' !
l4e 3iri~ gan Daitj
Seventy-nine years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan
why thest this restlessness?
The admissions game: Academic runaround
b stiaili anllles
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbpr, 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.
TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 1970
NIGHT EDITOR: LYNN WEINER
+'+yk
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Placing the blame for
the. tuition increase
TRADITIONALLY, A m e r i c a n
universities .have been able to
accommodate all those seeking a
higher education. Most people who
wanted - and could afford - to
attend a university were usually
able to find an institution which
would accept them. However, in
recent years, the growing prestige
attached to educational creden-
tials - college degrees - has in-
creased the demand for access to
a university education past the
breaking point.
As long as there are more people
who seek higher education than
there are spaces available, univer-
sities will probably become in-
creasingly selective. Institutions
which do not have open admis-
sions policies will be forced to im-
pose some type of admissions cri-
teria to determine which people
will be accepted as students.
This University, an institution
with nationwide prestige, has as a
matter of policy insisted t h a t
prospective students meet its spe-
cific requirements for admission.
In an official pamphlet, published
by the Office of Undergraduate
Admission, entitled Admission of
Freshmen, 1970, t he University
states the general "qualitative re-
quirements" necessary to become
a successful student here. While
the pamphlet notes that no class
rank or test score is absolute in
itself to insure admission or re-
jection to the 'University, "gen-
erally, a Michigan h i g h school
senior should apply for admission
if he: (1) is scoring a "B" average
or above in a strong college prep-
aratory course, (2) has scholastic
aptitude test scores that compare
favorably& w i t h those of other
freshmen pursuing similar p r o-
grams in the University, (3) has
made a satisfactory personal rec-
ord, and (4) is recommended by
his school." These policies have,
in recent years, been challenged
by a number of critics who ques-
tion both the relevancy and the
adequacy of the University's ad-
missions criteria. But, for the ma-
jority of applicants to the Uni-
versity the requirements remain
unchanged.
PROBABLY THE M O S T im-
portant single factor the Univer-
sity uses to determine the qual-'
ifications of a prospective student
are his scores on the Scholastic
Aptitude Test, or SAT.
The admissions office has been
requiring in-state applicants to
submit SAT scores s i n c e 1961.
(SAT's have been required f o r
out-of-state students since 1957)
as one of the prerequisites for ad-
mission to the University. Accord-
ing to Clyde Vroman, the direct-
or of the University's Office of
Undergraduate Admission, "for
institutions of this kind, the SAT
is one of the' two or three best
w a y s of measuring a student's
academic abilities."
Vroman believes that the SAT
results "give a more uniform
measurement" of a student's abil-
ities while offering him "a chance
to present an additional factor
other than his grades" for con-
sideration. Finally, he supports its
use because SAT results are "the
easiest to quantify."
ANOTHER SUPPORTER for
using SAT for judging the appli-
cations of prospective students
has been Prof. Benno G. Fricke,
director of 'the University's Eval-
uation and Examinations Office.
In a report to the College Deans
of the University a little m o r e
than a year ago, Fricke comment-
ed that SAT scores are "probably
the b e s t single overall student
quality indicator (according to
criteria of comparability predic-
tive validity, and academic rele-
vance.)"
While Fricke s a y s he is not
completely pleased with the SAT,
F OR STUDENTS who came to the
University two or three years ago, the
"substantial" tuition increase that the
Regents will approve this'month may well
seem like the last straw.
But attributing the blame for sky-
rocketting tuition costs is not a simple
nmatter. For one thing, tuition increases
at the University are in line with the na-
tional pattern of rapidly expanding cost
for h i g h e r education. It is difficult,
therefore, to place a great deal of blame
for the tuition increase on the University
administration.
The Regents and administration have
shown a surprising level of concern for
thei hardship that constantly increasing
tuition causes for many students. Last
year for example, a last minute one per
cent across the board expenditure cut-
back was ordered so that a tuition in-
crease could, for the first time in'three
years, be avoided.
Of course, there are other budget cut-
backs that could be made to make this
year's increase less substantial. For ex-/
ample, cuts in the athletic department
budget and the elimination of some pon-
essential services could provide as much
as $3 million-about the amount neces-
sary to avoid a tuition hike.
