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PROPOSED RESIDENCE COLLEGE:
Hope for a Better Intellectual Future
DAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1963
NIGHT EDITOR: KENNETH WINTER
Time for Formal Death
Of OSA Advisory'Committee,
By KENNETH WINTER
ABOVE ALL, the proposed resi-
dential college is an educa-
tional experiment. Various things
have been claimed for it, but they
all would follow from, and depend
upon, its success in giving under-
graduates a more intense and
meaningful University career.
What, then, is the proposal, and
what does it promise?
* * *
THE FIRST and most decisive
step would be to take about 500
entering freshmen - preferably
students who had chosen the resi-
dential college, and who comprise
a good cross-section of the entire
class-and set them up in a unique
dormitory. In this building, or
group of buildings, would be not
only living and dining facilities
but also classrooms, a library, labs
and even faculty offices.
These students would be expect-
ed, though not required, to live
in the residential college for their
four undergraduate years. Trans-
fers from other institutions or
University units would not be ac-
cepted.
INSIDE THIS FRAMEWORK,
possibilities for innovation abound.
The literary college faculty com-
mittee which last spring drew up
the proposal suggested some di-
rections these departures could
take:
-A simplified curriculum for
freshmen and sophomores, involv-
ing a reduced number of courses,
but making them broader, deeper
and worth more credits;
-Within these broad courses,
the pooling of large lectures to
"provide certain types of basic
information to all students";
-Making these mass lectures
public so that classes in other
courses may sit in on them when
they are relevant;
-Eliminating course - content
duplication wherever possible;
-Orienting courses toward in-
dependent study by students, so
that class-less reading periods
could be beneficially worked into
courses or into the whole college's
calendar.
THIS IS just the beginning.
These moves, while educationally
promising, are also economy meas-
IN THE SUMMER of 1962, the Office of
Student Affairs was radically reorga-
nized along lines suggested by a faculty
report. At that time, Vice-President for
Student Affairs James A. Lewis intro-
duced an innovation into the OSA struc-
ture-an advisory committee to his of-
fice.
That committee is now dead.
It is time that it is killed formally as
well as informally, so that an all-student
group can take its place. The committee
was dead long before last Wednesday,
when Student Government Council re-
moved its representation of five students,
who, along with the members of the Uni-
versity Senate Student Relations Commit-
tee, constituted the group. The withdraw-
al of the students was not exactly a walk-
out; the committee had met only once,
and that was last February. Since then,
some of the original members have even
left the University.
ORIGINALLY CREATED to consult with
Lewis on matters involving his office,
the, advisory committee was also supposed
to have the effect of improving campus
communication and promoting educa-
tionally-oriented practices in the non-
academic area of student affairs. It was
also intended to act as a channel for sug-
gestions and complaints.
However, the committee had no formal
power, and it did not even meet regularly,
being called "from time to time" by Lewis.
Students and faculty were wary of the
advisory committee. They felt that its
existence would automatically attach
their names to the actions of the OSA,
while in fact'they would have no say in
Courtesy
CONSTRUCTION barricades and flash-
ing yellow lights are blocking side-
walks in two areas on State Street near
the Law Quad.
The fact of construction is understand-
able. But why must one be forced to
crawl over boards, bricks and sand be-
cause of it. Wooden sidewalks, such as
set up near the north entrance to the
Union a few weeks ago, would be the more
courteous solution to the problem.
-J. KENNY
final decisions. Partially as a result of
this skepticism, the first meeting was
spent entirely on procedural matters.
Whether Lewis was disillusioned with
the effectiveness of the advisory commit-
tee, or whether he just saw no need for
it he did not call it together again..
IT WAS JUST AS WELL. The concept of
an advisory committee where faculty
and students were thrown in together is
wrong. Actions of the OSA, if it had been
in continal contact with the advisory
group, would seem to have been made on
the advice of the advisory group as a
whole, when in fact the group might have
been dead-set against the maneuver. Or
the students and faculty could have been
split on an issue, in which case the sep-
arate opinions would be submerged under
the consensus of the group.
