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DNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1970 NIGHT EDITOR: NADINE COF
A look at the vice-presidential candidates
'V
4-0552
HODAS
The Biaf ran bell
tolls for thee
[ONDAY'S SURRENDER of the Biafran
leadership to the Nigerians brings
> a close what was probably the most
isunderstood anid most unnoticed - civil
ar in modern history. The fact that
was a conflict between black man and
lack man seemed to blind the white
orld to the 30-month slaughter of over
vo million men, women, and children,
lus (though insignificant in comparison)
he loss of over a billion dollars.
But these losses were not the only
vils of the war. During the conflict a
'emendous military machine was built
z Nigeria, enlarging the army from a
ere 8,000 troops to over 150,000. It will
robably take many years to loosen the
>ntrol that the military now has on the
overnment-control which did not exist
efore the war.
[HE CENTRAL question which remains,
however, is where were the concerned
eople of the world - and especially the
merican Left - while the war was go-
ig on? The only major activity in this
>untry was the collection of funds to
.ipply food and medical supplies to
;arving Biafran refugees, goods which
'ere often stockpiled outside of t h e
ountry to be distributed when the war
ras over..
However, little attempt was made to
ressure the real promoters of the war,
ae so-called Big Powers, who supplied
eapons and amimunition to both Biafra.
rd Nigeria throughout the course of the
'ar. Publicly, Britain, France 'and t h e
oviet Union all gave weapons ani sup-
lies to one side or the other, while pri-
ately, countless individuals sold weapons
a the two nations. Yet there was no
ublic outcry, not even from the 'United
lations, despite the fact that the war
ras far more costly in human lives than
he Vietnam War and all the recent Mid-
le Eastern "conflicts" put together.
[HE ARGUMENT for non-involvement
was that the war was an internal
affair, a civil war which should be set-
tled by the participants alone. Yet the
fact is that without the outside supply .of
war materials, rio large-scale war could
ever have been fought, and providing
of weapons by world powers indeed made
the matter an international affair.
What the lack of action by the Left
in this country and around the world
really meant was that it was incapable
of dealing with a situation which did not
take the form of a revolutionary war. The
conflict was actually an anachronism, a
war of elites who exploited the lives of
their followers. The Ibo tribesmen were
goaded into action by their leaders with
threats of genocide at the hands of the
Nigerians, while the Nigerians, boosted
with British and Soviet equipment, were
similarly spurred by traditional tribal
hatred of the Ibos. The racist attitudes
which pervaded the whole war perplexed.
the world - and the result was inac-
tion. With no "good guy" to support, the
American people turned their backs on
the whole affair, and concentrated on
issues which were more clear-cut in their
eyes.
THIS TACIT decision will undoubtedly
come back - to haunt this country
largely because the greatest tragedy of
the Biafran War may perhaps turn out
to be its effect on the other emerging
African nations. Before the war Nigeria
- the most populous African country --
was pictured as having the best chance
of becoming the first democratic, in-
dustrialized African state. In this sense,
it was a model for other emerging Afri-
can nations., But the ease with which
the two nations-and especially Nigeria-
obtained military aid from Big Power
countries and the success of Nigeria's big
military machine has now provided a
model which will certainly be the fore-
runner of even bloodier conflicts on the
African continent.
-PHILIP BLOCK
Contributing Editor
Guskin: '
By JIM NEUBACHER
(EDITOR'S NOTE: A f t e r nine
months of work, a student-faculty
search committee has suggested
five candidates for the job of vice
president for student services. The
new administrator will be of im-
portance in determining admin-
istrative policy on matters n a w
handled by the Office of Student.
Affairs. Along with a proposed stt-
dent-faculty policy and advisory
board, the vice president will direct
admissions, housing, financial aids,
and numerous endeavors of critical
interest to students.
President Fleming has begun in-
tervewing the candidates, a n d
plans to start discussing selection
of one of them at the Regents
meeting tomorrow. To introduce
the candidates andstheir views on
the handling of this sensitive post,
Jim Neubacher, Daily night editor
and head of the student beat, in-
terviewed the candidates and
wrote the following report.
ALAN GUSKIN wants the pro-
posed Office of Student Serv-
ices to be a strong one; and he
also wants to be in a position to
exert positive influence for change.
