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Seventy-seven years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan
under authority of Board in Control of Student Publications
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News Phone: 764-0552
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily exp ress the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1968
NIGHT EDITOR: ROB BEATTIE
The Kids' School:
Too young to die,
IT SEEMS IRONIC that the Children's
Community School faces extinction
just as the recurrence of the New York
teachers strike has re-emphasized t h e
kind of bureaucratic and often covertly
racist attitudes that afflict many teach-
ers.
The New York teachers are trying to
rebuff the request of black parents for
just the kind of community involvement
process w h i c h is the hallmark of the
children's community.
Indeed, the community school was
started three years ago by parents who
sought an alternative to the public school
system in Ann Arbor.
The shortcomings of the local public
schools became impossible to camouflage
any longer last June. Black students at
the high school exposed policies anid atti-
tudes which catered only to college-bound
whites and in effect shunted disadvan-
taged students to a "vocational" curric-
ulum. And Ann Arbor's problems are mic-
roscopically insignificant when compared
to ghetto schools.
ESPITE THE PROBLEMS created by
the inexperience of staff, the com-
munity school represents the actualiza..
tion of many. of, the principles which in,
the future must form the basis for a re-
for'med - and responsive educational
system. To provide a nucleus for the fu-,
ture these ideas must be tested- and mold-
ed into viable forms now.
The essential value of the school existsj
as a function of the participation of thej
parents and the idealism of the teachers.,
The school operates through the com-
munity. Parents a n d community mem-
bers serve as assistants. If the school is
disbanded, the final decision will come
from parents, not the staff.
Unlike the often hardened public school
teachers, especially those in inner cities,
the community school staff does not
strangle the child's natural creativity
with regimentation - or racism.
rHE PROBLEMS created by the staff's
f lack of experience can be expected to
eliminate themselves as the staff mem-
bers teach, and at the same time acquire,
the knowledge which ideally could be ap-
plied to recreating the public schools.
But the school's existence is precarious
at best. And the children face the serious
danger of being returned to the less than
tender mercies of the public school sys-
tem.
The possible demise of the school, de-
spite shortcomings, would indeed be
tragic. For o n 1 y through experimental
ventures like this will it ever be possible
to infuse the presently inflexible educa-
tional establishment with some m u c h
needed relevance and compassion.
--MARCIA ABRAMSON
"t think you'll find that camera giving a
distorted picture of events."
/{
w I
ev
Letters: Draft alternatives
And George makes three
GEORGE WALLACE rants and r a v e s
about "horn - rimmed; brief - cased,
guideline-writing intellectuals who look
down their noses at folks like you and
me." But the moderates, the responsible
people, laugh or are sickened or 100o k
down their noses at Wallace and his sup-
porters.
Yet Wallace's vision of an unresponsive,
deeply entrenched monolithic establish-
ment composed mainly of upper middle
class Americans and concerned largely
with self-perpetuation deserves a better
reception. Certainly no one need look very
far for evidence to support Wallace's con-
tentions.
- Take, for example, a bill now before
Congress that would suspend the equal
time'provisions of the Federal Communi-
illusions
of ref ori
THE UNIVERSITY has always been a lu-
crative educational experience for
students who are pursuing definite edu-
cational goals.
The literary c6llege faculty removed a
few bureaucratic roadblocks for thetgoal-
directed when they voted Monday to al-
low students to create their own fields of
concentration.
But those who regard changes 1 i k e
these as manifestations of a major Uni-
versity commitment to meaningful aca-
demic reform are sadly deluded.
The n e w flexible concentration pro-
'grams are merely the logical extension of
the willingness of the University to plac-
ate pressures for change by adding novel
programs such as the Inner City course
to the curriculum.
MERELY ENLARGING the curriculum
does little to r a i s e the, educational
quality of the more traditional academic
programs. Such innovations do little to
aid the vast numbers of students who are
unsure of their goals and in dire need of
academic guidance.
Rather meaningful academic reform
will require the entire University com-
munity to forthrightly face the funda--
mental problem of giving the student a
sense of participation in his own educa-
tion.
The time has long past for academic
refornrs to stop focusing on adding
frills to the curriculum and organize to
meet these far more basic educational
problems.
-W. S.
cations Act for the presidential campaign
this'year.
If enacted, it would enable the three
major television networks to offer the two
major-party candidates free air time in
order to stage debates modeled a f t e r
those broadcasted in 1960.
Allowing Wallace to participate in the
debates - or granting him separate but
equal air time - would be left to the dis-
cretion of the networks,'all of which have
made vague promises to handle the mat-
ter fairly.
