04r mlrhtgatt Haag Seventy-Fi fth Year' EDITrD AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS Each Time I Chanced To See Franklin D. Whither the Road to Effective Student Action? by H. Nel Berkson Opinions Are Free, 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, Mic". "Uth Will Prevail NEWs P ONE: 764-0552 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily ex Press the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. SUNDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 1965 NIGHT EDITOR: JEFFREY GOODMAN Want an Active SGC? Elect GROUP Tomorrow (Shortly before this editorial was completed, the Student Government Council Credentials and Rules Com- mittee disqualified seven of the nine members of GROUP (Governmental Reform of University Policy) political party for an alleged minor, and at this point irrelevant campaign rules infraction. GROUP will appeal the decision to S t u d e n t Government Council this morning. Two of the nine GROUP candidates will remain on the ballot if the appeal is denied; the other seven can be written in.) ONE CANNOT succeed in debating and reaching a conclusion on the best method of student participation without mentioning symptoms of the more serious problems of the University: -A Regents ruling prohibits the Uni- versity from entering into competition wth private merchants; thus bookstores are allowed to alter and fix prices freely; -A student goes to his counselor, finds available no advice on the courses in which he is interested, and is or is not allowed to drop a course seven weeks later-depending solely on his counselor; --Student activities undergo a jarring and disorderly process of change as the University's new calendar abruptly forces changes in their mode of operation. HOW CAN STUDENTS best move to alleviate problems such as these? They can choose to work through either student government - an elected body with structured meetings and activities (like SGC)-or an ad hoc student group or groups formed to attack specific Uni- versity maladies with minimal structured operations. Both alternatives have been tested on this campus. During the period of furious student protests at Berkeley last fall, local students here formed an ad hoc group to tackle student problems. It was called the Student Action League. TEE SAL HAD certain advantages: it was novel, it attracted many disen- chanted by SGC, and it gave wide pub- licity to student discontent over Univer- sity problems through direct action tac- tics. But it failed to engage in direct and thorough consultations with adminis- trators, to produce a definitely outlined plan of actioi, to gain respect outside the University, or to produce enough members willing enough to do some spadework after the initial shouting. What did it gain? True, the University announced plans for a' gradual increase in student wages, but such increases had been planned and anticipated for years. In reality, the SAL accomplished little except to add to the already staggering proliferation of study committees in Ann Arbor. Its active mem- bership is now a fraction of what it was at the height of protest. SO AD HOC group action did poorly on this campus. So what? the reader may ask. After all, SGC is no alternative; its disadvantages outweigh the advantages. What's it ever done? It can be demonstrated that SGC does have several advantages over ad hoc groups. SGC statements have the weight of "legitimacy"-the student body elects SGC members. They can, and often do, claim to speak for the student body. SGC members also have constant con- tact with administrators who actually feel it their duty to give time to the duly- elected representatives of the students. SGC lobbying has in fact been influential in several changes in women's hours and apartment permissions. SGC members also have their own publicity bulletin (paid for by University students) plus regular newspaper coverage for every meeting. And they have some power-for example, the authority to deal with af- filiate discrimination within the reason- ably liberal veto of Vice-President for Student Affairs Richard L. Cutler. SO BOTH AD hoc political action and structured student government have some advantages. Ideally, the best form of student action would seem that which combines the advantages of both while eliminating as many disadvantages as possible. This is what GROUP political party is trying to do. GROUP is pressing for im- provement in the counseling system, clar- ification of course-dropping procedures, and decent prices in the bookstores. It wants the University to take an increas- ing, but non-paternal, interest in the liv- ing conditions and outside activities of its students as rising enrollment pres- sures and shrinking calendars shove the student into an academic cubbyhole. GROUP promises that it would go be- yond the structure of SGC and rely on direction-action tactics if regular SGC action were to be futile as it has often been in the past. It proposes several methods: letter-writing campaigns; cir- culating petitions among students, par- ents and faculty; picketing Regents meet- ings. or