114r, Alrhigatt Daily Seventy-Third Year EDITrED AND.MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS ee OpinionsAreI'," STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. ANN ARBOR, MicH., PHONE NO 2-3241 Truth Will Prevai"r' orials printed in The Michigan Daily ex press the individual opinions of staf writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. GOVERNMENTAL EFFORT: Voter Registration Aims at Integration AY, FEBRUARY 16, 1963 NIGHT EDITOR: DAVID MARCUSI Union Decision Defies, Purpose of Organization "IAT WELL KNOWN, versatile campus or- ganization, the Michigan Union, formally cided Thursday night to present us with an dition to its long list of services by branch- g out into an area heretofore considered rbidden ground-politics. While not wishing modernize the old phrase about "Beware reeks Bearing Gifts," it should be ,pointed .t that by this step the Union is taking erties with the male students on campus hich it should not be allowed to take. The instrument for this new policy is the, ichigan Union Report, a fairly innocuous blication designed to publicize Union ac- vities. It comes out about five or six times,' year and has a circulation of 3000-3500, with ost editions winding up in fraternity or tadrangle house lounges. In its regular issues has ' been completely devoid of political mment of any kind. That was all changed Thursday night, The lion Board of Directors passed a policy atement that recognized the Union as a rvice organization providing for an "expres- m of creativity,' thus justifying "further pansion into other areas of free expression." went on to' say that "We feel that an lowance of expression of opiAions, either litical or apolitical In nature, through the Housing 1JHETHER OR NOT honors housing is a good idea, it certainly'reflects many of the shortcomings of the Office of Student Affairs. For what .Prof. Otto Graf and others are upset about is the poorly run and anti- intellectual residence hall. Prof. Graf is far more sensitive than most counselors to th4 complaints of his students about the residence hall system. As director of the honors program, he is in a far more powerful position than many other counselors to do somethig about it. The idea of honors lousing developed in order to remedy many .of the faults of the present residence hall systen for honors stu- dents and to provide a stopgap measure until there is general reform in the residence hall system.. Hopefully, the honors housing system, if it comes about In the near future will in- clide such things as junior faculty members living in the house. NOW ASIDE from any question of whether honors students are or are not a cohesive group and really do have much in common, honors housing shas the fault of starting a program for the people who least need it. It is true that living conditions in the dormitories are poor and .that as a supplement to the classroom the system is a failure. But the ideal conditions envisioned fo honors housing are also the conditions most needed for non-honors housing. The Univer- sity already goes to great lengths to provide special opportunities for honors students. Some departments have their top people teaching honors introductory courses or sections. Honors students-espeoially on the freshman level-are given special classroom situations designed for intellectual stimulation. Now if these honors students are the most Intellectually aware and actually do have these expanded opportunities, the priority for academically oriented housing should not ,go to'them. It should go instead to those who have the least opportunity, the least acquaintance with and interest in the academic community. [t should go to the freshman who is forced to suffer through unstimulating classes who needs every lift he can get. FURTHERMORtE,' honors students, who are ' supposed to be the cream of the academic rop, ought to be diffused. Life for them should not be a rarified academic atmosphere especially created to nurture their talents. The residence hall system, within reasonable limits, ought to provide some contact between students of varying background. 'This should not be done on a-purely random basis. Perhaps the best system would be to weight dorms or individual houses by academic areas with 25-50 per cent of a given unit being people within .one major with others of varying interests. But a weighting purely on the basis of honors status would be meaning- less. The people who are planning the honors housing are hopeful that eventually the plan will "spill over" into non-honors housing. Ihey are acutely aware of the need for reform n the residence halls. But honors housing is he wrong way to go about it. What is necessary is 'a broad general pro- gram of reform as opposed to a selective Oxeriment which mnay or may not succeed. The ropportunity for academically oriented housing ought to be open to all students in he same way that all students wil hopefully have an opportunity to apply for co-educa- ional housing. Some bold and sweeping stroke is necessary o bring about reform in the residence halls. Union publication, 'The Michigan Union Re- ports, is a logical expansion into the afore- mentioned area." It added that "In keeping with the traditional apolitical