THE MICHIGAN DAILY TD MARC
130,:
Student Government
A
Success?
in ions Of Faculty
nary On This Matter)
The Revised
Council Now
In Operation
i I
Kalaw Tells Of
Philippines
REED LIKES IDEA
OF. THOMAS H. REED, of the
olitical Science Depagrten-. ;
belieyfin student self-gcve9i.
nt My faitli is 'based on a ; dozen1
rs.observttion of its working' at
University of.California. Like
er human institutions, it is not
feet; like other. democracies its
'f orm a nce fluctuates with the in-
ences of the moment. When all is
d, however, there is a large balance
its favoraascontrasted with the
temn of faculty control
xs a means of securing good con-
ct on the part of students it is as
ective as faculty control. I am
y sure that student behavior at the
iversity of California under stu-
nt self-government has on the.
ole been as satisfactory as at the
iversity of Michigan under faculty
ntrol. The idea that student self-
cipline means lax discipline is a
rious error. Once the responsi-
ity for the maintenance of good
nduct is placed squarely upon the
adent body it reacts strongly to it.
tose who, by the choice of their fel-
that there is always an' available al-
tetnative in faculty bntrol.
Not the least of the virtues of thei
sudent . tself-governent is the fact
tiat it;inecessitates a constant educa-
ti4YIP of .student opinibn, reiterated ap-
peal tthe best in the student mind.
In the process of education the Presi-
dent of the University and the faculty
will to some extent share, but most
of it must be carried on by' student
leaders, by the choice. of their fellows
responsible for the result of the sys-
tem. In other wordsstudentdself-
government calls student leaders to
the front and forces them to exercise
their powers of leadership in mould-
ing student standards.
WENLEY GIVES IDEAS
That students should have final
authority in matters regarding the re-
lations of one student with another,l
and in offenses pertaining to the Uni-
versity they should meet jointly with
the ;faculty: is. the : opinion of, Prof.
Robert. M. Wenley of the philosophy.
department.
There seems to be somewhat more I
Michigan's student council today of student government in the Univer-
consists of the following representa- sity of Philippines than here." said
tives of the student body six seniors, Dean Maximo M. Kalaw, visiting pro-
three juniors, the managing editor of fessor from the islands, in an inter-
The Daily, the president of the Union, view. There the student council is
one man representing the Athletic .composed of the big leaders of the
association, and a president of the school, and the organization and its
Student council. The senior and. doings are the center of campus at-
junior delegates, together with the ,tetion.
president, make up the council proper,' Every student wants to be on the
jstudent council of his college, for this
while thethree activities representa- srgniztion is ost iportn
tive actas e-oficio in the school. They take charge of
Last spring changes were made putting on the annual College Day
which brought the preesnt organiza- and like affairs, and have frequently
htion of the council into effect. At put across legislation.
that time the council was cutaintwo,ed3 Student councils in the Philippines
members, as it was thought that a are worked on a different plan than
similar body would be more workable. We have seven col-
As in the old council, however, junior leges. such as the literary college and
the law college, and each of these,
of two years. It is believed that by ihas its own student council, consist-
of wo ear. I isbeleve tht b ig of representatives elected from
holding over three men from year to ing of rerese e te from
:a i each of the classesi, two from the
year the council will be a more stable
fresliman class and so on. and each
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body.
With the three major student, ac- #
tivities represen'ted in the council-
ublications, athletics, andthe Union
.-the council can now act as a means
'of co-operation between the variousj
ow studen
neat their
usness.
erer judg
ommittee.
Further
bout stu
ails to be
ients dea
tudent su
nay unde
ome alms
ondemne
adeed.
tudent se
leted an
.elegation
t the sen-
ssential t
superiore
self-gover
authoritar
miniature
'sity, stud;
:mind and
1which pre
effective
cracy. So
method o
cept by pr
munitiesc
selves onl
The grea
over other
present a
of self im
1o other s
systemso
times very
acciden't0
alone has
ership fr
governme
in politica
in trainin
practise o
a sufficien
other. fo
system.
An ncid
governme
is the im
makes ro
students.
underityi
faculty of
~athority
its, are placed in authority, Professor Wenley was the first student interests, tDefnite poicies
functions with great sett president of the Student Representa, and unity of action are now easier to
They are, if anything, se- tive council;at the University of Glas- arrive at, it is believed.