BUT IN LONG range terms, it is quite
true -- as administrators point out -
that the University cannot continually
look inwards for new funds. Yet the cost
of maintaining quality education at the
University continues to spiral.
To an extent, the s t a t e government
must be held responsible for a failure in
the area of higher education. Appropria-
Ilegenta.
IN THEIR recent redraft of the Regental
. bylaws, members of SGC and SACUA
have unnecessarily compromised their
long-standing position that students must
have complete 'control over those Uni-
versity services which directly affect their
actions.
SGC and SACUA members weakened a
key section of their original student-fa-
culty draft of the bylaws in an effort
to gain regental approval of greater stu-
dent control of a proposed Office of
Student Services.
But, it is unlikely that revision, of the
student-faculty draft will sway the Re-
gents toward approval of the complete
draft. In the regental redraft of the by-
laws, released last January, the Regents
clearly showed by their revisions that they
categorically oppose full student con-
trol of student activities. In every in-
stance, they delegated final authority on
all important decisions to administra-
tors.
For example, in their draft, the vice
president for student services - to be
appointed by the president - and the
student-faculty policy board make policy
decisions Jointly. But the tone of their
tions to the University over the last few
years have consistently fallen short of
necessary expenditure increases.
State legislators a t t r i b u t e this to a
g e n e r a 1 lack of revenue in the state
coffers. But, at the same time, they have
failed to secure approval from the elec-
torate for' a state graduated income tax
which would provide new funds.
Meanwhile, the f e d e r a 1 government
should share the blame for the increasing
cost of higher education. With broader
sources of revenue, the federal govern-
ment could-after a reorientation of pri-
orities - afford to commit substantial
funds toward unrestricted institutional
support for colleges and universities.
AT PRESENT, however, the funds that
would be needed for this purpose go
instead toward funding the hardware of
militarism and imperialism.
The location of substantial new sources
of funds for the University in the near
future remains highly unlikely, and con-
tinuous tuition increases are a likely pros-
pect. The administration can only be
expected to make them as socially pain-
less as possible.
While increasing tuition, the adminis-
tration should take pains to insure that
enrollment in the University will not be
barred to the poor. E v e r y increase in
tuition should be met by significant in-
creases in the school's financial aids pool
so that the University does not become
even more inaccessible to lower income
youth than it already is.
-MARTIN HIRSCHMAN
Editor
1 bylaws:
promise
statement indicates that the vice presi-
dent Will effectively have veto power on
major decisions.
THE ORIGINAL student-faculty draft of
the bylaws gives the policy board the
authority to make their policy binding
on the vice president. However, the pro-
posed revision softens that position by
stating that if the vice president and the
policy board do not agree on the resolu-
tion of a policy issue, the implementation
of that issue will be delayed until they
can reach agreement. It must be recog-
nized that this effectively gives the vice
president veto power.
In proposing this revision, SGC and
SACUA have failed to maintain a firm
stand on student rights. Instead, they
have chosen to compromise in the un-
realistic hope that a speedy approval of
the entire draft will result.
What they have failed to recognize is
that the issue of student rights cannot be
compromised. Unless the Regents accept
the basic concept of student rights, stu
dent participation in trivial University
decision-making is no gain.
-CARLA RAPOPORT
Letters to t e Editor
Carswell
To the Editor:
WHEN ABE FORTAS was nom-
inated for the Supreme Court, our
Senator Griffin told the Senate
it was failing in its constitutional
responsibility. It should, he said.
give confirmation only, to a judge
that had an impeccable record
both on the court and in his pri-
vate life. Fortas and Haynsworth
were unacceptable he argued be-
cause they were suspected of con-
flicts of interest due to their fi-
nancial arrangements. But
strangely enough, Senator Griffin
finds no objection to Judge Cars-
well, even though some of t hbe
most distinguished lawyers in the
country say that he is unqalified
and Senator Hruska says that a
little mediocrity on the court is
what we need. What has happen-
ed to our crusading Senator Grif-
fin? Now that he has become mi-
nority whip, he suddenly feels a
greater responsibility to President
Nixon than his own conscience! I
urge everyone to send a telegram
today to our Senator to tell him
that if politics is really what's on
his mind he better vote against
Carswell tomorrow or he will not
get your vote when he is up for
re-election!
