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November 08, 1959 - Image 4

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The Michigan Daily, 1959-11-08

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

Hold

Inlrational

Week

Vhen 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.
NDAY, NOVEMBER 0, 1959 NIGHT EDITOR: KENNETH McELDOWNEY
A S ",ISEE I*, *0 By THOMAS TURNER

FORMED IN 1950:
ISA Serves Foreign
Student Community

TH E UNIVERSITY has 1,600 foreign students
enrolled, more than any other school in the
country.'
This is a fact generally known on campus,
though not everyone may remember the pre-
cise number. The fact itself turns up in
speeches and on the pages of this newspaper
quite regularly, often with a tone comparable
to that of "Our stadium seats 101,0001, more
than any other college-owned stadium in the
country."
When Daily editorialists, SGC candidates
and others do deal with the "foreign student
problem," they label it a problem of the "apa-
thy" of the American student group to the for-
eign student group, or a "communication prob-
lem" between the two groups.
Recognized collectively as a "resource" of
the institution, and likewise as a "problem,"
the foreign students here are individually ig-
nored, sometimes even despised.
The term "ELI," for English Language In-
stitute student, has acquired a distinctly pe-
jorative tone.
° RNED IN upon itself these forces of in-
difference and dislike, the foreign-student
community has become a curious microcosm
unto itself.
The language of tllis little world is English
for the most part, a fact which points up the
anomaly 'involved. For Pakistanis have not
come to the United States to meet Mexicans or
Japanese - though this may well be a good
thing) - but Americans. In many cases, a
foreign student has less in common with most
of his fellows at International Center functions
than he would have with a comparabe group
oVf young* Americans.
S yoBeinglumped together by the criterion of
being non-American may lead to some inter-
esting experiences for the foreign student who
has come here to study, but the negative na-
ture of this grouping is surely less than ideal
psychologically.
THIN the context of this "outcast" psy-
chology, but trying to overcome it, the
University's International Center does a fine
job.
Counselling )ndividuals, advising nationality
clubs, and sponsoring activities such as tours
and dance classes, the Center attempts both
to make the on-campus stay of foreign stu-
Tax Situaht
THE BIG TOPIC being discussed presently in
the legislative bipartisan committee for
solving Michigan's financial problems is what
nuisance taxes will be accepted. To the observer
it appears that the nuisance is not strictly'
confined to the taxes.
After what seems like years of haggling, one
would think that the responsibilities of govern-
ment would begin to weigh on the consciences
of the legislators concerned in this fiasco. In-
stead we find that each suggestion for a new
tax is a little more ludicrous than the last.
From Senator Carlton Morris's (R) proposal
for a five cent tax on every bottle of beer we
have reached Representative Willard Bower-
man's (R) suggestion for a five dollar levy on
each moving violation.
CSNATOR Frank D. Beadle, Republican ma-
jority leader has instructed each of the 22
GOP senators to work out their own tax pro-
gram over the weekend. Contemplation of the
possible outcomes of this move is awe-inspiring.
Having been unable to pass any form of in-
come tax, even a flat-rate one, the committee
thought about raising the sales tax. This idea
has now been thrown out by the Attorney Gen-
eral's recent decision, and so the people of
INTERPRETING THE NEWS
Neutralism
By L. M. ROBERTS
Associated Press News Analyst
RIME MINISTER Nehru of India is admit-
ting that his policy of neutrality is taking
a beating because of Red China's aggressive-

ness.
He says the other side of the coin is that,
the possibilities of the policy's long range suc-
cess has been enhanced 'by improved relations
between the United States and the Soviet
Union. ,
Although at times he is very difficult to un-
derstand, Nehru seems to be adhering to the
position that he can refuse to yield to Peiping's
demands along the Indian border without tak-
ing a warlike posture,
FOR ONE THING, a warlike posture in the
areas disputed is very difficult. Approaches
to the border from India are through rugged,
terrain and uninhabited territory. The ap-
proaches are easier on the Red side. The dis-

