Seventy-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN EWA- UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS Where Opinions Are Free, 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, MICH. NEWS PHONE: 764-0552 Truth Will Prevail Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. .aliti S' Y.. {':1"°1 i, Y"^":J.A,."1:1:'t ...nti:l.YV:^Yh ' r .,r ".: :" ri'".: r ... YT: Y t '", YVM15155 514V355 .'i....: . 55.,a. , ,. r. ., ......"....,... .. ....., . .. Q .T4i::. r...,.. ... 5.5. ,.........}f F. ?5 K^. h .S.SS. n..SS. - :R... n ..".". ... ?.. , ,.. m;}, ..!,5.1.5}i}.r;}.;sn..} , u,5.. _ " ....,." ."."........,h......:::,Y::::;: ,.;r;; ..; .h. rr } .... . :".. Y, ".. rF. r.., ".. . n :.... ' '. ..,.S.Y: : v.,,.... v": ":.:5.:i"}.,... r.: r:: ,.. ..,.. .., ......h .................." h.vht4. ra..Yh."::hY A:::. n .. .. .n..".,.,...."r.....".5r}{ar rJr S J *' .firw"hY.S .' 5wi'aka'i.Y:.ohvx::n5v."s...;.;:}."::m;^:}:.Ynw::: :.. ... THE HARDER THEY FALL ... It Was Football Weather Last Weekend ; By John Lottier ....{^:: {... "" .. iv{.:{ .;";; .r .. .i :u: .+,1^ .:.".. . . ::11.. . . . . . TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1967 NIGHT EDITOR: PAT O'DONOHUE ,. _ i Writer-in-Residence: The Frost Must Thaw THE BITTER FRATRICIDAL struggles of the old Ame ican left must have developed in Irving Howe an exception- ally high tolerance for the rigors of life. For, judging from Leslie Fiedler's exper- ience here last year, only phenomenal en- durance coupled with unparalleled dedi- cation can explain Howe's acceptance of a $2000 offer to become this year's two- week writer-in-residence. Last year, Leslie Fiedler embarked on a whirlwind schedule which seemed to de- mand that he brighten every corner of the campus with an epic thought. Fiedler was poked, prodded and pursued by pal- pitating students who demanded his opinions on every controversial subject, except, so it seemed, literature and writ- ing. Mary Benjamin, chairman of the Writ- er-in-Residence Board, stresses that this year's program will avoid the harried and almost cultish frenzy of the Fiedler visit. However, there are several underlying weaknesses in the writer-in-residence program which make a repetition of some of the pitfalls of last year's program un- avoidable. The over-worked Writer-in-Residence Board is the innocent victim of circum- stances far beyond its control. Two years ago, operating on the pragmatic as- sumption that an imperfect program is far preferable to none at all, they suc- ceeded in reinstituting a writer-in-resi- dence at Michigan. Without any Univer- sity support, they have managed to raise the funds necessary to bring Fiedler, and now Hodges, to the campus, solely from faculty and student groups. HOWE'S VISIT to the campus cannot be leisurely because the program is forc- ed to attempt to do in two weeks what better endowed programs at other schools can afford to do in a semester. In addi- tion, the program has an implicit obli- gation to have Howe appear before most of the groups who contributed toward his support. Another consequence of the financial weakness of the program is that the board must cater to the preferences of most student groups -for a literate en- tertainer rather than an actual writer. A manifestation of this P. T. Barnum syn- drome is that preference is given to a scathing social critic who writes rather than a creative artist who has few pre- tensions outside his own sphere of serious writing. One becomes hardened to the skewed calculus of values which governs Univer- sity expenditures. Yet it is still upsetting that the University, revelling in the self- glorification of this, its pseudo-sesqui- centennial, cannot at least match the $5,- 000 which brought Robert Frost to the campus over 45 years ago. With University support the true spirit of a writer-in-residence might be captur- ed. Rather than focusing on bringing a "name" performer here for a few all too meaningless weeks, the University could play host to, with far more mutual bene- fit, a struggling young serious author in- stead. A PROGRAM of this nature could focus the University's attention on writing in an age when the serious novelist has become all but irrelevant to the young. And, under such conditions, it is even conceivable that such a writer-in-resi- dence could, during his stay in Ann Arbor, create as well as regurgitate. Such utopian dreaming should not de- tract from the achievements of the Writ- er-in-Residence Board in arranging for Irving Howe to kindle the Ann Arbor cultural, literary and political scene dur- ing the cold month of January. And perhaps some of the fire from this visit will melt some of the frost which has accumulated -in the University since the poet's visit so long ago. -WALTER SHAPIRO IT WASN'T JUST cool or crisp or mellow or bright or sunny or breezy or anything that might be considered normal last weekend. It was football weather. For the first time this year everything was perfect: the ground felt like football, the sky looked like football, and the air smelled like football. And both the Wolverines and the Lions were playing at home. Everything was set for an idyllic weekend's escape from the perils of reality. On Saturday afternoon over 79,000 student and alumni type people slithered into the big bowl to watch the Wolves take on a not-too-highly-regarded Blue Devil team straight from Durham, North Carolina. The stadium was clean and