Seventy-Third Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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Truth Will Prevail"
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in al' reprints.
THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 1964 NIGHT EDITOR: MICHAEL SATTINGER
THE WEEKEND AT THE CINEMA GUILD:
Ann Arbor Film Festival: A Thoughtful Critique
Education at the University:
The Battle of Numbers
THE INTELLECTUAL tradition at the
University is rapidly dying. What we
are told was once the purpose of a uni-
versity, expanding a person's intellectual
horizons, bringing the world to the stu-
dent or convincing the student that he
belongs to the world, is being sacrificed
on the altar of mass education.
There was a time in the not-so-distant
past when this was not so. People be-
lieved a college education refined a man;
it was something that left him better than
it found him.
Granted, there have always been peo-
ple who came to college simply because
it was the thing to do, because dad had
done it or because it was a prerequisite
to a job. But never before have such goals
assumed the importance that they assume
today. The "educational profiteer," the
man who sees education as having no oth-
er purpose than to increase a student's
market price in the world, is seen in
greater quantities at the University than
ever before.
'A ND JUST AS IT IS TRUE that there al-
ways have been "educational profi-
teers," so it is true that today's campus
has not been entirely abandoned to them.
People may still be found here who are
interested in education for its own sake,
who are not petty slaves to a grade-point
methodology, who believe in a worthwhile
university life outside the library and the
lecture hall. But they are too few and
much too far between.
As an example, the much-maligned
John Barton Wolgamot Society is "slow-
ly folding up." No matter how people
personally feel about the Wolgamot So-
ciety or its aims, it must be admitted that
it consisted of individuals more interested
in the intellectual side of the University
than in the profiteering side. And the
society is dying out, as other such groups,
both formal and informal, are dying out
all across campus.
THE UNIVERSITY, that defender of the
intellectual faith, that protector of
academic freedom, that stimulator of so-
cial criticism and controversy, is becom-
ing a four-year cog-manufacturer. In they
FAt the Fair
THE WORLD'S FAIR, which recently
opened in New York, is not the place
for civil rights demonstrations.
There are a few fields of human en-
deavor which should be kept apart from
the current social and political problems
of the country. The World's Fair is not
a part of that struggle and can only be
sullied by contact with it.
On display are great works of art, sci-
ence and literature: the Dead Sea Scrolls,
Michaelangelo's "Pieta," an underground
house, an enormous twelve-billion candle-
power light. Each of these works demon-
strates an effort of man to explain, to
learn and to understand.
BUT ONCE SOMETHING like this has
been created, it ceases to be a part of
the struggle from which it emerged. The
works exhibited are no longer a part of
humanity. They are instead the material,
and completed proof of its constant striv-
ing. The displays speak-of all men and
to all men. They are in themselves, as
man's creations, a poignant and strong
plea for the power of men working to-
gether, because they show man at his
greatest.
The presence of hordes of wierdly-clad
and unruly demonstrators at the fair
can only lessen the impact of the ex-
hibits. People should come to the fair,
especially on the first day, to be awed by
a universal power, by a beauty, by a ful-
fillment of the promise of humanity. They
came instead in fear and with a tinge of
disgust for people who seem to deny so
blatantly the worth of the progress that
has already been made.
THE FAIR is concerned with achieve-
ment, not with what should have been
achieved. It is a positive-not a negative-
statement of the power of man.
Civil rights demonstrators not only
lessen the possibility for fair visitors to
realize man's achievement, but also lessen
come, more than 3000 a year; they're
chopped, pressured, fit to size and drop-
ped out the exit chute ready and waiting
to do a better job of strangling our so-
ciety than anyone could have ever dream-
ed.
For the University's loss is not confined
to Ann Arbor alone. The University has a
responsibility for infusing fresh new blood
into society; when intellectual question-
ing, intellectual discussions and intellec-
tual stimulation die out in Ann Arbor and
in campuses across the nation, they die
out in America as well.
