Friday, May 20, 1960 University Daily Kansan Page 3 Students Explain Presidential Choices (Editor's note: This is the last in a series of articles on the voting preferences of KU students and the factors behind these preferences.) By Bill Blundell "HATE NIXON." Printed in bold capitals, this was the terse explanation one student gave as his reasons for preferring a Democratic president in 1960. He was one of 462 students polled by the Daily Kansan last week. The poil asked students enrolled in one or more political science courses to make a choice of a party and to rank the seven major presidential candidates in order of preference. They were then asked to give their reasons for choosing a particular candidate. RESPONSES RANGED from the violent reaction to Mr. Nixon quoted above to an honest but unrevealing, "I like Nixon — I don't know why." By D. Michael Blasingame For one of the most intimate, attention-commanding pieces of experimental theatre given at the University Theatre this year. I recommend you see The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial which opened last night. Herman Wouk's play was creditably staged by Jack Rast, a graduate student in the theatre from Lawrence. A seemingly slow and sterile beginning was soon taken in hand by some of the more experienced actors and was transformed into a progressive fertile production, which at one point became unrelentingly gripping. Moses Gunn, a graduate student from St. Louis, who portrays the superficial Commander Queeg, has "done himself (and the University Theatre) proud" with an almost unbelievably controlled disintegration of the character of a proud man. It is hard to describe the electric response this performance drew from the audience. There was much compassion, both from the audience and the characters on stage as this man gradually was over-taken by his own psychotic viciousness. Although on the surface the plot seems to concern a previous temporary usurption of the fictional U.S.S. Caine's commanding officer, Lt. Commander Queeg, and his usurper, Lt. Maryk, it is interwoven with the selfish, almost egocentric motives of the defense counsel, Lt. Greenwald. Much of the dramatic quality of the script rests upon Greenwald and the audience's question of "will he or will he not save Lt. Maryk from a court martial?" Lt. Greenwald, as played by Alfred Rossi, a graduate student from Chicago, gave an over-all fine performance. Rossi's command of the stage was especially appreciated during some "tight" situations of shaky dialogue created by several actors. Lt. Commander Challee was portrayed by Arly Allen, a senior from Lawrence. Allen's sense of timing, his use of pauses in a desperate attempt to save his exploded case, came across as a sensitive job. Unfortunately, his rapidity of delivery at times clouded important bits of dialogue—a trouble, although minor in this production, which was shared by several actors in "Caine." Presiding over this investigation was the kind, understanding, but strict command of Captain Blakely, played by Charles Kephart, a Salina graduate student. The role of Lt. Maryk was handled by Louis Lyda, a Lawrence graduate student. Although this character has practically no depth, in this production it certainly has due to Lyda's usual thoughtful and creative handling of it. Much of how the audience is to interpret the developments of this play must be revealed in the reactions from Maryk. I was sorry to miss a number of these clues because of awkward blocking at some of those important moments. Some of Wouk's philosophy, "We live in a sick world," is given ironically enough by a psychiatrist who certainly does not display much emotional stability under pressure of cross-examination. Although an epilogue is necessary to dramatically justify Greenwald's motives for his actions in court, it seemed almost anticlimactic. Directorally speaking, this is a tough scene to handle effectively. A drunken get-together of the victors, especially after the climax of Queeg's breakdown, is hard to stage satisfactorily. This scene was fairly adequately handled by the actors, despite some of whose alcohol intake was not equally proportional to their inebriated outflow. This over-all production is well-worth seeing during the remaining two nights of run. "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" promises you two hours of refreshing change of bill of fare in the theatrical diet. Students offered the candidates' popularity with the electorate, legislative voting records, appealing personalities, liberal views, concern for business interests and party support as reasons for selecting their top-ranked candidates. No attempt was made to tabulate or categorize the students' responses to this question because many failed to answer this section of the questionnaire. Also, many of the responses were of too general a nature to categorize. "I chose Nelson Rockefeller because I feel that his previous popularity, experience and the judgment he has shown point to a definite capability for the office. Also, he is my cousin." SOME OF the replies were bizarre. One student gave this reason for choosing Nelson Rockefeller: Another simply wrote, "Friend." Obviously a conservative, another wrote:
