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Eighty-one years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
futures past
Appealing to Fleming on classified research
1w dave chudwin
ai v a Lvtr v w aw a x sn . yaw v v .. u a s
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.
News Phone: 764-0552
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1971
. NIGHT EDITOR: MARK DILLENI
Moratorium: An anachronism
DESPITE ALL EFFORTS to stop it, the
war in Vietnam continues. U.S. troop
strength there remains in the hundreds
of thousands, and an unpopular regime
reminiscent of the one which originally;
spawned the war is now being given a
greater capacity to destroy its people and
land than any nation of its size has ever
had.
At the same time, demonstrable anti-
war sentiment in this country has slipped
to its lowest level in years. The small
turnout for last week's moratorium is
ample evidence of that. People still hope
the war will end, but the spirit of most
are down to the point where they have
given up fighting.
In other words, the war has been de-
fused as a political issue, and people still
interested in expediting an end to it have
been left wondering how opposition can
now be re-established. The first step in
doing this though is surely to determine
how the current wave of apathy has come
about.
All to easily, it seems, this has been
attributed to President Nixon's trickery
in using things like television and the
nation's police forces. But there seems
little basis for these claims, since Nixon
has done nothing more to combat anti-
war activity than might have been ex-
pected from him in advance. Instead, he
only seems politically adept compared to
his bungling predecessor.
A MORE REALISTIC .path to rebuilding
a peace movement therefore lies in
a reevaluation of both the goals and
tactics of the present movement. For
when this is done, a realistic analysis
shows that the peace movement's demise
may well have been caused by its own
blindness and stupidity.
How has this occurred? First of all, it
has happened because the peace move-
ment traditionally has been prone to
raising false hopes among its participants.
Seizing upon the trend toward demonstra-
tions as a political technique, it encour-
aged, the belief that massive marches
throughout the country would have sig-
nificant effects upon our foreign policy.
The whole idea of using large demon-
strations was predicated on the belief
that the war was being pushed by polit-
ical men, who could be forced to change
their ways through political attacks.
However, the reality of the matter i
that the war is much larger than politics
in this country.
It has been prosecuted under each of
the last four presidents, and their actions
were not capricious, but clear corollaries
to the policies of their predecessors. It
transcends parties, in the same way it
transcends the presidency and the Con-
gress.
Rather than being political, the war
has its roots deep in the economic system
of this country, and its supporters include
such non-political agencies as the mili-
tary, the FBI, and the CIA-all of which
are freed to pursue the policies of their
choosing by the cultural myth which
paints them as indefagitable guardians of
"freedom." Thus, the war could hardly be
stopped just by putting pressure on the
political wings of the government.
PUT EVEN IF the war could have been
stopped through political pressure, the
current movement could hardly have
chosen a worse tactic than using large
demonstrations to capture the eye of the
nation through the media. For clearly
there is no man with easier access to the
media than the president, and thus there
is no tactic that could have been out-
flanked so easily by the government as a
media campaign. Through just plain poor
judgment, therefore, the movement sim-
ply crippled itself.
If the movement has any ground to
defend itself on, it usually points' to the
fact that it has raised the consciousness
of the country concerning the existence
of the war. And to some extent, this has
certainly been true. However, it is ex-
tremely'important for us to realize at this
point that the movement has NOT edu-
cated people about how to stop the war.
And this failing has not only been un-
fortunate, it has been downright trecher-
ous.
For by miseducating the people into
are coming out to publicly reaffirm their
opposition to the war."
T h i s attitude indicates two things:
First, that people believe they are making
a contribution to stopping the war to be
demonstrating one day of the year, even
if they go about their normal affairs the;
other 364, and second, that people think;
ending the war is merely a matter of
stopping the shooting in. Southeast Asia.
In the first place, this completely mis-
reads what lies behind the war. For the
war has not really been unique in our
history, and is certainly not a freak or a
mistake. Rather, it is a logical extension
of our general policy of supporting our
economic interests abroad.
