Seventy-Sixth Year
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1967
NIGHT EDITOR: MEREDITH EIKER
U.S. Space Program:
Time for Cooperation
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THE YtANTIC RACE for the moon
claimed' two more victims Tuesday,
bringing to five the number of men killed
during the past week.
These tragedies sharply reemphasize
the need to implement the oft-voiced
proposal to unite the American and So-
viet space programs.
It is no secret that both the United
States and Russia have used shortcuts
in the attempt to win the race to the
moon. NASA has always taken the great-
est safety precautions, yet some compro-
mises have been necessary.
FOR EXAMPLE, U.S. scientists decided
in 1962 to use an already-developed
pure oxygen respiration system in its
space vehicles rather than delay the pro-
gram until a safer nitrogen-oxygen en-
vironment like the Russians' could be
developed.
They felt the time saved (perhaps two
years) more than compensated for the
added fire risk.
If we were to beat Russia to the moon,
we could not spend the time necessary to
make a mixed gas system feasible. The
results of this haste were manifested
clearly this weekend.
NO ONE CAN seriously doubt the use-
fulness of space exploration. Tremen-
dous technological,.economic and even so-
cial benefits will accrue to manking from
the knowledge gained through the space
program.
Already our space program has produc-
ed vast advances in the fields of com-
munication, meteorology, medicine and
mineralogy. Eventually, the use of space
technology may solve one of the impend-
ing great problems of our planet - the
feeding of the Earth's rapidly expanding
population.
BUT THE RACE to the moon itself has
l1tle to do with the advancement of
needed scientific knowledge. It is a battle
for national prestige.
NASA officials explicitly admit this
much. Robert Frietag, director of the
manned space field center development
program for NASA said in a speech here
last year, "We no more want to get to the
moon than Lindbergh wanted to get to
Paris."
Capt. Frietag added that the real pur-
pose of the program was to "prove that
we have the capability to operate in
space."
In other words, we want to show that
we can do it better and faster than the
Soviet Union and, naturally, they hope
to prove the opposite.
The race has -led not only to the loss
of life, but vast expenditures on the part
of both countries. The United States has
been spending about $3.5 billion a year to
win the battle.
THE POOLING of the American and
Russian space programs would save
both the large expenditures and the need-
less risks to life. Instead of concentrat-
ing upon worthless monuments to nation-
al prestige, scientists would be free to
concentrate on meaningful objectives.
The overwhelming expenditures of mon-
ey could then be spent on more beneficial
projects in the short-run, while not lim-
iting the long term benefits that space
exploration offers.
Such cooperation in space is no mere
pipedream. Just last week the two coun-
tries signed a treaty that forbids mili-
tary action in outer space. Admittedly,
that is a long way from a combined space
effort, but it is a hopeful beginning.
TUESDAY, President Johnson sent a re-
port prepared prior to Friday's tragedy
which cited Russia's increasing progress,
and urged that the U.S. not slacken its
efforts to triumph.
Perhaps now the President will revise
his thinking.
-WARREN M. ZUCKER
3 NN
Review: An Academic View of Academic Freedom
"The American Student's Free-
dom of Expression: A Research
Appraisal," by E. G. William-
;on and John L. Cowan; Uni-
versity of Minnesota Press, De-
cember, 1966.
By DENIS WADLEY
Collegiate Press Service
PROF. SIDNEY HOOK once ob-
served that there is "more slop-
py rhetoric per page about aca-
demic freedom by those who be-
lieve that they are supporting,
and those intent on criticizing it,
than on any other theme with the
possible exception of democracy."
Those who have for any period
of time listened to the exhorta-
tions of student activists, or read
the principle and declaration sec-
tions of National Student Associa-
tion resolutions, know the truth
of that statement.
University of Minnesota's Dean
of Students E. G. Williamson and
John L. Cowan have attempted,
in a book just published, to sup-
ply a much needed factual base
and long-absent perspective for
such questions. "Discussions of
student academic freedom," they
point out, "has seldom been aca-
demic."
