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THE MICHIGAN DAILY
THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 1951
WhoShould Serve?
A KENT COUNTY draft board has thrown
a couple of buckets of kerosene on the
currently smoldering controversy concerning
the new government policy of student de-
ferment.
The board's well-publicized rural dissent
to the principle of leaving draftable students
on the campus while less intelligent and less
opulent young men fight the nation's battles
will not of itself touch off any flaming de-
bate over the merits of the deferment policy.
But in its limited way it could aid in the
kindling of just such a healthy bonfire as
would force the government into a recon-
sideration of its policy.
There should be little disagreement
among thinking people that, for the pres-
ent at least, the deferment of college stu-
dents is a wise course to follow.
Educators, who for years have been trying
to convince the American public that a col-
lege education is neither a luxury nor a
privilege but a necessity, have reemphasized
the point that education is an essential force
in the survival of our civilization. To dilute
the American culture and maim its educa-
tional system by draining off most of its
draft-age college males into army camps
at the present time would be not only un-
enlightened but fatuous.
By cutting its April draft call, the army
has already indicated that it has all the
men it wants right now and officials have
announced that the armed forces are near-
ing the 3,500,000 goal set by the President.
Moreover, the entire mobilization effort has
Editorials published in The Michigan Daily-
are written by members of The Daily staff
and represent the views of the writers only.
NIGHT EDITOR: DAVIS CRIPPEN
slowed to an uneven trot after the first
few months of headlong talk. The govern-
ment has adopted a program of long-range
economic and military buildup as the safest
policy.I
It seems then, that someone is going to
be deferred and students are the logical
group to single out from the point of view
of national welfare, the most acceptable
touchstone in such matters.
The protests which so far have been
voiced against the plan stem partly from
a traditional anti-intellectual prejudice in
this country and partly from certain in-
equities in the plan.
By enticing more young men into college,
the plan itself may weaken the forces of
anti-intellectualism, but in any event, the
inequities should be reduced as much as
possible.
First, as Dean Keniston suggested, eco-
nomic discrimination should be reduced by
means of Federal scholarships for deserving
students who would otherwise be unable to
afford college.
Second, men engaged in the sort of limited
military action now proceeding in Korea
should be rotated more frequently and given
a big hike in pay. In the event of disability
or death, liberal compensation should be
paid by the government.
Third, some guarantee that college stu-
dents will serve their share of time in the
armed forces after the completion of their
legitimate course of study.
Were these improvements made, the pres-
ent policy would probably be as sound as
any which could be adopted for an extended
period of less than total mobilization. If
the situation should change so that- a larger
armed fighting force were needed, additional
manpower could be pulled from the colleges
by raising the deferment requirements, and
in the event of all-out war, cviilian students
would disappea completely anyway.
-Dave Thomas
U' Batting Average
THE UNIVERSITY hit a 333.33 batting
average this week-two strikeouts and
one hit-as three new regulations were re-
vealed to the student body.
The first strikeout came in the regu-
lation forbidding women to go home early
for vacation without first bucking the red
tape of the Dean of Women's office, the
second when the Honors program in Li-
beral Arts was chucked out the window.
Th- lone hit came in the form of the
free weekend given to students before fi-
anal exams begin this semester.
The women's regulation is another major
faux pas in the alrady long line of Uni-
versity restrictions. The Dean of Women's
office has extended its control from the
residences where it has free rein to the
classroom where it has no authority at all.
It is not forcing the women to attend class
today and tomorrow but it is making it dif-
ficult for them to leave town early and is
insisting that they get back to Ann Arbor in
time for Monday's eight o'clock. The desire,
of course, is to make it quite definite that
women belong wholly to the Dean's office
during the calendered semester.
In the name of the double standard, wo-
men are once again getting shoved around.
The stand taken on cuts by the schools
themselves is a more mature one. Students
have their academic obligations. If they
don't meet them the consequences are paid
academically.
Thesecond strikeout is the dropping of
the Honors Course in Liberal Arts. This was
one of the little known individual programs
carried on at the University. In it the stu-
dent received personal attention, and ac-
Population
H WHIMS of present day Man and the
naivete of present day Woman are play-
ing havoc with our vital statistics.
Freuds! If the current rate of population
increase is maintained, the present world
population, already estimated at 2.4 billion,
will be doubled in less than a 100 years.
The United Nations says so.
In truth, the world can't bear tie burden
of propagating in such geometric progres-
sions. Something must be done.
Needless to say, the Malthusian counter-
balances-war, pestilence, and starvation-
are just too slow for a quick world.