bright and homogenated; so were the people; so were the players. It was almost sterile, but it was really college. EVERYTHING LOOKED THE WAY everything has always looked: the band played old college favorites, the students passed each other "over the top" at halftime, the alumni parked their cars in front of the stadium gates, the cheerleaders were all boys, and the football team still didn't have a screen pass. But something was different. The Wolverines, a team which in recent years has shown a marked and unfliching capacity to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, won the game with less than fifteen seconds to play. And they won it on field goal to boot. The contest itself was a rag-tag affair, probably the worst played here in many years. There were ten fumbles and three interceptions, almost one changeover for every four minutes of playing time. But we won, and that's what counts. Everyone was happy. And the football weather remained, omnipresent. Then on Sunday fellow pigskin pervert Robert Klivans and I journeyed to far-off Detroit to contemplate the relative pluses and minuses of the Cleveland Browns and the hometown Lions. Robbie, an Ohioan, is a lifelong Brown addict; I, a Detroiter, support the now-ferocious Lions. TIGER STADIUM IS TOTALLY unlike the Ann Arbor bowl; it's square not round, has three decks, not one, and is distinguished by a far more diverse if not sophisticated clientele. The bleachers house football fanatics from all walks of life, ranging from upper-echalon businessmen and administrators to assembly line workers, the hard- core unemployed, and Detroit Zoological Park zookeepers. The people are not too bland, Joe College stereotypes, but colorfully vibrant (and sometimes well-lubricated) en- thusiasts. We arrived an hour before kick-off time to peruse the pre-game antics, both on the field and in the stands; the atmosphere was totally football. A heavyset, unshaven, and obviously inebriated Clevelander sauntered up and down the bleachers steps proclaiming the halocaust of an inevitable Brown crush: "You guys aren't playing the Packers this week. But don't feel bad, everybody gets beaten by the Brownies." His bright red, fireman's hat with the ominous slogan "Go Browns" shone like a fore- boding firebell in the night. THE GAME FINALLY BEGAN. Cleveland took charge almost immediately, and my mind was struck by the paralysis of defeat. Everytime the Browns started to move (which was often in the first half) my one-time friend, Robbie, would jump up and down recording his obvious approval. I was stunned. But then the Lions started to roll. Halfbacks Tommy Watkins (who used to play for the Browns) and highly- touted rookie Mel Farr began to crash through the Brown defense leaving a dual path of destruction in their col- lective wakes. Quarterback Milt Plum began picking apart Cleveland's defensive backfield, ends Pat Studstill and Bill Malinchak leaping high into the air to snare the spirallng aerials. At the game's close the Lion offense had amassed over 450 yards, and had crushed the invaders from the other side of Lake Erie 31-14. And the football weather remained. Robbie, once again my good friend, although obviously disappointed and concurrently stunned by the awesome totality of defeat, numbly acquiesced to my desire to visit the respective dressing rooms. The showers and the locker- rooms did not look arid or hot or stuffy or sweaty or any- thing normal like that. They exuded football: and looked like football, the players looked like football, and the rooms smelled like football. It was football weather, even inside. In the Lions' lockers Mel Farr complained about his broken nose and the fact that he couldn't see too well with the nose splint on, Coach Joe Schmidt ebulliently show- ered praise upon his players, and reporters moved from player to player in search of "the perfect story" for their newspaper. HAVING SATISFIED OUR initial curiosity we moved on to the losers room, mainly to talk with our old school- mate Carl Ward, who is running the right way for the Browns this year as a punt return specialist. Carl flashed a smile at us and paid the customary but deserving de- ferrence to the victors: "Oh, they played real good ball, the Lions are a real coming team." This, of course, made me happy again and I noticed that it was still football weather. On the way to the car however, something happened. We passed a rather distinguished-looking gentleman carrying a rather distinguished-looking transistor radio, and I happily hailed him: "Who won the Tiger game." He replied quite caustically that the Bengals had blown it in the ninth, giving up three runs to the Senators. I looked around and noted that the football weather had vanished. It was time to go back to college. I Letters: Aid for Leslie Fiedler To the Editor: YOU HAVE no doubt read of the arrest and harassment of Les- lie Fiedler and his family by a variety of forces in Buffalo (Daily, May 4. The case has put the Fiedlers under severe financial stresses, involving their life in- surance, fire insurance, and home mortgage. In particular, the case has already cost them $7000 in legal fees and will cost more as it proceeds. To help the Fieldlers in this crisis and to enable them to fight for the due process and free- dom involved, we are establishing the Fiedler Defense Fund. We are grateful to you for publishing this letter. We will be most grateful to anyone who