---- balancing teacups
I
dI$an Da4lJ
Seventy-nine years of editorial freedom
Edited dnd managed by students of the University of Michigan
The DAR: The genes of 'Old Glory'?
I
_. .,
Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.
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.
URDAY, MARCH 21, 1970
NIGHT EDITOR:
DAVE CHUDWIN
On strike against racism
THE REGENTS action Thursday setting
an enrollment goal of 10 per cent by
1973-74 was a major step toward rectify-
ing the University's lack of commitment
in this area--but it did not go far enough.
For one thing, :he Regents resolution
does not constitute a firm commitment.
Rather, it is a promise which the Regents
admit they may have to break.
" For blacks and their supporters, who
have been listening to idle' promises for
years, a simple "goal" of 10 per cent
should not have much meaning. And this
feeling of bad faith is only increased by
the refusal of the Regents or adminis-
trators to say that the enrollment goal
will, ir fact, be obtained.
HE ADMINISTRATION gives essen-
tially two reasons for its reluctance to
make a firm commitment-that adequate
funds may not be available and that it
may not be possible to find enough qual-
itled black high school graduates. Both
of these justifications rest on assump-
tions that are subtly racist.
With a total budget of well over $200
million a year, the University undoubted-
ly has enough money to fund a compre-
hensive program of vastly increased black
enrollment and supportive services. The
question is one of how the University will
spend its money.
He's not worth it
UNABLE TO URGE the confirmation of
Harrold Carswell's nomination to the
Supreme Court on merit, President Nixon
has stooped to threats.
At a gathering of congressional leaders
and White House staff early this month,
Nixon ominously warned "If they (the
Senate) beat Carswell, I'll pick a man
from Mississippi next."
Such a threat cannot be taken lightly'
in view of the fact that Carswell was
nominated in the wake of the defeat of
Clement 'Haynsworth. But in making a
threat of this nature, not only has Nixon
demonstrated his high disregard for the
quality of the Supreme 'Court, but he has
also indicated disrespect' for the ideal of
strict construction of the Constitution.
Nixon has said he nominated Carswell
because of his record of "strict construc-
tionism." Yet, instead of allowing t h e
process of advise and consent to work
properly, Nixon makes threats.
UNFORTUNATELY it looks like sena-
torial fatigue will bring about the con-
firmation of Carswell.
It is crucial that this not be allowed to
happen. T h e Supreme Court positions
should be awarded on merit, and if Nixon
insists on nominating incompetent can-
didates, they should be rejected u n t i 1
Nixon nominates a qualified candidate.
If Nixon insists upon a strict construc-
tionist that is his privilege, but certainly
there a r e strict . constructionists better
qualified than Haynsworth or Carswell.
--A.C.
MARTIN A. HIRSOHMAN, Editor
STUART GANNES JUDY SARASOHN
Editorial Director Managing Editor
JIM NEUBACHER ........News Edtor
NADINE COHODAS ........... ...... Feature Editor
ALEXA CANADY ..,...........Editorial Page Editor
BRUCE LEVINE ..............Editorial Page Editor
R. A. PERRY ..........................Arts Director
LAURIE HARRIS ................. Arts Page Eitor
JUDY;KAHN ....................Personnel Director
DAN ZWERDLING ..................Magazine Editor
JAY CASSIDY.. ................... Photo Editor
And unfortunately, the administration's
spending priorities are much like those of
the federal government. The University
continues to pour hundreds of thousands
of dollars into the war research complex
at Willow Run, job recruiting facilities
for corporations, lavish construction pro-
jects like the Administration Bldg., and
frivolities like the Athletics Department.
Black admissions gets what is left over.
THIS SITUATION cannot be allowed to
continue. A fundamental re-ordering
of University spending priorities must be
undertaken to find the financial support
which can make a meaningful black ad-
missions program work.
The second argument of the adminis-
tration-that it may be impossible to find
enough qualified black students-under-
lines the racist assumptions now govern-
ing the administration of the University.
