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February 18, 1960 - Image 4

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Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 1960-02-18

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"What Are You Doing? You Don't Seem To
Realize Who I Am!"

~bgAli4'wn Bally
Seventieth Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. 0 ANN ARBOR, MICH. * Phone NO 2-3241

AN OPEN LETTER:
Students of Michigan:
Can You Be Bought

hen Opinions Are Free
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.

AY, FEBRUARY 18, 1960

NIGHT EDITOR: THOMAS KABAKER

Constitution Revision
Won't Alter Apathy in IHC

HOUGH THE structure of the Inter-House
Council is being changed, there is still doubt
as to whether the basic problems inherent in
the residence hall government can be so re-
solved.
The residence halls to most students on cam-
pus serve the same purpose as hotels, in a new
city; they are a nice place to stay until you
find a permanent place to live. Most students
remain in the quadrangles only for the required
one year or possibly two before leaving to live
in apartments or fraternities. As long as this
picture exists, the structure of the residence
ball government will have to deal with the
main problem of apathy caused by the dis-
interest of the temporary dwellers.
Many of the sophomore house presidents and
many other officers are biding their time until
they can move out. And at the lower levels of
the organization, such as committee chairman
and corrider representatives, the situation gets
progressively worse.
Of course, not all people in office are inex-
perienced and unqualified, many are qualified
and diligent In their work, but as shown in the
present organization there are not enough of
them to fill available positions. The proposed
revisions, in having fewer people running the
organization, is taking a step in the right direc-
tion. Their solution is if you don't have enough
qualified people for the positions, reduce the
number of positions until it seems more likely
that there will be enough.
IN THC REPORT the committee said much
the same thing but in a more optomistic
vein. They admit that their plan will not auto-
matically bring about the revision of IHC, but
that a "will to work" on the part of the par-
ticipants is also needed. They seem to overlook
the obvious fact that in the old system no one
showed much enthusiasm for work, and it is
doubtful whether any system can change the
apathy that seems to be deeply rooted in the
residence hall government.
Many of the suggested structure revisions
are aimed at correcting faults which now exist
in the IHC. The Presidium of house presidents
which is currently the body designed to govern
IHC, is ineffective and nearly worthless. A body,
for the most part comprised of a large number
of primarily bored house presidents, did little
more than merely act a rubber stamp for the
executive committee. This was admitted in the
committee's report. Here too the underlying
problem of apathy was found quite evidently.
The new structure should be more workable
if for no other reason than its smaller size-
only nine members. But its composition also
appears to contribute to more worthwhile
legislation. With two representatives from each
quadrangle, including the quad presidents, and
the three executive officers of the organization,
a more informed group is almost insured. While
it was possible to elect a house president for
almost any reason including "just for a joke,"
a person selected for either the post of quad
president or executive officer, will be more in-
volved and interested in the organization.
BUT WHILE the new proposal will serve to
have more informed and experienced peo-
ple serving in the top positions, the basic prob-
lem of apathy will remain. Now the apathy will
not be found so much in the higher levels as
in the lower ones. As it stands the plan has
no direct effect on the positions of house offi-
cers or on committee chairmen. These positions
are now filled by disinterested students, with
some exceptions, who are merely in the game
because of high school offices held or because
they like the idea of being in charge of some-
thing instead of being completely lost on a
campus of over 25,000.
These posts serve as a proving ground for
those who are interested in house government,
but more importantly, they take care of the
small uninteresting jobs which form the ma-