THE SUPERCILIOUS, cavalier attitude
of the networks, the Republican nomi-
nee (Humphrey has equivocated on the
issue) and Congress should it pass this
bill, illustrate the manipulative machina-
tions of the power elite.
As a scarce public commodity the air-
ways are parceled out and regulated by
the federal government, presumptively in
the interests of the public.
To justify suspension of the equal time
provisions on the rationale that all-of the
minor parties with few supporters would
otherwise be entitled to air space is to
create a self-fulfilling prophecy. And if
without the suspension the networks -
rather than offer free time to all the par-
ties - would offer it to none of them,;
then so be it. On the evidence of one week
of Nixon and Humphrey on the stump,
the public value of allowing t h e m to
square off in the cliche-conductive arena
of Everyman's living room, appears to be
neglible at best.
FURTHERMORE, this is not a year when
the battle is obviously and realistical-
ly between two Goliaths and a number
of ridiculously longshot Davids.
Discontent with the two major parties,
their policies and their candidates has
been more widespread and more vocal in
1968 .than in any recent election year.
There are at least two new parties run-
ning well-publicized national candidates
-Wallace's American Independent Party
and the Peace and Freedom Party-and
judging from the polls one of them now
appears at least to be attracting 20 per
cent of the vote.
To suspend the Federal Communica-
tions Act protections under these circum-
stances would be a heavy-handed and
grossly unfair maneuver that would vin-
dicate--whether logically or not is ir-
relevant-much of what George Wallace,
in his thinly-disguised appeal to linger-
ing class resehtments,,has been saying.
THE EQUAL TIME provision were it
supplemented by a federal subsidy to
cover the campaign expenses of all ser-
-ious parties would be one of very few
protections the "little men" in this coun-
+rv hnevra arinsft what ise in[IPP. a nrrr-
To the Editor:
REGARDING the article of Sept.
11 on "Overadmission fills
draft gap," there are certain in-
accurate impressions given.
The article quoted a college of-
ficial as saying "several students
have already had their pre-induc-
tion physicals, the final step be-
fore being drafted." The pre-in-
duction physical is NOT "the final
step before being drafted."
This statement gives the im-
pression that there are no alter-
natives left open to a man= who'
has had a pre-induction physical,
At any time before an induction
order is issued, a man may request
deferment or exemption from class
1-A if he can introduce new evi-
dence to his board regarding his
status.
During any appeal, again, the
man cannot be drafted. M a n y
graduate students will qualify for
the II-A in their capacity as in-
structors or researchers. Many in-
ner city and private schools will
hire teachers who have fio educa-
tion degrees. Vista and the Peace.
Corps are also alternatives for' the
II-A deferment.
THE ARTICLE implied that the
University will attempt to support
a grad student who has received
an induction order by requesting
a stay of induction for him at the
state level for the remainder of
the term. This in reality applies
only to few very extenuating cir-
cumstances, nota'totall students.
Hershey has said that in ra r e
cases, such as when a student will
receive his degree within the
month, the local board may stay
his induction for a short time. The
University will support these stu-
dents, but not others w h o lose
the II-S and receive an induction
order,
-Mary S. Roth
Sept. 12
Garbled Voice
To the Editor:
I AM very distressed about an in-
accuracy in the Daily of Sept.
12 about my statement that Voice
had considered a clothing drive
for the mothers on ADC.
Either I did not make myself
completely clear, or my statement
was garbled somewhere between
the panel discussion and the print-
ing of The Daily.
Voice did not officially consider
such a drive; this matter is some-
thing which some of my friends
had approached me on and we had
discussed, independent of Voice
action. I was speaking for myself,
only.
-Connie Wegner, '70E
Sept. 12
Consent
To the Editor:
AS ONE of the students }on the,
tripartite Student Affairs Com-
mittee on Disclosure (the Lawler.
Committee) I would like to com-
ment on a disturbingly cursory
Daily editorial Sept. 12.
There indeed still is information
collected in the past which has
not been culled out of OSA rec-\
ords, and information presently
placed in the records which can.
be considered objectionable.
The important and fundament-
al point of the tripartite Commit-
tee on Disclosure Report, how-
ever, is that such information
cannot be disclosed without the
student's consent.
Moreover Article III provides
thatany student may tighten the
privacy of his files beyond the
suggested working categories. If
he wants, the student can provide
that absolutely no information at
all is released to anyone (includ-
ing faculty) without his explicit
written permission.
This puts the final decision
about the use of his file with the
student himself, where it belongs.