Separate committees for' students and
faculty would be better. And this is in
fact the gist of another SGC motion ask-
ing for consultation on appointments to
the OSA staff.
SGC SHOULD eventually be given an ad-
visory function on all matters which
the previous advisory committee would
have handled.
The advice SGC would give would then
represent only the students. The faculty
already has an autonomous body, the
Student Relations Committee, which can
advise Lewis on faculty opinion.
THIS SEPARATION of advisory sources
has another advantage in that both
the faculty and the students have re-
course to bodies outside the sphere of the
advisory committee. Then if OSA actions
did not follow the advice, SGC members
could make the disagreement known
through Council.
Giving SGC the advisory function for
students does not automatically make it
effective, though. To be workable, the
group representing the students should
meet regularly, instead of being called at
the will of the vice-president.
If the values of communication have
not been abandoned as unworkable, the
old advisory committee should be removed
from the OSA structure and in its place
SGC should be accepted as the proper
body to express student opinion.
--MICHAEL SATTINGER
A FACE IN THE CROWD:
Black Christmas
By Ronald Wilton, Editor
CHRISTMAS, the seasonuof
brotherly love, is almost upon
us. A group of well-known Neg-
roes, calling themselves the "Asso-
ciation of Artists for Freedom,"
have called for a boycott of all
business during the Christmas
season. They reason that the
bombing of a church in Birming-
ham, Ala., resulting in the death
of six Negro children, mocks "the
Prince of Peace," turning "His
day of days into a sabbath ritual
of blood and destruction."
The Christian Negro citizen is
facing a dilemma. The statement
of the group of artists points out
the hypocrisy of Christmas. The
bombing of the church under-
scores the superficiality of Ameri-
can Christianity. But, on the other
side of the dilemma, Christ also
told us to turn the other cheek
and love thy neighbor as thyself.
A boycott is hardly an expression
of love and forgiveness.
But the Negro has been prac-
ticing loveand forgiveness in
this country for over 300 years.
He has been more of a Chris-
tian than the great majority of
white Christian Americans who
deny him his right to pray in
"their" churches, live in "their"
neighborhoods, or w o r k in
"their" businesses. He has turn-
ed the other cheek while other
members of his race have had
their souls prematurely deliver-
ed up to heaven with the aid of
a stout rope or a bullet.
Christianity has failed the
Negro by condoning these crimes
with a hypocritical silence. Yet
these crimes are not as great as
the one which Christianity has
tacitly supported.hThroughout his
existence in this country the
Negro has been robbed of the
respect due him as an individual
and a human being. He has been
dehumanized, and all other crimes
stem from that.
I have never heard of heaven
being segregated. But a Negro who
is denied worship in a white
church must, by inference, have
a second class soul. Yet although
this deficiency is attributed to
him, he is expected to and has
practiced the most Christian vir-
tues of all, love and forgiveness.
All he has gained from this is
exploitation; first as an outright
slave seen as a piece of property,
now as a second class human be-
ing used to perform menial tasks.
Throughout most of this per-
iod the Negro has been told,
both by whites and his own
leadership, that he would gain
the white man's respect if he
stayed in his place and did not
make a nuisance out of himself
by demanding an equal place in
society. Lrately he hias been told
thatit is all right if he asks
for equality with hat in hand
but he'd better not push too
hard and too fast. All too often
he has acceded to these de-
mnands.
This acquiescience constitutes
a reaffirmation on his part of the
inferiority attributed to him by
the whites. By allowing the white
man to set the conditions on
which he will be accepted, the
Negro abrogates any chance he
has for gaining his own self-re-
spect. He can never gain this re-
spect because, no matter how sat-
isfied he is with himself, the white
man still does not accept him, giv-
ing rise to the feeling that some-
thing is still missing.
From birth, the Negro child
leads a restricted life, the effects
of which must inevitably insure
that he will never fulfill his po-
tential as a human being, no mat-
ter what his personal chacter-
istics.
