1G(g 31c143iant Rattg Seventy-SixthYear EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHGAN UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS The Case for Cinema Guild Where Opinions Are Free 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, MICH. Truth Will Prevail NEWS PHONE: 764-0552 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1967 NIGHT EDITOR: MARK LEVIN r Hatcher's Speech: Defending Cinema Guild's Freedom RESIDENT Harlan Hatcher's speech at yesterday's Regents meeting, while not a stirring defense of artistic freedom or a ringing denunciation of censorship, was a commendable act. From the gen- eral tone of the Regents' comments fol- lowing Hatcher's speech, it seems at least a few members of the board were willing to censure the Cinema Guild board for the showing of "Flaming Creatures" last month. While decrying what he called a gen- eral decline in taste in American society, Hatcher praised Cinema Guild as "a crea- tive and imaginative group to which the University is deeply indebted." He denied that the "Flaming Creatures" incident in- volved issues of academic freedom, but he did, indirectly, come to the defense of the group in the name of artistic free- dom. AT TIMES the President seemed obscure as to whether he supported or con- demned Cinema Guild. But a more direct defense of Cinema Guild would probab- ly have only alienated the Regents. The hostile mood of the board was best exem- plified by Regent Paul Goebel who said, "I spend 75 per cent, of my time explain- ing to the alumni about these types of activities. This type of stuff is going to have to stop!" Had President Hatcher been too out- spoken in defense of Cinema Guild, the Regents would likely have ignored his plea. In this case the weakest defense became the strongest. IT IS EXTREMELY unfortunate that the Regents must be placated so that the intellectual freedom vital to an education- al experience can exist here. It is equally unfortunate that the University has Re- gents who are more concerned about "explaining to the alumni" than they are about the intellectual development of the students. President Hatcher should be commended for standing up to that de- structive tide. --STEPHEN WILDSTROM By PAUL SAWYER THE CASE for Cinema Guild in its current conflicts with the courts rests on its service to the University community, and the relevance of this service to aca- demic freedom. Historically and functionally Cinema Guild is an indisputable part of this commu- nity. In 1950, the probable starting date of Cinema Guild, there was a general cultural explosion on campus, which among other events witnessed the births of the Inter- Arts Union, which later produced the prize-winning film version of Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"; and of the old Gothic Film So- ciety, a graduate group co-spon- sored by Prof. Marvin Felheim of the English department. Accord- ing to Felheim, it was this general cultural situation that encouraged a group to seek a monopoly from SGC on the use of University fa- cilities for the showing of all films outside the classroom. THE PREDECESSOR of this group, the Gothic Film Society, was essentially an elite group de- voted to the "art film," which operated on the basis of member- ship and season subscriptions. It arose from a demand by graduate students for a treatment of the film as art, since, according to Fel- heim, there was marked indiffer- ence on the part of the graduate school and the administration to the idea of a film course such as the one Felheim was trying to or- ganize. Felheim continues to protest this indifference, which he believes has not diminished. "We saw the film society as an extension of the classroom experience. Our group grew up with the original class. It is therefore despairing that sever- al of my colleagues have main- tained that academic freedom be- gins at the door of their class- rooms. I believe this is plainly false." tal film programs at Ann Arbor, according to Cohen, are comprised exclusively of films which are con- sidered classics of the underground cinema and which similarly are seldom shown commercially. To justify their claims to full status in the University's cultural community, the officials of Cinema Guild tend to be very specific about their conception of the im- portance of the film as art. Ed Weber, the co-sponsor and man- ager of Cinema Guild, says in ref- erence to the classic American films that they are "the funda- mental fact of the popular culture of young Americans. Unlike tele- vision, they represent a common cultural heritage which needs to be preserved." AS FOR THE FILM media to- day, Cohen maintains that it "is the most pertinent art form of our times. Many of us do not realize that it has become the dominant medium for the young; it expresses the world they know. Many of the best young talents are no longer writing novels or plays but are going into the films. Movies have to a great extent become their form of art." The Cinema Guild therefore acts as "a kind of library" where speci- mens of this young art can be stored - since, as Weber says, "films are not like books that can be procured and re-read at will." "Those people interested in this art," says Cohen, "often have no place to go. Cinema