sIeve anizaie - n quAet desbperatioI
The Sirhigan Daiy
Seventy-nine years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan
The great ROTC myth
F.
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News Phone: 764-0552
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1969
NIGHT EDITOR: JUDY SARASOHNI
HRC jurisdiction
over the
r[HE ANN ARBOR Human Relations
Commission's decision to seek juris-
diction over discrimination in the Uni-
versity is an admirable a n d necessary
move.
For the past several months, HRC has
been drafting proposed changes in their
authority that would allow them to deal
more effectively with problems in Ann
Arbor. The changes that they have out-
lined are very good and necessary: the
power of subpoena, the power to s e e k
cease-and-desist orders, and the power to
test establishments suspected of racial
bias.
But these powers are nearly meaning-
less if the jurisdiction excludes the Uni-
versity. If it does exclude the University,
it excludes Ann Arbor's largest employer
and the largest employer of Ann Arbor's
black residents.
COMMISSIONER Theodore St. Antoine,
a University professor, argued for this
exclusion with a contention which is pa-
tently ridiculous. He argued that concen-
tration on the University would be a mis-
allocation of HRC's resources because
"the University has an internal system of
its own."
St. Antoine never did elaborate on what
this system does or even what it is. He
didn't indicate what types of problem it
has handled in the past and which it has
solved, if any.
The University has a mystery system
of its own, a system St. Antoine helped
to institute. Perhaps this is the source of
his great faith in it. But the existence of
a system in no way insures that it pre-
vents or attempts to correcttthe racial
discrimination or racial tensions that
plague black students, black staff a n d
black faculty.
AT THE Sept. 7 meeting of HRC, David
Cowley, director, pointed out that this
mechanism does not work. He said. "a re-
cent report of the federal contract com-
pliance division showed that although the
University has set up mechanisms f o r
dealing with problems of discrimination,
it has not effectively changed its meth-
ods of recruiting staff and faculty."
St. Antoine also argues "if we (HRC)
move in on the University with cease-and
-desist orders it would declare its state of
immunity and we would be involved in
several years of litigation."
This is undoubtedly true. However, this
type of litigation should be welcomed, not
avoided. It is time that the limits of state
University
agencies' immunity be examined, and
stripped where a conflict between the in-
terests of the people and t h o s e of the
agency conflict.
State immunity statutes are designed to
keep local governments from hampering
state agencies. Tax-exemption, for exam-
ple, exists to prevent a local government
from taxing an unpopular state agency
out of business.
ADMITTEDLY, close HRC scrutiny of
the University would hamper the Uni-
versity, but this is the type of hampering
that is necessary for the enforcement of
state laws against discrimination.
But why would the University sue? The
answer is clear; the University does not
want to be watched by someone who will
be present all the time. The federal con-
tract compliance people can only make
it to Ann Arbor every one or two years,
and the local employes are not familiar
with the people from Washington and are
reluctant to t a k e their complaints to
them - even when they know who they
are and how to contact them.
If the University does seek such litiga-
tion, it is effectively serving notice to the
community that the days of the Green
report, which characterized the Univer-
sity as a school for rich white boys, have
returned.
Commissioner Deborah Grubbs p u t it
right on the line Tuesday night: "T h e
University is one of the worst w h e n it
comes to complying with regulations."
Albert Wheeler, former state president
of the NAACP, and a University professor,
also said "the University is t he biggest
employer and also the biggest discrimni-.
nator in Ann Arbor."
PEOPLE HAVE LOST faith in the Uni-
versity's ability to handle its problems
internally. The University has more than
sufficiently demonstrated - with other
issues on campus this fall -- that it will
not do anything until it is stuck in a cor-
ner.
Black service and hospital workers are
not in a position to defend themselves.
The black students are too busy trying to
keep themselves above water to help, and
black faculty must always think of ten-
ure and the possibility of a promotion.
Someone h a s to protect those people
who are being victimized by the Univer-
sity, and HRC is the only agency even re-
motely capable of giving it a try.
-ALEXA CANADY
A ,royv wit hot cultureIT iS A dull-witted
arim vm ,- ,Adull-witted rmy cannot defeat
the encilly.
(.haruiimm Miw I se-Tullg
j HE GREAT Chinese military strategist
shows us the real importance of educa-
tion to the military. It is purely pragmatic.
The military believes that smarter officers
are more capable; this is probably right.
And universities help them in the construe-
tion of cultured, efficient, sharp-witted
officers.
One of the key arguments used in de-
fense of ROTC programs sees the relation-
ship of the university to the military in
another way. The argument is that ROTC
must be retained, for it is a way to human-
ize the military and to insure effective
civilian control. Some liberal professors
and many students claim thai university-
trained officers are necessary to keep the
military from becoming even more power-
ful.
