Vol. I No. 4 East Lansing, Michigan, January 27, 1966 10 cents

• St. Bernard Rescues Paper By DON SOCKOL

After deciding to write a column for "I liked that picture and they "The Paper" I immediately began wouldn't print it/' I sobbed. picking my brain for ideas. "But I thought! you came to 'The Somehow they just didn't seem to Paper' to find an outlet for mean­ come. ingful social commentary that . . ." So editor Mike Kindman suggested "That was a great picture and it I simply give students the reasons I was my idea and other people liked left the State News and began writing it so I know I'm not wrong an' . . . " for "The Paper." "But your writing . . ." He was also quite helpful in aiding "I don't care about writing. I don't me to formulate my thoughts on the like writing. I don't even care if I subject. never write. I want my picture with "Just tell them, in a funny way/' the St. Bernard and the hat. I . . ." he said, "how the State News was "Then why 'The Paper'?" Mike stifling your creativity/* softened. "We can't afford to print "They were?" the picture." "Sure they were," he insisted. "I know," I said, "but I don't care "Tell them that any time you at­ cause now I don't care if I ever see tempted serious social criticism that stupid St. Bernard in a hat cause Wells wouldn't print it." it's a stupid picture and I wouldn't "Did I? Wouldn't he?" I asked, taken let anybody print it even if they want­ back. ed to and I just want to get back at "Sure," Mike assured me. "What that stupid State News and stupid about that column they killed in Oc­ Chuck Wells and the stupid AP and tober?" UPI wires and typewriters and stupid "Well, it did save me a libel suit." people who work up there . . ." tt What about those violent argu­ "Oh, good lord." ments you and Wells used to have?" "I'll show them," I went on, deter­ "You mean the time he caught me minedly. swiping the typewriter?" "So young, so tired, so beaten by "Well, then—why did you quit?" the system," Mike shook his head Mike shouted, exasperated. slowly. Mike sighed sadly and walked away. "CAUSE THEY WOULDN'T PRINT "HA HA ... HA HA, I DON'T "I'LL SHOW THEM. THEY'LL THE PICTURE OF THE ST. BER­ HAVE TO WRITE FOR THEM— SEE. HA HA . . ." NARD WITH THE HAT ON ANY­ THERE ARE OTHERS ... HA HA And I ranted and raved into the night 99 MORE!" I screamed, almost in tears. B • • "I liked that picture," I whined. "That's the reason?" Mike said quitely. Hell Week, As Usual By LAURENCE TATE 000 to contestants who return to the ABC network, a new dance has been show for several weeks, accomplish­ kicked off in the discotheques called The Decline of the West continued ing a more difficult physical feat the Batusi. The article goes on to de­ unabated last week. From a variety each time. To get you started, we tail the rash of songs about Batman of sources, we have compiled a list suggest that the fifty-grand in sky now hitting the market, and ends om­ of the week's more spectacular gaf­ diving (one of the stunts actually under inously with the comment, "A 'Sup­ fes, in the certainty that if we just consideration) be given to contestants erman' song cycle is believed to be tell people about all the dumb things willing to bail out at 40,000 feet waiting in the wings." they're doing, they'll stop. hanging on to a wet Kleenex. (If this * * * To begin with: turns into a new party game, re­ Earn - While - You- Learn Depart­ After the reams of publicity the member you saw it here first.) ment: Explaining the rather spectac­ government gave out about Hubert * * * ular hangups in rubbish collection at Humphrey's sagging public image, Oops: Just off the coast of Spain, certain off-campus apartments, East it sent him to the Far East, care­ the U.S. government lost an A-bomb. Lansing City Manager John Patri- VU VAN THAI, SOUTH VIETNA­ fully nudging the public to the effect At last report, the search was con­ arche said, "These student apart­ MESE AMBASSADOR TO THE UNIT­ ED STATES, SPOKE AT THE KIVA that this was strictly an image- tinuing, and (the AP notes), "Villag­ ments were all built in the last few SUNDAY NIGHT. raising trip. According to recent re­ ers in the area apparently had calm­ years. The problem is a little new to ports, the public now says it has a ed down." Ah, the Spanish! Imper­ us and we haven't learned how to better image of Humphrey. Does any­ turbable, as always. manage it." The State News reports body else find this frightening? * * * that Patriarche "did not expect a * * * THIS week's John-Wayne- Men's- quick solution." The Dear - Hearts - And - Gentle- Apple-Pie-God-Country-And-Gener­ People Award goes to an anonymous al-Motors Award goes to Shirley * * * little old lady at the Sunday night Lacy, socially conscious poet, for her Headline on a story which is simply speech of Vu Van Thai, South Viet­ courageous unmasking in verse of the too depressing to go into: "Saigon namese ambassador to the U.S. Amid International Communist Conspiracy, Propaganda War Enlists Astrology, the angry stream of lecture-goers MSU style: Song." who grumbled in disgust at the "id­ "There once was a Keleher named * * * iots" demonstrating outside, she Brian Sellout of the Week: Roman Po- cocked her ear as the protesters be­ "'End The War at all cost/ he lanski, director of "Repulsion," has gan to sing "We Shall Overcome" was e'er cryin' . . ." signed an MGM contract and is going and remarked to a friend, "That one * * * to make a vampire picture. THE DEMONSTRATORS WHO * # * MARCHED OUTSIDE AGAINST THE fellow is a pretty good baritone." Shock headline of the week, from the VIETNAM WAR WEREN'T THE ONLY Imaginative exercise of the week: Detroit Free Press condensation of ONES WHO FOUND HIS SPEECH think up stunts for the new TV show Arthur Schlesinger's Kennedy book: The WCTU Save-Our-Boys-And- BORING. that will offer a top prize of $50, "McNamara Drafted." Girls Citation goes to August W. Heck- * * * man, president of the Jersey City Museum Association, who in banning BULK RATE Second shock headline of the week (from the New York Times): "Negro a painting of two nudes from a local U.S. POSTAGE Colleges Recruiting Whites in 'Drive exhibit said, "That type of painting 2-7/8< PAID for Excellence.'" is not conducive to our cultural goals * * * —nudes excite prurient interests. If East Lansing, Mich. Variety reports, "Now that 'Bat­ we're called provincial, well then Permit No. 52 man' has arrived on television, via the we'll be provincial." 2 "The Paper," East Lansing, Michigan, January 27, 1966 Keleher Doubts State News' Sincerity The State News has of late been tion which the companies involved devoting considerable space to com­ will not wish later to give up. South ments on me, with outbursts of emo­ Vietnam is (normally) one of Asia's tionalism against my position on the major rice producers, and Japan— Viet Nam question. However, it has one of our "junior partners in im- followed its usual policy of substi­ perialism"~needs that rice. And just tuting invective, banality and dog­ recently two of our largest invest­ gerel for a dispassionate discussion ment banks have become involved in of the issues, and thereby continues Saigon. to dis-serve its captive readership. 3. The failure of our military op­ Some issues that a more respon­ erations in South Vietnam. Not for the sible organ might bring to its read­ first time in the war, our govern­ ers' attention are: ment officials are telling the Ameri­ 1. The validity and significance of can people that "the tide has turned." the current "peace offense." For all This time the line is that massive the ballyhoo and scurrying of emis­ American troop reinforcements and saries hither and thither, the John­ saturation bombing are forcing the son administration continues to es­ NLF to go on the defensive, and that calate the war in south Vietnam with they are losing territory which they yet more intensive B-52 bombings of had previously held securely. In real­ hopes is a girl, although with all areas held by the NLF and attempted ity, the NLF has continued to GAIN these new trends going around nothing ground offensives (which tend to get territory steadily. Not only are young SNAFU is certain. It is, of course, entirely bogged down). Americans fighting for the wrong possible that the man is being at­ cause; they are losing. By LAURENCE TATE tacked by a small bear and/or a large In addition, on the charge that dog, in which case the real moral Cambodia is giving sanctuary to the 4. The atrocities committed by I don't want to be known as an in­ decision belongs to the bear and/or NLF armed forces (disproved by "our side." Yes, the NLF IS guilty veterate reader of Time magazine, dog. If this is the case, I must really Seymour Topping of the New York of atrocities. We had better accept but in the course of my association agree with the existentialists that all Times and denied by Norodom Si­ the fact that revolutions do not happen with "The Paper" (which, like at guidelines are irrelevant. hanouk, who invites international in­ in velvet boxes. I deplore those atro­ least one other publication, is against But I digress. vestigation), Johnson has authorized cities. But there is a qualitative all the dumb things that are going U.S. forces to invade Cambodian ter­ difference between the