Wright State University CORE Scholar
Wright State University Alternative Newspaper Collection University Archives
1-27-1969
Wright State University Alternative Newspaper: Phoenix, Week of Jan. 27, 1969
Wright State University Student Body
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Repository Citation Wright State University Student Body (1969). Wright State University Alternative Newspaper: Phoenix, Week of Jan. 27, 1969. : University Archives; Wright State University Libraries .
This Newsletter is brought to you for free and open access by the University Archives at CORE Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Wright State University Alternative Newspaper Collection by an authorized administrator of CORE Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Professors Pete Staub and Don Wills, two good guys, two liberal guys, get axed by the Administration. They are a little too liberal for the Administration, a little too outspoken; so out they go. Hell, if somebody bugs you, and you got a big foot, kick his asst Sure a little band of the faculty gets excited about it, but you can kick their asses next year. Besides if you don t love Wright State, you should leave it-one way or the other. And anyway, it s just a faculty hassle and doesn t buy students, right? Wrong. Get hip brothers and sinters, The real issue is us, us and our lives. Dig it? (1) You know the world ain t sun or love and brother- hood; it s not an easy world out there. And like if you think about it, you know you re not here because you really love it. I mean you might like school, you might even like Wright State more than other school. But face it, most of us are at Wright State because we can t afford to go elsewhere; most of us hardly like school, much less love it. The real thing is that we wnt any kind of a decent life, we gotta have an ed- ucation so we can make some money: The modern tech- nological economy demands an increasingly educated work force ;unskilled jobs are decreasing. So like we don t have a lot of choice of whether or not we re going to go to school: its the choice of whether we are going to live decently or in poverty. -- Some choice. In effect we ve already begun our working life -- we re being trained, we re being taught to think effectively enough to do the job. And it s work: writing papers, taking tests, reading books, thinking trough problems. It s work -- except instead of getting paid, we pay. So here we are, man, and we re paying and working and we don t really have much choice about it. (2) So here we are; this is our condition, this is our school, this is our thing, our life. So get the scene on Staub and Wills: Wills thinks that to spend his time working with students is more important then piling degree and thesis upon degree and thesis, Staub spends his time working for educational reform ( in our school), working to alleviate the race thing ( in our school with Wright Start), and in speaking out on stuff like the parking fee - like the old Golding wants to tax the only way we ve got to get to school: taxation without representation. Both of them, and their faculty supporters, believe that if we re all here at this school together, we ought to try to make it a decent place to be: free and open and with different ideas and with consideration for the students and relevancy to the students. Besides that, our society has got some problems and if we can solve some of Wright State s problems maybe we can learn how to solve some of America s problems in the process. And the administration shoots them down. (3) Now the administration starts talking its talk about "progress towards an academic degree" and "secrecy" and stuff. But like the students know whats up and they know that all these committees ( the AAUP, the English Dept., the Liberal Arts faculty) say that Staub and Wills should be rehired. All there committees, except one: the Faculty Affairs Committee -- a pro-administration biased committee. And the students know that there are all these other pro- fessors running around without enough degrees, but only two are singled out; and the students know how much a degree means anyway. So 600 students sign a petition demanding that Staub and Wills be rehired and protesting the way they were fired. (4) So some of the students and a trickle of faculty go to the Academic Council where they re going to deal with the Faculty Affairs Committee report, the one that upholds the firings. And here the students get an eyefull they re playing all these GAMES. And since Golding and his hacks make all the rules all the games come out the same way: Golding and Hacks win, Justice loses. Like one week a motion. to reject the FAC report is in order, the next week Golding rules it out of order. Like a vote is taken and i t goes for Justice, until Golding votes -- after everybody else, publicly with great flourish, and Justice is defeated. Like Golding kicks all non-students and non-faculty out of the meeting (at one time threatining to use physical force) even