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Seventy-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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Humanity Is Not A Horses Hoof
4
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Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1967
NIGHT EDITOR: WILLIAM BENOIT
I-M Program: Play at
Your Own Risk' Philosophy
By SUSAN ELAN
Associate Managing Editor
SENATOR JOSEPH D. Tydings
(D-Md ) is currently trying to
get an anti-cruelty bill passed in
the Senate, a noble and ambitious
idea in these troubled times. But
unfortunately, like so many other
noble ideas, Tydings' is misdi-
rected.
His bill, S1765, is concerned with
cruelty to horses, not people.
Rather than seeking an end to
the mass slaughter in Vietnam, or
a solution to racial problems in the
United States, Tydings is trying to
eliminate the agony of "sored
feet."
Now "sored feet" is a very
painful condition often induced in
show horses to make them lift
their feet quickly from the
ground and take long striding
steps. The bill would make it a
federal offense to ship in inter-
state commerce any horse which
has been "sored" to change its
normal gait.
A large advertisement in the
New York Times this week called
upon all humane Americans "to
speak for the animals," "to con-
vince legislators that we believe
animals should have protection
and justice under law."
A nice idea, but judging from
the reaction of our President and
legislators to those who have been
talking about protection and jus-
tice, the plea seems doomed from
the start.
American experts on Asian af-
fairs have repeatedly called our
participation in the war in Viet-
nam an atrocity. We are impeding
justice by intervening in the in-
ternal affairs of a sovereign state.
We are destroying the lives of
Vietnamese women and children
to say nothing of the American
boys whom we have sent to in-
discriminately burn, bomb and
generally ravage that nation.
The ranks of those experts who
oppose the national policy in
Vietnam is growing daily. On Sept.
19 the director and three field
staff members of a majorevolun-
teer agency in Vietnam resigned
in protest against the war.
At the same time, 45 social
workers, researchers, and agricul-
tural specialists in the agency, the
International Voluntary Services,
signed a letter to President John-
son calling the war "an over-
whelming atrocity."
The letter continued, "We have
seen enough to say that the only
monuments to this war will be
the dead, the maimed, the des-
pairing and the forlorn."
The experts plead for an end
to the war. The legislators do
nothing but placidly sit back and
permit the jailing of those who
refuse, in the name of humanity,
to serve this war.
Even the most conservative
voices in this country have begun
to ask for an end to this war. A
new organization of more than
600 U.S. business executives feels
America should change its strate-
gy in Vietnam to "something less
risky."
In particular, they "urge the
President to stop bombing North
Vietnam, de-escalate the war, ne-
gotiate with all parties which are
now fighting, and bring an end
to American military participa-
tion."
The organization feels "that the
Vietnam war has become increas-
ingly contrary to U.S. and world
interests, and by open and lawful
means we seek to encourage an
end to American participation in
that war."
They add that "our obsessive
preoccupation with the problems
of another nation is leading in-
evitably to neglect of our own."
Certainly legislation like that to
be proposed by State Representa-
tive E. D. O'Brien (D-Lansing?,
requiring the death penalty for
sniping during a riot is a mani-
festation of domestic neglect.
It is just this simplistic way of
facing problems, this death pen-
alty ethic, this unwillingness on
the part of our legislators to un-
derstand and remedy the real
causes of our domestic and foreign
problems which has made it possi-
ble for an inhuman and senseless
war to continue, and for a long
cold winter of racial discontent to
face us.
U.S. military statistics have
showed that this year's toll of
U.S. dead and wounded exceeds
the total of all six previous years
of American involvement in Viet-
nam.
Unofficial data lists 6,701 Amer-
ican dead and 45,705 wounded
since the beginning of the year
The 1961-1966 toll was 6,644 killer
and 37.738 wounded. The total of
combat losses admitted to now
totals 13,365 dead and 83,443
wounded.
And yet we persist. Never mind
humanity, in the name of Amer-
ican Democracy we are right. Our
President and our legislators are
not yet convinced that the battle
is a futile one, that in addition to
the loss of men our alleged reasons
for fighting there are also being
defeated.
