When Opinions Are Free UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD TN 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 tidividu4l opinions of staf writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. DAY, DECEMBER 4, 1960 NIGHT EDITOR: ANDREW HAWLEY AT HILL: Messiah Pompous THE YEARLY presentation of the Handel oratorio Messiah by miscellaneous forces of the "University" Musical Society took place last evening. Featured were Phyllis Curtin, soprano, Evelyn Beal, contralto, Walter Carringer, tenor, and Donald Bell, bass. The 350-voice Choral Union was ac- companied by a 53-piece "pick-up" orchestra, augmented by organ. To much of the community, this event marks the beginning of th Christmas season. The concert draws many from surrounding towns who come to hear °this glorious musical work. Unfor- tunately, the Ann Arbor presenta- tions have never been of the type or quality which the work de- serves. Last evening was no excep- tion. LESTER McCOY directed a per- formance devoid of any sense of musical tradition or good taste. His conducting gestures forced a weak instrumental group into in- sensitive playing. Every soloist was covered by the accompani- ment save Miss Curtin, who delivered the majority of the few musical phrases in the entire evening. Her long lines in "Come Unto Him" were especially com- mendable.a Considering its size, the Choral Union performed quite well. Most of the polyphonic sections came through with a minimum of mud- diness and with text intact. This is a feat of some caliber, due to the stodgy tempi chosen consis- tently by its director. There were considerable disagreements be- tween McCoy, soloists and orches- tra in this same area. « « MUSIC SCHOLARS have at- tempted to point out that this music is not as pompous as Mr. McCoy would have it. Exceedingly slow speeds and retards are not characteristic of this music. We did not hear Handel's orches- tration, phrasing, oramentation, or much of his formal intentions. The splicing done with individual num- bers for sake of time is especially annoying. One wonders why such a performance is allowed to use the name and facilities of an in- stitution dedicated to the highest standards of (musical) scholar- ship. -Kenneth Roberts LETTERS to the EDITOR Pranks and the Law .. . To the Editor; IN THE NOVEMBER 29 issue of The Daily there was an article which stated that a group of Ira- ternity members had blocked Washtenaw Avenue as a "prank." Apparently, there is to be no offi- cial action taken, as the police "refused to say which fraternities are involved." This roadblock was a danger to traffic, and a clear violation of the law. It is not too serious, but why do not the police take action when they apparently know who the offenders are? Do the fraternities possess some poli- tical power or are they naturally sacrosanct? I have noticed that the police are always rapid and efficient in apprehending such dangerous and desperate wrong- doers as jaywalkers on State Street. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Merritt M. Chambers is a member of the faculty of the Center for the Study of Higher Education, at the University. This esay was one in a series collected in a booklet, "The Campus and the People," on organization, sup- port and control of higher ed- cation in the U.S. in the 160's.) By MERRIT M. CHAMBERS Prof. of Education EDUCATION, including col- lege and university educa- tion, is a public responsibility. Although private educational institutions, especially private colleges and universities, are given only the lightest of sur- veillance by the states and are allowed practically complete autonomy in the management of their fiscal and academic affairs, their existence is at the sufference of the states, and they are required to meet at least nominal standards maintained by the states. Gov- ernments (state and federal) not only permit them to exist, but also actively encourage and assist them by tax exemptions and numerous other means. All this is on the theory that they perform a public function which otherwise would have to be per- formed at public expense by use of tax funds. Our governments do not set out to monopolize the function of education or to make of it a monolithic public service. In- stead, they allow private effort to operate as a partner in the same enterprise. Thus, we maintain a pluralistic system. with maximum freedom of choice for founders, teachers, students, parents, and finan- cial benefactors. That this makes for strength and rich- ness and viability scarcely sur- prises anyone. HIGHER EDUCATION is a public obligation because so- ciety as a whole is its principal beneficiary. Of course, the duty to de- velop his own talents to the optimum level sets squarely upon each individual, and to say that education is a public function does not relieve him of that. From him must come the consuming motive; from society should come the provi- sion of the opportunity. For many persons in the earlier years of college this means ac- cessibility within commuting distance of their homes; and for many it means the main- tenance of free tuition or low fees. This is why the local pub- lic junior college--or commu- nity college-is undergoing a tremendous expansion today and why a great many state universities and colleges have kept their fees at modest lev- els. -. PARTLY BECAUSE of these reasons, about 60 per cent of all college students in the Unit- ed States are now in public institutions and 40 per cent in private ones. The balance is shifting and will continue to shift; but this does not at all imply that private institutions will become any less numerous, or any smaller, or have any fewer students or less financial support than they have today. In fact, the total of private gifts is steadily increasing, and the private colleges may rea- sonably expect to see their in- comes grow, their students be- Higher Education: Public Obligatior come somewhat more numer- ous, and their physical facili- ties expand a little. But this, will take place at a rather re- strained pace; and only to a very minor extent will it cope with what half a decade ago was aptly and widely named "the tidal wave of students" in the 1960's. There are few among the 50 states in which it has not been reliably esti- mated that the numbers of college students will be dou- bled by 1970; and in several, such as California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, there is good reason to believe they will be tripled. The bulk of the job will fall on the public institutions - from junior colleges to grad- uate school; and the propor- tion of all students in private colleges may decline from to- day's 40 per cent to perhaps 20. per cent. This will be no calamity. There will be greater