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September 30, 1960 - Image 4

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Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 1960-09-30

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"Sir, What Are You Doing in My Boudoir?"

Seventy-First Year
- EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
"When Opinions=Are Free UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL Of STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Truth Will Prevail" STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. * ANN ARBOR, MICH. * Phone NO 2-3241
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1960 NIGHT EDITOR: PHILIP SHERMAN

[

q.A"R.
---.
- ."

Requirement Changes
Demand Careful Study

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the fourth and last
In a, series of articles on the recently announced
proposals for changes in the literary college dis-
tribution requirements. The first three articles
contained general background on distribution re-
quirements and specific background on the
changes proposed for the areas of the natural sci-
ences and mathematics-philosophy.)
THE LITERARY college curriculum commit-
.tee has prepared a report to the faculty rec-
ommending extensive changes of the college's
distribution requirements in the areas of math-
ematics, philosophy and- the natural sciences.
The committee recommends the elimination
of the present requirement of a two-semester
sequence in either mathematics or philosophy
and the union of philosophy and the present
humanities area, with a corresponding rise in
the humanities requirement from a two-semes-
ter sequence to 12 credits.
They also recommend the splitting of the
natural science area into two groups of courses
-the first to contain those in astronomy,
chemistry and physics, the second, all others-
with work to be required in both groups.
(Although the final report of the committee
has not yet been distributed and the details of
the recommendations are not known, the sec-
ond area would presumably include the courses
in botany, geology and zoology and parts of
anthropology and psychology now accepted for
distribution credit.)
HEY WOULD also retain the requirement
that the science wdrk include a two-semes-
ter sequence in a laboratory science in the
needed 12 hours of work.
If approved by the faculty, these changes
will affect only students entering the college
after whatever implementation date might be
set up. (This might be even later than next
fall, college officials said, due to the time re-
quired to effect the changeover.)
The effect of the changes in the mathemat-
ics area would be to totally remove distribu-
tion credit from mathematics.
BEFORE THE faculty votes on these pro-
posals, there would seem to be several ques-
tions that they should consider very seriously.
Since the original intent of the idea of group-
ing the science courses was to see that every
student got experience in a quantitative sci-
ence, the question of whether or not this
grouping would do this should be carefully
thought about.
One of the major points in considering this
might be the question of whether or not the
astronomy department, in 1958 said by a fac-
ulty committee to be making its distribution
courses "attractive and not too difficult," par-
ticularly in the avoidance of mathematics,
would change its courses into representations
of the highly quantitative discipline that is
modern astronomy.
ANOTHER POINT that might receive consid-
eration is whether or not the effect of the
science changes might not be Just overcrowd-
ing the astronomy department. Admittedly,
this, being a practical consideration, should
have less weight than those intended to decide
what is best for the college, but some consid-
eration should be given.
And in the mathematics-philosophy changes,
there are even more serious problems.
If the recommendations are approved, the
college will appear to say, by eliminating math-
ematics from its only statement on the quali-
ties of a liberal education, that it has no part
in a liberal education. This deserves careful
consideration.
FOR THE college will not be saying only that
mathematics is not a necessary part of
every liberal education, as they would if they
merely refused to require it for every student;
MAX LERNER ..
Khrushchev'sI
HE CASE of Dag Hammarskjold is not a
happy one at this moment of history. There.
can be no question, to any objective observer,
that Hammarskjold behaved in the Congo

crisis with courage, skill and (so far as fallible
human beings can) with detachment.
If Khrushchev really wants to destroy Ham-
marskjold as UN Secretary General, he can
of course do it. If he is determined to pull-
a Trygve Lie on him, and simply surround
him with a glacial boycott-refuse to see him,
or answer his communications-he can surely
oust him.
KHRUSHCHEV'S answer, of course, is that
he doesn't want to replace Hammarskjold
by another man but by three. Presumably he
has gven up any hope of finding an honestly
detached man. So he proposes a triple Sec-
retariat of partisans, each of the three fighting
of hia swn h1n n hcthpr c Ajrnra.Me frri-