A non-governmental observer
for four U.S. peace organizations
said Thursday that most Vietnam-
ese believe there was widespread
fraud in the Sept. 3 presidential
election in South Vietnam. "Con-
sequently, they do not regard the
government which results from
such an election as legitimate," he
reported.
And yet Senator Tydings hopes
to convince his fellow legislators
that animals should have protec-
tion and justice under law. Have
we really regressed to the point
where we are capable of feeling
more compassion for a horse with
sore feet than for mankind?
I
THE QUIET DEATH rattle of a critically
ill intramural program has begun to
permeate the atmosphere around the di-
lapidated IM headquarters.
The entire operation, which has man-
aged to hang on for the last few years
by the sheer determination and hope of
its supporters, has begun to slowly sink
into the bureaucratic seas of lost memos,
lost communication and lost interest.
Plainly, nobody cares too much about
what happens to the University's IM de-
partment.
The program as we now know it could
be salvaged, perhaps even turned into
one characterized by progressive think-
ing, realistic self-appraisal and sensitivity
to change. But it would take a massive
infusion of interest on student and ad-
ministration levels, coupled with a dra-
matic rise in funds earmarked specific-
ally for the program.
NEITHER POSSIBILITY could occur in
the foreseeable future.
The IM building itself, which seems
to be featuring a "play at your own risk"
policy, is a relic of the outdated facili-
ties. A new roof has been needed for
years but instead the puddles on the gym-
nasium floor get larger and more of the
ceiling begins to cave in. Neglected Wines
Field stands forth as perhaps the su-
preme example of bureaucratic inepti-
tude.
The plans for the field, drawn up
by the IM department, have been over-
ruled and delayed to the point of ex-
tinction. The saddest part of the debacle
is that no one knows what happened to
the plans, or who was responsible for
their execution.
The extension of the University resi-
dence halls to North Campus has provided
an opportunity for a new attempt at suc-
cessful intramurals. The opportunity has
been ignored. There were no considera-
tions for recreation included in the mas-
ter plans for housing. A token "all-pur-
pose" game area was constructed near
Bursley housing but it has only proven
how inadequately it serves the North
Campus students. Even fistfights have
occurred as a result of arguing among
the students as they try to decide who
uses the facilities.
THE REGENTS appropriated $212,000 of
an already sadly depleted IM budget
toward an Ann Arbor and University
jointly financed swimming pool, to be
situated between North and Central
Campus. In return for the aid (nearly
one-half of the IM appropriation for the,
next three years), Ann Arbor has promis-
ed University students the right to ex-
clusive use of the pool several times per
week.
It is this decision that points up most
graphically the desperate need for change
in IM attitude. The current administra-
tion must realize that the students do
not want an outdoor pool that they'll use
perhaps five times during their entire
stay at Michigan.
Furthermore, they must realize that
students want more of an emphasis on
unstructured forms of recreation, on rec-
reation that doesn't involve forming a
team and registering to play two weeks
in advance. Students want recreation
where the object is to enjoy the game,
and not to be first in the quad.
JDEALLY, there could be a fully equipped
gymnasium directly adjacent to every
residence area. This would eliminate the
chilly 15 minute walk to the present
dreary facilities. The gyms would be open
late every night, giving students a chance
to take relaxing, invigorating study
breaks at any hour. Although teams would
be permitted at certain times, the empha-
sis would be on an area where anyone
could shoot baskets, lift weights, play
paddleball and generally do what he pre-
ferred.
Not only would this type of program
provide better and safer facilities, it
would permit a greatly increased num-
ber of participants, which should be the
objective of any intramural program.
Out of the ruins of the present IM fias-
co, then, could rise a program planned
with the students' best interests in mind.
Such a dramatic reversal in administra-
tive philosophy is unlikely, however, and
the student will be subjected to continue
laboring in the unhealthy and unsafe
University athletic facilities, with nobody
caring to hear his suggestions or criti-
cisms.
