Seventy-Sixth Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1965 NIGHT EDITOR: PETER SARASOHN
The Viet Nam Protestors
NMust Educate, Not Alienate
rVHE RECENT VIET NAM protests were
in a very large part conducted in poor
taste, and with little apparent purpose.
If the hecklers on the diag were below
mention, where, on the other side, was
the purpose of 'the final float in the
homecoming parade, which bordered on
the ludicrous? And where, too,i was the
long-range purpose of civil disobedience,
infringing on the draft laws and going to
jail?1
The entire protest became totally dis-
connected from the issue at hand. Where-
as two weeks ago student activists were
discussing Viet Nam, now they're discuss-
ing Katzenbach and fine points of civil
law. Whereas two months ago they had
reasonably calm, intelligent dialogue,
they are now at the, level of name-call-
ing and bitter reaction.
Demonstrators are supposed to show to
their government inherent disagreement
With government policies. This the Viet
Nam demonstrators have been doing for
well on a year now. Petitions have been
sent, teach-ins held, demonstrations set
off in an orderly, quiet manner. But if the
protestors started a movement of ques-
tioning, they still apparently have not
convinced a number of people large
enough to make any significant impres-
sion in the White House.
THAT PROTESTORS have to go direct-
ly to the White House indicates one
very large wrong in the system, and has
indeed proved a stumbling-block to for-
eign policy demonstrators. Essentially,
U.S. foreign policy is controlled by a very
small body of experts within the State
Department, and thus is more an execu-
tive matter than a congressional one.,
For the most part the U.S. relies on
small bodies of experts to conduct its
foreign affairs, and these men are under
the executive branch. Information about
foreign affairs goes to Congress through
presidential briefings, and of late the
President has been reluctant in his dis-
pensing of information in an attempt to
keep congressional debate at a minimum.,
So a 'situation develops where a good
part of U.S. foreign .policy is well beyond
public control, and even congressional
control-sometimes even to the point of
dangerous semi-autonomy, a happened
with the CIA at the Bay of Pigs. Senate
and House committees have little real
power to affect foreign policy, and the
White House stand of late has been to
stifle as much as possible any really
meaningful congressional debate, which,
though of no really direct consequence,
does involve the electorate, and the pow-
er of the Executive to deal with issues
over which Congress does have direct con-
trol. The U.S. finds itself and its rep-
resentatives basically uninformed
out-of-touch on a vital facet of its
tional life.
and
na-
OBVIOUSLY there is room for criticism
of U.S. policy and policy making.
Though there are the obvious consid-
erations of security, it seems inconceiv-
able that the government could ever jus-
tify concealing information which could
throw the entire situation in a new light.
Nor can there be any justification for
allowing a domain so vitally important
as foreign policy to have slipped so far
from immediate elected public control as
it has at this time.
BECAUSE OF THEIR essential lack of
touch with foreign policy controls, pro-
testors can only hope to change Viet Nam
policy on a long-range basis-by express-
ing their discontent not in Quixotic, of-
fensive, and ill-starred actions which tend'
to become more and more distant from'
the issues themselves as time goes on,
but rather by going to the only real
source of strength in our system, the,
electorate.
The whole thing started with meaning-
ful, convincing dialogue. It should have
continued that way. Thirty-six demon-
strators would have better spent 10 days
in a quiet, well-researche'd door-to-door
campaign aimed at convincing the con-
tituency of the rightness of their point
than in jail. They should have devoted
36 times $65 to good softly-worded litera-
ture aimed at education and distributed
to make voters oppose, or at least ques-
tion, government policy rather than pos-
sibly pouring it down the drain in fines
because they engaged in demonstrations
which they should have known would
alienate more people than they would win
over.
That our foreign policy should be so far
removed from us is wrong, and that we
should lack significant information at
this stage of the game because the gov-
ernment withholds it to the degree which
the situation seems now to have carried,
is also' wrong. Thus Walter Lippmannr
says we should not be surprised when the
issues are carried to the streets.
