Sevent -Sixth Year EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNTVERSITY OF MICHIGAN UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATION' A Plan for Serving the University jv 420 MAYNARD ST. ANN ARBOR, MiCH. NFwS PHONE: 764-0552 Ediorials printed in The Mit higan Vail-, efpres the inidiudnal opinions of staff writer o the edsthrs. Ths must be noted in all reprnts. ATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1966 NIGHT EDITOR: LAURENCE MEDOW New Left's REP: Success Demands Hard Work LAST MAY, when Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara in his Montreal speech gave the idea of "universal national serv- ice" some sort of legitimacy (by virtue of the fact that the con- cept was being espoused by a high official in the federal govern- ment), he opened a Pandora's Box of public discussion of an idea that had before been regarded as a pipe dream of social martyrs and altruists. Suggestions and plans for a "Year of National Service," or "Two Years of National Service" and the like blossomed in every conceivable form. Almost every notable social critic or pundit soon became caught up in the rush of enthusiasm to send young warm bodies to the various military or social fronts (where, we might conclude, their elders have failed miserably). Even a usually coher- ent social scientist like Margaret Mead could be found advocating- in Redbgok, of all places-a uni- versal military draft including women and men, with no defer- ments, a place for everyone. IN SOME WAYS, all this discus- sion about social commitment and the responsibility of youth, etc., especially from the mouths of those who never really bothered to think or do anything about it un- til it became the vogue, is enough to disgust any younger person ser- iously concerned with doing some- thing about social problems. He might even decide to forget the whole thing--out of spite. After all, it is easy for someone to describe clearing garbage from Harlem back yards for a year with all the appropriate noble superlatives, when he is not in the least dan- ger of having that rare experi- ence. Never fear, those brave young people will still gather and re- move the refuse from centuries of neglect and cruelty. But, one thing youth will not do is ease the con- science of and give publicity to a guilty generation. But, setting aside these consid- erations. let us assume that there are, indeed, many possibilities for new (albeit, inexperienced) minds to succeed where older ones have failed. Even now, there are exam- ples that strongly indicate that this might be true. We are famil- The Associates by 'arnlev and wolier iar with some of them being con- ducted on a larger scale: the Peace Corps, VISTA, American Friends Service Committee. In all these in- stances, lesser administrative and creative functions, assigned to younger persons, have been welded into effective local programs against social problems of nation- al importance. Now, let us focus the same sort of plan on a relatively small in- stitution-nevertheless complex - which, like American society, has often found itself unable to solve recurrent internal problems: the University. WHILE IT IS true that the great debate about "a year of service to the University" has not yet begun, this school has the ideal- istic potential of any budding Peace Corps. We have seen the es- tablishment, in the last year, of student committees to help admin- istrators solve student housing problems, a committee to help se- lect the next University presi- dent, and now standing commit- tees to serve as general advisors to each vice-president, ostensibly to actually help make administra- tive decisions. If the idea of student partici- pation, as exemplified by these advisory committees, is carried to its logical conclusion (great de- bate or no), one can{ easily see the possibility of a "Year in Serv- ice to the University," in which students either participate in or completely take over certain ad- ministrative functions. A student majoring in economics, for exam- ple, might bring his fresh prag- matism into Vice-President Wilbur K. Pierpont's Office of Business and Finance. There is no reason why a budding psychologist could not work with the Office of Stu- dent Affairs to help solve the problems of non-academic coun- selling. Similarly, the smaller ad- ministrative units which head the various schools and departments within the University, could de- rive benefit from a direct dialogue with students working for and with them. BUT, EVEN the most elastic al- trism must eventually demand its just reward, The over-worked Uni- versity student, unlike his Peace Corps or VISTA counterpart, is not one to take kindly to unremit- ting exploitation. Even in the serv- ice of his University, he would like a small compensation, And a University is uniquely equipped to give such