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 The Day They Bombed The Bronx I f ___. ' _. I°T ' i 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. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1967 NIGHT EDITOR: MARK LEVIN The Regents Meetings: Let the Students Be Heard ONE OF THE hardest things about be- ing a Regent at the University is that it's difficult to find out what the students have to say. The only regular communi- cation chahnel the Regents have is through the administration. Basically they must rely on two days of meetings a month with the administra- tion plus mail and phone briefings to find out what is happening on campus. There are obvious limitations in trying to understand the student body in this way. The President of the University has virtually no contact with student leaders or students in general. He hasn't granted an interview with this newspaper in over -a year and a half. The Vice-President for Student Affairs also seldom sees students and considers top student leaders to be partners in a leftist conspiracy to overthrow the school. The Vice-President for University Re- lations regularly disparages the student newspaper and discredits national news reports on campus activities as the pro- luct of irresponsible student stringers (as opposed to responsible publicists). Indeed, the last time the administration ;excluding President Hatcher, who was gut of town) made an effort to talk to large numbers of students was when there was a sit-in over classified research in the lobby of the administration build- ing. When the Regents come to Ann Arbor for their monthly meetings they have little formal contact with students. Take this month's meeting for example. The Regents arrive today and begin with a closed .meeting at lunch continuing into the afternoon. Friday morning they will have another closed session starting at 9 a.m. and continuing through the noon hour. Then at 2 p.m. there will be an hour long public meeting. But at no point is there any formal apparatus for letting the students communicate with the Re- gents. ALL THIS points up the obvious neces- sity of setting up some sort of regular communication channel between the Re- gents and the students. Both Student Government Council and The Daily have long backed the idea of setting up a con- stituents time during Regents meetings where students could address the board. The Regents have wisely agreed to examine the matter. Properly admin- istered, this idea could turn into a valu- able way for the Regents to learn what the student body is thinking. The Regents have no reason to fear that, students would abuse this privilege. There is no reason to expect such a ven- ture to become a raucous exercise. In- deed, the students might have some lively ideas that could help the Regents in their job. Three Regents-Mrs. Gertrude Hueb- ner, Frederick Matthaei, and Otis Smith -have all indicated interest in this idea. Hopefully the other Regents share their enthusiasm. THIS EXPERIMENT could lead to a number of other improvements in stu- dent-Regent communications. One idea would be to open up the morning Regents meetings to the public. Another would be to schedule press conferences after the meeting. And there is no reason why the Regents might not profit from on and off the record briefings to the press. The Regents will find such an approach giving them a chance to find out more about what students are thinking, while also enabling their own views to receive a wider airing. -ROGER RAPOPORT Editor By MICHAEL FRAYN The following article is reprinted from the London Observer, Nov. 5, 1967. N O R T H VIETNAMESE jets operating from carriers off New Jersey attacked Washington and New York again yesterday for the tenth day running. In the closest approach yet to the centre of either city they de- stroyed Brooklyn Bridge, and attacked strategic targets in Queens, the Bronx, and Hoboken. The Americans claim four air- craft shot down. There have been world-wide protests over this latest extension of the bombing, and it is thought that the gravest misgivings have been expressed in private by even Hanoi's most loyal supporters. But the American Government is known to take the view that the raids must be allowed to continue. Nothing has shaken its utter determination to protect the right of small nations to pursue their own course and determine their own destiny. The cardinal aim of American foreign policy, - it is pointed out, has always been to enable the less fortunate peoples of the world to enjoy those free-, doms which Americans themselves have won so hard and prize so highly - and it can scarcely be denied that the freedom to bomb other countries into submission,'is one of these. AMERICAN DEFENCE chiefs have felt for some time that es- calation was probably inevitable. They point out that with most of the other targets within