soldiers of the on) I've been drawn irresistibly to Most of the article talks about the ritory. Liberation Front assassinating a vil­ it. Last week I came across an ar­ conflict between strict dogmatists and middle-of-the-roaders on such sub­ The Administration refuses to even lage chief who has collaborated in an ticle on the subject of (so help me) American effort to put his people in "situation ethics." (If you're like jects as marriage, abortion and consider admitting the NLF to any "transient sex liaisons." negotiations. And the continued pre­ a strategic hamlet and the soldiers me, your immediate thought is, "Does of the U.S. Army burning the entire this have any relation to situation On the strict side are included the sence of American forces in South Pope and a number of Catholic the­ Vietnam remains a precondition to village, the rice paddies, and bags comedy?" That you must judge for of rice plainly marked "gift of the yourself.) ologians; on the liberal side range any negotiations. In other words, Karl Barth, St. Augustine, and Martin despite the smoke screen of the USA." (This scene was shown over In any case, the article gets off to CBS TV news last week.) Luther. (This should give the reader "peace offensive," the position of the a rousing start: some idea of the spectrum of opin­ U.S. government on Vietnam has in no 5. The sudden disappearance of the "To the classical Christian moral­ ion always available in Time maga­ way been changed. two U.S. soldiers who were released ist, the teachings of the church are zine.) moral imperatives that apply always 2. The validity of the charge that by the NLF in November. Sergeants It is of course impossible as aTWayBT'* the U.S. is "imperialist" in Viet­ George Smith and George McClure and everywhere to men faced with an ethical decision. To the modern day to penetrate Time's rigorous object nam (my reference to this partic­ have "dropped from sight" in Oki­ tivity, but it is significant that the ularly incensed the State News, or so nawa after giving a press conference existentialist, all guidelines are ir­ relevant; he argues that any authen­ situation-ethics crowd is given the it seems). Americans do not like to be in Cambodia during which they an­ final say in the article. And, by the told that our government is imper­ nounced plans to tell the American tic decision must arise spontaneously from man's inner sense of what the end, Time feels cozy enough with the ialist in its foreign policy, and we are people the truth about the situation in concept to call it 'situationism,* which constantly being told that there is no Vietnam. situation demands. Today, a number of Christian theologians expound a has the sound of real best-seller, direct U.S. financial interest at stake 6. The erosion of our civil liber­ like "togetherness." in Vietnam. third way—halfway between the two ties caused by the war. Julian Bond— Now, the basic premise of situa­ the legally elected Georgia state leg­ previous paths—which they call 'sit­ Yet our major oil corporations are uation' or 'contextual' ethics." tionism is that acts "take on moral right now engaged in a major building islator—is denied his seat because he value only in relation to circum­ operation at Cam Ranh Bay (in co­ opposes the war. Students at Ann Ar­ Well, this sounds appealing; sort of stances." In other words, something operation with the Army) that will bor lose their student draft defer­ a compromise between the Absurd and may be good if certain things are make it a highly important installa- ments because they sit in at a draft the ridiculous. true, and not good if other things are board. Several Gl's who have dem­ At this point (and it is a wonder true. Have we all got that? onstrated against the war receive it has taken this long) one's gaze varying stockade sentences. This has wanders over to the illustrative pho­ I can't really say I've been bowled Lay Down Your reached the point where the American tograph, which shows a scene on a over by the originality of the idea, Civil Liberties Union is considering hillside with the caption "A moral but it's refreshing to find out that just opposing the war (which would be the decision: Only in context are acts by believing what I've always believed Weary Tune first time in its existence that it has good or bad." Now, except for the un­ I've become part of a bold new the­ commented on foreign policy) because deniable hillside, it is far from clear ological trend. I can envision already If David Freedman comes by, tell of the war's drastic domestic effects. just what the contest of this par­ the effect the article will have on the him that a song isn't supposed to bring ticular act is, since all that can be pulpits of our nation. "influence to bear upon the problems These are just a few of the issues made out is what appears to be a Situationism will sweep the flocks it purports to examine." the State News might bring up, were supine male figure with one knee of America, and soon everyone will Lyric is a fragile art and a limited it a responsible newspaper. If it raised, upon whom lies an indeter­ be talking about it at parties. (After one. One emotion is enough to express • wanted to go a step further, it might minate dark mass that one rather Continued on Page 8 in one poem. even do an article (or a series of Poets, singers and writers who have a need to express more complex re­ articles) on the role of this very lationships would do well to imitate university in Vietnam. Shakespeare and Browning and Mao Robert Scheer, in a pamphlet pub­ THE PAPER Tse Tung by moving on to forms more lished by and obtainable from the Cen­ suited to their genius. Meanwhile, let ter for the Study of Democratic In­ "The Paper" is published by students of Michigan State University as an in­ Dylan express one emotion at a time. stitutions, has revealed some fasci­ dependent alternative to the "established" news media of the university He won't be able to offer alternatives. nating facts about MSU, the CIA and community. It is intended to serve as a forum for the Ideas of all members Vietnam. It seems that our police of the university community on any topic pertinent to the interests of this So? community. Neither Michigan State University nor any branch of its student Freedman also characterizes The administration school trained Ngo Dinh Diem's palace guard and secert government, faculty or administration is to be considered responsible for the Word as "anti-war, anti-hate, anti- form or content of "The Paper." adult and (ostensibly) anti-commer­ police, that Wesley FIshel, working cial." Is it not the "non-adults" closely with (among others) the CIA Please address all correspondence to: whom the (ostensibly) fast-maturing and Cardinal Spellman, played a large "The Paper" youth criticize? role in bringing Ngo Dinh Diem to 1730 Haslett Road To borrow a phrase from another power and securing him U.S. support. East Lansing, Michigan, 48823 Dylan article on the same page: It To date the State News' only re­ Tel.: 351-5679 or 351-6516 must be noted, however, In any crit­ action to this report has been to so­ Editor Michael Kindman icism of Freedman that his articles licit and print a denial from Mr. Arts Editor Laurence Tate remain far more interesting criti­ Fishel. Fund Chairman John Wooley cally than anything else thus far writ­ Advertising Robert Maronpot But then again, if the State News Inspirations This Time Ramparts, Esquire ten in "The Paper's" issue-by-issue were to discuss these things, Mr. rehash of old Bob Dylan record blurbs. Berman might not like it Vol. I No. 4 January 27, 1966 10 cents "ANDY" Brian Keleher "The Paper," East Lansing, Michigan, January 27, 1966 3 The American Way Of Dissent

DANIEL WALDEN is an assistant road of improvement, for we are professor of American Thought and making Experiments." Language, as well as a writer of As for those concerned only for numerous articles on Negro history themselves, Franklin wrote: "They and the politics of dissent.