"Never Mimi the Fine Print. Now, over Here-" 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 "When 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. THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 1960 NIGHT EDITOR: KENNETH McELDOWNEY College Boards at Michigan: lu estionable Prosnect THE SHADOW of the omnipotent College En- trance Examination Boards is moving west. The University is the most recent major edu- cational institution to add its vote to the IBM- score oriented student selection process. For the literary college has just taken the first steps towards a major change in admissions policy, a change 'eventually requiring CEEB aptitude tests and three achievement tests of every Lit School applicant for admission. This program, which will begin on a trial basis in 1961, is an attempt to solve some of the College's selection problems. Whether it does or does not, it will inevitably raise several others. TH E ADVANTAGES of the step are fairly obvious. By requiring the aptitude tests and the achievement tests in English Composition and one other subject, the college sets up for the local and national high schools an objective criteria by which they can set their standards. Long disturbed by the absymal state of second- ary education in Michigan, the admissions people find the idea of an outside standard a very appealing one. The new requirements supposedly, will com- bat the system which creates "over-achievers," students who are not really capable of doing college work, but who when pushed to full capacity in high school by an interested family and school faculty, appear on their records to be better than they really are. HE PROGRAM will also give the college its first opportunity to judge its in-state stu- d~nts by national standards. While this may prove somewhat of a shock to them, it may also help to tighten up the admissions require- ments before the onslaught of war babies arrives. Another of the objectives stated in the mem- orandum sent to Vice-President Niehuss by the Admissions Committee, is the improvement of the Freshman introductory courses, which pres- ently tend to duplicate much high school ma- terial. If the College can require a certain minimum proficiency in English and mathe- matics, the level of several freshman courses could be raised considerably, by eliminating the nonsensical preliminaries which bore the in- telligent student- and can hold back an entire class due to a lack of basic information. These advantages are distinct, and appar- ently irresistable. Empirically, this plan may prove a partial solution to all of these prob- lems. Philosophically, its basis is questionable. THE CEEB has, especially in recent years, gained overwhelming importance. In some U nicamneral Ho ONE OF TH E BASES of any democratic gov- ernment is a compromise on the question of majority rule and minority rights. There is ,now a compromise written in the state Consti- tution; if the Democratic-backed unicameral legislation plan were approved, there would cease to be the necessary compromise. Since tie compromise is necessary, the Democratic plan must be attacked for it seeks to subvert the democratic process while masquerading under the banner of "increased democracy." The plan is unworkable in Michigan mostly because of the well-known quirk that puts close to half the population of the state in three southeastern counties. This bloc of course would have a dominant position in any new unicameral body elected on a Mtate-wide basis. THE UPSHOT would be that the outstate areas would lose their present dominance in the Senate, and probably most of their lever- age in the state government. The accusation runs that the Lansing government would be of, for and by Detroit. And this seems all too true, for majorities have a habit of forgetting they are not complete. The problems of the farm areas are not those of the assembly line, and neither are the desires. Both areas must be served, however, since a government is of all the people. The land apportionment of the Senate provides the protection the outstate areas need. THE DETROIT majority has shown little evi- dence it will worry at' all about the outstate private colleges, it is often the main basis for enrollment selection, or at least more important than any other single element. Because of this, the Eastern high schools and especially the private preparatory schools undergo a mounting tension at college board time, a tension almost intolerable to students and faculty. The voice of Princeton (CEEB headquarters) becomes the voice of God. The high school seniors look upon College Board weekend as a kind of intellectual judge- ment day, during which all their information, skill and knowledge is put to the final test; where they either survive or fall. This kind of testing can fundamentally change the whole attitude of teachers and stu- dents toward the meaning and method of edu- cation. Creative, subjective study becomes less and less important in a scholastic world domi- nated by the shadow of the massive objective type, or semi-essay exam where the main judgement criteria is the number of specific facts that one can spew forth. In this atmosphere, the student with a good memory and an ability to guess effectively rates higher than the student who is vague on facts but who has amazing, or even simply worth- while creative ability. ANOTHER SERIOUS deficiency of the college Board exams is their inability to distinguish the incapable student from the'student of ex- traordinary intelligence whose mind does rot happen to be oriented to objective testing. This sort of student is the one who sees too many possibilities in a multiple choice