clhe Atk t iapt 43a4011
Eighty-Six Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Training China 's
new successors
Saturday, February 21, 1976
News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
LSA .
LSA Deanship search:
LosS o faith and guts
By MICHAEL CHINOY
HONG KONG - Premier Chou
En-lai's death has added new
urgency to a long-standing dis-
cussion within China on the
principles of political succes-
sion.
While most China-watchers
are focusing on the aging re-
volutionaries at the top of the
government, the Chinese them-
selves see the question as invol-
ving all levels of government,
down to the lowest administra-
tor.
The issue, according to the
Chinese press and radio, is
"training a generation of revo-
lutionary successors." It is a
phase from the Cultural Revolu-
tion of the mid 1960s that has
been stressed heavily in t h e
weekssince Chou's death.
It is a significant question, not
only for China but the rest of
the world: the hundreds of thou-
sands of administrators, or cad-
res, may well exert just as
much influence as the country's
top leadership on China's fu-
ture course.
AT THE CORE of the dis-
cussion is a provision written
into the Chinese constitution of
January, 1975, called the
"Three-In-One Combination."
Its goal is to make "the lead-
ing body of every organization
a three-in-one combination of
the old, middle-aged and
young."
Symbol of this new order is
Wang Hung-wen, a radical vet-
eran of the Cultural Revolution
in Shanghai. Just turned 40 -
the country is still committed to
the principles of the Cultural
Revolution.
Yet the "Three-in-One" Com-
bination has encountered resist-
ance, particularly from those
veteran revolutionaries w h o
were bitterly criticized a n d
sometimes forced from office by
youthful Red Guards during the
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'While most China-watchers are focusing on
the aging revolutionaries at the top of the gov-
ernment, the Chinese themselves see the ques-
leading posts today were once
members of the 'children's
corps.' (in the 1930s and 1940s).
If they have no concern for the
young cadres and do not want
to train their succesors, do they
not negate their past?"
A recent Radio Peking broad-
cast cited recent events at the
Taching oil field (China's mod-
el industry) as an example of
how to resolve these problems
in the proper Maoist fashion.
Some older oil workers, t h e
broadcast said, objected that
the average age of the leaders
of one large drilling unit was
only 35. In response,'the local
Communist Party committee
organized everybody to study
"Chairman Mao's instructions
on training millions of succes-
sors to the revolution."
. The broadcast concluded that,
as a result, "Everyone came to
the profound understanding that
it is totally wrong to belittle the
abilities and role of young cad-
res, and to adopt the narrow
and conservative view of dis-
trusting them."
The effectiveness of these ex-
hortations cannot be measured.
But they score how seriously
China's leaders view the prob-
lem of succession. And, there is
rTHE SELECTION process leading to
Billy Frye's five-year appointment
as Literary College (LSA) dean was
not conducted within the mimimum
standards of fairness or thoroughness.
The available evidence suggests that
both the University's administration
and f a c u l t y exerted overpowering
pressure on the Board of Regents and
the deanship search committee to
select Frye.
The entire affair sheds new light
on a chronic problem: Regental in-
ability or unwillingness to part ways
even occasionally with the wishes of
University President Robben Fleming
and Vice President for Academic Af-
fairs Frank R h o d e s. How can the
Board believe its choice of Frye to be
just and intelligent when they failed
to interview any other candidates,
including the t w o finalists, John
D'Arms and Phoebe LeBoy? The Re-.
gents claim that the "inside" status
of D'Arms, who is chairman of the
classical s t u d i e s department, pre-
cluded the need for an interview.
And while Fleming was dispatched to
the University of Pennsylvania to
speak with Prof. LeBoy, and returned
with a highly favorable report, the
stakes were just too high for the fu-
ture of LSA students and faculty to
rely on a second-hand appraisal.
IT ALSO SEEMS at the very least
odd that Connecticut College Dean
Jewel Cobb, the Board's unanimous
choice last winter to run the college,
did not even make this year's list of
ten finalists. Did her credentials en-
counter such a drastic deterioration
in so short a period of time? For this
the search committee must be held
accountable.
Another infuriating element in the
process was the absence of under-
graduate representation on the search
committee. Only procedural haggling
between Fleming and LSA Student
Government President Amy Berlin
prevented the appointment of two
student members. Where the blame
lies Is unimportant. That fact re-
mains that students were denied in-
put into a decision vital to their aca-
demic futures.
By no means is this meant to im-
ply that Frye was a poor choice.