Underdeveloped nations offer our busi-
ness vast cheap resources, easily exploited
cheap labor, and rich markets for finished
technology. To protect these things, it has
been necessary for our country to sup-
port national governments willing to
share a portion of our profits in exchange
for complicity in our exploitation of their
own people.
ALMOST WITHOUT exception, this has
led us into conflict with communists,
who have been quick to champion the
cause of the exploited. This is .the case in
Vietnam, as it has been in Latin America,
Africa, and Southeast Asia generally.
A second cause of the war is our bull-
headed militarism. This results from the
fact that this country has relied on
its military supremacy for such a long
time that it can no longer understand a
foreign policy predicated on any other
terms.
Finally,, the war is permitted to con-
tinue because people in this society are
so racist that the deaths of Vietnamese
people don't even register as immoral.
We are so concerned with spreading our
kind of freedom that we can see them as
little more than cannon fodder standingw
in the way.
THE POINT OF THIS is, that mortator-
iums can do little to confront any of
these problems. For they are indeed deep-
ly rooted in the basics of our economic
system and in the psyche of our culture.
The only way anything could be done
about them, therefore, would be on an
ongoing basis. But moratoriums and dem-
onstrations are extremely sporadic, to say
the least,
The danger in continuing, therefore,
lies in the fact that they make opposing
the war a twice or three-times yearly
proposition. For this, any way it is looked
at, is miseducation.
Clearly, then, the idea of moratoriums
must be scrapped, and the tactics of the
anti-war movement must be drastically
reformed. What might we suggest as an
alternative?
In general, what is needed is some sort
of frontal attack on the aspects of the
society which perpetuates war-like ideas.
To do this, vast organizational efforts are
needed, starting with efforts to work
directly with the consciousness of chil-
dren.
MORE PERVASIVELY, attempts could
be made at the college level to edu-
cate students who will be teaching the
children. Seminars and workshops might
be held for them so that they might not
transmit to children the ignorances which
have led their generation to allow the war
to happen.
Workers must be reached in a similar
fashion, with hard core organizing both
on the job and in the community. To
accomplish this, teachings could be taken
from the University context into com-
munities around the state where they are
not normally held. But these efforts
.should neither be isolated or one-yearly
affairs.
Within universities themselves, oppor-
tunities such as Course Mart's political
action course should be encouraged. In
conjunction with these courses and semi-
nars dealing with militaristic and im-
perialistic aspects of the society, research
organizations should be formed to back
all anti-war efforts with information. In
general, since universities are already
centers of anti-war and socialist senti-
ment, organizers should stop trying to
rnnzn them and aihon usinr them as
Dear President Fleming:
THE ESSENCE OF democracy is
peaceful change. When the
p e o p 1 e, both directly and
through their representatives, in-
dicate dissatisfaction with the
policies of a public institution, it
is the responsibility of that insti-
tution to respond to the wishes of
the majority and alter its ways.
Here on this campus, you and
the Regents now have a chance to
demonstrate that the Univer-
sity will respond to the majority
sentiment of students and faculty
members without marches, class
boycotts and building takeovers,
The opportunity is available be-
cause after months of delibera-
tion, the debate over classified re-
search at the University has came
to a turning point. Yesterday the
representatives of the faculty
voted overwhelmingly to recom-
mend to the Regents a new policy
that would eliminate most secret
research on campus.
THIS MANDATE for change by
Senate Assembly follows an open
referendum last spring in which
the student body voted to elimi-
nate all classified research at the
University.
Thus, both students and fac-
ulty members have taken a stand
in favor of making it the gener-
al policy of the University to re-
fuse research contracts the re-
sults of which cannot be published
openly.
Further, a week-long fast by
students and faculty members last
March, heavy attendance at for-
ums concerned with the question
and widespread discussion of the
issue has demonstrated a commit-
ment to ending classified research
on the part of a large number of
individual members of the Univer-
sity community.
The issue is now in your hands,
cilities engaging in classified re-
search - would have a "cushion
time" to adjust.
THE NOTION THAT this new
policy would immediately throw
people out of jobs is just not true.
