Seventy-Sixth Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Housing Militants: A New Infantilism
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Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This mist be noted in all reprints.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1965 NIGHT EDITOR: BRUCE WASSERSTEIN
Summer Reading Program:
Suggestions for Improvement
FOUR YEARS AGO the Honors Council
established the Summer Reading Pro-
gram, in which students read over the
summer required course material-usual-
ly for a 200 level English course-take a
final in the fall, and receive both credit
hours and grade points from the Uni-
versity.
The program is offered to students
at the nominal fee of $25 per course in-
stead of the usual correspondence fee of
$24 per credit hour.
The aim of the program is to give those
students who wish to study independently
of the classroom the chance to do so. In
theory, the program lets students study
at their own pace, experiment with their
own ideas, and go more deeply into the
course material than classroom time per-
mits. It is also designed to prepare the
student for graduate work by helping
him learn to study and think for himself.
WHILE THE PHILOSOPHY behind the
program is excellent, it has one ma-
jor fallacy. A student can't study inde-
pendently and get .a worthwhile amount
out of the course unless he's had some
background, or foundation, in the mater-
ial. The student who takes, for example,
English 231, Introduction to Poetry, and
has never had any instruction in read-
ing poetry will be lost when just given a
book of poetry and told to read and make
intelligent comments on it without any
further direction.
This is what the Summer Reading Pro-
gram often does because it is offered to
the wrong segment of students and with
the wrong types of courses. Generally
freshmen and sophomores are in the pro-
gram, and the courses that they take are
usually the introductory or 200 level Eng-
lish courses.
Of the 300 students who were enrolled
this summer, over three-quarters of them
took these English courses. The other
quarter took introductory courses in his-
tory, psychology, political science, and
music literature.
All of the courses are run in the same
manner. Students are given a list of re-
quired reading and told either to keep a
journal on each piece read or to write a
term paper on any important topic cov-
ered. In the first three weeks of school
in the fall, the journals are collected,
graded and commented on; an hour re-
view session is held by the instructor,
and a three hour final is administered..
THE GENERAL REACTION to this pro-
gram is "it's interesting but . . ." The
course often leaves an underclassman
with a feeling of confusion, or of having
missed the point of much of the ma-
terial. The beginning student, however
brigr t, needs some direction to show him
the proper guidelines--what to look for,
what is relevant, how it is technically
constructed, etc.
This guidance takes the student out
of confusion and into a position where
he can read and begin to make intelligent
observations. Without it, the student who
has taken summer reading either for his
own general knowledge or to- get a pre-
requisite out of the way. has an extremely
sketchy and ill-prepared background.
As the program now stands, it should be
opened only to juniors and seniors and of-
fer 300 and 400 courses. By his upperclass
years, a student should have a back-
ground of knowledge and be more com-
petent to do independent study.
IF, HOWEVER, the Summer Reading
Program is still kept open to under-
classmen, direction must be added to
make it worthwhile. One suggestion for
improvement would be a bibliography of
reference books which students could go
to for clarification.
Better than a bibliography would be
prepared handouts (written lectures, in
other words) which would explain tech-
nical aspects of the novel, play or poems,
development of style and general themes.
These would at least be something the
student could continually refer to as
he read his texts, and would give the
student a proper foundation for studying.
To help make the journal a valuable
collection of thoughts instead of mumbo-
jumbo, the instructor could prepare ques-
tions for the student to keep in mind
when analyzing his material. Answers to
these questions would not compose the
entire journal, but would be an addition
to the theories and ideas of the student.
The questions could be either general
-covering the entire topic (What is the
structure of this poem? What is the sym-
bolism?)-or specific-covering each item
read (what is the role of fate in "Oedipus
Rex?" Are the speeches in "The Import-
ance of Being Earnest" meant seriously
or humorously?).
Generally the questions could, cover
technical points in order to point them
out and explain their- role. The theme,.
role of characters, speeches, etc. would
all be in the grasp of the student and
would leave plenty for the student to
study on his own without direction or re-
strictions.
ALL OR EVEN A FEW of these sugges-
tions could make the Summer Read-
ing Program of immeasurably greater
value than it is now. The student would
still be able to go independently and at
his own pace, but would proceed along
the right paths and with the background
and help he needed.
