zUr ir ggan Daily Seventy-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS Where Opinions Are Free, 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, MICH. Truth Will Prevail NEWS PHONE: 764-0552 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. / j t' ' t s 1 Students' Voice At the Inauguration THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 1968 NIGHT EDITOR: WALLACE IMMEN New .Hampshire: The Morning After THE UNDERSTANDABLE euphoria sur- rounding Senator Eugene McCarthy's 43 per cent showing in the New Hamp- shire primary should not diminish per- ception of the harsh realities still sur- rounding the McCarthy candidacy. Real- ities which beneath the surface look even bleeker than before the primary. The reason is that the victory by GOP perennial Richard Nixon has gone far to ensure a depressing Johnson-Nixon con- frontation this fall. CONSEQUENTLY the revelation from New Hampshire that the Republicans in no way have repented their elephan- tine ways may be the signal that it's William Scranton time for the Republi- cans with the same discouraging results in sight. The emergence of Nixon as far and away leading Republican in the race will have a deadening effect on Senator Mc- Marthy's campaign. And this is because McCarthy's only selling point to the party professionals was that Johnson is a loser. However, the party stalwarts who comprise most of the delegates to the Democratic Convention seriously believe that despite all primaries Lyndon John- son can beat Richard Nixon in Novem- ber. And there is far more behind this political assessment than merely wish- ful thinking. MOST SIGNIFICANTLY, Nixon is espec- ially unpopular among those voters who are the most likely to desert the Johnsonian coalition over Vietnam. The spectre of "tricky-Dick Nixon" as the ul- timate enemy is too ingrained a political reflex for most liberals ever to shake. Nixon, then, is the one Republican who can guarantee that Democratic doves won't vote Republican in the fall. The problem generated by the inordin- ate focus placed on the primaries is that they impute a level of democracy to the selection of a President unknown in party politics. Primary votes are only a fraction of the total votes at the Convention, and the rest of the seats in Chicago will be filled by party stalwarts who know where their loyalties lie. And the only thing that can shake their loyalty to the White House is the belief that Johnson can't win. And the only thing which can shake their belief that Johnson can't win is the nomination of Richard Nixon by the Re- publicans. PUT IN THIS perspective, the McCarthy primary campaign is perhaps a hope- less irrelevance. Yet the Senator believes that a strong showing by him in the pri- maries at the very least will induce John- son to take a more moderate stand in Vietnam. The problem with this approach is that it presupposes that the President has a series of options in Vietnam. Yet the only real alternatives are escalation or unilateral withdrawal. And no politi- can in America will admit he favors unila- teral withdrawal. All those hopes by moderates for pro- ductive negotiations accept a belief that the North Vietnamese and the National Liberation Front are eager to negotiate. A far more likely assessment is that American intransigence has begotten a similar inflexiblity on the part of the Vietnamese. THE REAL DANGER of the McCarthy candidacy is that it will convince the students and the academics that there is a place for their dissent within the structure of the Democratic Party. But alas, the McCarthy crusade is marching with banners waving toward an inevit- able defeat in August. Consequently the legacy of the Mc- Carthy candidacy may not be a changed American foreign policy or even a chang- ed Democratic Party. Rather it may be the inadvertent diffusion of the growing radicalism of the campus and suburbs. THE EXCITEMENT the morning after the New Hampshire primary illustrates the real danger of playing electoral politics at a time like this. And that is forgetting you can't win in a system where the deck is stacked by the incum- bent. -WALTER SHAPIRO 'Let's hear it for the newest Nixon . .. EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is the text of a speech given by MzichaelDavis, Grad, at the in- auguiration of President Robben WV. Fleming Monday at Hill And. I AM addressing this assembly on behalf of the students of the University of Michigan. It is I think altogether fitting, and should surprise no one, that the students should, at the inaugura- tion of the University's ninth pres- ident, have so prominent a place; the students, who, after the fed- eral government and the State, are the largest contributor to the financing of the University; the students who far outnumber fac- ulty and administrators together; the students without whom there could be no University. Indeed, what should surprise everyone is that this is the first time students have had so prominent a place. It is altogether fitting that, on this day of imposing formality, a student should remind the rest of the community of the