Seventy-Second Year_ EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS Where Opinions Are Free STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. * ANN ARBOR, MICH. * Phone NO 2-3241 Truth Will Prevail" Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. "I Don't Know If It's Solid Enough To Hold Both Of Us" -,r/ -0 UNDERSCORE: Survival Transcends Questions of Politics AY, JANUARY 7, 1962 NIGHT EDITOR: MICHAL HARRAH' 'U' Admissions Must Keep Personalized Quality A NATURAL TARGET for criticism, the Of- fice of Admissions is always one of the first University departments hit when .blame must be placed somewhere in a hurry., In making decisions on freshman applica- tions, the Office of Admissions must keep in mind an ideal picture which it strives to create, if its policies are to make sense. Nevertheless, it is difficult to reach a consensus either on an ideal result or on the best way to achieve it. It becomes increasingly difficult for high school graduates to enter college as the ad- missions office chooses - between better and better qualified candidates. It also chooses between various criteria of qualification, which determine the fate of individual applicants. THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE says its sole criterion is probability of success, which is certainly sensible. But there are different kinds of success. Strictly academic success may be predicted by high school grades and exam scores, but there are some very capable and creative individuals whose potential is difficult to evaluate and who may derive benefits from a college education which is not commensur- able with letter grades. A well-balanced class should have some of this type student. Who is to determine the extent of their ability and say that they should be admitted at the expense of students who have an impressive record of grades and college board scores? The admissions office must make the decision and then take the blame when the disappointed faction points out, quite rightly, that it is not fair to make such decisions. Within the group of students with good grades and scores, additional selection must be made. Thus far, the University has been able W accept almost all the "qualified" out-state students applying, while still adhering to its practice of keeping out-state admission to 30 per cent of the total. Nevertheless, last year 400 qualified out of state applicants to the literary college had to be turned away and if University facilities do no't expand sufficiently, the number will in- crease each succeeding year. THE PROBLEM then becomes one of chosing between students who are, as far as the admissions office can tell, equally well quali- fied and equally likely to succeed. The decision then must be made on factors such as geo- graphical representation, recommendation of high school administrators and whether or not the applicant's parents are alumni. . Over factors such as these the student has no control. It is natural to put stock in recommendations of counselors from high schools the admissions office knows, but it is also only fair to give the good student from an unknown or inferior high school the benefit of the doubt. There is something to be said for the claim of priority of a good student whose parents attended the University and are now helping to support it. But; the child obviously cannot do anything about his background and it does not seem quite fair to penalize him for some- thing which is nothing more than a matter of luck. AS PRESSURE INCREASES. it will become more and more difficult to make decisions, and there will be a great temptation to decide admissions questions on the basis of mathe- matics, letting fractional differences in college board scores and high school!averages become crucial and eliminating the subjective factor entirely. This would be the easiest way of settling the issue and relieving the headaches of the ad- missions officers, but it is a dangerous solu- tion. As long as the University is concerned with the individual, with his particular wel- fare and the effect he and the University will have on each other, he must be considered as an individual person. There will be time enough for him to become a statistic when he joins the mass rank-and-file of the dormitory- quadrangle society. In the fight against total depersonalization of his University career, the freshman must at least be accorded the dignity of admission on other than purely objective reasons. The admissions office must continue its policy of minute scrutiny of all aspects of the application form and if anything, make its policy more flexible rather than tighter. NO ONE will envy the officers their job, particularly as time goes on; but judgments they make will at least be, human judgments and the resulting University picture will be one based on human decisions calculated to raise the calibre of the institution and its product. Of course, primary responsibility for the future of the Universitylies withthe legis- lature's ability to recognize the need for ex- pansion and increased enrollment. But in the meantime, the admissions office will have to make do with a policy that allows for the greatest flexibility and readiness to recognize the extenuating circumstance. .