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October 26, 1956 - Image 4

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Michigan Daily, 1956-10-26

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UI~iA tdtlgatt E11
Sixty-Seventh Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. * ANN ARBOR, MICH. * Phone NO 2-3241

'That's The Breaks For You-- If The Election Was
Being Held April 15 Instead of November 6--"

PERENNIAL SOPHOMORES:
Frat 'Professionals'
Saving Country

"When Opinions Are Free
. Truth Will Prevail"

Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or
the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1956 NIGHT EDITOR: DONNA HANSON

Driving Report Shows
Regulations Working Well

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HE DRIVING BAN report given SGC by
Joint Judic Chairman Mike McNerny Wed-
nesday was encouraging. It indicated that with
time and patience the Regent's faith in the new
regulation will be justified.
Certainly there are still a host of administra-
tive and enforcement problems to be worked
out. But it would be unreasonable to expect
smooth implementation of the regulation allow-
ing 21-year-olds to drive from the start.
A reevaluation of Regent bylaw 8.06 at the
end of the two-year trial period will doubtless
reveal inequities in registration and problems
of enforcement. But there is no reason to
overemphasize these problems. Taken as whole,
the new regulation is working out very well.
And if administrators and students continue to
work towards an equitable driving ban that
can be enforced with integrity and strictness,
there is every reason to believe the trial-period
will lead to permanent adoption of the more
liberal driving band.
ENFORCEMENT is still the main sore-spot.
There is an obvious loophole now-Univer-
sity patrol officers are not legally able to stop
unregistered cars that are obeying traffic laws.
Vice-President Lewis has assured students on
several occasions that the patrol will not abuse
its police power. But from rumor that has
trickled back we would judge that the same
philosophy is not so strong in the Dean of
Men's office.
Assistant Dean of Men Karl D. Streiff, in
charge of actual enforcement, at times seems
more interested in ends (in this case catching
violators) than in means.
Following students around until they commit
a violation so University registration can be
checked is not proper use of police power.
Neither is following a student to his destination
and checking registration when the student
leaves the car. While we are sure University
policy is not to use police power in these ways,
we are not so sure the policy is being followed.
We would suggest that scrupulously ethical
behavior on the part of the security officers
and their immediate superiors is essential to
successful operation of the ban. If students
lose faith in enforcement procedures friction

will hurt sincere attempts to work out prob-
lems.
MUCH OF THE responsibility for insuring
proper enforcement procedurally rests with
Joint Judic. Their action so far is commend-
able and suggests that they are accepting the
responsibility fully.
Another sore spot which should be con-
sidered before Regent reevaluation of the
driving ban is the registration fee. Some stu-
dents have suggested that a sliding scale of
fees, designed to recognize the difference be-
tween luxury uses of cars and real need, would
be fairer than the flat fee now invoked. This
is logically sound but administratively difficult
to implement. Nonetheless it deserves serious
consideration.
Both University and students have a great
deal of work to do before the problems attend-
ing the driving ban are ironed out. But we are
confident that the work will be done, the prob-
lems ironed out, and Regent bylaw 8.06 adopted
on a permanent basis.
-LEE MARKS
Upset Political Stomachs
To Be Soothed With Bromo
WITH ALL THE currently upset political
stomachs, we were pleased to note the
other day that the drug store of the future
will be equipped with such devices as close-
circuit television and moving conveyor floors
to give better service to the customer.
This prophecy, advanced at the annual
lecture of the University's pharmacy college,
offers hope for victims of the election cam-
paigns of the future. Visualize, for instance,
the voter whose ulcer immediately ruptures
every time he thinks how bad the country
will be unless the party at the microphone is
elected.
He doesn't want to be accused of being a
typical, uninformed, apathetic voter. A way
out. He rides the conveyor belt to the bar of
the Modern Drug Store, watches the man of the
half-hour over the closed circuit and drowns
his political ulcer with a setup of Bromos.
-R. S.

