Seventy-eight years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan
under authority of Board in Control of Student Publications

Campus curios:

Plaques to tombstones

420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.

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.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1968'

NIGHT EDITOR: JIM HECK


Time for a halt
in the bombing

THE BOMBING of a wing of the Insti-
tute of Science and Technology build-
ing was a deplorable and pointless action
whibh one can only hope does not foretell
a trend.
If major changes are to be made in the
nature of American society and the con-
duct of public affairs they must be effect-
ed in accordance with the will of the
American people. Whether t h i s implies
"radicalizing" the people or persuading
them to accept piecemeal reforms is irrel-
evant to this discussion, because neither
approach justifies wanton violence.
Nor, it might be added, is violence a
very effective measure for change. The
bombings of the CIA headquarters two
weeks ago and the IST building Monday
night had at most nuisance value.
Even had those who planted the dyna-
mite succeeded in destroying all of the
University'sf classified research facilities
their accomplishment would not h a v e
been substantial. The war would contin-
ue; classified research in fields other than
radar and optics would continue; the only
effect would be a temporary halt to re-
search in electronic counterinsurgency.
And the government's ability to sup-
press any movement toward multiple, co-
ordinated bombings on a nationwide scale
is beyond question.'

INDEED, further bombings can only pro-
voke repression. Harassment and even
imprisonment of individuals, innocent or
guilty, whose political views do not con-
form to the community's idea of patrio-
tism, could become a reality.
Worse, repeated incidents of bombing
can only deal a severe blow to any and
all efforts for change by disgusting the
American people, especially those most
amenable to persuasion.
But perhaps the most distressing aspect
of these incidents of terrorism is the po-
tential threat they pose to human lives,
The structure which houses the CIA was
unoccupied at the time of the blast, but
three custodial employes were working in
the IST building late Monday night. For-
tunately, they were not injured. If the
bombings continue somebody inevitably,
will be.
Should the incidents of bombing go on
they will succeed only in bringing to real-
ity everyone's worst nightmares. The
bombing must be halted.
-URBAN LEHNER
Editorial Director
-MARK LEVIN
Editor
-STEPHEN H. WILDSTROM
Managing Editor

By MARCIA ABRAMSON
THIS BEAUTIFUL fall weather
provides a perfect opportunity
for a walking tour of the curiosi-
ties that infest this campus. For
against the contrasting' back-
ground of nature's wondrous work,
you can truly appreciate the ludi-
crous artistic abortions of man
and University.
The campus collection of objets
d'art seems to be divided into three
categories: remotely classical bas
relief, tombstones, and superfluous
gifts, such as the rock outside of
Angell Hall, gift of the class of
1869.
Begin, with the LSA Building,
which the administration aban-
doned on aesthetic principles.
This unique collection of bas re-
liefs seems to indicate a highly
patronizing attitude toward stu-
dents. On the back of the build-
ing are carved those two stahdards
of a liberal education, Aesop and
Hiawatha (the Longfellow! edition,
standing by the shores of Gitchee
Gummee.)
EACH HERO is surrounded by
his favorable animals, and the,
animal motif is continued on other
carvings. I couldn't help but won-
der what Aesop and Hiawatha
have to do with the administration
of a University.;
But the piece de resistance of
the building are the bas reliefs by
the front entrance. Here, graph-
ically represented, are the dreams
the young man and young girl
hope to make good by coming to
this University.
The young man dreams of sail-
ing galleons and all they import-
adventure, discovery, exploration,
glory, God and gold. Of course.
whenever I see the carving, I
think of piracy, but the ships are
most carefully un-cannoned, and
I'ni a girl anyway. However, the
figurehead compensates by being
the sexiest thing officially carved
on any University building; she is