though Wright State is a public institution supported with taxpayer s money. Like pro-Justice, Dr, Spetter, and the English Department are continually raked over the coals, but as soon as the fire gets under the administration, Golding cries,"Fire! Secrecy!" And the debate is cut off. So the students know it s a game with one way rules and a cover-up for some very vicious and repressive actions on the part of Golding and his hacks-and if you don t believe it, go to an Academic Council Meeting. And so the pro-Justice faculty play the administration s game and god damn, they lose. The report is received. (5) Meanwhile, the students with the 600 signatures on the petition sit there. They know what game is being played. And they sit there. Their 600 signatures represent at least $100,000.00 per quarter. $300,000.00 per year. To the University in tuition alone. For four hours they sit. Finally, after it's all over, after it's decided, they are allowed to present their petition. And that's that. (6) Which all goes to show where everything and everybody is at. The nature of the Administration and the University should be obvious. Most of the faculty sat the fight out, being as how most of then don't care about a Real Education. An Open University, much less Justice. The few faculty that do care are prevented from really doing anything (they can't, having families and all)-they play by the administration's rules and continue to lose. If not the administration, then the faculty, or the liberal faculty, there's only the students: that's you and me, brothers and sisters, left. If we want to make this a decent University and get a decent education and make decent lives, then it's up to us. And it's or fight. We know the game, and we're the ones who are able to break through it, and lay the real cards on the table. We've got to get ourselves together: organize (and that don't mean the Student Senate, baby). If they want our minds to keep their system running, they we have the right to alter that system with ideas. If 600 students would got together, we'd do the job. They play the game, let's lay the truth up them: Student Power can remake this University. January 15, 1969
Editor, The PHOENIX Wright State University Dayton, Ohio
Dear Sir:
I have not been able to see the latest issue of the PHOENIX--where, I presume, there are references to this matter—-but I have come across the "hand-out" circular distributed yesterday by CODE. I wish to rectify certain errors made in this document, and, from what I have been told, in certain other statements or writings of CODE. The Faculty Affairs Committee is a regular standing committee of the Academic Council. The Academic Council contains twenty-four faculty members among its whole membership of thirty-four. The Faculty Affairs Committee is chaired by a faculty member selected by the Steering Commitee, and the full membership of the Faculty Affairs Committee (including the Chairmanship) was approved by the Academic Council, President Golding possesses only one vote out of five on the Steering Committee and but one vote out of thirty-four on the Acadmic Council. It would have been utterly impossible, therefore, for the membership of the Faculty Affairs Committee to have been "handpicked by Golding," as charged in the circular entitled "Hangman, Hangman." As Chairman of the Steering Committee, I assume a major share of the respons- ibility for the selection of the Faculty Affairs Committee; I interpret your charge that President Golding handpicked this committee as a reflection on my integrity; I view it also as a similar questioning of the independence and character of the other faculty members on the Steering Committee and on the Academic Council. If the authors of the circular must speak their opinions on these matters, let me suggest that they first get their facts straight. If they then wish to make the same charges, may I further suggest that they proceed to "shop" for some other school, one manned by adminis- trators and faculty that they feel they can trust?
Sincerely yours,
Edward F. Cox, Professor of History (Former Chairman of the AAUP Investigating Committee)
It was not, and has never been, our intention to challenge the integrity of Dr. Cox or any other member of the Academic Council Steering Committee, and we extend our apology to anyone who has felt so challenged. We do uphold, however, that a committee including one dean, three department chairmen and a personal friend and colleague of Dr. Golding s from his former university could not be ex- pected to be unbiased and could only return a report that was pro-administration. We also feel that there may be an alternative to your suggestion that we, in effect, love the University or leave it. We feel that correction should be a definite possibility and we are constantly working toward making our university the best educational institution there can be. As long as we feel that this is still a possibility we don t intend to give up our stock in Wright State University.