policy of the Union, all such articles woud carry proper disclaimers." Furthermore, "The Executive Council would act as an editorial Board which would approve articles for publicatin." TWO OFFICIALLY stated reasons for the new policy came out in Thursday night's meeting, "the opportunity for free expression in order that well-informed and articulate leadership may be developed within the or- ganization." The other reason, brought up by one of the members of the Board, is to help educate the campus. These ends appeared so dazzling to the members of the board that they voted 9-4 to adopt the policy statement. In doing so they completely neglected the question of means. Part of every male student's tuition, a small part admittedly, but still a part, goes to help maintain the Union. If you're an average stu- dent you think of the MUG, the bowling alley, the pool room and don't begrudge them the money. But what happens when it's the day before a referendum or student election and you suddenly become aware of 3500 Michigan Union Reports floating around campus, each with an editorial advocating the side or can- didates you are opposed to? Unless you ar abnormally apathetic you may suddenly become aware that there is some- thing wrong with a situation where the 'U' makes you contribute money to an organization tha$ is engaged in putting out a propaganda sheet offensive to you. The problem is similar to the problem of providing funds for religious schools. Sure all you may be doing is providing tax money to build the building, but it's what's taught inside the building that bounts and if its against your beliefs you aren't going to like having to pay those taxes at all. FARS SIMILAR to these were raised Tues- day night and the proponents of the meas- ure assured- everybody that "balance" would be maintained in each Report and further- more the political content of the Report would not make up more than 10 per cent of the total of any single issue. The plea was made for us to. trust the executive council, yet no- where in the policy statement is the word balance or a percentage limitation mentioned. Furthermore it was brought out that the word balance does not appear in the policy state- ment; its use had. been brought up in an executive, council meeting and it had been rejected. This is a strange fate indeed for a word which is supposed to exemplify a desired policy. This council is also supposed to see that most of the issue is concerned with Union activities, but again there is no guaran- tee. Technically, as a member of the Union, any male student on campus could write an editorial for the Report and again it would be up to the council to determine whether to run it- Those in favor of the new policy ask that a "wait and see" attitude be established towards the Council before making any judgments as to whether it will maintain balance or not. However, this misses the point. Having balance still means using student funds to propogate political viewpoints. For those who don't see this principle as too important-just think about the possible consequences of a future executive council which puts partisanship above honesty as a Student Government Coun- cil president once did. T HE UNION is not an all-inclusive student activity, it is a service organization whose members join it because they enjoy doing service-type work. if any staff member' feels that he is not getting enough opportunity for free expression or political involvement he need only walk a few steps over to the Stu- dent Activities or Student Publications Build-- ings.. There are two possible remedies for the situation. The best one would be for the Union Board, either through some sustained deep reflection or pressure from outraged Union members, to decide to reconsider and reject the policy statement. The second alternative is for the University to ask every male student whether he wants to give part of his tuition to an organization which can use it to what he considers his detriment. Since the Union would almost certainly lose some money under1 such a setup, it is fairly certain the with- drawal of the policy statement should follow in a short time. But the time for action is now, not sometime in the future when it will be based on expediency and not principle. -RONALD WILTON 'Witness THE ALL-DEMOCRATIC State Administra- tive Board, has decided to take a witness along when one of their members confers with -Gnvu (~'CrLA R Pni, eno h ero nyavnrrn. SIDELINE ON SCG: Without Ross and Stockmeyer "PUTA 1S*M ON(MINE,"- By GLORIA BOWLES, THE RESIGNATIONS of Stu- dent Government Council Pres- ident Steyen Stockmeyer and elected member Robert Ross rep- resent the passing of an era, as. the campus losses two of the most effective student political leaders in the history of student govern- ment. Such transfers of power are inevitable, and at the same time, frightening. Ross and Stockmeyer have paved the way for a "new leadership"; in fact, their resigna- tions came partly because Ross, the liberal and Stockmeyer, the moderate, recognized the need for the formation of a new power elite. Stockmeyer and Ross, in fact, recognized what few politicians are able to admit: the passing of their usefulness. Imminent gradu- ation made the decision