Page 4-Saturday, November 19, 1977-The Michigan Daily
w h ~ ffr c h g an a f l
Eighty-Eight Years of 'Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Vol. LXXXVIII, No. 63 News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Woodyon the grid
I TLOOKED extremely rocky for the Red and Gray that day;
The score stood two to zip with but one minute left to play.
So, when Springs walked off the grid in tears, and Gerald did the same,
Ohio fans were somber, and their muffled cheers were lame.
A straggling few got up to go, leaving there the rest,
With that hope which springs eternal within the human breast.
For they thought: "If only Archie were around to save the day,"
But Griffin had graduated; all they had was Woody Hayes.
But a little cold had kept Hayes in the Buckeye locker room,
And the radio brought tidings of impending Buckeye doom.
So on that stricken multitude a black silence congealed,
For there seemed but little chance of Woody's getting to the field.
But high above the gridiron, in a room tinged blue and maize,
Bob Ufer floated happily in a maize-and-blue-tinged haze.
And one too many "MEEEECHIGANs" escaped from out his mouth;
Woody's color turned to purple: "God damn it, let me out!"
Then from the Buckeye multitude went up a joyous call
It rumbled in the Diag; it bounced off Angell Hall.
It thundered through the Rockies and touched white Pacific surf;
That stocky guy in shirt-sleeves had set foot upon the turf.
THEN A HUNDRED thousand tongues were mute, and awe engulfed the place;
Two hundred thousand eyes beheld the sneer on Woody's face.
Twenty trembling sophomores held yard markers tight in hand,
And Cavender turned in wonder, and hushed the blarings of the Band.
Then Bo sent in his starters;. the board read "First and ten."
The boys in blue said silent prayers, then glanced at Hayes again.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, his eyes grow dark with hate.
And each knew where Hayes planned to be come 1978.
Then Huckleby muttered a curt "Let's go!" and Davis echoed the call.
Ten toughened hands grabbed the ground, and Downings's locked on the ball.
Then Leach cried out the signals, with a terse "Hut-one-two-three!"
And Downing pushed the pigskin ... Oh, Lord! Past Leach's knee!
A tenth of a million frantic eyes sought a tumbling patch of brown;
"No! Oh, no!" the Blue legions cried, and the stands erupted in sound.
"Surely Michigan has possession!" cried minister, judge, and harlot.
But the uniform on the boy with the ball was battleship-gray and scarlet.
With a smile of Christian charity, the face of Woody shone;
He stilled the rising tumult, and bade the game go on.
A pitch-out, a pass, an open hole, and ferocious blocking aplenty -
Three downs later the ball was rooted like a tree on the Michigan 20.4
HE SMILE as giie 'om Woody's lips, with revenge his teeth wereclenched.
t And from hispantin gminions, a throaty cry was wrenched. s
Fdr on their hero's furrowed brow, a decision was weighing heavy.
Then he turned at last with certainty to his kicker Vlade Janakievski.
The stripling looked at the scoreboard, then turned his gaze to his mentor.
Then he wheeled with trepidation, and strode to the gridiron's center.
And now the center grips the skin, and now he lets it fly,
And now the holder tenses, and the football arcs through the sky.
The throngs stream out upon the field, and the clock shows a row of zeroes.
The joyous fans sing the song of victors, and hoist on their shoulders
their heroes.
All alone stands Woody, the penalty flag in his hand.
He had been on the field when the kicker kicked, and he struggles
to understand.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright,
The Band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
Michigan men are laughing, and Michigan children shout,
But there is no joy in Bucktown - Mighty Woody has been shut out.
- Jim Tobin (with the usual apologies
to E. L. Thayer)
SADA T VISITS
THE KNESSET
Israel and the Arab reaction
By ROD KOSANN
The Mideast has become an
area of the world in which con-
crete initiatives for peace have
proved even more elusive than
peace itself. So when Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat ventures
into the Israeli Knesset today, his
address to that body should gain
recognition as a possible turning
point in an ongoing state of
hostility that has marked Arab-
Israeli relations for decades. If
Sadat's visit achieves the
"dialogue" that Menahem Begin
says he is looking for, it will do
more to serve the cause of peace
in the Middle East then decades
of U.N. debate and shuttle diplo-
macy.
In spite of such prospects,
Sadat has been the target of a
steady stream of criticism laun-
ched by diverse elements in the
Arab world. Arab claims that his
visit is a stake aimed at the heart
of Arab solidarity have been
widespread, not withstanding
Sadat's assurances to the con-
trary.
FOREMOST AMONG those
who have withheld support for
the visit is Syrian President
Hafez al-Assad, whose support
Sadat has sought tirelessly. That
attempt fell sort when the
Syrian government, after exten-
sive meetings between the two
leaders, called on Arab nations to
"shoulder the responsibilities in
facing the dangers inherent in an
Arab leader's trip to Israel." Re-
leasing such a statement, Syria
effectively closed ranks with Iraq
and the Palestinian Liberation
Organization (PLO) who respec-
tively branded Sadat's trip a
"deviation" from Arab Unity,
and a "flagrant defiance of Arab
popular will." The PLO also cited
the visit as a "dangerous turning
point, and a gain for intrigues of
international Zionsim and the
United States."