Sincerely, Jack Layh CODE Chairman Monday, January 16, may be a date which Mr. Carl Adams, Principal of Trotwood Madison HighSchool, and the Trotwood Madison Board of Education, will want to forget. On that day Mr. Thomas Matthews, English instructor at Trotwood Madison High School, handed in his resignation to Mr. Adams after much pressure from Adams. According to the Dayton Daily News: the Principal said Matthews had failed to follow school rules by coming to class late, not submitting lesson plans on time, and allowing students free time for discussions. Adams was quoted as saying that the free time "is ridiculous." Because of my experience with CODE, and because of my position as programing chairman of CODE, several concerned Trotwood Madison students approached me and asked for my counseling advice, feeling that Matthew's situation had a direct effect on their education. After talking with Matthews and several other people, I decided to give the students help. I learned from Matthews that he had assigned reading of such books as Summer Hill by A.S. Neill, and Man Child in a Promised Land. Although the Trotwood Madison Board of Education encourages English teachers to assign contemporary, controversial literature, these books apparently offended that administrators moral fiber. Mr. Matthews requested permission to distribute "Student as Nigger" by Jerry Ferber to his Senior English classes and was promptly turned down by Mrs. Keith, chairman of the high school's English Department. Feeling that the student should not be protected from a liberal point of view, he proceeded to read this paper to his classes. Matthews also told me that he feels free time given to the students for discussion of contemporary issues is an important part of the curriculum. As to the allegation that he failed to report to class on time, he stated that this is a fact in most teacher's cases. He also answered the charge that his lesson plans were not being turned in on time, by saying that this was completely untrue. He told me that his lesson plans were always in on time with the exception of the past two weeks, and the reason for this was the confusion created by the pressure being put on him by the administration. I proceeded to help the students prepare a state- ment which included their opinion of the direction of their education, and 13 demands which included such suggestions as the instituting of a Black History course, a humanities program, improvement of cafeteria food, and the assurance of political and academic freedom for students as well as teachers. This flyer produced a highly emotional reaction both for and against the students actions. It illicited irrational charges of Communist agitation directed not only at students, but also at CODE of Wright State University. We are presently receiving legal advice, and there is a possiblility that CODE may file a legal suit for slander. Larry Gault and PHOENIX Staff California authorities are confused by reports that Eldridge Cleaver has been arrested in 109 other communities and three foreign countries. Police in such widely flung cities as Boston, New York, Chicago, and Elk Falls, Idaho are deluging the San Francisco police with telegrams ma intaining that they have one, and in some cases "two, three, many" Eldridge Cleavers under lock and key. Perhaps most baffling is the fact that San Francisco authorities themselves announced earl yesterday that they had had apprehended Cleaver as he sauntered into the Hall of Justice and asked a surprised officer where he could find the men s room. San Francisco authorities later announced that they had been "mistaken," and that the man arrested had merely been wearing a "very convincing" rubber face mask made to look like Cleaver. Since then the SFPD has arrested nine men for being Cleaver, seven "on suspicion of being Eldridge Cleaver," and one on a little-known ordinance against "impersonating a revolutionary hero".
Reprinted in part from the Peninsula Observer Over the past few weeks, the PHOENIX has been very interested in the new crop of Freshmen Senator-elects for the five Senate seats that will be filled by election this week. It is our opinion that four out of the nine candidates show particular concern, interest, and potential. These four men: Doug Hans, Bill Gueltig, Mike Baum, and Jeff Bailer have taken the time to talk to students and express their concern over the issues that face this University. Three of these four men, it will be remembered, also took the time to fill out and send in a questioneer to The Guardian to make their views known to their public. We feel very strongly that this contest should be decided on more than who can make the biggest sign with the cutest design. With candidates like these in office, we feel that the Student Senate may be well on its way to being a true representative of the students.
