' salary list should be public
WHILE WE at The Daily rarely
make news, we do some-
times.
Tuesday, a group of us - act-
ing as students and Michigan
residents, not as reporters -
sent a letter to President Flem-
ing. It carried a simple message.
Provide us with detailed Univer-
sity salary information or face
the prospect of a court fight.
And it was no idle threat, we
have a good case.
Just a few weeks ago, B a. y
County Circuit Judge Leon Dar-
das ruled that state-supported
universities must open t h e i r
salary records to the public. The
judge's ruling came on a suit
filed by The Bay City T i m es
against Saginaw Valley College.
The decision, unless struck
down by an appellate court, will
force Saginaw Valley College to
disclose heretofore secret sal-
ary information, and presum-
ably,. would apply to all state
colleges.
So we know we have the law
on our side, but we realize that
we may have to go to court to
get what we want.
THE IMPORTANCE of obtain-
ing this salary informati:n is
manifold.
It will provide the University
community with the names of
those professors who are being
paid exhorbitant salaries to lend
their prestige to the University,
rather than to teach.
It will provide us with an exact
count of how many women, and
minority professors are being
employed, which departments
are hiring or not hiring them,
how effective our affirmative ac-
tion hiring programs have been,
and whether women and minori-
ties are receiving equal day for
equal work.
It will force the University, for
the first time in its existence,
to explain and defend its hiring
and promotion standards.
In short, it will make for a
more open University.
In requesting this information,
we are not charging that any
specific misdeed has been com-
mitted that will be bared by pub-
licizing the list. We are simply
trying to bi-eak down some of
the mysterious wall of secrecy
which surrounds University de-
cision making.
We want an end to closed Re-
gents' meetings, confidential
factfinding committees, and pap-
er shredders in the Administra-
tion Bldg.
THE UNIVERSITY is operat-
ing with public funds, but never-
theless has traditionally b e e n
successful in resisting attempts
to exert some popular control
over its operations. The Uni-
versity's most effective veapon
in negating public control has
been its clandestine operations,
which deprive its critics of the
all-important information need-
ed to spark dialogue and re-
form.
And even the Regents are vic-
timized by this mode of opera-
tion. As elected representatives,
ideally they would be a sort of
watchdog, ensuring that t h e
University reflect the needs of
the people of Michigan.
But a number of the m o r e
liberal Regents, who are truly
interested in educating them-
selves about the University, com-
plain of a serious lack of in-
formation from the administra-
tion.
They spend' only two days a
month in Ann Arbor. They are
wined and dined, entertained,
and coddled - but rarely inform-
ed in an in-depth manner.
"I can't expect to understand
everything that goes on here,"
Regent Gerald Dunn said I a s t
winter. "I have to be able to
trust the administration. And
I do. But if I didn't, I'd vote to
replace them. And that, is the
real power of the Regents."
But how does Dunn know he's
not being misled if he can't
compare administrative recom-
mendations with facts.
"Trust, just trust, I guess," he
says.
THE RESULT IS that Flem-
ing and a select core of Vis
are charting the course of this
institution - for the simple rea-
son that they are the- only per-
sons who know what's going on.
What we seek is simply more
information. But we harbor no
false hopes that it will be of-
fered to us like a gift.
The administration has never
witingly given out significant
salary data. An example is the
case of women's groups, some of
which are still attempting to
persuade (or at times, harass)
Fleming into releasing the data.
The only successful challenge,
however, came when the Depart-
ment of Health, Education and
Welfare requested (and prompt-
ly received) salary data to fur-
ther its investigation of discrim-
ination against women at the
University.
The reason the University
bowed to HEW is simple. HEW
threatened to withhold all fed-
eral contracts from the Univer-
sity until it got its inforsnation.
AND THAT'S the way it stands
now.
We would be pleased if the
University were willing to join
the growing list of major univer-
sities (including Michigan State
University) which have made
salary data public voluntarily.
But we sincerely doubt that
Fleming is ready to take such
action. So we are preparing to
go to court.
AND EVEN without a team of
full-time lawyers to represent
us, we feel we can win. The
law and the public interest are
on our side.
-ALAN LENHOFF
Summer co-editor
94 MI 40an 01,1
Edited and managed by students at the
University of Michigan
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the indivi'
opinions of the author. This must be noted in all reprint
THURSDAY, JULY 13, 1972 News Phone: 764
Letters to The Daily
dual
s.s
4-0552
Goodbye Hubert
CAN IT REALLY be true? If you can believe your tele-
vision, Hubert Humphrey is finished. Done. Ready
to be turned out to pasture. No more face liftings, no
more makeup. Hubert can grow old gracefully now.
And with the demise of Mr. Humphrey, so ends his
popular ideology, known as "the Party line." It consisted
of molding the rhetoric to fit the mood of the crowd,
and dotting his speeches with empty liberal slogans.
Party persons like Hubert have no ideals, no pro-
grams and no emotions. They are automotons, which
swallow and regurgitate whatever slogan seems to sat-
isfy that amorphous group of "middle Americans."
And with the death of Hubert, for the first time in
years, the Democratic party will be supporting a man
of ideals, a man who thinks.
But let's hope it lasts. Once the convention is over,
and McGovern switches into high gear, hopefully, he
won't announce "a few changes" in his stands.
We barely survived the lies of Lyndon Johnson. Hu-
bert Humphrey's liberal pufferry and the empty headed
approach of Ed Muskie further tainted the image of the
Democratic Party.
PERHAPS George McGovern can turn around that
trend and go on to victory in November. But if he is
to be successful, he must resist the temptation become
a "good Democrat" as Humphrey was. McGovern must
be prepared to accept his Democratic affiliation as a
burden, rather than become an apologist for that crip-
pled party.
