100%

Scanned image of the page. Keyboard directions: use + to zoom in, - to zoom out, arrow keys to pan inside the viewer.

Page Options

Download this Issue

Share

Something wrong?

Something wrong with this page? Report problem.

Rights / Permissions

This collection, digitized in collaboration with the Michigan Daily and the Board for Student Publications, contains materials that are protected by copyright law. Access to these materials is provided for non-profit educational and research purposes. If you use an item from this collection, it is your responsibility to consider the work's copyright status and obtain any required permission.

May 22, 1962 - Image 4

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 1962-05-22

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

CbhrAiciga Ba ily
Seventy-Second Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
"WeretOpin11 8reree 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.

Blood And Sand

BIPARTISAN APPEAL:
Romney Will Lose
Gubernatorial Race

UESDAY, MAY 22, 1962

NIGHT EDITOR: MICHAM HARRAH

When Is a Fire Drill
Not a Fire Drill?

ABOUT THREE weeks ago certain corridor
representatives from Stockwell Hall were
addressed at a meeting by Stockwell adminis-
trators who informed them that before the end
of the semester one or possibly more bed-checks
would be held in the dormitory. The corridor
reps, well aware that a certain number of wo-
men do not always return to the residence hall
at closing, and equally aware of the conse-
quences of being caught out in the event of a
bed-check, decided that the only course of ac-
tion would be to inform as many women as
possible before the check was actually held.
Thus the "rumor" of the bed check began.
It spread with incredible speed throughout the
dormitory and within two days women in
Markley and Lloyd and the other "hill" dor-
mitories, as well as women in the smaller liv-
ing units, had been forewarned.
When students attempted to ascertain the
degree of truth in the rumors by speaking to
housemothers, resident advisors, or the person-
nel in the office of the dean of women, they,
were met with denials, general silence, chuckles,
and an attitude which made it fairly clear that
undergraduate women living in University dor-
mitories were pushifg the bounds of their
rights by inquiring into bed-check policy.
LAST WEEK Mary Markley women were
awakened at 2:30 a.m. for the fourth fire
drill of the semester. A little bleary and not a
httle perturbed by the incident, the Markley-
ites returned to their rooms when the drill
had finished. The following day, when they
tried -to learn why the drill had taken place,
they heard numerous variations on the basic
theme that it was necessitated by certain wo-
men who, in a particularly spritely mood had
set off a fire alarm in one corridor. The alarm
woke one or more housemothers who, after a
brief nmeeting, decided the only way to stop
such antics would be to punish the 1,180-odd
residents of Markley by holding a 2:30 a.m.
fire drill.
Taken by itself, this explanation is plausible
enough. It is easy to accept, and only by a
considerable stretching of the imagination
could the Markley drill be linked to the bed-
check rumor.
HOWEVER, two days following the Markley
drill, the residents of Alice Lloyd had to go
through much the same ordeal - this time at
6 a.m. Rumors as to why this drill was called
differed considerably from person to person.
The 'most frequent explanation is something
rather incoherent about testing alarm equip-
ment, which to everyone's surprise worked at
6 a.m.
Friday afternoon a Daily reporter phoned
Acting Dean of Women Elizabeth Davenport
to inquire into the validity of the bed-check
rumor. Somewhat horrified, Mrs. Davenport
said that there would be no bed-check so long
as she remained in office, that the idea of such
Gestapo tactics was absurd, that these rumors
have always circulated among dormitory resi-
dents - always unfounded as they obviously
are this time - and that a bed-check could
not take place because residence hall personnel
simply are not sufficient to check on 200-1,200
women.
When asked if, perhaps, the Markley and
Lloyd fire drills were a form of bed-check, Mrs.
Davenport said no, they were not, for certainly
the easiest way to carry out a check would be a
door-to-door inspection of the halls, not a
dorm-wide fire drill.
SHE ALSO alleged that the scheduling of itre-
drills - their frequency and the hour at
which they occur - is left completely up to
the discretion of the individual housemothers.
It would be presumptuous to refute the word
of a dean of women, to assert that the fire-
drills were in fact being held at irregular hours
to check up on women without appearing to
be a checking device. It would be equally pre-
sumptuous to' assert that housemothers at
Markley have lied, that no student set off an,
alarm necessitating a 2:30 a.m. fire drill.
And yet, when all the facts are compiled,
there is a strong case in favor of these accu-
sations.
FOR EXAMPLE, the Markley drill. The story
of the exact circumstances has been told by