-Bob Swiss '71
April 6
Error
To the Editor:
IT IS VERY pleasant, in a cruel
sense, to see a Daily reporter
prove himself as inept and mis-
informed as he claims the group
he is criticizing to be. After at-
tending his second meeting of En-
gineering Council, Pat Mears felt
competent enough to direct an
editorial at that organization. He
wasn't. It is a simple matter to
remove the supports from his
fragile argument.
Engineering Council is budgeted
from a special fund coming from
the Dean of Engineering. The
Dean has several such funds,
among them being a scholarship
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he believes it is "quite an accept-
able yardstick for gauging aca-
demic readiness."
"The SAT," says Fricke, "does
not purport to be a measure of a
person's intelligence or creativity.
Rather. it tells You whether or not
a person has the type of aptitude
to do well in the University."
Fricke would like to see t h e
University depend soley on an ap-
plicant's SAT scores and his high
school class rank in judging
whether a student could be au-
tomatically be admitted to th e
University."We should state in the
catalog," he says, "that all those
with a certain SAT score and a
certain class rank could come au-
tomatically to t h e University."
This is not to say that SAT scores
and class rank would ever become
the only basis for admissions, but
rather, says Fricke, "they would
be sufficient indicators of high
performance for some students to
be automatically admitted."
FRICKE BELIEVES HIS sim-
plified proposal would end at least
some of the apparent injustices
in the University's admissions pol-
icy. Presently, he maintains that
the complex admissions form asks
for information which is irrele-
vant to an applicants chances for
success at the University. 0 n e
common abuse, he says, is that
"admissions, officers generally be-
lieve that applicants whose par-
ents have big jobs will present no
risks at the University." Further-
more, Fricke says increased de-
pendence on the SAT and class
rank would free the University
from inadvertantly screening out
those people who feel they can't
afford excessive test requirements
such as the College Board Ach-
ievement Tests which often run
as high as $30.
ANOTHER POSSIBLE alterna-
tive to the current admissions'jol-
icy formed the basis 'for one of
the key points in the Black Action
Movement's demand for increased
minority admissions. Last w e e k
the University agreed to BAM's
demand f o r nine undergraduate
recruiters to reach members of
minority groupstand interest them
in applying to the University.
BAM's demand f o r more re-
ci'uiters was a consequence of the
University's inability or unwilling-
ness to generate an adequate mi-
nority enrollment within the ex-
i s t i n g admissions procedures.
Black students had long main-
tained that one' of the greatest
problems involved in increasing
minority admissions was simply
reaching large numbers of blacks
in the state who have the poten-
tial for attending the University,
but do not have sufficient access
to the traditional methods of ap'
plication and selection of prospec-
tive freshmen.
ACCORDING TO Vice Presi-
dent and Dean of Rackham Grad-
uate School Stephen Spurr, who
is currently involved in coordinat-
ing the University's policy for in-
creased minority admissions, the
new recruiters will have g r e a t
flexibility in judging the abilities
of black and other minoritytgroup
students.
Spurr believes that in consider-
ing students from different cul-
tural backgrounds for admissions
the University "will have to be a
lot more sensitive." Recruiters will
be allowed to judge the abilities of.
a prospective student on a more
human level th ha n the current
University criteria.
Spurr says the new recnuiiers
will not be bound by any partic-
ular ranking system or SAT score.
Hopefully, the new procedures will
provide the kind of personalized
recruiting so badly needed in
judging the qualifications of black
people. "You can't u s e normal
white middle class standards for
judging black people." Spurr
says, "the national exams are on-
ly sufficient for identifying peo-
ple from normal middle c l a s s
backgrounds. When you get away
from that type of group, these
standards are not very accurate."
Spurr's criticism of the validity
of SAT scores is by no means iso-
lated. The tests have traditionally
been attacked on the grounds that
they don't necessarily measure the
creative abilities of a person but
rather his ability to remember a
large amount of specified objec-
tive a n d conventional facts.
Moreover, it is clear that it is im-
possible to use the same quantita-
tive yardsticks of verbal sophisti-
cation to evaluate persons from a
different culture.