-Dennis W. Marks
Member, Graduate Assembly
Sept. 12
Hubert thefox
by JIM NEUBACHER
VICE PRESIDENT Humphrey's appearance in Flint Wednesday night
was a testimony to his skill as a campaigner, and indicative of his
"feel" for the wants of the people. He abandoned his "New Style" cam-
paign tactics of question and answer for a traditional handshaking,
baby-kissing, shopping center appearance.
It was also a good indication to newsmen of the extent to which
Humphrey is "plagued" by the heckler problem, and how he is going to
handle it during the campaign which moved into gear just a week ago.
Not only did Humphrey handle the problem, but he showed that he can
use it to his advantage.
Humphrey also began his defense of one of the traditional Demo-
cratic strongholds of votes against raids by the Southern terror George
Wallace.'
HUBERT DID his homework before going to Flint. Flint is an auto
town, maybe even more so than Detroit. Since Flint is smaller, a larg-
er core of the population is directly dependent on the factories. One
vast Chevrolet-producing assembly complex alone boasts of more than
26,000 workers.
With this large number of blue-collar, lower-middle-class workers,
Flint is caught in the pull and
tear of the destruction of the tra-
ditional coalitions which have been
the backbone of the Democratic
Party for many years.
Many of the auto workers are
transplanted Southern whites who h.
w e r e well indoctrined in state
rightism until their Northern un-
ion leaders tuned them in to the
benefits of big government spend-
ing.
Because their hearts are still in
Dixie, many white workers a r e
vulnerable to George Wallacels
appeal this year. Wallace exploits
their racigl intolerance and their
fears of.anarchy. They love him
when he criticises "pseudo-intel-
iectuals," lambasts the college
protesters and calls for cops to
crack heads.
Thus, Flint is prime territory for Wallace. One sign greeting Hum-
phrey at the airport last Wednesday night said "Welcome to Wallace-
town, U.S.A." There are two Wallace for President headquarters in the
city.
HOWEVER, these same workers also hear music in the words of
the Democratic Party. They know that they are the ones who benefit
from more aid to education, from Medicare, from the consumer pro-
tection bills. These are the children of the Democratic Party. They like
the party that protects the unions, and passes minimum wage laws.
They are caught in the middle.
Humphrey's prime mission in Flint, then, was to prevent a leaking
off of the traditional Democratic vote. Yet not only did he have to
show them what the Democratic Party had to offer substantively, he
also had to counteract the appeal Wallace makes to the fears and
inadequacies and hatreds of these people.
Now this was a difficult problem for Humphrey, for he is not a
man who relies on hatreds and racism and other social fears to 'gain
votes. It was a problem solved for him, however, by the appearance of
a band of University students-
During Humphrey's speech, they screamed "stop the war" and
"peace now" chanting in unison and drowning out the candidate. Hum-
phrey took a direct approach in handling them.
HE WOULD STOP speaking and stare silently in their direction un-
til they quieted down, and then would remind them of the rights, of'
peaceful assembly, the right of freedom of speech, and the rules of
common courtesy.
The crowd loved it even more when Humphrey told the hecklers
you don't need to go to college to learn td want peace. The crowd
thought in their minds, "down with the pseudo-intellectuals.
Most of the spectators sympathized with the Vice President for
having to put up with the heckling, and 'thus, although they may not
have agreed Wvith him completely, in contrast to the position of the
hecklers, they were on the Vice President's "side."
And so, when Humphrey went on to tell the crowd that a vote for
the Democratic Party iwould bring them men who would work for them,
they saw what a warm liberal compassionate man he is. And when he
joked with the hecklers at the end of his speech, they saw what a fair,
broad-minded man he is. Ano! they felt sorry for poor, heckled, unpop-
ular Hubert.
Poor Hubert is a 'sly, sly fox.
we are free
s a greater respect for, pursue their own studies in congenial
ganization. company without bureaucratic ,inter-
gard for procedure wit1 ference. And, while it lasted, the par-
them started had had ticipants enjoyed themselves immensely.
gconsequences. For ex-
course groups, on uto- THE PARTICIPANTS in the Free
had gone off to start School now are- of a totally different
ity, losing all contact ilk. They are predominantly younger and
office. perhaps more radical. More of them are
ex-students, both drop-outs and those
IAL CHAOS which 'has whose formal education is completed but
ee School since its in- whose intellectual energy has not dis-
ns, but a hard core of sipated. They want to continue their
zers . is beginning to education, now that school is no longer
ve at least some notion interfering.