The PHOENIX Staff
Nicholas B. Katzenbach, Under Secretary of State, gave a major address on the Biafran War at Brown Univer- sity on December 3. Katzesbach has recently been appointed head of an Emergency Task Force on Biafra". Mr. Katzen- bach s speech expressed the hypocrisy of American foreign policy in perfect form. He began: "The tragedy of Nigeria, like many other human trag- edies, is that what seems clearly moral and clearly imperative to most of us is not what seems either clear, moral or imperative to the people who have it in their power to end the conflict. To us the morality of the Nigerian predicament seems easy enough to define; end the bloodshed: allow food to get through to the starving: let medicine be delivered to the sick and wounded. But the conflict is too deeply rooted in ancient rivalries and suspicions, too compounded by past mistakes and misunderstandings, too engulfed in mistrust and bitterness, for it now to be so easily decided. Human pride and political maneuvering have so far prevented the cons cessions necessary for humanitarian aid to get through in a manner and at a rate that would be truly effective..." Mr. Katzenbach blames both sides, with perhaps more blame on Biafra, for the failure of aid efforts. He feels the U.S. can intervene to end the war because the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations have more direct responsibility. However, the interests of the U.S. are evident. America had set high hopes for a Nigerian federation modeled on the U.S. government. A single stable country with a strong central government would yield obvious advantages to American investors. But Nigeria was split by internal dissent. Despite our government s supposed neutrality, America s refusal to act had as much effect as if we had involved ourselves. With our economic power we could have saved many star- vation victims. Our "influence" could have aslo done a great deal to end the war. But instead we chose to justify our refusal to recognize Biafra under international convention. But we recognize South America military coups which look as if they might be profitable for American Businessmen. And we openly support the Geneva accords and continually disregard them in our actions. Principles are sacrificed for profits and expediency. The fate or Biafra has been decided. The bravery and desperation of the Ibos will end in tragedy. When enough Biafrans have died of starvation, Nigeria, with WesternReprintedaid, willfrombe Extraable toUnderground restore an uneasy Newspaper federal union. Undoubtably, the U.S. will then find its "neutral position" has won itself a fertile field for investment. ANY INTERESTED NARCOTICS INVESTIGATORS ARE CORDIALLY INVITED
TO ATTEND CLASSES AT WSU...... RSVP. Oelman Hall, January 20 I am a human being. Do not fold, spindle, or mutilate. This message was brought to WSU in the form of a playlet, written and directed and starring Clarence Young. Backed by expressive Congo Drum and a white "narrator", Charles, a "programmed Nigger", invited the members of "NCR Puppet University" to his home, where he attempted to realize his manhood through a series of painful, anxiety-ridden gestures. The tor tured movements were basically those of a Black Man's soul coming to the surface in a White Man's world. The effort was in vain. His programming "was too deep." In the discussion that always follows Mr. Young's plays, the cast tried to explain that "We are all programs: that each of us, in fact, is a 'Nigger' until. we understand this fact and realize our individuality, our souls." The acting was amateursh, and the play loosely knit, but the point of the show was well taken. Programming is more subtle than one thinks. Think: Oh, God, who am I?"
