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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
1
THE VIEW FROM HERE
The Wolverine War of 1972
BY ROBERT KLIVANS
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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 he noted in all reprints.
AY, OCTOBER 31, 1967
NIGHT EDITOR: DANIEL OKRENTI
Granting Advisory Boards
Their Death-Wish
THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL Advisory
Boards-created in an attempt to in-
clude student concerns in the decision-
making process-are not doing an
effective job of advising anybody. In-
deed, some cannot even communicate
among themselves, while others-par-
ticularly the ones assigned to Vice Presi-
dent for Student Affairs Richard Cutler
and Vice President for Research A. Geof-
frey Norman-cannot establish com-
munications between the members and
vice presidents.
The attitude of the vice presidents
toward their boards is aptly summed up
by Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer Wilbur K. Pierpont: "The board
has not changed any of my decisions."
Pierpont's board is afflicted internally
with a common malady in the board
system: apathy of the membership. In
its chairman's own words, "half to three-
fourths of the people don't attend meet-
ings." Thus, the fear expressed by the
chairman of the board attached to Cut-
ler that "the real danger is in just be-
coming a polite and listening guest" is
unfounded, for such a state can never
materialize when no "guests" ever show
up.
Another shortcoming is the hesitancy
of the vice-presidents to relate meaning-
ful information to the students. For
example, Norman's board was completely
unadvised about the classified war re-
search taking place at the University.
But at least one member of that board
is willing to accept the vice president's
assurance that "nothing is going on that
should concern you."
The committee connected with Vice
President for Academic Affairs Alan F.
Smith makes another point reflecting
existing conditions: "We don't know
what students want, and the opinions
we express are only the personal opin-
ions of our nembers."
Student Government Council is finally
deciding that something must be done.
SGC President Bruce Kahn called a
meeting several weeks ago for the total
boards' membership. Only four people
attended. He has called yet another
meeting to "review the problems" and
see what re-organization is needed.
Several of the board chairmen speak
vaguely about "reorganizing" their com-
mittees, but these attempts are merely
prolonging the self-deception. All pre-
tense of establishing "relationships" be-
tween student and administration in
the form of the vice presidential
advisory boards as they presently exist
should be dropped.
If SGC can somehow miraculously re-
place the administrative vice presidents
with people who will admit to a student
role in decision-making, and if it can
find people interested enough to attend
meetings, and if it can get a student
consensus on what is needed, then the
University will have reached the point
where some kind of representative stu-
dent-administration rapport can be es-
tablished.
Until then why waste any more of the
vice-presidents' valuable time?
-KEN KELLEY
THE REVELATION two weeks ago that the University
is advising Thailand in counter-insurgency opera-
tions has created a stir of dismay and disapproval across
the campus. Professors and students shuddered when
they heard that their University was known as the "free
leader in (combat) surveillance."
But the whole reaction by Ann Arbor's academic
community has been overly severe. What's wrong with
the University excelling in a competitive field like war
research? In a year of sagging football and basketball
fortunes, being Number One in something is rather
nice. And, moreover, the University's newly-revealed
excellence is in a field of expanding opportunities. It
takes little imagination to visualize the following story
in newspapers across the country only five years from
now:
BANGKOK, THAILAND, Oct. 31, 1972 - Intensive
bombing of the northern Thai provinces entered its sec-
ond week today as University of Michigan aircraft
made 47 bombing attacks.
Meanwhile, Wolverine-led troops advanced into the
highlands in an attempt to dislodge a guerrilla unit near
the village of Ubon Bleccch.
Michigan's commanding officer, four-star General
Jeffrey Normal, refused to call the latest effort "esca-
lation," instead labelling it a "mere extension of pre-
vious military advisory operations."
In a press conference at Diagagon Supreme Head-
quarters near Ypsilanti, Mich., Chief of Advisory Opera-
tions General Rune Willow said there was no intention
of committing any undergraduate students to combat
operations. "We are merely serving in an advisory ca-
pacity to the Royal Thai Forces," said General Willow,
"and all advisory troops will be limited to graduate stu-
dents, who will continue to receive academic credit for
their battlefield research."
When asked to justify the present use of 10,000 Uni-
versity "advisors" in the Thai arena, the General dis-
missed the question, claiming that the information was
classified.
MICHIGAN'S counter-insurgency war has come under
intensive criticism lately by critics charging that it is
escalating into another "Bolivian-style" involvement.
(This refers to the 1969-1971 war conducted by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Andes
Mountains.)