-JUDITH OPPENHEIM ' _- f P f,- t :ifY .1 I c. It IA , / t zW ,J c' jm: i= C~4< ~f:. '9011. I , I t Al :a I By MARTHA MacNEAl, Daily Staff Writer ETT'ERRED than dead" is one of the most unfortunately misunderstood slogans of the cold war controversy. A surge of emo- tionalism against these words has clouded the issue involved in two basic ways: first, in the failure to appreciate its basic rationale, and secondly, in the assumption that those who accept this idea can see no other alternatives. The rationale of "better Red than dead" is based on four of the most important premises of our modern age: 1) Some of the fundamental values of life exist independently of any political system. 2) All political systems change, so that even tyranny would not be a permanent way of life. 3) Nuclear warfare would be likely to annihilate all human life, or at least all organized society. 4) The existence of any political ideal necessarily depends upon the existence of human minds and of human society. * * * THE FIRST POINT mean that no political system, including dic- tatorship, can completely stifle the human mind or human enjoyment of life. Even the Russians see beauty in life, as is obvious from many Russian films. The Russians are still producing art, dance, music and literature on a high level. The Russians are still turnmng their minds to one of man's great- est dreams-the conquest of space. The exultation of the Russian people on Gagarin's return shows how, much joy continues to exist under this particular Communist government. Many of the deepest non-political human values sur- vive even if people are Red. They cannot exist if people are dead, or if society is destroyed. If, as the second point states, all political systems are subject to change, then, even under tyranny, there remains the possibility of evolution or revolution towards eventual freedom. Poland is a good example of a culture which has been tremendously liberalized un- der a Communist government.- Thus, the possibility of eventual freedom, however small, does exist even in a Red society. The possi- bility of freedom does not exist at all if the human species is dead, or if society is destroyed. * * * WHETHER nuclear warfare would in fact annihilate every hu- man being is a disputed point, simply because no one can predict the extent of a possible nuclear war, nor is enough known about fallout to make speculations re- liable. Nevertheless, the complete extinction of the human species does exist as an extreme possi- bility. World Communism does not contain that possibility. World war does. Even if the human race were not totally destroyed, most author- ities agree that the destruction of aas4 -L..O4 iktd organized society is probable, if not inevitable. Much unfortunate and danger- ous propaganda has served to ex- tend the impression that approxi- mately two weeks after The Bomb we will all emerge from our shel- ters, trot down to the corner gro- cery store, and take up business as usual. * * * THIS CONCEPT is shockingly unrealistic. The corner grocery will not exist. Cities will be devastated. Food and water may be contam- inated. Transportation, communi- cation facilities will be destroyed, and thus effective social admInis- tration will be impossible. There will be no law, except that of each individual's Darwinistic struggle to survive. The destruction of functioning society is the destruction of rep- resentative government. If society perishes, the ideals of the Ameri- can constitution will be annthi- lated along with those of the Com- munist Manifesto. The United States is founded on freedom, bt freedom is founded upon the exist- tence of organized society. It is obvious that the existence of the human mind functioning in a society is prerequisite to the existence of a political concept of human dignity, human rights, and human freedom. World Com- munism could stifle these ideals for a certain period of time. But only nuclear warfare could destroy them utterly. * * *. THE TRUTH of any one of these four points is sufficent to justify the "better Red than dead" objection to nuclear war. From each of these points it follows logically that those who advocate or acquiesce to nuclear warfare for any reason whatsoever, are, in effect, those who are seeking to destroy all hope of democracy on this planet, in spite of their pious insistence that they wish to de- fend it. "Better Red than dead" is an ideological extreme, and should never be considered as the basic standpoint of those who are forced, in discussion, to support it. The basic standpoint is that of the desire to live, in the fundamental belief of hope inherent in human life. The most important conclusion to follow from the premise that human life must be preserved is that we must have peace, peace and co-existence with other poli- tical systems. "Better Red tha'i dead" is, hopefully, a purely theoretical concept. It is a con- cept that has been forced to exist in opposition to another extreme, and hopefully theoretical alter- native-that of nuclear