Quite to the contrary, his credentials
are impeccable. For nearly two years,
he has piloted the college through
difficult times both financially and
spiritually as acting dean. He has the
widespread support of both faculty
and administration, and t h e r e is
every indication that he'll do a fine
job.
BUT ONCE AGAIN, deeply troubling
and unanswered questions have
emerged about the level of the Uni-
versity's commitment to affirmative
action. Last winter, the Board of
Regents had the chance to be on the
cutting edge of an exciting and un-
precedented reform hiring Cobb, a
Editorial Staff
ROB MEACHUM BILL TURQUE
Co-Editors-i-Chief
JEFF RISTINE ................ Managing Editor
TIM SCHICK.................. Executive Editor
STEPHEN HERSH.............Editorial Director
JEFF SORENSEN Arts Editor
CHERYL PILATE .............. Magazine Editor
STAFF wRITERS: Susan Ades, Tom Allen, Glen
Allerhand, Marc Basson, Dana Bauman, David
Blomquist, James Burns, Kevin Counthan,
Jodi Dimick, Mitch Dunitz, Elaine Fletcher,
Phil Foley, Mark Friedlander, David Garfinkel,
Tom Godell Kurt Harju, Charlotte Heeg,
Richard James, Lois Josimovich, Tom Kettler,
Chris Kochmanski, Jay Levin, Andy Lilly, Ann
Marie Lipinski, George Lobsenz, Pauline Lu-
bens, Teri Maneau, Angelique Matney, Jim
Nicoll, Maureen Nolan, Mike Norton, Ken Par-
sigian, Kim Potter, Cathy Reutter, Anne
Marie Schiavi, Karen Schulkins, Jeff Selbst,
Rick. Sobel, Tom Stevens, Steve Stojic, Cathi
Suyak, Jim Tobin, Jim valk, Margaret Yao,
Andrew Zerman, David whiting, Michael Beck-
man and Jon Pansius.
tion as involving all
levels of government,
down to the lowest administrator.'
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Chou En-lai
a youngster by Chinese stand-
ards - Wang was ranked se-
cond only to Chairman M a o
Tse-tung in the official hierar-
chy published at the time of
Chou's funeral in January.
Wang's emergence on the na-
tional scene indicates not only
that younger figures can attain
positions of influence, but that
height of the cultural revolustion.
ONE RECENT article in the
"People's Daily" noted, "Some
cadres are worried that young
cadres lack experience. They
are somewhat disdainful of the
latter, who in their eyes are but
a 'children's corps.' "
But, the article continued,
"Many old cadres in various
little doubt that the handling of
this issue will have a major
impact on China's path once
Chairman Mao and his aging
colleagues have passed from the
scene.
* * *
Michael Chinoy is stationed
in Hong Kong on assignment
for PNS. Copyright PNS 1976.
1
Letters
to
The
Dili
Billy Frye
MSA Secondly, when an eight per
cent voter turnout at the polls
To The Daily: is regarded as a record drowd,
I WOULD like to express my a "Tuesday night masascre" as
horror, disgust, and disbelief of such leaves doubts in my mind
the reprehensible action of the as to whether Michigan students
Michigan Student Assembly really need, let alone want, a
(MSA) in regards to C e n t r a 1 student government.
Student Judiciary (CSJ).
Having served on SGC, MSA's Finally, as Mr. DiGiuseppe
predecesor, I can only see trou- pointed out in his letter (Daily,
ble ahead for student govern- Feb. 19), MSA, and its by-
ment at Michigan. The outright laws pattern a government
firing of the student Supreme much like the Federal govern-
Court over obvious political dif- ment. The system is provided
ferences raises doubts as to sev- with checks. If one branch over-
eral points. steps its power, another can
First ... does the MSA mem- step in and check it. The MSA
bership feel that it constitutes action has eliminated t h e
the only students on campus in- checks. and balances. Forming
telligent enough to think for a flunky CSJ is tantamount to
themselves? Hadn't they con- having no CSJ at all.
sidered the existence of students The actions of Feb. 10 appear
who support the CSJ actions? illegal on both procedural a n d
substantive grounds. How can
MSA ignore its, own Compiled
Code and the basic concepts of
democracy? Therefore, I can
only surmise that the ten-mem-
ber CSJ is still seated.
-Randy Schafer
Feb. 20, 1976
Nigeria
To The Daily:
I very strongly disagree with
Professor Uzoigwe's commen-
tary on the recent coup in Ni-
geria. (Michigan Daily, Thurs-
day, February 19). His sugges-
tion that the attitude of t h e
average Nigerian towards a
change of government is one of
lethargy is at best very mis-
leading. There is overwhelming
evidence to the contrary.