selection and can't manage to figure out exactly what simple choice. the examiner wants him to make. This student presents at least as much of a problem as the over-achiever, and may possibly be more important in the end. The ultimate outcome of admissions choices by college board exams appears to be a uniform sort of school, populated by vast numbers of verbally facile, factually-oriented young men and wome nof a second rate intelligence. And a dull sort of static place it would be. It must be noted that the Lit School is not attempting to make the college boards the main, or even the most important admissions criterion. But these aims may not be followed through completely. The college boards present a simple means of measurement, and as the pressure of college applicants becomes greater, the admissions people may place more and more weight on the CEEB results. And this could be most unfortunate. -FAITH WEINSTEIN use Unworkable areas, and this seems to be what makes the new idea invalid as an answer to the repre- sentation problem. The new legislature would be no doubt rather liberal with a distinct ten- dency to over-legislate. Such policies might serve the Detroit electorate in the short run, but certainly would not cope with outstate needs and desires. B UT IF THE LARGE city Democratic party can be accused of attempting to railroad an undemocraitc proposal through the next elec- tion, the Republicans can be accused of setting the stage for such a proposal to even be made. Because they have shown, in their turn, little regard for the needs of the large urban popu- lation of the southeast, the Democrats are ready to resort to such a plan as a unicameral legislature to break out of the somewhat reac- tionary dominance of the rural areas . . . in the Senate at least. The present plan is not working as well as it should, while the proposed unicameral legis-. lature is somewhat unthinkable. The latter is undemocratic and the former has bogged down because of unrealistic attitudes of the legisla- tors and their constituents. A moderate com- promise is needed to restore the briginal intent of the bicameral system. The Republicans must realize the nineteenth century is long-over, and the Democrats that it is not yet 1984. -PHILIP SHERMANl Consolation? ACCORDING to figures given out recently by a member of the Joint Judiciary Council, about 95, per cent of the cases brought before the Council result in a decision that the accused is actually guilty. Of course, as this member pointed out, Joint Judie does its best not to consider such facts as previous convictions in city or state courts for the same offense, or the fact that the Dean's office has screened the cases and only sends those they think probably involving of- fenses to Joint Judic. z :: wIAtE o RO q pICK(JIL111F 011QT tAA n To The Editor (EDITOR'S NOTE: The following letter was received by a professor at the University from a student in one of his courses. Having obtained per- mission from both the professor and the student writer, The Daily presents the following discussion of exam ethics.) Exam Files ... Dear Professor: THIS LETTER is being written as a result of something that has been painfully brought to my attention. It concerns the method of examination which exists in your class. Through questioning and just plain boasting by various students it seems that some of the students in the class have the answers before the exam is given. Their answers have been garnered from previously 4 :: " ' " t « J ?, ;: ,f a : , ;.. ._r: - 4 fi: iS S X . J , , j~ 'rte says rw ' -. ' '' s r I s ' ' , ; r given exams taken by their fel- low fraternity and sorority mem- bers. The exam file, is a time-honored method of study and preparation at this University. All fraterni- ties and sororities maintain ex- tensive files. Even the library in cooperation with SGC has an exam file. These exam files can and do serve their purpose as an aid of study, but their use can be put to another end. This end re- quires the unknowing cooperation of the professor in the course. If the professor gives the same exam or approximately the same exam, the student who has carefully cov- ered the previously given exams. in the course is at a distinct ad- vantage. IF, AS YOU have indicated, a grading standard is set for each question on the basis of the con- tent of the best answers and all others are then graded according to the best and most complete an- swers, the student who has pre- vious knowledge has a advan- tage. He can, by knowing the question in advance, arrange his facts so that they may even go beyond the scope of the question thereby raising the standard for that question. His study can be concentrated on only those areas that he knows the questions will cover while ignoring the rest of the material. On the first exam given in your course, I believe that you stated that there were nine A's. Of these nine students, four boasted, and seriously, that they studied one hour and forty minutes. They stated further that they had not. read the text or the outside read- ings except to add or gain addi- tional facts to complete a question found on a previously given exam. They also mentioned that seven or eight of the questions were car- bon copies of previously given questions or at least were altered so slightly in wording that it made no difference in the answer. On the second exam, three of the four, that I know of, again got A's using the same method. Another student upon receipt of his returned bluebook answered his neighbor's cry of, "You got an A," by glibly saying, "What the hell did you expect? I had practically the whole test from the files." * * * FOR THESE reasons