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Eighty-Three Years of Editorial Freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Solzhenitsyn and the
'free world' press
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
News Phone: 764-0552
FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 1974
/'
Responsibility, fame beckon
THE UNION BOARD is a committee
which affects the lives of all Univer-
sity students. The board concerns itself,
with matters relating to rental fees for
space in the Michigan Union, allocation
of such space and the like. It is compris-
ed of four faculty members and five stu-
dents, one of whom is the board presi-
dent.
Three of the student positions are up
for grabs, including the presidency. Stu-
dents selected for these seats will serve
for one year-June 1974 to June 1975.
Anyone interested in becoming presi-
dent can pick up the needed forms at
room 2205 of the Union between 8:30 and
4:30. Two major questions are asked,
dealing with activities and organizations
the student has been involved with, and
how the Union can best meet its respon-
sibility as laid out in the Union constitu-
tion. The forms are due March 19 with
interviews being conducted by the selec-
tion committee on the 23rd.
For the other two positions, students
are urged to contact Mike Pennanen at
SGC on the third floor of the Union.
SGC will fill the two posts on the basis
of interviews with all those interested.
The interviews are to be held sometime
between th March 23 and the end of the
month.
-BRIAN COLGAN
By PAUL O'DONNELL
AS THE WESTERN press dedi-
to Solzhenitsyn's expulsion Pram
Russian and loss of citizenship, I
am reminded of the repressive po-
litical and artistic situations in cer-
tam countries which the American
government calls its allies.
Although the Russian writer's
predicament has definite political
overtones, the best example of poi-
tical repression in America's "fam-
ily of allies", is that of So u t h
Viet Nam. This "democratic" na-
tion is reported to have more than
400,000 prisoners in approximately
1,000 prisons and . concentration
camps, six different types of poli-
tical police forces, official nolicies
of "extremination of undesirables"
(decreed by Thieu in a discourse.
given on October 24, 1972), and
laws which permit imprisonment
for periods up to two years on the
basis of mere suspicion of illegal
activities.
As for artistic and literary re-
pression, excellent examples exist
throughout the reign of dictator
Francisco Franco in Spain.
~ The exit of writers, painters, mu-
sicians, and movie directors from
Spain has such a long history that
Western newspapers dedicate lit-
tle space to it, preferring to criti-
cize the 'inhumane policies of their
ideological foe, the Soviet Union.
Nevertheless, the artistic a n d
literary figures who have been forc-
ed to leave Spain because of Fran-
quist repression are many; two
such persons1 are painter Pablo
Picasso and musician Paolo Cas-
als, both of whom chose to live and
die in foreign countries (Picasso
in France and Casals in F r ai n c e
and Puerto Rico).
THIS TRADITION of literary-ar-
tistic repression dates back to the
Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
Among the artists who died, were
killed, or were forced to leave
Spain as a direct result of the Civil
War are Miguel de Unamunr, Fe-
derico Garcia Lorca, Antonio Ma-
chado, and film director L u i s
Bunel.
Garcia Lorca, (one of the great-
est poet-playwrights of the twen-
tieth century, was executed by
Franquist troops in 1936. , simi-
lar incident provoked the exile of
writer-movie director Fernando Ar-
rabal. Arrabal's father -vas, ac-
cording to the story, arrested andt
presumably killed by Franc> s forc-
es during the war, (this sequence
is graphically depicted in Arrabal's
film ",Viva la Muerte").
Of all these cases, Miguel de
Unamuno's life and death is the
one that most closely resembles
Solzhenitsyn's. Originally exiled to
France during the dictatorship of
General Primo de Rivera in the
1920's, Unamuno returned to Spain
during the Republic to serve as
Rector of the University of Sala-
manca.
A CRITIC of the governments ofw
the Republic (1931-1939). he f-rtg-
inally expressed sympathies in
favor of the Franquist movement,
but became a figure of opposition
when he maintained a hostile
stance towards one famous Fran-
quist general.
When Franco learned of Un-
amuno's opposition, he is quoted to,
have said: "If necessary, shoot
him." It wasn't necessary- Spain's
great intellectual and philosopher's
health was broken; he died soon
after.
Self-exile and artistic repression
did not, however, end with the Civ-
il War. Thirty-five years later,
Franco is still in power, and writ-
ing anti Franquist lit "ature can
still be a ticket to the "carcel"
(prison).
A recent example f licterary sup-
pression is that )f the prohibition
of publication of the book "The
Chilean Way to a Coup D'etat" by
M. Vasquez Montalvak.
Although the b))k deals primar-
ily with internal Chilean affairs,
one might conje ,urie that t h e
similarties betweea Pinochet s
coming into power and Franco's
military takeover might have caus-
ed the ban. (One can only hope
that Pinochet will :lot be in power
as long as Franco).