THE PRIMARY REASON for this loss is
the current fetish for mass education.
Ten years or so ago, administrators be-
gan making future enrollment estimates
that rightfully shocked them. These es-
timates told of more students by the thou-
sands demanding admission to the Uni-
versity than could possibly be accom-
modated.
The tragedy is that University admin-
istrators reacted as administrators, not
as educators. And for an administrator,
almost anything is possible. Given a cer-
tain amount of money, a certain estimat-
ed number of students and a certain pro-
gram, a mass university, such as this one
has become, is the logical administrative
answer.
THE ONLY PROBLEM arises when peo-
ple realize that the correct administra-
tive solution is not the correct education-
al solution. Everything in mass education
that is an attribute from an administra-
tive point of view is sheer folly from an
educational viewpoint.
Centralized administration and simpli-
fied curriculum controls are necessary
only if the. ends of the University are
presumed to be efficiency and adminis-
trative control. And yet these are not the
ends of the University-or should not be.
Cheaper and non-duplicated facilities are
necessary only if society commits itself
to a policy of sacrificing quality educa-
tion to the heavy hand of the legislator.
(F COURSE, compromises between the
ideal and the practical can be made;
an election-conscious legislator can hard-
ly be expected to be more concerned about
education than about his reputation for
frugality at election time.
Yet when compromises must be made,
they should be made from an education-
al, rather than an administrative stand-
point. The purpose of the University is
education, not the excellence of its fil-
ing system or the abilities of its clerk-
typists. The University community must
stop looking at this institution as an ad-
ministrative entity and start regarding it
as an educational entity, if the commu-
nity itself is to survive.
WHATARE THE SOLUTIONS? It is
clear that the University must either
reduce in size or diversify itself to such
a great extent that the vast press of
numbers is no longer felt by students,
educators or administrators.
The residential college is a step in the
latter direction. But the University cannot
afford to stop there. The present propos-
ed residential college will only hold some
3000 people; where will the other 40,000
or so students be in 1970? Will they still
be living in dormitory hives studying to
be good little drones? If so, the Univer-
sity will be even a greater failure intel-
lectually than it is now.
IF THE UNIVERSITY cannot further di-
versify, it must stop growing and fil-
ter the excess students off to institutions
that have room to grow.
If the University community continues
to allow itself to be pushed to a higher
and higher enrollment level, there is
nothing but intellectual stagnation left
for all, student, educator and administra-
tor alike. The University has already gone
too far.
AN AIR OF INTELLECTUAL freedom
and questioning cannot develop in an
institution whose sole concern is the phys-
ical accommodation of ever-larger num-
bers of students. The University must re-
turn itself to a state in which it is a
promoter of intellectuality, rather than a
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following
two articles constitute ? compre-
hensive review of the four-day film
festival held in Ann Arbor last
weekend. The second annual event,
co-sponsored by the Cinema Guild
and the Dramatic Arts Center, fea-
tured films of a creative and ex-
perimental nature from Canada and
the United States.
87 Ideas'
A FEW YEARS AGO, a critic in
"Cahiers du Cinema" claimed
that "no one should begin to make
short films without having listed
87 general ideas." I should like
to take this as my text in making
some general remarks about the
Ann Arbor Film Festival held last
weekend.
For me, this second annual af-
fair was an object lesson in just
what is wrong with the films of
those young independent directors
associated with the movement or
tendency that has been dubbed
"The New American Cinema." To
see the problem, one -lea~d only
compare the films of Bruce Baillie
(a festival prize-winner now ac-
tive in California) and George
Manupelli (a local film maker)
with any of the four shorts en-
tered in the festival by directors
affiliated with the National Film
Board of Canada.
The Canadian films exploit the
ability of cinema to touch both
physical and human reality with a
directness not available to artists
in other media. And what is more,
this immediacy is realized with a
sense of dramatic coherence-if"
not explicitly narrative, then at
least based on an idea that dic-
tates the choice and pattern of
images.
