Page Six
TH E MI CH IGAN DA ILY
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F EGGHEADS ANDMR. LUCE
A Probing Analysis of the Campus Intellectual
By DAVID R. WEILER as that of writer X. American vision appears to be well under as they do the kinship between He must also recognize that in.
SINCE my wife and I always like novelists, declared X-1, should way. academic and industrial institu- dependence comes not primarily
to know what the enemy is do- present a more "affirmative" pic- An "intellectual"-if I may add tions, no wonder they cry, "This from "affirmation," as Time-Life
ing, we subscribe to Time maga- ture of America abroad. Robert my own definition to the pile of place is a factory!" believes, but from Protest. Any-
zine. I admit to a certain hand- Penn Warren, novelist, poet and definitions under which countless They're right - it is a factory. one who finds himself excited by
tremor as I snake osir copy fcon Q'ah) critic, attacked this argu- sociologists are already buried-is The architecture grows yearly ideas and ventures onto the stony
the mailbox each week. Except in ment in the New York Times Booe a human being who exploits more factory-like: compare Haven ground of hard thought soon re-
the realm of social philosophy Review, apparently with such thought primarily for its own sake. and Mason Hall with the doomed alizes that merely to preserve
Hnry Luce is full of surprises. mortal effect that X- moved out In the relatively free, pure, un- Romance Languages building, his intellectual independence, he
T of the grotto for only a feeble cluttered atmosphere of a univer- which is unquestionably more in- cannot simply leave the System
The second issue in June les; counter-attack in a subsequent is- sity. this is what students are ex- teresting and individual than and Others behisd. They won'
loaded withs scid ph'tssophv, hat :ue of Life. peted to do 40 to 50 hours a week. either of its neighbors. Each s- keep away from him. The student
we got otr twsenty cents worth It isn't just the commercial They dissect frogs, not to exhibit sester, students are loaded into must actively (while responsibly)
y n the d ste blu overtones of the Luce messate that their cruelty nor to sell the legs, courses like cartridges into tin criticize both. Fr if he persists in
yeew and black coci tcccout to perturb the public (in- but to understand better the prac- ammunition cans. Often they thiiking for himself, the winds of
(hnn fecher in Amica)hstor eluding the Michian student tice and (especially) the theory of can't even ask for instruction military discipline and gros
Dawin, r and r ' t -hor, nor the striking difference science. They dissect Plato's Re- from a particular teacher; they snobbery will blast him so harshly
btgeaintsic Iinto riid enphi o uankioll that inubles Life to public not to ieftt "communism" are given (again mathematics pre- that criticism becomes at the very
Rosanhiare (sntiry)-v.t t 'resandwich that message between nor even to find out what's wrong rails over man) a "section."
(Race: A Study in XIodern Scrper brightly-colored views of the with Detroit, but to watch the And then there arc the Others. least a means to his self-preseva-
'siin er1iti ds nAd hnter r heOhr.tion.
ttiien-s c ci ite ih (Cn- tChrysler Imperial and Anita Ek- workings of a remarkable human The Pretzel Bell Bohemians who
rys alit as -t's criis (R- hi'sg, while thi Timns Bnk Review mind. pose with a tired cigarette, wear ' IFFICULT as comparative free-
miim i m n' iern Eo)~scrapes along on blfk-and-whoe Now, really to study, to exploit dirty-looking (but really clean) doam from people and thingsis
muic criic Susie mnAmerian woodcuts and The New Repubibe thought, to follow ideas wherever clothes, ad talk ahout thir Hot- to maintain, at times it is liki
Litf J 27- ests. 4. tismttne on husk-and-man s napsots they lead, sec usre 1 hat young go drums to avoid writing the play to seem less difficult than the
lta7- Gi lest rt iCoHmsihin Unin nd HIerblock cartoons msan or woman be highly detached they are always about to begin. Other task of the student, which
t sits so,' 'ilo' C' isa etual What ought to stir even Light from the things and persons The Snack Bar conspirators who is to sin independence by 4
ios a 5 I'ioc S said 5 St Thinkers is the bewildering spec- around him, not just now and spend hess time learning the cam- strengthcning and sharpening his
it turned outtihit Timswas all for ii of a asshty josislistis em- theta hut fat stetshs of two or plex lessons of European and An- mind. Students, especially before
pire taking the stand in a period three hours several times a week. (riat, political histoy than
Barzun. A sTime s' it, he had of unprecedented national eco- As every undergraduate knows, prottng ta a try of they become sophomores, want to
proved him ilf a "a0an of Affirm- nosnic prosperity and political and the thousand-guest, open-choor hatingmthe T fer nity re- std o the cn vestys t eans
ation," jofully replas n , the social shbility that American in- barracks-hotels on campus hardly fus farho c and to their emotions that means
gloomy "Mass of Protest," Pre- tellertuals ouht not to criticize encourage this kind of detachment. vueesocial fe who h looking alive, being personable,