jority of the functions in house government.
Merely the passing of a document which sets
up a ruling body of nine men instead of 20 will
have no effect on the interest of a freshman
in charge of decorations for a house dance. In
these important areas of committee work,
apathy will still remain.
But possibly nothing can be done in these
areas regardless what is passed because of the
very transitory nature of the students. Going
under this assumption, the proposed quad-run
government seems to be the most effective type
that can be hoped for. While this form of gov-
ernment is satisfactory, the method of selecting
officers for the executive committee seems
deficient.
THE COMMITTE in making their recom-
mendations said that in the past a lot of
friction had existed between officers and, sec-
ondly, the president's position involves too
much politics. To resolve these difficulties, the
committee proposed that the three officers,
president, vice - president and secretary be
elected on a slate basis. Under this system, a
person running for president would choose two
others to run for the remaining positions. Each
quad when it cast its 16 votes would only vote
for the presidential candidates and the winner
would carry the rest of his slate into office.
The committee claims this system would add
harmony to the work of the officers and also
assure the organization of competent people.
While possibly more harmony would evolve,
the conviction that competent people would be
elected seems completely unfounded. It is hard
to see just how a slate system can insure com-
petent people running and being elected. Merely
the fact that the quads are only allowed to
vote for the office of president and must accept
the others on his ticket make it very possible
for students of little experience and qualifica-
tions to be elected behind a highly qualified
candidate for president.
BUT THIS IS not the only objection to the
system. Under the present system, the most
qualified person is supposedly elected president
and then the other posts are filled by the re-
maining qualified candidates. Under the pro-
posed system, all losing candidates for presi-
dent, are completely eliminated from any posi-
tion. Theoretically, these candidates would be
ones with slightly less qualifications than the
student elected president.
Instead of choosing their candidates from
the remainder, the quads must accept the re-
maining students on the president's slate, re-
gardless of their experience or qualifications.
Another fear, perhaps not quite as well-
founded, was brought up in the Presidium
meeting on Sunday. Several of the presidents
feared all the officers elected would be from one
quad, giving it five of the nine votes on the
committee. Of course, as was pointed out in
the meeting, a candidate for president would
be much more likely to select the rest of his
slate from the other quads in order to insure
himself of a wide base of support. Of course
there is no insurance that this will always be
the case.
IF THE SLATE SYSTEM is retained when the
final constitution is approved, the least that
could be done to eliminate this last fear would
be to require that each slate represent all
quads.
While the proposed changes are a definite
improvement over the present IHC constitu-
tion, the inherent problem of apathy still re-
mains, Apathy can not be destroyed by merely
changing structure or representation but will
remain as long as the majority of students find
conditions in apartments and fraternities
markedly superior to those found in the resi-
dence halls.
-KENNETH McELDOWNEY

!94i-zt wAser~l e s'PZ es

CHEATING AT MICHIGAN:
What Is To Be Done?

(This article is taken from an
open letter which will be distribut-
ed to University housing units
within the next few days.)
STUDENTS of Michigan: can
your loyalty be bought? Would
you compromise your constitution-
al rights to accept a federal loan?
Under the National Defense Ed-
ucation Act, the Federal Govern-
ment grants large sums of money
to colleges and universities for
student loans. However, it is stated
in section 1001(f) of the Federal
law:.
"No part of the funds appropri-
ated or otherwise made available
for expenditure under authority of
this act shall be used to make pay-
ments or loans to any individual
unless such individual:
1) Has executed and filed with
the Commissioner of Education an
affidavit that he does not believe
in, and is not a member of and
does not support any organization
that believes in or teaches the
overthrow of the United States
Government by force or violence
or by any illegal or unconstitu-
tional methods, and
2) Has taken and subscribed to
an oath or affirmation in the fol-
lowing form: "I do solemnly swear
(or affirm) that I will bear true
faith and allegiance to the United
States of America and will support
and defend the Constitution and
laws of the United States against
all its enemies, foreign and domes-
tic.
* * *
SECTION 1001(f) was originally
slipped into the NDEA without
attracting attention. When col-
leges discovered it, a tremendous
protest was raised, and Senators
Kennedy and Clark introduced a
bill to repeal the entire section.
After a heated and confused de-
bate in the Senate, the bill was
finally shelved.
Spurred on by the official re-
fusal of twenty colleges to partici-
pate in the program, and by the
protesting participation of forty
others, the Senators are reintro-
ducing their bill within the next
few weeks. If passed, it will repeal
the affidavit of disbelief in section
1001(f).
The chief objections voiced by
colleges, universities, educational
associations, members of Congress,
and the press are these:
1) This section is unconstitu-
tional. The phrase requiring stu-
dents to swear that they do not
"believe in" violates the First
Amendment which guarantees
freedom of thought and belief.
2) It is prejudicial. The affidavit
imposes on students a special oath
not required of any other class of
persons receiving Federal loans or
grants.
3) It sets a dangerous precedent.
While the act itself disclaims any
intention of imposing Federal con-
trol on higher education, the sec-
tion appears to many to be an
"entering wedge" of Federal con-
trol.
4) It is futile. No Communist
would hesitate to take the oath,
and Communists can already be
prosecuted under the Smith Act.
* * *
WHEN THE bill (S.2929) comes
up for debate and voting in Con-
g-ress, its chances will be about
even in the Senate, but the fight
in the House will be tough.
Though many students have op-
posed section 1001(f) and especi-
ally the affidavit of disbelief, few
have written in their opinions.
"It is certain that there must
be a .,clearer and more articulate
student voice on this issue," Sen.
Kennedy said recently. Thousands
of letters from students all over
the country supporting Bill S.2929
would have considerable effect in
the upcoming Congressional battle.
The writing cost is four cents