opportunity for the private col-, leges to be more selective and to continue their role of mak- ing the national picture of higher education more diversi- fied than it would be without them. This role will always be important. THE PRESIDENT'S Commis- sion on Higher Education in 1947 found that half of the college-age population of the U.S. was intellectually capable of deriving substantial benefit{ from at least two years of col- lege education and that one- third of the whole college-age group could complete four years of college with success. The younger of the college-age peo- ple of 1970 are already enrolled in the second and third grades of the elementary schools. Their total numbers can be estimated with accuracy. Why must we provide two years of college for half of them and four for a third of them, plus advanced graduate and professional ed- ucation f o r unprecedented numbers? Why can we not be more selective and choose only those who have the mon- ey to pay high fees, plus those who are in the upper three per cent or five per cent in intel- lectual capacity as measured by tests? * * * WE SHALL follow no such short-sighted restrictive poli- cies because they primarily are THESE FACTS need no doc- umentation, but let us com- pare them with the recently published paper of an assist- ant secretary of labor in the current, conservative national administration who, looking at the 1960's, said, "There will be a rise in the level of training and educational requirements of jobs all across the board," and "professional workers will be by far the fastest growing of all the major occupational THERE IS NO question as to whether we shall provide high- quality education for relatively small numbers of the best brains or whether we shall af- ford appropriate types of edu- cation for larger and larger numbers of competent young persons who are not rated in the topmost intelectual strata. We shall do both. We cannot do less if we are to maintain leadership in the Space Age. In 1900, four per cent of the college-age population were at- tending college. By 1960, the percentage has moved up to well above 30. It will move on up to 40 and 50 before it levels off. Long ago have we left behind us the concept of high- er education as a narrow ladder for a stringently selected few, destined only for a handful of "prestige professions," chiefly law, medicine and theology. Now there are literally scores -even hundreds-of occupa- tions in which some college training is either a prerequisite or a decided advantage. High- er education in America is be- coming a vast and varied sys- tem, with courses of study varying from a few weeks to eight or ten years in duration and of types and levels suited to different intellectual quali- ties and aptitudes as well as diverse occupational choices. There are honorable exits at the end of two years, four years, five years, and at in- termediate points for those who wish to terminate their formal schooling early. * * * SINCE THE EDUCATED per- son is a better producer and a better consumer, the increase in productivity and in buying power adds more than enough to the national income to re- coup the loss of education. Eventually, the states and the federal government will work together as partners, as they already do to some extent, in providing the necessary ex- pansion of facilities for public higher education. The national urgency of the purpose justi- fies a relative increase in the federal ,share, which will be forthcoming. We shall have more and better education for more people than ever before, and the high points of excel- lence will be higher than hith- erto. The prospect ought not to be regarded with misgivings, but with confidence and en- thusiasm. X MERRITT. M. CHAMBERS -Andrew Sabersky, '63 "We Extend Our Hand To All Still Struggling . Under Colonialism" DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN The Daily Offlcal 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. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4 General Notices Collection of Student Opinion of Courses and Teaching, College of LS&A: The College will collect student opinion of courses and teaching during the coming week. Questionnaire forms, which will be distributed in all classes, Include the fbllowlng: "To the Student: Because learning and teaching are reciprocal activities, it is appropriate to review quite deli- berately the relations between stu- dents and teachers in our courses. "It Is clear that a college aducation ought to challenge the student to in- creasingly mature achievement by ex- tending his power to reach informed andy independent judgments. But be- cause the arts of gaining and imparting knowledge are subtle and complex, the act of evaluating educational progress is not simple, either for the teacher or the student. "In answering the questions that follow, it may be helpful to consider that a teacher's central aim, beyond the immediate communication of his subject-matter, is to encourage lively critical thinking. At the same time a teacher's most obvious merits or even his obvious defects may not really determine the ultimate educational value of a course, and the essential but not so apparent labors of course- design and development are often no less significant than a teacher's con- would be inclined to pursue interests in this area? Explain. "5. Keeping in mind that returna from this questionnaire will be used by the instructor in the process of improving his teaching, please mention any other aspects of the course or in- structor (such as, for example, clarity of presentation) not covered in pre- vious questions, which you consider to be especially good or poor, and offer any suggestions which you have for the improvement of the course." Completed forms will be returned to the instructor after course grades have been reported for the semester. Marcel Marceau here tomorrow night. The French pantomimist, Marcel Mar- ceau, will present his program of c b m i c and tragic interpretations through the art of pantomime to- morrow, 8:30 p.m. in Hill Aud. Tickets will be on sale tomorrow 10 a.m.-8:30 pan. at the Aud. box office. Students are given a 30% reduction on all tickets. Events Monday Social Work-Social Science Collo- quium presents Prof. David Wineman, Wayne State School of Social Work, speaking on "Implications of the Milieu Approach with Aggressive Children on Agency-based Practice," Mon. Dec. 5, 4:15 p.m., second floor aud., Frieze Bldg. Coffee at 3:45 in the fourth floor lounge. Automatic Programming and Numeri- cal Analysis Seminar: "Problems of Programming of Restricted Serial Com- puters," by Webb T. Comfort on Mon., Dec. 5, at 4 p.m. in Computing Center Seminar Room. 'vents Tuesday Faculty Recital - Commentary: "The