they will be refusing to give it any credit at
all toward the distribution requirements, refus-
ing to credit it as any part of the liberal edu-
cation defined by the requirements.
Also, the mathematics achievement level of
entering freshmen was found to be so low in
1958 as to be a serious hindrance to their
learning scientific disciplines, and those stu-
dents who do not take further mathematics in
the college force science departments to offer
courses without mathematics, which should be
a fundamental part of any science.
THIS PROBLEM was well stated by a faculty
committee, which said: "A science concen-
trate may or may not elect and excel in a
humanities course-there is no a priori reason
why he may not.
"A humanities student who, through choice,
poor advice, or weak requirements, has not
risen to a minimum level of proficiency in
mathematics is totally excluded from technical
subjects. Failure to remove this barrier will
continue to amplify the one-way exclusiveness
of the two fields which should be so closely re-
lated."
Of course, there is also the point that philos-
ophy and mathematics, as taught, do not
really share the basis in logic that was intend-
ed by the creators of the union of the fields.
And there is the fact that many of the argu-
ments on the side of the recommendations are
more practical than idealistic-such argu-
ments as those involving the crowding of math
classes and the load on the teachers and de-
partment. These should be considered, but any
educational institution that sets up its policies
by the practical considerations of the moment
fails in its duty to itself and its community.
IT iS PRECISELY this subjugation of ideals
to practicality that makes a college a fail-
ure, or deprives a faculty of its freedom of be-
lief, investigation and expression, or leads to
other grave and dangerous situations.
If it happens in this case, it may have no
serious consequences, but even if it does not,
it helps to set a precedent of expediency, and
expediency is not the rule for a college to fol-
low if it wishes to be a leader in its field.
These are the major points that seem to de-
serve very careful consideration by the faculty
before any approval is given to the recom-
mendations, for there are many alternatives.
Rather than eliminating mathematics dis-
tribution credit altogether, it might be added
to the natural science area with some rise in
the amount of work needed in this area.
THE MATHEMATICS-philisophy requirement
might be remade so as to include -more of
the logic which was its original basis and less
problem solving, calculation and philosophy
other than logic.
The status quo might be retained as a stop-
gap measure until a provision that the facul-
ty could agree was better could be found, as
was urged by an early faculty committee re-
port.
A requirement might be drawn along the
same lines as the present foreign language de-
mands, requiring a certain basic proficiency in
the subject of mathematics (or perhaps mathe-
matics and logic, or some other newly-drawn
field),
If the recommendations are voted on,
whether passed or not, without every faculty
member giving careful and detailed study to
them and these and similar objections and al-
ternatives, then the literary college can properly
be said to have taken a step downwards, rather
than the upwards step every such decision
should represent.
-ROBERT FARRELL

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INTERPRETING THE NEWS:
Khrushchev D isplays
Irresponsible Diplomacy.
By J. M. ROBERTS
Associated Press News Analyst
NIKITA Khrushchev has once again displayed his supreme contempt
for anyone, including the General Assembly of the United Nations,
seeking anything except a communist peace.
Considering the time and place and the extent of the insult to
Prine Minister Macmillan and the General Assembly itself, the
Soviet leader's interruptions at Wednesday's session seem likely to
go down in history, along with his attack on President Dwight D.
Eisenhower in Paris last May .16, as outstanding examples of ir-
responsible diplomacy.
Once again the Soviet government stands revealed as ill-kempt,