Of course, the atomic bomb might be a
possible cure, but not even modern demo-
graphers could bear the horrific thought of
mushrooming a portion of the population
out of this world.
On the matter of births and deaths
throughout the world, the UN survey dis-
closes that in 1949 there were 81 to 87 mil-
lion births against 52 to 59 million deaths.
Surely modern medicine is keeping alive
too many people. And in so doing, it may be
' the death of us all.
And then again, modern medicine has suc-
ceeded in- rejuvenating all too many senile
decrepits with the wonder drug-Testoster-
one. Even Paul de Kruif is happy with it.
These factors. along with the world's ever-
cordingly was expected to do a great deal of.
extra work. Budget difficulties, however,
prompted the University to abandon the pro-
ject. Without attempting to arouse inter-
est in the course, to see whether students
would care to take the program, the literary
college dropped it with the stipulation that
it may be reinstated at a later date.
Two fallacies seem to emerge from the a-
tion. The first is that in the overall scheme
of the millions of dollars that it takes to
run this school annually, the amount of
money saved would seem negligible. True,
that little amounts add up to big totals, but
the money could be saved in a non-academic
field of University operations where the in-
tellectual aims of the college would not be
thwarted or regulated into the already too
mechanical and impersonal structure of this
oversized school.
The second fallacy is that if the pro-
gram is to be reinstated student interest
must be aroused. Such interest will never oc-
cur by just publishing a notice in the bulle-
tin and leaving it up to the academic coun-
sellors to casually spread the word. The
Honors program is the type of course that
needs to be officially pushed and pushed
hard to get wide spread acceptance. That
an attempt should be made to make it more
popular seems obvious. In the regular cur-
riculum, the student emerges with a smat-
tering of unrelated tid bits. In the Honors
Program, he is able to correlate his courses
and obtain the rare but valuable perspec-
tive of a subject in all its scope.
The semi-free Saturday that will be given
at the end of this semester is the one bright
light of these new rules. By cutting the exam
period from 11 to 10 days officials were able
to avoid scheduling finals on the Saturday
following the last classes. In allowing teach-
ers to use this day as they feel fit, it has
become possible to schedule consultations
and review sessions without running into
conflicts with finals. The few regular class
sessions that will be held will probably equal
the number of tests given the day before
vacations. Though this one day of grace
does not approach the long reading periods
that are given at several other colleges, it
does give students the weekend in which to
study for their first exam.
However, when these three new regula-
tions are lumped together they still come
out with a two-to-one ratio in favor of
an unfortunate trend at the University.
The intellectual goals are pushed into the
background in favor of entrenching the
more materAal and mechanical aspects of
college life.
The one-day grace period for finals proves
that the University is far from being com-
pletely negative in its approach.
Steps, however, are in order to correct the
two shortcomings, and bring the University's
forward motion to at least an equal pace
with its backward leaps.
-Leonard Greenbaum
Draft Deferments
THE PRESIDENTIAL draft order auto-
matically deferring high-grade students
and those passing special aptitude tests will
strengthen the Nation's national defenses.
For as General Hershey says, "our advantage
lies in our suneriority in scientific and tech-
Censorship
DURING THE RECENT Arts Festival the
question of drama production censor-
ship arose. The broader aspect of the issue
was however overlooked-is a faculty censor
necessary at all?
As it stands now the censor, or to be
less harsh, the reviewer for all plays is a
single member who holds his position by
virtue of a regent's by-law.
There seem to be two possible reasons for
censorship of a play, first if the play is in
"bad taste" with reference to student morals
and second if there is a "controversial" poli-
tical content.
To decide the hazy question of what in
art is just plain "bad taste" is a problem
which faces many young playwrights. One
of the purposes of any student group is to
allow the students freedom of discretion so
that they will develop a sense of values and
judgment.
Experience in deciding questions of dis-
cretion will enable the students of an or-
ganization such as the drama production
groups to deal intelligently with problems
of libel, slander, ethic, and morals-problems
which are bound to confront any drama
group at one time or another. And it is a
university's job to allow students the op-
portunity to decide these questions or, when
necessary, to seek outside advice by them-
selves.
Most student organizations take constant
advantage of their chances to consult faculty
experts for advice concerning problems which
they as students are unable to solve. This
is quite a different procedure from that of
a student organization simply being handed
a decision or advisory opinion from one
specific faculty member whose advice the
group itself did not request.
Through a constant exchange of opinions
and through experiences in dealing with
matters requiring expert advice, a student
group is able to learn how to act maturely
with a feeling of responsibility.
If this responsibility is to be fully de-
veloped students must also have the right
to analyze and freely criticize existing poli-
tical situations.
