ght ltirhinn atit t Seventy-TAird Year EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS (w THE UNIVErSITY OF MICHIGAN - UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUSLICATIONS "Wherep olons Ae 'F r STUDENT Pu*c1-ATIONS BLDG., ANN ARBOR, MIcH., PHONE No 2-3241 'truth WID Premno" Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must brenoted in all reprints. THE PROPOSED STATE CONSTITUTION: Education Article Will Produce Morass UESDAY, MARCH 26, 1963 NIGHT EDITOR: GERALD STORCH / oil Presidency, Demands Strong Leader STUDENT GOVERMENT Council last week elected a conservative, Thomas Brown, of the business administration school, to its presi- dency. A former executive vice-president of the . Council, Brown, who knows the organization well and who has worked conscientiously to fulfill his administrative tasks, must undertake the major responsibility for piloting Council. through one of the most difficult springs in student government history. In electing Brown, the Council turned down another presidential candidate whose philos- ophy of the presidency would have seen it through the difficult spring, ahead, and made a more effective and powerful force by spring's end. Kenneth Miller, a liberal student leader who has aspired to the presidency for the past year, and who some claim was cheated out of that position last semester by virtue of the now infamous "light bulb incident" has been relegated to the sidelines. He will still serve as Council member, but both the prestige and the power of the presi- dency were denied him last Wednesday by a close 10-8 vote. T IS HIGHLY unfortunate that the Council rejected an excellent opportunity to elect a student president who would have been able to lift it out of that rut of inactivity and ineffectiveness in which it has wallowed for such a long time. One can only hope that the new Council president will avoid the muddied approach to his office that has characterized SGC since 1954.:. Up to now, though differing somewhat in style, Council presidents have all regarded their responsibility to the Council in much the way of a doting mother regards her obligation to her child: the president should guide and advise its Council, help it out over the rough spots, and pull it out of the thicket when it gets tangled there and generally let the fledg- ling group stumble its own way to maturity and success. This view of the presidency has resulted in a floundering SGC. The continued existence of Student Government Council will no longer be justified unless it begins to be productive and effective. The president of the Council, if he maintains a namby-pamby, sweet, helpful atti- tude toward his job will perptuate that campus view which sees Council as namby-pamby, sweet, sometimes helpful, but primarily to be ignored. Brown would do well to institute the view of the Council president expounded by the candi- date he defeated for the office. He would at the same time be well advised to ponder the fate of legislation passed by Council over the past few months, and the implications this has for the presidency. rHE PROPOSAL for student -faculty govern- ment represents one more prong in an at- tack that was begun, however mildly, by last year's Reed report, which cited the University's institutional schizophrenia to the extent that the university's non-academic actions were not' in harmony with its academic purposes. Stu- dent-faculty government, as conceived by the Council's Committee on the University, is a major breakthrough in student affairs. and an important recognition of the capabilities and responsibilities of the student in the shap- ing of his own educational experience. But action on the studeat-faculty govern- ment motion passed by Council has been slow. Letters to faculty members, requesting that students be placed on a number of University Senate committees, did not go out until half a month after the passage of the motion. The Council president mad no observable attempt at meetings, interviews and person-to-person cointacts with the faculty members involved. In brief, there has been on presidential push on a council passed motion basic to the role of the student in the University. A motion for Council participation in Re- gental elections has fallen flat. It was agreed that the Council stand on Regental platforms should be aired before party conventions. Only a half-hearted attempt was made to carry out the spirit' of the council declaration. Council also voted to conduct interviews with regental candidates. With spring elections only six days away, no Regental candidate has appeared be- fore Council. In fact, since the announcement of passage of the Regenta motion, Council has shown no more interest in the elections than in any other year. We can only hope that the Harris report, which recommends solutions to the problems of discriminatory membership practices, and withdrawal of recognition from student organi- zations, is not doomed to the same failure as these other Council motions, in the passage look like significant steps toward a more competent SGC, but which in their lack of implementation have shown SGC to be as incompetent as ever. Council considered the Harris report in order to meet a deadline for its consideration by the Regents at their March meeting. The regents did not consider the Harris report last Friday. They are, however, considering a letter from the lawyers