* ',,
AN EXAMPLE of this latter
sort of film is Christopher Chap-
man's "The Persistent Sped." The
idea is simple, even simplistic. It
is not a novelty to suggest that
nature is being destroyed as man
carves his own technological
world, even if there is some small
heroism in nature's resistance. The
film is often precious but Chap-
man can boast of an eye for detail,
a finely-modulated sound track
and perhaps the best color of the
weekend. "The Persistent Seed" is
admittedly not unforgettable, but
sandwiched in between Baillie's
"A Hurrah for Soldiers" and
Manupelli's "My May," it's sim-
plicity was most attractive.
If Chapman's film was often
precious, Arthur Lamothe's "Man-
touane River Lumberjacks" often
stung in describing the French
Canadians of its title who work
for large lumber companies in a
wildnerness for virtually no
money. A subsistence living and
loneliness need little commentary
-and in the typical deadpan style
of National Film Board offerings,
there wasn't much beyond a few
facts, a translation of a song
about the intensity of the lumber-
jacks' loneliness, some anecdotes
about individual men.
The beauty of the images-the
opening truck ride through the
snow or the log slides into the
river, for example-and the frank-
ly human interest of scenes in
the barracks were all the com-
mentary that was necessary, with
one qualification.
The films of the National Film
Board often indite with little else
than a selective camera and re-
corder. And "Lumberjacks" does
communicate the poverty and
loneliness of these men effectively.
so effectively that we are compelled
to ask why anyone would want to
leave his home and family for al-
most no compensation. One de-
mands of honest documentary that
it not leave questions like this
unanswered. Despite this flaw,
however, "Lumberjacks" remains,
along with Kenneth Anger's
"Scorpio Rising," the most impres-
sive film of the weekend.
* * s
THE American director's study
of a homosexual, quasi-fascist
motorcycle cult has recently be-
come somewhat of a cause cele-
bre. One of its exhibitors is being
tried in Los Angeles within the
month. As a result of its notoriety,
there initially seemed to be some
question whether it would be on
Sunday's program.
"Scorpio Rising" doesn't need
the ponpous defense that Arthur
Knight published in the Saturday
Review recently. It is certainly not
a piece of social criticism. Nor is
it pornography. Anger's film
should be known and seen not for
its depiction of perversion, but for
its sense of humor. Anything that
could be called visualy obscene is
effectively undercut by a sound
track (a series of rock and roll
hits) broadly hilarious counter-
point with the images.
For example, the camera loving-
ly pans-up a cyclist with gorgeous
blond hair as he pulls on a ski-
tight black shirt; the sound track
plaintively wails: 'She wore blue
velvet." The humor is broad and
often vulgar-the crosscutting be-
tween the scrambling scenes and
the clip of Christ's, Palm Sunday
ride on the mule, for example, is
pretty crude stuff. But it's always
funny-and vital.
IT WOULD BE misleading to
call Arthur Lipset's '21-87," the
National Film Board's final offer-
ing, a documentary at all. Stylis-
tically, it probably has less at-
finities with any of the films I've
discussed so far than with Bail-
lie's "Mass." Neither film has
much dramatic coherence; they
are constructed from individual
images and short sequences some
of which recur. But "21-87" has a
vitalityiof image that becones
dramatic.
For example, the cameracus
and pans in filled city streets as
we hear a fragmentary mnterview
on the sound track-some women
testify to their religious faith in
terms that are both ludicrous and
touching. The telephoto lens is
used to advantage in catching the
reactions of a series of individuais
rising to the top step of an es-
calator. The film is very effective
as dramatic collage.
The films of Baillie and Manu-
pelli, however, are, for me at
least, totally without dramatic
effect. And here we return to the
text from "Cahiers." Beyond the
obvious economic problems, often
admirably overcome, these film-
makers lack the dramatic sense,
the ideas, to make good short
films.
