+ e lee IlY /eew eAel I e
The Michigan Daily-Thursday, January 24, 1980-Page 7
rof urges blacks to abstain from voting
What Can WelearnFrom
The Japanese?
The Center for Japanese Studies
at The University of Michigan
PRESENTS
aA.
By LISA LAVA-KELLAIt
Not voting in the 1980 presidential
election will be just as effective a
political tool for the black community
;s casting ballots, according to black
scholar and activist, Ronald Walters.
"To have an impact, we must
organize to stay home," the Howard
University political science professor
said yesterday to a predominantly
black audience of 30 in Lorch Hall.
WALTERS CITED the 1968 election
as 'a case in which blacks "staved
home," but added that the act was
unorganized and accidental.
He stressed that a large percentage
*of blacks in America espouse a
philosophy of voting which makes the
act one's civic duty or moral obligation.
'I
Walters said voting is an automatic
action to people who reason that if an
individual black does not vote, the
group as a whole will not show its in-
fluence.
"VOTING MUST be seen as an in-
strument of political behavior, not as a
strategic action," said Walters.
Looking at voting this way, the option
not to vote becomes a viable choice, ac-
cording to Walters.
This year, 5.5 million blacks will vote
in the presidential election, according
to Walters.
THE NUMBER "Is significant if you
consider that it (voting) is the largest
single activity of black political
behavior in this country," Walters said.
But he added the very act of voting
poses its own irony.
"The largest number (of blacks) par-
ticipate in'electoral politics, but gain
the least," he said.
WALTERS CITED a column in Time
magazine by Vernon Jordan, who said
blacks should not forget they helped
Jimmy Carter win the 1976 presidential
election. As such, Carter is indebted to
blacks, Walters added.
But he said the objective of some
politicians is to skirt, commitment,
thereby posing problems for the voting
black community.
"Blacks have over-inflated expec-
tations regarding their investment in
the vote and the rewards they receive
afterward," said Walters. -
"ULTIMATELY, who is president in
1980 may not make a big difference," he
said.
The black community requires a vast
number of progressive changes in the
areas of housing, education, and em-
ployment, Walters said. But until these
changes occur, he added, it makes no
difference whether a Republican of a.
Democrat is elected.
The problem, according to Walters,
stems from the people in charge of
black political bargaining who are
black elected officials and are too often
vulnerable to outside pressures and
risks.
He cited Marion Barry, mayor of
Washington, D.C., as an example of one
who hesitated to support Jimmy Carter
in the November presidential election.
Walters said Carter was similarly
hesitant in his approval of the
Washington, D.C. budget, but once
Barry stood- behind Carter, the budget
was quickly approved.
WALTERS SAID there is "too much
being passed out" in terms of gifts -
financial and otherwise - by presiden-
tial hopefuls attempting to secure the
black vote.
Upon President Carter's arrival at a
recent meeting with black
businessmen, the group didn't know
whether to sing "Hail to the Chief" or
"Here Comes Santa Claus," he said.
In order to improve the black
political system, a reinvestment in
leadership - not bound by the pressure
tactics of the White House or a political
party - is necessary, said Walters.
"WE NEED to have an organization
independent of the executive and
legislative branches that is structured
in policy expertise and connected to
grass roots," he said. "We must go
beyond the constraints of the policy
system."
Walters stressed the importance of
focusing on institutions to produce
systematic results, but said a mass
movement beyond the institutional
framework is needed.
In contrast to the university en-
vironment, real problems occur amidst
the masses, accordi g to Walters, and
only by working from this grassroots
level can these problems be eliminated.
Walters, active in several black lob-
bying groups, was the second speaker
in a series sponsored by the Center for
Afro-American and African Studies.
PITCHER
NIGHT
at
ti ouq
1140 South University
668-8411
"JAPAN AS NUMBER ONE"
A Public Lecture
by
EZRA F. VOGEL
Professor of Sociology and Chairman,
Council on Asian Studies
Harvard University
Friday, January 25, 1980 at 12:00 noon, 200 Lane Ha/
Wassington and State Streets
I'l
HEARING
1980"81 Residence Halls Rate
Study Committee Report
Residence hall students wishing to review
and comment on the 1980-81 Single Student
Rate Study Committee Report are invited to
do so on Thursday, Jan. 24th at 7:00 p.m. in
Dining Room 4 of South Quadrangle.
THE HARLAN HATCHER Graduate Library, referred to by students as "The Grad,'" was named after former Uni-
versity President Harlan Hatcher (inset). He presided over the University during most of the 1950's and into the 1960's.
Name change sought for MLB
(Continued from Page 1)
that he thought it was a bad idea be-
cause MLB is the workplace for many
teaching fellows. The professor said he
thought Fleming mishandled the long-
standing dispute between teaching
yellows and the University over their
status.