three individual Markley house directors at
three different times.
The first alleged that a girl set off the alarm,
that this alarm rang only in the housemother's
office and woke her up, and that after she had
checked to make certain there was no fire in
the corridors where the alarm was located, she
proceeded to wake the remaining eight direc-

tors who promptly had a meeting and decided
to rouse all the girls in Markley.
The second housemother said that the alarm
had rung simultaneously in the nine directors'
apartments, and that they met and, after some
discussion, decided, with a great deal of hesi-
tancy, to ring the dorm-wide alarm.
The third version asserts that when an alarm
rings in one corridor, the other alarms through-
out the building also sound, and so the house-
mothers had no choice in the matter of stag-
ing the drill.
IT DOES not matter if a resident set the
alarm. It does not matter if the alarm rang
throughout the building because it was set in
one corridor or because nine housemothers to-
gether decided to stage a firedrill, or a bed-
check, whichever the 2:30 roll-call was.
Regardless, it was grossly irresponsible for
the housemothers to decide to wake the entire
dormitory at an insane hour on a night when
it was particularly muggy and the women had
difficulty falling asleep in the first place. It
is a time of the year quite close to final exam-
inations when papers and pre-final exams cause
enough all-night sessions without their having
to be added to.
HOWEVER, the housemothers, despite the
degree of wrong with which they acted, are
beyond reproach. For, if their actions were
wrong, then after the first irregular firedrill,
the dean of women or office of student affairs
would have made note of them. To date there
is no record of any action having been taken
to prevent future early-morning drills.
The firedrills are required by law. They occur
about once each semester in the quadrangles-
almost invariably between nine and eleven in
the evening or late in the afternoon, but never
late at night or early morning. When a fire-
drill occurs in the quads, rooms are checked
to insure that the residents are out - this is
necessary and makes sense - but no roll is
taken to determine who is present.
However, in the dormitories, where drills take
place at least twice each semester, and more
often if it suits the housemother's whim, there
is both the check and roll call when the women
are outside. If a woman is not present, her
name is noted by a "fire warden" or whatever
title the dorm bestows on the roll-taker, and
the name is given to the housemother, who
may or may not pass it on to the dean of wo-
men. There would appear to be no justification
for the attendance-taking except to make sure
that all the ladies are 'home'. (But assuredly, it
is not a bed-check.)
THE FIRE DRILLS in women's dormitories
are never held in the afternoon or in the
evening before closing. They are held, as a
rule, between 12:15 a.m. and 1:00 a.m., al-'
though there is no evidence that fires are more
prone to occur at this time-at this hour when
all the women are supposed to be tucked into
(their own) beds. (But the fire drills are not
a form of bed-check.)
The dean of women has denied that there
will be a bed-check this semester, or any other
semester so long as she is in her position.
Therefore an event which just might have
served as an excuse to check on women's pres-
ence or lack thereof at 2:30 a.m. in one dormi-
tory and at 6 a.m. in another-is not to be con-
strued as a bed-check.
Assembly Association was established to in-
sure the rights and position of independent
women on campus. Assembly President Mary
Beth Norton has said that she is opposed on
principle to bed-checks, and that if any are
held In the future, or if the recent fire drills
were in actuality bed-checks, she will endeavor
to get her organization to protest the action as
strongly as possible.
HOWEVER, the chance that Assembly, or
that any other investigating body could un-
earth new and vital information from house
mothers or administrative people in the office
of the dean of women is highly improbable.
In the face of what is perhaps the most fla-
grant violation- of the rights of independent
women in a number of years, Assembly is pow-
erless to dig for facts, and even if such digging
could be done, and could lead to proof that bed-
checking has occurred, no action could be

taken.
If the fire drills of the past week were actual-
ly not planned in advance and not intended to
serve as a checking agent on residence hall
women, then the drills as well as any rumors
should be forgotten.
HOWEVER, if they were planned as a bed-
check, and if they are not the last in a
series, the only possible course of action is to
ask for the resignation of the dean of women.
If the dean of women is, as she claims, un-
aware of the iniquities perpetrated by her staff,
she is failing to fulfill a major part of the ob-
ligations the post of dean entails, and she
should be relieved of the remainder of such
obligations.