SGC IN REVIEW:
Myriad of Motions Considered

Campaign Issues Reviewed

MOST APPARENT in the presidential cam-
paign has been a noticeable lack of con-
tested issues. This does not mean issues don't
exist. Until now Republican campaigners and
Republican slanted newspapers have tried to
keep these issues quiet, doting on the peace
and prosperity theme.
Finally, one issue, the H-bomb, has come to
the fore with a strength that even cool headed
Eisenhower has not been able to subdue.
Perhaps this will serve as the wedge that will
reveal the real differences between Democrat
and Republican. These issues do exist, and if
not aired, will come into the open only after
crises have developed.
Most spectacular, of course, has been Adlai
Stevenson's proposal to do away with the
H-bomb tests. Coal was added to this fire when
Bulganin announced that the USSR will be glad
to cooperate.
For political reasons Eisenhower could not
agree to this even if he thought it a good idea.
But undoubtedly he thinks it a poor one and has
a great many militarists and strategists who
genuinley agree.
On the other hand, Stevenson has substan-
tial support in the scientific world who, though
they are most familiar with Strontium 90 radia-
tion and other effects of the bomb, may not
have a fine grasp of politics.
IT IS CERTAIN that the Russians could never
break an agreement to halt tests without our
knowing it; and all they could gain would be
the few months it requires to prepare a series
of nuclear experiments. That both sides would
continue to develop their fiendish toys is in-
evitable.
Another military issue raised by Stevenson
is that of halting the draft as soon as mili-
tarily possible. Ike makes mincemeat of the
statement by saying that it is militarily impos-
sible, but the Republicans have neglected to
include the "as soon as possible" in most of
their statements.
About the only legitimate argument which
can be raised by the GOP against this is that
halting the draft will never be militarily pos-
sible. This doesn't indicate much confidence
in the State Department.
The above are differences in aim. In a great
many cases, there is only a difference in method
or degree; but each degree and method is usu-
ally characteristic of the party.
For those on farms, the campaign probably
holds more interest than for most. No segment

of the population is so dependent on such
variable factors as the weather, insects, and
government policy. For the country folk, it
is a choice between dole from the soil bank or
dole from 90 per cent parity. Each accomplishes
about the same thing; the one keeps the soil
a bit more fertile and the other provides dried
eggs for university food services across the
country.
FOREIGN POLICY, as usual, is a quadrennial
issue and this campaign is little different.
Stevenson and Kefauver versus Dulles and
Eisenhower across the Russian guns of Korea,
Indochina, Matsu and Quemoy, and the Egyp-
tian army.
In some eyes, the Democratic party stands for
entry into every major war of the last half
century, and in others, the Republicans stand
for a Secretary of State who seems likely to
break the Democratic precedent by blundering
over the brink.
For those below the Mason Dixon line, seg-
regation will loom on the horizon. With a strong
stand on the issue of school integration, the
Republicans can hardly be expected to win
those four southern states again. Many people
in the north will admire Ike for his strong
stand for integration, but a great many will
consider Stevenson's moderate integration poli-
cies the more practical.
SURPRISINGLY, the northern Negro has not
noticably shifted his allegiance to the GOP.
Primarily a laborite, he has stuck with the
Democrats and the only noticable defection
was a New York Democratic congressman whom
the Democrats can rightfully say was enticed
out of the party.
The American temperament being what it
is-not wanting to pick on the unfortunate-
the issue of Eisenhower's health is less of an
issue than might have been expected. Repub-
licans say that if Eisenhower feels his health is,
OK, it should be assurance enough, another in-
dication of the great faith most people have in
the Eisenhower integrity.
But there are still a great many Democrats
who will just as quickly say, "If Ike gets sick,
you're stuck with Dick."
Recently, another issue has started to evolve
around Eisenhower's control of his party. A
great many will claim that his control is partial,
and, that with the prospect of Eisenhower's
retirement and Dewey's or Nixon's ascendency,
the Right Wing may well get back in the
saddle. They would then denounce much of
the New Deal that the Republicans have made
their own under Eisenhower.
Perhaps the total of this is the observation

