p Etdygt Daily
Seventy-Second Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
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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 all reprints.
OSA IN TRANSITION:
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1962
NIGHT EDITOR: MICHAM., HARRAH
Force-Fed French Courses:
RIeduced -Student Responsiility
EXCEPT FOR ONE tiny flaw, the elementary
French courses at this University would be
perfect. Although expert in the language, and
undoubtedly sincere in their desire to teach it,
most of the French instructors have unfor-
tunately failed to understand the individual
and mutual responsibilities of students and
faculty.
The duty of the University is to provide the
best instruction it can. The duty of the student
is to learn as well as possible. The best judge
of how well the student is learning is the
student himself. If he fails, it should be his
fault, and only his.
Many of the instructors in beginning French
have completely ignored this maxim of the
individual student's responsibility. , Instead,
they take delight in propping up weak students,
"encouraging" them and eventually forcing
them to get educated. At the same time, the
teachers see no particular harm in restricting
the excellent student.
A CLEAR EXAMPLE of this approach is the
"policy" of most of the French instructors
on cutting class. Each class day the teacher
zealously takes roll caring only about whose
body is occupying the designated seat. The
absences are kept well in mind when grade-
giving time comes around.
The individual student become depersonal-
ized. Not every student has the same capabili-
ties, or the same needs. It is really possible
that a student could study and absorb a point
of grammar entirely on his own without having
it hammered into him in a class. A French
teacher's function is to impart facts, not
ideas. Facts can be obtained elsewhere, ideas
cannot., There is no justification for compulsory
attendance in a course dealing exclusively in
specifics.
The brilliant student, capable of mastering
the material much faster than the class, ob-
viously chafes under such a system. At the
same time, the weaker student is artificially
buoyed because the primary -effort for his
improvement comes from others, not himself.
There is no better spur to self-improvement
than self-realization of weakness. No system
which decides how the student should improve
and then makes him do it will ever serve as
a satisfactory inducement to learning.
A real desire for knowledge emanates from
freedom and self-imposed responsibility. The
sincere and intelligent student will respond
to it, while the phony scholar will not survive.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE of how the French
section of the Romance Languages De-
partment distrusts its own students is the
requirement that they prove to the faculty how
much time they have been putting in at the
language laboratory. Having punched in and
out on the handy, obnoxious time clock, the
students regularly hand in their cards to the
instructor, who can now see the truth and
the beauty of the students' quest for knowledge.
Two hours of this heartwarming search is
"recommended" to be spent each week behind
the earphones.
THIS SORT of inanity is matched only by
the textbooks required for use in the first
two years of French. Riddled with typographi-
cal errors and even several examples of what
some teaching fellows privately term bad
French, the textbook contains "explanations"
which often leave the student more confused
than before reading it.
Here is an example from a second-year
manual:
"Note: b/ the rule (verb of emotion, verb of
uncertainty, verb of command) que plus sub-
junctive apply only if the conjunction (que)
is used. (If the conjunction used is not (que),
the use of the subjunctive depends on the
conjunction and not on the type of verb used
in the main clause; see Lesson 14.)"
Hopefully "Lesson 14" would be less con-
fusing, although it is difficult to see how
it could be more confusing. The selection also
leaves open the question of what degree of
respect a department has for its students after
foisting such a textbook upon them.
ALL THESE RESTRICTIONS are extremely
disappointing in view of the excellent re-
sources the French department really has. With
an expert faculty, a highly regarded theory
(though not mechanics) of instruction in the
textbook and' a very promising language lab,
the French courses here have been proven
in statistical surveys to be successful in com-
parison with other colleges.
But there is no reason why progress should
be shackled by petty requirements, and it is
a definite violation of the academic spirit to
have knowledge crammed down students'
throats. The true intellectual spirit is fostered
not only by the increase in retention of facts,
but also by the development of social and
individual responsibility. To accomplish the
second, the University must obligate the stu-
dent to develop himself by placing him in a
position where he does so by his own volition.
THIS COULD BE DONE, or at least attempt-
ed, in French-particularly in the case of
the first-year courses. Formal classes should
be abolished. Instead, the students would do
the workbook exercises and invade the language
lab if and when they pleased. To answer stu-
dents' questions and otherwise provide as-
sistance, teaching fellows would be available
at regular periods during the day in some
sort of central office. The students would be
graded only on the final exam, and perhaps
a mid-semester if results proved one desirable.