much more germane to the theme
of a young man's dream.
THE YOUNG GIRL holds a
couple of screaming brats and is
attempted to hand one over to the
ostensible father. The family is
traveling in a wretched covered
wagon surrounded by chickens,
oxen, pigs and sheep. This repre-
sentation might have been under-
standable if the building had been
built, a century earlier, but its
architecture unmistakably betrays
the 1950's attempt to create six
story sky-scrapers.
Moving to the dental school.
another bas relief commemorates
one Willoughby D. Miller. Shape-
less nymph-like creatures frolic on
tablets on either side of the in-
scription. The effect is exactly
that of a husband-wife double
tombstone.,
The tombstone motif is con-
tinued on the monument which
sits in the center of the benches
on the Diag near the West Engin-
eering. This one is dedicated to
the founder of Sigma Rho Tau
and is ;made of a permanently
petrified tree stump.
THE BENCHES themselves were
donated by the engineering classes
of 1907, 1909, 1911, 1913 and 1920.
Each class year is inscribed on the
brackets which support the legs
of the benches.
More finesculpture can be
found on the fountain between
the League and Hill Aud. There is
some doubt as to the name and
orientation of the piece, because
on one side the title "Deep Waters"
is inscribed, while on the other
side "Sunday Morning" is etched
in identical lettering.
However, the statute is full of
fishes and an incredibly hairy
creature spouting water, which
might indicate that the first is the
actual title. I can't speculate
where "Sunday Morning" came
from or what it means.

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Daily-Jay L. Oa #idy

Moving down to Rackham, we
find seven nearly identical bas
relief representations of health,
social, biological, and physical
sciences; language and literature;
fine arts; and for some unfathom-
able reason, museums.
(Incidentally, Rackham was de-
scribed as the most beautiful
building of its kind when it was
builtin the1930'. However, latter-
day criticism has tended to assign
it to the bombstone class.)
PERHAPS the strangest objet
d'art on campus is a metal sculp-
ture resembling an anvil near the
Engin Arch which is entitled sim,
ply "Vulcan" and dated 1904. Vul-
can, quite phallicly inspired, was
painted green over the last week-
end, but the paint has already

A radical in the hinterlands


L Language requirements
must go

THE TWO-YEAR language require-
ment of the literary college is no
longer - if it ever was - educationally
valid and should be eliminated as soon
as possible.,
The argument against the language
requirement is not related to the cur-
rent move to abolish all distribution
requirements on the basis of the stu-
dent's right to make his own academic
decisions. That philosophy is not at is-
sue here. By academic standards alone
there is room for serious doubt about
the propriety of the language require-
ment.
The original reason for instituting
this requirement seventeen years ago
was the college's purpose of giving a
"liberal education." It was stated then,
and rightly so, that proficiency in a
second language was certainly broad-
ening and was intrinsic to this college's
concept of a liberal education. A n d
while the original philosophy is still
yalid, practical limitations - including
d wide range of educational, psycholog-
ical and institutional factors - make
the requirement unfeasible and unfair.
The problem of the language require-
ment and elementary language in-
struction falls into two categories: ele-
mentary languages for 18 year olds is
either poorly taught, or it is simply un-
teachable. These problems are not the
fault of the departments of the college,
but are inherent in language acquisi-
tion and the American educational sys-
tem as a whole.
Both of the major schools of linguis-
tics - the followers of B. F. Skinner
and Naom qhomsky - are represented
on this campus. The former control
French instruction and the latter are
in Spanish. While there may be some
diffe ences in individual reaction to
the two methods, neither seems able to
solve the nearly 25 per cent failure rate
in language instruction. There is no
statistically significant difference in
the failure rates between the two, and
so the difficulty seems not to lie in
method of instruction alone.
THE OTHER MAJOR SCHOOL -
teaching language through litera-
ture - has different goals than the lin-
guistic approach. It may be good for
what it seeks - it hasn't been domi-
nant here for over 15 years now --- but
it does not teach language as two-way
communication,' which is what is cur-
rently sought and needed.
Further, the high failure rate here,
while still below the national averages
for similar instruction, is very revealing
in light of success elsewhere in the cpl-
lege. The admissions office selects ap-
plicants on the basis of their expected

