OPINION Page 4 Tuesday, October 7, 1980 The Michigan Daily Ei t dbt a nyMichig an l Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Vol. XCI, No. 29 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Higgns JUST GOT THE PHOTOS OF YOUR CHINA TRIP PEEPING LOOKS BEAUTIFUV THAT'S PEKING, E .MASTFSAY, ROK. ES, IT IS MAO !LOOKS IN PRETTTY GOOD HEALTH. Editorials represent a majority opinion of The Daily's Editorial Board Save Viewpoint Lectures iU A S OF YESTERDAY afternoon, about 200 tickets for tonight's battle of the barbs between Shana Alexander and Jack Kilpatrick had been sold. It will tale the sale of 3,300 more by 8 p.m. to give Viewpoint Lectures a new lease on life. The problem can't be stated any more dramatically than that. In recent years, the only student-run lecture program on campus has had ltrouble filling auditoriums-with the notable exceptions of programs by Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden. Only 136 listeners attended Ralph Nader's September 22 Viewpoint lec- ture. Last week, one listener showed up for a Viewpoint lecture by state Rep. Perry Bullard (D-Ann Arbor) despite, extensive publicity efforts. And, while the relative dryness of his topic (he was to speak on tax cut proposals) may have kept many away, certainly it is, difficult to under- stand why hundreds are not flocking to hear Alexander and Kilpatrick, the pair of political pundits made famous by their acerbic bouts on CBS' "Sixty Minutes." -Viewpoint Lectures is a non-profit organization-ticket receipts are used to cover costs for renting auditorium space and to pay speakers' fees. The University Activities Center, of which MAO'S DEADRON. THATSTENG. Viewpoint Lectures is a part, has been able to bailout the speaker program in the past. But UAC officers have in- dica ted that assistance may not con- tinue if Viewpoint cannot begin to at- tract audiences. A large audience at tonight's lecture is considered crucial if Viewpoint is to survive. Without Viewpoint Lectures, noted speakers like Fonda, Hayden, and Ab- bie Hoffman (expected to be here soon) would seldom appear on cam- pus. Individual 'departments and colleges have little money to invite speakers; what lectures they do spon- sor are often narrowly focused toward specific disciplines. It is of course distressing to watch Viewpoint slowly fade without being able to offer any suggestions for its revival, but the problem is, quite sim- ply, confounding. To attribute it simply o apathy is to ignore other significant signs this. term that students are growing more active and activist. We only hope students realize before it's too late that a student-run lecture program is important and worth sup- porting. Think twice before going to the library or a bar tonight. Spend a few hours in Hill Auditorium instead, en- joying the sharp, witty repartee of Alexander and Kilpatrick-and helping save Viewpoint Lectures. WOWI NICE SNOT OF YOU Two ON THE GREAT BERLIN WALL, ...JUST LIKE NIXON! *1 4I~ 0 UH. HU. SAY, GEORGE, ARE THEY STILL ANGRY OVER THE THAILAND ISSUE? t~A ~~ELi THATtS RONfo TAiwAN) / / ' + r t, r r --" ;, ' :. . .. ° # Of letters,llamas, and 'amour A Gun A gun is made of metal, just like a tea kettle. A gun is made for killing, not drilling. It was one of my greatest sonnets, written at the age of 10, during my blue period. Unfor- tunately, just as Bruce Springsteen forgot the lyrics of "Jungleland" Friday night, I have forgotten the rest of "A Gun." There is a way to recover it, however. Richard Nixon has a copy. I sent him one, at Freedom not to speak Witticisms By Howard Witt P ROFESSOR JAMES Dinnan of the University of Georgia was freed yesterday after serving a 90-day sentence for contempt of court. His "crime" was refusing to reveal his vote on a faculty promotion case to Circuit Court Judge Wilbur Owens. There are certainly 'instances of misbehavior on the part of private and public institutions that demand the in- trusion of the judiciary: Jim Crow laws, sexual harrassment in the work- place, and overly harsh penal systems are but a few. But in the Dinnan case, the professor's description of the judge's actions is appropriate: The contempt charge did indeed amount to an unacceptable "intrusion of federal government." The confidential proceedings of an academic institution are confidential for good reason. Faculty members must feel free to express their views about a potential colleague without fear of recrimination or em- barrassment. If Dinnan had known that he might eventually be required to reveal his vote for the public record, he might have been more constrained in his criticism of (or support for) Maija Blaubergs, the faculty aspirant who brought the suit. Such constraints could lead to a lower caliber of faculty at Georgia and elsewhere. The precedent Judge Owens has set with his excessive punishment of Prof. Dinnan-a $3,000 fine on top of the jail sentence-is a very unfortunate one. Those who care about quality in in- stitutions of higher education can only hope