PAGE FOUR
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
IIITT) T, ATRII, "'.5, 191
---- - ,
FRIDAY, AThTh ~, 1H'~
Academic Freedom
IN ITS FRONT PAGE EDITORIAL Wed-
nesday, Thie Daily asked that President
Ruthven's evidence and reasons for his with-
drawal of recognition from the Michigan
Youth for Democracy chapter be made pub-
lic. As this goes to press, no such clarifi-
cation has been made. On the contrary
conflicting interpretations of Dr. Ruthven's
action have confused the issue. Few of
us are certain today of its meaning.
One point is obvious, however: every
thoughtful student wants to get to the bot-
tom of this incident. All of us want to
know what if any is the significance of the
MYDA ban in the national, state and camp-
us pattern, and if such a pattern exists what
its significance amounts to.
a There has been some mention of the
words "Academic Freedom" in connection
with the controversy. These are words which
are rightfully dear to both students and
: faculty. If academic freedom is being abro-
gated or threatened, all of us want to know
it; if not, all of us want to know that, if
only so that we may squelch those who are
bandying the words about.
Today at 4:30 p.m. in Hill Auditorium a
forum of University professors who are
not afraid to share their knowledge and
beliefs with the public will discuss aca-
demic freedom, under the auspices of
Student Town Hall. Among these men
are experts on social, political and legal
questions, of national and world-wide rep-
utation. All of them are vitally interest-
ed in academic freedom to the extent of
Editorials published in The Michigan Daily
are written by members of The Daily staff
and represent the views of the writers only.
NIGHT EDITOR: MARY RUTH LEVY
speaking out at a time when most are
discreetly silent..
In the course of today's forum, at least
five aspects of the relation of President
Ruthven's action to the degree of academic
freedom enjoyed here should be clarified.
1-How does withdrawal of MYDA's rec-
ognition affect the freedom of these students
to meet and discuss?
2-What is the status of the manner in
which the withdrawal was put into ef-
fect? Is this a precedent for summary'
withdrawal of any campus group's recog-
nition, and if so does this restrict academ-
ic freedom in view of the answer to point
number one?
3-Does the action imply that current na-
tional and state investigations of Commu-
nists and Communist "fronts" are justified?
Are these investigations justified?
4-Do Communists have the right to
recognition on this campus? How is this
affected by the facts that the Commu-
nist Party is on the ballot in Michigan
and that there has oeen neither court de-
cisions nor evidence made public showing
that as now constituted the Communist
Party is sponsoring or planning any action
which is seditious or sotherwise subver-
sive?
5-Is President Ruthven's action a tacit
submission to pressure from the Callahan
Committee, and if so, does it constitute a,
precedent for further submission of the
University to political pressure?
THESE ARE SOME of the questions which
President Ruthven's action has raised.
Authoritative answers should be forthcom-
ing at 4:30 today in Hill.
It has not been the practice of this writer
to "appeal" to the campus to endorse every
passing cause or issue. But in this instance
no student who cares what academic free-
dom means and whether it is involved in the
MYDA action can have any excuse for miss-
ing today's forum.
--Milt Freudenheim
Ruthven's Timely Action
The
City Editor'sX
SCRATCH
PAD
A LOT OF THINGS can happen to any-
one's thinking in the space of a decade.
That fact was driven home Tuesday when
President Ruthven issued his statement on
Michigan Youth for Democratic Action.
The statement, which Dr. P.uthven de-
clined to amplify, said in part that "evidence
which it is impossible to disregard indicates
that the American Youth for Democracy has
become conspicuously identified with Com-
munist influences."
That started a chain of thought lead-
ing back to 1940, when Dr. Ruthven is-
sued a statement defending the Univer-
sity's action in requesting nine students
not to return for another year because
they were "not good University citizens."
Said Dr. Ruthven in 1940:
"All who have asked for conferences have
been heard by proper University authorities,
and the others have been told that they
would be heard if they so requested. Every
individual has been informed of the reason
or reasons for the decision which was made.
"Two or three asked for a public trial.