-FRED LaBOUR
The Saigon Calm Before the Buddhist Storm
I
By TRAN VAN DINH
Collegiate Press Service
A T A PRESS conference at the
An Quang Pagoda in Saigon
on Aug. 14, three most powerful
and widely respected Buddhist
leaders, Venerables Tri Quang,
Thien Minh and Thien Hoa, told
newsmen of a new struggle against
the military junta.
The New York Times of Sept. 2
reported that "Thich Tri Quang
has told visitors in recent weeks
that they can expect an "explosive
three months" following the bal-
loting of Sept. 3,"
The explosive situation Thich
Tri Quang refered to is not only
the logical development of the
illegal, unfair Sept. 3 elections,
which are oonsidered by the Viet-
namese people as the legitimiza-
tion of the military junta for the
continuation of the war, but also
and especially to a new develop-
ment in the United Buddhist
Church of Vietnam, since July.
ON JULY 18, General Nguyen
Van Thieu, South Vietnam's head
of state signed Decree Law 23/67,
abolishing the Buddhist Charter
approved by Decree 158/SL/CT of
May 14, 1964. In "free and "dem-
ocratic" South Vietnam, the ma-
jority religion operates under gov-
ernment-approved charter.
The 1964 Buddhist Charter (the
revision of which was approved
by Decree Law 005/66 of Feb. 26,
1966 signed by General Nguyen
Van Thieu himself) was the out-
come of an agreement reached by
11 Buddhist sects throughout the
country in a general assembly. It
was also the result of years of
hard and bloody struggles by the
Buddhists during the French co-
lonial regime and the Ngo Dinh
Diem administration under which
Buddhism was relegated to the
status of a "club." As such, the
Buddhist Church was forced to
obtain advance police permission
to hold public ceremonies of
Wesak (equivalent to Christmas).
It was forbidden to own land and
build schools. Catholicism was at
that time classified as a religion
and enjoyed all freedoms and
rights. President Ngo Dinh Diem
was a Catholic and was over-
thrown by the military in 1963
after a nation-wide Buddhist
campaign.
With the 1964 Charter, Bud-
dhism, which has existed in Viet-
nam for 2000 years, was recog-
nized as a religion. Once its right-
ful position was regained, the
Buddhist Church participated as
it has always done (especially
during the Ly-Tran dynasties
from 11th to 15th centuries) in
the building of the nation.
Contrary to certain myths still
entertained in the West, Buddhism
is not a pessimistic religion, a
faith based on renunciation. Bud-
dha was born 2511 years ago for
the suffering of Man. Buddhism
therefore is engaged in life and
helps man discover the causes of
his sufferings. Buddha, as the
Vietnamese say is "in the heart
of man." True to its essence, Bud-
dhism, which has no right dogma
(there are 84,000 doors to Nir-
vana), faces the human problems.
It is only natural then that the
newly emerged and engaged Viet-
namese Buddhist Church recog-
nized that the sufferings of the
Vietnamese people were and are
caused by war and dictatorship.
The Buddhist Church opposes
both.
Since 1964, it struggled for the
rights of the Vietnamese citizen
and for the end of the atrocious
war which ravaged the country
for over 20 years. It proposed the
organization of free and fair elec-
tions by an interim government
and demanded the resignation of
the military junta. As an answer
to these Buddhist proposals, sev-
eral governments since that time
began to suppress Buddhism.
THE MOST ruthless repressions
took place in May-June 1966.
Supported by the U.S., the Thieu-
Ky junta imprisoned thousands
and killed hundreds of Buddhists
among them Armed Forces per-
sonnel, in Hue and Danang.
The standard and continuing
practice under the French colonial
regime or Vietnamese dictator-
ships was to divide the Buddhist
Church by the routine device of
setting up puppets and buying in-
dividual adherents. On Oct. 23,
1966, the Thieu-Ky regime per-
suaded five Buddhists to draw a
new Charter. Among these five is
Thich Tam Chau, a refugee from
North Vietnam, usually referred
in the American press as "mod-
erate" (read: pro-government and
pro-war).
On March 14 a new Charter
was written and on July 18, Gen-
eral Nguyen Van Thieu, head of
state, approved it.
