The Michigan Daily
Edited and managed by Students at the
University of Michigan
Thursday, May 15, 1975
News Phone: 764-0552
A man under the influence
PRESIDENT FORD'S decision to adopt destruction di-
plomacy against the peoples of Indochina, as evi-
denced by yesterday's bombing and sinking of several
Cambodian ships in Sihanoukville harbor, must rank as
one of the more mindless policy initiatives of the Twen-
tieth Century.
Given the decidedly non-interventionist mood of the
American people and the larger context of the American
experience in Indochina, one is compelled to view yes-
terday's bombings, ,and whatever dire consequences they
certainly have triggered since this column went to print,
as the work of a dangerously irrational and insensitive
mentality.
With one swift command decision, President Ford
violated the rights and property of Indochinese peoples,
brough upon the United States the moral outrage and
contempt of scores of other nations across the globe, and
in a very real way threatened to hurl the United States
into a cataclysmic and protracted struggle which it has
neither the energies nor the inclination to undertake.
Like so many of his predecessors, President Ford has
chosen to surround himself with the kind of military
minds that, by virtue of their training and selection, can
only view international conflict and military as a stasis
situation.
With yesterday's actions, President Ford conclusive-
ly demonstrated that the painfully obvious message of
past transgressions has been lost on him and those in
his closest confidence.
Endorse Future Worlds
THE FUTURE WORLDS Program has proposed a de-
tailed Future Worlds Conference Festival for the
week of May 1 in 1976 as part of the nation's bicentennial
celebration. The Festival would mix art, entertainment
and academic thought on the subject of the immediate
and long-range future. The coordinators have planned
a series of exhibits, discussions and lectures on the fu-
ture ranging in emphasis from outer space to the inner
self.
The Future Worlds Program has worked successfully
since 1972 in presenting diverse visions and previews of
possible and alternative futures. '
The organizers of the Future Worlds Program have
proven themselves to be creative yet practical, capable
of producing solid results from imaginative ideas. Yet
original ideas and industrious labor must-have financial
support before the first exhibit can be set up, or the first
learned speaker invited. The organizers are looking to
the University Bicentennial Committee for endorsement
and support in order to open the doors both to outside
funding and the opportunity for national endorsement
by the American Revolutionary Bicentennial Association.
IN VIEW OF the history of success and the impact
of the Future Worlds Program on the University of Mich-
igan, we strongly urge the University Bicentennial Com-
mittee to give full endorsement to the Future Worlds
Program and their proposed bicentennial festival.
Spring Term News Staff
JEFF SORENSEN
Editor
PAULE ASKINS5
Editorial Director-
DAVE BLOMQUIST-... . .... Night Editor
ROB M ACHUM .. ... .. ............................ . ....... Night Editor
JEFF RISTINE.-.... .. . Night Editor
TIM SCHICK . .. .............Night Editor
DAVID W HITING .. . ... .... ................ .......... Night Editor
BILL TURQUE ..............................Night Editor
BETH NISSEN. .... . ... .. . ............. Editorial Page A st.
SUE ADES .. ....... .......................... . Asst. Night Editor
GLEN ALLERHAND......... . . Asst. Night Editor
DAN BLUGERMAN . ... . . ..Asst. Night Editor
ELAINE FLETCHER .. ................... Ass'. Night Editor
GEORGE LOBSENZ ............ .. At. Night Editor
CATHY REUTTER....................Ass't. Night Editor
Business Staff
DEBORAH NOVESS
Business Stanager
PETER CAPLAN , .. . . . ........... ............ Classifed Manager
BETH FRIEDMAN_..........Sales Manager
DAVE PIONTKOWSKY......................i. Advertising Manager
CASSIE ST. CLAIR ...:....................... .....Circulation Manager
STAFF: Nina Edwards, Anna Kwok
SALES: Colby Bennett, Cher Bledsoe, Dan Biugerman, Sylvia Calhoun,
Jeff Milgrom.
Tragedy in three parts
By PAUL HASKINS
FIMPING gamely (how else?)
toward the Dial-A-Ride van
parked in front of my house,
I began wondering what it was
my ankle had against me.
Had I ever left it behind in
favor of some sturdier, better-
turned ankle? Never. Was I
the type that would heap verbal
abuse on it every time it gave
me a bum steer? Beck no.
Could, I be so uncaring a cur
as to smother it in a hot wool
sock and high-top All-Stars
when all the other ankles were
out sunning themselves in the
summer breeze? Uh-uh.
Then why the hell did it have
to get sprained every time I
came within fifty yards of a
basketball court? The damn
thing's just no good, that's why.
It doesn't know just how soft
it has it, and I'd ditch it in a
second if I thought my sole
would let me get away with it.
Anyhow, this latest twist of
foot had definitely cooled our
relationship, and I was dead set
on ignoring the matter c o m -
pletely until the morning after,
when I noticed that, much to
my dismay, that ole-ankle-o'-
mine had suddenly become the
Ankle that Ate Tokyo, c o m -
plete with the shape and hue
of last year's cantalope. The
itch to seek out side advice be-
came too much as an unholy
pain sent visions of empirin
dancing through my head. So'it
was that the affable Dial-a-driv-
en got stuck with a none too
affable passenger who'd added
Health Service and-unnecessary
aggravation to his appointed
rounds.
"HAVE AN accident?" asked,
the wheelman as he madly
lurched us into Washtenaw traf-
fic. "No thanks, just had one",
I snapped, in no mood to be
original.
