FOUR
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 1952
T. ....._;_. .. -.
New 'U' Calendar
r HE RECENT literary conference
focussed campus attention on an
problem, the University calendar.
has
old
At this conference, perhaps one thing
only was generally acknowledged; somne
change should be made. Although this
was never stated overtly by members of
the student body attending the conference,
all seemed to start from this fundamental
premise.
I
From the standpoint of various members
of the faculty, however, one change is
needed-the elimination of the "lame duck"
teaching session between Christmas vaca-
tion and the first semester examination
period when nothing is accomplished in
the classroom.
The Huntley-Crary plan, which has re-
ceived a good deal of consideration, elimi-
nates this session. It calls for moving up the
opening of the fall semester, so that classes
and exams may be finished before Christ-
mas.
A five-week Christmas vacation would
follow, and the second semester would
start several weeks earlier than at present.
However, as Frank E. Robbins, chairman
of the University Calendar Committee, has
pointed out, the plan has its limitations.
Setting up a calendar for the year '52-'53
by the proposed revision, Robbins came up
with this: classesustart Aug. 25, moving
orientation week up to Aug. 18, and the
first semester ends on Dec. 19. By shorten-
ing the proposed five-week vacation period
to three weeks, the second semester classes
could get underway Jan. 12 and commence-
ment would be May 9.
This calendar offers several serious
drawbacks. From the standpoint of the
working student, valuable days for the re-
sort season and other summer jobs which
last through Labor Day are being ex-
changed for time in early summer or
after Christmas when jobs are scarce.
And, the faculty member who teaches both
during the regular school year and dur-
ing summer school is left with only one
long vacation a year, coming at a time
when his children enrolled in public
schools are unable to take a vacation.
Other shortcomings of the plan stand out.
It would eliminate, some of the spring sports
events, it would decrease crowds at athletic
events during the "long vacation," and it
would bring May Festival during the middle
of second semester final examination.
Transfer students and incoming freshmen
for the second semester would find classes
at the University starting before their finals
were completed at the institution they were
then attending.
There are other elements to be considered
in the Huntley-Crary plan. The time-stretch
between the closing of summer school and
the opening of the fall semester is now uti-
lized by the maintenance men to make fur-
nace, grounds and general repairs. The pro-
posed calendar leaves only a little over a
week for this purpose. Summer school dates
cannot be moved up to conform with the
Huntley-Crary year because teachers from
other schools who make up the bulk of the
summer student body would not be able to
juggle their own teaching schedules to at-
tend.
It is pertinent to note that a plan simi-
lar to that proposed by, Professors Huntley
and Crary was tried at the University of
California early in the century and
dropped because of the resort industry
in that State, which found itself without
help late in the summer.
Admittedly, the "lame duck" session
should be eliminated, but the Huntley-Crary
plan, as it now stands, is not the solution.
-Diane Decker
Religion Training
CANON BERNARD IDDINGS BELL of the
Episcopalian Cathedral of Chicago has
condemned the nation's schools for shirking
their duty of giving American youth a know-
ledge and understanding of religion, thus
producing a society of Henry Aldriches.
"There are four varieties of human ex-
perience," Canon Bell states, "none of
them can be neglected in education." These
varieties of experience are science, human-
ities, social sciences and religion. It is
Dr. Bell's opinion that no matter how fine
a job an educational institution does on
the first three phases, it goes for nought
. . -
as long as the last is ignored.
What the critical churchman is forgetting
is that it is no more the business of the
schools to make sure that their students have
faith in a Supreme Being than it is for them
to tell them what political party they should
vote for.
It is the business of the churches to teach
religion. It is the business of the educational
institutions to teach science, the humanities
and the social sciences. They should not over-
lap into the field of the "Thou Shalt Nots."
However, religion is not as ignored in the
classroom as Canon Bell thinks. Such fields
as philosophy, sociology, anthropology and
history do deal with religion stimulating
thought leaving evaluatjbns up to the stu-
dent. No Coordinator of Religious Instruc-
tion is needed.
