T=E
Summer Daily
Summer Edition of
TIE MICHIGAN DAILY
Edited and managed by students at he
University of Michigan
Tuesday, July 17, 1973 News Phone: 764-0552
Presidential tapes
may yield answers
JOHN DEAN'S testimony to the Ervin Committee two
weeks ago first implicated the President in the Water-
gate scandal. Since then, numerous persons have de-
fended the President. Until yesterday, the case seemed
to be John Dean against everyone else, a virtual stale-
mate. But now, with the revelation that tapes exist of
Presidential conversations, the truth may be found at
last.
The information was supplied to the Senate Water-
gate Committee by former White House aide Alexander
Butterfield. The witness testified that the recording
equipment was installed by the Secret Service acting on
authority relayed by the President. The testimony was
substantiated later by the White House.
Butterfield testified that the microphones auto-
matically picked up even low tones, and possible whis-
pered conversations anywhere in the Oval Office in the
White House or the President's office in the Executive
Office Building.
The existence of such tapes is obviously something
that the President did not want disclosed. The tapes
were entirely secret, according to Butterfield, and even
Presidential advisor John Erlichman and Presidential
Counsel John Dean did not know that they were being
recorded.
EVEN HEADS OF state, Congressmen, and other im-
portant visitors who spoke to the President were all
recorded. This fact alone is embarrassing to the Presi-
dent.
But, of even grerater significance, the tapes can fin-
ally answer John Dean's charges. Nearly all the import-
ant conversations that Dean claimed would show the
Presdent's involvement in the cover-up took place in
the President's office. If the tapes still exist, they could
prove whether Dean's accusations are true.
Suspicions naturally arise as to the failure of the
President to produce the tapes before this surprise dis-
closure. The fact that Nixon did not present them raises
doubts about his willingness to finally clear the air
about his involvement.
Perhaps the tapes were to be used in Nixon's defense
after completion of the testimony in the current phase
of the Watergate hearings. Or perhaps Nixon did not
want revealed the embarrassing fact that the highest of-
ficials in the world were being bugged. Or perhaps, Nixon
did not want exposed the true nature of the conversa-
tions with Dean.
SPECULATION WILL continue as to the reasons the
tapes Were withheld. But now that their existence
is known the tapes must be produced. Arguments about
executive privilege will seen an evasion to an anxious
public. Too much is at stake to be diverted by such argu-
ments. The answer to questions that the public is ask-
ing is in the tapes and they must be produced.
UNCLE-lSAM
ERVIN
Homosexuals demonstrate to show
pride and prejudice in gayness
By HARRY KEVORKIAN,
DAVID BENDLE, and
DENNIS RAYMOND
Gay Pride Week 1973 (June 25-
July 1) marked the 4th anniversary
of the birth of radical gay con-
sciousness and liberation across
America. June 25 has served as a
lankmark in gay circles since that
date in 1969 when gays fought back
against a New York police raid
against a gay bar. Gays have been
fighting back since.
In Ann Arbor, the week was pur-
posefully and actively celebrated
by the community. This marks the
second year in Ann Arbor that we
have celebrated Gay Pride Week
locally.
Last year the city of Ann Arbor
had the honor of being the only
official governmental body to re-
cognize Gay Pride Week and ack-
nowledge gay people in a positive
way. The Republican majority on
Council, despite valiant efforts on
the part of the Human Rights Par-
ty with Democratic support, re-
fused to pass a similar resolution
again this year.
Highlights of the Ann Arbor cele-
bration included picketing on June
29 of the Ann Arbor public library
by lesbians (as .a separate Les-
bian Pride Day activity) as a re-
sult of the library's refusal to
exhibit a lesbian art collage.
that they be allowed to aparove
(and in fact choose) the two speak-
ers.
Since the medical school was
clearly aware of gay resources
available to them long before the
conference, (we have been speak-
ing to med. classes for over a year)
and since the two speakers they
chose were Jim Toy and Jean Has-
ler, the University's gay advocates
and longtime gay activists, it
seemed strange that they had not
contacted us before, especially
Dr: Other than being a homo-
sexual what qualifies you to talk
about homosexuality?
Gay: Being gay is the only quali-
fication I need.
Dr. (shouted) Get an M.D. de-
gree and maybe we'll listen to you.
Gay (shouted): Learn how to
suck cock and maybe we'll listen
to you.
Many gay people believe that
straight doctors and indeed straight
people cannot adequately, or even
If there is anything wrong with gayness,
straight people are responsible for it. .
since one section of the conference inadequately for that matter, talk
dealt exclusively with us. about gayness. They have learned
about it in classrooms and through
MANY GAY PEOPLE were af- sexist hatefilled anti-gay books. We
fronted by the apparent callous- have learned about it through our
ness of the medical school both lives and through love. They can
in excluding us from the planning only deal with it as a pathology, a
of the conference and in not allow- sickness; we view it as a self-
ing us to choose who our speakers fulfilling experience true to every-
would be. one's existence.