Guild tried to present in its programs an his- torical view of the growth of the art from still photograph to silent film to sound, and now on to its various 'new directions'." It is the function of Cinema Guild therefore to present to the academic community as a whole the varied record of the one art, the "liveliest art," which belongs distinctively to the twentieth cen- tury. 4 I '4 Presenting view of art form's growth THE GOTHIC Film Society be- came defunct in 1960, but not be- fore Cinema Guild had largely ap- propriated its function. The Guild was open to undergraduates, did not operate on a subscription bas- is, and showed films four nights a week. As late as 1958, however, the Guild was still showing popular American films. In the past eight or nine years it has continued to cater to a relatively large audi- ence while at the same time show- ing high quality "art films" which had previously been the interest of only a select group of devotees. This change reflects in an inter- esting way the growing acceptance by the educated American public of the film as an art form, and corresponds to the sudden rise in the number of art theatres across the country at that time. In recent years Cinema Guild has attempted to extend its func- tion beyond that of an independ- ent film society by diversifying its program and extending its con- tacts with other parts of the uni- versity community. According to Hubert Cohen, one of the co-spon- sors, an instructor in the engineer- ing English department, the group has in the last three years brought, or helped to bring to campus, such speakers as Dwight Macdonald, Pauline Kael, Andy Warhol and, in a recent seminar discussion, Harold Llcyd. It has brought spe- cial request programs to campus in cooperation with groups like the Dramatic Arts Festival, the Ann Arbor Dance Theatre, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and with individual professors. CINEMA GUILD has further at- tempted to pursue its educational function by writing program notes and occasional booklets to accom- pany its presentations. Many .of the films shown-most recently "The Trial" and the films in the Godard festival-have never been shown in Ann Arbor before; while others cannot beseen commercial- ly any place in the country. Finally, the vigorous experimen-. 'A University and Unionization I HE REPORT of the Governor's Advis- ory Committee on Public Employe Re- lations, released on Friday, adds still an- other document to the governing body of evidence against the University's stand on Public Act 379. The University has refused to comply with the provisions of the Public Employes Relations Act (PA 379) since its enact- ment in 1965, challenging its constitu- tionality on the grounds that it infringes upon University, autonomy. The Univer- sity has been ordered to comply with the act by the courts, pending a decision on the legality of the law. COMMITTEE, chaired by Prof. Rus- sell Smith of the Law School, urges the University to comply with the act re- gardless of the outcome of the suit. As the report states, "We believe that there is no valid reason for any constitution- ally autonomous agency to refuse to ac- cept the samep rinciples of employes rela- tions that are prescribed by law for all other public employes in the state." The report also mentions that "the overwhelming majority of employes, pub- lic and private, are guaranteed the right to have a voice in determining the con- ditions of their employment through col- lective bargaining." The denial of this right to a minority of employes, unless accompanied by circumstances which sharply distinguish their situation from that of the majority, is a course which cannot be validly defended." The report concludes that no such circumstances exist in regards to University employes. The committee has hit at the heart of the matter-there is no reason why the University cannot bargain collectively with 'public employes even if PA 379 is devlared unconstitutional. The Universi- ty, in dealing with its non-academic em- ployes, is no different then any other busi- ness or corporation on matters of labor relations. QNE SUGGESTION the committee makes which could make collective bargain- ing more palatable for the University is to grant "rights of unionization" inde- pendent of the State Labor Mediation Board. This would mean granting exclu- sive recognition and allowing collective bargaining completely independent of the SLMB, therefore, eliminating the possi- bility of board intervention which could infringe upon University autonomy. For example, the question of bargain- ing unit determination, or of compliance with a good faith bargaining directive could be appropriately resolved by the use of private arbitration or by some oth- er agency jointlyestablished by the em- ployer and organization of employes. CONTINUED RESISTANCE to PA 379 places the University in a bad light before the Legislature, which is in turn influenced by labor unions and other sympathetic forces within the state. However, as long as the University re- tains its outdated stand that collective bargaining has no place in a University atmosphere even for non-academic em- ployes, as University President Harlan Hatcher explained last fall, the commit- tee's