If America is a nation of religious illit-
erates, and it is doubtful that it is, it is
the homes and chuches that are shirking
their duty. Contrary to Dr. Bell's opin-
ion "church clubs and extra-mural agents,"
and not the university, can be most ef-
feotive in promoting an understanding of
all religions.
The attempt to integrate secular know-
ledge with religious knowledge is neither the
task of the church nor the school but, rather,
that of the student. Only after he has obtain-
ed experience from both sources, and not
just in one big lump, can he become balanc-
ed in all four of Canon Bell's varieties of
human experience.
-Helene Simon
Speaker Ban
0NCE AGAIN it must be observed, the
University Lecture Committee had no
choice.
The decision was predictable; the Com-
mittee did its simple duty and well. But
there were factors influencing the decision
which, though not acknowledged publicly,
must have played an, important role in the
outcome.
Relevant, if embarassing, considerations
are these:
The recent departure of the House Un-
* American Activities sub-committee has sen-
sitized the press and people of this state to
a point where Greene and McPhaul could
have done University damage both finan-
cially and academically. More particularly,
the State Legislature is now considering the
University's budget appropriation. And the
return of the House sub-committee, coupled
with the needs of political candidates, make
speeches from these men the stuff which
election dreams are made of.
In a week of recrimination and ill-feeling
there has been much harm doe to what
we wishfullyethink of as this nation's funda-
mental principles; attendant damage was
inflicted on reputations and some people
with the best of intentions have been dis-
abused of them.
But in the strictly local and temporal
sense, had McPhaul and Greene spoken
the greatest damage would have been
done to the University.
A heavier crackdown from the Board of
Regents would have been swift; and a reac-
tion from the Legislature and the voting
population would not have been far behind.
On the other hand should a similar wake
be churned every time the University gags
a speaker the people of this state will not
permit the University te independence it
has had in the past.
Meanwhile the University will have ceased
to fulfill its function as the concourse for
a free exchange of ideas.
All this is by way of preface to the con-
clusion that the choice is between the
Lecture Committee and a University which
has any virtue apart from its physical
plant.
While this University is cursed with a
Lecture Committee and a by-law, and there
are still invitations tendered to people un-
acc'ptable according to this standard, then
it must expect bannings, outcries, disastrous
publicity and assaults on democratic tenets.
But without the Committee and the by-law
which is its weapon, all speakers become nor-
mal, bringing little public notice after an
initial response to the novelty of freedom.
As sheer matter of self-interest, a con-
tinued reliance on these thought-control
techniques is to invite recurrent crises until
the day when this institution is no more a
university but a mere training school for
very malleable young people.
-Zander Hollander
Cenatral"IPlant
NOW THAT it is a certainty that a student
referendum on the question of the de-
sirability of the 'Lecture Committee' will be
a part of the forthcoming campus elections,
the electorate should have an opportunity to
become fully conscious of the issues involved
in this important test of opinion.
To facilitate such an end the Students
For Democratic Action have volunteered
the suggestion that all campus political
groups unite in an effort to bring the issues
involved in the referendum to the atten-
tion of the campus. They have suggested
that a speakers bureau be formed to dis-
cuss the matter at various University resi-
dences prior to the election. It was fur-
ther suggested that an all-campus rally
be held and that the proposal be publicly
debated by leading students and faculty
members. The SDA, which is a non-parti-
san political group, is the logical coordi-
nator of such actions.
Since every campus political organization
is effected by the existence of the Lecture
Committee it will be to the advantage of
all to cooperate with the SDA in this opera-
tion.
-David J. Kornbluh
Politics
POLITICS is concerned with herds rather
than with individuals, and the passions
which are important in politics are, there-
fore, those in which the various members
of a given herd can feel alike. The broad in-
stinctive mechanism upon which political
edifices have to be built is one of cooperation
within the herd and hostility towards other
herds.
The cooperation within the herd is never
perfect. There are members who do not
conform; who are, in the etymological sense,
"egregious'-that is to say, outside the flock.
These members are those who have fallen
below, or risen above, the ordinary level.
