The Michigan Daily
Edited and managed by Students at the
University of Michigan
Friday, May 28, 1976
News Phone: 764-0552

Mailbox: On women's sports
and K's bruised bicyclists

women's sports
To The Daily:
In the final quarter of the twentieth cen-
tury, the age of "Virginia Slims," I find it
totally unreasonable and discriminatory to
offer athletic scholarships to University of
Michigan male athletes and not to females.
One needs to just look around to'see that
women athletes are just as involved and
devoted to their sport as their male counter-
parts. Women are extremely well represented
in professional tennis, track, golf, and swim-
ming. It appears to me as though women have
been unanimously accepted by professional
sports associations, the media, and the pub-
lic sports enthusiasts - so what happened.
U of M? Why haven't our women athletes been
granted an equal opportunity to develop their
abilities and work to establish themselves in
the sports world. Perhaps, U of M, you don't,
in fact, want to support or encourage wom-
en athletes.

mistakes that men's sports advocates have
made in the meantime.
The NCAAA rules, "which tend to favor
men's sports which produce revenue," seem
ridiculous when some thought is given to the
matter. If sports scholarships can encourage
top level women athletes to come to the
university for their education, it can offer
top level women's competition. Any sport,
men's or women's, that can advertise high
level performers becomes a "revenue" sport."
The excellence of its athletes determine a
sport's relative revenue and we all know that
one does not attract good athletes with a
low-budget, archaic athletic program. Until
the NCAA and Board of Regents at this uni-
versity can develop enough foresight to realize
this, women's sports here and at other schools
will fail to reach their great potential.
Michele Peters
May 22
bicyclists

and none of that jazz
A TRADITIONAL RITE of summer in this town, the
Ann Arbor Blues abd Jazz Festival, appears
destined once again to be a sweet memory in the
minds of local music lovers and summer worshipers
this year. Itwill take a miracle for the Fest to get
off the ground.
After a deported festival two years ago across
the national border in Windsor, we'll probably have
to have a rerun of last summer when there just
wasn't any festival at all.
Last month, a proposed site of Gallup Park was
snubbed by the Republican-controlled Council as
being an unacceptable location for the homeless
festival. An alternate site in Ann Arbor Township
was axed by its residents. This sort of impotence on
the part of Council to secure a spot for the festival
looms as a major disappointment for many Ann
Arborites.
It is sad when traditions such as this one are
left to die. The Blues and Jazz Festival has always
been considered the perfect topping to mellow Ann
Arbor summers. Turning to a less sentimental point
of view, the festival could bring some additional
greenery into the city's coffers. The financial dis-
aster of two years ago, when many were hesitant
to cross the border into Canada, is no indication of
the event's fruitful potential.
There is one bright note, however. The city is
considering plans for a permanent Festival site
slated for sometime in the future. We hope the city's
idea for the future isn't too far off.
Ed.iriaI 5af--Sprins Term
TIM SCHICK KEN PARSIGIAN
Co-EdJtor -t'-ChtN

To The Daily:
I address my commen
er's article "Women hit
ties," (May 21). I was r
topic given press coverat
at the University of M
swept under the rug lor
efforts to promote womer
collegiate sports instead
have been going on for
success nor publicity. Thi
gymnastics club finally
team. This move was m
three years of fighting
cuses. It is difficult to be
for women's sports schola
the same long-term battl
The "system of aw
alone," suggested by Ms
the University Commissi
not implementing the ret:
excellent idea. If women
in the struggle for equa
least such groups canc

Janet Riggs To The Daily:
May 23 Summer has come once more to Ann Arbor
as bicyclists can tell you by the bruises on
their, well, posteriors. The difficulty any cy-
ts to Elaine Fletch- clist has battling the traffic on narrow city
'U' sports inequi- streets isn't half as bad as dodging and ma-
pleased to find this nuvering around chuck holes, broken, crack-
ge. Women's sports ed pavement, uneven patches, and unpredict-
ichigan have been able but nevertheless unrolled curbs. I re-
ng enough. Student fuse to believe that city government is in-
n's teams as inter- aware of the ill repair of city streets; even
of unfinanced clubs cars bounce and rattle over them.
years with neither Perhaps there is a lack of road funds,
s year the women's but why then are trees and grass being
became a varsity ripped out and a new alley to a parking
nade after at least structure replacing them across from the
administrative ex- old A & D building?
elieve that the fight The street problem is quickly becoming
rships will not meet unbearable. Not only are the scenic residential
e. areas poor, but every safe north-south path
arding scholarships for cyclists resembles a mortar target range.
Beverly Harns, of State, Tappan, E. University, Church, and
on for Women and Forest are all horrendous at best. Riding is
ruiting system, is an more than uncomfortable and damaging to
are to be put off the bike; it is dangerous as well.
i sports rights, the Lynn McMillion
do is profit by the May 16

I1r BMAW ECX5ARY Orib QEfby 00E GOR W~lb6AVE I1#..

JAYz LEVIN

JIM TOBIN

E d itortal Directors
ELAINE FLETCHER ANN MARIE LIPINSKI
Suppiivfimen#,t Editors

SUE AtDEs .. .
PHitI nBOKOVOy
MICHAEL NLUMS'IED 0
LAN] JORDAN ........
GEORGE LOBSENZ .
JEN NY MIL LER . . . ..
MIKE NORTON
MICHAEL YELLIN .
BARB ZAHS. ..

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TODAY'S STAFF:
News- Jennifer Miller, Ken Parsigion, Tim Schick, Jim
Tobin, Barb Zahs
Edit-Jay Levin
Photo Technician-Scott Eccker
Supplement-Elaine Fletcher, Ann Marie Lipinski

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