In the. engineering college, for ex-
ample, classified . r e s e a r c h
amounts to only seven per cent of
the sponsored research. Further-
more, a number of these projects
are classified "for access only"-
that is, the results of the pro-
ject are open - and would not be
prohibited by the ney policy.
The only University unit that
might be seriously affected by this
policy is Willow Run Laborator-
ies. Yet Willow Run is already in
precarious financial shape and the
elimination of classified research
will provide the University an op-,
portunity to change the status of
the laboratories.
Willow Run's budget has drop-
ped more than one-half during
the last five years with equal re-
ductions in personnel. Even with
classified research, its future is
dubious. The policy change would
provide a year's cushion ta set up
a state-supported research insti-
tute, sell the laboratories to indus-
try or reorient their focus.
From Aug. 14 to Sept. 10 alone,
for example, the labs received
$2.75 million in new and renewed
contract - more than enough
money to keep the gates open
for another year until a solution
can be found.
We should be encouraged that
the move to end most classified
research has not been a hastyac-
tion. Students and faculty mem-
bers have worked for months edu-
cating the community on the is-
sues involved. Assembly heard
over two dozen witnesses on both
sides of the subject and considered
the issue at six separate meetings.
The policy passed by Assembly
is similar to the course followed
by many other of the most pres-
tigiousnuniversities in the coun-
try. It is a practical, flexible poli-
cy that is both enforceable and
reasonable.
But most of all, it is a policy
that has the approval of the fac-
ulty members and students that
make up this university.
THEY HAVE GIVEN a man-
date for change, and I hope, and
believe, that you will respond af-
firmatively to their wishes.
Sincerely yours,
David S. Chudwin
4
Mr. President. The governance of
this University is vested in the
Regents, but they heavily depend
on the information and advice you
offer as the University's chief ex-
ecutive.
While the Regents would prob-
ably approve a new classified re-
search policy with your support,
it is certain they would reject
one without it.
I urge you, therefore, to pub-
licly respond to the mandate of
both students and faculty mem-
bers by endorsing the proposed
The Shah's party:
Ignoring the poor
By MARYAM SHAYEGAN HASTINGS
Daily Guest Writer
LAST WEEK THE ancient Iranian city of Persepolis was the center
of world attention again. The Shah ("King of Kings", "Light of
the Aryans", "Shadow of the Gods") feted the elgacy of 25 centuries
of the Iranian monarchy.
On hand were hundreds of VIPS including King Huessein of
Jordan, President Tito of Yugoslavia, and President Nikolai Pord-
gorny of the Soviet Union. President Richard Nixon was invited but
sent Vice President Spiro T. Agnew.
"As for the over all cost," an Iranian official said, "that is any-
one's guess. Just let me say that we have no budget here." Every few
weeks for the past nine months, two jets and a caravan of huge
lorries have left Paris, bulging with a breathtaking array of riches
including tents lined with silver and gold, chandeliers of baccarat
crystal and cutlery of solid gold.
Not only were the Iranian people excluded from this celebration,
but also Iranian taste and tradition were completely ignored, "Every-
thing-the 30 cooks, the 150 waiters, the 22 ,tons of provisions" was
French, except for the caviar, according to The New York Times.
The Shah's primary purpose in holding this celebration was to
assert that monarchy is the natural form of government for all Iranian
people. Apart from the absurdity of such an assertion in the 1970s,
under what premises does the Shah claim a divine right to rule the
people of Iran?
The Shah's father, Reza Khan, was brought to power in Iran by
a coup d'etat engineered by the British in 1921. In 1941 he was forced
to abdicate and was sent into exile by the Allies, who then designated
his son Mohammed Reza Pahlevi as his successor. The Shah's rule was
interrupted between 1951-1955 by the elected nationalist government of.
Dr Mohammad Mossadegh. During these two years the people of
Iran experienced an honest attempt at democracy. Under Dr. Mossa-
degh's leadership, the oil industry was nationalized. The Shah, having
lost his power, fled the country.