suggestions go unheeded. By fol- lowing the recommendations of this dis- tinguished panel, the University could ex- tricate itself from a most unpopular and politically disadvantageous situation. -MARK LEVIN Letters:On Brandeis' Student Discontent To the Editor: PERMIT ME to offer a correc- tion of your article on the Brandeis student class boycott. The article states, "Sachar (note correct spelling of name) made, similar remarks last June when graduating seniors walked out on commencement speaker Arthur J. Goldberg, protesting U.S. involve- ment in Viet Nam." What actual- ly happened was that the vast majority of seniors, about half the advanced degree recipients, and a number of professors in the aca- demic procession wore white rib- bons pinned to their robes as a sign of protest and mourning.' When Ambassador Goldberg rose to speak, many, but not all, of these ribbon-wearers (and some parents and friends in the audi- ence) rose and stood silently for the first 10 minutes of his speech, and then sat down. WHAT MAY have been constru- ed as a walkout was asdecision made by the senior class, mass- ed near the amphitheatre ready to walk in, not to do so until several people who were distribut- ing literature explaining our posi- tion and who had been seized by the Waltham and campus police were released and allowed to dis- tribute their handbills. However, the demands of the students were met by the dean of students and the ceremony proceeded, with the protest mentioned above. And now that that's been said, let me thank you for printing this article. I regret beinghasmuch out of touch with the activist element on my old campus as I fear I am, and stuff like this is rarely if ever covered in the Alum- ni Bulletin or the University in- formation releases. -Rima Kittner, Brandeis '66 Permits To the Editor: WHEN IS that Mickey Mouse , student government going to take a stand on something worth- while to students, such as the University's exploitation of stu- dents via student driving permits? We students have to pay $4 to the University to evercise a priv- ilege which has been granted to us by the state and for which we already have paid the state. Fur- ther, if we fail to buy the permit, the University fines us an addi- tional $20. What authority does the University have for such ac- tion? Does the University own the streets? I thought they only own the unplowed parking lots. WHAT DOES driving an auto- mobile have to do with obtaining an education, particularly when the student is over 21, votes, and has all other rights of citizen- ship? The University is using its coercive powers over students to force them to pay tribute. In any other sphere of life this would be called a racket and a shakedown. -,Caren Knowles, '67 Blunder To the Editor: FREEDOM OF THE PRESS is one of our most cherished rights. Yet it is a freedom, as the others are, which cannot and shouldn ot be misused. An ex- cellent example of gross misuse of one of our "great freedoms" can be found in your Wednesday, Feb. 15, edition of The Michigan Daily. I was quite shocked and angry with the article written by Gil Samberg. The article was a personal af- front to anyone who proudly calls himself a "black man." What started out as being a personal criticism of Muhammed Ali, though continuously called Cassius Clay, ended up as a vendetta against the Negro race as a whole. I cannot see the reason why such an article was in the "sports" section of the paper. If there are criticisms to be made, why not make them in the proper place, the editorial page. Besides being out of "tune" with the times, the article was misplaced. But this is something that can be rectified in another edition. However, the opinions stated cannot and will not be rectified to suit anyone. GIL SAMBERG made state- ments, though they will not be re- peated in this letter, which ob- viously reflected his adverse opin- ion of the Negro. I cannot see how such a liberal, if not ultra-liberal at times, paper allows such an ar- ticle to be printed. It is rather shocking to learn that such an in- dividual is even allowed to walk past your office doors. This ar'- ticle will not be forgotten nor will this particular person who so cruel- ly revealed his identity to all. Mistakes, and blunders are comn- mon occurrences. We are all sub- ject to these fates. Yet some mis- takes are costly. The mistake made in the Wednesday edition of The Daily has caused many hardships. This is one mistake which both The Daily and Gil Samberg will regret for quite a while. -Theodore Guss, '70 (EDITOR'S NOTE: My de- fense of the heavyweight cham- pion, lacking the proper labels to insure absolute clarity, ap- pears to have been misread. My apologies for its obscurity.aThere was no slur involved. -Gil Samberg Fraternities To the Editor: MIKE DOVER'S report regard- ing a "Drop in Fraternity Pledge Totals," in Thursday, Feb. 16, did not reflect the "total" pic- ture concerning fraternity rush and pledging statistics. As is the policy every year, the Interfra- ternity Council is currently invest- igating the results of formal rush and will present a comprehensive report of its findings. ALTHOUGH RUSH figures for the Winter Semester of 1967 re- flect a decline from totals in the fall of 1966, a new