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March 19, 1967 - Image 4

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The Michigan Daily, 1967-03-19

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Seventy-Sixth Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS

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' Are r" 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, MICH.
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, MARCH 19, 1967

NIGHT EDITOR: STEPHEN WILDSTROM

An Endorsement
For SGC President...

IN ONE OF the more pleasant developments in a dull
week, a physics major and a mathematical biology ma-
jor in the University were awarded Woodrow Wilson Fel-
lowships. Immersed in a sea of philosophers, historians,
and other social science-humanitarians, were two fellows
who could-God forbid!-solve Schrodinger Equations,
perform Laplace transformations, and hook up electronic
circuits.
This is not to say that there is no available funds
for bright graduates in science. The National Science
Foundation, and individual universities in fact allocate
huge funds for education and research in the physical
and biological disciplines.
Yet the awarding of Wilsons-normally viewed as
vehicles to promote nonscientific education--to scientists
somehow seems incongruous. And this is due to the wide-
spread feeling among liberals that science has "sold out"
and divorced itself from the stream of social porgress.
THE NEW LEFT, in particular, has an inherent dis-
taste for science and engineering. It is not unusual for
a student to start out in science, then get fed up and
switch into humanities. In fact, Mario Savio, the leader
of the Berkeley revolution, tried college physics, but
then changed to philosophy because the former was-of
all things-too easy.
Among the many factors militating against an under-

graduate education in science is the excessive time that
must be devoted to course work-in the form of either
study or lab work. For example, at the University, a
chemistry major is expected to carry at least 15 credits
which entail considerably more time in class than 15
hours. Usually the figure is something in the neighbor-
hood of 25 to 30 hours-consisting in good part of experi-
mental technique development useful in later profes-
sional work. Engineering course loads are comparable.
Moreover, a chemistry major during his four year
stay must take 45 credits in chem, 13 in physics, 16 in
math, etc.
WHAT DOES THIS mean for the potential scient-
ist? Very simply, it becomes a big sacrifice for him to
take part in student government, publications, and even
teach-ins.
Without denying the value of scientific expertise,
one may very well question the increasing sense of isola-
tion this breeds. Quite disturbing is the widespread feel-
ing of social unconcern-whether by choice, or because
of homework-among science and engineering majors.
After the courses go beyond the 100 level, and all the
distribution people are "rooted out," the science major
enters a strange twilight zone where organic reactions
dwarf in importance the military action in Vietnam,

where angular momentum becomes more vital than stu-
dent power in the University.
AND SADLY, many professors, while relating their
fields to the physical earth, ignore the social-political
-world completely.
But even if one accepts the necessity for a rather
cruel rigor in the sciences; many professors fail to instill
enthusiasm in their subject to compensate for this scien-
tific bondage.
So both the engineer and science student have a
stereotyped image-the former as a slide-rule lugging,
unimaginative technician; the latter as a nose-in-the-
book, theoretician. As evidenced by the recent volley of
letters on the action of the Engineering Faculty on the
Cinema Guild case, many engineering students feel
themselves unfairly pigeonholed.
WHAT IT BOILS down to is that individual depart-
ments should relax their excessive requirements and
permit the science student and engineer greater leeway
in selecting courses beyond the insipid distribution
requirements.
To complement this gesture the science and engi-
neering students will have to display a certain amount
of courage-by signing up for 400 level courses in political
science and philosophy, and by taking their chances with
humanities majors.

*1

THEDAILY SENIOR EDITORS en-
dorse Bruce Kahn, '68, for Student
Government Council president and
Ruth Baumann, '68, for executive vice-
president. However, we do so with sev-
eral reservations.
Although both Kahn-Baumann and
their opponents, Thomas R. Copi, '69E,
and Regina Rogoff, '70, have called for
a greater student voice in the Uni-
versity affairs, their respective ap-
proaches differ considerably.
With an attentive eye to Uni-
versity events in the future, we have
decided that Kahn and Baumann will
be more successful in obtaining this
mutually desired goal.
Kahn-Baumann - have advanced a
reasonable, if naive, set of structural
changes for SGC, contending that
structure and power are intimately
linked.
On the other hand, Copi-Rogoff have
(subordinated all issues-including a
new SGC blueprint-to the fundamen-
tal inequities of paternalistic Univer-
sity regulation of students.
While we heartily agree with Copi's
desire for "action," we don't feel he is
equipped to carry out his program.
BOTH SETS of candidates are seek-
ing election at a crucial time in
SGC's history. The withdrawal last se-
mester from the Office of Student Af-
fairs had little effect in improving the
operations of Council. Neither has it
served to kindle a sense of excite-
ment among its student constituents.
The present nature of the University
is hardly conducive to students play-
ing any role in the governing of their
own lives. Despite many well-mean-
ing administrators;, and faculty, the
basic truth remains that the student
is told what he will do, and consult-
ed at administrative whim. Simply
stated, the natural mechanics of a
democratic order are not working here.
The question is whether the Uni-
versity is truly a democratic arena or
whether it is the feudal barony of un-
'responsive administrators. It is our
belief that indeed the University must
be democratic, that the students must
be held responsible for their own lives.
Until this occurs, no amount of well-
intended administrative decisions will
have any effect on lessening the vast
sense of political impotence on the
campus.
In short, the situation is rapidly be-
coming intolerable. Time after time
student demands, presented and sought
within the recognized system, have
been ignored. The momentum of last

