PAGE FOUR.
THE MICHIGAN DALLY
FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 1955
PAGE FOUR THE MICHiGAN DAILY FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 1955
SURPRISE TURNOUTS:
Is 'Apathy' Still Word
For 'U' Students?
"What Do You Hear?"
T oHEAR self-styled campus sages talk these
days apathy has swept the University un-
dergraduate populace. Ideas are supposedly at
a minimum and conformity is the by-word of
student thinking. Local coffee shops in the win-
ter and the Diagonal and arboretum in the
summer are loaded with students while a hand-
ful struggle to perpetuate the University's var-
ious student organizations. The lack of stu-
dent ambition and interest inherent in such a
situation has been criticized at length by vari-
ous campus leaders during the past few years.
Past criticism has been valid. For several
consecutive elections Student Legislature had
less than 50 per cent more people running for
office than there were positions available. Dur-
ing the past two years some leading campus
groups have been forced to appoint juniors to
senior positions - because not enough seniors
still remained in the activity. One top campus
organization held an open house last fall for
prospective members and only one person at-
tended. Another group fared little better with
four.
This shows apathy, with little room for dis-
sent.
HOWEVER, BEGINNING last December a
slight, shift of canpus interest was evident
and after viewing two' occurances during the
past week one might think students have sud-
denly forgotten they are supposed to be apa-
thetic. In December inspired by publicity from
the four housing groups, students took an
interest for the first time in several years in
student government. Almost 7,000 turned out
to back the new Student Government Council
by a hefty 3%12 to one margin.
The SGC vote temporarily turned some of
the critics optimistic for the future. The op-
timism didn't last long when there was only
mediocre student support at the SGC election
in March.
AFTER THIS week's happenings optimism
reigns again and this time its foundation
has increased solidity. Expecting a turnout of-
around 40 people last Wednesday for its first
Administrative Wing tryout meeting, Student
Government Council was overwhelmed by over
100 interested students. In fact Wing Coordi-
nator Sandy Hoffman, hopefully brought 100
petitions to the Wing meeting and was stun-
ned when she ran out of petitions long before
the meeting ended.
Tuesday the Daily ran a request for cartoon-
ists and movies, art, and drama reviewers. Ac-
tually expecting a few scattered people, the
Daily Editorial Director was flooded with over
40 applications.
There is at least a spark of student enthu-
siasm left at the University. Last week's events
may be isolated cases but the existing spark is
well worth fanning next fall. With a little
push on the part of people already enthusi-
astic and ambitious apathy might become a
thing of, the past.
--Dave Baad
- -. -..
_ N-_
.-C
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
AT THE MICHIGAN:
'Jungle'
Part Fact,
Part Faked
"THIS SCHOOL is the garbage
can of the educational sys-
tem," says Louis Calhern, an old,
apathetic schoolteacher.
"Did you ever try to fight thir-
ty-five guys at one time?" asks a
oung hoodlum named West.
And Glenn Ford, the new teach-
er, gets the picture: he has the
job of trying to teach English to a
room full of juvenile delinquents.
Well, he gives it a try and no
end of Bad Things happen to him
in the process: he and another
teacher get rather badly mauled in
an alley, poison pen letters get sent
to his pregnant wife, Anne Fran-
cis, which almost causes her to
have a miscarriage, and finally he
has to disarm the knife-wielding
West in a classroom duel.
BUT HE DOES manage to win
the respect of his students, by
gaining the friendship of their
leader, Sidney Poitier, and show-
ing a cartoon about Jack and the
Beanstalk to illustrate the mean-
ing of racial equality.
"Blackboard Jungle" is an odd
hotch-potch of starkly real fact
and hashed-up Hollywoodism. It
alternates between the true sav-
agery ofhthe class ganging up on
a disliked teacher (the silent
treatment, furtive and outright re-
bellion, etc.) and slick too-pat
answers and solutions. The apa-
thetic teacher gets interested, the
class is all but rejuvenated, and
suddenly a mob of rioting young
delinquents is turned into a group
of which Dale Carnegie would
have been proud.
Although many voices have been
raised to state that the situation
presented is not true, the fact is
that schools such as this do exist,
and a non-solutional presentation
such as that of "The Wild One"
would have been much better and
more forceful than the weakly un-
convincing ending of "Blackboard
Jungle.".