of five sororities which condemn the Harris recommendations. None of the Re- gents has ever received a copy of the Harris report they were supposed to have discussed on Friday. If any of the Regents are cognizant of the proposals embodied in the report, it is because the Daily, or individual Daily reporters have made them aware of it. COUNCIL MEMBERS are obviously wasting their time-five hours of it every Wednes- day night and many more in preparation dur- ing the week-if the president of their body is not an active, concerned president. With the president of Student Government Council lies the major responsibility for the success or failure of the Council, for no other member or officer is as fully committed to its work. It s a responsibility which past SGC presi- dents have preferred to abdicate. Council presi- dents. like to hide behind the desk in the ob- scurity of their office in the SAB, and behind the safe assertion that "I am just another Council member." Too many Council presidents see as their major task a mastery of Robert's Rules of Order; those very presidents could spend their time more wisely in a study of the power and prestige inherent in the presidential office and of the possibilities for political effectiveness of- fered to a man who holds the highest position in the only body on campus recognized as the official representative of students of the Uni- versity. OM BROWN'S orientation is administrative, his political convictions conservative. His view of the presidency, as expressed until now, is narrow. He says he will guide the Council and carry out its orders with efficiency and not show favoritism to one proposal over another. Brown, according to the philosophies he has thus far articulated, will be a reflector and not a leader. He will be hesitant to put all the weight and force of his office behind a Council passed motion to which he is especially com- mitted and he will not harness the forces of all-campus opinion behind those motions passed by Council which are particularly basic to increasing the role of the student in the University complex. In Brown, Council has elected a president who is knowledgeable, experienced and consci- entious but who lacks prowess in public rela- tions and politics. It is highly likely that a Council which needs a forceful driving presi- dent this spring has elected an administrator. It would be unfair to predict Brown's perform ance on the basis of the failures of his prede- cessor; we Dgave only the views as already ex- pounded by the newly elected president to go on. However, tomorrow night Brown will slam down the gavel in his first meeting as presi- dent: perhaps by then he will have recon- sidered his philosophy of presidency-a narrow view which has been perpetuated by other council presidents, and which has fostered a Student Government Council that has also taken a narrow view of its power and its re- sponsibilities. -GLORIA BOWLES By GERALD STORCH CONTRARY to mhost of the propaganda you hear, the edu- cation section of the proposed State Constitution is definitely not a "great advance" for univer- sities in Michigan. It has become increasingly ap- parent, instead, that the words so appealing on paper would in actuality plunge higher educatior in this state into a morass of con- fusion. The most highly-touted part of the article establishes an eight- member state board of education which would "serve as the general planning and coordinating body for- all public education and ad- vise the Legislature as to the fi- nancial requirements" of the re- spective institutions. GREAT, Republicans say. Just what we need to end duplication of servicesamong state universi- ties and harmful in-fighting for higher appropriations. This new board, they believe, would be able to draw up an orderly plan for state-wide development of educa- tion to ease Michigan through the impending "baby boom" crop of college applicants. Unfortunately, the con-con framers were eminently unclear in their phrasing. Since the new document also would guarantee' the 10 state universities sole power, "to supervise their respective in- stitutions and control and direct the expenditure of the institutions' funds," no one really knows, for example, whether the authority to' set up university 'branches - a non-internal expenditure - rests with the education board or the individual institution. The potential dangers of this particular section were clearly demonstrated last week. Northern Michigan University President Ed- gar L. Harden charged that the failure of the University and the other state colleges to agree on the best plan for expansion of Delta College left the state's high- er education system in "near an- archy." He noted "with . great reluc- tance" that, if the proposed con-' stitution passes, the state board would have to do the "overall planning" since voluntary cooper- ation among the state colleges ob- viously hadn't worked. A scorching reply was then delivered by Regent Eugene B. Power, who warned that compul- sory coordination would merely shift the arena of inter-university competition from the Legislature. to the state board. * * * POWER IS right. The educa- tional needs of the State of Mich- igan are best determined by its educators, not its "citizens" or its politicians. Educators are men who are hired and paid to deal with problems of education, and, there are few things more infuri- ating