trend has been developing whereby fall rush has and will attract more men than winter rush. The percentages of those men pledging, as compared to those rushing, have increased from 55 per cent, last winter, to 57 per cent, in this winter's rush. Conclusions regarding rush sta- tistics in their relation to student attitudes, however, are not yet in- clusive, and can be better ex- pressed after the rush study. Other significant. figures regard- ing the Greek system have been reported regarding scholarship. The all-fraternity men's grade point average for the past year was 2.66-the highest in Mich- igan's history. Also important is the fact that this figure is only one one-hundredths of a poin~t from the all-men's grade point average of 2.67, and not "twelve one-hundredths of a point" as re- ported by Mr. Dover. THE SO-CALLED "credibility gap," which supposedly exists in the relation of fraternities to scholarship, has been critically narrowed to its closest margin in ten years. A sharp rise has also occurred in the all-fraternity men's grade point average of 2.49, in 1957 (when the comparisons were made), as contrasted to the current average of 2.66. -Bruce D. Getan, '68 President, Interfraternity Council Experimenting To the Editor:, T AM A first-year student in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, and last summer I saw the movie "Flaming Crea- tures" in its entirety at a theater in Washington, D.C. I found it to be interesting, disturbing, and somewhat repellent, but not at all "obscene." First of all, the movie was in- testing because of the technical devices it employed (e.g., over-ex- posure, under-exposure, cross-cut- ting, etc. as described by Richard Ayers and Andrew Lugg In the Jan. 20 issue of The Daily). Being ,an experimental movie, it was not restricted to the more sedate tech- niques employed by .the mass- market companies. Secondly, and most importantly, the movie produces absolutely no erotic excitement in the viewer. Rather, when it is over, he feels as though he has undergone an ordeal, having seen something in- trinsically beautiful turned into a horrible travesty. THIS IS THE moral of this allegedly immoral film: that sex, when removed from the context of normal human love, loses its no- bility and becomes something at once degrading and abhorrent. -Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, '70 Testimony ."AFTER NEARLY two months in Vietnam I find this the most hateful war we have ever fought , . . We find ourselves sup- pjorting a government of man- darins with little basis of popular support, fighting for an army that has little inclination to do its own fighting." --Robert Sherrod in Life Magazine, Jan. 27, 1967 LETTERS All letters must be typed, double-spaced and should be no longer than 300 words. All let- ters are subject to editing; those over 300 words will gen- erally be shortened. ^ I I Anyhing Goes' with Regents AT FRIDAY'S Regents meeting, Regent William Cudlip (R-Detroit) said: "I was looking at the Michigan Daily and was amazed at the arrogance -in two (Cinema Guild) advertisements. It is shocking, almost defiant," he added. The Daily is a member of the Associated Press and Collegiate Press Service. Subscription rate: $4.50 semester by carrier ($5 by mail; $8 yearly by carrier ($9 by mail). Published at 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich., 48104. Owner-Board In Control of Student Publications, Band or Stockholders-None. Average press run-10,000. Second class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Michigan. 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48104. Editorial Staff MARK R. KILLINGSWORTH, Editor BRUCE WASSERSTEIN, Executive Editor CLARENCE FANTO HARVEY WASSERMAN Managing Editor Editorial Director JOHN MEREDIITH......Associate Managing Editor LEONARD PRATT ........ Associate Managing Editor CHARLOTTE WOLTER ... Associate Editorial Director ROBERT CARNEY......Associate Editorial Director BABETTE COHN ................. Personnel Director ROBERT MOORE.................Magazine Editor -n .6 yr n~n sTn-7M. b 91nnr .e IA44.. Now many of you who have been fol- lowing the Cinema Guild ads of late may be shaking your heads in astonishment, wondering which ads were being referred to. Well, it seems a number of Regents were under the* impression that ads reading "If you thought we were out of our minds last time; well this time ANY- THING GOES!" were sponsored by Cine- ma Guild to promote "extraordinary" in- terest in their next presentation. A more careful investigation, of course, reveals the ad was sponsored by Musket and pro- motes the old, famnous Cole Porter musi- cal "Anything Goes." Oh well. At least it made good copy for the Ann Arbor News. -H.W. No Comment Department MERCENARY ARMIES raised by the or- ders of a minister, and commanded by a general who blindly obeys him, fight several ruinous campaigns, without i FEIFFER VC14 U~ RAISE &4JL.Y. OUT OF MISTAKES COMES KIUOLO- OF KK)OW- -K, 7TF- WAY YOU, MY . 541), 6' THE WSAY RAIEC CHILDREQ. WITUUI THIS TIV6 THAT/ I ASK/ nr' U/-f ? I 2 MISTAKES. ANDJ M ISTAKC$ YOVR 6Ek)- 62ATIOO) HAS/ 6O&)E OK) TO QFHIE !T'C CHlL- A!'JL OUT OFYOUR WILL Y6T AMOTHR- ATIO M LEARQ. Ai? 50S IT CSO5 - I MOMMA. HAUL A- ONE ? 1 .y- / ."- i I5 THAT THE A 7HAWJS'