They are: idiots, criminals, prophets, and
discoverers.
A wise herd will learn to tolerate the
eccentricity of those who rise above the
nsrrnana A o ra, . u t a minimum ,f
T HE conclusions reached in
Ronald Seavoy's letter in the
Daily for March 4th may be cor-
rect, but the definition from which
he starts is .entirely incorrect. If
you believe, as I do, that all forms
of Communism are undesirable
and that some of them are dan-
gerous, matters of definition be-
come very important. Mr. Seavoy
says that "A Communist is by
definition, one who is dedicated to
the overthrow of our form of gov-
ernment." An examination of
three dictionaries, Websters, Win-
stons and the American College
Dictionary, reveals that there are
several definitions of the word,
none of which bear any resem-!
blance to that proposed by Mr.
Seavoy.j
In his zeal to defend us against
those who would overthrow our
government Mr. Seavoy is in
danger of closing his eyes to the
possibility that Communism will
be achieved in this country by
peaceful and legal means, a de-
velopment which I would regret
as strongly as he would.
-Joshua MClennen
** *
Ye Old Quad Food. . ..
To the Editor:
wEDNESDAY NITE, we had an-
other one of those "QUAD"
meals that really tries men's souls
and dental work. Several remarks
were heard concerning the digesti-
bility of such morsels or odds and
ends of "nothing" one -can find in
his meal. One of the group, who
happened to be a freshman, was
sort of chagrined over the loss of
a much loved baby tooth he had
managed to hold on to for this
long a time. Our pal, Tex, thought
the crushed-cherry-pit-cake had
such great possibilities as extrac-
tors of tooth fillings that dentists
really ought consider them. He
liked that flavor you get from the
cherries not usually found in those
ole' common fillin's. The wise
Sophomore, from the group of five,
liked milk. He figures that with
the quad way he gets his glass of
water and milk at the same time.
Then the two juniors piped in, in
full chorus, "Don't look at it, just
eat it up quick!"
Signed,
The Hungry, Mistreated Five
Foster
Gazenhuber
Gorree
Maker and
McGregor
Reichstag Fire .,..
To the Editor:
SO WHEN do we get' the "Reich-
stag fire?" We've been having
the buildup for some time now-
when do we irrevocably prove for
once and all that every Negro,
Jew, and Communist is a traitor
to the American Way of Life?
It's not really on the books, yet,
is it? It's only in the minds of the
Woods and Rankins and McCar-
thys so far; it's only in those con-
fused statutes and rules forbid-
ding those "advocating overthrow
of the government by force" frorp
lecturing, from teaching, from
writing, from participating in any
way in the normal intercourse of
our society; it's only in the ambi-
valent attitude we take towards
the Negro and Jew where we deny
him what we demand for our-
selves. Let's clear the air now and
get rid of the confusion.
Why indulge ourselves with
these balky witnesses who invoke
for their protection the Bill o
Rights-that's an outmoded docu-
ment in our modern times; wh3
countenance these squabbling lit-
tle groups who pose problems foi
Lecture Committees by inviting
ex-convicts to discourse for those
who wish to listen on the rights
of the Negro and the foreign born;
why put up with the pinkish lib-
erals who only, after all, aid anc
abet the insidious traitorous Com.
munists? Let's put a stop to it.
When Eisenhower comes march.
ing home let's make him president.
President hell! Make him fuhrer.
He can lead us to the light. He
can put all these dirty Commun-
ists, Jews, Negroes, misguided lib-
erals, and everyone else, right
where they belong. Then we can
proudly face the rest of the world
and say, We've done it now.
-John Talayco
* * *
Information .