Michigan officials have consistently denied that they
are pushing for their own "university war" in Southeast
Asia. But few will refute the deepening commitment of
Wolverine time and money Into the Thai project.
Thailand operations were first exposed back in 1967,
when that indignant student newspaper, The Michigan
Daily, exposed the preliminary counter-insurgency work
undertaken by Willow Run Labs (now knowns as "Su-
preme Headquarters"). The program was almost can-
celled in a wave of stormy protest, but cooler military
minds prevailed, and the University continued its classi-
fied work.
In 1968, more contracts were taken out for ground
surveillance work, and the History Dept. accepted a
classified Defense Dept. grant to study the past course
and possible future of guerrilla movements in Thailand.
This was followed in 1969 by a classified contract to the
Psychology Dept. for psychological warfare and a sim-
ilar pact with the Economics Dept. to undermine the
guerrilla economy.
BY 1970 MICHIGAN had sent 50 graduate students
from 13 departments to Thailand as part of a new Ex-
change Program with Bangkok University. By 1971 the
number was 2,500 and the bulk of these were advising
the Thai forces on how to use guns, shoot cannons, and
erect electronic fences.
Only this year, with the unexplained rise in guerrilla
activity, has the University been forced to deploy more
and more graduate students, researchers, and professors
on "military sabbaticals" to the Asian battlefield.
With the "escalation" of the last few months, Mich-
igan has now more men and weapons in the field than
Stanford University used at the peak of its Indonesian
Intervention of 1971.
GENERAL NORMAL has predicted that the Univer-
sity will shortly be able to withdraw from the Thai
project, as the contract expires in 1973.
Said General Normal: "We are not sending Michigan
students and professors to fight a war in Thailand that
should be fought by the Thais themselves."
There was little comment from the White House. "I
will not interfere," President Reagan has said, "in the
proper affairs of any public university."
4q
A
Letters: The Punk' Agitators Are At It Again
The Folly of the Fair
To the Editor:
A YEAR AGO the so-called stu-
dents for a Democratic So-
ciety published a document out-
lining a program to achieve stu-
dent control of all universities in
the United States. This program
was so radical that most responsi-
ble people ignored it just as their
counterparts in Russia, Germany,
and China had done in regards
to similar publications decades ago.
During the past year SDS, which
is not student run and which has
the same regard for democratic
principles at Hitler and Stalin had,
has started the implementation of
this program on the college and
university campuses across the
country. At Michigan we have
witnessed the shouting down of
several of our statesmen at a Uni-
versity sponsored meeting. Press
confrences being held by President
Hatcher and by President-elect
Fleming have been rudely in-
terupted. The offices of several of
the Vice Presidents have been in-
vaded.
In additionto interruption of
the normal business activities of
these offices for extended periods,
I have heard that during one in-
vasion, material was removed from
inside the desk of one of the Vice
Presidents. Taking courage from
the complete inaction on the part
of the Administration to the above
criminal acts SDS and Voice re-
cently conducted a rowdy sit-in at
a meeting on the North Campus
devoted to research matter forcing
cancellation of the meeting great-
ly inconveniencing several guests
of the University who had come
here from Washington, D.C.
IN SPITE of these many acts of
trespass, these criminal interrup-
tions of University activities, and
this complete defiance of Univer-
sity regulations by this small law-
les group the administrators of
the University of Michigan have
formulated no policy to cope with
them and have taken absolutely
no disciplinary action.
Administrators, how long is this
foul situation going to continue.
What do these punks have to do
to get you gentlemen to live up to
your responsibilities to the Re-
gents, to the State of Michigan,
and to the people of the State
of Michigan.
When are you going to announce
a firm policy relative to these in-
terruptions? When are you going
to arrest these professional agita-
tors who are crawling around our
campus? When are you going to
start suspending students who
openly defy your regulations?
If you don't take action imme-
diately, you might as well forget
it. Students power will have taken
over. Then we shall have no need
for paid administrators.
--John J. Carey
Professor of
Electrical Engineering
An Explanation
To the Editor:
"OPPOSING Classified War Re-
search," by Professors Gen-
dell and Mayer, published Oct. 27,
contains much with which I can
agree and a good many specifics
which I question. Permit me to
comment on one.
The gentlemen state that "fear
of losing government contracts
underlay the University of Mich-
igan's servile capitulation to
HUAC," and that "freedom of dis-
sent was less important in the
minds of the administration than
generous research grants."