NONETHELESS, director Rich-
ard Brooks has managed to
make most of the picture hit hard
enough and sincerely enough to
make those of us who have known,
if not identical, at least similar
situations sit up with a start of
recognition.
In this he is aided by the realis-
tic acting of the students, notably
Vic Morrow and Sidney Poitier,
that of Richard Kiley as the weak
teacher and, oddly enough, Glenn
Ford as the crusader.
-Norm Hartweg
Freedom of Press Not
Freedom of Information
F REEDOM OF THE PRESS has been dogma
for so long that even newspapers are embar-
rassed to explain it. Freedom of information has
likewise been taken for granted as synonomous
to freedom of the press.
They are not synonomous. Freedom of the
press is but an implementing of the real free-
dom which a truly democratic society owes it-
self, that of information. What should be wor-
rying all of us today is not that the press' free-
dom is being lost, but that the press is helping
us lose our freedom of information.
The press is too free. It is free to agree with
its sources not to print certain information.
Presidents of the United States have been
known to give to reporters, along with so-called
"big" stories, conditions that the stories not
be printed until the president gives the word.
To this the reporters agree, else they would
get no information at all. The government's ex-
cuse calls it advisable to release the informa-
tion beforehand so that the papers will have
background data when the story is broken.
W HATEVER the rationale, the press becomes
a party to suppressing information in this
process. It has gained this excessive freedom
through its great power. We don't have to wor-
ry about Big Business suppressing the press.
The press is Big Business.
Ninety-four per cent of the nation's news-
paper circulation is printed- by newspaper
chains. The result is too much freedom for the
press; and too much freedom for a minority is
loss of freedom for the majority. In this case,
it is loss of freedom of information for the
public.
We can see on this campus that the press
does not necessarily prefer the dubious distinc-
tion of "being in on things" days or weeks be-
fore its readers, or keeping some information
forever from its pages, but finds such a situa-
tion forced upon it.
T HERE ARE MANY on the campus who, in
attempting to keep news out of The Daily,
offer off-the-record data in return for its not
printing any, or at least not complete infor-
mation.,
The newspaper is left with the choice of ei-
ther refusing the information it is most unlike-
ly to obtain elsewhere, or becoming a party to
suppressing freedom of information.
The press can not really do much about this.
Violation of an agreement means no more "off-
the-record" information, which always come
,ith admittedly excellent reasons for its being
"off-the-record.
Only the sources themselves can correct the
situation. They should adopt the rule, "Let
others know about yourself what you would
know of them."
Impractical? Sometimes, but only that.
--Jim Dygert
Common Sense . ..
To the Editor:
DO THE two editorials on For-
mosa in Tuesday's Daily con-
tribute to common sense? Surely
this not asking too much.
Jim Dygert asks an important
question-does the United States
want to sit down and talk. He sees
us missing a fine propaganda
point, for he is pretty sure that
China doesn't. Why? Did China
refuse to talk about Korea at Py-
ongyang?
Was it China who abstained
from!the Geneva talks last year?
And have we forgotten that the
only time China was permitted to
appear before the UN Security
Council was on her own request, in
1950, to discuss Formosa? How do
we know that China "wants no
part of a peaceful, solution" when
we do not bother to find out?
Should we propose to talk peace
only when "there need not be too
much worry" that anyone will ac-
cept our invitation?
Jim Dygert, to his credit, sees
that Chiang "wants no part of a
peaceful solution." If the United
States even considers the possibil-
ity of peace, how can it be ad-
vised (much less militarily allied)
with one who denies it from the
start? Isn't this a basic policy mat-
ter?
These delicate questions do not
trouble William Brumm. It is dif-
ficult to discuss his editorial point
by point; one reads that he is
"proud to be an American" with
"courage and honor" left in his
"American blood." He comes com-
plete with battlecries ("Not one
cent for tribute . . ." etc.), which
if heeded will "break the back" of
"vicious cutthroats, and "pirates
of atheistic, communistic totali-
tarianism." Is this sense about
Formosa?
