"How Is It You Don't Understand Us?" paw d tzDn & lii. Sixty-Ninth Year _w EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN When Opinions-Are Free UNDER AUTHOITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS Truth Will Prevail" STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. * ANN ARBOR, MICH. * Phone NO 2-3241 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. OdWARIA r b wz TWO-PART REQUIREMENT: Natura cience Group Contemplates Changes (EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of two articles discussing the recent report of the University's Natural Science Study Comnittee which is con- templating changes in the science distribution requirements.) By NAN MARKEL Daily Staff Writer IRONICALLY, as man becomes more civilized, his attention focuses more and more on nature. Our society increasingly consecrates itself to observation and application of the so-called laws of nature-to the extent that it's almost a sort of modern paganism. Recognizing science's emphatic role in the world today, the Uni- versity is attempting to overhaul its science program. The present natural science study committee was appointed four years ago "to in- quire into the natural science distribution program from all angles." Its first step was to compile a description of the nature and char- acteristics of the courses, and conducting a study of the laboratory Y. APRIL 28, 1959 NIGHT EDITOR: SUSAN HOLTZER Tangible Rewards No Stimulus For Real Intellectual Growth -THESE AR~E SOVEREIGN NATIONS, WHIH MUST BE REE(G aNIZ.EP AS SLKICA- a A14P WHAr HAPPENS 1N T'HESE COOATRIE S sNoBoPi''s $L)5INEss Bur oUT~s I -----rs IN A COLORFUL ceremony, complete with trophies and the school band, Asbury Park High School (Asbury Park, New Jersey) re- cently presented 81 students with varsity let- ters for "excellence in scholarship," in a strong attempt to encourage intellectualism in Asbury Park. The letters and special trophies, presented to students maintaing a 90 plus average for their high school careers, represent, an honest at- tempt to lure the American teenager away from the football hero to the academic whiz. It may work. But should it? Intellectualism is not a commodity, to be advertised and sold. Athletic emphasis brings immediate, tangible results, and thus easily fits in with a hard sell, complete with letters and trophies. Intellectual prowess is a long range achievement and much less adaptable to advertisement. THOSE WHO want to, think will think, as long as there is soiething to think about. Varsity letters do not constitute stimulus for anything but very superficial scholarship. The "bookworm" is finally coming into his own in the American high school set as stiffening competition to enter college makes a good mind as valuable as a football letter. The one thing which will encourage intel- lectualism is advancing all too slowly in the American school systems. Stepped-up courses, increased intellectual stimulation in the high. schools, special facilities made available to gifted students - these are the real awards to the students who have a real desire to learn. Certain steps have been taken. Programs such as that sponsored by the College Entrance Ex- amination Board, the Advanced Placement Program, begin to fill the need. But still, here in Michigan, only three high schools have in- troduced this program to their schools. OTHER HIGH SCHOOLS are making valiant attempts to "enrich" their high school pro- grams. These programs are good in places, but they lack uniformity, and are often unable to maintain the standards which colleges desire in their incoming freshmen. The solid, uni- form, well-organized courses, which will stim- ulate the bright high school student to exer- cise his innate intellectual curiosity, are stiill lacking,'at least on a national scale. Varsity letters are a start towards student encouragement, but they fall short of the mark. An award for learning tends to become a re- ward for marks, and the emphasis is put on the grind, not the thought behind intellectual achievement. For the really interested student, it is the intangible reward that counts. --FAITH WEINSTEIN THES$E ARE THE WEAPONS THESE ARE W'EST EUROPEAN~ WtTN wmICHWE CAN WIPE oUT SASE$, lv'WHICHtARE A THREAT WEST EVUROPE To PEACE P .4 rrI s setup and the use of mathematics in science. Last spring the committee drew up a report reviewing its activities and recommended three large changes. It asked the admissions office to set a minimum level of mathematical proficiency as a re- quirement for entrance into the literary college. It also requested a two to four hour addition to the 12 credit hours students are now required to take in natural science courses. In addition, a three-group