To accept too readily Arab
claims of unity is to accept along
with it a corresponding degree of
blindness. The past decade has
provided a framework for civil
war in Lebanon and Jordan, a
Kurdish rebellion in Iraq and a
border war between Egypt and
Libya. In such conflicts one does
not find solidarity. The fact
rm~ains that the strongest bond
ihthe Arab world is a mutual
.;lWtility tohe Jewish state.
If it is not Arab unity, what then
lies below the surface of Arab an-
tagonism to a Sadat visit? Ex-
cluding the notion of internation-
al intrigue, it is a far more funda-
mental issue - specifically, Is-
rael's very right to exist. Being
the first Arab leader to visit the
jcountry since it gained statehood
in 1948, Sadat has now lent his
tacit approval to that right. It is
this gesture which the Israelis
hail, but the more radical Arab
elements deplore.
THE SYRIAN statement illus-
trates this point by charging that
Sadat's trip realizes for Israel
"gains it failed to achieve,
through war or otherwide, in the
last thirty years." Since Israel's
military ventures have consis-
tently secured both material and
territorial benefits, the statement
undoubtedly refers to the Arab
recognition of its existence that
has eluded Israel for so long.
Syria's willingness to grant this
recognition is dubious, and Presi-
dent Assad's assertion not so long
ago that "the refugee's have a
right to return to the land from
which they were driven in 1948"
does little to provide Israel with
any sort of assurances.
Even more intransigent in their
refusal to recognize the state of
Israel is the PLO, and their dedi-
cation to Israel's demise looms
ominously behind claims of Arab
popular will. The Palestinian
body has consistently rejected
U.N. resolution 242, thereby
a Palestinian state on the West
Bank. It is unlikely that Sadat
will directly encourage any sem-
blance of a separate peace. How-
ever, the Sadat initiative, be-
cause it occurs on Israeli terri-
tory, is a major step towards eas-
ing the tension that has persisted
between Israel and the Arab
world.
IF THIS IS what Syria and the
PLO object to, then Israel must
grimly acknowledge that in the
future these parties will not be
bargaining in good faith. If they
cannot accept Sadat's visit as a
Acknowledging Sad at's
initiative, Israel halted the much
disputed oil drilling which it has
conducted in, the Gulf of Suez.
However symbolic this policy is,
it is nonetheless an effort to give
something in return. In an area of
the world that has spawned four
wars in three decades such effor-
ts are not to be belittled.
President Sadat has taken an
admirable initiative towards
peace, and subsequently allowed
Israel to gain greater insight into
his motives. Yet, the reaction to
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denying Israel's right to exist
even at pre-1967 borders. Conse-
quently, it is to be expected that
the PLO, more than any other
body, would react most harshly
to a Sadat visit.
Were it not the prospect of rec-
ognition that has caused tempers
to flare in the Arab world, then
one must wonder whether opposi-
tion to the Sadat visit is aimed at
the substantive effects it might
have. The speech Sadat gives will
probably be an unyielding one,
calling for Israeli withdrawal and
gesture of peace, it is because
they are unwilling to commit
themselves to Israel's existence.
On these grounds Israel should
continue to adopt the firmest
position when dealing with Syria,
and refusing to deal with the PLO
in any eventual creation of a
Palestinian state. Any other
course of action is folly.
In dealing with the moderatet
Arab states (who have remained
silent on the visit) the Israelis
should loudly applaud gestures of
peace, and respond in kind.
his visit by Syria and the PLO has
given Israel an even better un-
derstanding of their motives.
Given that understanding, Israel
should remain' absolutely stead-
fast in its dealings with those par-
ties whose main interest is the de-
nial of its existence.
Rod Kosann is a frequent
contributor to the Daily 's ed-
itorial page.
Letters to The Daily
The organizations secondary
Begin goal was to see that an indepen-
To The Daily: dent Israel would be prepared to
"Letters to the Editor" rarely defend itself in the event of
repair the damage done by a foreign attack. This they also
newspaper in the first instance, achieved along with the help of
and even less often do they other military organizations.
change the minds of people who At no time was the killing of
are obstinate in their beliefs. Yet, civilians (Arab or otherwise) a
there is a duty to see that the goal of the organization. There
truth is told, are those that insist that such ac-
Menahem Begin was the head ts did in fact take place. They did
of an organization called "Ingun" not. But even conceding that they
which operated in British oc- did, the important fact to bear in
cupied Palestine before the mind is that Begin and other
creation of the State of Israel. leaders insisted that theip troops
The organization's prime goal not engage in such activitity, and
was to see that the British no when innocent lives were taken
longer find occupation of foreign inadvertently they were the first
soil a "pleasant" task. This goal to express their deep regret.
they achived by armed attacks on Thirty years later Begin still
military and related in publicly expresses his regret
stallations. over the taking of civilian lives
during necessary and justified
retaliatory raids.-
There were no Irgun equivalen-
ts to Munich, Ma'alot, Kiryat
Shemoneh, Savoy Hotel, Lod Air-
port,\ etc. etc. etc. But most im-
portant is the fact that Palestine
leaders don't apologize for the
taking of civilian lives. They
don't regret the shedding of in-
nocent blood. They gloat about it.