,
(

tf ~ Asg~T~FSr

headed by an ill-bred and danger-
ous man, no matter how smart
and how well-informed and how
skillful he may be - at times -
in promoting international com-
munism.
IT IS ALSO another demonstra-
tion - the second against the
same man - of his contempt for
those who think that a sensible
disarmament might be achieved
amid communist pressure for
world revolution.
Nobody could have been in a
more conciliatory frame of mind
than Harold Macmillan when he
went to Moscow 19 --nonths ago
to see if there was a basis for
belief in eventual East-West
settlements.
He had hardly arrived when
Khrushchev made a blustering
public speech blasting Macmillan's
ideas about disarmament, Berlin
and other subjects. It was an insult
almost unheard of in modern
times.
Now why does Khrushchev --
who at least sat through the
speeches of President Eisenhower
and Dag Hammarskjold without
interruption - why does he now
choose Macmillan again on whom
to vent his anger, in a forum
which considers dignity essential
to a way of life among so many
conflicting interests?
* * *
IS IT BECAUSE he considers
Macmillan, the British govern-
ment and the British people weak,
since they still represent the spirit
of the open door, the spirit of
compromise, which has been
rapidly dying in the Western
world?
Many times he has displayed
his contempt for weakness.
Or was Khrushchev, smarting
under. defeat after defeat in an
assembly which he has been at-
tempting to overawe by the great-
est gathering of Communist co-
horts ever to attend, just unable
to contain his spleen as he was
arraigned before his puppets?
At any rate, he got an answer
from the ovation given Macmillan
by the assembly. And the small
nations which see the UN as their
greatest hope for peaceful exis-
tence have a strong image of
Khrushchev as a man who is
dangerous not only as the leader
of a dictatorship, but as a man
who goes into tantrums when he
can't have his own way.

DAILY'
OFFICIAL
BULLETIN
The Daily Official Bulletin is an
official publication of The Univer-
sity of Michigan for which The
Michigan Daily assumes no editorial
responsibility. Notices should be
sent in 'TYPEWRITTEN form to
Room 3519 Administration Building,
before 2 p.m. two days preceding
publication.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
General Notices
Regents' Meeting: Fri., Oct. 28. Com-
munications for consideration at this
meeting must be in the President's
hands not later than October 18.
Faculty Meeting-College of Litera-
ture, Science and the Arts will be held
on Mon., Oct. 3, at 4:10 p.m., in An-
gell Hall Aud. A.
Applications for Fulbright Awards for
Graduate Study during the 1961-62
academic year are now available
Countries in which study grants are
offered are Australia, Austria, Belgium-
Luxembourg, Brazil, Chile, China, Co-
lombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, In-
dia. Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Neth-
erlands, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Phil-
ippines, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Tur-
key, United Arab Republic, United
Kingdom, and United Kingdom Colonial
area. The grants are made for one
academic year and include round-trip
transportation, tuition, a living allow-
ance and a small stipend for. books
and equipment. All grants are made
in foreign currencies.
Interested students who are U.S. citi-
zens and hold an A.B. degree, or who
will receive such a degree by June
1961, and who are presently enrolled
in the University of Michigan, should
request application forms 'for a Ful-
bright award at the Fellowship Office,
Room 110, Graduate School. The clos-
ing date for receipt of applications is
October 24, 1960.
Persons not enrolled in a college
or university in the spring and/or fall
of 1960 should dir ct inquiries and
requests for applications to the Insti-
tute of International Education, U.S.
Student Program, 1 East 67th Street,
New York 21, New York. The last date
on which applications will be issued
by the Institute Is October 13.
Faculty Research Fellowships for
Summer 1961: Applications for Summer
Faculty Research Fellowships must be
filed by Mon., Oct. 3 in Room 118,
!Rackham Building.
The following student-sponsored so-
cial events have been approved for the
coming weekend. Social chairmen are
reminded that requests for approval
(Continued on Page 8)

