S Allot anBally
Sevest y-Fi f thYear'
EDnIED AND MANAGED AT STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PULicATIONS
A CITY OF 150,000 .. .
Ann Arbor, 1980: Glum Prospects
I"nsrt 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, MIcH.
NEws PHONE: 764-0552
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1964 NIGHT EDITOR: LAURENCE KIRSHBAUM
The Language Requirement
Should Be Abolished
Yes . 0 0
No...
AVEZ-VOUS UNE CIGARETTE?
Just think-if you knew French, you
could use this phrase to ask your best girl
for a cigarette, and she would be com-
pletely snowed if: a) she were a fresh-
men and hadn't taken French in high
school; or b) if you said it so rapidly that
she couldn't understand you (even if she
knew French), the way the French 231
instructors do.
Furthermore, if you took a language for
four semesters at the University, you
could use it when you visit a country
where it is spoken, assuming that you
had not been totally alienated by the or-
deal of compulsory language.
You could even swear in a foreign
tongue at the time clock in Mason Hall
outside the language lab.
TE ACTUAL BENEFITS of knowing a
foreign language are:
-A certain increment to your cultural
level, the degree of the increment de-
pending on whether you did C work (in
that case the increment is near zero), or
made A's and B's, in which case you can
probably speak well enough to pick, up
some conversational ability after about
six weeks in the country of the language's
origin;
-A certain degree of self-discipline ob-
tained by wading through a compulsory
class (some people really do place a value
on this form of self-discipline);
-A better understanding of the use of
English;
-A tolerance for humanity as you
gradually modify your hate for the girl
who sits next to you who can construct
long cohesive answers in the language
you're studying.
BUT HOW CAN students reconcile them-
selves to the fact that language is
REQUIRED? Then there is the added
barb that the University asks comple-
tion of language study in students' first
60 hours here.
It has been said that freshmen and
sophomores lack perspective in deciding
what courses are valuable to them, and
that the language requirement specifical-
ly, and distribution requirements in gen-
eral, are forms of "enforced perspective."
But this looks like just another case of
in loco parentis, with the University de-
ciding what is best for its students.
OF COURSE it would be unwise to dis-
pose summarily of all distribution re-
quirements. Chaos would result, because
these are the stuff and meat of the Uni-
versity.
But the gradual approach is another
matter. In the academic year 1961-62,
all- entering freshmen were required to
enroll in either introductory philosophy
or math, but that was the last time; that
requirement has been done away with.
Now it is time to reexamine the lan-
guage requirement, which should be the
next- to fall because it is the most oner-
ous and inflexible of all the University's
musts.
-WILLIAM BENOIT
ALMOST ALL distribution requirements
are frustrating, but the language re-
quirement would probably come out on
top of a poll for the most annoying. The
unhappy, rather - would - not - be-bi-lin-
guists view the requirement as a long,
unnecessary struggle.
A frequent justification for abolishing
the two-year requirement is that there is
no need today to be able to speak any-
thing but English, which has practically
become the international language. More-
over, translators and translations are
readilyavailable.
BUT THIS REASONING is not only non-
academic, it is very often false.
Students doing advanced research or
studying literature will find that trans-
lations of important, but little known
works are not easily found. And when
translations are available, they are often
inaccurate, particularly in literature
where nuance is important and words in
the original language have several mean-
ings that cannot all be translated by an
English word.
Even the diehards determined nevr
again to speak or read a word that is
not English ought to find language study
useful, for analyzing the form and vo-
cabulary of a foreign language usually
reveals deficiencies in one's knowledge of
the structure of English.
Furthermore, most masters degree pro-
grams require knowledge of at least one
foreign language and in order to obtain a
doctorate knowledge of two foreign lan-
guages is necessary. Graduate work may
seem far away or out of the question to
a freshman struggling through Tahitian
101, but plans change and goals broaden
between the first and eighth semesters.