war. Neither of these theories should ever be allowed to become prac- tical reality. Peace must continue to be the focus of all practical consideration. But, if by some in- calculably tragic human failure these two extremes were to become the only alternatives, then "better Red than dead" is the one that must be chosen. SUPPORT OR CENSORSHIP? Government and the Arts Conl'formity' and Freedom MSU-O'S FAILURE to renew Prof. Justis Pear-. son's contract was a violation of academic freedom in spite of the American Association of University Professors local chapter's con- tentions to the contrary. They have failed to consider one of the greatest dangers to academic freedom in modern America. This danger lies in considera- tion of the universities in terms of business corporations putting efficiency over the free play and tolerance of ideas. Prof. Pearson was let go because he was "uncooperative" in his' Advice IN THE FINAL CONFERENCE at Palm Beach which decided upon the sixteen-division Army, the President and Vice-President, the Secretary of Defense and his deputy, and Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, the President's military adviser, discussed the fate of the Army-with- out the benefit of professional and legally responsible advice from the service affected. Secretary of the Army Stahr was not present. Neither-until the next day when all the members of the Joint Chiefs gathered for dis- cussions of other subjects-were Gen. George H. Decker, chief of staff of the Army, or Gen. Lyman L. Lemnitzer, chairman of the joint chiefs. Taylor, despite his Army background, cannot be said today to represent the Army, either in fact or in law. THIS MAY WELL BE the President's prefer- red method of doing business, with all au- thority centralized in Secretary of Defense Mc- Namara and in his own advisers. Yet it has led to bad mistakes in the past. McNamara, a man of great ability, has also evidenced great stubbornness. His present endorsement of the sixteen-division Army concept represents a di- rect reversal of his prior stand: he had to be shown by the National Guard and Reserve call-up that he was wrong. There is no substitute for detailed and con- tinuous professional military advice; the sec- retary or the President who ignores this will find himself in certain difficulty. -THE NEW YORK TIMES persistent attempts to change the University methods of teaching linguistics. A CORPORATION, dedicated to efficient service to the consumer, would be perfectly justified in failing to renew a contract of someone they considered a general nuisance.' A university, dedicated to the creation, promulgation and free play of ideas, does not have that unrestricted right. In fact, the uni- versity should be seeking for people who do not agree with the rest, since they are pos- sibly creative. When a man is termed uncooperative, it generally means that the rest of the group does not agree with him. Many of the greatest men have faced the disagreement of the rest of the group only to have their ideas even- tually accepted. This will not happen with Prof. Pearson's ideas. Most likely, his ideas will never be heard of again. With this "trouble" with a former employer, he may not be' able to teach elsewhere. After all, who wants a known trouble maker on the campus? A school that does not agree with his ideas will be hesitant to employ him and few schools will accept his point of view. THE ONLY EXCUSE that a University can use to oust a man is that they can get a better man or that he, (the one discharged) is not a good teacher or scholar. It is doubtful that Prof. Pearson is not a good teacher-his students circulated a petition to keep him. He is a leader in the field of linguistics research so an incompetence charge would be invalid. Michigan State University. in failing to renew his contract, is saying that they do not want a free play of new ideas, In effect, they are sacrificing the freedom of ideas for ef- feciency,, the trademark of the modern cor- poration. Although efficiency is the key to a sucessful corporation, efficiency, if it produces supression of ideas would kill a university. Academic free- dom is based on the assumption that the truth is found in the free interaction of ideas. MSU-O is denying Prof. Justis Person this basis of academic freedom. -CAROLINE DOW By MALINDA BERRY Daily Staff Writer rH ERE is a revival of national, state and even civic interest in the "arts." Everyone is out to "get culture." This does not just mean they just want more books pub- lished, or plays produced, but also want these artisti endeavors to be government-sponsored. The recreation director of the city of Ann Arbor, Walter Gillett, is investigating ways and means for developing a fine arts center in the city. The money for this center would probably come from the recreation department's bud- get for 1962-63; that is, from city taxes. On the state level, the Michigan Cultural Commission has met and drawn up recommendations for the state's cultural facilities. It has urged that Michigan partici- pate in the 1964 World's Fair in New York, and that it hold an arts festival of its own. The purpose of