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Page 2-C-Thursday, September 9, 1982-The Michigan Daily
Local Democrats on the upswing
By GEORGE ADAMS
The rollercoaster of Ann Arbor politics may be
climbing to a new apex for local liberals, as the
Democrats won two of three city council races last
spring and narrowly lost a third.
The Democratic victories cut the Republican
majority on the council to a 7-4 margin, which, while
still significant, showed an improvement over recent
years for the local left.
THE SIGHT of dramatic and heated debates during
the liberalism of the early 70s, Ann Arbor City Coun-
cil meetings have evolved into more somber-and
sparsely populated-gatherings of local residents.
Regardless of one's political tastes, it's easy to
agree that the conservativism of recent years has
taken a lot of the fun out of council meetings. Ten
years ago, council members unhappy with the
proceedings showed their displeasure in more
g raphic ways, such aas tossing their leftover chicken
nes on the chamber floor or banging their feet on
the desks.
Those were the days when the Human Rights Party
(HRP) held two council seats. The HRP was formed
in 1972, shortly after students won the right to vote in
Ann Arbor elections and hold local office, by a group
of students and anti-Vietnam war activists.
THE PARTY ushered in a period of liberalism not
seen before or since, and the party has a number of
"progressive" pieces of legislation to its credit, in-
cluding the $5 fine for possession of marijuana.
A rather lengthy 1974 debate resulted in the city
breaking its diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union.
The city sent Moscow a telegram to inform the
Soviets of its move.
Although these two were among HRP's successful
efforts, the party also proposed a number of pieces of
legislation that were interesting, even if they never
received the approval of the full council. One such
proposal was a 25 cent fine for marijuana possession,
introduced two years before the $5 fine was put into
effect. That move lost by a 2-9 vote.
ANOTHER CAME in 1972 when the HRP faction
proposed that the city deny all services to any in-
dividual or organization which was engaged in the
manufacture of products applicable to the war in
Southeast Asia. The proposal would have denied
police, fire, utility, and emergency services to these
individuals and organizations. Again, it failed in a 2-9
vote.
The early 70s were characterized in city politics by
strong student activism, lengthy and spirited debates
in council, and strong ties between University studen-
ts and the city. Students often provided the margin
for victory-or defeat-for politicians running for
the Michigan legislature or Congress as represen-
tatives from the area.
Today's council is a far cry from the heady lef-
tward stance of days past.
ANN ARBOR operates on a system of five wards,
with two council members elected from each ward
for alternate two-year terms; one seat in each ward
is contested each year.
The city was redistricted in December, 1981,
resulting in some changes in the political character of
some of the wards.
The First- Ward is heavily student-populated and
predominately Democratic. It is represented by
Democrats Lowell Peterson and Larry Hunter.
Peterson's seat will be tested in 1983.
The Second Ward, once strongly Democratic, now
includes part of the affluent Burns Park area of the
city and may now lean toward the Republicans. GOP
candidate James Blow ran unopposed in the ward in
the '82 elections, and now shares the responsibility
with Democrat Leslie Morris.
THE THIRD Ward, containing the other half of
Burns Park, is now considered the city's swing ward.
It is represented by Republican Virginia Johansen
and newly-elected Democrat Raphael Ezekiel.
Ezekiel is a professor of psychology at the Univer-
sity.
The Fourth Ward is solidly Republican now. It is
represented by Republicans E. Edward Hood and
newly elected Gerald Jernigan.
The Fifth Ward, now represented by Republicans
Joyce Chesbrough, also elected in '82, and Lou
Velker, also could shift soon.
THE ELECTION of council members Ezekiel and
Hunter represents what many view as a swing back
toward liberalism in local politics. "Yes, I definitely
See LOCAL, Page 7
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'Awareness' is the key to preventing crimes
By GEORGE ADAMS
The serene scenes of campus pic-
tured in orientation guidebooks ignore
the uglier side of Ann Arbor. Like any
other city of 100,000 residents, Ann Ar-
bor has its share of crime.
Although not considered to be of
overwhelming proportions, crime in the
city is still "something that should be
on everyone's mind," according to
Detective Jerry Wright, head of the
Ann Arbor Police Department's Crime
Prevention bureau.
"PEOPLE JUST have to realize that
they are vulnerable to be a victim,"
Wright said. He pointed out that
residents of the city, students in par-
ticular, do not seem to believe that they
can be victims of crimes. "They have to
develop an awareness of their surroun-
dings," he said.
Students are faced with a variety of
crimes near the campus area, though
most of them are "property crimes"-
thefts of books, purses, money, and
other small items, according to Wright
and Walter Stevens, director of the
University's Department of Safety.
Stevens said that back packs, books,
bicycles, radios, -stereos, calculators,
money, and football tickets are the
most popular items that are stolen,
though thieves will take anything that is
small and easily resold or used.
STEVENS SAID that dormitories and
libraries are the two most common
places for something to be taken. "In
the dorms, people leave their ,doors
open and in the libraries they leave
their books and possessions out on a
table," thereby inviting the thefts,
Stevens said.
Another major area of concern is
bicycle thefts. Wright said that at their
peak in the summer months, bicycle
thefts in the city are in the neigh-
borhood of $10,000 dollars per month.
THE CITY has thousands of pedalers,
which means thousands of bikes, and
according to Wright the residents do not
register and license their bikes, making
it very easy for a thief to sell the stolen,
bicycles.
Wright thinks that either people have
their bikes registered in their
hometown, or they do not consider Ann
Arbor to be "their home" and therefore
don't register them.
Whatever the explanation, bike thefts
are a serious -problem, and agair
Stevens and Wright agree on at least
the two basic measures to protect your
property: Register your bike and buy a
good lock.
