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University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, Nov. 5, 1963
Think Twice
One of the senior class gifts was presented two Saturdays ago to James Surface, vice chancellor of the University. The gift was a $1,000 speaker system for the Memorial Stadium which could be used at KU football home games.
Every year since 1873, a gift to the University has been traditional for the graduating class. It has become an opportunity for the class to leave with the University a token of appreciation, or respect, after four year at the University.
The variety of gifts given so far ranges from crab apple trees and bird baths to money for the University's student loan funds. Included are the information booth in front of Bailey Hall, the covered entrance to the Kansas Union, a dance area near Potter Lake, and many others.
These gifts are presumably either functional or artistic. They are believed to attract considerable public attention and publicity. Some of them are considered as a noteworthy contribution to the University, which is growing rapidly in academic and public acclaim.
And this year, the gift of the speaker system was presented in the belief that it would be beneficial to the whole student body, as well as be used by seniors while they are still in school. And the speakers would be used for a long time.
But the gift lacks an important functional use. Did the executive committee consider that the gift would be used at the most 15 hours in a year and that the rest of the time it would gather dust
in a storage room? (There are only five home games each year, and each game lasts for not more than three hours.) Did the committee realize that the athletic department makes several thousand dollars each year from ticket sales and could easily have provided this service from its own revenues?
No doubt, the speaker system has reduced the sweat of cheerleaders, but at the same time the screaming noise from the speakers diverts from the game, and why cheer about something you can't watch?
The executive committee failed to determine the functional value of the gift—the value determined by the number of students to whom the gift will be useful.
If the Class of '64 wants to spend its money on something practical, it could buy books for Watson Library or give money to the University's student loan fund, both of which would be of much more value to the student body.
Or, if the class of '64 wants to give the University something with more aesthetic appeal, it could help build a fountain at 13th and Oread similar to the Chi Omega fountain. This, at least, would be in use more than 15 hours a year.
The executive committee should think twice before selecting other gifts.
—Vinay Kothari
Apartheid
Editor:
Speaking to the African Study Group, Professor E. Harris explained the complex situation in South Africa. The main problem, said Professor Harris, was the almost religious idea in the minds of the minority whites (three million out of 16 million) that racism or "race survival is an absolute value." This is built on the sandy basis that civilization "must be preserved in its white form" and that African participation in Western Civilization will mean its destruction.
The lame solution forwarded by the crazy government and its psychotic supporters is the establishment of "apartheid" in due time. This "novel" program, certainly meant to keep the African illiterate, unskilled and perpetually submissive and at the same time geared towards the eventual elimination of his kind, is intended to "reserve" more than three-fourths of the people in South Africa (all native Africans and Negroes), in an area of about 13 per cent of the country. And the reserve areas will be nowhere near the diamond and gold mines and other areas rich in mineral resources such as Kimberly, Johannesburg, Pretoria and the Orange Free State.
One may ask what will be the political position of the Bantu (meaning "people") if this were to come about? Would they be given autonomy in their "reserve" areas or some type of a federal status within the Union? There is no dream of this nature. They will be controlled, manipulated and ruled by the overlord, sovereign dictatorship at Pretoria.
What of the economic conditions? The inevitable interdependence in the economic field seems without solution even to the theoreticians. Worse still, they cannot foresee a day when there will be complete separation. Even by the year 2000 there will be at least an equal number of Africans living in the white areas. But these people will have no representation in the assemblies which form the laws under which they will live and work. "The laws in South Africa," said Dr. Harris, "fall on the black man with no light censure" and he will continue demanding a say in their formation.
The People Say.
But apartheid is as yet only a future goal. What until then? The Verwoerd regime is sure, perhaps too sure, that it can handle the cause of the demonic philosophy by brute force. With all sorts of totalitarian powers for arresting, perpetual imprisonment, confinement, and banning on the slightest pretext, and with five per cent of the population in jail at any given
time. the Pretorian government is certain "to keep everything under control" and to perpetuate white supremacy in a country of African overwhelming majority. Its practice has, in the words of Dr. Harris, "breeded oppression, tension, suspicion, grievance," at home, while the whole world has focused its attention on the devilish dealings of the South African Government in the hope of changing its inner belief before a tremendous fall should come on it.
Nevertheless, that government pretends that its position is secure "on the lid of the volcano" in spite of the terror that beats in every white man's heart in the Union. Professor Harris tells the story of a man in Pretoria who killed his wife, mistaking her for a black man as she was opening the window in the night.
Everybody knows that tremors of the volcano have been heard but that "they are only agitation," not signs of the on-coming of a great revolution. With the backing of the Western Powers—Britain and the United States, and particularly the latter, which has more than 60 per cent of the invested capital in that rich country—there is no problem at all! The western alliance is to Pretoria a heredity even though not so long ago the government now in power and its blind leader were both Nazi, in policy and in practice.