I am sub- mitting a request. Simply stated: will you please change or radical- SEVEN ARTS: Jazz from the Outside (EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the fifth in a series of ,articles dealing with theasoco-psychological aspects of jazz by Mr. Young.). DR. MARSHALL Stearns in his fine book "The Story of Jazz" (Oxford University Press, 1958), suggests that jazz is much more than a "protest" music. Why else would it appeal to groups outside of Negroes, intellectuals and ado- lescents? "Of these three groups," writes Stearns, "the adolescents are the most significant because 'the psy- chological fountainhead of jazz is the psychology of the adolescent.' For jazz, like no other art in our culture, involves conflicting atti- tudes that seem to be made-to- order for the adolescent . . . Be- coming a fanatical jazz 'aficiona- ado' is a ... way to protest against his parents and society (he knows they hate the stuff)}. On the other hand, he .now belongs to a tight little group of fellow sympathiz- ers; he is one of a cult with ready-made opinions upon which, he can depend .. . and he feels independent, too, because he (and the rest of the gang) have become intolerant partisans of a music nobody else seems to like or en- joy. (This can lead to a dog-in- the-manger attitude which auto- matically casts doubt upon any- one else's interest in jazz . .)" What about the person who takes to jazz during adolescence, matures, gets married, has chil- dren and still goes on liking jazz? Is there something psychological- ly unsound about this kind of in- dividual? Is he still a "rebel" even with his mature interest in the music? * * * YOU SEE, the theory of jazz as a music of protest can only be carried so far. It is true that jazz- men, in producing their music, often cross racial and religious lines, but making no big scene out of it. It is true that many jazz- men have found in the music an expression of individuality that wouldn't be found in the eight- to-five world of a regimented so- ciety. Jazz is marvelous in this respect since it offers a way for both the individual artist and the group to participate jointly in the creative act. But it must be remembered that when Art Blakey takes a drum solo during the performance of a number, he isn't necessarily saying, "White man, loosen my shackles!" He may just as well be saying, "This is for that cute chick sitting in the front row out there," or "Wish this gig was over so I could go home to see my kid." More often than not, the musician. is merely enjoying himself-much as a dancer or listener would -- "knocking himself out," as it were. * * * THE REVEREND Alvin L. Ker- shaw (remember the minister who won all that money on TV's "$64,- 000 Question"?) has expressed his views about jazz quite eloquently. He writes, "True jazz . . . is for me far more an act of worship poem-making, is a "p r o t e s t" against the exigencies of life and the weaknesses in men and their ways of living that make these exigencies. Listen to jazz closely enough and you'll find out quite a little about joy and sadness and how the two can't be separated. It is interesting that of all the ethnic and social groups to which jazz has appealed most, it is the staid, American middle class that has kept its ears closed longest. Does this mean that jazz is a mu- sic for the lower-income groups and "intellectuals?" Or does it mean that the middle class is be- ing slow, as usual, in accepting any manner of social change and the change in mores which may result. Contemporary jazz certain- ly reflects changes in human re- lations that have taken place in the past quarter century =-the crossing of cultures, the exchange of cultural elements. , * * IT HAS BEEN suggested by the psychologists that many Ameri- cans still associate jazz with the old speakeasy days, and immoral living. The modern jazzman bias done a fine job of smashing the myth that he is, innately, an il- literate, undisciplined alcoholic or narcotics addict. In fact, he has gone out of his way to prove to the public that he is as good as anyone else. Today's professional jazz musician is usu- ally equipped with a technical musical background that is as good as the "serious" musician's. Personally, I think that he is more fertile intellectually than the classical musician who is too often bone-dry in personality and interests other than performing. (FRIDAY: "Judgment Day") ly alter the questions on the third test and the final exam so that they do not resemble previously given '.questions. In this way, all students in the class will have the same chance. Name Withheld by Request Law Enforcement? ... To the Editor: PERFORMING with his usual amount of skillful detective work, the University detective stalked a number of vicious law- breakers and captured them in the act of committing their henious ' crimes over the past weekend. The criminals? A number of fraternities. The crime? Holdin, unregistered parties in their houses, at which (horror of hor- ° rors) alcoholic beverages were con- sumed. Now, the awesome power of the University will be demon- strated and respect for the law of the land will reign. S* * NO MORE will these fraternities have drinking in their houses - they will drink in apartments. And our school law enforcement will have proven itself effective??? But if this is the sort of thing to which the University wants to assign its detectives, then it ob- viously must be right. Such a. minor thing as the cleaning up of sex deviants in the buildings of the school itself (left to the Ann Arbor police) can be left alone, so that time can be devoted to things of 'major' importance. -Name Withheld by Request POLITICS:- HoI