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stA Sirgigan DaU'
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TUESDAY, MAY 26, 1970 NIGHT EDITOR: ROB BIER
University autonomy
THE LONG BATTLE between the state's
universities and the State Legislature
over autonomy could soon be ended by
simply abolishing university autonomy,
and there is a proposed amendment to the
state's constitution that would do just
that.
Evidently the Legislature does not like
the i d e a of a world-renowned and re-
spected university lurking in the great
state of Michigan. At least, that is one
conclusion that can be drawn from the
proposed amendment.
While it is somehow unclear just how
serious the men in the statehouse are
about doing this thing,its mere existence
on t h e legislative docket is a sobering
thought, for several reasons.
If passed, t h e constitutional amend-
ment would effectively end the annual
struggle between the Legislature and the
University over out-of-state students.
Each year, the Legislature asks for a re-
duction in the number of out-of-state
students, each year the University fights
it and each year they lose a little. The re-
sult is an out-of-state tuition w h i c h
climbs ever faster than the in-state fee.
But, if the Legislature assumes control,
there will be nothing to stop it from rais-
ing out-of-state tuitions to truly exor-
bidant heights, forcing many out-of-
state students to go elsewhere.
Such an occurance would be a tragedy
for the University. One of the contrib-
uting factors to the quality of education,
formal and informal, at the University is
the diversity of its student body. If the
state wishes to have a first-rate univer-
sity, it must tolerate a reasonable out-of-
state enrollment. The converse is also
true.
IF PASSED, the constitutional amend-
ment would effectively preclude set-
tlements such as the ones over the book-
store issue and the Black Action Move-
ment (BAM) demands.
For one thing, the Legislature would be
even less responsive to student deiands
and pressure than the Regents. The Re-
gents come here only o n c e a month,
which is bad enough, but the Legislature
never comes here. Consequently, t h e y,
like the general public, would tend to see
a campus conflict only in terms of stu-
dent rebellion, understanding the issues
imperfectly, if at all. The context of cam-
pus strikes and violence in which the
amendment was proposed makes the Leg-
islature's intention clear - crack down
on student unrest.
Another consideration is that the
means for student protest would become
increasingly dangerous to use. The rid-.
ers attached to the h i g h er education
bill would force expulsion for any stu-
dents impeding "normal university busi-
ness" or carrying a dangerous, unregis-
tered weapon on university property. The
first could be construed to prohibit even
peaceful picketing, if enough students
c 1 a i m they were intimidated by the
pickets' mere presence.
But more importantly, those measures
give a hint of what is to come. Far-reach-
ing, increasingly repressive legislature is
certainly in the offing, especially if the
universities can no longer bring legal ac-
tion against the Legislature to challenge
encroachments upon their autonomy.
THE PROPOSED amendment r a i s e s
other questions, as well. Will we see
persecution of liberal professors as has
occurred at Eastern Michigan? Will we
be allowed to have controversial speakers
on campus, such as Tom Hayden or Jerry
Aubin? Will organizations such as SDS
or Gay Liberation be allowed continued
use of University facilities? In short, de-
spite the limitations on it now, will any
notion of a "free marketplace of ideas" be
allowed to survive?
It is true that the Legislature would
still allow the Regents to exercise their
control, only stepping in when it deems
it necessary. But all these issues are ones
on which the Legislature, collectively or
individually, has expressed some opinion
and would conceivably take action. And
these are not the only ones.
Some have said that such a move by
the state would radicalize the campus,
and they are correct. The Legislature is
dreaming when it thinks that b expelling
the "anarchists," the troubles will go
away. They will not, because the expelled
students will not. Experience at places
like Berkeley has shown that students
expelled for political reasons remain in
the university community, more bitter
than ever and with less to lose.
But while some students would become
more radical, support of the majority,
which makes things like the BAM strike
possible, would evaporate. then, not only
would resolution of a conflict be more
difficult, but the conflict itself would be
unlikely to occur in the first place.
THE LEGISLATURE is reacting out of
fear, the fear of their constituents.