By PHILIP POWER
Editorial Director
FACULTY, administration and
students at the University all
agree that the problem of student
cheating at college is an incred-
ibly complicated one, both to ex-
plain and to solve. But it some-
how must be explained and solved.
Recent cases of cheating on
exams at the University have
aroused much thought in refer-
ence to the examination system.
"Shouldn't we ourselves examine
the kind of exams and tests we
give?" asked Prof. Arthur East-
man of the English department.
* * *
CRITICISM has centered espe-
cially on the objective or "mul-
tiple guess' type exam, favored in
some courses. Critics of the sys-
tem claim that it offers a clear in-
vitation for the student to cheat.
Some professors it is claimed
change the questions in such an
exam little or not at all from
year to year, and if an exam
somehow gets out of the examina-
tion room all the dishonest stu-
dent need do is memorize it - if
he can obtain a copy. One pro-
fessor reports that he has heard
that the going price on one of
his last year exams was $6.50, and
similar reports are common.
On the other hand, other pro-
fessors assert that a tremendous
amount of work goes into the
writing of a thoughtful objective
question, and to re-write entirely
from year to year an objective ex-
amination containing 100 or 200
questions would be impossible.
* * *
OTHER criticism centers on the
University's own rule that exam-
ination grades must be sent to
the appropriate authorities with-
in 72 hours (48 for graduating
seniors) after the completion of
an exam. For a professor with a
large course and a desire to grade
his own exams, this deadline is
impossible to meet if a full essay
examination is used. Some profes-
sors thus are forced by - or ca-

pitulate to - expediency and use
an objective exam.
Another defect of the objective
examination-realistically speak-
ing - is that it is easy to cheat
when taking it. It's far simpler to
copy one mark on an objective
question than to take down an
entire essay.
Thus often-conflicting factors
of faculty expediency, administra-
tion pressure and student dishon-
esty sometimes combine with the
existing examination structure to
produce a situation conducive to
cheating.
. * *.
SUGGESTIONS for changing
ing the examination system have
been made by many professors
and students.
The professor who does not
change his multiple choice exam-
ination at all from year to year,
it is agreed, is just asking for
trouble. "Such an exam, calling
for little more than the exercise
of memory hardly corresponds to
what an exam should be," said
one faculty member. "If exams
are to be given in such a way, why
not forget about all class periods
and lectures, and make the en-
tire course the exam?",
What about more proctoring in
the examination room? This is
largely unacceptable to all con-
cerned. "There is something un-
congenial to an academic man to
be a proctor all the time,' re-
marked Dean of the Literary Col-
lege Roger B. Heyns. "We all
would like to assume that our stu-
dents don't need close proctoring
all the time,"
Closer controls on examinations
to prevent theft. The consensus
seems to be that exams are close-
ly guarded now, and increased ef-
fort would likely yield little bene-
fit.
Cut down on exam files and re-
constructions of exams, especially
in the fraternities and sororities?
Not likely, say both students and
faculty. Human nature being
what it is, and small group living
being what it is, any progress
along these lines is unlikely.