In August 1953 the government of Dr. Massadegh was overthrown
with the participation of those nations whose imperialistic interests
were greatly threatened, and the Shah was returned to power. The
CIA admits its role in the overthrow of Dr. Mossadegh. As Marvin
Zonis pointed out in his book, The Government and Politics of the
Contemporary Middle East, "It seems conclusively clear at this stage
that the CIA did have a key role in those fateful August days." With
this brief background in mind, it is understandable why the Shah,
by imitating the extravagant expenditures of buried kings of Europe,
would like to compensate for his own lack of legitimacy.
ANOTHER PURPOSE lay behind these celebrations. The Shah
wanted to show those countries which have interests in Iran that
he has successfully put down any opposition to his regime and that the
country is secure. He can hardly boast of these achievements when his
jails hold over 20,000 political prisoners. There have been numerous
attempts by the people of Iran to express their disapproval of the
present regime, during which hundreds of lives were lost. The refusal
of the masses to ride buses due to an increase in the bus fare and the
united demonstrations of workers and students against this increase
forced the government into doing away with the increase in the win-
ter of 1969 Five lives were lost when the police attacked demonstra-
tors.
Perhaps the most significant of all the recent political struggles
in Iran is that of the battle of Siyakal. This battle is significant because
it indicates that Iran has entered a period of armed struggle. In
Siyakal, a small village in northern Iran, a literacy corps member
was arrested for having been envolved in "suspicious" activities. In
retaliation, his friends attacked and disarmed the police station, during
which a policeman was killed. They later also killed the informer. The
Iranian Army was sent to deal with these guerrillas. The Army was
met by a group of about 300 men were were highly disciplined and
have called themselves "Front for the national liberation of Iran." The
fighting continued for a week and according to a government com-
munique, two guerrillas were killed and 13 captured. The arrest oc-
curred in February, in March the 13 were executed.
THE MOST ACTIVE group of Iranians outside of Iran opposing
the present regime has been the Confederation of Iranian Students-
which was outlawed by the Iranian government in January, 1971. This
t +hc -,.orf t he7Ta ~fernment inrdits the success of the Con-
policy on classified research.
This policy merits your support
because it would put into prac-
tice a basic value of higher edu-
cation - that a University is,
above all, a place for the free
and open exchange of new knowl-
edge. Classified research, because
of its inherent secrecy, is incon-
sistent with this view you have so
often supported.
The policy deserves your ap-
proval because it would reduce
University involvement in the re-
search and development of wea-
pon subsystems that are being
extensively used by the military to
destroy human life in Indochina.
The University's purpose should
be to enrich human life rather
than to destroy it and the elimi-
nation of most classified research
-almost all of which is perform-
ed for the military - would bring
us closer to that goal.
THIS POLICY IS worthy of
your endorsement because it is
flexible. Some classified projects
could be exempted from the gen-
eral policy if a majority of a re-
view committee determined that
the knowledge gained "would so
significantly contribute to knowl-
edge as to justify infringement of
the right to publish openly."
This provision helps insure that
projects with exceptional promise
to increase man's understanding
would not be jeopardized if ca-
priciously classified by some gov-
ernment bureaucrat.
Furthermore, it is conceivable
that the values of the academic
community could change over a
number of years. While we must
legislate on the basis of present
values, the committee's response
to requests for exemptions could
reflect any changes in attitude of
the University community.
You should back this policy be-
cause it would be practical to im-
plement, gradually reducing the
amount of classified research on
campus over a 12-18 month per-
iod.
While relatively few classified
projects would be approved after
regental passage of the new policy,
classified contract now in effect
would continue until their expir-
ation date.
Since many of these run for a
year or more duration, scientists
and engineers at University, fa-
r44
Letters to The Daily
Voter registration
To The Daily:
SINCE THE Oct. 13 edition of
the Michigan Daily commented
editorially on the effectiveness of
the efforts of the City Clark's Of-
fice in Voter Registration, I would
appreciate your printing the fol-
lowing information to correct sev-
eral serious misconceptions and
errors of fact.
