MyA AIrgattBut &t Seventy-Sixth Year EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MIC14TGAN UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS Ther Opinins Are Free, 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, MICH. NEWS PHONE: 764-0552 Trutb illPrevail Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all refrints. -IURSDA'. JULY 13, 1967 NIGHT EDITOR: LUCY KENNEDY ._. The See' Engulfs Detroit's Hippies A U.S. Public Education: Transfusion Needed A RECENT STUDY by Prof. Byron G. Massialas of the School of Education found social studies textbooks presenting an unrealistic picture of American so- ciety, neglecting important social issues, and discouraging creative thought. When questioned as to whether any of the texts had perhaps proved exceptional, he de- clared them all to be "uniformly bad, totally lacking in relevance to the prob- lems of modern life." The same might be said about the en- tire system of public education in the United States. Many of the ailments plaguing Ameri- can public education are the results of chronic neglect, and could be cured with reasonable doses of money. Unfortunate- ly, increased funds, while improving the schools immensely, would not of them- selves be sufficient to completely revive the patient. The reason is that the great- er portion of what is wrong with public education is not a simple illness but the result of congenital defects. American society has never encouraged a great deal of thought. Historically, ours has been a country in which a person has to prove himself, not by intellect or learning, but by physical strength, prac- tical knowledge, and general good-fellow- ship. Intelligence is by its very nature suspect; display of mental achievement, unlike display of physical prowess, is considered to be in bad taste. Is it any wonder that, in a climate such as this, education suffers? THERE ARE MANY factors contribut- ing to the poor quality of the nation's schools. One of these, as Prof. Massialas pointed out, is the mediocrity of text- books. A related fault in many areas is the deplorable narrowness of curricula- both in major fields offered and in the sub-divisions studied. In at least one state, Texas; a course in American his- tory is not even required of high school students; Texas history is. The physical facilities of most public schools throughout the country are also sadly deficient. The most obvious and de- pressing need is for mere space; few school systems have even caught up with the post-World War II "baby boom" of the late forties, much less with the pop- ulation explosion of the fifties which has increased overcrowding in already full- to-bursting buildings. An additional prob- The Daily is a member of the Associated Press and Cllegiate Press Service. aummer subscription rate: $2.00 per term by carrier ($2.50 by mail); $4.00 for entire summer ($4.50 by mal). Daily except Monday during regular academic school year. Daily except Sunday and Monday during regular summer session. Second class postage paid at Ann Arbor. Michigan. 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor. Michigan, 48104. Siu nllierEditorial St LAURENCE MEDOW...... ...........Co-Editor STEPHEN FIRSHEIN .... .. . . .. ......... Co-Editor MARK LEVIN . . Summer Supplement Editor NIGHT EDITORS: John Gray. Wallace Immen, David Knoke, Betsy Turner, Lucy Kennedy. ASSISTANT NIGHT EDITORS: Thomas Copi, Jill Crabtree, Jenny Stiller. AND 4MREW LUGG.........Review Editor lem is the lack of miodern scientific equipment--or even the most rudimen- tary laboratory facilities-in many high schools. But perhaps the worst problem of pub- lic education in the United States is the caliber of teachers. There are too few peo- ple idealistic and talented enough to pro- vide stimulating classes in the face of low pay, apathetic communities, and oth- er outside pressures, including facing a classroom of students conditioned by poorer teachers to pay little attention to what is being said. And, unfortunate as it may be, it is nonetheless true that there are more incompetent teachers than good ones, chiefly because many women who are forced to work drift into teaching-particularly at the lower lev- els. They accept their roles as educators of the young more as a tedious job to be endured than as an honored profession. Similarly, more competent, highly-train- ed individuals are often discouraged by the mediocre pay and low repute that are the lot of the teaching profession; these are lured into the more lucrative -and often more interesting-positions in industry and government. DULL TEACHERS mean dull lessons. Few teachers care to go out of their way to try to interest their pupils with original methods of instruction, and those that do are often sadly frustrated in their attempts to acquire the materials to do so. Still fewer are willing to buck possi- ble parental-or worse, political-disap- proval by initiating discussions in any area which could conceivably be contro- versial. In mathematics this may be pos- sible, but to history, civics, or even Eng- lish literature it can be-and often is- fatal to a spirit of free inquiry. Despite all its faults, American public education is not as bad as it could be. Several really outstanding school sys- tems in the suburbs around such cities as New York, Washington, Cleveland and San Francisco do provide a ray of hope. Projects in improved teaching methods