Elyr Mtd gan BIly
Seventy-nine years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan
under the rug
An attack on moderation
byT 'MWi
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.
News Phone: 764-0552
Lditorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1969
NIGHT EDITOR: DANIEL ZWERDLING
Subversi'on of ROTC 0..
NOT SURPRISINGLY, the Senate As-
sembly yesterday delayed action on
endorsement of a report drastically mod-
ifying the University's ROTC programs.
Although the consensus at the meeting
was clearly in favor of the majority re-
port, the faculty are addicted to ponder-
ous procedure and will probably not come
up with a decision until their next re-
gular meeting in November.
In this case, however, the delay can be
reasonably justified. The ROTC question
is a complex and significant one demand-
ing the scrutiny of every member of the
community. Indeed, what really slowed
the faculty decision-making process yes-
terday were debates on the philosophical
and moral implications of maintaining
ROTC at an institution dedicated to the
pursuit of reason and peace.
THE NATURE of the debate can be
understood by a comparison of two
positions.
In an incisive and cogent presentation,
History Prof. Gerhard Weinberg argued
that civilian control of an increasingly
autonomous military can be asserted by
keeping ROTC on campus and under the
control - or "supervision" - of human-
itarians. Considering history and current
politics, Weinberg assumes that the mili-
tary will always be with us and that grass
roots civilian control of the defense com-
plex should begin at the University level.
A compelling counter-argument w a s
concisely stated by Social Work P r o f.
Roger Lind. In essence, Lind said that
Weinberg's position is really "We will al-
low you to learn to kill as long as you do
it humanely." Extending Lind's logic -
if not his remarks - one reasons that
preserving ROTC on campus can only
aid the defense establishment; only top-
down reform can restructure the mili-
tary.
Weinberg's arguments clearly won the
faculty, if not on their own merits, then
simply because the moralistic arguments
are so disturbingly uncompromising to
faculty sensibilities. But on their own
merits, Weinberg's statements are worth
considering.
HEN THE faculty finally endorse a
report, it must be with the full inten-
tion of pressing the Regents to help sub-
vert ROTC from within-as the pragma-
tist suggests-or to abolish ROTC alto-
gether-as the moralist argues. The Re-
gents must understand that under no
circumstances is the present arrange-
ment with the defense department ac-
ceptable to the students or the faculty
of this University.
-HENRY GRIX
Editor
IN 1964, when students at Berkeley seized
Sproul Hall, they launched the Amer-
ican student movement into the Twen-
tieth Century. Now, five years later, the
movement is ready to enter the Twenty-
First.
For in the five years of escalating tur-
moil since the "Free Speech Movement"
the nation's college campuses have become
rapidly and almost totally politicized. The
stereotype of the apathetic student of the
1950's is nearly dead.
It all happened extremely fast. Most
students can still remember the days when
antiwar vigils on the Diag drew 50 sup-
porters and a sit-in (even in Pierpont's of-
fice) could gather no more than 25.
EVEN FRATERNITIES, once a haven
for apolitical, apathetic, and anti-intel-
lectual rich kids, are either radically
changing or going out of business. And
today, the antiwar rallies measure strength
in tens of thousands of participants.
But the involvement of the formerly
"silent majority" in the political arena has
been a mixed blessing, bringing with it
thousands of bodies but a host of prob-
lems.
One such problem emerged Monday
night when a group called Students for
Effective Action surfaced on the Univer-
sity political scene. The politics of the new
group are rather unclear at this point, but
its general direction-and political naivete
-were probably best expressed by Andy
Weissman, one of its organizers.
"WE WANT TO BE a progressive polit-
ical group, one which seeks meaningful
political change without ,militant confron-
tation," he said. "We want to use the sys-
tem for change, not alienate it," he added.
Thus the SEA emerges as a last grasping
effort on the part of campus moderates to
achieve political relevance in the face of
mass student defections to more radical,
politics.
But the position of moderation is based
upon a number of false assumptions about
society and the University which are a re-
flection of the lack of political sophistica-
tion of the "moderate" leadership.
They assume that the men governing
the University and the nation are reason-
able, rational men who will respond to
gentle persuasion, "rational dialogue,"
and constructive proposals.