dents interesting, and to prepare them for suc-
cessful participation in all-campus curricular
and extracurricular activity.
There are, to be sure, institutional ap-
proaches which might further the educational
goals of the foreign student population.
The periodically-discussed notion of an In-
ternational Center which would not be merely
a group of offices, but a dormitory in which
students of many countries (including the
United States) would live together, is worthy
of more discussion, though construction of a
new dorm is not warranted.
Establishment of language houses, as Babs
Miller suggested during the recent SGC cam-
paigning, would provide foreign student dorm
integration in a meaningful way, and should
likewise be considered.
But whatever structural changes in the com-
munity are made, their success will depend
heavily on the same factors now causing the
foreign student community's isolation: inertia
and xenophobia on the part of the American
students here.
EX-OFFICIO status on SGC for the Inter-
national Student Association has been dis-
cussed several times by SGC itself, and is fre-
quently a plank in the campaign platforms of
ISA presidential candidates.
This status has now been approximated, as
ISA President M. A. Hyder Shah ("Shah") is
an elected member of the new Council.
Shah ran for SGC on a platform dealing only
with betterment of relations between foreign
and American students. He was elected as a
foreign student.
Three solid benefits may arise from Shah's
election.
First, since Shah has declared his interest
in betterment of foreign student relations, the
Council may accomplish a good deal in this
area.
Second, and by no means contradictory with
the first, Shah's interests and background of
information will probably broaden, causing him
to become a valuable member of the Council
in other respects as well.
Third, since it is assumed ex-officio members
have particular interests and experience be-
cause of their positions, an effective year on
Shah's part would be the best possible argu-
ment for inclusion in the future of the ISA
head as an ex-officio.

WHY THEY COME:
Many Reasons for Study in U.S.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Mr. Pooley is
an English graduate student, cur-
rently enrolled in the Law School).
By BEVERLY J. POOLEY
IT IS NOT HARD to see why
most people in Britain would
like to visit the United States. For
them, itsis a fairyland - where
movie stars reign as monarchs -
where bizzare scandals rock the
nation - where ostentatious opu-
lence is unashamed - and from
which hordes of tourists are un-
leashed like flocks of exotic birds.
The desire to pierce, or at least
witness this fantasy is overwhelm-
ing, and captures the imagination
of us all.
The "nouveau riche" who in-
habit the conformity-ridden sub-
urbs that surround the larger
cities of the country and the solid
middle class working-men who
stabilize the economy are two ele-
ments which provide the basis for
one of the great attractions of the
United States. These two groups
work together along with other
diverse elements, which are scat-
tered throughout the whole social
complex of the country -- pre-
senting an interesting picture for
British visitors.
But are there any additional
reasons that attract the student,
as opposed to the rest of the popu-
lation? I believe there are, and
this belief is borne out by the tre-
mendous urge which induces a
large number of British students
to pursue their graduate studies
ir ,the United States.
There are, of course, two pri-
mary reasons why this should be
so, and it would be hypocritical to
ignore them. Firstly, although
more difficult to obtain, American
scholarships pay more than do
British. Secondly, there are many
students who can only pursue their
specialized topic in America be-
cause facilities for its study do not
exist in Britain, or do not exist
in such advanced form.
HOWEVER granting these two
obvious reasons why some students
should seek their academic for-
tunes in the United States, there
still remains a fairly substantial
number who do not stand to gain
financially from their stay here,
and who could burrow into their
work just as easily at home.
I think the main reason behind
the presence of this group in
American universities, and a strong
subsidiary reason in many other
,cases, is the great debate which
rages about American intellectual
and academic life.
There are voices which criticize
American intellectual standards
and who see in the democratiza-
tion of education the decay of in-.

tellect. Whilst they admit the oc-
casional exception, they conceive
of America as an intellectual
wilderness, the American univer-
sity as an intellectual mirage, and
of the American student body as
a philistine herd of democratized
dullards.
* * *
THERE IS however a rapidly,
growing and articulate opposition
to this view. America after all is
a nation which has succeeded.
Many European and other intel-
lectual despots live to a certain
extent at the expense of the Amer-
ican taxpayer and owe their free-
dom and indeed their lives to
American military strength. And
they are happy indeed to pocket
their Fulbright checks at the end
of American lecture tours.
Nor is American achievement
purely material. The popularity
and internationally _recognize d
merit of American writers, play-
wrights, poets, painters, architects,