First of all, the editorial stated
that in the city as a whole only
about half of those eligible to vote
are registered. Working with 1970
Census data and registration fi-
gures as of October 1 you will find
that around 70,000 persons are
over the age of 18 and potentially-
eligible to vote. Of this number,
48,500 or 69.28 per cent of the
electorate is registered. Of this
70,000 people, 13,865 people are
between the ages of 18 and 20.
leaving 56,135 people over 21 elig-
ible to vote. A total of 45,500 peo-
ple over 21 are registered or 81.05
per cent of the 56,135 people eligi-
ble.
In December, 1970 city voter
rolls dropped to 39,629 registered
electors as a result of the legally
required cancellation of persons
who had not voted in two years.
The ten month period since De-
cember, 1970 has yielded an in-
crease of 8,871 registered electors
to bring the totals to the October
1, 1971 figure of 48,500. A total of
5,273 ofgthe 8,871 registrations
taken in this ten month period
were received at places other than
City Hall. In 1970 over 3,000 regis-
trations were taken outside City
Hall, giving a total of over 8,000
in the last 22 months.
IN LOOKING at the 13,865 peo-
ple between the ages of 18 and
20, a total of 3,062 were regis-
tered as of October 1. This is 22.08
per cent of this age group. Since
most of the 13,865 people between
18 and 20 are located in the Uni-
versity areas, there has been only
a month and a half in which to
effectively attempt to get this
group registered. It is not physic-
ally possible, regardless of the
techniques used, to have achieved
total registration of the 13,865 new
electors in so short a time.
On October 13 I announced a
new registration drive to run from
October 18 to October 29, which
will again have registrars at the
Fishbowl and Union, and in addi-
tion spend two days at each ma-
The statement that I have re-
sisted year around registration
and only make registration avail-
able during special drives comes
from an ignorance of the law.
Voter registration is available at
the Clerk's Office every business
day of the year except on an elec-
tion day where prohibited by law.
Special drives have been conduct-
ed at places other than the Clerk's
Office before major elections to
coincide with the times most peo-
ple, will respond to such efforts
and manpower will not be wasted
when there is no voter response.
to such programs.
Voter registration by mail was
one suggestion contained in the
editorial. Michigan law only au-
thorizes registration by mail for
military personnel or members of
their immediate family or persons
who are physically disabled of
otherwise unable to apply for
registration in person.
Training of deputy registrars to
assure their full knowledge of the
law is essential if we are to ful-
fill the basic purpose of registra-
tion: to screen out those ineligible
to vote. Moreover, if forms and
records are not properly executed
and filed, the elector runs the risk
of being challenged when he ap-
pears at the polls to vote.
Around 50 per cent of the depu-
ty registrars who have been
trained are students. Their work
has been quite accurate and good.
In the coming two weeks, many of
these people will be working at
campus registration sites. In all,
15 sites will be available in the
campus area during the program.
I hope my prediction of 40
to 50 per cent registration of the
newly enfranchised electorate by
the end of October is low. I think
the record for the City as, a whole
can speak for itself. If we work
together, the record for the new
voting group can be even better.
Harold R. Saunders
City Clerk
Oct. 15
Women's oppression
To The Daily:
I WAS QUITE heartened by
Dave Chudwin's analysis of wo-
men's oppression ("Making t h e
Sexes More Human" Oct. 12). It
is essential for men who support
women's liberation to speak out
as he did. I was especially grati-
fied by the emphasis he placed on
the necessity for interpersonal
change as an integral part of in-
stitutional change.
However, I disagree with his
conclusion that members of both
sexes must be "nicer" and "more
human" toward one another. I
don't think Chudwin adequately
delineated the oppressor from the
oppressed in his article,. It is not
incumbent upon the slave to be
"nice" to the plantation owner,
nor do I believe that women are
obliged to be "more human" to-
ward individual men or male-
dominated institutions which are
actively oppressing them.
The oppression of women is
inhuman.
-Michael Castleman
Oct. 12
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