some wiser judge in a higher court sees things differently. WASJ~xNGOoNSE 1970 Dear 110~d stn, den texo Ydo . letter, n Lasked Youe to w Wee th ritetd + it e P rcik ounyoeiae. SicerelyL~ a r c President esaar 1243 Cceit Higlad par vehue S{ '0 I~c 1 0 Va k , rp Li i ,i. yt . ,r , . '.5, J.', , 1Xy. % f 0 0 o C0 the suggestion of my fourth grade teacher, in January, 1970. AND I KNOW he read it-Rose Mary Woods, his personal secretary, said so on White House stationery. Nixon was just too busy planning the invasion of Cambodia to write me himself, thanking me for my anti- war poem. Rose Mary Woods. Ah, what memories. Where is she today? Working in the quality control section of a Maxell recording tape plant? Selling jeans at The Gap? She wrote me such a nice letter. "It was most kind of you to write and President Nixon asked me to thank you for your letter. He ap- preciated receiving your poem." I CAN PICTURE it perfectly: Nixon shooing Spiro out of the Oval Office so he can read his morning mail in peace, opening my letter, reading my poem, reading it again, reading it a third time, putting Henry Kissinger on hold so he can concentrate on committing my poem to memory, sum- moning Rose Mary on the intercom, and directing her to fire off a letter thanking me. He was a great president. I've carried my Woods letter with me for years, kind of as a good luck charm. It's got everything a good letter should have: a six- cent stamp with a picture of the flag and the White House, a nice white envelope with a simple return address (The White House), perfect note-sized, heavy weight stationery stock, and a concise message. It's the kind of letter you like to get in your mailbox. I love to get letters (How about that last paragraph for a transition, huh?). Last week I got two real good ones. 1 FIRST CAME THE small blue envelope with huge, illegible scrawling across the front of it-from my grandmother in Chicago whom I don't call often enough. I get a similar envelope every month, always with a five dollar check inside ("Oy, so you shouldn't have to pay for phone calls, god forbid! ") and a letter which sends me instantly to the phone so I can spend the check immediately. Her favorite paragraph, usually placed just after the comment about how I don't call often enough, goes something like: "The weather is beautiful here. I went for a long walk yester- day. The doctor said the tests are negative. Tonight I'm playing bridge with Priscilla." Sometimes, for fun, she varies the key line a bit. "The weather is beautiful here. I've hen wihing Intl of ftdvisinn The dnetnt. c She sends my brother letters, too, but he gets different ailments. We compare notes frequently. SO THAT WAS my first good letter. The other one came to the Daily offices, and has caused me to shower every morning and chew with my mouth closed at every meal. This one was from "two fans" of "Wit- ticisms" (probably the only two not counting myself, my fellow staffers tell me). They didn't sign their names, but their letter did contain several clues about their identities. First, they are female-I can tell that from the handwriting. Second, they eat at the Pan Tree restaurant (they said that's where they laugh over my columns). Third, they are Jewish-they said my columns help "leaven the oppressive, studious atmosphere of this BIG U." Note the matzo mataphor. And finally, they live in West Quad-they said they see me eating lunch there on Thursdays. THE MYSTERIOUS PAIR instructed me to include the word "llama" in my column, im- plying that I might get to meet them if I did. So in last Tuesday's column, I put "llama" in. Tuesday at lunch, I got all dressed up, expec- ting the two to pop out of anonymity and reveal themselves. They didn't. Wednesday at lunch I got dressed up again and nurnoselv didn't take any soun because I themselves again. Thursday at lunch I avoided the hot dogs because sometimes all the mustard and relish and ketchup drips out onto my lap and I knew four eyes would again be upon me as I ate. They didn't show themselves a third time. FRIDAY THE CAFETERIA served messy tacos, and I just ate a piece of Wonder Bread.: I dropped some crumbs. They didn't appear. As you can probably understand, I was get- ting pretty discouraged. Here for the first time in my life two women (hopefully- beautiful) are ogling at me every afternoon at- lunch and I am forced to ogle back at every' woman in the cafeteria just to make sure I ogle at the right two. I had almost given up hope of ever meeting these two fans until yesterday, when I received word through a sports staffer that a large picture of myself was requested by my two fans. He wouldn't tell me anything more; except that the two were not Daily staff members ( I had had a troubling suspicion*. that someone was playing a great joke on- me). So today I'll get a picture of myself taken. I' really want to meet you, my two fans. Llama. Llama. Llama, llama. Llamallamallamalla-, mallama. 01 I' Howard Witt is the co-editor of The' .IILd~ ~ .