By TAMMY MORRISON
Daily Staff Writer
WEDNESDAY was Motion Night
at SGC.
Before an unusually large group
of constituents, most of whom
were either candidates or Admin-
istrative Wing tryouts, the Coun-
cil:
1) tabled a motion to study resi-
dence halls financing programs
until next week;
2) asked Vice-President Lewi to
set up a committee to study the
Council itself;
3) initiated a study of its own
internal structure;
4) set up a committee to study
the confusing area of football
tickets;
5) turned over administration of
the Air Charter program to the
Union;
6) defeated a motion to protest
scheduling of football games over
Thanksgiving vacation;
7) withdrew a motion asking for
a study of military counseling,
with recommendations that this
study be included in the general
counseling study now going on;
and
8) formed an SGC-Administra-
tion committee to evaluate the
Free University of Berlin exchange
program.
*# * *
THE NEW Air Charter program
will present some problems, most
of which the Union should be able
to solve successfully.
The Air Charter program, initi-
ated last year, was one of SGC's
more successful ventures, although
it looked for a while as if it might
flop. The Council chartered a
plane leaving New York in June
and returning from Amsterdam
and London in September. Round
trip costs were about $300, well
below any usual commercial rates,
even Tourist Class. University stu-
dents, faculty and relatives were
eligible to go on the flight, but
many seats were not filled until
almost the end of the school year.
At the last minute, however, a
number of people decided to make
the flight, and by June 10, co-
directors Ray McCarus and Mary
Manning had a waiting list of ten.
Such a program is of great value
to notoriously poverty-stricken
students and faculty members. It
gives them, at surprisingly low
cost, an opportunity to get to Eu-
rope and back without being bound
by every-minite-planned profes-
sional tours. So SGC decided to
continue the program, and if ini-
tial response is good, possibly will
charter two planes for next sum-
mer.
a# #
* * *
HOWEVER, in line with is usual
policy of initiating programs and
then delegating them to some
other campus organization, the
Council handed Air Charter over
to the Union.
Because of its large office staff,
the Union should be able to admn-
istrate and publicize the program
very well, leaving the already over-
worked SGC National and Inter-
national Affairs Committee to
other problems.
But there is the slight matter of

activity. And the program's con-
tinued success will depend a great
deal on how efficiently it is hand-
led.
We hope, for the sake of Air
Charter's continuation as a valu-
able campus service, that the
Union will be able to elicit from its
staff the hard work necessary for
such an undertaking, and that
said staff will pursue its duties
faithfully out of sheer love for
studentkind.
, 4, ,
ALTHOUGH the Council unani-
mously approved a study of stu-
dent football tickets, it defeated a
protest against Thanksgiving-
scheduled games. The protest was
asked of all Big Ten schools by the
remnants of the Big Ten Associa-
tion, a student organization dis-
solved last summer.
The ostensible reason for defeat
of the motion was that any student
protest would have little influence
with athletic scheduling commit-
tees, who would probably consider
gate receipt losses a more valid
reason for not scheduling games
over vacations. But many Council
members felt that any legitimate
student gripe was within SGC's
scope and should be considered.
And so they are. Except that the
Council has demonstrated a cer-
tam amount of maturity in tackl-
ing the big problems facing the
University - The Lecture Com-
mittee, counseling and Sigma Kap-
pa. It might lose a great deal of
the prestige it has worked for by
concerning itself with a formal
and probably not very effective
protest against football scheduling.
SGC's rash of motions and re-
ports was broken only over a
parliamentary hassle of the kind
that the Council bogs down in
occasionally. Undeniably, parlia-
mentary procedure can be very
important, even crucial, to a legis-

lative body, but it would seem that,
when overworked, it can defeat its
purpose of order-keeping. In most
cases, it isn't really important
whether a member is requesting a
point of order or a point of infor-
mation, and such insistence on
semantic purity leads only to con-
fusion. True enough, there are
many times when, in order to avoid
confusion, strict adherence to par-
liamentary procedure is necessary.
But there are other times when
such devious insistence on the
letter of the law rather negates the
spirit.
* * *
AMONG Wednesday night's au-
dience, as we have already men-
tioned, were some of the candi-
dates who will be running for SGC
Nov. 13 and 14. Unfortunately,
not all fifteen were there, yet
attendance at the meeting is part
of the candidate's training pro-
gram.
Just a thought: it would be nice
if candidates were familiar with.
meetings. It might make things a
little easier for them when they
step into Council positions. And
it might' also make them a little
better qualified for those positions.
LETTERS
to the
EDITOR
A Long Life .. .
To the Editor:
WITH reference to Richard Hal-
loran's editorial on Steven-
son's H-bomb proposal, the fun-
damental problem is to live long
enough to settle international dif-
ferences.
-John Somers, '57M