To the Editor:
AFTER reading the Daily edi-
torial, "The Speakers and the
Committee," March 5, I could onl:
shudder when I realized what
kind of editors would be in contrc
of the Daily next year. The quali-
ty of this editorial is more in
keeping with Bernard Backhaut'
nihility of a few days ago. And
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torial was attended by thirty to
thirty-five members. 2) Not more
than five people had left when+
the Abner Greene motion was
introduced. 3) There was discus-
sion; Abner Greene's affiliations
were made known to the meeting
and the Chairman even expressed
some doubt as to whether Greene
would be approved by the Lec-.
ture Committee. 4) However, the
motion inviting Greene was passed
by a vote of twenty to four, with
aboutveight abstentions. 5) the
motion was not introduced in the
last five minutes, but in the last
f
!t nrz n+s ways
6,,4 wP~t a
their action, the Lecture Commit-
tee violated the democratic con-
cept that a man is not guilty un-
til proven so, one of the principles
the Committee presumably de-
fends.
What sort of "loyalty" is this
which makes a mockery of the
Constitution?
-Joan Berler
Pres., Young Progressives
* * *
Liberty ...
To the Editor:
Definitions .
To the Editor:
spa - , 5
, ,
P .
=
"Straighten Things Out There! Do You hear?"
Mr. McPhaul's appearance on
campus would have given us a
spark of faith in human nature, a
little hope for the future. It is be-
cause the Regents and the; Lec-
ture Committee would deny Uni-
versity students this faith and
this hope, of course, that Mr. Mc-
Phaul was banned. They (and the
editors too) know full well that
Mr. McPhaul is no "subversive"
David R. Luce
* * *
Animals .
To the Editor:
I AM a first semester freshman,
and I have been here five
weeks. I like the dorm, the food,
my housemother, my classes, my
professors, and my new friends. I
am in love with the whole cam-
pus.
t0That is why I feel it is my duty
{ bring a horrible fact to the
attention of my fellow students.
The University has no live wol-
verines! I discovered this catas-
trophe when I passed the zoo be-
hind the museums. (My English
1 class is in West Engineering.)
There I saw foxes, raccoons, bears,
snakes, etc., but no live wolver-
ines. It seems that the single live
wolverine on campus died a few
months ago. Nobody ever bothered
to replace it.
I was shocked; my faith in this
great institution of learning was
crushed. How can the students
have anyl spirit? How can the
Wolverine Club exist without a
wolverine? How can our basket-
ball or football team win even one
game? Our mascot, our symbol,
our 'very life's blood has been de-
stroyed!
Cannot the alumni exert any
influence to secure a wolverine?
Can no red-blooded, 'Mid-western
young man trap a wolverine for
us? Is there tno solution to this
disgraceful situation?
Students, I appeal to you. Yale
has its bulldog, Brown its brown
bear, Wisconsin its badger and
Northwestern its wildcat. What
has Michigan} got? Foxes, racoons,
* bears, snakes, and skunks! Do we
want them to represent us?
-June Stone, '56
* s
Astrology .. .
To the Editor:
IN RESPONSE to a question by
one of the staff of The Daily,
"Is' there any scientific basis for
Astrology?" I made a very incom-
plete reply in comparison to the
vast amount of material existing
and which is pertinent to the sub-
ject. However, I supplemented my
statements with logical proof.
D Could The Daily have found
space for the factual evidence I
. included, it would have saved one
e upper classman from the embar-
rassment of the indignity he in-
flicted upon himself.
s I have nondesires toengage in
*the usual controversy of, "It is"-
"It isn't," for the proof of any
statement lies in its demonstrabil-
t ity; but if the young man cares to
o submit any evidence to back up
s his direct statements, I shall be
e happy to give him some enlight-
g enment that he seems pathetically
e in need of. k
But I would suggest that before
- he ventures further, he at least
f have some slight knowledge of the
n subject under discussion. If he has
- not learned that much from his so-
journ at Ann Arbor, then the Uni-
e versity must be very remiss in its
t duties.
n The authentic literature of Aa
y trology is comprehensible enough
d that the senior mentality need not
e remain in its self-imposed dark-
ness.
fifteen or twenty-two other items I WAS DEEPLY shocked upon
of business were discussed after reading the editorial on the
the Green motion had been passed speakers' ban in Wednesday's
and before adjournment. Daily.