IN JANUARY, Bowdoin College,
a highly selective school at Bruns-
wick, Maine,decided to drop Col-
lege Boards as a requirement for
admission. Applicants now ,have
t h e option of submitting their
SAT scores or being considered on
more subjective ground.
As Bowdoin stated when it an-
nounced the change, the college
wants to "avoid requiring from
any individual evidence which
might be inherently misleading."
Moreover, as colleges and univer-
sities across the nation reorient
t heir priorities toward areas of
social concern, the value of stand-
ardized and conventional respons-
es to immediate problems becomes
questionable.
Amherst's Eugene Wilson, whom
the New York Times recently call-
ed "the dean of admissions
deans." has said, "Test scores do
not guarantee t h e presence of
those human qualities and intel-
lectual abilities we value the
most."
IN THE FACE of this growing
criticism, t h e College Entrance
Examination Board, the 70 year-
old non-profit organization which
distributes the BAT, has not been
completely unresponsive to calls
for change. A commission of out-
side advisers has been analyzing
t e testing evidence for more than
two years now. In addition, the
'growing demand for increased rel-
evance in education will almost
certainly cause substantial chang-
es in the content of the SAT.
Finally, it is clear that reforms
in admissions procedures can nev-
er obscure the fact that selection
on any basis is a subjective pro-
cess whereby one person - no
matter h ow qualified - judges
anther's capabilities within the
context of his own values. There
will never be truly equitable rules
so long as the selection process it-
self remains. In the long run, free
open higher education is the only
solution to the nation's education-
al needs.
IN THE MEANTIME, most large
institutions I i k e the University
will probably have to rely on Col-
lege' Boards for evaluating most of
their applicants. The massive
numbers of people applying for
admissions rules out the highly
personalized approach that a
school like Bowdoin or the new re-
cruiters for the University's mi-
nority admissions program can
use. Thus, any significant change
in the University's overall admis-
sions policy must be linked to a
broader program to change the
structure of the University's un-
dergraduate schools and colleges
and higher education in general.
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"Your heart's fine'... but you could certainly
use a head transplant!"
fund. Money budgeted to Council
but not spent is returned to the
Dean's fund at the end of the year.
The money is then available for
financial aid. The motion to do-
nate $100 to the Martin Luther
King Fund was defeated because
Council members realized that
transferring money from one
scholarship fund to another leaves
the gross scholarship money avail-
able unchanged. What Mears for-
got to mention was that in sub-
sequent action a committee was
formed to solicit pledges to the
M.L.K. Fund from engineering
students, and $75 was provided as
organizationtl financing for the
newly organized Black Engineer-
ing Students.
Mears further demonstrated his
misunderstanding o f Council's
funding when he tried to establish
Council's priority as purchasing a
computer, device over providing
money to a scholarship fund. To
those who know, they are unre-
lated enterprises. The computer
device will be bought with money
from a private donation specifical-
ly earmarked for activities of this
nature. The money is not avail-
able for scholarships.
The Daily has again demon-
strated the axiom of selective jour-
nalism: What is important is not
what you are told but what you
are not told.
-Sonny Cohen, pres
Engineering Council
April 6
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The Daily re-
grets the ommission of the motion
to allocate $75 to the Black En-
gineering Society.)
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Abjuring power disarms) us
Bail is used as
a political weapon
SEVERAL RECENT INCIDENTS h a v e
highlighted the use of bail as a po-
litical weapon. The imposition of unreas-
onably high bonds and the revocation of
bail are being used to control a person's
political activities.
In the Chicago 8 trial, a clear indica-
tion- of this misuse is available - David
Dellinger's bail was nominally revoked
because he used a profanity. It is inter-
esting that the same vulgarity was used
by other defendants with no retaliation.
Dellinger's bail was revoked because he is
politically effective.
Dellinger, a 53-year o 1 d grandfather
who does not dress peculiarly, swear or
the same time, several white youths ar-
rested on the same charges were released
for considerably less.
CLOSER TO HOME is the case of John
Sinclair, leader of the White Panther
movement. Last week Sinclair was denied
bail pending appeal for his conviction for
possession of marijuana while Vito Gia-
calone, a reputed Mafia chief, was grant-
ed bail pending appeal for his conviction
for possessing a blackjack.
