The Michigan-Daily
Edited and managed by Students at the
University of Michigan
Friday, June 6, 1975
News Phone: 764-0552
McCargar, Moody and
Epstein for school hoard
THE ANN ARBOR PUBLIC school system is reputed to
be one of the best in the state, but its Board of Edu-
cation seems to have lost any notion of a majority view
in the community. Special needs of children are ignored.
Administrators are allowed to waste thousands of dol-
lars at times when they should be exploring the budget
for fat. Students' opinions are not even listened to.
We're endorsing three people for Monday's school board
race we feel will reverse these unfortunate trends.
Our ton choice for a school board seat is D. Stephen
McCargar. McCargar, more than any of the other candi-
dates, speaks about the enormous amount of wasted
money in the school system. The tens of thousands of dol-
lars spent on dubious consulting contracts, funds for
unnecessary expense accounts and travel expenses, in-
flated administrators' salaries and ambigious "miscel-
laneous" categories are all areas of the board's $30 mil-
lion budget that are ripe for cutbacks. McCargar has pro-
mised to focus on these expensive empires which are all
too often protected by the conservative-dominated board.
McCARGAR IS ALSO working for greater equity be-
tween the salaries of administrators and lower-level
employes, and favors the idea of extending educational
alternatives to the junior high and elementary school
levels-two conpnts we heartily endorse.
We also back Charles Moody, Sr., for a school board
seat. Moody recognizes that the school system simply,
isn't responding to the needs of a sizeable segment of the
young population, narticularly non-middle-class white
children, blacks and other minorities.
Secondly, Moody strongly supports the concept of
student participation in decision-making, which he says
is already on its way and will bring a "fresh perspective"
to the system. And Moody wants to see the glaring in-
equities in the school's harsh discipline policy corrected
-a policy both incumbents, Warner and Dukes, are
proud of.
We also endorse Jerome Epstein, whose empathy
and dedication toward the students Is illustrated by the
search he is already conducting for possible sources of
funds to meet an urgent need: learning disabilities. Far
too many children go through the schools without even
having their learning difficulties diagnosed, much less
treated. Epstein will bring the attention these children
need to a board that has, so far, ignored them, passing
them from grade to grade while they struggle against
learning blocks they simply cannot handle by themselves.
AND WHILE CONSERVATIVE candidates are advocat-
ing greater emphasis on "the three R's," Epstein sees
a need to go far beyond these basic skills. School kids
are disinterested and angry because they're not being
stimulated, he says, because there's nothing in it for
them.
No on A; Yes on B, C
SIX YEARS AGO, ANN ARBOR voters drew the line.
Since 1969, they have approved no new millage in-
creases, and we see little reason to endorse one this year.
Proposition A asks for a 1.5 mill tax hike, which the
school board claims is necessary to "maintain" current
programs and to cover the costs of new state-mandated
programs.
But the board stubbornly refuses to cut corners
where money is being wasted. Perhaps the biggest drain
is from the school administration itself--roughly 100
administrators draw a coinbined salary of over $2.5 mil-
lion.

We do, however, recognize a need to renew the mil-
lages already in effect-Proposition . B, for school ex-
penses, and Proposition C, for the city's impressive public
library system. The loss of current funding would force
painful cutbacks in both the classrooms and the library
which serves thousands of Ann Arbor children and adults.