The university will defeat one of its main
purposes if it attempts, for example, to pre-
vent students from criticizing in a play the
United States' foreign policy. It must, on the
other hand, encdurage free thought. The
student who is actively concerned about the
international situation has the right to ex-
press his feelings in a poem, play or through
any other medium. The stifling of the exhibi-
tion of these ideas in art is completely sub-
versive to the professed aims of a democratic
university.
A decision arrived at after careful con-
sideration within a student group whether
the decision concerns politics or a matter
of "good taste" should be subject to revi-
sion only by the will of the group. If a
drama organization has committed an
error in judgment it will be sufficiently
"reviewed" afterwards by criticism from
those wha saw or read the play. Then, in
view of adverse criticism, the responsibility
of revising a decision should rest solely
with the students and not come as a re-
sult of faculty intimidation.
A faculty censor is an unnecessary impedi-
ment to student development.
-Alice Bogdonoff.
THE UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY Band had
a featured performer at their spring
concert last night, but he was considerably
less than the whole show.
The performer, Percy Grainger, con-
ducted the band in his own "Hill Song,
No. 2" and played the first movement of
Grieg's "Concerto in A minor." Mr. Grain-
ger is not a flawless pianist, but his power-
ful personality made his performance of
the Grieg interesting and unique. In fact
I would say the stamp of the creative art-
ist was more pronounced in his interpre-
tation of the piano concerto than it was
in his own composition, which was pretty
pedestrian.
The choice of Mr. Grainger as guest star
for the band was a most fortunate one
though, despite the fact that his "Hill Song,
No. 2" was probably the weak spot of the eve-
ning. His somewhat eccentric individuality
perfectly complemented the band's own dis-
tinct and orderly character, giving the eve-
ning's program both depth and contrast.
He made an important and generous con-
tribution to everyone's pleasure by playing
"Country Gardens"-his most famous work
-as one of his encores. He must have play-
ed this piece thousands of times by now,
but he did it last night with the ingratiating
freshness of a young composer trying to im-
press with his first effort. Both the audience
and the band were delighted.
Gerald Kechley of the Music School
theory department was something of a
star too. His "Suite for Concert Band,"
which received what I assume was its first
public performance, was a mature and in-
teresting work.
About the nicest thing that can be said
about the band itself is that it lived up to
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XetteP/ TO THE EDITOR
The Daily welcomes communications from its readers on matters of
general interest, and will publish all letters which are signed by the writer
and in good taste. Letters exceeding 300 words in length, defamatory or
libelous letters, and letters which for any reason are not in good taste will
be condensed, edited or withheld from publication at the discretion of the
editors.
Quest . ,.
To the Editor:
IN QUEST of the Lingua Franca:
Manners of speech are peculiar,
And who is to say which is right;
For one lays some claim to tra-
dition,
While the other pleads progress
and light.
I for one am.from Bawston
Where we say in alarm, "Oh my
gawsh!"
But that manner of speech has
now left me,
And I say thus with verve, "Oh1
my gahsh!"
Such is my new mode of utter-
ance (my friends),
For like Whitman I'm one with
mankind;
I say now "It's ahdd" when I'm
seeking
The word "awdd"-which I no
longer find.
But that's only one of a hun-
dred;
There's "wahter" for "wawter"
and ahn;
There's "dahler" for "dawler"
and "hahler" for "hawler,"
And so ahn and awn and ahn.
I see no immediate solution,
Although Shaw, it is said, had
some cure;
And yet he would say, "Vedy
intresting,"
Which to us, I think, has no
allure.
The whole uproar is wrought
with confusion-.
A Babel that's good for a laff.
One needs a good sense of humor
To lahff in the face of such gaff.
But we'll see you about on the
campus-
Dashing to class on your hoss.
Though we pass each other in
silence (my friends),
Let us air our malaprops in
clawss.
-R. Ward.
Village Orchids .
To the Editor:
0RCHIDS TO Chuck Elliott and
Roger Reinke for their story
and pictures on Willow Village.
Although there were a few minor
discrepencies in reporting and in-
terpreting the facts, the article
was in general well done.-
Certainly the Village does not
satisfy the ultimate of our desires;
but it is, at least temporarily, home
to a considerable number of us
attending U of M. Probably it pro-
vides much better homes than we
would otherwise be able to find.
Just one matter puzzles me;
how does it happen that occasion-
ally our Daily does not arrive all
week, then on Saturday we find
six copies stuffed into our mailbox.
-Douglas Prill.
