>1 A. Gij Sic!jPan ZBait Seventy-Fifth Year EnrrED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNivERSIrY OF MCa,,@t a UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLCATm LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Bicycle License Woes $ where O~inlof Are ree,420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, MICH. NEws PHoNE: 764-0552 Truth wm P revail Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily ex press the individual opinions of staf f writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1964 NIGHT EDITOR: ROBERT RIPPLER Dormitories: the Too Tight System Has Sprung a Leak WHEN A CONTAINER becomes so full that it starts to overflow, two things can be done with the contents. The lid can be clamped down to prevent the contents from escaping, or some of the contents can be allowed to get out and find a new container. When the container happens to be the dormitory system at the University and the contents are students, clamping down the lid and allowing things to sim- mer is the expedient policy. This policy has advantages for the University's fi- nances and public relations, but few for the students. THE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION to the overcrowded housing situation-allow- ing some of the contents to find new containers-also has merits, especially for the students. Working with this alter- native leads to a surprisingly simple solu- tion. Sophomore and junior women should be given apartment permission. This is the only group, besides freshman men and women, large enough so that its de- parture would cause a substantial de- crease in the number of people occupying the dormitories. This solution is simple, however, only in the sense that it would probably solve the problems of over-crowding in the dor- mitories. It is complicated because the housing system might lose some of its revenue. It is further complicated because it brings up the issue of the University's hypocritical attitude toward restrictions on women students. AN ANALYSIS of the financial situa- tion of the dormitories for this year has not been reported, but one can only conclude that the situation should be good. More people are living in the same amount of space. The only new expenses are their food, the new furniture that was not already in storage and clean linen once a week. Meanwhile all of this extra revenue is being taken in. Of course, dormitory fees not only pay for the inmediate expenses of operation, but also new dormitories which are built periodically. If a potentially large num- ber of students could leave, the dormi- tories might not be completely filled, some may fear. Financial disaster? Prob- ably not. Remember, new dormitories would not have to be built. Moreover, all of the people who are permitted to leave will not leave-probably just enough to make it comfortable for those who stay. If a mass exodus really occurred, one or more buildings could be closed down or used for another purpose. If the financial problem can be over- come fairly easily, the problem of wom- en's regulations cannot. The former is merely economic; the' latter involves po- tentially more explosive components - public relations, sex, and hypocrisy. OMEN ARE KEPT in dormitories be- cause it is claimed that their activi- ties thus can be controlled. They are ex- pected to be in at a certain time-and mainly, they are expected to be in. The reality is that all a woman has to do is walk out the door without signing out and her departure will not be known. The staff is well aware of this. It goes through the motions of signing in and out those who wish to do so and assign- ing late minutes to those who decided to come in late rather than not signing out and not coming in at all. The dormitory staff makes little pretense of controlling the lives of University women. A candid statement recently illustrated this. Some women in one of the dormi- tories had been leaving by the back doors which are locked after 8 p.m. to prevent prowlers from entering the building. Of course, they could have left by the front doors, but these are locked after closing and watched by a lady who stays there all night leaving the back doors as tempt- ing exits. After the back doors had been opened 12 times after midnight in one night, the women were warned of the danger of opening back doors and threat- ened with severe penalties if they were caught. THE PROPOSED SOLUTION, as stated by the dormitory staff: "If you have to spend the night with a guy, no one is going to tell you that you can't. But please go out the front door and leave before closing." . Just what is accomplished by eepng women in the dormitory? Obviously it is not controlling the personal lives of the students-an objective that the Univer- sity has at last given up. What it is doing is giving the impression that such con- trol exists. Are taxpayers in Michigan satisfied that University women, with the exception of .seniors who have no hours or may live in apartments, are leading moral lives? Good! More money for the University. Are parents secure in the mis- taken belief that their daughters will have to spend the night in the dormitory under the eye of the housemother? Nice! Now they can sleep nights. If the University really fears reaction from these quarters, a frank statement that it intends to limit its interference in the personal lives of the students would probably be more effective in the long run than hiding the fact that little ef- fective control exists. 