not intellectual in itself. Whether it is
by habituation or "hypothesis formula-
tion" as the two schools of linguists de-
bate it, it is a program which ought to
be given to students when they are
much younger, eight to 14 years old.
WHATEVER the nature of Ameri-
can antipathy to foreign languages,
it is one the college will overcome-only
with great pain for its students.
The problem of quality is also one
which cannot be blamed entirely - or
even substantially - upon the depart-
ments. Whether the college can or can-
not force students to meet distribution
requirements, it does have an obliga-
tion to make those required courses
tolerable. It is unfortunate that these
courses are just not taught very well as
a whole.
This should not be misunderstood. It
is not the department's fault. It is, in
fact, a direct result of the requirement
itself, By forcing so many students into,
the elementary language programs, the
college forces down the quality. While
there are undoubtedly many good
teaching fellows, the department just
cannot be as selective as it should. It
needs too many people. Eliminating the
requirement, by lightening the depart-
ment's load, would increase the quality
of instruction for those who did choose
to take it.
IT IS EASY to c o n c l u d e then that
much of the problem is just not the
college's. Language should be taught
earlier and taught better when it is.
But if the current procucts of the high
schools are any indication of what they
can do - and it probably is - then
there is no relief in sight. Department
members and students are almost un-
animous in their condemnation of what
the high schools tend to call "language
instruction." But, unfortunately, that
is the place it should be taught, there
or even sooner4 The University cannot
fairly beat students over the head in
trying to teach them language when it
just can't be done. The load must be
forced back on the high schools, where
it belongs.
One suggested solution is to make
language proficiency an entrance re-
quirement, with elementary language
instruction given for no credit. While
that may be functional for the institu-
tion as a whole, it is clearly dysfunc-
tional for a large mass of students. It
would make the situation that much
worse for those who didn't learn a
language in time, with 16 extra hours
to be taken, their burden would be un-
bearable.
Simply, the University must find
oIher l essncercive means to imnrove

By LARRY HOCHMAN
Daily Guest Writer
(Editor's note: Larry Hoch-
man is New Politic's candidate
for vice president in Michigan.)
A T THE INVITATION of t h e
League of Women Voters to
appear at a Candidates' Night, two
of us drove the 230 miles up to
Alpena. Arriving in mid-afternoon,
we went to the community college
to do some leafleting. (It was reg-
ular, not guerrilla leafleting - no
one has taught us how to do the
latter but it must be akin to tak-
ing a revolutionary nap.) The col-
lege people were quite receptive,
most. were opposed to the draft
and many to the war.
There were all these strange
judge-types and regent-types at
a League coffee hour. The women
were pleasant and mildly interest-
ed in what New Politics was all
about. The coffee-pourer, seeing
my Cleaver button, whispered, "Is
he colored?"
In the evening the motorcade
began, winding its way from the
Chamber of Commerce Building
to the Civic Center with a police

escort, with bunting fluttering, and
with absolutely deserted streets.
As the highest office-seeker, pro-
tocol placed me in the lead car
along with Alpena's mayor. We
spoke little. Perhaps we were in
awe of each other.
THE RALLY STARTED. T h e
flag was pledged and theanthem
sung - old style, no guitars. A
telegram of regret from the Mum-
phrey-Huskie team was read, fol-
lowed by my allotted two-minute
offering. A severe looking woman
with a time-bell kept us aspirants
right to schedule, no monkey busi-
ness. ". . . When machines a r e
idle, the owners of those machines
care for them, keep them well-
oiled and protected. But when
people are idle - and not by their
own choice - this society keeps
them barely alive, without dignity,
without (BONG!)" Polite ap-
plause, followed by 14 other two-
minute jobs. Most of the speakers
congratulated the m a n y junior
and senior high school kids who
were there for their "exemplary
behavior," drawing the compari-

son with the evil, dirty revolution-
aries who are taking over the col-
lege campuses.
A Democrat running for MSU
trustee announced that there were
"more poor people living in pov-
erty than Negroes." An incredible
incumbent bird named Swallow,.
running for re-election as State
Representative railed against his
opponent, a nice - young high
school teacher who seems to want
to shake things up a bit up there.
The brief question period afforded
me the chance to say, "yes, total
withdrawal from Vietnam; yes,l
abolition of the draft." Most of
the questions, however, were ad-
dressed to a Mrs. Kelly, running
for the State Board of Education.
She is a lovely woman and the Al-
penans enjoyed watching her
walk across the stage to the po-
dium again and again.
Afterwards, more coffee, more
milk, more literature distribution,
and the climax of the evening -
giving my autograph to three jun-
ior high girls. But, as Mayor Daley
says, who knows what trees we
have planted?