ABILITY TO SPEAK several languages
is equally important outside of the
academic world. More and more students
take advantage of student flights and
ships to venture abroad. But much of
the value of travelling is lost when the
American traveller is forced everywhere
to depend on tours and interpreters or is
confined to "tourist areas" where English
is spoken. American Express can't do
everything.,
The need for Americans to be able to
communicate abroad is important as well
in our struggle to establish favorable for-
eign relations. Resentment of travelling
Americans who are not interested in at-
tempting to break through the language
barrier coupled with a perhaps unavoid-
able jealousy of Americans is an impor-
tant factor in keeping men such as Pres-
ident de Gaulle in office.
FULFILLING the language requirement
at the University is indeed often frus-
trating. But the problem arises from the
structure of the requirement courses. Too
large sections and the weaknesses of a
hurried, unstructured conversational ap-
proach defeat the purpose of language
study. But the solution must be sought in
eliminating the weaknesses of the ele-
mentary courses, rather than in eliminat-
ing the language requirement.
-DEBORAH BEATTIE
Associate Editorial Director
By ROBERT P. WEEKS
TO MANY University students-
particularly that large group
consisting of unmarried under-
graduates-the city of An Arbor
is much like a' hotel room: ex-
pensive, characterless, but con-
venient. And like guests in a hotel
who know how to find the coffee
shop, the bar, the elevator and
their rooms, their involvement
with the city is superficial and
brief.
Although the United States cen-
sus--as a result of a recent ruling
-enumerates them as residents of
Ann Arbor, they are actually more
nearly visitors. With few excep-
tions, they pay no taxes, do not
vote here, have no children in the
schools, do not own or rent a
house and seldom have occasion
to enter the dwelling of a non-
student resident of the city.
* * *
YET THESE "VISITORS" have
a more decisive effect on the
sort of city Ann Arbor is and will
become than all the officials in
city hall put together. For they
are the key to the population.
When President Hatcher announc-
ed recently that every year for the
next ten years undergraduate en-
rollment would expand by 1000,
the faculty reacted in terms of the
impact this increase would have
on the size of classes, the ratio of
students to teachers, the recruit-
ment of new faculty members and
so forth. As a member of the
faculty, I too am concerned. But
as a member of the Ann Arbor
City Council, I am alarmed.
From the faculty point of view,
1000 more students distributed
among the schools, colleges and
various departments e x p a n d s
classes, laboratories and other f a-
cilities on a modest scale. But to
the city, 1000 additional students
adds more than three and a half
times that many persons to the
city's rapidly rising population.
The University must hire 400
additional employes to do the in-
structional, administrative, clerical
and housekeeping chores created
by the 1000 new students. There
are an additional 700 persons in
the families of these newly-hired
University employes. The total
of 2100 additional University
people requires approximately 500
policemen, gas station attendants,
store clerks, waitresses, taxi driv-
ers, etc., bringing thestotal to 2600.
The families of these supporting
personnel account for an addition-
al 1000 persons. So every 1000 new
students equals 3600 more people
in Ann Arbor.
* * *
THE IMPACT on the city of the
University's growth can be seen
most dramatically in the flow of
traffic. Today there are 33,000
vehicular trips to the main cam-
pus daily. By 1980 when the Uni-
versity expects to have over 50,000
students, studies made by the city
planning department indicate that
the 33,000 daily trips will have
increased 100 per cent.
To accommodate this flow we
will have to spend millions of
dollars widening existing streets,
creating new ones and erecting
immense parking structures and
elaborate electronic traffic con-
trol systems. In addition, thou-
sands of trees will need to be cut
down, trees that will require from
50 to 100 years to be replaced-
assuming that adequate planting
space remains.
Of course it is possible that by
1980 more people will walk-al-
though this seems unlikely. The
trend is distinctly in the other
direction. Some students bound
for campus now hitchike from the
corner of Hill and Washtenaw!
We might install a monorail or
some other sort of rapid transit
system, but even so, hauling 66,000
people-and this is the minimum,
since the city's count was based
on vehicles not passengers-will
require a system of heroic pro-
portions.
