SMO t-Fif tb Year'
Em. m~h~Acz -BY Sruwm oi r m Uwimmsor m
UWIWEK U1.HOIXT Y of BOA"~ IN CONTROL OF STTYD!T PUIMUC&TIah
"On Ending violence In The Streets-I Think I'd Cut
Out That Part About Small Tactical Nuclear Bombs"
STUDENT OPPOSITION:
NUSAS and Apartheid
In South Africa
SI
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QOPilitons A Pe*,420 MAYNARD Si., ANN Aa&aostMICH.
mfth will Pail
NEWs PIxoN-: 744-0552
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1964 NIGHT EDITOR: KENNETH WINTER
Pledging Fraternities:
Do It First Semester...
i
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Q
ONE OF THE MOST enduring pieces o
conventional campus wisdom is th
thesis that pledging a fraternity during
one's first semester of college is a foolis]
act that is bound to result in disaster fo
anyone so unwise as to attempt it.
"The entering student is new to th
University," the thesis runs. "He know
little about how to, study, little, about th
activities available to him on campus
and little about the fraternity system
Therefore, he should use his first semes
ter to orient himself to'the campus, wait
ing until his second semester or later,
when he has his feet on the ground, tc
do anything so decisive as pledging a fra
ternity."
That this illogic should ever have been
uttered is amazing enough. That is ha
acquired the trappings of an accepted
truth is unbelievable. ^
. ONSIDER FOR EXAMPLE the conten
'fon that a freshman ought to "learn
how to study and get his grades up be
fore pledging a fraternity." The study
situation in the men's residence halls i
far from perfect. The , entering studen
living there will be living with a horde o
other students, many of whom will be
concerned about their grades, but some
of whom will be unable to adjust t
their new-found freedom and won't worry
very much about letting their neighbors
adjust either.
In addition, the overwhelming major.
ity of the entering student's compatriots
in the residence halls will be freshmen
all of whom will be trying to "adjust" and
none of whom will be able to give any
worthwhile study advice to each other
As a first semester fraternity pledge
the student is still required to live in the
residence hal. However, by pledging, he
has linked himself to a group of older
students whose academi abilities have
been proven by the fact that they are
still in school. ,
Moreover, a fraternity pledge is un-
der pressure from the active chapter to
maintain his grades and pledge study
sessions in conjunction with other actives
are a fixture in the fraternity system.
THE SAME REASONING can be applied
to a man's finding out about the many
facets of campus life. Fraternities are
notorious for encouraging their pledges
to become active in campus activities of
any kind. The pledge is sure to find men
ahead of him who have had a wide range
of experiences and can give him some in-
sight into the many activities available.
In the residence hall again, it is doubt-
ful that this experience will be present or
readily available. '
Te most preposterous part of the
myth, however, is the contention that a
man will "know more about fraternities"
in his second semester than in his first.
Most fraternity men really know little
"about fraternities" until they have be-'
come active members. Even then, a man's
understanding of his fraternity and the
fraternity system is continually growing
and changing as long as he remains in
contact with fraternity affairs. To think
that a man is going to find out any
worthwhile information about fraternities
from a group of non-fraternity men in
the residence halls is entirely unreason-
able.
AT BEST, the freshman who fails to
pledge during the first semester will
meet a half-dozen men who did pledge,
all of whom will still be in the early
stages of learning about their houses
themselves. Their understanding of fra-
ternities will be nil compared with ac-
tive members.
Thee only sure: way to "learn about fra-
ternities" is to pledge one. Rush gives
the student an impression of the house;
pledging lets him see the house in its
day-to-day operation and the active mem-
bers in their normal surroundings.
MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, the pledge
will find that his impressions of a
house from rush will be correct and he
will continue on to become an active.
However, should a man be dissatisfied,
he may depledge at any time.
For a first semester pledge, this is not
a serious problem, as he has another
semester to decide on his housing for the
ing back into the residence hall for a sec-
ond year.
TffUS THE "PLEDGE LATER" thesis is
entirely without foundation. A first
semester pledge will be in a superior situ-
ation academically, in a better position to
learn about the campus, and more able
to make his pledging decision without
the spectre of living problems haunting
him. A man interested in fraternities
should pledge first semester.
-JOHN BRYANT
... '<.
