I

Eighty-three years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan

Success story:

Thai student power

4

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News Phone: 764-0552


By MARNIE HEYN
MANY AMERICANS were astonished
when, early in October, the prime min-
ister of Thailand and two other high gov-
ernment officials were removed from of-
fice after Thai students led demonstrations
that grew into street battles with police and
army troops.
It was almost inconceivable that a fairly
young student movement could topple a
powerful military government led by whom
the Bangkok Post called "the three most
hated men in Thailand-former Prime Min-
ister Thamon Kittikachorn, former Deputy
Prime Minister Prapass Charusathiara, and

step up their consumption of Japanese
goods to please foreign investors. Because
that suggestion was unpopular, students
were able to initiate a very successful boy-
cott of Japanese products. That was their
first taste of power, and the beginning of
their opposition to the Thanom-Prapass gov-
ernment.
IT IS IMPORTANT to remember, vt hen
contemplating analogies between the Amer-
ican student movement and the Thai stu-
dent movement, that while American cul-
ture and Thai culture are very different,
and while the fraction of Thai young peo-
ple who become university students is much
smaller than a similar fraction in the Uni-

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 31 1973

SGC study deserves chance

THURSDAY AFTERNOON Student Ser-
vices Vice President Henry Johnson
broke a week-and-one-half's silence and
finally announced definitive plans for a
Regentially initiated study of the crises
in student government.
While we have objections to Johnson's
proposed plan of action we also believe
the situation at Student Government
Council to be so grave that we are willing
to at least give his proposal a chance.
Essentially, Johnson proposes to estab-
lish a committee, composed of representa-
tives of various campus groups and the
faculty, charged with making a sweep-
ing evaluation of the status of student
government on campus and proposals for
necessary changes and improvements.
This committee, according to the plan,
will deliver a final report to the Regents
sometime next year.
THE SPECTRE of Regental interven-
tion in the affairs of SGC is not es-
pecially appealing, because the prime
function of a student government is to
look after the interests of students-in-
terests which do not frequently coincide
with those of the University administra-
tion or the Regents.
However, the idea of a committee in
and of itself is not entirely bad.
The real crunch point will come when
the committee delivers its report to the
Regents.
Will the Regents put any proposed re-
organization to a vote of the student
body, or will they simply impose it by
eXecutive fiat?
The latter would be a clearly unaccept-
able course of action. No student govern-
ment, imposed by the unilateral action
of the Regents, would have any legiti-
macy whatsoever.
IF, HOWEVER, the Regents prove them-
selves amenable to the idea of letting
the student body make the ultimate de-
cision on any proposed changes in SGC,
the work of the Johnson committee could
be. a most hopeful development in stu-
dent government.
There can be no doubt that SGC is on
the skids. The evidence of the student
government's decline is painfully abun-
dant.
Less than four per cent of the stu-
dent body bothered to show up at the
polls in the most recent SGC election.
And no wonder! The behavior of our
elected student officials in recent years
would make a Banana Republic dictator
blush.
Fiscal irresponsibility has been ram-
pant as have charges of all manner of
official corruption and manipulation.

Various sorts of monkey business includ-
ing mysterious appearances and disap-
pearances of ballots have reduced the in-
tegrity of SGC elections to the level of a
bad joke.
STUDENTS HAVE been given no reason
at all to have any faith in or respect
for their student government. Their re-
action has been predictable.
Which is not to say that a new con-
stitution or even a new group of leaders
could suddenly inspire wild enthusiasm
on the part of a deeply apathetic student
body.
But we still believe that student gov-
ernment can and should be made reason-
ably effective vehicle for representing
student interests on campus.j
Our attitude toward the SGC commit-
tee proposed by Johnson then, is one of
wait and see.
A thorough study and perhaps restruct-
uring of SGC is clearly needed. The for-
mat outlined by Vice President Johnson
provides an opportunity for a thoughtful,
impartial analysis of what's wrong and
what can be done.
If the committee's recommendations
turn out to be sound and if they have the
support of the student body, perhaps a
much needed step will have been taken
towards providing the reputable student
voice this campus so desperately needs.
Cam-bodia tale
HONESTY IN government, generally
thought to be a prerequisite to de-
mocracy, was among the early casualties
of American involvement in Indochina.
Throughout the JohnsonandNixon years
it became obvious that truth was not to
stand in the way of administration war
policies.
Apparently the shift in American poli-
cy from one of direct military involve-
ment to the ,economic maintenance of
client regimes-has done little to alter the
fate of truthful government.
The most recent example of historical
fiction in the. administration's Indochina
policy is the story of the stubborn re-
sistance of the Lon Nol army to an Au-
gust offensive by Cambodian insurgents.
The apparent purpose of the tale is to
convince Congress of the wisdom of bank-
rolling the shaky Lon Nol government to
the tune of some $370 million.
Perhaps the Cambodian military com-
mand is too modest to blow its own horn,
for it never chose to mention either the
offensive or the government's success-
ful counter-attack.

