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[ AmIchian DAILY
Ann Arbor, Michigan 9 Free Issue

Vol. .XXXVIII, No. 54-S
Saturday, July 29, 1978
Sixteen Pages

I

Regents OK
MSA housing,
Legal Aid fee

By BRIAN BLANCHARD
After extensive debate during both
sessions of this month's meeting, the
Regents agreed yesterday to include
the Ann Arbor Tenants' Union, Campus
Legal Aid services and Housing Law
Reform Project among the Michigan
Student Assembly (MSA) activities
funded by a new $2.92 mandatory
student fee approved during the mor-
Daily Photo by JOHN KNOX ning meeting.
REGENTS THOMAS ROACH (D-Detroit), left, and Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor) After the session in the Ad-
address different people, and apparently, varying topics, during discussion of ministration Building, Jonathan rose, a
MSA funding for the Ann Arbor Tenants Union at yesterday's Regents meeting. Campus Legal Aid attorney, told
APPLICATIONS FOR HUD FUNDING GET REGENTS' GO-AHEAD:
Consolidation requests approved
By R. J. SMITH
The consolidation of University food
service in the Hill area, an issue which 5.
in the past has drawn a negative ~
response from student groups and
Regents, yesterday took a lumbering
step closer to becoming a reality.
With virtually no debate, the Univer-
sity Regents approved a pair of
requests the University Housing Office
has sent to the Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD), ARCHITECT'S MODEL shows proposed central dining facility behind Mosher-
asking for federal loans which would
pay for food service consolidation and a Jordan.
series of energy-saving renovations HUD offices in Detroit to meet a although the federal money would
slated for student housing facilities. preliminary deadline of 4:00 p.m. Each make cafeteria consolidation possible
IF HUD APPROVES the request, loan request is for $4,980,000. The at a much earlier date.
there could be consolidated food ser- University will receive notification of "WE'RE GOING TO have to do it
vice, estimated to cost over $3,000,000, the HUD funding by September 30 if the anyway," said Peter Ostafin, associate
for students living in Hill area dorms, department grants the requests. housing director. "And if we do it our-
by fall 1981. Even if HUD denies the University's selves, it's going to take longer and it
After receiving the Regents ap- requests, Housing officials have stated
proval, the two requests were rushed to they will seek alternative fund sources, See REGENTS, Page 13

Regent James Waters (D-Muskegon),
one of the stronger supporters of the
MSA funding, "This ended up real
well. We'll be able to do our work."
WITHOUT COMMENT the eight of-
ficials also appointed Robert Hughes, a
member of the University's staff since
1964 and acting housing director since
last September, to a permanent
position at the head of the University's
Housing Office.
Debate over the assessment concen-
trated on MSA's role in the expansion of
the Legal Aid and Housing Law Reform
groups-each of which has been serving
indigent students with one-and-a-half
lawyers up to this point
After Thursday's debate, University
President Robben fleming, who chairs
Regents' meetings, drew up a new ac-
tion request to address some of the con-
cerns voiced by Regents on the first af-
ternoon meeting.
FLEMING INCLUDED conditions
requiring the Legal Aid Office to serve
only students and to refrain from any
lobbying activities as well as any ac-
tivity which might threaten the tax
status of the University. Fleming's
stipulations also strengthened the
requirement that no suit be initiated,
directly or indirectly, against the
University by an organization funded
with the assessed monies.
Regent Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor),
who cast the only dissenting vote on the
funding question, said he opposed the
mandatory aspect of the fee and said
that he would favor a study to see
whether a branch of the University ad-
ministration could replace any outside
groups.
See REGENTS, Page 5

'U'affirmative action acceptable

By ELISA ISAACSON
The University's Affirmative Action Program -
the tumultuous subject of a conciliation agreement
signed last January by the U.S. Office of Civil Rights
(OCR) and school officials - has been approved by the
U.S. Department of Labor, rendering the University
eligible for federal financial contracts.
Due to governmental reorganization by President
Carter, the Labor Department has been vested with
control of all affirmative action enforcement contrac-
ts, and has cancelled the OCR agreement.
THE AGREEMENT between the University and
OCR, a division of Health, Education and Welfare
(HEW), followed an on-site investigation by OCR of-
ficials who accused the University of "non-
compliance" with federal affirmative action
regulations pertaining to race and sex. The Labor
Department, however, said HEW had not found
adequate evidence of discrimination, and declared the

HEW agreement
'null and void'

University was complying with federal regulations.
"The conciliation agreement is null and void,"
Vice President for Academic Affairs Harold Shapiro
said at yesterday's Regents meeting. Shapiro later
said "We will continue to pursue the formation of the
best affirmative action program we can."
The Labor Department informed OCR of the pen-
ding nullification last February, but the University
was not told until late June, Shapiro noted. "Nobody
phoned us or told us or asked us about it," he said. "We
felt we were taken advantage of."
"There are several reasons given for voiding the
agreement," said Virginia Nordby, attorney and

academic affairs policy coordinator, and a member of
the agreement's conciliation team. "There is no way
you can say it (the Labor Department's decision) is
good, bad or indifferent - it's just too complicated."
ALTHOUGH SHE acknowledged the salary
analysis and discrimination sections of the January
agreement are null and void, Nordby said completion
of the analysis and goal-setting section was ac-
celerated, not cancelled, by the Labor Department.
"The only thing wrong with the January
agreement was that it gave us until October 1(to com-
plete the analysis and goal-setting)," Nordby ex-
plained. "The Department of Labor's view is that we
should have done them immediately."
At the same time the Labor Department informed
the University of the repudiation of the contract, the
department requested the analyses be completed
within one week. The affirmative action office, the per-
See U-HEW, Page 12