14t Alktlgan Batty
Seventy-Third Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
_ UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
"Where Opinions Are Free STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG., ANN ARBOR, MICH., PHONE NO 2-3241
'Truth Will Prevail"
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1962 NIGHT EDITOR: PHILIP SUTIN
The Liberal Student Movement:
Creeping lHiberalism
. t Y ,..-'-,i
i , , , r A
i . (
f "
LABOR CAMPAIGN:
Unions May Ruin
Swainson's Chances
By PHILIP SUTIN
FACED WITH their toughest opponent in years, state Democrats and
their union supporters seem to be arrogantly booting away their
opportunities and losing supporters at a time when they desperately
need them.
Republican gubernatorial candidate George Romney has made,
serious inroads in traditionally Democratic areas and with the few in-
dependents who could swing the election either way. According to a
recent Detroit News poll, the number of undecided voters has shrunk
from approximately eight per cent to one per cent of the electorate-
and most of these votes went to Romney.
Romney has picked up support from the Wayne County, outstate
urban, managerial and more than 60 other voter categories listed in
the News poll since a similar sampling made last May when Gov. John
"THE LEFT is in complete decadence,
a prisoner of words, caught in its own
vocabulary, capable merely of stereotyped
replies, constantly at a loss when faced
with the truth, from which it nevertheless
claimed to derive its laws. The Left is
schizophrenic and needs doctoring through
pitiless self-criticism, exercise of the heart,
close reasoning, and a little modesty."
-Albert Camus, "Resistance, Rebellion,
and Death"
THE SO-CALLED "student movement," as it
continues to grow, is enormously privileged
in the United States. We who would battle
for integration, disarmament, freedom from
colonialism wherever it appears, and all the
rest, are privileged simply in the fact that we
are permitted to express ourselves against many
of the powers that be.
We like to call those powers "conserva-
tive," and ourselves "liberal." And yet the stu-
dent movement now and then exhibits its own
kind of anti-intellectual conservatism-a con-
servatism especially vicious because it threatens
a perversion of the broadest ideals for which
we stand.
The essence of intellectual liberalism is
constant, fundamental re-evaluation .of ideals
and premises, means and ends. Thus liberalism
is not a goal, it is a process and a method.
Intellectually it is the most grueling of methods,
admitting only one absolute, that there are no
absolutes. Liberalism requires that everything
be constantly under ;question, even as we act;
that the mind be constantly in turmoil; that
all ideas be admitted to the dialogue, and, most
important, that the dialogue itself is of higher
value than its possible resolution.
From this concept derives the political tra-
dition of freedom of speech and thought, which
the student movement so stoutly defends.
HISTORICALLY, political liberalism, even in
some of the more dubious forms it takes
today, has grown out of a long and searching
intellectual tradition. As students, we are ob-
ligated to master the intellectual tradition as
well as its present political implications. As
students, (for we have chosen to be students)
we are obligated to listen and think a little
more than we talk. And as liberal students, we
are especially obligated to listen to and think
about the ideas with which we disagree. But
some members of the "student movement"
have decided, in complete contradiction of the
intellectual philosophy of liberalism, that they
are in possession of the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth. Therefore nothing
else matters, except that this "truth" be com-
municated as forcefully as possible, with little
time wasted in further questioning. We must,
of course, act, and take the chance that we
may be mistaken. But we do not have to act
in the exclusion of further thought.
A case in point is Voice Political Party's
symposium on the arms race last May, at which
Herman Kahn spoke. Voice lined up Prof. Ken-
neth Boulding and Prof. J. David Singer to op-
pose Kahn's views after he had spoken, but
did not offer Kahn (or others of his persuasion)
a chance for rebuttal. A Daily editorial duly
took Voice to task for this perversion of free-
Disgraceftul
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY history pro-
fessor Alfred H. Kelly has disgraced his
profession and his university with his contribu-
tion to the Senate subcommittee hearings for
the ratification of Thurgood Marshall, a Ken-
nedy appointee, as judge of the Second Circuit
Court of Appeals.