For 300 years the restricted
Negro has given up his childhood
and his self-respect in the hopes
of one day being accepted as an
equal member of the human race:
equal not in the sense of being as
strong or as intelligent as every
white man, but equal in the op-
portunity to realize his potential
as a human being with all the
creativity and self-expression that
this implies.
The Negro is finally protest-
ing his exploitation. We see the
results today all over the nation.
Naturally, the white reaction is
typical, go slow, education is
necessary, people can't change
overnight, we agree you have
a case but .. go slow.
Why should the Negro go slow?
He has moved slowly for the
hundred years since he was freed
from slavery. And he has not
moved very far. We urge the
East Germans, the Poles. and the
Hungarians to revolt against de-
humanization, to win their free-
dom by armed violence. They are
far away, they arenwhite;ythey
can go fast. The Negro is here, he
is black; he must go slow.
Some still go slow. They re-
main quiet, accept their status as
inevitable and look forward to the
hereafter. Others raise their
voices, take to the streets, join
the civil rights organizations and.
demonstrate. Still , others reject
the white man's standards for
granting the Negro respect and
equality as hopelessly racist and
join organizations such as the
Black Muslims.
This organization and others
like it answer one of the
Negro's basic needs. It gives
him self respect. It sets up its
own values for judging people
and through dedication to these
values, sticks to them honestly.
But it is not the Muslim religion
that does this. Rather it is their
rejection of the white man's
standards for respect and the sub-
stitution of their own. Given this
aspect alone the Muslims could
not be criticized. Theyr have done
more for the Negro than the white
man has done.
Yet this is not the only aspect;
there is also the philosophy of
separateness. And here the Mus-
lims can be criticized, for they
will neverbbe able to give the
Negro a chance to realize fully
his potential as a human being.
In today's interdependent world
no separate and isolated group
can hope to go it alone. This
applies to the whites in South
Africa as it applies to the Negro
in America. The Negro is first of
all a human being, and as such
cannot separate himself from the
rest of the human race.
Dehumanization rather than
De-Negroization is the crime be-
ing committed against the
black man in America. It is an
act that can" be ranked along-
side murder in the hierarchy of
crime. To right this wrong the
Negro is justified, especially
with the absence of any mean-
ingful Initiative on the part of
the whites, in resorting to what-
ever means he feels necessary
to gain his membership in
American society.
At the same time he should
realize that there are some whites,
especially those in the lower eco-
nomic class, who also suffer from
dehumanization. The causes are
somewhat different, the crime is
the same. The two groups are
natural allies.
The United States is facing in
the Negro revolt a demand that
her professed belief in the dig-
nity of the individual be matched
to present day reality. The de-
mand is overdue. If we are to
maintain a position of leadership
and respect in the world we, must
divert some of our brain power
from technological research and
devote it to solving the moral
and ideological problems con-
fronting us as a nation.
The Negro has given us a chance
and a warning. If we react in
conformity with our ideals we may
have a chance at reinvigorating
both ourselves and the world. If
we fail we can look forward to
what some writers already see on
the horizon - the dusk of the
American ideal.
ures, which hopefully will free
faculty time for:X
-Tutorials for advanced stu-
dents;
-Teaching courses specifically
requested by small groups of stu-
dents;
-Informal discussions between
faculty and students, and
-Reduced-size discussion and
seminar sessions in courses where
interchange between teacher and
students is really beneficial.
* * *
THESE, in sketchy form, are
some of the possible innovations.
But what, in terms of real under-
graduate life, does such organiza-
tional reshuffling hope to achieve?
To answer this, we must first
take a rather pessimistic look at
the status quo.
'Freshmen entering a liberal'
arts college expert," the faculty
committee comments, "either a
continuation of high school or a
vaguely defined but glorious in-
tellectual awakening. A literary
college is not doing its job if it
permits the first expectation to
persist or does not, to some de-
gree, foster the seoond."
By these standards, the Univer-
sity's literary college isn't doing
a very good job in terms of most
of its students, most of the time.
