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Seventy-Fifth Year
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Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
TUESDAY, 23 MARCH 1965 NIGHT EDITOR: DAVID BLOCK
SNCC Tactics Need
Mature Re-Evaluation
THE STUDENT Nonviolent Coordinat-
ing Committee is the youngest of the
civil rights groups, but if it doesn't be-
come more mature, the best thing it could
do for the entire civil rights movement
might be to remove itself from the scene
altogether.
If SNCC wishes to be effective, it must
meet several important criteria which
are now unmet in its attempts. Its ef-
forts must remain unified and coordinat-
ed with the other, older civil rights or-
ganizations; it must keep its means of
protest closely related to the actual prog-
ress being made, and it must temper its
radicalism and cynicism with some sense
of gratitude and responsibility.
Otherwise, the "divided we fall" warn-
ing which applied to the United States a
century ago may again apply in some de-
gree to the civil rights movement.
FIRST OF ALL, for example, over the
past two weeks SNCC has been or-
ganizing and conducting continual dem-
onstrations in Washington, including an
unplanned sit-down at the White House
which was reported to have embarrassed
many civil rights leaders there.
Despite all efforts to coordinate activi-
ties between SNCC and other civil rights
groups, Jefferson P. Rogers, president of
the Southern Christian Leadership Con-
ference led by Rev. Martin Luther King,
Jr., reports he has had "almost no com-
munication" recently with SNCC leaders
in Washington.
If this lack of communication con-
tinues, only confusion and possible an-
tagonism can result-just at the moment
when other leaders are making headway
with government officials.
SECOND, THE PROGRESS being made
in the civil rights movement must
have some effect on the type of demon-
strations being planned and on the at-
titudes of the demonstrators.
While Rev. King professes non-viol-
ence, SNCC's Executive Secretary James
Forman predicts demonstrations will
grow and will involve "civil disobedience"
thne Other Side?
IT SEEMS that the true intent of the
Faculty Committee to Stop the War
in Viet Nam is now revealed. The com-
mittee's decision not to discuss the "amp-
ly presented" viewpoints of those fav-
oring government policy, appears to be
no more than a pretense for the real
purpose of their teach-in: indoctrination,
not education.
The purpose of the seminars is osten-
sibly to inform the University communi-
ty of the situation in Viet Nam and to
vonsider methods for ending the war
there. But how valuable can an educa-
tiohal presentation be which leaves out
half the story?
The committee maintains that the gov-
ernment's side has already been present-
ed. But, for that matter, the other side
of the question has been "amply present-
ed" too-in newspaper editorials, from
speakers and rallies. And yet the com-
mittee does not hesitate to include any
of those views-views which are expe-
dient to their own purpose.
So the question remains: Why is the
committee not presenting both sides of
the issue? Are the faculty members afraid
to include the other side of the ques-
tion? Or, even further, are they afraid
of what the truth might be?
JF, IN FACT, the view of the faculty
committee is right, it shouldn't hurt
them to have the other side presented.
If they have faith in their cause, they
shouldn't be afraid of opposing views
and arguments. If they are sincere, they
should present all the views which may
help in reaching the most satisfactory
solution.
PHYLLIS KOCH
Acting Edlitrrial Staff
ROBERT JOHNSTON, Editor
if necessary. But civil disobedience is too
often engaged in for its own sake or
simply to provoke violence. In such cases,
demonstrators are at least partly guilty
for the consequences they suffer, and
the non-violence itself becomes quite
meaningless.
Moreover, the violence which may oc-
cur may partially defeat civil rights ef-
forts, for it would come at a time when
President Johnson has already thrown
his weight behind the civil rights strug-
gle and when Congress is already about
to pass a voting rights bill.
As sincere progress is made in Con-
gress, demonstrations should become less
spectacular and provocative of violent
reactions. The nation's recognition of the
tremendous courage, will and spirit of
those devoted to the civil rights struggle
is a force in itself, sometimes more effec-
tive than freedom rides, marches and sit-
ins. This must be realized by SNCC, as
it has been realized by SNCC's older
counterparts.