THE BOOK, called "The Amer-
icpn Student's Freedom of Expres-
sion: .A Research Appraisal, is
long on facts and statistics and
short on rhetoric and opinion=
One fact is that there is an im-
portant upsurge in student self-
expression on American campuses.
The survey indicated, however,
that while this expression involves
controversial issues, and a greater
number of students are demon-
strating more openly for their
points of view, there has not been
a commensurable increase in "ex-
tremist" activity on the campuses.
Nonetheless, in over 50 per cent
of the 900 responding institutions
of higher education, less than 10
per cent of the students belong to
"activist" organizations.
The greatest increase in student
interest has been in Catholic uni-
versities and Catholic liberal arts
colleges, but in almost all cases
there was much less.activity there
to begin with; and the" increase,
according to the authors, is very
likely traceable to the effects of
the Vatican Council and the fer-
ment and increased liberalism in
Catholicism generally.
MOST COLLEGS administrators
(presidents and deans of stu-
dents) approve of this tendency
toward student activism in the
abstract.
"The greatest commitment to
the abstract principle of academic
freedom is found tro the private
universities and liberal arts col-
leges and the least is found in the
Catholic schools," say the authors.
The study also demonstrates
that political organizations are not
an important factor in the campus
life of most colleges and univer-
sities; and that the conservative
and right-wing organizations are
generally more prominent and
more active than their liberal-left
counterparts.
A SURVEY of where organiza-
tions of this nature are- and are
not permitted demonstrated that
"students, as much as they have
clamored for more freedom, have
not begun to use the freedom that
appears to be already available to
them," according to the authors.
But their own figures show this
is not universally true. Exceptions
are usually Catholic schools and
teachers' colleges.
In discussing controversial issues
the survey finds there is a slight
overall disparity between the ab-
stract commitment to student free-
doms and ,the willingness to dis-
euss certain kinds of issues. The
authors noted a slight disparity,
too, between the opposition to such
discussion envisioned by students
and that suggested by administra-
tors.
Those who have taken the posi-
tion that a school's speaker policy
is the acid test of its commitment
to student freedoms will find sup-
port in the Williamson-Cowan
study.
Some 17 speakers were inquired
about, ranging in controversiality
from Earl Warren (acceptable at
95 per cent of all schools polled)
to George Lincoln Rockwell (only
18 per ceft); and here more than
anywhere else the grand ration-
ales come in: incidents at other
schools, motives of the sponsor-
ing group, community pres-
sures, and so on.
THESE THREE AREAS-state-
ments of principle, student orga-
nizations and speaker policies-
are still all in the realm of ad-
vocacy. When it comes to orga-
nized protest action the survey in-
dicates that there are virtually no
completely free campuses.
The most objectionable of a
list of nine kinds of organized
action was the picketing of a pub-
lic meeting. Sit-ins ranked a close
second, and student government
resolutions without a referendum
came third.
The most often permitted kind
of action was resolutions with a
student body referendum; but this
is still doubtful on certain topics
in over 20 per cent of the cases.
THE STUDY breaks down these
and other generalizations in virtu-
ally every pertinent way: by re-
gion, by type of school, by indi-
vidual speaker and topic, by in-
dividual respondent (dean, presi-
dent, student newspaper editor and
student body president).
There is also an interesting
,hapter on the role of student lead-
ers, particularly the editor of the
campus publications and the stu-
dent body president.
It explores in some detail how
student newspapers are managed
and funded, and what kinds of
activities student governments en-
gage in. ("The most frequently
perceived major function of stu-
dent government was supervising
campus elections - i.e., self-per-
petuation.")
THE STUDY revealed virtually
every form of diversity in just
about every area. An administra-
tor "will not find massive support
for his value system," whatever it
is.
Such diversity "is not surprising
to most educators, but it may be
frightening to those who feel that
diversity in the distribution of stu-
dent freedoms is like diversity in
the dispensation of justice."
These people will not find much
support in the survey, either.
(Wadley is a student at the
University of Minnesota.)
