4 Thursday, April 13. 1972 University Daily Kansan KANSAN comment Editorials, columns and letters published on this page reflect only the opinions of the writers. Western Civilization The Western Civilization program was a topic of discussion last Saturday at the College Assembly workshop sponsored by the Educational Procedures and Policies Committee (EPPC). There is nothing particularly unusual about that since that program is one of those subjects that is being discussed season in Lawrence at any hour of the day or night. What was unique about that discussion was that it did not become a gripe session about the comprehensive examination. The existing program constitutes something of an insult to the men whose thoughts are being studied and it is probably the most absurd course on the campus. To pretend that a student can have even a minimal understanding of the thoughts of men such as Machiavelli or Nietzsche after a fifty minute discussion over a few pages of their writings is ridiculous. Most students are not even given the benefit of experienced teachers to lead the discussions over a few works. I know that students, after having read the books (which is a naively optimistic assumption in itself) are not to rely solely on the class discussion but are supposed to study the works thoroughly on their own. The idealists should face the fact that the books for the Western Civilization program are not what one would call "fun to read" and such educationalism and discipline is more likely to be found in professors than in a group of students one year out Garry Wills students one year out of high school. Despite the problems the writings themselves present to the average student, a teacher would not graduate with a degree from university without having read and understood those philosophies which have influenced the development and thinking of western civilization. The proposals for the program presented at the workshop were much more realistic than the present system in regards to how the material should be taught. Instead of a one hour discussion class it was suggested the program consist of three hours of discussion and or lecture. One proposal was that the students should attend seminars. This would allow a much fuller examination of the many philosophical aspects and problems of Western civilization than is possible now. It was also suggested that Eastern and African Civilization be incorporated into the program. There is really no need to include anything more in the program even if the time and credit allotted to it were to be expanded. It would be better to create separate courses rather than try to squeeze that material into a course entitled *Eastern Civilization*. I hope that the EPPC will seriously consider the proposals made in the workshop which would give students a chance to have an intelligent study of their own civilization's philosophical development. —Mary Ward Last Man Syndrome The increased fighting in Vietnam has elicited a quick response from the Pentagon. The number of B-52'S, aircraft carriers and their attack planes in the Indochina area has gone up considerably. Nearly half of the entire Pacific fleet is cruising in Southeast Asian waters. It is a good thing that we are getting our troops out, not only because they should have been out long ago, but also because those that are still there are understandably reluctant to fight. Nevertheless the number of ground troops has remained constant and the administration has pledged that the current North Atlantic offensive will not affect the American troop withdrawal schedule. Yesterday about 100 American soldiers from one of the last two combat infantry brigades in Vietnam balked at being assigned to man a forward defense position. They considered the assignment too dangerous. The soldiers did, however, go ahead and carry out the mission when they were convinced that some other American troops would be in danger if they did not man the forward defense. Our troops have not lost their fight. The war has gone on long, long. The current North Vietnamese offensive is proving beyond a doubt that Vietnamization is not working, that we are not winning the war. The Army of course has an easy explanation for the balking soldiers. Lt. Col. Frederick P. Mitchell, the person who talked them into going ahead with the mission, explained it this way: "All you press men are bastards. I blame you for this and you can quote me on it." Sorry, colonel. I think the answer is much more simple: Nobody wants to be the last man to die in a worthless war. -Mike Moffet One Student's Letter I would like to exten congratulations to the Women's Coalition for their outstanding work in the opening ceremonies of the Engineering Exposition last Friday. Otherwise, it would have been just another of those dull sessions that were socially irresponsable and immature behavior, what could have been a euphoric experience in the lives of the queen and her women was shamefully blemished. To the Editor: privilege to make it a forum, exposing their personal vendetta; insulting the queen and her attendants, the queens of the exposition, and the people viewed by attention on such disgraceful acts. Further, the Women's Coalition denied many visitors the access to one exhibit by removing a directive poster giving the new location of the exhibit. That band member was forced to give it offensive, but I failed to see why. The opening ceremony of the exposition was not designed to be a forum for factions to express their views and to precipitate petty squabbles. Coalition did not have the right nor should they have had the The selection of the queen candidates was based on nominations relative to their personal involvement; beauty, and life's goals, in an effort to single out an ideal, as a woman and as a man, for those whose beauty context, a beauty context, rather, a contest to select the most socially aware, intelligent, and beneficial candidates, however, the girls trying out for queen were "exploited" and the method of selection was unfair. The candidates should be put through booties in fatigues, submitted to I.Q. Certainly, I do not oppose the liberation and equality of women. Such action has been long and ongoing and attention-calling had to be done to overcome the inertia of present society and I command women to join women's liberation groups. On the other hand, I caution those zealots who would abridge the rights of others and freedom to disagree, in so far as it is not disruptive and in an idea does not necessarily conflict with the rights of others. Someone may disagree with an idea but disagreement always an affront. Social problems should be wrestled with in meetings with a social, technical, or education events, and with reason, not with hysterical and disjointed ravings. Paul L. Berger Lawrence graduate student The Scrambled Ideological Map The American ideological map is scrambled and confusing for a crazy reason—not because of its complexity; because of its simplicity. Both, internationally and domestically, the map has only two real colors--blinding white and ghastly black. Freedom and slavery. And the former is always in peril; the latter is always imminent. The words are familiar, and seem to make sense. Even when the slave and free systems construct societies that increasingly resemble each other, we do not accommodate ourselves to a more