the Commission, according to former Michigan Governor G. Mennen Williams, its creator, "is to determine the proper role for the government of the State in assisting in the full expression of our culture. And in New York, the League of New York Theatres has asked that the revenues of the broadcasting industry be taxed five per cent to raise $100 million a year to sub- sidize the live theatre. And on the national level the Kennedy administration is investi- gating the possibility of raising $75 million for a National Cultural Center in Washington, which would be a series of buildings to "house the 'arts." *. * * THERE WOULD be many ad- vantages of government subsidized art. Foremost, the prices for tickets to a hit production on Broadway are exorbitant. When seats are obtainable to a newly-opened hit, their prices often range up to $20 apiece. And ofter these musicals are not the important productions available. With the fantastic prices of on-Broadway productions, much DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN The Daily Official Bulletin is an official publication of The Univer- sity of Michigan for which The Michigan Daiy assumes no editorial responsibility. Notices should be sent in TYPEWRITTEN form to Room3564 Administration Building before 2 p.m., two days preceding publication. SUNDAY, JANUARY 7 General Notices Corrected LD. Cards: Replacement I. D. cards have been made for all those students who were enrolled spring, 1961 and whose I.D. card has the given name printed before the surname (fam- ily name), e.g., Gloria Ann smith rath- er than smith, Gloria Ann. Exchange *may be made Jan. 8-12, hours 8:30-12 and 1-4:30 in Room 1510 of the Ad- ministration Building. No charge will be made for the exchange. All cards, to be valid spring Semester, must have the surname precede the given name. Student Leadership Exchange Fellow- shin at University of London: Applica- of the theatre is dying because it can't afford to support itself. In Ann Arbor the big cultural event of the year is the May Fes- tival. The tickets for these con- certs are rather stiff, especially for a student, especially if buying for two. The prices range from $8.00 to $18.00 per seat for the Festival. And this is not at all outrageous considering what is presented, and when it is compared to the prices in New York or Chicago.' * * * THE OBVIOUS answer is let the government-state, municipal or federal-pay for it. But this raises two objections: First, the National Association of Manufacturers believes that "The live theatre is important to our culture beyond doubt, but this is no argument for subsidizing un- successful plays and musicals at a time when it is clear that a well-made play, well-produced, has every chance of earning its own way." Second, there is always the pos- sibility of increased censorship if the government gets in on the act. Brooks Atkinson, a syndicated theatre critic, has voiced concern over what theatre would be like which is sponsored by the govern- ment. Music, he says, has long been respectable and more or less non-political. However, the theatre is something else. FOR THE THEATRE to fulfill its function of satirizing and rais- ing questions about established political and moral conventions, it needs to be free from the necessity of any censorship or approval by the government or anyone else. "The House of Representatives appropriates the money. In these circumstances we would have to have a theatre on the cultural level of the House of Representatives," says Atkinson. And the popular theatre, its people, and its attitude- has never been extremely popular with Con- gress. It is hard to imagine the theatre rising totally above the level of politics. "I would not trust his [Charles A. Halleck of Indiana]I judgment on the works of Ten- nessee Williams, Arthur Miller, O'Neill, Brecht and Shaw; or, for that matter, the works of Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky and Aaron Copland. Very likely,. he and his partner, Senator Everett M. Dirk- sen of Illinois, are sound on Shakespeare, who has been dead more than three centuries and no longer threatens the Republican party," Atkinson says. IF DIRECT government subsidy isn't the way to help culture, per- haps education is. We have to expose the children to that unde- finable "culture" when they are too young to have any innate prejudices. There are 9 million public school pupils studying music now. Starting with them, the whole cultural philosophy of the United States can be changed, perhaps to be more like that of Europe. In Europe every little town and village has its own band and music LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Death Too Good for Eichmann? To the Editor: MISS MacNEAL'S editorial con- cerning the Eichmann trial was disturbing in that in an article inundated with Jewish decisions, she meticulously avoids any dis- tinctly Jewish principles which may underlie the trial and its sub- sequent verdict. Human life, according to Jewish tradition, cannot be measured in mere numbers. To Eichniann's judges, the six-million to one ratio was completely irrelevant. The existence of the Eichmann