QUEASY RIDER
D.C. transit out of control

By GORDON ATCHESON
WASHINGTON - Having rid-
den packed rush-hour
buses here, I've come to the
conclusion that the "mass" in
mass transit doesn't refer to
large numbers of people but
rather is an acronym for Me-
chanized Assault on Sanity and
Safety.
There is neither joy nor con-
venience in being forced to pay
se cents to stand next to a fat,
sweaty old woman at eight in
the morning. Yet, that is an in-
tegral part of the rapid transit
system in Washington.
So are the young toughs who
lounge in the back of the bus-
es and accost whoever sits near
them. Lately I've begun to won-
der if both the kids and the an-
cient ladies are not employed by
the city to provide entertain-
ment for the passengers.
If so, the effort, unfortunate-
ly, is lost on many regular rid-
ers, who try to find other diver-
sions.
SOME people try reading on
the bus and thus vicariously es-
cape the bedlam swirling around
them. I gave that approach a
go - but looking at printed pag-
es that bounced and lurched in
unison with my stomach w as
simply too much to bear.
And there are other prob-
lems. Once a gentleman sit.
ting next to me had the unnerv-
ing experience of seeing t h e
point of a bumbershoot come
tearing through his Washington
Pest, scewering Jerry t o r d,
Elvin Hayes, and Snoopy all at
the same time.
Other people play games like
make believe - though oceas-
ionally a couple will play make-
TENANT'S CORNER
Evictions
By LARRY COOPERMAN
A POLICE OFFICER at the
scene of an eviction was
asked what he would do, if upon
coming home from work, he
were confronted by the sight of
his possessions on the porch and
someone else inside the house.
His response was I'd go in
there with a twelve-gauge shot-
gun." The Tenants Union agrees
with that officer insofar as we
telieve that everyone has a
right to defend their homes,
even if the trespasser happens
to own the building.
Recently, two Tenants Union
members, Elaine and Joel,
found their possessions out on
the porch and the doors locked
against them. The reson: the
landlord had, inadvertently and
through sheer stupidity, allow-
ed his house to be rented by
two parties concurrently. One
group, including Elaine and
Joel, had moved in on a Sun-
day and the next group was
to begin leasing the premises
seven days later.
WHILE THERE were t w o
groups of tenants involved in
this dispute, each wanting ps-
session of the same house, the
Tenants Union was obliged to
support Elaine and Joel for two
reasons: 1) We felt that they
had the prior claim on t h e
house, having a receipt for it
which predated the other ten-
ant's lease and 2) They had
been denied due proces by be-
ing evicted without a court or-
der. Our role insofar as the
dispute between the two sets of
tenants was concerned was to

out instead. Most. folks pretend air conditioning n mansy of tie
they've just had frontal lobo- buses out of ')rder until around
tomies. They stare vacantly out September 15.
the windows or at their feet. And Long about August the tem
the experts drool just a teency-
weenc bit. perature will hit tha uppe t'
Now and then, a song and and the humidity will rm about
dance man will perform. Or a the same - all by mid-morning
:"- - .}.., , ,,spi . .. ro -t~rAv
"Most folks pretend they've just had frontal
lobotomies. They stare vacantly out the win-
dows or a their feet. And the experts drool just
a teency-weency bit."

fellow in a tattered c.at will
collect for an unnamed charity'
- generally Ernest and Julio
Gallo.
WHILE THE other nassengers
may be difficult to put up with
at times, the executives w h o
manage the city buses are even
more frustrating because of
their rank incompetence. Im
oonvinced they all received their
training in the federal govern-
ment and then moved on to the
challenges of the District of Co-
lumbia Transportation Author-
ity.
In the short time I've b h e n
here, they have committed at
least two major b unde-s.
First, the National S a f e t y
Council or some such grosn de-
termined that the seat covers in
600 new metro buses were made
of highly flamible material.
Though if they had, the pas-
sengers would havi had a new
game to play - Buddhist monk
protesting the war in Vietnam.
However, to me, ever more
unforgivable was 'he bureaucra-
tic slip up - never fully ex-
plained - that will keep t h e

- which creates an atmosphere
not unlike that inside a pees-
sure cooker.
I HAVE THIS dread fear that
the more frail riders facing Ving
journeys from the farthest en-
virons of Georgs own to the Gp-
posite end of the husinesa ds-
trict simply won't make it. The
heat will be too much for them.
I'm already boning up on the
first aid techniques fsr h e at
stroke and prostration, so 111 be
prepared to save a lifa should
the need arise.
Secondly, I'm checking to e
if my boss will allow me to wear
jungle fatigues and a pith hel-
met to work.
Of course, suth precautios
may be entirely irrelevam be.
cause the way the drivers on-
erate here. I just may e' er
make past the Fourts of lely,
And they don't ever sell riders
insurance.
Gordon Atcheson is Co-
editor in Chief cf T he
Dily and a summer interv
for the Kniqht Newspapers
Washinqton bureau.

Know your rights

point out that neither group has
been responsible in tavy way
for the situation. In reiterating
that point, we hope to diminish
the almost inevitable hostilities
between them. Lastly, we sug-
gested that whichever g r o u p
found itself with a broken agree-
ment instead of a house could
initiate a lawsuit ag-inst t h e
landlord to attain compensation
for his blundering.
The law itself must be streng-
thened so that no landlord can
evict a tenant without suffering
severe consequences. One sug-
'pseerOo Et e o rt eo sp

gestion would be to have such
landlords charged with tres-
passing, since that is essential-
ly what they are doing w'en
they are inside a given house.
In addition, there should be a
hefty civil penalty for the J.
legal evictions of tenants frue
their homes. The right of all
people to the safe enjoyment si
their homes must be guara
teed.
Larry Cooperman is a
Tenants Union staff mem-
ber.
'reOAtp AsI% R4WS.
J'~