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UNION
SUPPLEMENT
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Latest Deadline in the State
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UNION
SUPPLEMENT
VOL. LXVI, No. 154
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, SUNDAY, MAY 13, 1956
SIX PAGES
Projects Center
Around Addition
Little Club, Snack Bar Name Contest,
Dedication, Open House Scheduled
The Union is planning four projects-a dance, a name contest,
a dedication and an open house-in connection with the completion
of the new remodelling and addition.
A new Little Club dance schedule will be resumed beginning Sat-
urday, a Name-the-Snack Bar contest will close Friday, a formal
dedication will be held June 14 and an open house will be held next
fall.
Little Clubs, following a new Union policy, will be free of charge.
Two
Years Spent
They have not been held in rece
Union Opera
Forty-Eight
Years Old
By VERNON NAHRGANG
A small group of theatergoers,
including Michigan's Gov. G.
Mennen Williams, made its way
down the aisle of a local movie
theater.
Moving into a vacant tenth row,
the latecomers seated themselves.
At the front of the theater, the
conductor made his appearance,
"bowed and raised his baton.
After a short, loud overture, the
bright rose-colored curtain rose
on singing and dancing choruses
rendering the production's title'
song.
"Film Flam", the 1955 Union
Opera, was underway. Another
milestone had been reached with
the 36th in a long line of Union
Opera productions stretching back
to "Michigenda" In 1908.
But last- year's production was
more than a milestone or just an-
other i na long chain of operas.
"Film Flam" was the last offering
of Union Opera.
The decsion was made earlier
this year to replace the 48-year-
old tradition with a new show, a
Union Coed Show.
It was felt that a show with
both male and female particpants
would have more to offer the cam-
pus both in experience and in mu-
sical comedy entertainment.
With the next Union production
r in December, then, a new tradi-
tion will replace an old one, one
that has experienced a glorious
history reaching back to 1908.
The series of all-make produc-
tions has seen sell-out audiences
in New York's famed Metropolitan
Opera House, productions that
toured eleven states with a per-
formance a night for sixteen days,
shows that were received at the
White House in Washington, D.C.
Needed Money r
Last year's "Film Flam", with
four Ann Arbor performances for
the first time in many years, made
its mark in the tradition of Union
Opera-now almost 50 years old.
Union Opera was born late in
19.07 because its parent, a newly-
formed men's club called the Mich-
igan Union, needed money to es-
tablish itself.
After trying to raise money by
several unsuccessful methods, the
new club decided upon a musical
comedy.
"Michigenda", the first Opera,
was presented at the Whitney
Theater in February, 1908. Like
its immediate successors, "Michi-
genda" was a satire on college life.
Donal H. Haines, later a journ-
alism professor at the University,
and Roy Welch collaborated to
write the book and musical score.
They began the tradition of stu-
dent-written scripts.
The first opera, with its hit'
song, "When Night Falls, Dear,"
was a great success, immediately
insuring an annual student produc-
tion.
Financial returns from the first
opera were great. too. It was the
early Union Operas that financed
the first Michigan Union build-
ing
Established Firmly
It was decided to present future
productions in December, so the
second onpra. "Ciiure " was eivn
nt months awaiting complettion of
the cafeterians and Snack Bar.
The dances will return to their
usual Friday night schedule next
semester, according to Union So-
cial chairman Joe Sherman, '58.
Chance To See
The Snack Bar name contest
has been extended to Friday to
give more people a chance to see
the new room as it nears com-
pletion.
When completed the Snack Bar
will feature a soda fountain, Juke
box, booths and tables.
Free dancing will be held there
next serester on Saturday nights
when regular dances are not sched-
uled.
A prize of $100 is being offered
for the name selected, along with
an essay of no more than 25 words
explaining the rationale behind the
name.
Entry blanks for the contest are
available at the Union desk or stu-
dent offices.
Judges for the contest have been
announced. They are: Universi-
ty President Harlan Hatcher, As-
sistant Dean of Men John Bing-
ley, Alumni Association president
T. Hawley Tapping, and former
Union President Todd Lief, '56.
President Hatcher will. also cut
the ribbon on the new Union
wing at the dedication at 5 p.m.
June 14. The Union Board of
Directors and Union alumni will
be guests at the ceremonies, fol-
lowed by a dinner at 6:15.
View Completed Wing
A Union Open House is sched-
uled for the afternoon and eve-
ning of Sept. 22. It will be the
public's first chance to view the
fully completed Union addition.