orchestras, musicians, literary
critics, jurists, economists and be-
havioral scientists attest, it is
pointed out, to at least a modicum
of cultural and scholastic activity.
* * *
IT IS A DESIRE to see the
American academic institution at
first hand in order to resolve these
conflicting views which attracts a
great many students and young
teachers from Britain to the Unit-
ed States. It is unhappily the fact
that many American exports, in
the form of movies and TV shows
especially, provide grist to the mill
of the Yankophobes. In the ma-
jority of cases, however, I am con-
vinced that the re-import of stu-
dents who have spent some time
in the United States will, although
their impressions may not be en-
tirely uncritical, greatly strength-
en the cause of the Yankophiles
and stimulate a reappraisal of
some British academic values.

By M. A. HYDER SHAi
President, International Students
Association
THE SOCIAL and economic needs
of many countries, especially
the so-called under-developed na-
tions, are tremendous and require
trained and educated men and
women tormeet them.rTherefore
students from all parts of the
world, seeking aids to progress and
education for their countries, come
to the United States in growing
numbers every year.
The University of Michigan has
traditionally been a leader in the
field of international exchange.
Today the University enjoys a
unique position, in the sense that
there are as many as 1,600 stu-
dents from some 80 nations of the
world. As a result the University
has become educationally a "most
favored campus," surpassing other
American Universities in sheer size
of foreign students population.
Early in the University's history,
in 1933, a counselor to foreign stu-
dents was appointed and in 1938
the International Center was es-
tablished as a service organization
to aid students from far-off lands
who were coming in ever increasing
numbers to the United States.
* * *
THE ORGANIZATION of the
International Students Association
can be traced as far back as 1950,
when a group of foreign students,
got together to form an associa-
tion of their own. In 1954, the
present organizational structure of
ISA was established under a con-
stitution which provided for the
election of president and vice-
president. From 1955 to the pres-
ent the ISA duly elected its presi-

dents: these officers were from
India, Pakistan and Turkey.
The purposes of ISA, as men-
tioned in the constitution are:
1) To sponsor educational and
cultural, social and athletic events
on the campus.
2) To represent foreign students
in issues involving their interests.
* * *
TODAY, THE ISA, under the
leadership of its present presi-
dent, seeking to broaden the scope
of its objective and purposes as a
unique body of foreign students,
proposes:
1) To integrate foreign students
into the culture of the campus and
community, through participation,
and to help them to reach an
understanding of the American
way of life.
2) To help increase American
students' understanding of inter-
national affairs, stressing the im-
portance of developing a broad
world outlook among themselves.
3) To increase the awareness on
the part of American students in
sharing their educational resources
with students from oother lands.
4) To foster and'extend an f-
fective communication among
American students and students
from all nations of the world.
5) To seek further SGC spon-
sorship for foreign students' pro-
grams and activities in order to
encourage American student par-
ticipation in these events.
THE ISA, as an organization for
foreign students on the campus,
provides students with an op-
portunity 'to participate in its
activities, and to further people-
to-people contacts and develop-
ment of mutual understanding.
Equally important is the broaden-
ing influence of its campus con-
tacts among American students,
presenting them with theoppor-
tunity to see other countries
through the eyes of students from
other cultures.
The ISA provides an atmosphere
conducive to expression of ideas
on all subjects-political, social,
educational and otherwise. ISA
supplements the.total educational
experience, which is more than
academic.
At present, ISA has 20 different
nationality groups approved and
recognized working in conjunction
with ISA's major activities. The
national independence days and
other important festivities of vari-
ous nationality clubs are co-spon-
sored by the ISA.
Lecture series by dignitaries and
diplomatic personnel of various
nations are also programmed by
ISA. American cultural series pro-
grams by the widely traveled
American professors and scholars
also form an important area in
ISA's campus-wide activities.
Among its most significant and
primarily important activities in-
clude the International Ball,
Monte Carlo Ball, World's Fair and
International Floor Shows.
The ISA: 1) Is a liason between
the nationality grdups and tie
International Center, 2) Is a
source of programs- and activities
for the campus, 3) Is a training
ground for democratic leadership
to foreign students, 4) initiates
and establishes practices and poli-
Gies to further best interests of
foreign students, and 5) facilitates
smooth functioning' of internsa-
tional student affairs.