This is not to say demonstrations
should halt and everyone restrict him-
self to writing his congressman. In some
cases demonstrations are necessary to
continue reminding everyone that the
precepts the American Constitution pro-
fesses, specifically the right to vote, have
yet to be fully realized.
But it is vital that the kinds of dem-
onstrations to be carried out must not
ignore existing progress and efforts to
realize the goals of the civil rights groups.
Moreover, SNCC should not forget that
it must work within the context of main-
taining and furthering some unity in the
United States. Its first steps have been
the hardest and the bloodiest, but it has
to realize the feelings of Southerners.
They must be given ample considera-
tion, for the more one antagonizes a
person, the longer it will take to con-
vince him to accept the rights and
equality of others.
In the midst of the civil rights drive,
many southern states have made great
strides in achieving equality. Parts of
Louisiana, for instance, have made sin-
cere attempts to foster good relations
and, in one recent case, one town donated
a car to the civil rights workers in Mis-
sissippi. The South should, consequently,
not be referred to categorically.
THIRD, SNCC WORKERS; in their en-
thusiasm for "the cause," tend to for-
get the parallel rights of others. Some
students are not inclined to rush down
to Selma to sit in the streets and march
in the streets and get beaten in the
streets. Perhaps those who do make
journeys southward should ask them-
selvs if they really want to be in school
in the first place, since what they really
believe in could best be fulfilled if they
were not subject to academic pressures.
Those who are fulfilling themselves by
devoting themselves to studying - who
thus can only march symbolically in Ann
Arbor-should be respected no less than
the SNCC worker who skips a week of
school and then requests $300 for bail
because he is in a Selma jail.
The immature SNCC workers at the
University that scream "Fascist pig" at
everyone who doesn't agree completely
with their sentiments or, in a lesser de-
gree, who frown upon those who don't
readily cough-up the contribution to get
the SNCC workers out of jail, ought to
be reminded that the freedom to speak
and think what one wishes is just as im-
portant as the freedom to vote.
These SNCC workers exhibit what Rog-
ers terms "deep strands of the irrespon-
sible" manifested by a "foolish kind of
radicalism-a radicalism that does not
have any capacity for . reconciliation."
This stems from the depressing fact that
they appear to be more interested in
the protest than in the achievement.
IT IS RECOGNIZED by any observer
of the civil rights struggle that a stu-
dent group such as SNCC has brought
great courage and spirit to the move-
ment. However, SNCC must develop as
the struggle develops and change its tac-
tics as its goals are realized. It must re-
main coordinated with the other groups
By ANATOL RAPOPORT
BECAUSE of the educator's re-
lation to the young, his civic
rights and duties are sometimes
said to be different from those of
other citizens. Just how these
rights and obligations are speci-
fied reveals a great deal about
the underlying philosophy of edu-
cation.
The proponents of modern views
of education argue the purpose
of education is to develop critical
modes of thought. To implement
this purpose, the concept of aca-
demic freedom is invoked, namely
the idea that the educator, if he
is to perform his role properly,
must enjoy a certain autonomy.
He must be free to inquire and to
challenge the established views of
his profession, of his community
and of his culture.
It goes without saying that the
concept of academic freedom
seems threatening to many who
have a vested interest in the
preservation of established views
(These vested interests may well
be emotional as well as material).
For this reason, academic freedom
continues to be an "issue" in
American life.
'TO BE SURE, the principle of
academic freedom is staunchly
defended by the academic com-
munity and by enlightened com-
munity and political leaders; but
this merely shifts the issue to the
question of interpretation, that is,
the question of what sort of ac-
tions of an educator can be pro-
perly defended as the practice of
academic freedom.
With respect to some actions,
there is likely to be complete
agreement. For instance, if a na-
tural scientist challenges an es-
tablished theory and presents
evidence against it, this "non-
conformism" clearly falls within
the scope of academic freedom.