4e

By DAVID MARCUS
Daily Staff Writer
GEORGE ROMNEY is not going
to be governor of Michigan.
While this might seem an exag-
gerated statement, Romney is go-
ing to lose and lose badly. He has
become involved in issues and
taken stands that both Democrats
and Republicans will use to de-
stroy him politically.
Before going into the specific
issues that have undermined Rom-
ney's chances for the governorship,
it is first necessary to understand
the kind of campaign Romney is
hoping to run. First, he is making
a bipartisan appeal as a man un-
committed to either organized la-
bor or big business. Second, he is
calling for an end to the ludicrous
partisan bickering that has torn
the state for years.
Romney a year ago, would have
come to the campaign with ex-
cellent credentials for running it
in these terms. He was the top
executive officer of a Michigan
corporation that he had rescued
from the brink of economic disas-
ter. He had headed the Citizens
for Michigan, a bipartisan study
group that discussed and made
recommendations about state
problems.
MORE recently, Romney, as a
delegate to the constitutional con-
vention and a candidate for gov-
ernor, has been receiving more
and more national publicity pro-
claiming him a Messiah come to
save Michigan from bankruptcy,
partisan fighting and tired blood.
But the cards are stacked a little
differently now. Romney has made
two errors: he has become allied
to the new constitution and has
advocated a fiat rate state income
tax. Each of these moves will ali-
enate him respectively from
Democrats and Republicans.
Certainly the new constitution
will cost him any working class
Democratic votes he hoped to pick
up in Detroit. The United Auto
Workers Union- and the Demo-
cratic party hate the new Consti-
tution.
Linking Romney's name with
con-con's failure to reach an
equitable apportionment decision
will cause urban solidarity against
Romney. He simply will not be
able to gain the 30-40 per cent of
the Detroit vote needed to carry
the state.

ON THE other hand, the consti-
tution will not hurt Romney out-
state, nor will it help him, since
it was written by a basically con-
servative Republican body. It is
not any great improvement over
the old one, as far as out-state Re-
publicans are concerned. They're
right. They wrote it that way. If
it's passed, they have lost nothing;
if it fails, they have lost nothing.
What will hurt Romney out-
state is his stand for a fiat rate
income tax. Right or wrong, these
Michigan rustics are absolutely
opposed to an income tax of any
sort. Protest candidates like Mont-
gomery Shepard, put up by out-
state Republicans to oppose Rom-
ney as a protest against his es-
pousal of an income tax, don't
stand much of a chance of defeat-
ing Romney in the primary. But
they are indicative of a strong
out-state protest m o v e m e n t
against liberalization of the Re-
publican party.
These Republicans aren't going
to stand for George Romney. They
may start a protest write-in cam-
paign in November. More disas-
trous yet, they simply may not
vote for governor. They'll work on
the assumption that keeping the
Legislature Republican is enough
and vote for dog catcher, Sena-
tor and Representative, but not for
governor.
It is easy to scoff and point to
party loyalty as a reason for these
Republicans to stick with Romney.
But it must be remembered that
there are out-state areas where
the main competition to the Re-
publican party is not the Demo-
crats but splinter parties.
TO CAP the whole situation,
Gov. Swainson is going to take ad-
vantage of all of Romney's dis-
advantages. Swainson will cam-
paign out-state on the basis that
Romney cannot even get his own
party to follow his platform. The
campaign will be cleverly designed
to keep out-state Republicans
away from the polls.
In the Detroit area he will harp
on the new constitution and the
failure of Romney and his cohorts
to achieve equitable apportion-
ment.
George Romney is not going to
be governor of Michigan.

.. .,,,,a a a.,,..,,...
,.a..

