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lyr idyigan Daily
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-
Notes on a southern journey: Part I
I"b' ii s ibs I aci.
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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.
TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 1970
NIGHT EDITOR: STEVE KOPPMAN
Residential College report:'
It' he irit t
t e spirit that counts
A DISPUTE of uncertain proportions is eral sacred cows of the literary college,
going on in the Residential College. It not the least of which is the language
stems from an RC report calling for lib- requirement. The report theorizes t h a t
eralization of core (distribution) require- the language requirement offers a meth-
ments to allow students greater freedom od of communicating by symbols a n d
to pursue their own aims and interests. with that in mind offers alternative ways
The report recommends that require- of communicating such as mathematics,
ments be made more general, that more art forms or linguistics. While some of
options be provided for existing require- the options may properly be questioned,
ments and that the required courses be the basic idea is well worth pursuing in
completed over four years at the stu- some form.
dent's discretion, instead of two as at The report also suggests that distribu-
present. tion requirements be reduced, using the
On one side are those who say that the rationale that after initial contact in a
present set up, which requires RC stu- number of areas, a student will choose to
dents to take certain courses with the pursue further those areas which most
rest of their class, does not allow many interest him and therefore will gain more
students the flexibility t h e y desire in for it, while he avoids "putting in his
charting their own educational course. time" in courses which leave him cold.
The supporters of the report say that be- The critics say this negates the concept
cause freshmen and sophomores t a k e of a liberal education, which, by their
certain classes with other freshmen and definition, means contact of some sort
sophomores, a sense of class and not of with as many different areas as possible.
college develops. That idea dates back to the Renais-
The detractors also claim that under sance and supporters of the report ques-
such a system there would be effectively tion whether the concept is valid for the
no requirements at all. Their criticisms 1970's. The Renaissance man, who studied
range from concern with specific provi- all knowledge, is a thing of the past. In
'sions to wholesale rejection of the report, our specialized world, the "liberated
in favor of the present system. Given the man" which liberal arts study seeks to
opportunity to do a minimal amount of create, must take on a new definition.
work, they claim many students will not And this is just as true for the entire
choose to do any more. University as for the RC.
What those critics forget however, is
the very nature of the Residential Col- IF THE REPORT, essentially in its orig-
lege, its mission and its students. When inal form, comes before the LSA cur-
the RC was established three years ago it riculum and executive committees for fi-
was an experiment, attempting to com- nal approval, it is likely that some dif-
bine the best of small college life and ficult questions will be posed and, hope-
study with a big college environment. It fully, answered. But if the critics man-
is still an experiment and the report is' age to pull enough of its teeth, the spirit
an attempt to evaluate the endeavor and of the report will be lost and the ques-.
suggest how the RC might better meet tions will be left to another day.
its goals. What is the aim of a liberal arts course
Certainly the detractors do not disagree of study? Do the present requirements
with the validity of this idea. And as it help to pursue that aim, or do they hind-
was pointed out at a general meeting er it? Can we expand our thinking to
last Tuesday on the report there will al-
Wasbe students whojutgtyad change, required courses from hurdles to
wayst be students whojut g t byand-be overcome into part of a total educa-
it must be remembered that require- tional experience?
meits are no guarantee that the student These are the issues that can be raised
will gain the anticipated knowledge or if the Residential College's report is left
insight. essentially intact. Certainly, some parts
' IA UT THE CRITICS are attacking, need changing so that the entire case
then, is the letter and not the spirit may be stronger. But if the detractors
of the report, exactly what the Review lose sight of the larger picture and allow
Committee's chairman Prof. Theodore the report to be revised so that the basic
ewcomb asked the people not to do at questions become unclear, a great oppor-
general meeting. While the dispute is not tunity will have been lost.
grenral meeting. Wile kn the disu e - isAt the RC's general meeting on Tues-
presently serious, it could weaken the re- day, one student made the point, "If LSA
port to. the point of destroying its use- feels that granting a BA under the re-
cofulnes. If the dispute were to widen, it port's requirements is an erosion for their
coul destroy the report's promise for BA, then that's great. We have an educa-
botna the Resident College and the entire tioA, point to make."
literary college. tNnlpitt ae"
Fterry collegThat point needs to be made not only
For here is where the true importance for the RC, but also for the rest of the
of the RC comes out. Not only does it of-l
fer a special opportunity to its immediate literary college. The questions involved
S sef alpbt, unityam ptoits immediaer have not been asked since last spring's
students, but, by example, it can offer battle o v e r the language requirement.
directions to be taken by the University And spring is almost hre again.
community at large.