The scientist may be mistaken,
and it is clear that if he is biased
in weighing evidence, his profes-
sional prest'ge may be impaired.
But the principle of academic
freedom insures his right to in-
sist on his views and teach them
to his students. At the other ex-
treme, academic freedom certain-
ly does not extend to certain clear-
ly antisocial acts.
THE REALLY delicate issue is
that revolving around social
protest. Is it a misuse of academic
freedom if scientists and scholars
engage in organized social protest
in their role as scientists and
scholars-for example, through
the use of university facilities,
through channels of publication
ordinarily devoted to scholarship
and research and, above all, :n the
classroom?
One view, still widespread both
outside and inside the academic
community, is that the scientst
and scholar enjoys the full rights
of political action and of social
protest only as long as he acts as
a private citizen. It is an abuse of
academic freedom (according to
this view) to exercise this right
in the context of academic ac-
tivity.
The basic idea underlying this
view seems to be that academic
freedom is a special immunity
from political interference grant-
ed to the scholar in return for
his noninterference (in his role of
scholar) with political processes, a
sort of analogue to the separation
of church and state.
In support of this view, it is
pointed out that the proper role
of the scientist and scholar is that
of inquiry, not of propaganda. In-
deed, the modern view of educa-
tion implies the dissociation of
inquiry and indoctrination, and
the whole concept of academic
freedom stands and falls with this
distinction. The scientist's views
are respected precisely because he
has arrived at his views by criti-
cal and detached analysis and not
through a partisan commitment
to some special interests.
The danger in the scientists'
participation in politics qua
scientists, it is said, lies in the
Commitment and persuasive-
ness are the qualities of the su-
perior educator. Personal commit-
ment is what distinguishes the
superior educator from the venal
or demagogic persuaders. The
quality which distinguishes the
educator from the dogmatist is
objectivity, which is by no means
to be confused with moral indif-
ference. Objectivity enables the
educator to examine dispassion-
ately different points of view, not
in virtue of absence of commit-
ment but in virtue of an ability
(acquired by a long, painful ma-
turation process) to shift one's
point of view in spite of strong
intellectual, moral or esthetic
commitments.
THE EXCELLENCE of an aca-
demic community and its dedi-
. * TO IMPART HIS VIEWS
PROF. ANATOL RAPOPORT of the psy-
chology department is senior research
mathematician at the Mental Health Re-
search Institute and the author of "Fights,
Games and Debates"-a recent widely ac-
claimed book on game theory-as well as
three other books and over 100 published
articles. He is a member of the faculty
group planning Wednesday's Viet Nam pro-
test.
science and scholarship; concern
for the respect of colleagues and
for professional prestige ought to
suffice as a deterrent against such
v~olations, as it does with regard
to nonpolitical issues.
Serious political persuasion aims
to impart a certain outlook on life.
I submit that certain outlooks are
more compatible with the ideals of
education than others. For ex-
ample, hardly anyone will deny
that one of the aims of education
is to instill a preference for truth
over falsehood, for constructive so-
cial roles over destructive ones,
and also to instill discriminating
esthetic taste and a love of knowl-
edge independent of the social
advantage it confers.
Next, I submit that outlooks on
life are often closely related to
particular views on man, on his-
tory and on social relations. These
views have to do with the quality
of life, i.e., with what is held in
esteem and adulation. For ex-
ample, the adulation of power as
the currency of politics, no less
than the worship of money as the
currency of social rewards, may
be viewed by an educator as de-
structive of values which he is
supposed to instill in the young. If
this educator is to relate what he
teaches to an outlook on life, he
cannot and must not refrain from
voicing his concern with such
matters.
THIS CONCLUSION is especially
pertinent now. We, Americans,
are faced with a situation where
in the majority sector of world
public opinion the United States is
seen as an aggressor. That is, the
United States is being accused of
pursuing a policy of imposing its
will by military might where self
defense cannot be seriously invok-
ed without rendering the term
meaningless. In fact, the issue of
self defense is not even raised in
justifying the policy.