issues of substance that ought not to be forgotten even here; fitting that a student do the reminding be- cause students are deeply con- cerned; fitting that a student re- mind you here, because, as it has recently been the office of students to raise the profound issues of life in this community, it will be upon the man inaugurated president this day that the greatest burdens of decisions will rest. The University has been, but it cannot long remain, an aristocracy. FACULTY don't want to be judged by students; but they want to judge them-judge them not simply on mastering or failing to master the special skills the fac- ulty teaches (and concerning which the faculty are certainly cmpetent to judge)-no, judge them as men. I can document grades given for haircuts, religious beliefs, cowboy hats, bad hand- writing, ironic response, political activity. I know faculty who want to decide everything from what a student may wear to when and whom he may marry: As if good sense began with a B.A.! As if a Ph.D. made someonea better man! Yet raise the question of stu- dent evaluation of teaching, of students on tenure committees, of student judging what they experi- ence, suffer from, enjoy, day after day, year after year, and faculty pale, grimace, and talk of their "senior status" Talk about' joint student-faculty boards to hear cases of academic dishonesty and cases of unfair grading, and the faculty break off the discussion. Nevertheless, the time is near when students will demand equality and justice in these things, as they have demanded them elsewhere, and the faculty will have to learn humility as many 'administrators have al- ready had to learn it. Michael Davis Reflections on a Sorry Sendoff T!HE GREYHOUND Bus depot on Huron is a pretty dismal place in the early hours of the morning. Seated at the long coun- ter one can usually find a few groups of factory workers-many of them black-grabbing a cup of coffee on their way to an early shift. Seated in the chairs along -the front windows one can usual- ly find a few derelicts, old men who seem to have no purpose in life other than sitting in bus de- pots - the same old men who spend their days sitting around the lobby of the County Build- ing, only more shabbily dressed. Such was the gloomy atmos- phere of the place at 5:30 a.m. yesterday when five people - all members of the local draft resist- ance group - entered the depot to await the arrival of some 40- odd young men who would board a bus for the Fort Wayne Induc- tion Center and their pre-induc- tion physical. As the vanguard of the poten- tial draftees started wandering in - singly - around 5:45, they seemed tired and defected. One wonders if they realize that they will be standing around in lines and obeying petty bureaucratic details for nearly twelve hours. Like the old men along the walls, they were passive, hardly paying attention as they walked in the doors, but they accepted the leaf- lets, and nearly all agreed, either then or later, to talk about any exemptions or deferments for which they might be eligible. NEARLY ALL the guys' homes were in the Ann Arbor area, ex- cept for a few college students who had failed to get a student deferment and had transferred their point of embarkation for convenience reasons. At least half of the 40 were "townies" - guys who worked in factories, garages and gas stations - many of them high school drop-outs, some un- employed. This is the kind of guy one doesn't meet wandering around the campus, but this is the kind of guy who needs to be reached, because he is most af- fected - and knows the least about - the draft. Of the seven or eight men I talked to, nearly all were unaware that they could ;request an ex- emption because of physical dis- abilities. This seemed to be equal- ly true of those who had received some college education and those who were still in high school. All were unaware that the draft t david duboff board was required by law to pro- vide them with information, on request, aboutall of the classifi- cations for which they might be eligible. While most seemed inter- ested in finding out about exemp- tions and deferments, only one showed any real desire to carry through with the appeal proce- dures outlined for them. A SOPHOMORE in c ol l e g e hadn't received his 2-S since last fall ,although he remembers re- questing it. He didn't know that le could request aehearing before his local board. He also had per- fectly flat feet, and several past operations on both knees. He hadn't looked into the possibility of getting a physical exemption for either of these disabilities, al- though hehad heard that both may qualify. This resignation - bordering sometimes on fatalism - seemed, to me at least, to be characteristic of nearly, everyone there. Such comments as "they'll get you in the end," and "what's the point of putting it off?" ran through most of the conversations. But they were scared; it was obvious from the plea in their voices, and from the anguish in their eyes. One boy, who had dropped out of college after a year, kept saying that if they took him right now he'd go, but