'es than a faculty discipline. gow, ' Scotland, and he states that it ' Another great change was made in
Was a matter of slow evolution and the matter of election. Formerly each
more, there is a finality that there were previously many un- :school was given a specific number of
dent decisions which often 1 successful attempts made to effect an representatives on the council. Nowt
e attached to the punish-organization, The council was in ex- the men are chosen from the campusc
lt out by the faculty. A istence fifteen years before it became at large, which gives them a broader
bjected to faculty discipline a part of the organized legal ma- responsibility. The president is se-s
r some circumstances be- chinery of the University, he said. He lected in the same way.
ost a local hero. A student I also feels that we cannot take condi- As regards disciplinary matters, the t
d by his peers is condemned tions in foreign universities and copy I council is at present represented on
Df course, to be effective them because of the different circum- each of the faculty disciplinary bodiese
lf-government must be com- stances with which we must contend. by its president and two other coun- I
d genuine. No half-hearted The views of Professor Wenley are cilmen appointed by him. They have I
of authority will carry with ( as follows: the right to discuss cases, but not to
se of responsibility which is "The holders of responsible offices vote. The council believes that it
to its success. o he ul h Qf should. conduct i reliminary investit
riing sGrod T ,+ o c1etions of -student discipline cases,, with
then with this dbasic fa L ty, cct it with membe s. of the right to suggest disciplinary
mcan; G ee ; 4 , d1eettirirsmeasures ,Although, this 'will ndt 'give
fa~icliin cases whr '
educational opportunities of; of students are particularly effected. them teh final judgment in such ,mat-
nment as contrasted with Experience has been that under these ters, the council believes that it will'
'ian government. In the conditions the real evidence in anyn at lett gitthe ' a better
democracy of the Univer case is much more likely to be avail meansf ressng their opinions on
ents acquire an attitude of able. My further experience is that all theirj____rs._
an experience in action cases effecting students, no matter in k
pares them to play a more what school or college, should be ad- little resphu;e from thestudent rneni-
part in our political demno- judicated, by the same body. This bers. This certainly shows little apti-1
far there has ben found no tends to uniformity, which is neces- tude for self-government."
f teaching self control x- sary for confidence in the decisions of
rarsnsogoven theCm- a body. It is highly advisable that OUTLINES BOTH SIDFS
can learn to govern them- this central body should be clear as
y by governing themselves, to the various penalties which it can PROF, P. BRAND. BLANSIARD, of
t superiority of democracy impose and that it should be equallyi ,the philosophy department-
r systems does not lie in any clear as to the kind of misdemeanors: "The request of the Student Council
chievement but in the faculty fo rwhich these penalties are to be im- for an . extension of student govern-
provement which exists inosed. There is entirely too much ir- ment seems to me on the whole a
ystem. The success of other regularity. Certain penalties should reasonable one.
of government, which is at be definitely prescribed for certain "It is true that there are certain
y great, is always due to the misdemeanors, as they are in our objections which immediately occur:
Df a good ruler. Democracyc t First, the viewpoint of the student,
the power of evolving lead- it may be held, is not that of his eld-
om the mass. Student, self- "We must have a council which has ers; what is important to him may
nt is worth all the courses the complete confidence ofsboth stu- not be important to them. There are
9. science in the curriculum dents and of faculty. This is to be certain campus traditions, for cx-
1g men and women in the obtained in two ways, first in the man ample, which to a body of students
~f democracy. There is here ner in which the body is constituted, might seem worthy of severe enforce-
nt ground, if there were no and secondly, by the uniform matter ment, while to men of greater matur-I
r the introduction of this in which it uses its powers. ity they would seem trifling. And here
"The faculty should have nothing at maturity ought to decide.
dental result of student self- all to do with discipline of the stu- 'Second, student investigators, it
nt of the very greatest value dents among themselves. Give the I might be said, would not be treated
rove reytionshsp which itcouncil final authority in matters in with- due respect. Advantage would'
proved relationship which it be taken of their lack of official stand-
om for between faculty and whichthe offense concerns student re- ing; they could not compel the pro
A faculty of rulers' may' lations with one another. All matters ' uto f vdne hywudb
As systembereplaced by a concerning offenses which effect the odinked,uevidecrossed and e
i friends. The element of University as well as the student hdind, domulece andme
in the parental relation is should be acted 'upon by a joint body."j "Third. campus offences are numer-
organization, for instance a debating
society, is permitted to have one
member on the board.
"'Some of the deans in the univer-
sity allow their councils to meet alone
for action, but I preside at the coun-I
cil meetings for my school, the college
of literature, science and the arts,
which are held twice a month. How-
ever, there is a vice-chairman elected
by the group.
"I submit to them all matters of
their interest, including student dis-
cipline cases. In the latter, they act
in an advisory capacity and the
deans convene in flagrant cases to
take action. Student recommenda-
tions are seriously considered, how-
ever.
"There is also a general university
council, composed of a representative
from each of the college groups, but
this main body has little activity in
the school. College spirit runs higher
than university spirit, which we are
continually striving to unify.' Each
college is' 'eaer to present ater I
College Day than the other colleges.
These College Days are big celebra-
tionr, a.nd co; umonly take . place on
national'holidaa. Th yro'ram con-
sists of athl64es, par# les, dancing"
drama presemt ,ions, ad iquire d
whole lay. Nt4t rally nthu m runs',
high. ,
"As I said, we are always working!
to unify our school spirit. Our cam-
pus itself is about as large as that of'
yours here in Ann Arbor, but we have
less students than- you, 5,000 to be
exact. It is vary difficult. however, to E
fuse the various college interests into
a whole."
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Students especially appreciate this service.
