Thursday, May 6, 1976
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Thre
Ferndale fights discrimination suit
By MIKE NORTON
Attorney: for the Ferndale Board of
Jdication yesterday accUsed the federal
government of denving them the oppor-
tunity to prepare a proper defense
against racial discrimination charges
file, by the Justice Department.
The government, in a suit filed last
Wednesday in U.S. District Coutrt in lie-
troit, claimed that school officials of the
Detroit suburb "operate atid assist" in
the segregation of black students within
.the schmol system,
ACCORDING TO the suit, Grant Ele-
mentary School, one of ten elementary
schools in Ferndale, had an all-black
student body and faculty until the 1975-
~6 school year, while the other nine were
all-white.
And although 1~0 whites were brought
into the school during the current year,
they were promptly enrolled in a special
open classroom" curriculum with a
scant 27 blacks The rest of the black
students remained in the traditional pro-
gram.
An all-white faculty was assigned to
the new program, the government added
in its action, while the traditional one
was left with a nearly all-black faculty.
This, say federal officials, constitutes
a violation of the Equal Educational Op-
portunity Act, and the Justice Depart-
ment has requested a court order for-
bidding further racial discrimination
and requiring the school district to bring
AP Photo their system "into compliance with fed-
eral law an dthe Fourteenth Amend-
ment."
a huge The Justice Department says that a
e Thomas written complaint was sent to Attorney
General Edward Levi by "the parent of
a black child," but officials refttsed.to
divulge the specific nature of the com-
plaint or who made it.
THAT, SAt) Phil G;(odtia, ste of
the attOIress for the Ferndf-le schail
system, is wvhty hi firm ihs beefn pre-
vented froimt preparing i defense.
"We diol' kssnnv what kitid of person
this is, or Whelther or not the child is
even enrolled in Grnt Elemntitary-we
don't even know the munner ii, which
he or she has suspisedly been discrinmi-
nated against'' Isole complained.
Goodtmtan said the sctoitl systetimn't
interested in finding out the identity of
the complainant, which is prttectod by
law. "We just wmnt te guernmt to
define his or her standintig i siwe can
prepare an dequtate diefentse'"
A PREVIOtiU suit against Ferdile
filed May 21 utter t dtfereti griiniot
of the Etlual Ednear tl tfprtmtinity
Act was dismitssd on simil-ir grounds,
and Goodmatn is hiopeftil the city can
succeed in gettig the sresot ucse dis-
missed.
"We're not guilty of any ftorm of dis-
crimination," he said. "'the government
is in error in bringing this lawsuit."
Peter Kelly, the Assistant U.S. Attor-
ney in Detroit, reftietd to comment on
the nature of the complaint against the
Ferndale school system, but claimed the
Justice Department expects to sake the
charges stick.
"WE MOST certainly are expecting
success in this," he declared. "If we
didn't, we wouldn't have brought suit in
the first place."
No date has yet been set for a hearing
on the litigation.
Artist in chains
No, it isn't another piece of incomprehensible modern sculpture. It'
chain that encircles Boston's new Waterfront Park, and painter George
is putting on the last loving touches.
r
tf OU eE NWWAM tY
Shotgun "wedding
The 85-year-old proprietor of a
combination grocery and gun store
in Welch, W.Va. says federal regu-
lations governing gun sales are
forcing him to seek a wife. G.C.
Thompson, who can neither read
nor write, says he needs a wife to
help check forms before he sells
the guns, so he can comply with
federal regulations requiring that
persons buying firearms must reg-
ister with the store where the
weapons are bought. But Thomp-
son has established some require-
ments of his own. "I don't want
to marry no walking cane, hos-
pital or graveyard," he said. She
has to be between the ages of
25-55, with no living husband and
"willing to live right."