Unfortunately, instead of trying to re-
verse this trend, there are attempts to at
least partially legitimize it. Making its
way to the Senate floor, there is a bill
By ART SCHWARTZ
Daily Guest Writer
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The writer is an as-
sociate professor in the mathematics de-
partment and a member of Radical College.)
IT IS SAID that strikes and other force-
ful actions in support of desirable so-
cial reforms will incite the right wing ex-
tremists. But when a group of people can
be incited to near hysteria by such things
as fluoridation, sex education and mental
health research, it is clear that it is im-
possible to avoid inciting them. Further-
more, I do not (and cannot) deny any
group the right to prosecute their aims by
limited forceful* means.
When our country and others, with the
acquiescence of their citizens, are settling
disputes by dropping bombs on each other,
it seems to me to be a very radical posi-
tion to advocate settlement of all conflicts
by t o t a 11 y nondisruptive, nonforceful
means, especially when no one has a clear
idea what they are. That people can live
calmly with this reality and still be shock-
ed by an extremely peaceful strike indi-
cates the schizophrenia of our times.
We must back away from this form of
psychopathic antipolitics, and pass a stage
where politics involves forceful but non-
ing someone is evil and that no end should
be sought by evil means. It does not fol-
low that one stands idly by when one par-
ty is injuring another. Rather, in the face
of evil, the pacifist attempts "moral sua-
sion," such as participating in Freedom
Rides or sailing into atomic test zones.
I have no argument with those who ac-
cept and practice the pacifist position and
its corollary, moral suasion. But, the pac-
ifist alone cannot change society. He may
provide a moral lodestar to guide us, but
there must be a source of social power to
actually move us. A movement for funda-
mental change must be based on large
numbers of people if it is to have suffi-
cient social power to implement change.
INSTEAD, MY ARGUMENT is with
those who believe it is better to do nothing
at all rather than take - actions which in-
volve any injury. They do not realize that
injury is often the consequence of inaction
as well as action.
Many institutions of our society - in-
cluding the University - are inflicting
serious injury. Actions by small numbers
of people with h i g h moral conviction
whether they be pacifists or guerillas will
not solve our problem. Actions designed to
jury caused by the strike is negligible,
significant or perhaps overwhelming as
compared with the injuries we sought to
eliminate. The supporters of the strike
hoped to obtain more than a quantitative
increase in the number of black students
at this University. What we hoped to ob-
tain was the beginning of a qualitative
change in the University - one that would
change it from a bastion of elitism and
privilege into an institution dedicated to
full and open education.
A university should be a place where
scholars communicate not only with fu-
ture scholars and privileged members of
society, but also with broad ranks of an'
enlightened citizenry. The elimination of
the de facto denial of admission to blacks
is a very important first step toward this
goal. The University as it now stands is
an instrument in a system which commits
grievous injury to large numbers of peo-'
ple, particularly black people. This must
end.
But what a b o u t the injury resulting
from the strike? It is said that the peace-
ful communication of a professor with his
students is a sacred thing which was vio-
lated by the strike. It is said that the stu-
dents' eager search for knowledge was in-
teprnted.('One might remairk 'thatro'-
strikers. Rather, we feel the denial of the'
process of education to blacks as well as
other disadvantaged groups is more pain-
ful, and an incomparably greater injury
than a momentary disruption.
There are some who saw the strike as
a parallel to the early stages, of Nazism.
They see analogy not only in the disrup-
tion and noise but even in the moral fer-
vor. tut noise and fervor do not add up to
Nazism any more than the Rose Bowl is
equivalent to a Nuremberg rally.
WE MUST LEARN to deal democratical-
ly with power and force. To abjure power,
force and injury is to disarm ourselves in
the face of the powerful forces of the es-
tablishment. To talk about beautiful so-
cieties and universities but not a b o u t
achieving them is as incorrect as to talk
about destroying the present, social struc-
ture without worrying about what will re-
place it. Would be social philosophers must
be involved on every level in the effort to
obtain their goals. This effort itself is an
educational process and we all have a lot
to learn.
All of this is disquieting. Many of us
are not at all familiar or comfortable with
the use of political force. And, while '
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