I doubt that there are many stu-
dents who don't feel the spark of
intellectual excitement at some
time during their academic ca-
reers, but there are equally few
in whom this spark doesn't flicker
and die almost immediately.
For the most part, we drag
through, pushed by the grade-
point system and fear of the fu-
ture, to write some competent
term papers or final exams when
necessary, but seldom with the
genuine enthusiasm given to ex-
tracurricular activities, pursuit of
the opposite sex or just loafing.
* * *
ONE OF THE CAUSES of this
academic apathy is students' in-
fluence on one another. For the
most part, a student who is de-
termined to study must either
battle the noise, pranks and gen-
erally anti-academic gregarious-
ness of a dorm or affiliate house,
or retreat to the isolation of an
apartment or room. Thus, despite
the . ample supply of intellect
floating around, studying becomes
a lonely process.
The result is that students,
given the choice of real intellec-
tual effort or the easy camara-
derie of group living, choose the
latter whenever possible.
EDUCATORS aren't blind eo
this fact, and for a long time have
been searching for ways to make
the camaraderie and the Intel-
lectual activity complement, in-
stead of complete with, one an-
other. The residential college is
one of the more promising at-
tempts to achieve this harmony.
First of all, its small size and
relative isolation from the rest of
this impersonal campus would, in
theory at least, produce a more
stable and secure community.
While few students feel any at-
tachment or responsibility to the
University as a whole, they could
toward a college of 1-3000 stu-
dents. Of course, there is the dan-
ger of the other extreme, wlfere
the residential college would be-
come a provincial retreat from
the diverse experiences and per-
sonalities at the University.
But to foster a feeling of -soli-
darity and community, in an
intellectually-beneficial environ-
ment, is certainly in order in the
sprawling University of today; if
the residence college's students
are given sufficient personal free-
dom, there seems little danger that
it will be narrowing.
Second, the more generalized
curriculum would turn this soli-
darity to academic ends by mak-
ing it more likely that students
who live together will have courses
together. Today, a student stimu-
lated by a lecture almost always
loses the spark as soon as he
leaves the class, because there is
no one to discuss it with. Life out-
side the classroom is so different
that the excitement felt inside the
classroom seems irrelevant, an in-
teresting problem devised by some
pedant but not worth thinking
about.
But if his roommate, or the
students in the lunchroom, have
heard the same idea in the same
lecture, it takes only the slightest
mention to touch off an impas-
sioned argument, and -- who
knows? - even some further,
voluntary study of the question.
* * *
ADD TO THIS the third point.
that faculty, their time freed to
an extent by the economy meas-
ures, will be more easily and in-
formally accessible to the stu-
dent. This means many things.
A rather superficial asset is
simply that if faculty members
happen to be around when spon-
taneous "bull sessions" erupt, their
knowledge can decrease the pro-
portion of "bull" in these gather-
ings. More important is the fact
that, despite perpetual student
grumblings, a competent faculty
member commands tremendous
respect among students. Taken
out of his role as a mere grade-
giving or withholding device, he
can impart to students some of
the genuine excitement of learn-
ing, demonstrating that it isn't
merely an activity of pallid re-
cluses locked in dusty libraries.
Finally, these various potential
benefits of a residential-college
arrangement are not independent
of one another; enthusiasm touch-
ed off by an inspiring faculty man
would reverberate among students
with common interests, student
excitement would lead them to
seek out faculty, and the com-
munity-like atmosphere of the
college would facilitate the whole
process.
OR SO the theorists hope.
Whether or not it would work
this way is hard to predict. At-
tempts to achieve these conditions
at other institutions have met
with spotty success. And there are
numerous practical obstacles to its
establishment: will faculty want
to teach there? will students be
interested? will there be adminis
trative work out of proportion t
its benefits? And there is the
omnipresent. financial question for
trying to set up any program
with substantial initial expenses
during the present budget famine
will be like trying to build a house
during a hurricane.