have proved highly successful in New York and Chicago. But for the majority of Americans, education is only slightly better than it was in the last century. MANY IMPROVEMENTS, especially in physical facilities and teaching ma- terials, need only increased funds to be realized. But the roots of many problems, such as teacher status-an extension of the status of intellectuals in general-lie near the heart of the American ethos. With a great deal of concentration, it may be possible for American public edu- cation to become the best in the world, teaching students to think rather than to memorize, to question rather than re- cite. The only question that remains is whether the United States can afford the intelligent criticism that such education would engender. This country has the capability to teach its young people to think; does it really want them to? -JENNY STILLER kIO$sTiKZ 2'--LIT" ~ Letters to the Editor By NEAL BRUSS "Their production will be second to none And of course Henry the Horse dances the waltz." -The Beatles DETROIT--As frosty May be- came frothy June and steel-toed garage and cycle boots were re- placed by sandals from Bombay and Plum Street, Detroit hippies organized and opened a full-blown commercial nite spot, The See, in which they featured their musi- cians and artists. At that moment their music reached a turning point-although it had been com- ing for several months. The charm was dissipated and the sound had lost its amateurish fuzziness. There had been several memor- able concerts before the opening of The See. Most had been pro- moted by psychedelic posters with banana lettering produced by Gary Grimshaw, whose work is striking and creative, although no more in- genious than that of other hippy postermen. Like the musicians. Grimshaw reached a turning point of sorts after the opening of The See when a Detroit court convict- ed him on charges of displaying an obscene sign. A policeman testi- fied he found a kite made from Old - Glory-style material with what the Detroit Free Press call- ed "an obscene anti-American phrase written across it" hanging from an overhead light in the of- fice of The Sun; an underground paper Grimshaw edits. Before the acceleration of events there were several memorable hippy concerts, the most trium- phant of which was the Unified Megalopolitan Piece (sic) Pow- Wow, held in mid-June in Wayne State University's opulent Con - munity Arts Auditorium. ANYONE in the audience who wished received a piece of incense to burn and sniff. Everyone was powed by full-blasting batteries of amplifiers and wowed by a groovy light show produced by the Magic Veil group. The megalo- universality of the event-and of the entire hippy phenomenon as well-was explained by local as- trologist Billy Ried to be a func- tion of the swirling of the zodi- acal constellations. Everyone on and off stage was unified at the end of the concert by a roundof the Hare Krishna mantra, the jump-for-joy hippy anthem in the name of the gods of India. The music is home-written, per- sonal and electrifying. The Pass- ing Clouds, for example, are less than a year old but they have al- ready cultivated a sensitive pastel- colored sound based on songs whose lyrics probe life through the eyes of the thin-skinned -in- dividual. The Clouds come on in Chiquita banana T-shirts and mad hatter hats with developing gui- tar and keyboard solos. They can do 'sock out ragas and emotion- hardened rock. The Spikedrivers have been around longer; and after a difficult tour through the recording indus- try have considerably vitamined their sound with new guitarists, weird oriental touches and gen- erally more imaginative material. Vocalist Marycarol has toughened her voice and slaps her tambour- ine with increased finesse. Their outstanding articulate guitar solo- ist-the one with the Trotsky hair-comes on in an Uncle Sam suit. THE MC-5 is the standout group, honored for their unchang- ing freak-out sound, the napalm approach to love-rock-blues. Their approach to flower music is rip, shred, blast. wail, roar, defoliate. They are technicians of amplifi- cation, stacking layers and layers of guitar feedback. An MC-5 song is usually good for half an hour,. during which the drummer works himself to an exhausted slumber on top of his instrument at least twice. The diorama music usually begins with a shriek of blues vocal or harmonica, which even- tually is drowned in the feedback- mounted guitar. One guitarist roars out with a string of 20 spasms of low rhythm as another tolls the hour on his guitar each time his circling arm crashes on- to the super strings. At the Uni- fied Megalopolitan Piece Pow- Wow the MS-5 disappointed their audience by failing to play a fav- orite, "Air Raid Sirens of Euro- pean Cities: World War II." Throughout the Pow-Wow night musicians were painted in flash- ing seething light by the Magic Veil group, which beams swirling oil, patterns in cut glass, abstract art and gory-zanyaphotos. Yonkins, the Rapunzel-haired ringleader of the group, took a dip with several of his elves in Minuru Yamasaki's ornamental pool outsidethe auditorium be- fore the Pow-Wow. They dripped on stage to dribble a couple of catastrophic vaudeville jokes be- fore crawling into their opaque projectors and strobe installations. Just when their lights seem to evoke a possible Nirvana, they dangle a gruesomely nutty slide of bloody-chained Dracula