easier for them than for elected representa- tives of the adult political world, but they might have stayed on until June. In a joint letter of resignation, which Stockmeyer read to the Council, the two asserted that they were not leaving a "sinking ship," but providing two vacan- cies that might be filled in the March 13 elections, thus avoiding a long and difficult appointment process in September.. * * * (IRONICALLY enough, Stock- meyer and Ross announced an LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Union. Staff Politicking MustlBe Prohibited To the Editor: ERE IS a situation developing Twithin the Michigan Union which demands the attention of all the men of the University. The Union is about to embark upon a new policy regarding po- litical expression within its house organ, Michigan Union Reports. Consistent with the unheard of precedent set during the NSA ref- erendum, the Union Report, unless we act now, will become the ve- hicle for the expression of political views, albeit signed, and dis- claimed by the executive com- mittee. THE MEN of this University sup- port the Union through deductions taken from their tuition fees; they control, in name, the governing of the Union through their election of members of the Board of Di- rectors; they approve constitu- tional amendments proposed by Union officers. But as all who have interest know, the Union, is really run by a set of senior offi- cers who are selected nominally by the Board of Directors, but in fact by the outgoing officers. All this is not so bad when the Union sticks to its job: service- broadly conceived-to student ac- tivities and organizations, and the administration of the hotel and restaurant. When the Union be- gins to become a political force on campus, it is time for the demo- cratic mechanism to be beefed up. The problem with Union usurpa- tion of function is not new; we can learn from past experience with its intervention in politics. During the Referendum this fall, an absolutely illegitimate use of our money paid for a copy of the Union Report filled with two viru- lently anti-USNSA articles, and distributed far beyond normal channels. For example, they were delivered to sororities in packets THUS, WE see that when the Union, innocently guising its poli- cy in the phrase' 'allowing free ex- pression of Union personnel" em- barks on a policy of politicizing its house organ, it means that Union officers - admittedly a self-per- petuating conservative force-are involved in more immediate ob- jectives. Not content with an organized system of 66 houses in the affili- ate system, conservative leaders need the backing of the Union: but even with open aid (offices, material, etc.) during the Refer- endum, they lost. If the men of Michigan feel they want the Union to become a political party they should be able to make/that choice; for that is the direction in which the present officers are moving the Union. Those rumors, extant for about three months, are now in crescen- do, and with the news of the change in publication policy, we have every right to assume that is what is happening. If, then this is the case, let us beware. It is our Union. We have the choice, not the Union officers. Despite their talk about the lack of democracy in USNSA, they are about to pull off the most mani- pulative coup in years. THEREFORE, we should: 1) Demand a public statement about the political ambitions of *the Michigan Union; 2) demand that the present Board of Directors oppose the current trend within the Union. 3) select student members of the Board of Directors who will remain faithful to the Union as a service organization, and leave politics to those whose job it is; Q) demand a referendum as to whether the Union may or may not print a political sheet, or take intention to resign at one of the' Council's more productive meet- ings, which saw passage of a pro- posal on student-faculty govern- ment, acceptance of a report which outlines implementation procedures for participation in Regental elections and a proposal for direct election of eight dele- gates to the United States Na- tional Student .Association Con- gress.) Stockmeyer and Ross, then, are not leaving a "sinking ship," no' does their departure signal a sud- den change in the political make- -up of the Council. Their influence will certainly be felt for many months to come, partly in the advisery capacity to which the two are pledged. More- over, a Council which has been criticized for polarity will continue to be divided along conservative- liberal lines. The -lines- may; not be as finely drawn, nor will the "choosing up sides" be so formaliz- ed as this semester, when liberals' and conservatives met separately in weekly caucuses.' Neither will philosophies be as, well expounded and articulated. Council members of both the left and the right then are look- ing around for leaders: they can little hope to find anyone as poli- tically adept as either Stockmeyer; or 'Ross. * * * A CERTAIN bi-polarization of Council is unavoidable and not necessarily undesirable. Basic phi losophical differences will be un- derscored by the USNSA confer- ence this summer, in its delibera- tions on matters of national and international moment, and thus rivalries of the