SPAIN, like South Viet Nam,
Chile, Greece, and many of the
South American dictatorships, are
examples of non-'ommunist coun-
tries where political and artistic
repression are realicies.
Without minimiziig the import-
ance of the Solzhenlesyr case, this
reader of the Western press be-
lieves that the Russiart writers mis-
fortunes are being used as a tool
of Western anti-Communist pro-
paganda.
Solzhenitsyn turned t1e tables on
Western journalists r coittly when
he cited three instances in which
the "Free World" press had In-
vented stories about.him, saying,
"I am accustomed mo all kinds of
slander in the Soviet press, which
no one in the country has the pow-
er to correct or refuie. But I
never expected that in the West
such irresponsibility w o u 1 d hap-
pen."
He also denied reports, wide-
spread in manv Western papers,
that Moscow authoriies were not
permitting him to communicate
by telephone with his wife.
IT MAY BE of interest to men-
tion one case of political-literary
repression in one "Free World"
nation, the United States. U.S. of-
ficials recently refused to grant
a visa for travel to French leftist
writer Regis Debray, who wished
to visit his wife in Berkeley, Cali-
fornia, where she is studying.
The reason for this refusal'
There seems to be a clause in the
American immigration yaws which
denies entrance to "mentally ill
persons," "anarchists," and r e -
presentatives of International Com-
munist movements."
Debray's collaboration with Ar-
gentine revolutionary Ernesto
"Che" Guevara's guea'il.i activi-
ties in Bolivia, and his political af-
filiations in France and elsewhere,
must be the reasons for his ex-
clusion.
It is ironic that while the -7'z-
henitsyn affair is a hot item"
in the Western newspapers, Lhe
U.S. government refuses to grant
a visa to a French lefut writer
who wants to visit his wire in the
States.
THE WESTERN press can't be
criticized for using the Soizhenit-
syn case to expose what Time
magazine calls "the Kremlin's long
record of inhumanity," but there
are many sides to the story.
One doesn't have to hlve seen
Costa Gavra's f i 1 m "State of
Siege" to realize that -torture, ar-
tistic and political repression, con-
centration camps, and inteilectuals-
-in-exile are not excmsive v Com-
munist phenomena as certain
"Free World" newspap: rs might
lead us to believe
Paul O'Donnell
Correspondent for
Daily.
is
The
Euro fean
Michigan
Eseb tries deceitful maneuver
OUR BELOVED CONGRESSMAN, Mar-
vin Esch has finally given us a state-
ment regarding what he believes to be an
impeachable offense. In a letter to Presi-
dent Nixon, Esch said that failure to obey
a House Judiciary Committee subpoena
would be grounds for impeachment. Un-
der such circumstances, Esch said, "I be-
lieve you would be in contempt of Con-
gress which would constitute grounds' for
impeachment."
While Esch's statement is a small step
in the right direction, it is sadly inade-
quate. He continues to speak out against
those who have "succombed to emotion-
alism and on the basis of an incomplete
record of evidence concluded that you
are guilty of impeachable offenses."
Esch makes no mention of the fact
that the record of evidence is incomplete
because the president has resisted co-
operation every time that he could polit-
ically afford to, and because among the
key Watergate tapes two' are missing and
an 18 minute portion of another was de-
liberately erased.
MR. ESCH STILL REFUSES to take a
stand against Nixon's savage secret
bombing attacks on Cambodia which was
in direct violation of the Constitution.
He has failed to challenge Nixon's right
to operate a secret police force, account-
able only to the White House, which has
engaged in clearly illegal acts. Instead
he criticizes those colleagues who have
spoken out as "not living up to their
constitutional responsibilities." Rather, it
is Esch, who in not taking an unqualifiedo
stand in favor of impeachment and
against Nixon's unprecedented usurption
of power, has failed to live up to his re-
sponsibilities.
-MARNIE HEYN
and
DAN RUBEN
On student goenac
PESC conference: School?
By JONATHAN KLEIN
"THE REGENTS of the Univer-
sity of Michigan believe that
a strong, representative student
government is desirable."
So begins the "Regental S t a t e-
ment on Student Government."
Throughout, I am struck by the
shallowness of their historical per-
spective on Student Governmen:.
Yet, to fail to examine the p,-e-
sent crisis in its full context is to
preclude the possibility of under-
standing the problem, let alone
solving it.
The idea of stident governmelits
dates back to 1897 and the person
of one Wilson Gill (no relation to
the ex-president of SGC). Mr. C ill
was an industrialist dedicated to
urban reform. Initially he focused
his efforts on fighting the w a r d
system in urban politics, the ri e t
in the rudiments of "democracy",
futureleaders would be inculcat-
ed with the necessary values to
run the country.