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
System Sustains, The Daily

To the Editor:
T HE GREATNESS of The Daily
as a college newspaper is sus-
tained in large measure by the sys-
tem under which the newspaper
constantly develops and selects a
capable and efficient staff despite
constant turnover.
This system, developed between
students and administration offi-
cials and proven over many dec-
ades, consists of a complex of in-
centives, disciplinary processes
and healthy competition which
seeks out the best possible persons,
or combination of persons, to per-
petuate the high standards of the
newspaper.
This system can function (and
The Daily survive) only when ap-
pointments are made (and the
staff has confidence they are
made) on merit after the most
careful deliberation; only when
staff members are accorded the
fullest training, criticism and in-
culcation of operating principles
through prolonged on-the-job ex-
perience in The Daily newsroom;
only when the various tiers of edi-
tors are vested with the maximum
tools of authority to further this
development process; and only un-
der a climate of editorial freedom
which in itself is a major incen-
tive toward integrity and respon-
sibility on the part of the news-
paper and its staff.
* * *
In THE long run, it is not the
appointments themselves but the
way they are made that will de-
termine the fate of the selections
system, the caliber of Daily staffs,
and the ability to remain free
from censorship and other actions
that are no substitute for respon-
sible staffing.
The Board in Control of Student
Publications and the senior editors
traditionally share in the appoint-
ment process. The Board is vested
by the Regents with ultimate au-
thority, and there can be little
doubt that it is duty-bound to
safeguard The Daily institution
against destructive acts by staff
members placed in positions of au-
thority at any given time.
At the same time, we maintain,
the Board has a clear duty to.safe-
guard the staffing procedures that
have contributed so much to The
Daily's eminence among college
newspapers in this country.
* * *
TO TAMPER with these proce-
dures is to risk grave jeopardy to
the newspaper, as events of recent
weeks have shown.
In the course of these events as
reported in The Daily, the present
Board in Control, however unin-
tentionally, appears to have taken
at least three actions which were

bound to have a deleterious effect
on The Daily.
1) The Board, for all practical
purposes, dictated the senior' ap-
pointments, an act which in one
stroke robbed senior editors of a
key tool of authority in the man-
agement of the newspaper and the
training of the staff, and wreaked
havoc with staff expectations that
future appointments will be based
on careful evaluation by their col-
leagues on the basis of ability and
judgment in the course of several
years of performance.
* .
IF THE Board or its Committee
had reservations about any cur-
rent nominee, these should have
been expressed to the senior edi-
tors at once. If, after hearing out
the seniors, the Board still was
unable, for compelling reasons, to
accept any or all of the nomina-
tions, the seniors should have
been asked for new nominations.
Only when or if this process broke
down, when all other avenues were
exhausted, should the Board have
taken the step of naming the new
staff itself. Its decisions might still
be criticized, but at least not the
process by which they were made.
2) The Board dictated the crea-
tion of two editorial directors, an
arrangement which at first glance
seems unwieldy or worse. Some-
one must hold the responsibility.
Any tampering with traditional
institutions of editorial responsi-
bility should be undertaken only
after prolonged study and consul-
tations among all parties con-
cerned.
3) In reopening the petitioning,
the Board has invited applications
from outside The Daily staff: If
the Board has this power, which
is the power to destroy The Daily,
it must be a matter of concern to
all. Alternatives are available, and
it is difficult to imagine the cir-
cumstances which would necessi-
tate the taking of this step. In any
event, the specific assent of the
Regents should be required for any
such action, after the most care-
ful and informed deliberations.
THE BOARD has cited tradi-
tional powers and duties in sup-
port of its actions, but it has brok-
en from tradition in dictating the
appointments, and, in a larger
sense, in failing to exercise the
traditional (and often painful)
restraint that has characterized
the Board in the past and has con-
tributed so much to the exercise
of student responsibility.
If there has been an unfortun-
ate breakdown of communications
between Board and editors, either
because of student attitudes or
failure of the Board to bring the