reward, in the form of credit equivalent to a year's schooling in regular courses. The credit could be applied toward graduation either as an addition to the student's major concentra- tion, or as an entirely separate program. P a id compensation might take the form of scholar- ships, or straight salary. Finally, the University adminis- tration would get more from "Service to the University" than a few, ephemeral help-mates. A year in the program is a year of in- valuable training. The projected Year in Service could help to an- swer the question: "Where do new administrators come from?" with something a little more sophisti- cated than "under cabbage leaves." NYONE WHO WISHES to instigate a significant change in the status quo must first have adequate knowledge of what the status quo is. He must also be in- formed as to what courses of action oth- ers who possess his same goal have taken before him and are taking now. This premise is ofle with which very few can disagree, including Students for a Democratic Society who this year are' establishing their own means of distribut- ing information, the Radical Education Project. Whether REP's national staff, located in Ann Arbor, can put its plan into action is another matter. AT PRESENT, REP has published a 19 page pamphlet presenting an outline of its program, a very sketchy outline. This document is considered a "Five Year Plan." The project, in addition to pre- senting a remedy for problems, wants "to transform the institutions and thinking which produce and multiply abuses." This goal is noble, all inclusive and unrealistic, REP, however, has taken some concrete action. At present, several members and interested people are writing papers on subjects of concern to the organization. Marxism, the New Left, decision making and how to research a community power structure are subjects of study guides to be completed by October. REP is also cur- rently working on a book, to be published by Doubleday-Anchor, entitled Papers from the New Left. These papers present the foundation and theory behind the organization. The remainder of the plans for the proj- ect are considerably more indefinite. The staff hopes to set up two types of work- ing organizations; study groups and task forces. Task forces' major functions will be original scholarly research. The orga- nization is not sure whether these groups will be set up nationally or locally. Study groups, primarily instruments of self edu- cation on the local level, are functioning in some areas although not extensively. PLANS FOR A SPEAKERS bureau have also een discussed. According to the tentative plan, experts in various fields of study will travel from campus to cam- pus where they will hold lectures and spe- cial discussion sessions. All this demands considerable work which, as yet, has not been unprovided for. Another plan which is being consid- ered but is not set up is one of corres- pondence among individuals interested in the same area of study but who live in separate areas of the country. Finally, there is the immense, long- range goal of educating people outside the organization which, however, has not yet been given a concrete basis. In its outline, REP also presents topics of major social concern: values and uto- pias, myth and reality, strategies of change and programs toward new con- stituencies. Under myth and reality the plan calls for a consideration of Ameri- can ideology, economy, cultural institu- tions under tension and mass media. Thse also show insight, broad insight into areas which need investigation, yet pre- sent a highly unrealistic plan of action to conduct an investigation thoroughly. ALL THESE PLANS are good and, if or- ganized properly, could be an effec- tive means of educating people concerns of the New Left. But is it realistic to say that a full-time staff of five to 10 work- ers and individual SDS chapters usually consisting of less than 100 members can accomplish such an immense task? REP is realistic, in two main areas, though. They realize that they need addi- tional workers. "REP is non-exclusionist. We are open to all those who would feel comfortable in our company. Our criteria of judgment in matters of politics and be- lief will be facts, argument and values." They also admit they need money and are realistic enough to realize that nothing can be done without it. REP HAS A LONG WAY to go before it will be in a position to present a good educational project to the radicals of America. But it is the only existing outline for change that shows any promise of pople behind the abstractions. If a touch of -realism is added and more peo- ple are willing to work on it seriously it may prove significant. -BETSY TURNER 4 More_ Experiences in Group Living -a By DAVID KNOKE Scond of a Three-Part Series ANNAPOLIS-The T-group ex- perience in the U.S. Student Press