On the whole, black students are less
well prepared to succeed at the University
because U.S. society has denied them the
educational opportunities available to
middle class whites. Presumably, the
thrust of a comprehensive black admis-
sions program will be to counter the ef-
fects of deficient elementary and sec-
ondary education.
AND, IF SUCH a program were to fail in
its ability to insure academic success
for black students, it would only con-
stitute a firm condemnation of the ria-
ture of University education itself.
Because of the bureacratic and autho-
ritarian nature of the institution, Uni-
versity education is all too often a stifl-
ing, boring and repressive experience. It
frequently requires personal self-disci-
pline and restraint all out of proportion
to the importance of what is being taught.
A number of proposals have recently
been offered to ease this situation. For
example, under one proposal instituted in
elementary economics classes, students
whose work is below the passing level
would be given incompletes with the op-.
portunity to take a special study course
and another final examination. Proposals
for mandatory pass - fail grading could
also help alleviate the repressiveness of
the present educational setup.
Such changes could prove critical, if it
should be determined that the absurd
level of self-discipline required of many
students has its roots in the white middle
class high school and the white middle
class family structure.
THE LACK OF commitment by the ad-
ministration to the reasonable pro-
gram demanded by the B 1 a c k Action
Movement is only the logical outcome of
the personal allegiances of the adminis-
trators and Regents to the racist struc-
tures and attitudes at the bedrock of the
tiniversity.
Only by placing the very continuance
of the University in jeopardy can the
black students and their supporters hope
to break through these allegiances. For
the administration will concede-to chang-
ing the institution only when the Univer-
sity will not continue to exist without
those reforms.
The class strike called by the Black
Action Movement is just the kind of
action that is necessary. It deserves the
active support of all members of the Uni-
versity community.
-MARTIN HIRSCHMAN
Editor
HE AMERICAN REVOLUTION ranks
as one of the more significant to peo-
ple living in the United States, and
through the monumental event occurred
194 years ago, some citizens remember it
as though it were yesterday.
In fact, one organization, the Daughters
of the American Revolution - usually
called the DAR - bases its existence on
reminiscing about great-great-great grand-
fathers and such who rowed the b o a t
Washington stood up in as he crossed the
Delaware, or who saddled and bridled Paul
Revere's horse before he galloped through
the Massachussetts countryside,
The DAR struck close to Ann Arbor re-
cently when Mrs. Erwin F. Seimes, the
current "president-general" of theDAR,
came to Detroit to address the group's
state convention. Her visit sparks fond
memories of some gems in DAR history
which 'no doubt would make Washington,
Jefferson, Franklin and most other 1776
participants squirm, if not turn completely
over in their graves.
FOUNDED IN 1890, t h e organization
limits its membership "to direct lineal de-
scendants of soldiers or others of the Rev-
olution period who aided the cause of in-
dependence." Applicants must be "person-
ally acceptable" to the society and at
least 18 years old.
The DAR, as well, is designed "to per-
petuate the memory of the spirit of the
men and women who achieved American
independence, promote institutions of
American freedom . . . and aid in secur-
ing for mankind all the blessings of lib-
erty."
To accomplish these lofty goals, the
group works from a three-fold program
which includes a history division to con-
centrate on the study of U.S. history,nthe
preservation of Americana" and marking
historic sites.
+ The second unit is the educational di-
vision - origin of the famed DAR awards,
presumably coveted by every red-blooded
American female who is a senior in high
school. This division also includes funds to
support schools for underprivileged youth
and to provide "Americanization training."
The third section is the most fun, the
"patriotic" division, designed to "alert the
nation to potential dangers" by publicizing
any imminent cataclysms in the "Daugh-
ters of the American Revolution Maga-
zine" and the "National Defense Maga-
zine."
THE DAR APPARENTLY had an un-
eventful first 48 years, but in 1939, the
group epitomized the spirit of the revolu-
tion by refusing the stage of Constitution
Hall, its auditorium and the largest one
in Washington, D.C., to black singer Mar-,
ian Anderson.
Miss Anderson's manager had tried to
secure the building in January, 1939 for an
April concert and was told the building
had been taken. When he suggested al-
ternate dates, DAR spokesmen
"all" dates had been filled.
