I f1 PAGE SIX. THE MICHIGAN DAILY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER1,1964 Teachers Gain Job Stability EAST LANSING-Friday, Au- gust 28, statewide teacher tenure went into effect for 1,414 school districts and 78,000 teachers in Michigan. Last year at this time only 60 systems had tenure pro- visions for their teachers. Basically, tenure is a means of providing continuity in the school programs of Michigan children and a measure of Job stability for those teachers who have shown them- selves to be competent as well as properly certificated. Tenure is much more important to children and their educational programs than it is to teachers. No school system can continue to hire competent teachers and main- tain a good school program if there is a high rate of turnover among its teaching staff. More- over, the best teachers will not apply for positions in a district offering little employment securi- ty. A vital factor in any school program is providing the continu- ity that will improve the work and implement new ideas. Under tenure, once a teacher successfully completes a proba- tionary period of two years he may be freed from the necessity :f reapplying for the position year after year. The new tenure act does not for- bid the firing of a teacher. How- ever, it does require that a teach- er be given a written notice of the reasons for his dismissal as well as providing for hearing pro- cedures and other restrictions against arbitrary dismissal. Critics (Continued from Page 1) asked that Davis be let go. On August 25, 1964, with sum- mr school over and the fall term not yet under way, the Regents dismissed Davis. Only the day before, Davis had been cited on 26 counts of con- tempt of Congress. After long trial and appeal proceedings, he was eventually to serve six months in prison. Nickerson Case Prof. Nickerson's case took more deliberation-even though he was dismissed at the same time as Davis-primarily because he tes- tifi.ed openly and freely to both the five-man advisory committee and the five-man advisory com- mittee and the Committee on In- tellectual Freedom and Integrity. The advisory committee recom- mended, three to two, on July 13, 1954, that Prof. Nickerson be re- instated. It found his refusal to testify before HUAC subject to censure, but, the majority felt, he had not injected Communist be- liefs into his pharmacology classes --even though he still held those beliefs. 'Lacked Integrity' The minority, however, conclud- ed that Prof, Nickerson lacked "the integrity and the fitness to con- tinue as a member of the Univer- sity." It pointed out that he with- drew from the Communist Party merely because he did not have time for both political and scien- tific activities, that he continued to hold Communist beliefs and that he refused to answer ques- tions before HUAC. This, the minority said, "placed the Uni- versity in a difficult position." Four days after receiving the advisory committee's r e p o r t s, Charg Hatcher notified Prof. Nickerson that he would recommend dis- missal. Hatcher at the time said Prof. Nickerson's answers to questions posed by HUAC, the Medical School and the advisory commit- tee "leave grave doubts as to your fitness to hold your present posi- tion of responsibility and trust, and have raised in my mind and in the minds of the University community serious concern about your integrity as a member of the teaching profession." Prof. Nickerson immediately ap- pealed to the Committee on In- tellectual Freedom and Integrity. 'Near-Hysteria', In his appeal to this committee, Prof. Nickerson defended his use of the Fifth Amendment: "I . . invoked the Fifth Amendment on the advice of my counsel, who pointed out that the combination of the present atmosphere of near- hysteria and the undefined and almost undefinable nature of such terms as 'conspiracy to advocate' made any discussion of what' might be considered to be un- popular political beliefs a poten- tial course of unjust prosecution." He also outlined his political beliefs, which he said included the beliefs "that 1) the best solution of the problems of economic cycles and of international conflicts over markets rests in public ownership of the means of production; 2) that racial discrimination. can be definitely resolved only by the elimination of economic exploita- tion and 3) that labor should be a major and organized political force in our democracy." But he specifically disavowed violence as a means of bringing about change "as long as the pro- cedures for orderly democratic Violation of Academic Freedom; .f' change . . . are available." I Defending his loyalty to the University, Prof. Nickerson said, "I felt that the maintenance of intellectual honesty and freedom of thought are ultimately much more important to a university than the size of its immediately available o u t s i d e (research) grants." The report of the Com- mittee on Intellectual Freedom and Integrity delved into all the charges which had been levelled at Prof. Nickerson. Its final recommendation was unanimously for reinstatement. The committee found that: -Prof. Nickerson's experience with the Communist Party prior Abrams Gains USNSA Post Collegiate Press Service Special To The Daily MINNEAPOLIS -- Howard Ab- rams, '63, of the University was elected to the National Supervis- ory Board of the United States Na- tional Student Association Thurs- day. Elections to the 10-member board were held at the USNSA convention National Student Con- gress on the University of Min- nesota campus. Abrams will be one of three representatives from the midwest. A former Student Government Council member, he is currently studying at the University of Chi- cago law school. The NSB is established by US- NSA to oversee the work of its national officers. It meets several times a year. to his leaving it in the mid-1940's' had not "corroded his intellectual equipment so that he cannot properly function as a free thinker and researcher in his University position. "This Committee views with deep misgivings the implication that a faculty member's 'spirit' is subject to scrutiny and criticism. We believe that a man's spirit is peculiarly a private matter which the University should respect as such." -His invocation of the Fifth Amendment, when "he could have denied his present membership and explained his past member- ship without unfavorable conse- quences to himself," was "repre- hensible." 