iffyr Airyilan z.ls
Edited and managed by students at the
University of Michigan
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual
opinions of the author. This must be noted in al reprints.
FRIDAY, JULY 28, 1972 News Phone: 764-0552
Rumors inside the news
as coImpileI b Ie ax staff
A
La letoti's poben
fesis with the press
SENATOR EAGLETON'S hospitalizations has been the
front page story on newspapers across the country
for the past few days. The original story has been fol-
lowed up by reaction stories, analysis, more rumors, and
in-depth probes of Eagleton's life.
The original story was undeniably news, but it has
now been blown up out of proportion. The media has
thus boosted Eagleton's past emotional difficulties into
a campaign issue.
Eagleton should have told Senator McGovern about
his problem before McGovern made his vice-presidential
nomination. Either McGovern would have chosen some-
one else, or Eagleton would not have appeared to the
nation as "a man with a past."
HOWEVER, Eagleton didn't do so, and the story was
unearthed by enterprising reporters. Eagleton was
immediately forced to face the press and make a public
statement about his background.
Investigative reporting is to be commended. Readers
want to know the truth behind public figures, especially
if the figure is seeking a ton government post.
Yet, the story has been treated like an enormous
scandal. The papers are sensationalizing the issue. The
Detroit Free Press. by printing vesterday morning an ex-
cerat from a telegram to McGovern calling Eagleton "a
psychotic running mate", only furthered the myths con-
cerning mental illness in our country. Eagleton is being
smeared with labels, and no real attemat is being made
to understand what his past hospitalizations mean to
the public naw.
WHEN A PERSON is ill, the logical thing to do is seek
hela. If Eagleton had seen a doctor for a physical
problem, the public would probably never have heard
about it. But sinee he had the courage to recognize he
needed some emotional help. and to seek it, he is now
being called "crazy", "unstable" and a variety of less
pleasant terms.
Many newvspsners seem to feel it s important ta
pander to what they deem is the public's thirst for
scandal.
IT WOULD BE refreshing if the establishment media
would stop focuiam nririent attention on the de-
tails of Ea'leton's life. and reconize the public's thirst
for the facts on this over-emotionalized event.
-MERYL GORDON
A thought . . .
A STORY IN The Daily this week which noted that Re-
publicans lead City Council in absences and tardi-
ness has given us an idea.
The city traffic' enforcement bureau should erect
parking meters at each council members chair. Council
members showing up late should be issued a violation,
with fines increasing in proportion to the number of
minutes or hours they are absent.
We also oppose an amnesty period to allow payment
by those councilmembers whose tickets mount up. The
tickets should be paid promptly, and if not, a further
fine should be tacked on the initial amount.
LUDICROUS? Perhaps, but this plan might be popular
in the Fifth Ward, where Lloyd Fairbanks (R) has
missed nearly one-third of all Council sessions since he
was re-elected last April.
-MAYNARD
Fiscal integrity
With his "Junior G-Man" style
prosecution of the ARM 1,500 con-
troversy last year, SGC member
Michael Davis gained a reputation
as a watchdog of fiscal integrity
on the body.
It wasn't alway so. Records show
that in October, 1967 Davis - then
SGC Executive vice president -
titreatened to teesg set a ttfft
with the council It seems SGC
had voted 8-1 to cease shelling out
Council fitnds to feed Davis and
his fellow executive board mem-
bers at their bi-weekly meetings.
According to the news story on
the incident. Davis said he w as
"personally- affronted" by t he
council's action and threatened the
board would in all probability
cease to meet if they had to pay
for their own meals.
Labor bull
Local attorney Perry Bullard, a
candidate for State Representative
in the August 8 Democratic Pri-
mary, has been distributing "Per-
ry Bullard for State Rep" stickers
marked "Labor Donated."
This apparent try for the work-
ing-class vote is less than convinc-
ing as the stickers were actually
made for a fee by Kolossos Print-
ers, a non-union shop. The people
at Kolossos couldn't explain what
labor had been donated and by
whom, but suggested that maybe
some artist had donated the de-
sign.
Bollard's office was unable to
supply an explanation; the can-
didate himself was busy passing
out stickers and leaflets and could
not be reached for comment.
Archibald, Amory, Artichoke?
Why has Vice President for Re-
search A. Geoffrey Norman hidden
his first name from the public?
No real reason," says his secre-
tary, "it's always been A. Geof-
frey, ever since we've known
himl."
And the A. only stands for Ar-
titttr.
S(ar-nl face
In Monday morning's mail we
received our weekly copy of Jack
Anderson's syndicated column -
and promptly threw it out. The
column was worthless because it
focused on Andersons' contention
that President Nixon was going
to dump Spiro Agnew on the No-
vember ticket. But while the col-
umn was en route from New York,
Nixon announced that he was in-
deed retaining Agnew.
Not to be humiliated, Tuesday
we received an updated column
from Anderson. This time, An-
derson characterized Nixon's de-
cision as "a sudden about-face,"
and stated (apparently with a
straight face): "We understand
that in private, the President nev-
er seriously considered anyone else
for the ticket."
So much for Anderson's credibil-
ity.
Henry
At last week's Regents meeting,
one member of the board asked
President Fleming to have a re-
port written on damage to Uni-
versity facilities during rock con-
certs. "1 think Henry is already
working on that," Fleming replied.
"Henry, who's Henry" demand-
ed Regent Gerald Dunn.
Henry, as Dunn's fellow Regents
explained, is Henry Johnson, the
new vice president for s t u d e n t
services whom the Regents ap-
pointed last month.