-MERLE JACOB {
THE STRATEGIC split which
has developed within Voice
Political Party this week (a split
which, unfortunately, will not be
solved even at today's Diag rally)
is an indication of the extent to
which various Voice members fail
to understand the relation of
means and ends within the con-
text of their ideology.
The issue is adequate quality,
low-cost apartment housing for
students and the role which the
University has played, might play
and will play in providing or
helping to provide such housing.
Concern for this problem stems
from rather obvious conditions in
Ann Arbor-apartment rents and
profits whirh are disproportionate-
ly high relative to other sities and
which contribute significantly to
make the University almost ex-
clusively a middle-class and up-
per-middle-class institution, ex-
tremely crowded facilities in all
new buildings erected and the con-
sequent detriment to students'
ability to study and effectively,
12-month leases which bind all
those students who leave the city
for the summer, useless luxuries
which are used to justify the high
rents charged while space, func-
tionality and soundproofing are.
sacrificed.
There are basically two possible
ways these conditions can be
remedied-1) the University could,
given repeal of a 1929 Regental
statement, enter the arena of
apartment-construction itself, us-
ing both its own money and fed-
eral funds which are available for
these purposes or, 2) some form
of student and/or faculty group
could form a non-profit corpora-
tion and, with or without the use
of University-owned land, receive
federal funds and construct hous-
ing, to be run on a cooperative
basis.
IF THERE were nothing more
to the whole matter than simply
seeing good housing erected, one
might well favor the first alter-
native (though neither alternative
necessarily excludes the other). It
is fairly clear that the University
can put up a larger amount of
equity capital (the approximately
23 per cent of land and construc-
tion cost which a builder normally
must provide, initially, from his
own pocket in order to get bond
or loan financing for the remaind-
er of the construction cost) than
could any private group.
The University need not -pay
taxes on its land or income and
can marshal more efficiently the
various specialized resource per-
sons needed to plan and manage
a building.
On the other hand, there is
potentially far more at stake here
than simply the construction of
good housing and the alleviation
of rental conditions in Ann Arbor.
While the University may well al-
low a high degree of student and
faculty participation in the plan-
ning of structures it might erect,
authority and responsibility would
nevertheless ultimately remain
with the University. For a stu-
dent-faculty group, in which all
interested persons could have an
actual say, to enter the market as
a private corporation would un-
doubtedly mean far more in
terms for improved conditions at
the University.
THE POINT here is that a ser-
ies of housing projects which in-
timately involve students in plan-
ning and management (as in the
case of cooperative projects) and
which are clearly being erected
by students and faculty for stu-
dents and faculty can serve as the
basis for a much broader "move-
ment" through which this and
other "counter-economic institu-
tions" can be developed to com-
pete with existing mercantile in-
terests in the city.
The benefits of establishing this
kind of situation in Ann Arbor--
or in any place where there are
distinct differentiations between
suppliers and consumers - are
many:
-While the University may
well allow a high degree of stu-
dent and faculty participation in
the planning of structures it
erects, it would nevertheless re-
tain ultimate authority and re-
sponsibility. Even. if consumers
could be ensured that University
planners and builders would ac-
curately translate their desires and
needs into- blueprints and rents,
the tremendous emotional poten-
tial which exists in the-concept of
institutionalized participation by
all those concerned with an enter-
prise would be lost.
If accurate interest-representa-
tion cannot be assumed, the issue
is not merely emotional- potential
lost but, indeed, whether students
or non-students will ultimately
decide the kinds of structures in
which students live. (It is not the
case, by the way, that only pro-
fessional realtors or administrators
can develop the expertise in real
estate financing required for a
successful venture; with consider-
able yet still manageable effort,
WHY NOT?
By JEFFREY GOODMAN
students are also capable of suf-
ficient understanding to run their
own projects.)
--ONE MAY well doubt the
vigor and flexibility with which
the University would enter the
housing-construction business. Be-
fore the University could actually
build structures to compete with'
private housing, administrators
would have to convince the Re-
gents to repeal that 1929 ruling
which forbids such competition.
At the time, this ruling was pro-
mulgated undoubtedly to protect
the financial involvements of a
number of Regents in Ann Arbor
businesses.
While today's Regents and ad-
ministrators are definitely differ-
ent people, there is little doubt
(some high administrators admit
it freely) that emotional and fi-
nancial ties still exist. These ties
do not necessarily work to the
disadvantage of students and fac-
ulty, yet it is safe to say that at
least some of the University's
hesitance to come to the aid of
student economic welfare with
University - sponsored enterprises
is a function of an extreme lack of
desire to sever these ties.