SEVERAL RECENT EVENTS significant-
ly undermine such unrealistic optimism.
The reaction of President Fleming, the
University faculty, and the Regents to stu-
dent demands for a discount bookstore
make the feasibility of moderate politics
questionable at best..
In seeking a bookstore, two basic ap-
proaches were attempted by students. The
first effort culminated in June when the
Regents refused to approve the "SGC
plan" for a University bookstore. In doing
so they refused to honor the democratically
conducted referendum in which students
voted to assess themselves $1.75 to estab-
lish a bookstore.
At the same meeting, the Regents also
refused to authorize a bookstore even if
the students could raise the necessary
funds through voluntary contributions. The
second proposal was even supported by the
University administration.
THAT WAS THE moderate approach. A
refrendum, followed by a well thought out
and rationally presented plan. It was a
necessary step in any movement, radical
or moderate, but it was still a miserable
failure.
The reasons should be obvious. Students,
as a class, lack any real voting power in
the University decision-making system ex-
cept in rare exceptions. The Regents, thus
insulated from student political power can
readily ignore students in most decision-
making situations.-
The Regents, who represent an entire-
ly different - and often conflicting set
of interests from students - will act in-
dependently and arbitrarily as long as
they can get away with it.
But in the face of overwhelming student
pressure, and the threat of mass action, it
no longer is safe and convenient for the
Regents to make such undemocratic de-
cisions. So the bookstore is won, but not
until 107 have been arrested and the
campus experienced a general strike.
WHAT MADE THE REGENTS change
their minds. It was not moderation to be
sure.
The faculty was no better, displaying
hardly any interest in the controversy un-
til after the issue threatened to tear the
University apart.
So despite their promises not to nego-
tiate under coercion, the University proved
it can be pressured, cajoled, and coerced,
but not reasoned with. Moderate tactics
clearly are ignored whenever it is feas-
ible.
IN SUCH AN UNDEMOCRATIC AND
authoritarian University system, the most
effective way students can achieve real
power and large-scale change is through
radical political action.
THE 'SAME University President who
permitted a group of students to occupy
the LSA Bldg. last spring in protest
against the language requirement n o w
calls the police to campus within 12 hours
of this year's seizure of the same build-
ing.
And for days and weeks preceding the
student action, Fleming resorted to base
emasculate the movement. He even went
threats and intimidation in an effort to
so far as to threaten students with dual
prosecution, both in the civil courts and
through University channels, should they
commit acts of civil disobedience.
IT ALSO SHOULD BE CLEAR to the
moderate students at this point that Flem-
ing is capable of almost any deception or
outright lie in order to preserve his do-
main. The president signed an obviously
perjurous request for an injunction against
the protesters which the University at-
torneys lated had to sheepishly withdraw
for fear of criminal prosecution against
Fleming,
It should also be clear to those who are
now calling for moderation that the na-
tional government is no more responsive
than the University structure.
The recent response of the Nixon admin-
istration to the moratorium is only a new
manifestation of a generalized disease of
unresponsiveness in our political system.
Billions for bombs, but pennies for people,
aggressive and adventuristic foreign pol-
icy, institutional racism, and political and
social repression have grown to be synon-
omous with the American way of life.
ONE HUNDRED AND SEVEN students
are arrested for demanding a bookstore,
a young man is sentenced to 10 years in
prison for possession of two marijuana
joints, a child in South Carolina has hook-
worms, and a Vietnamese village is fried
in napalm.
In the face
sensitive and
"moderation."
of such atrocities, how can
concerned people call for
Letters:*A
soldier speaks his
mind
. or no more compromise
THE MAJORITY REPORT on ROTC
basically compromises the v i e w s of
those who w a n t elimination of ROTC
from campus with those who see campus
ROTC as an effective means for civilian
control of the military.
The majority report must be passed in-
tact and not further compromised to
strengthen in anyway ROTC's presence
on campus.
A further compromise would embitter
many students opposed to ROTC's pres-
ence on campus who already feel they
have been effectively ignored by the de-
cision-making apparatus on the issue.
Students have watched Senate Assem-
bly constitute its study committee with
eleven faculty members and o n 1 y two
students. And they have reviewed a re-
port which has focused almost exclusive-
ly on the issue's relation to academic
freedom, ignoring relevant moral consid-
erations.
