Friday, May 31, 197+
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Three
Plan F tops board race issues
$y JEFF SORENSEN
The hottest issue for the 11 candidates
seeking three toard of Education seats
in next month's election is "Plan F," a
controversial busing plan designed to
alleviate overcrowding in several public
schools.
The preposal, whiclr would relocate
about 00 elementary and secondary
school students, bas run into stiff eppo-
sition from liberal and radical commu-
oity members who contend the disrup-
tien caused by busing the children out-
weighs the advantages of relieving
c r a w d e d conditions at the various
school.
PROMPTED by overcrowding at Hu-
ron High, the plan transforms Clague
Middle School, which combines sixth,
seventh, and eighth grades into a unior
high school.
Over 400 ninth graders from Huron
High are scheduled to be moved to
Clague and four other junior highs while
Clague's sixth graders are bused to An-
gell and Bader elementary schools.
Plan F was passed 6-3 by the school
board's conservative majority which has
controlled the nine-member body in re-
cent years.
ALTHOUGH the liberal and radical
school board candidates say they favor
a repeal of the controversial plan, they
offer no immediate solution to the prob-
lems of overcrowding.
Most of the conservative candidates,
however, support the proposal despite
the furor it has caused among parents.
Contending that the plan is "the best
solution available," Republican-backed
candidates Wendy Barhydt, Stanley Biel- at Clague School at a time when the
by and Peter Wright all oppose repeal school was being received very enthu-
of the proposal. siastically by the community,"
CONSERVATIVE George Kolasa, who
is not backed by any party, believes
Plan F is a "dead issue."
"A decision was made; Plan F will
stand,' Kolasa says,
Liberal candidate Will Simpson charges
that "Plan F was poorly conceived and
executed."
SIMPSON, along with Tanya Israel,
has been endorsed by the "liberal cau-
cus," a loose coalition of Democrats.
"Such an approach to solving student
housing problems should never be al-
lowed to happen again," Simpson says.
Astrid Beck, backed by the Human
Rights Party (HRP), contends that "Plan
F disrupted the middle school program
IIRP WRITE-IN candidate Larry Mann
stresses that the "board diun't bother
to consider the alternatives." Mann,
who is 14 years old. will not appear on
the ballot because he is not a registered
voter.
Both HRP candidates say they would
vote for repeal of Plan F.
Liberals Eliot Chikofsky and Manfrod
Schmidt also support repeal of the plan.
Chikofsky says he favors Plan H, city
Superintendent of Schools H a r r y Ho-
ward's proposal, which "wouldn't have
destroyed the North Campus community
by sending its children to five different
schools."
See PLAN F, Page 10
A penguin's choice:
Harvard or Oxford
BALTIMORE UP) - With a grade aver-
age in the high 90's and acceptances
fron Harvard and Oxford, Marvin Stick-
man was a standout at Southwestern
High School. Even his picture in the
school yearbook was unusual.
Marvin is a purple and gold penguin.
"IT STARTED last fall when some of
the kids found a penguin doll in a trash
truck," said Dennis Arenson, a biology
teacher who helped his homeroom mas-
termind the prank. "They salvaged it
and brought it in as a mascot and grad-
ually the idea came of infusing life into
it.
"We began with tentative efforts. Us-
ing the name of Olivia Stickman, one of
the girls called in and asked that her
son Marvin be sent to the office because
he had a medical appointment. He was
pagted over the loudspeaker," Arenson
recalled.
Arenson said the next step was to get
Marvin a schedule card through the
school's computerized system. The
teacher carried a phony card to several
teachers, all of whom were in on the
joke, and they signed it. Then things be-
gan to snowball of their own accord.
"THE OFFICE automatically prepar-
ed a report card and the teachers who
had written the schedule dutifully put in
grades," Arenson said. Eventually the
penguin was asked to make an appoint-
ment to be measured for a cap and
gown and had his picture taken for the
yearbook.
"With a little more finagling, we could
have had him graduate," Arenson said.
"The kids went overboard with Harvard
and Oxford.
The teacher explained that a group of
students submitted applications to the
two schools, complete with classroom
records, in Marvin's name. Stickman was
accepted at both institutions.