The categoric statement and the
emotional description bring into
qr NERE G6OES
~' ~THE FEAR~LES
. 'WORLD' WARIU PILOT '
ALL OVER NOM 00( IENIAtII,
AND POSSIBLY CHINA
ANLI$ROSA--
IF QI4LY TOSE
S'rjPIP CIVILNJAW~'
WOULD ' lJLA NME,.
fK N 1 f4Ps~z M
sity Community of Aug. 18, 1966
and reiterated in various forums,
including the Ad Hoc Committee
on the Disclosure Question, "When
the University has defended the
rights of members of the Univer-
sity Community to exercise their
citizen rights, it has been made
clear that these are rights under
the law. For the University to de-
fend on the basis of law in previous
instances but to defy lawfully con-
stituted agencies in this instance
would be inconsistent and would
weaken our position in the fu-
ture."
One may agree or disagree with
judgment. But that is not what
Professor Gendell and Mayer have
done in their reference to the
HUAC incident. They have re-
peated a shibboleth andadded an
assumption unverified and unsub-
stantiated.
-Jack H. Hamilton
Assistant to the Vice President
for University Relations
Influence
To the Editor:
(CONCERNING John Miller's ar-
ticle on the Homecoming Con-
cert of the 21st, it is rather ob-
vious that Mr. Miller's review
might have been slightly more
skillful, to the point, and perhaps
even believable had he not spent
the evening under the influence
of Buffy's hemline.
-Bill Kohen, '70
All letters must be typed,
double-spaced and should be no
longer than 300 words. All let-
ters are subject to editing;
those over 300 words will gen-
erally be shortened. No unsign-
ed letters will be printed.
44
EXPO 67 caine to a close Sunday night.
The Montreal world's fair that drew
more than 50 million visitors during its
six-month exhibition ended with a giant
fire-works display symbolizing its suc-
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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
JOHN LOTTIER.........Associate Editorial Director
RONALD KLEMPNER .... Associate Editorial Director
SUSAN SCHNEPP.............Personnel Director
cess and glory. Over 200,000 people
swarmed over the fair site to enjoy for
the last time the "man and his world"
exposition. Among officials there per-
vaded an aura of self-congratulation
for the immense success Expo 67 has
experienced.
Speeches were made, and Canadian
Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson issued
a statement: "Every one of the more
than 50 millions of people who have
moved across these grounds has become
more conscious of our global neighbor-
hood and of the fact that every man on
this planet is linked to every other man."
JIEN THOUSAND miles away, according
to the Associated Press, "U.S. infan-
trymen surprised a Viet Cong company
near the Cambodian border today and
it was all but wiped out by artillery, na-
palm and aerial bombs."
question both their data and their
objectivity.
I participated in the discussions
which lead to the decision to re-
spond to the subpoena from a
standing committee of the Con-
gress. The subpoena commanded
"copies of certificates or state-
ments of membership" of specific
organizations "filed for the pur-
pose of obtaining status as an ac-
credited campus organization."
The membership and organization
names previously had been sub-
mitted, without any question of
confidentiality, to the Student
Government Council.
NO MENTION or allusion to
government contracts was made in
those discussions. Freedom of dis-
sent was. an important concern.
Central to the decision to respond
to the subpoena was consistency
in compliance with law. As was
stated in a Report to the Univer-
04
A Democratic Defense of the Sit-In
--JOHN LOTTIER
Associate Editorial Director
By ANATOL RAPOPORT
The author is professor of math-
ematical biology and senior mathe-
matician at the Mental Health Re-
search Institute at the University.
IMPLICIT in the ideal of democ-
racy is the conviction that de-
cisions arrived at collectively with
full participation of the members
of a society or a community some-
how maximize e v e r y one's
chances of being dealt with fair-
ly. Implicit in this conviction is
a belief that in a democratic so-
ciety or community the use of
force to assure compliance can
be reduced to a minimum. For if
people are dealt with fairly, they
will internalize the standards of
fairness; and so violations of vi-
tal social norms (crime) will oc-
cur only sporadically.
If such violations of social
norms occur not as isolated acts
(crime) but as collective actions,
either of the following conclusions
suggests itself:
(1) The society or community
where such collective violations
occur is not democratic.
(2) The violators reject the ob-
ligations which a democratic so-
ciety or community imposes on its
members.
