'Humor Beyond Me,' Says Prof. Crafton
By Bill Blundell
Tongue in cheek all the way, Professor of Speech Allen Crafton took 45 rib-tickling minutes last night to explain to a waiting audience why he had no lecture to give them.
Speaking at the second of a series of "Last Lectures." Prof. Crafton said he was disappointed when the program chairman asked him to talk in a humorous vein.
"I was miserable when I found out that they didn't want me to discuss some weighty, portentous subject. Why, I asked myself, wasn't I able to deal with, say, the fate of the theater in America after World War II?" said the silver-haired professor.
He said that after analyzing the various types of public lecturers found on the campus today, he chasin and envy began to fade.
that the serious speakers of today inflate the insignificant and tell nothing new because nothing is new," said Prof. Crafton, drawing laughter from the audience.
"Aided by the book, 'How Men Think or do They,' I discovered
He said prehistoric man has given us the wheel and fig-leaf clothing, which is still with us as the Bikini. He added that the Roman contribution to civilization has not been improved upon by modern man.
"The Romans gave us hot and cold running water, the razor and beauty parlors. In their time, men could kill themselves just as dead as they can today with the H-bomb — and much more economically."
Peering mischievously over his glasses, Prof. Crafton then began a thorough ribbing of today's public lecturers.
On psychologists:
"Their racket consists of telling people things they already know
in 'language they don't understand."
On businessmen:
"They've had the same things to
Allen Crafton
say since the first sandal merchant stood up in the Athenian Chamber of Commerce and complained about the high cost of goatskin."
He added that the personal history of businessmen is remarkably uniform:
"It usually turns out that he (the businessman speaker) was born in the country, of poor but honest parents. He goes to the big city and drives himself to make his fortune so he can go back and build a split-level domicile in the country. This is what is known as the business cycle."
On philosophers:
"He is the real playboy among those in whom the disease of deep thinking has reached an acute stage."
After dismissing a serious topic as a subject for his lecture, Prof. Crafton said that he turned to humor but found that "the task was beyond me." More laughter
came from the receptive audience.
came from the receptive audience. Prof. Crafton spoke warmly of humor as an antidote for the world's ills.
"Hilator had no sense of humor and started a war. I can't picture James Thurber or Bob Hope starting a war, can you? A war cannot be laughed into existence," he declared.
He said that humor was paradoxical because the man who enjoys a joke does so at the expense of someone else.
"The marvel of humor is that we are able to laugh at the ridicule of those we love without loving them less."
"Life, seen down the long vista of the past, always dissolves into a smile," said Prof. Crafton.
He added that humor evolves from past events which people look back on with pleasure after time has softened the hurt they originally inflicted.
Daily Hansan
57th Year, No. 110
Students, Faculty Approve Stop Day
Faculty members and students generally approved of the "review day" proposal today.
The proposal, which still must be approved by the University Senate, was approved by the College Faculty at a meeting Tuesday.
Kenneth Anderson, dean of the School of Education, said:
The "stop day" or "review day" bill, as it is now referred to, proposed by the ASC. would guarantee one free day between the ending of classes and the begin- ning of final week.
"If we do have a review day and if the students use it in the terms that is was established, I think it would be a good thing. However, it should be considered by all the units of the University. I do understand that it is to go before the University Senate."
Clifford G. Griffin, assistant professor of history, said:
"I definitely would favor a stop day. More than one day between classes and final examinations would be even better.
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
"Students as a whole physically need such a period. They are usually run down from working on overwhelming assignments which professors squeeze in during the last week of courses."
Several deans who did not wish to be quoted said they thought the "review day" was a good idea, but felt the students would not take advantage of the opportunity.
Student council members voiced their approval.
Sally Carnahan, Topeka senior, said: "I hope the College Faculty's approval is only the first step in whole University approval. I hope a satisfactory program will be worked out for the future in which one day, and perhaps more will be reserved before final week for reviewing."
"I am gratified to see the College Faculty committee take the initiative to act on this matter of a "review day." Even though the ASC had begun its investigation of a review day, it apparently was felt that our machinery was too slow and cumbersome to obtain our objective, at least this semester."
Rudy Vondracek, Timken senior and ASC chairman, said:
Weather
Cloudy to partly cloudy this afternoon and tonight. Considerable cloudiness tomorrow with rain and a few thunderstorms mostly south portion. Colder or turning colder most sections this afternoon and northeast and extreme east tonight. Low tonight 15 to 20 northeast and in 20s elsewhere.
Counseling Begins Here Next Week
The confusion so common in "The Pen" during enrollment will not be present to hamper counseling in the quiet of an adviser's office next week.
All freshmen and sophomores in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are scheduled to meet with their advisers next Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday. The purpose of these midsemester conferences is to help the student evaluate his college work so far and plan future schedules.