The policy is defended on just
three grounds: 1) considerations
of global military strategy, 2)
curbing the aggression of others
against others and 3) defense of
freedom. The first clearly suggests
the use of force in pursuit of
power, a policy emphatically dis-
avowed by the United States as
signatory of the Charter of the
United Nations. The second has
involved demonstrable misrepre-
sentation and suppression of facts.
The third is couched in discredit-
ed generalities.
None except those who think
with their ears can believe "we are
fighting for democracy in South-
east Asia." None who read the
papers can believe that we are "de-
fending a small country against
foreign aggression." The use of
these cliches to justify interven-
tion in a civil war and its deliber-
ate escalation into an internation-
al war reveals a contempt for in-
formed public opinion.
THEREFORE, quite apart from
the question of whether the
present United States policy is
wise, moral or effective, the edu-
cator ought to be deeply'concern-
ed with the crudeness of the ra-
tionalizations offered in defense
of the policy. Such pronounce-
ments tend to undo the work of
the educator, whose job is to en-
lighten people, to make them
aware of the complexities of our
time, to stimulate imaginative and
creative ways of coming to grips
with the problems that confront
us,
It is the duty of the educator
as an educator (and not only as a
citizen) to counteract misinforma-
tion, oversimplification of issues
and provincial, self-righteousness,
wherever it occurs.
The argument set forth herein
is offered in anticipation of the
sharp criticism which will certain-
ly be leveled against the academic
community following the coming
faculty demonstrations on Ameri-
can campuses against the war in
Viet Nam. I believe the protesting
educators are acting entirely with-
in the province of their profes-
sional responsibility in asking their
colleagueshand students to join
them in these protests.
NEXT WEEK: JOHN MANNING
possible abuse by the scientist of
his authoritative position when he
engages in clearly propagandistic
activity without explicitly calling
attention to the fact that in doing
so he has (for the moment)
abandoned his role of scientist.
If we accept the tacit assump-
tion of this argument (that the
function of inqu4ry is always clear-
ly separable from the function of
persuasion and from personal
moral commitment), then the
argument is decisive. The question
raised here is whether honest in-
quiry, passionate commitment and
the urge to proselytize one's views
can or ought to be separated in all
'nstances.
T HAT THEY CANNOT is most
clearly seen in the humanities.
It is a poor teacher of literature
who confines his teaching to scan-
ning meters, and it is a poor
t'acher of history who confines
his teaching to chronology.
The good teacher of literature
loves Fterature (and perhaps for
that reason despises pseudo-
literature). The good teacher of
history has ideas about the mean-
ing of history, or at least a feeling
for its bright and dark pages. The
same close relation between think-
ing and feeling pervades the
sciences. A competent teacher of
celestial mechanics can reproduce
Gauss' calculation of the orbit of
Ceres, but a really inspired teacher
of celestial mechanics will have
something to say about what mo-
tivates a man to spend several
years at gruelling toil just to re-
capture a clod of dirt which had
escaped from the telescopic field
of vision.
A competent teacher of biology
will give accurate descriptions of
anatomy, cytology and metabolic
cycles, but a devoted teacher of
biology will also impart to the
students a feeling of awe in the
contemplation of the life process.
cat'on to objectivity is a result.
not of the neutrality of all of its
members but rather of the diver-
sity of their individual commit-
ments.
In my opinion, not only must an
educator not refrain from trying
to "persuade" his students, but
he has an obligation to do so. In-
deed, this view is hardly ever
questioned except in one context
-that of politics. No one would
criticize a teacher of literature if
he tried to persuade his students
that Henry James wrote better
books than Horatio Alger or that
J. D. Salinger writes better books
than Mickey Spillane. No one
would chastise a teacher of math-
ematics who argued that one proof
of a theorem is better than an-
other, because it is more "elegant"
or because it reveals a more pro-
found underlying principle.