'Y
44
The City and Cinema Guild
Letters: Proposal for a Student Rental Union
TH'E CITY OF ANN ARBOR hopes to
prove that Cinema Guild is legally part
of the University, and therefore cannot
sue the city for the seizure of "Flaming
Creatures."
The implications of the city's subpoena
of the official records defining Cinema
Guild's legal status are thought-provok-
ing.
FIRST, if the Cinema Guild is part of
the University, and therefore cannot
sue the Ann Arbor police, how can the
Ann Arbor police arrest members of the
Cinema Guild? Isn't it the Regents who
should be arrested? Be interesting to see
how they'd explain a misdemeanor for
obscenity in the next regental election.
Secondly, what effect did SGC's sus-
pension of relations with the OSA last
semester have on its legal status? Maybe
SGC really isn't part of the University
any more.
SERIOUSLY, however, the subpoena re-
emphasizes the need to make student
organizations completely independent.
Cinema Guild operates independently,
and should. They should therefore be le-
gally independent.
For if the police contention holds, the
suit will be dropped, and I doubt if the
Cinema Guild leaders will be able to
convince the Regents to take it up again.
MANY HAVE ARGUED that the Univer-
sity should have supported Cinema
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Second class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Guild in the beginning. But, if students
are to operate autonomously, they must
accept the responsibility of that inde-
pendence.
Besides, students and faculty can han-
dle problems with outside agencies just
as well by themselves, as this case may
prove:
Furthermore, we can never be guaran-
teed that the University will not take a
restrictive, rather than merely a neutral
position beforehand.
And even in the case when the position
is "neutral," as it was last August with
HUAC, we're better off fighting our own
battles.
--BOB CARNEY
Associate Editorial Director
Viet Vote
ANN ARBOR CITY COUNCIL is present-
ly considering a motion to include on
the April ballot a referendum on the war
in Vietnam.
Normally, the city has no reason to in-
clude national issues in a local elec-
tion; it's a waste of ballot paper. The
question of a Vietnam referendum, how-
ever, is a different matter.
THE IMPORTANCE of the referendum
lies not with the results of the vote,
but with the effect it will have in stim-
ulating citizens' debate and providing in-
formation on our commitment in South-
east Asia. Such preparation for the na-
tional election of 1968 is invaluable.
The referendum will be no one-sided
affair. Critics and supporters of our pol-
icy will both have their say. In fact, in
Dearborn's Vietnam referendum held last
November, the vote supported the admin-
istration policy.
And the cost .of putting the question on
the ballot will be a mere $25, according
to the city clerk.
, PPONENTS of the motion on the coun-
To the Editor:
AS A GRADUATING senior I
am well aware of the grave in-
equities involved in the apartment
rental system in Ann Arbor. To
again go over the problems a stu-
dent faces would be repetitious,
and the time has come for more
constructive ideas. Of all the pro-
posals that have been bantered
around, the most useful seems to
be the formation of a student ren-
tal union.
THE RENTAL UNION idea has
performed rather admirably as at-
tempted in several slum areas, the
main function being in combating
the all-powerful landlords with
mass actionofthe tenants. In
Ann Arbor, through the threat of
rent strikes and other tenant ac-
tion, the landlords could be
brought down to the level of the
student and the housing situation
could be oriented towards student
needs.
This is not to say that the
landlord should have all of his
rights summarily disappropriated,
but that all complaints from both
sides be handled fairly, insuring
the rights of all parties concerned.
The only real stumbling block to
this proposal would seem to be fi-
nancing such a tenant union, and
to this point I shall now direct
myself.
IN CONJUNCTION with the for-
mation of this union, each tenant
would put up one month's rent
with the union as a security de-
posit. In addition, the landlord
should match this deposit to the
union. Such a deposit could total
over $1.5 million on this campus
and if invested could yield $75,000
a year in interest. On a $75,000
budget a full time staff with legal
assistanc3 could be made avail-
able to handle problems.
As to the student security de-
posit, this would replace the dam-
age deposit normally paid to the
realtor who now pirates all in-
terest on these deposits. Sim-
ilarly, if the student is required
to put up a deposit to protect the
realtor, then the realtorshould,
likewise, put up money to secure
the students rights.