THAT ALSO brought Marvin to coun-
selor Gertrude Ilarris' attention. Aren-
son said she "was alarmed that some-
one so brilliant had escaped her notice
for three years."
John leathers, principats of the school,
said he knew about the doll for some
time but had ignored it because "prin-
cipals have a sense of humor, too. I
thought it was right funny, really."
GEO selects
five person
bargaining unit
By JEFF DAY
A five-person bargaining t e a m was
selected by the Graduate Employes
Organization (GEO) last night to handle
the group's upcoming contract negotia-
tions with the University.
tG EO will bring to thy negtimtitins de-
mands for economic security, day care
facilities for children of teaching fet
lows, and a clause in the contract for-
bidding a tuition increase as a result of
the demands.
GED WAS recently certified as the
sole bargaining a g e n t for University
graduate employes. Most of its members
are teaching fellows.
Last night's GEft steward council meet-
ing selected ex-chairt vonian Sandra Sit-
berstein and present chairman Mark.
Ferrenz to sit on the bargaining team
Also elected were Michele Hoiyman,
Jack Wiledon and Ann.Bobroff
The team reflects a wide span of
views, from Ferrenz, who contended,
"We should bargain for everything we
get" to Wiledon, who said he is willing
to settle for a low-key contract in hopes
of getting more concessions later.
SILBERSTEIN said she would rely on
"the mandate" of the general member-
ship before making any decisions.
Also mentioned at the meeting were:
-the possibility of taping all conver-
sation with University negotiators be-
cause the union was "a little angry"
about University response to requests
for information;
-the possibility of affiliation wilhl an-
other union; and
-the possibility of setting up an
agency shop
AP Photo
MARVIN STICKMAN, wearing the jaunty hat and scarf, has been accepted at
both Harvard and Oxford for the fall term after completing a successful aca-
demic career at Southwestern High School in Baltimore. Yeah, Marvin is a
stuffed bird - a penguin to be exact.
Evangelizing faith healer
dueil to appear at Crisler
By GORDON ATCHESON for the show, which shotild start artuuid normal.
Night after night all across the coun-
try, the woman in the flowing white
gown performs to standing room only
crowds who become mesmerized in her
presence.
While scores of others are turned
away, the infirm - those confined to
wheelchairs or lying almost lifeless on
stretchers-always find the doors open.
THEY ARE escorted to the front, and
placed as close as possible to Kathryn
Kuhlman-the woman known as "the
miracle lady."
Tomorrow Kuhlman, backed by a SMS-
person choir, will evangelize at Crisler
Arena as people from all over the state
are expected to attend the faith healer's
first visit to Michigan since 1972. Buses
will begin arriving in the early morning
11 a.m.
Kuhlman, who wears her red hair in
a style that died 30 years ago, preaches
a simple Christian gospel, yet the re-
salts have amazed, baffled, and con-
founded not only lay people but medical
experts as well. Even she cannot rea.4
explain the wonders attributed to her,
AFTER VISITING Kuhlman, an elder-
ly woman suffering f r o m lymphatic
leukemia was inexplicably cured, ac-
cording to several doctors who examined
her and found no trace of the disease.
Several years ago, a seven-year-old
boy who was never expected to hear
properly because of a deteriorated ear-
drum came to one of the faith healer's
meetings. A week ia t e r physicians
checked the boy and found no evidence
of damage, His hearing had returned to
The list goes on and on. But Kuhlman
neither guarantees cures nor takes credit
for those that occur during her prayer
meetings. She claims all the "miracles"
are the result of the Lord's power work-
ing through her.
"THERE NEVER was a more ordi-
nary w o m a n than the one standing
before you," the 50-ish Kuhlman usually
tells her congregation. "I have nothing
. . . nothing to do with those healings.
I have only yielded my life to Him."
Indeed Kuhlman's early life in no way
foreshadowed her rise to starofdm and
the success she now enjoys. A high
school drop-out, she spent nearly 20
years as an itinerant preacher-a tent
revivalist-in Idaho.
See FAITH, Page 9