I know nothing about the Young Whether or not these men are
Progressive meeting or Arthur Communist or belong to "subver-
McPhaul, but after what was said sive" organizations has no bear-
about Abner Greene and the Civil ing whatsoever on whether they
Liberties Committee I can only should be permitted to speak here
have grave doubts as to the auth- My alma mater, the University
enticity of the editorial's infor- of Massachusetss, freely permit-
mation concerning the YP also. ted the avowed Communist Pro-
Heretofore, although I have not fessor Phillips to speak on campus.
agreed with the articles appearing The result was that a large num-
above the names of the various ber of students for the first time
authors of "The Speakers and the in their lives had the opportunity
Committee," I only thought that to hear the Communist position
they were drawing conclusions and presented first hand, and to ask
stating opinion different from myf questions about it. That question
own, but based on the same facts period clearly demonstrated t
-and not drawing different con- us the hypocrisies and falsehoods
clusions because the bases were which make up the "party line"
second-hand and, evidently, dis- Most important of all, we made
j torted information, rather than our decisions on the basis of hav-
' fact. ing heard both sides; rather than
-Frederick A. Burr on simply having had McCarthy's
I * *I garbage rammed down our throats.
If American democracy is su
CorreCtion , . iperior to Communist dictatorship
T (and I am deeply convinced that
To the Editor: it is), then what better away t
H AVING too much reverence prove it than to allow Communists
for Guiseppe Verdi, I feel that to speak here, where they can b
I cannot let the Daily's mistake freely cross examined? Bannim
go unnoticed. talks by Communists or anyone
In Sunday's Music Supplement else can mean only one thing-
Issue, in the article on Astrid Var- that those who issue the ban sec
nay, it was erroneously stated that retly believe that the viewpoint of
Verdi's immortal pen composed the opposition is more valid than
"The Flying Dutchman." Without their own ,and have not the cour
meaning to degrade the true com- age to meet it in open debate.
poser, Richard Wagner, I think We oppose Communism becaus
that Verdi has been greatly, al- we believe in freedom. Then wha
though probably unintentionally is the use of fighting Communisn
offended. if we ourselves destroy that very
-Ann Bandler freedom? Remember what we used
* to sing each morning in grad
school-"sweet land of liberty"
YP & McPhaul . . . Let's keep it that way.
Morton R. Laby
To the Editor: * * *
CARRE'' N T A O V I .,
t The State...
THE HAPPIEST DAYS OF YOUR LIFE,
with Alastair Sim and Margaret Ruther-
ford.
THIS IS the latest manifestation of a new
and pleasant post-war genre in British
film-the sly dig at the hallowed traditions
pf Old Blighty-and as such. deserves men-
tion in the same breath with 'Kind Hearts
and Coronets', 'Tight Little Island', 'Pass-
port to Pimlico' and the late, great 'Laven-
der Hill Mob.' 'The Happiest Days' is, as
the advertisements say, another bulls-eye.
It is brilliant, adult, and fast-paced comedy:
you should not miss it.
This one has Alastair Sim (whom you
will remember as the engaging Scotland
Yard man in 'Green For Danger') as the
headmaster of Nutbourne School, a not-
quite-class-#A' institution for young gen-
tlemen. His opposite number is Margaret
Rutherford (sans bicycle) as the tweedy
headmistress of St. Swithin's ("Effort,
St. Swithin's, effort!") for young ladies.
Through some , horrible bureaucratic
bumble the hundred-odd lyutbourne boys
find themselves sharing billets with an
equal number of St. Swithinites. And,
neither school will budge an inch. Im-
passe.'
The conceit is no more complicated than
this. It is the uproarious embroidery upon
the idea that counts, along with the intrepid
performances of Sim and Miss Rutherford.
The picture, incidentally, affords fascinat-
ing comparisons with another fine, although
entirely different, film about English public-
school life: 'The Browning Version' now,
conveniently, at your neighborhood theater.
Avoid, at all costs, an animated cartoon
which occupies the first fifteen minutes of
the program. It will only ruin your evening.
Architecture Auditorium
TORMENT, a Swedish film that won the
Grand Prize at Cannes in 1946.
