Split-Level Living Seventieth Year EDIED AND MANAGED BT STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERsrY OF MICHIGAN V'DER AUTHORITY OP BOARD IN CONTROL OFS TUDENT PUBLICATIONS STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. * ANN ARBoR, MICH. * Phone NO 2-3241 i en Oplnions Are Free ruth Will Prevail- STUDENT GOVERNMENT: Comin of Age Atthe University By JEAN SPENCER Daily Staff Writer STUDENT GOVERNMENT in its present form at the University is a combination of two forces in the broad area of student concerns: an organized student voice, and a University-sanctioned authority. The formerly separate groups representing these forces which merged to form Student Government Council early in 1955 were the University Senate Committee on Student Affairs, which had authority over non-athletic student activities, and the, Student Legislature, or- ganized to represent and express student opinion but not recognized by litorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. Y, MARCH 16, 1960 NIGHT EDITOR: THOMAS HAYDEN CA WAX Mass Education Theory Could Have Appalling Results A sweeping solution of the complex and diffi- cult problems of American high school education was proposed by Prof. J. Lloyd Trump of the University of Illinois at a con- ference here some time ago. His plan is based on a college type program, with large lectures, a great deal of independent student research, and some small class discus- sions. It is presented, in a little booklet pub- lished by his backers (the Ford Foundation) as a package designed to appeal to the Ameri- can taxpayer both as an important improve- ment in American secondary school education and as an economical proposal. BUT ATTRACTIVE as Prof. Trump's plan seems to be, it raises several questions for those who are more interested in education than in tax reduction. First of all, what kind of education does the Trump-trained person get? It would seem to be a strange type, on one side tending toward complete isolation, and on the other a kind of mass production of culture. Both of these are educationally appalling. The student in a Trump plan school spends nearly all of his day alone, either in the isola- tion of his personal "quest space," an elabor- ately outfitted cubicle where he is left alone with his books, his TV receiver and other assorted aids; or he sits in the isolation of the mass lecture hail, where he sits in unquestion- ing silence (since there is no real chance for questions) getting knowledge in massive doses together with three or four hundred of his fellows. Only 20 per cent of the student's time is spent in small group discussion, led by part- time discussion leaders, "usually college grad- uates," on the Trump theory that discussion periods take less teacher preparation-and ap- parently provide less education--than the large lecture. THSSYSTEM virtually eliminates any pos- sibility for intellectual interaction among the students, and forces secondary education into a mould which is all too near the current "communication" trends in America. Canned knowledge sounds like a canned advertisement. And the student who is trained early to accept facts and theories from a lecturer as true a priori is likely to accept the information pre- sented by the mass communications people as equally valid. America seems to already be developing a passive mind, a mind which sits back and takes in life in an appallingly inactive manner. The prospect of the child who comes home from a day in his mass lecture school where he has been virtually alone all day, eats dinner, and then spends the rest of his evening propped up in front of a television set which spouts fan- tasy and advertisement in much the same manner as his schoolteachers, is one of near human automation. IPE KIND of adult that such a system would produce would be a malleable, severely edu- cationally handicapped person. He will not have learned to think in an inter- personal situation. He will have spent his edu- cational years accepting, without discussion, and probably without question, masses of in- formation on numerous subjects. There is much that can be learned from writing themes based on source material; but it is near useless when the facts and opinions are given out near absolutes, to be ingested and put together. Such a system is not the answer to American educational needs. Today more teachers, who will inspire in students the kind of thinking that will search out new facts, develop new theories and actively create new science and new art. A good teacher in the crucial high school years can bring out creativity in a student as no other person can or will be able to for the rest of his life. THESE disadvantages so apparent in the Trump plan, one asks what makes an educator suggest such a plan and ones like it? There seems to be two considerations in- volved: economy and the research basis for the suggestion of the plan, objective achievement tests. These tests have been gaining power