PASSAGE OF ANY minority proposals
which consider moral issues and favor
outright abolition seems almost hopeless.
The Assembly has already voted down the
minority report of Prof. Eugene Litwak
and a similar proposal by Prof. Richard
Beardsley.
So many still rest their hopes on the
potential strength of the majority report,
and its ability to "modify ROTC into the
ground."
Part B of Section D calls for "the eval-
uation and approval of the content of all
the military courses and alterations pro-
posed to them, with a particular charge
to encourage both the elimination of
courses which can be undertaken by the
ROTC student during his summer service
off campus, and the creation of academ-
ically justifiable substitutes."
If strictly interpreted this section could
establish strong academic control o v e r
ROTC curriculum. But Prof. Gerhard
Weinberg has proposel only "general sup-
ervision" by the faculty over the program
and would eliminate the specific recom-
mendations of the section.
THE MAJORITY REPORT would prob-
ably receive widespread support among
students, probably more support than
outright abolition of ROTC.
But the compromise must not be dilut-
ed to give possible academic leeway to the
ROTC faculty in establishing course cur-
riculum. The majority report m u s t be
passed intact with none of the innocuous
qualifications in the future could prove
to be disastrous loopholes.
-- TOBE LEV
To the Editor:
WE CAME BACK from the shop
at about eleven o'clock for lunch.
Trying to settle the grits in our
guts, we sat in the booth listening
to the news and having a smoke.
The news was about the Viet-
nam moratorium. In Can Rank
bay, where I am stationed, and in
the rest of Vietnam, Oct. 15th was
the same as any other day.
THE NEWS TOLD US that hun-
dreds of thousands of Americans
were protesting in opposition to
U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
There was also news about a can-
dlelight vigil at the White House,
while the occupant proceeded with
his work "not letting the dissent
of the people affect his policies in
any way."
This was not a normal news-
cast however, because instead of
comme'cials there are what we
refer to as "interludes" on t h e
Armed Forces Vietnam radio net-
work. These interludes usually in-
form us of mailing policies, Red
Cross services and other things.
TODAY THE BROADCAST in-
terludes spoke of America as the
last bastion of freedom where
"revolution may be popular, but
it's not practical." They further
spoke to us of the military code
of conduct and Nathan Hale re-
gretting that he had only one life
to give for his country.
We sat listening, encouraged by
the expressions of the people at
home. The newscast turned sour
though, when there were reports
of counter-demonstrations - peo-
ple blindly waving their flags
demonstrating psuedo patriotism.
THE STARS AND STRIPES,
the unofficial official paper of the
army, ran some of the opinions of
a few G.I.s concerning the mora-
torium, such as, "They should give
them uniforms and send them ov-
er here without a gun. "They are
sorry and unpatriotic," said a ser-
geant. "Stupid fucking lifers,"
commented one of my friends.
Hanoi Sends Wishes For Protest
Success was the headline in the
Stars and Stripes. Spiro A g n e w
sent word to the mortatorium
headquarters to repudiate Phan
Van Pong's words of encourage-
ment. He said that -North Viet-
nam's official was "a representa-
tive of a totalitarian government
which has on its hands blood of
40,000 Americans."
THE BLOOD is on your hands,
Spiro.
-B. C.
Clarification
To the Editor:
AS ORGANIZERS of Students
for Effective Action (SEA), we
feel that yesterday's article in
The Daily (Oct. 21) stands in need
of clarification.
The article states that SEA
"represents a coalition of two
other groups that formed earlier
this semester, shortly after the
LSA Bldg. sit-in over the bookstore
controversy." SEA does include
some individuals who participated
in the previous Coalition for Ra-
tional Student Power (CRSP). But
it is not a continuation of the
coalition at all.
SOME MEMBERS of CRSP were
concerned only with opposing
militant tactics, and only with a
limited set of issues. But we be-
lieve that opposition to confron-
tation by itself is meaningless, that
ignoring the problems our society
must face is even worse than deal-
ing with them in the wrong way.
The name SEA was chosen spe-
cifically to differentiate ourselves
from those members of CRSP who
shared only our concern with un-
Snecessary violence, and not our
strong desire for effective action.