—The Edi­ tors. that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety de­ serve neither liberty nor safety." By DANIEL WALDEN A NOBLE EXPERIMENT Justice Holmes once observed that The subject before us is Dissent. "the constitution is an experiment, Let me state my position at the out­ as all life is an experiment." This set. As I see it, not only has dissent means that life is filled with chance in America been a socially produc­ and risk. And chance and risk depend tive dynamic, but it has been a nec­ on the intelligence, the fortitude and essary one. In every era there have the virtue of the American people. been men who have struggled versus man Morrison, a Quaker, burned him­ A HISTORY OF DISSENT The other side of the coin expresses those who fought, usually irrationally, self to death because he dissented to maintain the status quo, no matter From the beginning, our history has from the prevailing view on the war in been rooted in dissent. The decision the conditions, no matter the need for Vietnam. change. to leave the Old World for the New 2. Two years ago, William Scranton World, the decision to break with Far from being a necessarily nasty and Nelson Rockefeller felt compelled community, with church, and even with word, a word that conjures up lurid to dissent from a powerful conser­ the state reflected an adventurous and images of fanatics with beards and vative minority in the Republican par­ experimental attitude. "We hope to bombs, dissent IS the American way. ty. (As of a few days ago, according plant a nation where none before hath From the Puritan beginnings, to the to Barry Goldwater, they are still been," wrote an early Virginia chron­ immediate present, America has been being blamed for the Arizonan's icler. crushing and humiliating defeat.) blessed with a succession of princi­ What was true of the early pioneers pled and concerned men, aware of the 3. Not so long ago students in Berk­ in a national sense was also true discrepancy between our announced eley rioted for what they considered philosophically. The experiment of credo and our practice, and determin­ just cause—freedom of speech. The nationalism, of the federal system, of ed to activate their moral concern. criticisms are still vicious and lurid. a new colonial system, of the sep­ Regardless of the specific grievances, In the words of California's super­ aration of church and state, of the the point is that time and again Amer­ intendent of public instruction, the practice of democracy and of equal­ icans have NOT been satisfied to have leaders were "odd, hairy people, ex­ ity—all were experimental and de­ their thinking done for them or their uding a visible aura of unwashed dis- pended in each generation on those social and economic status rigidified. inhabitation." As he saw it, "the pur­ who would struggle against the forces The principles, in short, was all- pose of higher education is pursuit holding back change and adaptation. of truth, not to bring about a new important; men were willing to strug­ Not that the cost was slight. In gle for their natural rights, for jus­ social order." On the other hand, as Alfred North Whitehead saw it, "The order to move toward pluralism Rog­ tice, for the freedom to think and speak, er Williams had to challange the oli­ for the equal right to intelligently clash of doctrines is not a disaster, it is opportunity.** garchies and constricting Establish­ choose among alternatives. ment of his day. "We are and ought It is with this ongoing struggle, But of course this is precisely the to be non-conformitants" was his be­ the yearning for certainty—the em­ to the continuing tensions that have point, for quite often the pursuit of lief. He was banished for his ef­ bracing of an illusive security that helped America evolve, and to the con­ truth in America has been, as George forts. comes through the familiar, the tra­ tinuing necessity for that avenue of Washington observed, an experiment It is my contention, then, that plur­ ditional, the dogmatic and the abso­ social evolution, that this paper is entrusted to the hands of the Ameri­ lute. concerned. can people. In short, in Benjamin alism and experimentation character­ ize our society. Not content with a In this vein, in the world we know To be sure, dissent is not confin­ Franklin's words: "By the collision of different sentiments, sparks of theocracy, America innovated scores today, people often want guarantees ed to any particular part of the society of churches and religions, and a new that teachers will conform to certain or political spectrum. truth are struck out, and political light is obtained/* political philosophy. notions of Americanism, or loyalty, 1. A courageous man named Nor­ It can be pointed out that our pol­ or what have you. It is forgotten that itics is an exception. So it is. Our enforced conformity is totalitarian basic political principles ARE abso­ and makes irremediable mistakes. lutist^ and unitary. But—because the People also want guarantees that students will not be exposed to dan­ FIRST ANNUAL ROSE BOWL J«*VE gerous ideas, or controversial ideas. We try Again, it is forgotten that only by harder. familiarity with ideas can young peo­ ple mature, grow, develop, and be­ come adults capable of distinguishing THE PAPER between the true and the false. For in the last analysis, to again quote Jus­ tice Holmes, "the ultimate good de­ sired is better reached by free trade in ideas." And that is dissent.

Founders were both deistically dog­ FREEDOM OF THOUGHT matic and yet pragmatic, too, our It isn't easy being number two. Our leading competitor constitutional system has been pro­ Ideas! This word "ideas" brings says 35,000 students read his publication. We can only gressively adapted to the changing up extraordinary connotations. Free­ say that our readers care. He says he writes for the circumstances of the 19th and 20th dom of speech, and of the press, the average student. We only write what we think we'd like centuries. freedom of inquiry, criticism, dis­ to read if we weren't writing it. Again, the cost was felt. Jeffer­ sent—all are guaranteed to us, and all We can't promise that what you read in "The Paper" son, who believed that a little re­ are predicated on ideas. will be read and liked by 35,000 other students. We're bellion now and then watered the tree Still, as Jefferson knew, each gen­ only number two, and our readers may even be a minor­ of liberty, who challenged the Fed­ eration must vindicate these free­ ity. eralist establishment, was told by doms anew, and for itself. So it has But we can offer you better writing than our competitor. President Timothy Dwight of Yale been, so it is now. Time and again, that his 1800 triumph would mean the attack on non-orthodoxy and non­ And we promise you more careful editing, and personal conformity hasbeen mounted. Then, attention to our readers* thoughts and reactions. We have that "our churches would become temples of reason, our psalms of and now, the consequences of that at­ to. We're only number two. praise Marseillaise hymns, our wives tack must be described. and daughters the victims of legal It is when we recognize those who Subscribe now and help us stay number two: prostitution . . . and our sons dis­ would put fetters on the right of crit­ ciples of Voltaire and the dragoons icism, dissent and nonconformity, of Marat." The spectre raised re­ and consider the implications of their $1 for ten issues minds us of the ugliness of Salem, conduct, that we realize that free­ 1692, and McCarthy, in the 1950's. dom and criticism and dissent are not $1.50 for two terms Of course, the real feat of impos­ only a right, but a necessity. Name ing organic political practices on "We hold these truths to be self- static constitutional principles, of evident," wrote Jefferson, the deist, Street developing an evolutionary and ex­ the nationalist, the absolutist; but it perimental political system out of was Jefferson the dissenter and prag- City, State, Zip a rigid constitutional framework, was matist who wrote that whenever gov­ done by men. In contrast to those ernment becomes destructive of these who said, with Pangloss, "this is the ends action should be taken to reme­ 1730 Haslett Road East Lansing best of all possible worlds," Benja­ dy the defects. min Franklin wrote to a friend in Not long after the age of Jeffer- 1786: "We are I think in the right Continued on Page 7 The Revolt Of Theatre: A Controversy

The following letter was received I find the favorable reviews in the would become a reality. Loathing the o'erweigh a whole theater of others. after the appearance of the first is­ State Journal to be equally as in­ play, I went to it from some ob­ If a critic sees a play and writes sue of "The Paper/* which included adequate as those found in the State scure sense of duty, found the pro­ a "critical analysis of a theatrical Laurence Tate's theatre review, "The News and "The Paper." To put it on duction uninteresting in itself and left performance" in which he brushes off Season So Far."—The Editors a higher level, you have an obligation at the second intermission. the script as irrelevant, he has either as a journalist working for a free When I came to review the season spent a very unusual evening in the To describe the reviewing efforts press to substantiate your opinions. some weeks later, I did not feel the theatre or badly falsified his exper­ of Brad Smith as "manure" is per­ If you don't, regardless of their glib- show was worth more than a couple ience. And vice-versa. (Admittedly, haps unfair—unfair in the sense that ness, they do not belong in print. of paragraphs. Had "The Paper" been I've spent some very unusual theat­ his work is of such an inadequate I sincerely hope that I have offer­ in operation at the time of the pro­ rical evenings at MSU, but that is quality that he is deserving of sym­ ed some information that will be of duction, I would have stayed the entire neither here nor there at present.) pathy and not condemnation. value to you in your future efforts. evening and written a detailed review. It is simply preposterous to ex­ But you, Mr. Tate, have a head on I'm assuming, of course, Mr. Tate, I tend to doubt that Mr. Abry would pect a playgoer to sit in a theatre your shoulders; you know what you that you really don't want to be "just have been pleased with the results, and take note, quite systematically, do and cannot be so easily excused. glib" and play "God." I'm assuming, but I would have perhaps