I uesday, August 19, 1975
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Three
Busing verdict face
endess legal battles
By DAVID BLOMQUIST prepare a new integration proposal emphasizing
Special To The Datly redesigned attendance z o n e s and specialized
DETROIT-The legal battle over charges of "magnet" curriculum programs rather than ex-
racial discrimination in the Detroit public school tensive cross-city movement of children which
system entered its sixth year yesterday, amidst the NAACP had proposed. He said busing should
new confusion and controversy caused by a sur- be included in the new plan only if redistricting
prisingly restrained federal court decision last fails to bring black enrollment in all Detroit
weekend that ruled out massive busing to pro- schools to a minimum level of 30 per cent.
mote desegregation within the city.
In an opinion released Saturday, federal Dis. HE THUS rejected the NAACP's contention
trict Judge Robert DeMascio said "transporting that a desegregation effort required all schools
children is an extraordinary remedy to be em- to be integrated to levels within 15 per cent of
ployed only when appreciable results may be the citywide racial ratio. Since nearly three-
accomplished thereby, and then only when other fourths of the Detroit system's 257,400 pupils are
alternatives have been exhausted." black, that definition would have set maximum
black enrollment in each city school at approxi-
A SPOKESPERSON for the National Associa- mately 56 per cent.
tion for the Advancement of C o 1 o r e d People But the judge noted that any plan designed to
(NAACP) said the verdict was "disappointing" achieve such maximum integration within the
and indicated that an appeal would be filed, population makeup of the Detroit system would
But Wilbur Cohen, dean of the University's probably entail transferring black children from
education school and one of three expert consul- predominantly black schools to new centers with
tants to DeMascio, disagreed and called the only a slightly lower concentration of black stu-
decision "very outstanding and commendable." dents.
DeMascio ordered the Detroit school board to See LEGAI, Page 6
BRIARWOOD THREAT SMALL
Downtown shops thrive
Photo by Dovid Blomnuist
PICKETS FROM BREAKTHROUGH, a right - wing. group
headed by Detroit activist Donald Lobsinger, picket in front of
the courtroom of federal District Judge Robert DeMascio
last Saturday, when the judge sharply limited busing for inte-
gration purposes.
PRESIDENT VISITS IOWA
armers' work vital
in world policy--Ford
DES MOINES, Iowa (PA)-President Ford got a roaring cam-
paign-style ovation from a grandstand crowd of thousands as he
visited the Iowa State Fair yesterday and praised the work of
American farmers.
A high school baud blared and hundreds of red, white and
blue balloons floated over the fairgrounds as Ford came to de-
liver a speech telling Iowa farmers that America's production of
crops and agricultural products is vital to the nation's foreign
policy.
BEFORE HIS speech, Ford toured a 4H exhibit, recalling his
own boyhood when he was a member of the organization. He ate
a hotdog and drank lemonade as
M D he looked over the exhibit of
corn, cows and pigs.
He received sustained ap-
plause from the Iowa farm au-
dience during his speech when
blasts sexis he said:
"Be assured that this admin-
istration's national farm policy
is-and will continue to be-one
of full production. It is a policy
professiona frfresthog omr
of fair prices and good income
for farmers through commer-
By ELAINE FLETCHER cial sales of their products."
Calling the s e x i s m she
encountered in life more "kicks HE SAID he anticipates fur-
than pain," the head of Har- ther grain sales to the Soviet
vard's children's hospital shared Union but only "if it is in our
the story of her climb to the Unobuoly"fiisnor
top of the medical profession best national interest-in the in-
with local women professionals terests of Americans, farmers
yesterday. and consumers alike."
Dr. Mary Ellen Avery said Thd poses alse. e
"it's not humorous being the The promise was also greeted
victim of unfair discriminatory with applause.
practices," but such sexism, she "We must be sure that we
added, still runs rampant "at have enough grain to meet our
the level of the board, where
See FEMALE, Page 7 See FORD, Page 10
By CANDY SAGON
First of a two-partseries
The city's downtown shopping
district appears to be prosper-
ing despite fears that the open-
ing of the Briarwood mall two
years ago would kill business in
the Main and State Street
areas.