These deposits would be return-
ed to the respective parties upon
termination of the lease with de-
duetions taken out for damages
abounding here. In theE past I
have fought realtors on my own
initiative and found limited suc-
tess, but I see that this is too big
an issue to be handled alone and
only with mass effort am I posi-
tive that great progress can be
made.
Richard B. Firestone, '67
Theatre
To the Editor:
WOULD LIKE to express my
firm support for Prof. Hall's
prooosal to drop everything and
build a theatre: The time has come
to express artistic dissatisfaction
with the crass and materialistic
society which supports the artist.
What better use of $4 million
could be made than the construc-
tion of a theatre?
There is no substance to the
cavils of Prof. Hall's detractors,
who would use the funds for schol-
arships for Negro students,rhigher
salaries for professors, and con-
struction of classroom buildings.
Those poor Negro students prob-
ably wouldn't even like the Uni-
versity of Michigan.
Why increase salaries when the
English department already enjoys
its richly deserved national repu-
tation? Why build classroom and
research facilities for projected
future needs when we need a
theatre NOW?
IF THE UNIVERSITY denies us
the rest of the funds for the thea-
tre, the artistic community an
raise the money itself. Prof. Hall
could read poetry on the Diag at
noon and pass the hat.
We could charge 25 cents ad-
mission to all campus libraries. We
could swallow our pride, abandon
our ethics, and work for the sake
of profit, not art.
Should these meansrprove insuf-
ficient we have no recourse but
to call a nationwide art strike.
Prof. Hall could set an example
Ly denying the world the pleasure
of any more of his poetry. Com-
posers could stop composing, nov-
elists and playwrights stop writ-
ing, painters stop painting.
It wouldn't be long before the
crass materialists, deprived of cul-
ture, would be forced to capitulate
to our demands.
Artists of the world, unite! We
Tastydisgustingly unchecked eating and
tasting must be changed. We must
To the Editor:rfree ourselves, our taste buds, to
I WOULD LIKE to thank Prof. "feel."
Aldridge (Letters, Jan. 31) for
clearing up a matter which has BUT, ALAS, rules governing be-
been puzzling me. My problem is havior are not enough. As the
that for a -long, time I've been professor so wisely warns us, voy-
unable to taste anything I eat. eurism can lead to the same dis-
I now find, by reading Prof. Ald- tasteful result. We must eliminate
ridge's penetrating analysis of the the constant titillation provided by
effects of pornography, that the numerous food related scenes in
loss of my sense of taste was only the mass media.
to be expected, . . ."since a surfeit We are unwitting voyeurs all
of sensation can lead only to a (think how many people must
deadningof te sesatins."have lost. the ability to taste while
deadening of the sensations." watching "Tom Jones") and, as
It is clear that society must such, are subject to the danger
impose stringent rules and regu- outlined by Prof. Aldridge: ".
lations on matters of eating, as finally the moment known to all
they have on matters of sex, if aged voyeurs is reached, the mno-
our children are going to be ment when nothing titillates any,
brought up in a world where a more, when everything and every-
good, clean, occasional sense of body has been vicariously and
taste can be had, imaginatively had (or tasted!),
Only experiences which are "dif- and all response dies."
ficult to have" can be truly "alive For the sake of all those "goat-
to us." The current situation of bearded youths" who are unable
to go howling down the streets
eating and tasting, I urge every-
one to do something to rectify the
situation. Then, hopefully, we'll all
be able to keep our sense of taste.
-Wes Du Charm, Grad
Northwood
To the Editor:
IF ANY of your readership who
live in the Northwood area of
North Campus are still wondering
why the snow that fell last Thurs-
day night was plowed off the walks
adjacent to theirapartments (un-
der their very bedroom windows,
one might even say) with such
noisy dispatch between midnight
and 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning, I
am pleased to pass on the fol-
lowing information,' considerately.
supplied by Mr. Lutz
1) There were six inches of
snow on the ground; 2) the plow-
ing was authorized by the Plant
Department, which is responsible
for roads and walkways.
-Stephen Bluestone
1
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