The Michigan Daily-Saturday, January 26, 1980-Page 7
STUDY SHOWS SHORTAGE NOT A FACTOR
Gas cost alone limits drivping
By BETH PERSKY
Concern over the worldwide energy
shortage has: not been the catalyst
altering the driving behavior of most
Americans, said Daniel Hill of the In-
stitute for Social Research (ISR) Sur-
vey Research Center.
Instead, he said, it is the ever-.,
increasing cost of gas at the pump
which has cramped American driving
habits.
THi:RE HAS been a per capita
reduction in the amount of oil consum-
ption between 1973 and 1978, said Hill.
But this, he added, is obscured by the
fart that there has been an eight and
one-half per cent increase in the num-
ber of households in the country.
In addition, said Hill, real income has
increased by eight per cent during the
five-year period - a fact which he said
would normally increase gasoline con-
sumption. But the increase in gas
prices prevented this from happening.
Daniel and Martha Hill are now
finishing their study on how the
American public is responding to the
combination of energy shortages and
increasing prices. A first study, regar-
ding consumer attitudes toward fuel ef-
ficient vehicles, was released in
December 1978. Information for the
surveys came from ISR data on the
lifestyles and attitudes of 5,000
American families between 1973 and
1978. Hill said although he didn't want
the study to date back too far in time, he
wanted information on lifestyles and at-
titudes before the Arab Oil Emnbargo of
1973.
H ILL MANAGED to segregate two
groups in his study of price-
responsiveness in fuel c ansumption.
Though many people are quite in-
flexible, he said, those families that are
fairly mobile (having moved within five
years e "appear to be quite price-
responsive."
"People moving take into account
gas prices (in their decision of where to
locate)," said Hill, who added that
"people who have not moved are not
very responsive."
The team also determined that the
middle class - not the poor - are the
ones hardest hit by fuel price hikes.
"It's not the poor folks in general
because they don't own cars," said Hill
"Mostly it's middle income younger
folks."
The situation, he explained, is "quite
different" than that of increases idi
utility prices, where "poor folks are hit
very hard by utility bills."
Though Hill said Americans have had
t' adapt "to some extent" to ri'ing fuel
prices and spot shortages, he said he
doesn't foresee a dramatic change in
lifestyles in the immediate future.
"They're going to be long-term slow
changes that are going to affect driving
patterns," said Hill. "(People) are not
going to do without their autos -
there's too much freedom."
Conference seeks
ways to deal with
sexual harassment
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Israel withdraws troops
(Continued from Page i)
problem.
According to Joyce Kornbluh,
keynote speaker and founder of the In-
stitute's Women in Work program, in
April of 1978 staff members from
Women in Work sought to start making
the problem of sexual harrassment into
a social issue. The result was the
Michigan Task Force on Sexual
Harrassment in the Workplace, which
has met monthly since that time. In
April and May of 1979 the task force
listened to public testimony and last
October a conference was held in
Detroit that was attended by 600people.
According to Kornbluh, several hun-
dred had to be turned away because of
the lack of space. Yesterday's con-
ference was a follow-up to the Detroit
program.
ACCORDING TO the Michigan Task
Force on Sexual Harrassment in the
Workplace, sexual harrassment in-
cludes sexual conduct, or the threat of,
that is not agreeable to both parties;
continued verbal abuse of a sexual
nature; and the threat or insinuation
that lack of sexual submission will ad-
versely affect the victim's em-
ploymenr
Kornbluh said that according to a
1976 poll of 9.000 women, 88 per cent
responded that they had at one time or
another been a victim of sexual
harrassment. She pointed ot that there
are many "myths" that are associated
with sexual harrassment, such as that
"women only remain on obs (after
being harrassed) because they want
it," that "women who are harrassed
have no sense of humor," and that
women "sleep their way to the top."
Kornbluh said this could not occur that
often simply because there aren't that
many women 'at the top." "Women
who do do this have much to lose
especially from their colleagues," she
said.
Kornbluh added that sexual
harrassment is not an act of sex. "As
with rape, sexual harrassment is not
sexually motivated, it is an act of power
that is expressed in a sexual manner."