Association summer seminar on higher education, described in yesterday"s article as a training device in sensitivity to other peo- ple, consumed only a small por- tion of the six weeks. Yet the experience served as a roadsign for the seminar's activities, point- ing the way to certain situations of a group nature that' the parti- cipants could share and enjoy. If one would construct a theory of education and learning, one must come to grips with the phe- nomenon of social interaction-in a classroom, a field study, a sem- inar, or a college dormitory-be- cause it has a fundamental effect on the ability to absorb and wise- ly use the content of what is stud- led. THE USSPA seminar provided a laboratory format for observing how social structures can be built from scratch, hindering or aiding the ability to learn, develop and relate to others in the group. Because the participants had be- come deeply acquainted with and sensitive to each other's needs and limitations, the daily activi- ties of the group in any situation tended to assure that no one was ignored or left out. Because the T-group had been "unstructured." the process of relating to each other without rigid formal struc- tures became a natural part of the day-to-day rhythm. Although group-oriented activities were dominant, what was suppressed in the form of individual expres- sion was compensated for in feel- ings of security and identity which the group generated. Men and women lived in the same dorm on the St. John's cam- pus (different f.loors - lavatory comnlications, you know), unre- stricted by adult supervision,-hours or regulations. A parent's night- mare? Hardly: I think young peo- ple often have a greater sense of equilibrium in their personal affairs than college administra- tors and housemothers give them credit for. Living together in the same building, we turned the lounge. used both as a library and a wee-hour party room nightly, in- to a socializing area for starting the day's "spontaneous" group ac- tivities. ANARCTIY REIGNED, that is anarchy when it came to formal- ized study. The daily schedule, as conceived by Ken Winter and Rita Dershowitz. our "junior adminis- trators," made no required at- tendance at any function. There was an optional 11 a.m.' meeting for announcements or bitching about the previous , day's disap- pointments. In the afternoon, a guest speaker, if one was sched- uled, would hold forth in informal sessions on various subjects. In the evening after dinner, anyone who wanted to discuss a pet peeve about education or life at large might call a "riverside seminar" on the banks of College Creek. None of these usual events were mandatory. The thesis of our co- leaders was that compulsory at- tendance, authoritarian rules and hierarchical classroom-type dis- cussions were antithetical to sit- uations in which significant learn- ing takes place. The operating ground rule stipulated that any one should feel free to walk in and out of a discussion without creating embarrassment either to himself or the speaker.. "If you are bored or tired, why not be honest about it? It's prob- ably better for both of you in the long run," one girl explained. At first it seemed weird, operating under an artificial social code -hich conflicted with past atti- tudes about manners and polite- ,v-ss yet, we came to realize that if the purpose of our new conven- tions was fully understood by all involved, there would be a mini- mum of friction, and everyone would move about with easier con- sciences. Group cohesiveness did remain strong over the six weeks. To be sure, there were the summer ro- mances, the "deviates" who wan- dered off to do some serious read- ing by themselves, and the num- erous diversionary trips to Wash- ington, Philadelphia and New York when the pressures of isolation in Annapolis grew too burdensome. Yet attendance at the "non- compulsory" discussions was high. We invariably ate our meals at the same table; a self-contained group among the hundreds of Peace Corps trainees in the St.' Johns' commons. Cliques tended to be a transitory thing; one-to-one rela- tionships within the group con- text were the usual approach. "I even feel left out when I'm the one doing the dating," one boy said concerning the inevitable questions about discriminating against non-daters. Our humor remained rampant. For three solid days we depleted our linguistic abilities on "hink- ety-pinkety." a rhyming pun game, to the inevitable chorus of groans. We san La Marseillaise on Bastille Day in the dining hall, to the startled looks of the PCT's. We had a jug band and a swinging combo called "Dennis and the T- Groups." Activities would run in cycles. One week would see a constant round of tennis and co-ed volley- ball. Then a few resolute souls would attempt a serious critique of the fallacies of required courses, and the air