Seventy-Third Year EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIvERSITY OF MICHIGAN UNDER AUTHORTY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS "Where Opinlons Are Free STUDENT UBLICATIONS BLDG., ANN ARBOR, MscH., 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 at, reprints. 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-