-C. R.
Today's Staff .
News: Carla Rapoport, Ralph Vartabedian
Editorial Page: Alan Lenhoff
Photography technician: Jim Wallace
Self defense
To The Daily:
SINCE MY NAME has been used
in two recent Daily articles by
Chris Parks in reference to Bill
Brown's congressional campaign
(Daily, June 27-28), I feel that it
is time I speak for myself.
It is certainly unfortunate that
this had to be brought out in such
a manner. But, I simply explained
one meeting in which two Brown
Volunteers came to my home. It
is true that Mrs. Shallcross insin-
uated that Senator McGovern
would probably endorse Brown, if
he could; because (according to
her)iBrown is such a "good" man.
I realized then as I do now that
these were only insinuations direct-
ed at me because I was an obvious
McGovern worker and she was
trying to reach me through a com-
mon bond.
At that meeting I questioned
Bill's affiliation with National
McGovern Staff by asking what
that meant. Mrs. Shallcross was
vague in replying that it meant
that Bill received his orders from
Washington and had his expenses
paid. However, I was later to 1 d
that in fact he was not reimbursed
for most of his expenses, similar
to most of us volunteers.
My only point was and is, t h a t
Brow just Icaned a little to o
heavily on hi McGovern "affilia-
tion". Of course, I realized then
that Senator McGovern himself
would certainly not endorse any
candidate before a primary, a n d
probably not after, either.
The reason I took the time to
write this letter is simply to ex-
press the feelings of some of us
who have worked for over a year;
here at home, and in the earlier
primaries, New Hampshire through
Wisconsin. We tend to feel a little
upset when someone uses t h e
label "National Staff" after work-
ing only in two states - Ohio and
Michigan - which happened to be
"low-priority primaries" (accord-
ing to Dave Alyward, McGovern
National Staff).
I also think that if an article
was going to be written, Laird
Harris and Don Tucker (State Mc-
Govern Staff) and those contacted
in Washington should have been
the main focus of the article.
-Kathleen M. Foitik
July 7
Chutzpah
To The Daily:
No doubt about it. The Summer
1972 Gen. Lewis B. Hershey Chutz-
pah in Advertising Award goes to
Army ROTC for their Daily dis-
play ad: "NEW FRESHMEN! Do
you want a draft defermedt? -...
attend Army ROTC orientation."
Joining ROTC to avoid military
service is like joining the Klu Klux
an for their group insurance
pa.
Apparently neither the Army nor
the Selective Service is too im-
pressed by the current crop of 18-
year-olds. A few months ago, then
Director of Selective Service Cur-
tis Tarr ordered that thousands
of otherwise qualified men be ex-
cused from the draft by deciding
not to draft men out of Extended
Priority.
In a letter to the state directors
of Selective Service, Tarr wrote:
"I know that many state directors
feel that these (older) men, who
have delayed delayed induction in
every way possible and have at-
tempted to frustrate both the Sys-
tem and some of us, should be re-
quired to serve . . . But on the
other hand . . . The Army would
rather work with younger m r fn
who yae a willingness to serve.
Furthermore, Selective Service
would be much better off to deal
with younger men and to permit
some of those recalcitrant persons
to become eligible for S e c o n d
Priority."
At the risk of insulting your in-
telligence, my "NEW FRESH-
MEN!" friends, I would suggest
that the place to go for inicrma-
tion on draft deferments - includ-
ing the 1-D ROTC deferment - is
the Ann Arbor Draft Counteling
Center, 502 East Huron. The Cen-
ter doesn't have a group insurance
plan, but then it doesn't ask for
eight years of your life.
-Jeff Feldman, Grail.
June 20
Sheriff's race
To The Daily:
FRED POSTILL would h a v e
creamed Doug Harvey in t h e
Democratic primary and the sher-
iff knew it. So, Harvey made his
frenetic leap to the American In-
dependent Party - where he un-
doubtedly belongs - thus kicking
his undersheriff (induced by Harv-
ey to seek the Republican nom-
ination as a back-up should he lose
the Democratic) in the teeth, in
the process.
Although some feel that t h e
moment Harvey found a way to
get on the ballot in the general
election, he virtually assured him-
self another term in office, that's
far from a safe assumption. If, as
the AIP candidate, he enjoys any
edge at all, it's hairline at best.
Postill's chances of winning in
what is shaping up to be a tough
three-way battle will be, in large
part, contingent on the amount and
quality of the support that is gen-
erated on his behalf on campus
and in the city of Ann Arbor. Out-
county is Harvey country.
Postill is a professional who ap-
pears to have humane values. Only
he, of the three candidates, prom-
ises any change in the status quo.
The quality of, our lives for the
next four years may be at stake.
His campaign would seem to be a
constructive place for us to con-
sider putting any spare time, or
spare loot. Fred Postill can bounce
Sheriff Harvey out of office; but,
in the end, for him to succeed, it
may be up to you and me.
-Del Seitz
July 10
Get involved-
write your reps!
Sen. Philip Hart (Dem), Rm.
253, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol
Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515.
Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep),
Rm. 353 Old Senate Bldg., Cap-
itol Hill, Washington, D.C.
10515.
Rep. Marvin Esch (Rep), Rm.
112, Cannon Bldg. Capitol Hill,
Washington, D.C. 4515.
Sen. Gilbert Bursley (Rep),
Senate, State Capitol Bldg.,
Lansing, 48933.
Rep. Raymond Smith (Rep),
House of Representatives, State
Capitol Bldg., Lansing, 48933.