NEW EMPHASIS: SGC Reading Program Positive Achievement Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. DAY, DECEMBER 4, 1959 NIGHT EDITOR: JEAN HARTWIG By STEPHANIE ROUMELL Daily Staff Writer ALTHOUGH the SGC election count hit an all-time low this fall, other SGC activities had net wide response. The SGC Reading and Discussion program is one such activity. The program was first attempted last year; the summer reading list was made available to students and discussion sessions over the books were held in the fall. But the results were disheartening for only a small number of students participated in the readings or discussions. But far from discarding the pro- ject this year, SGC st about plan- ning and presenting a list of books and a group of professors to lead the discussions that would capture the student's interest to a greater degree. *.* SGC MEMBER Roger Season- wein, in charge of the program, chose both the books and the pro- fessors to discuss them subjective- ly. Rather than systematically go- ing through the various academic departments and choosing a book and a professor from each, he instead sat back and made a men- tal list of the books of current and general importance that he himself wanted to read and know more about. In choosing faculty members, he gave thought to those who were somewhat related with the book but also he thought about those he was most interested in hearing and seeing on a more informal basis than the classroom. s* THUS 400 students went home last summer and read the seven intellectually stimulating books and returned this fall to hAve competent faculty members ex- pound on their leisure reading. The meeting place of the semi- nars-the honors lounge of the Undergraduate Library - was well chosen. Special permission from Prof.. Robert Angell of the soi- ology department to use it was obtained. It was felt that the library would not be out of any- one's, way and that people going by could drop in on the discussion. THE HONORS lounge lent an informal atmosphere with every- one sitting around the long, cen- tral table and the professor at the head of it usually delivering i short lecture and then leading the discussion. Professors relaxed and students relaxed, freely entering into the give and take discussion- for once having read the assign- ment beforehand. * * * PROFESSORS were sometimes chosen not for their direct relation to the subject but for a unique slant they could bring to bear on it. Profs. Marston Bates and Law- rence Slobodkin, both of the zool- ogy department, led the seminar, "What Basis for Morality?" This discussion was purposely scheduled on a night with several activities happening _on campus, such as Bette Davis at Hill Audi- torium. The intention was to keep the attendance low so that the majority present could participate in the discussion. But some fifty people packed the honors lounge and a surprisingly large number of them actively participated in the discussion. Encouraged by the success of this year's program, SGC is al- ready planning ways to broaden the scope of subjects and selecting likely professors to lead the talks. * * * STUDENT Government Council, then, is showing itself to be by no means -an inactive or a useless organization although the area of its activitiy has perhaps shifted in recent years. The reversal on the SGC Sigma Kappa decision last year convinced the campus, if not SGC itself, that it lacks strength as legislative body. But legislation is only one facet of student government's activity. Indeed, it is but one facet of any government's activity. And now a large part of SGC's efforts seem concentrated on adding to the educational advantages of the campus. The Reading and Discus- sion Program is one example of this, the Independent Study pro- gram is another. For one reason or another, the character of most organization shift and change, and recently SGC found good reason to change the character of its emphasis from legislation. But the' new Ifocus of its activities is constructive and the organization still deserves the support of the student body-a support shown by the recent elec- tion's low ballot returns, to be wavering immensely. Musket's .'Carousel' Wobbles THE FIRST performance of MUSKET's 1959 production of "Carousel" emphasized the need for more rigorous direction and, in the first place, for more careful consideration of the choice of show. Any musical requires equal excellen.e' in the acting, mime, movement and dancing as in the singing. In these respects "Carou- sel" was a dangerously ambitious choice; while it undeniably pro- vided an entertaining evening, it did not seem to- achieve the suc- zess which Musket's energies and talents deserved. Technically the production lacked smoothness and precision. The lighting in particular on the first night varied from the eclectic to the nonexistent. Light spilled onto the side flats and the cyclo- rama was an arabesque of dis- tracting shadows. Billy's "Solil- oquy" which closes the first half demands to be sung in a concen- trated area of light, but was played on a stage generally and dully