But Consider
@00"
S HREE DAYS FROM NOW about 700
s rushees will begin an excursion which
d will take them into the trophy rooms,
basements, bathrooms, and broomclosets
of some 44 fraternities. In less than three
days about 2500 fraternity men will have
n shined their cordovans and started to
- practice their conversation pieces.
s But these ostensible matters are not
important in themselves-they are means
to an end. The real thrust of men's r sh
f must be the search for men who, be-
e cause of their interests and talents, can
e compatibly contribute to and benefit
o from the fraternal organization.
THE FEW DAYS of rush offer only a
surface understanding of a fraternity;
and on the basis of this brief period there
s is no guarantee that the rushee will find
' the house that is best for him, or vice
versa. There is no guarantee, but there
is a strong possibility; and it is upon
. this possibility that rush is wagered twice
, each year.
. The chance that the choice will be
correct is augumented by two factors.
r First, the fraternity system at Michigan
is large and diversified. In terms of size,
interests and physical plant, all houses
differ. In a simple-minded way, there is
a house to meet each rushee's needs.
Second, each house has its own diversifi-
cation. Each fraternity will have its aca-
demic-minded, its socially-oriented and
its athletically gifted-although propor-
tions differ from house to house.
ALL ANGLES considered, the final
' choice is crucial in terms of time,
energy, happiness and money. The com-
mitments to which a pledge subjects him-
self will never regress. They will grow
vigorously for the balance of his college
career. It is probably with this thought
in mind that each house tries to draw
the kind of pledge who can shoulder
his academic challenges and carry his
share of the fraternity duties without
qualm.,
And this demand is perhaps one of the
most exigent factors for the rushee to
measure. If he does not fully appreciate
the obligations he is accepting, he is de-
ceiving both himself and the fraternity.
WHEN A RUSHEE is a person who can
divide his talents and energies, he is
in demand, and he can afford to be selec-
tive. However, each rushee is hopefully
searching for friends who will in time
become closer to him, and in this sense
he is vulnerable. Friendship is prob-
ably the single most important element
. in the fraternity because it can serve as
a tie which a large university can sel-
dom offer. In the smaller group the in-
dividual may find self-expression, and
lasting, meaningful relationships. But the
quality of friendliness can be prostituted
to serve as a bait for the desirable rushee.
The most well-meant council and the
most profound axioms will be worth noth-
ing if the rushee fails to measure friend-
liness. During the few days of rush he
will have the one appropriate and perhaps
last chance to divide the sincere from the;
pretentious; and it is largely from this
division that the pledge's future satisfac-,
tion with the fraternity will stem. Al-;
though this distinction has always been
easy, in rush i tbecomes increasingly dif-
ficult, and in many wys hazardous.
RUSH IS A CONTEST between accur-
ate, cool estimation on the one hand,
and a sincere exhibition of personality,
talents and energies on the other. It has'
no easy answer, but it must have a quick
solution.,
T t .A M/#( '.. ..*
^"a n
THE DIRKSEN RIDER:.:.
Rral Rip at eappotionment
By HAROLD WOLMAN
OBSCURED in the polemics;
coming from Congress in the
reapportionment battle has been
the peculiar nature of the forces
supporting and opposing Senator
Dirksen's amendment.
The Dirksen proposal in effect
is designed temporarily to pre-
vent the Supreme Court from re-
quiring states to reapportion un-
til the Senate has had time to
consider a constitutional amend-
ment which would give states the
right to apportion their legisla-
tures as they themselves see fit.
Many Democratic senators are
opposed to Senate passage of such
a constitutional amendment, since,
in deciding whether to ratify it,
malapportioned state legislatures
would really be deciding whether
they should vote themselves out
of office. The. results of - such a
vote would not be difficult to pre-
dict.
BUT THE EFFORTS of the
senator from Illinois to attach
this as a rider to the foreign aid
bill (an. adroit legislative maneu-
ver since President Johnson would
then have to veto the entire
foreign aid bill in order to veto
the rider) are being applauded by
nearly all the Republicans in the
Senate.
Yet, what is remarkable about
this is that it is the Republican
Party which would be expected to
benefit from the court's contro-
versial one-man, one-vote decision
earlier this year.
IN THAT DECISION the court
ruled that both houses of state
legislatures must be apportioned
on a population basis. Currently
most states are dominated by
rural elements far out of propor-
tion to their numerical strength in
one or both branches of the legis-
latures. The court's decision would
transfer political power to urban
and suburban areas.
