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University Daily Kansan Friday, March 2, 1956.
Segregation-The Crisis Nears
Approximately 100 years ago our country was ripped in two by the most tragic conflict in the nation's history. North against South, brother against brother, father against son, fought it out both physically and verbally over the issue of slavery.
Today the danger of division is once again present in the United States, although not to the extreme which occurred in 1861, and basically the same question has aroused this danger. The danger today, however, instead of slavery, is segregation.
As in the 1860's the question today is once again misunderstood on both sides. In the South ignorance, prejudice, and a failure to see the handwriting on the wall is the stumbling block. In the North a general misunderstanding of the southerner's problem, his heritage, and the numerous obstacles to total and immediate integration are working against accomplishing the ultimate goal.
Intelligent leaders in the South realize segregation is coming to an end. They would be fools not to realize it. They realize that basically it is morally wrong. But they also realize that to avert bloodshed they need a little time to educate both the Negroes and the whites in the South, where illiteracy runs high among both races.
Northerners fail to realize the problem facing the South. Into a white population which has a strong prejudice against both racial equality and northern intervention they must successfully integrate a large number of relatively illiterate and poor Negroes. To be sure, they have been kept poor and ignorant on purpose, but the first step toward successful integration should be education and rehabilitation of both whites and blacks.
For many northerners the problem seems simple. It isn't. In 1950 Kansas had only 73,158 Negroes out of a population of 1,905,299. Georgia
had 1.062,762 Negroes in a population of 3,444,-578. Mississippi, with a population of 2,178,914 had a Negro population of 986,494. In states like Mississippi and Georgia the problem will indeed be difficult.
If northern pressure hadn't started the ball rolling probably nothing would have been done for years to correct the situation. However, now is the critical time. To gain the cooperation of the South, which it is vital to have, the North must back away and let southern leaders take the lead. A gentle prodding now and then instead of a headstrong plunge into the problem by the North would probably do more good in the long run.
The situation has been brought dramatically before the public by a series of tragic occurrences. The Emmett Till murder trial was a blot on the South's record which will take a long time to erase.
Just what the Autherine Lucy episode is has not been determined as yet. If Miss Lucy is sincere in her desire to attend the University of Alabama she can not be blamed for the trouble which has arisen. Also, if she is just a pawn for someone or some organization she can not be blamed. If, however, she is just trying to "prove something" then she has done her race a great injustice.
The situation has almost gotten out of hand. With the disc jockeys in the act anything can happen. What good is supposed to be accomplished by bombarding Jackson, Miss., with copies of the Constitution and Chicago with the Stars and Bars is hard to determine. In all probability only harm has been done.
The eyes of the world are on the United States now. For the Communists a valuable propaganda weapon has been furnished. For both sides now is the time to move carefully, thoughtfully, and wisely. A bad mistake could be tragic.
John McMillion
A College Degree—Or An Education?
Apathy—a word which has no place on a college campus or in the minds of progressive, eager, intelligent, students.
Apathy—a word which is described (for those apathetic persons who don't know and won't take the trouble to look up the definition) by Webster as a lack of interest or desire; indifference, a lack of feeling.
It is an attitude unworthy of thinking and feeling persons, wherever they are, whatever they do. Yet, apathetic attitudes are cutting deep across the minds of scores of University students, severing the life-giving stream of ideas which lead to the ultimate choosing of long-range or even short-range goals.
One way in which this shows up is by observing the number of persons who leave the University each year with a college degree—not a college education. What have those four years done for such a person?
They have provided an interlude in which he has gone to a lot of parties, TGIFed at his favorite "spot," participated in a number of activities, dated the campus "queens," and gone to class with poor to good regularity for exposure to a few isolated, irrelated facts for which he has not seemed to find a reason or purpose . . . certainly he has not assimilated these facts
The relating of facts gathered at random from various fields of thought and study is, in many cases, difficult for the student. Coming to the University for the first time, he is exposed to seemingly unrelated areas such as science, philosophy, psychology, mathematics, literature. It takes a certain length of time and a tremendous amount of insight for him to weave together the ends and come up with a pattern in which there are no tangled threads, but a pattern in which each area fits into place, the shades of meanings and implications blending together smoothly.
This week the University is observing Religious Emphasis Week. In part, the purpose of this week is "to confront the students and faculty of our campus with the impact that religion can make upon each individual's daily living; to interpret and apply the religious answers to timely problems."
However, there are ways in which he can help himself if he will take advantage of the opportunities made available to him. Learning often comes from sources other than books.
During this week, men with tremendous training and experience are on campus to speak with students concerning not only specific personal problems, but also concerning the vital problems of life and the civilized world.