lit. The scene changes of the last half, which owing to the play's disjointed construction are neces- sarily frequent, were executed slowly and the orchestra did not even' attempt to disguise such delays, but allowed the audience' to enjoy the ghastly silences un- disturbed. The lack of precision was further emphasized by stray glimpses of stage crew slipping into Julie's cottage by the back door and removing chairs in broad daylight * * *, THE SIZE of the stage itself imposed severe limitations. Despite the evident singing abilities of the chorus, their acting and movement in a limited area was often uneven, tentative and at times wooden. The opening "Carousel Waltz,"' SENIOR COLUMN: 1 Student ActivitiesMachine V HE CONTROVERSIAL student pub closed its doors and faded into obscurity, the irate member of the clergy was put quietly' to rest in his grave and the dry days of Prohibition came and went. But the antiquated "East of Division Beer Ban" still remains. The reason why it does lies buried somewhere in the slowly yellowing records of the Ann' Arbor City Coun- cil. But the liquor drinker has had an even rougher time. With the end of the Volstead Prohibition Act era in sight, the liquor drinker wetted his lips in anticipation of a smooth Manhattan, mixed by an experienced bar- Who. "THEY'RE trying to get us to push the panic button," State Senator John, Smeekens (R-Coldwater) said yesterday about the State' Administrative Board's worry over the tax crisis. "The Governor and the Administrative Board haven't had dime store clerk experience in run- ning a billion-dollar state government ,business." Just who has the dime. store clerk atti- tude toward state government, Senator Smeekens? CONNOISSEURS of the "hard stuff" resigned themselves to their fate, drove a few miles out of town to more progressive communities and weaved home with a contented "I'll show them" smile on their faces. Students mixed their own in the seclusion of their apartments and package liquor stores took on extra help to handle the youthful load. Restaurants of a more sophisticated nature moved out of town in order to have cocktail lounges and the Ann Arbor community was left with second-rate eateries. ! -Now twenty-five owners of local restau- rants and bars have formed a corporation, the Ann Arbor Licensee's Association, to finally do something about the archiac "No Liquor by the Glass" ruling. Opposition to their drive will probably be limited to conservative tee- totalers, elderly Ann Arbor spinsters and other citizens of the Prohibition era type. SUPPORT OF THE "wet" proposal should; come from the student body-sick of being considered adolescents incapable of downing a highball without "corrupting their morals." And then there is the argument that adopting the "Liquor by the Glass" proposal will remove part of the drinking from apartments and move it into bars where the University would have closer tabs on the students. The Ann Arbor chapter of Alcoholics Anony- mous would certainly be able to handle the " excessive" element that the Womens' Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) will probably raise their feminine whines against. ' The days of Prohibition, speakeasies and hip pocket flasks faded with the Model A Ford. It's time for a "dry" Ann Arbor to wake up and realize that being "wet" isn't so bad after all. -BARTON HUTHWAITE Features Editor By JOAN KAATZ Magazine Editor ACADEMICS vs. Student A ties? - this pertinent que will be posed tomorrow at annual Student-Faculty-Adm tration Conference. Undoubtedly the topic wi related in certain acpects tov some call "the decline in stu activities this year" and o refer to as "what increased demic pressures have done to dent organizations." But one can only wonder i real problem of the decline- does exist-lies in increased; demis studies or is it inheren the nature of the specific acti WITH THE increasing siz the University and its wide d sity of students, the respons ties and scope of any single tivity must necessarily incr This is most accurately exhi in the development of the ide student government. This concept, as embodie Student Legislature, implied; ernment in the form of repr tation of student opinion wit real legislative power. In the dent Government Council, the of responsibility was expande ctivi- stion the Linis- 11 be what ident thers aca- EACH LEAGUE Executive Coun- stu- -il member is in charge of one realm of League activities. Within f the these areas are committees and -if it these are subdivided into specific aca- activities which are further re- nt in duced to committees within the ivity? activity. Large masses of bureaucracy ze of are thus developing within all stu- iver- dent activities.' ibili- And the student involved in any ac- one organization begins to feel ease. insignificant as he invades this bited machine-like structure. Limits are ea of set on all his ideas, and he begins to lose any desire for creativity. d in Like most machines, this then, gov- may be what is lacking in student esen- activities - the human element ;hout with all its ramifications of in- Stu- spiration, creativity