AND WHAT will the "feel" of
Ann Arbor be by 1980? Students
will probably still sing "I want to
go back to Michigan/ To dear Ann
Arbor town," but anyone who calls
it a "town" will employ the same
understatement we do today when
we speak of London town. Ann
Arbor will be a big city of 130,000
to 150,000. Instead of being a
small, university-oriented com-
munity with a distinctive charac-
ter, it will be more diffuse and
undifferentiated: Grand Rapids
with Hill Auditorium thrown in.
You won't know when you've left
Ann Arbor and entered Ypsilanti.
The sense of scale will be radically
altered. No one will be likely to
describe it in the words Play-
wright Arthur Miller used to de-
scribe the Ann Arbor of 1934-'38:
"It was a little world and it was
man-sized."
If the Greek revival houses, the
150-year old oaks and elms, Cedar
Bend Drive, the German restau-
rants, Island Park, Washtenaw
between South 'U' and Devon-
shire, Hertler Brothers farm im-
plement store, Burns Park, the
Arboretum, the pleasant curve of
Oakland with the fine, ugly Vic-
torian houses mounted behind
their expanses of lawn, trees and
shrubbery, the Farmer's Market,
the interesting dead ends and
alley-ways: Wellington Court,
Harvard Place, Cambridge Court,
Horman Court-if such features
of the Ann Arbor scene that have
charmed students and townspeople
and made them love the city are
destroyed or eclipsed, who will be
to blame? And with what specific
dereliction, obtuseness or miscal-
culation will they be charged?
* * *
I HAVE TRIED to show that
student population isthe key to
the future size and therefore
character of Ann Arbor. But just
because President Hatcher and
Vice-President Pierpont have said
without equivocation that no limit
should be, will be or can be placed
on the growth of the University,
no one should hold them respon-
sible for the University's continu-
ed growth. They did not cause the
post-war baby boom, nor did they
or any other single person or force
instill in the American conscious-
ness the notion that a college
education is, like antautomobile,
a necessity. (Perhaps they and
other University planners should
have done more to encourage the
growth of community colleges,
junior colleges and out-state
branches of the University-but
that is a question of policy beyond
the scope of this article.)
Irrespective of who is respon-
sible for the swarms of students,
what happens to the city is not
wholly beyond our control. Some,
of course, claim it is beyond us.
They believe in the Manifest Des-
tiny of the Research Center of the
Midwest and hope to make money
guessing which way the city will
grow. And, like George F. Bab-
bitt, they call this guessing Vision.
A local land developer-or h may
have been an out-of-towner, since
Ann Arbor, like a bitch in heat, is
bringing some eager new dogs into
the area-was quoted in last
week's Ann Arbor News on the
future of the city. Here is the
picturedof the city painted by his
debased Vision:
"Just think of the capital en-
richment in the downtown with
high-rise apartment facilities, the
tax-revenues generated, the thou-
sands of persons scurrying from
their apartments to stores . . .
are shops . . . gourmet restaurants
. ..all of the living happily.
... We are talking in plain, hard
facts about people, their happi-
ness, meeting their demands, new
wealth, new taxes. We're talking
about money; it's as simple as
that."
* * *
FOR MANY developers it is as
simple as that. They tear down
two or three old houses, chop
down the trees andaerect what
realtors call "a cash register"
multiple-a compact four- to
eight-unit building; they jam it
with students, capitalize it in
seven years, and thereafter earn a
good 20 to 25 per cent return.
Often these are built to the lot
line (notice the one on Packard
east of the Blue Front) and pro-
vide no off-street parking. They
are so profitable that as housing
becomes more dense near the cam-
pus it becomes feasible to tear
down perfectly good post-war
housing and replace it with cash-
register multiples of larger capa-
city.
If this trend continues, the cam-
pus will be surrounded by a high
dense belt of housing, a small-
scale version of the cliff-like
structures surrounding Central
Park.
If Ann Arbor is a bitch in heat
-and it's a rare discussion of
the local housing situation in
which this expression doesn't ap-
pear-it's on a long, long leash.