But the residential college seems
the most promising answer to im-
proving the rather mediocre state
of undergraduate education here,
If we are to harbor any hopes of
a better intellectual future, we
must try it.
4
UNDERSCORE:
I :
Latin America: Aid or Invade?
SHOULD EUROPEAN and Asian nations
be allowed to contribute to the Alli-
ance for Progress?
Brazil submitted this question to last
week's Inter-American Ministerial Eco-
nomic Conference in Sao Paulo and was
immediately confronted with an over-'
whelmingly negative reaction. But this
quick decision was unfortunate; the Bra-
zilian scheme deserves a far more exten-
sive consideration.
UNDER THE PROPOSAL, all foreign.
countries, including those within the
Communist Bloc, would be free to con-
tribute to the economic and educational
development of Latin America. Immedi-
ately objections are raised. "Communism
has already infiltrated much of Latin
America! We must safeguard our beloved
democratic institutions! We must not ex-
tend an open invitation for Russia and
China to invade the Western Hemisphere
with their vile money and propaganda!"
They go on. After their initial shock
had subsided, the objectors to the Brazil-
ian suggestion generally say that ever
since the Monroe Doctrine it has beenthe
policy of the New World to resist any in-
terference by European or Asian nations
in the development of Latin America. The
enemies of the plan express the fear of
having to submit to the unwanted institu-
tions of the Communists.
Editorial Staff
RONALD WILTON, Editor
DAVID MARCUS GERALD STORCH
Editorial Director City Editor
BARBARA LAZARUS ...........Personnel Director
PHILIP SUTIN........ National Concerns Editor
GAIL EVANS...........Associate City Editor
MARJORIE BRAHMS..Associate Editorial Director
GLORIA BOWLES...............Magazine Editor
THE BRAZILIAN PROPOSAL was de-
feated because it was new and differ-
ent and therefore supposedly dangerous.
But if the present situation in Latin
America is analyzed to any degree, it is
found that the basic theme of the objec-
tions to the new Alliance for Progress
plan is worthless.
The poverty stricken and uneducated
masses of Central and South America
have been the source of Communist agi-
tation for the past decade. It is rare when
a government in one of these underdevel-
oped countries can endure for more than
a few years. This political unrest has not.
stemmed from the influence of Commu-
nist nations in Europe or Asia, but from
the living conditions existing within the
Latin American countries.
The continued insecurity of govern-
ments in these nations will not be lessen-
ed by the exclusion of all influence from
the Soviet Bloc, but only by approaching a
level of domestic economic and educa-
tional stability.
Thus little can be gained by keeping the
Communist nations out of the Alliance for
Progress. In fact, the Latin American
countries could profit by admitting them.
AT PRESENT, the burden of economic
aid to the nations of Central and South
America rests on $he shoulders of the
United States. If European and Asian
countries were permitted to assist the fi-
nancing of the Alliance for Progress, it
would ease the heavy load on the United
States, and would lessen agitation in this
country against the administration's ex-
tensive foreign aid program.
A new source of finances would be a
welcome boon to Latin America. The
plight of these countries is such that they
can use any and all assistance, no matter
who the benefactor. Furthermore, if the
Tyf- Awn rinn nn nf+.i fn nannrna .
WHAT KIND OF WORLD?
Education and Society The Gap
AT HILL AUD:
Fine Singing,Acting
LAST NIGHT'S PERFORMANCE of Puccini's "La Boheme" was the
first of three operas to be presented by the New York City Opera
Company this weekend. The outstanding singing and acting of the
cast was augmented by the fine orchestra conducted by Julius Rudel.
The first act opens in the frigid studio of Rodolfo, the poet,
Marcello, the painter, Schaunard, the musician, and Colline, the
philosopher. The individual voices were excellent, and when blended,
produced a powerful quartet.
Particularly impressive were the roles of Rodolfo, lead tenor sung
by John Craig, and Marcello, baritone, sung by Chester Ludgin.
Puccini is well known for his difficult tenor lines which ride very
high even for most operatic tenors. Craig handled these voice problems
well, giving an outstanding performance both in singing and acting.