In the North, Democrats initial-
ly would be expected to pick up
seats in the great cities proper.
But Republicans could be expect-
ed to gain at least as many seats
in the suburban areas which suf-
fer even more than the cities from
underrepresentation. Furthermore,
most Northern cities.are gradually
losing population to the expand-
ing suburban areas, and, if these
areas continue to be Republican,
the GOP stands to do well in the
future.
In the South, Republican
strength is centered in the pros-
perous urban areas, and the
Court's decision can do nothing
but help the GOP. Consequently,
many Southern Republicans (who
are non-existent in the Senate)
are not happy with Dirksen's
maneuvering.
* * *
WHY ARE the Senate Republi-
cans opposing a court decision
which promises to be quite favor-
able to the party? Perhaps they
are not able to recognize where
their own interest lies. Perhaps,
but there is a much better expla-
nation for this seemingly irra-
tional behaviour.-
For the reapportionment fight
we are now watching is not pri-
marily a battle between Demo-
crats and Republicans. Instead, it
is a reflection of a fierce struggle
between rural and urban elements
occurring within each state for
political control of the state legis-
lature. Rural Republicans in ur-
ban states are understandably re-
luctant to selflessly abrogate their
control, even if the 'party or an
organization may be helped.
THE DEPTHS of this urban-
rural split within each state can
be measured to some degree by
looking at the recent vote in the
House of Representatives on the
Tuck bill. This bill,-introduced by
Rep.. William Tuck, a rural Vir-
ginia Democrat, would take away
the power of the Supreme Court
to hear cases on reapportionment.
Although it is given no chance at
all to pass the Senate and become
lsw, the Tuck bill passed the
House in late August, 218-175.
In the California delegation, for
example, only, three of the 15 Re-
publican members did not favor
the bill, the effect of which would
be to ensure rural control of the
state legislature. Two of these
represented districts in San Fran-
cisco County and Los Angeles
County. The third, Craig Hosmer,
whose district also lies in Los
Angeles County, is one of the
staunchest Republican conserva-
tives in the House. He simply vot-'
ed present during the roll call. At
the same time, three California
Democrats from rural areas voted
in favor of the Tuck Bill.
.
THE SAME situation exists in
state after state. In Florida, rep-
resentatives from Miami, Tampa,
and St. Petersburg areas, includ-
ing conservative Republican Wil-
liam Cramer, opposed Tuck's as-
sault on the court, while northern
Florida rural representatives sup-
ported the measure. In Penn-
sylvania, GOP members from the
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas
voted against Tuck, while Republi-
cans from predominantly rural
areas took the opposite stand.
In Texas, both representatives.
from the Houston area opposed
the bill as did the representative
from San Antonio and one of the
representatives -from Dallas. The
other Dallas congressman, con-
servative Republican Bruca Alger,,
did not cast a vote. The remain-
der of the delegation-mostly.
rural Democrats--favored the re-
strictions on the court. In state
after state this pattern held true.
WHAT DOES all this have to
do with the Dirksen amendment?
Senators, too, are not. divorced
from state politics. Their personal
organizations, their prestige, and,
indeed, their vote-getting ability.
may be bound up with a certain
faction within the state party, and
it is in their interest to keep that
faction strong. It is safe to say
that those, who, like Senator
Dirksen, depend upon the rural
elements in the state for aid and
succor, will be stronglyapposed
to transferring the balance of
political power from rural con-
trol, even if their party may gain
a few seats on balance in the
process.
It is ironic that many of these
same Republicans are also the
most vocal in extolling the virtues
of states rights and a limited fed-
eral government. For rural dom-
ination of state legislatures due to
malapportionment is generally
considered to be one.of the major
causesrfor the decline of state
governments and the growth of
functions performed by the- fed-
eral government. These rural legis-
latures are unable or unwilling to
cope with the pressing problems
facing urban areas. As a result.
{-lnniia "oYn ont nr a - to o~
EDITOR'S NOTE: Mary Beth Uor-
ton has. been a delegate to he last
two Un$ted statesStudent Asso-
ciation Congresses. She graduated
from the University in June and is
now attending Harvard University
on a Woodrow Wilson fellowship.