legislators visiting campus or, if milder methods are ineffective, organiz- .ing rent strikes or massively publicizing University problems. COME CRITICS claim that GROUP can- not possibly fulfill its promises. One school of thought holds that it might suc- ceed if it stayed outside the SGC struc- ture, but that in SGC, it will fall back on the paper-shuffling, clerical, procedural functions that occupy so much of thej present Council members' time. The possibility of this happening is extremely slim. GROUP is unique in the history of SGC elections. It wants to use the advantages of SGC-publicity, admin- istration contact, student money - to further its purpose of improving the Uni- versity. But it is perfectly willing to go outside the SGC framework and beyond SGC powers as soon as it deems this necessary. And it would be overly pessi- mistic to expect a political party to run on the policy statements GROUP has issued and then turn into a group of "student leaders" if elected. GROUP POLITICAL party is sincere in its purposes and offers University students a chance to use SGC power and direct-action tactics when needed. It may be the last hope for a worthwhile student government at this University. Vote for the GROUP candidates tomorrow. -ROBERT HIPPLERI AFTER FOUR YEARS of seeing Student Government Council scratch about for some sense of mission, my pessimism as to its future may be overly great. SGC is not a government at all. It has no defined role in the power structure of the University. It has been lim'ted to resolutions and declarations which have never been notorious for either prior research or follow through. Slowly but surely, students have realized that their only current means of effectiveness within the Univer- sity is through pressure-group tactics. The newly-formed GROUP political party wants to turn toward this end, but whether SGC is either desirable for or adaptable to suchatactics is open to question. The Council, operat- ing in a vacuum, creates a rather stifling atmosphere, and where pressure is needed an ad hoc group (or GROUP) would probably be more effective. NEVERTHELESS, GROUP asserts "sincere com- mitment."' Enough past candidates have made the same noise to cause one to wonder how long this com- mitment will last, but from the proposition that no one else elected to Council will do anything anyway, this ticket deserves a chance. (At this writing, it appears that most GROUP candidates will be stricken from the ballot. However, they can still legally seek a write-in vote.) This is not to say GROUP has an informed view of the campus. In what seems to be a prevailing trend, it takes an unnecessarily hostile attitude toward the ad- ministration. Moreover, eight of the nine candidates are freshmen and sophomores, and they toss such terms as "multiversity" around with abandon, not really under- standing what they mean. ON THE OTHER HAND, GROUP's emphasis on economic issues is overdue, particularly if it can make the transition from complaints to action. Prices in the campus area are far out of line. There is no reason, for instance, why SGC couldn't publish a "comparative shopper" to alert students to the lower prices off campus. As for GROUP's inexperience, the Council has long suffered from a succession of one-semesterl and one- year members who haven't had time to get their feet on the ground. By having a potentially longer stay on Council, GROUP candidates might eventually have a much better grasp of the issues facing the University, and the student role in resolving these issues, than has previously been the case. *L * ** THE SGC PRESIDENCY is also at stake, for the first time in an all-campus election, and this is one office which shouldn't fall to GROUP. Its candidate. Robert Golden, has neither the experience nor the qualifications necessary. Gary Cunningham, on the other hand, has two years of SOC experience, and while he is not effective in debate, he is an excellent worker and administrator. Cunningham is largely responsible for the hesitant, but important steps SGC has taken in the academic area. He is currently doing an excellent job coordinating the soon-to-be published course descrip- tion booklet. "IN THE MIDST of Plenty," the University Activity Center's first venture, should not go unnoticed for it is the finest speaker program to grace the campus in some time. Focusing on one issue and bringing a list of interesting authorities here, this program paves the way for its successors. There is no reason why some problem of equal importance couldn't be raised in the same manner each semester. The credit for this program goes primarily to former Union Special Projects Committee Chairman Jack War- ren. 