The controversy over Marshall's appointment
arose from the fact that he was not only a
Negro but also one who had been militantly in-
volved in civil rights issues. Southern conserva-
tives looked for a loophole in Marshall's repu-
tation for which to condemn him. Having
failed with their ever-ready label of Commu-
nist, they looked for anything at all, however
trivial, to pin on Marshall to prevent the ap-
pointment.
Unfortunately for the dignity of the Senate,
the reputation of university professors, and of
Wayne State University, Kelly furnished that
triviality.
" WANT YOU to understand that when us
colored folks takes over, every time a white
man draws a breath he will have to pay a fine,"
Kelly quoted Marshall in a paper he wrote. The
paper was seen by members of the subcommit-
tee who then sent a lawyer to get a statement
from Kelly.
Despite declarations of what was obvious
from Marshall-that is, that the statement was
an old Negro joke and had been made in jest-
this was used as the main issue of the sub-
committee hearings. That such a kangaroo
court was allowed to take place within the hal-
lowed halls of the United States Senate offends
the dignity of every free man.
Fortunately for the judiciary of the United
States, Marshall's appointment was ratified by
the Senate. His ability and experience in the
dom of speech, and Voice members Robert Ross,
Nanci Hollander, John Roberts, and Dick Magi-
doff responded in a letter to the editor that
"we take sides and are proud of it."
Granted, Voice has every right to take sides.
But nobody, not even Voice, has the right
to prevent the opposition from taking sides to
an equal extent. Herman Kahn could not have
prevented Voice from making, its position clear.
It was a small incident, and perhaps Voice has
learned from it. But as the student movement
grows in power and influence, the implications
become disquieting for the whole liberal cause.
ANOTHER case In point was the reaction of
many Daily staff members on the day last
fall when Dean of Women Deborah Bacon
finally resigned. In the city room of The Daily
there were great shouts of exultation, back-
slapping and laughter, and triumph all around.
It is certainly true that her conduct in office
had been inexcusable, and that her resignation
was a good thing for the University and for
the cause of individual rights. But Dean Bacon
herself is a human being, and last October she
was a tragic figure simply because she had not
behaved in accordance with the principles of
humanity. The triumph should have been tem-
pered with a large measure of regret; regret
not that she had resigned but rather that she
had been the kind of person who had to resign.
And her critics should have asked themselves
the searching question: Why was she that kind
of person? Then we might have been on the
way towards finding some of the real answers
of the human condition.
Similarly, is it not an interesting phenomen-
on that the National Student Association found
itself able to solve the most difficult problems
in the world in two and a half weeks this sum-
mer? Obviously most of the delegates arrived
with their opinions securely pre-formed. A
little more serious study and a few less "reso-
lutions" might allow us all the chance for a
greater and more realistic impact on our world.
Persons of liberal political persuasion cannot
afford to assume that they are the only ones
who possess insight, integrity, and courage.
The left wing of the student movement has
its own contradictions - for instance the con-
demnation of "paternalism" on University cam-
puses issuing from the same mouths that advo-
cate socialism on the national level. We ought
to define our terms more carefully; we ought
seriously to worry about where welfare ends
and control begins. As students, we ought to
worry about how far, in fact, we can be relied
upon to govern our own lives and to theorize
about the government of others. After all, we
came to the University in an admission of our
own ignorance.
NOTHING CAN be labeled intrinsically wrong
simply because it is traditional or old-fash-
ioned. There is a certain honor which we all
owe to traditional concepts - the honor of
serious appraisal. If we are liberal humanists,
the mere fact that other human beings have
believed in a certain idea gives that idea signi-
ficance and dignity.
It is absurd to accuse conservatives of hypoc-
risy, dishonesty, and motives based solely on
the desire for personal gain. Laissez-faire capit-
alism, for instance, is based soundly on a very
real and very important moral ethic. Ayn Rand,
author of "Atlas Shrugged," for all the poverty
of her literary technique, has popularized the
capitalist ethic with amazing skill and clarity
in her novels. It is a courageous and logical
ethic, and must be reckoned with honestly as
the fruit of a long classical intellectual tradi-
tion. The opposition deserves our wholehearted
respect, if not our agreement.