For a clarif4cation of his facts,
(including his geography concern-
ing Quemoy, Detroit and other
places), I suggest he read the
"Hearings before the Committee
on Armed Services and Foreign Re-
lations, U.S. Senate 1951 on "Mili-
tary Situation in the Far East,"
page 1671 and the following pages.
It is made clear that a) "For-
mosa, politically, economically,,
and geographically is part of Chi-
na. Politically and militarily it is
a strict Chinese responsibility,"
b) "Formosa has no special mili-
tary significance" and c) "Seek-
ing United States bases in For-
mosa, sending in troops, supplying
Original Student Drama
Sparked by Fine Actors
A TOP-NOTCH student production was given last night as the
speech department presented "The Clugstone Inheritance," an
original student play. Author James Harvey has, on the whole, written
a good play, though marred in spots by long, undramatic monologues.
In the main, it is a study of characters; while not long on plot,
there are many ingenious twists and much humor so a continual in-
terest in the drama remains.
The story concerns the five Clugstone children, gathered together
to hear the will of their father. Just who is to get the old house and
arms . . . would involve the Uni-
ted States in a long-term venture
producing at best a new era of
bristling stalemate, and at worst
involvement in open warfare." This
was the position taken in U.S.
State Department papers, declass-
ified and published at the Mac-
Arthur hearings in 1951. I think
it is wise counsel.
--Bill Livant
* * *
Tiring Cry . ..
To the Editor:
R E: William Brumm's editorial
advocating war with China for
the greater glory of the U.S., I
think the battle cry is too long.
By the time our boys get done yell-
ing "not one cent for tribute, nor
one square inch for appeasement,"
they'll be so tired out they won't
be able to fight.
-Judy Gregory
* * *
Three Cheers . .
To the Editor:
HIP, hip, hooray! for William
Brumm's editorial on Ameri-
can courage and the glory of get-
ting into a war in the Pacific.
However, I feel he left out a few
pertinent phrases and would like
to contribute the following:
"Fifty-four forty or fight."
"Don't shoot until you see the
whites of their eyes."
"Praise the Lord and pass the
ammunition."
"Remember the Maine."
"Give me. liberty or give me
death."
"No taxation without represen-
tation."
Keep up the good- work, Mr.
Brumm.
-Joan Bryan
* * *
Different Shades .. .
To the Editor:
,FUNNY Mr. Brumm but my
"American" blood does not
show the same shades of red, white
and blue that yours does. I guess
that mine must be infested with
the "selfish cancer" of the mind.
Words such as honor, glory, and
courage are fine for your slogans
and battle cries but not for a
solution to the Formosan crisis.
No Mr. Brumm you're not an or-
dinary warmonger, you just be-
lieve that the cheapest way to
peace is via physical conflict-
sticking to the 'good ole American
way,' of course.
-Joyce Greenbaum
the newspaper chain settles on
two: Josie and Pete. The will states
that the inheritor shall be chosen
by the lawyer.
The rest of the play draws out
the characters, mainly the two
protagonists as they fight each
other and for the inheritance. The
lawyer's choice comes in the sec-
ond act but the will is voided and
the inheritance changes hands for
a time.
WHAT FURNISHESthe body of
the play is the relationship
among the heirs. When the play-
wright has Josie and Pete argu-
ing, the dialogue is very good but
when a character talks to another,
somewhat pointlessly, about life as
he sees it, the scene begins to slip.
This is especially notable by the
third act.
But Harvey has some of the
best actors of the speech depart-
ment in his play. Gwen Arner is
excellent as the bewildered Josie,
searching for something to grab
onto in her middle-age. Valerie
Schor stands out as the boisterous
eldest sister, and Marian Mercer
provides some hilarious moments
when she returns a little high
from a party in the second act.
Donald Streat has just the right
histrionics for the theatrics of
the lawyer and Dale Stevenson
handles the difficult role of the
pompous, selfish Pete well. Also
effective in their roles are Susan
Goldberg, John Olson, Michael
Gregoric and Rol Jones.
Prof. Hugh Norton's direction
was well-paced in a very hand-
some, old-fashioned living room
set. Superior make-up really gave
the actors a middle-aged look.
While the play has its structur-
al faults, especially in the charac-
terizations of the men, "The Clug-
stone Inheritance" is certainly one
of the best of the student plays of
recent years.