0THER REASONS which are proposed for keeping women in the dormitories are that they can study better and will eat better than in an apartment. They are said not to be mature enough to be completely on their own. Why, then, are men students given apartment permission after their freshman year? Twenty-year- old men are probably not as good cooks as women the same age .Are men students more mature? The panty raids and other allegedly delinquent activity that goes on in the quads does not suggest that they are. Obviously, the differential treatment of men and women cannot logically be based on these grounds.I The time is coming-inevitably-when women students at the University will be treated in the same way as men students. Why wait five years, when taking decisive action now will solve another problem- the problem of where to put the contents that won't fit the container? -CHRISTINE LINDER To the Editor: LE'S PLAY a game: see if you can choose the correct alter- natives in the following story. One day, shorily after the first of October, in (the waterfront. area of Chicago; front of Angell Hall) a hulking, dull-expressioned man dressed like a (gangster; police officer) is "explaining" a new ("insurance policy"; bicycle license) to an (intimidated shop owner; student) . He says, "This is a generous policy of the big boys to protect you. Here's how it works: you pay a premium of only 5flc and if your (merchandise is hijacked; bike is stolen) we'll try to return what's left for a modest additional charge of $3.50." "What does this clause mean?" says the (intimidated shop owner; student), pointing. * * "WELL," said the (gangster; police officer), "That just equal- izes losses. It means that if you don't have a (policy; license) the big boys won't take any respon- sibility for your property-just between you and me, they'll come and (hi-jack your merchandise; steal your bike) themselves and charge you $3.50 to .get it back.. You didn't think they got rich selling honest insurance, did you? That's why its so necessary to buy one of these." "I don't think I want one," said the (shop owner; student) if I'm paying 5fc to avoid being robbed of $3.50 whether legally or il- legally.That's not insurance, that's blackmail." "But you have to buy it," said the (gangster, police officer), twisting his victim's arm and mut- tering between clenched teeth, "It's the law of the (jungle; Uni- versity). * - « WASN'T THAT FUN? If you WORt> SE RIE S ELECTION ANALYSIS: New York Race Becomes Juggling Act want to play some more in that vein, leave your licensed bike around unlocked and see what happens. Of course, it will be stolen. Now try and get .what's left of it back. After all, you did buy a license, didn't you! But . what for? -Fred L Pierce, '65 Emotion To the Editor: JEFFREY GOODMAN, in his editorial of October 7, stated that the appeal to emotion is out of place in dealing with the ques- tion of University reform; that the administration of a university of 29,000 students and a budget of $150,000,000 a year poses problems far too vast for the mere student to be familiar with. However, Mr. Goodman does not discount the validity of an emo- tional appeal regarding the ques- tion of civil rights. He fails to note that the budget and admin- istration of the State of Missis- sippi are far more vast than that of the University. The size and the complexity of the problem is not what makes it inappropriate for students to use an emotional appeal in an attempt to mobilize support for Universiyt reform. Rather, the fact that they are students in some way seems to imply that they must behave dis- passionately, that somehow stu- dents should not allow themselves to be excited by an emotional appeal to their sense of right and wrong. Mr Goodman would not even allow the issue of the sug- gested reform to be stated in terms of right and wrong. These "black and white" characteriza- tions of problems do not betray a sense of rationality which is in some way supposed to characterize the university student. I WOULD LIKE to take issue with Mr. Goodman's position. In a very real sense the position of the student at the University is one of powerlessness. Decisions are made about matters which in a significant way shape his daily life, over which he has no control. Time and again the University has presented the austere visage of all knowing and all (too) powerful guardian of stability. If students are lucky their proposals are listened to, but no matter how well thought out or rationally pre- sented, they are promptly dis- missed. University policy is ar- bitrary in the extreme In that there is no effective student In- fluence on important issues like "how when and where" the vast financial resources of the Univer- sity are to be directed. THE STUDENT must be given reason to feel that he is more than a person who is merely re- sponsible to the University; he must feel that the University is responsible to him. Only then will he have a sense of rights wh ich will balance his sense of duty to the University and allow him to participate as an active member of the community, for the Uni- versity is in a very real sense a community-the bulk of whose population is the student body If that commnunity is to function in all of its potential richness, then the student must be in a position, to demand that he be attended to. The student does not control effective means for the implemen- tation of University reform. Thus, the student is not in the position to present a complete plan of reform. Such a presentation will necessarily lead to frustration be- cause, no matter how well thought out it is, students will not be given the power to implement it. In