escaped the of the respective merits of the scene I followed your efforts as the State Mr. Tate, that you really give a damn. accusation that I fail to support my design, lighting, stage movement, etc. News "critic'* through the major por­ Edward Abry opinions. It there is something worth saying tion of last year's season, and when Graduate student in theatre But perhaps not. Since Mr. Abry's about these things, it will come out your reviews ceased to appear, I criticisms are based primarily on my as part of his total response. Critics assumed that either you or your su­ Laurence Tate replies: late unlamented State News days, too often fall into the fallacy of feel­ perior had seen the light . . . C'est I have read Mr. Abry's letter a there is one more circumstance to be ing obligated to manufacture some­ la vie. number of times, and I am still not clarified before we get to the heart thing to say about things they have no To begin with, Mr. Tate, I don't sure I know what his precise crit­ of the argument. What I wrote and what real feelings about. I have manu­ believe you have ever written a the­ icisms are. was printed in the State News under factured such inanities on occasion, atre review. I define a review as a The major one—that I seem not to my name often had remarkable little and regretted it. critical analysis of a theatrical per­ subscribe to his definition of a the­ relation to each other. Finally: OF COURSE I can dis­ formance. Despite an occasional men­ atre review—is clear enough, and I I had then a rather stronger lit­ miss a production if the script is tion of the performance you claim shall deal with it shortly. His further erary bias than I hope I have now, awful. All the sincere work that went to have seen (I know you were there), criticisms seem to be 1) that, being but I almost always wrote in some into "Goa" just compounded the em­ your basic criticism has always been conceited, I am inclined to "play detail about the specifics of the per­ barrassment. If Mr. Abry thinks any of the author's work. You don't like God"; 2) that, being incompetent, I formance. A great deal of the detail non-masochistic critic is going to the play "Taming of the Shrew"; am employing various subterfuges to was cut. However, I cannot believe, spend his life going over the acting, "The Crucible" and "Goa" you hold disguise my ignorance of theatre; and judging by some of Mr. Abry's com­ costuming, and scene design in pro­ in contempt. You are certainly en­ 3) that I fail to substantiate my opin­ ments, that he has read all the re­ ductions of that calibre, he is quix­ titled to your opinion, but as a critic ions. views he claims to have read. His otic, to say the least. you are not entitled to dismiss a I shall not argue the question of my description of what was printed is Well, that is that. If I have been production on the grounds that you conceit. simply not accurate. glib, I apologize. If Mr. Abry will do or do not like the script. I have not been consciously em­ Now: Mr. Abry defines a theatre excuse me, I want to quit while I It is my opinion that you use this ploying self-defensive subterfuges. review as a "critical analysis of a still give a damn. technique as an excuse for not an­ I have tried to say what I had to say theatrical performance." He lists alyzing the production, the actual in a decently readable way, period. such aspects of performance as light­ reason being that you are not qual­ As for my competence, the most im­ ing, costuming, and scene design, and ified to analyze it—a fault that could portant thing is that I think I have asserts that it is to be inadequate be excusable if you didn't insist on reasonably good taste. to neglect any one of them. He fur­ playing God. After all, who is mightier Beyond that. I have for many years ther asserts that a production cannot than a "Critic of the Theatre?" gone to the theatre as often as I could, be dismissed because the script is Perhaps the only people who are in New York and London, in Chicago bad. He concedes the critic the right <9£ a sufficiently concerned about the in­ and Detroit, and of course at MSU. to express his loathing for a play, adequacy of your "reviews" are in I have read a considerable number of but seems to relegate such expres­ the theatre department, and if we plays, and a number of books about sion to a drastically subordinate po­ REPORT complain, it sounds like "sour theatre. I follow the better critics sition. grapes." I shall risk that charge and (Robert Brustein, Albert Bermel, I honestly don't know what to make By JIM DEFOREST your glib phrases because as a theatre Kenneth Tynan, etc.) and draw such of all this. Taken liberally, it seems major I consider it my responsibility. lessons as seem pertinent. The de­ innocuous. Pushed to extremes, it is Many Spartans are planning to spend To write a "review" one should gree of my competence is naturally insidious, the sort of straw man Spring Break in a fairer climate than limited by my youth, but nobody has ours—like Siberia? have an expansive knowledge of act­ that Mr. Abry would not be com­ * * * ing, stage movement and composi­ world enough and time anyway, and we fortable trying to prop up for very tion, scene design, lighting and cos­ must all face that. I want to learn a long. LBJ scores the diplomatic coup of great deal more about theatre. the yearl He sends diplomats roving tuming. To leave any of these areas I wish Mr. Abry had taken time to to resolve the peace in Vietnam, unmentioned is to be less than ade­ Mr. Abry's assertion that I fail to say what he means by a "theatrical then names one of his Beagle pup­ quate. support my opinions is susceptible of performance." If the term does not pies after the opposition's leader. I I should make one last point very several interpretations, and is per­ very importantly include the script thought he'd NEVER top that picture haps not a separate point. However, (and it seems not to), the definition clear, Mr. Tate. I do not object to of his gall stone scar. your dislike or disgust for the ma­ since Mr. Abry directed last term's is clearly nonsense. It is an extra­ * * * jority of productions presented this production of "The Crucible," and ordinary and not necessarily welcome season. As a critic this is your right. since in a summary report of the thing in the theatre to see a per­ Poverty is related to Virtue. When Certainly it is possible for an entire season I dismissed the production in formance that is interesting in itself, I'm broke I can't buy beer. season to be bad, and to deny it is two paragraphs, I believe it wise to without relation to the play being * * * to do a disservice to the public, to explain certain circumstances. performed. Many ex-State Newsmen For "The Paper" now write, the people involved in the production, At the time of the production, it A critic ought to be no more than and to your own integrity. All this goes to show my friend, appeared doubtful that "The Paper" a playgoer—well-informed, discrim­ We'd rather switch than . , . . inating, and intelligent, but no dif­ ferent from any other member of the audience except in that he will express his reactions in print. He ought to be the "judicious" playgoer to whom Advertising Space Hamlet refers, "the -censure of the Second Genesis which one must in your allowance in THE PAPER At nineteen I rose from the dead, Coming up in Holmes Hall: Dr. Rob­ Rose from the sacrifice, rose from the bludgeonings, ert Darkie to speak on birth control is available My sacrificial blood bled out, and the population explosion, 7 p.m., No more the Abraham-yielded calf. Wed., Feb. 2, in Room 106 Holmes; Contact Us Now James Hundley, assistant professor of Call 351-5679 or And now, sociology, to speak on student protest Twenty-one, I hold breath, movements, 8 p.m., Wed., Feb. 9, 351-6516 Can walk the land, same room. My proud passion sown— All masquerades rolled away With the vault-stone. MSU Jazz Ensemble Northern Michigan Jazz Band Western Michigan Jazz Band Central Michigan Jazz Band Two years, then, of wakefulness, And I, least alone, INTERCOLLEGIATE JAZZ FESTIVAL Have found loneliness something not unkind, Erickson Kiva Sat. Jan. 29 at 2 and 8 p.m. Have discovered best the whole tickets at: Union Ticket Office, Music Department, Marshall Far, far surpasses any sum of tireless, perfect Music, Cap and Gown Series Office^ (Kellogg Center) parts. Students $1.50 Adults $2.00 ELAINE CAHILL "The Paper," East Lansing, Michigan, January 27, 1966 5

The Square Root Of Zero Coming Up To Cannon Is Like Coming Up To Kools

