The high costs of populism and elitism
Seventy-nine years of editorial freedom
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1 1, 1969
NIGHT EDITOR: DAVID SPURRI
To save freedom
from government repression
Tr HEUNITED STATES government's de-
cision to limit the scope of a mass march
against the Vietnam war, and accom-
panying warnings that it will use soldiers
(read "violence") to stop the demonstra-
tion is of such historic moment that most
people would rather ignore the Nixon-
Justice Department proclamations than
swallow them. Plainly, the government is
threatening dissenters with the possibil-
ity of beating and arrest.
And so, the recent pronouncements
from the administration mark the com-
mencement of an era of repression: of
freedom of speech, freedom to assemble,
freedom to criticize the government. Few
people read the signs two weeks ago when
Spiro T. Agnew suggested the nation
should "separate dissenters from society
... like rotten apples from a barrel." It
was more difficult to overlook Atty. Gen.
Mitchell's statements to the same effect.
All the while, President Nixon reas-
sures dissenters that in this democratic
society everyone has the right to pro-
test. And Nixon is an honorable man ...
rfHE GOVERNMENT'S stand on the
mass march does not mark a sudden
digression from previous national policy,
but rather the continuation of a tragic
trend which has been building inexorably
in small towns, on campuses, in u r b a n
centers, throughout the nation. At first,
repression worked subtly: people could
protest, but voting restrictions, the two-
party system, political machines, uncon-
stitutional laws, and the courts effectively
prevented dissidents from securing a
Endorsements..
T HE DAILY senior editors endors-
ed the following candidates f o r
at-large Student Government Coun-
cil seats:
EXCELLENT - Philip Anderson,
Dave Brand and Jerry DeGriek.
GOOD - Marty Scott and J o a n
Martin.
The senior editors urged students
to vote "yes" on all three referenda
calling for a $5 per student deposit
for bookstore capital, student con-
trol of tuition increases assessed for
construction projects, and immed-
iate withdrawal of the U.S. armed
forces from Vietnam.
Today is the second day of t h e
two-day election. Polls will be open
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
position of prominence. Official doctrine
ruled the microphones.
But then, with the black self-assertion
and the Vietnam war, public demonstra-
tions began to build, mature, and gain
national support. Dissent met ugly forms
of repression: fire hoses and dogs in
Alabama, gestapo police tactics in Chi-
cago, teargas and buckshot at Berkeley.
Now Marines and National Guardsmen
will defend the Capital from the people.
Still, the silent and vocal minorities
alike fail to confront the political real-
ity; they instead bemoan the whittling
away of their freedoms by a state which
must use the military to keep the public
quiet. Meanwhile, they listen to the Pre-
sident redefine concepts of freedom and
forget the traditional ones to avoid grap-
pling with the contradictions.
WHAT ARE THE new definitions? There
is the right to protest - but only in
numbers small enough to be utterly
meaningles and politically impotent; any
demonstration which represents a serious
political challenge to the government is
prohibited.
There is the right to protest-curbed
by the right of government to "p'rotect
belongings and property." To the admin-
istration, this means prohibiting any de-
monstration which may lead the vio-
lence. In this case, the Justice Depart-
ment "has information" that some groups
will use violent tactics in the march; to
prevent violence, officials reason, mili-
tary force must be available to disrupt
the march.
But this is precisely the strategy which
Nixon's government is plotting: scaring
the thousands who are willing to peace-
fully protest what this nation is doing
with bombs.
If the march fizzles because everyone
stayed away in fear, then government re-
pression will have worked effectively,
without apparent coercion or disturbance.
If the march becomes a riot, then t h e
government will shift the blame to a
"small minority" dedicated to the des-
truction of society.
BUT WHAT if everyone goes? T h e r e
were perhaps 150,000 demonstrators
in Chicago; there should be 500,000 in
Washington. The citizens of this nation
who cannot support the government
must not submit to threats or bluffs, but
must find safety in numbers. Any citi-
zen who opposes the war must go to
Washington on Nov. 15. Anything 1 e S s
will tell the government that its repres-
sion has won.