'Warren did not petition for one of the senior offices of UAC because of personal conflicts, but his con- tribution to the campus has been high, and, hopefully, he will continue to be active in some capacity next year. 1 ;1 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Candidacies of Shenkin, Sutin FOLKUM ON CAMPUS: Typical Trio Concert b To the Editor: ROBERT SHENKIN, editor of the Ensian, apparently feels himself qualified for election to the Board in Control of Student Publications. I cannot help but feel, however, that Mr. Shenkin is not only unfit as a candidate for this office, but if elected could conceivably put a kink in the re- sponsible and objective way the present board has served the var- ious student publications. I seriously doubt his capacity for reasonable cooperation with other board members, since, as last year's business manager and this year's editor of the yearbook, he succeeded only in alienating those trying to work under him. Rather than allowing his staff wide scope of creativity and autonomy, I keep hearing from them that he in- sisted on his own approach, sel- dom accepting-or even acknowl- edging-suggestions from them. Early in the school year there was even talk of mass resignation by his staff members, after the resignation of one staff member who could no longer bear "an im- possible situation." When hiring a darkroom tech- nician, Mr. Shenkin apparently promised that student employment for the entire school year, then had him dismissed on one day's notice in February. What Mr. Shenkin told me of his intentionssfor better staff- editor relations before his ap- pointment as editor4 and what those relations subsequently are indicates to me to be incompet- ence so blatant as to disqualify him for my vote for any office. Apparently even the Board itself thinks so little of Mr. Shenkin's opinions that it flatly rejected his recommendations for the suc- ceeding Ensian editor. -Robert B. Ellery, '65 To the Editor: THE BOARD in Control of Stu- dent Publications is probably one of the least known offices on the campus election ballot next Monday. Yet the board is as im- portant as the value students and the University community place upon a free and vigorous campus press. A strong, vibrant and un- fettered Daily plays an important and constructive part in the Uni- versity. It transmits information and opinions and helps shape policies that effect us all. Maga- zines like Gargoyle and Genera- tion add to the cultural climate of the University. The Student Directory and the 'Ensian provide vital services and fond memories. All these publications fall under the board's jurisdiction. As a can- didate for one of the three stu- dent seats on this board, I seek to represent a broadly defined stu- dent interest in this community- wide board. As a for~mer staff member and senior editor of The Daily and now a graduate stu- dent in journalism, I can use my experience and knowledge for the benefit of the publications. There are several things I would like to do as a board member: -Freedom of internal operation for The Daily is both philosophic- ally necessary and of great bene- fit to the University community. For these reasons, I pledge my- self to unequivocally uphold this precious freedom if elected to the board. While I am no bigot and strongly deplore segregation and all the evils associated with it, I feel the restriction that "no writer shall express racial or religious bias in any . . . editorial" is an arbitrary limitation of the "open forum." -Change The Daily's Code of Ethics to permit staff members to endorse candidates in Regental elections and write prosegrega- tionist editorials. The Daily's "open forum" editorial page is designed to allow staff members to present all viewpoints provided they are not libelous. These two restrictions-particularly the cru- cial one on Regental elections- violate the "open forum" concept and the internal freedom of The Daily. -Have the board drop its 11- consing of other campus publica- tions. The board finds this task a nuisance and, on a campus this large, impossible. A revised Re- gents bylaw is needed, perhaps limiting the use of the University name and seal to publications directly under the board. -Establish a scholarship pro- gram that would allow more stu- dents to work on The Daily. The Daily is a time-consuming activity that generally precludes any kind of outside job. Daily staff pay is a token amount. Only students whose education is almost wholly paid for by their parents or who have large scholarships may par- ticipate. This limits the number of students from which The Daily can recruit and thus the amount of talent and diversity on its staff. It also cuts short promising Daily careers in the time-consum- ing sophomore and junior years. With proper safeguards so that the scholarship does not become a weapon of censorship or enmeshed in internal Daily politics, the board should set aside $1000 year- ly for scholarships. -Help all publications arrange for an orderly and successful tran- s tion to full-year operation. -Philip Sutin, Grad GROUP Ruling To the Editor: SEVEN GROUP candidates have been disqualified from the SGC elections for an alleged campaign regulation violation. What viola- t~on? Campaigning in the Fish- bowl. The charge is specious. voice, for 'example, has repeated- ly campaigned in the Fishbowl with no disciplinary repercus- sions. GROUP-a recognized stu- dent organization-had obtained the necessary consent of Alpha Phi Omega to utilize a Fishbowl