FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1965 ' I IC I AI RAILV PAM& WAR-19 PRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1965 T~i nE-MCHGANDALYAG vE Board Daily Annals: Stormy By ARTHUR MARKS A free student newspaper like The Daily is often not easy to live with. The best-laid plans of Univer- sity public relations men can find themselves violently derailed as a student editor insults a legislator, calls the administration dishonest, surveys the sexual habits of coeds or ridicules Gov. Romney. Fearing such disrailment many schools use a simple and direct approach-censorship. Others are more subtle. Their newspapers are either well-stocked with manipul- able faculty advisors or tucked safely under the wings of the fac- ulty-run journalism department. New Problems. But when a college or univer- sity administration conquers one problem-that of a free if bellig- erent student newspaper-it often creates a second one-that of a poor quality student paper. Student journalists, shorn of their decision - making powers, tend to feel less responsibility to- ward their publications and put less work into them. The results are seen in poor publications. Generally, the quality of a stu- dent publication is a function of the degree of freedom its staff enjoys. 'U' Attempt For the past-half century, the Board in Control of Student Pub- lications has been the University's attempt to deal with these and other student press problems. The Board is responsible to the Regents. The Regents' Bylaw which establishes it somewhat misleadingly gives it "authority and control over all nontechnical newspapers, magazines, periodi- cals, programs and other publica- tions, edited, managed or promot- ed by students or student organi- zations of the University . . . for local sale or circulation." ,Actually, the Board's function- ing is a bit more modest than its charge from the Regents would seem to indicate. It confines it- self largely to the publications emanating from 420 Maynard St. --the Student Publications Bldg. Two Functions' The Board has two main func- tions. The first, of little contro- versy, is to keep its student pub- lications solvent and functioning. This- involves reviewing budgets, providing for building mainten- ance, underwriting losses, by the various publications and accumu- lating financial reserves from profits. It must also see to it that there is a student staff to main- tain a newspaper, a yearbook, two literary magazines, a student di- rectory and a humor magazine. The second function involves the appointment of the editors of mach publication and the impos- ing of certain editorial controls. This is the function that leads to controversy. and seven of the eight appointed juniors refused their appoint- ments. In a front page editorial on April 21. the seniors charged that the Board was unjustified in over- turning t h e recommendations. The editorial put the decision in the context of what the seniors felt was a basic principle underly- ing The Daily: "That students, given proper training and guid- ance can be trusted to manage a great newspaper with maturity, responsibility and good taste." Within a month a compromise was arranged between the Board and the students and' since then there have been no major clashes. Despite occasional stormy inci- dents,' much evidence indicates that Board-Daily relations are a workable synthesis of freedom and control. The Board actually' acts as a "buffer" between the student publications and the would-be censors within the University. Under the Board in Control, the student staffs are in real, day-to- day control of the newspaper, with no administrative or faculty "ad- viser" keeping news articles un- controversial and opinions within acceptable bounds. During their lifetime-the above incidents notwithstanding - the University's publications by and large have enjoyed just what The Daily's front page proclaims every day: "seventy-five years of edi- torial freedom." CHALLENGE: See U.S. with Sports By TOM WEINBERG Sports Editor "Special North Central Air- lines charter for Minneapolis now boarding Gate 8, Blue Con- course. All Aboard, please." With this announcement, two All-Americans and a dozen other basketball players, three coaches, a trainer, a manager and a Daily . reporter gather their baggage and prepare for a 24-hour jaunt to a basketball game 700 miles from Ann Arbor-the National Colle- giate Athletic Association basket- 'ball finals. But it could be any Michigan athletic team, traveling almost ,, anywhere in the country. Wher- ever the Wolverine teams go, a Daily reporter follows for on-the- Sports Staffer Grabs Yawn after Dean scene coverage.1 -1.S The Daily - a Student Paper for Everyone The Daily is probably the most controversy-prone of the Univer- sity's student publications. Rela- tions with the Board are extreme- ly delicate and occasionally ex- plosive, as shown by the following incidents in its history: " 1937. The Board, possibly be- cause this was The Daily's most pro-leftist period, decided that all editorials must be signed by their authors. The editors were disturb- ed because they felt this was "con- trary to all newspaper practice" and made the "editorial page ap- pear as a collection of personal essays rather than the editorial page of a leading collegiate journal." The Board on the other hand, felt that without the signatures, the eidtorial page was interpreted as representing the opinions of the entire student staff. The Board's action held. " 1940. The Board in Control's structure was changed from four voting faculty members and three voting student members to six voting faculty and three voting students. An editorial in The Daily charged the Regents were "pack- ing" the