rapidly in the past few years. Their advantages are apparent: they provide an efficient, quick and economical means of measuring a student's grasp of factual material. The dangers of these tests are a little less apparent. The primary problem is that they test only a fragment of one's real understanding. Any student with a good memory can do well on an achievement test. But memory is not creativity, which de- pends on a communication far more delicate than fact-filled lectures. Prof. Trump has taken the acknowledged fact that a student canmake the same scores on achievement tests in a class of 300 as he does in a class of thirty, and has used it as a reason for reducing the number of highly trained teachers to about ten for every 400 students. IT WOULD BE ridiculous to say that Prof. Trump deliberately intends to sacrifice edu- cation to his hopes for economy. But his dependence on achievement test scores is rather frightening in an educator. Prof. Trump presents a very attractive pack- age, as do most mass manipulators. But he presents it, in the words of Prof. Charles Lehmann, "as a bill of goods to be sold rather than an experiment to be tried." There are too many educators like Prof. Trump today, with handy-dandy educational plans which will save the taxpayer money and improve edu- cation. They overlook two basic things. First, it always costs more to improve education-a comparative study of school system costs shows that quite clearly. Second, their main basis for research, the objective achievement test, is valid academically, but invalid educationally. Education requires some kind of inter-personal relationship, and this must always be remem- bered by reformers of the American school system. The road to educational hell is doubtless paved with the good intentions of men like Prof. Trump, who, apparently in love with the efficiency and the neat results of mass testing, grow to depend on them to the detriment of education. - .tr. :.- ? dj~ 4t . ,, ,77 -,y ,' ... ' ri y .t . ti. I-t , -.., .. . ;: " j ,,, "-" ., , ;, ,, t :_i '" s r+ F=NMM-Pft IWR 'or i d cs } q 4 G fir i~^J ' N FA, f WE I DISARMAMENT MYTH:. The Problems of World Peace --FAITH WEINSTEIN INTERPRETING THE NEWS: Peiping and Moscow By J. M. ROBERTS Associated Press News Analyst EVEN IF RED CHINA is inclined to go along with Nikita Khrushchev's desire for a period of lessened world tensions there is a question whether her internal situation will permit it. Peiping has been suspected on numerous oc- casions of creating international disturbances in an attempt to rally the people to endure their domestic hardships. There have been enough reports of ration cuts in the communes, drought, food riots and attacks on government granaries to indicate these hardships are growing. BEFORE CHOU EN-LAI agreed to go to New Delhi for negotiations over the Indian bor- der dispute there was speculation Peiping would Editorial Staff TRO0MAS TURNER. Editor PHILIP POWER ROBERT JUNKER Editorial Director City Editor CHARLES KOZOLL .............. Personnel Director JOAN KAATZ ........................Magazine Editor fJM BENAGH................... . sports Editor PETER DAWON."........Associate City Editor BARTON HUTHWAITE .. Associate Editorial Director J0 HARDEE .......................Contributing Editor create some new disturbance abroad. But that decision was taken as a sign of renewed ad- herence to the Moscow line after a year in which Khrushchev's influence appeared to be waning. The United States State Department has been wary of the theory advanced by many observers that there was a serious cleavage in the Moscow-Peiping axis. J. Graham Parsons, Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs, said last month he saw no signs of a serious rift despite some differences over tactics. He rejected the idea that the United States might be able to play on these differences. HE DID SAY, however, that there was wide- spread popular resentment against govern- ment-enforced regimenation and "speed-up" in the agricultural emergency and industrializa- tion program. If this resentment should spread to the armed forces, he said, a possibility of violent destruction of the regime would develop. Incidental to this thought, Red China main- tains a very large army, idle except for police duties, a dangerous thing in a country where the men are prone to consider military service a battle-to-battle affair and where desertions were wholesale even during war. This is not intended to suggest that the time for counterrevolution is ripe or that Chiang Kai-Shek's hope for a mainland inva- sion in the foreseeable future is more than By JAMES SEDER Daily Staff Writer EVALUATION of the recent movie "On the Beach" in terms of "it's a good movie" or "it's a bad movie" tend to obscure the basic importance of the film. The movie's chief significance (perhaps its only significance) is that it dramatically calls atten- tion to a vital problem. The prob- lem that nuclear war and the re- sultant