semester's student movement has now
been transferred to the Presidential
Commission on Decision-Making. If the
recommendations of this body also go
unheeded, then students must recog-
nize that working within the system
is impossible. And Kahn, himself, a
member of that commission, will have
to adopt a more radical plan of action
if the report is rejected.
THE PROPOSALS Kahn-Baumann
have set forward revolve around an
undergraduate-graduate assembly of
perhaps 100 members elected from
wards of. common interest. They con-
tend that student government will have
more legitimacy if it is actually repre-
sentative and has closer ties with its
constituency. While the plan is novel
and has political merit, SGC must not
become preoccupied with structural
trivialities at a time when it should be
using its energy to confront major is-
sues. (After all, SGC has even had
trouble attracting candidates for the
very few positions up for this election.)
Other aspects of Kahn's platform
would prove beneficial to the student
body. His outline for a course-evalua-
tion booklet is commendable, and
should be rapidly implemented. A cur-
riculum action program, whereby stu-
dents could obtain class credit for com-
munity social projects, could also prove
worthwhile. And the recruitment of
voters for city election would be a valu-
able lever for improving the housing
situation.
COPIIS NOT willing to wait for the
report of the presidential commis-
sion. He advocates the abolition of all
rules governing "personal" conduct at
the University. He wants immediate
and extreme action. We do not feel
that it is the proper time for such ac-
tion, and that any such moves now
could seriously impair the work of the
presidential commission. There is also
reason to believe that Copi will have
much difficulty obtaining support and
cooperation for many of his proposals
from Council members and students.
THUS, A COPI-ROGOFF adminis-
tration would be unable to inspire
enthusiasm and a following, neces-
sary ingredients for the achievement of
its aims.
Kahn and Baumann are more likely
to arouse faculty and student support
through their programs, and thereby
provide a better chance to effectively
meet the challenges of the coming
year.
-THE ACTING SENIOR EDITORS

Letters: Regents eMisread GSC Stand

To the Editor:
IN YESTERDAY'S front page ar-
ticle regarding the Regents'
commendation of the action of
the Executive Board of the Grad-
uate School concerning the Hart-
Ford disruption, I would like to
point out, particularly for the in-
formation of the Regents, that
the Graduate Student Council at
its last regular meeting did not
endorse the Executive Board state-
ment, but rather voted to "accept"
it. Although some confusion ap-
parently has arisen as to the
meaning of "endorse" and "ac-
cept," and rightly so since "Rob-
ert's Rules of Order" virtually
equates the two actions, it was
nevertheless the sole intention of
the GSC not to endorse this state-
ment. The meaning of "accept"
was interpreted by the Council to
be a neutral act whereby the board
statement was merely to be rec-
ognized and placed in GSC files.
Speaking strictly as an individ-
ual, I must further add that I
found the board statement utter-
ly distasteful since it has clearly
attempted to cover up (1) the is-
sue of whether or not questions at
the panel were, in fact, censored,
thus preventing meaningful dia-
logue, and (2) the fact that both
the alumni present and the panel
moderator acted in a far more im-
mature fashion than any of the
students, the moderator being re-
duced to name-calling.
It is clear that the Executive
Board of the Graduate School is
not interested in academic free-
dom, freedom of discussion, or
anything of the sort, but rather
in maintaining peace and order,
which is, by the way, a most im-
portant ingredient for the contin-
ued existence of totalitarianism.
-Stuart Katz, Member
Graduate Student Council