They hope to parley that fear into sup-
port for the amendment, which the peo-
ple of the state must approve, and to win
some votes for the fall election in the
process.
Whether the Legislature has the will
and .desire to deprive the University, and
all other state universities, of the free-
dom to chart their respective educational
courses remains to be seen. But no one
should think that it cannot come to pass.
The mood of the general public is becom-
ing increasingly hostile toward the uni-
versities and the recent actions of con-
struction w o r k e r s in New York only
revealed a portion 'of that antipathy.
If the Legislature does decide to pass
the amendment, there willbe very little
we can do, since that action will come in
the next day or two. Then, the battle will
be in the public arena and like it or not,
that is where we will have to fight-not
with demonstrations, because that would
play into their hands, but through the
political system.
THE PROSPECT is for a university
which is as stagnant as the rest of
society. Social consciousness, if it is even
allowed to develop, will be overwhelming-
ly difficult to transform into action. The
c o n c e p t of a sheltered sanctuary has
largely been abandoned by the universi-
ties themselves. But the idea that a uni-
versity should be a place where students
and faculty are free to question and cri-
ticize the world a r o u n d them is still
vital. In fact, it is the reason for which
a university exists and the only valid
yardstick for measuring a school's effec-
tivetess.
-ROB BIER
Tea
By FRED W. FRIENDLY
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The author, a fomer
president of CBS News, is a jounalism
professor at Columbia University.)
IT HAS BECOME almost a cliche
for distinguished jurists to warn
that in these times, the Bill of
Rights to the Constitution could
not be passed by the Congress or
ratified by the states.
What alarms me in the current
climate of attack on t h e news
media is the possibility that the
Boston Tea Party, the most pre-
cipitous demonstration in history,
would not be broadcast today.
On the night of December 16th,
1773, 153 men boarded three of
His Majesty's ships at anchor in
the Boston harmor. In the most
notorious "board-in" in history,
they dumped 342 chests of fine
tea into the water, chanting what
may have been the first protest
song, "Rally Mohawks, bring out
your axes, and tell King George
we'll pay no more taxes." Some
historians say it was only 50 pro-
testers, so you can see that crowd
reporting was an inexact science
even in those days.
THE ILLEGAL MARCH on
Griffin's Wharf was certainly
newsworthy to the staffs of the
Boston Gazette and the Newport
Mercury, whose extensive cover-
age in turn incited other tea par-
ties. But if the Tea Party were to
occur tomorrow, it might not be
televised for the Vice President of
the United States says that tele-
vision coverage of such embitter-
ed protest creates "a narrow and
distorted picture of America."
After all, it was one of those in-
flammatory demonstrations by
wild-eyed radicals in beads and
long hair. including some effete
snobs from Harvard and Prince-
ton. The Tory press at the time
described them as "truly immor-
al men . . . religious hypocrites.
treacherous and seditious . . . of
morose and sour tempers," and
certainly the men who conspired
in Old South Meeting House not
far from here did with yippie yells
and protest songs illegally board
three ships and destroy private
property.
Had I been a news director at
the time. and if we could have
put in a microwave link to Grif-
fin's Wharf a n d- gotten enough
light on the ships, I would have
broadcast it Ii v e and in color.
Some of the "Indians" would have
cursed us: some of the affiliated
stations might have objected to
our pre-empting prime t i m e
shows, and some viewers would
probably have called to say, "Why
don't you ever broadcast s o m e
good news?"
MY IMAGINED television cov-
erage of the Boston Tea Party
brought more than just self-serv-
ing outrage. There were investi-
Party:
gations. threats of jail sentene
and a ban against public asse:
bly without the governor's p(
mission. In my Walter Mit
dreams, the Gazette. Sam Adar
Paul Revere and Fred Frienc
were ordered to hand over c
out-takes, notebooks, political ce
toons, and the names of the 2(
odd conspirators who had hatct
the plot in Faneuil H a 11, C
North and the Green Dragon Ir
We said, "No, we'd rather go
jail."