or of Yonkins himself posed casually on a police cruiser. They also have slides of Buddhas and fun- eral barques. Their most enigmat- ic offering is a swan diver hanging in downward flight somewhere in a gaping universe.. Although the Magic Veil show is heroic in mood and enchantingly beautiful, along comes Drac to sardonically dispell the pretension of pipe-dreaming. The MC-5 have damaged ears. To facilitate hearinlg for "the next freak-out, mandarin-robed astrol- ogist Ried talks without direction for 15 minutes, finally concluding that someone, if not he, has a message. Conveniently, head hip- py John Sinclair pops up, recites a poem invoking persons unnam- ed to 'break bread" because "the journey had been hard," as though Detroit hippies were recruiting. Sinclair announces that it's raga time; Yonkins, clad in little more than a white laboratory coat, hops on stage to beckonthe audience to the Hare Krishna Mantra. It pours forward as though it were demonstrating for a favorite son at a Republican National Conven- tion. THE CHANT begins, along with a circle dance, individual Soupy Shuffles and hopping on one foot. Hare hare (pause), Hare" krshna (pause),rKrishna krishna (pause), Krishna hare. The tune is an ori- ental relative of You are lost and (pause), Gone forever (pause), o my darling (pause), Clementine. The jubilee lasts 15 minutes, after which the lights come on, the light show comes off and enter- tainers and friends are left chat- ting on stage. A concert such as the Pow-Wow may attract Detroit's top hippies but still is a mild and provincial affair. The groups haven't been working as long as some of the more creative West Coasters and can't afford to burn their guitars or release smoke bombs. The Mag- ic Veil smothers in corny jokes and thin oils. Even if they have moved into a stage of cabaret commercialism at The See and have not reached the pinnacles of the freak-out world, occasionally the tambourine lives although the vocals are in- audible, and Uncle Sam plays the guitar raga. Jr Sesqui Ground Rules Letter from Volke The following proposed guide- lines were adopted by Voice-and approved by Bruce Kahn. presi- dent of SGC as a fair procedure- to be used by the University when- ever public, educational confer- ences are called. Voice feels that these guidelines should be adopted for the Sesquicentennial proceed- ings and strongly urges the admin- istration to quickly adopt them: I. The proper purpose of meetings open to the public is to educate the audience and not to brainwash them. II. For this reason audiences must be given ample opportunity to question and criticize the speakers. III.sThe following format is proposed as a minimal one to achieve this goal: a) U'a of the conference time should be reserved for com- ments and questions from the audience. b) Questions and com- ments should be submitted to the Moderator in signed, written form and should be no more than 100 words in length. They should be folded so as to con- ceal their text before they are opened. c) All such items should be placed by the Moderator in a hat, and withdrawn by a process of random selection. They should then be publicly read and answered until the answering period time elapses. d) There must be absolu- tely no censorship of any item selected at random and the Moderator must read them- whether he feels them to be irrelevant, improper, or repeti- tive. e) After the item is read, the speaker it addresses (if any) and any other speakers may reply to it. (No one else may.) The speakers, if they choose, may ignore the item. f) If any speaker answers the question, its maker may claim one minute to rebut the reply. If no speaker answers the item, the maker may claim one minute to speak on the rele- vance of the question. g) After this statement the next item is picked, read, and the same procedure fol- lowed. h) No one may raise ques- tions or comment outside of this procedure; no one's second item, if, selected, may be read until all first items submitted by people are answered. VOICE FEELS that an ideal proposal would include a provi- sion for the reading of the item. selected as above, by the maker rather than the moderator. Never- theless, Voice believes that even with the moderator reading the item, this proposal establishes the minimal procedure needed to en- sure a free discussion at public conferences.. -VOICE-SDS Tired Claims I read with great interest the Arab view of the "Palestinian Problem" by Imad Khadduri in last Saturday's -Daily. It was not surprising, but was somewhat dis- appointing. He presented the same old claims, some ridiculous and others with some merit (when pre- sented with balance and modera- tion). Glaringly absent was any hint of a desire for peace in that region. Instead, Mrs. Khadduri says that the dispute "grimly points to big- ger and more dangerous wars." Why is it such a stigma for an Arab to advocate peace? Will an Arab student lose face and be ostracized by his fellows if he comes out in favor of peace with Israel? Certainly there is a basis for Arab claims. But no cause in history has ever been 100 per cent right. Arab intransigence refuses to grant any minor point, and in- sists that the Israelis are all wrong. If people like Mr. Khadduri continue with this unwavering stubbornness, they just might ful- fill their own prophesy for renewed belligerency. MR. KHADDURI lists the goals that Arab progressive 