Banana' Music
To the Editor:
RE E: YOUR ARTICLE on banan-
as, the "electric banana" ref er-
red to is a person, the electric
guitar and organ player of the
Youngbloods who goes by the name
of "Banana." Among the select
of today's Avant-Rock stars, he
has become somewhat of a leg-
end in his own time-hence Dono-
ven's pointed "in"-tribute to him.
(Just as Mama Cass is referred
to in a recent Beatle tune.)
-Hugh Holland, '66
Manager, The Rationals
Voice Statement
To the Editor:
VOICE-SDS feels that certain
points about the events in
Rackham Aud. last Thursday aft-
ernoon should be clarified.
Voice-SDS had previously pass-
ed a motion that it would try to
make sure that open discussions
would take place during the con-
ference such that various points
of view, including students, would
be presented and that:
-We would take action if nec-
essary to insure that such an open
discussion occurred.
-Thus, Voice is fully responsi-
ble for the protesters' actions in
Rackham.
-It should also be made clear
that there were non-Voice people
participating. Not only do we ac-
cept non-Voice participation but
we heartily support and encourage
it as consistent with the purposes
and policies of Voice. We support
and defend the actions of non-
Voice participants.
-We wish to make it clear that
the specific actions were decided
upon Thursday at Rackham in re-
sponse to the specific situation, i.e.,

it was in no way in accordance
with a prior plan. However, it was
in accord with the Voice motion
concerning toe weekend and none
of the above is intended to, nor
should it, dilute Voice responsibil-
ity for the event.
-Gary Rothberger, '67
Chairman, Voice-SDS
Engineering
To the Editor:
R ECENTLY, much criticism has
been directed at both engineer-
ing students and the engineering
curriculum. Many of the charges
were grossly exaggerated or sim-
ply based on misinformation, as
replies at the time indicated. Some,
on the other hand, were both
valid and reasonably stated, and
remain unanswered. Similarly, sev-
eral relevant points supporting the
engineer's position have not been
mentioned.
In the last decade or so, the
accumulated knowledge of the
world is said to have doubled, with
the majority of the increase com-
ing in technical fields. The re-
sponsibility for making use of this
new information has inevitably
fallen to the engineer. This knowl-
edge explosion is reflected In to-
day's engineering education. In
order to be useful in society, pres-
ent engineering students must
master more subjects, in greater
depth, than ever before. Hence,
the resulting curriculum is longer
(138 credit hours required for
graduation), more complex, and
more time-consuming (an average
of 17 credit hours per semester)
than either previous engineering
programs or most alternative
courses of study.
IN SPITE of this heavy academ-
ic load and restricted course ma-
terial, engineering students are
surprisingly knowledgeable in areas
not related to their studies. Still,
most liberal arts students cling
to the "white socks-sliderule
hitched to the belt" image of en-
gineers (andthere are a num-
ber), much as many people in
the non - academic community
equate college students wiht strag-
gly beards, dirty words and has-
tily-painted protest signs. It is
simply a case of the minority
taken as representative of the
majority.
At the same time, it is a propos
to note that the bulk of an engi-
neer's knowledge of drama, his-
tory, current events, or what have
you, is gained on his own time.
He does not have a two-year
background of extensive course
work in humanities or social stud-
ies: his curriculum will not al-
low it. Consequently, his general
knowledge is not a product of the
bludgeon known as "distribution
requirements," but of genuine cur-
iosity.
PERHAPS the greatest miscon-
ception the layman holds toward
engineering is that it is "narrow-
ing." In his mind, engineering is
nothing more than a body of spe-
cific facts and formulae to be
plugged into at the appropriate
time. This is hardly the case. To
date, I have forgotten well over

half the specific information I
have learned, and I intend to lose
another quarter immediately upon
graduation. But what I, and every
other engineer, will retain is a
logical, rigorous and general meth-
od of thinking and problem-solv-
ing. That the engineering ap-
proach is applicable to an infinite
range of problems is verified by
the great percentage of engineers
who end updin non-engineering
fields. Indeed, the specific field
of study and technical jargon in-
volved in an engineering educa-
tion serve primarily as the me-
dium used to convey this thought
process. Engineering is logic first,
and applied logic only second. As
such, it has no limitations.
This is not an "angry" letter.
Nor is it a denial of all charges
leveled at engineers, for many
areas still need improvement. It
is simply a glance at "the other
side of the coin": points which
must be considered in any real-
istic appraisal of the engineering
student, or his curriculum.
-Dave S. Miller, '67E
Pollyanna-ism'
To the Editor:
AFTER JOYCE WINSLOW'S re-
view of Jose Greco (Mar. 9) I
am no longer able to convince my-
self that The Daily's consistent
lack of critical acumen results
from an unfortunate but relative-
ly harmless devotion to the adage
"If you can't say something nice,
don't say anything at all." It now
seems clear that Daily reviewers
suffer from a pernicious Polly-
anna-ism.
Aside from the positively un-
believable immaturity of her lead
paragraph, such gems of syntax as
"Resplendent in purple velvet, she
was beautiful," and the usual
Daily travelogue summary, Miss
Winslow somehow finds purple