On daughter explained that
ization refused the stage to Mis
to maintain the "middle of the
or policy Washington, D.C. hi
time. The, DAR would, howevi
blacks to sit in the audience o
Apparently, though t h e won
able to read too much better
could think. The Washington,
at that time was to allow black
ater stage but not in the audienc
THE DAR SETS its own polic
ly "continental conventions"
Washington at the very same C
Hall. One meeting, during the w
27, 1947, yielded some reveali
chagrining resolutions:
"Resolved: that there be noI
the immigration barriers..
"Resolved: (That the organiz
a well done to the FBI, to Congr
ing the FBI more monies, and
for his efforts to cleanse our
fices of alien and subversive inf
"Dedicated: Every member o
to the responsibility of policing
try's classrooms and publicli
keep them free from insidious
and interpretations.
"Donated: $122,000 for a me
tower at Valley Forge."
Need I say more?
iuadiie c lohod& -s
n told him CONTINUING IN ITS now well-estab-
lished tradition, the DAR in 1959 executed
the organ- a scarcely believable move when they pass-
s Anderson ed a motion asking that the United States
road" col- withdraw from the United Nations and
ad at that remove the UN headquarters from Ameri-
7er, allow can soil.
f the hall. The organization was not meeting its
en weren't goals fast enough, the DAR said, and after
than they all, one defiant daughter said at the time,
D.C. policy "You can't do business with the devil."
s on a the- And just a few years ago, Constitution
e. Hall came into the picture again when the
DAR refused to let Joan Baez sing inside.
ies at year- Instead, she gave a large outdoor concert
held in in Washington, thanking the DAR for the
constitution free publicity it gave her.
eek of May "No one ever refers to Constitution Hall
ng if n o t as b e i n g the DAR headquarters until
something unpleasant happens there," la-
lowering of mented President-General Seimes Thurs-
day in Detroit. "But we have been taking
ation send) all precautions to guard our valuables and
ess for giv- although there have b e e n incidents we
to Truman have not lost any valuables," she added.
public of- * *
luences. WHAT DOES ONE say about the Daugh-
f the DAR ters of the American Revolution? But then,
the coun- is there anything that hasn't already been
ibraries to said through their actions? Probably not,
s doctrines if only to note in passing that should the
great-great-great granddaughter of Cris-
morial bell pus Atticus, a black and the first American
killed in the Revolution, want to be a DAR,
odds are she couldn't do it.
m. JAMES WECHSLER "
Moyn Iha
IT WAS PROBABLY predictable that the
role of "house liberal" in the Nixon Ad-
ministration would eventually be an un-
happy one. Nevertheless there did not
seem any cause for public lamentation
when Pat Moynihan was installed as Presi-
dential Counselor on Urban Affairs. After
all, Mr. Nixon\was to lead the country for
at least four years; several journalists had
proclaimed after private conversations with
him that he was a very new Nixon, craving
fresh ideas. Who better than outspoken,
innovative Pat Moynihan, to bring him
messages he might not otherwise hear?
There were crucial flaws in the projec-
tion. It underestimated the extent of Nix-
on's bondage to Strom Thurmond. The
notion that Mr. Nixon gave high priority to
the alienated areas 'obscured his true ob-
session with the George Wallace vote.
But such misconceptions were perhaps
less relevant to the Moynihan saga than
the romantic image of Moynihan that had
beem nurtured. Many saw him as an ir-
reverent swinger enlivening a stuffy Bab-
bittland; now he emerges from his pur-
loined memoranda as a garrulous syco-
phant who established his credentials by
disdainful disassociating himself from his
suspect former companions.