suddenly blurted out, painfully: "What are you doing to avoid th edraft? How have you kept yourself out?" IT WAS a cry for help that I could not answer, because I knew he would never be able to com- prehend the abstract moral and philosophical arguments that I had built up reaching my decision to embark on a course of total non-cooperation. This mood of powerlessness arnd futility manifested itself in atti- tudes to the war as well as the. draft. Nearly everyone I ap- proached vocalized, in some form or another, this view held by a Michigan State University stu- dent: "Who am I to figure out whether the war's right or wrong? After all, there's 200 million peo- ple in this country." It would be impossible to gener- alize from these experiences and claim that every young man there intended to submit himself pas- sively for induction. Several indi- cated that they had already ap- pealed their 1-A classifications. Several were openly critical of the war, and a few even indicated that they didn't intend to serve. One guy, dressed in the dungarees of a construction or factory work- er, told one of the leafletters, "I ain't goin' to this stupid war. I'm going to Canada.- Another said, "It's good to see someone here on your side." And yet, no one agreed to take our leaflets and pass them out at the induction center, as several had a month ago, ONE LEARNS much more about what the draft can do to people through talking to these guys. Students, sitting around in their ivory campuses with their privi- leged deferments tucked safely in their pockets, can raise all kinds of philosophical arguments about the effect of the draft on the in- dividual, and on society. They can look at the situation objectively, because they are removed from it -they know that eventually they will have to make a decision, but they have faith in their ability to find some viable alternative But these scared and confused young men on the way to their physical have no such "psycho- logical buffers," as one of the other leafletters termed it. They know that they may be inducted within a matter of weeks; their ambivalence, their frustration and sense of futility; is a gut reaction, not a carefully-thought-out ra- tionalization. They knew they were being coerced, and yet they accepted it as a fact of life. As we watched the men file on- to the buses, none of us could fully agree about what had ac- tually transpired. I felt a sense of despair and of hopelessness, a feeling that I would never be able to get through to these guys who seemed to be living in a totally different world. OTHERS sensed a glimmer of hope, a feeling implicit in many of their conversations that the guys were bitter about the war, and that some would fight to re- tain their dignity within the sys- tem. And yet, we could all agree that if one man was reached, if the information we provided will help even one man to start thinking about alternatives that can keep him out of the army, the exper- ience will not have been wasted. This is a community. Let us agree to that. This community cannot be governed by all deciding everything together. Let us agree to that too. Still, it doesn't follow that students may be ordered about without their consent. For, if this is a community, then the lo- gically prior decision that some shall give. orders to others must be made again and again by all together. If this is not a com- munity, then there can be no grounds for outrage when students are ordered and do not obey. YOU CAN'T have it both ways: If you say "community," then the whole University must be remade so that this community, students as well as faculty and administra- tors, can give their free consent. If you say "no community," then you have no right to expect that, where there's little democracy or liberty, students will always prac- tice the civilities of liberal demo- cracy. That's the oldest truth of our common political tradition. Soon someone wil make decisions concerning student traffic regula- tions, classified research, finan- cing student goverment, the tri- mester, on-campus demonstrations, late registration fees, university judiciaries, tuition, academic just- ice, curricular reform, tenure, con- struction of student housing. What those decisions will be is important. But how they will be made is more important. In- sofar as they are made by com- monly agreed-upon procedures, they will bind us all. Insofar as they are made in the old way, they will be sand in our face. That our new President has the courage to serve, I have no doubt. That he also has the wisdom and knowledge to lead us well through the profound transformation that has already begun, we can only hope, and wait, and see. f 4 Bobby-Come-Lately I Letters to the Editor V McCARTHY'S upstaging in New Hamp- shire has forced New York Sen. Robert Kennedy into a decision he has been trying to delay until 1972. The primary results showed Johnson has an uphill fight against Richard Nixon for the presidency in the fall. If Nixon wins in November, which appears ever more likely, the former Vice Presi- dent would be in a difficult position to