Board. The Board's structure change was the result of a by-law adopted by certain Regents and faculty members who weredisturbed over several "radical" editorials which had appeared in The Daily. Despite a petition circulated by the Student Rights Committee that collected over 4,350 signa- tures the Regents found no rea- son to change their position. * 1943. The Board refused to appoint Leon Gordenker to a sen- for editor position and junior night editors felt he deserved the position. This was the spark that lead to another open fight be- tween The Daily and the Board in Control. A front page editorial criticized the Board for "the haphazard manner in which the Board in- vestigated the applicants." Senior editors also accused the Board of religious prejudice saying that the1 Board did not appoint Gordenker because he was Jewish. The Board denied this in an open letter. In a still later editorial the senior editors demanded the resig- nation of Prof. G. E. Densmore from his post as chairman of the Board on the grounds that he "did not possess the qualifications required for the important posi- tion of chairman of the Board." No resignations took place on either The Daily or the Board. Board member Hobart Coffey said that "supposed censorship was non-existent." 9 1962. Some explanation is needed here. Senior editors spend a great deal of time interviewing the juniors who will replace them. Srapbooks and essays are submit- ted and every senior spends some time talking to every junior appli- cant. Afterwards, seniors meet, dis- cuss and finally select a new sen- ior staff. They forward these rec- ommendations to the Board. In April of 1962 the Board rejected these recommendations. The 1962 senior staff then quit DANGEROUS GAME: Reviewers Run Risk for Art But traveling and living with the Michigan teams is just frost- ing on the cake for Daily sports writers. The sports staff also provides the stimulation of mingling with "The Daily people"-some of the most interesting students on the campus-and the thrill of work- ing under the type of pressure' that's only known to a newspaper- man, The sports staffer has all the advantages of The Daily-from the opportunity to use the open forum editorial page as a sound- ing board to becoming addicted to the nickle cokes and wee hour bull sessions that characterize The Daily. Combining journalism majors with those who have a flair for sports, the sports staff has room to give an opportunity to anyone who is willing to give it a try. Unlike any college paper, The Daily sports coverage stretches around the nation, with such com- prehensive coverage of Michigan sports that many professional journalists have judged it superior in quality and scope, not only to other college papers, but also to many metropolitan papers as well. With the latest deadline in- the state, The Daily prints sports news that is fresher and more compre- hensive than any metropolitan paper. The challenge of sitting next to well-known sports writers, trying By ROBERT MOORE A notably artistic Italian prov- ince has a folk parable about three old hermits who lived on a mountain: a farmer, an artist and an astronomer. Every evening, each would go out to his own private rock and watch the sun- set. "I love the light," the artist would say. "I know the light," the astronomer would say. Everything was fine on the is- land until one day they met and decid~ed to get together and dis- cuss the night's sunset. They met on the top of the mountain, the farmer with his hoe, the painter with his brush, and the astrono- mer with his glass. They talked; but they became so confused over their different views of the same sunset that they started fighting and, by the time they had stopped, all their instruments were broken. They went back to their caves, the story says, to mourn and die. Involves Difficulties Reviewing for The Daily isn't mortally dangerous but it does involve the difficulties illustrat- ed in this story. The good re- viewer must combine the prac- tical, the personal and the poetic into one cohesive viewpoint of objective and subjective descrip- tion. The Daily offers opportunities for reviewers in many fields.. There are capitalistic, practical advantages in reviewing for The Daily. Movie, concert and play re- viewers- get two free ticiets for every performance they cover. Book and record reviewers are al- lowed to keep the books or rec- ords they review. A Daily reviewer learns to write intelligently interestingly, a n d quickly (under the pressure of a deadline-conscious editorial direc- tor). Freedom to express yourself is practically unlimited. But reviewing for The Daily is not the same as writing an Eng- lish paper. There is an iniqui- tous, invisible monster called a "deadline" that lives in the lino- type machines in the Student Pub- lications Building. Editors must "lock" pages by a certain time to get the paper finished on time. Coat and Tie A typical reviewer rolls into 420 Maynard about 9:30 dressed in a coat and tie, smelling clean, relaxed in body and thoughtful in mind after a pleasant evening. Somebody grabs him. "We need 10 inches of copy by 10:30. Real bad. Good-grief-hurry- it - up - where - have - you- been-oh-woe-are-we!" The reviewer will react like a nun in a locker room and head for the Daily library, where the noise is less painful. By 10:45, he has pounded out two and a quar- ter pages of triple-spaced copy. By 11:10, he has handed it in, received a quick critique on it. The next morning the truth- seeking reviewer will pick up his Daily (ignoring wars, education bills, and athletic championships) and turn to the editorial page where he will read and re-read an eight-inch, one-column review with his name at the