Yet no "objective" criteria exist
for deciding which book or which
proof is "better." The educator
who makes such arguments is
frankly attempting to impart his
values to the students. He is a
propagandist, and no one censures
him in this role.
IN THE CONTEXT of politics the
matter looks different. In this
context, attempts at persuasion
are often held to be incompatible
with the educator's role, especially
when his views depart from con-
ventionally established ones. I fail
to see why political persuasion
should be excepted from the priv-
ileges accorded by academic free-
dom, if the usual standards of in-
tellectual openmindedness are not
violated.
I grant that temptations to vio-
late such standards are stronger
when politics is the issuer, but
there is no reason why the checks
and balances of academic stan-
dards should not operate here as
well as elsewhere. Dishonesty and
dogmatism violate the mores of
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Six Yale Professors
Bach Faculty Protest
TODAY AND TOMORROW:
Viet Policy Can't Work
By WALTER LIPPMANN
THE. TIME cannot be far off
when there will have to be a
serious reappraisal of our policy
in Indo-China. Before saying any
more about this, let me say at
once this does not mean we can
or should withdraw our troops,
abandon our clients in Saigon,
retire from the theater and give
up the effort to safeguard the in-
dependence of the Indo-Chinese
states.
The reappraisal of our present
policy is necessary, I submit, be-
cause the policy is not working
andwill not work. It will have to
be reappraised in order to avert
disaster: the disaster of our ex-
pulsion from the area, leaving
China supreme over it, and the
disaster also of an escalation to
a Chinese-American war.
The stated aim of our current
policy is 'to, persuade Hanoi to
call of fitstintervention in South
Viet Nam and to agree to an inter-
national conference. The success
of the policy depends on a highly
theoretical assumption: that we
can find a point where our meas-
ured blows will not be so strong
that they precipitate "a wider
war"-a North Vietnamese in-
vasion of South Viet Nam or the
entrance of a Chinese army into
Indo-China. But while the bomb-
ing must not be so heavy as to
precipitate the wider war, it must
be heavy enough to compel Hanoi
to give up the struggle in which it
is enaged.
Vietnamese they will be very badly
hurt if they do not quit, and we
make these bombing raids to con-
vince them we have bombs and
know how to drop them. But we
are not telling the North Viet-
namese what kind of future there
would be for them and the rest of
Indo-China if the war ended as
we think it should end.
Our present policy lacks the
essential element of a true policy
when armed adversaries confront
each other. The missing ingredient
is a sketch of the settlement which
our military effort is designed to
bring about.
AS OUR OBJECTIVE has been
stated in the glossy generalities
of the President and in the delib-
erately obscure language of Sec-
retary of State Dean Rusk, we are
offering Hanoi a choice between
destruction and military with-
drawal. Because the military terms
we are demanding have not been
defined, they amount in fact to
another version of unconditional
surrender.
Nothing has been said publicly
-and so far as I am aware noth-
ing has been said privately-as to
how things should be or could be
arranged if Hanoi did in fact quit.
It should not surprise us, more-
over, that the policy is not work-
ing. The measured bombing-
measured to be short of precipi-
tating a wider war-does not deter
or compel Hanoi. The punishment
they are suffering is tolerable and
can be absorbed.
women and children, something we
are at present trying not to do.
I do not think we shall stoop to
that. If we did stoop, however, it
could land us in a war not only
with 16 million Vietnamese, but
with 700 million Chinese.
That would be a war we would
not be able to win. For despite
Hanson Baldwin (New York Times
military writer) and Sen. Gale
McGee, who have the illusion we
could dispose of the Chinese for-
ever by meeting them once now,
there is no way of fighting a pre-
ventive war with China. When we
had devastated Chinese cities
there would still be many hun-
dreds of million of Chinese left,
and they would be dedicated to
taking revenge against the white
devils.
IF WE ARE honest and realistic,
we must prepare ourselves for
the contingency that the civil war
will end in a Vietnamese deal with
the Viet Cong, and then we shall
be asked to withdraw our troops.