But we should indeed be deeply dis-
appointed when the demonstration, be-,
comes meaningless, and when activists
rant and rave and offend when they
should be taking the only fruitful course
of action open to them-educating the
constituency concerning an alternate
point of view, encouraging letters to con-
gressmen and the President, and shaping
the vote to their advantage, instead of
to their disadvantage.
-HARVEY WASSERMAN
By STEPHEN BERKOWITZ
Daily Guest Writer
T HE ROLE played by the Of-
fice of Student Affairs and its
representatives in recent confron-
tations betweenstudents and the
general community is both hypo-
critical and foolhardy.
If the present typology of pub-
licly stated moral beliefs is to be
taken as both descriptive of the
policy of the Office of Student
Affairs, and indicative of the
policy to be pursued by the Uni-
versity administration in regard
to the relationship between stu-
dents and the surrounding com-
munity in the future, the growth
in the quality of student life at
this campus has experienced in
recent years will be subjected to
the greatest threat to its existence
since the resignation of former
Dean of Women Deborah Bacon.
DURING THE LAST several
years, the OSA has done much
to improve the lot of the student
at'- the University.
Under the administration of
Vice-President Richard L. Cutler
the conception arose that the OSA
ought to perform-de facto-those
counseling functions which-de
jure-it had been supposed to ful-
fill for a long time.
To this end the OSA under-
went an extensive reorganization
which introduced a greater degree
of rationalization into its organ-
izational structure than it had
ever enjoyed before. In large
measure this has resulted in a
more efficient and professional
functioning of the office. It is
clear, however, that-as in so
many other cases-legal-rational
organization has not come to the
OSA as an entirely unmixed bless-
ing.
Together with the growth in
specialization-with the greater
division of labor among various
component groups within the of-
fice-has come a view of the exist-
ence of "administration" per se,
as a skill independent of the
qualitative aspects of the process
itself. Increasingly, the Office of
Student Affairs has come to view
itself, within the last several
months, in much the same way as
the dean's office at the Univer-
sity of California at Berkeley con-
ceived of itself-as a device where-
by the effect of student actions
upon the larger community was
neutralized.
THIS ROLE never was - nor
ought it to be-a sufficient one
for the OSA. It is necessary that
the University act reactively-in
response to some sorts of pres-
sures outside itself; but unless the
University pursues' a proactivd
role in the terms of the commun-,
ity-one which seeks to diminish
the structural proclivity of the
extra-University system to apply
these sorts of pressures-it will
not succeed.
Perhaps the best argument that
may be offered in opposition to
the role that the University pres-
ently seeks to adopt is that it is
essentially an unmanageable one.
Student action are going to both
affect and antagonize a com-
munity such as Ann Arbor. The
disparity between the students'
conduct and values and those of
the community as a whole is a
function of the conflict between
the life patterns of each of them:
the city scarcely becoming urban
-the students, in many cases,
coming from urban environments;
the city, living in contemplation
of a rural past-the students look-
ing towards an urban future; the
city, viewing its patterns of life
as likely to persevere-and the
students, by contrast, looking to-
wards different patterns of cul-
ture, temporal organization and
value.
Thoseconflicts, by virtue of the
existence of the university as an
alien body in the midst of a hos-
tile and rural context, are un-
avoidable.°
Consequently, it never was-nor
is it likely to be-the function of
the Office of Si udent Affairs to
simply justify or rectify the effects
of student-city antagonism. On
the contrary, if' the University is
to play any role at all, it must
be a proactive one. Living in con-
templation of the unavoidability
of conflict between the two halves
of the community, the University
must seek to separate and re-
strain them.
In part, this idea may be seen
as "paternalism"-"-and indeed, it
is the desire to avoid this role,
as expressed by members of the
OSA, which has been offered
against what is proposed here.