DemocratsRepublicansTotal (popularity index)
1st2nd1st2nd
Newspapers68889675327
Magazines88387361260
Television20393457150
Radio17301941107
Books171471149
Examination of the answers given showed some students, both Catholic and Protestant, frankly admitting that religion played a vital part in their selection of a candidate. Some replies were: The very image that Stevenson backers have attempted to discourage — that of the intellectual — was the single factor that seemed to bring all these students into the Stevenson camp. The ex-nominee's political backers worked to erase the "egghead" image that they felt was in part responsible for Stevenson's losses in 1952 and 1956. PREFERENCE FOR MASS MEDIA BY PARTY The most popular candidate in terms of combined first, second, and third-place rankings was Vice President Nixon. More comment, pro and con, was made about Nixon than was made about any of the other candidates. Once again a common characteristic was discovered; the students who favored Nixon did so because they felt his experience made him highly qualified. Some comments were: 2. "His previous experience as vice president, his ability in handling international situations, and his highly respectable judgements in governmental affairs are the reasons I chose Richard Nixon." 1—"Nixon is the first Vice President who has ever done anything besides presiding over the Senate." - "Syrington — A Democrat, a PROTESTANT, and a leader." - "Kennedy — Intelligent, hardworking, and a Catholic." - Every student who commented on Adilai Stevenson praised him for one characteristic — intelligence. Some of the comments were: - "The single primary reason is because of his religion. I think it's miserable to be so intolerant." - Another student who did not indicate a choice by name said: "The best qualified man for the job so long as he is a Protestant." - "Religious preference — John Kennedy." Only a small part of the comment dealt with the religious issue, however. Most students who indicated their reasons for choosing Kennedy seemed to favor him because he was youthful and intelligent. The senator's associates and leaders in the party have feared that his youth might prove a drawback in November. The KU students seem to indicate that this age factor was in Sen. Kennedy's favor. Also, none of the students said Kennedy was too young for the job. - "I chose Stevenson because his great intelligence, coupled with his extensive travels, equip him splendidly for the office." - "Adlai Stevenson would restore the office of the president to an intellectual, authoritative level." - "I'm for eggheads!" - 3. — "The most experienced of all the candidates in running the country." Many professed to believe so strongly in a given party that they voted automatically for the real or titular party head. These choices were almost all for Nixon or Stevenson. Francis sporting goods 731 Massachusetts V" 3-191 Tennis rackets 3.95 to 25.00 - Spalding - Rawlings - Bancroft Or, we'll restring your present racket. "Everything for the Outdoorsman" The Right Gift for Graduation COLOGNES and PERFUMES DANA — COTY — D'ORSAY — MATCHABELLI AND MANY OTHERS by at ROUND CORNER DRUG CO. 801 Mass. COME OUT TO THE BLUE HILLS AND ENJOY A TERRIFIC BARBECUE BEEF The Blue Room is available for party reservations. BLUE HILLS DRIVE-IN Open Fri. & Sat. 11 a.m.- 12 p.m. Open Sun. - Thurs. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Many of the questionnaires showed concern for the development of foreign policy which would be more effective in combating the menace of the Soviet Union. These students usually chose Stevenson or Nixon as well. How did the students arrive at their choices? Why did they express certain feelings about certain candidates? The popularity index method was used to rank these choices just as it was used to rank the candidates, except that only the first and second place choices were totaled. In an attempt to answer these questions, the students were asked to rank the five mass media in order of their value in providing information about presidential candidates. Results showed that the newspaper led all other media by a wide margin, with magazines well back in second place. Books were least valuable to the students, receiving 325 last place votes. TV ran third and radio fourth. An opportunist is someone who, finding himself in hot water, decides he may need a bath anyway.—Unknown. and I'll dance seamless stockings $1.35 to $1.95 pr. Weaver's Hosiery Shop Street Floor