The rest of the world is, however, highly conscious of apartheid; Africa has severed all relationships and has voted on a liberation army—Angola, Mozambique and Southern Rhodesia, all around South Africa, will soon be free; the more reasonable and responsible states of Scandinavia have broken diplomatic relation with South Africa; India is highly agitated by the fate of the "pitiful" Indian minority in that troubled tip of Africa; and "POCO" continues its underground activities—the drum is heard low but it has a deep tone. The Eastern Powers—U.S.S.R. and China—are possibly ready to help should a great resistance trigger off in South Africa or from the surrounding black nations.
But what should the Western Powers do? "That," says Dr. Harris, "depends on who is President in the U.S. and whether it is Home or Wilson in U.K." A bright prospect, I suppose? But it is with the same breath argued by the speaker that since constitutional means do not permit the change of the national government led by Verwoerd, (there is but one liberal in the all-white parliament) and since the South African case is a perfect seedbed of communism, the only solution is a forceful overthrow of Verwoerd's apartheid regime.
One can say that even if this has to be done by economic pressure, surely a great power lies in the hands of the industrialists of the two western nations.
But the outcome, because it has so many possibilities, needs to be seen in the not-too-distant future.
Ethiopia, graduate student
Shibru Seifu
Ban Romanticism
Editor:
Hurray for Blaine King. His article against the talkathon in UDK showed much thought and logic. I only regret that he did not expand his scope to include areas of greater importance.
After all, doesn't his article offer valid arguments against all competitive sports? And for that matter, why not include fine arts or any form of romanticism?
Why not start by banning intercollegiate football? This useless sport has no merit whatsoever, except maybe to build fellowshop between students. Who needs it?
Furthermore, people might start thinking that college football is a grandstand for publicity, and this could destroy the name of our university.
I am certain that KU students will in turn rush out and carry Blaine off the field for doing them this great service. The students will bear their great hero straight over to the fine arts department of the university, where Blaine, with the gusto of Thor, will heave his mighty monkey wrench into the works.
I firmly expect Blaine King to rush angrily out onto the field during the fourth quarter of the KU-MU game, and vanquish this useless contest forever. After all, he sanctioned this very method in the attack on JRP's talkathon.
The ultimate goal of this upheaval against romanticism is evident. Non-profit competition would be outlawed, Talkathons, sports, tug of wars, spring songs, homecoming decorations—all would get the ax. There is a good chance that even love might be eliminated. Think how much money guys could save by not dating.
His justification for this act would be simple. Fine art serves no useful purpose except maybe to display beauty or insight. Who in their right mind would look for beauty on a canvas when they can just ones their eyes and see the real thing?
With Blaine King as our leader our university would be the epitome of profit and efficiency, but best of all, we would be so adult!
Wayne Burdick
Overland Park junior
2003 HERBLOCK
THE WASHINGTON POST
"We Didn't Agree To Stop Testing You"
Music Revue
Danish Quartet Has Graceful Precision
By Karen Nelson
Last night in Swarthout Hall, The New Danish String Quartet presented a fine program, one of the best heard recently in the Midwest. The group had flare, precision, grace, and understanding.
The first number, Mozart's Quartet in B flat Major, K. 458, "The Hunt," was performed with delightful contrasts. The Moderato of the second movement was airy and light between the fuller Menuetto and its repetition; the Adagio was poignant in contrast to the brighter moods of the other movements; the Allegro assai brought the quartet to a stimulating finish, performed cleanly even at its rapid tempo.
In Carl Neilsen's Quartet in F Major, Op. 44, the four showed their flare for the dramatic. The haunting chords and opening pizzicato accompaniment were intriguingly colored—the wide range of dynamics and tone qualities of the four were particularly evident here. The second movement, Adagio con sentimento religioso, was performed with a choralelike organ tone, with all four voices blending into a homogeneous sound.
Arne Svendsen, the first violinist, played with dramatic body movement, and indeed, the whole quartet was flamboyant in the last number, Beethoven's Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3. The Beethoven was the most difficult number on the program, with its intricate, rapid passages, and accordingly, the individual precision was less clear than before. In the previous quartets, the timing between the musicians, their degree of rapport, was perfect—they never came in together awkwardly; their individual courtesy was also nearly faultless. In the Beethoven, the precision was still remarkable but was not up to the quality of the rest of the performance. Their fiery interpretation made it nevertheless a musical delight.
On the whole, the group was tempo-conscious, never rushing, always tasteful in their rubato; the intonation was good except for a few spots for soloistic first violin. KU audiences will seldom hear as fine a group of musicians as this one. Mr. Svendsen, Palle Heichelmann, second violin, Knud Frederiksen, viola, and Pierre Rene Honnens, cello, are under the patronage of His Majesty, King Frederick IX of Denmark.
Dailij 17änsan
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