would be filled for days 'with Herzogian "manifestoes to the public at large." The mani- festoes served as a vehicle for the communication ,of ideas in a for- mat to which verbal discussion did not lend itself.. TOWARDS the end of the six weeks, the hypnotic grip of card playing seized us. Like prisoners, passing the hours until freedom- in our case a cross-country Grey- hound to the USSPA annual Con- gress in Illinois-we played end- less games of cards. Bridge, pok- er for matches, gin, solitaire and double solitaire, on into the fren- etic madness of triple solitaire. To tear oneself aaway from card games at that time would have been a sacrelege against group loyalty. What I am suggesting, in de- scribing the social situation at the seminar, is that a group per- mitted to structure its own acti- vities will do so along a median between high-pressured productiv- ity and extremely aimless activity. Considered out of context, the lack of papers, projects and pro- posals to come out of the seminar would seem to attest to the fail- ure of the seminar to accomplish the goal of a thorough study of higher education. But that would be an unfair assessment. THE SEMINAR started as an objective study of education, and became in the end an experience in living education. The depth of learning, the new awareness and insights into personal relations cannot be measured, but they are surely calculated among the great- est accomplishments of the semi- nar. If education is to have any significance and value in our lives, is not the education of individ- uals to the needs of each other the place to begin? A LETTER S TO THE EDITOR: W~ashington: The Hit and Miss Parade Dow Chemical Protest Misdirected THE THEATRICAL SEASON in Wash- ington this summer conformed closely to the pattern set elsewhere-small, off- chamber productions and hearings pro- duced on a shoestring provided the capi- tal's main entertainment, while such lav- ish, full-scale productions as "Pie in the Sky," a musical comedy in 12 acts about a President of the United States and some senators who try to entice each other into settling an airlines strike, were on the whole poorly received. Here is a rundown of some of the livelier shows on the con- gressional circuit, a few of which will be reopering after- Labor Day: CAST THE FIRST STONE. The playwrit- ing team of Drew Pearson and Jack' Anderson did the script for this often moving account of a Connecticut legis- lator who is tried by a group of his col- leagues on charges that he indulged in financial hocus-pocus to the detriment of their collective image. Under the able direction of Mississippian John Stennis ("The McNamara Follies, Let My People Go"), the cast made the most of several electrifying scenes of recognition and be- trayal wherein the legislator and his aides describe the parental, filial, and other re- lationships they all enjoyed in Room 105 of the Old Senate Office Building before events overtook them. Excellent casting, with the exception of the difficult and improbable role of Major General Julius Klein (Ret.), played by the general him- self well beyond the point of credibility. HUAC: A "HAPPENING." From Texas comes a new talent, Mr. Joe Pool, who is widely considered the most exciting find of the season. Indeed, the HUAC Players-otherwise known as the Squares in the Circle-have risen to heights under his direction unequaled since they took their show on tour a few years ago, end- ing up in Berkeley, Calif., where they re- ceived such a memorable reception. For a women's clubs and other audiences who had rented it under the impression that it was based on the life of Harriet Beech- er Stowe. More recently, HUAC has had one flop after the next, terminating in an anti- climactic melodrama called "Klavern 69 Doesn't Answer." It took the imagination of Director Pool to see HUAC's great po- tential as a stager of "happenings." This summer's event was complete with un- predictable on stage/off-stage occurrenc- es-a nice intermingling of unfathomable court orders, audience participation, pad- dy wagons, police brutality, witness hys- teria, Hitler salutes and gavel banging. In a neat and brilliant switch on the expect- ed, the HUAC Players implored the wit- nesses to take the Fifth Amendment, while the witnesses refused to cease in- criminating themselves. A special word of commendation is due the costume de- signer. All in all, a treat. OLD FACES. Washington theatre-goers are not of one' mind about the effect on this perennial favorite-also known as "Block That Bill"-of the forced retire- ment of old trouper Judge Howard Smith, who played to packed houses in the Rules Committee Room. Generally, it is conced- ed that the judge and Manny-his end-, man in civil rights numbers-were an in- comparable combination, and after years in the part Judge Smith had become com- plete