Then, suddenly,I awakened
1970, where yesterday's nuts a
today's patriots. There in the N(
York Times was a feature sto
about plans to commemorate t
200th anniversary of the ever
that the Tea Party had set in
motion. John Wayne, a major
company, and 800 other Ames
can institutions who probal
don't like today's long-haired ra
icals are purchasing $800 repli
of the Liberty Bell, and the sar
London tea merchants, Davids
and Newman, who lost their ca
go to the Boston protesters a
preparing packets of Ceylon t
to exploit the bi-centennial Ami
ican market.
BUT MY DREAM was not
wild and far-fetched after all.
was only misplaced in history.:i
in that same newspaper we
stories of present-day subpoer
of television out-takes, noteboc
and reporters' files. A barrage
fishing expedition subpoenas we
to broadcasters, newspapers, a:
magazines, while the silent nm
jority stood by. applauding w:
one hand and commemorati
the Boston Tea Party with t
other.
The war over our Constituti
did not end in 1789 - it is conti
uing with full fervor today. T
first ten ,amendments are bet
mangled by those who seem
hate protest marches and o u
rageous demonstrators who qu(
tion what they, or even I, m
consider the public good. 'I
newsmen are expected tobjoin t
battle against dissent, becomi
a posse of vigilantes to search t
country, particularly the ghetto
as ancillaries of the FBI. Not qua
a stool pigeon, t h e reporter
1970 willsoon be obliged to wa
his sources. "Anything you
will probably be used agair
you."
To defend the journalist is r
for a moment to say t h a t
journalism is flawless. To prot(
a news source is not to say th
every newsmaker is always fr
of blame, whether he be a ric
maker or a policy-maker, an at
bassador or a protester, a memt
of the Chicago Seven, the Wh'
Citizens' Council, the Black Pa
thers, or the Joint Chiefs of Sta
Rather, what is at stake is pi
Would
it
tection of the journalist's ability
to report his story. and bring his
special knowledge to the public.
WE STILL LIVE IN a t i m e
when some Americans don't want
to be told the facts. a time when
what Americans dont know could
kill us all. Politicians -. - Democat
and Republican. American a n d
foreign --- are by their very na-
ture inclined "to fool some of the
people some of the time" The role
of the news media is to pre'nt
that - to report all political pro-
nouncements from all sides, and
then to say. in effect, "Yes. but
It is all, part of a delicate
process of collection, interpret a-
tion and diffusion of controversial
information, a process that can be
stunted at birth, or contaminated
in maturity.
The question today is whether
the continuing encroachments of
the last six months on the work-
ings of that process are just coin-
cidence, or a premeditated condi-
tioning to alter t h e ecology in
which journalism worthy of the
name can exist.
We have all witnessed in recent
months how the well has gradual-
ly been poisoned. The Vice Presi-
dent dropped his toxic pesticides
with the now- famous Des Moines
speech and polluted the atmos-
phere a little more in Birming-
ham and Omaha. It was all in the
name of the silent majority, but
he forgot that his hero, James
Madison, once said, "Justice must
prevail, even o v e r a majority."
Each of these incursions h a s
brought a retraction -- the at-
torney general saying that some
of his department's own proce-
dures were violated in the sub-
poena incidents, and the V i c e
President promising that his at-
tacks were over. The trouble with
such clarification and softening of
the blow after the event is that
the atmosphere has already been
tainted. It is much like saying
that a town's water supply is con-
taminated and then expecting
that mere termination of s u c h
false charges will restore the
town's reputation. The damae
has been done, the purpose ach-
ieved.
THE MOMENTARY LULL also
does not mean that anyone - the
broadcaster. the papers, the mag-
azines, or any institution in this
country - is safe from a new at-
tack. I do not for one moment
believe that this poisonous air has
been cleared, any more than one
sunny day means we have cleared
the air above our cities.