than seeing newly self- styled layman "experts" rush in with The Solution. This highly-praised provision is also sadly lacking in another as- pect: the board's power to "advise the Legislature as to the financial requirements" of each institution -in more blunt terms, who should get cut and how much. Each university, probably, would have to submit its budgetary fig- ures to the state board as well as to the state controller's office. Each university would have to scrap with every other institution in two places now; instead of min- imizing institutional rivalry, the proposed constitution would mag- nify it. The con-con brainstorm gets worse: the Legislature thus would ,get "expert" advice from two sources, and even the most doltish of individuals can perceive that all the legislators would do would be to accept cheerfully whichever recommendation is lower and be done with it. * 0 * IT THEREFORE seems clear that voluntary c o o p e r a t i o n through the Michigan Coordinat- ing, Council for Public Higher Education, however Imperfect, is still the best means of coordinat- ing the plans and wishes of dif- ferent universities, and that the education section of the new docu- ment takes a gross step backward in providing for a compulsory, rigid, formalized system of layman coordination. The provision, if enforced by the state board, would probably be bitterly contested in court. Nevertheless; this particular clause enjoys bipartisan support, attracted mainly by its alluring promise for less institutional ri- valry. Four other significant innova- tions in the education article have been greeted with party disagree- ment. * * * STATE SUPERINTENDENCY- The con-con framers removed this office from the statewide bal- lot and placed it under the authority of the state board of education. The superintendent would carry out its policies and act as its chairman, without the right to vote. He would be ap- pointed by the board for a term of office to be determined by the board. The board itself would wield the authority previously held by the superintendent. Republicans assert this revision would remove the superintendency from partisan politics and thus would enhance "professionalism," attracting more qualified people to the position. Democrats believe the move is an unwarranted demotion of the superintendent, who has enjoyed a good amount of discretion and authority in working with 2,000 individual school districts. Furth- ermore, they argue, awarding power to an eight-man, statewide elected commission merely serves to diffuse and muddle lines of re- sponsibility. * * * THE DEMOCRATS on this point seem to have the better stand. Since the superintendent is a state official, he should be appointed by and responsible to the governor, not to the board or directly to the electorate. The creation of a policy-making board on the state level was meant to provide greater public participation in the governing of educational institutions and to give the superintendent expert citizen advice and consultation. But these goals could have been satisfied by setting up some sort of advisory body rather than the more clumsy and inefficient "gov- ernment by committee" over which the popularly-elected gov- ernor would have no control. EX - OFFICIO GOVERNOR - "The governor shall be an ex- officio member of thestate board of education without the right to vote." Republicans claim this would provide the necessary close rela- tionship between the executive branch and public education. Democrats contend the board would become embroiled in "par- tisan politics." The GOP has a better stand' here. The governor is a member of many boards, and rarely has time to attend any of their meet- ings. In addition, lifting his right to vote would seem to forestall the possibilities of his interjecting partisan considerations into edu- cational questions. At any rate, this provision wouldn't do any harm. * *,* ADVISE AND CONSENT--The proposed constitution decrees that members of governing boards of state universities outside the "Big Three" (the University, Michigan State University and Wayne State University) be "appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate." Republicans generally avoid discussing this point. Democrats blast away, charging that letting the GOP "veto bloc" in the Senate put its hands on education board nominations is an incredible risk, in view of the 19th century orientation of the outstate Republicans. THE DEMOCRATS are right, for the wrong reason. A constitu- tion, is a basic, long-term draft whose content is based on funda- mental rather than transitory situations such as political align- ment. The old-guard is being crowded out in the Senate by the GOP moderates anyway. But it is difficultto understand why the Senate should have the power to veto gubernatorial ap- pointments in this area. The board terms last for eight years. Since there would be eight members of. each institution's board, two would be appointed every other year to establish overlapping membership. Governors would appoint mem- bers of their own party to the governing boards, just as they have always done in the past. Therefore, when the electorate makes its choice for governor, it exercise its indirect control over education boards, and the Senate check becomes unnecessary and dilatorious. The only result would be an ad- ditional and unwelcome injection of direct partisan