WE BELIEVE that SEA is a
challenge to the student commu-
nity to see if peaceful change can
evemr work. We urge those most
concerned with achieving the most
intelligent solution to our prob-
lems to join us.
-Andy Weisman, '71
-Rick Curtis, '70
-Jeff Tirengel, '71
Oct. 21
Mobe and the workers
To the Editor:
I WOULD like to respond to
Roger Forman's letter in The
Daily of Oct. 17th in which he
asks why New Mobilization failed
to organize the workers of the
University for the Oct. 15th Mora-
torium.
The reason relatively few non-
academic employees participated
actively in the Moratorium is that
they were discouraged from doing
so by the University administra-
tion. We asked President Fleming
to indicate whether the directive
issued for academic staff applied
to non-academic staff, that is,
based on individual decision, they
could attend the events of the day
without losing pay.
IN RESPONSE to this, a direc-
tive was issued by the Personnel
Office stating that where work
situations permitted and at the
discretion of supervisors, non- aca -
demic staff could have time off
provided they did not get paid for
it or take vacation leave, which is
the same thing. As a result, hos-
pital workers, food service work-
ers, office workers, etc. who could
least afford to do so had to lose
pay, while faculty could do as they
pleased without losing pay. Many
non-academic staff who wanted to
support the Moratorium could not
do so.
We did, however, circulate over
2000 leaflets to non-academic em-
ployees urging them to support the
Moratorium. We also picketed the
Administration Building twice
during the morning of the 15th
to protest the discriminatory
treatment of non-academic em-
ployees. Outside of the University,
we leafletted several factories in
the area and, in fact, seven of our
workers were arrested at the River
Rouge plant.
We at New Mobe are well aware
of the need to build a broadbased
movement. We hope that those
workers whom we did not reach
and who would have joined us, will
do so now; the struggle has only
begun.
--(Mrs.! Jake Evans,
non-academic employe,
Center for Chinese Studies
W omen's liberation
To the Editor:
BY DESCRIBING the "natural"
and "free" female as one with
braless breasts draped in pearls
you have again pushed the image
of the American woman back sev-
eral decades. According to your
new two-page "A la Mode" section
the "in" young lady "exemplifies"
todays fashion-placing the im-
portance of the individual second
to clothing whereas clothing
would more suitably "exemplify"
the individual. The "women's sec-
tion" in The Daily was drawn
along lines very similar to the
same sections in The Detroit News
and Free Press.'Can we next ex-
pect syndicated columns by Abigail
Van Breun? As to your front page
article on bralessness - Liberation
starts with the brain, not with
the boobs!
-Vicki Aller, '72
Oct. 20
Resurrection
To the Editor:
The reports of my death are
greatly exaggerated.
-Paul McCartney
Oct. 20
Revolution and
religion: Awakening at the
University
By ANITA WET1'"1ERST1ROEM
REVOLUTION has a way of awak-
ening drowsing institutions. Its
rumblings, even from a distance, stir
introspection and promise new life
to those institutions who heed its
call .
The Church, traditionally one of
the most static elements in any so-
ciety, is hardly the place where one
would expect to find movements of
revolutionary change. Few are sur-
prised to note the rapidly diminish-
ing influence the church has on con-
temporary affairs.
But beneath the amorphous struc-
ture of the church is'an institution
of clergymen as individuals who are
making their presence felt political-
ly. Both as a response to political ac-
tivism and out of a moral concern,
we find churchmen like Father
James Groppi leading the poor into
a takeover of t h e Wisconsin state
legislature. We see William Sloane
Coffin being convicted for "conspir-
acy" to counsel young men in ways
to avoid the draft. We see o t h e r
clergymen committing acts of civil
disobedience by destroying s u c i
things as draft files.
In short, v,e see a growing trend
among religious leaders to make the
church more relevant to the cause
of social change. This tendency is not
cent luncheons provide t h e occas-
ions for programmed speakers and
informal discussions. It was at the
Guild House that Malcomb X ad-
dressed students and faculty j u s t
months before his death. In addition.
the Guild House opens its doors for
classes and meetings of campus or-
ganizations.