bottom. He will regret statements. ("Why did I ever say it was the most 'jam-packed knee-knocker of the cinematic decade'?") But he may experience a kind of newspaperman's pride that there are about 30,000 people read- ing his words, "knee-knocker" and all. If you're interested come on over to the Daily offices and talk to us about reviewing. We welcome you and will give you a chance to be on the regular reviewing staff of The Michigan Daily. I G G, Whatever Your KARSH, STEICHEN: IFlln n R- in to Phnt- ,aomA Photographic Needs May Be--- We Can By JAMES KESON Just before the Second World War (the real one not the one starring John Wayne and Fabian), a pleasant-looking young sopho- more wandered into The Michigan Daily looking for adventure, ex- citement, and a purpose in life. Before he could make it over to the photography editor's desk, he was clapped on the shoulder by the friendly personnel director, steered in the general direction of the night desk, and told that he was about to embark on a bril- liant career in the literary racket. Unfortunately for the young soph, one Arthur Miller, there was never time enough, for him to meander over to the bright (f. 5.6, j1/125) little corner of the city room in which the photographic nerve center of The Daily is lo- cated, so he has struggled along '-F~ UR. t s/ ' A U V t q A ~AvE l YU. take a left into the city room, and stride manfully (if you're a coed, do the best you can) to the desk of the photo editor, tug your fore- lock, and announce to him that you're looking for adventure, ex- citement, and a purpose in life. Looking up from his littered desk where he has been adjusting his Hasselblad with a 10 inch Phil- lips screwdriver, he will no doubt struggle against the emotion welling in his throat, and, stretch- ing forth a gnarled hand in a silent welcome, invite you to be- come a member of one of the University's oldest institutions, The Michigan Daily photo staff. Controversy Actually, since The Michigan Daily photo staff was founded by Louis Jacques Daguerre in 1813, or four years before the University itself, there has been a good deal of spirited controversy as to whether Daguerre's group found- ed the University or vice-versa. Those who argue post hoc, ergo proctor hoc, contend that The Michigan Daily photo staff should in fact be receiving a yearly ap- propriation of $50 million from the state Legislature and the Uni- versity should be given a beat-up Speed Graphic and the odd lens cap. As with most campus controver- sies, this one shows no signs of being settled, and Daguerre (who will be 177 next year) appears to be growing discouraged. Opportunities After shaking his hoary locks at the memory of this ancient feud, the photo editor will begin to tell' you of the responsibilities and op- portunities of a staff member. Wiping his rimless spectacles, he will explain the schedule in which one photographer works either one afternoon or one evening a week, averaging about an hour and a half each time. Shaking his dewlaps, he will expound on the opportunity for negative is developed, printed, engraved, and brought to press. Blinking his watery eyes, he will elucidate the feeble remuneration system of The Daily. Warming his chilblained hands against a hiss- ing radiator, he will ask you if you are prepared to devote time and thought to an effort that will help lower your grade point aver- age and heighten your aversion to phone calls. If at the end of this long reci- tation, the photo editor grabs your hand in his wrinkled paw and gives it a curt shake, congratula- tions. You're in. The rest is up to you. Serve You I a + Ann Arbor's only Exclusive Camera Shop PROMPT PHOTO Want To Join. By JUDITH WARREN Personnel Director Freshmen trainees form the lifeblood of The Daily. Each year around 40 freshmen take the plunge into the chaotic world of the Student Publications Bldg. at 420 Maynard St. to learn journalistic jargon, work night desk, get their first beat assign- ment and their first byline. The first 'ntroduction will come at the mass meeting held early in the fall where the senior editors will explain the "ins and outs" of putting out a daily paper. Trainees have their choice of five staffs-editorial, busi- ness, sports, reviewing, and photography. Editorial staffers have three responsibilities to The Daily- writing accurate, perceptive news stories, writing well thought- out, logical editorials and working night desk once a week. Trainees will go through an intensive training program so, never fear, no writing experience is needed. The business staff is for people with an interest in finance, advertising, page layout and fighting with the editorial staff who always want more room for copy. The sports staff is for anyone (they even have girls) who has a passion for sports, both collegiate and professional. No writing experience is needed since the sports staff also has a training program. This is a wonderful opportunity to see both home, and often away, games at The Daily's expense. The reviewing staff is the only staff which does require experience. Reviewers must have sufficient knowledge of the AUTHORIZED DEALER for most nationally advertised Merchandise Our merchandise includes: Bolex Pentax Graf lex FINISHING CAMERAS REPAIRED in our own repair shop STOP IN and browse over the most complete stock of CAMERAS and CAMERA ACCESSORI ES in the Ann Arbor area. Mmrn ,,, ORTN 1/NI VgR,,rY A Vf. -w OPURCHAS t CAMERA SHOP Rol leiflex S M aM c A Minolta Leica imiya THOMAS R. SNAPSHOT \ all his life on the meager proceeds of his literary endeavors, never knowing where his next Pulitizer Prize was coming from. , Avoid This Fate! Avoid the fate which befell this bewildered student! To take the III I _ t