* *
Sad Sack . -
To the Editor:
MY ."TRIALS and tribulations"
at Camp Polk, La. and Camp
Stoneman and Fort Ord, Calif.,
not only sound like the adventures
of a sad sack, as Miss Letsis stated
in her editorial of March 23, but
ARE the adventures of a sad sack
-me, and millions of other draf-
tees.
My series of articles are obvious-
ly opinionated and slanted, all to
give a reasonable account of what
the future draftee is in for when
he takes the induction oath and
takes "one step forward."
My writing did not cover the en-
tire Army from every angle-it
could not-it was written from
the lowest worm's eye view, that of
the recruit in training. Besides,
there was hardly any time to "sur-
vey" such a widely scattered or-
ganization. After all, I'm not a
general-yet.
Of course, Army training centers
have all the things that Miss Letsis
mentioned, and then some, but
most of the time such "conven-
iences" as PX's and snack bars are
so crowded that it's hopeless to get
a bite to eat or a canof 3.2 beer.
a When I referred to "Army food,"
I was not judging Army food in
general, but only the stuff I ate in
Co. I of the 179th Regiment at
Camp Polk, where the cooks were
particularly bad.
I know the purpose of inspec-
tions, and agree that the rookie
must learn to care for his gear,
but that doesn't stop me from ex-
plaining that it's pretty irritating
and somewhat ridiculous from the
standpoint of time wasted waiting
around for an evil-eyed officer who
glares at you like you were AWOL.
I hope Miss Letsis, who was a
peacetime WAF will realize that I
understand clearly that the pur-
pose of basic training is to pre-
pare a man to kill the enemy before
ohe gets killed.
But no matter how well the
Army may train me to that end,
I will continue to object, as mil-
lions of others are objecting, to
being taken out of civilian life and
stuck in such an outfit as "the
military." Not just because it's in-
convenient, but especially because
of the very purpose behind that
training and the very factors that
make that training necessary.
-Pvt. (By Act of Congress)
Peter Hotton US55049306.
Deferrment
To the Editor:
A GOOD PART of the campus
sighed with relief Saturday
over the decision to defer college
students. But, before settling back
into our remaining civilian college
years, before watching friends who
are not now in college leave for
military service, we ought to con-
sider the reason why we are the
chosen ones. And then, we ought to
do whatever we can to see that
the policy idea which has given us
a new lease on civilian life is ap-
plied, if sound, to the entire nation.
The only good reason for defer-
ring college students seems to be
a recognition, on the part of the
administration, of a future need of
this country for college trained
minds. In short, what is called the
"best interests of the nation" is
keeping us out of uniform.
However, as the program is now
set up, it does not extend the policy
of creating a reservoir of trained
minds beyond those people who
are now in our universities. High
schoolers will not get a crack at the
exemption test until they are in
college as freshmen. No account is
taken of the boy who is of college
"I Want To Oifer To Help You"
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calibre but for financial reasonsa
is unable to go ahead and develop
his potential in college.
If the nation is going to fulfill,
as I think they should, the pro-
gram which was initiated last Sat-
urday, we should look beyond ourJ
own personal situations and aim
at a full utilization of the nation's
brain, power, including those who
for economic reasons are unable
to begin college on their own. This1
will mean, among other things, fi-
nancial subsidies, whatever you
want to call them, administered so
that high schoolers who have the
ability and the interest but not'i
the money can get that training1
which was deemed so important
last Saturday by our nation's lead- 1
ers.
To carry out this policy, there
must be some sort of financial aid
program, probably on the federal I
level, and it should come soon, be-j
fore a share of the nation's brain
power is syphoned off.
We, who have been granted
grace, should use all the channels
open to us now to get a sensible
federal aid passed through Con-
gress, which would raise the edu-
cational standards of all schools so
as to allow each individual to de-1
velop as far as he can.
This may not be as glamorous
as certain otherbrecent campus
campaigns, but it may be worth
while to form a committee to see
what can be done.
We owe that much to ourselves
and to those who six months ago'
were civilians like us, but are now
waiting at ports of embarkation on
the West Coast.
-Al Blumrosen '53L.
* *
Deferment ...
To the Editor:
TAXING UP arms in defense of
one's country is the first ob-
ligation of a citizen. In the United
States no person or class is en-
titleda to privileges not given to
others similarly situated. The law
must be for all without exception.
How then can we account for the
recently announced draft exemp-
tion for college students?
The result of exempting (and
this year 570,000 men were given
college draft exemptions) such a
large group of draft eligibles is
that the balance of our youth
must pay for this unwarranted
privilege. They are liable to an
earlier call and further as the
first called they face the risk that
their service will be longer than
now promised (ask the draftees
of 1940-41).