.. r F .: Y4t . r
"Thai society has been generally passive, so that blood flowing
in the streets of Bangkok could constitute the beginning of a
new epoch in the nation's history."
r'rm m ae is 25 sa s 'h mmma~v.' "r}"~ i' :""r'iS :ir:}:"}?>?:":'::.: .".-"^i;2msia ::sassss~si:i:ls:;:: s

former Deputy Secretary-General Narong
Kittikachorn."
Thailand has the image, for those of us
who have never been there, of an exotic,
idyllic place to stop on a round-the-world
cruise, a splinter of Shangri-la. While it's
hardly true that Thailand is, a demi-Eden
for most of its populace, Thai society has
been generally passive, so that blood flow-
ing in the streets of Bangkok could con-
stitute the beginning of a new enoch in the
nation's history.
THE GROUNDWORK for that epoch was
laid four years ago when Thai students
developed a cohesive and unified national
organization. Until that time, student groups
had bickered among themselves to such
a degree that there was no recognized na-
tional leadership with which international
student organizations could communicate.
Much of the impetus for cohesion came
from a desire on the part of Thai students
to be able to interact with their counter-
parts around the world.
Student organization activity began with
Peace Corps-type projects all over Thai-
land. At that time, the government per-
ceived the student group as something to
be promoted, perhaps for somewhat byzan-
tine reasons. And the students were not op-
posed to the government's support, at least
temporarily.
The atmosphere became noticeably less
chummy when the Thamon-Prapass power
elite called on the people of Thailand to
Lostint
By DAVID KANTOR O in AnnE
TTHE FOLLOWING story is must re
true. There are no innocent to ceive th
protect. I confess to my crime - sworn I
that of being a student. Worse yet out of a
a poor student. And I was . . ' dow.
yes . . . out-of-state! My parents, August
due to outside circumstances, have from th
not supported me since I was a tee. My
freshman. So I worked a lot and was den
borrowed money. Everything went why. M
fine until the end of my junior me, Ire
year, April, 1973. gan sour
Resources I could count on for a yearc
the 1973-4 academic year were a did they
$540 Michigan Annual Giving "Nibbl
(MAG) Scholarshiprawarded to mushroo
non-residents. In early May I re-I did an
ceived a letter from the LSA schol-decision
arship committee. They were giv-
ing me $350. I rejoiced while tu-
tion sailed from $2260 to $2400. Two
weeks later I received official con- cca
firmation of the $350 through a
form E. .Oh, yes. In early May Wor
my parents moved to a new place u
in Pennsylvania. I duly reported . out
the change to all necessary depart-
ments. ON A
Then I applied for a loan. This ter sent
was interesting. On the loan a dress, f
cation I had to put myself down rsf
as a Pennsylvania resident and "y dress, a
I "expected" my parents to sup- Arbor.aI
port me, otherwise I would not get tuitiobeen rai
the loan. (Pennsylvania banks
don't like giving Michigan people "See,"
money.) As aid I listed the $540 is all cl
(MAG) and the $350 (LSA) I now
JUNE 22, new residency regula- up to $1
tions were issued. And I was eligi- to pay
ble. Or so I thought. I applied for since I
residency. A week later tuition (for tution. I
out-of-state seniors) rose to $2800. but happ
The second week of July I re- Then t
ceived a letter confirming the re- ber I re
newal of the $540 scholarship Office o
(MAG). This was sent to my par- Academi
ents' old address, forwarded to been gra
their new address, and then to me gander.1