People said "Bravo" to Coup
No. 1 of January 15, 1966 be-
cause it was a Godsend in the
light of the precarious political
climate at the time. Only a sec-
tion of the country overtly said
"Bravo" after the July 29, 1966
Coup No. 2, if at all anybody
did. The fact that this coup pre-
cipitated Nigeria's traumautic
civil war bears testimony to
this. To Coup No. 3 of July 29,
1975, the "Bravos" came loud
and clear again because it an-
swered the peple's prayers for
salvation from a tyrant-in-the-
making leading a debauched,
sit-tight government that just
didn't know when to throw in the
towel. I have every reason to
believe that the generality of
people would not have s a i d
''Bravo" to the recent coup No.
4 if it succeeded. The Nigerians
I know are not that fickle or ig-
norant.
Professor Uzoigwe made a
serous error of omission: In
eight months of leadership, Gen-
eral Mohammed accomplished
what all his predecessors, put
together, could not achieve in
almost two decades of self-gov-
ernment. This, to my mind, is
enough to mitigate any Bond-
style bank-vault-emptying atroc-
ities rumors might have charg-
ed the late General with during
the civil war.
Lastly: so General Moham-
med was no saint. But who is?
Saints exist only in Heaven -
and in the imagination of Cath-
olics.
--Kunle Ogunde
February 20, 1976
Robben Fleming
Arts & Entertainment
'TIME OF YOUR LIFE':
Comedia presen ts
7/6 of a bore
Frank Rhodes
brilliant black woman. Administra-
tive pressure and respect for faculty
prerogatives not withstanding, it was
within their grasp. Plainly speaking,
they lost their guts. And while the
deanship is, fortunately, in eminently
capable h a n d s, one has to wonder
whether the University considers af-
firmative action a meaningful method
to reverse generations of injustice, or
just a cluster of platitudes to be cast
aside when positions of real account-
ability are being filled.
Sports Staff
BRIAN DEMING
Sports Editor
MARCIA MERKER. .....Executive Editor
LEBA HERTZ . Managing Editor
JEFF SCHILLER .. ... Associate Editor
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Al Hrapsky, Jeff
Liebster, Ray O'Hara, Michael wilson
NIGHT EDITORS: Rick Bonino, Tom Cameron,
Tom Duranceau, Andy Glazer, Kathy Henne-
ghan, Ed Lange, Rich Lerner, Scott Lewis, Bill
Stieg
ASSISTANT NIGHT EDITORS: Enid Goldman,
Marcia Katz, John Niemeyer, Dave Wihak
DESK ASSISTANTS: Paul Campbell, Marybeth
Dillon, Larry Engle, Aaron Gerstman, Jerome
Gilbert, Andy Lebet, Rick Maddock, Bob Miller,
Joyce Moy, Patrick Rode, Arthur Wightman
TODAY'S STAFF:
NEWS:, Mitch Dunitz, Jay Levin, Phil
Foley, Rob Meachum, Cathy Reut-
ter~ Jim Tobin, Bill Turque
EDITORIAL PAGE: Stephen Hersh,
Jay Levin, Ann Marie Lipinski, Ken
Parsigian
ARTS: Jeff Sorenson
PHOTO TECHNICIAN: Pauline Lu-
bens
By JEFFREY SELBST
IMAGINE A PIE. Slice it into
six pieces. Now try to serve.
seven of them. What are you
left with? A lot of meringue
on the fingers, that's what.
The Time of Your Life, 7/6
of a Play, an offering by the
newly formed UAC Ars Come-,
dia, was dull, draggy and poor-
ly acted, and the playlets that
make up this sad attempt at
a whimsical collage wereeasi-
ly as vapid and facile as any-
thing ever written.
The first little ripe fruit to
fall from the tree was a "one-
act" from Neil Simon's Plaza
Suite. Now it may be that Si-
mon peoples his comedies with
only New York-Jewish-swinger-
or-kvetchy-old characters be-
cause he is a consummate art-
ist. I suggest that this is not
the case, however. This play,
"A Visitor from Forest Hills,"
was a strangely cliched, truly
idiotic offering.
SIMON'S IDEA of funny is
to throw together a neurotic
bride-to-be, an apoplectic fath-
er, and a too-typical Jewish
mother. You see, this girl has
locked herself into the bath-
room and won't come out, be-
cause she's scared of getting
married. Everyone's waiting
downstairs for the ceremony
to begin. But, lo, all it takes
are the words "cool it" from
her beloved and her fears are
allayed. Plenty yoks, no?