position. GROUP has not ignored elec- tion regulations. Two thousand flyers printed up for an election appeal were expressly withheld be- cause one regulation was not clar- ified to our satisfaction. Our good faith and our desire to abide by election rules has been shown. Our candidates are victims of an arbitrary decision contradicting precedence. SGC is reconsidering their committee's action this aft- ernoon. Any decision but a rever- sal will be unjust. -GROUP Candidates T HE KINGSTON TRIO gifted a standing room only crowd last night with by far the most laugh- able folk concert I have seen' this year. It opened with a Woody Guthrie tune, "Hard Travelin'," Which set the tone for the rest of the con- cert. It followed with approximate- ly 20 songs that everyone knew by heart and several more you could hum along with if you were quick. The whole concert was inter- spiced with the group's voyeuristic humor which was reminiscent of several Red Foxx albums I've chanced to hear. As musicians, however, they have become considerably more versi- tile over the years. Bob Shane's technique on guitar, rivaled only by Mel Bay, has become delight- fully louder. And his approachto the tenor banjo, which he has tuned -like a ukelele, is, awe in- spiring. Nick Reynolds is still strumming his Martin tenor, only a little harder now, and John Stewart, the only member of the group who approaches musicianship, was con- tent to strum his five string mono- tonously for the better part of the concert. * * * THE GROUP'S delivery and ap- proach to "its" material has! not, however, become more versitile with the years. I do not mean to intimate that its arrangements have not changed. It is the only group I have heard than can take an African hunting song like "Wimoweh" and, on its first re- cording of it, carefully delete the better part of the original mean- ing and then, not satisfied with this, give it a comical performance in concert that sounds like the Boy Scouts' mating dance. If the reader by this time is convinced I have nothing good to say about the Kingston Trio, I must dispel the idea. Thegroup truly entertained a capacity crowd for two and one- half hours to the tune of three encores and myriads of applause. This is no small feat for any group of entertainers. --Larry T. Zee JP -- OThe Week in Review Bruised Bodies, Cut Classes ALL-STAR CAST : It's Brigitte ARDOT! At the Michigan Theatre EVER SINCE THE late Mike Todd scored an overwhelming success with "Around the, World in 80 Days," movies boasting all manner of "cameo" stars have become more frequent and annoying. (One does, after all, get just a little tired of having the plot broken by waves of audible recognition sweeping through the audience when Carroll Baker suddenly pops into view as The Woman Who Mops Jesus Christ's Brow (in "The Greatest Story Ever Told") or some such nonsense.) Under the circumstances, then, I fear that producer-director Henry Koster can expect no sympathy from me if general critical acclaim for his latest cinematic vapidity, "Dear Brigitte," is not all that he had hoped for: anyone who crams James Stewart, Fabian, Ed Wynn and Brigitte Bardot into one film deserves anything he gets. AS A MAJOR example of the cinematic art, "Dear Brigitte" isn't even in the running. As a comedy, it has its moments, but few and far between, and generally incidental to the plot. (Example: when Stewart, who has just resigned from his teaching position for the umpteenth time and wants to get unemployment compensation, tries to convince the clerk that his occupation is that of "poet," he shows her an an- thology in which his poems appear, saying that his name in the book proves he is indeed a poet; she in turn whips out a telephone directory and says, "My name's in this book, but that doesn't make me a tele- phone." Since this turns out to be one of the funniest lines in the film, the reader may be able to deduce what the rest of the humor is like.) As for the plot, it is just too ridiculously far-fetched to be worth the effort to trying to explain here. Suffice to say that the entire denouement to which the plot builds is the seven minutes near the end, during which anyone who's managed to set through the rest of the film without gagging finally gets to watch Brigitte Bardot (wearing some clothes for a change) struggle through a few pages of rather ickly dialogue in her best Berlitz style. This is the last straw for the plot, which, after having bravely held out for an hour and a half, finally heaves one last sigh of resignation and collapses into a mass of melted fromage. -Steven Haller 'GOLDEN EYES': Successful Portrayal$ At the Campus Theatre E OF THE most amazing young actresses in movies today is Rita Tushingham. She is far from beautiful but has a most compelling face and personality. Because she plays the title role in "Girl With Green Eyes," the movie itself becomes appealing. She plays a young country girl who comes to live in Dublin and there meets and falls in love with an author (Peter Finch) twice her age. She later discovers that he is married, but continues the affair, intrigued