dislodge in 1972, the target date Kennedy has set for his cynosure. Unless Kennedy tries to wrest the Democratic nomination from Johnson, he might as well kiss 1972 goodby. The Senator had these fading prospects in mind yesterday when he practically en- tered the primary lists. "I am reassess- ing my position as to whether I'll run against President Johnson." he said. Second class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Michigan, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48104. Daily except Monday during regular academic school year. Fall and winter subscription rate: $4.50 per term by carries ($5 by mail); $8.00 for regular academic school year ($9 by mail). But McCarthy, bouyed by his New Hampshire success and riding a crest of student-powered campaign supporters- many of them former Kennedy backers- will not withdraw from the remaining primaries. Democratic voters now face the prospect of two peace candidates on the ballots in Oregon and California, which can only benefit Johnson's strangle-hold on the August convention. KENNEDY IS a Johnny-come-lately. He verbally opposes the Administration's Vietnam policy but held back from de- claring his support when McCarthy dared to enter a symbolic crusade. Now that McCarthy has uncovered real political support, Kennedy wants to cash in his own popularity. At best, Kennedy may only further fragment an already fractured party and usher in another eight years of do- nothing Republicanism. At worst, he is a cynical opportunist. --DAVID KNOKE Impropriety of 'Davis To the Editor: PLEASE number me among those students not represented by Michael S. Davis at the Inaugura- tion of President Robben Wright Fleming on March 11, 1968. Mr. Davis was completely out of order-his appearance, his tone, his message. Inherent in the acceptance of an invitation to bring greetings in the name of a group at such a cere- mony is a charge to fulfill that of- fice with dispatch, cognizant of the honor it holds and in keeping with the dignity o fthe occasion. If for any reason whatsoever one feels that he cannot in clear conscience execute this assignment in the tra- dition of the university and the country involved, he should decline the invitation. Mr. Davis is yet to salute the President on our behalf or to pledge any positive action to be taken by students to insure the success of the Fleming adminis- tration. STUDENT DISSENT in all its forms is a very old and necessary element of our society, but so is proper taste. I find no fault with what Mr. Davis said or the tone in which he said it and can think of several situations involving stu- dents, faculty and administration where I would have applauded his every word. But there and then his message was inappropriate and his tone rude. If his attempt was to discredit the University, he suc- ceeded, not by tarnishing an. i- lustrous image of one hundred fifty years' standing, however, but by focusing an embarrassingly un- favorable light on the largest single entity of today's Michigan-her students. Perhaps when Mr. Davis and the students he did represent take over this University-or found their own-presidential inaugura- tions and the attendent pomp will be done away with. Then that will be the order of the day, and those wrong with that-the minimum sportsmanlike gesture initially should have been the proper salu- tation-his express assignment as student representative on March 11, 1968. -Ruth E. Thomas, Grad 'J'Accuse' You To the Editor: THE DAILY of March 19, 1968 carried an initialed article in the editorial column entitled "J'Accuse," which I feel must have been meant as a satire. I can take it no other way and still account for the complete lack of knowledge and information concerning the Jewish history, theology, and cus- tom. If the author were more fam- iliar with the great Jewish theo- logian and philosopher Moses Mia- monides he would utterly reject any such statement as "if the God, of the Old Testament was not a great God, he certainly fell into the category of good deities." And if he (the author) were familiar with Jewish agadah (or the theo- logian Rashi) he would realize that the statement, "Without the sup- port of a solid' base of-tradition, the God of the Old Testament acted swiftly to meet such un- forseen challenges as Adam and Eve's shift toward aggressive, ex- pansionist apple-munching," is totally without meaning in the context of Jewish tradition. Even as a satire I find the article in poor taste, and imagine Emile Zola to be cursing in his grave at this moment, for I imagine he ap- proached the Dreyfus case with a great deal more seriousness than W.S. approaches Mr. Kennedy and the world situation. In short, the article is in itself an insult to the thirty centuries of Jewish tradition which it implies, revealing a com- plete lack of knowledge upon the part of its author of Jewish his- tory, theology, tradition, and cus- tom. And ultimately an insult to * FEIFFER WCRI-F! {T TT~ I T_ 06 A"N-ANP,HFY YOCU DowHA YES, op f 014 T Pic, A SCI 00 OF E A aA55lCl 6wif RIGHT r ( X , WAN& . A EG O T V ! -TH6 Movie VEMO j O t ROW U tKY