The
SURELY PAT MOYNIHAN kn
Lyndon Johnson was not "topp
mob" but by a peaceful political
against the Vietnam war in which
ing figures were Eugene McCa]
Robert Kennedy-and young n
women faithfully operating "wi
system." No "mob" stormed Nev
shire where the great turning towE
began; it was not a Wisconsin "m
recorded its sentiments in the
polls that trigged LBJ's withdra%
sion on the eve of the Wisconsin
But in his retrospect Moynihan
all such distinctions. Thus his m
warns Mr. Nixon that "the leading
figures are going-have gone-in
sition once again" because it is "th
ure to cause trouble, to be agai
because "they are hell-bent for
time.",
Moynihan was writing those
should be remembered, before Ni
been inaugurated and at a time w
was a widespread sense of fatigu
liberals who had fought the battle
There was no "middle-class mob
izing for confrontation with the n
dent; this was many months bef
Agnew had been unleashed and
White House litberalP
ows that Southern accent clearly developed. Yet in gine that those were the words that Mr.
led by a the Moynihan script the stage was al- Nixon treasured.
rebellion ready set for psychological civil war (which Now some will murmur that Moynihan's
the lead- he deplored); he exhibited no apparent blast at the anti-Johnson "mob" was de-
rthy and comprehension of any gap between the signed as a cgver for his dissection ,of the
nen and Weathermen and the serious men who had folly of the war. But it also provided a
thin the led the anti-war upsurge. justification for the ensuing excesses of
v Hamp- What renders the document especially Agnew; he had spotted the aggressors in
ard peace Woadvance; that they were his old crowd pre-
incongruous-and indefensible-as an in-
nob" that telngu xse isdthatsiteas at sumably gave larger validity to the ex-
opinion tellectual exercise is that it affirms that psr
opinion 'Vietnam has been a domestic disaster" porg -
primary, and "a disastrous mistake because we have Moynihan's gift for rambling, two-level
primary. adadssru itk eas ehv discourse has stirred some mystery as to
lost it." A man holding those views might dsorehssirdsm ytr st
blurred have ee more chaable bout tos the source of the "leaks." Was he being
emo also' "toppled" Mr. Johnson. done in by besieged Administration liberals
cultural who considered him a deserter Or by right-
to oppo- wing Mitchellites who still deem hin a
eir pleas- AT THE TIME of the disclosure of Moy- dangerous intruder? In either Icase the
nst"andnihan's "benign neglect" memo. there were
nst" and some who argued that the real thrust of procedure is shabby, but Moynihan had
a good no reason to ,expect immunity from the,'
his remarks was overlooked. In his plea ro ges me pl in yion.
lines, it for cool he had, it was noted, urged a He may hope that in the end his creativity
ixon had liminution of government excitement about in the welfare reform program will be re-
hen there the Black Panthers and even questioned membered when these documents become
e among ,the wisdom of lawyers in matters of crime, footnotes to his White House memoirs. Per-
eof 198. thus artfully planting doubts about the haps still unpublished memoranda will re-
" mobil- veal some other valuable endeavors in his
Persaps he was. But he was more im- service as educator of the President. But
ew Presi- portantly providing a respectable rationale sofriisM nhawosemtoav
ore Spiro frthAdnsrai'srretnth vi so far it is Moynihan who seems to have
re Sirofor the Administration's retreat on the civil been bringing apples, to teacher.
Nixon's rights front, and it is not difficult to ima- n New York Post
G m"1 m PTJ ' nTl ot1n
491i
T lvrrvun
TL U'T~l' 1i'V '1 t L1 C:11 mi'rl
a
SGC candidates seek election halt
To the Editor:
AS CANDIDATES for president
and vice president of Student
Government Council we urge that
the SGC election scheduled for
next Tuesday and Wednesday be
immediately cancelled. The strike
called by the Black Action Move-
ment warrants the full-time, un-
compromising support of a 11 stu-
dents and we feel that a par-
tisan election would detract from
that support.
We intend to cease campaigning
in order to work to make the strike
a success. We urge other candi-
dates to do the same.
Let's shut this University down.
The whole University.
-Joe Goldenson '71
Steve Nissen '70
March 20
To the Editor:
IN DEFERENCE TO the strike,
I am calling off all my campaign-
ing for an SGC seat. I callon all
other candidates to do the same.
-FredWolgel '72
Irresponsible
To the Editor:
The following is a portion of a
letter sent to John Feldkamp, di-
rector of University housing:,
JOHN, RATHER than comment
on the specific plans for reorgan-
izing University Housing, with
which you know we have serious
reservations, we feel compelled to
challenge the wisdom of burgeon-
ing financial commitments at a
time when there. are far more
urgent needs for that money.