So, with this non-vehicle firm-
ly in hand, director Satinder
Sood decided to soil the whole
affair by casting John McCar-
thy as the father. Watching Mc-
Carthy act is rather like watch-
ing a man drown; fascination
is provided by horror.
He displayed, in his clucking,
too - quickly - spoken, blustering
insincerity, a thorough and ut-
ter lack of understanding of
his character. He has no stage
presence, and utters his lines
with a great deal off expecta-
tion.
NANCY OLSON, while closer
to the neurotic-ideal of Norma,
was if not sincere then at least
funny. When she said her punch
lines, she said them without
comprehension but with an in-
tuition for ther humorous
sound. Her f o i 1 , McCarthy,
vacillated from menace to cloy-
ing sweetness. Personally, I
found his menace-mode the
most stupid.
Holson looked her part, and
she had the voice to play it.
A little too whiny, too eye-rofl-
ing, she lacked the understand-
ing to curb her excesses.
The second playlet was from
Renee Taylor's Lovers and Oth-
er Strangers. The two charac-
ters were Hal, a handsome, ego-
centric married man, and Ca-
thy, his short, whining, nnggy
mistress. I couldn't have pos-
sibly cared less about either of
them.
MY ONLY impression of the
piece was that it was cnarac-
terized by bad taste; further-
more, the mouth on that aztress
who played Cathy - th; way
she said, "But Haaaal!" - was
enough to make anyone cringe.
After a badly-needed inter-
mission, things picked up a bit.
A passable though dull selec-
tion, again from Lovers and
Other Strangers, opened the
half. The actors were indiffer-
ent (Jim Stern, Ilene Mosko-
witz, et al.) with t h e excep-
tion of Alathea Wilson, who
played Bea. She was the quin-
tessence of the Jewish mother,
except Bea is supposed to be
Catholic. Oh, well.
The most regrettable part of
this one was its insistence on
staging theatrical cliches. Is
there no other way t. portray
simultaneous action than 'by
freezing the action and dim-
ming to a tableau? Innovation
and freshness are mare than
rhetoric - they are often es-
sential to keep the audience
interested when one is reviv-
ing a play.
ANOTHER PLOY, used by
dramatists from Shakespeare
to Goldsmith to Shaw, is the
tossing about of aphorisms, not
wholly believed by those who
speak them, for humorous ef-
fect. When this is done by the
parents at the end of this scene,
it seems resigned and' bore -
and so the audience is bored.
The last playlet, "I'm Her-
bert" from Robert Anderson's
You Know I Can't Hear You
When The Water's Running,
was deft, funny, and perform-
ed with aplomb. Sood had no
chance to muck things lip, as
there was no blocking to speak
of. Herbert and Muriel, the
senile old pair whose attenmpt-
ed reminiscences make up the
play, were performed neatly
and well. Terry Stombaugh es-
pecially was stodgy and raf-
fish as the old man. He had
his character down well-there
may be something to method
acting, after all.
The sets and the direction, the
acting, and the air of forced
informality surrounding the
production smacked of a high-
school play. Producer Norman
LoPatin had spoken to the press
earlier and had expressed some
sort of optimism as to the fu-
ture of the group. Now, press
releases are one thing, but if
LoPatin really believes that, I
should be surprised if his head
doesn't explode.
Too bad. Ann Arbor needed
the Ars Comedia, but not like
this.
Varsity band concert
triumphs with marches
By JOHN MILLER
God created bands to play
marches. We were given two
convincing displays of this pro-
position last night in Hill Aud-
itorium. Two rousing pieces, one
by Sousa and one by King, serv-
ed as the finale to the Varsity
Band's concert, and earned en-
thusiastic applause from the
audience.
But the proposition is decep-
tive, for the band also con-
vinced us that they should play
only marches. Composers who
wrote modern music for bands
are woefully limited in the ar-
ray of effects they can pro-
duce. The result is a repetitious
summary of a bnd trying to
he an orchestra.
pressed a quiet cloister-like feel-
ing reminescent of Gregorian
chants.
Another half-successful piece
was a section entitled "Burles-
que" from Persichetti's Diver-
timento for Band. Special ef-
fects conveyed a modern, en-
joyable sense of ourlesque, not
the Roaring Twenties type.
Immediately after this was the
section called "soliloquy" where
a trumpet makes a profound,
beautiful statement. Unforcun-
ately, the trumpeter had a ten-
dency to sputter in the upper
octaves - sort of like Hamlet
with a lisp. But the sectio i ends
with the trumpet fading slow-
ly into a misty, flutey vale, the
soliloquy's passion having sud-
ci a f
Contact your reps-
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