MANY WILL agree that the
actions of resistance which mark-
ed the early days of the civil
rights movement warrant the first
conclusion. Negroes had been sys-
tematically excluded from all
phases of the political process in
the southern states. Accordingly,
when Negroes refused to leave
lunch counter stools, on order,
+l'.r~lin ot hp a ,,~ 1.rr cpi ofr
justification for the civil rights
sit-ins will not justify similar ac-
tions against the Federal Govern-
ment. Similarly, many will con-
demn the forthcoming sit-in, pro-
testing the University's collabo-
ration in secret war research. Fac-
ulty participation in the sit-in
may appear especially inappro-
priate. It might be conceded that,
should the administration and
the regents ignore resolutions of
faculty bodies passed after due
discussion and deliberation, more
vigorous pressures might then be
justified.
ple. No absolute monarch held
such power. This power accrued
to the president not through a
suppression of formal political
procedures but as a result of his-
torical processes unforeseen by
the designers of our republic. The
war currently waged by the United
States completely belies the demo-
cratic ideal,
In the words of Hans Morgen-
thau, it is Metternich's war waged
by the nation of Jefferson and
Lincoln. Our democratic ideals
have not prevented this war; nor
do our conventional political pro-
oration in secret war research
ought not to be judged only with
reference to the violations of es-
tablished rules. The judgment
ought not to be divorced from the
issue involved and from the larg-
er social context.
The issue is the war now waged
by the United States which makes
a mockery of the democratic ideal.
To be sure, other broader issues
have also manifested themselves
in the recent upheavals. However,
these issues have crystallized as
a consequence of the Vietnam
war, because the war has under-
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The dissenters will not be silenced, and tensions will continue in the
society at large and in universities in particular until the chasm between
the democratic ideal and the present practices is clearly seen.
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the democratic ideal and the
present practices is clearly seen.
The sit-ins are manifestations of
this determination and ought to
be recognized as such.
Finally, acts outside conven-
tional political channels ought
not to be confused with anti-so-
cial uses of power, as long as they
are basically non-violent. Such
acts often elicit violence on the
part of the defenders of the sta-
tus quo, but in doing so only
make overt the covert pressures
which subvert democracy - the
control of communication chan-
nels,' the encouragement of con-
formity by a system of status re-
wards, the elimination of social
content from the machinery of
politics, etc. These are pressures
against which actions through
formal political channels are
powerless, because these pressures
are precisely what has divorced
the democratic ideal from formal
political procedures.
SUCH ACTS outside conven-
tional channels, now called "civil
disobedience," raise the apprehen-
sion that if minorities will not
abide by majority decision rules,
nothing but anarchy will result.
This would indeed be the case if
the dissenters on every issue re-
sorted to obstructionist tactics.
There is, however, little danger
of that. It takes a large amount
of courage (or, perhaps, will
power) to participate in these so-
called acts of civil disobedience.
Ordinarily psychic resources of
this sort are not available except
where the very foundations of
nne's idetity a~.nd dignity of a
N
However, a resort to what ap-
pear to be acts of disruption in
an institution functioning on for-
mally democratic principles will
be condemned by many as a mat-
ter of principle, quite aside from
the merits of the issues involved.
Those who assume that the Uni-
versity is a democracy (at least
for its faculty) will draw the sec-
ond of the conclusions stated
above, namely, that the partici-
pants in the sit-in have rejected
the obligations concomitant to
participating in a democracy.
I SUBMIT that the choice is
not confined to the two conclu-
sions. There is a third, especially
relevant to the issue involved and
cedures seem sufficient to stop it.
People can be easily deprived
of their rights while conventional
procedures seem to remain intact.
For example, complete enfran-
chisement of the Negroes does not
in itself guarantee their civil
rights in states or communities
where they are a numerical mi-
nority.
EVIDENTLY democracy in-
volves more than formal demo-
cratic procedures, in the same way
as legitimacy involves more than
formal legal procedures. The re-
turn of fugitive slaves to their
owners in the 1850's may have
been required by law; but in vio-
lating the law the Abolitionists
mined the legitimacy of the pow-
er which is waging it.
The broader social context in-
volves not merely the question of
what shall be the research policy
of the University, but whether it
is appropriate for any University
(an institution dedicated to en-
lightenment) to collaborate in the
waging of war, especially if the
collaboration requires the dis-
avowal of one of the cardinal
p r i n c i p 1 e s of enlightenment,
namely free and open dissemina-
tion of knowledge.
THE ISSUES of war and of the
adaptation of an institution of
enlightenment to the needs of
war-making are not ordinary
L
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