-DANIEL ZWERDLING
By ARTHUR M. ROSS
Vice-President for State Relations
and Planning
YOUR Nov. 6 editorial, entitled
"Bigger or Better," raises in-
teresting questions about enroll-
ment policy and budget appro-
priations.
The views expressed are wide-
ly held; in fact the editorial might
pass for a faculty report except
that the sentence structure is bet-
ter.
I should like to comment on one
or two statements which may re-
flect misunderstandings of the
facts. The editorial says that
"plans for large-scale expansion
are being taken pretty much as an
accepted fact by University and
college administrators."
While we do not have firm en-
rollment projections, my o w n
judgment is thatrmoderate ex-
pansion is in the cards.
I do not see any basis, however,
for a prediction of "large-scale ex-
pansion." Ann Arbor enrollment
rose 31 percent in the 1950's a n d
another 38 percent during t h e
1960'.
There is absolutely no reason to
expect increases of this magni-
tude, or anything like it, in the
1970's.
THE EDITORIAL says "a good
deal of the impetus for expansion
of the University comes from ex-
ternal pressure:" i.e., the Legisla-
ture. If this proposition refers to
the Ann Arbor campus, it is not
correct.
Nobody in Lansing is pressing
the University for enrollment in-
creases. So far as the Legislature
and the Budget Bureau are con-
cerned, we are free to plan for
higher, lower or stable enrollment.
But whatever the decision,
there are attendanttconsquences
for operating and capital appro-
priations.
The author recognizes that bud-
getary appropriations are closely
linked with enrollment trends, but
appears to believe that we can
argue ourselves out of that box.
This, I fear, is an illusory hope.
'We can insist that the differen-
tial costs of various degre p r o -
grams be fully recognized. We can
make out the case that a campus
with a large component of pro-
fessional and Ph.D. instruction
must haveasalaries, and teaching
loads, consistent with a h i g h-
quality research commitment on
the part of the faculty.
We continually urge these
points, and with reasonable suc-
cess. But we cannot hope to sever
the link between enrollment and
appropriations.
WHAT WITH the escalating
costs of higher education, the ur-
gency of other domestic problems
and the fiscal crisis in the public
sector, it is hardly surprising that
the Budget Bureau and the Legis-
lature think they are paying for
enrollment when they appropriate
money.
This situation is by no means
new: Populism, rather than elit-
ism, has always been the dom-
inant view in stte capitals. For
the "extra margin of quality," we
must look to other financial
sources and try to protect t h e i
from being counted against t h e
state's fair share.
When these facts are kept in
mind, some prevalent myths are
exploded.
For example, it is widely believ-
ed that MSU, by dint of more
skillful arm-twisting, has run off
with large amounts of State
money which by rights should
have come to the University.
The facts reveal that w h i 1e
MSU's operating appropriation
has rised rapidly than ours, t h e
same is true of MSU's enrollment.
As a result, the percentage in-
creases in appropriation per stu-
dent were roughly in parity as
between the two institutions up to
1969.
(The situationf changed t h i s
year because we were mandated
[unsoundly, we think I to spend
1.7 million dollars of accumulated
working capital. This capital con-
sumption was deleted from the
state appropriation. Governor
Milliken has indicated, however.
that the 1.7 million will be fund-
ed in his 1970-71 budget recom-
mendation,)
THERE are similar strains of
fantasy in Ann Arbor thinking
concerning the Flint and D e a r-
lars if we exerted more ingenuity
in displaying the indefinable es-
sence of our academic quality, in
demonstrating how research bene-
fits the State and nation, a n d
showing how highly we are rated
by the American Council on Edu-
cation.
Squadrons of students, faculty
and alumni should descend upon
Lansing in order to "sell" the Uni-
versity of Michigan. We should in-
form the Legislators that libraries
are essential at high-class uni-
versities. Some think that a Rose
Bowl team is worth a million dol-
lars.
DESPITE these fashionable and
condescending assumptions, the
true facts are more prosaic and
unpredictable. I will now tear
away the curtain of mystery sur-
uates because the unit cost is
higher.
3) Third is a slow tendncy
toward equalization or levelling as
between the newer and older in-
stitutions. Appropriations p e r
student have increased more rap-
idly at Wayne and the regional
universities than at the Univer-
sity or MSU.
