I Sixty-Eighth Year #. Inions Are Free Will Prevail" 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 orials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. NOVEMBER 22, 1957 NIGHT EDITOR: MICHAEL KRAFT "ledge Raids,' 'Sweat Sessions' Not 'Brotherhood-Building'. "How Did You Say Their Election Came Out?" ~- I h 4 ? J . di .- Y o~ -.. "' -- ..... 'Birth of a Nai V/1 TranscendsOIgnorancc IT WAS A BAD DAY at Piedmont, the day the Yankees mar through, bringing with them freedom for the Negro slave "degradation of the South." But love and the Ku Klux Klan con all, despite incredible odds and hardships. This is the message of "Birth of a Nation." For years a subject of great controversy, this film is being ,s: "solely for the artistic and historical value." Playing with it is a subject, The Brotherhood of Man, a high-schoolishly simple se onn equality. "Birth of a Nation" is basically a Western with the' Negro replo USUAL WAVE of "pledge raids" and the ultant "sweat sessions" are presently ng the majority of Greek letter fraterni- i campus. Fraternity actives are awaking . the house's furniture on the front lawn, pair of shoes in the house missing and rious parts of the bicycles dangling from Shunning study and sleep, the recently . pledges band together for one purpose-- a a raid that will go down in the history chapter. The understood rules' for a raid are reviewed: no fair taking the off the campus; no fair breaking the iw , on indecent exposure and no fair g" a raid without first notifying the Ann Police Department.. weat session" is usually the fraternity's r to the pledge class "raid." The entire ilty, minus a few non-conformists who belive in the value of such antics, meet uss their course of retaliation. The rules "sweat session" are previously reviewed: it punishing the pledges who are not , no fair "catching" the pledges during of the day and no fair breaking the raternity Council's rule on "physical atment of pledges." Under the helpful .ce of the elected pledge trainer, the fra- members prepare for the night's activ- ['his may include building a fire for a "fire drill" (pledges required to crawl airs to second floor and return with fuls of water in order to extinguish fire)- ring a room for pledge "line-up" (grilling s to why they dress a certain way, go :ertain girls or associate with certain ges seem to be a little confused as to ason behind their antics. They only hat it is part of the fraternity tradition, .tion the present pledge class is expected y on. Actives are a bit less confused as to the purpose of the pledge raid. Fraternity brotherhood, they contend, is being built. The new pledges are developing a spirit of unity and at the same time getting to know the actives a little better. For this reason, they continue, the pledge raid is a necessary part of effective fraternity living. AN OBSERVER is led to wonder why other means of building fraternity brotherhood cannot be substituted for the sometimes de- structive and injurious "pledge raids" and "sweat sessions." A recent "sweat session" held by members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity illustrates tle possible harm of a "sweat ses- sion." Three of the eight pledges participating in a chapter "fire drill" had to report to Health Service the next morning. "Pledge raids" have also taken their toll in broken furniture, poor grades and missing clothing. The many fraternities still sanctioning "pledge raids" and "sweat sessions" are neglect- ing a wonderful opportunity to plan their brotherhood-building" pledge training around a more constructive program. Fraternity houses can always use a little more painting, many churches are in need of help, and other charit- able organizations are always seeking for helpful assistance. Unity perhaps could be best achieved by working together constructively rather than destructively. It seems a bit silly for supposedly mature college students to waste' their time on such childish antics. Fraternities here are known for their rela- tively mild pledge programs. Perhaps their reputation would be a great deal better if' therewere no forms of hazing at all. A reputa- tion that is built on worthy and constructive deeds lasts quite a bit longer than one that is based on destructive actions. -BARTON HUTHWAITE r s - _. ~ i , .t' a' T I ' ' a 44e 'tLWAo444r~Po1c,* CE GILBERT & SULLIVAN: Twin Bill Delightful, Exuberant What Role Junior Colleges? 