THE
Summer Daily
So soer Edstiin of
T7lE Mf IIIGAN DAILY
Edited and managed by students at the
University of Michigan
Thursday, May 24, 1973 News Phone: 764-0552
learned its lesson
JT IS NOW apparent that the conservative House of
Representatives has not yet fully recognized the im-
plicit lesson of the Watergate affair as it concerns Presi-
dential appointees. When not investigated by the Con-
gress, an official's potential for political misbehavior or
ineptitude in office can be quite high, as borne out by
recent tevelations concerning such top White House staff
members as H. R. Halderman and Bob Ehrlichman-both
placed in office by the President without Congressional
consultation or affirmation.
The-House had it's test yesterday when it voted on
whether or not to override President Nixon's veto of a
bill which would have provided for Congressional ap-
proval of presidential nominees for the director and
deputy director of the Office of Management and Bud-
get. Currently, Congress confirms neither office. By a
vote of 236 to 178, the House failed its test, falling 40
votes short of the two thirds majority needed to over-
ride the veto.
President Nixon had asserted, in vetoing the bill,
that the budget director has been a White House offic-
ial for 50 years, and served as an intimate advisor to the
President.
'WE NOTE, though, that the budget head of the OMB
has over the years become one of the most powerful
officials in the government, often playing a key role in
the direction of OMB programs. The Senate also ap-
parently held this view, voting 62 to 22 Tuesday to over-
ride Nixon's veto.
JT IS unfortunate that the House of Representatives did
not follow the Senate's lead. Their action will serve
to perpetuate the pattern of Congressional submission to
,he designs of the White House.
True equality: Women waging war
By JOAN ANDERSON
PHE NEW Constitutional Amend-
ment which would recognize
the equality of rights for both sexes
appears at first blush to be one
small step for woman and one
giant leap for the guilty conscienc-
es of mankind. It now appears that
we may be taking that step back-
wards. After the equal-opportun-
ity ideology gets translated into
the grim realities of war, women
could very well be subject to the
draft.
The slightest suggestion to draft
women embarrasses even the
toughest hawks. They awkwardly
give all the arguments about wo-
men not being strong enough to
carry guns and 50 lb. backpacks.
Since women are not as strong
as men, they are physically unqual-
ified to be soldiers. Sweeping away
this generalization reveals the ex-
ception: the girl who could beat
up any boy in the third grade class
and knock line drives for the neigh-
borhood baseball team now sup-
presses her soldier instincts with-
in the passive role of metermaid
and den troop mother.
There exist a few women who,
everything else being equal, would
make damn fine soldiers. Unfor-
tunately, to allow them on the bat-
tlefield would, be as incongruous as
letting cheerleaders into the high
school football locker room. Since
the idea of letting women com-
mand the brigades and fly the
bombers bothers both men a n d
women, it isn't clear that the
squeamishness stems from innate
prejudice.
THE CENTRAL issue continues
to elude us. Some proponents of the
Amendment have criticized t h e
draft itself. Does this mean they
suoport a volintary U.S. Army that
places both men and women in
combat? They caitiously shake
their heads no while admitting that
women have both the right and
oolifications to be soldiers. What
they fail to admit to themselves is
that similar to wrestling matches,
rest rooms and girl scouts, war is
an activity best conducted with
separation of the sexes. F e w
people welcome the idea of a coed
war.
In the past, this attitude was
construed to exclude women from
all front line participation. In or-
der to provide women their long
denied right to express themselves
in battle, I propose that women be
given the right to conduct their
own wars. Let's examine the prac-
ticability of this suggestion since
I expect this proposal will raise
some clenched fists from members
of both sexes. Special lightweight
war equipment could be designed
for women. Until now the gear
has been designed for men.
Each country could begin found-
ing its own women's army. The
question might arise over which
wars should be fought by men and
which by women. Would the de-
cision be made by a male presi-
dent? However, this presents lit-
tle problem if the reasons for war
are national rather than sexist, for
then women armies provide the
president with one more possible
military strategy short of nuclear
war.
PRESENTLY THE equal rights
discussion is miscentered on the
draft issue rather than dealing with
the relevant question of whether
women should be allowed to con-
duct their own wars as men have
so freely done in the past. The
controversy about drafting women
can be postponed by creating a
voluntary women's combat division
now. Other countries such as Israel
and China have already joined the
worldwide movement to give wo-
men the opportunity to defend their
respective nations. As long as peo-
ple prohibit coed wars because
they are coed and not because they
are wars, I believe the equal rigits
of women to wage war will inevit-
able' be established.