I am afraid that careful scrutiny of this
notion will prove it a delusion.
MIUCH OF THE criticism against the
military has been misdirected. While the
military's appetite for power is real and
growing, the real responsibility for this
country's warlike posture belongs to our
civilian leaders.
Lyndon Johnson sent the troops to Viet-
nam. He is the one who ordered the aerial
devastation of the North. Even though the
military has too-easy'access to these levers
of powers, still the power to wage war lies
in the hands of civilians like Johnson.
Four years of college and tenure as a
school teacher did little to humanize Lyti-
don Johnson. And what about the other
architects of war? Walt Rostow V Dean
Rusk? Herman Kahn? Henry Kissinger 2
Quite frankly, the universities are supply-
ing the leadership in the production of
war and not for halting the military.
Nor are these freak exceptions. John
Kennedy, a product of the grea test. human-
izing institution of them all--Harvard-
was no different. He crept into office
warning of a "missile-gap," and armament
production swelled. His administration
paved the way for the nation's reliance
on a super para-military elite. Funds al-
located for chemical and biological war-
rI he l Fell t-a
The Chairman
fa e- the1
techlolog y
in office.
Wiost inhuimari of all military
tripled during Kennedy's yea's-
Civilian icontrol coe lot nc ssarly pro-
mot e peace. College-t-rained civian leaders
aoe it nicessarily a bulwark of humaiuty
aea inst a barbaric militaty.
ANI) HE LIBER I, argumeILt that tumu-
\ers tt-based ofTicer traintin oiramAs i1
htima nize atd c heck the mit aix ignores
Ii. a': realities.
W t abotU ('olles and universities
hems Ives': I find it prcsumltuous to be-
lixve thI at uni versitie's that accept military
resear'h contracts are in any position to
ilmirt m0!a] gtidance to anyola-
IT 1967. the Pentagon eleasid a list
(i ,. tniveits this one in(luitdedthat
were tecipients of chemical and biological
wartare contracts. These institutions ca-
1 not expect to mantufacture these divices
im m1a atrocit y. relegate reponsibil ty
lio1 their liumnane use to the military, nld
then expect to insure much humane use
with ROTC cadets.
These contradictions between the ideals
and actual practices of universities are no
more apparent than on campuses that give
facilities, manpower, and support to mili-
tarist think tanks. At Georgetown, Stan-
ford. and Pennsylvania, these institutes
engage in strategic planning for combatting
social revolution. The work is done under
the auspices and with the prestige of the
host universities.
Clearly, universities must began human-
izing and building effective control over
themselves before they think they can do
so against the powerful military establish-
mnent.
ANOTII(ER ASSUMPTION that this
liberal strategem makes is that the human-
ity threshold of college-trained officers is
higher than that of military academy
graduates. I know of no empirical evidence
to support this assumption.
icaudemi~c
ursting 0 t
of'
By RICK PIERLOFF
IF YOU ARISE for a 9:00 at five
alter, finish your washing and
dressingit in ten minutes, you will
probably arrive in the auditorium
by 20 after and by ail reliable
estimates. should be asleep by
half-past.
Then you will file out with th
rest of the lecture crowd, nodyite h
y'our head to friends who k'pt
awake. but who also netted 1i ttle
educational profit from the talk.
Later you will contact them to
copy over the notes you must study
for next week s midterm. You will
be asked to discuss the lecture and
assigned reading in recitation. but
few will have read it carefully and
Teaching eltlow. s I e lite tine
Wi' studeints too. Pueparhin'' disser-
cotions tak's time. yOu kinow'.', 1
th're ate just not inough hotr's
in the day Iior tis to eserch doe-
toral t hessh worry bot hi dia,
and still ('otnil ways to ii-
Thlen there a: e the as tudenti
iihienselves. Many are 100 preorco -
lpied wvith alpple cider' and donuts
rthe fiat hotl'e to p aise a mii-
ment anci {itistiotn what a lprotew
sot' says or titi par'' a '0o1unta-
ar'gtum't to ii riadinig assigner
BI 'T WIRY sIhould they?
'They' know. they multst arise by .
9 a in. each Tuesday for' atn An gell
' ox mnyi pages of notes did you
takh today'?"' contest.
() her faculty membr's seem to
ievex'c there is a clear (Oriea''tt lo l
betxxween the number of notes
aken and the amount of Knowl-
ed' e obtained.