re- quirement was set. Each student would be expected to take at least one course each, from a chemistry and physics group, an astronomy and geology group, and a zoology and botany group. Along with this, the total number of prescribed courses would be increased from three to four, including another laboratory course. However, since the time these proposals were made, they have been watered down considerably. Apparently the committee felt it would be "asking too much" to make students take 14 to 16 hours in natural science. They dropped the proposed load back to 12. THE THREE-GROUP require- ment has been reduced to two: 1) astronomy, physics and chem- istry, and 2) geology, botany and zoology. This change was necessary be- cause of the decrease in hours, but the committee felt the groups were still valid since "natural science distribution requirements can be truly meaningful only if they include biological and physi- cal sciences on a college level." With the new grouping, a flood of students will deluge the astron- omy, physics and chemistry de- partments. Since astronomy is popularly known as "easier" than the other two, this department will probably be forced to raise its standards so that it won't get more than its share of snap-seeking students. *DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN The Daily Official Bulletin Is an official publication of The Univer- sity of Michigan for which The Michigan Daily assumes no edi-, torial responsibility. Notices should be sent in TYPEWRITTEN form to Room r3519 AdministrationrBuild- ing, before 2 p.m. the day preceding publication. Notices for Sunday Daily due at 2:00 p.m. Friday. TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 1959 VOL. LXIX, NO. 147 General Notices Dearborn Center: Info on plans, in- structional programs, admission pro- cedures available Thurs., April 30, Aud. A, Angell Hll; Tues., May 5, 229 W. Eng., and Wed., May 6, 131 Bus. Ad. Meetings at 4 and 7:30 p.m. each day. Students to receive education and training allowance under Public Law 550 (Korea G. 1. Bill) or Public Law 634 (Orphans' Bill) must get instruc- tors' signatures for the month of April on April 28, 29 or 30. The Dean's Monthly Certification should be turned in to the Dean's office by noon, Mon., May 4. Agenda, Student Government Coun- cil, April 29, 1959,' 7:30 p.m., Council Rm. Minutes of previous meeting. President: Letters. Board in Control, Intercollegiate Athletics. Old Business: Academic Freedom mo- tions (Haber). Baptist Student Union. Constituents Time. Executive Vice-President: Student. Faculty-Administration. Administrative Vice-President: Ap- p a i n t m e n t s, Standing Committee Chairmanships. Treasurer. Clarification Committee. New Business: Discussion of Rose Bowl Participation: (Quinn). Atomic Enegry, Uses of (aber) Members and Constituents Time. Announcements. Adjournment. Foreign Visitors Followingare the foreign visitors who will be on the campus this week on the (Continued on Page 5) '. I IN JAPANESE COLLEGES:. Entrance Exams Cause Neurosis Inconsistency in Africa Hurts U.S. . "VERY BLACK" were the ,words used by African nationalist leader Tom Mboya to describe the future of the segregation-ridden Union of South Africa. While he was specifically pointing to the country which has overtly practiced the White Supremacy doctrine, Mboya left no doubts that his people are not willing to remain a second- class servile race. Speaking an Ann Arbor Friday, he dramati- cally predicted that Africa "will be free in our lifetime." The desire and ability of the "Black- man" of that continent to us all means, includ- ing violence, to achieve sovereignty adds factual evidence to his pronouncement. AND AS THE likelihood of a free Africa in- creases, the question of where the United States stands in relation to the 210 million people inhabiting the continent becomes more important. It becomes increasingly so when this country is regarded as "a living example of democracy" by so many Africans. The people, though, educationally, economi- cally and culturally backward, still wonder about certain American attitudes. They ques- tion the ability of a nation which practices' Nego segregation in schools to be an ally of the "Black" nations of Africa. It is no surprise that they are doubtful about the treatment to expect from this country. BASED on this country's inability to stamp out the Popplarville, Miss., Little Rock, Ark. and Norfolk, Va. incidents, nationalists will demand to know "if United States support comes to aid democracy or to halt Commun- ism." If the latter, Africans should weigh the merits of being regarded as an equal or only as a tool to be'wielded in the "Cold War" which is secondary to their own struggle for inde- pendence. If