3E UNIVERSITY'S Conference on Higher Education, held here Tuesday and Wednes- seems to present fairly good evidence of the eral concern over the current plight of the on's colleges and universities. At the same e, it also seems tb point up the hesitation on part of educators toward offering any posi- suggestions or recommendations. Ithough, as was said at the Conference, e is no universal panacea, there was general ement that community-or junior-colleges ht prove 'to be one solution to the problem roviding for the tremendous influx of college licants expected in the next ten years. niversity President Harlan Hatoher, for in- ice, said that such a school might serve as >ther level of selection" in the screening of pplicants to four-year institutions. He ex- ned that students unqualified for admission niversities can be guided into other areas the two-year community colleges, while e who find themselves capable of handling ege work can transfer to four-year insti- ons. here are problems, of course, and many of e were discussed at the conference. Every- seemed confident a solution could be found each; many individual speakers advanced onal theories; many views were held con- ently by a large majority of the delegates. YET, really, not a single bit of action will re- sul$ from the entire Conference. This was "not an action conference," as Prof. Algo Henderson, General Director of the con- ference, put it, but was merely for the exchange of ideas. This is, of course, a "laudable purpose, and yet perhaps what is needed here is something a great deal more positive than simply an ex- change of ideas. If the heads of Michigan's community colleges really feel they have a possible, answer to one of education's basic problems, they ought to say so-firmly and positively, and to the right people. One possibly might be another, higher-level conference-perhaps a meeting of the heads of the community colleges-out of which would come definite statements of policy, definite requests for whatever action they agree upon, definite suggestions for ironing the kinks out of their own programs and those of higher edu- cation in general. Much information came out of this week's Conference- important and useful information, pointing to many definite conclusions. All that is yrequired now is the presentation of these conclusions in the form of recommendations by the specific institutions involved. Then and only then will the programs and actions desired be forthcoming. =-SUSAN HfOLTZER IT'S GOTTEN to the point where Daily reviewers can almost (as many readers suspect them of do- ing anyway) write reviews of Gil- bert & Sullivan Society produc- tions without seeing them; they are consistently excellent. But it seems doubtful that any reviewer would throw away the chance to sit through two and a half hours of some of the most delightful and exhuberant theater produced on this campus. The double bill at Lydia Men- delssohn is not only true to form, it may possibly be the best overall G & S production of the last few years. But, paradoxically enough, it expends more than half its energy on one of the least good operettas on which the famous Victorian team collaborated. * * * "THE SO1CERER" was the team's second work and, luckily, they went on to better things. The plot is, as usual, ephemeral: Alexis Pointdextre (Jerry'Langenkamp), betrothed to Aline Sangazure (Lynn Tannel), decides that love is such a marvelous thing that he employs the love portion of sor- cerer John Wellington (David Newman) on the whole village. Everybody falls in love according to plan but, 'of course, with the wrong people. Alexis puts up with mismating in the name of love until Aline falls for the town notary (Richard Kretchmar); then he decides that Something Must Be Done. Unfortunately, the spell can be broken only if he or Wells dies, and it doesn't take the as- sembled multitude long to decide' between them. The sorcerer dis- patches himself humbly and the gay betrothal feast goes on, with" everyone in love with the right person. The usual G & S gaiety is missing from the finale, however, at least for the audience, which regards the summary dismissal of Wells as unnecessary and entirely out of keeping with the spirit of the rest of the operetta. The effect is totally spoiled. * * 4' THE BLAME, however, falls on the two, men who have long since met the fate of J. W. Wells; the local Society gives the operetta its best, and its best is very good indeed. The chorus, the best in three years, is loud, clear, ani- mated and, for the most part, understandable, and the work of the principals matches it beauti- fully. All of them can act well and, though all the singing is adequate, some of it, notably that of Miss Tannel, Langenkamp (particularly in "Thou Mast the Power"), New- man and James Ueberhost (Dr. Daly), is superb. Gilbert's gleeful gibe at "decorous" (and therefore unfulfilled) love is perfectly real- ized by Ernest Kramer (Sir Mar- maduke Pointdextre) and Alice Dutcher (Lady Sangazure). Mrs. Partlet (Ann Olson) and daughter. Constance (Sandra Reid) are com- petent and gay; Miss Reid and Kretchmar are especially sparkling in "Dear Friends, Take Pity." In the past, its been easy to say that David Newman steals the show; this time, although he turns in his usual slick and face-contorted performance, he is matched for acting honors with Ueberhorst and Miss Tannel. At least part of the credit for a well-done job on ill-done material goes to the