been carefully removed. Obviously
someone takes goodcare of it. 4
Runner-up to Vulcan for ob-
scurity is a topless pillar located
between the UGLI and the Gen-
eral Library. There is writing all
over the four sides of the pillar's
bases, but erosion has destroyed
whatever relevance the pillar
might have had. Like gravestones
in an old cemetery, the writing
was virtually gone. Something
may have once rested atop the pil-
lar, which is cracked at about sev-
en or eight feet. I was unable to
ascertain the building material:
it was not marble and where it is
cracked the thing was turning
blue.
Another fine old bas relief is
located in the Engin Arch itself.
The table features a bearded old
man and an equally grubby look-
ing horse. The tablet reads:
IN MEMORY OF
JOSEPH BAKER DAVIS
STUDENT 1864-1868
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
1870-1871
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
1872-1891
PROFESSOR 1891-1910
ASSISTANT DEAN
1904-1910
YOUNG MAN WHEN THEORY
AND PRACTICE DIFFER
USE YOUR HORSE SENSE.
Other tablets in the Engin Arch,
do not offer such sound educa-
tional precepts, but praise t h e
founders of the University. One
inscription commemorates Prof.
Charles Simeon Denison, who sug-
gested building the Arch. "This
tablet is placed here by his col-
leagues and students in abiding.
memory of his lovable character
and gentle manhood."
THE FOUNDER of the engineer-
ing school, DeVloson Wood, also
has a tablet in the Arch commem-
orating his "noble manhood."
Evidently, anyone can arrange
to donate a rock or a fountain or
a bench to the University. Benches
have been donated by classes and
fraternities, but actually the rocks
have much more class since they

make no pretense at functional
value.
In front of the flagpole is the
rock celebrating the founding of
Michigan Scabbard and Blade by
the F Company '48th Regiment in
1923. I can't help wondering why.
we're not getting new benches and
rocks; the most recent gift I could
find was the usually-nod function-
ing fountain by the Union, a gift
of the class of 1956.
IMAGINE A NEW ROCK, per-
haps on the mall being construct-
ed in front of the Administration
Bldg.: "Commemorating t h e
founding of Voice-SDS, 1961."
Or perhaps some trees, a la
Mayor Daley. President Tappan, in
addition to giving his name to the
now famous tree, "planted 48 trees
in circles around the oak, each
member of the class planting a
tree," at least according to the
inscription on the rock at the foot
of the Tappan Oak. President
Tappan evidently failed to antici-
pate the growth of the university
when he planted his trees.
Returning to the Michigan Un-
ion, we find yet,, another land-
mark. One of the pillars by the
side door.is not a pillar at all. As
the plaque reads:
"In this column are stored
documents which record they fifty
year history of the Michigan Un-
ion's contribution to the academic
community and its place as the
hearthstone of the campus, pro-
viding cultural, social, and re-
creational programs, serving also
as a laboratory of citizenship,'
training students in social re-
sponsibility and for leadership in
our democracy ,,1904-1954." I
couldn't help but wondering what
the University thinks has happen-
ed to students since 1954.
The campus must provide ex-
hibition space for even more minor
aesthetic and cultural monstro-
sities. My tour. didn't even take
me inside the buildings; who
knows what might be lurking
there? On a campus whose archi-
tectural standards have been es-
tablished by major aesthetic mon-
strosities like the LJSA Building,
the business administration build-
ing and South Quad, what ; else
can you expect?

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Letters:Evaluating a quality education'

To the Editor:
SHOULD LI:E to challenge
(and invite other faculty mem-
bers and students also to chal-
lenge) several contentions made
in Miss Jill Crabtree's editorial on
faculty-evaluation in Saturday's
Daily. I do not speak to the par-
ticular situation of the Residen-
tial College, since I have not as
yet had the experience of teaching
there. But I do think that a num-
ber of assumptions taken by Miss
Crabtree for granted are anything
but self-evident.
For one, in speaking of the Res-
idential College, the writer estab-
lishes an opposition between
"quality education" and some ne-
b u lo u s "political expediency"
which may, in her words, "take
precedent over the colleges' avow-
ed purpose." The R. C. apart, one
may legitimately ask what student
evaluations contribute to "qual-
ity education'" (my italics), and
how, and in what sense, does the
failure to supply the kind of com-
mittee structure discussed by the
writer significantly interfere with
the acquisition of such an educa-
tion.
This is not a quibble. The edi-
torial appears to go on to equate
"quality education" chiefly with
student determination of, to quote,
"what effect on their motivation
and thinking a particular profes-
sor has." I do not wish to be un-
fair to Miss Crabtree's position,
but it seems clear that the judg-
m e n t of a professor's teaching
technique is a central issue rela-
tive to the concept of "quality ed-
ucation" in the editorial.
I SUGGEST that there is a ser-
ious confusion here. Certainly one
might for personal reasons prefer
to have an entertaining, vibrant.
extrovertish professor to his op-