"I feel the vice president should
be bound by policy board decision
on internal OSS matters," like
housing or discipline , cases, he
says. "I'm a firm believer in stu-
dent participation in decision-
making."
The 32-year-old psychology lec-
turer and ISR project director
would like to see OSS directors
have to persuade students on the
policy board, as well as the vice
president, that their administra-
tive ideas deserve implementation.
"The housing director, for ex-
ample will have to go through this
OSS executive policy committee
and be questioned and defend his
ideas," Guskin explains.
But when it comes to contro-
versial, political matters, external
to the OSS, Guskin does not want
to be bound completely by student
policy board decisions. "Occasion-
ally the policy board might make
a decision that would make the
vice president the "broker" to the
administration. And one thing the
pretty exciting stuff right now."
he says of his work at the Insti-
tute for Social Research. The pro-
ject, of which he is one of the
directors, involves radically new
concepts of teaching decision-
making and student-faculty rela-
tions in high schools.
Guskin also says the projiec t i s
a crucial point in the develop-
ment from a political standpoint.
"if I leave the group, it means
giving up a lot. I'm not going to
hurt that group for the vice pres-
idency."
Guskin has also been offered
the post of Dean of Students at
Portland State University.
Despite these reservations, Gus-
kin is attracted by the job. "You
take a job like that for only one
of three reasons. Money, power, or
the chance to make changes, If
you want money, you shouldn't
be in academia in the first place.
The chance to make some changes
and implement goals, and the
power to do that, are why I would
want to be an', administrator.
When my effectiveness ended, I
would get out of the job."
Guskin has some very strong
opinions about certain aspects ot
the office, and says he could not
accept, or continue in the post if:
-he was consistently overruled
on critical value issues:
-the administration turned to
repressive policies toward stu-
dents;
-police were brought onto the
campus;
-increased enrollment of min-
ority group was not implemented.
Guskin clarified his views about
police on campus, saying that
while campus unrest posed a di-
lemma, he could not accept police
presence "unless buildings are
burning, or damage is being done."
Guskin discussed his views with
President Fleming last week, and
while he declined to talk about
the interview for the record, he
called it "intimate," saying he wyas
impressed by Fleming's frankness.
The new VP must
4
go out and fight for student interests'
-Daily-James T. Neubacher
vice president will need in nego-
tiations with Fleming and the ex-
ecutive officers is room for move-
ment."
GUSKIN CONCEIVES of the
new vice president as a strong ad-
vocate of student interests among
which he feels academic issues are
of primary concern. "There are
different student interests for dif-
ferent groups, I realize, but in
general, the vice president must
not merely pass along what the
student opinion is on an issue, but
must go out and fight for their
interests."
He feels that after a short time,
he could function comfortably
with the other vice presidents.
"The other vice presidents are
busy men, and concerned with
their fields. They will come to re-
spect the new vice president, if he
knows the pulse of the students,
and expect him to transmit it to
them, and project the kinds of
things that may happen."
Guskin has had what he calls
a "good experience" with the idea
of a student-faculty policy-mak-
ing body in the Residential Col-
lege. He believes that each of the
other vice presidents should have
a similar advisory or policy board.
But Guskin warns that s t u-
dents shouldn't consider policy
boards as omnipotent in solving
student problems. "The major
problems that affect students on
a day to day basis are educa-
tional ones. They are made by
the schools and colleges, not by
vice presidents."
HE HOPES to expand the OSS
so that concern for the quality
of education received by students
is manifested on a vice-presiden-
tial level. He says that currently,
university administrators con-
cerned with academics are facul-
ty- and, administration-oriented,
but that OSS could become the
advocate of student interests in
the classroom.
"What constitutes adequate
teaching? What are legitimate
structures? Who is protecting the
interests of students in educa-
tior?" are some of the questions
hr would like to see asked by the
r vice president..
't might be very important and
unique for the vice president to
come walking in to a meeting of
some curriculum committee and
support a pass-fail option," he
says.
Guskin is noV sure whether he
will accept the job if it is offered
to him. "I'm involved in some
4
Locke: 'The new VP will interpret the students' views to Fleming'
fUBERT LOCKE visualizes the
vice presidency as straddling
two worlds: day-to-day operation
of the University itself, and the
larger society outside the cam-
pus.