This request was refused as contrary to the
practice of the University and against the
best interests of the students."
One month later, Dr. Ruthven said in
an address at Chicago: Freedom of in-
dependent thinking, expression and as-
sembly in our schools is not license for
students and faculty to work against the
very form of government which allows
such rights to exist."
"Any faculty member who cannot con-
scientiously subscribe to such a policy should
recognize his unfitness as a teacher, and
should seek some other means of livelihood."
This statement may have been intended
to shed some light on the action by which
the nirfe students were denied readmission,
but it was never labeled as such. Possibly
Dr. Ruthven will deliver another speech in
the near future which may clarify the action
he took Tuesday against MYDA.
Dr. Ruthven probably had compelling
reasons for the action against the nine stu-
dents in 1940 and against MYDA Tuesday.
But failure to disclose publicly the evidence
on which the actions were based can lead
only to confusion among us who have been
schooled in the democratic tradition.
Tuesday, as in 1940, Dr. Ruthven depart-
ed from the set of admirable principles
which he enunciated before an alumni gath-
ering in the spring of 1938. In an address
entitled "The Little Red School House," Dr.
Ruthven said in part:
"Social progress requires and is develop-
ing unhampered thinking in all fields - . -
"When all areas of human knowledge can
be freely explored and discussed both in and
out of school, then we may hope to live in-
telligently as social beings.
"For from being 'Red', or even liberal
colleges are, on the whole, really the
strongholds of conservatism and import-
ant agencies in maintaining the status
quo. Even more, these institutions tend
with age to become crystallized by tradi-
tion, regulations, and departmentaliza-
tion, until with them the term 'liberal
education' is a travesty..
"Thus any evidence of unorthodox
thinking, the slightest tinge of pink, be-
comes conspicuous as a departure from
the norm and causes a spasm of hysteria
in timid souls who are fearful of being
disturbed . . .
"Instead of ridiculing and criticizing stu..
dents for daring to think outside of particu-
lar patterns, instead of insulting teachers
by the passage of silly loyalty oaths, and
instead of starving schools to make life
more pleasant for an older generation, it
would be better if the faultfinders would
encourage teachers and students with ext
pressions of hope, patience, and tolerance
and would consider it a privilege rather
than a burden to assist the schools in what
it, after all, the most important responsi-
bility of society."
It is time to turn back the clock to 1938.
c 1
THE CURRENT hysterical outcry over
President Ruthven's action banning
MYDA might well be taken with a grain of
salt. His critics darkly allege that this ac-
tion constitutes a threat to Academic Free-
dom. Instead of hazily ranting about Aca-=
demic Freedom, it would be well if critics
examined this action realistically.
In recent months two other state-sup-
ported institutions were faced with the same
problem. Controversy raged for some time,
entailing considerable adverse press reac-
tion. Both Universities lost stature in the
eyes of a public willing to believe that "red"
influences infested the campus. The battle
finally culminated in a legislative threat to
withhold appropriations unless the organi-
zations affected were outlawed. All this
turmoil over a group of students who make
up a small fraction of one percent of the
total enrollment!
With his timely action this week, Pres-
ident Ruthven has sidestepped these mud-
slinging tactics which would have given
the University a black eye. Rather than
wait for an opinionated legislative com-
mittee to conduct a cursory investigation
which would have -accomplished the same
end, President Ruthven beat them to the,
punch.
The present "witch hunt" in progress over
the nation cannot be defended. A program
which affixes a red label to any liberal
group is inconsistent with the democratic
principles upon which our nation is founded.
However President Ruthven's move is de-
fensible.
The FBI has stated the national AYD is
"a recruiting agency for the communist
party." President Ruthven asked the MYDA
to sever connections with the national
group. They refused and he had no alterna-
tive but to act. If the 36 students pursuing
the progressive policy outlined in a state-
ment to the Daily, they should have had no
qualms about breaking with a national
group condemned by the nation's top law
enforcing agency.
Viewed in this realistic light, the ban
does not have any of the far reaching im-
plications attributed to it by critics. It
was merely a common sense approach to
a touchy problem. Rather than have the
entire University dragged through the
muck of a useless investigation, Presi,.
dent Ruthven chose this way out.