Whether this method could produce better
French students cannot be known, of course,
until it is tried. But as for developing indivi-
dual responsibility, no punch-out card could
do any better.
The French department is lodged in the
Frieze Bldg., which used to be Ann Arbor High
School until several years ago when the Uni-
versity purchased it. Somebody should have
told the French department about the change.
-GERALD STORCH
The
By KENNETH WINTER.
Daily Staff Writer
EMERGING FROM the fog
shrouding the Office of Stu-
dent Affairs, various rules, stan-
dards, and other edicts periodi-
cally materialize before the Uni-
versity student. He follows them,
gripes about them, but is seldom
sure where they came from and
why.
The administrators in the midst
of the fog are just as confused.
Legislative power over the lives
of students is constantly shifting
because it has never been clearly
designated to anyone.
* * *
ULTIMATE POWER, of course,
rests with the Regents. They have
set a few rules directly affecting
student conduct:
1) Section 8.03 of the Regents'
Bylaws lays the foundation by
stating that "students are expect-
ed to conduct themselves in such
a manner as to be a credit to both
themselves and the University."
For violation of this principle, or
of specific rules set by "the proper
University authorities," students
"shall be liable to disciplinary ac-
tion by the proper University
authorities."
2) Section 8.06 requires regis-
tration of student automobiles and
forbids driving by students under
21. Again, interpretation and en-
forcement of these regulations are
assigned to "the proper Univer-
sity authorities."
3) Section 8.07 gives disciplinary
power to "the proper University
authorities" over students "who do
not meet financial obligations. It
delegates to the vice-president for
business and finance the power
to make rules concerning payment
of debts to the University.
4) Section 8.08 requires all un-
dergraduates not living with their
families to stay in University resi-
dence halls or in other approved
accommodations. The Bylaw pro-
hibits all undergraduate and grad-
uate men and women from living
in private apartments, but allows
the dean of men and the dean of
women to grant apartment per-
mission at their discretion.
* * *
THE REGENTS cannot take the
time to set every dress rule or
women's curfew. So, while still re-
taining their power as final au-
thorities, they delegate legislative
powers.
Here's where the chaos starts.
Supposedly, the basic unit of
authority over student affairs is
the Committee on Student Con-
duct, established by Section 8.14
of the Bylaws. Chaired by the dean
of men, the group consists of three
faculty members, the heads of the
various colleges and schools, the
dean of women, and three stu-
dents, representing the Student
Legislature (the predecessor of
Student Government Council),
Joint Judiciary and Women's Ju-
dic.
The Bylaws provide that "this
committee shall from time to time
prescribe standards, principles and
rules of conduct for students and
student organizations such as to
promote the welfare of the stu-
dent body and to protect the Uni-
versity from unwarranted criti-
cism."
This group, however, has not
held a meeting since 1947.
The committee has left in its
wake a subcommittee composed of
its faculty members, authorizing
it to interpret its rulings. No one
knows whether these interpretive
powers include the right to alter,
revoke or establish regulations.
* * *
OVERLAPPING into the domain
of the nearly dormant student
conduct committee is the Resi-
dence Halls Board of Governors,
born in section 30.03 of the By-
laws. Comprised of faculty and
administration personnel, plus the
student presidents of the men's
and women's residence hall sys-
tems, the Board has jurisdiction
over "general policies with respect
to the use of the residence halls
for the housing of students."
The Governors have the author-
ity to pass regulations concerning
the residence halls and to delegate
powers to the residents. The Board
still retains ultimate authority
over those student groups, as in
its veto of the motion to liberalize
women's visiting hours in men's
rooms.
The relation of the Governors to
the Committee on Student Con-
duct and its subcommittee is no-
where specified. There is no me-
chanism to resolve conflicts.
For instance: what would have
happened if the Committee on
Student Conduct had convened
and attempted to overrule the
Board of Governors' decision on
the women guest policy?
* * *
ANOTHER POTENTIAL source
of authority over student affairs
is the dean of each of the Univer-
sity's schools and colleges. Legally,
each school has the power to make
rules governing the affairs of its
students. The OSA executes most
of these powers only by permission
of the various schools and colleges.
This arrangement is primarily
a historical one, dating back to the
days when each school directly
exercised these powers over its
own student body.
* * *
THE FOG gets thickest in the
OSA itself: specifically, in the
duties and authority of the Vice-
President for Student Affairs, the
dean of men, the dean of women,
and their various assistants and
staffs.