ted States, college students are an elite
in both countries, and are expected to
maintain a system of elites in both cul-
tures.
When Thai students realized this, they
began to raise demands for demccratizing
the universities, very much like the de-
mands of American students for open ad-
missions and relevant course work. The
response of Thai university officials to
these demands would sound familiar to any
American student who ever confronted a
college administrator.
While students were tackling university
issues, hostility toward the Thanom-Prapass
ruling clique was growing by leaps and
bounds among all sectors of the population.
These men were unpopular for their zuto-
cratic behavior, for their chumminess with
foreign investors, and for the nepotism
rampant in the government.
CRITICISM of the Thanom-Prapass group
came to a sharp focus when a government
helicopter, overloaded with animal car-
casses, crashed while carrying a private
hunting party back to Bangkok' from a
national game preserve. The Thai press
leaped avidly on this mini-Watergate, and
became united in their opposition to the
Thanom-Prapass group.
During the past year, a new university
has been drawing many students and hope-
ful applicants into Bangkok. During the
summer break, students who couldn't find
jobs agitated for university reforms. When

six students were expelled for criticizing
a rector (university official), massive num-
bers of students rallied to their defense.
Late in the summer, the rector was fired
and the students were reinstated. The
student movement had won its :econd vic-
tory.
While support and energy were abund-
ant, student leadership with the support of
some professors raised their demands to
include promulgation of a constitution and
elections within the year. The demands had
much popular support. The constitution End
elections which had been promised by the
government were being withheld.
THE STUDENTS and professors w h o
raised the demands became a respected
information source, especially in light of
the recently-exposed government boondog-
gling. Understandably, the government at-
tempted to undercut the students' strength
through arrests for contraband literature
and alleged personal misconduct ofthe
leadership. A group of a dozen students
nLessors was jailed.
ant population of Bangkok was
incensed. They asked Prapass to release
the arrested students. He refused, and the
manner in which he did so, which the stu-
dents considered arogant, ignited new wav-
es of anger and disgust.
The students were then granted an aud-
ience with the king. It was very natural
that they approach him, because he was
known to disapprove of the regime, and
because he had always expressed a great
deal of affection for students. He regularly
gave saxophone concerts at the universi-
ties.
AT THE SAME time the king asked for
the release of the arrested students and fa-
culty, massive demonstrations were build-
ing in the streets. Police were ordered
not to fire on them, even when demonstrat-
ors smashed police booths and occupied city
hall. The king opened his palace as a sanc-
tuary for the students.
Prapass finally capitulated and agreed to
release the students and professors. But
his action came too late: sentiment for the
constitution and elections had been mobil-
ized. When some Bangkok citizens joined
the students in marching on the palace,
he lost control of the military and the
police, with some of them running wild and
mowing people down with machine gun
fire, while others refused to resist the pop-
ulace. After centuries of passively watch-
ing palace coups, Bangkok residents were

YI

Thanom Kittikachorn, a
"most hated" man
ready to begin intervention into their own
government.
At least a thousand people had been
killed. The ruling military elite had been
,deposed and eventually fled the country. A
civilian-controlled cabinet has been es-
tablished, and a constitution and popular
elections seem to be forthcoming. A whole
body of people who were never before in-
volved in politics now have an interest in
their government. The future could look
rosy.
BUT IT WOULD be a mistake to assume
that the future of a democratic Thailand is
assured. At any point in the next few
years, the military could stage a come-
back.
It is now the hungry season in Thailand,
and there is an acute rice shortage caused
by drought and flood, and aggravated by
the Thanom car'el's wanton export of last
years crop. Anyone who promises a full
rice bowl .vill find an eager audience
among poorer Thais.
And support exists for a government
takeover by a group or individual who can
convince the populace the communists in
the provinces are a threat to internal se-
curity.
But it is possible Thailand could follow
its present outline to a more progressive
and democratic future, if foreign interests
can be prevented from foisting the Thanom-
Prapass clique off onto the people of Thai-
land.

he

financial aid

wonderland

Arbor. The letter stated I
main a non-resident to re-
t scholarship. I could have
saw Cheshire cat smiling
an SAB second floor wii-
t 14 I received a letter
t reclassification commit-
application for residency
ied. I did not understand
y parents did not support
elied completely on Michi-
rces, I had lived here over
continuously. What m o r e
want?
e the other side of the
im," said the caterpillar.
.nd decided to appeal the
of the committee.