They take pride in it. Each one
rushes to get to the international
media first to take credit for their
"heroic" victory over the Zionist
enemy.
Before anyone makes com-
parisons between Palestinian
terrorist groups and the Irgun it
would be wise for them to know
something about history first.
-David Arm
_..._ r :..._.. ..... .,.. ...... .,...".
Never end a
sentence with a
prep ositiot
By JEFFREY SELBST
Many people have written long,
'discursive, and frequently scolding
pieces on the manner in which English
is commonly abused. But what gives
the color and rich variety to the
language is its essential (and I do mean
essential) ambiguity. Other languages
have a precision we can't seem to mat-
ch in our native tongue, and this is why
foreigners often have a difficult time
learning it.
But the ambiguities lend themselves
to amusing incidences.; The rules of
grammer, st rictly followed, do also.
There is " story whose origin is the Ar-
my, circa 1944, about a general who
wrote t (in longhand) a rather
length set of instructions regarding
the cleanliness of the base camp. It en-
ded: "P.S. By the side of the mess hall,
you will find trash cans to throw your
garbage into." The notice no sooner ap-
peared than the postscript was circled
in pencil, and the following appended:
"Don't you know you never end a sen-'
tence with a preposition?"
THERE WAS much tittering in camp
that day, and on the next, a further
notice was appended to the original,
also written in the general's longhand:
"There is a certain amount of insubor-
dination in this camp, UP WITH
WHICH I WILL NOT PUT."
The rules of grammer lend itself to
such tortured prose. Yet the following is
also possible, even though correctly
phrased. I was listening to an opera in
the car the other day, and the friend
riding with me asked what it was. I
replied that it was an opera entitled
"Spanish Harlem", written in 1957. My
friend knows nothing of opera. He
merely raised his eyebrows. Of course I
was lying through my teeth, but
, decided to continue. "Yes," I added,
"the name of the lead soprano is Rose.
As a matter of fact, Aretha Franklin's
famous song resulted from her unsuc-
cessful audition for the part of Rose in
the 1968 national touring company of
the opera."
"What song?" he asked.
"WHY," I SAID, " 'There is a Rose in
Spanish Harlem' ". For just a fleeting
moment, I think he bought it. Isn't pun-
ctuation wonderful? It allowed me to
take the straight lyric: "There is a rose
in Spanish Harlem", repunctuate it,
and viola: "There is a Rose in 'Spanish
Harlem' ". Countless other examples of
this juggling abound.
What I think infuriates the purists so
much is that many people here in Ann
Arbor haven't the basic apparatus for
playing with words or even making
puns, as in this rather silly example. At
Cornell, a faculty member was recently
appointed Dean of Writing; it' is
perhaps instructive to note that he was
assailed by a colleague in the History
department for being, of all things,
unable to write.
The best literature, to me, is that which
employs words in many different ways,
sometimes even in the same sentence.
The writing of Peter DeVries seems to
exemplify this best (seems? doest it,
in fact, or does it not? well, seems, as in
"seems to me"). The ultimate wor-
dsmith, who can blithely name a
healthfood -restaurant "Oat Cuisine"
(or "Of whom it can be said that" etc.).
SOMETIMES, I'LL concede, this
results in tortured phrases. The
general's second grammer was,
although correct, functionally no better
than his first. And why?
Because the mark of a good writer or
speaker of English (or any other
tongue, for that matter) learns through
heavy usage how to construct a senten-
ce or paragraph so that these phrases
never come up. Most writers on the
college level-or almost apy
level-write their sentences in a sort of
headlong dash, skimming neatly over
clumsey phrases like a runner going
over hurdles. And with about as much
concern for the hurdle.
'The way to avoid those threats is to
start at the beginning of the paragraph
with a clear idea of what needs ,to be
states within, and prepare for the
possible ambushes that await.
And beyond that point, one can start
to have fun with the material.
Or: with the material, one can start
to have fun.
Which is to say, assuming "material"
and "fun", the latter is what one can
begin having with the former...
Jeffrey Selbst, who, for the Daily
editorial page writes frequently, is
functionally literate - but obvious-
ly insane.
U ~
...AND TO G, BOLDLY, WHERE NO MAN, UNTIL NOW, HAS. EVER GONE ..TO.
I