We need the courage to recognize the flaws
in many of the things we support. We need to
be able to muster a certain amount of healthy
contempt for our friends the "underdeveloped
countries," who condemn us as "materialistic"
out of one corner of their mouths and then
ask us for the products of our "materialism"
out of the other. We must be able to face the
civil war in Algeria with genuine discourage-
ment, and to recognize that revolution not se-
curely based in a long intellectual-political
tradition as was our own is of somewhat du-
bious value from the very beginning, however
valid its moral force.
WE MUST HAVE the honesty to realize from
the Marjorie Michelmore postcard incident
that some Africans have as yet no concept
whatsoever of freedom of speech and opinion.
The tragedy of Marjorie Michelmore is not that
some Nigerians were insulted, but rather that
she had to apologize and beat a hasty retreat
simply for speaking the truth As she honestly
saw it. We must see clearly and critically just
where our ideas will lead us, and where they
will not, and we must never fail to count the
cost, not only in our own coin, but in the coin
of honest human beings of all opinions.
Most of all, we need to respect the drama
and the meaning of the human dialogue. We
are not the only participants, or the only
heroes. Much of importance is being said even
though it is not we who say it. Other minds
are reaching just as far as ours in the inter-
pretation of freedom and justice, and these
FITZGERALD BOOK:
The Gentle Art of Rushing
By ELLEN SILVERMAN
"SHOULD A FRESHMAN join a
fraternity or remain independ-
ent" is the question at hand in a
new book by John Fitzgerald, A
Complete Guide to College Frater-
nity Rushing and Pledging.
Unfortunately Fitzgerald's pro-
fraternity bias shows through im-
mediately and his attempt to be
neutral fails miserably. But once
past the wishy-washy introduc-
tion section and in the sections
devoted to rushing and pledging,
the book comes alive with all of
the intriguing means by which one
can get into a fraternity, and be
Greek, not barbarian.
As one who will never have to
go through rushing of this type
and never has in her years at the
University, I assume that I am as
inexperienced in this as the
"greenest" male who entered this
semester. But I assure him, this
book will certainly open doors.
It is a complete guide to the
following: Who should write intro-
ductory letters for hih, and who
shouldn't; what to wear, what to
say and what to do at parties are
especially helpful for the man who
is determined to make a frater-
nity.
FITZGERALD easily slides over
such delicate issues as fraternity
discrimination and the role of a
social fraternity with ritual and
juvenile practices on a college
campus, subjects which critics at-
tack violently.
For those truly inexperienced
in the art of rushing, and indeed
Fitzgerald makes it all an art,
there are interesting tips on what
student organizations to join in or-
der to attract the attention of fra-
ternity men and interest them in
you. (In a side comment, Fitzger-
ald notes college newspapers are
usually not the place to start in
activities, since they are normally
anti-fraternity.)
The book is also helpful in giv-
ing information which the unwary
freshman may not find elsewhere.
Fitzgerald lists all of the possible
costs of living in a fraternity and
then warns, " . . fraternities are
notorious for underestimating the
expenses which membership will
involve."Y
* * *
IN THE FINAL analysis, how-
ever, it is the specific little hints
which Fitzgerald offers that makes
his book a must for prospective
"gung-ho" Greeks. On clothes: "If
you are invited to an informal
party, throw a jacket into your
car ... Atie thrown in your pock-
et is insurance at a very low prem-
ium." On conversation: ". . . humor
being what it is, and rush meet-
ings being what they are, stay
away from it.".
On conformity: "This is not a
plea for rigid adherence to group
norms . . . nor is it advice to avoid
speaking your mind on any impor-
tant issue. But this book is a prac-
tical guide to securing fraternity
membership, and it is a plea to the
seriously interested freshman to
forego the enunciation of any rad-
ical or 'kooky' behavior ..r
All in all the book is a great
aid if you are determined to enter
a fraternity come Hell or high
water. But if you are interested
in joining a fraternity because you
like the members and want the
companionship then you would
probably be better off in going in-
to rush being yourself, and come
out with membership because you
were liked for yourself, not for
your tricks of the trade.