on and are striving to The participants in the Free School
hool more than a bodge- now are also more disaffected and less
dent study groups. able to artidlate reasons for their dis-
of organization in such content. This is probably the biggest
1 institution as a free reason why there is more stress now on
no means insurmount- non-ihtellectual pursuits.
mately"be mastered by One of the participants in the summer
eally determined. , Free School described it as a "form of
lem facing the Free social organization" in which the basic
is that of giving some component is "the autonomous learning
uely conceived ultimate unit."
e agreed that the Free Its other vital feature is an "as yet un-
e. defined superstructure" whose purpose is
xperimental enterprises "to propagate and maintain a central
School are attempts to focus for the total organization."
several needs at once-
al, and invariably to THE FREE SCHOOI+ is trying to create
ical. a sense of community among its partici-
pants.
like Columbia, the goals It is trying to offer everything that an
ar-cut than elsewhere. established university cannot-a place
beration School is un- where students can learn what they want
al political and educa- to learn, without the interference of re-
both in the content and wards and punishments, a social com-
urses. On a more tran- munity where students can achieve the
this one, the goals are interaction which is just about impossi-
npoint. ble in the University and an ideal en-
)rticipants of the Ann vironment for personal development.
3, there is a vague, as At the moment, it doesn't look like the
esire to prevent a dis- Free School is going to save either the
'I
;+
a
The un-college: Now
By ANN MUNSTER
THE ACADEMIC system, one
of the
strongest bulwarks of the established
order, has yet to come under violent
attack from campus revolutionaries.
The "free university" movement which
has sprung up during .the last few years
around college campuses across the na-
tion poses no imminent threat to the
established institutions.
For it seems that the only way the
radically discontented know how to cope
with an oppressive educational system is
through essentially utopian tactics.
The last thing that proponents of these
experiments seem to want is to gain any
real power over the institutions they are
seeking to destroy. All over the nation,
they are going off to form their own com-
munities, leaving the decadent institu-
tions which spawned them to rot.
The original impetus of the free uni-
versity movement lay largely in the de-
sire of gifted students to supplement
their education. These students were
from large, often state-supported insti-
tutions which had become so enmeshed
in the 'buraucracy of bigness that they
could not cater to the individual needs of
the students.
MORE RECENTLY, instigators of free
universities have been taking more radical
stands against the total system of higher
education in America.
Rather than desiring to supplement
existing educational facilities or to serve
as a stimulus to academic reform, they
have developed a great fear of being co-
opted by established institutions.
Ann Arbor has been the scene of two
experimental universities in the past two
vear.
most invigorated segment of the Univer-
sity to find compensation for an outmoded
curriculum and the ' excessive organ-
izational encumbrances of the University.,
Some of the more prominent people
involved in the 1966 experiment' have,
now left the University altogether, and
are presumably finding intellectual
stimulation-as well as higher pay-else-
where.
This exodus has had vital repercus-
sions for the free,university movement
on this campus.
At the same time that the established
institution has declined even further with
the loss of some 'of its more stimulating
personnel, the need for another institu-
tion has become even greater. But the
potential resources for instigating such
an alternative are even scarcer.
Surprisingly, the impetus to create an
answer to the intellectual sterility which
seems to prevail on this campus has not
disappeared.a
A somewhat more amorphous organ-
ization called the Ann Arbor Free School
emerged from the heat and - monotony
of the past summer and has managed to
arouse over 300 students and non-stu-
dents to seek intellectual enrichment in
courses which they themselves organize
to fit their own goals and interests.
THE SUBJECT MATTER of the courses
is fairly varied. For instance the courses
which have been set up so far for the
fall range from guerrilla theatre to'
Camus and judo. But much of it is either
esoteric in nature or else focused upon
radical goals and tactics for social
change.
The Free School started suddenly, when
its initiators decided to settle their
methodological disputes by nutting their
given its initiator
the values of or
The naive disre
which some of t
rather frustrating
ample, one of, the
pian communities
its own commun
with the central
THE CONGEN
pervaded the Fre
ception still reign
dedicated organi
emerge. They ha'
of what is going
make the Free Sc
podge of independ
The problemso
a relatively small
university are by
able and can ulti
anyone 'who is r
The real prob
School right now
substance to vagu
goal which all ar
School must -have
Amorphously e
such as the Free
find answers to s
intellectual, soci
some degree polit
AT A SCHOOL
are far more cle
The Columbia Li
'abashedly a radic
tional endeavour,1
structure of its co
quil campus like#
far harder to pin
Among the pa
Arbor Free Schoo
vet unfulfilled de
4
1
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