'Wednesday, September 2; 1970,
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Student Life-Page Three.
P.
Wednesday, September 2, 1970 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Student Life-Page Three,
Djiag, Arb life: Part of the counter-culture?
By DEBRA THTAL.fn
The Arb and the Diag form an integral part of the University .
community's culture.
The Diag visitors are of a more temporary nature than the **4. N
Ar pplain'a people sto on the Dla betweenclse or as f5vt "# G ;
they pass through the center of the campus.«k
The Diag has a slightly political cast being the location of «. i¢ Y! /
noon rallies and benefits for various political and community v . .G° .v.ty3.caG}
groups. But passing through, an observor can hear discussions on
everything from microbiology to the University's treatment of *......S.. G..J. ,
women to the latest Saks sale.
xAnd, depending on the weather, packs of dogscotnal
x:S~4::_.. ' chase through the small, grassy area, often nearly colliding with_<
,t' :e '8}4fr m f4iJ /a -$
tefrisbee players. ~~ .
different. Located down Geddes past Oxford, the Arb provides a "t: au' ? .' . ' o$ e
plc hr epecnb ythemselves, as well as in groups. at*' . ..4 . .
(Solitude is a bit more difficult on the Diag).'~C ............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ..4........
The Arb's hills and woods seem to stretch on and on forever. .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . .
1with quiet paths along the polluted Huron River for bicycles and 4..as.<. ..'..
4 .5...
:i motorcycles as well as hikers+
+Y44.a4Cold weather doesn °t end the Diag-Arb culture. The Diag en- r.
thuiassi ovestthe.....................................................................................................
?y"Hal-and congregate around the tables set up for distributing
, political and other literature. The Arb faithful often continue to
tre ut for the first snow and g D ao tboanning-almost completely ~.'*.
out of sight of the University.
The .Arb/Diag population is representative, to some degree, of
4most of the campus. Even hardworking graduate students can be.................'.*.*.l.... ...
} ~~~~~~~sen lying on the grass as they pour over their books But many n gaa4 G} ;
.A~'.~ ~of these who frequent the Diag ad the Arb are people of the it< = rs, 4t$ xa G
«... "counter-cultur e"
IN ii. Many non-student as well as student freaks, yippies and ..
radicals spend most of their time in the Diag and the Arb.
But anyone and everyone fits into the picture-the Arb and
-al-Greg MacDonald Daily-Thomas R Cop
Daily. Dag accommodate all types from the business school professor-
inthe center obf campus .' to Jerry Rubin (when he's in Ann Arbor). . and out in ,the woos
Free,4'U':,Out of th e classrpoomrs, i nto the s tree ts
City,
U' provide
By STUART GANNES
and
CARLA RAPOPO4T
Three men, palms up, lay
perfectly still in the darkened
room.Slowly, their legs rose high
over their heads. Moment after
excrutiating moment their sil-
houettes . remained unmoved.
Finally, after what seemed to be
an interminable length of time,
one perfectly controlled pair of
legs arched back to the floor.
Soon others followed suit in the
same graceful manner.
The Free University Yoga
class met every afternoon and
twice on weeknights last semes-
ter.
The banner of a. "free uni-
versity," long an illusive goal
for students seeking alternatives
to formal University classes was
0 raised once again with moderate
success on campus last semester.
Last year's version included
more than 70 courses, offering
students the opportunity to gain
"learning experiences" in areas
as varied as Tantric Yoga and
Macrobiotics to the study of sci-
i ence fiction and the occult.
But the Free University is
more than a collection of inter-
esting courses. Rather, it is
based on concepts and philoso-
phies which reject the tradition-
al University structure as either
meaningless or a waste of time,
and which search for alternative
subject matter and class struc-
tures to make education a more
enjoyable experience.
Last year's Free 'U' catalog
put it this way: "The Free Uni-
versity is an attempt to give
people a chance to learn for the
sake of learning, not for filling
some type of artificial require-
ment. It is open to the whole
community.