The encroachments on the me-
dia will continue until the Presi-
dent himself ends what now
amounts to an open season against
the media and on t h e public's
right to know. What every report-
er who has ever covered the White
be telev
Hloe know~ is~ that such a con-
dition of hostility in a fnre so-
c.ety can exist only because the
chief executive is willing to per-
i it.
AND WHAT ABOUT the rest of
i; those who would preserve the
status quo and those who would
revolutionize it. the journalist and
the lawyer. the protester and the
politician, the quiet and the vocal
American? We all must under-
stand that there is no comfort in
remaining silent. Subverting cov-
eraCe of demonstrations, even mil-
itant ones - whether by attack-
ing t he reporter or subpoening
his film - will not stop the event
from happening, any more than
it did the Boston Tea Party, or
the burninm of the Gaspee in Nar-
ragansett Bay. or the bus boycott
in Montgomery, Alabama. It
meams only that we will not pro-
ised?
lit from it. And, in the end of the
day. no one of us, whatever our
cause. will remain untouched,
I am not suggesting that we a:-e
o( the eve of fascism in America,
or even that the spirit of Mc-
Carthyism reigns. although it still
haunts us. What I do believe is
that the environment which per-
mits freedom of expression is con-
siderably more polluted th a n it
was a year ago.
When this new ecology weak-
ens only those we despise or those
we compete against, it is all too
easy to feel immune and safe from
it. But. this pollution is no more
selec'ive than that k r e y cloud
dropping low over our cities. If
we wait too long to be shocked out
of our complacency, we may find
that when we finally decide to
speak up, we will be too weak and
withered to stand up.
Dispatch News Service
- 900cinema
A g~dood one.
0 0
... a bad one
I
By DONALD KUBIT
Plagiarism is a serious offense, but the sin is greater when the
piracy turns the theft into shambles. Bloody Mama tries to be another
Bonnie and Clyde, and although Director Roger Corman uses many of
the same techniques, his film lacks the creativity and impact of its
successful predecessor. Bloody Mama is so rotten that it now heads my
list of the ten worse movies of the year.
Shelley Winters must have forgotten to read the script before
she accepted her role as the infamous Ma Barker, for had she known
the result would be so terrible, she would have passed up the part. Miss
Winters is a gifted actress and well-repected in her field and it is only
this reputation that saves her from the harshest of criticism.
Pat Hingle is perhaps the luckiest accomplice in this farce, since
his role requires being blindfolded, he does not have to watch the
idiocy that occurs around him. Too bad we all couldn't be in his position
-we'd be a lot better off.
The story is about Ma Barker and her precious boys. That is, she
thinks they're precious. However, if you consider an impulsive murderer,
a homosexual masochist, a dope addict and a cry baby a well-balanced
family, then your home may have the same problems as this movie.
The family travels around the country robbing banks and jewelry
stores, all the while believing they are entitled to the "better life." Un-
fortunately, they never realize their calling is in the foothills of Ar-
kansas rather than some imaginary castle.
They are, of course, gunned down in the end and it may be the first
time you were ever glad that someone was killed. You realize it's in-
evitable, you just wish it would happen sooner.
If you've read a favorable review of this film somewhere, it was
probably written by a critic who panned Bonnie and Clyde and is trying
to make up for his mistake by praising this film. The only thing in
Bloody Mama worth prasing is the final run of the credits signalling
its end. It's a shame they don't come sooner, like five minutes after
the movie starts.
A supplementary note is in order in regards to the short that pre-
ceeds this film. It is about a radio station in South Africa and to say
that it is offensive to blacks is an understatement. It seems that the
State theater could care less what it show before it feature just as long
as the audience is occupied. It is an outrage to try and show racial
progress in action by filming a radio station at work and while the
blacks are entertaining the sound room is filled with white technicians.
It doesn't take a very vivid imagination to figure out whose sitting in
the big office upstairs. The State theater should be reprimanded for
not taking into consideration the degrading aspects of what they pre-
sent. If that's their idea of progress, they're going to have a lot to
learn- the hard way.