complex reality. "The Free World," as John Kennedy liked to call it, depends on competition, individual and nationalistic; the slave world—or communist world, or dictatorial systems—is "collectionist" and "totalizing." Our scheme is so simplistic, it does not even have a clearly-differentiated Left and Right extreme. All extremes, in any direction, are evil-are, therefore "collectivistic," whether in fascist or communist ways. Only by staying far away from any such communial vision, coming at us from any direction we can bunch together to agree on being competitive! This is the approach that gave birth to the Schlesinger Circle—a toy of the mind made up by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. According to him, the liberal system stands at the top of a circle. Even when people seem to be moving away from each other, out to touch, they often use its "left or right" (they have begun using) that bends inevitably down, to repin at the totallitarian bottom of the circle. Thus, what we mean by Left and right in America is clear—a slide off from America into a circle along one of its sides (both, however), a same totalitarian doom). The debates in American political center on the left were farther farther from the pure competition that exists. —Neo-liberals, who accept community standards in some economic areas, will accept none in cultural areas, calling any interference unintellectual individualism a first step toward censorship and "mind control." - Old line Republicans think an economic corporatism (e.g., labor union brotherhoods) are incipiently collectivist. Within our competitive orthodoxy, then, political deference is a matter of who puts more stress on individualism within any one area. Both shy equally from the cooperative ideal as "collectivist." But while we live with the old myths of total independence of each mind and man and career, we are enmeshed in the growing technological interdependence. The many stories of a relieved sense of fraternity during the New York power failure of a few years back is instructive. When men's dependence on each other becomes inescapably clear, they could drop the pretense that they are atomic 'self-made' types, examples of atomic self-made way. Theory and reality coalesced; the mental world was forced into abrupt conformity with the event. This "system" is not evil in itself. What is evil is our inability to control it because we will not even recognize its existence. And we cannot do that until we abstain our competitive ethic and take possession of a libertarian individualism. We have taken giant leaps in socializing life and work and thought, without creating a morality and politics equal to this situation. Changes race on in every area but that of our social theory. The result is that, in the very name of competition, we unconsciously wear a mask cooperation between the military and government and big business (what radicals call "the system"). Copyright, 1972, Universal Press Syndicate James J. Kilpatrick Bus Story Ends Happily ROCHESTER, N.Y.—It isn't often that a reporter stumbles across a success story when he meets an unexpected urban problem. Here in Rochester in the field of public transportation, a story is developing that may yet bring a glimpse of blue sky on an overcast day. Doubless one could find exceptions, but the postwar history of public transportation has been generally uniform across the nation. Paint it gray. Passenger volumes were at a peak in 1945. Then Americans by the millions moved to the suburbs, bought second cars, bought airplanes, and turned their backs on transportation. As passengers dwindled, fares increased; and the more fares increased, the more乘客 dwindled. This was the Rochester story. Four years ago the city's privately owned bus company was in desperate trouble: eight strikes in six years, wretched equipment, underpaid drivers. In July 2014, the population of 330,000, with 89,000 vehicles registered. By 1970, population had dropped to 280,000, but 125,000 vehicles were registered. It was an entirely typical transit mess. Rochester acted. The city put together $6 million in Federal, State and local funds, and bought out the bus company. A year later, in August of 1869, the city was-fell into the hands of the newly created Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority. Now, two and a half years later, the picture has changed technically, the past six months, the system has gained 100,000 new riders. The trend is plainly upward. Two factors have played an obvious part: As a public body, the transit authority pays no local taxes and takes no profit. But much more is involved in the work of the agency. Under the energetic leadership of executive director Robert P. Aex, the Rochester authority is bringing an infusion of enthusiasm and innovation to a business suffering from tired blood. Aex is a transit buff as a cowboy who also does buffs. He loves a bus as fondly as a cowboy loves his horse. He wants everybody to love buses too. Thus the Rochester authority is promoting public transit with unabashed zeal. It has created a network of animal trailers, where passengers may their cars in the morning. It has promoted "kiss and ride" points. James J. Kilpatrick In nearby Batavia, the Rochester authority has fathered what Aex calls the 'hottest thing in transit'. Batavia is a community of 150-old-fashioned bus system also was on the skids. But in July 1971, the authority bought out the bus company, scrapped its 16-year-old equipment, and whole concept of fixed routes. where wives are urged to deposit their husbands for the daily trip into town by bus. The authority crowds about its air conditioning. This spring it will experiment with a General Motors scheme of computerized control of bus drivers. "We'll try anything," says Aex. Now Batravia has a "B-Line." A small fleet of snappy green and white mini-buses, some of them seating 23, some seating only 10, roams the community on a dispatcher's orders. On request, a bus will stop at a worker's home in the early morning and take them to school. Line buses function as car pools to get children to school. College students get individualized service to their campus. Between 9. A.M. and 3:30 P.M., a passenger can "dial a bus." For a 60-cent fare, the bus comes to his home and takes him to his destination. Equipment is kept busy all day. In 1970, the old Batavia Bus Service was carrying 80,000 passengers a year. This month the new B-Line has reached an annual rate of 120,000; it expects to break even financially before it runs in 1972. Axx says the plan will work for years and any compact neighborhood in a large one. Merchants and passengers seem to love the system. In a day when "busing" has become a dirty word, Rochester's transit authority is demonstrating that a different type of busing can still play a vital role in the restoration of city life. Copyright, 1972 The Washington Star Syndicate, Inc. Griff and the Unicorn By Sokoloff THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN America's Pacemaking college newspaper Kansan Telephone Numbers Newroom—UN 4-4810 Business Office—UN 4-4358 "Copyright 1972, David Sokoloff Published at all universities of Kansas daily during the academic year except holidays and when a federal law prohibits publication of research by a university. 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