March to June SGC sessions should be more acute, at. the beginning of the first semester in late August. Polarity-which provided the backdrop for the founding of two American political parties-is -a distinct advantage for the voter. Generally uninformed, interested in Student Goverment Council for only a fews days a year-prior to election-the right and left group- ings provide him with a guide line however superficial, on election day. INDIVIDUAL Council members, however, are at a distinct cis- advantage when such groupings are made. Many of them come to Council ideologically immature, and find themselves shoved into one cprner or another. In the current term, a growing dependence on the leadership of Ross and Stockmeyer found other Council members seldom faced with the development of individ- ual philosophies or promoting in- dividual courses of action. In the long run, we cannot dis- missthe contribution made to student government by either Stockmeyer or Ross; their n- fluence has been tremendous, not only on SGC in the current year, but also in the tone of student government to come. There are those certainly who would con- sider one 's contribution more im- By ELLEN SILVERMAN. THE TRAGEDY of Mississippi plays continuously but while there is standing room only for spectators, the play is terribly slow moving. One hundred years after the passage of the Fifteenth Amend- ment insuring the rights of United States citizens to vote, only 30 per cent of the Negroes in the South are registered and in 13 Mississippi counties, no Negro names are listed on the rolls of voters. The newest effort made to force the registration of Negro voters in the state was made two weeks ago when the justice department filed suit for an order barring discrimination against qualified Negroes seeking to register. The case was filed in, Sunflower County, Miss., in the heart of the Delta country, the center of the intransigent area. And it is re- garded by many observers as the most curcial test to date on the question .of Negro voting. It may be as signficant in regard'to regis- tration as the 1954 Supreme Court desicion was to school segregation. SUNFLOWER COUNTY is the home of many important forces in the registration struggle. There is Sen. James 0. Eastland, head of the Senate Judiciary Commit- tee, and the White Citizens Coun- cil, which began in the county in 1954 before spreading throughout the South. Although Senator Eastland told the Senate 'last spring that "all who are qualified to vote, botlf black and white, exercise the right of suffrage in my state .. .," in Eastland's very county only 114 Negroes or 1.2 per cent of the Negro population are -allowed to vote. The Mississippi legislature seems happy to =go along with mayors like Ruleville's (Sunflower County) Charles M. Dorrough" who claims. "Hell, most of these niggers ain't interested in voting." To make the Negroes even less interested, the legislature has passed a series of regulations for registration that virtually allows the registrar Hof the community, always white, to decide just who is to be entered on the roll book. * * * VOTERS IN Mississippi now have to able to interpret sections of the state constitution to the satisfaction of ,the registrar in order to register. But exactly which section is to be interpreted and how complete the answer is to be is left up to the descretiOn of the registrar. Consequently, barely literate whites are passing the tests by giving a few sen- tences to answer questions on the easiest sections while well-educat- edNegroes fail on harder sections. In addition, the registrar has the authority-to judge the "good moral characte" of the person applying to register. And in order finally to pass the registration tests, Negroes must have their names placed in local papers for two weeks.' WALTZ': MuchiMus h: Lacks Corn, WHEN AN OLD DUFFER retires from the. Queen's service and returns to his drafty castle filled with sprightly maids and two bumptious daughters, we are all set for riotous comedy. Things look even better when the gener- al's sweetheart (looking all of 25) arrives to spirit him away. There's even an obnoxious wife who whistles on the castle intercom every five minutes. She's a little too tragic, but (supposedly) it's all in fun. There's also her doctor, another wonder- ful old duffer with a new-fangled automobile that backfires reliably. It's (in other words) a perfect set-, up for a comedy, and to top-it- all-off, Peter Sellers, the master of slapstick, is the old, foolish gen- eral, * * THE COMEDY is a little re- strained at first, but who can't excuse a few nostalgic scenes in the general's hall of war relics. We can also excuse a few bitter scenes with his wife because there's a merry chasenwhen she takes to the country on a bike- with the general following on horse, the doctor by car. Now, at last we are down to some real comedy. Things die down again but we don't give up hope for some more Sellers wit. This time, however, we can't forgive the nostalgia of the general and his faithful confi- dante, the doctor. Somehow, we didn't come to hear thoughts on old soldiers, we came to see come- dy SELLERS' doesn't let us down completely: there's a wonderful scene at the village inn. While his young