"We put no requirement on.
what or how something is
taught. Our teachers are to be
more resource persons than:
what is usually meant as
teachers. Hopefully, they will be
learning and experiencing as
much as the other members of
the class, and not just sterilely
dispensing facts.
"Anyone who wishes to start a
class may. If you don't have a
special talent or area of knowl-
edge, you are welcome to start
a class in anything you would
like. These classes can take any
form you want..
Instead of relying on degrees
and the threat of grades as the
necessary motivation to force
students to "learn" required
subjects, the Free 'U' hopes to
offer the opportunity for happi-
ness- and personal satisfaction
as sufficient rewards for a per-
son to want to share in the ex-
perience of learning about some-
thing important to himself.
This philosophy is not new.
The concept of a free univer-
sity dates back to 1966 on this
campus. Growing out of the
Free Speech Movement at Berk-
eley in 1964-65 when faculty
members were invited to lecture
on civil liberties and disobedi-
ence, a string of free universities
appeared on a number of. college
campuses across the nation.
Four years ago, the first Free
University in Ann Arbor at-
tracted ,more than 300 students
to sample an assortment of
courses which included semi-
nars on historical theory, jazz,
education, film, poetry, political
economy and just being an
American.
The organizers of the first
Free University envisioned a
utopian alternative to a research
oriented University community
which they despised.
They outlined their philoso-
phy' in a statement attached to
the course catalog which said in
part: "A FREE UNIVERSITY. is
not easily definable, nor is it
subject to or concerned with
self-definition. Instead it is the
sum of a number of concrete in-
dividual efforts to overcome the
C boundaries, to transcend the
limits and to destroy the irrele-
vances of the "knowledge fac-
tory" University that we all live
in now, It emerges from a col-
lective desire to humanize the
relationship between teacher
and student, to open up new
subject matter, and to develop
ways in which the learning situ-
ation can concentrate on' the
human importance of ideas.
Free universities have been
subject to the ups and downs of
student enthusiasm as long as
they have existed. Since 1966,
the free university experiment
has been attempted several
times with varying successes.
After a. number of abortive at-
tempts the Ann Arbor Free
School was established in the
summer of 1968. The Free
School offered classes on uto-
p i a n communities, guerrilla
theatre, and tactics for social
change. Then, last fall, a num-
ber of students established the
Wayne State Free University
in an attempt "to create a place
for social inter-action and per-
sonal intellectual development
without the restrictions of an
authoritarian, re w a r d-punish-
ment education." However, free
universities have traditionally
been experiments on campus,
never lasting more than a few
months.
Last year's Free 'U' is another
such experiment, whose hopes
for success must ultimately rest
on the enthusiasm of its parti-
cipants. It was conceived last
November when the idea gath-
ered support after leaflets and
circulars were distributed on
campus. Soon after, the Univer-
sity Activities Calendar offered
to assist the small group of stu-
dents, teachers and community
people by giving them office
space and financial aid.
By January, there was suf-
ficient response from prospec-
tive teachers for a catalog to
be published outlining proposed
course offerings and establish-
ing a registration procedure.
Eventually, over B50 people reg-
istered by paying a $5 fee. Reg-
istration a n d administrative
procedures were handled by a
steering committee made up of
"anyone who shows up."
Courses at the Free 'U' fell in-
to essentially two categories.
First, there were course'on sub-
jects offered in the formal Uni-
versity curriculum, but which
were unsatisfactory in the eyes
of students who opted for a Free
'U' alternative on the same sub-
ject.I
Secondly, a large number of
courses dealt with material not
normally conceived as part of a
University curriculm. Examples
included classes in aphrodisiacs,
the blues harp, cigarette rolling,
the poetry of food, occult
thought 'and a host of others.
Most classes within the Free
'U' experienced a 50 per cent
drop-out rate, as students in the
"University grind" considered
their Free 'U' classes the most
expendable - even when they
were the most enjoyable.