The Regents formulated the po-
sition of Vice-President for Stu-
dent Affairs with the vague pro-
vision that he "shall be respon-
sible for the coordination and de-
velopment of the whole area of the
non-academic aspects of the stu-
dent's life at the University."
The dean of men and the dean
of women are empowered to "in-
vestigate" and "take action" con-
cerning violations of "general
standards of conduct," financial
obligations, and rooming regula-
tions.
* * *
THE RESULT of these and
other provisions is that the two
deans and their subordinates have
become "the proper University
authorities" to discipline violators
of an unspecified multitude of
University laws. Implicit in the
function of enforcement is the
power of interpretation of regu-
lations - or even the establish-
ment of regulations when none
specifically apply. This is often the
case.
So the dean of men and the
dean of women also set up regu-
lations. Who can say how they
relate to the other rule-setters?
And what of the Vice-President
for Student Affairs? He has cer-
tain precise powers, such as his
authority to veto SGC actions, but
Ru le-lla king
Machine
his powers with respect to others
in his office and elsewhere are
difficult to ascertain.
The culmuination of this whole
mess is the infamous judiciary
charge, "conduct unbecoming a
University student." Because it is
interpreted by more officials in
more ways with different end re-
sults than any other regulation, it
best symbolizes the products of
legislative chaos.
WELL, SO WHAT? Discussions
of bureaucratic tangles make dull
reading, and if we have to have
these rules, what's the difference
where they originate?
The answer, of course, is that
the conditions which spawn a
regulation determine what it will
be, how it will be enforced, and
how it can be evaluated and re-
vised.
Under the present hodgepodge
of authority over student affairs,
the wise and fair formulation of
policies is difficult, and effective
changes are nearly impossible to
achieve.
* * *
A STUDENT or organization
hoping to change a regulation,
first of all, does not know where
to start. There is no "complaint
department" where grievances can
be referred to the proper author-'
ity-and, usually, there is no
proper authority.
Once started, a reform cam-
paign faces innumerable snags as
it is shunted between offices and
boards and committees. Seldom is
anyone in or out of the adminis-
tration sure just who has to ap-
prove what.
Often, the final decision is a
result of informal cooperation be-
tween the Vice-President for Stu-
dent Affairs, the dean o; men, the.
dean of women, the subcommittee
on student conduct, and other per-
tinent authorities. Since the legal
delegations of powers are so am-
biguous, most legislation is the
result of this process.
IF DISAGREEMENT ARISES
among those who are supposed to
endorse a measure, its ultimate
fate may be determined by what
our Marxist friends would call a
"personality cult," in which the
individual combining a high posi-
tion and a dominant personality
carries the most weight in making
the decision.
Former Dean of Women D~eborah
Bacon personified this process, of-
ten taking a disproportionate
share of the rule-making from
other administrators who followed
a more "nondirectional" philos-
ophy.
* * *
THESE EXPERIENCES have
shown that the dead weight of
disorganized bureaucracy has sti-
fled hopes of progress toward the
establishment of just, wise and
practical regulations for students
of the University.
With the forthcoming report of
the OSA Study Committee, it is
hoped that this chaos will soon be
a thing of the past. But what shall
replace it?
* * *
THE BEST SOLUTION lies in
the establishment of a student-
faculty-administration Committee
on Student Affairs, with authority
to make all regulations governing
student conduct outside the class-
room. The decision of this group
would be subject to review only by
the Regents.
The committee should be com-
posed of an equal number of stu-
dents and faculty members, elected
by the segments of the University
community they represent, and a
lesser number of administrative
personnel.
There are specific reasons for
including each' of these three
groups on such a committee:
The student body must be ade-
quately represented because this
is the group that will be affected
by the committee's decisions. The
duty of the student representatives
would be to reflect the desires and
opinions of their constituents. An-
nual elections would be necessary
to insure accurate representation
of the wishes ofa constantly
changing student body.
* * *
FACULTY MEMBERS should
sit on the committee because, as
educators, they are well qualified
to view issues according to their
educational value, in keeping with
the basic purpose of the Univer-
sity.
Unfortunately, the concern of
the majority of faculty members
for their students' education does
not extend beyond the classroom.
Teachers, if they are really in-
terested in education, must realize
the role of the total University
experience in this process.