--Harry Strauss
SINCE I WROTE (of certain
atrocious Japanese methods of
making war) we have cooked a
million or so Japs in napalm,
which is a form of gasoline, and
left some other thousands mere
man-shaped carbon stains on ra-
dioactive sidewalks."
--Philip Wylie in new footnotes
to "Generation of Vipers"
DAILY
OFFICIAL
1BULLE TIN
DREW PEARSON:
Burma's U Nu Quizzes
Chou on Prisoners
(Continued from Page 2)
Special Education-Home bound chil-
dren.
Kinde, Michigan (North Huron Rural
Agricultural Schools) - Teacher Needs:
Industrial Arts; English; Social Science.
For additional information contact
the Bureau of Appointments, 3528 Ad-
ministration Building, NO 3-1511, Ext.
489.
PERSONNEL INTERVIEWS:
The representatives from the follow-
ing will be at the Engrg. School:
Mon., May 2
Wabash Railroad, Montpelier Div.,
Montpelier, Ohio-B.S. in Civil Engrg.
for Railroad Maintenance Engrg.
Mon. & Tues., May 2 & 3
Sunbeam Corp., Chicago, 111.-BS. In
Aero., Civil, Elect., Ind., Mech, and
Chem. E. and Engrg. Mech. for Summer
work for Jrs., and Regular work in Pro-
duction Control, Production Supervi
sion.
Tues, May 3
Chicago Screw Co., Bellwood,Ill.-B.S.
& M.S. in Mech. E. for Management
Triining Program,
For appointments contact the Engrg.
Placement Office, ext. 2182, 347 W,
Engrg.
Representatives from the following
will be at the Bureau of Appointments:
Shell Oil Co., Detroit Div., Detroit,
Mich.-men with a minimum of 12 hrs.
in Econ. or Acctg. for Accounting, men
with any degree technical (engra.,
chem., etc.) or non-technical (bus.ad.
or LS&A), for Sales, Advertising and
Promotion.
Tues., May 3
Massachusetts Mutual Life lusurang
Co., Detroit, Mich.-men for Sales.
For appointments contact the Bu-
reau of Appointments, 3528 Admin
Bldg., Ext. 371
PERSONNEL REQUESTS:
Navy Dept., Ind. Mgr., Ninth Naval
Dist., Chicago, 111.-offers positions in
the field of Electronics for Electronic
Engrs.
Federal Mogul, Inc., Ann Arbor. Mich.,
is looking for a girl to work part time in
the library. Would be helpful if she
could type and had a car.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hdq. New
York, N.Y., needs two men to work as
Publishers Representatives at colleges,
universities and High Schools in as-
signed areas. A representative from the
company will be in Detroit to interview
during the 1st and 2nd weeks in May.
City of Detroit, Mich., Dept. of Polie,
is conducting an examination for P-
licewomen Saturday, May 8, 1955. Re-
quirements: 22 to 30 yrs., completion of
at least three years of college with
majors in the field of social science
and some work done in a field in
which public contacts are made,
Ordnance Corps., Ballistic Research
Lab., Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., of
fers employment to graduating stu-
dents with degrees in Physics, Chem-
istry, Math., Engrg. Opportunities exst
for scientists possessing a doctorate as
well as those having master's and bach-
elor's degrees.
For further information contact the
Bureau of Appointments, Ext. 371, 3528
Admin. Bldg.
Lectures
The Henry Russel Lecture will be de-
livered by Dean George Granger Brown,
Wed., May 4, at 4:15 p.m., in the Am-
phitheater of the Rackham Building.
Department of Astronomy. Visitors'
Night. Fri., April 29, 8:00 p.m., Room
2003 Angell Hall. Dr. Freeman D. Mil-
ler will speak on "Meteor Craters." Fol-
lowing the illustrated talk the observa-
tory on the fifth floor of Angell Hall
will be open until 10:00 p.m. for ob-
servations of the Moon and Jupiter.
Children welcomed, but must be ac
companied by adults.
Academic Notices
Department of Electrical Engineering
Colloquium. Fri., April 29. Dr. Louis J.
Cutrona, Willow Run Research Center.
will speakon, "AWde-Band Integra-
tor and Cross Correlator." Coffee-4:00
p.m., Room 2500 E.E. Talk-4:30 p.m.,
Room 2084 E.E. Open to public.
