Seve ty-Sixth Year
EDITED AND MANAGED Y STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Housing: A Management Problem
i , y
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Truth Will Prevail
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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.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8,1965 NIGHT EDITOR: JOHN MEREDITH
Col. Holmes in Action:
Perversion of Justice
LAST OCTOBER 15TH 38 University stu-
dents and teaching fellows partici-
pated in a Viet Nam protest sit-in at the
Ann Arbor draft board. Among the crowd
of onlookers was a deputy director of
the Selective Service system dispatched
to the scene by Col. Arthur Holmes, state
draft director.
Concerned that the sit-in might vio-
late the Selective Service Act, Col. Holmes
had sent his subordinate to Ann Arbor
to keep an eye on the situation. Col.
Holmes' hopes were rewarded. The depu-
ty's report convinced Holmes that the
students had interfered with the draft
board.
The colonel called in all the files of
the demonstrators. Unfortunately he
could only obtain 31 files-the other dem-
onstrators were girls and veterans. He
quickly prepared a report to the local
boards which said the students had vio-
lated the Selective Service Act and hence
were liable to be declared delinquent and
subject to immediate induction into the
armed forces.
Four of the student demonstrators sub-
sequently lost their deferments, are now
1-A and face immediate induction.
COL. HOLMES' ACTION has set a new
precedent in the American legal sys-
tem. The unique sit-in trial was held in
the colonel's office. Represented were the
prosecutor (Col. Holmes' deputy director)
and the judge (the colonel himself).
There was no defense attorney nor were
there any defendants. The colonel mere-
ly scanned the prosecutor's report, looked
up the selective service laws and then
wrote his decision - the students had
stopped the secretaries at the Ann Arbor
draft board from completing their work.
After adjourning his court the colonel
sent the jury (the local draft boards) his
decision. Judge Holmes explains that it
"Has always been our policy to handle
these situations administratively."
The judge emphasizes that "All these
boys have a right to an appeal." While the
reclassified students have been informed
they can have neither a lawyer nor wit-
ness at their hearings, it has been rum-
ored that their mothers will be allowed
to attend.
For a man who has no law degree, Col.
Holmes appears to have a thorough
knowledge of the function of due process
in our legal system. He scoffs at such
suggestions however, modestly asserting
"I've been with this business 25 years and
I still don't know all the laws."
THERE ARE THOSE who tend to agree
with the colonel. Among them are
University President Harlan Hatcher,
Vice-Presidents Richard Cutler and Al-
lan Smith, Regent Irene Murphy, the
Democratic State Central Committee, the
American Jewish Congress, the Washing-
ton Post, the Detroit Free Press, Rep.
Charles Diggs, State Reps. Thomas White,
Raymond Hood and Coleman Young, Neil
Staebler, and the American Civil Liberties
Union.
They have all criticized Holmes' action.
The ACLU has even gone so far as to
seek a federal injunction against Col.
Holmes, Gen. Hershey and the local draft
boards to restore the students' original
classification.
Col. Holmes finds it hard to compre-
hend why anyone would oppose such a
move. He and national director Gen.
Hershey claim they are not punishing
dissent-that they are merely implement-
ing existing Selective Service laws.
But unfortunately the situation is not
as simple as he believes. Did the pres-
ence of 38 people on the floor of the Ann
Arbor draft board really impede the busi-
ness procedures of the draft? Anyone who
had business at the board could have
walked in and accomplished his mission.
No one was sticking bubble gum in any
typewriters or stealing erasers.
In fact there was only one tie-up at
the Ann Arbor draft board, as student
Walter Pinkus noted in a recent letter to
the Daily. A plainclothesman spent the
entire afternoon perched on a window-
sill, telephone receiver in hand. Hence
the draft board's phone was tied up all
afternoon.
COL. HOLMES' action makes about as
much sense as sentencing civil rights
sit-inners to join the Klan. He apparently
labors under the delusion that our gov-
ernment is not one of laws but of Selec-
tive Service officials. Obviously he is un-
aware that Ann Arbor has courts cap-
able of handling trespassers.