trial proved nothing more than the desire of the Israeli government to see its enemies tried by due process of law. Man is at best a feeble creature. Even for crimes of the most hei- nous nature, final judgement is denied him. So it was with Eich- mann. The judgment rendered against him was not a Judgement at all but rather the court's way of recognizing him as an enemy of humanity of such magniture that capital punishment-insuffi- cient as it is-is all that befits him. It would be sophistry paramount to Ghandi's suggestion that all the Jews in Hitler's Europe com- mit suicide in order to prove their nobility and innocence, -to infer that Eichmann's sentence is in any way an atonement for his crimes. Israeli law does not allow for capital punishment for civil crimes. It must, as every state must, reserve a penalty of this nature for its corporate enemies and must when its principles are challenged, use this weapon of "warfare." Alas, one point about Miss Mac- Np1' .rfilp nnf+sm mH n German atrocities to be "expiated and forgotten." First of all, Miss MacNeal claims that, "The Jews martyred under Hitler gained a kind of dignity ..:- She says that Eichmann's crimes were so great that, "Now the Is- raelis have robbed them of that dignity by seeking to contain the crimes of Adolph Eichmann with- in legal definition." This idea is absurd; there is no dignity in being a victim of mass genocide. Therefore, the question of dignity in death is not the issue; it is a matter of justice. One can only give the Jewish people praise for their treatment of Eichmann, a men who did not live according to the principles of justice. Miss MacNeal's allegation that the charge of "crimes against hu- manity," excluded the Jewish people from humanity is prepos- terous. Eichmann's crimes were not only against the Jews, they were against the entire world in that right to life and justice were denied. Miss MacNeal even has the nerve to label the Jewish action as "re- venge." It is not a question of an "eye for an eye" or "evening the score" as it is one of abiding by the principles of freedom and jus- tice. What Eichmann did was un- deniably wrong. He must pay for his crimes. If he were allowed a commuted sentence, then those who argue that "every Jew mur- dered by Hitler was only one six- millionth a human being," would find new grounds to rationalize' against Israeli justice. Eichmann's trial was fair. Re- gardless whether or not he is fin- ally sentenced to hang, one must never make the mistake of think- of "fuzzy" thinking in his view that U.S. policy forced Cuba into the Communist orbit. I am not quite sure what "fuzzy thinking" is, since Mr. Ostling does not de- fine it for us. However I think I can recognize omissions of fact when I see them, and I saw plenty of them in Mr. Ostling's editorial. Mr. Ostling seems to be under the impression that it is not neces- sary to state all the facts; he seems to feel that it is sufficient to state those which back up his position. I would like to mention just two which he neglected. In the first place, our cutting of the Cuban sugar quota came ' after Castro seized the American oil refineries. There may not be a casual relation between these two events, but at least a great many reporters and commentators from both the so-called liberal and con- servative publications seemed to think that there was. Castro seized the refineries because they refused to process Russian crude oil which Cuba bought, for a cheaper price (and remember the economic con- dition of Cuba at that time) than she had been paying. Secondly, the United States Cen- tral Intelligence Agency spent $45 million in the financing of an in- vasion of Cuba last April, an in- vasion which was led by right- wing Cubans and many Battisti- anos. Even left-wing anti-Castro forces were left out of the plans. I do not wish to pretend that these two points prove anything; but they are important and must be taken into consideration. For a thorough picture of what hap- pened in Cuba, I recommend the many books on the subject, and, especially a thorough perusal of the N.Y. Times for the months is an integral part of every per- son's life, said Jerry Bilik, ar- ranger for the Michigan Marching Band. Perhaps there is the seed of the European system in our many ex- cellent high school bands and or- chestras, however much is needed to make them the large part of town life that they are on the continent. Some state and local funds will have to be used. "Perhaps a state sponsored band could travel to state parks every summer and give concerts to the campers," Bilik suggested. THE PROBLEM resolves itself into a discussion of the possibility of government support becoming government control. It is good to have state support in some areas such as civic bands, orchestras, and concerts. These are relatively a- political; music is not likely to offend any politicians. The theatre, however, should re- main out of the clutches of "those men in Washington," because of the possibility of governmental in- fluence on the writers of the plays, and the possibility that plays and playwriters will lose their vital autonomy. Hobby