THE NEW charter clearly vio-
lated the letter and the spirit of
the old. According to Article 32
of the 1964 Charter and Article
35 of the revised 1966 Charter, all
"amendments and modifications
must be discussed in a General
Assembly and approved by at least
two-thirds of the delegates to the
Assembly." It is also said that the
General Assembly of the United
Buddhist Church consists of the
Council of the Central Committee
of the Church and delegates from
regions and provinces from all
over the country (Article 26 of
the 1964 Charter).
The reaction of the Buddhist
Church was obvious. On Aug. 8,
the Venerable Thich Tinh Khiet,
Patriarch of the United Buddhist
Church wrote a letter to General
Thieu to protest against the pro-
mulgation of the new charter and
clearly pointed out its illegal
character, Before that, in a cir-
cular dated Aug. 4, 1967, Vener-
able Thich Thien Hoa, director
of the Vien Hoa Dao (the Secular
Council of the Church) asked all
Buddhist organizations to be on "a
state of alterness."
An extraordinary General As-
sembly of the United Buddhist
Church which included the leaders
of the Council of the Central
Committee of the Church and
representatives of provinces and
cities of South Vietnam, met, on
Aug. 24, at the An Quang Pagoda
under the chairmanship of the
Patriarch. The Assembly unani-
mously rejected the New Charter
and called for the unity of all
Buddhists.
The same day Patriarch Thich
Tinh Khiet sent cables to all Bud-
dhist countries and Buddhist or-
ganizations abroad, to the Secre-
tary-General of the United Na-
tions, and to the Pope to inform
them of the decision of the Assem-
bly. The cable to the Vatican
asked the Holy Father to inter-
vene (General Thieu is a Catho-
lic) with "those who claim to be
Cathol c and yet engage them-
selves in destructive a c t i o n s
against religion."
THE REACTION among the
Buddhist laymen was equally
strong. Phan Khac Suu, chairman
of the Constituent Assembly and
a leading civilian presidential can-
didate urged General Thieu, in a
letter of Aug. 8, to abolish the
new charter. Mai Tho Truyen, a
widely respected Buddhist scholar
and a vice-presidential candidate
on the Tran Van Huong ticket,
together with Le Van Dinh, 1959-
1963 vice president of the General
Buddhist Association, also voiced
their protest on Aug. 13.
The decision by the military
junta, now legitimized by an ille-
gal and unfair election, has indeed
unified the Buddhist ranks, which
were badly decimated by the "civil
war" in the summer of 1966. The
coming Buddhist struggle needs
more preparation but it will be
decisive. It will not be a "political
conflict" as some American jour-
nalists will say. It will not be a
"competition for power" between
the "moderates" and the "mili-
tants." It will be a struggle for
the survival of Buddhism itself.
In the best seller "Vietnam,
Lotus in a Sea of Fire" Thich
Nhat Tanh, a renowned Buddhist
monk - p o e t - philosopher, wrote:
"Buddhism is like a drop of mer-
cury: you can strike the mercury
and it disintegrates into many
smaller parts, but as soon as you
remove your fist, they run to-
gether again."
The Thieu-Ky military junta
did strike at the Buddhists in
Vietnam in 1966, but with 2000
years of life in the hearts and in
the history of the people of Viet-
nam, it will be a force again in
the near future. The success of the
Buddhist struggle will also lead
to the end of the war and the dic-
tatorship in South Vietnam.
I
A
The Anti-Rat Strategy
I EARLIER THIS WEEK Congress righted
one of the greatest wrongs perpetrated
this session and passed a bill establish-
ing a two year $40 million rat extermina-
tion program.
The originally defeated bill to establish
a rat extermination program, introduced
by Rep. Wright Patman (D-Tex) as a
political flavor to President Johnson, was
the cause of much embarrassment to the
Republican leadership who engineered
its defeat. Coming two days after the
House overwhelmingly approved the anti-
riot bill, the mocking manner in which
several Republican congressmen ap-
proached the rat bill underlined their
lack of understanding of the social fac-
tors that were behind this summer's ghet-
to discontent.