But the Guild House does not
merely define itself as a forum
of public discussion. It is par-
ticularly concerned w it h draft re-
sistance. Guild House director, Rev.
Ed Edwards, spends as much as 16
hours a day counselling young men
w it h objections to the war, men
whom he considers to be among the
"most sincere, ethical males on cam-
pus, "
ST. MARY'S, the Catholic students
chapel, does not see itself as con-
servative. Most of the four thousand
students making up its Sunday mass
attendance are, in the estimation of
Fr. Irvin, one of the chapel's priests,
liberal. Extreme conservatives are in
a distinct minority, as are the radi-
cal in the congregation. The reason
for the latter case, Fr. Irvin feels, is
that radiqals make a clean b r e a k
from all "established" institutions,
like the church,
On the political spectrum, the
LOCATED ON the same block as
St. Mary's is the Canterbury House,
which strives to offer a "full-time"
program. Canterbury, the Episcopal-
ian religious center, offers marriage
counselling and theological programs,
a coffee house with food and enter-
tainment, and experimental worship
service.
T h e Resistance operates from
Canterbury and the two are some-
times taken as synonomous. But
Canterbury's political involvement is
by no means limited to the Resis-
tance. It has provided facilities from
time to time for the Black Student
Association, SDS, Radical Caucus,
high school underground newspapers
and Ann Arbor Argus.
Canterbury's association with such
organizations has earned it a some-
what "radical" reputation. But ac-
cording to Rev. Craig Hammon of
Canterbury, institutions can't re-
main politically neutral. "A status
quo attitude, in effect, preserves so-
ciety as it is." As Canterbury is con-
cerned with "t h e humanization of
mankind," its attitude is necessarily
progressive.
Canterbury believes in bodily par-
ticipation and spontaneous response.
That it puts its preachings into prac-
tice is evidenced by its conversion in-
to an infirmary during the South U.
examine various sides of contempor-
ary American issues. Mayor Harris,
for example, recently spoke to many
of these students at a luncheon in
the International Center about the
South U. incident.
ANOTHER socially conscious but
relatively non-activist religious cen-
ter is the Unitarian church. Its dis-
tance from campus and the fact that
only one-quarter of its congregation
are students seem to remove it from
the direct influence of student acti-
vism. It does have a student commit-
tee called "Student Religious Liber-
als," but t h e y concern themselves
mainly with discussion of issues
rather than with participation.
If any of the Unitarian students
are activists in student disruption,
they are active independent of the
Unitarian congregation. Dr. Erwin
Gaede believes that this is probably
due to the students' relatively brief
stay in Ann Arbor. He says students
are not part of the congregation lonV
enough to identify with it, long
enough to feel it necessary to make
student concerns the concern of their
religious community.
Untouched by the hands of revolu-
tion, the Unitarian congregation is
at least not deaf to its drums. The
congregation's Social Action commit-
Beyond these, Hillel's activities are
determined by the students of the
campus. But with 5,000 Jewish stu-
dents on this campus Hillel's Rabbi
Goodman estimates that only 500-
600 regularly attend functions at the
House. "Judaism has lost its mes-
sage,' Rabbi Goldman frankly ad-
mits. He says this is true "not only
on campuses, but throughout t h e
country.-
But things are changing. Within
Hillel is a peace committee, which is
nationally affiliated with the Jewish
Peace Fellowship and a Jewish Con-
scientious Objectors Council. It is
planning to go to Washington on No-
vember 15. Speakers such as Jerry
Goldberg of SDS have come to ad-
dress audiences at Hillel, and an af-
ternoon "coffee h o u s e" is in the
planning stages and hopes to attract
speakers and spur discussions.
Rabbi Goldman places a great deal
of faith in the activism of students
today. "College kids are our o n 1y
hope. For America and American
Jewry as well."
Rabbi Goldman seems pleased
when he mentioned the high propor-
tion of Jews involved in student ac-
tivism. "(Jews) are unusual kinds of
animals," he smiles. "They have a
drive for education and a drive for
authoritative rebuke. Rev. Paul Fet-
tig, one of last year's staff, was ar-
rested in last fall's welfare mothers
demonstration.
was granted on the condition that
the money go only to the starving
people in Biafra and not to the gov-
ernment. Fr. Irvin adds that if Ni-