--Dick Maloy
BILL MAULDIN
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"Missus Dooley is th' nicest lady on th' block. She always throws
warm water when I'm havin' a fight."
DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN
International Week
(Continued from Page 2)
Eckmann of the University of Lau-
sanne (Switzerland) and the In-
stitute for Advanced Study at
Princeton, will lecture on "Boun-
dary Value Problems for Discrete
Functions" on Mon., April 28, 4:15
p.m., Rm. 3017, Angell Hall.
Concerts
Student Recital: Milton Weber,
violinist, will present a recital in
partial fulfillment of the require-
ments for the degree of Master of
Music .at 8:30 p.m., Fri., April 25,
Rackham Assembly Hall. A pupil
of Gilbert Ross,FMr. Weber will
play Sonata in F major, Op. 24
by Beethoven, Brahms' Concerto
in D major, Op. 77, Vitali's Cha-
conne, and Hexapoda by Robert
Russell Bennett. The public is
invited.
Student Recital: IVarian Han-
son Stone, Organist, will be heard
in a program given in partial ful-
fillment of the requirements for
the degree of Master of Music, at
4:15 p.m., Sun., April 27, Hill
Auditorium. A pupil of the late
Palmer Christian, Miss Stone will
play Bach's Trio Sonata No. 3, and
Fantasia and Fugue in C Minor,
Franck's Chorale in B Minor, and
Widor's Symphony No. VI. The
public is cordially invited.
Student Recital: Uarda Foster
Saeger piano pupil of Joseph
Brinkman, will be heard in a re-
cital, 8:30 p.m. Mon. Apr. 28, Rack-
ham Assembly Hall. The program,
given in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Master of Music, will include works
by Franck, Mozart, Chopin, Si-
mone Ple, and Roussel, and will be
open to the public.
.Student Recital: Shirley Bower,
pianist, and pupil of Joseph Brink-
man, will be heard in a program
of compositions by Mozart, Medt-
ner, Ravel, and Brahms, at 8:30
p.m., Sat., April 26, Rackham As-
sembly Hall. Given in partial ful-
fillment of the requirements for
the degree of Bachelor of Music,
the recital is open to the general
public.
Exia jlit tOUS
The Museum of Art presents an
exhibition of drawings, prints and
small sculptures by Aristide Mail-
lol, April 18 through M a y 4.
Alumni Memorial Hall, daily ex-
cept Mondays, 10-12 and 2-5; Sun-
days 2-5; Wednesday evenings 7-9.
The public is cordially invited.
The Museum of Archaeology:
Current Exhibit: "Life in a Roman
Town in Egypt, 30 B.C.-400 A.D."
Tues. through Fri., 9-12, 2-5; Sat.,
9-12; Sun., 3-5.
Events Today
University Radio Program:
2:30 p.m., Station WKAR, 870
Kc. Tales from Poe-"The Case of
M. Valdemar."
2:45 p.m., Landscape Design Se-
ries-"The Cooperative Develop-
ment of Home Sites," John W.
Hyde, Associate Professor of Plan-
ning, College of Architecture and
Design.-
5:45 p.m., Station WPAG, 1050
Pi Lambda Theta: Tea,
p.m., East Conference
Rackham Bldg.
Letters to the Editor
4-5:15
Room,
STUDENTS AND T1OWNSPEOPLE are be-i
ing given the opportunity this week of ad-
vancing a few steps in the cause of world,
understanding about which so much has
been said and written.
Under the sponsorship of the Internation-
D. RAMA
WE CERTAINLY hope that every one on
campus who has any interest in the
theatre will be able to see the Department
of Speech's latest triumph, bernard Shaw's
Saint Joan. The production goes beyond
any amateur performance we have ever seen,
-indeed it is better than many professional
ones in New York. The play is in every way
a fine experience.
