Tuesday, August 20, 1974
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page hree
Ford backs limited amnesty
for draft-dodgers, deserters
sTELLA FULirHAM proudly poses on the steps of Hill Aud. with scores of aunts, upcles, and cousins who came from
across the country to cheer on the 39-year-old Detroit woman as she received her Ph.D. at Sunday's commencement
exercises-an event culminating nearly two decades of work.
After twodecades of
study woman gets PhD
CHICAGO (P-President Ford prom-
ised leniency to thousands of Vietnam-
era draft-dodgers and deserters yester-
day, declaring, "I want them to come
home if they want to work their way
back."
In a surprise move during his first
trip outside Washington since assuming
the presidency, Ford signaled a sharp
change in government policy and in-
dicated he favors a form of limited
amnesty.
HE TOLD a Veterans of Foreign Wars
convention that one of his first acts as
president was to order a review by Sept.
t on the status of 50,000 young men con-
victed, charged or sought for offenses
"loosely described as desertion and
draft-dodging."
Declaring that "unconditional blanket
amnesty" is wrong, he said:
"In my judgment, these young Ameri-
cans should have a second chance to
contribute their fair share to the re-
building of peace among ourselves and
with all nations.
"SO I AM throwing the weight of my
,residency into the scales of justice on
the side of leniency. I foresee their
earned re-entry into a new atmosphere
of hope, hard work and mutual trust,"
he said.
He offered no specifics on the shape
of his still-developing policy on amnesty,
but said, "Decisions of my administra-
:ion will make any future penalties fit
the seriousness of the individual's mis-
take."
After warmly applauding Ford's dec-
laration that unconditional, blanket am-
nesty is wrong, the 3,000 delegates to
the VFW convention sat mostly silent as
he added to his prepared text the sec-
tion signaling a new and softer policy
toward those who fled the country or
their military units during American's
decade-long involvement in Vietnam,
THE VFW, like other veterans groups,
has steadfastly opposed any amnesty.
Speaking with reporters on the return
flight to Washington, the President ac-
knowledged that he was apprehensive
about 'the reaction of the VFW to his
comments.
See PRESIDENT, Page 5
Council adopts
registration law
for bike sales
By GORDON ATCHESON
City Council last night unanimously
approved an ordinance requiring that all
bicycles be registered with the munici-
pal government before being sold.
The measure, which will go into effect
Sept. 15, was adopted in an attempt to
curtail the unusually high rate at which
bicycles are stolen within the city.
BICYCLES covered by the ordinance
include all those sold in Ann Arbor by
either retail dealers or private individ-
uals. Also included in the regulation is
transfer of ownership that does not con-
stitute sale.
The change in ownership must be re-
ported to the city clerk's office. Before
a bicycle can be sold it must have a
serial number engraved on the frame
and that number on file with the clerk.
Thus the police will be able to trace
the ownership of recovered stolen and
See COUNCIL, Page 5
By CHERYL PILATE
Stella Fulgham's graduation Sunday
was a real family affair - more than
50 aunts, uncles and cousins from across
the country were on hand at Hill Aud.
when the 39-year-old woman received
her Ph.D. in educational administration.
The cap-and-gown ceremony culmi-
nated more than two .decades of work
for Fulgham. For the past ten years,
she has commuted to Ann Arbor on eve-
nings and weekends while juggling a
teaching schedule at Wayne County Com-
Keith hits racial bias
in graduation
By GORDON ATCHESON
Watergate has tested the American
government and shown that the Con-
stitutional process works, but now en-
ergies must be turned toward ending
racism and discrimination, U.S. District
Judge Damon Keith told the University's
summer graduating class.
Addressing a near capacity crowd in
Hill Aud. during commencement exer-
cises Sunday, the noted Detroit judge
called on the 2,700 graduates to fight
for the civil rights of every citizen.
"WE AMERICANS must come to terms
with this problem of the deni equal
7pportunity based upon race and color,
Keith said. "Our destiny, honest morality
and the rule of law demand it. No one
of us is truly free, until all are free to
share the benefits of an open society."
Keith was appointed to the federal
court in 1967 and four years later issued
a landmark ruling that the president and
the attorney general's office have no
right to wiretap in national security
matters without prior judicial authoriza-
"We have been witness to a political
crisis unprecedented in our nation's his-
See KEIT Page 5
speech
munity College where she chairs the sec-
retarial science department.
SINCE Thursday, her relatives have
been arriving from Tuscaloosa, Ala.,
Kansas City, Cleveland, New York and
Chicago.
Fulgham, who is the first member of
her family to be called "Dr.," described
herself as being "dazed" but "happy"
after being whirled through three days of
barbecues, receptions andtparties.
Although she plans to stay at the com-
munity college "for the time being,"
Fulgham hopes to return to her home-
town-Tuscaloosa - and "share my
learning."
"I WOULD like to continue working in
some capacity to help the needy," she
said. "The college program I'm running
right now is aimed at helping disadvan-
taged people."
Despite Fulgham's 16 years of gradu-
ate work, she is reluctant to leave the
University and abandon the life of a
student. "I'm thinking about taking some
courses in law or public speaking," she
says.
As for her newly-acquired title, Fulg-
ham doesn't believe it will change things
much.
"Sometimes, when somebody calls me
'doctor' I have to think twice before I
know who they're talking to," she ex-
plains. "Titles to me are not important
-everyone should be accorded the same
amount of respect."
Keith