lighting crew, which made the incantation scene spooky indeed and the special effects crew, which handled all but its last job with grace. * *' * TRIAL BY AJRY is a different matter entirely, because it was aj well-done job with well-done ma-j terial. When Gilbert pokes fun at Victorian trials, his pen drips with acid, but it is riotously funny acid. Martyn Green himself would have been pleased at Gershom Morningstar's Judge. Morningstar is in complete control of a wonder- fully rubbery face and equally plastic legs, and he invests the traditional business with new freshness and hilarity, particularly, in "When I, Good Friends, Was Called to the Bar." His perform- ance is very nearly excelled by Robert Denison as the usher, who earnestly begged for, and never got, "Silence in the Court!" Griffin Griffin; the defendant is properly supercilious and John Vavroch, the counsel for the plaintiff, prop- erly lugubrious. Charlotte'Schuster (the plaintiff), a freshman new- comer to the Society, is lovely, a competent actress and possessed of a very fine voice. Chorus work was, if possible, better than that in "The Sor- cerer;" its business and expression was perfectly timed and executed. Lenore Davis' sets both were beau- tifully done, that for "Trial by Jury" was particularly imaginative and pleasing. All in all, the Society -as again provided the campus with three evenings-of professional, sprightly Gilbert & Sullivan. -Tammy Morrison the naive but brutal Red Man and the valiant Cavalry. Amusement is the obvious and natural reaction to such a switch Produced in the age of melo- drama, the silent film is typical, in most of its portrayals, of the sigh-sob-choke-sneer acting of its day. The villians, the carpetbag- gets, not the newly freed slaves, are moustache-twirlers sans mous- tache. The heroes are more like Percy Dovetonsils than Rock Hud- son. * * * OCCASIONALLY in the acting, but much more often in the pro- duction aspects, there is that qual- ity which makes "Birth of a Na- tion" a classic, despite the under- lying ignorance of its theme and" outmoded style of dramatization. In the preface, this D. W. Grif- fith production is called "the yard- stick by which all great motion pictures are measured." This is hardly accurate by certain modern standards such as measuring the greatness of the movie by the size of the heroine's bustline. Realism which would disturb movie audiences today is used in the battle and mob scenes, con- vincing one that "viciousness brought forth by war is common to all races." Particularly brutal is a shot following the caption, "the price of war." It could be the picture of any battlefield after the "glory" is past. * * * IF THE MODERN viewer can forget that the majority of the captions are quaintly humorous and can forget the ridiculousness of certain character concepts, he can see some dramatic techniques just on the 1915 side of genius. The best scene is one less than thirty seconds long, during the emotion- stifled "return of the soldier from the wars" bit. Many observers wvill be greatly amused by "Birth of a Nation." A few will be upset by an outdated, naive attempt to instill prejudice. Fewer still, perhaps, will realize that art is always measured by the same yardstick. In portions; D. W. Griffith used that measure- ment. -Jo Hardee AT THE STATE: Colossal Nonsense HE STATE THEATRE has at- tracted two new so-called scien- tific films, much as a fragment of decaying meat attracts eager mag- gots. We can dismiss "Cat Girl" with a few remarks. A fairly decent looking girl, who sleeps without clothes it later develops, has been born into a family of cat people. Once she reaches an appropriate age, her aged uncle gives her the cat curse, and dies horribly. This girlais now doomed to wan- der around in a cat-like split per- sonality; half of her a silly girl, the other half, a snarling cat. Fortunately, with the help :f a pasty-faced psychiatrist, she ends her schizofeline existence, and all else. This film is an example which should end the myth that all British films are good. "Cat Girl" is deplorable through and through. * * * HOWEVER BAD the British may do, leave it to Hollywood to do worse. "The Amazing Colossal Man" has finally combined the, worst elements of all the recent attempts at this sort of thing into one monster fraud. Radiation, plu- tonium, secrecy, medicine, physics -it is all there in a vast and putrid package. Colonel Glenn Manning acci- dentally stands in front of a Plu- tcnium bomb, just as it explodes. To the amazement of doctors, scientists, logicians, and philoso- phers, his burns heal overnight. Then, to the amazement of his doctors, the dismay of his fiancee, and the jeers of the audience, he begins to grow and Grow and GROW. After a fortnight of this grop- ing, he really begins to get upset. The army puts him in a secret hospital, eventually /gets him a tent, and Swift & Co. make daily deliveries of meat to keep his appetite