He was the kind of -guy who
would laugh and say, "Good
one," after you put gunpowder
in his bong. A glutton for pun-
ishment.
"How'd it happen?" he quer-
ied, undaunted and painfully
genuine.
"I don't know. I was walkin'
down the street, minding my
.own business, and all of a sud-
den there were these crutches
stuck to my armpits. I tan's
seem to get rid of them."
"Gffaw, gfaw," he guffawed.
"Actually, I got punched out
by a dwarf."
The joker kept begging for
more, and I just was irascible
enough to oblige him.
Finally we made it to Health
Service, and I gingerly stumb-
led out of the glorified flower
'truck.
Once inside, things seemed to
pick up as the two receptionists
quickly processed me, gave me
my file, stamped my id. card,'
and sent me behind the yellow
door into the medical clinic. The
nurse at the desk politely' pro-
cessed me, took my file, stamp-
ed my i.d. card, and asked me
to sit down.
I didn't bother asking why the
temperature in Health Service
is never under 120 degrees. I
would have said something hut
I wanted to conserve my breath.
Maybe they find unconscious
patients easier to deal with.
I was just getting into a racev
short in "Urology .Digest" when
my name greeted me. I looked
up to see a doctor, my file
in hand, deftly sliding a copy
of "Wrestling Heroes" into hs
back pocket. As I stoop up,
a big, knowing smile broke
across his face. The nurse turn-
where between 220 and half
a ton and could have used a
shave. But she had a great
personality. "O.K." said the x-
ray technician. "We're going to
sit on the table and lie real
still and then I'll take a couple
pictures and we'll be all done."
Sounds harmless enough, I
reckoned. I lay on the table and
watched down my nose in ter-
ror as she put my heel where
my toes used to be. "Tell me
if it hurts", she advised.
"Argh, off!" I complied.
"That's good," she chirped.
It was over in a few minutes.
She hauled me off the table and
left me leaning on a wall, while
she punched my i.d. card on:a
three or four forms.
Then she sent me back down
to the doctor's office to wait
ed the corner and we got down
to business.
I sat down, took off my sneak-
er, and unwrapped the Ace
bandage from my foot. The doc-
tor expertly deposited my shoe
near an open window and ask-
ed for my i.d. card. "327-50-7460-
4", he mused, raising the lever
to stamp it.
"My friends call me '327' for
short," I offered.
A vague smile crossed his face
and quickly disappeared.
"Well, now," he cleared his
throat, in full command. "First
off, I want you to take a walk
down to the end of the hall."
"Why's that, Doc?" I oalk-
ed. "You want me to prove that
it hurts?"
"No. Actually. Ii want you to
register with the cashier."
I obligingly trudged o f f ,
watched my i.d. go through ano-
ther beating, and returned.
O.k., said the doctor. "I
think you better go upstairs for
an x-ray. You can't be too care-
ful with this sort of thing."
Unpersuaded, I set out for the
th:rd floor, certain that if no'h-
ing was broken yet, it would be
by the time I crawled into x-ray.
The x-ray technician was any-
Daily Photo by STEVE KAGAN
for the results.
The doctor met me at the
door, pausing to take my i.d.
and matters into his own hands,
and set off for parts unknown.
Seconds passed into minutes and
uncertainty over my fate be-
gan nagging me like the UGLI
circulation department. Fin-
ally, the door opened, and the
somber look on the doctor's
face told me all there was to
know.
"It's cracked badly," he said.
"I don't think we can save it."
"That bad?" I gasped, in-
credulous.
"He slowly opened his hand
to reveal three jagged pieces
of yellow plastic, hapless relics
of a once proud i.d. card.
"I'm very sorry," he said,
"but don't get discouraged. It's
amazing what they can do with
those things these days. Why,
with a little luck and persever-
ance, you can get one just as
good in no time."
"Thanks, Doc. I appreciate
it," I said, as I- rose to leave.
"Oh, yeah, about the ankle?"
"Two aspirin and an ice bag."
"Thanks again."
"Don't mention it."
Letters to The Daily
BFA jury
To The Daily:
I WOULD like to respond to
art professor Jacquelyn-Rie's
comment in the March 28 Daily,
concerning the jurying of the
Bachelor of F in e Arts show.
Ms. Rice said, "It's a public
showing by non-professionals.
It's good to have outside opin-
ion.
Many of us who are receiving
our BFA's this spring will not
be going on to school and wll
leave the University to try our
hands at being artists on our
own. As an artist about to set
out on my own I have not yet
undergone the trial and expec-
ience of spending years work-
ing in my field and so, do not
equate myself with thse who
have, in this sense. However, I
do not consider myself less of
an artist because I am young
and have much to learn. An ar-
tist must always, after all, have
much to learn in order to grow
and develop. Why, then, should
not the 1975 BFA's and those in
the future have an opportunity
to try out their professionalism
and learn about judging their
own work, which is a very im-
portant part of their profession?
THERE WAS a time, when
universities first began, when
conferring a degree on a stu-
dent indicated his acceptance
as a peer by his teachers. This
is no longer generally true in
university systems today This
acceptance as peers should be
important both to the students
and to the established comiun-
ity as new ideas and. stimuli
move between them. Giving vs
the opportunity to have our own
show we, the artists, jurying our
own work would seem to be a
positive step toward building our
professionalism and welcoming
us to the professional world
we must enter. Giving it to
a show which would be formed
by other people's opinions
would, on the other hand, be a
step backwards into the shelter
of the academic community we
are just leaving.
--Ann J. Kremers
March 28