,

4

A

I

A

WALTER LIPPMANN:
TV Debate's Hidden Influences

THE TV debate was a bold in-
novation which is bound to be
carried forward into future cam-
paigns, and could not now be
abandoned. From now on it will
be impossible for any candidate
for any important elective office
to avoid this kind of confrontation
with his opponent. This will have
considerable consequences. One of
the most interesting is that it will
break down the synthetic can-
didates, the men who communi-
cate with the public only by read-
ing speeches that other men have
written. The TV confrontation
forces a man to speak for him-
self. For while he will still be able
to recite passages written by
others - as both Kennedy and
Nixon did - the whole effect is
the product of the candidate him-
self, and not of his ghost writers
and public relations men.
In this first try, which can be
improved in the future, the main
impact was not that of a real de-
bate. It was the showing, as no
other medium could, of the two
personalities. TV, it is often said,
is a truth machine, What the
machine revealed is hard to put
into words. But we may be sure
that the chief effect of what it
revealed will not be felt imme-
diately in the opinions of the
voters but on their unconscious
attitude towards the two men.
That is probablythe reason why
immediately after the debate it
proved impossible to measure the
effect on the election.
* **
OF THE EXPERIMENT itself,
I would make two criticisms. The
first is that the cameras, which
can be very searching but can
also be cruel and at times unfair,
were very hard on Mr. Nixon. I
do not for a moment suggest they
were intended to be unfair. Almost
certainly, however, they were not

col-rected for his photogenic de-
fects. They made him look sick,
which he is not, and they made
him look older and more worn
than he is. I do not understand
the technical reasons for this.
But they should be studied. For
it was a misrepresentation and
we must make sure for the future
that the cameras are in fact im-
partial.
My second criticism is that the
procedure, as agreed to by the
candidates themselves, prevented
the exchanges from becoming a
genuine debate. The candidates
should be able to question one
another, subject to the right of
the moderator to rule a question
as out of order. There is no reason,
except of course the prudence of
the candidates themselves, why
there should be interposed be-
tween them a panel of interro-
gators.
Furthermore, in my view if there
is to be a genuine debate which
is to have a decisive influence on
a national election, an hour is
too short a time to devote to
domestic affairs. There is some-
thing unsuitable in having the
two men, one of whom is to be
the next President of the United
States, told that they have "three
minutes and twenty seconds" to
sum up. If these debates are
worth having at all, they should
be allowed to run on without
rigid time limitseuntil the two
principals themselves have had
their full say. If that proves to
be boring to some of the audience,
it will be enlightening to the rest
of it.
AS FOR THlE 51OW itself, each
person's reactions are personal and
subjective. My general feeling was
that both men treated each other
with dignity and respect, and be-

haved as the citizens of a free
country are supposed to behave.
My main surprise came from the
fact that I expected Mr. NixonM
to be the more aggressive of the
two. It turned out that he was on
the defensive, responding to the
challenges which Mr. Kennedy put
to him. I have since read the text
of the debate, and it supports the
impression of Kennedy's holding
the initiative. But the impression
is less vivid in the text than it
was, for me at least, in the view-
ing. And that difference was due,
I believe, to what the cameras
did to Mr. Nixon and to the
general effect of his physical
vitality being lower than Mr.
Kennedy's.
IN FACT, SO MUCI did he
seem to be on the defensive that
I became convinced that he was
far from happy and comfortable in
the position he occupies on the
welfare measures, and on the
question of economic growth. It-
would be only a little exaggerated
to say that he sounded as if he
wished hie had Kennedy's side of
the argument. Certainly he had
no burning convictions against the
Kennedy position, and to my ear
he was diffident and apologetic
in dealing with it.
This effect of being in a minor
key may well be the result - I am
reasonably sure it is the result -
of his trying to deal with three
conflicting pressures, one coming
from the Goldwater reactionaries,
one from the Rockefeller progres-
sives, and one from the Eisen-
hower record itself. As a result
of these pressures he looked and
sounded like a man who knew
that he was in a difficult position
and was determined to preserve
his dignity and to make the best
of it.
(c) 1960 New York herald Tribune, Inc.