sends in a contri- bution-to Fiedler DefensecFund, Norman N. Holland, Secretary, 131 High Park Blvd., Amherst, N.Y. 14226. -A. Alvarez --Noam Chomsky --Marcus Cunliffe -Sidney Hook --Frank Kermode --James Laughlin -R.W.B. Lewis --Bernard Malamud --James A. Michener --Norman Podhoretz -Richard Poirier --Karl Shapiro To the Editor THE STUDENTS at Michigan invited Leslie Fiedler to be a visiting scholar last year. I know he had a wonderful time. I hope they did. Given your interest in Leslie last year, would you be willing to print the enclosed letter which is an appeal for funds to assist him in defending the charges pending against him? I should think the students at Michigan would be especially concerned. We would be much in your debt for your help. -Norman N. Holland Chairman, Dept. of English State University of N.Y. at Buffalo and Secretary, Fiedler Defense Fund Anti-Missile To the Editor: AUTHORS SLOVIN AND BAN are mistaken, either through lack of information or misinter- pretation, on the bulk of their arguements against the proposed "light" deployment of an ABM sys- tem. First, a thin deployment of the Nike-X system would be neith- er "primative" nor "ineffective" in dealing with the light attacks for which it is intended. The Nike-X system is composed of three, sepa- rate, highly-sophisticated radars for warhead tracking, decoy dis- crimination, and interceptor guid- ance. For interception, Nike-X relies on two missile systems: the Spar- tan, for interceptions outside the atmosphere in the 400 to 100 mile range, and the Sprint, an ultra- TOM I -t v B SW r ii ii ..._,... high speed missile for local inter- ception of warheads missed by the Spartan. All in all, the system is hardly primitive and will be able to deal with any light attacks of the type Red China will be able to launch by the mid-1970's. Secondly, a light deployment would not be an "enormous in- vestment." The $5 billion required for the 'ystem is less than U.S. citizens will spend on cosmetics and cigarettes by the time it be- comes operational. Thirdly, an expensive fallout shelter program would not be r~e- quired. Since, in a light attack, most or all interceptions would take place outside the atmosphere, the public would receive no more fallout than it did from past nu- clear tests. In fact, they would probably receive less because ICBMs carrywarheads much smaller than those tested. Finally, there is no evidence to support the hypothesis that the deployment of a defensive system would escalate the arms race. If this theory were correct, then we should fear escalation through the designation of shelter areas and the maintenance of a Civil De- fense Bureau. --Jon Cooley Aero. Engin. '70 Objectivism ? To the Editor: YOUR EDITORIAL in favor of the MSU tuition plan was splendid. Since most people who are well-off financially did not earn their money by their own exertion, but rather by exploit- ing their laborers, it is only fair to appropriate this excess money to send the "deserving poor" through college. It would obvious, ly not be fair to force a poor per- son to labor under the burden of having to repay a loan. Rather the middle-class oppressors whose productivity is a source of dis- couragement to the underpriv- ileged, should pay. We should seek that the system of justice initiated at Michigan State University shall not perish from theearth, and that we here highly resolve that the principle "from each according to his abil- ity, to each according to his need" shall become dominant across the land. This noble ideal, if applied by all universities, all government, all businesses, would mean that the engineer who earns $18,000 a year would pay exactly twice the tuition, twice the taxes and twice as much for food and cloth- ing as the automotive worker who earns $9000 a year. In effect, then, all men would earn the same. This would eliminate strikes. OF COURSE, perhaps it is too mnuch to hope for this in the near future and for now we must con tent ourselves with paving the way for the rule of a philosopher-king whose desire for power will be motivated solely by a selfless con- cern for humanity. Until that time we must all become our own philosopher-kings and, by the moral assumption we all accept, recognize our obligation to sac- rifice for our fellow men. Which means--to ask not what other men can do for us, but what we can do for other men. The closer we approach our no- ble ideal of "need" the greater will be its benefits and the more thoroughly we will understand it. It is fortunate, in the ideological battle to come, that the expression "creeping socialism" has been bur- ied under an avalanche of laughs. Otherwise our opponents might be tempted to use it. -Philip Coates, Grad Foreign Relations at Home HERE ARE 2000 international students at the University, and they are not exactly ecstatic about the way they have been received. The fact that their activi- ties are restricted to what can be accom- plished in an International Center held together by rubber bands and chewing gum is an outward indication of a deep- seated lack of interest in their welfare and their cultures. This is not to say that there are no in- dividuals who are interested in them. There does exist, in the University com- munity, a small, hard-core group of peo- ple who attend the functions at the In- ternational Center fairly regularly, wel- come the international students into their homes and actually try to learn