this position of powerlessness the only recourse is an appeal to the studentcbody to show its dis- satisfaction. Dissatisfaction is an emotion. An appeal to dissatis- faction is an emotional appeal. To condemn an emotional appeal is to condemn protest. It is to condemn the right of an individual or a group of individuals to act in con- cert to voice their sense of right and wrong. If this is done then students will -be less than power- less. They will be voiceless. -Roger Manela, Grad By CAL SKINNER JR. and HAROLD WOLMAN THE NEW YORK senatorial race between Robert Kennedy and incumbent Republican Kenneth Keating provides an excellent example of the problems facing the American politician who must juggle groups so that he is able to maximize support from his opponent's traditional following and from independent voters, at the same time, minimizing de- fections from within his own party and faithful following. Kenneth Keating's problem will be one of balancing both ideo- logical ends against the middle. He first must keep conservative Republicans inside the party. This group, at odds with him over his refusal to endorse Sen. Goldwater, has threatened to bolt to the New York State Conserva- tive Party which is also running a candidate for the Senate. Thus, Keating, a maverick, must appeal to party regularity. He is forced to be a maverick for identifica- tion with Goldwater would mean a significant loss in the inde- pendent and Democratic vote, which Keating must garner if he is to win. *. : THE REPUBLICAN incumbent won in 1958 with strong support from Negroes, Jews and labor unions, which he has carefully cultivated while in the Senate. This year, however, Sen. Gold- water's candidacy is likely to cut into Keating's vote in the Negro sector. ,Ticket splitting is a tricky business and requires a fair de- gree of political sophistication. Many Negroes otherwise not un- favorably disposed to Keating will undoubtedly vote a straight Demo- cratic ticket in reaction to Sen. Goldwater's vote on the Civil Rights Act. Kennedy's role as Attorney General in framing the rights bill will also mean that Keating, despite an excellent rec- ord of his own in the field of civil rights, can expect little electoral help from this segment of the population. However, Keating is likely to pick up votes in the labor unions, a traditional center of Democratic strength. Over the past few years,. Keating has gained the reputation of a friend of labor despite a dubious beginning in 1959, when he voted for the Landrum-Grif fin Bill, generally considered an anti- labor measure. Kennedy, on the other hand, is not too popular with labor people, because of his role in the Mc- Clellan labor racket hearings sev- eral years ago. His bouts with Teamster President James Hoffa have not endeared him to the teamsters and the dockworkers- two large and powerful factors in New York politics. Keating stands to pick up sup- port fpom these sources as well as from several smaller unions which have already pledged themselves to him Not a Mythical Monster HJE DOESN'T HAVE green hair. He doesn't breathe fire and smoke. He didn't wear a swastika on his arm. He doesn't want to gas everybody. He has good table manners. George Lincoln Rockwell is not some mythical monster who is a murderer and a threat to civilization that ought to be done away with. He's just a demagogue, in the best sense of the word, who seems to be having a very good time being in the public eye and being half-listened to. In his speech Tuesday' night, he was the thinker, the man with new ideas to make the intellectual audience sit back and think. To a large measure, he was successful. Weaving a few of the traditional con- servative maxims such as "moral decay" and "Christian civilization" into his speech in tandem with the popular lib- eral idea that a Goldwater administra- tion will be utter disaster for America, _ ...., ...a .,. , ,,,. h~ia 1S- . - -.1 ~rtrl in terms of race and hate. Traces of this were evident Tuesday night in phrases like "Martin Luther Coon" but basically he avoided the lower class approach. To a certain extent Rockwell has had to reconcile the two approaches, but he admits that he tries to keep them as separate as possible. MORE INTERESTING is Rockwell's well-planned road to power. This scheme involves getting the party's name in the public eye, getting the public to understand its principles, organizing a base of support, being voted into power and finally altering the Constitution to facilitate "authoritarian" government. The existence of this plan and the two contrasting "audience approaches" under- score Rockwell's basic orientation toward the means of his movement rather than the ends. Listening to Rockwell recount past ex- periences, one can see that he is thor- ....,.,t . . ; ,- u; -.. na v w hatrn l rl a . 