Featured in the Open House
will be a fashion show, displays
by dpartments of the University,
by studeent organizations, and pos-
sibly by Michigan industries, a
dog fashion show, and a mixer in
the Snack Bar complete with jazz
band.
A large dance will be during the
evening.
New Union
Officers'
Names Listed
The new officers of the Union
are: Roy Lave, '57E, President;
Fred Trost, '57, Executive Secre-
tary; Herb Karzen, '57, Adminis-
trative Vice-President.
Executive Council members, who
also serve as committee chairmen,
are: Administration, Chuck Kri-
ser, '58; Campus Relations, Roger
Dalton, '58E; Public Relations, Don
Young, '58; Publicity, Tim Felis-
ky, '57E; Personnel, Tony Tritti-
po, '58; Social, Joe Sherman, '58;
Special Events, Art Gaudi, '58;
Student Services, Duane LaMor-
eaux, '58E; University Relations,
Fred Wilton, '58E
Board of Directors
Members of the Union Board of
Directors are:
Student directors, Buck Bebeau,
'57, Tom Cleveland, '57, Gene Hart-
wig, '58L, Mark Sabin, '58, Dave
Smith, '58Med, and Fred Williams,
'57, along with Lave, Trost and
SGC President Bill Adams, '57,
Karzen, ex-officio.
Faculty members, Prof. Arthur
Carr of the English department,
Prof. Douglas Hayes of the busi-
ness administration school, Prof.
Chester Wisler, emeritus, of the
engineering college.
Administration, Vice - President
-Daily-Sam Ching
UNION ADDITION-The new wing on the north of the Union building, It and a remodelling program, the product of more than a year
and a half of construction, will cost $2,900,000.
On Construction
$2,900,00 Project Includes
Addition, Deferred Maintenance
By PETE ECKSTEIN
The Union's $2,900,000 addition and renovation, the result of
seven years of planning and construction, is in the final stages of its
piecemeal completion.
Since 1949 the Union student and business offices have been de-
voting a major part of their energies toward the planning of the
project.
Construction began in the Fall of 1954 when the Union combined
its Fiftieth Anniversary celebration with groundbreaking ceremonies
for the 60-foot wing on the north side of the old Union building.
While some of the money has come from a long-standing build-
ing fund accumulated through the receipt of Union dues-part of male
students' tuition - $2,000,000 was
obtained from a bond issue to be .
payed off over a 26-year period.
Approximately half the $2,900,-
000 has gone for "deferred main-
tenance"-new mechanical equip-
ment, furniture and fixtures, kit- J
chen equipment and a complete
renovation of the 37-year-old elec-
trical, plumbing and heating sys-
tems.
A few of the results of the "de- By TED FRIEDMAN
ferred maintenance program Un-
ion patrons will immediately rea- "What we're striving for is a
lize are air-conditioned dining well-informed freshman on the
rooms, better lighting, modern staff of the Union," said Kirke
furnishings in much of the build- Lewis, '57, former Union Personnel
ing and a more efficient heating Committee chairman.
system. He stressed the importance for
Behind the scenes, safety and staff members to be well-versed
efficiency in many areas will be in both Union activities and acti-
greatly improved. vities on campus, saying the men
But the most obvious change have to "be able to be with people
of all has been the new, four- and work with them."
story addition and the changesin The Union has set up an elabor-
the Union it allows and necessi- ate program to sift out these types
tates, Radical alterations are now, of men, he explained. From the
being completed in the basement, time he a il the te
ground and first through fourth time he is a tryout until the time
floors. he petition 4or a senior office, a
Beginning at the bottom, stu- student working on the staff.is
dents will come into more contact observed carefully.
with the Union basement with the Uninterested Droppers
finishing of a large hobby and "The thing about this system
activities room, soon to be equipped is that the people who aren't in-
with tools and supplies. Darkrooms terested have dropped out by the
will soon be finished for campus end of the semester," Lewis said.
shutterbugs. Staff em es ,a sho .
Union employees are now en- Staff members pass through
joying new locker and shower four stages:
rooms provided for them in the The first is the tryout.
basement. ° A new maintenance At this stage, the main work
shop provides enlarged and im- involves becoming familiar with
proved facilities for upholstery the Union offices. At the end of
and mechanical repair work, while their tryout period, the students
storage facilities will be centralized submit petitions stating why they
in the basement also. feel they are qualified to become
Mazes of ducts and pumps, large Staffmen.
ventilating fans and a new elec- The petition, along with an ob-
See ADDITION, Page 3 jective test concerning the Union
Is Union NINE COMMITTEES:
Button Older1Uin rus pno
Than Union? MctyJVaried Projects
ByS RENE GNAM
By BILL HANEY
Not much thought was given to
the history or origin of the Michi-
gan lapel button until a collection
of the buttons dating back to 18991
was discovered in a campus barber
shop.