By MARY BETH NORTON
Daily Guest Writer
I N.THE REPUBLIC of South
Africa today, few organizatios
dare to challenge the ruling Na-
tionalist Party's delogy of
"Christian-nationalism"*and its
primary nanifestation, apartheid.
The United Party, nominal opposi-
tion to the Africaaner-controlled
government, actually supports its
racial policies. And the two strong-
est ,Negro parties (the African
National Congress and the Pan-
African Congress) have been ban-
ned as subversive. The remaining
parties are bothaweak and small;
only the Liberals, .led by Alan
Paton, express much opposition to
the government. '
Thus, with even legitimate poli-
tical dissent stifled, there are few
organizations in South Africa con-
istently willing to oppose publicly
Prime Minister Verwoerd's policies.
One of these is the National Union
of South African Students (NU-
SAS). The United States National
Student Association (USNSA) has
long had a close relationship with
NUAS, and is one of its firmest
supporters, besides being its major
source of funds. NUSAS has always
been a prime target of the govern-
ment, but as the number of open
dissenters in South Africa has de-
creased through imprisonment and
intimidation, it has become more
and more the central focus of
government attacks. In addition,
NUSAS must now contend with
the hostility of other African na-
tional unions.
** *
VERWOERD'S FORCES have
attempted to harass NUSAS in
many ways. One of their first
moves was Ito force NUSAS to
abandon its system of member-
ship by school affiliation and to
adopt one of individual choice,
thus requiring that each prospec-
tive member specifically join the
national union. But this tactic had
little effect: the great majority of
NUSAS's membership rejoined,
even ,though they realized the
risk involved. More recently, police
have conducted periodic raids on
the NUSAS office, ostensibly
searching for "subversive" litera-
ture, but actually trying to un-
cover any evidence that might
give the government some slight
grounds for banning the organi-
zation.
But in addition to these attacks,
which were predictable from the
moment that NUSAS decided it
could not remain mute on the
question of apartheid, the union
has had to face a challenge from
a different and entirely unexpect-
ed quarter: other African student
unions. At a pan-African student
meeting in Dar-es-Salaam about
a year ago, the student unions
from newly-independent nations
contended that NUSAS, although
integrated, could not truly repre-
sent the students of South Africa.
LEHAR LIGHTNESS:
Rene Clair
Comrader
At the Cinema Guild
THIS SUMMER, my English
teacher frequently referred to
Ralph Waldo Emerson's "felici-
tous turns of phrase." I suppose
he meant Emerson's style, which.
I found more ponderous than in-
gratiating. In another sense, I
must sit back and admire Rene
Clair's "felicitous turns of phrase."
His style is light and breezy and
often stimulating and entertain-
ing. His early sound film - I
would prefer to call them "sing-
les"-are in the musical comedy
genre of Lehar and Lerner and
Loewe,
CLAIR'S "Sous Les Toits de Par-
is" (1929) touched very slightly
on social themes, played up more
strongly the "amour" triangle be-
tween the leads, but most strong-
ly dwelt on the comraderie of the
two maler protagonists. ;"A Nous
La Liberte" (1931) from its title
is obviously more concerned with
freedom, in this case with that
of inmates of a prison and in-
mates of an assembly-line. Clair.
stressesthe similarities of these
two institutions of the technical
society that was growing up in
the twenties and thirties.
With this leitmotif darting in
and out of the foreground of the
film, with Clair's impetuous ballet
of running, jumping, singing,
swooning characters fiiling in and"
emphasizing this theme, the leit-
motifs of love and friendship take
their place in the dash. of things.
The rush of events is strongly
reminiscent of Sennet's heroic
and breathless comedies-showing
that the addition of sound did
not mean the death of the char-
acterizing chase and melodrama.
They reasoned that Negroes should
control the union, since they con-
stituted the vast majority of the
South African population. Even
though they admitted that few
Negroes were alowed to attend
institutions of higher learning in
South Africa, they argued that
NUSAS had little claim to legti-
macy. And they cntinuied this
tack at the recent International
Student Conference in Christ-
church, New Zealand, where they
unsuccessfully challenged NUSAS'
credentials. t
* * *
WHAT MAY BE the final chap-
ter In the history of NUSAS as
an open, °viable organization was
begun earlier this month as gov- ,
ernment interference in its af-
fairs suddenly increased. Magnus
Ghunther, a former NUSS officer
Who has been studying in the "
United States, Went back tq South
Africa bn a visit and was con-
tinually harassed during his stay.