Logic seminar will meet Fri., April
29 at 4:00 p.m. in 3010 Angell Hall. Mr.
Addison will speak on "Definability and
Quantifier Hierarchies."
Astronomical Colloquium. Fri., April
29, 4:15 p.m., the Observatory. Edward
A. Spiegel will speak on "Vitense's The-
ory of the Hydrogen Convection Zone
of the Sun."
Doctoral Examination for Fred Wil-
bur Lott, Jr., Mathematics; thesis: "The
Use of a Certain Linear Order Statistic,
Related to the Mean Difference, as a#
Unbiased Estimate of the Standard De-
viation in Finite and Infinite Popula-
tions," Fri., April 29, East Council
Room, Rackham Bldg., at 3:15 p m.
Chairman, P. S. Dwyer.
Doctoral Examination for Richard
Henry Boll, Chemical Engineering; the-
sis: "A Rapid Technique for Determin-
ing Specific Surface in Liquid-Liquid
Sprays," Fri., April 29, 3201 East Engi-
neering Bldg., at 1:00 p.m. Chairman,
I
I
INTERPRETING THE NEWS
By J. M. ROBERTS
Associated Press News Analyst
O NE OF THE great troubles of communica-
tions between governments these days, one
that President Eisenhower has been trying to
get around in his correspondence with Marshal
Zhukov of Russia, is that so much of it is at-
tempted through public, non-official channels.
The other day when Chou En-lai wanted to
get across an idea to the United States he used
a public forum in Bandung and depended upon
newspaper dispatches to carry the message.
It was typical of the way in which diplomats
now use the oblique method of approach. The
problem -of non-recognition, of course, compli-
cated the Chou case.
But the business of issuing public policy
statements and replying to them the same way
Sixty-Fifth Year
Edited and managed by students of the University of
Michigan under the authority of the Board in Control
of Student Publications.
Editorial Staff
Eugene Hartwig....................Managing Editor
Dorothy Myers...........................City Editor
Jon Sobeloff ...... ...................Editorial Director
Pat Roelofs................... Associate City Editor
Becky Conrad.......................Associate Editor
Nan Swinehart................... .. .Associate Editor
Dave Livingston...................Sports Editor
Hanley Gurwin................Associate Sports Editor
Warren Wertheimer............Associate Sports Editor
Ros Shlimovitz...................Women's Editor
Janet Smith................Associate Women's Editor
John Hirtzel.......................Chief Photographer
Business Staff
Lois Pollak..........................Business Managg
Phil Brunakill..........Associate Business Manager
Bill Wise. ..... ...............Advertising Manager
Mary Jean Monkoski................Finance Manager
Telephone NO 23241
produces friction which sometimes even seems
to transcend the important issues themselves.
W HEN CHOU spoke out in public he put the
State Department on the spot to get in its
licks while his statement was still fresh. The
department replied too hurriedly with a list of
prerequisites for negotiations which virtually
amounted to refusal.
Then Chou felt his own words needed some
interpretation, and came up with his removal
of Formosa's future from the field of things
that could be negotiated. It meant that if he
talked about Formosa at all it would only be
on the terms of its surrender. But it also meant
there were things to talk about without involv-
ing Chiang Kai-shek.
Secretary Dulles put the business back on the
track with a statement that bilateral negotia-
tions with the Reds might be possible on issues
not directly connected with the future of the
Chinese Nationalists.
NOW IT IS revealed that the President and
Zhukov have exchanged views, and Eisen-
hower thinks it may have done some good. But
he's not going to publish the letters unless Zhu-
kov wants to,
That leaves the field open for further com-
munications in a delicate situation where noth-
ing more than exploration can take place and
neither man is in a position to make commit-
ments. Addressing each other as friends can be
accomplished without weighing every word
for its effect on others than the addresses.
If Chou really has any desire to lessen ten-
sions in Asia-which is certainly open to doubt
--and if he had possessed normal means of
communication, he could have followed a much
more sensible course. He could have advised the
United States in advance of what he intended
to say, giving time for a considered reply and
enhancing the possibilities that something
would come of it.