YET KNOWL.EDGE is re anly
010' thatt deciphei'ing shorthand.
t , act [he rabid note--taking
a tee cir's lostr i' tiends to dis-
10 a e-dentIs from coilcentrat-
11? (01 a img any value from the
p1 li'ssors' feetutre.
1(1eally, the lecture should re-
:'Imble a mystical experience. oth
lectu ei' aiid student should sepa-
ate thmnev from the rea ities
Graduate Assembly awakens to ROTC
IT IS A SURPRISING and commendable
step that the normally lethargic Grad-
uate Assembly has submitted its own
v i e w s on ROTC to the Regents. It is a
step which bears repeating by all repre-
sentative student organizations on cam-
pus which have an interest in the issue.
For too long student groups have ab--
dicated their right to make their views
Both sides now
ON OCTOBER 18, John P. Roche wrote
in the Washington Post of Hubert
Humphrey's refusal to call for withdrawal
of U.S. troops from Vietnam. Instead,
Roche wrote, Humphrey told the press
that Nixon deserved "nonpartisan support
for his peacemaking efforts."
"The easy thing for a liberal Democrat
to do right now is to bask in the sunshine
of anti-war militancy - the youngsters
provide a wonderful ego-valet service for
those who feed their frenzy. Humphrey
took the harder road ..."
And four days later, the New York
Times reported:
"TOKYO, Oct. 22-Hubert H. Humphrey
declared today that the United States
had achieved its objectives in Vietnam
and had fulfilled its obligations to the
South Vietnamese people.
"Interviewed in the luxurious Okura
Hotel, the former Vice President said that
the U.S. had two basic reasons for going
into Vietnam: to prevent the spread of
Canmunst rmpl crcrP-c n ati o mt
known in independent reports. Instead
they have stated a position and attempt-
ed to gain its acceptance by militant ac-
tion - action that often alienates n es-
sentially sympathetic University com-
munity. Or, alternatively, students have
relied heavily on faculty support to ac-
complish their desired ends, and have in
the process compromised both groups.
In this case, Graduate Assembly h a s
views it wishes the Regents to consider
which the faculty report does not include.
GA will c a l1 for complete abolition of
ROTC -- a step which the faculty has al-
ready ruled out - but with the explicit
reservation that, if students wish, they
may establish the program as an extra-
curricular activity. The faculty report re-
duces ROTC to t h e status of an extra-
curricular activity automatically, if the
Defense Department finds t h e restric-
tions imposed by the faculty too difficult
to observe. GA believes only students can
determine whether ROTC should remain
on campus as an extracurricular activity.
THE GRADUATE ASSEMBLY'S position
is the only viable one. The students -
not t h e faculty, administration or de-
fense department - must choose which
student activities operate on campus.
It may be argued that an intransigent
Board of Regents will ignore with impun-
ity any report submitted to it by students.
But it neither fits the temper of the times
nor displays very good sense for the
Board to fail to recognize student opin-
ion. It would be m o s t unwise for the
Board to dismiss any report thoughtfully
tures center on ideas, the h
whys instead of the wha
dents would be encourage
quire and perhaps evenI
FOR EXAMPLE, in an
ductory world history co
professor should not addr
lectures solely to date-infer
planations of who overrant
man Empire. where feud
existed and when the C
power was at its peak.
Instead he should speak
trends of history which
these specific developmen
What were the concepts,
ning a government in Rom
do they differ from prese
interpretations and howd
lead to dissolution of thee
What philosophies on
property and political po;
through the Middle Ages;h
they effect the emergence
and why did they change
era progressed?
How did the philosop
Church authority change a
did this affect the concept
tion-states in later years?
The same should hold in
iology course. There sho
some discussion here of c
students will remember:
transplants evolution andi
ological causes of racial
ences. These topics should
cede the meticulous dese
of bodily functions which s
forget after a final.
And lectures on conceptua
'in most any course-gi
dents general material on
that they can use to shap
daily lives.
TIHESE ARE, admittedl
topic's about which to spea
tmany lecturers are younge
who are too busy publish
spend time worrying about
things--concepts.
The blame for this must
part, with our educational;
which stresses publication
exclusion of teaching stude
It should be made clear t
professor should spend as
time teaching students a
lishing. Surely, his studen
to learn as much as do hisl
sional colleagues.
A university, after all, e
develop better minds trai
question and not just acc
base decisions on human re
and not on merely impuls
ideally a place where the1
tive student can soak up1
edge and explore his inn
self. But to develop such;
ness students need some1
sional guidance. And this
role of the professor.
YET IN FACT the stude
Admittedly, many of our liberal profes-
sors served as officers during World War
II. I am willing to take their word that
they were more humanist-oriented than
their academy counterparts. But universi-
ties do not just turn out humanists. And I
think 'that we have a different breed of
student in ROTC programs today-essen-
tially the same kind of student who would
attend a service academy.