Gay Liberation Front (GLF) de-
cided that in fact it was not the
intention of the medical school to
THE ONLY POSSIBLE basis
straight doctors and counselors
have for dealing with gayness is
to study the reasons for the tyran-
nic and pathological discrimination
and prejudice leveled at gay people
continuously.
If there is anything wrong with
gayness, straight peoplearebre-
sponsible for it and on that basis
are certainly the worst possible
choice f or trying to help gay
people.
The gay people who disrupted
the conference and took part in
the workshops viewed the experi-
ence as an unqualified success. We
were able to achieve our initial
goal of preventing Dr. Poznanski's
presentation from being heard; we
were able to have a number of dif-
ferent viewpoints on gayness tpre-
sented to a substantial number of
professional, and we were able to
discover that in fact there are a
number of doctors who support -od
encourage many of the goals and
ideals of gay liberation.
Several of the conferees in fact
supported the idea that Dr. Poz-
nanski should not speak about gay-
ness and were willing to be arrest-
ed with us if the University at-
tempted a show of force.
BUT PERHAPS most important-
ly, we demonstrated to the white
male heterosexist elite that domi-
nates, not only the University's
medical school but in fact most of
health care, that gay people and
only gay people will be allowed 'o
define and determine their own
lives, histories and perspectives.
June 25 marks that date in 1969 when gays
fought back against a New York police raid on
a gay bar. Gays have been fighting back since.
B'it, for some of Ann Arbor's
gay community, the week really
began on June 28 with the disrup-
tion of a conference on Human
Sexuality sponsored by the Univer-
sity Meledical School in the Towsley
Center. The conference was attend-
ed by approximately 200 profession-
als (i.e., doctors) who deal with
sexual problems in counceling sit-
uations and abs each paid $1t0 to
attend.
THE CONFERENCE was sched-
tled to serve as a basis for fur-
ther understanding of sexual prob-
lems in order to better enable the
doctors to serve their clients. Yet
gay people were initially totally
excluded from both the planning
and execution of this conference.
The scheduled speaker on Thurs-
day afternoon was Dr. Elva Poz-
nanski of the medical school, a
straight white heterosexual female
who was to deliver a 50 minute
paper on Gay lifestyles. Dr. Poz-
nanski has delivered this paper
at other conferences and it is not
noted for its pro-gay attitudes.
Dr. Poznanski is, in fact, gen-
erally recognized by Gays as a re-
presentative of the white male elite
that dominates the medical profes-
sion and prefers to deal with us
as patients in their offices rather
as friends anywhere else. That
core is resoonsible for some of the
reprehensible ne--Nazi treatments
perpetrated on gay people i the
guise of healing. These treat'ents
include electroshock, chemo-ther-
apy (massive dosages of various
tranquilizers,) and psychosurgery
(both voluntary and otherwisel.
When gay people first became
aware of the conference, we con-
tacted the Medical school to gain
input into the conference. After a
month of negotiations the medical
school offered us 20 minutes of
speaking time with the stipulation
allow gay people to adequately O.e.
totally) represent ourselves and
that indeed they were not letting
us be heard at all and that certain
steps should be taken to secure
adequate representation. Accord-
ingly GLF while accepting the tok-
en gestures offered by the medical
school began at the same time to
planrto disrupt Dr. Poznanski's
paper.
The conference was in fact
brought to a halt bya number of
gay men and Dr. Poznancki was al-
lowed to speak only briefly. She
Our bodies, our lives, and our minds are our
own and no one elses.
did not deliver her planned speech
and seemed flustered and confus-
ed. By the time she did speak we
had disrupted the conference for
over an hour, had been threatened
by various doctors, university of-
ficials and security guards and
had been made aware of the pre-
sence of "riot equipped city police
and paddy wagons.
AFTER FURTHER negotiations
the conference continued. We held
a panel discussion, Jim Toy spoke,
and about 1 of the participants
left to attend alternate workshops
lead by gays rather than hear Dr.
Poznanski speak.
After she and another doctor
who spoke briefly about transex-
ualism had finished,, even more
joined our workshops. The highlight
of the panel discussion was the fol-
lowing exchange which for many
gays typlified the good doctors re-
actions to us:
Our bodies, our lives and our
minds are our own and no one
elses. If doctors and other oppres-
sive elements are not prepared to
surrender what is rightfully ours,
they must face the consequences
and be prepared to lose a good
deal more.
Kevorkian, Bendle and Ray-
mond are members of the Ann
Arbor gay community.
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and normally should not exceed
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