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 ...." .y. ." ... A 11 f.'J{ .}:::::: :' :'::'i:':":":"::!4":1::"I. .t 1" , };}:: ftdt } 1Jt :.. ty ... ..." .:{:h i ".i. ..J::::. :. ::. fS" .: .iii^:':':'i:ti: :":'. .". :': n..; i. l::^} :".":....... } N...l::.:."A ............. . ..Y SA ." L". t:.'::l.:?'.:"}t.t.:l; }::":" i.."..i'i "ยข:^e:':'.'.! ' . '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.' ":; . }? ": "}= }i. . .mv.I . v, :}i : ' r:: i:i:1: ::'r neif s.. .$t{ . . ...J,. .": : ":f :':!.. !:.