Therefore, it is neither fair nor
realistic to condemn realtors and
developers for obeying their in-
stincts. Guiding and controlling
the development of the city is not
their responsibility. Whose fault
is it, for example, that plans are
underway for the construction of
a 16-story hotel at 300 S. Thayer
-a building that will dwarf Bur-
ton Tower and irreparably mar
the campus horizon?
The University is hardly guilt-
less since it has addressed no plea
of any sort to the city government
asking it to forestall the move.
But is it the University's respon-
sibility to prevent Ann Arbor from
becoming another Ecorse, Livonia
or Flint?
* * *
WHOSE FAULT is it that in
Ann Arbor developers can jam
79.2 dwelling units on an acre
of land, whereas in comparable
cities in Michigan the permitted
density if often much lower. Lan-
sing, for example, has an upper
limit of 20 units per acre.
Whose fault is it that although
the city has doubled in area in
the past ten years, it has not
purchased park land at a c:rre-
sponding rate? Even though as
a city we increase in area, we be-
come less adequately supplied with
open space and recreational breas.
Whose fault is it that although
the University has faculty mem-
bers who have national reputa-
tions as landscape architects, city
p 1 a n n e r s, outdoor recreation
authorities, none of these men are
represented on the appointive
body that advises the city's plan-
ning department?
WHOSE FAULT is it that con-
trary to the accepted principles of
city planning, Ann Arbor has no
master plan, no overall scheme
for guiding and pacing its de-
velopment as a city? The city
has studies of limited areas and
problems-such as the central
business district-but it lacks a
are day - to - day housekeeping
chores.
ANN ARBOR must abandon its
19th century laissez-faire posture
and begin coping not merely with
the present but with the future.
It hasn't for years been the small,
college town some of us like to
think it is. It has a population of
over 70,000 and will pass 100,000
in a few years.
But neither is it-nor need it be
- merely another middle-sized
city. By thoughtful, long-range
planning, the character of the city
can be shaped much as we see fit.
The University will still have the
last say on the size of the city,
but by regulatingthe height of
buildings, the density of housing
and some of the other features of
a city that form its collective per-
sonality, we can make Ann Arbor
a community that students and
townspeople alike will enjoy living
in and be proud of it. But it
won't happen by itself.
Take the problem of density,
for example. Although we permit
... NU ONE IS PLANNING
A
4
ROBERT P. WEEKS, professor of English
in the engineering college, is a member
of Ann Arbor City Council, editor of a col-
lection of essays on Hemingway and books
on the Sacco-Vanzetti case and on automa-
tion. An associate editor of The Daily in
1937-38 and a former Detroit newspaper-
man, he was a Fulbright lecturer on Ameri-
can literature in Austria last year.
I
I
CITY OPERA PRODUCTIONS:
Merry Widow' Isn't,
But 'Faust' Flies High
comprehensive plan, with the re-
sult that the spiralling growth of
the University must be met by
a series of improvisations or,at
worst, by a gutless passivity. (Be-
sides the 16-story hotel next door
to Burton Tower, there's the em-
barrassing episode of the 18-story
apartment under construction at
South U and Forest, in violation
of state housing law.)
Whose fault is it that 5000 non-
whites who live here, although
they constitute less than seven
per cent of the city's population,
occupy 42 per cent of what the
1960 census classified as "dilapi-
dated housing?" Whose fault is
it that some of these dilapidated
houses have been condemned as
unsafe for human habitation by
city building inspectors every -year
for as long as five years at a
stretch without the owners being
forced to comply with theslaw?
Whose fault is it that although
there are various programs where-
by the federal government will
supply outright grants or money
at low rates of interest for the
construction of low-cost housing,
in the large deteriorating area be-
tween City Hall and the railroad
depot not one new low-cost dwel-
ling has been erected under the
provisions of these various pro-
grams? (Obviously, it's more prof-
itable to build cash register multi-
ples for students at $50 a head
with three or four to a unit, but is
it that much more profitable?)