'THE BEST MAN': . " T'imrely Political Satire. HE ANN ARBOR Civic Theater opened its thirty-fifth season Twith Gore Vidal's "The Best Man." This sharp political satire is a timely moving play, which more or less insures a memorable evening. The play concerns the fictional Presidential convention of a fictional party in 1960-fictional in the sense that it could be either of the major political parties in the country. The convention choices are an unknown, an "egghead," and a "political manipulator." VIDAL SHOWS the callousness of politics. He tries to show that the successful politician is often, "the master of half-truth and insinuation"; while, at the same time, he shows the inadequacy and "out-of-placeness" of the intellectual who tries to bring morality into the political picture. He wrestles with the problem of the ends justifying the means and comes out with a negative answer. The egghead, William Russell, shows only a momentary weakness as he almost gives in to pressure to join the smear campaign and "fight fire with fire." The lines are quick and witty. The end is strong when we see not only that the "best man" does not always win, but that this has very little to do with political success. * * * * THE CIVIC THEATER players generally give adequate perform- ances. The different deliveries of the lines and the differences in degrees of acting ability balance each other well. When one character is weak, someone else overshadows him enough so that it is not jarring. The performances are those of amateurs and sometimes become a bit wooden. A few lines were muffed here and there. However, the effects are generally good, and the play comes across fairly well. Alfred Sullivan as ex-President Arthur Hockstader, "the last of the glorious hicks," gives a most enjoyable interpretation. He creates a lovable, if not wholly admirable, character. He seems to have a good time doing it too. Kingsbury Marzolf and Barbara Linden also create convincing roles. BEING A RATHER CONFIRMED movie goer, this reviewer found it quite hard to get used to watching the prop girls run out to change IT IS AMONG the Jewish popu- lation of New York (1.5 million) that Keating expects to make sig- nificant gains. Throughout his years in the Senate, Keating has. become known as a friend of the Jewish people by showing up at bar mitzvahs and Jewish con- gresses, and by supporting "pro- Israel" legislation in the Senate. Jews also constitute a preponder- ant number of the Reform Demo- crats, who are wary of Kennedy's entry into New York politics. This latter group is likely to be more issue-oriented than most parts of the electorate, and this too should accrue to the benefit of Keating who is stressing his record in Congress. Kennedy, on the other hand, has hardly mentioned issues at all, and has refused thus far to mention Keating's record, other than to say that it is a good one. For these reasons, lead- ers of the Jewish community are predicting large defections to Keating of the ordinarily Demo- cratic Jewish vote. KENNEDY'S PROBLEM will be to keep these groups inside the Democratic column where they have traditionally been. To do this, Kennedy will have to con- vince many of these people that he is neither a carpetbagger in New York politics nor power hungry. Kennedy has fought the carpet- bagger charge by observing that New York is a large metropolitan area and that the plexus of met- ropolitan problems in Boston and Washington are the same as those of New York .City. Therefore, he says, he is acquainted with New York problems and qualified to deal with them despite the fact that he has never lived in :the state prior to this August. Kennedy also stresses that his entry into New York politics is completely legal and Constitutional, noting that the Constitution simply stipu- lates that a Senator must reside in the state he represents at the time of his election. However, there, is no doubt that many New Yorkers still believe their state is being used by the former Attorney General as the most convenient stepping stone to the Presidency. IN ATTEMPTING to dispel these fears, Kennedy has thus far attempted to focus his campaign on the attractiveness of his per- sonality. His appearances have at- tracted huge crowds of worship- pers who give him the sort of greeting usually reserved for popu- lar, teenage idols. At the same time, Kennedy has not hesitated to invoke his late brother's mem- ory (although not untastefully) in an attempt to associate himself with the widespread bipartisan sympathy which followed the President's assassination. However, recent polls have shown that Kennedy does not have the lead he expected at this time, and a change in campaign strategy has been noted. From now on, Kennedy. who until recently re- Keating, on the other hand, has vigorously attacked Kennedy's public record. * * # OFFSETTING the vote which the late President brother is likely to get as a result of the growing "Kennedy legend" is that Keating stands to gain from the public's propensity to favor underdogs. Despite the fact that polls show Keating is not at all an under- dog, he is still seen as the old pro, fighting gamely for his political life in the face of overwhelming odds. American voters usually do not cast their votes because of ideo- logical predilections, and New Yorkers, certainly, should not be exceptions. The result of the elec- tion- may well .depend on Robert Kennedy's success in dispelling the idea that he is a brash, power hungry politician and the suc- cess of Kenneth Keating in foster- ing an image of the old, dependable pro, set upon by a power-hungry politician. Insane OUR MUDDLED response to the present challenge in Southeast Asia has made guerrilla warfare the Communist's forte. Mao Tse- tung's book, Guerrilla Warfare, has become the military bible for Communist puppets the world. over. The reaction of the McNamara regime has been incredible. Dis- carding our advanced military technology, the "whiz kids" have made counter-insurgency the fo- cal point of our military activity, and the chief export item of our military aid. It is like arguing that the best way to protect yourself from. a savage is to throw away your pis- tol and pick up a club-because that's what he uses. Yet, as in- sane as it sounds, that is what we are now doing. --Earl Lively, Jr. American Opinion The Melancholy Days Are Come ---