By LEE MARKS
City Editor
1) Most people who attack the
fraternity system are subversive.
2) Fraternities equal democracy
plus courage.
3) Universities that don't like
fraternities are run by Commu-
nists.
4) Fraternity people have to
learn to think deeply so they can
fight for democracy by protecting
the "system."
THIS, IN boiled-down language,
is the thesis presented in a book-
let, "Attacks on the Fraternity
World," by Eileen Blain Rudolph,
Delta Delta Delta delegate to Na-
tional Panhellenic Council.
Extracted from a speech by Mrs.
Rudolph at the Tri-Delt national
convention last June, the booklet
is interesting as an example of
the type of defense now being
raised by fraternity "profession-
als." ,
Recent crticisms of the frater-
nity system and action at many
large universities designed to eli-
minate discrimination have put
fraternities on the defensive.
They see themselves besieged by
administrators, faculties, student
governments; they fear loss of tra-
ditions (discriminatory clauses);
they have girded for the fight.
Their reaction to the criticism is
both amusing and pathetic-path-
etic in the sense that it may spell
their doom, amusing in'its lack of
maturity.
THERE IS much that is good in
fraternities-but the perennial
sophomores who run nationals ig-
nore the good to speak in truisms
-"democracy," "freedom," "jus-
tice." There are valid defenses that
can be made-but these people
don't know enough to make them.
Instead of recognizing faults,
they identify the critics with Com-
munism. Rather than institute re-
form where reform is called for
they blithely dismiss all sugges-
tions as subversive.
It is unfortunate but the stupid
and illogical defenses raised by
these middle-aged paragons of the
democratic way of life may be the
greatest danger fraternities face
-certainly the defenses do more
to breed discontent with fraterni-
ties than the criticisms they are
designed to meet.
*. * *
MRS. RUDOLPH'S booklet per-
sonifies the type of defense fra-
ternities are raising in answer to
sincere concern over their prac-
tices.
Her first claim is: "The current
attacks on fraternities are a part
of the serious threat to our demo-
cratic way of life."
Then the grand challenge: "By
insisting on our rights as citizens,
fraternity members can uphold all
rights for all citizens."
Tri-Delt's national delegate next
outlines "the attack."
"The first phases to force re-
moval of all membership restric-
tions . .. To deny any organiza-
tion the right to determine its
own membership substitutes co-
ercion for freedom."
Mrs. Rudolph's point is well-
taken-It is precisely because or-
ganizations should have the right
to determine their own member-
ship thatmrestrictive clauses ought
to be removed. Many fraternities
and sororities can not determine
their membership now-it is de-
termined by the national. The
northern liberal chapter, as a hy-
pothetical example, 'must reject
the Negro it wanted to pledge be-
cause the bulk of the fraternity's
alumni hail from below the Ma-
son-Dixon line.
* * *
THE SECOND phase of "the at-
tack" (which has now assumed
the proportions of a medieval
seige) is "to force removal of so-

called 'restrictive practices'." For
those of us who might not see the
terrible implications of such an
act, Mrs. Rudolph is kind enough
to point out: "This forcing and
coercion of membership would de-
stroy all forms of voluntary asso-
ciation until all student life, all
social life, is regimented and con-
trolled."
The third phase of "the at-
tack" bans "any affiliation out-
side the confines of the campas."
At last the vicious end is in
sight: "This makes abundantly
clear the ultimate goal-complete
regimentation."
And that's not all: "Charges lev-
eled against alumnae advisers-
like the slurs directed at par-
ents-are attempts to capture and
mold the minds of youth . .
* * *
NOW THAT the nature of the
attack is fully understood, Mrs.
Rudolph turns to an examination
of the sources. They turn out to be
three: "the subversives, the so-
ciological reformers, and the 'go-
alongers.' "
Of the subversives Mrs. Rudolph
says: "Perhaps this seems fan-
tastic, but at the University of
Colorado this year, the girl who re-