radiation fall-out may make the planet uninhabitable. The chief symbol of the movie is a Salvation Army banner say- ing "There is still time, brother." This in itself is fine. Everybody hopes that there is time and that something can be done. The only problem is what can we do with this time. It is on this point that the movie fails miserably. It focuses its main attention on dramatizing the horror of radiation fall-out, but it tries to slip in a conclusion without presenting arguments to justify this conclusion. This is doubly unfortunate because the conclusion which the movie reach- es resembles the rantings of Nobel Prize-winning chemist Linus Paul- ing. This position (which, incident- ly. in "On the Beach" is uttered by a Pauling-like brilliant, but disillusioned scientist) is that the scientist should see that his bril- liant work is inevitably leading to world destruction and he should use his position to stop the mad- ness. Failing this, there is the impli- cation, the scientist should simply refuse to produce the weapons. IT IS certainly legitimate for an individual scientist, as an indi- vidual, to publically oppose the armament race and to refuse to participate in it. This is analogous to a conscientious objector refus- ing to serve in the armed services or picketing against the draft. But T. S. Eliot once pointed out that there is a great danger that a man might misuse in one field the prestige that he has justly acquired in another field. This is exactly what Pauling and the scientist in "On the Beach try to do. The fact that one has helped build a weapons system does not convey any automatically valid insight into the question of what should be done with that weapon system. And if one is looking for advice or leadership, one should go to someone who has had experience in dealing with the political, dip- lomatic and moral problems in- volved rather than one whose ex- perience is in a totally unrelated area. Once the argument for disarm- ament is striped of the I-worked- on - the - bomb - and - I - ought - to - know type of prestige, much of the dramatic force of the argu- ment is lost and the argument can be analysed in rational terms. * * * IT IS clear that nuclear tests Letters to the Editor must be signed and limited to 300 words. The Daily reserves the right to edit or withhold any letter. assumption ignores two factors. Every nation capable of devel- oping building complex weapon systems are capable of developing a panic-proof system for initiat- ing a nuclear attack. The argu- ment that "some stupid or drunk sky-watcher will suddenly see an unidentified aircraft, sound the alarm and then some general will decide that there isn't time to check and so he will send off our missiles" is absurd. Even a gen- eral can realize that an enemy is not going to fight a nuclear war with one plane. An isolated un- identified plane will not start a world war. An attacking nation would send off sufficient missiles or bombers so that their inten- tions would be obvious. It is true, however that there is danger of an irrational attack. In fact, this danger is fearful. But the dangers of an irrational man in a position of power are nearly as great even if he had no nuclear weapons he came to power. Another Hitler would build the weapons himself. * *.* ESSENTIALLY, the cry for dis- armament is scape-goating. Dis- armament seems to be something tangible, clear-cut and significant that can be done to alleviate a very real danger. It's comforting to do something, so let's disarm. Unfortunately, the problem of peace is not that simple. First a mechanism for solving the world's disputes in non-violent fashion must be devised. Then the nations of the world must be induced to agree to use this process and re- nounce violent solutions. Finally, there. is. frighteningly complex problem of irrationality: occasion- ally a man arises who cannot or will not act rationally. How can he be handled? These problems must be solved before we can be assured of peace. The disarm-and-you-will-be- saved approach is far more simple and comfortable, but it may prove to be fatally self-deceptive. Seems to Mea... To the Editor: IT SEEMS to me That SGC Is run by a bunch of hams For a lot of don't-give-a-damns Who would rightly rather drink their beer Without being bent at the ear By an SGC catharsis. Not to show discrimination Which would lead to alienation By a high-blown ultimatum overruled. I extend to Quadie states With their scores of sophomore presidents (And an occasional polyannic freshman) 'Cause there are few residents That foolish past two years. AND for the Greeks Who seem to do the best of all, Word has it one would rather clasp a mug And pitch some woo Than with a gavel hug And pitch some (but should I use than infantile expression). But this all points to the true demand For less a fuss From most of us Who really don't give a good damn. -.