and enthusi- area asm. d be- But student enthusiasm and unique ideas are lacking. The or- ganization man sees insurmount- able obstacles to any real discus- sion and resolutionof the issues: "It's not a problem for students to resolve;" "Does the student body really want action on this issue;" "Are we prepared to un- yond the reception of opinion to acting upon that opinion. Enlarged scope and responsi- bility naturally forces the activity to function with more care and organization than previously. Be- cause of this, bureaucratic pro- cedures are highly developed and the resulting red tape is frighten- ing. S* * * PERHAPS one way of breaking the tie of the activities man to the red tape is by narrowing the scope of each organization. Groups should try to deal thoroughly in two or three areas rather than irregularly in several. Activities which 'the organiza- tions continue to sponsor because of their traditional value and not because of their wide support could be eliminated and replaced with new interrelated functions in one area. Why not replace the sev- eral dying dances with another big successful weekend such as Michigrasr A second approach might be to relate the activities more specifi- cally with academic areas. Each organization could undertake the planning of functions dealing with specific schools and colleges. This would entail a complete reorganization and redirection of, all campus activities but it might relieve the problem of academic pressures driving student out of the Union and into the Library. EACH OF THESE suggestions would create more opportunity for student thought and reduce some of the administrative problems involved in the many all-campus activities. The groups' scope would be reduced. allowing more time for developing new ideas. If the decline in activities ex- ists, as most student organiza- tions cry, then students must either accept it or devise a new solution. Perhaps the latter :will begin to put the dynamic human element into the student activities machinery. colorful and exciting, was spoiled by clumsy grouping and posi- tioning and the animated mime of the amusement park was at times awkward and forced: the impres- sion was primarily one of students trying hard rather than of New Englanders having themselves a ball. Grouping and positioning were the poorest aspects of this produc- tion. Bill's death was staged too far to one side and the regimented line of spectators on the other disastrous The first half closed with Billy almost off right and Jigger appearing diffidently left- neither emphasized, if they had to be far apart, by spotlights. It was also strange that "When Children Are Asleep" was also played practically offstage. * * * THAT THIS SONG was one of the best moments of the evening was due to the brilliantly assured performances of Judy Heric as Carrie Pipperidge and Jack O'Brien as Enoch Snow. Both moved well, sang well, 'and, even when singing, acted well. Both maintained' throughout the eve- ring a quite professional presence, and Snow's Hulot-like first scene was hilarious. Neither Jerry Lawrence as Billy Bigelow nor Diane Franjac as Julie Jordan possessed this final polish and confidence, although their performances were well sung 'and acted; in the csse of Bigelow the acting was not sufficiently sus- tained during the "songs. Robert Denison's Starkeeper, a non-sing- ing role, was a delightful cameo. THE CHOREOGRAPHY showed exciting ideas, but the men were generally unable to execute them and apart from the ballet (where Ann Weldon as Louise was de- lightful) the dancers never had enough room and seemed to lack sufficient rehearsal. The orches- tra's tempi were erratic and often slow - congratulations to Muriel Greenspon for managing finally to liven up the opening number of the last half. Ed La- mance, the conductor, could also well have smoothed out certain of the awkward phrasings in the songs. The final onus with a musical is upon the coordinating handof the director. This, I think, was largely unapparent. Although Clarence Stephenson could draw upon good singing, costumes and such scenery as space allowed, he somehow failed to integrate the principals, chorus (as singers and actors), dancers and above all the orchestra. Such is the consequence of attempting such a difficult show, which my program informs me is 'Now a significant part of our rich heritage in the American Theatre.' -John Dixon Hunt I,, LDAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN GC IN REVIEW: Meeting: Shows I'mmaturity IT IS A SAD situation when more Tesponsi- bility and maturity are shown by new mem- bers of an organiation than by the old guard, but with Student Government Council this seems to be the case. Wednesday night can serve as a good ex- ample. In one of the shortest meetings of the last year, motions were taken up, discussed, and disposed of quickly, without much time being wasted. If this had been the entire sub- stance of the meeting it would have been an important step forward, in efficiency, but it wasn't, IN MEMBERS' time, one Council member saw fit to attack mispelled