"I want to have one foot in the
office, and the other where the
action is." the 35-year-old direct-
or of religious affairs at Wayne
State University says. "I would
like to get away from the ivory
tower image which has been tra-
ditional."
As vice president, Locke 'would
try to view the University as "an
uran area in microcosm" -
with emphasis on the problems
relating to quality of life-- hous-
ing, transportation, and conflict
resolution.
could be followed in approaching
urban, racial and educational,
problems.
LOCKE POINTS out, however,
that such problems do not fall
within the normal realm of the
office of a vice president for
student services. But he says that
he would like to tackle them in
addition to his regular "admin-
istrative" duties.
He believes that much of the
controversy and conflict between
students: and administrators in
academia stems from a differing
opinion of priorities.
The day-to-day administrative
concerns of efficiently admitting
new students, running a health
service, providing room and board
and administering financial aid
is necessarily of great. importance
to the administrator, he says. If
appointed, he intends to strive to
give full, meaningful considera-
tion to issues such as student de-
cision-making in the academic
community without diverting time
and energy from such administra-
tive tasks.
Locke believes President Flem-
ing's choice for the job "is going
to be someone in whom he has
confidence, someone who will
make a contribution to the on-
going discussion ,and evaluation
regarding the University. It will
be someone who, as a first con-
cern, will be able really to under-
stand and interpret to him stu-
dent viewpoints and opinions.
Fleming isn't just looking for
someone who can keep the lid
on the students," he says.
BUT LOCKE adds that the
success anybody can have as vice
president depends on how well he
can keep the faith of his stu-
dent constituecy. To the extent
anybody over 30 can do it, I think'
the vice president should be an
advocate of student opinion at
the executive level."
While admitting that "I do not
pretend to be able to express com-
pletely student viewpoint and.
opinion," Locke says that he will
"seek to stay plugged' into stu-
dent perspectives and attitudes"
in order to best represent his con-
stituents to the administration.
L.,ocke, was unfamiliar with the
proposed OSS student-faculty pol
icy board. When the proposal was
explained, he agreed that such a
board would be useful in keep-
ing the vice president informed on
student and faculty opinion on
OSS matters.
iA substantive issue would be
the board's composition," .he says.
The method of selection of t h e
board's members would, { he ex-
plains, affect its overall legiti-
macy, and would be elemental in
determining its relationship with
the vice president, and his rela-
tionship with the administration.
See LOCKE, Page 6
inberger: The new VP must be
He is concerned with1
tion of universities in.
society, and with the1
the direc-
American
future of
rV rV i
an administrative employe of SOC'
)ETER STEINBERGER, a 27-year-old
graduate of the University Law School,
as drawn up a one-page document en-
tIed "Ideas on the Job," which reveals
im as an original thinker and outspoken
:lvocate of student power.1
"The vice president should argue, pre-
nt his views; bdt ultimately ,obey the
structions the-students give him," Stein-
erger writes. "When he can't stand it, he
iould quit. The students should be able
fire him and replace hiik."
And since the vice president must be
m administrative employe of the stu-;
ent government," Steinberger believes
at he should sign a "Magna Carta"
FOR EXAMPLE, Steinberger insists
that any policy board, to be legitimate,
must be elected, and must be University-
wide. He sees SGC as the place to put
the power. ..
"You can't just have someone appoint
students, that's not legitimate. It would
be like appointing a black as secretary
of housing and urban development, and
calling it black power."
Steinberger, who now works for the
county legal aid clinic, sees the most im-
portant function of the job as "finding
out what the other executive officers are
doing and communicating to them what
students are thinking."
The most important area of student
concern, Steinberger says, is the class-
room,,the education process. But "I don't
think that's for OSS, he says. "That
should be done by students or professors.
0SS is not filled with students or pro-
fessors."
STEINBERGER has an almost endless
list of things that might be the focus
of concern for the new vice president,
including reform of the counseling serv-
ices, experiments in dorm living (such
as a homosexual 'house, or a house with
residents of similar political views) and
care and feeding of the institutions like the
Student Credit Union or the SGC store.
The encouragement of independent stu-
dent institutions like these, he says could
change the nature of the University. "A
politically aware student body with its own
financial and other institutions and the
resources of the OSS could, if it chose,
force a change of the University's rela-
tionships with outside society."
Steinberger does not 'believe he is
"really" a candidate, however, because
of the disparity between his position and
what he believed to be the position of
President Fleming.