The RC report seriously questions sev- -ROB BIER
The silence that dooms
(First of two parts)
Z WENT TO Alabama last week. I hitch-
hiked. Hitchhiking is a strange way
to learn about Americans, that's for sure.
You sooni learn that the world of the road
is made up exclusively of truck drivers,
travelling salesman, soldiers returning from
weekend passes, and 60-year-old couples
who whiz by at 70 m.p.h., barely deign-
ing to look at you, let alone pick you up.
You understand, also, just how strongly
the Protestant work ethic pervades t h e
society you live in. Stand with your foot
on your suitcase, looking relaxed w i t h
your thumb sort of dangling out, and you'll
stand there for a long time.
Walk backwards, tripping over the re-
fuse of beer cans and rejected tire caps
alongside the interstate, suitcase in one
hand, coat in the other, choking on diesel
fumes and looking like you're trying hard
to get somewhere . . . that's the way to
get a ride.
* * *
AT 2 A.M. in the morning on the way
south, there was a mild wind blowing
just outside of Lexington, Kentucky, and I
knew that I was making progress. It was
warmer here at night than in Ann Ar-
bor in the daytime.
A big Mack truck screeched to a halt on
the side of the road, and I climbed up
into the cab, on top of the world with
,'a front row view of the Blue Grass Park-
way. We moved off, talking about hitch-
hiking and college and trucking, bouncing
over the road at a tremendous rate. The
driver pushed the cab to the limit, and
it shook and shuddered like we were on the
Burma Road. We passed everyone on the
highway, bearing down on them, swing-
ing out into the passing lane at the last
second and roaring by with a flash of the
lights.
"There any of those drug freaks smok-
ing marijuana up where you go to school?"
the driver yelled over the roar of the
diesel. I told him that a large percentage
of the students indulged to one extent or
another.
"You got to watch out for them, some-
times they're homosexual," he declared.
He expounded for a few moments on the
dangers of pot and what he believed to
be its inevitable consequence, heroin.
I was tired. The drone of the engine
began to put me asleep. I would drowse a
bit, only to be snapped back to con-,
sciousness by a jolt from the road.
He noticed how tired I was. "How long
you been up kid?" he asked. I told him
two days. "Whatcha been taking?" he
asked. I told him I drank a lot of coffee
and walked a lot.
"Guess how long I been up?" he asked,
still full of questions. When I couldn't
guess he told me. 'Three days and 5 hours,"
he said with a note of pride in his voice.
"What have you been taking?" I asked
him. He pulled out a prescription bottle
of what he said were amphetamines, pop-
ped one in his mouth, and said he'd offer
me one if it weren't illegal.
He continued roaring down the inter-
state, ten feet behind a small Corvair,
cursing at the driver for being slow, push-
ing the truck to the limit and glaring out
of eyes propped open by drugs.
* * *
DOWN THROUGH Alabama, early on
a bright, clear morning, I rode with a
Birmingham businessman going to work
in his electronics store. We talked about
the race for the governorship. of Ala-
bama, between the incumbent Albert Brew-
er and good old George Wallace.
Wallace is legend in Alabama, but he
won't have an easy time beating Brewer.
"Brewer is the best damn governor this
state has had in a long time," the busi-
nessman said. "He's brought in industry,
helped the economy. He's a good man."
A lot of Alabamans feel that way about
Brewer, but they still like George. He'll
stand up for Alabama. It'll be a close elec-
tion likely, with some mudslinging before
it's over. Wallace has too much at stake
not to win.
* * *.
TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE, Alabama is
the home of Tuskegee Institute, the still
predominantly black college founded by
Booker T Washington in 1881. It's set
on rolling hills of red clay and green grass
in the middle of nowhere. Of the 3,200
students who go there, only two under-
graduates are white, and one of those is
there on an exchange program for only
one semester.
Black students from all over come to
Tuskegee Institute, but the majority are
from the deep South. They want to get
out. ROTC is very big, and joining the
Pershing Rifles provides a status analog-
ous to joining a fraternity at a midwest-
ern college. ROTC, of course, provides a
subsidized education, technical training,
status, and a passport out of Alabama.
