Five sue
By JOHN GOYER
Five men who sought firefighting
positions with the city have filed a
lawsuit in Washtenaw County Circuit
Court, claiming they were
discriminated against in the hiring
process.
The city has agreed not to hire any
more firefighters until the suit is
resolved.
THE FIVE MEN, all city residents,
claim many of the questions on the job
application are illegal.
They also claim they should have
been placed higher on the eligibility
The Michigan Daily--Tuesday, July 24, 1979-Page 3
city over fire dept. hiring policy
list, which rates job applicants and un- the basis of which the men claim they formed after the city's April mayoral
derlies hiring decisions. should have been hired, comprise only election, when city voters for the first
They are asking that the city be for- one part of the application process. He time used punch cards to vote.
ced to show adequate reason for not added that other considerations include Supporters of the new method claim
hiring them. If the city fails to produce an oral interview and a test for physical the punch cards, which are processed
reason, they will demand jobs. agility. by computer, are faster and cheaper
CITY ADMINISTRATOR Sylvester "A person can pass the written test than the voting machines used in the
Murray conceded last night that many and not end up on the agility eligibility past.
questions on the city's job application list," Murray said.
were probably illegal. He said the city JAMES HENSE, James Schuler, MOST COMMITTEE members and
is revising its job application. He also Michael Kostinis, Phillip Reiser, and Co c I member sad
said the city asks for personal Mark Koernke are plaintiffs in the suit. Council members last night said they
background and financial information Meanwhile, City Council last night machines, since they thought the
on its applicants. . met with the punch card voting analysis machineswsemoe seyure.
But Murray said the written tests, on committee, a nine-member committee machines were more secure.
School board votes not to
appeal Black
By ELEONORA DI LISCIA
With the help of Ann Arbor School
Board President Kathleen Dan-
nemiller's swing vote, the Ann Abor
school board Saturday night reversed
its decision to appeal the Black English
ruling.
The school board originally voted last
Wednesday to appeal U.S. District
Court Judge Charles Joiner's ruling
that the Ann Arbor district must come
up with a plan within 30 days to take in-
to account Black English speakers and
use that information in teaching stan-
dard English. But Dannemiller voided
the vote, saying the school board had
violated state open meeting laws by ap-
proving the appeal in private session.
SUPERINTENDENT Harry Howard
expressed displeasure with the school
board's reversal. "I recommended it be
appealed because some questions were
raised when the judge said teachers
were not guilty. As far as strengthening
the programs he spoke of, this could
have been done out of court. We already
have a number of programs in the
humaneness area we could have
reviewed," Howard said. "If there are
areas in that that needed strengthening
we could have strengthened the
policy."
Lee Hansen, administrative superin-
tendent for curriculum and instruction,
said she recommended appeal because
most material dealing with teaching
F todaY
English case
dialect-speaking children is more
"governed by opinion than by research.
There is no clear direction. I think it is
unwarranted intrusion to mandate ex-
perimenting."
School board members Wendy
Barhydt and John Powell voted against
the appeal. "We've put several hundred
thousand dollars into reading programs
and teachers. I think we're doing
everything possible . .. My first con-
cern is the kids, and I really do not feel
this would benefit the kids," said
Barhydt.
JOINER SAID in his decision that
Black English is not a barrier in
teacher-student communication until a
teacher fails to take the dialect into ac-
count when teaching standard English.
The case was brought by attorneys for
11 children from the all-black Green
Rd. housing project who attended Ann
Arbor's Martin Luther King, Jr.
Elementary School. The attorneys
charged that the children had been
mislabeled as having emotional or
learning disabilities. Joiner's decision
has been hailed as a "landmark."
Kenny Lewis, attorney for the
children, said he was delighted that the
school board had decided not to appeal,
since an appeal could have extended
the case for months. "It represents on
their (school board members') part
that they could help and do it in a
meaningful way."
Defending the defender
Trial lawyer F. Lee Bailey, right, leaves Montgomery County Courthouse in
Norristown, Pa., with the lawyer defending him in a libel suit. Bailey is
being sued for $3 million by a Philadelphia attorney for remarks Bailey
allegedly made during a trial in 1967.
Foiled freebie
Some ten people were disappointed yesterday
when they went to Tech HiFi on E. William St. to
receive a free pair of tickets to the new film More
American Graffiti, a T-shirt, and a soundtrack
album. They found only the tickets were available.
The promotional idea, sponsored by JBL, manufac-
turers of stereo equipment, was touted in an ad in a
Detroit newspaper Sunday which told area freebie-
hunters to just walk into participating Tech HiFi
stores, ask to see JBL loudspeakers, and receive all
the goodies. Plans went astray, however, when the
fortune-seekers got only the tickets. "JBL didn't
ship (the other items)," said store manager, Bill
Leber. Leber added that he expected the other
items to be available today.
Action Line in Lansing
The state Senate, in an effort to be more ac-
cessible, has installed a toll-free "Action Line."
Constituents can leave a message for a state
senator between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., and that
message will be forwarded to the Senator's office
twice a day. The line provides "a simple,
economical method of contacting me about any
state government issue," said Sen. Edward Pierce
(D-Ann Arbor). "I want to help you with any
problems or questions you have regarding state
government." The number is 1-800-292-5893. There
is a catch, however-the state legislature is in
recess until September.
Happenings .
... pay a leisurely visit to Mark Sedgeman's
exhibition, entitled "Portraits of Family and Fren-
ds", which is open to the public until July 28 from 10
a.m. to 10 p.m. at 107 N. Main St.... join a brown
bag lunch and panel discussion on "Teaching in a
Black College" at the Center for Research on Lear-
ning and Teaching library, 108 E. Madison S., at
noon --- Eclipse Jazz presents Antares and Earth-
works Jazztet at West Park from 2 p.m. until 4:30
,p.m. ... A Near ,asterp Studies department_
presents a lecture and discussion on "From
Heritage to Actuality in Arabic Fiction-A Recent
Novel" from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. in Lecture Room 1,
MLB ... the School of Metaphysics offers a lecture
and workshop on "Making your Dreams Come
True" at the Ann Arbor Public Library at 7:30 p.m.
... Drake Koka, a South African exile, will speak
on "Black Workers in the struggle for Southern
Africa" at 8 p.m. in 1017 Angell Hall ... Music
Prof. Marilyn Mason will perform on the organ at
8:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church ... FILMS:
Ann Arbor Film Co-op-The Thief of Bagdad. 7
p.m.; Secret Ceremonv. 9 o.m.; both in Aud. A, Angell
Hall ... Media Resources Center-Long Valley: A
Study of Bereavement; Hospice; Living the Good
Life; program begins at 7:30 p.m., Aud. 3, MLB.
On the outside
All those 1960s Motown tunes about "summer in
the city" and "hot fun in the summertime" could be
played today with relevance. It'll be hot, hazy, lazy,
with scattered thunderstorms. A bit of fog may ap-
pear here and there in the morning. The high tem-
perature will reach that familiar 90' mark; the lowa
reasonable 66'... , . x - ,,
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