His action is simply political reprisal
based on a perverted notion of justice.
The colonel is clearly 4-F material.
-ROGER RAPOPORT
COMPARED TO the University's
other plant and space prob-
lems reviewed here Sunday, stu-
dent housing needs and difficul-
ties seem fairly trivial. The Uni-
versity is presently committed to
a substantial student residences
building program, and private
building will be able to take care
of the rest of the growth more
than adequately, given the present
pace.
This doesn't leave an awful lot
for the "Student Housing" report
of the President's Commission on
Off-Campus Housing to cover in
the way of major policy recom-
mendations. The really important
policy decision on housing was in
fact made several years ago some-
where in the depths of the admin-
istration on the grounds of ex-
pediency.I
That was to undertake a pro-
gram of allowing and even encour-
aging private housing development
to supplement University - built
housing. The University was just
not interested (it's not clear
whether or not it was able) in
undertaking the massive building
program needed to provide all
students or even a large percent-
age of them with housing.
GIVEN THE irrevocable nature
of this decision, the President's
housing commission was left with
two things to talk about: A stu-
dent housing philosophy that
somehow integrated living and
learning in a meaningful way, and
programs to implement such a
philosophy.
Though there has been a lot of
discussion linking "student eco-
nomic welfare" and low-cost hous-
ing, this is a will-o-the-wisp in
Ann Arbor, given the syrocketing
building costs locally and the ex-
tremely high cost of land any-
where close to the University.
Neither is low-cost housing par-'
ticularly important. T h e Ivy
League schools have long since
recognized the irrelevancy of $50
cheaper housing for bringing low-
income students to the university,
and instead charge the going
dorm rates, get their alumni to do
the building, and clear a nice
profit in the end for educational
activities.
For the low income students,
they go out and recruit, encourag-
ing them to come to college and
giving them plenty of money to
do it.
WHAT IS important at this
University then is that a coher-
ent and educationally sound phi-
losophy of housing be spelled out
and implemented with reasonable
cost limits. The housing report
comes on pretty strong with phi-
losophy, though much of it reiter-
ates what has been said before.
"The basic position that the stu-
dent's living experiences should
complement his classroom exper-
iences is an integral part of the
philosophy for student affairs set
forth in 'The Reed Report' and
unanimously adopted by the
Board of Regents in 1962."
The commission's contribution
is to extend this philosophy to
"all other areas of student hous-
ing - married student housing,
affiliated housing and off-campus
housing." It states, "The Univer-
sity cannot ignore this aspect of
the total education of the more
than 70 per cent of its student
body living outside of the resi-
dence halls."
Unfortunately, philosophy is one
thing, implementation another.
The University has had the phi-
losophy for over 25 years, since
the Michigan House Plan was for-
mulated in the late 1930's, but suc-
cess has been transitory at best.
After World War II, with the
great flood of veterans into the
University, the business office
came to play a key role in admin-
istration of theresidence halls.
Over the years, authority; has be-
come fragmented, split with the
Office of Student Affairs, dele-
gated, undelegated and redelegat-
ed until it is almost impossible, as
Michigan MAD
By ROBERT JOHNSTON
it is with so much of the Univer-
sity's administration, to say who
is doing what for whom.
The locus of major power is
still clearly within the business
office, though the whole system is
in fairly sad shape on both sides.
Vice-President for Business and
Finance Wilbur Pierpont has him-
self privately criticized the busi-
ness operations of the residence
halls as inefficient, and, at the
same time, residence halls direc-
tor Eugene Haun has never chosen
to exercise (or been able to) any
authority over the business man-
ager, Leonard Schaadt.
MEANWHILE, all the major
decisions-how much money is to
be spent for what programs and
especially what types of building
programs are to be undertaken
and how extensive they will be,
and how it all is to be financed
and with how much student money
-are still made by Pierpont.
The report states, "The Com-
mission has previously described
two 'truths' - the complex and.
dynamic character of the student
housing situation in Ann Arbor,
and the inadequacy of a commis-
sion or group such as this to act
with the rapidity, thoroughness
and authority that is required.