SOME HAVE suggested that all
exams be printed at a central,
tightly controlled U n i v e r s i t y
printing-house and that all blue-
books used in examinations be
furnished by the University, sealed
and distributed in the examina-
tion room. Some feel that such a
plan might be effective: others
think it too restrictive and not in
keeping with a responsible atti-
tude toward the student body.
But cheating on exams is not
the only area of intellectual dis-
honesty. Reports of students pay-
ing others to write term papers
for them and of outright plagiar-
ism are hardly unknown.
At least two professors report
that term papers have been dis-
continued in their courses because
the level of plagiarism was too
high, in several cases approaching
10 per cent of all papers turned in.
THE LAST STRAW for one
professor was a term paper, di-
rectly plagiarised from one of the
professor's own books.
Others, including Prof. Inis
Claude of the Political Science De-
partment, suggest that often pla-
giarism arises out of student ig-
norance of exactly what it in-
volves and of the serious nature
of the action. An education pro-
gram, to be handled through the
freshman English courses, might
correct this. Although many feel
that college students should be
responsible enough to realize the
implications of their actions, some
faculty members feel that pro-
fessors might regularly devote a
short part of one class period to
a discussion of intellectual dis-
honesty and plagiarism.
BUT ALMOST all such practi-
cal answers to the question, What
can be done about cheating? suf-
fer from three difficulties: no one
really knows how much cheating
of what kind is going on today;
no one seems to know whether
there is more cheating going on
now than in the 'past; no one
knows what exactly makes people
cheat in the first place.
Before an adequate solution is
determined, Dean Heyns says, the
University must find out the real
extent of the problem. "It's silly
for us to determine solutions be-
fore we know the true extent of
the problem." The literary college
has discussed the problem of
cheating at intervals in the past,
Dean Heyns said, and is working
on the problem now.
For one thing, "I don't have
any real basis for knowing that
cheating is greater than in the
past," Heyns remarked. Increased
admissions pressures, increased
grade emphasis and increased
concern for the social and status
effects of a college education may
have increased the level of cheat-
ing. But no careful study of the
problem has been done, though
some talk of such a need now.
S* *
IT IS DOUBTFUL whether the
literary college will a b a n d o n
grades altogether, as some schools
such as Reed College have done.
Administrators doubt whether

and ten minutes of your time-a
cheap price. Write your own Sen-
ators and Representatives and
address the Senate, or ouse,
Office Building, Washington, D.C.,
enclosing your home address. It is
vital that letters be written soon.
Remember - every letter will
count.
-U. of M. Student Committee
for Repeal of 1001(f)
Sara Weeks, '82,,Chairman
Edward Germaine, '61
David Golden, '63
Susan Hershberg,'6Z
Helen Karlan,'60
John Dwyer, Grad.
LETTERS
to the
EDITOR
An Apology*...
To the Editor:
IN REPLY to Mr. Katz's letter
concerning the "Nicholas Bour-
bali" article in the January, 1960,
issue of the Michigan Technic I
would like to make the following
statement: Several weeks after
publication of the article allega-
tions similar to those of Mr. Katz
were brought to my attention. Up-
on checking the two articles I
found these allegations to be es-
sentially correct - much of the
material in our article was almost
identical to an article in Scientific
American.
Although I am sure the author
did not intentionally use this iden-
tical material, I immediately wrote
a letter to the publisher of SA
explaining the situation, apologiz-
ing for the author and for our
lack of foresight in not checking
the article previous to publication,
and offering to make any neces-
sary, restitution, including the
publication of an apology in our
February issue.
** *
SHQRTLY thereafter I received
a telephone call from the assistant
to the publisher of SA. He agreed
with us that this incident, al-
though illegal, was certainly un-
fortunate. It was his feeling that
any further publicity of. the matter
would do more harm than good
and suggested that no apology be
printed and that the author write
a personal apology to the publisher
of SA. We agreed to follow their
suggestions.
However, Mr. Katz's letter has
changed this situation somewhat.
Therefore, let me state the gist
of the statement which was origi-
nally scheduled to appear in the
February Technic: "The Michigan
Technic has always prided itself
on the thorough research of its
authors and the originality of the
editorial material appearing in the
Technic. Although we are ex-
tremely sorry about this recent in-
cident it must be mnade clear that
such practices have not been in
the past, nor will they be in the
future, the policy of the Michigan
Technic."
-Barry L. Peebles
Editor-in-Chief
Michigan Technic
DAILY
OFFICIAL
BULLETI
The Daily Official Bulletin Is an
official publication of The Univer-
sity of Michigan for which The
Michigan Daily assumes no edi-
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.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1960
VOL. LXX, NO. 101