They are fine photographers-
the black and white of 'My May,"
for example, is extraordinarily
rich. Manupelli, has this kind of
genius. But an eye is not enough
in making a film-when there is
no mind behind the camera. To
interpret these films, to say sorae-
thing correct (much less intel-
ligent) about anything beyond
bare technique is impossible.
S * * *
AFTER ONE of the programs, a
friend suggested that Baillie and
Manupelli were trying to make
films that aspire to the condition
of music, that create mood at the
expense of dramatic content or
structure, and he svent on to say
that this is precisely what is
wrong with them. This is vey
plausible, with one reservation.
Even an entirely non-discursive art
like music has a logic of its :,wn
-which is more than I am able
to find in many of the tilms by
the young independent American
directors.
-David Zimmerman
Flood of Variety
FRIDAY and Saturday at the
Ann Arbor Film Festival the
expected festival themes were ap-
parent: documentary, dance, "so-
cial symbolism," off-beat comedy,
pure experiment (which, with de-
pressing regularity, usually meant
a form of double exposure), stream
of image. Amid this flood of va-
riety, one might have expected a
certain relaxing predictability
from the new producers who en-
tered more than 'ne film. But no,
these had as much variation in
style and value as the rest.
Of Ed Emshwiller's two films,
for instance "Totem" 's experimen-
talism consisted in an over-
devotion to a single stylistic gim-
mick (a split-screen, with one half
mirroring the other), a lot of
overtly significant ballet dancing
and the inevitable musique con-
crete.
Yet his other film, "Scrambles,"
was one of the best of the festival.
It was a straightforward ,1by fes-
tival standards, practically sim-
plistic) study of cross country
motorcycle racing. It had tre-
mendous pace, visual action and
a soundtrack which excitingly
combined the roar of the cycle
engines with some ferocious mod-
ern jazz.
* * *
IN EMSHWILLER'S CASE, the
degree of pretention seemed-by
inverse proportion-to deter:mine
the degree of success. Bruce Bali-
lie's films are "pure image," un-
cluttered by narrative or dramatic
convention. In a Baillie film, you
are left to draw your own private
reaction from the procession of
sensitively-oomposed frames that
does duty for form; this is the
realism of the subjective, and lit-
erally beyond criticism.
I found his "To Parsifal" one
of the most delightful events of
the festival: to a background of
excerpts from the Wagner opera,
the camera strayed over images
of summer, water, flowers, faces.
in a range of blue tones occasion-
ally disrupted by a vivid shock of
red. But Baillie's other films,- for
all their visual ingenuity- which
was considerable-bored me with
heavy symbolism, lack -f cohesive-
ness.
THE MORE modest films, per-
haps depressingly, paid off the
best. In "Three Dances," Eugene
L. Friedman experimented most
successfully with a short lens,
deploying its disadvantages, par-
ticularly perspective distortion, to
unexpected effect.
The documentaries of the Na-
tional Film Board of Canada were
tasteful, competent, even en-
thralling. But possibly the best
film of all was a collage of film
clips, drawings and still ploto-
graphs by Stan Vanderbeek called
"Breath-Death." The perennial
atom bomb was there again, which
normally is a pity but here wafs
part and parcel of an unremitting
onslaught -upon our imagnat'on.
In fact, so helterskelter was the
invention that one's ultimate im-
pression is of delight, but be-
wilderment. What it was all about
(social comment?) is neither here
nor there; it was sheer entertain-
ment, from the foot poking
through Nixon's mouth to the
woman making love to the tele-
vision set.
* * *
AS FOR THE REST, I can only
say that a lot of it was fortunate
in its audience. In "An Interior,"
the camera scrambled silently and
at interminable length about a
profoundly uninteresting house,
with jump-cuts, clumsy framing,
periods of black screen. The au-
dience displayed great charity by
laughing at it--or with it?-for
it seemed towards the end to be
straining for some kind of long-
winded joke.