Suppose They Gave A War and Nobody Came is one of the few
decent films now in town. Although the Wayside theater has a reputa-
tion for catering to the Walt Disney crowd, they occasionally run a
film worth seeing.
Overlook the fact that the film deals with caricatures, rather than
characters, and that its title has nothing to do with war in terms of
the Vietnam type, and it is a funny movie.
The situation is the problems of a military base versus the com-
munity it resides in. The head of the base (Don Ameche) wants to
retire as a brigadier general and to speed his promotion, he brings in
an expert on community relations (Brian Keith) to settle the differ-
ences between the town and the Army. Try as they may, they quickly
learn that oil and water don't mix and the finale is a scream of im-
possibilities.
The film is stutfed with witty one-liners and what surprised me
most was the honesty this movie displays. It doesn't play up the army
as something to be worshipped and even mentions the embarrassment
some soldiers feel while wearing their uniform. Besides this it doesn't
try to convince you of anything. It is comedy for comedy sake and a
good commentary on this can be seen in one of the questions asked
in the film. "What did you accomplish?" The answer: "Not a goddamn
thing."
I had heard very little about this movie before I saw it and have
a sneaking suspicion that it may catch on as a favorite. Its comforting
to see a film that isn't trying to drive home a point or tell you how to
live your life, and when it's funny besides my guess is that it's worth
seeing. Anyway when was the last time you saw a movie and sided with
the military.
'I
A4
I I
Letters to the Editor
Workers He also
ticommi
To the Editor: da put
DAVE CHUDWIN'S FEATURE shuntin
"Workers are too tired for poli- the war
tics," (Daily, May 21) explaining nomeno
the improbability of a worker- passing
student alliance against the war, mnove a
comes at a very strange time. The reasoni
day after the huge anti-protest no long
march by men who were getting an eco
time off with pay to express their derestin
pro-Nixon convictions, 20,000 - of polit
according to Huntley-Brinkley - when h
demonstrated against the war in a ers' sup
march organized by 12 New York face of
City labor unions, and they gnoeib
hen national convention of the rs and
American Federation of State, ready b
County and Municipal Employes develop
meeting this month passed a reso- ances bi
lution calling for immediate with- stration
drawal from Vietnam. number
In Chicago, the following un-
ions have already supported the THE
Chicago Strike Council, a c i t y- demonst
wide student coordinating group moriall
now building for a huge May 30th supportE
antiwar demonstration. ation o
DAVE CHUDWIN EXPLAINS dents o
that workers don't have time for the Det
the luxury of ideological protest. ier oft
Sen. Gr
By EDWARD ZIMMERMAN
N RECENT MONTHS, Michigan's Re-
publican senator, has become one of
President Nixon's staunchest supporters
both on and off the Senate floor.
Back in the summer of 1969 when cru-
cial votes were needed to defeat the Safe-
guard ABM system. Griffin voted for de-
ployment of one of the administration's
biggest mistakes.
points out the role of an-
unist and other propagan-
out by our government in
1g aside any questioning of
by workers. But the phe-
n he explains so well is
; workers are beginning to
gainst the war. The key
is that stopping the war is
er a luxury, it's becoming
nomic necessity. Dave un-
mates the workers' grasp
tical and economic reality
e predicts continued work-
pport for the war in the
declining real wages and
unemployment. The ailli-
etween striking GE work-
antiwar students has al-
been overshadowed by the
ment of functioning alli-
uilding the May 30 demon-
s to bring out workers in
s never seen before in an-
ctions.
STATEWIDE ANTIWAR
tration in Detroit on Me-
Day. May 30th, is already
ed by the Michigan Feder-
tf Teachers, and the resi-
f both the Michigan and
roit AFL-CIO. Doug Fraz-
t h e UAW is expected to
iffin:
speak. Some people are calling for
us to stop demonstrating a n d
work to elect a "New Congress."
We already have a new congress;
it's been transformed by the pop-
ular uproar over t h e escalation
into Cambodia. Senator Hatfield
of the McGovern-Hatfield amend-
ment was no peace candidate.