master of the throwaway line: "Ah always, heard you people in New Yo'k were mighty peculiar." William Colmer of Mississippi, who has understudied Smith's role in "Old Faces" for many years him- self, will open in the lead next January. RATHOLE! The foreign aid saga has had a longer theatrical run than any- thing since "Abie's Irish Rose," but in re- cent years the quality of the perform- ance had declined owing to the retire- ment of such stars as Homer Capehart To the Editor: T HE RECENT Dow Chemical- War protest is a good exam- ple of what the Socialist Labor Party warns against. Why Dow? Why napalm? The protest is mis-directed, short- sighted, and makes a real solu- tion more difficult to achieve. Is a Vietnamese or any other human being including an Amer- ican soldier more wrecked or dead with napalm than with bullets, bombs, knives, etc.? Is Dow mak- ing any more bloody profit than the mnanufactur'rs of troon-need- ed clothing. drugs, etc.? Is a Dow official any more responsible than the nice, little old lady down the street who receives her quar- terly dividend from Standard Oil- the same company that not only fuels the military vehicles but that pays the Viet Cong to allow oil shipments safe passage in parts o Viet Nam? Napalm is spectacular and Dow is convenient, but great harm is done by promoting the belief that .~t,'A4 (.I'S&" ,..'.$"\r ''.4' . . f f ,' 61 44k -, N ;X'. 2r 4 . . }" /4. 0.4<( 34 something can be accomplished by these demonstrations. DOW IS COMPELLED to do what it and these other corpora- tions do by the drives of the capi- talist system. The officials are not open to persuasion nor subject to moral pressure. Events, capitalist economic events, control the men. Capitalism needs the Asian war to prevent internal economic col- lapse. Johnson had to follow the Goldwater course. If Robert Ken- nedy were elected, there would be no change. There is only one possible target for social action - the capitalist system. Eliminate it with the So- cialist Labor Party program and most of modern day misery will disappear. THE SOCIALIST Labor Party aims directly at the source of the problems, provides a blueprint for a new and sane society, and pro- vides a source of strength against reactionary violence. -Robert V. Gray, '62 lidicial Revi Io To the Editor: JUDICIAL REVIEW, though well eknown throughout the civiliz- ed world, would appear to be a stranger to some of our Selective Service people. Quite plainly in- deed the Constitution did intend that there be fair and equal jus- tice for all our citizens. That jus- tice was genuinely intended is made quite plain by such provi- sions as Article VII (Bill of Rights) which notes that "in suits at common law, where the contro- versy exceeds 20 dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserv- ed." With such contitutional in- tent spelled out so -precisely, a person might possibly wonder if our Selective Service people had evaluated the lives of those six sit-in students, singly or collec- tively, as of less than 20 dollars value. Clearly, "IA" is a death sen- tence for some. REFERENCE of course being listing of over 400 jobs since Sep- tember 1957, with all employment refused with no exceptions. Even two University of Michigan place- ment directors, earlier this year, said I would have to "forget" a book I have written on FBI black- listing before they would consider helping with regard to employ- ment. And of course those two di- rectors were really talking com- promise with every decent princi- ple embodied in the Constitution of the United States. QUITE PLAINLY unjust was the punitive action taken by the Selective Service people acting in the role of jurors nimbly side- stepping the due process of law as guaranteed in the Constitution. In- deed I am reminded of this dis- trict's congressman, Weston Viv- ian, who, after no word for near- ', two years. returned my frilly documented book with the state- ment over his signature, "in or- der that you will not be without BUT WHAT IF students were to follow Congressman Vivian's pro- cedure, and return their draft cards to their draft boards so the latter "would not be without them?" Students everywhere might well inquire of U.S. Senator Sam Ervin, chairman of the Constitu- tional Rights subcommittee, why he most plainly does not have the courage to stand up for those con- stitutional rights for which draft- ees are expected to be ready to make the supreme sacrifice. -T. Wayler Williams Soldier's Rights To the Editor: I THINK that this should be con- sidered axiomatic: that no mat- ter what other rights a citizen may lose when he is drafted, he should never lose the right of appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. This is with reference to the ver- dict given a GI at Fort Dix, N.J., by an Army Court and reported in the Wednesday newspapers and radio. :A S