If this tedium must be per-
petrated on a captive audience, I
recommend George Manupelli's
"Five Short Films," the first of
which, "For Hooded Projector,"
consisted of about two minutes of
black screen (but only two min-
utes, thank God).
-Robin Duval
I
"Gues. We Made It Again, I Hope"
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Regent Hits Daily 'Ignorance'
L
UNIVERSITY PLAYERS:
Music, Banners Herald
Opening of Henry
WITH LOTS OF MUSIC and many banners, Henry the Fifth stormed
across the stage in Trueblood Aud. last night to conquer France,
win the hand of a noble Princess and help celebrate the birthday
of William Shakespeare.
For the most part, John Allan Macunovich as Henry was valiant
as a warrior and dignified as a victor. He showed himself as sym-
pathetic, yet stern with his soldiers and awkward, yet manly with
his not quite vanquished Katherine. In short, he comported himself
as a King, a warrior and a man.
But even Harry, King of England, could not accomplish all that
is written into this play, so he brought with him to France. a few
to help. And though the nobles in his army were braver, they certainly
were not funnier than the ragged, boisterous Pistol, Bardolph and Nym.
STEPHEN WYMAN, Michael Gerlach and Michael Schapiro
hollered, stumbled and ran about with great hilarity. Enthusiastic in
their parts, they provided excellent foils to the more sturdy characters
of Gower and Fluellen played by Arthur Bakewell and David-Rhy
Anderson.
Meanwhile, in the French court and camp, the enemy was either
skulking or bragging. Charles the Sixth, played by Rod Bladel, was
rendered as a weak ruler whose only recouse after defeat was a blatant
sarcasm.
ROBERT KRAUS as the Dauphin flamed briefly as his desire
To the Editor:
DEEPLY regret the circum-
stances that compel me co
write this letter. I have been most
disturbed and distressed by var-
ious articles in The Daily in re-
cent weeks which have cast very
unjust aspersions upon members
of our state Legislature and upon
at least one member of the execu-
tive branch. These articles have
been written without knowledge of
the facts.
I am personally acquainted
with these men and have worked
with them and others in the state
Legislature on matters involving
the University long before I be-
came a member of the Univer-
sity's Board of Regents. Since be-
coming a Regent, I have had ad-
ditional working experience with
members of both houses of the
Legislature, as they studied ap-
propriations for the University.
HAVING likewise had personal
experience in public office at the
county, city and state level, I rec-
ognize the many problems con-
fronting the Legislature in de-
terming the necessary priorities
in allocating appropriations to
meet the considerably greater de-
mands of the many boards, com-
missions, departments, agencies,
services and institutions which re-
ceive state funds. I recommend
such experience for those who
find it easy to criticize govern-
ment officials.
I have known and worked with.
members of our state government
for many years and can testify
that members of the Legislature
have been, and are today, dedi-
cated men who work with sincer-
ity and honesty to reach judg-
ments in the public interest. They
realize that they are fair game for
critics with special interests and
they expect differences of opinion
over their decisions, but they are
entitled to ask that criticism be
based on fact, not on surmise or
opinion. Ill-founded criticism is
destructive of confidence in gov-
ernment, and is certainly not in
keeping with the intellectual
standards of the University.
THE DAILY might remember
that the achievements of this
great University during its many
years of existence bear testimony
to the high regard in which gen-
erations of legislators have held
this institution.
I might further add that The
Daily is guilty of poor judgment
and of lack of consideration when
it persists in telephoning legisla-
tors in the wee hours of the morn-
ing, especially when these men
have been involved in many hours
Without disrespect to Re
bel, I find his own critic
"ill-founded" than that
reporters. Reporter Laurei
baum, who wrote one o
torials Goebel is referrin
at the capitol throughout
on which the University
tion came out of comn
received his information
from several members of
propriations committees -
Sen. Beadle. Kirshbaum, fc
a substantial 'tknowledg
facts."