However, most teachers, lead-
ers and coordinators are not
discouraged by the drop-out
rate. They reaffirm that the
people came because they want-
ed to, everyone participating
with an honest commitment to
learning. "We don't have the
deadwood and uninterested stu-
dents that so many University
' classes are clogged with," said
one teacher.
And, while many of the cour-
ses consisted of only three to
five regular members, leaders
were still enthusiastic. As one
student pointed out: in most
regular University classes, only
about three members actively
participate in discussions any-
way.
Occasionally h o w e v e r, the
freeness of the Free 'U' may be
rather overpowering. As one
freshman said, "I just didn't
think complete nudity was ne-
cessary for massage, so I drop-
ped the course."'
"However," he continued, "I
found the candle-making class
simply fascinating." He explains
that the instructor taught the
mechanics of the art during the
first session and all the rest
were devoted to sharing of
everyone's experience and ex-
periments w i t h candlemaking.
"When I started, I knew noth-
ing about fashioning candles
and now I've already sold $40
worth of the candles I've made,"
he added.
Where will the Free 'U' go
from here? Can any free univer-
sity establish itself on a perma-
nent basis? Right now, these
questions remain unanswered.
One fact, however, seems clear.
The current organizers of the
Free 'U' are bent on expanding
it beyond the University cam-
pus. "The Free 'U' is not just
for students, we want to reach
everybody in the community,"
says Dave Conely, one of the
Free 'U's founders.
In the meantime, the Free 'U'
will present University students
with an alternative to the large
lectures so characteristic of
undergraduate education. Per-
haps in the long run, the Free
'U' will also serve the role of a
gadfly-stimulating the regular
University to look inward and
reevaluate itself.
As one law student, who
teaches a Free 'U' class on Carl
Jung, says hopefully, "I really
think we amateurs have a new-
ness, a freshness, and an interest
in all the world around us. This
is the essential vitality which all
classes should have."
unique services
During the time you spend at the University - howeverslong
it is-some problem may get to be too much for you to handle by
yourself. Maybe the draft, maybe money, maybe marriage, maybe
some overwhelming emotional hangup. If you find yourself
needing help for any kind of problem, many types of services are
available- genarally at no cost - from both the University and
the community.
PERSONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING:
Counseling Division, Bureau of Psychological Services,
1007 E. Huron. This is one of the most popular - and o er
crowded agencies on campus. The staff psychologists conduct
individual and group sessions to help students handle emotional
and vocational problems.
* Mental Health Clinic, University Health Service, 207
Fletcher. Psychiatrists and psychiatric counselors here offer
therapy for mental and emotional difficulties and personality
problems, including disturbances of the nervous sstem. Neu-
ologists are also on hand.
Office of Religious Affairs, 2282 Student Activities Bldg.
Don't let the name fool you. The ORA counselors are ready to
help students with any kind of problem, and their services come
into greater demand every year. But they always seem to make
time to help one more student, and they have a reputation for
being there when you need them in any kindg of situation.
" Private psychiatric counseling. This is often suggested by
the free but crowded University agencies for students who need
more intensive therapy and can afford to p.y private fees. How-
ever, the University services will always make room fo the stu-
dent who can't afford a private psychiatrist.
MARITAL COUNSELING:
B Both the Counseling Division and Office of Religious Af-
fairs offer marital counseling. Also popular with students who are
about to be married is a three-credit class on the marriage rela-
tionship offered in the=literary college but open to all students.
BIRTH CONTROL ADVICE:
" Health Service. Staff gynecologists will advise and pre-.
scribe for students. You pay only for the actual medication and
for any tests necessary.
B University Hospital, Gynecology Clinic. Students pay a $10
registration fee, but are then eligible for the same services
available at Health Service as well as for any other type of
medical assistance.
n Planned Parenthood, 1121/, E. Liberty. The advantage here
is evening hours. A $10 registration fee is charged to those who
can afford it, but it goes for a good cause: Helping the clinic
provide free asistance for those who can't pay.