Three days later I received a
form E, confirming my $540 schol-
arship (MAG), credited to my ac-
count. Sent of course, to my par-
ents' old address and forwarded.
Two days later, a letter, sent di-
rectly to me in Ann Arbor, cut
the LSA scholarship from $890 to
$445. Tuition for the year was nw
$904. $540 plus $445 added up to
$985. I was $81 to the good. I kept
nibbling mushrooms.
I NEXT received my third E
form from the LSA comma-tee,
superseding the two previous ones,
and confirming the $445.,
Then a letter from an Assooate
Director of Financial Aids, asking
me to make an appoin'ment. What

work?"
"Thirty," I answered truthfully,
and left.
October 27 I received a letter
from financial aids, addre~sd to
my Ann Arbor address. My loan
application, filed in June, h a d
finally been processed. That was a
real exercise in logic. They had
learned I was a Michigan resider r,
but somehow calculated my par-
ents could give me $300, although
(1) the University has an affidavit
signed by my parents testifying to
the fact they are not supporting
me, (2) my parents are an o'i -of-
state source, and as such cannot
contribute to the support >f a
Michigan resident if he is to re-
main a resident according to U.ii-
versity regulations. At least tney

were prompt about it, even if they
recommended no loan.
The final straw came today, O-
tober 29. My parents had sent me
a letter forwarded from their old
address. It was addressed to:
David Kantor
2460 Lower State Rd.
Doylestown, Pa. 18901
and read:
"As Mr. Kantor is now a resident
he is no longer eligible for this
scholarship." (MAG)
I haven't had so much fun since
I had to drop a course that
wasn't available. But that's apoqher
story.
David Kantor is a senior in the
Literary college.

onfess to my crime-that of being a student.
se yet, a poor student. And I was .. . yes...
of state!"
isigalisiME S~issiais##iikisiigsge ams......: ::.............::........es~gges

TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Dan Biddle, Jack Krost, -Mary.
Long, Ted Stein, Rolfe Tessem
Editorial Page: Eric Schoch, Chuck Wil-
bur, David Yalowitz
Arts Page: Diane Levick, Mara Shapiro
Photo Technician: Karen Kosmauski

A more plausible explanation may lie
in the fact American involvement in In-
dochina continues to find governmental
falsehood and deception all too conven-
ient an ally to abandon. From the time
of the Tonkin Gulf incident in 1964 to this
latest Cambodian fabrication the truth
remains the greatest enemy to adminis-
tration Indochina policy..

*

* .
--__
L
f , x .
F

. ._ a

;},:

UGUST 31, I received a let-
to my parents' old ad-
orwarded to their new ad-
nd forwarded to me in Ann
The LSA scholarship had
sed to $890, covering the
ncrease.
said the Mad Hatter, "I;
ear, perfectly clear."
had scholarships adding
1430, meaning I only had
$1370, the lowest amount
started at this fine insti-
was still a little irritated,
ier.
he last week of. Septem-
ceived a letter from the
f the Vice-President for
c Affairs. My appeal had
nted. I was now a Michi-
And the fun began.

next?
"We're taking away your MAG
scholarship," he said, after ; en-
tered his office, "because you are
now a resident. You still com- out
ahead."
You're telling me, I thought. $459
(904-445) is a lot better than $!30.-
But then I had to listen .to him
talk for an hour about his old
school days, about his son, about
how some alumni never contribute
after they leave (hint, hint) e:c.,
etc.
"Students just don't realize they
can "work. Why, I worked twenty
hours a week while I was in
school."
"Excuse me, but I really must
leave now. I have to go to wrk."
"How many hours a week do you