Administration representatives
would benefit the committee be-
cause it is their job to be experts
on student affairs. Their exper-
ience and intimate knowledge of
student administration and its
problems would provide a depth of
perspective the committee might
otherwise lack.
The administrators' actual vot-
ing role, however, would be a
minor one, following the philos-
ophy that the administration
should serve the University, not
rule it. Many administrators agree
with this concept. Dean of Men
Walter B. Rea notes the advisory
and interpretive functions- of the
administration concerning regu-
lations, and adds, "we are pot a
rule-making body."
, * *
A FEW MORE provisions are
necessary to promote the effective
functioning of this body:
1) It must be continuously ac-
tive, constanly re-evaluating its
policies and objectives. It cannot
set the rules and then leave them
to stagnate.
2) Its rulings must be as com-
plete and explicit as possible, to
minimize the necessity for inter-
pretation, thereby avoiding the
dangers of the "personality cult"
inherent in the present system.
3) The authority of the deans of
the University's schools and col-
leges over the extracurricular ac-
tivities of their students must be
officially revoked. The powers of
any other University establish-
ments which would conflict with
the board's jurisdiction must be
curtailed.
James A. Lewis, the Vice-
President in charge of the OSA,
says that it is "high time that
we take a good look at the areas
of student activity and try to make
the lines of authority clearer."
They must be not only clarified,
but revised. For only when govern-
ment is fair is it acceptable, and
only when it is acceptable can
the community operate harmon-
iously.
EUROPEAN DATELINE
Turning Point in German Politics
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the
first of a two-part series of articles
on the recent German elections.)
By GLORIA BOWLES
Daily correspondent
BERLIN-Mounting anxiety over
the seriousness of the Berlin
Crisis and a fear that an absence
of decision-making at the foreign
policy level would aggravate the
crisis encouraged German poli-
tical leaders a month ago to end
their post-election wrangling and
quickly form a government.
Almost 88 per cent of West
Germany's eligible voters went to
the polls last September 17, but
the peculiarities of the parliamen-
tary electoral system - and the
first ministerial and cabinet crisis
since the writing of the Bonn
Constitution in 1949 - made them
wait until almost two months
later to see the formation of a
coalition government.
The parliamentary battle held
World's Biggest Bomb Shelter
SINCE THE UNIVERSITY will, like as not,
be a heap of atomic rubble by this time next
year, it might stop worrying its 1 figurative
head about financial figures and sink all its
investments for the coming year into carry-
ing out the recommendations of the committee
now investigating the status of shelter facili-
ties within the University community.
For example, the hassle over priority rights
for various dilapidated buildings and inade-
quate facilities would end if the University
announced it was spending no more money on
'buildings of any kind (unless for emergencies
such as another new wing of the SAB, should
one become necessary) and was sinking all
of its building money into a huge underground
shelter-(or rathertwo shelters, widely sepa-
rated from each other-one for boys and one
for girls-with carefully guarded doors sepa-
rating the two like the houses within Alice
Lloyd hall are insulated, so that there might
be no undue or improper communication be-
tween the two.)
THESE SHELTERS could include all facili-
ties necessary for a well-balanced academic
life. There could be dining halls with a flight
Editorial Staff
JOHN ROBERTS, Editor
PHILIP SHERMAN FAITH WEINSTEIN
City Editor Editorial Director
SUSAN FARRELL................Personnel Director
PETER STUART...................Magazine Editor
MICHAEL BURNS....................Sports Editor
PAT GOLDEN ................. Associate City Editor
RICHARD OSTLING ......Associate Editorial Director
DAVID ANDREWS ............Associate Sports Editor
..TP MARTC _ARna . nt TA tn,.
of mock stairs descending to them so that
students would still be able to practice the
rules of gracious living as they stampeded
down to dinner, co-educational lounges where-
the wearing of slacks or bermuda shorts would
still be forbidden, and kitchen facilities pro-
viding "double juice" on days of particularly
heavy nuclear attacks.
Discipline would become a much easier
matter once the whole University community
moved underground. With no newspapers or
other means of communication, students would
have no contact with radical groups on other
campuses and hence would not be inspired
with any new ideas for subversive or anti-
administrational practices.
T HE MONEY which the dorms seem to con-
sider necessary for raising salaries to al-
lure more resident advisors and counsellors
could be spent on other necessities-such as an
electrically charged barbed-wire fence sepa-
rating the sub-dorms from the sub-quads. Since
students could no longer go outside the build-
ings, there would be no more need to pay
the RA's to stand with clipboard and stop-
watch to wreak vengence upon late-comers.