It is extreme irony, and p e r -
haps a commentary of the inco-
herence of the mass university,
that your plans arrived in our
office the morning after the Re-
gents' deliberations on the BAM
demands. President Fleming h a s
called for all departments to re-
order priorities in recognition of
the urgency of expanding higher
educational opportunities for black
and brown students. On that same
day, you recommend adding ap-
proximately $130,000 to Housing's
management organization. The
irony increases when we remember
this year's stringent cost 'cutting
in educational, staff ($24,000 in
our operation alone), the person-
nel closest to students.
THE UNIVERSITY CANNOT
meet the glaring needs of edu-
cationally disenfranchised stu-
dents if its departments continue
to consider their own parochial
interests first. That $130,000
could provide free lodging for 120
"disadvantaged" students. It
could fully staff a Black Students
Center. It could add thirteen re-
cruiters or counselors of minor-
ity students. Any of these uses is
a far more urgent need than the
area concept.
We urge you not only to re-
order your spending priorities, but
to further tighten your expendi-
tures in order to produce addi-
tional monies for admissions and
support programs for needy stu-
dents. We are concurrently sub-
mitting our own budget cut re-
commendation toward that goal.
We are circulating this letter
to employees and students not in
intentional defiance of administra-
tive protocol, but out of pe'rsonal
and professional belief that each
and every University department
Not me
To the Editor:
ON MARCH 16 I signed the let-
ter appearing in Thursday's Daily
which favored a withdrawal from
Vietnam, an end to the draft, and
BAM demands. All three points
struck me as/basically reasonable,
though preposterously simplified,
and I did not wish to by-pass a
good cause because of marginal
reservations.
I .would now like to dissociate
myself from the more recent en-
largement of the BA drive since
March 16 into a strike, worthy,
as its basic aim may be. I am es-
pecially put off by those who re-
gard the University (or any uni-
versity) as a play thing, to be
"shut down" if a specific demand
is not met. Perhaps there are con-
ceivable goals which would justify
so serious asacrifice, but, the mar-
gin between the University's recent
response and BAM's goals seems,
as of March 20, to fall a light year
or two short of that.
No doubt it is hard, perhaps im-
possible, to see evils in perspective
~while also engaging in action to
oppose them. Many of us are guilty
of being all perspective and no ac-
tion. But some such actions are,
in any perspective, inferior and
self-contradictory.
From time immemorial, people
of good-will on the left have been
tearing each other apart, while
their common opponents proceed
untouched. The March 16-20 week
here has been redolent of that. It
is reprehensible to wish to rule or
ruin, as we are doing in Vietnam.
Is it less so to wish to rule or ruin
one's allies?
-William G. Shepherd
March 20
trend such as we have seen with
ROTC. This might have some ef-
fect on these corporations.
Although my opinion is not the
majority one in the college of en-
gineering I hope you will take it
into consideration before taking
further action against the recruit-
ment disrupters.
-Robert Rollin, '72 Engr.
Wrong again
To the Editor:
ROBERT KRAFTOWITZ'S un-
signed article (Daily, Mar. 19, p.
1) on my speech at the Regents'
Forum was incorrect in inferring
that I called for any action-con-
certed or otherwise. Secondly, the
reference to black students and
the Administration being on a
"collision course" originated with
Mr. Fleming. Mr. Fleming told
black students: "We are on a col-
lision course . . . headed for a
catastrophe . . . you can't ,win!"
I replied: "We have met his chal-
lenge. If we are indeed on a col-
lision course-so be it!"
-Darryl Gorman
Member, Black Student Union
March 20
Dismay
To the Editor:
I WAS SOMEWHAT dismayed
yesterday to see that ENACT is
trying to raise money by selling
disposable Lindy pens that are en-
graved, "Give Earth a Chance."
You cannot buy refills for these
pens. When the ink runs out, you
must throw the pen away. Some-
thing like a "no-deposit-no-re-
turn" Coke bottle.
-Lee Weitzenkorn '70
March 19
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