By RICHARD A. OGAR ibly boorish tent-campers, among them the wealthy Liggets—Arch (Don Always leery of appeals to popular Woodbury), May (Mary Bower), and culture, I walked into the State The­ their strikingly beautiful daughter, ater fully expecting to see a self­ Jane (Leslie Davis). And finally, consciously hip version of "Beach Zero's self - characterization ''col­ Blanket Bingo," Pop and camp were laborates" with May to write a very in, and I was certain that the huck­ bad play which is presented at a camp sters had finally decided that it was in show, and imagines a mock-marriage securely enough to risk a little money between Alan and Jane. The result William Cannon calls this his "Antonioni shot." in exploiting it. is that the film, although it takes But after talking to the film's di­ off from reality, goes so far beyond rector before the show, I wasn't so it that the process becomes revers­ sure any more: William Cannon didn't ed, and art itself becomes the reality. strike me as being a huckster— moreover, he wasn't in the least pre­ Cannon accomplishes a similar sort An Interview With tentious. In fact, he seemed like of sleight-of-hand with his charac­ nothing worse than a man who had ters, most of whom, in the comic turned over years of hard work to tradition, are stereotypes. But the the public and was scared to death stereotypes are exaggerated to such William Cannon they wouldn't treat it well. And be­ an extent that they become self-par­ fore 15 minutes of the film had pass­ odies. (The best example is Nell, the ed through the projector, I knew I vacationing prostitute, whom Jeri Ar­ As I talked with William Cannon we waited outside the State Theater cher—the Belle Poitrine of Patrick before the second showing of "The for someone to bring the car around, was wrong; "The Square Root of Zero" wasn't camp or pop—it was Dennis' novel "Little Me"—brings to Square Root of Zero/* I began to a young man approached Cannon and delightfully decadent life.) wonder if he would hold out for the told him how much he had enjoyed just good imaginative fun. rest of the evening. He was per­ the film, although, he confessed, there Cannon makes no secret of the fact Ineptly handled this device could spiring quite heavily, and seemed were parts of it he hadn't under­ that he wants to entertain, and it is degenerate into mere burlesque, but unable to stand in any one position stood. Cannon seemed surprised, and unfortunate that the word has be­ Cannon evades the trap by his use for more than a moment or two. asked what it was he hadn't under­ come such a critical pejorative. The of understatement. The characters He spoke in bursts, each cluster of stood; the young man fumbled for reason it has is, of course, easy to may be outrageous, but they do not words separated from the others by words, and then admitted that he hadn't understand; the avowed aim of Holly­ behave outrageously; over-done and a nervous laugh and a wave of his understood a bit of it. Cannon laughed: wood is entertainment, and it is very under - reacting, they become ex­ cigarette. But once the show was "Maybe we ought to start watching difficult to deny that Hollywood pro­ tremely funny even when they behave over and the crowds were gone, Can­ you." duces incredibly bad pictures. But it normally. non relaxed—his sentences grew is quite wrong to assume they're bad Although much of the humor is de­ It struck me afterwards that this rived from situation and dialogue, longer, and he laughed only when one phrase summed up Cannon's aim because they're entertaining: all art— there was a reason to laugh. The or­ even the most serious—must enter­ Cannon also makes full use of tech­ in producing motion pictures: he wants nical effects, such as stop-action or deal was over, and he felt that his people to watch him, or, rather that tain if it hopes to have any sort of film had passed the test. audience. reversal of either the film or sound part of him which is projected on the w track. Perhaps the most notable ef­ But more important, he had passed screen. He doesn't feel compelled to Unlike many contemporary artists, fect is the spirit-type writer which the test as well, for Cannon finds it make statements about the nature of however, Cannon refuses to excuse clacks out direct quotes from Zero's difficult to separate himself from his things, nor to invest his films with himself by explaining that entertain­ novel—complete with misspellings work ("I can't bear to think of its material for the symbol-hunters. All ment is a vehicle for "higher values" and revisions—across the bottom of being shown when I'm not here," he he asks is that he be allowed to be of some sort; with deliberate contra­ the screen. But Cannon can be funny confessed.) This was pointed up in one funny; everything else follows from riness, he has made entertainment his with nothing but a camera as, in a of those incidents which, as though that, for he feels that humor derives sole concern, and has proved, more­ brilliant parody of the Hollywood Yankee Stadium were suddenly lit with from truth and that truth is the sub­ over, that it is no detriment to art. staple, he focuses upon Nell's some­ a flashlight, seems to provide illu­ stance of art. So convinced is he of the truth of what ancient derriere (scarcely cov­ mination far beyond its potential. Cannon seems to be singularly free his proposition that Cannon has made ered by her skimpy bikini) and takes My wife and I were to join Cannon a deliberate attempt to remove his in every pucker of fatty tissue with and several others for coffee, and as Continued on Page 6 film from reality to such a degree loving care. that it nearly becomes an exercise in aesthetic distance. If art is by defini­ If the movie has a major flaw, it tion once removed from reality, "The must be the tinge of amateurishness 'THE PAPER'S' CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS Square Root of Zero" is always at which creeps in every so often. But two, and occasionally at three, remov­ one could hardly expect that it es, for Cannon presents his audience wouldn't: this is Cannon's first feature How can we say that, when we haven't even run a clas­ with a pudgy self-professed beatnik film, produced on an extremely low sified column yet? Easy: we ran one little ad last week( named Zero (Michael Egan) who budget, and most of his actors had no writes novels in his sleep, his fing­ prior experience in film-acting. And ATTENTION MEN—Looking for company? Three ers ranging feverishly over the keys of it may be that these defects actually coeds are looking for fun but not husbands. Must an imaginary typewriter. re-enforce Cannon's theme: for if the be over 21, looking for like relationship. Call any acting is undeniably that of the stage, time after 10 p.m. Zero then takes over the creative everything is that much more arti­ reins and "thinks" a novel in which ficial, and if the mikes aren't always he and his best friend Alan (James ) and the three girls involved received about 100 calls placed correctly it's just that much Gavin) row to an island off the coast more real. during the week. of Maine where they find themselves We don't know whether you will get the same results. in company with a number of incred- Your ad might not capture as many imaginations as this one did. But we guess five or ten thousand people read We would like to apologize for the "The Paper" each week, and we're just beginning to build. photography in this issue. Since the OTHER THINGS AT That provides a few chances for calls. State News has already published pic­ And anyway, where else can you be guaranteed a special tures of every construction site in classified column for coming events (concerts, lectures, the area, we are unable to offer our meetings, parties, happenings) that will be read by every­ readers the creative photography to one who's anyone at MSU. (Perfectly amateur readership which they are accustomed. surveys indicate our readers are among the best any­ where.) QUESTING BEAST "The Paper" is friendly, clean, And where else are you offered a chance to sound off, housebroken, energetic and exciting, 211 ABBOTT ROAD at $1 for 50 words, on anything that upsets you. (We only and it needs a roommate. If you want censor out spelling errors.) to join, please call 351-6516 and be Also, we'll run the usual things, like apartments for prepared to trade $55 a month for Tue.-Sat.: 10:30 to 5:30 rent, lost and found, personals, employment, automobiles, the thrill of your lifetime. Wed; 10 to 8 Hondas, real estate, animals, service. Just $1 an item for any of these. Call 351-5679 or 351-6516 almost anytime, or send to BOOKS BIBLES - REFERENCE - SPECIAL ORDERS 1730 Haslett Road, East Lansing. Deadline is around midnight, the Monday before pub­ SPARTAN BOOK STORE lication. A SUPER MARKET FOR EDUCATION Remember, "The Paper's" classified got results. 223 - 225 Ann Street East Lansing, Michigan BOOKS— CHILDRENS-PAPERBOUNDS-M.S.U. TEXT BOOKS "The Paper," East Lansing, Michigan, January 27, 1966