No longer would the University have to
justify its inability or refusal to provide funds
for a new music building. Since all facilities
are underground, musical practice would have
to cease lest the sound vibrations start an
earthquake.
THE LEGISLATURE would no doubt be
overjoyed to see the school spending its
money on such a sound and sensible endeavor
instead of clamoring for non-essential fol-
de-rol such as appropriations for salary-raises
for professors.
"owever, We've Been Known To Make Deals"
VIM14
~r d~zg~f....,
Moot
world-wide attention, but aspects
of the 1961 elections were espe-
cially startling. First, they repre-
sented the first loss of a Bunde-
stag majority since 1949 for Kon-
rad Adenauer's Christian Demo-
crats. Second, the elections mark-
ed the rise of the previously in-
consequential Free Democrats, who
will hold the balance of power in
the formation of the new govern-
ment.
* * *
IT WAS THE END of an era; it
was an election historians were
certain to call a turning point
in German politics. The election
loss of the CDU was seen by most
observers as a personal defeat for
the 86-year-old Chancellor, Kon-
rad Adenauer, who has guided
Germany's destiny since 1949.
The elections were the personal
story of this proud, tenacious fig-
ure, who saw his first electorial
defeat, was grieved by it, but re-
fused to accept it. Adenauer creat-
ed the crisis by refusing to step
down as Chancellor when the Free
Democrats and many West Ger-
mans demanded he do so.
The Chancellor's plight as he
nears the end of his political ca-
reer is a sad one. His job is his
life, say West Germans privately.
Still quick and perceptive, Ade-
nauer can't help but sense this
kind of waiting attitude.
West Germans don't want to
brutally boot out the leader, but,
at the same time, they insist he's
outstayed his welcome. In Ger-
many, there is ; great sentiment
for Adenauer and gratitude for
his masterful guidance in those
early, difficult years during Ger-
many's second experiment with
democracy. But there is regret
now that Adenauer refuses to rec-
ognize the problems that his old
age present.
* * *
THE COMPLICATED German
system has a very important re-
sult; it discourages the formation
of splinter parties, which Ger-
mans have learned to fear ever
since Hitler and his National So-
cialists.
To win, a party must carry at
least three single member dis-
tricts and poll five per cent of the,
total number of votes cast. This
constitutional provision does not
effect the parties with large fol-
lowings but ,on the other hand,
has eliminated the smaller ones.
The Communist party is outlawed.
This trend toward three-party-
ism and the corresponding dimin-
ultion of smaller parties could be
- « 1.. .. .... 4. - -.. . .1 -
getting power of Berlin Mayor
Willy Brandt. The vote for the
Free Democrats represented, for
the most part, the "undecided" or
"independent" segment of the
German population. Many FDP
supporters were weary of Ade-
nauer and the CDU, but not far
enough left to vote SPD; the FDP
represented a compromise. These
votes were often more negative
than positive-against the CDU
and the SPD rather than for the
FDP.
* * *
THE 1961 ELECTION campaign
was especially bitter. Adenauer
was later criticized for the per-
sonal attacks waged against
Brandt, whose illegitimacy and
wartime allegiances made good
targets for political propaganda.
Adenauer's failure to go to Berlin
in the heat of the crisis is said
to have lost him a considerable
number of votes. Mayor Brandt,
on the other hand, made much
political hay out of the Berlin
visit of Vice-President Johnson.
The election campaign had its
peculiarities, for the CDU tried to
shift attention from the increas-
ingly unpopular Adenauer to the
other better-liked party leaders. It
was understood that these men
would assume leadership when
Adenauer stepped down. Many
CDU posters showed a portrait of
Adenauer; slightly behind him was
a similar drawing of Economics
minister Ludwig Erhard.
The "Catholic issue' is always an
issue in Germany. Evangelische
(Lutheran) pastors told their con-
gregations that "a vote for the
CDU and Adenauer is a vote for
the Catholic church" and, of
course, vote pressure from the
other side was also evident. The
CDU has tried to diminish theo-
logical arguments by electing a
Protestant president of the Bunde-
stag, when the Chancellor is Cath-
olic. The fact remains, however,
that the majority of CDU leaders
holding major positions are Cath-
olic.
TOMORROW-
Election Aftermath
DAILY OFFICIAL
BULLETIN
(Continued from Page 2)
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