General Notices
Final Examination Makeup, Econom-
ics 51, 52. 53, 54 will be given on Mon.,
Feb. 22, 7-10 p.m. In Rm. 103 Economics.
All students wishing to take this make-
up examination should leave their name
with their instructor or with the de-
partmental secretary before Fri., Feb.
19.
Schools of Business Administration,
Education, Music, Natural Resources,.
Nursing and Public Health: Students
who received marks of I, S, or 'no re-
port' at the end of their last semester
or summer session of attendance will
receive a grade of 'E" in the course or
courses unless this work is 'made up.
In the Schools of Music and Nursing
this date is by March 7. in the Schools
of Business Administration, Education,
Natural Resources, and Public Health'
this date is by March 8. In the School
of Nursing this refers to non-nursing
courses only. Students wishing an ex-
tension of time beyond these dates
should file a petition with the appro-
priate official, of their school.
Doctoral Candidates who expect to
receive degrees in June, 1960, must
have at least three bound copies (the
original in a "spring binder") of their
dissertation in the office of the Grad-
uate School by Fri., April 22. The re-
port of the doctoral committee on the
final oral examination must be Sled
with the Recorder of the Graduate
School together with two copies of the
thesis, which is ready in all respects
for publication, not later than Mon.,
May 23.

I

Protection Needed

FTER VIEWING last Tuesday's Michigan-
Michigan State hockey game, it appears
at a protective screen all the way around the
nk could be a safety factor for fans and
ayers alike.
One spectator had his head gashed by a
gh-flying puck and the incident wasn't the
st of its kind in the past few years. Although
e University has never faced a law suit for
lack of this safety factor for fans, it could
14r M31A44wn t ath*
Editorial Staff
THOMAS TURNER. Editor
ILIP POWER ROBERT JUNKER
itorial Director City Editor
ARLES KOZOLL............ Personnel Director
AN KAATZ......... ........... Magazine Editor
d BENAGH....................... Sports Editor
TER DAWSON ..........., Associate City Editor
RTON HUTHWAITE .. Associate Editorial Director
rHARDEE . ...........:.... Contributing Editor
ED KATZ ........,...... Associate Sports Editor
iUV LYON .................Associate Sports Editor

happen; the suits have been successful against
professional hockey and baseball teams.
THE SECOND reason for the screen is to let
the athletes play unobstructed by those
radicals in the stands who like to harass them
by grabbing hockey sticks and poking at them
as the players scrabble on the boards. A Tues-
day night situation had a Michigan fan tug-
ging with a Spartan for the stick as the puck
was in play. Another Spartan took a couple
of well-deserved slashes with his stick at the
agitator, but was jeopardizing other spectators
in the section.
Some of the other teams around the league
and in college hockey have the screens. Maybe
now is the time for Michigan to improve its
situation before a major catastrophe arises.
--JAMES BENAGH
Sports Editor
New Books at the Library
Holbrook, Stewart H.-The Golden Age of

ATOMIC ENERGY EXPERT:
Nuc lear Arms Race:
Balance of Terror
(EDITOR'S NOTE: fs there a way out of the nuclear balance of terror?
Yes, says Thomas E. Murray, former member of the Atomic Energy Commis-
sion -- through a bold new approach involving destruction of hydrogen
bombs in United States and Soviet stockpiles. In the following article Mur-
ray, consultant to the Senate-House Atomic Energy Committee, explains
his dramatic proposal and tells how it would work.)
Former Member, Atomic Energy Commission
Written for the Associated Press
By THOMAS E. MURRAY
'fHE PAST DECADE has been the era of terror because over it has
hung the threat of violence - uncontrolled, unlimited, both poli-
tically and morally absurd.
Our immediate and urgent purpose, therefore, must be to effect

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FAVERTY:
Offers
Elementary
Approach
YOUR LITERARY HERITAGE: by Fred-
eric E. Faverty, J. B. Lippincott Co.,
New York, 1959, $3.95.
"YOUR LITERARY Heritage" is
a series of brief comments on
literary works from "The Odyssey"
to "Doctor Zhivago."
The author, Frederic E. Faverty
of Northwestern University, origi-
nally wrote them for the Chicago
Tribune's literary section, which
goes far toward explaining their
elementary approach.
The book does not, however,
pretend to be more than it is.
Clearly, Faverty cannot in two
pages present more than a few
ideas on "Moby Dick." And these
ideas, though presented, cannot be
substantiated.
It is important to distinguish
Faverty's book from items of the
"Masterpieces of World Litera-
ture" ilk. The latter are plot-.

an orderly dismantling of the era
of unlimited violence. An agree-
ment with the Soviet Union to
stop the perilous and irrational
ffnr+ f+ t rointain the halance nf

of terror by dissipating the threat
pense with the use, or at least the
threat of force any more than hu-
m-n rnniett vsn n ienen with law.

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