SDS Leaders Speak Here 'THE MIND THAT STYLES ITSELF RADICAL' Two leaders of the Students for a people who run the government there Democratic Society spoke here last aren't going to go off on any trade Wednesday at a well-attended (150 to missions to Peking. Maybe a similar 200 people) open meeting of the MSU reasoning holds true when we imagine chapter of SDS. Their remarks have the future politics of an independent received the characteristic lambast­ Saigon, as it looks to an independent ing in the local press. Hanoi. There is also the possibility In order to do some justice to the of a very plain kind of market im­ ideas of Carl Oglesby, national pres­ perialism there. ident of SDS, and Mike Locker, of the THE OIL DEVELOPMENT (8 vari) SDS national office, "The Paper" here I'm intrigued by the figure, ap­ reprints excerpts from their informal proaching billions of dollars being talks, as recorded by our somewhat spent by private industry and by the faulty recording equipment. government in the Cam Ranh Bay development. There's a very beauti­ MIKE LOCKER ON POWER STRUCTURES ful natural harbor in Saigon, Cam If I were to study Lansing, spe­ Ranh Bay. Some famous wars were cifically Michigan University (sic), fought there. I'd want to know what kind of rela­ In fact, the bay is now being dug tionships the university has to the, out by the Corps of Engineers so what I'd call the powerful elite . . . that it will be able to accommodate real estate and political (parties), six big ocean-going bottoms, room for labor unions, etc. six oil tankers. In cooperation with Now Hannah, the president, has the Corps of Engineers, Esso and some other associations besides be­ Carl Oglesby Mike Locker Shell are establishing just there at ing president of Michigan University, the harbor what is going to turn out Michigan State. He has some very I think it's possible to describe that CHINA, RICE AND VIETNAM to be the biggest cracking plant in interesting ones. The others on the war in Vietnam and that the descrip­ the East. tion is at bottom one that could There are interesting indications board of directors . . .also have some that there is a revival, incidentally, Now, of course, there are some very very interesting holdings. That is, logically and easily be called an im­ plain military reason for bringing perialist reason . . . of the 1930's co-prosperity sphere their primary function is not to in­ ideology that led Japan into ram­ refinery equipment to Vietnam, but struct the Michigan State University. I would suggest that it may be pos­ page against the mainland. I think . . . the refining equipment that the They have many functions. sible to talk about several different it's also a possibility that there is a military needs has been there as a Now, when I say this, I don't mean kinds of imperialism in the world proscriptive imperialism that takes matter of course, under the banner to imply that these people are con­ now, and that the war in Vietnam account of the rice-producing capa­ of the Shells, the Texacos, and the spiratorial, evil or men with big might be explained in terms of sev­ city of South Vietnam in particular, Essos; it goes there as a matter of cigars in striped suits. They may be eral dimensions of that general cate­ and the terrific need for rice that course when the Army goes. that, but that's not important. gory. China can be counted on to have over What's happening at Cam Ranh Bay The reason these men sit on the It's in the United States' inter­ the years ahead of us.^ is bigger than all that. Now, if we are Michigan State University board is ests, for example, to maintain a very going to commit that kind of money, a very functional reason. In certain powerful ally in Asia in Japan. Now, Then maybe one of the things we that kind of energy to developing Cam other activities they need these types Japan presently doing a great deal want to do is deprive China of access Ranh Bay, I don't believe that John­ of positions. For instance, if some­ of traffic with American business is to food that it sorely needs. In this son is telling the truth when he says body from Michigan State sits on a nevertheless in need of establishing case, even though we have no need we seek no territorial gains of our large bank in Lansing, which I bet itself in Asia proper. Japan needs food at all for the rice that South Viet­ own. I think it's clear that from de­ they do, I would venture to say that and as time goes by it will need nam can produce, it may be very im­ velopments such as this that the Uni­ you'll find the accounts of the Uni­ more and more. And Japan being in­ portant for us to keep China away ted States must have already com­ versity of Michigan (sic) in that creasingly productive industrially is from that rice. mitted itself long since to a very long- bank. If they sit on a construction going to need market outlets more One way to do that is to hang on term stay in Southeast Asia, in South company, there's a good chance, say, and more. to South Vietnam to insure that the Vietnam in particular . . . it's the construction company they use . . . JAPAN AND VIETNAM

CARL OGLESBY ON THE LIBERAL MIND I don't think it will strike as a ness before it's an art or a craft." very favorable development to the Cannon The idea for "The Square Root of What is the fundamental difference American businessman that Japan Continued from Page 5 between the mind that styles itself Zero", says Cannon, came to him will start selling her industrial pro­ of that pretentiousness which infects after he learned that a friend of his liberal and the mind that styles it­ ducts in the United States. As a mat­ self radical? It has to do with this so many contemporary experimenters owned an island off the coast of ter of fact, the use by Japan of the in the arts. Despite the advertising Maine where people came for the priv­ question—can a system's inequities United States as a market may strike be changed by the system itself. for the film, he does not feel that it ilege of living in a tent for a few fear into the hearts of a great many is particularly new-wave: "It's not weeks. He wrote his script in a month: Now, what the liberal says is that people . . . camp, it's not pop art, it's not a hap­ there wasn't any real hurry, except making empire is only forced on a It is now possible for Japanese pening—it's just me," he says, and that, as Cannon says, "I was broke, nation with the financial and struc­ steel producers to sell a ton of steel documents it by adding that he wrote I had my new degree, and if something tural dynamic of the United States in the United States at a price lower a play in essentially the same style didn't happen fast, I would have to get and it is, after all, the time-hon­ than what has to be charged by Beth- when he was 12 (he is now 28). a job." ored course for great nations to elehem Steel, U.S. Steel and so on. take. It's one of the ways that en­ Cannon is rather distressed by Once he had the script, he searched courage the United States toward The feeling (among American bus­ people who insist on reading ulterior for someone willing to give him $75, many, many roles simply because the inessmen) is that unless something meanings into his film, and feels that 000. "I felt that more would be pre­ United States exists in itself in the is done to cut back the urgency of the fault stems from a college educa­ sumptuous for a first effort, and less particular way that it does. It has developing for the war, American tion. Professors, he says, tend to would be asking for failure") andfin- some quantity of power, some quan­ business is going to find itself in the make the student suspicious of any­ ally got help from Mark Lawrence, tity of excitement, a quantity of ac­ very silly position—the industrial thing which seems obvious by insist­ the man who also backed "David and celeration that naturally extends it power of the world confronting Ja­ ing that the simple is merely a mask Lisa" and "Lord of the Flies." toward other places and that natur­ pan, just decades ago on its back, for the complex, that nothing is as it When I remarked that "The Square ally results in the dominating of their and unable to compete in the sphere actually appears, and that to miss the Root of Zero" looked as though it countries by our society . . . of her own market. For these and hidden values is to miss everything. had been fun to make, Cannon dis­ other reasons, it may seem to Am­ Thus, the student is convinced that if agreed; fun on the screen, he in­ a movie seems quite clear to him, he IMPERIALISM IN VIETNAM erican policy-makers important to sisted, is the result of hard work on establish other markets, other sourc­ has somehow missed the point. the set. More than talent, he says, Something like the relationship that es for Japan in Asia. Now an impor­ Cannon is himself a college grad­ making a movie requires diligence: Mike just talked about as between tant one can be Viet Nam, especially uate, although he feels that he had to "It is easy to come up with something American corporations (in the Do­ South Vietnam. "undo" his education somewhat be­ that is good, but not so easy to come minican Republic) could be shown fore he was prepared to devote him­ up with something that is good also to exist between American cor­ South Vietnam produces a lot of self to film. He received a B.A. from enough." Cannon suggests that those porations in Vietnam. Then it would rice and Japan consumes all the rice Columbia and went on to pursue a making their first film shouldn't know be a clear matter of the sustaining she can get hold of. Vietnam is going masters in fine arts (which he didn't too much about how to make one: "If of an imperial sphere of influence to be industrializing herself one day, complete,) and a masters in business you know too much you'll be fright­ for good, hard-headed simple eco­ if this war ever gets over, and Japan administration (which he did). Cannon ened and it will never be made. You nomic reasons. would like to have a place to sell felt the M.B.A. was necessary if he should, however, THINK you know In our effort to explain the reasons machine tools. It may be then that expected to succeed as a producer, everything. More important, the peo­ for the war we've confronted real one of the reasons for fighting the war for all the ideas in the world are ple around you should THINK you difficulty in explaining it this way, in Vietnam ... is that we wage a useless without the money to put them know what YOU'RE doing, because because it doesn't appear that Viet­ war of proxy imperialism that's fun­ on film: "Few saw the connection to they don't know what they're doing nam is in any case a clear eco­ damentally taken with the name of becoming a filmmaker,". ' he says, either." nomic or market imperialism. Now, another state. "but I did. Making movies is a busl- R.A.O. "The Paper/' East Lansing, Michigan, January 27, 1966 7