: .
IF YOU ARE a freshman who is
unsure of the rushing system or
procedures for fraternity rushing
and pledging you are better off
going to a mass meeting or talk-
ing to responsible people within
the University who cr answer
your questions.
Save yourself the time and mon-
ey-Fitzgerald isn't worth it.
B. Swainson was ahead. Romney's
gais have allowed him to pull
ahead of the governor-the first
Republican to lead the poll in 14
years.
. . r
INSTEAD OF TRYING to pick
up these votes, the Democrats and
their union allies seem intent on
alienating them. The campaign
thus far has been marked by mis-
statements and mistakes that are
costing Democrats votes. Incredib-
ly, these occurred after the Dem-
ocrats had been warned by the
August primary where Romney
outpolled Swainson by 120,000
votes.
The main culprits have been the
Democrats' union allies who seem
to think arrogantly that Romney
is a jerk and doesn't deserve com-
mon courtesy. They also uttered
insensitive statements that have
driven business and professional
votes from Swainson to Romney.
The first insult occurred at the
state Democratic convention when
AFL-CIO president August Scholle
made a disparaging remark about
auto dealers like Romney selling
the state a bill of goods. Although
Congressman-at-large Neil Staeb-
ler immediately tried to calm the
nerves of these businessmen, Dem-
ocratic strategists have found cam-
paigning more difficult as a result
of Scholle's inept blast.
* * *
ROMNEY TOOK advantage of
more labor arrogance to make a
hero of himself at Labor Day fes-
tivities. As usual the GOP asked
the union sponsors to give their
candidate speaking time at their
annual Detroit rally. As usual, the
unions refused, citing a closed pro-
gram. However, this year Romney
attended the rally, sitting in the
audience chatting with nearby
unionists. This act of persistence
probably netted him a number of
labor votes he otherwise would not
have collected.
The D e m o c r a t s themselves
have made fewer such mistakes
than the anions. The most glar-
,ig error was Swainson's address
to the national. Jewish War Vet-
erans in Detroit. Invited as gov-
ernor to give a non-partisan
speech, Swainson instead denounc-
ed the "Neanderthals in the Leg-
islature" and urged the Michigan
residents to vote for him. The JWV
had no choice; they had to give
equal time to Romney. The GOP
candidate gave a non-partisan
speech stressing the dangers of far
right organizations-a topic. of
much concern to the Jewish War
Veterans-and his fight against
them. Thus Romney enhanced his
heroic, mature image while Swain-
son looked like an adolescent who
didn't know what to say and
where.
Otherwise, the Democrats are
trying hard to overcome the blun-
ders of their union allies. When
Scholle becomes too extreme, Dem-
ocratic spokesmen like Staebler
try to soothe ruffled feelings.
When Romney is rebuffed by la-
bor groups, the party speaks of
Swainson's courage in his fight
against the Legislature.
The Democrats are trying to win
voters beyond usual labor support-
ers. They have set up independent
and businessmen's committees for
Swainson. Yet these efforts will
fail if arrogantunion actions
swing these potential votes to
Romney.
It is time the unions took stock
of their political manners. Their
discourtesy and ill-temper is only
costing them votes. Unless they
change their tactics, the unions at
election time will find the gains of
14 years wiped out and Romney
holding the governorship.
LA NOTTE:
A rtless
Art?
BETTER late than never, Mich-
aelangelo Antoioni's "La Notte"
arrived with bells last Friday. It
falls quite well into the recent tra-
dition of films with a plotless plot,
and concerns a writer, Giovanni
(Marcello Mastrolanni), and his
wife, Lidia (Jeanne Moreau). For
one reason or another their mar-
riage has soured, and the film ex-
amines the way they fight the sit-
uation during one day and night.
Because no reasons are given,
though, a lot of emotions and be-
havior become difficult to under-
stand or even believe. This defect
is bad enough to constitute one
of the movie's major shortcom-
ings.
