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Friday, October 20, 1972
University Daily Kansan
KANSAN comment
Editorials, columns and letters published on this page reflect only the opinions of the writers.
'All-or-Nothing' Nixon
Candidate Nixon has some peculiar ideas about the office he holds. His notions amount to demagoguage of an insidious nature.
The first, and most significant, of these notions is that he is The President. Make no mistake about it. He tends to perceive issues in a black-and-white, all-or-nothing, for- or-against-me manner. The reason for his office affliction some of his insecurity, but it can hardly account for the extent of his disgust with those who would criticize him.
In a speech to a group of prisoner-of-war families earlier this week, he complained that he was getting too much attention from the opinion leaders of the country.
"Who are the opinion leaders?" he asked. "They are supposed to be the leaders of the media, great editors, television commentators and the rest."
they are supposed to be the presidents of universities, and the professors . . . those who have the educational background to understand the importance of great leaders in the past by the President of the United States when he makes a terribly difficult and potentially unpopular decision.
"They are supposed to be some of our top businessmen."
The press, the intellectuals, businessmen—these are Nixon's hobgoblins.
On the contrary, it is not the duty on responsibility of the press to follow the whims of presidential opinion. The press ought not to serve any master but the truth. And when the press does present an opinion in an editorial, that opinion ought not to arise from any solely private—least of all—position in the press; it were the task of the press to lead the country in opinion, Nixon's statement implies that the only right opinion is his own.
His indictment of "opinion leaders" in the universities is just as outrageous. Nixon sees the university as a place where men and women with "educational background" can learn to climb to the policy-making mountaintop with The President, then descend and sell his bill of goods to all the poor slobs below. Nixon implies that those in the university, thanks to their education, should agree with the President, and that anything less is a waste of potential.
What Nixon really wants is a body of trembling sycophants eager to digest the undigested—and like it.
-Thomas E, Slaughter
Degrees of Degrees
The college degree is no longer the magic key to financial success that it might have been at one time. Apologists for a college education have to emphasize some aspects other than financial benefits to make their arguments relevant. A student might convince himself of the worth of pursuing a higher education by recognizing the chances for personal growth of both his emotional and intellectual self.
may not be what a particular student wants.
Students should begin to realize that the most significant effects of a college education are the ramifications it can have on a person's character. The proposed Bachelor of General Studies degree would be one way by which a student could decide for himself what he will get out of college. The requirements for a specific major have been established so that most students desiring that degree will have some knowledge of the area with which the major is involved. However, this
Although most students will probably be content to follow a program resulting in a more specific degree, the opportunity to obtain a BGS should be given. If a student decides to set as his goal a BGS to avoid some difficult requirements in another degree, that is his failure and his business, not the school's. The requirements for individual classes will not change, so the school is not lowering its standards.
The BGS degree, like the chance to develop a special degree, places on students the full responsibility of what they will get out of their four years at KU. Hopefully, students who would decide to get a BGS will be aware of how much they can get out of that degree through their own initiative and not use it as a way to get out of a difficult class.
—Mary Ward
Guest Editorial
By ERIC KRAMER
The Voter's Burden
America is celebrating its tin anniversary of heavy involvement in the Vietnam War. So far, the blame has never been fixed. President Johnson has been blamed. Nixon has been blamed.
So far, the American people have never accepted the blame. In 1964, the vote was for Johnson and peace. In 1968, the vote was for Nixon and peace. If Nixon wins the election on Nov. 7, the blame will come to rest. But Nixon might not be a vote for four million, because he will be a vote for bombing the North Vietnamese into accepting the Thieu government in South Vietnam.
When you close the curtain of the voting booth behind you, you're not in Kansas anymore. You're thousands of feet above Hanoi in the bombardier's seat of an American jet. A real bombardier has no
choice. You do. You can pull the
hand and let it turn on
and back and let the burrs cut.
A real bombardier's target is not clear. Neither is yours. It may be a factory or a rail depot. It may be a dike, a school, a hospital or the ambulance. If it is a military target, you are lucky. You won't always be.
When you take your ballot and step into the booth, you are the operations officer. You can send men to fly into the deadly antiaircraft fire over Hanoi, or you can tell them to go home.
You're the jailer. You can leave
the American city locked up or
you take them hostage.
After Nov. 7, the war will no longer be on the politician's consciences. It will be on or off the consciences of the voters.