* * *
IT WOULD be immensely satis-
fying to lay the blame for all
these shortsighted, selfish, pro-
vincial, stupid blunders on the
shoulders of one man-or one
group of men. Unfortunately, it is
not that simple. The enemy is
more diffuse than that. The
enemy is the frame of mind that
refuses to cope with the ugly
possibilities of the future-or else
airily dismisses them as progress.
Our failure to adopt a master
plan, to enact sensible controls
for the construction of high rise
buildings, to lower the permitted
per acre density, to provide ade-
quate parks and open space, to
enlist the aid of knowledgeable
faculty members, to take advan-
tage of available programs for
the construction of low-cost hous-
ing and to crack down on slum
landlords-all these failures must
be laid at the doorstep 'of Ann
Arbor's City Hall and those who
have controlled it for years. For
generations they have presided
over the city with probity and
public spirit, but with the provin-
ciality that is the hall-mark of
Midwest small-town government.
But now Ann Arbor is no longer a
small town whose chief problems
79.2 units per acre and Lansing
permits only 20, this fact in itself
does not mean Ann Arbor per-
mits four times as much density
as it should. By this logic, living
out of sight of another. dwelling
would be ideal. Sir Raymond Un-
win, the noted British architect
and pioneer of town planning,
went nearly this far, for he de-
creed that the price of human
happiness is low density.
According to Wolf von Eckardt,
author of Mid-Century Architec-
ture in America, this nonsensical
idea has subdivided us out of
much open country near the city
that the automobile would have
brought into reach of nearly
everyone for walking, picnicking,
playing, hunting and fishing.
"Open space," says von Eckkardt,
"as a sacred abstraction without
relation to human needs or pleas-
ures, is the corollary to the low
density obsession. Its purpose, of
course, is to bring us sun, fresh
air and greenery."
HOW DOES this apply to Ann
Arbor's problems? First, it applies
to- our suburbs with their acres of
neatly groomed but largely useless
yards. "Cluster developments in
which houses are grouped closely
together in exchange for com-
munal open space with recrea-
tional facilities, with landscaped
streams or valleys,- illustrate a
new , and sensible use of open
space. The city should encouarge
a local developer to move in this
direction.
Secondly, instead of tearing
down old houses at random,
chopping down trees, excavating
lawns and erecting cash register
multiples, we should work for
selective density. This is the prin-
ciple followed in Tapiola, a new
community near Helsinki, that has
no open spaces as such, It has a
density of 26 to 30 people to the
acre, but seems open and green,
because the tall apartment build-
ings and row houses are skillfully
related. This is also true of Res-
ton, Virginia, a new community
18 miles west of Washington, D.C.,
which will have 75,000 inhabitants
by 1980.
WE CAN'T start afresh in Ann
Arbor; but should we simply
stumble ahead filling up the cen-
ter of town in the same old' pat-
tern only more clogged and less
green; should we bulldoze acre
after acre of the countryside as we
sprawl outward? And should we
leave the worn-out, delapidated
housing at the city's rotting core
for the poor? That's certainly
what we're doing right now. .
NEXT WEEK: Elizabeth Sumner
Police Failure Spoils Rally
THE NEW YORK City Opera
presented two operas Sunday
at Hill Auditorium. These two
productions, "The Merry Widow"
and "Faust," were staged as well
as any. The sets of the former
were very scanty, keeping with the
light opera feeling, while the lat-
ter had the massive Gothic setting
of an old German city. The cos-
tuming and lighting of the two
shows was superb. From the back-
stage point of view both shows
were successful.
The afternoon performance of
"The Merry Widow" was plagued
by many problems. The most im-
portant of these was the inability
of Nadja Witkowska, the Sonia,
to project her voice. Some of the
finest moments in the score were
lost because the audience could
not hear her and, when they could,
the diction was so poor the words
were lost anyway; since we could
understand her speaking voice
there was no reason for this.
John Readon carried off the
honors of the afternoon with an
excellent portrayal of Prince
Panilo. Michele Molese was an
excellent Vicomte, while Coley
Worth and Emil Renan vied for
comic honors. It would be hard to
decide which one did win. The
Corps de Ballet was in good form,
save some minor interference with
the set.aThe orchestra was not
what I had hoped for because the
execution was generally sloppy.