words in the freshman English proposal. His purpose seemed to point out that little time was spent on the motion. While this might have been true, his attitude was a purely negative one. Matters such as this can only make new Council members hesitant to bring up ideas in the future. IT SEEMS strange that members of the Coun- cil, after fighting for more power and re- About the only significant motion to come out of the meeting was the one dealing with the .Student Book Exchange. But here the important question seems to be not whether a project to sell new books is legal but whether this is a proper function for SGC to become involved in. With the selling of new books, the aspect of commercialism creeps in no matter how much the service aspect is stressed. Under the present system of acting as an agent for the students wishing to sell their books the service angle can't be questioned. IN A UNIVERSITY such as this one, service projects such as the bike auction and the SBX are good because of the money saved for the student. Now instead of selling their books to a bookstore for a small fraction of the original cost they are able to sell them to other students and receive a large share of their investment. But with the Council selling new books, it would be hard for the student to save more than 40 or 50 cents on a book; and even then the plan is only to sell a fraction of the books 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. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1959 VOL. LXX, NO. 60 General Notices Astronomy Dept. Visitors' Night: Fri., Dec. 4, 8:00 p.m., Rm. 2003 Angell Hall. Dr. Lawrence H. Aller will speak on "The Moon." After the lecture the Stu- dent Observatory on the fifth floor of Angell Hall will be open for inspection and for telescopic observations of the Moon, Double Star and Orion Nebula. Children welcomed, but must be ac-, companied by adults. Women Students who do not shave a housing commitment for the spring semester may apply now at the Office of the Dean of Women, 1011 SAB, for residence hall or supplementary hous- ing. U.S. Rubber Co. Foundation Schol- arship applications are now available. This scholarship is open to students who have completed at least two years of college and have plans for a career in industry. Selection made on the basis of academic achievement, finan- cial need, leadership, and educational goal. Recipients must be willing to as- sume moral obligation to repay over a reasonable period at least 25 per cent of the scholarship aid. Stipends are variable to fit individual need factors. Applications may be obtained at the Scholarship Office, 2011 SAB. They should be returned no later than Dec. 11 to be assured of consideration. The Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments will be open on Tuesdays and Fridays from 3 to 4 p.m. Enter at East Circle Drive (across from the League). Last Day -- for January graduates to order commencement announcements. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., SAB. students who are blood descendants of American veterans of World War IL Application forms may be obtained at 2011 Student Activities Bldg. The following student-sponsored so- cial events have been approved for the coming weekend. Social chairmen are reminded that requests for approval for social events are due in the Office of Student Affairs not later than 12 noon on Tuesday prior-to the event. Dec. 4: Alpha Chi Sigma, Alpha Gam- ma Delta, Betsy Barbour Hse., Blagdon Hse., Helen Newberry, Jordan & Adams Hses., ;Kleinstueck Hse., Phi Delta Phi, Phi Mu, Williams Hse., Zeta Tau Al- pha, Phi Sigma Delta. Dec. 5: (one o'clock closing hour) Al- pha Delta Phi, Alpha Tau Omega, Chi Phi, Chi Psi, Delta Chi, Delta Sigma Phi, Delta Tau Delta, Delta Upsilon, Greene Hse., Lambda Chi Alpha, Mich. Christian Fellowship, Nu Sigma Nu, Phi Chi, Phi Delta Phi, Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Kappa Tau, Philippine-Mich. Club, Pi Lambda Phi, Psi Upsilon, Sigma Alpha Mu, Sigma Nu, Stockwell Hall, Tau Delta Phi, Triangle, Zeta Psi, Delta Sigma Pi. Summary action taken by SGC at its meeting Dec. 2. Approved minutes of previous meet- Ing. Approved the following appoint. ments: IFC-IHC Joint Rush Committee - Tom Turner; Regents' By-laws Com- mittee - Bret Bissel, Babs Miller, Phil Power, Phil Zook; Nat'l and Internat'i Committee - M.A. Shah, Associate Chairman; Education and Student Welfare Committee - Babs Miller, As- sociate Chairman; Student Activities Committee - Jeff Jenks, Associate Chairman; Cinema Guild ,- 1 year (un- til next Dec.) - Rochelle Goodman, Jeff Jenks, Norris B. Lyle, Anne C. Speer; 1 semester (until this coming May) - Maxine Apple, Marc Allen Za- goren. Received financial report as of Nov. 30. Defeated motion to rescind Nov. 5 action authorizing mailing of minutes to housing units. Calendared Tax Crisis debate (pre- viously approved) for Dec. 3 in the Multi-Purpose Rm., Undergrad. Library. Approved placement of suggestion dertake this job;" and "Isn't this a job of another organization." Sharpest Needle of All 'Y 'l ,,>xy it r- ° . x# ._.