God help you sleep at night.
"HOLD IT RIGHT TH-----"
GOP Practices Political Sabotage
Jack Anderson
WASHINGTON—The efforts of President Nixon's dirty-tricks creep to disrupt and discredit the Democrats, say investigators, were carefully coordinated inside the office. The saboteur had these objectives:
1. When Sen. Ed Muskie pulled ahead of the president in the polls last year, worried White House aides sought to trip up the popular Maine Democrat. Muskie has complained that he was a victim of a "systematic campaign of sabotage." Some of the dirty tricks, including the use of stun guns, which made it appear he condoned a racial slur, caused him serious political damage and contributed to his poor showing in the presidential primaries.
2. The political strategists in the White House concluded that George Wallace as a third-party candidate would take votes away from the President but as a fourth-party candidate would cause mischief for the Democrats. The White House, therefore, encouraged the Alabama governor to seek the Democratic nomination and supported votes for him in the Democratic primaries. In the crucial Florida primary, Sen. Henry Jackson contended with Wallace for conservative Democratic votes. Jackson tells us his campaign strategy, not unlike the dirty tricks played on Muskie.
3. The White House strategists considered George McGovern to be the easiest contender for the President to beat. They sought, in return, that McGovern the California primary, which sewed up the Democratic nomination for him. McGvern's chief rival, Hubert Humphrey was often fouled up. But except for a phony press release put out on his letterhead, Humphrey said he had no evidence of political sabbage. "I have to take some time to the foul-ups myself," he said.
4. Once McGovern was nominated, the White House objective was to portray McGovern as a radical and to link him with irresponsible elements who favored political violence. A
washington Post source claims White House aide Howard Hunt tried to organize "an attack" by demonstrators in McGovern's name upon the Beach Beach. He also supported Nikon's convention headquarters at Miami Beach. Subsequent to the conventions, McGovern's campaign has been subjected to political harassment. His office coordinator, Frank Mankiewicz, gave us some examples.
White House sources tell us that the President's chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, was the key man who coordinated the efforts to deploy troops in Afghanistan and abet McGovern's nomination. Although there is no direct documentary link between Haldeman and the sabotage instructions and received reports on all phases of the campaign.
Presidential appointments secretary Dwight Chapin, who has been linked by the Washington Post to the sabotage operation, worked closely with Haleman, say our sources. White House aide Gordon Schoenfeld said claims was also involved with the dirty-tricks department, is a member of Haleman's staff.
Perhaps the most irresponsible of the dirty tricks was a reported attempt to shut off the runway lights on a small field in northern Florida where Senator Jackson planned to land. The senator received a report that someone had used an oil can to crash arrangements for lighting the runway. The call was countermanded, however, in time to prevent a serious accident to Jackson and his party.
Muskie also had flight trouble, according to the Washington Post. On a charter flight from California to Oregon, the pilot followed false instructions and landed for an unscheduled stop in Miami. One of the driest tricks was the circulation of a phony flyer on Muskie's stationery, accusing Jackson and Humphrey of illicit sexual affairs. This hurt Muskie at the same time that it smeared his two Democratic rivals. The governor's office in Tampa, where
the smear sheet was mailed, to investigate whether this violated the federal laws against anonymous political mailings. But so far, Jackson has received no answer.
Muskie encountered his worst harassment during the New Hampshire primary where phony calls and statements were made in his name. Jackson had his worst time in Florida. Someone broke into his headquarters in Miami, for example, and stole a knife by ex-Senator Harry Cain. It was told by ex-Cain to tape another endorsement for use on the eve of the primary.
Like Muskie in New Hampshire, Jackson in Florida also had trouble with callers who attempt to schedule a hotel report schedule. False reports were
put out at campaign stops that she wasn't coming. At Bethune-Cookin College in Daytona Beach, for example, a false report almost sent the audience home before his speech.
Once it was clear McGovern would be the nominee, he suddenly became the victim of dirty tricks. Someone impersonating Gary Hart, for example, telephoned AFL-CIO President George Meany and virtually ordered him to meet McGovern by a police officer the morning. Needless to say, the furious Meany never showed up and still refuses to endorse McGovern.
One of the Republican campaign objectives, it happens, is to scrutry McGovern supporters as they support rather than democrats.
Similar calls were made to Jersey City labor leaders telling them to appear at a rally that had never been scheduled for vice
Other mysterious callers,
claiming to be Hart, have told
smen. "We are not
Democrats. We are McGover-
nates."