"This report also describes in
some detail the variety and divi-
sion of authority that now exists
with respect to the planning for,
management, and provision of
necessary services to meet the
myriad housing needs of Michigan
students."
To break this deadlock of in-
competence on one hand and
either fragmented or misplaced
control on the other, the housing
commission has recommended a
director of housing in Vice-Presi-
dent for Student Affairs Richard
Cutler's office.
The report goes on to give some
of the student housing gripes that
they uncovered in their survey.
Ironically, these concentrate not
on housing philosophy and how
well it is being implemented but
on such mundane problems as
noise, lighting, desks, heat and
ventilation. This says little about
how educationally relevant the
student housing system is and
nothing about what can be done
about it.
THE NEW director of housing,,
assuming the office is created,
should be the key figure in elim-
inating the housing problems cov-
ered in the report and in imple-
menting some of the philosophy
given there.
The effect of the housing re-
port will thus depend very much
on the strength of the person
chosen to carry it through.
But it will also depend at least
as much on the powers and auth-
ority he is given and the coopera-
tion he gets. Here is where the
commission really fails in its task.
It recommends the correct sol'u-
tion, reorganization and reassign-
ing of authority in housing in one
man office (in student affairs, not
business and finance), but it
doesn't give any specifics of why
this is so desperately needed.
Without enumerating the spe-
cific failures and log jams and
other assorted horrors of the pres-
ent housing administration sys-
tem, it is doubtful that enough
heat will be generated to press
changes upon it.
A new layer of administration
will be imposed, but Pierpont will
go on making major planning and
finance decisions according to cri-
teria and information known only
to him, Schaadt will go on impos-
ing a ridiculous and inefficient
financial bureaucracy upon the
residence halls system, Haun will
go on being the most feeble of
academic breezes in an academic
wilderness, other parts of the
housing system will continue sep-
arately administered from heaven-
knows-what obscure office, and
Ann Arbor Realtors and landlords
will continue to be allowed by the
University to do pretty much as
they please with private student
housing.
About the most an active direc-
tor could do in this situation
would be, with heroic effort, to
make a few dents here and there,
make things a little more livable
on and off campus, and effect
some of the more minor commis-
sion recommendations.
ONE HOPE remains, however,
in this dismal picture. That is
the student housing advisory com-
mittee set up last fall. If the stu-
dents on it press hard to get the
facts on what has happened in
housing and might happen, if they
work over these facts and try to
formulate meaningful h o u s i n g
programs, and, if they are able
to mobilize student support be-
hind what they decide needs to
be done. there is a chance things
can get moving.
Many of the committee's mem-
bers have demonstrated ability to
work on these problems and force
them through to some sort of
solution.
With hard work, a lot of digging
and a lot of pressure on Pierpont
to let some information loose,
they could begin to have an ef-
fect in gaining for the director of
housing enough backup force to
really accomplish something -
whether it be overhauling an an-
tiquated residence hals systems,
making it both efficient and edu-
cationally valuable; making the
Ann Arbor Realtors may more at-
tention to student needs and less
to their fat pocketbooks; or plan-
ning a program of University stu-
dent housing construction that
will serve student and University
needs and desires over the next
10-15 years.
#r,
Letters: On Language, Justice,
Go, Team, Go
DOES ANYBODY want to know the
greatest threat to the health of the
American college?
(That is a rhetorical question. If the
answer Is "no" I haven't got a column to
write. On the other hand, such an an-
swer evidences a deplorable standard of
concern on your part. I shall therefore
assume the answer is a forthright "yes"
and continue.)
The greatest threat to the health of
the American college is that almost every-
one who is not part of the college com-
munity is sure that the campus is the
center of drunken brawls, pagan danc-
ing, sexual acrobatics, and general moral
rot. And the source of this view, the sem-
inal fount of the calumny, is the college
movie.
Now most of you are familiar with these
products of 1935-45 Hollywood from your
phony - headache - stay - home - from-
school and watch-daytime-TV childhood.