range, from Boston to Miami, destroyed already, North Vietnamese pilots were being asked to take, ever- increasing risks for ever-dimin- ishing returns. This was clearly a situation which no reasonable American could expect the North Vietnamese to accept indefinitely. Variousallegations have been made in America by the peace lobby that the North Vietnamese have been deliberately attacking hospitals and other civilian tar- gets. These allegations are dis- counted by United States Air Force chiefs, who see them as a propaganda trick intended mere- ly to discredit the Communist bombing programme, and by im- plication the American bombing programme too. From a careful analysis of bombing patterns, they are cer- tain that the North Vietnamese are aiming purely at strategic tar- gets such as bridges, railway sta- tions, war plants, road junctions. etc. They are confident that the objects of the bombing are purely to reduce the flow of men and materials to South Vietnam, and to persuade America to come to the negotiating table - both, as they point out, entirely legitimate and humane war aims. THE BELIEF that the North Vietnamese are directing their attack against civilian targets may have arisen, they suggest, through a simple confusion of results with intentions. Where strategic tar- gets are in the centre of popu- lated areas-as Brooklyn Bridge was, to take an obvious example -there must inevitably be some attendant risk to the civilian population. They feel that Americans must be realistic about it - they can scarcely expect the Communists not to attack these targets simply because civilians might get hurt! The whole bombing programme would become impossible if con- siderations like this were taken into account. .In fact many observers in Washington are impressed by the scrupulous care which the North Vietnamese are taking to limit the conflict._ Theyhave not bombed north of the-49th Parallel, in spite of what must be very strong pres- for-the freedom of discussion. It it just this freedom-the freedom to put our arguments to the ordi- nary people of North Vietnam- that the Communists are fright- ened to admit, and which they deny by every means in their power, up to and including ground-to-air missiles. "AS HANOI has told us time and time again, the heart of the matter really is this. North Viet- nam is ready to stop all aerial and naval bombardment of America when they are sure this will lead to productive discussions. The North Vietnamese have done everything humanly possible to stop the raids, except stopping them, which in the circumstances we could scarcely expect them to do., "It's purely our own difficulties which stand in the way of nego- tiations. The Communists natu- rally don't want to stop bombing long enough to allow us a genuine breathing-space-and we natural- ly don't want to negotiate while we are being bombed, in case it looks as though we are negotiat- ing from weakness! It's just our own stubbornness and pride which are holding things up. "As we have always insisted, in these affairs the victim must bear not only his suffeting but also full responsibility for allow- ing it to be inflicted on himself." BUT THE AMERICAN Govern- ment has highrhopes that on humanitarian grounds the Com- munists will order a brief pause in the bombing over Thanksgiv- ing. The general feeling in America is that the whole business goes to show once again how terrible it is to be a Great Power;. you're ab- solutely at the mercy of any little nation that comes along. "Inevitably, some risk to. the civilian population" sure from the military, and they have with some precision avoided hitting foreign vessels in the port of New York. PRESIDENT JOHNSON de- fended North Vietnamese bomb- ing policy in a speech at El Paso, Texas, yesterday. No one deplored the suffering that the raids were causing more than he did, he told his audience. But the U.S. had always recognized that sys- tematic aerial bombardment was a right and proper means to get foreign policy across in difficult circumstances. Indeed, it was the United States which had been the first to intro- duce this technique in the South- East Asian confrontation, and to see it adopted by others in the area was an encouraging sign of American moral and intellectual leadership. "Much as we may detest the Communist philosophy," said the President, "we must admit that the Communists have the right to put their case to us-and to put it just as forcefully and persua- sively as we attempt to put our case to them. This, after all, is one of the things we are fighting e Letters: If Anthrax Can't Kill, Humans Can SRC's Progressive Report AS THE Presidential Commission plods along to complete its "definitive" re- port on student decision-making, the fac- ulty and students are moving at a pace which could make the Commission's con- clusions out-dated by publication time. For since the term