Paradoxically, he was allowed to
leave the country, but he will
never be able to return agan.
Other former NUSAS leaders, in-
cluding many who have at one
timestudied or visited in the
U.S., have been arrested.
As a final blow, during the
second week in August Jonty
Driver, the curreat president of
NUSAS, was taken into custody
under the terms of the 90 Day
Detention Act (which allows the
police to detain a prisoner in-
definitely without entering charges
against him or letting him have
any visitors). Never :before had
the government dared to attack
the current NUSAS leadership.
* * *
LAST SUMMER at the 16th Na-,
tional Student Congress, Jonty
Driver was an honored and wel-
come guest. He returned to South
Africa after his visit knowing full
well that ;he would probably be
arrested and perhaps executed for
his opposition *to apartheid. He
returned knowing that he had no
future, that he would never be
able to get a job, that he would
never be allowed to leave the
" country .again. But he returned
because he also knew that he had
to continue the fight against Ver-
woerd's government. It was ap-
parent from his attitude as he
siioke to the congress that he had
little hope for himself, but that
he did believe there was some
hope for his ountry! if the voices
of dissent were not completely
muzzled.
!Jonty said just one thing last
summer to the students of the
United States: no matter how fu-
tile your protests may seem, raise
your voices in anger against
apartheid. Let NUSAS know that
somewhere there are people who
understand what we are doing
and s pport the effeorts, let us
know that students outside of
South Africa sympathize with our
struggle, and most of all, simply
let us know that there is a free
world where men can say and
think what they please without
fear of government intimidation.
's 'Sin gies:'
ie overA l
But beware. "A Nous La Liberte"
may flow uneasily through your
humors. Many of the characters
are stereotypes and the exempli-
fied fraternite seems, unrealistic
today.
Here, this male companionship
is more important than the female
kind. Personal problems must often
be subjugated to the solving of a
friend's own problems. Wealth is
unimportant unless comraderie is
strong. Society waits in the wings
while friendship plays its lead
role.
THIS RESTS like an itch on our
contemporary minds. We scratch
it off and turn to Dr. Strangelove
as the epitome of our era, as the
symbol of our society, and as the
Faustus to whom our souls are
now temporarily sold., Ifeel thi
way about "A Nous La Liberte"
and I have no doubts that the rest
of the contemporary audience also
does. _
Itdis incongruous to our times
to associate light and prancing
cinematic fun a la mode Rene
Claire with conforming, automat-;
ing, regimenting and technical so-
ciety. This fantasy, enveloping a
very real and realistic problem,
seems to skirt the issues and sa-
tire and concentrate on human
beings.
Yes ... That's what it does, and
thank God it does. Chaplain's
"Modern Times" (1936) deals with
the same theme but the effect is
entirely different. Here is a one
man- against all that technology
represents. Chaplain is as much
the antagonist as automation is.
He dives in to the gears and grease
literally, and pulls out the poppy-
cock and illusions that these in-
fernal machines produce for all of
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TRIPLE TREAT:
*Brilliantly Imaginative
Wednesday Free Fare
At the Cinema Guild
OVERFLOW CROWDS responded last night as the Cinema Guild
put together a brilliantly imaginitive program for the first of three
Wednesday night free shows.
It was an evening of spoof, shock, sultry sex with two wholly un-
conventional shorts and the wildest feature ever to .emanate from.
Hollywood.
The opening short, Rene Clair's "Entr 'Acte," was pure confection,
a Dada exercise that appeared to be as much fun for them as it was
for us. It was all just a Sophomoric lark, made by a group of serious
artists having fun on their day off, as it were.
* * * *
"UN CHIEN ANDALOU," a collaboration between Salvador Dali
and Louis Bunuel, was a giant booby trap for those who seek to find
meaningsthat do not exist. The purpose of the film was simply to
shock, disturb and confuse, and I take Dali and Bunuel at their word
when they claim to have purged all deeper meaning from the episodes..
In its own perverse way, "Un Chien Andalou" was as funny as
"Entr 'Acte." Even the opening episode, the slitting of an eyeball, was,'
in its juxtaposition to a shot of clouds cutting across the moon, a
wickedly funny exercise.
* I 1$ ;
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