to put first things first when it
comes to evaluating the worth of a
professor?
This leads to some observations
on other assumptions contained in
the editorial, especially the role of
an evaluation committee on the
"self-correction" of a professor,
and further, the idea of "mutual
education" in the classroom. As
to the first, shades of Chairman
Mao! The image of a number of
committee-crats (and there can be
no pettier committee-crats than
students can be sometimes!) pass-
ing judgment on their teachers'
classroom techniques boggles the
imagination.
As to the second assumption, it
'is a vanity dear to the hearts of
some students that their profes-
sors are companions in the class-
room who are also there to learn
something, preferably from the
students. I do not wish to sound
arrogant by saying that this makes
nonsense of the entire process of
teaching and learning. Certainly
a professor is by choice of pro-
fession always a student, and his
own involvement with his classes
may do much to give him the oc-
casional new insight. But I take
it that the proper role of a pro-
fessor is to profess something
which he is qualified to profess,
and the proper role of the student
is to study that which is professed.
This is not a popular idea today,
when professors tend to be looked
at chiefly as discussion leaders,
group leaders, "resource persons"
(horrid words!) dialogue-innova-
tors, or as some, sorts of social
workers in the "education field."
I suggest that that which ought
to bind professors and students to -
gether in the firstninstance in a
university is subject-matter, not
personality or teaching technique:
The "elasroom exnerience." to use

Panhel
To the Editor:
WE CONTEST the premises up-
on which Leslie Wayne bases
her opinion in her editorial (Daily
Oct. 11).
She states, in reference to the
relationship between Panhellenic
Association and Alpha Kappa Al-
pha and Delta Sigma Theta, "the
purposes and programs of the two
organizations were not the same."
This is not true. Panhellenic's Ann
Arbor Community Center program
and its annual Cancer Drive are
just two programs which indicate
its concern with service. Alpha
Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma
Theta also consider service to be
of high importance. In order to
expand and improve their pro-
grams, they could have utilized
the organization, recruitment, and
communication opportuni-
ties which Panhellenic offers. It
has been stressed repeatedly that
". .. Make love

Panhellenic Executive Officers are
open to any new ideas and are
willing to implement any feasible
and worthwhile programs. Alpha
Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma
Theta were quick to criticize Pan-
hellenic's programs and objectives,
and yet they failed to suggest any-
thing better. The two black soror-
ities received no benefit from Pan-
hellenic programs because they did'
not choose to avail themselves of
those benefits.
It is stated in Miss Wayne's
editorial that "the effectiveness
of the clause will be totally nulli-
fied without the presence of the
black houses. She overlooked the
fact that black girls can rush and
pledge any of the remaining 21
houses, despite the absence of the
two black houses. And if M i s s
Wayne does not accept this argu-
ment, she should at least see the
inconsistency within her own. If
Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta
Sigma Theta are truly committed

to the elimination of a mechanism
which might allow for discrim-;
ination, and if it is true that their
absence invalidates Panhellenic's
elimination of such a mechanism,
is, it not likely that the two would
be willing to reenter Panhellenic
in order to ensure the success of a
measure they support? If they are
not willing to do so, then one can
only infer that they are not as
,committed to their cause as they
profess to be.
MIS WAYNE STATES th at
Panhe lenic has hesitated to com-
mit itself, and that "the oppor-
tunity for a sincere expression of
intent passed ten months ago." On
the contrary, this issue is a con-
troversial one today because Pan-
hellenic made a commitment and
a sincere expression of intent ten
months ago. Panhellenic has com-
mitted itself 'n the elimination of
any mechanism which might allow
for discrimination, n o t just on
this campus, but on campuses all
across the !,nation. If a chapter
chooses to break away from, rath-
er than to work with, its national,
chapters on other campuses will
:not be able to benefit from the
Michigan chapter's example. The
sincerity of the member houses is
manifested by their continuous ef-
forts to obtain this objective, as
the files of the membership com-
mittee will confirm.
And so, Miss Wayne, we would
be very appreciative if, in the fu-
ture, you would base your opinions
upon facts and well'-thought-out
argument, rather than upon ridic-
ulous assumptions and generali-
zations.
-Judy Norris
Panhel Cultural Con-
cerns Committee
-Diane Murphy,
Panhel Special Pro-

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