And his assessment is probably q u i t e
accurate. He is the only candidate not to
have been interviewed by Fleming.
"I called and told his secretary that
I was going to bring a reporter with me,"
he says, underlining his policy of "discus-
sing public business in public." However,
Fleming's secretary called back to say
that society itself. "I feel Amer-
ican society is in deep trouble,"
he says. "The point ought to be:
how can a university make a
contribution to solving some of
our problems?
"The environmental issue is a
good example of one where- stu-
dents are leading the way," he ex-
plains. As a result of the move-
ment for environmental reform on
the student level, he says, the ex-
pertise of engineers and scientists
is being brought to bear to solve
the problem. He adds that r he
hopes the same type of pattern
A
-Daily-James T. Neubaener
Shervington: 'The new VP 'will probably be viewed as an alien'
WHEN WALTER Shervington
was first urged to appear
before the Vice Presidential
Search Committee, he said no.
"I was at a gathering, and a
member of the committee and I
were talking, and the topic came
up. He asked me to come before
the committee for an. interview,
but I refused."
However, Shervington went
home, and thought about the dis-
cussion he had 'had with the com-
mittee member -for three weeks.
Finally, he called the committee
member, and after a long talk
about the job and its requirements,
he decided to become a candidate.
Shervington, a 32 year old psy-
chiatry instructor has been close-
ly associated with student affairs
in the medical school. He ad-
mits that he is currently "out of
touch" with undergraduates and
realizes he must familiarize him-
self with affairs on the c e n t ra 1
campus."
A second task Shervington sees
before him if he gets the post will
be making his weight felt inside
the administration.
"One of the things that
is going to take s t r e n g t h
on the part of the new vice pre-
sident will be establishing his
position among the other execu-
tive officers," he says.
Shervington does not think this
will be an easy task. "The new
vice president will probably be
"The issue is, how much the
vice president is going to be con-
trolled by a policy board," he
says. "I have contended from the
start that ifuyou feel thevice
president should be controlled by
the board, that would make it a
pretty routine job. But if the
board directs everything he does,
he might come to be viewed as a
second class citizens in the ranks
of the other executive officers.
"Some people see the job that
way, as a glorified clerk, or an
executive director. I just don't
think that's the best way."
SHERVINGTON, WOULD like
to see the new vice president es-
tablish himself as a advocate of
student interests, but remain flex-
ible enough to have credibility with
the administration. "I would al-
ways conceive of the job as being
a representative of the students.
"The vice president cannot see
himself as a messenger boy. He
will have to be a peer of the other
vice presidents."
Interviewed by President Flem-
ing last weekend, he believes that
the president is not looking for
a messenger boy. "I think that he
wants very much to find someone
who will be a representative of
student thought. I think he is
very sincere in this."
Shervington, like the other can-
didates, was impressed by Flem-
ing's candor and openness during
the interview. "I guess it's very
He also mentions improving the
quality of life in dormitories as a
prime goal.
On issues like these, and other
day-to-day issues facing the Uni-
versity, Shervington feels a stu-
dent policy board can be of the
most help. "On the political, con-
frontation issues, you find out fast
what students are. thinking, you
talk to the students involved in
the situation. It's on the more
routine day-to-day kind of things
that the student input can be
most important."
Shervington says he has still not
decided if he will accept the job
if is chosen. "I haven't resolved
this yet," he says. "I would have
to talk to the president for some
time. I will have to determine if
the job can offer a chance to per-
form a service to the University
and the community, and weigh
whether or not I want to leave the
teaching and community work I
am doing now for an administra- '
tive job."
If chosen, in order to maintain
familiarity with his highly spe-
cialized professional field, Sherv-
ington says he would like to con-
tinue some clinical work, com-
mirnity, work, and professional
psychiatric practice on a part-
time basis during his tenure as
vice president. This is not unusual
for U n i v e r s i t y administrators.
Fleming himself, and Vice Presi-
dent for State Relationship Arthur
Ross, for example, have continued
lecturing in their academic fields
while holding office.
And Shervington would insist
that his tenure be finite-three to
five years is a limit he would like
to see imposed, "You need about
three to get into it, and to see
through to the finish some things
you undertake."
-Daly-Jim Judkls
agreeing to follow the dictates of the
tudent government and conduct all busi-
S