The 40 buttons all bear consecu-
tive dates from 1899 to 1939, but1
all are of different styles. The
dilemma arose when it was dis-
covered that none of the buttons
in the display were marked "Un-
ion" until 1933-34.
Many Union officials were con-
vinced some of the buttons were
not emblematic of the Union since
the Union was founded in 1907
and it seemed unlikely the organi-
zation could have gone 26 years
until 1933 without its own. official
insignia.
Just recently Homer Heath, for-
mer Union general manager who
has been connected with the or-
ganization since its founding, at-
tributed the lapel buttons prior
to 1908 to the Athletic Association,
Heath said there was no way of
establishing conclusively when the
Union took over the function from
the Athletic Association, but it was
probably around 1910.
Starting in 1934 the familiar
round pin design still in use was
adopted. However the use of dates
was dropped after 1938 making it
possible to use an identical style
each year.
Activities of the Michigan Union
are many and varied.
Ranging from such diverse proj-
ects as speech and art contests to
a student-faculty - administration
conference, the Union annually
sponsors major activities in nine
different categories, each repre-
sented by a committee.
The committee set-up has been
changed since last semester. One;
committee no longer operates and
another has been added to the list.
Names of several committees have
been changed and the committee
functions have been altered.
C h a r 1 e s Kriser, '58 chairs
this semester's ADMINISTRA-
TION COMMITTEE. The commit-
tee's duties are to administer Un-
ion-sponsored workshops, main-
tain a Daily articles scrapbook,
direct a future information booth,
supervise new activities located in
the Union's new addition, handle
work simplification, and maintain
a flip file-a record of current pro-
ects.
Training, administrative assist-
ants and keeping tabs on office
managers also come under the
heading of the administration
committee.
Last semester, Neil Barnett
chared the Administration Com-
mittee.
CAMPUS RELATIONS is a new-
ly instituted committee to replace
last semester's Union Relations
Committee. Roger Dalton '58,
chairman of the new committee,
supervises the Student-Faculty-
Administration Conference.
The Student-Faculty - Adminis-
tration Conference was started
several years ago in the form of
an outing and the most recent
one was held yesterday.
The conference picks four time-
ly topics, usually related, and fol-
lowing a keynote speech by Uni-
versity President Harlan H. Hat-
cher, discussions are held analyz-
ing the various points concerned.
These discussions are recorded by
a secretary who reports at a gen-
eral meeting.
Summaries are then printed and
circulated to residence halls, fra-
ternities, sororities, and posted in
public places. In this way, stu-
dents, faculty and administration
alike are brought into contact with
problems facing the campus.
The committee is also in charge
of the Hatcher Open House pro-
gram, sponsored last semester by
the Social Committee.
Campus Relations Committee
also sponsors departmental coffee
hours, Union forums, and main-
tains student-faculty relations.
Last semester, Roy Lave, '57E,
now Union President, chaired the
Union Relations committee.
Walter E. Trippipo, '58, is chair-
See UNION, Page 4
Presi
.Asks New
Suggestions
The Union has served the cam-
pus for 52 years; time, however, is
no justification for existence. Iri
1904, when the Union was con-
ceived, there was a strong need for
such an organization, as is demon-
strated by the amount of work
put into its founding. The need
was proven again when much ef-
fort was expended to obtain the
present building in 1916.
We are now nearing the com-
pletion of a three million dollar
addition and renovation program.'
With the new and improved facil-
ities we are better equipped than
ever to serve the student body.
These facilities have been pro-
vided in response to an obvious
need.
There are, however, many more
desires and needs that the Union
could feasibly satisfy jf we only
knew of them. We sit in our offi-
ces and contemplate a variety of
new projects and services without
knowing how the campus will ac-
cept them.
I would like to take this oppor-
tunity to invite all students, male
and female, to feel free to suggest
to us those projects and services
they would like the Union to un-
dertake. In this way the Union
can be helped to better perform its
purpose of making everyone's stay
on campus a more enjoyable one.