something from them. But these people are unfortu- nately very much in the minority. There is a regrettable lack of Ameri- can participation in international stu- dents' activities, in spite of a diligent promotion campaign by the International Center staff. The lack of financial support by the University is just short of an open in- sult. International students have been trying for 27 years to get funds for facili- ties, and their failure-in light of all the money for research facilities that is be- ing thrown around--has forced many of them to conclude that they are relatively unimportant to the administration as well as the general student body. JF AMERICAN STUDENTS can become alienated at the "big U" the problem must be twice as intense for students faced with a foreign language and cul- ture. They need counseling and a great deal of personal contact with people who are sincerely interested in them. It is up to the American students to take the first step in getting to know these men and women, and it is up to the University to provide adequate facilities so that this contact can take place. America's foreign relations are in enough of a mess as it is. We can ill- afford to conduct them so poorly at home. -JILL CRABTREE "Read any good polls lately, George ?" ! . sr:. t.:. sff.~.%r.......... ..... ....................r..:.,.r. .......mo nrr , ........ ..... t KigFightsTodave Non- Violent Tactics I Congratulations to SGC CONGRATULATIONS are in order to our friends from Student Government Council. At last Thursday night's meeting SGC members, pushing personal convenience from their collective minds, defeated a motion to spend $1300 for a "studentmo- bile." Their rationale, in this case, was excellent. They realized that they can ill- The Daily is a member of the Associated Press and Collegiate Press Service. Fall and winter subscription rate: $4.50 per term by carrier ($5 by mail); $8.00 for regular academic school year ($9 by mail). Daily except Monday during regular academic school year. Daily except Sunday and Monday during regular summer session. Second class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Michigan, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48104. afford to waste money on luxuries when so much in the way of necessities is lack- ing. There are pressing-and costly-proj- ects such as establishing a student draft counseling service and regenerating the course evaluation booklet which must re- ceive the primary consideration of Coun- cil if that organization wants to be any kind of a success as a student govern- ment responsive to the needs and desires of its constituency. The potential benefits of pumping funds in these much needed programs would far outweigh the bene- fits of "riding around campus" to talk to students; Council members are ade- quately geographically spaced and are fully able to reach the student body as individuals if their interest is real. A FTER HAVING already wasted over By DAVID KNOKE THE REV. Martin Luther Ding, Jr. has charisma. He may also be running scared. These two observations explain in part why King has remained for a dozen years as one of the most powerful, respected civil rights leaders and why he is des- perate to achieve some tangible advancement for America's black citizens before a frightened white community begins to act repres- sively. King repeatedly says of the civil rights struggle, "We have come a long, long way but we have a very long, long way to go." He points with some satisfaction to the abolition of the legal sys- tem of segregation in the South. "The Civil Rights bills have brought very real changes to life for the Negro in the South," he says, "but in the North there still persists a form of psychological lynching which, like a bird whose wings have been clipped, robs the Negro of his integrity." The massive, generation-long ghettoization of major American cities came from the migration of rural blacks ill-prepared for the requirements of a technological society. To say that overcrowded most radical program he has yet organized. King intends to lead a massive civil disobedience action to draw attention to "the prob- lems of joblessness, terrible hous- ing and inadequate educational facilities." He will not release the details "for a month or so" but promises "an escalation of nonviolent civil disobedience-something that is as disruptive as riots." He also does not rule out the possibility of simultaneous demonstrations in several cities. "The alternative will be more riots," King told an audience in Toledo last weekend. "We can't continue to be at each others' throats every June, July and August. Riots are the language of the unheard. America has failed to hear the plight of her poor whites and blacks. "We have never used the long cold winters of delay that precede the long hot summers. Now that winter is coming it's time for the nation and Congress to act." King used the same "long cold winter" message two years ago, before the summer in which the Southern Christian Leadership Conference left the South to be- gin an intensive summer of I Nobel Prize Winner Martin Luther King Leading the Way The exact form the civil resis- tance program will take is still anyone's guess. Fund raising ral- with anti-war activity since he sees the Vietnam conflict as a major drain on resources that ing in nonviolent demonstrations without the least resort to vio- lence," he asserts "In Chicago we