This begs the essential point:
what functional or conflict chan-
neling role did the proactive orien-
tation of the University admin-
istration in the past (seeking to
settle grievances between students
and townspeople out of court;
seeking to bring pressure to bear
when the Ann Arbor police 'engag-
ed in unnecessarily repressive be-
havior, etc.) fulfill in maintaining
the University as a place for con-
templation, confrontation and
serious scholarship?
I WOULD SUBMIT that (a) it
is in the interests of the Univer-
sity community generally and the
students in particular that the
OSA seek to limit points of waste-
ful and unproductive friction be-
tween the student body and the
city proper and (b) that the pres-
ent policies of, the OSA are both
hypocritical and unlikely to ac-
complish this goal.
In the first instance, Vice-
President Cutler has adopted the
view that the University ought to
function as a qualitatively moral
institution. Fine. As an individual.
he has taken stands against apar-
theid, segregation, etc. Fine. He
has attempted-both personally.
and with the context of his of-
fice-to treat the student in a
more adult manner than some of
his predecessors. Fine.
These points, I would maintain,
are irrelevant. In much the way
that "the law, in its divine ma-
jesty, prohibits equally the rich
man and the poor man from
sleeping on a park bench"-the
functional outcome of the policies
pursued by the OSA has been to
expose the student to greater
community sanction - without
seeking to provide him with the
means whereby he can exercise
an effectively adult role. Without
means, he lacks power to offset
these sanctions. In much the
manner that the Negro in the
South has access to judicial pro-
ceedure-but lacks the means to
effectively pursue his rights
through this mechanism (a share-
cropper in conflict with a land-
lord for instance), the student is
unable to effectively make con-
test:
ITEM: Several students were
arrested within the last month
for hawking tickets in the Michi-
gan Union above the stated ticket
price. There seems some evidence
for the belief that these arrests
involve entrapment-the students
at least wanted to contest the
arrests on these grounds. The
OSA's purported answer: "Get a
lawyer."' The students found this
financially unfeasible.
ITEM: The Ann Arbor police
have been sending a group of
plainclothesmen into the Michi-
gan Union for some time now. Due
to both the frequency and the
apparently directionless nature of
their wandering about, it seems
likely that they are simply "on
cleanup"-seeking out unspecified
persons involved in hypothetical
illegal activity; homosexuality,
dope traffic or whatever. In as
much as this behavior would not
seem to be directed towards any
specific complaint-but rather to-
wards "evil" generally, is this to
be condoned? What might be the
effects of this surveillance on the
University's role as an intellectual
establishment? The OSA reply:
the Ann Arbor police have the
right to do what they are doing.
(Is this true?),
ITEM: The Ann Arbor police, in
seeking out one of the students
arrested recently for allegedly
selling marijuana, wandered about
Angell and Mason Halls waiting
for him to attend class. What
would have been the effect on the
"academic environment" if he had
been arrested in class? Is it both
right and proper for the police to
interrupt a class to arrest one of
the participants? The OSA reply:
No comment.
ITEM: According to news ac-
counts, it was on the basis of a
query from Vice President Cutler
as to whether or not students be-
longing to a group called "the
Committee to Aid the Vietna-
mese" "should be registered as
agents of a foreign government"
that the FBI and the Michigan
State Police's "ned Squad" de-
cided to investigate the group.
Pursuant to its newly envisioned
role of neutrality, the OSA did not
seek to establish for the public
even the basic facts in the case-
despite the fact that the question
of the legality of the group was
brought up by another group ac-
tively in favor of the present pol-
icy in Viet Nam.
ITEM: During the last several
weeks, the Ann Arbor Police have
been present-at the invitation of
the University-at several demon-
strations regarding the war in
Viet Nam. They have openly and
blatantly photographed students
and faculty members speaking
against the war. Despite a state-
ment by an OSA spokesman that
this practice, seen as highly in-
timidating by those affected,
would be stopped, it was not. The.
OSA, which was responsible for
calling in the police, said: We're
in contact with the police and
we're trying. The University stu-
dents interviewed thought it un-
feasible to seek an injunction.