That would be a defeat in which
we would lose considerable pres-
tige, having unwisely engaged our
prestige too lavishly. But it will
still be essential to our interests to
be identified with the terms of an
attractive settlement in Indo-
China.
For whatever the course of
events in South Viet Nam, the
United States will continue to be a
great power in the South Pacific
and we shall have an important
part to play in any settlement.
To the Editor:
WE, Yale University faculty
members, support the aims of
our University of Michigan col-
leagues in protesting the escala-
tion of the Viet Nam conflict and
in urging negotiation to reduce
the danger of world war:
-Prof. Harry Benda,
History department
-Prof. Robert Dahl,
Sterling professor,
Political science department
-Prof. Karl Deutsch,
Political science department
-Prof. Sidney Mintz,
Anthropology department
--Prof. William Vondoering,
Whitehead professor,
Chemistry department
-Prof. Arthur Wright,
Charles Seymour professor,
History department
'Insidious Campaign'
To the Editor:
AS, A STUDENT at the Univer-
sity, I, along with thousands
of others, pass through the Fish-
bowl every day. I have seen many
different organizations soliciting
there for various reasons. I
thought it was quite a nice ges-
ture of the University to allow
these organizations to use this
facility, but my thinking has un-
dergone a drastic revision after
seeing what is taking place in
that area at the present.
Of course, I am referring to the
people who had the audacity to
set up a display-complete with
orators and riff-raff- concerning
our country's policy in Viet Nam.
Surely, when they received per-
mission-if they had permission
-to have this display, they did
not represent it for what it was.
Certainly free speech is a won-
derful thing and something we as
Americans can well be proud of,
but isn't it possible that there are
some who would overstep their
rights and abuse their liberties-
the same rights and liberties others
are fighting and dying for?
THESE PEOPLE have done this
and, in doing it, have done
much toward causing dissension
in a time when solidarity should
be prevalent. Something must be
done to stop the insidious cam-
paign which this element has ini-
tiated. We must see to it this
minority does not appear to speak
for the majority.
I propose that anyone who would
be willing to help in combating
these people and their vain at-
stan-American relations.
I am afraid some Pakistani
groups misrepresent Pakistan in
the most shocking manner.,For ex-
ample, singing and dancing by
women has come to assume an
integral part in their so-called
"cultural shows." This is an ac-
tivity limited in Pakistan almost
entirely to prostitutes and, on the
other hand, considered lewdness
and sinful by the vast majority of
the people.
As our President Field Marshall
Ayub Khan has declared, "Our
first objective must be to adhere
to our ideology-the ideology of
Islam. It is for this that we de-
manded and obtained Pakistan. It
is the source of our strength and
cohesion."
And Islam's Holy Scripture, the
Koran, declares, "Say to the be-
lievers that they cast down their
eyes . . . And say to the believing
women, they cast down their eyes
and guard their private parts and
reveal not their adornments save
such as is outward, and let them
cast their veils over their bosoms
NOW the Pakistan Student As-
sociation is planning such a
very show-for March 27-which
contradicts our culture. I hope
and pray they do not keep on dis-
torting Pakistan like this, for only
increased Pakistan-American mis-
understanding will result.
According, some of us have de-
cided that if the PSA holds such
a show, we shall picket it.
-S. M. Akhtar, '65
Mozart Review
To the Editor:
IWAS SORRY to see that my
review of Mozart's "The Magic
Flute" was severely cut, for it left
out several very important com-
ments. The section omitted should
have read as follows:
Lee Davis stole the show with
his excellent Papageno. His
combination of beautiful voice
'and superb acting is unbeatable.
The Monostatos of John Boher
brought out the comic aspects
of the role. The Three Ladies-
Judith Toensing, Roberta Whit-
ney and Rosemary Russell-
were a well balanced trio, as
were the Three Spirits of Nancy
Hall, Dale Wooliver and Lois
Stoddard. Frank Dybdahl and
Mike Robbins were fine as the
Priest,Jas wereJohn Caldwell
and James Everett as the
Armored (Guard.