The campus was always State or U. or
Jones, the actors were Dick Powell and
Ruby Keeler and George Murphy and
Jack Oakie as the dumb football player
and the profs were all square eggheads
(ignore the contradiction) except the
kindly old English teacher who fixed the
exam so Jack Oakie could pass and be
eligible and beat anti-State or U. or
Jones.
There was lots of singing and parades
everyday down the main campus with
brass bands and rallies every night and
the Paul Whiteman band just happened
to get stuck in town and play at the big
victory dance.
O.K. THIS WAS 20, 30 years ago and now
the first scene this girl who is there to
catch a husband knocks down a couple of
profs with her bicycle and they look up
and-bam!-out comes a brass band and
400 kids in letter sweaters singing and
dancing down the campus carrying the
basketball team on their shoulders.
I could go on with this but you might
not believe it. The basketball player falls
passionately in love with the girl who is
out to get him (they sing to each other
in the moonlight) and they have to get
married because they can't wait to have
at each other only 'he doesn't have any
money so he cheats on the exam and
flunks it and is ineligible for the big game
so they burn the prof in effigy who flunk-
ed him, and ...
You understand I am not making this
up. This movie is not more than four
years old, and it nowhere occured to the
writer that maybe (a) a campus wouldn't
get tight to a man because its team might
lose a game, or (b) that the two lovers
might send the orchestra and moonlight
hore and quietly go to bed with each oth-
er or (c) that you wouldn't have to be
Clark Kerr to call out the cops the ,first
time a basketball pep rally was held
smack in the campus in the middle of
classes.
OH, NO. Once again several hundred
thousand viewers learn that the cam-
pus is the Golden Land of Oz; once again
a feast has been prepared for the Phili-
stines who delight in feeding on tales of
juvenalia and trivia amid the Groves of
Academe.
Keep tuition low? Why, so kids can
dance and sing? Academic freedom? Why,
- + ^V y, .tr... irir in -nM_ - Tt1 , l
To the Editor:
IN THE DAILY of December 1,
there appears an article en-
titled "Students Consider Aca-
demic Reforms." The students re-
ferred to are members of the
Literary College Steering Com-
mittee.
It is encouraging to see stu-
dents so genuinely concerned over
the quality of the education that
they have chosen to come here to
receive. I would like to suggest,
however, that the recommenda-
tions of this committee might be
more effective if its members
would assume the responsibility of
informing themselves more fully
on the matters under considera-
tion.
They suggest, for instance, that
qualified students be allowed to
take a comprehensive language
examination, thus having the op-
portunity to satisfy their foreign
language requirement by perform-
ance on an eaxmination rather
than through courses. The com-
mittee members seem to be ig-
norant of the fact that this is
already the policy here, and has
been for a number of years.
In order to be thus qualified,
however, it is necessary that a
student have had several hundred
hours of contact with the foreign
language. If this is not accom-
plished in the high school, then
it must be done here.
THIS LEADS to a question
which has frequently appeared in
the Daily, namely: Why have a
language requirement? Certain in-
dividuals, who seem to have un-
limited access to the pages of the
Daily for the expression of their
views, regard foreign language
study as a waste of time. Such is
the case, evidently, with the Steer-
ing Committee, to judge from the
article mentioned above.
To these and other like-minded
students I would like to address
the following remarks. A univer-
sity is founded on and dedicated
to the preservation and dissem-
ination of certain humanistic vai-
ues and areas of knowledge. (For
A(sop:
By JOSEPH ALSOP
WASHINGTON - Ironically
enough, the reasons for in-
creased apprehensiveness about
the Vietnamese War are directly
rooted in the recent striking suc-
cesses of the American and South
Vietnamese forces.
To see why this is so, one must
begin with the fact that until
quite recently the Communist
leaders genuinely believed that no
amount of American aid for South
Viet Nam could possibly prevent
the Viet Cong from winning their
"war of liberation."
Both the Hanoi and the Peking
1P.d.,.. kn+ +t.nmnetinr rthi s bp-
further discussion of the educa-
tional objectives of this university,
see the Literary College Announce-
ment, under Educational Objec-
tives.)