LOCKING UP takes another place
when it concerns dormitory residents.
As the largest collection of possessions
in any one place on campus, dorms can
be a thief's paradise. Here, Stevens
suggests, "just common sense"
measures to practice.
"Lock, your door, get to know your
neighbors, and keep an eye on each
other's things with your hallmates,"
Stevens advised, saying that dorms can
be the safest place on campus to live if
the residents are willing to "cooperate
with one another."
Violent crimes on campus are few
and mostly take the form of simple
assaults. "We don't have much of a
problem with aggravated assaults,
thankfully," Stevens said.
Wright said that while sexual
assaults receive a great deal of
publicity, "the majority of the victims
are outside of the University." He said
the same holds true for the people who
commit sexual assaults. The only crime
in which students seem to be active is
indecent exposure, Wright said.
NEVERTHELESS, sexual assaults
represent a major concern for everyone
in the University community, deser-
ving the attention of every resident.
There were 29 reported rapes and 234
assaults in Ann Arbor in 1981, according
to police statistics. Wright advises
women not to walk alone at night and to
avoid the more concealed areas of
campus.
Most dorms have a volunteer escort
service, made up of students who will
walk one or more women to their
destinations, free of charge. The
University also provides the Night Owl
bus service, a free transportation
system operating at night.
"Again, just realize that you are
vulnerable," Wright said. "Walk with
authority, with someone else if
possible, and let a friend know the route
you're walking," he said.
Crime overall, both in the city and on
campus, has dropped off slightly in the
past year, according to Stevens and
Wright. Stevens stated that property
crimes have "gone down consistently"
in the past 12 to 14 months and that
assaults have been reduced significan-
tly in that period. "It's pretty sporadic
all over, though," he said, curbing any
unnecessary optimism.
Both police and University Security
officials stress that awareness is the
key to crime prevention, along with
common sense.
Local law says $5
for pot; state stiffer
By GEORGE ADAMS
As does any college town, Ann Ar-
bor has its share of marijuana
smokers. Throughout the years, the
city has gained a reputation as being
extremely lenient in its penalties for
possession of small amounts of the
substance, but new students should be
aware that if they want to smoke,
there are penalties and they are en-
forced.
City ordinance provides for a $5
fine, usually payable on the spot to the
arresting officer, for possession or use
of marijuana. The arresting officer,
however, may choose to have the case
handled through the Washtenaw
County Prosecutor's Office. Such
cases-are subject to state law, which
is much more strict.
USE OF marijuana is a
misdemeanor under state law and is
subject to a maximum penalty of 90
days in jail and/or a $100 fine.
Possession. carries a maximum
penalty of one year in jail and/or a
$1,000 fine. The same penalty applies
for giving away marijuana.
Sale or delivery of marijuana is a
felony punishable by, at most, four
years in jail and/or a $2,000 fine.
Most cases are handled through the
city attorney's office and are subject
to only the $5 fine, according to
Assistant City Attorney Stephanie
Carter. The city usually handles
everything except "very large"
amounts, according to Assistant
County Prosecutor David King,
though he wouldn't say exactly what
constitutes a large amount.
PE
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Fall and winter job market okay,.
but summer work has been dry
Only five
more to go
rA
By GREG BRUSSTAR
Living in Ann Arbor isn't cheap, as
new University students soon discover.
Luckily, however, finding a part-time
job to help combat high costs is
relatively easy.
Students who start looking for jobs
very early in the term have the best
chances of finding one, according to of-
ficials at the University's Student Em-
ployment Office (SEO). It is helpful to
have some experience or skills.
SEVERAL thousand part-time tem-
porary job opportunities are available
within the University, according to
Nancy Longmate, coordinator of SEO.
All notices of job openings are posted
with the department in which the job
would be. SEO, located on the second
floor of the Student Activities Building,
also keeps both University and non-
University job listings catalogued by
department and position.
Some 10,000 students work for the.
University, in its libraries, dormitory
cafeterias, and recreational buildings,
to name a few, Longmate said. In ad-
dition, she said, many research and
other education-related jobs are
available within a student's particular
department.
Ann Arbor city businesses are also
good places to look for a job in the fall.
The best bets-are establishments where
business goes up in the fall due to the
increase of student patronage.
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and you'll have all your books. 0 \
Just a little more fighting through
crowds, searching shelves, and 0
running around, and you'll be done.
Of course, the people who went to Ulrich's are home drinking coffee. An
Urlich's helper took their class lists, got their books, and handed them over.
t didn't cost them ariy more, either.
Maybe you should try Ulrich's, too.
Restaurants, pizza delivery services,
book stores, record stores and copying
services near campus might be good
places to visit.
DURING BOOK rush, at the begin-
ning of each term, the campus are
bookstores usually hire extra personnel
to help deal with the deluge of
customers.
Students who were awarded
work/study financial aid should have
no trouble finding a job. The University
provides work for all of them because a
federal government subsidy pays a
large portion of the wages.
IF YOU plan to stay in Ann Arbor
during the summer, however, be aware
that the situation becomes much dif
ferent. Many people search fruitlessly
for any sort of employment.
"We've cut back application hours
and we're still loaded with people,"
said Charlotte Schiller, a service
representative for Manpower Tem-
porary Service, an employment agen-
cy. "Only about one in 15 applicants ac-
tually gets a job," she added.
Kelly Services, another temporary.
employment service, also had mor
people on their listing than they could
place, said Sue Johnston, a Kelly
representative.
"I'm a self-supporting student, but
because of the economy, people just
aren't hiring this summer," said
chemical engineering student Mark
Hintz. "It doesn't look encouraging."
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