This year the number of faculty members serving as advisers has been increased from about 100 to total 143. With more advisers the load on individual advisers will be lightened. Some faculty members were counseling 30 or more students last year.
The winners of the first annual KU photo contest sponsored by Kappa Alpha Mu, honorary photojournalism fraternity, and Mosser-Wolf Inc., Lawrence camera store, were announced today.
Down slips will not be mailed to parents of students until after the counseling period. This will give students time to write to their parents after counseling, to explain the grades and future plans.
The first place prize of $15 went to Curtis J. Steele, Lawrence senior. Second place honors and $10 went to Warren L. Denning, Lawrence junior and third place and $5 went to Mary Jane Brewer, Kansas City, Kan., graduate.
KU Photo Contest Winners Named
More than 20 students entered pictures in the contest.
The prizes are in the form of gift certificates to the Mosser-Wolf camera store.
Judges for the contest were Harry O. Wright, University photographer, Kenneth Kiley, instructor of speech and journalism, and Maurice Prather, KU graduate and Lawrence resident.
Crafton Will Read For Poetry Hour
Allen Crafton, professor of speech, will read Master's "Spoon River Anthology" at the Poetry Hour at 4 p.m. today in the Music Room of the Kansas Union.
Swim Fashions
Thursday, March 24, 1960
All That Glitters
Suzanne Kastner, Salina senior, modeled a $500 spun-gold bathing suit at last night's fashion show in the Kansas Union Ballroom.
"People aren't expected to buy such an expensive suit, but it makes a good conversation piece at shows." Miss Kastner said. (See related story on page 5).
Macmillan Visits Washington Soon
By United Press International
British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan will fly to Washington this weekend for conferences with President Eisenhower on Russian nuclear ban proposals. The White House announced that Macmillan is making the trip at the suggestion of Eisenhower. He will arrive here Saturday and their talks will begin Monday.
Meanwhile, in Geneva the Soviet Union swung into secret diplo-
Riots in Africa Stir UN Debate
UNITED NATIONS, N. Y.—(UPI)
Secretary-general Dag Hammarskjold said today the United Nations is entitled to discuss the race riots which have caused more than 80 deaths in South Africa.
The 29-nation Afro-Asian group of U.N. members met in closed session today to discuss whether to bring the South African situation before the world organization.
The nine African members yesterday privately took a stand in favor of putting the issue before the Security Council. The full group today was understood to be considering tacking the South African case on to its request for a special General Assembly session to debate France's nuclear tests in the Sahara Desert.
The U.N. Charter specifically forbids the world organization from intervening in the domestic affairs of any country. South Africa has argued over several years that U.N. debates on its apartheid (racial segregation) policy were forbidden under article two, section seven of the charter.
Composer, Critic To Lecture Here
Mr. Kubik, who will speak on the relationship of abstract to functional music on May 2, has been awarded the Pulitzer award, The Prix de Rome, The Jascha Heifetz, The Golden Jubilee Awards of the Chicago Symphony and a citation from National Association of Composers and Conductors. The last Award was for the score for the cartoon "Gerald MeBoing Boeing."
Composer Gail Kubik and Washington Post music critic Paul Hume are among the featured lecturers for the Second Annual Symposium of Contemporary American Music on campus May 2-5.
Mr. Hume has been music critic for the Washington Post since 1946 and has written critical articles for "The Saturday Review." He will speak on the techniques of music criticism on May 4.
let Union swung into secret diplomacy today, indicating it might be ready to discuss details of controlled disarmament.
Valerian Zorin, chief of the Russian delegation at the 10 nation East-West summit conference, arranged lunch tomorrow with U.S. Chief Delegate Frederick M. Eaton for their first private talks.
Eisenhower and Macmillan will try to coordinate the allied position on the Russian proposal made recently at the Geneva disarmament conference. Because the chief executive has a speaking engagement Sunday night before the White House conference on youth, the Eisenhower-Macmillan talks will not begin until sometime Monday. Further details will be announced later.
Principal speakers as the conference went into its eighth session today were Jules Moch of France and Poland's Marion Naskowski.
Under repeated prodding yesterday, Zorin offered the rough outline of an inspection program which he said his government would be willing to accept for the disposal of conventional armaments. Details, he said, would come later.
As outlined by Zorin, the communists would be prepared to allow an international task force of inspectors to count the number of troops demobilized under an East-West treaty and the number and types of armaments taken out of use.
Russia, he said, also would agree to have inspectors on its soil even after disarmament is brought about, to see that its armed forces are not revived.
The offer clouded considerably, however, when Zorin told the conference that Russia would not permit certain checks on its armed forces which could be used "for intelligence or espionage."
Civil Engineers Meet
The American Society of Civil Engineers will meet at 7 p.m. tonight in Marvin Hall, Room 16. The topics for discussions will include plans for the engineering exposition and the student paper competition.