-Pete Sturgeon, '62 Conspiracy . . To the Editor: A S THE SGC election nears, fra- lack. The Klan is exclusive because it enforces barriers, unlike the frats which enforce barriers be- cause they are exclusive. Rev. Luchs, in his fraternity let- ter, neglected the point that man Friday was a Negro, and had Robinson Crusoe been a frat man, he wouldn't have associated with Friday at all. -Robert Bailey, '61 Thin ... To the Editor: YOU WERE quite incoherent again, Rev. Luchs. Just what do you mean? For instance: '"I have just seen the refutations of my fraternity article. Some are excellent, some remind me of my sermons-irrele- vant and thin. With the rise and popularity of socialism and totali- tarianism maybe fraternities are doomed. But I'd like to see them continue with all their faults." If you do not consider this re- quest too irrelevant and thin, just what do you mean? -J. Amato, '604 Misjudged, To The Editor: N REGARD to the discriminat- ing remark on the front page of yesterday's Daily: Although I will admit that the title, "ex-officio member of the Board in Control of Student Pub- lications" does not exist in my case, the term was definitely not misleanznvIn essence.ltherepare Hatcher to review the composition of the Student Affairs Committee produced a plan for a student gov- erning body which was modified into the first.SGC plan. THE COMMITTEE'S report said in part, "After preliminary studies, it became apparent to the commit- tee that the Student Affairs Com- mittee was part of the larger prob- lem of student government, and that many of the functions then performed by the Student Affairs Committee could well be handled by students." For the first time, the Regents granted recognition to a student governing group. SGC was dele- gated direct authority over student organizations - including the power to grant them recognition. Presumably, expressions of stu- dent opinion presented to admin- istration and faculty by the Coun- cil would carry more weight than those by Student Legislature, since SGC had won the basic support of the Regents' recognition. But with increased power and official status, limitations on stu- dent government were noted. SGC had responsibility only in areas of purely student concern, Daily staff writer Jim Dygert asserted. In issues involving both the student and the University, it was just as impotent as SL had been. Dygert also warned that the jurisdictionaltauthority of SW was subject to review, and that the "annoyance capabilities" of the group were curtailed by its new status as a regental agent under University control. IN CONCLUSION, Dygert em- phasized that student n'embership of high caliber could make SGC an effective governing instrument "despite its structure." After the SGC vote to withdraw recognition from Sigma Kappa sorority and the reversal of this decision by the Board in Review, the Regents set up a Clarification Committee to study the SGC plan and recommend changes. It appears that the sorority was unfortunately caught up in a struggle of titans which would in the end have proved inevitable. Members of the Board of Re- gents expressed opinions that SGC "could not have acted any other way" in the matter. The Univer- sity Senate supported the SGC decision in a statement following the reversal. The Bylaw opposing discimina- tion which came out of the same Regents' meeting at which the revised SGC plan was approved tacitly upheld the policy which had motivated the SGC decision, it was said. * * * REGENTAL action to estab- lishing the Clarification Commit- tee seemed to imply an intention that the University should never again place itself in a position so open to criticism for interfering in a jurisdictional area it had delegated to students. The Board in Review's com- plaint was on procedural grounds - ostensibly because SGC had failed to agree with administrative policy in its consideration of Sig- ma Kappa's status. However, the significant addi- tion of "unreasonable action" as a basis for review under the re- vised plan suggests that this was the actual basis for review in the Sigma Kappa case. Significantly, the phrase, "in accordance with administrative policy," was deleted from the plan in the revised form. The major change in the plan Is that SGC actions are now sub- ject to review by a seven-member Committee on Referral, weighted in favor neither of administrators or students - faculty has a one- vote edge. Members are appointed to this committee rather than serving on it by virtue of administrative or SGC positions, resulting in an "im- partial board which is not directly involved," as Regent Eugene B. Power phrased it. * * * THUS SGC's new tie with Uni- versity supervision is impartial in at least its theoretical structure; the new review board has yet to function. In one sense, the Sigma Kappa decision and its aftermath can be viewed as a "rite of passage" - in approving the revised plan, the Regents have implicitly affirmed the coming of age of student gov- ernment at the University. In its present form, SGC has more independent jurisdiction and a wider area of responsibility--on paper--than it has ever had. Its expansion can be interpreted as a direct result of the Sigma Kappa tee appointed by President Harlan DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN The Daily Official Bulletin Is an official publication of The Univer- sity of Michigan for which The Michigan Daily assumes no .ed- torial responsibility. Notices should be sent in TYPEWRITTEN form to Room 3519 Administration Build- ing, before 2 p.m. the day preceding publication, Notices for Sunday Daily due at 2:00 p.m. Friday. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 19ff VOL. LXX, NO 124 General Notices University of Michigan Graduate Screening Examinations in French and German: All graduate students desir- ing to fulfill their foreign language re- quirement by passing the written e- amination given by Prof., Lewis (for- merly given by Prof. Hootins), must first pass an objective screening exam- ination. The objective examination will be given four times each semester (i.e., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec., Feb., March, April, and May) once during the Sum- mer Session, in July. Students who fail the objective examination may re- peat it but not at consecutive admin- istrations of the test (e.g., Sept. and Oct.) except when the two administra tions are separated by more than 3S days. (e.g., Dec. and Feb.) The next administration of the ob- jective examinations in French and German will be on Thurs., March 17 in Aud. C, Angell Hall at 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Within 48 hours after the examination the names of students who have passed will be posted on the bulletin board outside the office of prof. Lewis, the Examiner in Foreign Language,, Rm, 3028 Rackhaxn Bldg. Students desiring to fulfill the Grad- uate School's requirement in French and German are alerted to an alternate path. A grade of B or better in French 12 and German 12 will satisfy the for- eign language requirement. A grade of B or better in French 11 and German 11 is the equivalent of having passed the objective screening examination. Research Club, monthly meeting: Wed., March 16 at 8 p.m., Rakham Amphitheater. (Council: 7:15). Papers: Prof. Oleg rabar. "Origin of the Is- lamic Mausoleum." Prof. Phlipp Ger- hardt, "Inside of Germs." Tomorrow at 4:10 p.m. the Depart- ment of Speech will present Christopher Fry's "A Phoenix Too Frequent" in Trueblood Aud., Frieze Building. No ad- mission will be charged. Burton Holmes Travelogue: Robert Mallett will narrate the film "Italy- Roundabout Rome" on Thurs., March 17 at 8:30 pm. in Hill Ad. Physical Education--Women-Wom- en students who have not completed the physical education requirement may register for the spring season according to the following alphabetical groupings: Wed., March 16, 4:45-6:15 p.m. A-Co and H-La. Fri., March 18, 4:45-6:15 p.m. p-G and P-St. Mon., March 21, 4:45-6:15 p.m. Lb-O Iand Su-Z. Registration will be held on the main floor of Barbour Gym. Students should bring their I.D. cards, a copy of their schedules and a pen or pencil. Recitals Student Recital: Carolyn Henderso will present a piano recital in Rack- ham Assembly Hall on Wed., March 16, at 8:30 p.m.. in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Mas- ter of Music (Pano). She will play compositions by Schubert, Bach, and Bartok, and the recital will be open to the general public, Lectures Lecture: John H. Murphy' manager of Product Planning and Coordination Dept. of Stran-Steel Corp., will speak on the role and importance of "Prod- uct Planning and Coordination," in company operations. 7:30 p.m., Wed., March 16, Rm. 131, Bus. Ad. Prof. C. Lanezos of the Dublin Insti- tute for Advanced Studies, will speak on "A Universal Approach to Linear Boundary Value Problems," Wed., March 16 at 4:00 p.m. in Rm. 246 W. Engrg. Refreshments will be served at 3:30 pm. in Rm. 274W. Engrg. Lecture: Herman Zanstra, Visiting Prof. of Astronomy will speak on "The Philosophical Foundations of Knowl- edge." Wed., March 16 at 4 p., in Rm. 33, Angell Hall. Lecture: Dr. Vernon Ingram, Prof. of Biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will speak on "The Genetic Control of Protein Specificity" on Thurs., March 17 at 4 p.m., Third Level Amphitheater, Med. Sc. Bldg. Lecture: Prof. Harry G. Johnson, Uni- versity of Chicago, will speak on "The Political Economy of Opulence" on Thurs., March 17 at 8 p.m., Rackham Amphitheater. Prof. Howard Emmons, of Harvard University, will speak at a combined seminar with Aeronautical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics on "'Nigh Temperature Gas Dynamics," Thurs., March 17, at 4:00 p.m. in Room 311 West Engineering. Refreshments will beo served in the Faculty Lounge, 214 We" Engineering, at 3:30 p.m. Lecture by Prof. Martin Malia of the University of California, Berkeley, on "The Origins of the Russian Intelli- gentsia" on Thurs., 17 March at 4:10 p.m. in Aud. 8. Academic Notices I