satisfied. * * * x EVENTUALLY, Colossal decides that there is very little hope for him. His fiancee has started look- ing for someone more her size. And so colossal, 55 feet tall .and stil grnwing_ c nf a +'r.Tan the Ku Klux Klan in the role of VARIETY: 'Garoye' t0 A musing'- HTPRESENT Gargoyle claims "an ancient and glorious trai- tion of bumptious obscenity and literary wit," and the magazine does seem to have some such dual nature. At least it often shocks u into sudden laughter, bumptious or not, and sometimesrstarts smiles the ripple into meaning. One can hardly do more with items in the former or sudden- laugh category than point to them and say that they are indeed likely to touch off spasms of mirth. I was especially amused by Kon Tiki's wistful report from the desert island. From the point where he and the third.grade teacher with suction pads on her feet climb to the tops of coconut trees to the point where he cries out "stop stop stop," we have Gargoy e humor at its best. A few of the things in "Around the Huron . . ." and "L'etat, c'est moist" and about half the jokes and drawings are also good for immediate laughs. AFTER WE have gleaned these laughs, we are or ought to be left with "literary wit" or with humor which issues in meaning. The most consciously literary story in the issue is Wallace Parr's "The Park- ers of Philadelphia," which starts out, it seems to me, to be a pointed and timely satire on the casual and sophisticated reminis- cences we so often find in The New Yorker. It remains amusing to the end, even though it presently forgets whether it is supposed to be liter- arily witty or bumptiously obscene after all. The anonymous fantasy "Felicity," somewhat in the Perel- man manner, has better tonal con- trol. It remains, finally, for a mot- ley page on a mythical fraternity "Alpha Cholera," and occasional strokes in the patchwork article "Is this a theme I see before me?" to show that the contributors sometime take an intelligent inter- est in the University. ALL IN ALL, the present issue, like the others, leaves this reviewer bemused. The only really telling satire, the Alpha Cholera spread, is marred by mere grotesqueness and a trace of spite. The gifts of style which are liberally manifest in the editorial columns are wasted on "the oily mass of Union food? The Gargoyle staff seems, at dif- ferent times, to possess all the qualities which make for superior humor: a lively sense of incon- gruity, the gift of language, an underlying earnestness. But the sense of inconugruity might he brought in to sharper forcus, the earnestness held in finer poise. The verbal sense is lively, the matter is too often conventional or idle. -Alexander Allison Department of English DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN The Daily Official Bulletin is an official publication of the Univer- sity of Michigan for which the Michigan Daily assumes no edi- torial responsibility. Notices should be sent in TYPEWRITTEN form to Room 3519 Administration Build- ing, before 2 p.m. the day preceding publication. Notices for Sunday Daily due at 2:O p.m. Friday. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1957 VOL. LXVIII, NO. 57 General Notices Senior Board, January graduation announcement orders taken, Nov. 21, 22, 12 noon-5:00 p.m., SAB. Summary, Action taken by Student Government Council at its meeting of Nov. 20, 1957. . Aproved minutes of .revious meeting as corrected. Seated as voting members on the Council: One year terms: John J. Col- lins, Maynard Goldman, Bert Getz, Dan Belin, Linda Rainwater, One-half year term: Lois Wurster. Endorsed interim action on following petitions: Nov. 10, University Christian Federation, Address by Dr. Howard Thurman, 7 p.m. Nov. 18, Panhellenic Association, "Jazz for Moderns," 8:00 p.m. Approved petitions for the following activities: Nov. 23, Men's Glee Club, Combined Glee Club Concert, Hill, 8:30 n.m. Nov. 25. Arab Club. Cultural INTERPRETING THE NEWS: The Game of Bluff ; COUNCIL COMMENTARY: SGC To Study Dorm Financing By J, M. ROBERTS Associated Press News Analyst )NE OF RUSSIA'S most intensive propaganda campaigns has failed, at least insofar as urope is ;concerned. For two years she has been trying to convince nerica's allies that if they accepted atomic eapons or provided bases for their use they >uld subject themselves to being wiped out 'st thing in event of war. This campaign has been conducted not only rough the usual propaganda channels of oadpasts and official statements, ut has also volved direct diplomatic exchanges with some untries. Editorial Staff PETER ECKSTEIN, Editor JAMES ELSMAN, JR. VERNON NAHRGANG Editorial Director City Editor )NNA HANSON...............Personnel Director kMMY MORRISON.............. Magazine Editor SWARD GERULDSEN .. Associate Editorial Director ILLIAM HANEY .................... Features Editor )SE PERLBERG .................. Activities Editor LROL PRINS...... Associate PersonnelsDirector MES BAAD)... .. ,. ,.....Sports Editor RUCE BENNETT............Associate Sports Editor >HN HILLYER ............ Associate Sports Editor 3ARLES CURTISS ......,...,.Chief Photographer " R ,d-arcc .f Gen. Lauris Norstad, NATO commander, now reports that the allies have decided the weapons are more of a safety-factor than a danger. THE REASONS for this are obvious. The entire NATO effort is designed as a deterrent rather than a preparation for war. Anything that cuts down the chances of success for an aggressor is insurance against Russian action. NATO is short of ground strength because of. French commitment of her forces to Algeria. Britain and the United States would like to cut down their forces as the new German army develops. Atomic weapons are the accepted reliance as the free nations seek to insure that continued Russian sabre rattling will not force them to drain their economies to the danger point. They recognize that Russia hopes to expand her world conquest by economic means if that is possible. The West has also come to realize that by reacting to every bit of Russian propaganda it plays into her hands. Russia plays a strange game, seeming to adopt propaganda lines wholesale without re- gard for their integration. THE CAMPAIGN against NATO, against American bases abroad and against Allied acceptance of atomic weapons has gone hand in hand with a bombastic-attempt to produce fear. The Reds seek to wheedle and frighten at the same time. By RICHARD TAUB Daily Staff Writer THERE WERE four new faces at the Student Government Coun- cil meeting Wednesday night, and three of the old people were miss- ing. This, as it should, served to remind us of the changing nature of SGC and of the beginning of a new Council term. V The new term got off to a pretty good start. The Council passed two especially worthwhile motions, and. procedurally was not far from its best.- The first decision of the Council, to study residence hall financing and its implications in the light of expansion and rising enrollments, was an important one. The present method of financing can only become more and more burdensome to the student as costs go up. The way it stands now, approximately $200 of each stu- dent's rent goes for financing new dormitories. But costs are going up, and the time may not be far away when the cost of a college education will be prohibitive. Un- doubtedly, there are probably many students who are being priced out of an education already. * * * THE MOTION to appoint stu- dents to the University Hous- ing Committee and to encourage it to meet was also. we believe. Generally, the Council meetings run late, women cannot stay until the end, and many other people do not wish to. Committee reports were not ac- cepted by the Council Wednesday, night unless they had been pre- pared adequately beforehand. This procedure has a great many ad- vantages. Meeting time is not taken up with reports, which some- times take as long as an hour to read, and Council members will have an opportunity to study the reports carefully and talk with committee heads before the meet- ings. This should provide for very much more efficient activity. And finally, the Council mem- bers will be able to tell committee heads what they would like to see in the reports, making them more comprehensive. The Council's decision to study ways SGC candidates could more effectively reach the electorate de- serves much more qualified praise. '1 * * . CERTAINLY, such a study will help make for better informed students. But it seems to miss the real reasons for the lack of inter- est in the last SGC election. Lois Wurster came closer to the truth when she noted that the means existed for students to in- form themselves about the elec- tions. She cited the open houses and the SGC candidates forum as because they feel that SGC really does not have enough to offer them. Peter Eckstein noted this and presented a number of suggestions he thought the group might soon consider. These include: that SGC express itself on federal aid to education; that the Council look into placing of students on curriculum commit- tees; and that the Council do some work with the Board in Control of Inter-Collegiate Athletics, hous- ing, discrimination, and student parking. He also discussed the possibility of having a representative of the International Student Association on the Council, a student science advisory committee, and more work in student counsiling, final examinations and revision of the regulations booklet. He pointed out the drinking rule as an example of an area to be studied. ** * IT SHOULD be noted here that many of these proposals were ideas of other SGC members and that Eckstein just put them together. It seems, we believe, that if SOC works in these areas, voters will make it their business to become better informed. Janet Neary gave her farewell speech to the Council Wednesday night. Miss Neary has been pretty deennv invnlved in student nu.