaver maintained that there "is not
racial intention. This is not something
race specific, but is a cultural or class
problem, common to low-income
people, therefore not a race factor. Not
all blacks speak dialect."
The children's attorneys said they
are not advocating teaching Black
English. "We want them to learn to
read standard English. We think the
failure to recognize language results in
teacher expectations being lowered. In-
tegration has made visible a problem
that has always existed," Kaimowitz
said.
"IT IS THE most important decision
since Brown vs. Board of Education,"
noted Kaimowitz. "I was on a council in
which I stopped psyco-surgery on a
prison inmate. This case is far more
important than that."
Weaver rested his defense without
calling witnesses because, he said, "I
felt that since the plaintiffs had called
11 of our people and each of the
children, which I thought was fairly
good evidence for our side, it was un-
necessary."
The children's lawyers have claimed
that the schools are responsible for
teaching children to read and write and
should be held responsible for those
duties.
According to Weaver, schools do not
have the power to guarantee education.
"You have to have children who go to
school and have willingness to learn
something. All a school can do is offer
the best possible instruction and try to
encourage the children to take advan-
tage of it," he said
TWO STREAKS
MARYVILLE, Mo. (AP)-Northwest
Missouri State University will begin the
1979-1980 basketball season with two
unusual streaks. The Bearcats have a
19-game, home-court winning streak
and a 16-game losing streak on the
road.
In the 1978-79 campaign, they were
15-Il, winning all home games and
losing all away contests.
Possible Dial-a-Ride cut
would affect handicapped
(Continued from Page 1)
out-county use since the July 2 cutback,
according to Perez, and more people
are being turned away now than were in
June.
AATA's proposed 1979-80 budget
would eliminate city Dial-a-Ride ser-
vice, except for the handicapped and
elderly, reducing the number of vans
from 37 to 12. The AATA board also will
consider changes in fixed bus routes
and other transportation services at its
July 18 meeting.
Daily
Classifieds
Continued rom oP.ge 81
PETS AND SUPPLIES
FREE-1 year old redpoint Siamese cat. Male.
neutered; excellent house pet. 995-1880. 37T70i
THE MtCHIGANENSIAN YEARBOOK COMETH:
And it's time to get your copy. Available at the
Student Publications Bldg., 420 Maynard St., Ann
Arbor. for only $12.00. dU
ROOMMA TES
SENIOR FEMALE engineering student looking for
a female to share rent in a two bedroom apart-
ment. After-S call 987-2862. 46Y712
MALE STUDENT to share house with University
staffer-Packard-Platt area-$125/month, including
utilities. Food flexible. ,Available July 9 for fall.
971-5492. 44Y712
"THERE ARE GOING to be many
people who ride Dial-a-Ride now want
door-to-door service and don't need a
lift. If they don't have Dial-a-Ride in the
fall, they will take the handicapped
Dial-a-Ride," Weir warned.
Ricks said she is "pretty impressed"
with the out-county Dial-a-Ride system,
adding that she uses it every day. But
Weir pointed out that continual change
in the service causes confusion among
the people who use it.
"The services are constantly
changing without people knowing it. It
discourages riders," he said. "They
make cuts, and we don't hear about
them until they go into effect."
UNIVERSITY GRADUATE student
Jerry Yeager, who is blind, said he has
"avoided using" Dial-a-Ride "at all
costs."
"I've had friends who use it who
complain about it," he explained.
MOM UNDERSTOOD
NEW YORK (AP)-Amy Alcott,
one of the players on the women's
professional golf curcuit, credits a lot of
her success to her mother.
"I was lucky, I didn't have a Little
League Mom," Amy said. "She used to
tell me she didn't care if I shot 66 or 88,
as long as I was having fun. I've seen a
lot of kids ruined by pushy mothers."
DANCE THEATRE STUDIO
sses begin July 9
phone 995-4242
711 N. University
on campus above Drake's