began, housing units have taken authority for their own con- dluct rules, students have abolished Uni- yersity driving restrictions, and Joint Judiciary Council, the students' supreme court, has agreed to only try students on student-made regulations. This week, the Faculty Assembly ap- proved a frank report by its Student Relations Committee which recognized' student authority in the non-academic arena and gave voting power to the four SRC student representatives. The SRC report, printed in Tuesday's. Daily, is one of the most coherent and fair evaluations of the confusing student power movement. The report cuts through .most of the cliches that student leadera and administrators have been throwing at one another in the maneuvering for power. For instance,- as the report ex- plains, neither students nor administra- tors now hold the trump card on regulat- ing behavior: "The situation at present is one in which the legal authority over non- academic misconduct resides in one place, while the mechanisms with which to exercise authority over nonacademic misconduct reside in another. In such a state of affairs it is difficult and may be legally impossible to discipline stu- dents for misconduct unrelated to aca- demic behavior." The report goes on to draw some reser- vations about unlimited student power, recognizing the authority of the Regents. But despite the expected academic hedg- ing, the policy motion states: "The Stu- dent Relations Committee believes that students at the University have the pri- mary responsibility to develop sets of rules affecting their personal conduct." Furthermore, SRC acted to implement its philosophy with the move to grant votes to the four student members. And although the final SRC report may niot contain everything some anxious cam- pus leaders desire, there are indications that students realize they have found an ally in gaining rights they have so long been denied. -ROBERT KLIVANS Editorial Director To the Editor: I DO NOT know whether research into the "Pathophysiology of Anthrax" might yield information which, if creatively applied by the military, would result in the death of civilian populations, as well as their livestock. Nor do I know, since I am a layman in these areas, what the military utility of much of the exotic research conducted under the "classified" rubric is, or what killing potential it suggests. On these matters I can only specu- late with dread. I, however, and most of us who have lived as adults over the past two decades, do know something about the kinds of attitudes that can kill! The attitudes of a Donald C. Fish, Army Biology Researcher, (as reported in The Daily of Nov. 14), insofar as they reflect the position of a considerable segment of the scientific community, seem to me as deadly an any instrument they could consciously develop., -"I have no knowledge of what my work is being used for." -"Oppenheimer did not drop the bomb on Hiroshima." -"We scientists do not concern ourselves with political decisions. It is up to the politicians to decide whethertor not to use a weapon." THE SHADES OF Adolf Eich- mann and his cohorts must be having a good chuckle over these statements. Wasn't it they who disclaimed any responsibility for the "decisions of their superiors"? Wasn't it they, (and a fair seg- ment of the German people), who disclaimed "any knowledge of what his work was being used for"? It is not only the notion of the secret or classified nature of some scientific research, i.e., that it pre- cludes the free and open exchange of knowledge and information among scholars, that troubles me. Important as this is, it pales into insignificance beside the implica- tions of the attitude expressed by Mr. Fish and those who share his r +; "I PONT MEND C ( T1M, DEN, UT MAST THEY FPIK ON IH FLAG? Einstein's secret military research while a member of the Institute for Advanced- Study? Obviously he, at least, had no hesitation. Though a man of peace, he knew what was happening to the millions of Jews in Germany and probably he had access to intelligence reports on German and Japanese efforts to develop a nuclear bomb. What if he and Oppenheimer and other academics had repudiated'all sec- recy as unworthy of scholarship and had put the' enemy on the right track to develop such a bomb? What if Hitler had had such a weapon and we did not? Can anyone seriously doubt that he would have dropped the bomb on us? By now we would probably have precious little freedom to do any .disinterested research or to decide how the results should be used. PERSONALLY I BELIEVE the manner in which we used the bomb was a tragic and unnecessary mis- take. All I am concerned with here is that we had the winning card, developed by academics in utmost secrecy, and that the enemy did not have it. Obviously we are now engaged in a technological race with the. Russians, and they seem to be 