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 WNW" TtNg. tG4 $tS '!a y1-41t t KICW16 l AILY I. GET THE FEE{L04c, 4;,ROW T oF- OUR SEE 11 C. tACN oAE LI-,E "THIS! 1 /J I J i- ' ' U - I A xe r 4 r SLAC t su o i f j N II I I .- re ) i I / / ^ .r'd +Z + .. CVN t 0LS3 tRN['' j SE mxnb C1AR~irI 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