,,1

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Marching Rand Upsets
Tradition, Prances

LAST SATURDAY afternoon the
weather was wonderful; the
sun was shining; the breeze was
warm, The crowd was big, and in
an expectant mood. At half-time
the "Champions of the West"
were in the lead. Now what more
could one ask for?
And then, oh dear, then it hap-
pened. The University of Michigan
Marching Band took the field!
Now way back in the good old
days when football was football,
and people were glad of it, that's
all there was. And it probably was
enough. But then someone got the
idea of having some entertainment
at half-time and away we went,
First it was simply a matter of
having a band play selected
marches. Then someone discovered

UN Blitz

is

like the Congo. Three partisan Secretaries
would mean endless charges and counter-
charges; and would turn the Secretariat -
which ought to be a neutral civil service -
into another debating assembly. Their veto
power would, in any crisis, spell paralysis. The
UN would cease to be an engine of guardian-
ship, policing the peace. The administrative
aspects of it would wither away. Only a debat-
ing forum would be left.
Which is, one may be sure, exactly what the
Russians would want,
THEY WON'T get it. Khrushchev knows that
he can't muster the two-thirds vote of the
Assembly and the votes of the five permanent
members of the Security Council to carry this
amendment through. What he wants to do is
throw a scare into Hammarskjold, to force
him to lean backwards in the Communist
directinn in the futiure

AT LYDIA MENDELSSOHN-:-
Rare Medium ts Well Done
AN AS YET nameless theatrical group vaguely associated with the
University Drama Season and headed by Edgar LaMance and
Ted Heusel presented a double bill last night in the League. This
first production, Gian Carlo Menotti's The Medium and The Telephone,
is in the nature of an experiment. If it is successful it will beT
followed by others this year and by next year the dignity of a
name may have accrued to the organization. Artistically the evening
was a success, and I hope this group prospers; for that they need
also financial success, which they richly deserve. I don't know what
they have that' so often seems to be lacking, but the two operas
were given a production better than that afforded anything I have
seen in Ann Arbor in some time.
The Telephone is a slight and jolly curtain raiser. Is built on
simple ideas, both musically and dramatically, which is not uncommon;
and it succeeds admirably in not being too long, which is. The two
roles were well acted and sung by Jerry Lawrence and Judith Hauman,
although the latter occasionally had a little trouble projecting over
the orchestra.
THE MEDIUM IS BUILT of stronger stuff, It is clear from the
beginning that this is no light-hearted tidbit, and the mood of
suspense and fear is maintained to the very end. A measure of the

that the bandsmen had feet, so
the "marching band" was born.
* * *
NOW MIND YOU, it is our
humble opinion that the Michigan
Marching Band is one of the finest
musical band aggregations that we
have ever come across; and when
they are "in concert" we are-there
in "w, t & t" -- (white tie and
tails, that is). But to see this
splendid group mincing about a
(football field positively sickens
even those with the heartiest of
constitutions. Here we are at-
tending an athletic contest where
two teams are locked in mortal
combat andTwhat assails us at
half-time? The life and loves of
George Gershwin! There are times
during the playing of certain
popular tunes that one could fully
expect to have the purple lights be
turned on, a runway appear as if
by magic, and Miss Bubbles La-
Tour to then come on 'for a fast
chorus or two.
Admittedly this fare is eye-
catching and certainly the only
productive means of occupying TV
cameras during the midway re-
spite. But would it not be desirable
to offer a program more in keep-
ing with the main event? During
the 4 quarters, excitement and
enthusiasm prevades the stadium.
Half-time, by comparison is la-
mentably uninspiring. Why kill
off this intensity of emotions?
AND HOW DO WE do this?
Ever hear of a march? America
is unexcelled in its storehouse of
march-time music. Let's have the
"marching band" march. Let's
bring back the verve and gusto
of the memorable works of Sousa,
Goldman, Alfard, Bigelow, et al.
Let's have the brass and percus-
sion sections go wild - o.k., so
we have a few shattered windows
in the press box. This.Is, the stuff
of which football is made. Let us,
then, banish into limbo all pop

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