As Joel Spring, an educational
historian, points out, "Througn the
course of this development there
was never any serious suggestion
that students be given real power.
The purpose was applied civics. not
to run the school." And therefore,
we find the remarks of a former
superintendent of the New York
School so contemporary th'it they
could have been delivered veroatim
by Carl Cohen or Sidney Fin- at
the November meeting of the LSA
Faculty."I believe the plan of
delegating any of the executive
powers of that officer (the prin-
cipal) to those so irresponsible as
students would be most unwise."
THE 1%0's brought a wave of
THE PROGRAM FOR Educational and
Social Change (PESO) is sponsoring
a conference this weekend entitled
"Schooling in Corporate America" to re-
examine the emergence of the American
school system in a radical political con-
text.
The conference will include panels
and workshops, beginning at 9 am Sat-
urday and continuing through the day.
The program will be held in MLB Audi-
torium 4.
Featured speakers include Sam Bowles,
Economics Professor at Harvard, Andrew
Fanta, lawyer and professor of educa-
tional sociology, Michele Russel, teacher,
Michael Katz, author of Class, Bureau-
cracy and Schools, Bob Peterson, organ-
izer for the Wisconsin Student Union,
Ron Alpern, University student, and sev-
eral other noted researchers, authors,
and organizers.
This conference can provide a much-
needed forum for those who are interest-
ed in rational and humane alternatives
to education as it presently exists.
IN ADDITION TO organizing this con-
ference, the PESC folks have pro-
duced an excellent comprehensive book-
let called What They Don't Teach You
in School - and Why which is a valuable
resource for conference participants and
anyone else who's interested in what
schools are and how they work.
The PESC papers on education are
available at the Cellar and at New Morn-
ing for $1. For more information on the
conference, call Kathy Kolar, 763-4797,
or Bob Stephens, 763-4189.
We have come to understand more and
more how large a part schdols play in or-
ganizing our lives. With that understand-
ing, we .can begin to organize in our
own defense.
--MARNIE HEYN
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Dan Biddle, Ted Evanoff, Mary
Long, Tim Schick, Becky Warner
Editorial Page: Clifford Brown, Caude
Fontheim, Paul Haskins, Marnie Heyn,
Patricia Tepper l
Photo Technician: Ken Fink
Money, publicity, and a book store
victory all led student politics to
believe themselves to be an inde-
pendent force. But the abs..nce of
real power - that is, the ability to
have a real part in the govern-
ment of the University community
- led to the frustration, the bc'ker-
ing, and the infighting we see to-
day.
Without any meaningful tasks,
SGC becomes a grand game. Stu-
dents have been subtly manipulat-
ed by the administration as they
play out the scenes of this ap-
parent comedy. Caught'up in the
grandiose aspects of all the pub-
ligity, student leaders have fought
with each other instead of r h e
administration.
LSA STUDENT Government,
along with its fellow school and
college governments, has manag-
ed to avoid many of the problems
of SGC, Without the publicity or
the delusions of grandeur we have
to our credit a number of ac-
complishments. LSA-SG wa in-
strumental in the creation of the
new Administrative Board, t h e
Academic Judiciary, grading ap-
peals procedures as well as get-
ting increased student representa-
tion on college Committees. The
Disorientation Booklet, published
annually, is distributed t. over
3000 freshpeople.
But, despite the lack of overt
conflict, the contradictions which
have torn SGC apart are inherent
in LSA-SG as well. The overwhelm-
ing defeat of the Governance Pro-
posal (which would have replaced
the Governing Faculty with a stu-
dent/faculty Governing Assembly)
aptly demonstrated the limits of
Student Government.
WE OPERATE within the para-
meters set by the administration.
We plead and protest; :hey decide.
The defeat of the Governance Pro-
posal, as well as the Faculty's re-
fusal to even acknowledge the well-
researched CUE (Commtee on the
Underclass Experience) Report,
only serves to reinforce what we
have experienced. We research,
write, argue and propose but it
has little effect. We are playing a
game in which the rules have been
rigged against us.
To recognize this sorry situation
is not to condone or even accept
it. What must be done is to re-
assess our role in light of this
knowledge. Students G vernments,
being little more than applied civ-
ics, have limited use. They can
provide support for student organ-
izations, provide a forum for stu-
dent concerns, and even influence
establishment policy in minimal
ways. Student Governments c a n
and should appoint the few stu-
dents who are allowed on college
Committees, which is one step bet-
ter than having them hand picked
by the administration.