No less than TV commentator Walter Crankite has heard from a Hair immittit. The seasoned chef has tagged the caller, as a phony.
presidential nominee Sargent Shriver.
The full story of dirty camp campaign tricks by both sides should be explored by a nonpartisan coalition before the Vomber election.
Copyright, 1972 by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
Protest: Forgotten But Meaningful
The fifth man withdrew during the rape, claiming some one
While there is talk of peace, as for the past nine years, the war goes on, invisibly. And so, even more invisible, does protest against the war. Men fast and hold vigil, pray and petition; and
Garry Wills
no one, it seems, pays attention. And why should they?
Protest has not ended the war Why protest?
A five man patrol in the Central Highlands, under the direction of a military nurse named girl from her family; then four of the men raped her near "Hill 192," and one of these deputies to do this, killed her.
One answer, I suppose, is to be found in the story of the Hill 192 Four. This has to do with an atrocious trial, of the "small" quiet cases that have been eclipsed by our occasional big My War. The second trial is recounted in Daniel Larson's "Casualties of War."
should stand watch; returned after the rake, talked to the girl, trying to think of some way to free her; and was close enough to her death, though he did not remember him go in — it reminded him of the sound made when he knafed a deer, once, after shooting it.
Afterward, despite the many friendly and hostile discourse among clogs any to make America more bravely charged against the four. This was, no doubt, resented by most of his peers, and did little good. He was told he had no choice but to flee (two were married), or for their children (one had a two-year-old daughter). But his own wife said he could not live wit himself and be mistrustful thing go by unprotected.
sang's book, focused on the ineffectual nature of the fifth man's herosion (for he calls him a hero, a minor kind, nothing epic about him). He did not save the girl, or sacrifices his own life. He could not, or even other it much. What, then, did he do?
The case was made, but the sentences, light to begin with, were subsequently (quietly) reduced. The same things went on—if anything, sanctioned by the court, he would be punished and police punish its own. What had the fifth man accomplished? Daniel Berrigan, reviewing
Well, he did not himself kill (though he marched with those who did). He did not himself kill (though he gave some additional laughter to those who did). Not much. A day without killing. But a beginning. To such low success, you have to measure legrades in these times.
A day without killing is not much for any of us to say—but can we say less than this little? That is what public protest is all about. It is a desperate minimal disengagement of oneself from one's own country's evil acts. If we cannot effectively say, "Stop the killings at least," can we say, "Do not kill any longer in my name." And then, perhaps, hope for some mercy on our souls.
(C) Universal Press Syndicate 1972
James J. Kilpatrick
Busing Hampers Learning
My correspondent formerly taught at Columbus Junior High School, where he shuffled to Shuffle of 1969, she was transferred in town to Crispus Attacks, all-black. In another Great Depression season, she and ninth-graders from Attacks
WASHINGTON - A letter is a hand from a seventh-grade teacher in a Southern city, commenting on how things are going in the Year 18 A.D., which thirteen are too hot. Thirteen are too hot too.
were ordered back out to
Columbus, while the
seventh-graders from Columbus
were based in to Attucks, thus
throughly integrated school dealing with
seventh-graders only.
All clear? Okay. She inquires rhetorically, "How has the education of the ghebo children improved?" And she writes:
"Buses are frequently late. First and second period classes are interrupted by groups of latecomers in the halls. They
have missed early morning announcements, as well as part of their classes. The class they enter is often held up while the teacher repeats instructions for these students. Sometimes we must take some extra time to check and see if Student B does indeed ride Bus 23, and was Bus 15 when she had Student B been smoking in the restroom for the last half hour?
"No more after-school activities, as 60 per cent of the
- Readers Respond
Concert Chairman Grateful
To the Editor:
Journalists, in pursuit of their responsibility to the public and their profession, have one overriding concern—objectivity. Objectivity implies a striving for the precise procedure for weighing the pros and the cons and a presentation of the complete picture.
student body is shipped out at 3:15. Attempts at having afterschool activities during the day have been disastrous thus far.
I believe this practice should extend to editorial writing as well as to news stories. Persuasion of students is the mission. The Elton John Concert Committee had the pleasure of working with many people and organizations, such as the Campus Some, including SUA, Campus Security and the staff of the Alumni Association (in particular, Steve Clark, Assistant Director of Research) received objective treatment in Kansan articles and editors.