cisely what Affirmation is thetoo much. Is this Lute's "Ameri- Neither do the barnlike study halls Visualizemsocial life without couro and trying to show interest. "oc-
nonyos it (call him can century"? Is this, in the wrds in the General Library, nor the pon, 'gamu life without cor rates - oh, yes - uh, huh." For
didn't say, thoumh he made it of X-2, "the most successful soci- square, gray, formica-top tables t t women: cross legs at the knees;
pretty clear that the Affirmin ey in human history"? (like the library tables, ranged in Thse for men: deodorant. Work hard, 4
Intellectual type was optuistic, (venthe less conservative liar- utterly strait;ht lines) in the Mich- These are the Groups, theof course hours at the books last
tionaise sod nesth per's carried an article in Febru- igan Union or the League (that Cliques, the Hays, the Dirts, the mnight) but not ordinarily with the
bookish nor very critical of Amer- ary by the widely-publicized "mass-feeding institution,' as a Othderswho relentlessly crowd the ,a tat the contours of one's
ica French Dominican priest, Ray- shiny plaque near the cafeteria stu ct's independence, his de-
By "America"-Arthur Schles- mund-Leapold Bruckberger who hie boldly states, tachment, his intellectual growth. brain are really going to change,
inter, Jr. was happy to point out pleaded a case quite similar in My grade may change: my in-
the folowing month in The New many respects to that of Time and ND if the usual campus places WHY do Michigan undrgradu- structor's opinion of me may
Republic-was meant "Mr: LurcesLife. Harper's editorially disagreed for sleeping, eating, studying ates commonly devote more change: but not my brain, Amer-
America." And Schlesinger testily with Bruckberger, but only mod- and relaxing conspire against the attention to their clothes than to ica and me: fixed forever in the
observed that "those who say Yea' estly. student's independent action and their minds, more to earning the mind of God.
to Emerson's America or Jackson's Wherever virtue may lie in this detachment, how much worse are approval of Others than to de- As the protesting 1930's dis-
America or Lincoln's America battle, the Affirmers may soon be other things in the gauntlet he serving their own self-esteem? Is appear over the horizon, as the
mi'ht conceivably wish to say Nay pleased, if surprised, to discover runs. From the fantastic begin- it the "basic need' to "get along veteran's fervor after the second
to Time's America." that they have won. At the Uni- ning at Waterman Gymnasium, 'with others?" Nonsense. To a world war and the Korean war
The skirmish between Schles- versity of Michigan, for instance. where unarmed but grim-faced larger degree than we sometimes passes into history, and as I fade
huger and X might have been an troops fight it out across the realize, needs are what we think into middle age, each year strikes
equal one, were it not that for KNOWINGLY or not, what Time- wooden barricades, to the equally they are. Those who find a second me as bringing more and more re-
every melancholy reader of the Life-Fortune-Tide-Sports Illus- fantastic ending at Ferry Field, womb in the System or in belong-
New Republic, probably 50 readers trated really wants is the abdica- where the regimentation of cap- ing to Others would naturally like cruits to the university who love
breeze cheerily through Time, tion of independent thought, gown-and-precision-handshake on- everyone else to applaud this in- the uniform and hesitate to wear
What this abdication would mean' ly briefly replaces the drill of the fant-like behavior. their own clothes.
OF COURSE, other Deep and in Ann Arbor is a subtle revision football team and the ROTC, To achieve detachment or in- To those who like the security
Shallow Thinkers were in the of the idea of a "student" that Michigan undergraduates are dependence, which is the neces- that living in a tin can brings,
battle too. A second Luce tentacle, most teachers and students at schooled not merely in the arts sary condition of being a real I have nothing more to say. But
Life m.gazine, writhed last Sep-' Michigan fortunately still cling to. and sciences, but in the spirit of student, one must be conscious of to those who have it in them to
tember in much the same direction What worries me is that this re- military discipline as well. Sensing I these threats from without. hold the IBM and Time machines
_ ___ _-____ - ---°at a distance, to walk on the side
of State Street opposite that sal-
The Dream That Cook Built c-e
things - that is to say, the c'ea-
tive and aware human being -
(Continued from Page 5) have had to be made in your books again I shall refer the matter to work was unsatisfactory. And the first, I would recommend the fol-
'with some 'sulting confusion.' the Regents." Law School offered to publish the lowing practical steps:
improvident housekeepper [Miss "I should say so and hence do And on another occasion a article in pamphlet form to pla- 1) Join groups for relaxation,
Bozorth is always asking for new not put too much blame on me group of gargoylish projections cae the millionaire for frutiful or fruitless discussion,
equipment. for my limited ability." The let- were bedecked with busts of Bates, but don't make it a habit. Learn
"I don't undertand why you ter was one of the very few per- President Hutchins and others. In many instances letters re- how to be anti-locial.