'overtaking us in the development of military science and weapons. No doubt all their academic re- sourcesbare contributing to the military effort and everything is done with utmost secrecy. Should we help the Russians by refusing to contribute our academic knowl- edge and skills to our own govern- ment's defense effort? Should we insist on broadcasting information useful to the enemy? I am sure Einstein would advise against such a course. He had seen the disappearance of freedom in Germany, including free inquiry. It could happen here. -George H. Forsyth Director, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology Rental Policy To the Editor: THE ,FOLLOWING remarks are taken directly from a recent in- formation bulletin issued to the tenants of Apartments Ltd.: ". .we know not whether you plan to renew your lease. The fol- lowing policies have been designed to aid you in the event you wish to renew. . At this 'time all persons re- newing will be required to place forty dollars ($40.00) per person on deposit, with your present de- posit returned next September." THEN THE BULLETIN con- cludes: "We realize this leaves you with just a short time to decide, but with the present demand we have no alternative. Sincerely, APARTMENTS, LTD, INC. KB/dg" I BELIEVE it is unjust to re- quire the commitment to such a lease so far in advance of occu- pancy. This includes the damage deposit which will promptly be re- turned to the student in Septem- ber of 1969 (bearing no interest to the 'lender). Since the risk of not filling suitable apartments in Ann Arbor is infinitesmal, there is an- other alternative. Such an early date need not to be chosen. But it must be obvious to the student that "Sincerely" should be interpreted as 'Sincerely for our own interests and not yours'.' Only by taking advantage of the Stu- dent Mediator Service under the auspices of SGC can the student voice attain a position of influence. If student sincerity is strong enough, future rental policies will change. -Robert P. Morris, '68 4 position; namely that selfconsci- ously "not concerning one's self with," or "not knowing about" the uses to which one's knowledge and skill are being put thereby exempts one from any responsibil- ity for the disasters which follow from their employment. --Jules Schrager Assistant Professor School of Social Work About Einstein To the Editor: I WOULD LIKE to contribute to the current debate on classified research in the University an anec- dote which seems relevant. More than 25 years ago I was a neighbor of Einstein. Those of us in the neighborhood were impressed by his fondness for walking, round and round the block and always. with an attentive companion or two. We had no idea what they talked about. Fortunately the Ger- mans and the Japanese had no idea either. It turned out later that final victory in World War II was being assured right there in our quiet academic town. Einstein was dis- cussing the theoretical possibility of constructing .an atomic bomb, and he was doing it in utmost secrecy-the secrecy of casual sidewalk conversations. Later his conversations were held'in Wash- ington with President Roosevelt.. What are our own reactions to 4 A The Darkest Horse of All FE IFFER FOR THE.SEVENTH time since 1940, Harold Stassen-who seems destined to share the laurels of being a national joke with Wrong Way Corrigan-has an- nounced himself as a candidate for the presidency, much to the mirth of the political pundits. Choruses of Senate minority leader Everett Dirksen's incred- ulous reaction-"Are you kidding?"- may be expected forthwith. Yet Stassen's prima facie chances seem better now than in any year except 1948, when he swept the early state primaries only to be KO'd in Oregon by University alumnus Thomas E. Dewey. Stassen's serious political credentials are hot' unimpressive-three-time governor of Minnesota, member of the 1945 U.S. delegation to the founding conference of the United Nations in San Francisco, Pennsylvania. And Republican moderates are going to be in a real bind for a candidate next year. They expect Romney and Nixon to ruin each other in the primaries. They find Reagan completely unacceptable. Rockefeller is the man they really want, but it is becoming increasingly evident that Rocky is dead serious in his inten- tions not to run. Already many Republi- can governors-Rhodes of Ohio, Volpe of Massachusettes, Evans of.Washington, for starters-are planning to attend the con- vention in the capacity of favorite sons. NEVERTHELESS, Stassen's move raises serious questions for next year's War- ren Harding hopefuls to ponder. For the ubiquitous Philadelphia lawyer has an- nounced himself as "the peace candi- P'OL1110S 15 A 146E._ NP SD I QUIT RE1ADIk) T RPE 001T OFK - POL f CS. 65 ARC 0 PO B , FDLEI t(C USES H(9f0RYX STU OIG HISTf;Y( HISTORY 15ISPPIMPT6PINI '4 .4 IAO ' - L- ( or uir k~IT NOLO-3 1 I