OBJECTIONS TO the proposed
dedication apparently were first raised
when Marion Jackson, assistant dean of
LSA, wrote letters to the heads of the
Departments 'of Sla'ic' Languages,
Germanic Languages, and Romance
Languages, setting up meeting times to
G ~
''proffinds
apartheid
unresolved
(Continued from Page 1)
terracial marriage. Such reform
moves, however, will meet stiff op-
position from conservatives in the
,.,Nationalist Party, especially from rich
Afrikaners who run the vast
agricultural businesses. Yablonky said
he was told the government's basic
policy of apartheid would not change.
"THE TOILET facilities at the air-
port in Johannesburg 'had been in-
tegrated since my last visit two years
ago," he said yesterday. He also noted
that libraries, theaters, restaurants,
and mary five-star hotels now allow
black patrons.,
Yablonky said he saw little evidence
f black militancy, especially in rural
areas where blacks are isolated. Black
agitation is concentrated in urban
areas, such as Port Elizabeth where
strikes by black workers have recently
taken place at the Ford Motor Company
and the General Tire and Rubber Co.
Yablonky said that both foreign and
South African journalists expect such
strikes to spread.
Yablonky added that some cor-
orations have eliminated
discriminatory job practices. Anti-
apartheid pressures from foreign in-
vestors may be in part responsible, he
said. "Yet it remains to be seen
whether blacks will be hired."
Yablonky said that as South Africa's
economy expands, the economic,' as
well as the social, position of blacks
may improve, since more skilled jobs
will open up. "Blacks are a vast reser-
voir of talent in South Africa," he said,
qnd the white business establishment
may not be able to continue to exclude
them.
Yablonky has recorded interviews
vith leading journalists in South Africa
for special broadcasts on the program,
"Background" - aired at 5:30 p.m. for
each of the next three Sundays on
W TOM.
m w.a IAIAA AI i,
discuss the question.
Jackson said last night that the let-
ters were meant only to raise the issue
for discussion. She said she was asked
to send. them by Vice-President for
FinancialAffairs James Brinkerhoff.
Brinkerhoff was unavailable for com-
ment.
ROY COWEN, chairman of the Ger-
manic Languages Department, said he.
responded to the letter, but refused to
comment further.
Here are the names behind 'some of
the buildings around campus:
" Betsy Barbour Residence Hall:
Regent Levi L. Barbour, during exten-
sive travels in the early days of the cen-
tury ,met two brilliant Chinese women,
and brought them back to the Univer-
sity to study. One of them died of tuber-
culosis thought to have been brought on'
by unhealthy living conditions. He built
a cozy house for women students, coten-
pleted in 1920, and named it after his
mother-Betsy.
Teaching Fellowships
for
Graduate Students
are now available through the
Pilot Poga
DEADLINE-JANUARY 30
The Pilot Program is an innovative, residential
educational program sponsored by LSBA and the
Housing Division.
TO APPLY:
1) Fill in a Pilot/LSA application available from Alice Lloyd
Hall, 100 Observatory St. (764-7521).
2) Fill in a Housing application available from 'Ms. Charlene
Coady, 1500 S.A.B. (763-3161).
* Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library:
A former dean and professor of
English, Harlan Hatcher became
president of theaUniversity in 1951aand
guided the University through major
expansions in student enrollment and
programs. He retired in 1967, and was
succeeded by Robben Fleming.
* Frieze Building: Originally Ann
Arbor's high school and library, it was
acquired, enlarged, and remodelled
during President Hatcher's ad-
ministration. It was named in memory
of Henry Frieze - former Latin
professor and president of the Univer-
sity from 1869 to 1879.
* Stockwell Hall: Madelon Stockwell
was the first woman to matriculate at
the University in 1870. She was given a
hard time by her male contemporaries,
but Stockwell was determined to
graduate and did so in 1872. She then
started a Michigan tradition by
marrying.a classmate.
r
cam. ahnrFinn?
Free Pregnancy Testing
Immediate Results
Confidential Counseling
Complete Birth Control Clinic
Medicaid * Blue Cross
Ann Arbor and
Downriver area
(313) 559-0590 Southfield area
Northland Family Planning Clinic, Inc. v .
Sport, noun. Recreation.
Athletics. Pastime. Everyone
has a sport of some sort.
To play, compete, or just to watch. Meijer is one of the
biggest sporting goo stores around. No matter what
your sport is, Meijer Thrifty Acres has the quality gear
and the same name brands you want, priced to save you
money. So, instead of spending your last
dime at the sporting specialty goods store,
why not jog on over to Meijer and save
some money. Maybe enough for two seats
behind the dugout. Whatever your sport,
Meijer can outfit you. On the court,
diamond, or field.A.
And off. fedA .e u aini te
.
r
I..
i., y r.i as e afw,= gib.. _
i
HEA LT'H
PROFESSIONA LS
Six miles southeast of campus on Carpenter Road.
r
"-
- -
-I
-I
-I
Ask a Peace Corps volunteer nurse or nutritiium why she teaches basic
health care to rural villagers in HI Salvador. Ask a VISTA community
worker why he organizes neighbors in St. Louis to set up a free health
clinic. They'll probably say they want to help people, want to use their