Men of learning have for cen-
turies understood that foreign
peoples and foreign cultures con-
stitute such an area. This con-
tinues to have validity today, not
only for the intellectual develop-
ment of the individual, but also
because of the practical demands
of the modern world. Indeed, on
the national level, sympathetic un-
derstanding of foreign ways has
become a matter of highest im-
portance.
Now the most basic and central
element of any culture is its lan-
guage. Culture and language are
inseparable. Any attempt to at-
tain more than a superficial un-
derstanding of a culture without
some knowledge of the medium
through which that culture finds
expression is meaningless and
futile.
THIS, I FEEL, is sufficient jus-
tification for the foreign lan-
guage requirement. Ignorance of
foreign languages is a bliss the
educated person of today simply
cannot afford.
-Robert L. Kyes
Department of German
The South
To the Editor:
I'VE BEEN AMAZED to find
that many of my friends are
very happy over the recent con-
victions of the white men in Ala-
bama. They feel that the South is
beginning to shape up under the
pressure and that the 'outlook for
equal justice down there is im-
proving. However, the convictions
have caused me to feel the op-
posite.
Collie Leroy Wilkins and the
other guys will go to prison for
their parts in the deaths of civil
rights workers. Just by the nature
of their crimes, they will imme-
diately become the "kings" of the
prison. I can't see them being
ordered around by white prison
guards and white wardens after
they have killed Negroes and white
civil rights workers.
They will lead a very good life.
with probably early paroles, and
I wouldn't even be surprised if Mr.
Wilkins became the next warden
of the prison.
THE CONVICTIONS were a
smart move on the part of the
South. With the great publicity
they are now getting, many "good".
people will think that maybe jus-
tice is possible in the South-an
obvious falsehood.
President Johnson and the other
federal investigators might now
decide to relieve some of their,
pressure for the acquisition of
equal justice in the South, and
things might now turn worse.
I would have much rather seen
these murderers acquitted, like
all the rest have been, thus creat-
ing more resentment toward the
South, and probably a better
chance for hope of equal justice
in'that barbaric society.
-Peter Meyers, '69'
The Alumn us'
To the Editor:
Enclosed is a letter I have writ-
ten to the Editor-in-Chief of the
Michigan Alumnus.
Mr. Robert Morgan
Editor-in-Chief
Michigan Alumus
Dear Mr. Morgan:
I READ with dismay and anger
your apology to the Alumni of
Michigan for the anti-Viet Nam
war protestors in the last issue
(November) of the Michigan
Alumnus. You have implied that
all alumni are ashamed of these
people and you thereby took it
upon yourself to apologize. I has-
ten to assure you that I am ex-
tremely proud of these protestors.
I am not writing to debate Viet
Nam; that unhappy country's so-
cial, economic and politicalY
fills several volumes; and it
log of human suffering can
even the staunchest suppo
U.S. policy flinch at ourc
behavior there. I am s
though, that I resent yo
sumption that there.is agre
against the protestors and
attempt to downgrade the
bers and deprecate the mot
those involved.
As one of those studen
spoke about from the "silent
.I. am very gratified to fin
silence ended. It took stonet
ing and epithets of "dirty
munist" against Prof. Nick
children in 1954 beforea
was aroused over the thr
civil liberties and academic
dom.
THE STUDENTS may no
an immediate and direct ef
American foreign policy i
Nam, but at least these
and the faculty members in
have underscored the ne
understanding, communi
and dissent regarding suchi
the most important parto
policy for many being our h
murder by bombs, napaln
gas of thousands of innocen
ians, both North and Sout
If for no other reason, ai
,against this negation of Am
humanitarianism is a necess
every American who wants
main proud of being an Am
-(Mrs.) Judy Gregory Perb
Haveford, Pa.