ITEM: The Ann Arbor police
sent representatives to several stu-
dent meetings held by those
against the war in Viet Nam. Ac-
cording to a spokesman for'the
OSA, he asked the_ Ann ;Arbor
Police not to send plainclothes-
men to one meeting in the Under-
graduate Library (there seemed
to be no probable cause to believe
that a crime would be coin itted
at any of these meetings). The
OSA's answer: it was a public
meeting.
IN VIEW of this information,
then, is the role of the Office of
Student Affairs in these situatiois,
de facto, to be seen as one of bu-
reaucratic neutrality-"we can't
support paternalism in any form"
-or, in fact, has the OSA simply
abnegated its role?
Three essential questions
emerge:
Firstly: why has the law' en-
forcement apparatus become so
interested in investigating stu-
dents at this particular point in
time?
Secondly, what is likely to be
the outcome of these investiga-
tions in view of their history thus
far?
And thirdly, what sort of image
of society does the OSA seem to
have in mind?
It seems clear that the recent
land-office trade being done in
the law enforcement business may
be seen as a function of two fac-
tors: the abnegation of the OSA's
traditional role as an active po-
litical agent in promoting the stu-
dents' welfare and, secondarily,
the general crackdown on youth
being undertaken by law enforce-
ment agencies all over the coun-
try.
These officials see youth as a
"dangerously radical and disrup-
tive force." They view the youth
culture as an alien and antagon-
istic one (glance through issues
of the "Police Chief," the official
publication of the International
Association of Chiefs of Police).
THE QUESTION remains, how-
ever, why here?' Why now? Why'
have the AnnArbor police become
so active recently? Why have some
activities deliberately overlooked
in the past (moderately noisy
drinking parties, ticket selling),
become the center of so much at-
tention?
The answer, I believe, is that
there is no effective countervailing
force-no effective political force
in opposition to unnecessary or
disruptive police activity. In the
game of "if you give an inch,
they'll take a yard"--the Univer-
sity has been giving yards.
The logical 'outcome of these
perpetual investigations, of course,
is likely to be the undermining of
the welfare of both the University
and the students-and, paradox-
ically, the "liberals" such as Dr.
Cutler. If that great neolithic
beast, the State Legislature, rises'
from its primevil slumber, who
knows what unthinking damage
may be done?
WHAT emerges from all of this,
of course, is a not very pleasant
notion of the-nature-of-society-
cum-Office of Student Affairs. Are
we to live in a society overrun by
police? Are we to allow the police
--like great wild dogs let in off
the street-to range about the
University without the possibility
of restraint? Are we to tolerate an
atmosphere of fear and intimida-
tion as a university? Dr. Cutler, is
this terribly responsible?
FINALLY, in pursuit of "effi-
ciency" has the Office of Student
Affairs discarded efficacy? Has
the increase in organization at the
Student Activities Building been
coupled to a growth in anti-value?
Most importantly, can a Universi-
ty grow to a greater sense of mor-
ality if it merely espouses one be-
lief-but acts, effectively, in terms
of another?
0
0
*
I
Needed on
Viet Nam: Tolerance Reason
GROUP for SGC
AMONG THE PRODIGIOUS number of,
candidacies and supposedly imagina-
tive and original programs that propose
to represent the "whole" student body
and offer final solutions to the tudent's
problems, the candidates and platform of
GROUP for the coming election stand out
simply because of the understanding and
experience they would bring to SGC.
The platform proposed by GROUP em-
phasizes above all the need for action,
well-researched, carefully executed ac-
tion, in the effort to confront and solve
the most pressing problems *of students
and the University in general.
Equally impressive is the comprehen-
siveness of the programs GROUP offers.
The platform is organized around four
basic areas in which the GROUP candi-
dates believe extensive work must be
done:
" In the area of economic concerns,
GROUP proposes to continue the cam-
paign for a University bookstore, to fur-
ther study the needs for student housing,
and to begin work in several other areas,
notably plans for a student store modeled
loosely after the Co-Op at Harvard.