French lovely goes up- stairs, the general tries to shake, General Notices The Mary Louisa Hinsdale Scholarship amounting to, approximately $181.92 (interest on the endowment und) is available to undergraduate single wo- men who are wholly or partially self- supporting and who do not live in Uni- versity residence , halls or sorority houses. Girls with better than average scholarship and need will be consid- ered._ Application blanks are obtainable at the Office of the Alumnae Secretary, Alumni Memorial Hall or Alumnae Council, Michigan League, and should ube filed by March 15, 1963. Award will be granted for use during the first semes- ter of 1963-64 and will be announced at League Installation Night, April 22, 1963. The Lucile B. Conger Scholarship is offered to undergraduate women on the basis of academic performance, contri- bution to University life and financial need; the stipend is variable. Applica- tion forms are available in the Office of the Alumnae Secretary, Alumni Me- morial Hall or Alumnae Council Office, Michigan League, and must be return- ed by March 3, 1962. Recipients will ed by March 15, 1963, Recipients will be announced at League Installation ~Night, April 22, 1963. The Laurel Harper Seeley Scholarship is announced by the Alumnae Council of the Alumni Association for 1962-63. The award is variable and is open to *both, graduate and undergraduate wom- en. The award is made on basis of scholarship, contribution to University lice and financial need. Applications may be made through the Office of the Alumnae Secretary, Alumni -Memorial Hall or Alumnae Council Office, Michigan League and must be filed by March 15, 1963. Recip- ients will be announced at League In- stallation Night, April 22, 1963. The Lucy E. Elliott Fellowship with a stipend' of $1,000 is .being offered by the Alumnae Council of the Alumni Association for 1963-64. It is open to women graduates of any accredited col- lege or university. It may be used by a University of Michigan graduate at any college or university, but a graduate of any other university will be required to use the award on the Michigan campus. Academic achievement, crea- tivity and leadership will be considered in granting the award. Applications may be made through the Alumnae Council Office, Michigan League or Alumni Memorial Hall, and must be _filed by March 15, 1963. Award The last provision not only pro- vides a who's who in registering but offers for public notice all those who "should be persuaded" that registering is not for Ne- groes. Persuasion takes the form of economic reprsas, out-and-out violence, or legal twisting to in- sure non-compliance'with the law. In the last few months, three Negro women were Injured in a shotgun blast' atter they Joined a voter registration drve; a driver of a bus carrying 20 *e- groes to the county seat of In- dianola (Sunflower Cunty again) was' arrested and fined "$30 for driving a yellow bus since it was too much like the color of a school bus; and Negroes with city jobs were fired while tenant farmers were. evicted after par- ticipating in the voting drives. THE RECENT case was the 33rd filed by the justice department in the South. The acts are filed under the provisions of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960. Eleven of these have been filed in Mississippi. Mississippi is not unique in the South but she is the worst. Matters involving reg- istration and intimidation against possible registrants are under in- vestigation in 16 counties includ- ing Sunflower and voting records have been requested or are being analyzed for' possible, case eve doee in'- at least 18 southern counties.,' The efforts are slow and tedious. Cases filed in local courts are usually appealed by the justice department after unfavorable rul- ings by local judges. The newest case will probably take time. But the effort s are being made. The James Meredith-University of Mississippi case will go down In history as evidence of governmen- tal efforts in the field of civil rights. But this is the headlined effort. Behind the scenes the jus- .ti-ce department is moving "slowly tboward the real integration of the Negro-at the ballot box. DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN The Daily Official ulletin Is an official publication of The Univer- ity of Mihigan for which The' Michigan Daily assumes no editorial responsibility. Notices should be sent in TYPEWRITTEN form to - Room 3564 Administration Building before 2 p.m. two days preceding publication. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16 Day Calendr 2:00 p.m.-Basketball-U-M vs. Ohio State Univ.: Yost Field House. 2:30 and 8:30 p.m.-Professional Thea- tre Program Shakespeare Festival-As- soiaion of Producing Artists Resident Company of the U-M in "A Midsummer Night's Dream": Trueblood Aud. t 4:00 p.m--Wrestling-U-M vs. In- diana Univ.: Yost Field House. 7:00 and 9:00 p.m.-Cinema Guild - Silva Pinal, Fernando Ray, and Fran- cisca Rabal in Bunuel's "viridiana"; short, Carole Lombard and'-Daphne Pollard in Sennett's "Match-Making Mama": Architecture Aud. 8:00 p.m.-Hockey-U-M vs. Mich. Co1- lege of Mining and Technology: Mich. Coliseum. 8:30 p.m--school of music Degree e- cital-Carol Jewell, violinist: Lane Hall Aud. -