The main claim made for the
plotless plot by its encouragers is
that movies which utilize it man-
age to develop a character slowly
and fully; like Herman Hesse peel-
ing one of his onions. The main
difference is that Herman Hesse
can do it and Michaelangelo An-
tonioni can't (or at least hasn't
so far). This fact voids the movie
of almost all dramatic significance,
but certainly not of all interest.
What is left is a magnificent
technique, brilliant control over
that difficult realm of factors
which are definitively cinemato-
graphic, which give movie-making
its own identity as an art form,
instead of making it merely a re-
cording of a play.
ANTONIONI'S finest talent is
his feeling for the rhythm of the
changing compositions. This is a
dimension which esits only in
film; its closest parallel is to be
found in music; the "harmonic
rhythm," or rate of change of un-
derlying harmonies. Anyone who
has ever tried to harmonize a Bach
chorale knows what I mean.
Antonioni uses the screen to lay
out scenes of exquisite beauty
(who can forget the last shot of
"L'Avventura,"or, in "La Notte,"
the nymphomaniac against the
hospital wall, as stunning in black
and white as the greys of the last
pan shot) and he arranges and
changes them temporally with re-
spect to the plot line like a good
jazz pianist backing a horn man.
THE USE of symbols in this
movie struck me as being a little
corny. Visually, they are primarily
sexual: phallic fence posts and
some rockets, or the nympho-
maniac blowingrout Giovanni's
match. The auditory symbols are
about civilization sterilizing life:
traffic jams, electronic music be-
hind the credits, and so forth.
Then, of course, that expectable
and terribly annoying helicopter,
hallmark of heaven in the foreign
film.
Antonioni's special effects are
superb and innovations. For in-
stance, his juxtaposition of the
compact game a deux with the
same game as a crowd scene. Or,
very significant, the dialogueless-
dialogue in the rainy car: words
cannot be heard but are perfectly
clear from the gestures.
At this juncture in movieland
the plotless-plot and dialogueless
dialogue don't quite add up to the
artless art many accuse it of, but
they come dangerously close.
-Dick Pollinger
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Form, Not Bias
THERE SEEMS to be a degree
of misunderstanding on the
part of a Daily reporter in sum-
marizing the present work of Stu-
dent Government Council. The ar-
ticle which appeared on the front
page of the Freshman Edition en-
titled "Council to Consider Soror-
ity Bias" has ambiguous phrases
and misrepresents the situation in
which the sororities are involved.
The question is not bias, nor
discrimination, but rather the sub-
mission of statements summariz-
ing membership regulations in a
set form. It was found by the past
president of SGC that some of the
sororities failed to file a statement
in the proper form; some of these
did not submit another statement
with additional information. Con-
cerning the latter: some of the or-
ganizations feel there is a princi-
ple involved - namely that stu-
dent groups should not have the
power to judge and control such
organizations. Since a group like
SGC changes membership every
six months, what is adequate or
sufficient today may be inadequate
tomorrow. Several years ago the
members of the Panhellenic sys-
tem were asked by the Student Af-
fairs Committee to submit to the
Administration copies of their
constitutions. All sororities com-
plied. Now it appears that this is
not sufficient and more informa-
tion is demanded. Sororities ques-
tion "What will be next? How far
will student authority go?"
This is a question concerning
the form of a statement and not
discrimination or bias. This is a
question of dealing not with the
Administration but with a student
group.
-Jean Seinsheimer,
Alpha Epsilon Phi
-Fran Cousino,
Delta Delta Delta
-Joan Nash,
Gamma Phi Beta
-Gay Heiden,
Kappa Delta
-Kay Velker,
Sigma Kappa
-Kay Ozier, Phi Mu
FEIFFER
I
FIRT
zulI
j(
II1U.IL1
7 , i
~L1 ~ L IlII ~*hutft
/
t I . I ti
n
t I
CO50iW.
L{Ot) F11
tOV6 AVV ?I
Lfou tve G,,,
fw-\
-W1 1- I eF(UMflIJP. a.-LAUL'5