* Academic issues to be considered are
the possibility of eliminating the grading
system, at least in the Residential Col-
lege if not in the Literary College, a re-
evaluation of the credit hour system and
consideration of giving credit for certain
apartment permission for sophomore
women, and the elimination of hours for
freshman women which would be decided
by an all-University referendum.
s In the relation of the campus to the
outside community, GROUP candidates
believe that the members of SGC should,
representing the student body, express
opinions on national and international
matters. In addition, they wish to initiate
further study of the problems of aca-
demic freedom on this and other cam-
puses.
THIS PLATFORM represents a contin-
uation of the thoughtful and original
programming that has characterized the
work of GROUP in SGC since the election
of five of their candidates last year. By
far, the major programs of SGC in this
period have been those initiated and ad-
ministered by GROUP members,
The candidates themselves reflect the
continually high standard of the work
done by GROUP on SGC. Don Resnick,
68, newly elected president of the Uni-
versity of Michigan Student Economic
Union (UMSEU), has already demonstrat-
ed great ability during his current term
on SGC.
Ed Robinson, '67, is chairman of the
contemporary discussion committee of
UAC, responsible for the speaker pro-
grams offered throughout the year, and
By LEONARD PRATT
AMERICA HAS CHANGED a
deal -in the last year.
There have been two basic
changes, one internal and one ex-
ternal, both related to the war in
Viet Nam. The first has been a
greatly changed American position
in the Far East, the second a,
greatly changed domestic situa-
tion centering around the objec-
tions to American policies.
Unless there is some sort of con-
structive reaction to each of these
changes and to their interaction,
America's potential as a construc-
tive power in the Far East, as op-
posed to its recent heavy-handed
and short-sighted policies there,
will surely be destroyed.
THE UNITED STATES' position
in East Asia underwent in the last
year probably the most dramatic
change of its century-long career.
The U.S. altered its character
from the dabbler in Asia to the in-
terventionist, from the advisor to
the tacit power-behind-the-throne.
In many ways, of course, this
change was undesirable. Perhaps
the worst facet of it was that, in
effect, the decision to make the
change was made largely in secret,
leaving the American people-at-'
large left out of the process alto-
gether.
The decision itself was also
wrong because military force is the
worst possible choice of means to
stop the spread of communism in
an underdeveloped country, espe-
cially when there are at least as
many if not more native Commu-
nists in the country than there
are cadres "imported" from bor-
dering nations.
It got, rather, the "new" Amer-
ica, the America taking a direct
hand in Asia, and it's stuck with
it. The important thing to realize
now is that America's citizens are
now stuck with it as well.
The base the U.S. is now build-
ing at Camranh Bay will be the
largest air-naval installation in
Asia, the New York Times has re-
ported. Clearly such an installa-
tion is only a symbol of the power
that President Johnson has taken
in America's behalf. Whether or
THIS IS WHERE the second is-
sue, the domestic situation center-,
ing around the objections to the
President's Viet Nam policies, be-
comes important.
'The protests went worng in a
number of ways. Originally, their
methods of rallies and teach-ins
were necessitated by the govern-
ment's refusal to inform the cit-
izens about either what was hap-
pening in Viet Nam or what its
plans were there.
This was the first tragedy of the
teach-ins,.and it was the govern-
ment's fault. By refusing to allow
those objecting to government
policy any legitimate means of
contacting the government, John-
son's administration effectively
isolated the movement from Amer-
ican political influence and made
it a largely social force.
Being a social rather than po-
litical movement, the protest soon
developed its own selected "in-
crowd." It began and has since
continued, to speak and write al-
most exclusively by itself and for
itself.
THE FIRST EFFECT this had
was to ,create a good deal of sus-
picion about the movement among
the "out-crowd." Not knowing
exactly what was being discussed
or why, the vast majority of Amer-
icans simply ignored the move-
ment and went on suporting the
President as always, never realiz-
ing that one of the central issues
was, in fact, whether or not the
President deserved support.