'political parties seek as "socialism, free- dom, and unity." Again, no men- tion of peace, the most important ingredient for progress. Mr. Khad- duri put forth much effort in just- fying his rejection of peace. Can't he see any advantages in a peace- ful settlement? -B. D. Fine, Grad. Vietnam Morass An Open Letter to Zolton A. Ferency There is only one "best effort" of President Johnson which will assure peace. That would be to admit he has been wronguand re- verse his policy. How good do the prospects of that look to you? If you agree that our policy"is ill advised and must be changed, and if you agree that there isn't the chance of a snowball in hell of President Johnson even admitting such a necessity, let alone carrying it out, then let's get on with letting enough people know what a liar he is so that we can get change through new leadership. IF PRESIDENT JOHNSON real- ly means to exert every effort to seek peace rather than merely ex- ploit every Madison Avenue trick to make it look that way, he could have proved it easily very recently. When he met with Kosygin he could have said, "Hanoi has said over and over that if the bombing is stopped, negotiations can begin. You know as well as I do that Johnson could, have done that with a tremendous amount of pop- ular support had he really wanted to. But he didn't, did he? So why keep defending this Ananias of Ananiases? If you want to have some dis- cussion of this most important of issues and clear the air, publish, this and get it off to a good start. -R. F. Burlingame $ fr ' 4 California Dreami~ng i -u- I WFIV } y a I Just Who is the iera? namaan I am a liberal. Lyndon Johnson is a conser- vative. Just for once, I'd like to get those terms sorted out, used prop- erly and put into perspective. It isn't likely to change the labels that have become so common, but we really should keep trying. Political liberals, through his- tory, have been distinguished by their opposition to coercive pow- er, whether it be the power of religious hierarchy or that of a government, a financial cartel or monopoly. Conservatives have wanted to keep everything the same - par- ticularly concentration of power. Now don't forget that I have re- have fought all my life. It is that fight which makes me a liberal in history's longest terms. NOW BACK to the conservative Lyndon Johnson. He is not con- servative in the sense that I often use the term, of having a regard for the lessons of the past. You might call that a reflective con- servative, and that Lyndon John- son isn't. He is a conservative in the sense of wanting to retain power and use it to force people to follow him. This type of conservative wants to return to a society sim- ilar to the feudal societies of the Dark Ages in which a dependent citizenry huddled in the castle Society has become, for many of its bureaucratic preachers, a sort of secular religion, complete with the pious belief that salvation may only be found through fed- eral programs. The Great Planned Society aiso has become the most cartel-mind- ed and monopolistic of all powers. It daily seeks to add new areas to its monopoly of power, squeezing out the powers of the states and the cities and also the power of private enterprise. So far as car- tels go, it is the Big Brother part- ner of virtually every concern that wants to do business abroad. The Great Planned Society seeks a monopoly on health, wealth and happiness and of By STEVE GRUBER Collegiate Press Service Governor Reekin sat back in his chair and watched the rain. He had just finished his fifth term as governor. He picked up the newspaper and read a page 52 story "Former University California President Clark Curr died yesterday." "Ha!" he snorted, "serves him right." "What serves who right?" Reek- in's wife Nancy asked. "Curr died. Serves him right." Reekin smiled. "Poor Curr," Mrs. Reekin said, returning her husband's smile, "he never really caught on to what education was all about." "Remember when I first took office?" Reekin asked. "All those radicals were at Berkeley then and Curr was their leader. First we got rid of Curr, then the radi- cals, then Berkeley." "YES, IT CERTAINLY is much better as an agricultural station now than it ever was as a uni- versity," Mrs. Reekin added. "Cows in Berkeley?"' Reekin was doubled up with laughter. "Your tuition proposals were good, too. After you made your "But all the football coaches stayed, Nancy, and that's what counts. UCLA won the Rose Bowl for 11 years straight. They even beat the Green Bay Packers one year. "IT WAS MARVELOUS, Ronnie. but if Curr had stayed it never could have happened." ' "Curr didn't like football: he was incomprehensible. Why, when I went to Eureka College, we had things like English and history, but we had football, too. In fact, I majored in the theory of foot- ball." "I always hated the name multi- versity anyway. The "multipigskin' was a much better name." - "Football was practical, Nancy, and Curr could never see that. He wasn't practical. There was no reason to teach the boys and girls things like philosophy. How could they possibly get any value from their education after majoring in philosophy?" "The Berkeley Agricultural Sta- tion has produced thousands of excellent farmers, Ronnie. It was a great idea." "Those boys sure can spade the manure. They'll make fine citi- zens." Reekin made quick little motions with his hands as if ": I I 'V U