use Problems By JEAN HARTWIG Daily Staff writer LASTWEEK'S' radical Demo- erotic proposal for a unicam- eral legislature raised the hackles of state politicians of both par- ties. Although the idea was the result of a detailed study by a special subcommittee of the Dem- ocratic State Central Committee which considered a number of re- apportionment plans, it emerged as a shock to everyone. Theoretically, such a legislature should prove .the most efficient type. Since both parties would be rep- rseented in the proposed house, political differences would be thoroughly hashed out. Legisla- tion would undoubtedly move much faster since these wrangles would take place only in one house without the necessity of approval by two separate bodies. * * * COMMUNICATION difficulties would also be eliminated with such a unicameral system, since debate would be limited to only one group. Administrative and secretarial costs would also be cut down, reducing the drain on the state's notoriously slim budget. If representation were based on populatidn, as the new plan calls for, it would unquestionably be fair, since each citizen's vote would have equal value. * * * UNFORTUNATELY, tradition and practical politics are against such a change. The bicameral system is firmly entrenched in American thinking, From the days of the first federal Constitutional Convention, bicam- eralims has been associated with the tradition of freedom and de- mocracy. It is based on a reliance on slow and careful deliberation and is a foundation of the "checks and balances system." It is an example of the "great American compromise" between urban and rural groups. But practical, Machiavellian politics, not tradition, is the mo- tivation of stateRepresentatives and Senators -who have loudly protested the new measure. Both Republicans and Democrats real- ize that a one-house system would be slanted in favor of the popu- lous Detroit area at the expense of the more sparsely populated areas, especially the Upper Penin- sula. While Detroit is heavily~ Demo- cratic, out-state party-members oppose the measure for their own self-preservation. They see their House and Senate seats slipping away with the cut-down resulting from a one-house system. * * * a. SWASTIKA SMEARINGS: Old Problem Confronts A Revitalized Germany By CAROLINE DOW Daily Staff Writer FEW WEEKS ago, several youths sought an answer in Nazism to the Communist threat and smeared a swastika on a syn- agogue Christmas Eve. If they had in mind a call to Nazi colors, they should have waited till Easter be- cause they were crucifying their own cause. If spite of the handicap of hav- ing to gather al their information on the Nazi era. by osmosis, be- cause of the reluctance of their elders to teach them their mis- leadings, the youth of Germany do recognize anti-Semitism as a crime against humanity that will not bear repeating. If anything, they are carrying a guilt com- plex for their parents' deeds and will swing violently in the other direction at the faintest whiff of active anti-Semitism. The furor over the first swastika smearing incident aroused others but there is no reason to think that this in- dicates a planned anti-Semitic campaign. These were probably individual expressions of preju- dices unresolved from the Nazi era. The real problem lies not in the anti-Semitic outbreak but in Germany's reaction as well as the rest of the world. THERE IS bound to be linger- ing anti-Semitism in Germany. An attitude of generations cannot be wiped out by one defeat in war. However, there is an understand- ing that anti-anything will not help their position. That they realize their mistake is exempli- fied in Germany's willing restitu- tiops to Israel and even more in the tremendous popular reception to create a troubled atmosphere.. A Communist agent could easily paint a few swastikas in a town and then, in the hysteria, get a local "McCarthy" to malign a former Nazi who was opposing his actions. Reacting to a latent Nazi Rightist danger, a community or country could easily swing to the left, directly into the Soviet line. The recently-proposed purge of former Nazis in the German gov- ernment could easily take on the appearance of a vendetta. Almost all Germany was Nazi once and capable men rise tohthe top under. any regime. The fact that a man was a Nazi does not necessarily mean that he still believes in Nazi ideology. To just sweep out all former Nazis indiscriminately would seriously weaken the Ger- man government at a time when it most needs tall the leadership it can muster. An investigation of unreformed Nazis would not be out of place since Germany is most anxious to prove that she is cured of Nazism and all its im- plications. And it would be good to clear out all the actually dan- gerous elements in Germany. * * * BUT THIS would have to be handled ultra-carefully to avoid making the Nazi hunt a re-enact-, ment of the witch hunts of Salem or the more recent McCarthy in- vestigations. Prejudice is a problem, yes, but Germany has learned her lesson with anti-Semitism. We should be on the watch for rising mob hys- teria, yes, but this time it is anti- Nazi hysteria and the innocent Germans who must be protected. g $ g t t Editorial Staff THOMAS TURNER, Editor PHILIP POWER ROBERT JUNKER Editorial Director City Editor CHARLES KOZOLL ............ Personnel Director JOAN KAATZ.. <...... ,....,........ Magazine Editor BARTON HUT IWAITE .,.,,...... Features Editor JIM BENAGH .......................... Sports Editor JAMES BOW.. ........,.Associate City Editor PETER DAWSON.............. Contributing Editor FRED KATZ .....,,. Associate Sports Editor DAVE LYON ................. Associate Sports Editor