John Katz Which Just G • es to Prove
Most of the country won t a letter from a Virginia ever know the proposition voter who didn t like the posed to Ohio s peppery, senator s endorsement of liberal U. S, Senator, Ste- tough gun controls and phen M. Young. RECORD wrote him that he could staffer Barry Hayman, who walk under a snake s tail worked last quarter for with your hat on and have Newsweek in New York plenty of headroom. The City, brought back the fol- writer gave his telephone lowing report cabled in by number and told the Sena- one of the newsmag s Wash- tor, I would welcome the ington correspondents for opportunity to have inter- use in its "Periscope" fea- course with you. ture, but rejected: Replied Young on official "Feisty Democratic Sen. stationery of the Senate: Stephen Young of Ohio You wrote me a most in- doesn t have much truck sulting letter. I note your with the idea that a soft an- offer in the final paragraph swer turneth away wrath. of your letter, "I would No member of Congress is welcome the opportu rougher on critics who nity to have intercourse with you." write in than Young, who frequently calls his corre- No indeed, I will have noth- spondents liars and stupid ing whatever to do with fools. you. You go ahead and Young outstripped him- have intercourse with your- self recently in replying to self. Stephen M. Young." THE AWARD
Having chevied well nigh inexhaustively we have, at length, decided upon another recipient of our award this week. During the regular meeting of the Academic Council, our award recipient rushed in where no reasonably sophisticated angle would dare tread. With naivete above and beyond the call of duty, that intrepid academician Dr. Noel, after patiently waiting for several minutes was finally recognized by the Chairman, Dr. Golding. Dr. Golding said, "Dr. Noel." Dr. Noel replied, "Thank you." And then continued as to whether or not to trust the honor and integrity of his colleagues. Then sat back, Tamquam Re Beve Gesta , and relaxed. Complete silence ensued, and the majority looked bewildered. After the shock wore off, Dr. Golding turned to Dr. Noel and asked, "That was a retorical question, wasn t it Dr. Noel?" Now it was Dr. Noel s turn for bewilder- ment, and after studying the matter, he replied without any equivocation or irony "Yes, I guess so," Dr..Noel, we think, we suspect you of being shifty.
As if he had accomplished something. Washington. Inaguration and anti-inaguration. Mr. Nixon has had his ceremony and his celebration. Nancy Dickerson glibly commented that it didn t rain on Mr. Nixon s parade, but almost. Amid the swirl of outdated balls (as ungainly as the Convention system according to HEW Secretary Robert Finch), Nixon s outlook is bright, with perhaps one notable exception. For a year, the young of America have participated in the political process in numbers greater than ever before. The followers of Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy were enthusuastic combatants within the limits of peaceful, legitimate political action, and they lost. The bitter taste which is left in their mouth is not the result of losing the fight, but rather the manner in which victory was taken from them. No one who is sincere appreciates a patronizing pat on the head: no one who has fought for an ideal will happily accept a defeat due to a structure and form which was the creation of their opponents. The result of Chicago was frustration for a large number of America s youth. Yes, Virginia, a lot of them have beards, long hair, take drugs , hate cops, and could be called (and often rightly) creepy, smelly, disrespectful and anti-establishment. SDS, yippies, and creepy people everywhere were not only unhappy with the way the legal political battle was lost, they also, in the act of losing, discovered a new political tactic. Violent, unpeaceful demonstrations have replaced phone booth stuffing as a means of expression. I suppose the point of all this is that idealistic (O.K., then, militant) youth are not going to accept Mr. Nixon s leadership without questions. Mr. Nixon may prevent more Chicagos in one of two ways. Either he can supress these malcontents (via HUAC, the Draft, the FBI) as subversive elements, or he can allow them real participation in the political process. Should our beloved leader chose the former, he may find a stiff unwillingness to be supressed on the part of our creepy youth. In addition, he may mobilize support for the youth. Repression can be as ugly as violence. It is the hope here that reconciliation can be accomplished, but not at the expense of freedom of expression. No one likes billy clubs (expect maybe police), but there are also some of us who dislike political bull shit, imperialistic foreign policy, order without justice, and patronizing leadership even less. Excepting the fact that both violence and repression are ugly. it is the hope here that Mr. Nixon enjoys a truly beautiful term as President.
Dave Edmundson "We believe very strongly in preserving the right to differ in this country and the right to dissent. And if I have done a good job of anything since I ve been President, it s to insure
that there are plenty of dissenters." November 17, 1967 Lyndon Baines Johnson
The Phoenix is a weekly publication of the Committee On Decisive Expression (C.O.D.E.) financed solely through the donations and contributions of concerned faculty and students. Anyone interested in helping further the works of the Phoenix and C.O.D.E. may mail contributions to 530 Elm St., Yellow Springs, Ohio, 45385, or contact Jack Layh, Chairman or Eike Smilack, Vice-Chairman. C.O.D.E. meets every Thursday in Room 205M at 3:30p.m.