' ml-dygau Batty Seventy-Third Year EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN -UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS here 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. j_ / ..' 1 , i +. 1" r , i. of 4 S A ~ n} t ' - xr ' V. UNDERSCORE: Fate of Democracy At Stake in India Y, OCTOBER 20, 1963 NIGHT EDITOR: STEVEN HALLER Regents Erode Basis Of Proposed U' Center '".! j+ r ., urr l ter~ 1 ... ... t k $.'.: . , S < . p , } 5 ;k r f r lr., : i .. , # .k mmunity," the Robertson Report says. For that reason, the major segments of le University, students, faculty, and .umni ought to be accorded equal repre- ntation. "This board takes into account all the Lried interests of the University in a R11 - all T THIS WEEK'S Student Government Council meeting, it was asked if there ; any written prohibition against publi- izing the way Council members vote in fficer elections. Outgoing President 'homas Brown replied that there is not ut that it Is an unwritten usage to keep Liis matter secret. This is a usage that should be changed. y the nature of his position, the presi- ent of SGC is the foremost spokesman >r the student body; when speaking for GC, he speaks for the student body. If tudent government organization is to be emocratic, the lines of representation. eed to be clear. They become fuzzy when ae votes of SGC members are kept secret. 'HE STUDENT who voted for Thomas Smithson or for Sherry Miller is repre- ented by them but particularly by the ouncil president who is elected by Smith- an and Miss Miller and the other Coun- i1 members. But if this student doesn't now wtom Smithson voted for or whom Liss Miller voted for, he is denied a meas- re of democracy. For democracy involves esponsibility of the governors to the overned and full knowledge about the overnors by the governed. If the student approved Smithson's, holce and disapproved Miss Miller's holce, he has the opportunity of support- ig Smithson and opposing Miss Miller for e-election. But if the student does not now how either voted, he cannot vote 'ith as full a wisdom as a constituent hould have. 'VENTUALLY SGC should have popular election of the president and vice-pres- dent. But in the meanwhile it should ini- ate a roll-call vote in officer elections. -ROBERT SELWA Vindication? [HE ECUMENICAL COUNCIL in an offi- cial document has declared it wrong nd harmful to blame the Jews for the .eath of Jesus. It asserts that the guilt for his death 3lls more properly on all humanity; fur- iermore, that hatred and persecution of ews is abhorrent to the Roman Catholic hurch, and that those guilty of either ierit the strongest possible repudiation y ecclesiastical authority. The European director of the American ewish Committee praised the proposed ction, hoping that it will "represent an istoric breakthrough of unusual dimen- on and be a decisive step toward the re- ioval of a fundamental cause for the ostility against Jews that was perpe- ated for many generations." T IS USELESS, now, to question and pro- test because this statement was so long more equitable way, and gives no single interest majority control . .. (These in- terests) would come together with a com- mon purpose: to work for the individual and collective interests of all segments of the University." THE REGENTS lauded the proposal to merge the student activities wings. And that was all. Instead of seeing a University Center serving the University community as a responsibility to be shared by all segments of that community, the Regents decided that "an attempt to consolidate and bring together these functions under a single governing board is inappropriate and would be ineffective in carrying out these functions." Throwing in a couple of red herrings for good measure, the Regents did not "believe it desirable for students to be in- volved in the management and operation of a faculty center and of a conference center." The various functions envisioned for a University Center "will be success- fully carried out if they have separate and specific operating units with atten- tion and effort directed to their particular objectives rather than being organized under a single governing board." SO IT IS AN ISSUE of going it alone or working together, and the Regents like the first idea. More importantly, however, is the fact that they would like to give exclusive control over finances to the ad- ministration. The University Center would have to ask for funds like "any other part of the University." Also, the student activities could occupy space in the present Union and League buildings only "so long as such spaces continue to be effectively used"-in other words, as long as the student programs suit the fancy of Vice-President for Busi- ness and Finance Wilbur K. Pierpont. Some day, perhaps, the Regents will understand that students and faculty are the heart of a university,.and that admin- istrators "exist only to implement their policies. Giving Pierpont's office exclusive charge over finances is a rather frighten- ing first step towards a business-oriented University in which educational and aca- demic goals would be subsumed to ones of cost and efficiency. THE IDEA of the Robertson Report was not that students would be dabbling in financial details. The present Union and League officers work up to 50 hours a week for their respective organizations already -why should they want to bother with figuring out hotel rates? The answer is simple-they don't. And neither do stu- dents wish to dictate to the faculty how to run their club. What they do want is to be part-and a minority part at that-of the general pol- icy formulation for 'a University Center. The policy questions and broad financial decisions, they feel, should be settled by