(Yesterday's statement by Vice-
Presidents Cutler and Pierpont
that they are willing to work with
existing groups by possibly selling
University land to groups wish-
ing to construct low-cost student
housing is without doubt a sincere
and immensely beneficial policy.
The statement does, however, give
some indication that the Univer-
sity is unwilling to compete di-
rectly with local realtors and, de-
velopers-it does not pledge actual
University involvement in the pro-
jects and it, still requires whatever
projects are constructed to com-
pete dn the open market, with
existing, privately - owned struc--
tures. One observer predicts that
despite initially lower costs and
rents, s u c h competition will
eventually force expenses and
rents up to the levels applying to
all other enterprises.)
-For those who are interested
in, organizing students into a
multi-issue force-one which could
more effectively exert pressure on
the University for concessions of
authority on related issues such
as dormitory planning and fi-
nancing and unrelated issues such
as curriculum, student rules, ten-
ure and general planning - the
establishment of a housing move-
ment at this time has tremendous
potential.
Any movement must begin with
an explicitly stated, explicitly un-
derstood and generally accepted
stand on issues of concern to po-
tential constitutents, and c ?rtai.-
ly Voice and other groups possess
enough knowledge, enough man-
power and enough access to stu-
dents' ears to mobilize support on
this issue. Those who are drawn
into participation on the housing
issue can be used to recruit more
members, will be receptive to the
general ideological beliefs of the
movements' founders and can
therefore serve as a nucleus for
creating a growing and broadly-
interested movement.
IF THE desirability ind fLasi-
bility of student-faculty construc-
tion of housing can thus be un-
derstood, the meaning of the
stands taken by the two factions
within Voice becomes fairly clear.
On the one hand, there are
those who are essentially and un-
retrievably paranoid with respect
to "administrators," "power struc-
tures" and the like. These are the
people who will most likely -lamor
for a "sleep-in" or some other
form of direct action at today's
Diag rally.
In their conception, nothing
short of such direct action can
get "the administration" to con-
cese ("working with" students will
not do - there must be conces-
sions) what they demand; a pow-
er confrontation must occur now
or the "movement" will have been
forever sold out.
The other faction, incorrectly
labelled by the first faction as
moderates, feels it is far more
essential to secure the University's
assistance for a student-faculty
corporation to construct its own
housing. It is this faction which
yesterday attempted to impress
upon Cutler and Pierpont the need
for an explicit- statement of their
willingness to cooperate with such
ventures-they hoped the state-
ment would serve both to calm
the ;fears of the militants and to
clear up for the moderates exactly
how committed the University
was.
The essential and unmistakeably
correct feeling of this faction, is
that, given the general reactions
of University officials to demon-
strations and the fact that they
would react far more negatively
to a demonstration coming pre-
cisely when they were making
every effort to cooperate with
students, given these factors di-
rect action would most likely de-
stroy the good chance now exist-
ing for University cooperation in
the independent student-faculty
housing venture.
IF THE so-called militants
really understood their ideology
and the strategies which it implies
they would understand the two
fundamental points about this
particular case which make them
wrong:
1) One does not precipitate
confrontation with people in
authority when there are more
effective means of attaining those
goals which the ideology seeks,
even if strategically this means
one must cooperate with those in
authority. Clearly the goal of a
broad-based movement which has
been granted legitimacy by those
whom it would serve and who
would serve it is better served by
an independent housing venture
at this time than by wild demon-
strations, and clearly this goal is
far more in line with Voice's
ideology than the retrenchment,
anger, unresponsiveness and con-
tempt which those demonstrations
would undoubtedly produce.
2) In any case, one can accom-
plish nothing with demonstrations
that have no significant support.
If it were possible at this junc-
ture to overthrow the administra-
tion there might, within the- ideo-
logy of the militants, be more
strategic justification for a dem-
onstration, though this is certain-
ly arguable.
At this writing last night, it
was still not clear whether or not
the truly "radical" faction of
Voice-those wishing not to alie-
nate the University in order to
ensure greater success for the in-
dependent housing projects being
contemplated - would be able to
convince the "left-wing infantil-
ists" to (at the least) wait and
see if the University would act in
good faith. Most likely, it will be
up to whomever gathers at today's
Diag rally to decide this issue.