The New
To the Editor:
j WOULD LIKE to congr
Mr. Schutze on the hig
of dour sarcasm and godly
ment he has attained in his
trating articles on the "new
It seems, however, thatb
made one mistake in his
vant, unbiased critique,f
has forgotten to denoun
"pseudohumanists" for bein
cerned with the problems(
history the sphere of their immediate in-
s cata- terest.
a make The glories of honored and tra-
rter of ditional apathy should have been
current sung of again, lest all the idealis-
saying, tic fools in the world forget that
ur as- reality forces every man to turn
eement his back and pretend that he
d your doesn't hear and doesn't see.
num- Who cares that humans are
ives of being brutally slaughtered on
both sides of a terrible war? Who
ts you cares that Negroes in the South
t '50's," can't vote and must live in mortal
nd the fear of hooded "patriots?"
throw-
Com- LET ME REMIND Mr. Schutze
erson's that if fools hadn't "gabbled flab-
anyone bily about sweetness, light and
eat to brotherhood," there would still
c free- be slavery in the South. Without
Northern protest, there might
never have been a voting bill pass-
t have ed in 1965. Agitators do not think
fect on that there is anything holy about
n Viet their avowed concern for others,
people but that it is merely in accord
nvolved with the ideals of our religious
ed for and cultural heritage.
cation I suggest that Mr. Schutze
policy; contemplate the problem of a man
of that should turn his gaze inward and
iorrible who cannot admit that anyone in
m and the world could possibly have an
t civil- unselfish motive, that could pos-
h. sibly care about changing an un-
protest just and brutal world.
nerican -Martin Kane, '68
sity for
to re-
erican.
oe, '56 1 G i r.
THE STUDENT Nonviolent Co-
Left ordinating Committee has been
accused of being Communist in-
filtrated. Jimmy Garrett of SNCC
atulate answers the charges this way:
h level "Man, the- Communists, they're
judg- empty, man, empty. They've got
s pene- the same stale ideas, the same
w left." bureaucracy . , . When he gets
he has mixed up with us, a Commie dies
obser- and a person develops. They're
for he not subverting us, we're subvert-
ce the ing them."
ig con- -THE DAILY TEXAN
outside Collegiate Press Service
A.
of'
What Comes Next on
Viet Nam?
edly pointed out in this space, the
future course of Peking and Hanoi
could never be safely predicted
as long as the Communist leaders
were so obviously acting on a false
belief. When they were sure they
were going to win anyway they
were most unlikely to double their
sacrifices and more than double
their risks.
To gauge their true intentions it
was, therefore, necessary to wait
for the moment of truth when
they would cease to believe in the
absolute certainty of victory.
That moment seems to have
come some time ago because of
the flat failure of the Viet Cong's
front took fairly heavy casualties.
But this small force also put out
of action the equivalent of an
entire division of North Vietna-
mese regulars.
ALLOWANCE must be made for
an expanded North Vietnamese in-
vasion of the South. But allow-
ance must also be made for the
massive increase of offensive ef-
fort that Gen. Westmoreland has
long planned and carefully pre-
pared. Given this increase of ef-
fort, plus a number of further
exchanges as unfavorable to the
enemy as the exchange in the Ia
Drang Valley, a fortunate break
4- +'- oi1.44^" i" ,-ni m T . n ._
In Laos, first of all, the North
Vietnamese have long held the
eastern part of the country, the
area of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, in
flagrant breach of treaty. Ten
days or so ago, however, their
troops made a sharp westward
thrust toward the town of Thaked
on the Mekong River.
The thrust was briskly repulsed
by Laotian army units (in itself
a remarkable development, since
the North Vietnanrese used to have
a sort of high sign on the Laos).
Prisoners taken by the Laos stat-
ed that the aim of the thrust was
actually to take Thaked. All this
can mean. but by no means neces-
supply flow to their ally. It can
also mean, but again by no means
necessarily means, that the Chi-
nese intend to provide a garrison
for North Viet Nam while more
and more of the North Vietnamese
army moves southward.
Third and finally, there is no
evidence as yet of any Chinese
preparation for the one move that
would insure a big war-a move
down the line of the Mekong
Valley. But Chinese activity on the
Indian frontier has both increased
and become much more aggressive
in the last two weeks. And a Chi-
nese attempt to invade bits of
India would certainly create grave
nrohlems for the United States.