faculty, students and administrators. In attempting to be of service to the entire campus, these groups should work togeth- er rather than separately, simply because serving the campus is not the exclusive feudal barony of the administration. PERHAPS SOME of the above is too harsh. The Regents, after all, were sim- ply doing what was requested of them: the Union and League governing boards asked the Regents for their comment on the Robertson Report, and they got it. But if the Regents do have sound- rather than expedient-reasons for tor- pedoing the concept of a common concern and shared responsibility for an all-cam- pus service center, then let's hear them. The Union and League officers, for their part, must analyze the Regental state- ment thoroughly and be sure of all its implications. Then, if there seems to be room for compromise, they should propose alternative plans which might be accept- able to both sides. However, they must under no circum- stances back away, from the basic princi- ple of the Robertson Report. In addition, they should solicit student support and, if possible, faculty support in any way they can. And if it turns out that the Regents will not accept a plan based on this prin- ciple, then the Union and League officials should forget about a merger and keep things the way they are-with each build- a ' I GW 1E& t.. ( -". " , 1" it ° A W tk1 , f w ' " "",. U . ' ' l .af . ." T Wi1R AI'rlNC&, ITWIL END 1LLU&AL LA)RTATI(K' By EDWARD HERSTEIN NEXT TO THE United States, Soviet Union, and Red China, India is the most important coun- try in the world. In an era torn between democracy and totalitar- ianism, India is the testing ground on which will be determined if de- mocracy can meet the challenges faced by the underdeveloped na- tions of the world. In trying to win the allegiance of the underdeveloped nations, democracy is at the disadvantage. It must show that it is possible for a politically unsophisticated, largely illiterate population with no democratic tradition to elect wisely intelligent and dedicated leaders. Equally important, it must show that democratic methods can overcome inherent disadvantages, relative to totalitarian methods, in the area of rapidly improving the economic status of ah underde- veloped country. Being unable to dictate policy, faced with fluctu- ations in leadership and incapable of forcing strongly repressive measures or forced labor upon its citizens, democracy's disadvantage is great. * * * INDIA IS attempting to suc- ceed despite these disadvantages through a number of novel eco- nomic and political systems. One of the foremost is the Community Development Program. Under this' program, broad national economic goals are established by the cen- tral government in a Five-Year Plan although implementationsis ca.rried out with a great deal of freedom by local Panchayat, small units of village government. A seconds unique Indian system involves the close relationship be- tween economic and political de- mocracy. The 'Panchayat decide questions related to both political and economic issues. Basic indus- tries are owned and operated by the national government, though the economy does have a private sector open to smaller businesses. In addition, the government is attempting to establish a cooper- ative sector in the economy in order to balance the political pow- er of the other sectors and be- cause such a system is the natural complement to the function of the Panchayat. Cooperatives are also naturally democratic forms of or- ganization. As such they promote both education in democracy and serve the interests of the people better than private industries or government-owned industries. A third important feature of the Indian system is its method of practicing while at the same time teaching political democracy. At the local level, Gram Sabhas, con- sisting of all the members of a village, have been created to stim- ulate direct democracy, working side by side with the representa- tive Panchayats. Members of Panchayats' elect the governing representatives on the block and district levels. Direct elections pre- vail above this level, the people directly choosing members of their state government and the Indian Parliament. '} , I A FACE IN THE CROWD By RONALD WILTON, Editor WHAT HAPPENED to political criticism and dissent in this country? As one of the most lit- erate populations in the world, we should be working to stimulate this country with conflictink and controversial social ideas. Yet the American political scene is limited and tame rather than dynamic as should be expected. Until two years ago, the student movement could have been called a dynamic social force. However, since its issues have been taken over by the political establishment, students have dropped back into the non-political mass population. The co-option of the student movement's issues by the nation's political establishment is in keep- ing with one of the major goals of the Kennedy administration. This is the creation of a national consensus among the American people on the limits within which our political struggles will be fought out. Concurrent with this idea is another to the effect that the Kennedy administration is filled withbright competent peo- ple who are interested in handling the nation's business in a prag- maticnway for thebenefit of the American people. The main idea behind the po- litical consensus is that nobody should push too far and too fast on important issues. Furthermore, if opposition to an issue or policy is not raised blatantly or in a manner which would put themAd- ministration in a bad light, it will be taken into consideration and probably accommodated. WITHIN THIS circumscription of action there is also circum- scription of