HOPEFULLY, those interested
in good student housing and/or
in the possibility of students em-
barking on a constructive project
with far-ranging potentials will
fill that crowd this noon and stop
the silly demonstrations. There is
a great deal in the balance.
*
*
4
4
4~
SE
I
1'
4
Viet Nam Disagreement over, Tatc
-1
Housimg-Moderation Needed
BE HOUSING MOVEMENT at the Uni-
versity has had its first small success.
Signifying that success was the . re-
markable statement issued late yester-
day afternoon by Richard Cutler, vice-
president for student affairs, and Wilbur
Pierpont, vice-president for business and
finance. Restrained but encouraging, the
statement was one of the first real ex-
amples of administrators working with
students that this University has seen.
The only unfortunate section of the
reply statement was item five, that deal-
ing with the University's policy toward
shoddily constructed apartment build-
ings., The. terms in which the question
was answered were as shoddy as some
of the apartment construction presum-
ably is,
INSOFAR as the housing protest move-
ment itself is concerned this noon's
Diag meeting should be a time for the
consolidation of yesterday's gains. It
should be a planning session for future
action, for the expansion of the housing
movement's much-needed grass-roots
groundwork.
There are elements, however, which
would have the session develop into
something else entirely, into an active
protest. The group has asked that an ad-
ministrator reply to their demands in
not be forthcoming, and the technical
grounds for a protest may be thought to
have been established. However, it is ob-
vious that such a move would be a sheer
disaster for the housing movement, and
any attempts to encourage it must be
greeted with this in mind.
JN THE FIRST PLACE, the movement
simply does not have the numbers of
students behind it to stage a really viable
protest as yet. There could be nothing
sadder than to see the entire housing
movement become nothing more than
dinner conversation because a premature
protest made itssupporters look like an
isolated minority.
The movement has a tacit mass back-
ing on this campus. It must take care
not to alienate its possible supporters by
making itself look foolish in their eyes.
Moreover, a protest so soon after a sig-
nificant administration concession could
have no other effect than to make the
group look fragmented. This would cer-
tainly destroy ,Its bargaining legitimacy
with the administration, a crucial toe-
hold that must not be surrendered to the
whim of an overly-hasty minority.
A final reason for not actively protest-
ing tomorrow is simply the ethical one
that a protest Is not needed and protests
are certainly not their own reason for
VM *% e
EDITOR'S NOTE: Following
are excerpts of a report from a
special correspondent in Viet
Nam for the New Republic.
AS THE American manpower
commitment in South Viet
Nam grows, so does friction and
misunderstanding between Ameri-
cans and Vietnamese. There is
comradeship and devotion be-
tween individuals, but the rela-
tionship is basically unequal. The
Americans are in a position to
give, or to withhold; the Vietnam-
ese can only receive, or refuse to
receive.
The other day I went to see a
Vietnamese regional forcesmajor,
whom I shall call Major Pham.
For years he had been a guerrilla
fighter, both against the French
and the Communists, and later
against Ngo Dinh Diem. But war-
fare has changed greatly since his
best years as a fighter.
I went around to see the Amer-
ican Special Forces captain who
had been helping this major. The
captain was away, and his deputy,
a second lieutenant, immediately
made it plain that he did not
share the camp commander's re-
gard for the major.
IN FACT, his comments were
scathing. Major Pham was no
fighter; he did his utmost to
avoid engagements with the Viet
Cong.
One reason for the controversy
surrounding the major is a con-
flict between American military
and civilian advisers in the pro-
vince. The military adviser thinks
this ex-guerrilla leader is undis-
ciplined, out-dated, hopeless.
However, the civilian adviser,
who knows Major Pham well,
thinks that as an ex-guerrilla,
Major Pham understands Mao
Tse-tung's famous precept about
swimming in popular waters. The
civilian watched the major occupy
an area the, government consid-
ered lost to the Viet Cong, and
was impressed by the imaginative
tactics he had employed.
TO THE CIVILIAN adviser,
Major Pham's dilatory tactics on
the battlefield ariserpartly from
a kind of "If you don't help me,
I won't help you" attitude that is
disconcerting to Americans but
that is widespread in the Viet-
namese army.
arrived, the Special Forces cap-
tain who had befriended the major
felt the same way, despite un-
favorable reports from his sub-
ordinates. .