the United States remained passive, except for occasional verbal denunciations, when Hungary, Tibet and Algeria were actively seek- ing their freedom, Africans can only conclude that this country is one which enthusiastically preaches the ideals of democracy but rarely is willing to implement them.' Today, the United States has "great expecta- tions" for the entire continent-potentially the world's most productive area. As a big brother to the underdeveloped nations this country. could play a valuable part in Africa's growth. But advocating one ideal while practicing another leads the United States closer to a repeat of its previous failures in the other na- tionalistically-minded parts of the world.. -CHARLES KOZOLL (EDITOR'S NOTE: Japanese young- sters face from the outset of their school life a fiercely competitive series. of examinations that affects their entire future. The pressure of this rigid system is producing a so- ciological upheaval among many stu- dents.) By KENNETH ISHII Associated Press Staff Writer T OKYO - Suicides are commit- ted, homes are shattered, neur- osis and violence result - all be- cause of the long-established Jap- anese custom of entrance exam- inations. The student who tried to drag Crown Prince Akhito's bride from the royal carriage following the wedding, was mad at the world,; among other reasons, because he had flunked entrance examina- tions to three Japanese universi- ties. Why are college entrance exams -that dreaded late winter and early spring event - so vitally important in Japan? Youngsters prepare for them from childhood with single- minded dedication because a de- gree from the "'right" university virtually assures a good job and a lifetime of success. A degree from the "wrong" one can mean a life- time of frustration and poverty. The examinations are so tough and competitive that at famed Tokyo University, for example, less than one out of five applicants passed the grueling tests last year -and less than 30 per cent who did get in were accepted on the first try. Many who fail prefer to wait a year - sometimes three, four and five years - after finishing high school to bone up at special schools, rather than try for en- trance at an easier but little- known institution.' A Tokyo police survey shows that 212 youths (including 37 girls) ran away from home be- tween March, 1957, and March, 1958, because they failed to pass school entrance exams. Last year's figure is expected to run about the same. And the suicide rate in the 15 to 24 age group is the highest of all in Japan, with 54.8 deaths for every 100,000 persons. Many of these have been officially attrib- uted to school examination fail- ures. Last month, for example, At- suko Yoshia, 28-year-old daugh- ter of former Lt. Gen. Kokota Yoshida, was found dead of gas poisoning in her room. Police thought she had committee sui- cide because she had failed a uni- versity- entrance exam for the third time. So devastating have become the sociological repercussions that re- sponsible voices are being raised in protest. But it is also recognized that part of the trouble lies in Japanese custom and tradition which are. difficult to change. This is how the system can work: The Suzukis (Japan's Mr. and Mrs. John Doe) have a son they want to enroll in kindergarten in Tokyo where they live. So they prepare him for various aptitude tests he must take. Even kinder- gartens have entrance exams. TO THE SUZUKIS, it is im- portpnt which kindergarten their son enters for a child who has been through a "good" kinder- garten stands a better chance of bein'g admitted to a correspond- ingly "good" primary school. And since first-rate primary schools are often related in one way or another to first-rate high schools, graduates of the former get preferential treatment when they sit for entrance,'exams to the latter. The same applies in the transi- tion from high school to univer- sity-and even;beyond into a job. Many firms specify they will only consider applicants who have degrees from the top-rate univer- sities. One frustrated graduate of a minor university wrote recently in a well-known magazine that "I graduated from the university only to turn into a beggar." He complained that business firms refused to consider him because his university was not among the well-established. So he became. a manual laborer. He wrote: "I once tried to pretend to be only a high school graduate to get a low paying job in a minor firm that doesn't hire university gradu- ates. But to make matters worse, they suspected I had been ill or in jail during the four years I ac- tually spent at the university." Sociologists point out that one of the fundamental obstacles to a solution is based on the Japanese concept of