Furthermore, the defeat of the bill did
much to discredit the Republican theme
espoused by GOP Party Chairman Ray
Bliss and Gov. Romney of "constructive
federalism," a theme which promises to
be a major tenet in Republican campaign
attacks against the Johnson administra-
tion in 1968.
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Editorial Staff
ROGER RAPOPORT, Editor
MEREDITH EIKER, Managing Editor
MICHAEL HEFFER ROBERT KLIVANS
City Editor Editorial Director
SUSAN ELAN. . Associate Managing Editor
STEPHEN FIRSHEIN .... Associate Managing Editor
LAURENCE MEDOW ...... Associate Managing Editor
RONALD KLEMPNER .... Associate Editorial Director
JOHN LOTTIER .... . Associate Editorial Director
STIaAN. SCHNEPP .. Peronnel Difrector
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SGC mw 0 ife Speed
HOWEVER, IT IS LIKELY that nobody
lambasted the Republicans more
than they themselves did. Immediately
following the bill's defeat one of their
own representatives turned on them say-
ing that he was ashamed of their ac-
tions, and that if he was "a hard work-
ing man and came home to see my kid
bitten by a rat, (he) would start his own
small riot."
The following week Gerald Ford (R-
Mich), the minority leader of the House,
met with Republican colleagues to hash
out an alternative rat extermination pro-
gram, and thus mitigate some of the ad-
verse publicity drawn by their original
opposition to the bill.
The incident proves more a credit to
Johnson's political finesse than anything
else, for with eventual passage of the rat
extermination program, the President
can have his cake and eat it, too.
Johnson foresaw the propaganda to be
gained by making the Republicans re-
sponsible for the defeat of such an ob-
viously socially beneficial program. And
although the bill had administration
backing, it lacked the strong lobbying
support that the White House usually re-
serves for other measures such as mili-
tary expenditures in Vietnam and a tax
hike.
JF JOHNSON COULD only manipulate a
peace effort in Vietnam the way he
tries to do with the press in Washington,
the troops would be home by Christmas.
-RONALD KLEMPNER
Associate Editorial Director
HHH Predicts
WHEN ASKED IF HE would predict the
By ROBERT KLIVANS
STEPHEN FIRSHEIN
and NEAL BRUSS
At its Thursday night meeting,
Student Government Council re-
purchase of a "student-mobile."
jected by a slim 5-4 margin the
This, of course, shocked all of us
who had been hoping that SGC
Big Wheels would get off their
behinds and start rolling. We have
no doubt that wisdom will even-
tually prevail and SGC will fork
aver the $995 for the 1963 Volks-
wagen microbus they are consider-
ing.
But if the SGC-Mobile is to be
the latest in student power ap-
aratus, we feel it should be fully
equipped with all the extras to
emulate the goals of SGC. Our
ideal SGC-Mobile would be some-
thing like this:
" The bus will be equipped with
15 brakes and no steering wheel.
It will be adjusted so as to straddle
the white line in the middle of the
road as it goes down the highway.
But this really doesn't matter
nuch, since the vehicle can only
travel in circles anyway.
" The bus's interior will contain
the latest in fine equipment. There
will be fold out beds for the
freshman women who stay out all
night when curfew is abolished.
The shiny inside will be further
embellished by a fine padded
dashboard, a gift from the Na-
tional Student Association. (The
NSA dashboard will be padded
with CIA money.)
The SGC-Mobile will also be
equipped wth special one-way
mirror windows so that students
can look in and see their repre
sentatives, but council members
can't see their constituents
There will be no exotic air-con-
ditioning in the studentmobile.
~Rather. a -rimnitive TDraft svstem
i
1
angry, raging, fierce student mobs
that are so evident on the campus.
The hubcaps will shoot out "Stu-
dent Power" buttons to spark the
bus. Instead of running on gas-
oline, the new engine will use
churned-up Visa tickets, returned
by disgruntled students. The en-
to make a great deal of noise.
Rumors abound that "Cutler's
Mufflers" has already offered to
sell the SGC leaders one of his
just like the council members-
will be thoroughly lubed, greased,
and oiled every Thursday even-
ing.