the duty of the individual to follow preme Court warned in the Barnett Dissent the higher law. With this assertion flag-salute case, that "compulsory Thoreau announced that he was not unification of opinion achieves only Continued from Page 3 born to be forced: he could not for an the unanimity of the graveyard." instant recognize that political or­ Finally, it should be kept in mind son, there were the New England re­ ganization as HIS government which that a dissenting minority today may formers. Transcendentalists, they of­ was also' the slave government's. be a majority tomorrow. Senator Ful- ten acted like English utilitarians. Thoreau put it this way: "Unjust bright was recently called names by a They not only insisted on inalienable laws exist: shall we be content to few of his colleagues for his criti­ rights, but they considered the con­ obey them, or shall we endeavor to cism of the foreign policies of the sequences of the denial of these amend them, and obey them until we Johnson administration, and the Pres­ rights. have successed, or shall we trans­ ident regarded Fulbright's criticism For this reason, William Ellery gress them at once?" as a kind of personal rebuke if not Channing celebrated the decline of personal and party disloyalty. Yet Puritanism by emphasizing man's MEN FIRST Fulbright believed that "far from be­ reason over authority. In Theodore ing the danger many of us make it Parker's view: Thoreau's answer; if the injustice teetotaler, a believer in mesmerism out to be, responsible dissent is one "is of such a- nature that it re­ and Rochester rappings." And keep in of the great strengths of democracy." We are a rebellious nation. Our quires you to be the agent of injus­ mind that the Richmond Enquirer whole history is treason; our blood tice to another, then, I say, break wrote in 1856 that the slogan of the was tained before we were born; the law." That is, "we should be Republican party ought to be "free . our creeds are infidelity to the mother men first, and subjects afterward," niggers, free women, free land, free church; our constitution, treason to love, and Fremont." our fatherland. What of that? Though for, he concluded, "There will never all the governors in the world bid us be a really free and enlightened Think! What if - these dangerous commit treason against MAN, and set State until the State comes to rec­ ideas HAD been silenced? That they the example, let U6 never submit. ognize the individual as a higher and weren't was not because the censors independent power, from which all its were lazy. No—the costs were too Similarly, as Thoreau observed, own power and authority are derived, high. when the doctrines of morality and and treats him accordingly." As Today, as the pressure for con­ political expediency clashed, it was Frederick Douglass knew, "If there is formity mounts again we must recall no struggle, there is no progress." our long tradition of freedom, plur­ So it was with Thoreau, a man with alism and experimentation. THE LESSON OF DISSENT long hair, who often didn't shave, who We must abhor the principle of cen­ often dressed carelessly and was sorship and the principle of con­ If there is a lesson in this event called by some the Village Nut. In formity that assumes THE TRUTH is and others of similar vein in the last his time, of course, many wished know, and that anything that deviates decade or so, it is, according to he, and Lincoln, and others were sil­ from that known truth is heresy. James Reston, "not that there has ent. But the practical consequences of We must recall the roster of names been too much criticism but that silencing him would have been OR­ we honor—Jefferson, Paine, Adams, there has been too little and that THODOXY. P. Henry, Emerson, Thoreau, Brown- usually it has been too late." The To illustrate this, think of the crit­ son, Jackson, Lincoln, Whitman, Hen­ democratic process, in an ethical icisms of the abolitionists in the ry George, Bellamy, Howells, Henry framework, must be kept open and 1950's. "Whenever you found an ab­ Demarest Lloyd, Debs, Crane, Drei­ viable. olitionist," wrote a Boston paper, ser, Norris, Douglass, DuBois, James The point is that in the United "you found an anti-hanging man, (a) Farmer, Martin Luther King, and so States where there is a discrepancy woman's rights' man, an infidel . .. a on. between our professed ideals and our socialist, a red republican, a fanatic We must remember, as the Su- practice—that is, concerning free­ dom of speech, equality of treatment and opportunity for all, regardless of color or creed, and equal justice— then it is the duty of Americans to Why They Lock You Up At Night work openly to close the gap. This is what Franklin and White­ head had in mind, it is what Myrdal ous:) "Closing hours exist to pre­ ing of the buck utterly fails to show was writing about, it is what Ful­ By DOUGLAS LACKEY clude premarital sex involving women why the rules MUST be as they are. bright was trying to do, it is what students." This "reason" at least A) There is no LOGICAL connec­ Martin Luther King and the Negro explains the strange asymmetry of the tion between "in loco" and closing rights movement are attempting. The MSU offers few spectacles so cur­ rules for women as opposed to men— hours—U. of M. is a state univer­ challenge is here, what is wanting ious and so stupid as its lemming­ but it is A) ineffective and B) un­ sity and has none. is the will. Remember, feel, think, like migrations to women's dorms justifiable: B) The university in fact on this act—for truly, "The clash of doc­ each night at closing hours. This phe­ issue is NOT acting "in loco paren­ trines is not a disaster, it is an op­ nomenon can be no more rationally A. The rule is completely inef­ tis": a) It has never polled the parents fective since it operates only between portunity," to build a better world explained than scientists can explain of Michigan as to whether they de­ for all, literally. the movements of lemmings: indeed, one and seven. Obviously it fails to sire their daughters to be locked up these problems might be the same. stop sex in the 18 remaining hours. each night, b) The university assumes, Let me enumerate the reasons why Perhaps the university believes that with its standardized rules, that all closing hours exist, and why none of sex only happens between one and parents think alike, which is plainly them hold water.- seven or that what's "safe" at twelve false. True "in loco parentis" would 1. "The doors are locked not so is "dangerous" at one—but this is require different dorms with differ­ much to shut girls in, as much as to merely stupid. If the aim of the rules ent sets of rules, so that each parent keep undesirables out" (presumably is simply to reduce pregnancy, then could send his girl to housing that the few sad perverts that each year they are both ineffective and self- most specifically followed his wishes attempt entry and get chased off while defeating. The girl in a general rush — strict or liberal. (An attack on the all the girls hide under the beds). to get things done by one will most inherent immorality of "in loco" it­ Plainly insufficient; since this ex­ likely be more careless than one who self I leave to a later issue.) has the leisure of the whole evening. plains only why the doors are shut, I conclude that closing hours are not why keys are denied to residents. B. If this is the rationale for the ineffective, and that even if they were Clearly locking in is as important as rules, closing hours represent a blat­ effective, they cannot be justified. locking out. antly authoritarian attempt by the Most coeds appear willing to inject 2. "Closing hours exist since the university to intrude on the private at this point, "If they are ineffec­ university must know where students lives of students: a) If premarital tive, why worry about them? They are, so they may be contacted incase sex is immoral (whice it isn't) the don't prevent anything 18 hours a day, of emergency." False on two counts university "in loco parentis" may and what with fake signing out and and insufficient on a third: A) If this assume some rights to act upon dis­ not signing out, they don't prevent were the case, the university would covery of its occurrence; it cannot anything anytime." provide means for contacting students from this, however, argue that it has But such an attitude is morally at ALL hours (or do emergencies the right to attempt to prevent it even less attractive than that of the strike only between one