loyalty. This concept, which stems from the Japanese family system, in- volves reciprocal loyalty on the, part of student and school, and employer and employee, to such an extent that a transfer is rare indeed, and frequently damaging to career. The most respected of all Jap- anese universities is the govern- ment-run Tokyo University which. last year accepted only 2,070 out of 10,904 applicants. Other big time state universities include Hitotsubashi which took 400 out of 3,526, Tokyo Technolo- gical which took 465 from 4,726, and Kyoto University which ac- cepted 1,578 out of 6,640. The big names among the pri- vate institutions include Keio, ° Waseda and Gakushuin univer- sities. There are a total of 510 univer- sities and junior colleges in Japan. The current who's who put out by the newspaper Asahi shows that some 63 per cent of the gov- ernment officials, businessmen and scholars listed are graduates of Imperial university, the name by which Tokyo university went until 1945. NO FIGUREHEAD: New Red President J May Be Tougher An Expensive Hint SIGMA NU'S fire exemplifies a need for the . University to crack down on inspection of off-campus housing. City Fire Chief Ernest Heller said Thursday that if the fire, which started above the south- east dormitory, had occurred during the night, the men sleeping there would Dave been over- come by the intense heat before they could have escaped down the small fire escape. A couple of weeks ago a fire inspector visited the Sigma Nu House and lectured on what to do in case of fire. He also recommended instal- lation of an automatic warning system for defective wiring-the suspected cause of the fire. In addition, a few months ago, the fra- ternity had rewired much of the house. How- ever, Chief Heller still found some old wiring above the dorm, which had needed replacing. The very occurrence of the fire indicates that A Haven STUDENT FUGITIVES of the law have found their Ivory Tower in a most unlikely place-. the classroom. This "hideout" was assured Thursday when Vice-President James A. Lewis told Ann Arbor police. to keep "hands off" students while they are attending classes. Lewis' reaffirmation of standard University policy was needed after Police Chief Casper M. ' Enkemann announced earlier last week that Editorial Staff RICHARD TUBB, Editor MICHAEL KRAFT JOHN WEICHER Editorial Director City Editor DAVID TARR Associate Editor DALE CANTOR................... Personnel Director JEAN WILLOUGHBY .... Associate Editorial Director ALAN JONES.....................Sports Editor BEATA JORGENSON..........Associate City Editor ELIZABETH ERSKINE ... Associate Personnel Director rT nll nt AIX A - .+. . ..+o 11Pi. n.. more safety precautions should have been taken. QUITE OFTEN tragedy must actually take place before changes are made. Air collisions had to occur before enough agitation was raised for better control of the airways, mines must cave in before they are closed, and there had to be deaths in the Chicago school fire before municipalities started examining their own school conditions. And now a fraternity has burned before ade- quate protections were instituted. Only by sheer luck did the fire start at a time when no one was asleep in the dorm and thus intensify the tragedy. - Deaths should not be necessary to prompt action in tightening inspection. -JOHN FISCHER in Mason police had arrested about a dozen students in their classes who had not paid traffic fines. Enkemann said the arresting officer received information on offenders' class schedules through the various Deans' offices. But three different deans said they released no such in- formation. The source still remains an enigma. Relations between University and city re- main smooth. Enkemann admitted a mixup with the police department and has promised to work through the Office of Student Affairs henceforth. One can appreciate the plight of the police (except maybe those who have cornered the parking ticket market) who are often led on wild goose chases by free-wheeling University jockeys. But three strikes and you're out ap- plies in the art of fine-dodging as well as baseball. After the student has received his third no- tice he becomes fair game for a warrant and had better head for the lecture hall if short on cash. Asylum will be shortlived, though as University classes 'only last 50 minutes. --FRED KATZ (EDITOR'S NOTE: Th Miter of this sketch, of Liu Shao- hi is one of the few Western newspapermen ever to interview the new president of Comm'Unist China.) By JOHN RODERICK Associated Press Staff Writer TOKYO - The election of Liu Shao-Chi as president of Com- munist China may spell bad news for the West. It could presage a new, tougher era of Chinese Communism, both at home and