As for the "persistent"
calls in "the wee hours of
ing," Goebel again has his
tion wrong. The Daily w
work right up to its 2 a
lineto uncover stories im
the University community
only been necessary once t
when the appropriations4
itself met until nearly 1 a.
rumors that the Universi
priation was about to be c
Finally, no Daily edit
purports to be anythingr
th- opinion of the individ
I trust Regent Goebel's 1
the same.
Official Connne
To the Editor:
ONE OF THE Univers
I interviewed for my
and the College Girl"
warded to me clipping
recent series, "The Sex r
Jeffrey Goodman's cc
sion of that dilemma is4
egent Goe- cided beforehand by all four
cism mo groups-APA and three student
nce Kirsh- groups-and was thus agreed upon.
f the, edi- Though not all representatives
ig to, was were entirely satisfied with the
appropria- decisions, everyone was present
nnittee. He when they were made.
firsthand * * *
including THIS YEAR no such meetings
or one, has were held. The APA, through Mr.
e of the Robert Schnitzer, head of the
telephone Professional Theatre Program, de-
the morn- cided to use Mendelssohn. Their
s informa- intentions were conveyed to Vice-
vil always President for Academic Affairs
.m. dead-
portant to Roger Heyns, and were then sent
. This has to the Office of Student Affairs.
this year- During the period of two weeks or
committee so that APA's request circulated
ity appro- to the OSA, our belief was that
ut. scheduling similar to last year's
orial ever would be used. None of the stu-
more than
al 'writer, dent groups, nor their sponsoring
letter does organizations, were consulted or
even notified of #PA's decision.
.B. On April 20, we were told that
ridation either we move to the spring, find
on another theatre, or take Mendels-
sohn when we could get it., i.e. up
ity women against Thanksgiving, and exams.
book, "Sex This necessitated a drastic revi-
has for- sion of our plans, which previously
s of your had been set, and left doubt.as to
Dilemma." the place and dates of th3 show.
omprehen- Our surprise and subsequent in-
impressive quiries led us nowhere.
and his four-part essay is bal-
anced, graceful and thoroughly
professional in the writing. His
thesis and its publication in a
college newspaper reflects what
Christopher Jencks has taken me
to task (in the New Republic) for
calling a "revolution" in sexual
atmosphere. In my impetuous
journalistic fervor I chose the
term "revolution," but if I were
to open my dictionary a bit more
often, I would have discarded that
term for the less sensational and
more accurate word, "evolution."
* * *
FOR "EVOLUTION" it is and
when radio interviewers, book re-
viewers for the daily press and
headline writers describe my book
and that "evolution" on the cam-
pus in terms of "unleashed promis-
cuity," "sex orgies" and "immor-
ality run rampant," I shall put out
my clippings of Jeffrey Goodman's
series as a persuasive example
of the idealism, intelligence and
uncompromising morality of to-
day's college students.
Please thank Mr. Goodman for
his kind comments on my book.
-Gael Greene
New York, N.Y.
A Question of Priority
To he .itor.
A GREATER PROBLEM than;
merely our own lies beneath all of
this: the priority of groups on this
campus. We are well aware of the
APA's contributions to the Uni-
versity, particularly the speech
department. What we object to is
their ultimatum of a complete
takeover of Mendelssohn Thea-
tre, the only proper facility for
musicals, or nothing. No discus-
sion ensued; no conferences or
agreements were arranged, no af-
fected organizations consulted.
APA simply told Vice-President
Heyns of its wishes, and that was
that.
Do student groups, such as our
own, have anything to say about
their arrangements? Apparently
not. And as scheduling becomes
tighter and tighter due to the new
calendars, so openings become
more and more difficult to find.
This we understand; what we fail
to comprehend is that a group not
so closely bound to the University
and its students has the power
to issue an edict which precludes
any further discussion of the mat-
ter. It is true that a priority list
exists, placing APA in the high-
est group (this too we question).
But does such a list imply an ir-
revocable decision with not even
any conmunication to the lower-