THERE IS yet more evidence-
a fraternity province president
(also at Colorado) wassubjected
to intimidation. "Even the tossing
of harmless bombs on a porch was
a part of the intimidation." Mrs.
Rudolph adds, parenthetically, "(If
you'll recall, Judge Medina, who
conducted the trials of Communist
lelders, was subjected to this type
of intimidation.)"
And Ms. Rudolph is not fin-
ished with Colorado (which re-
cently took stringent measures to
eliminate fraternity discrimina-
tion.) We learn that a man whom
Senator Eastland once labeled
subversive was a featured speaker
at Colorado during religious em-
phasis week.
It all figures: Colorado is full of
Communists, Colorado doesn't like
fraternities, people who don't like
fraternities must be communists.
THE SECOND group of attack-
ers is the sociological reformers,
on whom "the subversives have
had considerable effect."
"These reformers are dangerous
because they range from extreme
leftists to impractical idealists"
To refute the sociological re-
formers, Mrs. Rudolph relates the
following incident: "In February
this year my son brought me his
10th grade grammar book saying:
'There's anti-fraternity propa-
ganda in this.' I looked through
the book . . . and found several
derogatory references to fraterni-
ties."
Which all goes to prove you
can't bertoo careful-thesesocio-
logical reformers, Mrs. Rudolph
would have us believe, will stop
at nothing.
Alfred McClung Lee, sociologist
and author of "Fraternities With-
out Brotherhood," comes in for
rebuttal also. In answer to his
criticisms of fraternities, Mrs. Ru-
dolph points out that he is asso-
ciate editor of a magazine where
there once appeared an article
calling for education of children
to prepare them to combat a belief
in God.
* * *
TO PLACE "the attack" in its
proper political perspective, Mrs.
Rudolph quotes from an article
about Corliss Lamont: "He pre-
dicted that the United States
would become a collectivist state;
he thought this would happen by
1960.'"
The noose is tightened. Mrs. Ru-
dolph triumphantly reports "To
fraternity people there is a strange
coincidence about that date 1960
-for it has been given to the fra-
ternities by certain colleges as the
final deadline for removing re-
strictions on. membership."
* * *
THE LAST group of anti-fra-
ternity people are the "go-along-
ers," who, it turns out, are influ-
enced by the subversives and help
the sociological reformers.
Of the "go-alongers," Mrs. Ru-
dolph says: "The attacks on fra-
ternities are symptomatic of the
drives for conformity-drives away
from the individualsic point of
view and toward mass man." The
attackers are not only subversive
but conformists.
Mrs. Rudolph doesn't want to
ignore discrimination completely.
Her treatment of the subject con-
sists of: "It is hard to understand
how anyone could feel there is
anything basically evil in a social
group composed of members of
one faith."
* * *
THE SCENE has been laid. We
know the nature of "the attack"
and the attackers; What must be
done?
"The picture seems depressing
but I have faith in the American
public." (The American public is
behind the fraternity system. Peo-
ple who are not behind fraterni-
ties are not in the American pub-
lic. They are un-American.)

On a more practical level: "You
can be sure that the college news-
paper is not misleading students
by working on the college paper
yourself" (misleading is appa:ent-
ly a synonym for "writing stories
against fraternities.")
"You can be sure your .student
government is not trying to de-
prive you of your rights by being in
student government."
Lest her charges be discouraged
by the immensity'of the task (sav-
ing democracy by making sure
that student newspapers and stu-
dent governments don't get rid of
bias clauses) Mrs. Rudolph says,
in the language of true martyr-
dom: "And it takes courage. Sixty-
eight years ago our fraternity was
founded by women of courage .. .
May we always have that courage.
We are buffeted by sudden and se-
vere storms but may we always-
like our Pine Tree-remain stead-
fast through the storms!"
New Books at Library
Blunden, Godfrey-The Look-
Glass Conference; NY, Vanguard,
1956.
De la Bedoyere, Michael-The
Archbishop and the Lady; NY,

4

.1

i

4

,1,

AT THE MICHIGAN:
Mermaid 'Flounders'
In Dramatic Debut

HOLLYWOOD performers who
possess the artistic virtue of
Versatility are few and farbe-
tween. Some exceptional stars,
(Brando, Cagney, Stanwyck and
Holm) have been able to swing
from the hilarious heights of com-
edy to the depths of drama. Oth-
ers, however, have found it pro-
fessionally and financially profit-
able to confine their talents to
one type of acting.
Why then, one might ask, has
Universal-International seen fit
to shipwreck their miraculous
mermaid, Esther Williams on dry
land in so leaky a Technicolor
rowboat as "The Unguarded Mo-
ment"?
* * *
Esther looks gorgeous as well
as plausible broad-shouldering
her way throughra blue lagoon,
but in the role of a persecuted

ment" is another of a recent rash
of films ("Blackboard Jungle") in
which innocent teachers are vic-
timized by, their unappreciative
pupils. In this particular movie
Miss Williams attempts to portray
a popular and attractive school
marm who is morally maligned by
Ogden High's football hero, Leon-
ard Bennett.
* * *
Leonard's father, a psychopath-
ic woman-hater has stifledrthe
healthy, normal biological drives.
of his eighteen-year-old offspring
and consequently Leonard seeks
sesxual expression in devious if
not deviant ways. The results are
trouble for Miss Williams, a head-
ache for the narrow-minded
school board and a new case for
Detective Graham who is ade-
quately interpreted by George Na-
der.

A

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