While we are in the process if
equalizing rights, perhaps we might
consider taking away the inalieni-
able rights of oten to conduct anv
war. This could, after all, prove
to be the best solution.
loan Anderson, '73, is a sest
wri/er for The Daily who claims
to be a non-violent person tho
last marched ith Troop 1053 as
a irl s scout in a 'ourti of fitly
parade.
Some pleasant thoughts on
spending summer in Ann Arbor
By MICHAEL THORYN
T'S NICE to be in Ann Arbor
during the summer. Move your
mind away from whether it is real,
just understand that it is nice, that
you don't need to feel pressure,
and that most are ready to smile
even as they seem to maintain
their distance,
Last summer was my first in the
city and I am looking forward to
this one. Already there is a feel-
ing of space - thousands of people
have left. The people who like the
town stay around. Dilatant students
who were always talking about get-
ting away or going home, go there.
Some highlights - the weather,
praise to God - will get warm.
Lazy days can be spent on the
Summer Staff
ROLFE TESSEM
Editor
MARTY STERN
Editorial Page Editor
OAN BORUS
Sports Editor
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diag, in the arb, on bike rides, and
on longer trips to beaches and
campgrounds.
As a corollary of fewer people,
rents will be lower for persons here
only for the summer. More people
will discover that almost no movie
will sell out and no one will stand
in line. Libraries also will be
largely vacant, quiet, with cur-
rent magazines likely to be on the
rack.
LOTS OF PEOPLE will be com-
ing through town. Ann Arbor is on
the national circuit of places to go
if you are traveling for the sum-
mer. Some are on bike, some with
knapsack-passing through on their
way to New York or the west coast.
There will be park concerts
where the community from 15 or so
to maybe 30 turns out for drinks
and tokes and Republicans try not
to notice.
And Bars. Well if you aren't with
friends and want to be: see some-
one you want to talk to - go over
and do it. Say something like, "My,
do you come here often?" No
guarantees.
The town away from campus is
like most others you've seen, resi-
dential areas, shoping centers, pub-
lic schools - affected but n o t
shaken by whatever is the current
excitement -on campus. And I
wouldn't bet on any big excite-
ment this summer. I do, however,
expect it to be nice.
The biggest thing coming up is
in'September; after all the students
returns; the Second Annual Ann
Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival.
Take it easy. It's good advice,
though sometimes hard to follow.
Michael Thoryn is a guest writ-
er for The Daily.
I
Letters to
Media confusion
To The Daily:
IT HAS COME to our attention
that some confusion exists, par-
ticularly in the University com-
munity, regarding the terms on
which the Media Access Center ex-
tends free (subsidized) access to
video equipment, videotape and
production services.
The primary source of this con-
fusion seems to be a free video
workship MAC was conducting
with the Pass It On Freedom
group, arranged by and at the
initiative of Martha Wade, a par-
ticipant and spokesperson for the
Ann Arbor Cable Coalition.
The issues concerned the pur-
pose of MAC's free work, which
is 1) to lend needed assistance in
the production of video program-
ing for the community channels in
the Ann Arbor cable system, and
2) to help in documenting events
and projects in Washtenaw Coun-
ty which receive inadequate or in-
accurate coverage by the dom-
inant corporate media.
Any additional or different appli-
cations of the video information
whose production we subsidize
must be subject to prior mutual
agreement between MAC and the
participating groups or individuals.
The purpose of our free work has
stood for more than a year of
service to Washtenaw C o u n t y,
unchanged. The further definition
of the terms on which we will
The Daily
render that service was necessi-
tated by contradictions which arose
in the process of the workshop with
Pass It On Freedom.
It happened that materials pro-
duced with MAS subsidy were pre-
sented without our agreement in
the context of the Future Worlds
Conference, whose participating
sponsorship included the federal
government's National Aeronautics
and Space Administration and the
Ford Motor Company.
MAC policy is to avoid any sit-
uation in which our work functions
to support, directly or indirectly,
any agency of the federal govern-
ment or any private profit-making
corporation; unless specially com-
pelling reasons apply.
Thus, MAC policy was comprom-
ised by Pass It On Freedom and
Ms. Wade so that it might appear
that we supported the institutional
goals and values of the Future
Worlds Conference.
CONTRARY TO any reports, MAC
has not unilaterally suspended sup-
port for the Pass It On Freedom
video ,workshop, nor did our dis-
cussions with Ms. Wade touch con-
cretely on any other matter than
the concerns expressed in this let-
ter.
Subject to the terms defined
above, Media Access Center stands
ready to lend free needed media
support to any positive community
interest, as we are able.
-Media Access Center
May 16
Well, I just hope you don't get one of those
a wful criminal coddling judges, John.'