The second effect of the move-
ment's centripetal tendencies was-
the alienation of "radical moder-
ates" from its ranks. Those who
disagreed with Johnson, but who
still felt, for example, that com-
plete American withdrawal was
impossible, found themselves set
upon by both sides. They were
Communists and compromisers at
the same time and so they grad-
ually drifted away from the pro-
test.
As a result, American public
opinion polarized into now well-
accepted split.
To make matters worse, the
public correctly identified the pro-
test movement with the Berkeley
more intelligent bases than their
length.
The final result of the protests
thus may well have been to make
discussion of the U.S. involvement
in, Asia impossible.
THE EXTENT of the problem
becomes evident when one com-
bines the effects of both of the
last year's changes on America.
On the one hand the country has
within its grasp a very extensive
network of sheer power and in-
fluence in Asia, and on the other,
the protests have made public dis-
cussion as to the use of that pow-
er impossible.
Asia's fate, and with it the
world's, thus stand in danger of
being determined by the 100 to
200 men who have direct contact
with the President as he formu-
lates U.S. foreign policy.
At best such a situation is un-
democratic. At worst it breeds the
stagnation and repetiveness which
is the easiest way to misuse
America's immense power in the
Far East:
To say that the situation in the
Far East is delicate is the height
of understatement. Each country
rests on a knife edge and the
slightest shock sets it trembling
precariously. Under such condi-
tions U.S. foreign policies must
be ones of change, of degree and
of understanding.
Such policies can only result,
not if plebiscites are taken on
governmental policies, but if the
government listens to the com-
ments of an enlightened public.
TWO CHANGES in the current
domestic situation are thus called
for. First, the government must
begin listening to the comments
of its critics, and second, those
comments must begin to be much
more germaine than they have
been recently.
Those who would ignore all cri-
ticism cannot help America. Their
policy alternatives are based in a
past that should never have exist-
ed and inevitably lead to a war
with China which could not be
won in any sense of the word.
Neither can the vast mass of
today's "protestors" help much.
itself and about the forces cur-
rently at work there.
TO EXPECT HELP from the
government is unreasonable. Of-,
ficials from the President down
have turned such a cold shoulder
on the protestors that they can-
not be expected to encourage other
forms of dissent. In another light,
encouraging criticism of govern-
ment policies is tantamount to
saying that those policies need
improving-clearly a fact, but one
that the government cannot be
expected to admit.
There are possibilities that a
television network like the Colum-
bia Broadcasting System might do
a series of "specials" on the 'his-
tory of Asia and forces at work
there.
The greatest hopes, however,
must lie with private groups such
as the recently-formed Americans
for Reappraisal of Far Eastern
Policy. Discussion forums and
question-and-answer sessions such
as this group has begun to spon-
sor in Ann Arbor and elsewhere
can provide a great means of in-
forming the public at large.
Of course such groups run the'
risk of becoming an ideological
"in crowd" as did the original
teach ins, and for much the same
reasons. If, however, through ex-
tensive publicity for their furic-
tions and the maintenance of a
rational attitude toward those who
oppose them, they can prevent
themselves from becoming isolated
from the rest of the nation, such
groups may be very helpful
WHETHER OR NOT these spe-
cific prescriptions are adopted, it
is obvious that something must
be done to close the gap between
American power and American
education. If those who are edu-
cated in Far Eastern matters do
not immediately begin -to teach
those, both in and out of power,
who are not, then the new U.S.
power in the Far East will soon
become a juggernaut without goals
or guidence which cannot help out
drain American resources and lives
in fly-by-night Asian struggles.
The government must be encour-
aged to become more tolerant, the
protestors to scream less about
morality and more about viable
future actions in Asia and the
public to exercise its potential
ability and responsibility to com-
bine American power with rele-
vant knowledge.
Only in that- way will the U.S.
have a truly "reasonable" policy
in the Far East.
ii
"Nonsense-They See Eyeball To Eyeball"
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