It's a strange feeling to be in the
minority, to have every eye on you as you
walk through the cafeteria or across cam-
pus. Being numerically up against the wall
is not a pleasant experience, no matter
how nicely you're treated, or ignored. It's
a good education just to be there.
The blacks at Tuskegee aren't revolu-
tionary. Some of the more radical write
revolutionary poetry, filled with anti-
semitism, black racism and bitterness. It's
powerful stuff. But poetry doesn't change
things.
They want change. They know that 75
per cent of the housing in the surround-
ing county is sub-standard, made up of
weatherbeaten boards and corrugated tin
roofs. They grew up there.
But they don't want to confront mis-
ery, they want to escape it. Confrontation
for blacks in the South is not a safe
course of action, even yet. And revolution
is a luxury for the rich white kids from
Yale and Brandeis who join the VISTA
program.
* * *
AUBURN UNIVERSITY, a state-owned
institution 20 miles east of Tuskegee, is
equally in the middle of nowhere and also
quiet, set on a pleasant campus. But the
similarity ends there.
Auburn is well financed (Tuskegee is
in debt, and just recently finished an
architecturally-marvelous ecumenical cha-
pel that is pushing even farther into the
red) and at Auburn, the buildings are new
and the student13ody is white and gen-
teel.
There are 14,250 students at Auburn, and
only 148 are black. Exactly 148. Tle ad-
ministration knows everyone of them, and
records the fact they are black.
The atmosphere is sterile. A u b u r n
belles go to class dressed to the teeth. Stu-
dents sit in the library and lounges staring
silently at books on beautiful Sunday af-
ternoons. No one goes out to play. They
sit and read, inside. Quietly. Granted the
UGLI is a zoo, but at least you know the
people there are alive. At Auburn, you
want to stick your finger down y o u r
throat and puke on the library floor to
see if that would make anyone twitch.
ROTC is big at Auburn also. So are rebel
flays on the antennas of the student's
cars. The school teams are nicknamed
the "War Eagles."
To be continued
0
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Radical College gsupports RAM demands
To the Editor:
THE UNIVERSITY, like the
nation, is in a state of racial crisis.
At the last month's Regents meet-
ing the black students presented
eleven carefully worked out and
reasonable demands for minority
recruitment and generalteduca-
tional reform. Since that time the
administration has either ignored
or given an inadequate response
to these demands.
We see support of this program
to be the highest priority for the
University. As faculty members we
recognize the positive contribution
this program would make to the
education of all students.
The rapidity with which some
of these demands can be imple-
mented clearly hinges on the
availability of funds from an over-
committted budget. However, given
the urgency and merit of these
demands the faculty must direct
the administration to restructure ~
the budget to make the necessary
funds available within the time
scale called for by BAM. In par-
ticular it is imperative that tuition
waivers be granted according to
the BAM demands and that sup-
porting services be provided.
So far the faculty and its rep-
resentative boards have been si-
lent on these matters. There is still
time, however, for the faculty to
take constructive action.
1. Come to the Regents Open
Forum, Wednesday afternoon, 4-
5:30. Anderson Room, Michigan
Union.
IE SAME FACULTY that responded
almost instantaneously to student
demands for parity in University decision-
making, that quickly gave a vote of con-
fidence to President Robben Fleming for
his handling of the General Electric re-
cruiter protest and that acted to change
the nature of the ROTC, has been almost
completely silent on the pressing demands
for increased minority admissions.
Even the Radical College, reputed to
include the more radical faculty mem-
bers, vaited nearly a month before is-
suing a statement in support of the Black
Action Movement demands.