Chancellor Murphy contends that "the University of Kansas must provide a moral and intellectual climate in which men are free to continue their search for truth."
Is the student making the best possible use of his University and the "intellectual climate" it offers for the search of truth unless he participates in such activities ?
Life doesn't start after graduation. Each person on this campus is now building the kind of habits he will have—the kind of person he will be for the rest of his life. He may say that he would like to participate in some worth-while endeavor, but he just doesn't have the time. Does he realize that what he chooses to be today will dictate what he will be tomorrow and in the years to come?
In the business world, a man would not think of short-changing himself. A man must not short-change himself in the business of life. He is doing so when he allows apathy to deaden his quest for truth—to make him satisfied with a college degree when he might have an education.
—Nancy Collins
UNIVERSITY Daily Hansan
University of Kansas student newspaper
Founded 1889, became bweekley 1904,
triweekly 1908, daily Jan. 16, 1912.
Telephone Viking 3-2700
Extension 251, news room
Extension 376, business office
Member Inland Daily Press Association,
Associated Collegiate Press. Represented
Advertising Service, 420 Madison Ave., New
York, service: United Press. Mail subscription
rates: $3 a semester or $4.50 a year. Published
in Lawnman, Kan. every after
Saturdays and Sundays. University
holidays, and examination periods. Entered
as second-class matter Sept. 17, 1910; at
 March 1879.
NEWS DEPARTMENT
Marton McCoy ... Managing Editor
Larry Hell, John McMillion, Harry Elliott, Jane Pecinovsky, Assistant Managing Editors; Barbara Ball, City Editor; Editor; David Webb, Telegraph Editor; Daryl Hall, Assistant Telegraph Editor; Ann Kelly, Society Editor; Felecia Fenberg, Assistant Society Editor; Kent Pavilion Sports Editor; Bob Lyle, Assistant Sports Editor; John Stephens, Picture Editor
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Sam Jenkins, Editorial Editor
Dick Watt, Associate Editor
The promotion committee of the Pella, Iowa Chamber of Commerce held a special meeting to plan a program to help farmers get better prices for hogs. The main course at the dinner was steak.
Forty-seven children in Portland, Ind., were graduated from kindergarten complete with commencement ceremonies, diplomas and mortar board caps.
Venezuela has replaced Mexico as leading importer of United States motor vehicles. Belgium was the largest European importer.
Why the Governor of Massachusetts reads The Reader's Digest
"Throughout the non-Communist world The Reader's Digest speaks eloquently—in 12 languages—for the moral values which nourish our liberties. Freedom rings from its pages. Besides providing rich reading pleasure, the Digest has done more to articulate our beliefs and our way of life than any other organization I know." Christian Herter
In March Reader's Digest don't miss:
HOW TO CONQUER FRUSTRATION. When blocked from what we seek to do, we feel pent-up and thwarted. Result: most of us work off our feelings by lashing out at someone else. Here's how—if you are aware of what frustration is doing to you—you can avoid many a needless clash.
BEST ADVICE I EVER HAD. A street-corner phrenologist "read" the bumps on the boy's head, spoke 6 words. British Labour Party leader Herbert Morrison tells how this advice spurred him on his career.
HOW MUCH DEBT CAN YOU AFFORD? Worried over your installment buying? Feel you owe too much? Here's a simple way to measure how much debt you can afford on your income—and suggestions on how to avoid getting in too deep.
AMERICAN MEN ARE LOUSY FATHERS. Famed author Philip Wylie tells why a child needs his father's companionship; and why a dad's greatest rewards lie in sharing himself with his kids.
THE MAN WHO SAVED A PRESIDENT. The impeachment of Andrew Johnson depended on the vote of one man: Edmund Ross. Senator John F. Kennedy tells how Ross sacrificed wealth, career to vote as his conscience bade: "Not guilty."
HOW YOUR NOSE KNOWS. Scientific facts about our amazing and mysterious sense of smell.
WHY DO DOCTORS SMOKE? A doctor asks, "How can medical men condone the use of tobacco, knowing its harmful effects?"
GUIDED MISSES: KEY TO PEACE? Terrifying weapons we are in building on of presenting war.
COLLEGE WITH A BUILT-IN POCKETBOOK. Story of Southern Missionary's work-study plan where students earn their tuition, get practical experience and make a profit for the college.
DOOMED PRISONERS OF DIFFERDANGE. How a Nazi guard risked his life to save 18 of his captives from death—a drama whose final scene was enacted just last spring.
Get March Reader's Digest at your newsstand today-only 25£
43 articles of lasting interest, including the best from leading magazines and current books, condensed to save your time.