considerations in college board selection. * * * THE TWO other major changes in the section which deal with higher eduaction have been ap- plauded by all. One is the granting of consti- tutional autonomy to the other seven state universities (the Uni- versity, Michigan State University and Wayne State University al- ready have it.) Henceforth,\ the 'little seven'--- and any colleges created in the future-would be free to formulate their own practices, unshackled (in theory) by structures outside the particular institution. Secondly, the proposed charter would require legislative support and supervision of community and junior colleges, which aren't even mentioned in the present constitu- tipn. To aid in policy planning, a special advisory committee would be set up for the state board. (Democrats contended that this abrogates what the board itself is charged to do, but proponents pointed to the heavy load of work involved in handling the fast- growing two-year colleges.) . . TAKEN IN sum, the education section is disappointing. Its ad- vocates are more inclined to speak in glittering generalities and ad- hominem recitals of the distin- guished citizens education organ- izations (PTA's, and so forth) which have endorsed the docu- ment, than in concrete, meaning- ful specifics. Democrats, on the other hand, have failed miserably to give ade- quate thought to the important compulsory coordination clause- the worst part of the whole sec- tion. As for non-party stances, it is extremely difficult to see why so many respected educators have come out in favor of the section (perhaps the granting of auton- omy to the seven other colleges overshadows the detriment they may or may not detect in the rest of the article.) Furthermore, it is difficult to understand how a con-con com- mittee, composed of distinguished leaders such as MSU President John Hannah and former Regent Roscoe Bonisteel, could contrive a plan which ultimately would work to the harm of state universities. At this juncture, the only rea- sonable conclusion from the diffi- cult situation to be drawn is this: if the document passes, hopefully the "coordination" clause will either be amended.or not strictly enforced by the state board: ifcit fails, let us then work to put into our present constitution the good things done by the men at con- con. CONTEMPORARY FESTIVAL: Haunting Freshness' THE THIRD CONCERT of this year's Contemporary Music Festival opened with the oldest work on the festival, Alban Berg's "Four Pieces for Clarinet and Piano (1913)." It is remarkable to observe the freshness and vitality of this music. It's haunting slow sections contrast with the energe- tic, wonderful rhythms. The performance by John Moh- ler, clarinet, and Charles Fisher, piano, was excellent.' "Chansons Innocentes" by Sal- vatore Martirano are three witty songs with texts by e.e. cummings. They were delightfully performed by Karen Lovejoy, soprano, and Lawrence Crawford, pianist. Mrs. Lovejoyndeserves special praise for her wonderful projection of the text. * *, * THE THIRD WORK, Togni's Sonata for Flute and Piano, is a problematic work. Despite lIts rhythmic vitality, I found only the rondo last movement satis- fying. The performance was sn- purb. Mr. Hauenstein's command of the flute is well-known and his ivork in this piece was beyond reproach. Mr. Berry again reveal- ed his fine gifts as a pianist and his extraordinary ability to coem- prehend and communicate music in the contemporary styles. Castiglioni's "Tropi" concluded the first part of the program. The work consists of short, choppy ideas which appear largely discon- nected. It is one of those com- positions which cause me to won- der who is trying to fool whom. "Tropi" is an extremely difficult piece to put together in perform- ance. The ensemble, conducted by David Sutherland, made a valiant attempt and for all I could tell, they succeeded. * * * AFTER THE intermission, Ger- ald Humel's Trio for Horn, Viola, and Piano receivedi ts first per- formance. The Trio is a large- scale work which dares to be ro- mantic and richly sonorous. Each of the instruments is given dis- tinct, idiomatic music, and yet the total ensemble fits well together. It is not a totally successful work, because it tends to be tedious at times. The dedicated, excellent artists were Marian Owen, pianists, Rob- ert Courte, violist, and Louis Stout, horn. -Robert Jobe LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Political Disgust To the Editor: AM RATHER disgusted with an apparent apathy on the part of the young political party clubs. As far as I can discern, they are no more politically oriented than the Women's Afternoon Coffee Clutch. I receive an impression that they are willing to distribute literature. on important - but rather far-removed - issues; but are hesitant to take an active part in a more immediate event. Presently, there is a rather BAG OF TRICKS: unique political race going on in the Ann Arbor area. Its unique- ness lies in the fact that the Dem- A iroe1 ocrats have finally come uo with a competent candidate, in the person of Dr. Albert F. Schneider, TE ADVENT of Norman Mailer to oppose the incumbent Republi- in Ann Arbor yesterday was can Mayor Creal. This race would not quite the jubilee that the seem to afford an excellent oppor- Union (which lost some $300. on tunity for these "politicsl clubs" th venture) had hoped for. to get