It seems that Daniel Moynihan's phil-
MARTIN A. HIRSCHMAN, Editor
STUART GANNVS JUDY SARASOHN
Editorial Director Managing Editor
JIM NEUBACHER ........~.......... ... . News Editor
N'ADINE COHODAS .................... Feature Editor
ALEXA CANADY.............Editorial Page Editor
BRUOE LEVINE ............... Editorial Page Editor
1-1 A. PERRY ................. ... ... ...Arts Director
LAURIE HARRIS ..... .. .......Arts Page Editor
JUDY KAHN ..... :.............Personnel Director
DAN ZWERDLING ..................Magazine Editor
TAN G WRGT
osophy of "benign neglect" was popular
with the University faculty even before
it was made public. Unfortunately, his
dubious views on the "extraordinary pro-
gress" made by the blacks in the United
States certainly cannot be applied to
black progress at the University.
r /HE SILENCE of the faculty can only
be interpreted as a rejection'of increas-
ed minority admissions. The failureaof
this large segment of the University com-
munity to' even discuss these demands,
casts unwarranted aspersions on the de-
mand's legitimacy.
It must be recognized that a faculty en-
dorsement of the specific demands, or
at least,the concept behind them, would
significantly increase their chance of ac-
ceptance by Pres. Fleming and the Re-
gents.
Even a faculty rejection of the demands
and the debate it would spark would be
more desirable than utter silence. One
cannot help but suspect that the faculty
wants to reject the demands but fears
that their rationale vxill not withstand
I ~- 4,1... - ,3 .I- - .14. _ . .- . L,, _ ._- __ , -
Is SGC reaching
its potential?
By CARLA RAPOPORT
AFTER LISTENING in on a few Student Government Council meet-
ings one gets to feeling that the blueberry frosted doughnuts are
the reason members show up.
For indeed, the pastries are about the only subject throughout the
meeting which every member attacks with serious relish.
For example, last Tuesday, seven members sat around with their
sticky doughnuts for over an hour waiting for another of their kind
to show up to make a quorum. But for the second time this semester,
a quorum was not achieved and the meeting was cancelled.
However, for the observer, meetings with quorums offer more de-
lights than doughnuts. Members freely call each other names ("Noth-
ing personal Farrell but you're a fascist."), amuse each other with
jokes during dull moments ("Did you hear Barbara Newell is liber-
ated?"), and generally ignore their president until Marty has to shout,
"Hey people, wake up. We're voting."
HOWEVER, the frivilous tone of the meeting does not necessarily
indicate a lack of dedication or commitment by SGC members.
While some members are in fact apathetic to Council - Al War-
rington has attended three meetings this semester and Joan Shemel
has missed the last three - the members who regularly attend meet-
ings and provide the jovial atmosphere are expressing a frustration
with what they know is the limited power of the council.
Basically, SGC can only express approval, disapproval, pass strong-
ly-worded paper motions, and give out money.
No wonder the secretary buys blueberry frosted doughnuts.
And so members make fun of their powerfully powerless situa-
tions as duly elected members of SGC.
WHILE THE COUNCIL itself may be ineffective members of this
years Council have used their positions to the best advantage. Realiz-
ing that Council has limited power, they have used their titles to bring
attention to various political issues.
McLaughlin and Van Der Hout have consistently brought issues
to the forefront of campus awareness by participating in various dem-
onstrations throughout the year.
Other SGC members use their positions to infuse their politics
into Council. They would like to see SGC as the powerful entity it was
during the few days of the bookstore issue. They try to make sure
Council reacts to political issues on campus and across the country.
TOO OFTEN, this recognition they seek comes in the form of a
paper motion. If Council passes a resolution calling for a stop to re-
cruitment, it should follow up that resolution closely by using all its
lobbying power with the Regents and Pres. Fleming to in fact get re-
cruiting off campus.
SGC should no longer restrict itself to expressing approval or dis-
approval with well phrased motions.
Many vitally important issues face the new Council to be elected
ne -waar iT1nw-rne 1thnnminisa- ' in.'avn4l anaAA fnr h1 a arnnnla ad
2. Send a telegram supporting
the black students' demands to
the Board of Regents, Administra-
tion Building, University of Mich-
igan.
3. Call your colleagues to do the
same.
Radical College
March 15
Oligarchy?
To the Editor:
THIS WEDNESDAY the Soci-
ology Student Union (SSU) will
confront the faculty at its month-
ly departmental meeting with a
demand that it and all such fu-
ture meetings be opened to the
public. The demand for open
meetings has been consistently re-
peated during the SSU's year-long
fight for parity in the decision-
making processes of the Sociology
Department; it has been just as
consistently rejected,
Several arguments have been
offered by faculty members for
this rejection. One is the need for
a coherent, dependable "working
group" which will last over time.