The Russians may have had something re-
WASHINGTON-American pri-
soners-Premier U Nu of Bur-
ma had some private talks with
Chinese Premier Chou En-lai at
Bandung about release of the 15
American fliers held in Red China.
Nu brought up the subject at the
secret request of Secretary Dulles.
Chou made no promises, in fact
denounced the State Department
for refusing to permit American
relatives to visit the prisoners as
he has invited them to do. This
columnist still believes Red China
will turn the American fliers loose
but not until it sees a good chance
to make propaganda.
WAR CLOUDS - Secretary of
Defense Wilson has secretly
increased the ammunition stock-
pile goal. He's taking no chances
on another ammunition shortage
in case of war . . . The Kremlin
DISPLACED PERSON:
Activities Man Makes Way-for Youth
bosses have built themselves half
a dozen secrets underground air-
raid shelters several miles outside
Moscow. No plans have been made,
however, to exacuate the popu-
lace . . . Civil Defense Adminis-
trator Val Peterson is looking for
a cheap, two-dollar gas mask that
every American can afford to keep
on hand at all times in his own
home.
Red China is rushing work on a
secret atomic-bomb installation in
remote Sinkiang province. Nearly
100 Russian advisers are directing
the project in order to develop
cheap power to industrialize China
. . . It was carefully hushed up,
but an experimental atomic rock-
et from the Los Alamos proving
grounds misfired and almost caus-
ed an incident with Mexico.
Though it landed on a Juarez
graveyard, it exploded in the air
and no damage was done .. .
Tests with mice have shown that
it's 10 times more likely than prev-
iously indicated that A-bomb radi-
ation will produce abnormal chil-
dren,
TIMES HAVE changed regard-
ing Joe McCarthy. It was only
a short three years ago that he
made the major spiel before the
American Society of Newspaper
Editors. Most editors then clam-
ored for more news about Joe's
witch-hunting.
In contrast, Sigma Delta Chi
was holding a business meeting to
prepare its annual breakfast meet-
ing for visiting April editors.
Washington- big-shots were to be
invited, and the list of VIP's from
the Supreme Court down was call-
ed off to see which member would
put up the $4 necessary to invite
a very important person.
Finally Chairman Jim Warner
called the name of Sen. Joe Mc-
Carthy. There was a dead silence
-followed by laughter. No one
wanted to buy bacon and eggs for
the once headlined Senator from
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Joel Berger, a
senior in the College of Literature,
Science and the Arts, was a night edi-
tor for The Daily this year. Since
appointments last week, he is . .
as he says.)
By JOEL BERGER
Spring's here. You relax. You
lean back in your chair and take
another drag on the cigaret, then
mash it out in the steadily-filling-
up ashtray,
"Well, I've had it," you think.
Three years in an activity and
now you're through, just marking
time until finals and graduation.
At first, a week ago when you
finished up your service to the or-
ganization, you were quite happy
to be through. But by now you're
chafing at the bit. It'd be kind of
nice to get back to work in your
old activity, which you cussed out
when you were with it. Now it
boat-they never went out for any
activity. Their college life has con-
sisted of studying, an occasional
Saturday night date, card games
and bull sessions.
Working on an activity, you
have managed to squeeze all these
into your daily life, but at the same
time accomplished something you
could later look back on with
pride.
* * *
SOMETHING HAS come from
your college life besides the regu-
lar, routine grind of classes. Even
if it's only an occasional 8 o'clock
bolt allowing you to sleep in after
staying up until 2:30 or 3 in the
morning after sweating out publi-
cation of a Daily, you remember
it later. And you remember those
occasional bull sessions with other
fellow workers in your organiza-
Regardless of what it was, you
spent time with the organization,
helped nourish it and with luck,
watched it grow. And it's some-
thing you're proud of.
So now all you've got left are
the memories. Sure, at times you
were pressured , over a project
which was giving you a tough time.
And there were the times when you
mentally (and verbally) cussed out
your superior in the organization.
It always seemed you were being
picked on. It was enough to make
you feel like a paranoid. But now
you are a free man-no more or-
ganization to worry about.
* * *
SO LET THE guys and girls who
came on after you take over the
organization. You've had your
fling, and now it's their turn. Now
all you can do is return to the