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otherwise the faculty would descend
upon him is as yet a barbarian with
scarcely a glimmer of morality. What
is wanted is a general student feeling
that decency is not an arbitrary order
from an academic All-highest, but
something ratified by the cordial con-
sent of people like oneself.
"To establish for each student a
jury of his peers would tend, I think,
to foster this feeling. If a common
sentiment in favor of a certain scale
of values and type of life could be
generated on the campus, it would
be a completely transfiguring force:
and while the present move tends
rather to consolidate sentiment as to
what not to do, it is at least a move
in the right direction."
But as we have told you before, to fully appre-
ciate our service, and to become convinced that
what we tell you is so, you must try it. Send us
your next laundry or the next suit you have to be
cleaned. If you are not satsfied, then we want no
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often a serious obstacle to the good
understanding which ought to exist
between parent and child. The same
thing is true with regard to faculty
authority. f If a professor, besides
leading the thought of his students, is
expected to be an amateur prosecut-
ing attorney and then to act as a
judge in his own cause, there is
danger of a barrier arising, fatal to
his best usefulness,
Sound Tradition Necessary
Of course student self-government
will not solve the question of relation
-of faculty and students, but it will]
open the way to its solution. At any.
rate student self-government will re-
lieve the faculty of a considerable
burden of time' and energy now de-
voted to disciplinary matters..- This
will be a small but clear gain to the
University.
Of course, student self-government
will not work well if neglected and
left wholly to itself. The student de-
mocracy will start out without ex-I
perience or traditions. It must be led;
by wise council and friendly assitance
to the development of a sound tradi-
tion. Once established this tradition.
must be kept alive. The duty of
keeping it alive will primarily rest
with the upper classmen. Mazzini de-1
fined democracy as "The government
of all by all under the leadership of
the best and the wisest." The custom
of acquiescence in senior leadership
PATTERSON OPPOSED
"I don't feet that the students have I
shown sufficient worth in their stan- I
dards of chivalry and education to
be allowed to govern themselves," said
George W. Patterson, assistant dean
of the engineering school, in an inter-
view. "The student body has ability,
but can it use it properly to govern,
themselves without guidance?I
"We have an Engineering Honor
committee here in our school that has
taken action on matters of discipline,
such as cheating, in the past, and their
recommendations have generally been
accepted. There has never been an
appeal to the faculty of the school. In
any cases where there was disagree-i
ment between the faculty and the
Honor committee, it was because lack
of evidence failed to justify as large1
a penalty . as the student committee.
recommended.
"I think the Engineering Honor
committee represents about. the high-
est average of student on the campus.
Following recent evidences of student
incapacity to govern himself in mat-
ters affecting the University, I am
doubtful of his ability to control him-
self under his own government. The
important thing is to bring up the
standards of being a gentleman on
the campus here.
"If the students want self-govern-
ment, it is necessary that they frame
ous; their investigations take time:
and with student activities already toc
many, it would be unreasonable tr'
ask the Council to undertake the ad-
ditional work.
Answers Objections
"There is some weight fin these ob
jections, but the plan suggested 1 3
the Council does not seem to be open
to any of them. As for the first, the
plan does not propose to supercede [
the judgment of maturity by the judg-
ment of youth. The power to review,
to approve, and to reject still rests
with the faculty committees, as I think
it ought, to do. But the plan would
institute a sort of parliamentary gov-
ernment in which the students would
I form a lower house with the power
to initiate action; and the possession
if such a body would tend, I think, to
deepen students' responsibility for
their own conduct. Furthermore.
there is small ground for the view that
student officials would .not take their
function seriously; students, forgiv-
ing little to youth, are often mor
heavy-handed and implacable than
their seniors.
"Nor does the second objection seem
weighty. Student investigators could
scarcely be played with if invested with
formal authority; and if their inqui-
sition would seem less formidable than
i that of a faculty body, that in itselt
has distinct advantages. Their very
lack of standing might increase the
readiness of their access to the facts.
"As for the third objection, the
AGREES WITH COUNCIL'
PROF ROBERT T. CRANE. of the
political science department-
"I believe in encouraging the stu-
dlents of the University to assume the
task of their own government to the
fullest extent to which they show ca-
pacity. This sloes not mean that any
pre-conceived, full-fledged, scheme of
self-government should be instituted
as a grand adventure. The simple
request for authority for the Student
Council to make their own investiga-
tion and to recommend action in cases
)f discipline appears to be in conform-
ity with my own views. It is a first
step and asks the minimum possible
in the direction of student govern-
ment.
"The student hearing and recom-
mendation that is suggested in cases
of discipline takes nothing from the.
power of the University authorities.
It might, indeed. be done without for-
mal authorization. The weight that
will be attached to the recommenda-'
tions of the Council will depend en-
tirely upon their value. If this value
is proved by experience, discipline will
in effect pass into the hands of the
student body. Success in 'this taskI
should be the basis for further efforts
toward self-government.
Success Comes With Growth
"In short, student government,
should develop and not be attempted
through a mere fiat. If political sci-
ence teaches anything, it is that suc-
cessful self-government comes only
through growth, through a develop-(
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Telephone 165
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