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Page 8 POLEMIC Doors Open to When the legal age became eighteen in the state of Michigan many doors were opened up to young people. Along with being able to get loans from banks or credit unions, signing legal papers, parti· cipating in political elections, and buying liquor, many doors to organizations were also opened to allow eighteen·year·olds membership. The League of Women Voters came into being in 1920, the year woman suf. frage was written into the Constitution. It grew out of the National American Women Suffrage Association, which ended the 72•year drive to get women the vote. The first task the League took on was to teach the 20 million women how to carry out their new responsibilities. Now the League emphasis is focused on the i m- portance of individuals working together to achieve a government responsive to the needs of all citizens. Like the U.S. government, the League of Women Voters functions on three lev• els: local, state, and national. So when a woman joins the community League, she also becomes a member of the State League and of the League of Women Voters of the United States. To explain nonpartisanship a little more, it means that the League,as an or- ganization, neither supports nor opposses candidates running for office, not does it line up with or against a political party. However, members, as. individuals, are encouraged to work for the candidate or party of their choice. So no doubts may be cast on the League's nonpartisanship, its officers and directors on all three levels refrain from partisan activities while in office. One of those organizations is the League of Women Voters. Open to all wo· men citizens of voting age (which, of course, includes those attending A.C.C.), it is a nonpartisan organization whose purpose is to encourage the informed and active participation of all citizens in gov· ernment and politics. Basically, the League's work is divided into two parts: (1 ). Voters Service, which includes the distribution of nonpartisan information on candidates and issues; campaigns to encourage registration and voting; candidates meetings; courses in practical politics; and trips to city halls and state legislatures. (2) League Program, which includes gov- ernmental issues selected by the members for study, decision, and action at al I three levels·local, and national. On a local basis, the Alpena League was granted recognition in 1964 and currently has 90 members in the League. In the recent past under the area of Voters Service, some of the League's activities have been: televised candidates rally October 29 which included all candidates for the school board and city council; newspaper voters guides which included the same candidates, their bio- graphies, pictures, and a statement of their views; and distribution through the various media of information on becom· ing a candidate, registration on deadlines, etc. Women Under the Program, some of the League's activities were : A study of Neg- wegon Park and action supported by the membership toward preserving the park as basically a " wild area" without modern camp facilities; a study of Alpena General. Hospital and intensive drive for support of the ballot proposals to transfer owner· ship to the County and to pass the mil· lage; publication of a booklet and support of school millage proposal on the current ballot; and a studv of the need for a coun- ty library and drive to secure approval of and funding for a county library building. Presently the League of Women Voters is working along with other groups in launching a national Equal Rights Amend· ment ratification campaign for this coming fall. What is the Equal Rights Amendment? The proposed equal rights amendment to the United States Constitution, which passed Congress in March 1972, and is pending before the State legislatures, has been introduced in various forms in con• gress since 1923. The first equal rights amendment was introduced in 1923 by Senator Charles Curtis, later Vice Presi- dent of the U.S., and Representative Daniel R. Anthony Jr. The language of the early version provided that men and wo- men shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place sub- ject to its jurisdiction . The amendment was then written and rewritten, with lists of arguments for and against, many times throughout the years. Today the proposed 27th Amendment to GERRVGI •t iSIVIAN One hundred and thirty five pounds of sheer terror! S.A.O .... ... .. ....... ...... ..... ...... DECEMBER 11 .......... .. ...... .... ........... 8:00 P.M ................ ...... .... A.H.S. AUDITORIUM .... .... ....... $2.00 ADMISSION It's not every performer who transforms an auditorium into a carnival. Gerry Grossman does not merely sing to his audiences, he captivates them. snatches them from their seats and electrifies them with the total experience of his show. With expert musical savoir-faire, boundless repertoire and explosive wit, the singer-guitarist-comic carries on a running dialogue with his onlookers. giving them the most whimsically eccentric entertainment of their lives. It is one in which they cannot help but participate Grossman can be as delicate and artistic as a crafts- rnan. as tumultuous as an entire rock and roll band and as flamboyant as Jack Flash, but with a shrewd charisma which is only his. He uncannily perceives a,,d appeals to the musical and humorous tastes peculiar to each individual audience. His songwrit- ing is as versatile and masterful as Grossman himself who announces emphatically that he is no folk singer. Grossman is continually called upon to defend his claim that he can perform ninety-five percent of all pop songs recorded since 19551 Comedy is an integral facet of Grossman·s show. He parodies the subjects that are amusingly close to us all such as pop music, television, adolescence and social blunders. Those who attend a Gerry Grossman performance alternate between marvelling at his musical finesse. roaring at his satire and boldly launching comments and requests of their own Based in Chicago. Grossman is featured at numerous clubs throughout the Midwest and is involved in extensive college touring over much of the country. In addition to local spots. his half hour long television special ·'The Session" was broadcast during 1972 over a network of UHF stations in 37 states . November 1973 Voters the Constitution provides that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any other state on account of sex. State legislatures have seven years in which to complete the ratification process. Thirty of the requisite thirty-eight states have ratified the ERA. There is no clear legal precedent as to whether Congress must accept an act of decision by the states. The outcome of the ratification is still a cloudy issue . Many opposition issues have emerged strongly against the amendment. Along with this many individuals (such as Phyllis Schiafly) and other major groups (Happiness of Womanhood, the John Birch Society, the Ku Klux Klan, the Communist Party, some Catholic organi- zation, Mormans, some other labor groups and the American Independent Party) are working against ratification. Contrary to what women thought, this is no easy battle. But women want what corporations now have--to be treated as people under the law, and national groups like NOW, the League, Common Cause, the AAUW, and the Women's Political Caucus and their members and allies around the country are settling down for an education campaign to get out the truth about ERA .. . and for a determined push to make it in '75. (Material contained in this article was taken from information sent from Sue Maxwell, President of the League of Women Voters in Alpena, and Philip E. Ruppe, Member of Congress.) TONY & NORM MENS & YOUNG MENS Clothing & Furnishings Downtown Alpena OPEN MON. & FRI. TILL 9:00 p .m. The Cobblestone Cyclery Inc. 225 W. Chisholm Alpena, Michigan Phone 356-7238 Your headquarters for Schwinn bikes and Cross Country Skis. ~ti I ') ~ / .J lilW: ,,, --~~~:,.... ·!P ; -~ 5 ~ ~- .. ; ' . . . •