issues. We are sup- posedly committed to a modified capitalist economy with govern- ment intervention, creeping to- ward some form of the welfare state. This latter is deemed nec- essary for the preservation of the basic system by administering to the symptoms of the system's faults rather than their causes. We 'are also labeled as a middle class nation with a relatively small upper or lower class. In foreign affairs we have learned to live with neutralism while maintaining our support of anti-Communist autocrats where strategic considerations deem this necessary. With the Russians we are tough but flexible. The Chi- nese are still in the international out-house where they have re- cently been joined by the Cubans. We are still trying to maintain our position as the leader of the Western camp and protest indig- nantly against any of our allies who question the dedication of our committment to them. This is not to say that this country is unified in its support of the above issues. Certainly the Republicans attack Kennedy on most of them. However, after care- ful analysis it can be seen that most of GOP protests are on the speed of goal achievement or issue implementation rather than basic content. This is part of the two party consensus myth. Oly Gold- water and his followers make an attempt to question content, al- though this has to be deciphered through a maze of contradictions problems which this country must solve. A case in point is that of the 20 or so per cent of Americans who live on'the brink of poverty. This group includes unemployed miners in Pennsylvania and West Vir- ginia, Negro sharecroppers in the South, migrant workers all over the country and others. We don't hear very much about this group from the Administra- tion. They are the outcasts of our society and it seems to be the desire of the consensus seekers to relegate them to that position permanently. It is only through the efforts of adult "radical" groups and some students that these people receive the minimal attention they do. * * * A DIFFERENT kind of example is the civil rights controversy. The Kennedy administrationhas no basic ideological commitment to civil rights. When the Southern student sit-ins spread across the nation and escalated into a move- ment by the national Negro com- munity, the Administation sud- denly became concerned about its image in the field. Federal troops forced integration of the Univer- sities of Mississippi and Alabama and Kennedy made a pro-civil rights speech and had a civil rights bill drawn up. At the same time he urged the Negro community to have faith in the Administration and the Negroes' problems would be solved. The President's brother deplored the use of little children in dem- onstrations and counseled modera- tion. Most civil rights groups ac- cepted this establishment support at the price of their militancy. Only groups such as the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Com- mittee and the Black supremist groups protested that the problem was too vital for moderation and its quick solution more important than the administration's image. UNFORTUNATELY the Ameri- can people are making it easier for Kennedy to get his consensus across. Most people are primarily concerned with daily bed and board decision and are anxious to leave social problems to someone willing to handle them-in this case the federal government. They feel that their only national duty is to vote in elections and pay income taxes. The natural outcome of this abdication of the duties of citizen- ship could be covert totalitarian- ism. In the past totalitarian lead- ers have used force, oppression and exile to surpress opposition ideas. In this country, however, the people are coming to accept the word of the political estab- lishment and follow in its foot- steps. Opposing ideas are not eliminated by force; rather they are accepted by the establishment and modified and tempered to suit pragmatic political purposes. TO COUNTER this trend to- ward possible totalitarianism, it is vital that individuals and groups with opposing ideas be encouraged to speak out as widely as possible. Organizations such as the Black Muslims, the local Direct Action Committee and pacifist peace aonnlhflmy advocate solni. c,,1ifi c ~t outside the consensus and be ready to criticize our society and advocate solutions in the areas needing them. TWO YEARS ago I attended an Overseas Press Club conference in New York which brought together student journalists to inform them on foreign affairs. One of the speakers was a student leader from Malaya whose remarks went something like this: In my countries and most others students are looked to as leading contributors to society. You have given up this responsibility by becoming concerned with panty raids, new cars and the kind of house you will live in. Some day in the future you are going to have to sit down across a confer- ence table from me and convince me that you have something to offer both to myself and the world. I wonder if you will be able to. * * * THE TROUBLE in this country is that too few people are wonder- ing with him. S. K. DEY . India's problems LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Reviewer Elucidates Opinion on Cane' To the Editor: RICHARD SIMON'S criticism of my review of "Mondo Cane" is significant for it points up the great failure of the film and of the entire "this is life" school of aesthetics. Indeed, a graduation ceremony might havebeen included in the film. For that matter, anything and everything might have been included. The result would still be "life," but life is not necessarily art. The essence of art is the selection and arrangement of ex- perience and it is these two quali- ties that "Mondo Cane" most evi- dently