'Not Necessarily Bad Faith' -His failure to inform the Uni- versity or the Medical school of his Communist affiliations repre- sented "bad judgment, but it does not necessarily prove bad faith." -His major departure from in- tegrity was this failure to reveal his affiliations. His invocation of the Fifth Amendment was not a departure from integrity. Since there was, in any case, "no evi- dence of wilful or malicious dis- honesty during his period at the University," even the combined weight of the above charges was insufficient to warrant dismissal. -The previous judgment of the Medical School executive commit- tee to dismiss Prof. Nickerson should be given relatively little weight. This judgment was not based on "incompetence, insubor- dination or failure to cooperate in departmental duties," matters which are "within the peculiar competence" of the school. Rather, it was based on Communist" af- filiations, involving "questions of the freedom to hold unpopular ideas." As such, it was properly a I University-wide matter. The com- mittee's unanimous recommenda- tion to reinstate Prof. Nickerson was given to Hatcher Aug. 11. Two weeks later Hatcher asked the Regents for dismissal. Difficult Position At that time, he reiterated an' earlier statement which emphasiz- ed the difficult position in which their refusal to testify had placed' the University. That refusal, Hatcher said, "in- evitably placed the University un- "This is not an inquiry into the technical compe- tency of the men in ques- tion. It does not involve any question of the right freely to investigate, to arrive at or hold unpopular views. It is a question of relation to or in- volvement in a conspirator- ial movement which, if suc- cessful, would subvert the freedoms and the liberties which we hold sacred." -President Harlan Hatcher on the faculty dismissals der the obligation to examine these cases. The University cannot say that these questions are unim- portant and that it does not mat- ter whether a member of the teaching profession answers them or not. Neither does the University believe that respect for law is in conflict with freedom of the mind. "This is not an inquiry into the technical competency of the men in question. It does not involve any question of the right freely to As Hatcher told the faculty investigate, to arrive at or to hold Senate early in the fall, Prof. unpopular views. It is a question Markert w,.as "found to be an ar- of relation to or involvement in a ro an an d opinionated man, naive conspiratorial movement which, if outside of his field of speciality. successful, would ,subvert the free- doms and the liberties which we, hold sacred." Hatcher also cited the "unten- ability of Prof. Nickerson's posi- tion in the Medical School, where he was not wanted by the faculty executive committee," as weighing heavily in the dismissal decision. Markert Case Prof. Markert was the only one of the three professors to be rec- ommended by Hatcher for re- instatement. Though he was never questioned by the Subcommittee on Intellectual Freedom and In- tegrity-since his dismissal was never recommended-he received favorablenvotes from a zoology departymegt committee, fromthe literary college executive commit- who holds ideas repugnant to the overwhelming majority of his col- leagues." While the committee felt Prof. Markert had been especially can- did in testifying, it recommended -and the Regents later approved -censure for Prof. Markert's re- fusal to answer questions in the HUAC hearings in the spring of that year. To numerous critics at the time, LSA Chairmen Eve Crowding (Continued from Page 1) tee and from the special advisory closing of chemistry, psychology committee. and natural sciences has upset mThe Senate committee found programs of freshman who require that Prof. Markert had been a' extensive scientific backgrounding. member of the Communist Pa ty Dean Stephen S. Attwood of the but had withdrawn about 1948y engineering college said that According to its report, Prof.we're managing to take care of Markert "reduced the amount of. our 125 new freshmen, which has his political activity (in the Party) increased the class to 800." The hisponica ativty inthePary)dean reported a "slight expansion because of growing ascendancy of of repoteans. his scientific interests and grow- Engineering students take their ng doubt concerning the Coim- basic math, chemistry and physics munist Party as an effective, courses in the literary college, but means of achieving the ends he programming -problems will be desired." ironed out in the next few weeks. The committee noted further he said. that Prof. Markert mentioned lack Dean Stephen Spurr of the nat of democracy in the Party, its ural resources school, administra- growing dogmatism and lack of tive assistant in the office of aca- free thinking, its growing emo- demic affairs, attributed the tional ties to Russia, its tendency crowding of courses to the "prob- to dictate ideas and unwillingness lem of a free election system with to permit any heresy as reasons for 29,000 students." his withdrawal from the Party. He added that a "big influx of However, the committee ob students is bound to create grow- served, Prof. Market admitted ing pains." The overflow, which freely "he still holds many of the has overcrowded dormitories and political and economic views he counselling offices as well as class- held while an active Party mem- rooms, resulted from a flurry of ber." summer admissions, he said. "All the news that's fit to przuat" DELIVERY STARTS SEPTEMBER 6th ~- -~~ ~ ~ ~- - - ~ -~ --~ ~- - ~~ - - ~ -~ 4 p d 11 .]t.lf.Y.SiYStYYYY V V V VV V V V V V V V V V V V VV V V.V V VV V V V f[ V fi . Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y YY Y Y Y Y Y Y YYYYYYYY YY Y YYY Y Y Y Y Y .{ = * * ff t f fi *, *t * *, *, * *. ,* *- *:, *. *' *, *,, ;* ,* *. :*, * -,1 *, _* *. * _* *+ *. Y 1 ,. 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