"Men and women have to be
educated to take care of these
problems," she said. "We must help
women speak up and hell) them
represent themselves."
Following Kornbluh's address, In-
stitute members John Beck and Betty
Kaufman acted out various situations
involving sexual harrassment. The
audience was asked if they had seen
similar incidents and how they would
handle them.
Janet Good, an Equal Employment
Opportunity officer from the Michigan
Employee Security Commission,
outlined legal steps that a woman
should take when harrassed. These in-
clude:
" Telling the person to stop and that
you don't like his actions,
" Documenting and dating anything
that happens; talk to other people in the
work place -let them know what is
,going on, she recommended. This will
rally support for the woman. Then tell a
superior. According to Michigan law,
"Employers must maintain an en-
vironment that is free of sexual
harrassment;"
" Finally, go to a law enforcement
agency The woman, according to
Good, should be prepared because the
police will ask if she has exhausted all
the administrative remedies.
Go )D SAID that a major problem
among women who are victims of
thlg Gouqt
, pG E
presents ,t'
SATURDAY
NO COVER!
lI4Q Smith Unit ersLty
'As with
rapes
sexual
W An Israeli Honor Guard witnesses Egyptian Flag raising ceremony yester-
day morning, marking the final interim of Israeli withdrawal under the
Peace agreement signed last March, Egypt now controls two thirds of the
Sinai.
'U' pr c a n final st
Sfor istrict Court position
/zarrassment is not sexually
motivated, it is an act of
power that is expressed in a
sexual manner.'
-Joyce Kornbluh, founder,
Women in Work pro cram
harrassment is that the\ are afraid to
come forth. She cited an example of a
woman who was ashamed that she had
been harrassed. She was airaid to come
forward because she was from a small
town and thought it might "hurt her
brother's practice." The woman even-
tually committed suicide.
Patricia Yeghissian of the Univer-
sity's Women's Studies department,
and Geraldine Hill, from Wayne State
University, had the audience divide up
into small groups and discuss how they
would handle Donna's case. When the
audience came back together, they
correlated some +f the strategies they
had discussed. Some suggest ions that
came out of the discussions included
calling civil rights, documenting her
case, and searching out other women to
talk to for her emotional well-being.
Timothy Yag/e also contributed
to this story.
r
.
By DOUGLAS FEL TNER
University Associate Professor of
Urban Planning Jerold. Lax has been
named one of five finalists under con-
sideration for a seat on the U.S. District
Court, Eastern District.
Lax, Ann Arbor city attorney from
1969 through 1973, is now a partner in
he law firm Harris, Lax, Gregg and
Guenzel.
"THE POSSIBILITY of serving as a
judge has always been of interest to
me," Lax said last night. "I'm very,
very happy with what I'm doing - both
teaching and my practice. I have no
dissatisfaction with my present
positions and, considering the
qualifications of the other finalists, I
wouldn't be surprised or disappointed
o find that I didn't get the position."
Lax attended the University as an
undergraduate and was graduated
from Harvard Law School. fle curren-
tly handles primarily municipal law
and labor cases. "One of my interests,
since law school, has been in the area of
civil liberties. I am involved with the
ACLU," he said.
Lax and four other candidates from
;Michigan were selected from a group of
:36 applicant s by a bi-partisan panel ap-
ointed by Sen. l)onald Riegle. Accor-
ding to Douglas Dibbert, a spokesman
for Riegle. the senator will interview
each of the finalists individually. Riegle
will make his recommendation to
President Carter near the end of
,Febriiary. President ('arter must for-
mally nominate the candidate, who
must then be confirmed by the Senate.
The entire process will probably not be
complete until late spring.
WHE":N ASKED whether he would be
required to leave his teaching position,
Lax responded, "If I were selected it
would be a full-time position." He said
that he had not been recommended to
the panel for consideration by any
specific person, but that he had had an
interest in the position, talked to the
appropriate people who assured him
that he was qualified, and then filled out
a lengthy questionnaire.
Lax said all of the finalists "are all
very capable people" and are . ell-
qualified to fill the U.S. 13th District
Court seat left open when former
District Court Chief Judge Cornelia
Kennedy moved up to a position with
the Sixth U:S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in Washington.
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