abroad, particularly in Asia. The Chinese could have picked a figure-head, such as aging Mar- shal Chu Teh, for the presidency, held for a decade by Mao Tze- Tung. Instead, they chose to give it new stature by reaching for one of the sharpest, ablest minds they could find in the Communist hier- archy. The object is to make sure that LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Student Critics Arouse Student Criticism China speaks with two strong voices - Liu's and Premier Chou En-Lai's - after Mao has with- drawn from the public eye to work on the pressing problems of 'the party and the nation as chairman of the Chinese Communist party. Liu, Mao and Chou for a relent- lessly tough, shrewd team of Marxists, h match for any nation in future international horse- trading, either on the foreign min- isters level or at the summit. LONG A MAN of considerable personal mystery, Liu will emerge from the shadows of the Com- munist party headquarters to take a more prominent public place in China. This is in line with his now- solidified position as heir-appar- ent to ,Mao, whose chairmanship of the party makes him still mas- ter of the world's most populous nation. This writer first met Liu in De- cember 1945, in the Communist' cave-capital of Yenan in North China with -three other Western newsmen after the end of World War II. During an interview, his eyes were downcast in an expression that bordered on furtiveness, he hardly spoke above 'a whisper. Ex- pressionless most of the time, a half-smile occasionally flickered around the corners of his mouth. * * * LIU INSISTED then that Com- munist China wanted friendly re- lations with all the world 'and would give no particular prefer- ence to Soviet Russia. The impression he left was of a not-particularly brilliant individ- ual, but one endowed with more than usual courage, doggedness and singleness of purpose. His toughness emerged later when in 1951 he directed a blood purge of the regime's enemies. Liu's travels so far appear to have been confined to the Soviet Union, or at most the Communist bloc. He went to Moscow for the first time in the early 1920s as a student, and headed the Chinese delegation to the 19th Soviet Party Congress in 1952. j To the Editor: WE WERE disappointed in the cynical attitude taken by Mr. Gregory in his review of the movie Pather Panchali. Although heart- ily concurring with the reviewer's appraisal of the film, we vigorously dissent to his appraisal of its au- dience. While the film may have been a "masterpiece," the review certainly was not. The attributes bestowed generally upon this cam- pus audience by the reviewer are unsound, uncalled for, and worth- less from the standpoint of a movie review. That a campus au- dience is incapable of enjoying a rwork of art which lacks sex- appeal, is incomprehensible to us, but apparently not so to Mr. Greg- ory. If he has set himself up as the only reasoning, sensitive being on campus, he has our sympathy, in his solitude. For one who can see the "beauty in the vision of life" depicted in the film, it is curious that he falls short of see- ino a ulity in thns eronnd him. nately portrayed in a violently monomaniacal fashion. This is not true to character and of course, "sentimental pathos" and "hys- teria" are completely alien to the feelingst of madness and despair inherent in the character. (The critic should have added, Miss Small's portrayal was reminiscent of the sentimentality one finds as being so out of place at weddings and her exaggerated gestures as incongruous as the stiff rigidity of the corpse at the last funeral he reviewed.) Here, the critic has hit a sensitive spot-today, unfortu- nately, too much of our dramatic interpretation is dramatic. His criticism of the background music as being "purposeless" and "inconsistent" shows great sensi- tivity to mood and ranks with that classic critique, the Reneta Te- baldi review, remarkable for its -depth and complete understanding of the art. Mr. Z. implies that no dramatic altar has been left un- profaned-except that of plot. houses after our fire Thursday. One hour after the fire began offers for room and board facilities were more than sufficient to ac- commodate the 37 actives living in the house. There were so many people who came and gave help in such a short time we could never openly thank them individually. We are very grateful for the help and generosity of everyone. Special thanks goes to Delta Tau Delta who has opened their board facilities to us for the rest.of the semester and to Alpha Omicron Pi who fed the 40 fire fighters Thurs- day evening. -Bill Studebaker, President .'I Senimore Says... 1 -1 ~ram-;hy;;a" q qr"" w,.,.. ..,w..,.r..R. pyue F:r ..: .., . . . .. +"e^bil :., dlte: ^ .,;ui e'