"We are alive and well," says
Paul Kizer, manager of Kline's
department store and a member
of the Board of Directors of the
Downtown Business Develop-
ment Association (DBAA), a
promotional association of down-
town businesses.
"PEOPLE ARE coming back.
They have loyalties to stores in
the central business district,
they don't always like walking
around a large mall and they
don't want to pay the higher
prices at Briarwood," Kizer con-
tends.
Kizer adds that his company,
which recently doubled in size,
"would not have paid $400,000
to expand (the) store if they
had thought the downtown was
dying."
Managers of other downtown
stores also believe Briarwood
has not ruined their business.
NORM KATZ, manager of
Kay-Jay, a small women's cloth-
ing store on Main St., says his
store had its best year ever in
1974.
"Our business went down
about ten per centtwhen Briar-
wood opened, but then we ral-
lied back," says Katz. "We
had a short decline again when
Hudson's opened in June of last
year, but our 1974 profits were
the best in our 37 years of busi-
ness."
Katz believes his store has
not been hurt by Briarwood be-
cause, according to the man-
ager, he makes sure his prices
are lower than the shopping
center's, and he offers his cus-
tomers more personalized serv-
ice.
LOWER PRICES and more
service are also the reasons
Doug Sager gives for why Fie-
gel's has not suffered dueto
Briarwood. Fiegel's a clothing
store on Main St., has been in
business since 1891. Sager, one
of three owners, says the open-
ing of Briarwood had no effect
on his store's business, although
he says there was a slight de-
cline when Hudson's joined the
mall.
Martin Clark, the manager of
Ann Arbor Clothing, says Briar-
wood actually increased his
business because it attracted
people from other areas into the
city.
"We specialize in clothes for
the big, tall man. We got new
business from men who came
in to shop at Briarwood, found
there were no colthes there to
fit them, and often were refer-
red to us," Clark says.
BUT SOME stores have suf-
fered a loss of business be-
cause of Briarwood's competi-
tion. Charles Smith, manager
of Dietzel's shoe store, reports
that his business has declined
s i n c e Briarwood's inaugural.
A. K. Diez, manager of the 64-
year old B.E. Muehlig also says
he lost some business when
Briarwood opened.
"But every time a shopping
center opens, the pie gets small-
er," Diez says.
The opening of Briarwood
coincided with a dip in the eco-
nomy and the beginning of the
current recession. Because of
this, some managers, like Ralph
Seyfried of Seyfried Jewelers,
say t h e y cannot determine
whether the decline in their
business was due to Briarwood
or the general condition of the
economy.
AS ONE store owner said,
"Many of our customers tell us
they stilt like the downtown.
Many are older people and they
say they like the store down-
town and they find the mer-
chandise more to their taste.
Briarwood seems to cater to
younger people, especially in
the clothing stores."
The downtown area also has
many specialty shops catering
to the more individualistic needs
and interests of shoppers. This
See DOWNTOWN, Page 5
Wheeler sets u
rent study group
By ANN MARIE LIPINSKI
Making good on an April campaign promise to Ann Arbor
citizens, Mayor Albert Wheeler last night announced the forma-
tion of a fair rental practices citizens committee.
The committee-an 18 member cross-section of various com-
munity interests-has been charged primarily with studying the
rental market and rental practices in the city "to determine
whether conditions are such that governmental actions are needed
to safeguard the economic well being and physical health and
safety of local residents."
IF THE COMMITTEE should find that governmental actions
are needed, explained Wheeler in his communication to City
Council, then it is to recommend measures "that Council can
and should take to remedy the situaton."
"Since there is a strong belief by many citizens that rental
costs and practices in the city are unfair to many tenants, then
I believe that government is obligated to establish the facts and
institute appropriate remedies," Wheeler said.
"Although this is not called a rent control committee," said
Wheeler in his communication, "that fact should not be con-
strued to rule out a recommendation for rent control legislation
if the committee decides that this is an appropriate course of
action, and that the recommended legislation is not in conflict
with existing State law."
Wheeler told Council last night that he thought conflict with
State law was the primary reason why earlier attempts to estab-
lish rent control legislation were not successful.