To pass out praises to the cast by name
seems almost superfluous, although special
mention should be made of the sincerity
of Judy Greengard, who played the Maid,
and Donald Clapp, who brought much charm
to the role of the Dauphin. Actually the
casting of the play was masterful. Director
Halstead utilized well both dialogue and
his stage and made many wordy portions
seem swift moving.
Joan, as Shaw has pictured her, is the
representative of the modern spirit of
individualism attempting to break -down
the shackles of the Church and the Peer-
age as Europe was emerging from the
Middle Ages. The play does not considerI
her accomplishments as much as it pointsI
to the direct responsibility of each man
to his sovereign and to his God.
Kc. Dorothy Ornest, soprano.
Visitors' Night will be held at
the Angell Hall Observatory begin?
ning at 8 p.m. -The Moon and Sa-
turn will be shown if the night is
clear. If the sky iscloudy, the Ob-
servatory will not be open. Chil-
dren must be accompanied by
adults.
English Journal Club, 8 p.m.,
East Conference Room, Rackham
Bldg. Mr. James Osborn of Yale
University will talk on "Edmund
Malone's Part in Exposing the
Chatterton Forgeries." Refresh-
ments.
al Students Committee and the Ann Arbor
Junior Chamber of Commerce, this week has
designated International Week.
Activities which have been carried out in
conjunction with the week's theme have in-
cluded a pageant of nations and a panel dis-
cussion of Soviet-American relations. In-
ternational Ball, an event open to the entire
campus, will climax the week's activities,
Friday.
The opportunity to see people from oth-
er countries dressed in their native cos-
tumes close at hand can bring the idea
of international good will out of the realm
of idealism and down to the level of every-
day experience.
Understanding between nations, if it is
to be firmly established, must be built on a
firm foundation of thought and experience
by all of the ordinary citizens of a nation,
as well as by political leaders:
The International Students Committee
and the Ann Arbor Junior Chamber of Com-
merce have provided all of us with an op-
portunity to become better acquainted with
the customs and ideas of other nations. This
new knowledge and experience should stim-
ulate more effective thought and the action
leading to sounder friendship between na-
tions.
--Shirley Frank
WE SHOULD NOT look on the German
problem merely as a factor in our re-
lations with Soviet Russia. Nor will any
settlement which may satisfy Russia and
ourselves and lessen tension between us
necessarilyabe a good one. We should view
Germany first of all in its European setting.
None failing to take account of the needs
of Europe will last. Secondly, whatever set-
1-4n tnn is n-.n ri r .gillhn iitt.._.. f'41
Slide Rule Ball Pictures will be
displayed at the Purchase Camera
Shop, 605 Church Street, April 23-
May 2.
Quarterdeck members making
the trip to Defoe Shipbuilding at
Bay City are to meet at 8:30 a.m.
today in front of the E. Engineer-
ing Bldg.
Student Religious Association;
Coffee Hour: 4:30-6 p.m., Lane
Hall Library.
German Coffee Hour: 3-5 p.m.,
League Coke Bar.
Coming Events
The Graduate Outing Club: Bi-
cycle hike, 2:30 p.m., Sun., April
27, Northwest entrance Rack-
ham Bldg. Supper outdoors if the
weather permits. Sign up before
noon on Saturday at the check
desk in the Rackham Building.
Sigma Alpha Iota, Alpha Chap-
ter, National Professional Music
Fraternity for Women. American
Musicale, 8:30 p.m., Mon., April
28, Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre.
Program: Original compositions
and works of well-known Ameri-
can composers will be performed
by members of the fraternity, solos
and small ensembles, and the Sig-
ma Alpha Iota Glee Club will
sing "Rosemary," a modern com-
position for women's voices by
Randall Thompson. The public is
invited.
The Annual French Play: Le
Cercle Francais will present "Le
Malade Imaginaire," a comedy-
ballet in three acts by Moliere.
8:30 p.m., Tues., May 6, Lydia
Mendelssohn Theatre.
Student Religious Association
Luncheon Discussion, 12:15, Sat.,
April 26, Lane Hall., George Brad-
ley will review Essay on Morals by
Philip Wylie. Reservations for the
lunch should be made at Lane Hall
before 10 a.m. Saturday.