I WOULDN'T claim that this
model explains every dollar in
every year. Political fortunes and
misfortunes play a part. Certainly
we need effective representation
in Lansing in order to obtain our
fair share of what is available,
But when all is said and done.
we are not going to break the link
between appropriations and en-
rollment.
Returning to your Nov. 6 editor-
which we never tire of claiming to
be-on the verge of because of bud-
getary non-support.
THUS THE issue of enrollment
growth must be analyzed on its
own merits. According to y o u r
editorial, "the greatest task facing
the University administration is
to stop the trend toward enroll-
ment growth."
This is certainly an arguable
position, but I personally believe
that moderate growth is desirable.
My reasons include the following:
1) The additional budget is
available not only for teachers but
for associated departmental costs,
2) Enrollment growth helps to
strengthen the case for replace-
ment of obsolete facilities.
3> Some undergraduate p r o-
. . ... ............ .. ........
Populism, ratlier .than elitism, has always been the dominant view in state capitals. For the ex-
tra margin of quality," we must look to other financial sources and try to protect them from be-
ing counted against the state's fair share . .
But we cannot solve problems by getting more money with fewer students. The only solution is
to get more Inilelge from existing resources ...
born campuses. There is a ten-
dency to assume that if t h e s e
campuses were not affiliated with
us, we would have more money
for Ann Arbor.
The fact is, however, that there
would still be campuses in Flint
and Dearborn; they would still
have students; they would still ob-
tain a corresponding state appro-
priation. The fact that the cost
per student on these campuses is
relatively high, reflecting limit-
ed enrollment, does not change
the situation. The same-has been
true of Grand Valley College, for
example.
I have not yet listed all the un-
founded beliefs on the subject
of budgetary appropriations. It
is often held that we c o u l d
obtain millions of additional dol-
rounding state appropriations.
The amount of new money we
get from Lansing over any sub-
stantial period of time depends
essentially on three factors:
1? The most important, by far.
is the amount of new money avail-
able to all the public colleges and
universities in the state. If there is
only $25 million of new money for
higher education this year, nei-
ther the University nor any other
school will get a satisfactory ap-
propriation.
2) Second is our enrollment
trend in comparison with the en-
rollment trend of other institu-
tions. Naturally the character of
new enrollment will make a dif-
ference; 100 additional medical
students will yield a larger in-
crease than 100 new undergrad-
ial, I would agree that lower-divi-
sion students are short-changed
because their academic diet is so
heavy on teaching fellows and so
light on professors..
But we cannot solve these prob-
lems by getting more money with
fewer students.
The only solution is to get more
mileage from existing resources in
order 'to enrich the lower-division
program and satisfy other priori-
ties.
This is a large topic which I
will not attempt to cover here.
Suffice it to say that sloppy use
of resources and indifference to
instructional costs are no longer
the hallmarks of high-quality ed-
ucation.
On the contrary, they are the
four-lane highway to mediocrity,
grams (e.g. Natural Resources,
Pharmacy) are below optimum
size. Some graduate programs are
below . strength because of the
military draft (e.g. Engineering,
Business. On the other hand, en-
rollment in Education is pro-
bably too large.
4? If we must turn away grow-
ing numbers of fully qualified in-
state students, it will be increas-
ingly difficult to maintain the
present proportion of out-of-state
students.
5) Enrollment growth permits
us to hire young faculty w i t h
thoroughly up-to-date training.
This is the best way to move into
new areas of study and keep up
with changing student ideology.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Liberation in black and white: Reflections on making ri
ends
19La
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To the Editor:
I'M GETTING TIRED of black
I'm-more-radical-than-you-ism.
A n d Darryl - Gorman's article
(Daily, Nov. 9) didn't help at all.
Mr. Gorman is black. Mr. Gorman
has an SGC voting record so con-
servative that only Roger Keats
can beat it. Mr. Gorman doesn't
thinkmuch of SGC radicals. Mr.
Gorman thinks all student power
issues irrelevant. Mr. Gorman
thinks the bookstore the most ir-
relevant issue of all. Why?
To Darryl Gorman, the book-
store means rich white students
spending their time trying to save
themselves a few dollars t h e y
don't need anyway. Why does it
mean that to him?