ANYWHERE from one half to two thirds
of the ROTC cadets on this campus are
engineering students. I do not mean to
imply that engineering students need be
any less humane than other students. But
it is certain, that a humanistic education
is not a product of the engineering college.
Despite growing attention by that school
to the humanities, engineering students do
not get the kind of liberal education that
ostensibly builds civilian-minded militar-
ists. The engineering curriculum (perhaps
necessarily) seeks to furnish the basic
tools necessary for that vocation, An en-
gineering student's social conscience is
not developed by his college training.
But a liberal education-one that imparts
a deep feeling for the tradition of western
civilization and a humane world view-
seems to be little to go on in the authori-
tarian structure of the military. Especially
in time of war, I fail to see how this
liberal education is a meaningful way to
combat military brutality, The ethos
spawned during ROTC training seems more
likely to have the deciding influence on
more cadets than would their liberal ed-
ucation.
AND THEN, of course, we can remember
one of the great humanitarians of them all,
a winner of the Air Force's Medal for
Humane Action, a great general who came
from the ranks of Ohio State's ROTC pro-
gram. I refer to Gen. Curtis "Bomb them
back into the Stone Age" LeMay. Certainly
LeMay isn't your typical college graduate,
but it reminds us that the academies don't
have the monopoly on fanatics,
If liberals feel that the influence of the
military is excessive and undesirable-I
think they do-then let's hope that they
combat it with something more effective
than the weak gestures of infiltrating it
with liberally-educated gentlemen.
apa thy
ows and But students must not allow the
ts, stu- institution to manipulate them.
d to in- They should realize that apathy
laarn. is presently part of the university
and they must set out on their
intro- own to learn. They must burst
urse, a their shells of indifference and
ress lis submission and seek out their in-
sted ex- structors.
the Ro-
al fiefs THIS IS A HARD task for many
?hurch's to undertake. Students have been
taught from elementary school on-
oo the ward to memorize what the teach-
eXpl-in er says and to crank it back on
Is. every Friday's test. An "A," they
of run- are told, indicates intelligence and
e; how intelligence means a higher classed
nt day job. Few teachers seem to care
did this whether students are absorbing
empire? new ideas or questioning old hypo-
man, theses as long as they fulfill the
ier ian requirements.
how did The first thing a counselor asks
of fiefs you during appointments is how
as the you have progressed toward satis-
fying your distribtuon require-
hy on ments. No matter whether you are
nd how enthusiastic about taking a par-
of na- ticular course; who cares if you
have a unique method of fulfilling
a phys- your requirement? As long as you
)uld be ar-e progressing satisfactorily to-
oncepts ward your degree, your institution
heart is happy.
the bi- Somewhere something is wrong,
differ- with "diplomatized" students who
super- camre more about grades than about
riptions bettering their minds.
tudents
BUT THE BURDEN for improv-
l topics ing this education rests with the
ve stu- students. They must shake the in-
n ideas stitution into caring.
e their They should insist that they-
the students-have some say in
how the course is structured, in
y hard what topics they will discuss.
ak. And Maybetthere should be no final
;er :11cc examinations; petrhaps each stu-
hi'ig to dent should choose his own topic
--of all with his instructor.
Prof. Abraham Kaplan in his
lie, in Philosophy 331 class recently an-
system, ounced that he wants the students
to the to pick two representatives to plan
eats. the final with him and a teaching
hat the fellow. Asked if there should even
much be a final. Kaplan replied that this
s pub- was one topic that would be de-
ts need bated.
profes-
THIS IS, admittedly, an unusual
xists to case, but it need not be.
ned to Students should press the pao-
ept. to fessor for relevance, question the
flection exam procedures if they believe
e. It is them unfair, and set up individual
inquisi- seminars with professors.
knowl- For it is during this person-to-
termost person setting that the student is
aware- likely to realize his individuality.
profes- He will be stimulated by someone
is the taking an interest in him and w ill
ask questions of a professor to
nts get thrash out his own hliefs The
'our teaching fellow Will ask yott
to recall d'tail anywvay.
From there you wiii do what is
expected: textbook markup, coffee
plus overnigt i and blue book
hail leCtrII'e wich maiv wel te i
emnt to te sleet they htmeritpt el
ocr :1as 1
What t he piot essor say 's hma : x
tone]hes mainy. lit histOlry he hik1.
01 xoocet lecturts spiral note-
ooks and( clocks in the corner.
e ofeso should read his
atidiene?'s elIot iOS,. grasp its i1Is-