by his sophistication and aura of romance. He is charmed by her simplicity. Ultimately, how- ever, these are the very differences that drivethem apart. Miss Tushingham's successful portrayal of the girl is in part due to her eloquent eyes. Her acting is powerful, yet gives the impression of great naturalness and ease. Director Desmond Davis has obtained a beautiful performance from Peter Finch as well. THE FILM HAS an interesting continuity-in the script when not in the film itself, and vice-versa. One conversation is often many scenes, while at another time volumes are expressed by one camera 9 tr 0 'A Effective SGC TOMORROW, STUDENTS will stam- pede or trickle to the polls to select nine people as their representatives on Student Government Council. None of the issues raised in the cam- paign have the emotional appeal of the crusades against administrative paternal- ism and violation of student political rights that have traditionally rallied sup- port for student government organiza- tions. Yet, many are of vital importance to the student body, and it is imperative that students demonstrate their concern by voting. A large voter-turnout will present an ultimatum to SGC. It will demand that Council give thorough consideration to issues confronting the campus and for- mulate effective policies representative of student opinion to deal with them. TWO CANDIDATES-Paul Pavlik and Jack Winder-have grasped the im- out tomorrow is a necessary first step in this direction. However, it is only a first step. Once the election is over, Council and the stu- dent body will have a mutual obligation to come to grips with the issues. On the part of SGC, this will require a massive effort to communicate with students and attract them into the Council's commit- tee structure-the sector of government where the research and background work requisite to any plan of action takes place. THE STUDENTS IN TURN must respond by actively particiuating in Council activities both by working within the committee structure and putting steady pressure on SGC representatives to con- vey campus opinion to the administra- tion and the community. Pavlik has given attention to this area, proposing a training program for SOC By JOHN KENNY Assistant Managing Editor and LOUISE LIND Assistant Editorial Director LT WAS a week of confusion and minor skirmishes at the Uni- versity. There was snow-lots of it. And it caused confusion, bruised bodies and cut classes. It even supplied the ammunition for one of the most imaginative of student pranks in a long time--an Engine Arch full of snow. The Univers ty administration and Gov. George Romney skirm- ished, made demands and finally agreed to sit down and talk things over. The topic: Romney's budget recommendations and especially the lack of a state financial com- mitment for Flint college expan- sion. THE WHOLE - and at times confusing-debate over Flint be- gan when Romney cut the Univer- sity's budget request by over $6 milion. That was enough to pre- vent the University from expand- ing its Flint branch to include freshnan and sophomore years ,Now it's only a junior-senior Romney didn't want the Univer- sity to expand Flint because he wanted to wait-he's already been waiting over 6 months anyway- until his special citizens commit- tee issued its "blue ribbon" report on the state's higher educational needs. SO THE GOVERNOR kept say- ing, Wait until we get the report. and Hatcher kept repeating. It's nothing new; plans to expand Flint have been in .the mill for a long time, everybody knew about them, and the Flint community wants them. Anyway, Hatcher will meet wOth the State Board of Educat'on Wednesday and maybe set every- body straight about what the University wants to do in Flint. In the midst of all this con- troversy, Thomas J. Brennan, chairman of the state board, sent a letter to Hatcher criticising the University on its plans. And a freshman Democratic senator, Dcarbornite Edward Robinson. proposed a constitut'onal amend- ment to relieve the state univer- sities of their autonomous opera- tions. public education in the 'state. By week's end, the excitement had given way to moderation. Romney called Robinson's pro- posal to curtail autonomy "pre- mature." But the governor warned that state institutions are going to have to m'nd their manners and their mediators in the future. * ** SOME OTHER happenings: The Women's League quietly died with the appointment of the first of- ficers of the combined activities organizations of the League and the Union (the University Activi- ties Center). Apnointed were President James Kropf. '66, Ad- m'nistrative Vice-President Pam- ela Erickson. '66N, Executive Vice- President Michael Holmes, '66 and Coordinating Vice-President Gail Howes, '66N. Beginning with next January's winter term. the $50 enrollment deposits won't be required of stu- dents-except for incoming fresn- men and students who return after more than a one-term ab- sence. Under the plan, the $50 :n deposit at that time will be ap- plied to student fees and tuition. IQC President John Eadie t's week predicted a dormitory fee A yv