Julius Rudel did his best to keep
things moving smoothly.
THE EVENING performance of
"Faust" looked as though the
conductor had had a long chat
with everyone. The orchestral
execution. was infinitely better
throughout the evening. The
chorus sang with verve and react-
ed at all times to the drama. The
soloists were all well above aver-
age. One might regret that the
upper register of Donna Jeffrey,
Marguerite, was not freer, how-
ever hers was a well thought-out
characterization and she turned
in an excellent "Jewel Song" and
floated pianissimo in the love duet
was a Joy to any opera buff.
Dominic Cossa was very well re-
ceived by the audience as Valen-
tin. He sang his aria and the duel
scene in a rich, resonant baritone
voice that I for one would like to
hear much more of.
Ara Berberian, who played Me-
phistopheles, is a former Univer-
sity student and one of whom we
can be proud. He displayed a true
bass voice which added great sup-
port to the ensemble numbers. If
at times his acting was stilted, it
is something which I am sure he
will overcome in time.
Beverly Evans and William Led-
better were more than adequate
as Martha and Wagner. The sing-
ing was always competent and
often very excellent. The ballet
could have improved more than it
did but since the ballet music was
cut it was not a major problem.
Julius Redel kept things moving
at a nice pace all night.
"THE MERRY WIDOW" could
have been merrier, but the Faust
was definitely on a high level.
-Richard LeSueur
I
I I
I
4
THOUSANDS OF MICHIGAN football
fans departed from Willow Run air-
port Saturday night irate and disgruntled
because they had not seen their football
teajn.
The conquerors of the Ohio State Buck-
eyes were scheduled to land at the air-
port at 5:40 p.m. By five o'clock thou-
sands of enthusiastic rooters assembled
in the bitter cold at the gate to the run-
way. One Michigan State Police car was
parked on the runway. The officers in the
heated car shouted over a loud speaker:
"Please get back of the fence or else the
plane will not land."
The fans, eagerly awaiting the arrival
of the team, inched their way inside the
gate and onto the runway. The police
again repeated the order. Finally, it was
announced that the plane would not
arrive until 6:19 and most of the then-
frozen enthusiasts hustled to the terminal
expect a group, overwhelmed with joy,
to listen to the orders of such a small
number of authorities?
When the plane began to approach
the runway, the police got out of the car
and gently tried to persuade the crowd
to move in back of the fence and off the
landing area. The crowd, naturally, was
not convinced.
As a result, the plane taxied in and
the pilot, seeing the crowd moving so
close to the propellers of the plane, was
forced to steer his craft to another part
of the airport.
The players were disappointed and the
fans were so irate that they chased the
plane down the runway and then stormed
the terminal chanting: "Where's our
team!"
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN a great
spectacle turned out to be a failure.
4
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' U ' O r c l i
ONIGHT IN HILL AUDITORIUM the Universit
orchestra, under the direction of Prof. Josef
Blatt, will present a concert of music varying widel:
in style and in instrumentation.
The Overture and Scherzo from the incidentam
music for "A Midsummer Night's Dream," by Feli
Mendelssohn, will open the program. For the audie
ence this is charming, delightful music, but for tho
orchestra it is an exacting test of technical prof
ficiency-especially for the winds, and among thw
winds, especially for the . . . but never mind. Nn
need to remind them of what they know wele
enough.
CONCERT PREVIEW
testra Offers V
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The "Midsummer Night's Dream" music and,
the "Serenade" were chosen to commemorate
Shakespeare's 444th and Strauss' 100th anniversary.
"Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5," by Heitor Villa-
Lobos (1887-1950, also serves a special purpose,
which is to take advantage of the size and quality
of the cello section of the orchestra, as well as the
splendid singing of Noel Rogers, soprano, the soloist
featured in this unusual composition for soprano
and an orchestra of cellos.
ACCORDING TO Joseph Machlis, whose "In-
troduction to. Contemporary Music" is a standard
textbook, the entire series of 10 "Bachianas
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