Happenings
... are as sparse as snow flakes
in Kissamee today. They include,
inclusively and exclusively, a Proj-
ect Outreach mass meeting at 7:30
p.m. in Aud. A, Angell; and a
meeting of the University Sailing
Club, 7:45 p.m., Rm. 170 in the
Physics and Astronomy Bldg. for
anyone interested in learning or
continuing to sail,
Weather or not
The forecast far southern lower
Michigan today is mostly cloudy
and cooler, with early morning,
showers ending by mid afternoon.
Highs for today are expected to
be in the mid to upper Sos.
Phone rate hikes criticized
By BARBARA ZAHS
"I guess I won't be making any more
calls from pay phones," one angry
Michigan Bell customer muttered.
His reaction followed Tuesday's an-
nouncement that the state's Public Ser-
vice Commission (PSC) will allow Michi-
gan Bell Telephone Company to raise
the cost of a pay phone call from 10
cents to 20 cents as part of a $52.2 mil-
lion rate increase package.
MONTHLY CHARGES for basic tele-
phone service will be boosted by 1.5 per
cent. Overall rate increases for other
services will average 6.2 per cent,
The PSC ruling will also allow Michi-
gan Bell to increase prices for long
distance calls,
Area residents have reacted with sharp
criticism to the increased rates.
"I THINK IT'S outrageous. I can bare-
ly afford it now. I guess I'll have to call
collect," Loma Kresge said.
"They're charging too much already.
I don't want to have to pay an extra
dime to make a call from a pay phone,"
another woman said.
Some residents expressed concern that
the increase in telephone rates, coupled
with rising postal rates, will make com-
munication too costly for them to afford.
THE PRICE HIKE did not upset every-
one, however.
"I kind of expected it. All of the other
prices are going up, too," Marcia Toon
commented.
In spite of the announced increase, Bell
officials insist that the new rate package
will not bring in enough additional rev-
enue to salve the utility's financial woes.
The company is expected to request yet
another rate nerease in a few months.
SOME LOCAL BELL customers have
complained that increases in the phone
company's rates, like those of other
utilities, have not been accompanied by
improvements in service.
New cease-ire Senate al o overre
eass fghtng ord day care bil veto
in Beirut area WASHINGTON (') - The Senate number of adult workers to care for
yesterday failed by three votes to children between the ages of six
BEIRUT, Lebanon (M) - The Beirut override President Ford's veto of a weeks and six years for the center
port area, scene of heavy fighting for $125 million child-care bill, to qualify for federal money. A pre
the past week, calmed yesterday with a Th Senate vote was 60 to 34, sht viotn sustension of these standards
new cease-fire, and streetfighters of
both sides emerged from bunkers to ex-
change cold drinks, cigarettes, crosses
and Korans in the buffer zone.
Troops of the Palestinian Liberation
Army (PLA) separated Christian and
Moslem forces in the capital. However,
some sporadic fighting with small arms
continued in suburbs and nearby moun-
tam towns,
POLICE SAID 45 persons were killed
and 72 wounded mostly in fighting out-
side Beirut. In Lebanon's 13-month old
civil war nearly 18,000 people have died.
In the port area, a bearded Christian
gunman threw his arms around-a Mos-
See CEASE-FIRE, Page 10
of the needed two-thirds -majority to
override.
It followed by one day a House
vote of 301 to 101 to override the
veto, 33 more than the required
tw -thirds in that chamber,
TO DATE Ford has vetoed 48 bills
and has been overridden eight times.
The measures would have granted
states $125 million to meet new feder-
al child day-care standards, while
h delaying implementation of the stand-
ards until July 1.
The standards set a minimum
expired on Feb. 1, although they have
yet to be put into effect.
IN HIS VETO message, Ford said
the legislation would "not make day-
care services more widely available.
It would only make them more cost-
ly to the American taxpayer."
Ford has urged Congress to enact
his own program under which states
would set and enforce their own day-
care standards.
Republican opponents of the mea-
sure protested it extended federal
regulation further into the lives of
private citizens.