Editor sufficiently into its delib-
erations, let this breakdown be re-
paired forthwith.
If there has been a deterioration
of the editorial page, let the Board
state its evidence and let the in-
coming Editor, who is the respon-
sible staff officer, propose asatis-
factory solution.
WE COMMEND the constructive
efforts made by Board and editors
in the aftermath of recent events
and we hope the Board will take
the initiative in correcting its ac-
tions at its next meeting.
We want to emphasize, above
all, that any reconsideration by
the Board in no way deters from
its powers. These have been stat-
ed by the Regents and are a mat-
ter of law; the responsibilities of
the Board is safeguarding The
Daily, its Code and its institutions
are not only recognized but de-
manded by all concerned with the
preservation of The Daily.
Today the responsibility of all
is to bind up the wounds and get
on with the business of publishing
a great newspaper, its greatness
guaranteed by the dedication and
loyalty of the young men and
women who produce it.
-Alfred B. Connable
Regent Emeritus
Night Editor, '23-'24
--Virginia Voss
Associate College &
Career Director,
"Mademoiselle"
Editorial Director, '53-'54
-Roma Lipsky
Public Information Director
Eastern Division
Federal Housing & Home
Finance Agency
Editorial Director, '50-'51
-William R. McIntyre
ABC News, Washington, D.C.
Member, Board in Control,
'51-'52
-Lestern Rosenbaum
President, Kalamazoo Paint Co.
Night Editor, '24
-Robert C. Keith
News Editor, Congressional
Quarterly
City Editor, '51-'52
-Phyllis Lipsky
Associate Editor,
"The Roundtable"
Night Editor,:'55
--Barnes Connable
Writer, New York
City Editor, '52-'53
--Susan P. Willens
English Instructor
American University
Member, Board in Control,
'S3-'54
-Rich Thomas
Financial Editor,
New York Post
Senior Associate Editor, '51-'52

DRAMA SEASON:
Play Hits Ar my Pomp
"N TIME For Sergeants," which opened at Lydia Mendelssohn Thea-
tre last night, is a unique 20th Century comedy-of-manners. The
manners, the conventions against which playwright Ira Levin rails are
the illogical military services which do not allow for less (or more)
than robot obedience.
This play, as has been proved by its popularity, works enjoyably
because the most natural, logical (who else would attempt to read the
"words" on an eye-test chart) boy in Georgia's hills is set loose In the
air force.
Will Stockdale is warmly human as played by Charles Hohman
although it took Mr. Hohman half of the first act to warm up to the
audience's generous reception.
* * * *
THE PLAY'S emphasis is actually more "on Will and his relation
to Ben Whitledge, another recruit, than on the comic aspects. The first-
act curtain falls on a moment of misunderstanding between Will and
Ben rather than on the usual comic punch-line.
When these scattered, genuine scenes between Will and Ben appear;
the Drama Season's production is at its best. Tucker Ashworth keeps
Ben from being the "namby-pamby," mother's-boy stereotype which one
usually sees in "Sergeants." He is entirely understandable and delight-
fully humorous when he keeps Will from talking to the base because
"it could be the enemy."
Unfortunately, "Sergeants" relies for its success on more than the
acting of the major characters. There are many secondary characters
and a large, difficult production to cope with when producing this
play. The actors playing the various generals are excellent and know
how to punch a comic line.
However, this production is burdened by a great many lesser actors
who stumble through their lines with no sense of comic timing. There-
fore, great deal of the humor is lost,
THE PRODUCTION as a whole is adequate. But - even granting
that it was opening night - there were far too many misplaced spot-
lights, slow scene-changes, and inaudible special effects.
"No Time for Sergeants" is one of those marvelous theatre pieces
which manages to be entertaining no matter what the cast and tech-
nicians do. With the assets of Charles Hohman and Tucker Ashworth,
the current production gives many chuckles and "heart-warming" mo-
ments.
--Milan Stitt

I

FEIFFER

IOHATh'5 -M
MATTER WfITH
MEW. I'M
ALWM64
REAING.

I

AT Ld 155 !~K3tJOW-A [2.
HeR M ?O6 ISAU1OWA) tA
BOOOO Lf 01OC.MP, OC1H
A MLUIA THAT1' IOA%

i ... t

MqL~ FATII6 AW "OAT W5C
if' 66T qoo To 6A 600Kc
Cu O?~ qOu Mq HUR
M666 THIj65 ARE4Yf

(<-I)

4

Business Staff
CHARLES JUDGE, Business Manager
MARY GAUER.........Associate Business Iv
MERVYN KLINE..............Finance h
4OGER PASCAL............Accounts Iv

H66 K5 ~ -TR -THAQ.)-TH-
RW;-r-OF US AS FR151H6

z

Mfanager
Manager
M4anager

T TffO SOP;
$U1 r &IT O
n1WoR~E i i AD

"

MCUi WAR
160 TO
HIM scgoou.

lltt
t '1
t1
,,

IAAL16'
THEY
CA'.

/ r

Back to Top

© 2024 Regents of the University of Michigan