and seven?) BEFORE it occurs; no public insti­ administration. It betrays a callous­ B) If this were the case, the rules tution can assume such right, b) The ness toward the few that get caught would be the same for men as for only effects premarital sex might and suspended each term; it does women. C) This reason fails to ex­ have on the stability of society con­ nothing to alleviate the fears that one plain why girls must be kept in—why cern questions of paternity. Since MIGHT get caught (which, I expect, they simply couldn't leave any num­ the advent of reliable contraceptives has ruined many a pleasant night); ber at which they could be reached. has servered the (bio)logical connec­ it indicates a hypocritical discon- 3. "The rules exist to assure that tion between sex and paternity, the cern with the principles of things, a girls are properly housed." Non­ prevention of premarital sex can no willingness to put up with no end of sense. A child knows enough to get in longer be the justifiable object of nonsense and injustice just so long out of the rain—any girl who stays any public body. as the present miserable muddle is out of the dorm has obviously found 5. (Even if the preceding four are barely tolerable. someplace to stay in East Lansing or insufficient:) "The university has no Such I consider to be the same at­ elsewhere. Further, if this were the choice but to establish closing hours, titudes as those of slaves, of those reason, the rules for men and women since it must obey the dictates of who lack the sense and will to rise would be the same. the legislature that state universities up together to call for changes that 4. (Rarely stated but most obvi­ act 'in loco parentis'." This sly pass­ simple reason demands. 8 "The Paper," East Lansing, Michigan, January 27, 1966 EDP ~ The Pioneer Land-Grant Philosophy

By CHAR JOLLES lem posed by President Hannah (State News, Dec. 4, 1962) of improving the This is the first of several articles condition of society and raising "the Miss Jolles is planning on educational general level of understanding and developments at MSU.—The Editors. action" is too grave for us to accept placidly the cheapest, most efficient Significantly, the quotation from solutions. Machiavelli's "The Prince" that ap­ There is no evidence that EDP is pears on this page is embroidered our only alternative. The organized on a wall-hanging in the office of study that was cut off in 1963 in the John E. Dietrich, assistant provost. midst of discontent should be re­ Dietrich could be likened to Mach­ newed. We must return to fundamen­ iavelli's "reformer," for he, too, is tals and ask such significant ques­ initiating a new order of things— tions as these; namely, radical educational changes What characteristics of our demo­ at MSU. cratic community commit an institu­ These changes—which range from tion like MSU to take a large number more technological self-teaching de­ of students? What is education? What vices to course revisions to more is the difference between learning closed circuit TV lectures—are part theory and education? What is the of the Educational Development Pro­ function of a teacher? What motivates gram (EDP), a program designed to the human being to learn?*Is it pos­ cope with the problem of too many sible for efficient education to be students, too few teachers, and "the high quality, too? explosion of knowledge." The 31 curricular guidelines that at small dinner parties or over veg­ Only good can come from a re­ Dietrich is the director of EDP. triggered faculty criticism were bas­ etable soup in the drugstore. Yet examination of basic principles in The analogy between Dietrich and ed on what was called the "Seven- the changes effected by EDP are rad­ an open, honest dialogue between stu­ Machiavelli's prince ends, however, Point Program" as enumerated in ical ones, and they imply a set of dents, faculty, administrators and with their common role as initia­ President Hannah's speech tothefac- values that could easily be called the community. We must discover tors, for Machiavelli goes on to say, ulty in March, 1961. perverted. whether EDP's practical programs in the same chapter, that the initia­ En somme, the Seven-Point Pro­ For example, the mass courses are consistent with the aims of edu­ tor must use force to create a new gram called for the following: like Psychology 151 or the basics cation, even land- grant education. system: "And so it is best to have 1. More student responsibility for have so many students that the prob­ matters ordered in such a way that learning; lem becomes teaching the most people when people no longer believe in the 2. A more concrete and specific in the least amount of time, as Die­ innovation they can be compelled to definition of educational goals to aid trich said in the October interview. SNAFU believe by force." independent learning; Education, then, becomes a question Continued from Page 2 Indeed, EDP personnel have been 3. A redefinition of the responsi­ of efficiency, of efficient dissemina­ tion of information. That kind of ques­ all, "Batman" can't last forever.) accused of imposing a "master plot" bilities of faculty members; Heroes who have just rescued babies on the faculty. In February of 1963, 4. An application of learning the­ tion is easily solved by a television set. from burning buildings will tell the when EDP was first introduced, fac­ ory, which means increased use of interviewers, "No, acutally I'm a ulty skepticism culminated in the res­ closed-circuit television, film, teach­ ignation of six prominent faculty The problem of testing is easily situationist." Intellectuals will de­ ing machines, programmed studies solved by machine-graded, multiple- velop situation commitment and sit­ members. One of them Bernard Duf- and other aids; fey, an English professor who had choice exams, administered to all uation metaphysics. The President 5. Greater academic use of resi­ sections at the same time, in the same will say, "We must look at the prob­ been with MSU for 15 years, said dence halls; his resignation was "immediately place. These are only two examples lem situationistically," and do what 6. Designing a model for the uni­ of how some of the radical changes he's always done. motivated" by EDP. (State News, Feb. versity combining the advantages of 28, 1963) effected by EDP can lead to the pri­ And when the craze has passed, bigness with smallness; ority of efficiency. popularized ethics will pass on to new Others, who claimed other reasons 7. An allocation of financial re­ frontiers. But no one need be wor­ for leaving MSU, nevertheless ack­ We are aware of the problem of sources towards these aims. too many students, limited financial ried about what these frontiers might nowledged faculty concern over EDP. This is the alleged "master plot" be. Rest assured, we will be warned Joseph La Palombara, chairman of and teaching resources, and the "ex­ of Project X. plosion of knowledge." But the prob­ in Time. the political science department be­ There is no evidence, however, fore he resigned, said that faculty un­ that Dietrich, EDP or whatever has rest over EDP was "an obvious fact." been secretly taking over MSU. He "Much of the unrest would have said, in an interview last October, been unnecessary if the project had that the more than 40 projects en­ The American Mind, Vol. Ill been introduced in a different man­ couraged and coordinated by EDP ner," he said. "If the faculty had had begun to materialize into "facul­ been consulted from the beginning, ty - approved, sweeping university the attitude might be quite different changes." today." (State News, Mar. 28, 1963) In addition, there is nothing sec­ Apparently, 31 curricular guide­ ret about the expanded use of closed lines had been distributed to the aca­ circuit television, or about common demic departments under the title final exams in mass undergraduate EDP. According to an EDP Report courses, or larger blocks of credit (Oct. 1964), these guidelines were hours (those five-credit English and distributed "f o r discussion pur­ political science courses), or in­ poses." creased use of graduate assistants, Yet, "this program created great or programmed learnings, or plans faculty concern," the report says. for more technological self-teaching "Many faculty members expressed devices. fear that a 'master design* was being EDP has directed innumerable imposed upon the curriculum. These changes here, and all seem to be fears were unfounded. Nevertheless, "generally accepted," according to organized study of the guidelines was the EDP Report. dropped." It is precisely this general accep­ EDP became known from then on tance, however, that must be chal­ as "Project X." lenged. Skepticism does exist, if only

LOVERS JIM THOMAS Kind is the silence, tender the stillness Of our desire. Now are we kin To the fictions and fond memories Of men's dignity and dearth on sight Of death and childlike falseness Toward close and closeted sin. We have lived apart knowing the lees Of sunlight and laughter, night winds And hope. So shall we love—without pattern, Plan or recompense, and be to ourselves alone, Dreaming the dreams of childhood's end. The author, a former MSU student, is now in the Marine Corps.—The Editors.