INTERNATIONAL CENTER:
Offers Foreign Students Aid

)n Confused

Michigan are now given their choice of what
the legislators aptly term "nuisance taxes."
These taxes are based on the concept that
anything that will raise money is legitimate.
Consequently whoever pays this money is
deemed inconsequental.
STOPGAP measures by definition are only
temporary, and the same situation that the
state faces today will be faced again next year
and the year after. Putting off the solution is
illogical from all possible viewpoints.
The people will suffer from hastily thrown
together taxes which will undoubtedly remain
to opp'ress them for many years to come. (No
one repeals taxes.) The political parties are
going to suffer because the people will only
take so much obviously selfish partisan dispute.
The self-sacrificing attitudes exhibited in
statements by some congressmen that an in-
come tax will be passed over their dead bodies
is not the self-sacrifice that the situation
requires.
The time has arrived when the concept of
serving the people should begin to prevail in
the Michigan Legislature. The sooner this oc-
ctrs the sooner this situation will be solved.
-ARNOLD SAMEROFF
Doesnt' Pay
Union could tell Nehru that it doesn't always
take two to make a war.
Sweden is about the only one which could
make a show that neutrality pays.
INDIA IS a key objective for Communism in
Asia. If India cannot be taken, Asia cannot
be taken. And international Communist theory
is that Asia must be taken, along with Africa,
and their: economic integration with the West
destroyed, before the Western ramparts can
be really assaulted.
That's why Soviet Russia is now passively
opposing Peiping's actions. They serve to
arouse Indian defensive instincts prematurely,
just as Stalin's actions served to solidify West-
ern European defenses and world opposition
to international Communism a decade ago.
People in the United States, through their
reaction to the Khrushchev visit, also appear
to harbor greater reservations than Nehru
about the actual state of relations between the
TT. : . r. .. . . . . i.. . . .... T i ..

By W. ARTHUR MILNE, JR.
Asst. Counselor, International Center
T HAVE wondered, in reflection,
how many students live in Ann
Arbor with little more than a hazy
awareness of the International
Center sign quietly advertising our
offices at 603 Madison Street.
Here is located an agency of the
University which provides services
which are not academic, but which
support and enrich the academic
program of International students.
To staff these services, we have a
director, three counselors, two ad-
ministrative assistants and several
secretaries. We have a library-
lounge, recreation room, TV room
and staff offices. As well as these,
the Madelon Pound House on Hill
Street provides meeting rooms in
a much more relaxed atmosphere
an~d very limited housing facilities
for foreign leaders on short visits
to Ann Arbor.
WITH THIS physical outline in
mind, just what happens there?
Some of our servies include non-
academic counseling, housing as-
sistance, advising of numerous for-
eign student groups, and programs
arrangements for visiting foreign
leaders and professors.
Now stop there a moment. This
last (foreign leader program)
sounds bland enough, but consider
the' implications.
Into the Center comes a Dr. X
Who is, in his country, the head of

the Department of Cultural Af-
fairs, not an insignificant post in
most governments. In the brief
warning period 'before his arrival,
elaborate arrangements must be
completed for him to get the most
from his short visit. He must be
provided adequate guest room ac-
commodations. Many telephone
contacts must be made before the
proper departments have been
scheduled for appointments with
Dr. X.
BUT TFE implications go deeper.
This dignitary is going to return
to his home office and carry the
reputation of the University along
with his impressions of Syracuse,
Harvard and California. Our staff
must insure that he is treated in
a manner befitting his position.
With this rather imposing single
situation in mind, consider what
happens in a month like October,
1959, when no less than 43 Dr.
X's visited the University through
the programming responsibilities
of the International Center.
Counseling was mentioned as a
service of the International Cen-
ter and deserves some elaboration.
All the many foreign students have
passports and visas which must be
kept current and legal, a major
job.
Personal counseling is not as
universal but often as time-con-
suming. This involves financial
matters, relations with sponsors,

