w dmm A-llmbwd - p qw s W,- -qmRw, w S W- w w n C Ce COVER STORY Frustration Page 1 Struggling against reticient administrators on one front and apathetic students on the other, campus student government leaders keep fighting for a small voice in University decision-making. Cover photo by Brian Masck. MUSIC Jackson jazz Page 3 Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society do the Mandance at their two jazz shows on January 22 in the University Ciub. FILM Gandhi Page 4 Twenty years in the making, Richard Atten- borough's Gandhi makes a strong bid for epic of the year, chronicling the life of the lawyer-turned-non- violent statesman. THE LIST Happenings Pages 5-8 Your guide to fun times for the coming week in Ann Arbor. Film capsules, music previews, theater notes, student protest ... They hold all the cards. Your only real ability is your, ability to persuade them." UT PERSUADING peevish admi- nistrators to do anything can be difficult - particularly when you're not sure of your backing. It's hard to con- vince an administration bureaucrat of the virtues of your position when your fellow student government politicos are trying to undermine you. . Dirty politics has become something of a tradition in the University's student governments - with tactics ranging from mere snide stabs in the back to rigged elections. "I was really surprised to find how well developed the political attributes were in students already. I thought they. didn't learn dirty tricks until they graduated," said Neumeier. "People were good at stabbing each other in the back whenever they could. While that made for some amusement oc- casionally, I found that quite often they spent all of their time arguing between each other and not out fighting the ad- ministration. "And," he said, "the administration could sit back and say, 'Isn't this grand? We don't even have anyone complaining to us because they can't even make up their minds about what they want down there at MSA.' " - Campus political parties in- stitutionalize petty politics, some student government leaders say. While the student parties are needed during the annual elections to organize can- didates, they serve mainly to en- courage division on the student councils once the ballots are counted. "They weren't politics motivated out of philosophy," Lindsay said. "What happened was that certain individuals were aligned with SABRE and others were aligned with PAC - you wouldn't talk, and you back-stabbed. It was stupid." "Even in appointments, the 'ins' got on and the 'outs' were out," said Neumeier, who himself was appointed by MSA to several University commit- tees. "It was unfortunate because sometimes there were- some very qualified people or some people who didn't have political connections who didn't get on. It was a very difficult system for people to crack unless they were connected somewhere up in MSA - if you were a friend of a friend or something." For Lindsay, the triviality and im- maturity of student politics became too much. One December afternoon in his senior year, while attending another seemingly endless MSA subcommittee meeting, he quit. "I was sick of the bickering and the infighting of the people on the committee. It was just such a pain in the ass," he said. "I got so tired of continually having to play politics that I just got up in the middle of the meeting and said, 'My term is now over. Thank you and goodbye.' " N EGO, HOWEVER much it enjoys the title "student leader," can get a little battered when faced with the constant struggle against such petty politics, against disinterested students and reticent administrators. Throw in a typical course load, with midterms and papers, and the demands on time can be overwhelming sometimes, every government leader agrees. Many student government leaders, as the time pressures of their jobs grow, watch their grades slide and hopes of graduate or law school fade. A problem almost all of them say they had to deal with is "burnout," the feeling that maybe all of the trouble just isn't worth it. "I was putting in about 90 hours a week in the office," said LSA senior Amy Moore, who is currently president of MSA. "I was always in the office. Whenever I'd go on vacation, I'd always call in to the office every day. I was realizing that I was becoming MSA ... It's frustrating to be so tired and get so little rewards. You put so much time in, with very little recognition, and you're watching your academic life go down the drain." "There's a point when you just say 'Why is this worth it? I'm just ruining my life. I don't have a job and I'm not doing anything that begins to resemble academic excellence.' And you start to wonder why." "Burnout is really a big problem," said Talmers. "It affects your total per- formance, your perception of yourself, your ability to do work, whether what you're doing is worthwhile at all. "When you're burned out you just don't have the same sense of purpose. You just don't know why you're there," she said. "You're so tired. You can't think. Everything overwhelms you. Everything is just coming at you and you can't stop it. Like you're falling, falling into this deep hole." The only cure for burnout, most everyone agrees, is escape. A tem- porary but complete withdrawal from all of the pressures of school and work. Most leaders recover from burnout and don't quit altogether. And, in the end, almost all of them look back at their experiences in student government af- ter several years with fondness. The fact is that despite all the petty politics, despite all the administration's wariness and despite widespread apathy, sti thrives on 1 "If you assessmen governmer say 'not ve thing is th against otl example, t at Yale.. governmer "Someth tion," he < sophisticat a lot mor student go try." And I student go tive studen "There problems nment acknowledl resources, things that certain goE governmer has some tl an office, things are some thing. "I know of things tr do because student Neumeier. big roles ( and that reason tha with their 1 such a big r plans. And complish ac David M in-Chief. Gandhi: Struggle against oppression and bar dates, all listed in a handy-dandy, day-by-day schedule. Plus a roster of local restaurants. RESTAURANTS Cracked Crab Page 9 The mussels and lobsters are served crackling with steaming chips at one of Ann Arbor's crispiest seafood eating places. Get a leg up on the crab limbs or an honest look into the sole with this week's review. THEATER Old Times Page 12 The Michigan ensemble Theater's new production of Harold Pinter's Old Times is a comic mystery, playing this week at the New Trueblood Arena. Three friends attend a nostalgic reunion, wherein they remember past experiences that never happened. Weekend Weekend is edited and managed by students on the Weekend, (313) 763-0379 and 763-0371; Michigan Friday, January 21, 1983 staff of The Michigan Daily at 420 Maynard, Ann Ar- Daily, 764-0552; Circulation, 764-0558; Display Adver- Vol. ussuel13 bor, Michigan, 48109. It appears in the Friday edition tising, 764-0554. Magazine Editor............Richard Campbell of the Daily every week during the University year Assistant Editor ...................Ben Ticho and is available for free at many locations around the Copyright 1983, The Michigan Daily campus and city. 40% OFF- -Dear Merchant. OCITIZEN EGGS RANCHEROS - ittths.coupon m. 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