The Special Forces lieutenant
had participated in a recent oper-
ation during which American
planes had bombed a Viet Cong-
occupied village. Then Vietnamese
army ,.units had rounded up the
villagers and burned their surviv-
ing homes. The villagers were al-
lowed to take with them what
they could carry, and the majority
of them were housed temporarily
in a government military outpost.
The American lieutenant felt
the action was perfectly justified.
The villagers had been warned by
leaflet time and again, for at least
three months, that they should
not supply the Viet Cong, that the
government could not protect
them if they stayed in that area,
and that they should move else-
where. None of them had done so.
It was a VC (Viet Coig) village,"
the lieutenant said downrightly.
MAJOR PHAM and his men
had also participated in that ac-
tion. Hundreds of villagers from
the bombed hamlets had in fact
been housing temporarily in his
area. But to him, the whole oper-
ation was pointless. The purpose
could not have been to kill Viet
Cong, for there were no Viet Cong
killed either in the bombing or in
the sweep through the village.
Nor could the purpose have been
to "liberate" the village, since the
government forces knew before
they began the operation that
they would have to withdraw once
it was over.
So the only valid objective was
to deny the village and its sup-
plies to -the Viet Cong. But this
would be achieved only for a
limited period of time. To get
people to move permanently from
that village, one would have to
give them alternative ricefields or
an alternative source of income.
One could not treat the people as
permanent refugees, living on
doles of American bulgar wheat
and vegetable oil.
The minute the people realized
that this was in fact what the
government forces intended to do,
they began to filter back to their
own village, despite the risks. The
people know that they will have
to supply rice and other' provi-
sions to the Viet Cong, and that
this will invite renewed govern-
ment retaliation.
BUT WHAT can they do, Major
Pham asked? Their livelihood is
there, in the bombed village. He,
for one, could not forbid them to
return. Nor did he forbid the
people in his area from continuing
to trade with and keep up rela-
tions with villagers under Viet
Cong control. It means added in-
come for the people in his area.
It also provides him with informa-
tion as to what is going on in the
Viet Cong areas.
"I Had In Mind Something A Little Less Common"
V,
U' Bookstore Backers Need a New Pitch
By PETER R. SARASOHN
WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT. San-
dals and weejens marching
alongside each other. Marching
by President Hatcher's house
through the Diag to the front
steps of the Administration Build-
ing. Marching, chanting "We want
a University Bookstore Now."
Marching, carrying signs saying
"Foil Folletts," "Smash Slater's"
and"Up-End Ulrich's."
But, alas, such a demonstration
would be quite difficult to achieve
on this campus of many diverse
groups, all proud of and jealous-
ly guarding their distinctness.
'Tri, O.'alid4 nt..- .nna nrva
fort, student leaders are ventur-
ing into an area of great im-
portance to every University stu-
dent-from beard to rep-tie, from
freshman to graduate.
Certain important-and recep-
tive-administrators are watching
this issue and SGCC's handling of
it and will decide two things upon
the outcome. One, should they
commit themselves foi the Uni-
versity Bookstore and work for
its creation? Two. can SGC in fact
muster enough student support to
prove it can exist Ps a viable stu-
dent organization with a true con-
stituency?
We must rally to -the cause and
attack the problem as BBD&O
might. Naturally on a smaller
budget. Tom Sawyer, if you re-
member, sold the chance to white-
wash the fence and received the
priceless items of 12 marbles, tad-
poles, a kitten with one eye, and
a dead rat with a string on which
to swing it. The rewards for the
student will be definitely as val-
uable as were Tom's.
Every student- wants to save
money. Therefore he is inclined
to support an effort for lower
book prices as the U-Bookstore
would offer. However, it must be
made easy for him to show his
Follett doesn't even like us." And
so on.
Signs on the Diag would also
have to appeal to the different
groups. For the snob-"The Brick-
dusters are Supporters." For the
sexy-"I Dreamed I Provided Sup-
port for the U-Bookstore in my
Maidenform." For the Greeks -
"The Greeks are Supporters Al-
so." For the scholars - "For T-
Bookstore Supporters the first
eight books of Will Durant's 'The
Story of Civilization,' an $85 val-
ue, will be offered for $1.58 in-
cluding tax." And so on.
For those that hate buttons,
marches and signs, an all-campus
'T'ri tm l A ,,.eomnuj4,,Af er tw*ny,