velvet praises for some of the
most abysmal prostitutions of art
since Mona Lisa Spaghetti Sauce.
Despite the vast array of folk
and classical music that Mr. Greco
and his musical director, Roger
Machado, had to choose from,
they treated us instead to a pro-
gram consisting mostly of their
own banal compositions, each well
salted with phrases lifted piece-
meal from "Malaguena" and sun-
dry other old chestnuts of Hispa-
no-American folk-pop. The spor-
adic attempts at song made one
wish for Mrs. Miller, and siblings
Carmen and Justo Quintero dis-
tinguished themselves by proving
beyond a doubt that vocal ability
is genetic.
THErCOSTUMES, "made in
Spain from native materials, au-
thentic as to period and charac-
ter," were with few exceptions the
most sickening garish and cheap
collection of egregious Goodwill
gowns to be seen since Vaudeville.
I must admit, however, that plas-
tic flowers and fluorescent frills
are indeed authentic as to the per-
iod and character of the Machado-
Greco compositions.
Finally, I fail to conceive of the
Steinway Grand as "an eighty-
eight string guitar," Tom Lehrer
notwithstanding. Flamenco dance
to a tinkling piano accompani-
ment? Incredible.
Folk dance is a wild animal.
Greco's company made of it a
bored andsboring beast of the zoo.
-Robert Colwell, Grad.
All letter- 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. No unsign-
ed letters will be printed.

V

+i

The High Cost of Serving

THE SENATE Select Committee on
Standards and Conduct has conclud-
ed five days of public hearings on the
financial affairs of Senator Thomas J.
Dodd (D-Conn) and will present its report
and recommendations to the Senate with-
in the next few weeks.
Reaching a decision will be by no means
an easy job for the committee, for there
are several knotty problems involved. For
example, Dodd has admitted spending
funds received from campaign testimon-
ial dinners to repay personal debts, but
denies charges that his acts constituted
a breach of ethics. His friends, he claims,
knew he was deeply in debt and bought
tickets to the dinners as gifts to him.
Whatever the committee finally de-
cides, the outcome of the Dodd affair has
implications reaching beyond the politi-
cal fate of Senator Dodd. The larger
question arising out of the committee
hearings is whetherua citizen of only aver-
age means can hold political office with-
out financial ruin.
ALTHOUGH THE SITUATION is not as
imbalanced now as it was in the late

19th century, when 27 millionaires sat in
the United States Senate, it is true even
today that very wealthy people hold a
greater proportion of high political offices
than their percentage of the population
justifies. The Dodd hearings reveal why
this is so with painful clarity.
In the first place, political campaigns
in the era of mass communication can be
staggeringly expensive. And once elect-
ed, officeholders who do not have outside
sources of funds often find the expenses
>f maintaining their office exceeding their
provided income. Dodd told the commit-
tee: ". . . Everything I've done from 1956
to this hour is political . . . I've bought
more flowers for funerals of people I
hardly knew than I can remember..."
THE FACT that many otherwise qualified
people are discouraged from running
for office by financial obstacles repre-
sents a serious defect in our political
system. The only justification for such a
system is that the wealthy do a better
job of governing-a dubious assumption.
It is not necessarily true that the quali-
ties which make a person proficient at
accumulating wealth are the same quali-
ties that make a good political leader or
legislator.

11 /
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° ENEHOWL CAMFRAN ANN& ~.ADI/N.

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Dallas Rerun

. .. .... : ..TODAY

AND TOMORROW ... by WALTER LIPPMANN.. =====.

The Challenge to Democratic Government

]w"HE FRENCH election brings
into sharp focus one of the
crucial problems of our time:
whether effective governments
can be achieved with the consent
of the governed, whether govern-
ments that are able to govern can

placing the executive and of gov-
erning the country.
Thus, Gen. Charles de Gaulle's
constitutional experiment has not
worked well, though there is no
evidence that any other system
would have worked better. We

had to deal with the unsolved
problem by bringing the opposi-
tion into the government - that
is to say by forming coalition gov-
ernments. There is very consider-
able constitutional struggle both
in Belgium and in the Nether-

war which was expressly and ex-
plicitly rejected by the electorate.
In our internal affairs there is
the greatest uncertainty whether
Congress and the state govern-
ments can make themselves com-
petent to cope with the population

revolution which has transformed
not only our ways of living, but in
its ramifications dealing with the
structure and chemistry of the hu-
man personality is remaking man
himself.
Democratic institutions are de-
rived from a radically different

N

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