There are many intelligent draft
eligibles who cannot afford college.
There are others who might be
able to support themselves at col-
lege but who must stay at their
jobs because they have depen-
dents. Are these then to pay for
the creation of a new aristocracy
In America, qualifications (for
which is an ability to afford col-
lege plus the little extra effort
needed to place themselves in the
first half of their class. Certain-
ly it is no great tribute to a man's
intelligence that he manages to
stay in the first 50 per cent of his
class especially in a coed school.
Scholastic requirements v a r y
with the college and this seems
to be a boon to colleges with lax
requirements. "Get a degree and
a draft deferment, come to Po-
dunk college in the Pines."
Are we to presume henceforth
that all young men called to ser-
vice are in the lower half of our
national intelligence? Or should
we presume more correctly that
they are not as wealthy as the
college deferred youth? We now
have national recognition of the
selfishness which governs so many
of those fortunate enough to have
an education. Is this a further
example of ti more education
the poorer the citizen?
Equality of man has long been
our guiding principle. We have
proclaimed it to the world yet by
this one act the government gives
added fire to the claims of native
and foreign communists that all
is not so democratic in the world's
leading proponent of democracy.
That wealth still earries privilege
even when it comes to serving in
the armed forces.
Instead of a near blanket ex-
emption for college males we need
a program of selectivity with a ra-
tional basis. All physically eligible
men should be drafted. At the re-
ception centers select those whose
abilities or training qualifies them
for some skill requirod for the de-
fense program. Those selected can
be sent to school with tuition paid
by the government together with
the pay and allowances of their
rank plus when needed the usual
dependency provisions. Even un-
der such a program -those who
have had college training will have
> a natural preference but at least
i it would be a program based on
s equality among men and actual
i need of the armed forces. The
benefits given veterans of the last
war under the "G.I. Bill" should
also be given to all those who will
serve during this emergency.
Never let us have two classes
of citizens.
-Chester J. Burns, L'51
* *4 *
Peace Assembly .. .
To the Editor:
THE FOLLOWING resolutions
were adopted at the Assem-
bly for Peace:
We urge the United States to
recognize the central government
of the People's Republic of China,
to seek to have that government
seated in the United Nations, and
to negotiate with that government
through the United Nations to
bring an end to the Korean war.
We urge that the United States
take the lead in bringing about
disarmament of eastern and wes-
tern nations as a primary means
of implementing peace. The Uni-
ted' States should sincerely re-
ceive and carefully consider every
disarmament proposal advanced
by any nation.
We emphatically oppose the re-
militarization of Germany and
Japan and the restoration to
power of the German military
leaders.
We strongly urge that the Uni-
ted States reconsider its present
policy of supporting established
reactionary governments in Eur-
ope and Asia. We believe that the
United States should instead re-
cognize the right of other peoples
to determine their own govern-
ments.
We urge the United States to
recognize the independence move-
ments in Asia and Africa as the
result of a complete repudiation
of the whole colonial system rath-
er than merely a result of Soviet
foreign policy.
We propose that the United
States work in the United Nations
for investigation of general econo-
mic conditions in colonies admin-
istered by the United Nations.
We urge the United States gov-
ernment to positively aid the peo-
ples of Asia and Africa by render-
ing economic and financial as-
sistance to the colonial people
through the United Nations rath-
er than by unilateral agreements
with the colonial powers.
-Pat McMahon, Co-Chairman
Society for Peaceful Alternatives
* * *
Mind.Body .
To the Editor:
WE HAD THOUGHT the "mind-
body" problem was passe.
However we will reserve comment'
on Mrs. Williams' disappointment
with The Daily until we observe
the mind (sic) and body of her
daughter.
--Seymour Baxter,
Sid Goldberg.
Closed Mind
Cursed is he that doesn't know
when to shut his mind. An open
mind is all very well in its way, but
it ought not to be so open that
there is no keeping anything in or
out of it. It should be capable of
shutting its doors sometimes, or
it may be found a little draughty.
-Samuel Butler.
I
.--c '.-"-mo . I mo -_
Sixty-First Year
Edited and managed by students of
the University of Michigan under the
authority of the Board in Control of
Student Publicatiomi.
Editorial Staff
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James Gregory . -......Associat* Editor
Bil Connolly...........Sports Editor
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Bili Brenton . . .. Associate Sports Editor
Barbara Jans.........women's Editor
Pat Brownson Associate Women's Editor
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BARNABY
SfYes, its amazing how real ! merely pointed out to the lad tht M ohrsasYUdnt1vns #al