An ettbarassed Dunn then pro-
ceeded to make light of the in-
cident. "Ho, ho, ho, imagine that.
I didn't know who Henry Johnson
was. Who's Henry? Ha, Hat" he
continued, poking Regent Gertrude
Huebner in the 'ribs.
Dunn then smiled at the p r e s s
table, as if to say that he had
really known all along. Finally he
cast a glance at Johnson, who just
sunk deeper into his chair.
Watering the rain
In our highly systematized Uni-
versity community, even the
sprinkler system is automated.
Ingeniously timed to turn central
campus area sprinklers on late in
the evening (thus preventing street
people from sleeping on the front
lawn of Angell Hall), sometimes
the automated system backfires.
Wednesday night, for example,
the sprinklers kept going full blast
during a heavy rainstorm.
"Sometimes we can't get hold of
the one non-computerthuman be-
ing who works with the system."
explains a secretary at the Uni-
versity Plant and Maintenance De-
partment.
I
Letters: Cause the GOP grief
To The Daily:
LATE MONDAY night I receiv-
ed a call from one of the organ-
izers for the Miami Conventions
Coalition -- Rennie Davis. Davis
described a series of events plan-
ned for the August 21-23 Repub-
lican convention, and asked for
help in supporting these actions.
Here is a brief summary of those
events:
1. The Miami Women's Coalition
will open a "Free Space" for Wo-
men, Aug. 20 and on the 21 there
will be a women's march against
the genocide and oppression of
women in Vietnam and in Amer-
ica,.
2. A few days before the open-
ing of the convention a march
will begin in Northern Florida, led
by Vietnam Veterans Against the
War; (UVAW) covering 20 miles
each day, it will arrive ea the
opening day of the convention.
:3. A Youth Rally will coincide
with the opening of the Conven-
tion. The idea of it is similar to
the John Sinclair Freedom Rally.
4. A tribunal or investigation
will be going on, led by members
of the Senior Citizen Commtunity
in Miami. Through hearings and
presentations from various con-
stituencies, it will judge whether
the policies of the present admin-
istration should be continued.
5. A Vietnamese cultural event,
"Let Vietnam Live," also for the
Miami senior senior citizens, is to
be presented by Vietnamese na-
tionals, many of them students.
6. On August 22, Collins A v e-
nue, the road which connects the
luxury hotels and the convention
hall will be renamed the S t r e e t
Without Joy (thename given by
the French to the strategic High-
way No. 1) and delegates will move
past a single-file of exhibits of
the meaning of the Nixon regime:
My Lai, Attica, poverty, and so
forth.
7. Also on August 2. as Nixon
is nominated there will be a march
to the Convention Hall, planned
as a demonstration, without civil
disobedience. It will demand a
minimum program for peace, soc-
ial justice, and self determination,
8. On August 23, before the Nix-
on acceptance charade, a non-vio-
Today's Staff .,.
News: Jan Benedetti, Alan Lenhoff, Ralph Vartabedian
Editorial Pape: Carla Rapoport
Photo Technician: Denny Gainer
Summer Staff
EDITORIAL STAFF
Dan Biddle, Jan Benedetti, Meryl Gordon, Jim Kentch. Lorin
Labardee, Alan Lenhoff (co-editor), Diane Levick, Maynard, Chris
Parks, Carla Rapoport (co-editor) Marilyn Riley, Gloria Smith,
Paul Travis, Ralph Vartabedian.
SPORTS STAFF
Bob Andrews, Dan Borus, Elliot Legow.
BUSINESS STAFF
Andy Golding, Business Mgr.; Sherry Kastle, Circulation Mgr.;
Karen Laakko, Classified Mgr.; Bill Abbott, Display Mgr.; Diane
Carnevale, Supplement Mgr.; Elliott Legow, Deborah Whiting,
Carol Wieck, Assistants.
---
- a
"You know, that thousand dollars a year might
come in pretty handy one of these days!'
tent, but militant rally outside the
Doral Hotel will demand an ac-
counting of the charges brought
against Nixon and the Republican
National Committee.
AS A BACKDROP to all these.
events -Expose '72" composed of
films, plays, exhibits, and raps
will attempt to tell the truth abaut
the Nixon regime at home a n d
abroad.
The contrast between the earlier
convention where anti-war a n d-
anti-poverty forces had a hearing
on the inside, and the exclusion
of these forces from the Repub-
lican affair should be stark.
And the discipline and elan of
the groups assembling in Miami
should hold the line against pro-
vocateurs.
Finally, an open-ended f a s t ,
planned to prevent the regime and
the election from hidnig the facts
of genocide from the people of the
country and the world will began.
today.
ALL TIIESE activities need
whatever support we can give
theta; even those s-osheec in
George McGovern's candidacy a
genuine hope for peace should real-
ize that it is exactly now that an
independent and determined coalis-
tion against war and poverty must
stay intthe forefront. They all need
ftunds to bring the plans to fruit-
ation. The Conventions Coalition
has put out a serious emergency
call for financial support to bring
the Vietnamese students to Miami,,
to organize the hearings, to rent
the hallsato do all the thin asaSch
a large and ambitious programn cc-
qtire. And raising money in a re-
cession when so many hope for the
candidacy of Senator McGovern is
no easy task.
When Davis called, I promnised
to send what funds I could today
and to continue for the nest ten
days or so. Please send checks, in
whatever amounts you can, to me,
made out to the Miami Convenian
Coalition.
Though the temptation to eas
off is great, the need for deter
mination is greater than ver.
-Bob Ross
Room 5036, ISR
July 27