BUT IF students look to Student
Governments for a source of
strength representing their inter-
ests against the Regents or t h e
faculty they will be so:ei: disap-
pointed. For as long as Student
Flounder fan mail
By ROB HORWITZ
Not so many years ago, I had a rather interesting job. I
dressed in a Goofy costume and entertained the kiddies at Disney-
land. While working there, I met Ronnie Zeigler, who was
a tourguide at the time. Who would have guessed that I would
ever come that close to fame and fortune.
Today, Ziggie, as I affectionately call him, is Presidential
press secretary, heady Micky to Bwana Dick in what is left of the
strewn wreckage of Nixonland.
On a recent trip to Washington I met Ziggie on one of his
afternoon customary afternoon strolls through Lafayette Square
and managed to coax one last tour out of him. He quietly snuck
me past the guard and in the White House via a delivery door.
We then headed on our tour.
"HEY, ZIGGIE, what's that little door for."
"That's the laundry chute."
I looked down the chute and fished out a couple of soiled,
crumpled hundred dollar bills and a check for $17,000 from
Amalgamated Inkblott, stuck to the side of the chufe.
"This is awfully strange laundry."
"Oh, those are from a couple of years back. We're in the
process of a little spring cleaning."
"What's that noise coming from down the chute?"
"That's the shredding machine. Makes quite a racket, doesn't
it? You know that's just about the only thing that's not inopera-
tive around here. It runs 24 hours a day. When it's not shredding
Presidential documents, it has its mouth full of letters."
"Fanmail from some flounder?"
"Not exactly."
"Hey, Zig, you look down. What's the matter?"
"Well, Dick is troubled."
"Why? Is it the rumors that Griffin is going to step down
from his Minority Whip post, because his closeness to the Presi-
dent is politically damaging?"
"No."
"Because his old buddy, Rep. Esch, said that ignoring a House
contempt subpoena is an impeachable offense?"
"No, the President just heard that Mr. Belvedere is retaping
all his commercials and will nt longer address himself. as "The
President." He claimed that he was receiving too many letters
calling for his impeachment. The pressure was too much."
"That'soo bad."
"DICK IS NOT worried about impeachment. Just fast week
he explained that all the evidence which he plans to hand over
proves him innocent of all changes. But he doesn't want to be
forced to resign. At least not till he gets his presidential box seats
to next year's Redskin games."
"I can certainly understand that. What's that smell, Zig?'
"That's feta cheese. We're keeping it on hand, just in case
Henry shows up with an Arab minister or two, we want to
be ready to make him feel at home.
"Show me more."
"I don't have too much time for' our little tour. I have
to get on the hot line to San Clemente. Our ice machine broke
down, 'and you know how Dick hates the ice cubes with the holes
in them, so we're airlifting 'in the machine from, White House
West, as we call it. I suppose we ought 'to get rid of these
things. The press made quite a stink about spending government
money for them. But how do they expect Dick to handle the inti-
cate duties of the Presidency staring at ice cubes with holes in
them?"
"Good point, Zig."
"I do have time to show you Dick's favorite room, though."
"The Oval Office?"
"No.",
"The boudoir?"
"No, the Trophy Room ... and here we are."
ZIG, YOU'VE come quite a ways snce Disneyland."
"I don't know. If things don't look up pretty soon, I may be
back pounding the tour beat. There I at least had security,
and the plumbing worked OK."
"What's that on the mantel?"
"Where?"
"Over there. Right next to the "Nixon's the One" sticker.
"I really must feed that sticker to the shredder . . . Oh, you
mean the baseball? That's the game ball from the champion-
ship game of the Executive League. The Senators and Congress-
men wouldn't let Dick play in their league, so he started his
own. I'm afraid Dick may never swing a bat or have a ball
again. The league disbanded last year when all his teammates
either resigned or went to jail."
"What a shame."
BBZZZZZZZZ.
"One buzz. That's me. I hate to rush off, but Dick's calling.
You better slip out the way you came in. Good luck."
"Same to you, Zig."
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' IfLWAUKEE JOURNAL
IL A/P 0
effect of which was to wrest the
last elements of community contr::l
from the cities and centralize pow-
er in the hands of the white midd!e
class. To this end he was instra-
mental in forming both the Sons
and Daughters of the American
Revolution.
BUT, BECOMING disillusioned,
he decided that the potential for
insuring "democracy" in Amer-
ica lay in the formation of student
governments. By training students
student activism and an inc.eased
role for student governments. Giv-
en budgets and other trappings of
power, students began to forget
their humble origins and where,
finally, the controls lay. But, as
the Regents not-so-abruptly point-
ed out last November, they - and
not the students - are in con-
trol of SGC in the final analysis.
The last few years have seen
these contradictions of power and
powerlessness played out on SGC.
x.
S
Contact your reps-
Sen. Phillip Hart (Derr), Rm 253, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol
Hill, Washington D.C 20515.
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