B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation
"Corned Beef Corner," Saturday,
10:45 p.m.-midnight.
B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation:
Cost Supper, 5:30 p.m., Sun., April
27. Following the supper, Dr.
Ralph M. Patterson will speak on
"The Problems of Marriage as
Seen by a Psychiatrist." For res-
ervations call Hillel Foundation,
2-6585.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Becanse The Daly
prints EVERY letter to the editor
(which is signed, 300 words or less
in length, and in good taste) we re-
mind our readers that the views ex-
pressed in lcttrs are those of the
writers only. Letters o more than
300 words are shortened, printed or
omitted Atthe discretion of the edi-
torial director.
Goodwill
To the Editor:
RUNNING through the months
of April and May the Inter-
national Center has challenged
our boys in Lloyd House to a ping
pong, chess, and bridge tourna-
ment. The first night of the
bridge tournament our games
didn't break up until 11:30, we
enjoyed the games so much. All of
us left with a feeling of an eve-
ning well spent and an entirely
new appreciation of the Interna-
tional Center and the purpose it
represents.
It came as a surprise to learn
that the foreign students had few
opportunities to associate with
American students outside of the
classroom; and that one of the
most valuable opportunities to
learn about foreign peoples was
being passed up by the average
student . .. including myself.
In light of recent world develop-
ments, is it asking too much that
we give a little time to showing
foreign students on our campus
that we are interested in their
countries and proving to them
that our nation is more than a
democracy on paper? It's a valid
contention that fewer organiza-
tions can contribute as much to
international good will as an in-
tution such as the International
Center of the University of Michi-
gan. At the end of each semester,
students return to their home-
lands, and if we have done our job
well, they return as ambassadors
of good will.
One of the major purposes of
each of us should be to contrib-
ute to the foreign students return-
ing to his own country with a
sincere appreciation and under-
standing of our America. If we
each do his share over the course
of years, the people of other coun-
tries would come to know Ameri-
cans in a much more favorable
light.
Through association with for-
eign students, both the American
student and the foreign student
can broaden his intellectual hori-
zons and, acquire new information
and appireciation of different cul-
tures and nationalities. The re-
turning students can do more than
a host- of diplomats; they adver-
tise our people and our country
in one of the best possible ways
and we should do as much as we
can to see that they speak well
of us when they return to their
homelands.
-Don Pfeiffer
Unconstitutional
To the Editor:
AMID the argumentation pro
and con about the Hare Sys-
tem of Proportional Representa-
tion one fact shines out. THE
HARE SYSTEM HAS BEEN DE-
CLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL
BY THE SUPREME COURT OF
THE STATE OF MICHIGAN.
How can this University let it-
self be in any way connected with
a system which, according to the
Supreme Court, is repugnant to
the constitution of the state upon
which we depend for financial aid.
For verification see the case of
Wattles vs. Upjohn.
--M. Richard Fleschman
P.S. Since I am new here at the
University I did not know that it
was considered "fashionable" to
attack PR after every election.
Hare System Explained
To the Editor:
IN A PREVIOUS letter I prom-
ised to explain the principles of
strategy in a "score" election, in
which each voter allocates a cer-
tain number of points among his
favorite candidates, and the 24 re-
ceiving the highest scores win.
(Campus politicoes who expect the
Hare plan to be eliminated, take
note!)
The safest strategy is to put up
only a few candidates, or to con-
centrate your voting heavily on
just a few of those who do run, or
to combine both of these policies.
If you are a fairly good-sized
group this method will guarantee
you a modicum of representation;
it will also guarantee that you
will get fewer than the total nuin-
ber of representatives you deserve.
If you are bolder, you will put
up more candidates than you de-
serve proportionately, and spread
your votes as evenly as possible
among them, in the hope that they
will all just scrape over the line.
In this way you utilize your voting
power to the fullest, and if you
guess accurately (i.e., more accur-
ately than your opponents) you
VA Reports
To the Editor:
ALL THE VETS who spend
sleepless nights tossing and
turning while trying to figure out
what the V.A. does with the ab-
sence reports can rest in peace
now. After a diligent, intensive
investigation, the mystery has
been solved.