Like most blacks, Mr. Gorman's
aim is to win his people - my
people except when blacks won't
let me in - what whites already
have. There's nothing wrong with
that aim, provided it doesn't start
him thinking of white students as
living in the pot of gold at the
end of the rainbow.
BUT MR. GORMAN has begun
thinking exactly that. Therefore,
for him, as for most other blacks,
the only radical movement in
America must be the movement
(quite rightly) that, as an eco-
nomic issue, the bookstore is triv-
ial and, from the perspective of
blacks, almost criminal insofar as
the energies wasted on it could
have been put to better use.
WHITE STUDENTS spend a
good deal of time these days try-
ing to understand their b 1 a c k
brothers and sisters. Black stu-
dents m i g h t try returning the
compliment, since living together
requires mutual understanding
and black students almost inevi-
tably misunderstand their white
brothers and sisters.
Mr. Gorman is a case in point.
If he had bothered to ask a n y
white student he knows - except,
perhaps Roger Keats - what the
bookstore meant, he would have
learned that the bookstore was a
student power issue, a question of
self-determination. (He might al-
so have learned that by listening
to the debate at SGC meetings.)
Mr. Gorman, I said, doesn't un-
derstand white students. That's at
least as unfortunate for him as for
white students. He can't build an
alliance with white students if he
doesn't understand what they're
fighting for - or rather, t h a t
the're fighting for enntrol of
work the guilt off by doing the
darkies a favor.
Darryl Gorman talks big. But
when it comes to doing anything,
he looks to the white man - or,
rather, to white kids - to do it
for him. He doesn't know, that as
Stokely Carmichael used to say,
only black people can liberate
black people; t h a t blacks can't
and shouldn't depend on whites
for their liberation; that where
black and white work together, it
must be as equals, neither doing¢
the other any favors.
If Mr. Gorman wants white sup-
port for open admissions for dis-
advantaged students, let him join
white students fighting for control
of admissions policy. If he wants
white support for black control of
black studies programs, let him
join white students fighting for
student parity in academic decis-
ion-making. If he w a n t s white
support for any other fight of his,
let him find common ground with
whites. If he doesn't want white
help, let him stop his whining.
MY GRANDMOTHER used to
say, "You've got to be a friend
to have a friend." She didn't
know anything about how to make
social change. But, in that pro-
ment had said: "Force will be
used if necessary."
I ask you to consider the ir-
lationship between these two
statements.
I CANNOT BELIEVE that the
headline was other than a deliber-
ate lie. The only alternative is that
all Daily personnel who approved
the headline are completely in-
competent in the area of word
usage.
I have noted with dismay a
growing tendency on the part of
The Daily to distort the news. It is
often obvious that the distortion
is deliberate. This is journalism at
its worst. You yourselves should
be the first to condemn dishon-
esty.
I ask for an editorial apology
for the use of the headline and
assurance that the persons respon-
sible for it will be disassociated
from The Daily.
-Prof. Charles Brumfiel
Mathematics Dept.
Nov. 8
.EDITOR'S NOTE: The Daily
recognizes the misleading content
of the headline and regrets any
misunderstanding resulting from
it.
The overriding consideration in
this case was what would promote
the most free and intelligent
choice by the voter.
CLEARLY TO exclude a can-
didate from the ballot over a
trivial violation of the rules would
not result in giving the voter the
fullest choice in the election.
Moreover, such a decision would
not have made the election pro-
cess more rational. If the candi-
date involved had any savvy at all,
he would-have exercised his right
to run as a write-in candidate. He
wo'-d probably have campaigned
solely on the fact that the C&R
Board's decision had been unfair,
unwise, and stupid.
I BELIEVE an appeal based on
that issue would have been upheld
by the voters, with the result that
the focus of the election would
have shifted from the candidate's
qualifications and platform to the
wholly irrelevant q u e s t i o n of
whether the C&R Board had n)ade
a mistake.
Since last spring, SGC has
adopted a complete and full set of
election rules. However. I would
hope that SGC would always keep
in mind that detailed rules are the
means to an end, and not an end
themselves.
__oan Kra-
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