The Board of Class Officers and the Elton John Concert Committee, on behalf of the thousands who enjoyed Friday night's concert, sincerely thank all involved with the show. We also have an opportunity to give Burge and his band Wiley and the men of Buildings and Grounds, and Sinton and Novotny our special thanks.
Other organizations and people, like Buildings and Grounds, Frank Burge and the University of Texas, especially Directors of Athletics Wade Stinson and his assistant, John Novotny, have been the most press. Much criticism and little praise has been extended to them.
Burge contributed valuable insight and hours to plans for the ticket sale, allowed us to use a large chunk of the Union first day of ticket sales, extended additional Union facilities to help make wheel ticket buyers a little easier to find, helped in cleaning up "October Second's Aftermath of Garbage" in and around the 'Union'.
Finally, Novotny and Stinson deserve special recognition because the Athletic Department and especially Stinson have been the objects of scouting verbal attacks, usually by editorial staff. The gentlemen welcomed our concert to the field house. They permitted us to use locker rooms and Ted Owens' office as dressing rooms. The day of the show, Stinson put the field house managers at the concert committee's disposal. He was also given a curtain backdrop for the stage, an Elton John last-minute technical requirement.
Wiley and BBG set up Allen Field House for the show, a function they perform for every season. They play in Auditorium or Allen Field House. Most important, the men of BBG showed remarkable patience in dealing with Elton John's lighting and stage bands. They worked on many projects. How they ever put up with some of Elton's aides is beyond me.
"Teachers have difficulty in grouping students according to ability, as this often results in all of the same groups, and this is a no-no.
Absolutely nothing required these people to help the show. They assisted us because they are sincere concern for KU's students. And
they have contributed this valuable assistance for every field house concert that I remember. As Katherine Gilee, we all went to our yesterday, "You can really count on all of them for help."
And yet these same people are criticized more often than they are thanked. This fact presents two problems. It indicates that students have not been telling the whole story about these individuals and organizations. Significantly complementing this problem is the utter silence from student leadership in most cases in which students have not served university community who has served the student body.
The student leadership, and indeed all students, should inquire about the students have served the students. We cannot expect the staff of the Kanas to be as thorough as we can with our students in its pursuit of ability.
I hope the belief that our generation is more suited to criticize than to appreciate is not true. This seems inherently cruel for objectivity must include the good as well as the bad.
Thank you Wade Stinson, John Novotny, Buildings and Grounds and the Kansas Union for your help. In the face of occasional criticism from student sources, you continue to serve us.
Dave Hull Whittier, Cal., senior Elton John Concert Chairman
"Discipline has suffered as we cannot keep white students after school, and most white female teachers are unwilling to stay on campus, but rather with discipline problems or parent conferences. During the first year of integration I tried keeping black students after school but found that they were not so white, so white children were kept after school. According to them I was grieved.
"The most ridiculous problem was been the Title I program. I'm sure you are familiar with this federally funded program which was supposed to broaden the education of advantaged children. So long as the school was all-black, the Title I program rocked along with no problems. I don't know that it any good, but at least it was there and I suppose the black people big Brother was trying to help.
"But when the whites were shipped in, we found ourselves with an all-black T class I class, which, according to the Powers That Hold the Pursestrings, equals inferior education. The only trouble was the disavantaged white families didn't
want to put their able but disadvantaged white children in the Title I class. In other words, the po' whites didn't want to put their children in with so many po' blacks.
"So an appeal went out to the more intellectually inclined families. The class really was an elite group, we said, with special interests, such as perceptions, etc. Thus we had white children from $80,000 homes with swimming pools, maids, summers in Europe, etc., being sent with Federal funds to the zoo, and the telephone company.
"But justice triumphed. This year someone in the great somewhere caught up with us. We were not alone. The percentage of affluent families was now high enough that the school could no longer be considered in a disadvantaged district. We were not able to file a program. It was cancelled.
"Finally, the entire school system is in financial trouble. The purchase, operation and upkeep of this school must be the salary of an integration supervisor and staff, and the cost of increased vandalism must be quite a drain. According to the grapevine, the enrichment program will help music, art, shop, and home ec. Some improvement!
"So far I really can't see that the situation of the black child is the same as the white-dare I say it—they may be worse than they were before."
(C) The Washington Star Syndicate, Inc.
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