He's responding to m a s s public
pressure, pressure we must inten-
sify. For those who place more
faith in the American people than
in the Congress as an instrument
for ending the war, there is work
for you to do.
-Andy Buskin, Grad
May 22
Letters to the Editor shouldI
be mailed to the Editorial Di-
rector or delivered to Mary
Rafferty in the Student Pub-
lications business office in the
Michigan Daily building. Let-
ters should be typed, double-
spaced and normally should not
exceed 250 words. The Editorial
Directors reserve the right to
edit all letters submitted.
Schizophrenia marches on.
PRESIDENT NIXON was no doubt rather
saddened when his incursion into
Cambodia s p a r k e d one of the largest
waves of national discontent in the his-
tory of the U.S. However, he will be com-
forted to know that a national poll shows
that his action has public approval-50
per cent in favor to 43 per cent against.
This heartening information is con-
tained in the results of a Harris Poll con-
ducted from May 8 to 10. This poll also
shows where the President's support lies
-mostly in the South and West, among
residents of small towns and rural areas,
and from older persons. Opposition to
Nixon's Cambodian policies is said to be
greatest among people under 30 years of
ago, among women, Easterners, and those
who r e s i d e in the suburbs and urban
centers.
member that one of the President's prin-
ciple reasons for going into Cambodia was
to shorten the war.
Another item from the poll shows that
by a margin of 58 to 25 per cent, people
do not believe that the Cambodian opera-
tion will persuade the North Vietnamese
to enter into serious negotiations in Paris
-which was a reason the administration
also cited for going into Cambodia.
A RATHER schizophrenic attitude
among the American public is reveal-
ed by the poll's finding that although 52
per cent of the population thinks the mil-
itary operation will be successful in de-
stroying North Vietnamese bases in Cam-
bodia, 66 per cent are worried that Cam-
bodia will "turn into another Vietnam."
How Cambodia can "turn into another
Vietnam" if all the enemy has been de-
Nixon ,
right or wrong
A
When former Justice Abe Fortas' finan-
cial dealings became controversial and the
question of judicial ethics came up, Grif-
fin led the campaign to "upgrade the
Supreme Court" and was at the forefront
of the campaign to that forced Fortas to
step down.
ALTHOUGH HE VOTED again4t the
nomination of Clement Haynesworth to
the Supreme Court, he assembled most of
the support for the ill-fated nomination
of J. Harrold Carswell to that same court.
Once, while speaking to the President, he
remarked that the Carswell nomination
was in "bad shape." Nixon asked what they
should do and Griffin replied that they
"have got to take the offensive."
JI o ..a PW ria,,c a acn (,T1iffin na IA a r~i
the Carswell nomination was that he
thought the man was well qualified and he
denied any pressure from the White House.
This would seem .believable if Griffin,
the man who led the campaign to upgrade
the Supreme Court, had not supported
Carswell who is at the very most mediocre.
Nixon desperately needed a vote for the
anti-ballistic missile system (ABM), he got
Griffin's.
Now Griffin has taken on the anti-war
element in the Senate. Any senator who
"wants out" of Cambodia is deliberately
giving "aid and comfort to the enemy."
It appears that Griffin has taken on the
responsibility of defending the Nixon re-
gime's mistakes, of which there ire many.
Ti-') P "..no- h h n , h n m :s a ' :ci' - :!)et
over judicial ethics by attacking Abe For-
tas, and Haynesworth flagrantly violated
what Griffin had termed to be cthical.
Haynesworth's financial surroundings and
decisions that he had made concerning
company's whose stock he owned were al-
most identical to what Griffin termed For-
tas' transgressions.
In terms of staying in line with Nixon,
Griffin has overtaken his immediate supe-
rior, Senator Hugh Scott, the minority
leader. Although Scott has voted with the
administration on most issues, he has ep-
posed the administration on important
issues and more importantly, he has force-
fully lobbyied for the administration's
positions as has Griffin, a point that will
not escape Nixon's attention.