untried hands into some Whether it was a mysterious pre- real politics., science or just apathy which kept From what I have been able to people away, the result still was ascertain, Dr. Schneider is an en- that one missed very little by not ergetic, seiious, and able contend- experiencing Mailer in the flesh. er, and the Young Democrats He is, in short, a terribly suc- would profit by a closer associa- cessful dilettante, he knows his tion with him, Meanwhile, the success, and the knowledge makes. Young Republicans are offered an him weak. Encouraged by the pop- opportunity to see a political ma- ular magazines, Mailer has begun chine (on a minor scale) in ac- to believe that any of his instant tion. There is no doubt in my thoughts are fit to print. mind that the conscientious can- Bertrand Russell is one of the didate will be grateful for support few men who can get away with and ideas from a club - and will uncensored mental broadcast be- be willing to work with them for cause his unreflected thoughts are mutual profit. I am relatively cer- usually brilliant. Norman Mailer tain of this acceptance because of does not belong to that club, al- these words by Dr. Schneider, in though it is only fair to recognize his speech of February 16: that he addresses himself to a * * * different slice of culture and a "DESPITE ITS years, Ann Ar- different audience. bor is a young town in its people * * * and its ideas. Even in the most aged citizen may be found the HIS STYLE is inordinately ac- youthful ideas generated by the robatic and cunningly enough dis- intellectual atmosphere enjoyed guised to keep At least Ann Ar- in our city. And youth must be bor audiences off his trail. He read served by youth." some of his Esquire articles and I do not feel that the issue can other things he had written. Then, be stated any more clearly than pretending to "discuss" existential- this. I feel that if the clubs are ism with the audience, he went at all serious about politics, and into his act. His stunt consists of are willing to contribute some doing a sort of extemporaneous time and effort to better their un- term paper on the diversity of derstanding of its workings, they topics which his writings cover. should consider taking an active Now the'consolidation of diverse part in this interesting campaign. observations into a single system -Don C. DiLella, '65 is a fine academic tool. But in the ae hands of a man eager to show how much ground he can cover and still 'come out looking whole, it loses its integrity, at least, and probably its attractiveness as well. At best it is some high form of vaudeville, but never is it justifi- able as an intellectual endeavor, * * * I AM UNHAPPY to say that the audience (or at least those who asked questions) kept trying to pump more "meaning" out of his simple premises (e.g. what fol- lows if there is life after death and a soul) instead of sitting back and enjoying the spectacle of a man trying to construct a card house out of his own jokers. Like the infinite girl on the cornflakes box (who herself holds a cornflakes box, which in turn, etc.), Mailer pulls his act out of his own bag of tricks. One favorite trick .Is to list things (people on a letterhead, topics of conversa- tion), forcing the listener to stake out new boundaries with each en- try if he ever hopes to include them all within one category. The, hopelessness of the task ap- proaches at an expontential speed, and it is a fine joke. The same result, however, obtains when Mailer does it with his topics. Norman Mailer, then, is a trav- eling circus It is his style' of life, transmitted through his comments which must be reviewed tonight; matters of form and content are mere vehicles. If you liked the Hardy Boys, you'll love Norman Mailer. - Red Robin Hood' FEIFFER ACCORDING to the "Christian Science Mon- itor," a woman in Indiana objects to the teaching of the Robin Hood legend because he was a follower of "the straight Communist line The Hoosier lady who is convinced that Robin was a Red is typical of the growing pres- sure, on all sides of the political fence, from people who want to censor school textbooks. In Detroit, there was a case where Negroes objected to the use of a textbook which they felt slighted the achievements of Negroes. In Pontiac, there was protest against the use of Editorial Staff MICHAEL OLINICK, Editor JUDITH OPPENHEIM MICHAEL HARRAH some of the established classics because of their supposedly obscene nature. In Texas, groups have asked schools, to delete favorable references on everything from the United Nations to the progressive income taxes. These protests raise important, questions. How much freedom are public schools being given to teach the controversial subjects and what role can the citizen play in selecting the material to be taught in the classroom. THE SELECTION of texts is not a duty of the general public. The public is no more entitled to select a history text for a high school than it is to erase the decisions of his- tory. The South has lost the Civil War and, if the South does not like to admit this unplea- sant fact in its text books, that's too bad. Furthermore, every ethnic, religious and ra- cial group has unpleasant images and experi- ences in its hackground that it wnuld like to AT~ roouo ilrte M. W. T~q Ill 1 LAIIA . wfi &o 10 W061 t{rin R IT r A"EI? 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