't undertand why youectthe waraosnd otttmetserf howt eat-oil
ask the Regents to investigate. sonally signed Eraged, Cook demanded, so thefle rs eretary the 2) Seek personal fame. Don't
They have troubles of their own str 'esthat the bt be-]awyera Club Secretary to main- Sekproafm.Dn'
Td poab will no to b AN interesting note on Cook's y goes, uss e c- tain dignity while obsequiously let the argument that you're just
and probably will not care to be gifts is that he away placed moved and replaced with those answering Cook compensating for your deficiencies
thered with the merits oreyond University of ancient law figures, bother you. There are more im-
meritsof Mis Bozorh' theaag a' aranbeyonds Universityrs
merits of Mi's Hozorth's manage- control as possible. He attempted IT is difficult at times to believe portant ihings in the uniserse
ment." almost to create autonomous little Tct & Dream . 'that hC w r d th t
At the end of September, 1937 alma.&to crc. ,tatthe Cook who created onet n rutinizing the first three
Cook wrote, "I do nut xpct yos kingdoms out of Martha Cook and particularly difficult situatian of the great Law Schools was the months of your life,
the Lawyers Club. Whether thist same mat who feuded with a 3) Carry out your responsibii-
ta break your contac iths Miss 'aroseLsa'gnrCoCub.sWhmitrtthi'n
Bozorth . . . hut I do capect thu' was done out of obstinacy or ad- article for th' Miehig.n Lat Re- housekeeper for five years. ties to others, but lead your own
my proicat wilt e ctonidtrcd he- hsrence to some high ideal is a 'i'w. It is strange that the author of life
fore you make any contract for matter for conjecture. The article was poor In t several books recognized as au- 4 Learn how to read.
'e u y . Ditp to the Rsgents' Committse am the thorites in their field, was also 5) Put some system into your
ns'xtyarg ! toCoks pro- I a .russ s~ ay to tSuitesomessystemttimatssyour
test, Miss Bozorth was rettined keep a benefactor the size of Cook sLawyers Club it was noted, Not the author of a rejected Law He daily routin', htt keep 't in its
until November, 19 , shn, brnd.s 'fd. Though it was no easy a n er of tue i fculty view manuscipt, place
ing to Cook ;theLI mClub re. ta. Pussnivertu ans Lav kehoot agrees with the conceptions of le- The Cook who worked unceas- 6) Search out eccentrics among
leased her until r.smr, 1933, al ts gat it thsir sll. sitch set out by' him nintie itgly to better the ethics and teachers and students: they can
w'hen she was rehired. Doan Bates, having rained articles. We should therefore p ideals of a profession was not teach you courage, if nothing else.
COOk's deep respect, was a kY for not to publish it at all and if above tearing down a sister law 7) Learn how to write
fiture and yet even the Dean was it came from anyone else should school. 8) If you have the guts, ignore
"HE Ns' Tork I r wsa :a ntat times a subit of Cook's wrath, reict the article. We desire. ho- His letters portray a petty, dis- "rAtes completel.
tkn ys over the pettiest of mat- ever, to make every possible ef-9 aualte muan His spesshus - ) Don't train yourself for a
v-e c "niifs tsrtrriitrlto ag-creabe le mahnd Hinteechsc is o rtrsesestatpY o
above saca:-min iro h s in te
arlyvztc,' .eter fort toward cordial relations i hth dence depth and intelligence. His job or profession that pays well
In onet Novsparticularly 2v IS Utro N stcsitim Juty'23,395 Mr. Cook . . ." books mark him as a learted man. After your salary reaches a. cer-
saysr Io i oaatCtit - Con okosin, Jdtou 2 tsaii Especially objectionable were His benevolence indicates he did tain level, you're being paid for
imaidious comparisons in the ar- not dream idly. 'lhe cold, hard your soul.
cyuns btcImprdefngodsnayo -ind m to ~ociat to usythe nnhaw-tisle and derogatory remarks con- businessman who built a fortune 10) Don't be "practical." Even
suntstbut isday osd n r t:bliiimin ti gs erning Harvard. was the same dreamer who would the Rell Telephone Company is
umsygbha that sien mayiofsts. tti e atu Ho"sisMi.Jones',thei Cook, as mentioned earlier, was not return to campus for fear sending its executives back to col-
miydte 'ae suhat d doit i them Ho w-it oftsr M. ion I r - s proud of his ability as an author, the dream would shatter, lege now for the impractical lib-
but certasny I -cannut.I ri'"uniz is"t" are of coos absurd. Bates It was difficult to reject his man- Yet, whatever else it may be, eral arts education they missed.
and admit the limitations of my :ihould have referred to you Mr uscript and a great deal of work the story of Mr. Cook is undeni-
itellectual t culties, but I have Jones letter to him of April 23 went into it. TbH gt' vere ably the 'tory at a man wit spent This is Mr. Veimer's first
the slight factistasion of noting but instead of that Bates brought consulted and several drafts of the eight million dollars on an ideal article for the Magazine See-
that your boiks do not enable you me in and made reflections on rejection notice written. and in the next breath demanded ion. le is an instructor in the
to tell how much you made last your board of directors. In all, it took three typewritten to know where $17 of it had English department.
year, and that several "anes I don't like it and if it occurs pages to explain to Cook that his gone.