paragraph ics
By BETH NISSEN
THERE~WAS A time not long ago when a diemon was only the main
ingredient in an icy summer pitcher of lemonade or the term used
for the brand new car that coughed gas and stubbed its tires at 10 m.p.h.
That uncomplicated age has gone the way of Ted Mack's Amateur
Hour.
The lemon has become the most successful marketing gimmick
since the word "disposable." And following the theory that you can't
use a successful sales idea too often, Madison Avenue fruit-pushers
have added so much lemon to every conceivable product that Vitamin
C almost drips off the advertising airwaves.
With the aid of carefully selected products, a sweating housewife
can look with satisfaction on a lemon-shined floor and lemon-waxed
woodwork while lemon-soaped dishes dry on the sink. If living in a
virtual atmospheric lemon grove doesn't satisfy your mania for the
little yellow citrus, there is an entire coordinated set of personal lemon
products.
You can shave with it, splash in it, lather your hair and power
yourself with it; you can perfume yourself, deodorize yourself and soap
yourself with it until every cell in your body puckers.
LEMON IS CERTAINLY not the only scent being pushed up American
nostrils. Although the market is currently lemon-oriented, the con-
sumer 'demand for artificial odors is high. American people have a uni-
que preoccupation with having themselves and their surroundings smell
like something other than what they naturally smell like.
Natural body perspiration odors are cause for much embarrass-
ment if one forgets the daily explosive blast of Right Guard in early
morning haste. And one's mouth should ideally smell like mint leaves
are cultivated in the back four molars.
The same social values make it a scandalous personal disgrace
if a trace of Wednesday's fish dinner is still noticable after the remains
have been neatly disposed of in the twist-tied, lemon-scented garbage
bag.
Not only are natural everyday odors to be neutralized, but they
are to be replaced with an odor that is publicly identifiable as pleas-
ant and natural: pine, mint, roses, violets - and lemons.
No one seems to notice the unnaturalness of a kitchen full of enough
pine for a thirty-foot Montana evergreen, or a girl who strides into
your History of Modern China class smelling like she just fell into
a vat in a Realemon factory. Whenever I smell one of these walking
citruses, I have a near instinctual urge to grab the nearest rag and

1

Letters to The Daily

NAME: WALTER CRONKTV CBS 'NEWS.
ALIAS: JOHN C14ANCEU4OR, AMD SONKL"E, IOtA BWOAW, NBC;
M~C 9i VAREID. DAN RATHER, OISL SCWAZR, CS;
NARAJ I? Oei?. ABC .
CKiAWE4 WITH RER~nb4: WA1UG~r- BPAK W A AD Coves- tom';
O 0AUCT1ON OF JUS MSCOPUNG ENEMY ULi rFWNGOF
Msit *P rASLS6- PMWU'RY (NUMtBR OC 4tUN1"$ NP
l*~1GA'1T ct) WliETPIG-; SGCRE CAMPAI" NDS;
1- ewtMETjGOvE ME1rr-%woDNG - I~peovE
HOMES Art 64N cLeM'r' Amo KLV BISCAyi4rNS umlERU6
RESI0NA11OtS OF W44ii' 1HO66 S1AfF; FINANCIAL C)EALS
AND ScwIo R~N~1NO PRo 4Gt4EWV; ju~aa PE skrJ&1Toi

petty SGC
To The Daily:
STEPHEN SELBST S article
(The Daily, Oct. 30) was a very
perceptive and accurate descrip-
tion of the ne'v Student Govern-
ment Council. At the last meeting
the Council wasted approximately
one-half hour on ridiculous mo-
tions introduced by former SGC
members Sandy Green and Dave
Hornstein. The Council has also
been wasting enormous amounts of
time trying to recall SGC Presi-
dent Lee Gill. Although I am a
member of Campus Coalition, I
feel that any talk of rezail at this

to committees which would con-
duct most of the business of Coun-
cil. Unfortunately, Coup-il got to
neither bill-at the last Sr.' meet-
ing because it was busy try ing to
recall Lee Gill.
Unless SGC moves auickdy to
organize itself, it will only be
strengthening the case of the Re-
gents in their 'c-usade" to destroy
the only strong voice of the stu-
dents.
-David c ambert
SGC Fepresentative
tuition scheme
To The Daily:

dent to sign a contract at. the time,
of the admissiM commitment for
a fixed tuition rate for the dura-
tion of the student's stay at tlhe
University. Such a system would
allow families and students to
budget financial resources and not
be faced with exhorbitant une:
pected increas? midstream ;n the
formal educa,; process. Inc-reas-
ed costs wo-Ot be reflected in inh
increased tuilor. rates for etc er
ing students anirtunced prio- to
the admissio commitmevi i °.,
prior to the payment of the en-
rollment dep is-t and the n Aitica-
tion to other s,-hools to wh c'h the