academic status and personal ad-
justment.
The third form of counseling is
with groups: assisting American
student organizations, with regard
to international programs. and' ad-
vising nationality clubs concerning
their own group activities.
A new service is being developed
in the Center. In conjunction with
other agencies on the campus, we
are collecting information which
will assist those American students
who wish to study in a foreign
country.
OVER THIS outline of general'
observations, there must be im-
posed' many additional small but
necessary functions.gThese range
from maintaining great file~ of
forms required by the government
to a limited publishing of a direc-
tory of foreign students. Additional
to these services are such things
as programming speaking engage-
ments, organizing entertainment of
an educational and cultural value
and planning for the students to
spend time in American homes for.
a meal or a week-end.
I should like to close by offering
an invitation. Each Thursday at
4:30 p.m. the International Center
draws a capacity crowd for its
weekly tea. If you have interest in
things international, would like to
know more about the International
Center, or would like to meet stu-
dents from other countries, do
accept this invitation.

4

*

FOR INTERNATIONAL WEEK:
Power Among Men' Shows Man's Gifts, Deficits

By THOMAS TURNER
Editor
"POWER AMONG MEN," the
United Nations film to be
shown at the Campus Theatre in
conjunction with International
Week, tells eloquently of man's
infinite capacity to better his lot
and of his infinite capacity to
destroy.
In the first of four episodes, the
viewer is taken to Sant'Ambrogio,
an Italian village a few kilometers
from the ruined cassino.
Villagers returned to Sant'Am-
brogio in 1946 to find their houses
likewise in ruins. The United Na-
tions Refugee Relief Agency
brought clothing, building sup-
plies and know-how, and the Ital-
ians rebuilt their homes.
* * *
JULIEN BRYAN, whose films of
Poland blitzed and Poland rebuild-
ing were shown here recently,
directed the Italy-1946 episode,
and did a fine job. He uses the un-
abashedly sentimental device of a
small boy as narrator, yet never
lets things get too maudlin.
The sequel to the first episode
was filmed in color two years ago.
Sant'Ambrogio has been rebuilt.
The little hov has nf nourse rnwn

The Haitian government brings
in a UN agricultural expert. In
one of "Power Among Men" 's
most effective scenes, the expert
bends' down and begins pitching
rocks out of the field. The peasants
laugh incredulously. He is joined
by the government agent, while
the peasants fairly howl with
laughter.
Then one of their number be-
gins to help, and before long all
have pitched in.
* * *
CONTRAST is an integral aspect
of the film's success: contrast be-
tween the black-and-white used
in Italy in '46 and the color used
11 years later, for example. Per-
haps the most effective contrast is

that between the second episode
and the third.
In it, a Canadian with a gift
for understatement narrates the
creation in the British Columbian
wilderness of a lake 130 miles long,
a hydro - electric station in the
heart of a mountain, and an alu-
minum plant a mile and a half
long to use some of the power
generated.
A bustling town grows up for
the aluminum workers, a town of
Hungarians, Portuguese, Germans,
Italians and other immigrants,
There is again, tremendous poten-
tial and tremendous stress to go
with it.
* . *
IN THE FOUR'TH episode, a,

Norwegian who believes atomic
energy inherently dangerous is
shown through an atomic energy
laboratory near his home.
He sees Dutch, Indian, Danish'
and Yugoslav scientists working
with Norwegians in non-secret re-
search. The viewer is shown both
the beneficial ends of this research
--the atomic ships Lenin and Sa-
vannah and a little Russia girl
whose disfiguring tumor disap-
pears-and the ghastly misuse to
which it has been put, in the form
of nuclear weapons.
* r* *
THESE FOUR episodes are in-
troduced and concluded by, the
inscrutable faces of Hindu, Greek,
Olmec, Buddhist and Egyptian

sculpture, and tied together by
scenes of ruined civilizations in
many parts of the world. The fine
score by Virgil Thomson is like-
wise a major unifying factor.
The film ends with narrator
Laurence Harvey repeating Shake-
speare's words: "What a piece of
work is man! how noble in reason!
how infinite in faculty! in form
and moving how express and ad-
mirable! in action, how like an
angel! in apprehension, how like
a god!"
"Power Among Men" is as elo-
quent a statement of the decision
before humanity as exists, and as
such is a fitting adjunct to Inter-
national Week.'

0

, I

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