* * * *
CRAIG'S LEADING LADY, Maria di Gerlando, sang the soprano
role of Mimi. Her voice was full and rich and rose above the orchestra.
Her dramatic ability was beautifully displayed and came to a grand
climax in the final act when Mimi dies.
MUSETTA, a minor role which can easily dominate the second
act, did just that. Patricia Brooks elegantly portrayed the role of the
temperamental playgirl of old Italy. Her flirtatious manner and fine
By ROBERT M. HUTCHINS
THE GREAT DRAMA of educa-
tion is the disproportion be-
tween the effort and the results.
Buildings are built, teachers are
trained, curricula are designed
and redesigned, pupils are as-
sembled, years spent, billions are
piled on billions, the whole crea-
tion groaneth and travaileth to-
gether-and we are surprised
when we find a doctor of philos-
ophy who can spell.
Anybody who has attended
alumni meetings can testify that
they represent no higher standard
of cultivation or social purpose
than any random collection of
citizens. No intelligent man ever
staggered homeward from a class
reunion without asking himself
whether his college chums would
have been any worse if they had
not had the benefit of education.
* * *
THE DISPROPORTION between
effort and results is caused by the
complex relationship between edu-
cation and the culture, that is be-
tween education and the habits,
institutions, aims, ideals and cir-
cumstances of the people.
The culture is the most power-
ful influence in our lives. How
powerful it is we seldom realize.
By ordinary mammalian stan-
dards, every human being is born,
about two years too soon. Most
mammals can carry out at birth
most of the operations a child
may painfully learn by the age
of two. The infant human being
cannot even assume the posture
characteristic of his race until he
is about a year old.
The difference between man
Rnd the other animals is that their
Stockbreeders. We detect ability
by examining the irecord the in-
dividual has made in his own life-
time.
Education comes on the scene
after the group has begun its
work; it remains in competition
REPERTOIRE:
Folks ters
Uninspired
LESTER FLATr, Earl Scruggs
and the Foggy Mountain Boys
gave an entertaining but unin-
spired concert last night in Ann
Arbor High School Aud.
Earl Scruggs was of course ex-
cellent; his incredible banjo style
brought constant applause. He was
aided in many cases by the wild
dobro of "Cousin Josh" (Buck
Graves) and the highly energetic
fiddle of Paul Warren. But the
lively moments were few and the
majority of the evening was a
presentation of repetoire songs
that sounded slightly .worn and
tired.
FLATT AND Scruggs - never
really got warmed up and the
audience may have been the cause
or may not.
Not that the evening was
wasted; great performers no mat-
ter how long they've been around
never disappoint. Scrugg's "Ru-
ben," Warren's "Mockingbird"
and Cousin Josh on "Just Joshin'
were all superb and several of the
with the group throughout the
educational process; and the
means of acculturation at the dis-
posal of the group are likely to be
more effective than the influence
the educational system can bring
to bear.
This is from the Newsom Re-
port, just published in England. It
describes the situation, in which
some English children of what is
called average or less than average
ability are brought up.
"THE CHILDREN LIVE in
back-to-back houses . . . and have
no indoor sanitation-four or five
families share one public toilet
in the middle of the yard. Few of
the children here have ever seen
a bathroom, and in some houses
there is not even a towel and soap.
All these homes have overcrowded
living and sleeping quarters-for
example, 10 or 11 people may sleep
in two beds and one cot. The girls
accept drunkenness as part of
the normal pattern. In one school
22 per cent of the children have
no father, 5 per cent no mother."
These children are reported to
have average or less than average
ability. It is amazing that they
have any ability at all. For what
do we mean by ability in school?
We mean the ability to compete
on even terms in matters literary
and intellectual with children from
homes in which there are con-
versation, books and some sense
of the value of education-to say
nothing of bathrooms.
THE NEWSOM REPORT shows
that 79 per cent of the secondary
schools in slum areas in England
are in slum buildings and that
the teachers are constantly chang-