Anybody walking on the north
side of the campus between Hav-
en Hall and the Natural Science
Building Thursday at 18:50 hours
could see dozens of the cards
strewn on the ground. May I
suggest that the master mind who
dreamed up this brilliant method
of disposal be congratulated and
appointed to be "chief absence re-
port disposer" without delay.
-Peter Schick
KM Outrage
To the Editor:
SEVERAL WEEKS AGO at the
Karl Marx Society meeting a
small scale outrage occurred. The
kind of outrage that we sometimes
xead about in our history books
and bow our heads in shame for
-like the burning of the innocent
Joan of Arc; like the disgraceful
Sacco and Vanzetti case; like kids
bragging about tying the tails of
two cats together and throwing
them over a clothes line. Not on-
ly did students of the University of
Michigan come to the Karl Marx
Study meeting with the vicious in-
tent of breaking it up, but they did
so with glee of sadists. They
shouted down speakers, they
laughed at those who became flus-
tered with despair and they gig-
gled at the accent of foreign stu-
dents.
The banning of MYDA is exact-
ly that same kind of outrageous
behavior on a slightly higher
plane. It wasn't necessary to gig-
gle at anybody in order to break
up this group. THE EXACT SAME
SHAMEFUL RESULT WAS EF-
FE9TED MERELY BY WITH-
DRAWING RECOGNITION.
What are you trying to do to us,
you forces that are breaking up
every liberal organization you can
reach? Why do you create a Red
scare when there is none? What
personal or communal gain can
you possibly reap by this attack on
honest liberals? There must be
some or you wouldn't do it, but
can you accept whatever gain you
get conscientiously?
-Jeanne Tozer
Sic~p~an iI
1
will come in on a landslide. But if
you cverestimate yourself by one
or two candidates. or if the dis-
tribution of ballots among your
rivals w orks out in such a way that
the quota is higher than you ex-
Pect, then the even spreading of
your votes will be disastrous: all of
your candidates will just scrape
under the line.
The more shrewdly the political
leaders try to calculate these
things, the more closely the can-
didates will be bunched together,
the more drastically a small varia-
tion will change the results. After
one or two elections, serious psy-
chological effects will set in. A
voter will say, "Joe is the best
candidate, but he'll get a lot more
votes than he needs. I'd better
vote for Bill, because he'll be on
the border line." A certain amount
of this kind of reasoning will im-
prove the results: but too much of
it, obviously, will upset the whole
election. The beauty of the Hare
plan is that it automatically per-
forms this function of giving the
voter's ballot to the first candi-
date on his list who needs it. It
does this systematically and not
by guess-work at the polls.
-Bob Taylor
1
CURRENT
MOVIES
At The Michigan . .
HOTEL RESERVE (RKO), James Mason
THIS IS TAKEN from a novel by Eric
Ambler, which was probably much more
interesting. It stars James Mason, who is
getting more like a personality and less like
an actor with every picture. It is a spy
story. In its slow English way, it moves
persistently towards the usual conclusion-
a roof-top chase. It is full of characters who
are palatable if you have a weakness for
characters. It can be sat through if you
have nothing else to do.
At The State*. . .
Holdover of LADY IN THE LAKE (MGM),
Robert Montgomery.-
-Joan Fiske
Fifty-Seventh Year
Edited and managed by students of
the University of Michigan under the
authority of the Board in Control of
Student Publications.
Editorial Staff
Paul Marsha..........Managing Editor
Clayton Dickey '.............City Editor
Milton Freudenheim..Editorial Director
Mary Brush .......... Associate Editor
Ann Kutz............ Associate Editor
Clyde Recht...........Associate Editor
Jack Martin.............Sports Editor
Archie Parsons.. Associate Sports Editor
Joan Wilk........... Women's Editor
Lois Kelso .. Associate Women's Editor
Joan De Carvajal...Research Assistant
Business Staff
Robt E. Potter ..., General Manager
A nM nrr. f n. sa Ma a~
BARNABY