JOB PLACEMENT:
n Bureau of Appointments, Placement Office. Prospective
employers and employes are matched through this office all
during the year. Aspecial offfice has also been set up to handle
teacher placement.
" Part-time Employment Office, 2200 Student Activities
Bldg. Both University and non-University jobs are available
here. Interviews match students with job openings, and refer
them to other University agencies which may need more student
employes.
" Summer Placement Service, 212 Student Activities Bldg.
Just what the name implies.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
" Office of Student Financial Aids, 2011 Student Activities
Bldg. This is the place to go if an emergency situationdevelops.
The loan office may be able to give you aloany or grant. In ad-
dition, the office is full of information on scholarships and
grants available. For smaller emergencies, you can also get a loan
of up to $50 from the University through this office, with a year
to pay back..
" Students Credit Union, located in the Union. The first (and
only) credit union in the country organzed solely by and for
college students, the Students Credit Union offers loans to its
members for a 12 per cent true annual rate-one per cent per
month on the unpaid balance. Students join by opening a
savings account and becoming shareholders. The minimum ac-
count is for one share at $5.00 and dividends are paid according
to the earnings of the credit union.
SPEECH OR HEARING PROBLEMS:
* Speech Clinic, 1111 E. Catherine. The clinic will provide
speech therapy to students free of charge for minor defects and
larger problems, such as loss of hearing.
RE~ADING DIFFICULTY:
0 Reading Improvement Service, Bureau of Psychological
Services,-1610 Washtenaw. If there's one thing you have to do at
the University, it's' read. This service teachs studentsto read
faster with better comprehension and also to study more effec-
tively. Courses, workshops and individual counseling are all
available.
DRAFT COUNSELING:
Draft Counseling Center, 502 E. Huron (Baptist Center).
Trained counselors are on hand to help students cope with the
draft in the best of available ways. The service is free with sup-
port coming from student and. community organizations, and
the center has become a tremendously popular source of advice
on the increasingly-pressing draft problem.
0 The Office of Religious Affairs. One of the specialties of
the ORA is helping a student cope with both the practical and
moral questions raised by the draft.
LEGAL AID:
0 Student LegalServices. SGC sponsors a program by which
students may obtain counseling from a lawyer at a minimal rate.
Contact Mrs. Samuelson, 1546 Student Activities Bldg. for an
appointment.
0 Washtenaw County Legal Aid Society, 201 N. Fourth Ave.
For real trouble, lawyers are provided free of charge to students
-and the community, of course - through this federally-funded
service. Legal aid.has seen students through all the recent dem-
onstrations.
UNCLASSIFIABLE PROBLEMS:
W Student Affairs Counseling Office, 1011 Student Activities
Bldg. This counseling office serves as a clearinghouse for every
kind of problem, and refers students to the proper agency or
provides on-the-spot help.
Live in an exoti esetting...
4 U
TEXTBOOKS
UP TO V3OFF
The Student's Bookstore
r
Fr.__________________________________________________________ --___
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s
LATER'I
-U
U.
U
WHEN YOU THINK OF BOOKS,
THINK OF US FIRST!
NOTICE TO FRESHMEN:
-One counseling service the University of Michigan
does not provide is helping you choose the place
where your clothes will be properly dry-cleaned and
laundered. To help you avoid the mettlesomeness by
trial-and-error, we cordially invite you to stop in
and become acquainted with us-the right place for
you-for service as you like it-WHEN you like it!
EVERYTHING you bring in is thoroughly cleaned and
expertly pressed; cuffs are brushed and tacked, miss-
ing buttons replaced, rips mended-All these extras
are included in our regular, moderate prices.
GOLD BOND CLEANERS
YOUR CAMPUS CLEANER
332 Maynard
HOURS: 7-6 Monday thru Saturday
Across from Nickels Arcade
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illlf l III
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