THE 20TH CENTURY has placed a pecu-
liar focus on both mental fear and sex.
These two items are, of course, sometimes
obviously related, sometimes subtly so, and,
for those of us who have drifted some dis-
tance from the good Doctor Freud, some-
times altogether unrelated. It is pretty clear,
though, that our society has many devices
to scare a man or win a woman that are
more effective than a club. It is also pretty
clear that most of us have felt this rather
than understood it, and that, in one way or
another, we pay for our. confusion.
This picture, gets down very deep in
that confusion and punches hard in both
directions. The plot sticks to the problems
of the three principals: a young man in
school, a sadistic school teacher, and a
girl who, in a very complex way, is involved
with them both. The rewads of this single-
minded attention to the central theme are
depth and power.
It should not be surprising to anyone in
college that the pressures of the classroom
and young adulthood should combine to
heighten the effects of the tyranny of fear
and sex. It may come as a surprise to see
these pressures and their effects treated with
a kind of seriousness that implies they really
do exist-and with an artistry that dignifies
that seriousness.
The Swedish cast is extraordinarily con-
vincing and restrained, despite the fact
that they are forced to convey the strong-
est kind of internal tension throughout the
picture. Some of the curricular and extra-
-Harry Gray
L Lv
O THE writers of Wednesday's 'Faith' & 'Hope'.. .
editorial: The Young Progres- To the Editor t at46u..
sives did not sponsor McPhaul to EXCUSE ME, but re yesterday4 ht" 1
embarrass the University, by morning's e ditorial "The
"forcing the issue." Nor did we Speakers and the Committee," I
want him to speak on the basis cannot keep silent when white su-
of his appearance before the Un- premacist, slanderous apologetics
American Activities Committee. disgrace the students' newspaper.
In fact, the application was filed It is a lie that Abner Green
with the Lecture Committee be- and Arthur McPhaul are "two
fore McPhaul was even subpoe- men whose contribution to the
naed to appear. We invited him campus scene would be dubious."
only because we believe he could Abner Green representing t h e
have made a valuable contribu- American Committee for the Pro- T-
tion towards the struggle for Negro tection of the Foreign Born, was S tySecond Year
-rights by addressing the students. to have spoken on the unconstitu- Eixt-SdcndbYear
The editorial referred to Mc- tional deportation proceedings that Edited and managed by students of
Phaul as having "charged the have taken place under the Mc- the University of Michigan under the
authority of the Board of Control of
American people with genocide of Carran Act; a subject about which student Publications.
the Negro race." This statement, few students are informed, yet
which seems to imply that Negroes which is one of the major civil Editorial Staff
are not also Americans, is itself rights crises of our day. Arthur Chuck Eliiott ........Managing Editor
an indication of the need for edu- McPhaul was to have discussed Bob Keith...............City Editor
cation on the Negro question. the Genocide petition presented to Leonard Greenbaum. Editorial Director
McPhaul was one of the authors the United Nations by the Civil Ron Watts..........Associate Editor
of "Genocide," a documentpre- Rights Congress. Bob Vaughn.......,..Associate Editor
sented to the United Nations, The editors state as a reason Ted Papes.............. Sports Editor
listing crimes committee against for considering Mr. McPhaul to George Flint ,...Associate Sports Editor
the American Negro People. The be unfit as a campus speaker- Jan Jaesr...........Women's Editor
crimes herein constitute genocide as grounds for suspicion of his Jo Ketelhut, Associate Women's Editor
according to the definition adop- loyalty-the fact that "he has ap-
ted by the U.N. Genocide Conven- peared here at Lane Hall in be- Business Staff
tion. half of Willie McGee." I can con- Bob Miller.......Business Manager
A member of the Civil Rights strue this only as the slanderous Gene Kuthy, Assoc. Business Manager
Congress, McPhaul stated he did insinuation that those of us who Charles Cuson ....Advertising Manager
not advocate violent overthrow of took part in the campaign to free Milt Goetz......Circulation Manager