-Roy Lave, Union
President
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FORMER EMPLOYEE 'TELLS ALL':
The Time 'The Lady' Came To The Union
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The long history of the Union is marked by many
little-known but colorful incidents. The author, a former Union em-
ployee, describes one culled from several years of experience.)
By RICHARD LAING
Not all the guests at the Michigan Union turn out to be visiting
professors, or celebrities, or someone's parents,
Now and then there is foreign nobility.
One summer afternoon a few years ago a middle-aged woman
entered the lobby of the Michigan Union and marched up to the Main
Desk.
She was dressed in a baggy brown tweed suit, heavy brown twig-
and-burr-resisting stockings and "practical" walking shoes. She had
evidently been hiking across a moor or a heath or the like.
The observer might also have suspected that she has come across a
tennis match out there somewhere and played a few sets herself. She
wore dark glasses and a sunvisor that made one recall movie shots of
Helen Wills Moody trying to stave off Helen Jacobs in the final set
at Wimbledon in 1935.
She told the clerk her name. "I am Lady ." The clerk
was somewhat impressed.
She wanted a room. The clerk politely explained that there was
a convention of Sanitation Engineers in town and without a reservation
there was no possibility of a room.
Ah, but she did have a reservation, she said, in a voice that,
the week was up she moved into the Union and made it her base of
operations during her curious stay here.
For the Union staff this was the beginning of a comic opera; for
certain Ann Arborites and University people it was not as funny.
Now, three years later, most of these people enjoy telling the story on
themselves.
But however much some can laugh, there may be someone who
does not think it at all funny, so let us adopt the convention of using
vague pronouns to refer to everyone, including those extra-dignified
persons who found themselves appointed as victims in what had all
the markings of a confidence game and who would rather not talk
about it. What is now a warm glow for some may still be arson for
others.
The Lady's name sounded vaguely familiar to many people. (It
was in fact the same as that of a late eighteenth century English lady
letter writer.) A vague sense of having heard the name before probably
accelerated the Lady's social climb.
Later, the gropings for the source of the name were in many cases
erected into "early suspicion" of her real role. "Right from the
beginning I was suspicious" was for a long while a favorite phrase
in Ann Arbor circles, and this was true of the Union staff also.
To the Lady it must have been obvious from the start that it would
be best to make the headwaiter part of the act. His confidence would
have to be secured early, and he would have to play his part if much
more "confidence" were to be gained. But she destroyed this possibility
Tell Workings
Of New Three
Officer Setup
By DAVE TARR
The change from two to three
Union senior officers is working
out quite well, according to those
who should know.
The men who hold the three
offices of president, executive vice-
president and administrative vice-
president all agree that the addi-
tion of the third post has gone a
long way in accomplishing its pur-
pose of helping to aleviate the
senior officer work load.
Post of Executive-Secretary was
replaced by the two vice-presi-
dencies.
President Roy Lave, '57E, said
he felt the setup was "excellent.
There is better contact from the
executive posts on down the line.
Their seems to be better coordi-
nation between the officers also."
His job was described as pri-
marily concerned with represen-
tation of the Union to the Uni-
versity.
Executive vice-president Fred
Trost, '57, described his post as
basically one of supervising the
area of student offices and exter-
nal committees.
In saying the system is working
very well he reserved himself with
the comment "The first few weeks
have been rather difficult as will
be the first year because we are
setting the pattern for something
new and we don't know everything
recommendations from the try-
out trainers and attendance rec-
ords, determine whether he will
receive the appointment
The staffman, the second stage,
stands midway between the try-
out and Executive Councilman.
Staffinen act as chairmen of
proiect committees. They also may
serve as personnel and office man-
agers. In April, staffmnen petitioni
for Junior Executive Council posi-
tions.
Variegated Selectors
The Executive Council controls
the Union committees.
After one year, the Executive
Councilman may be appointed d'
senior officer, but the Executive
Council is as far as most men go.
Appointments are made by a Se-
lections Committee, composed of
students, faculty and alumni.
The senior officers actually over-
see all activities,
Traditionally, since the Union's
inception in 1904, there have been
two senior officers: The President
and the Executive Secretary.
The President's duties tend to
concern matters outside the Union
while the Executive Secretary sup-
ervises activities within the or-
ganization.
This next year, however, ,the
Union plans to deviate from the
previous system and appoint three
senior officers: the President, an
Administrative Vice President and
an Executive Vice President.
Assigned Workers
Thomas Lewy, '58, of the per-
sonnel enlistment program, report-
ed the Union had 50 tryouts last
semester and is hoping for 50
more this semester.
I I