lacks. WHAT YOU say is in "Mondo Cane" is only potentially there. A great deal of experience has been assembled, but Jacopetti has given no meaning to it. The only virtue of the film is randomness; but randomness is not art. If I strike the keys of a pianoat random, is this music? If I take a pen. and begin scribbling randomly, is this literature? Like- wise, if I take a camera and photograph the world at random, is this art? No, not until I invest this myriad of experience with meaning through conscious selec- tion and arrangement. I OBJECT to the sex and scat- ology in "Mondo Cane" because Jacopetti has invested it with no meaning. In the hands of a James Joyce scatology can be signifi- cant. Under the direction of a Federico Fellini sex can be sig- nificant. But Joyce and Fellini are ma- ture artists, creating for a serious audience. "Mondo Cane" is for the adolescent, learing and drool- ing, suddenly discovering the ugli- ness of life and wallowing in it. INDIAN MINISTER for Com- munity Development Surenora Kumar Dey, '31E. is quite pleased with the success of these programs. Nevertheless, there are prob- lems, which is why he came to the University. He found many people here who did not share his optimism. In many cases these problems are too technical to permit solu- tion by anyone other than experts in the field. Yet the questions which Dey presented in the work- ing papers for the symposia last week with members of the Uni- versity faculty offer a valuable insight to problems faced by an underdeveloped country trying to be a democracy. * * * THESE ARE a few of the more interesting questions posed by Dey, Economic -Can the cooperative sector de- velop a balancing force between the public and private sectors in a mixed economy? .--How can the cooperative prin- ciple of self-help be reconciled with the current need of cooper- atives for state aid? -How can the 35 million mem- bers of Indian cooperatives be ed- ucated in the principles of man- agement? 4 These seem to be a defense against bewilderment, uncertainty, confusion and anxiety, rather than an honest attempt ot constructive evaluation. IF MR. WALKER had looked up the meaning of "chronicle," he would have found: "A historical account of events in the order of time; a history." For the verb, "to chronicle," he would have found: "To record in a chonicle; to re- cord." There is no mention of "the duty of the chronicler to give form and substance (whatever that means) to his work." If Mr. Walker had observed more objectively, he might have enjoyed the experience and found that "Mondo Cane" does exactly what it states at the beginning- it reports objectively, and does very much consider the phenome- non of time, of past and present, and the often unbelieveable com- monalities between the two. * * * INCIDENTALLY, accurate re- porting does depend on zooming in on life, and, unlige superficial con- siderations, "can never zoom in too close." This is exactly what Mr. Walker failed to realize when he said that "there is absolutely no purpose in this random collection." Randomness may have been the subjective experience of the re- viewer; it was not a quality of the scenes juxtaposed so as to impress one with the notion that sex and sadism is inherent in all cultures at all times, and that bewildering and bizarre behavior is the mark of humanity. Modern man is as happy, clever, frightened and bizarre as his primitive brothers in the bush- he merely expresses these qualities Political -Can the direct participation Gram Sabha coexist with the' rep- resentative Panchayat? -Would it be desirable to have either direct or indirect elections for all representatives, or should a mixture like the present one be maintained? -Can the two processes of local and national planning be harmon- ized? -Is the current system of de- velopment from below, slowing down development as it does, too great a price to pay for its demo- cratic advantages? -Is the participation of poli- tical parties, with deeply en- trenched vested and caste inter- ests, desirable on the local level? -What is the fastest method for training both office-holders and voters in a democracy? * * * OTHER QUESTIONS, challeng- ing Dey's general optimism, came up either at the: symposia or in the course of one of Dey's many discussions or talks on campus. -Have the social sciences ad- vanced to the point where they can contribute enough to make the Indian experiments a success? -Are cooperatives actually effi- cient enough or even organiza- tionally possible in more than a few areas considering their large percentage of failure in India' to date? -Is the current growth rate of the Indian economy, 2.5 per cent 'per capita, high enough to satisfy the rising expectations of the population? -Is even this increase being equitably distributed in the face of somtestatistics that claim that it is not? -Will the threat of Red Chi- nese aggression which is forcing great increases in defense spend- ing cause the end of advances and perhaps even the collapse of the Indian economy? FROM THESE lists of questions, it is clear the outlook for India is not assuredly bright. Only with a great deal of technical and eco- nomic assistance can India even hope to succeed. Opress iont THEY (sHE Chinese people) have no interest in promoting revolutions in Asia, Africa and Latin America. They want more food and more clothing. They want less regimentation and slave-driving. They are terribly afraid that if Mao Tse-tung should mean what he has said, the scarce resources of the country would be diverted towards the ob- jective of promoting world revo- lution. Mao naturally hopes, that in challenging the Soviet Union, he could rally the Chinese people around him. ... He will find that his stand 'r I I :i