They have decided that students
are unable to fulfill their stand-
ards of "dedication." The fact that
students have continued to work
for their goals through the SSU
for over a year while the faculty
still has to strongly encourage
many of its own members to at-
tend meetings does not seem to
substantiate this claim.
Other red herrings have been
that the meetings will be too
large, that faculty members will
not be allowed this chance for a
"social gathering" or that the
presence of students will intimi-
date the faculty. The first two
charges are simply irrelevant.
That there would be an over-
whelming logistics problem is not
true; also, the faculty's social life
does not require consideration in
structuring decision-making pro-
cess in the department. The third
charge is quite likely accurate.
People who are used to making de-
cisions behind closed doors-deci-
sions which are oligarchical in na-
ture and never subject to review,
decisions which cannot be ef-
fectively defended in public be-
cause they are not based upon the
desires and needs of all the people
they affect but only the desires of
those making the decisions-such
people certainly can be intimi-
datedabyupublic exposure . .. and
it is about TIME they were.
PAST ACTIONS of the Soci-
ology Department faculty-dis-
couraging professors from giving
directed reading courses, use of
major/non-major quotas to main-
tain class sizes (already far too
large)crather than increasing the
number of classes, and its repeated
rejection of student demands-
demonstrates their conception of
undergraduate education as a
nuisance, to be considered only
during those odd moments that re-
search and publication do not oc-
cupy their time.
-On those rare occasions when
the faculty does consider the un-
dergraduates it is only in a very
Aos
"Everybody lower your voices! . f
Nobody knows we're here!"'
4
cause they are incapable of work-
ing with students if the faculty
possesses no more authority than
that which comes from students'
respect for faculty knowledge.
The arguments by the faculty in
support of their rejection of stu-
dent demands are all based on one
simple, reality: The faculty's in-
tention to protect its interests
when they come in conflict with
the interests of the rest of the
department, i.e., the students. The
question is, will students be al-
lowed to represent their interests
on an equal level with the faculty
or will oligarchy survive? The So-
ciology Students Union invites all
interested parties to join it, 12:00
Wednesday in the Union lounge,
to confront the faculty with that
very question. .
-Bob Jackson '71
Sociology Students Union
March 16
Project GMS
To the Editor:
The following is a portion of a
letter sent to Pres. Fleming:
AS THE FINAL events ap-
proach, it seems clear that the
ENACT Teach-In on the Environ-
ment has been a great success in
meeting t h e immediate goals.
Thousands and (through the me-
dia) perhaps millions have been
exposed to its message of theben-
vironmental violence which now
so clearly places our survival in
jeopardy.
We owe a large measure of this
success to the cooperation a n d
active participation of the Uni-
versity 'Administration. The com-
mitment of funds and facilities,
your advice and availability, and,
most importantly, your own con-
cern for the total quality of life
in America have been extremely
helpful and encouraging to us.
sources to the abolishment of vio-
lence, whether it be to our en-
vironment, to those whom society
has treated unjustly or inhu-
manely, or to other cultures
around the w o r 1 d. Indeed, we
must begin to experiment with
whole new forms of life and struc-
ture for society which will bring
us into harmony with our society
which will bring us into harmony
with our planet, its fragile life-
support system, and our fellow
men. What better place to begin
this reformation than in the Uni-
versity. We trust that the Uni-
versity of Michigan's commitment
to the Teach-In was only the first
step in a continuing total com-
mitment to this kind of action.
ONE CONSTRUCTIVE and im-
mediate form of action is the use
of the University's stock power to
influence the environmental pol-
icies of the corporations in which
the University owns stock. One
such corporation is General Mo-
tors, a giant corporate neighbor
of the University, that annually
pours over forty-five, million tons
of contaminant into the air.
Given the critical importance of
these issues we would ask you to
support the efforts of Campaign
GM to bring these proposals be-
fore the shareholders, and to se-
cure the adoption of these pro-
posals at the May 22nd. annual
shareholders meeting. As a step in
this direction, we ask that you do
the following:
First, send a letter on behalf of
the University to General Motors,
condemning its arrogant refisal
to submit these proposals to the
shareholders and urging the cor-
poration to reconsider its position.
Second, that the University pub-
licly commit itself fully to voting
its shares in favor of these end
similar resolutions to make Gen-
eral Motor's 'corporate policies
A
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