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University Daily Kansan Wednesday, March 16. 1960
Dear ASC:
Why Do You Exist?
Student government should function to benefit as many students as possible.
One specific method of providing good student government would be to institute new programs that fulfill the needs of a growing university.
KU's All Student Council passes few important bills. A quick count of bills passed this year gives us the nice round sum of two.
Somehow the ASC did arise out of its dormant condition long enough to pass a bill to provide both spring and fall elections and a bill establishing Spectrum as an official campus magazine. A few amendments have brought existing bills up to date without effecting major changes.
Most of the Council's meeting time is spent bickering about how many election posters should be hung from which stump or how the Homecoming Queen could be selected by more students.
Our ASC provides us with a "three-hour" government.
It meets for approximately three hours every week or two under the pretenses of improving student government. Aren't the improvements staggering?
It happens there is one group that describes problems that are common to most college campuses. This group is of course the National Student Association (NSA). KU does not actively participate in NSA. In fact, there is now a bill before the Council to disaffiliate from the group.
Here we would like to offer an alternate solution. Why not abolish the ASC and keep the NSA?
What good is the ASC if it is not intended to institute beneficial changes into student life? Does it exist merely to maintain the status quo so the students' happy little minds will not be disturbed with a lot of nerve-racking changes?
Is the Harvard on the Kaw's student government proud to remain as the navel of campus dormancy?
Only one candidate has filed for student body president. There is not even a party, let alone a candidate, to oppose him.
Could it be that the good ole lethargic spirit reigns just as strong among student politicians as it does in the rest of our student body.
Consistency is comforting so we probably should give three vigorous "hurrahs" and be satisfied with the sameness on our campus.
We have probably reached the ultimate in conformity.
Attention, Frenchmen
Editor:
I assume that "the representatives of the French nation on this campus" (or are they ambassadors?) are awake from their brown study by now. Their piously empty letter would have been a fine speech in the Palais Bourbon, for example, but more so at a soap-box performance. For what was purported to be a "strong and energetic protest" was unfortunately such a balderdash of mediocrity as would have shamed French-born Descartes of philosophy and mathematics fame.
One expected a cogent front of argument from those "educated" French representatives instead of that glib savory of emotional overtones that echoed throughout their letter; with such trites as: "our beloved country," etc., as if they are the only people with a country. And yet they accuse me of being emotional. Undoubtedly, my letter was a pill of facts so bitter to take that they had to take the easy way out, just say it was emotional. How clever!
Those honorable French representatives wondered as to whether I am educated at all. Very interesting, Africans may raise their palms for technical aid, but for the lumber-room importance of common sense and native intelligence, they have it right underneath their mud huts. I know that you will not believe this, representatives, quite aware of your weirdly debauched concept of the African Personality. You even call Africa's freedom fighters terrorists, rebels, etc.
Your letter ended with Liberte.
Fraternite and what have you. How elegant and great! But cast a glance at your own inhumane atrocities being meted out to Africa's suffering Algeria. How hypocritical can you be!
Those honorable representatives took to wild guesses at my being Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's supporter (educated representatives, note the correct spelling of his name). Whether it is Dr. Nkrumah's part in Africa's liberation movement or President De Gaulle's rejuvenation of France or Western Europe is beside the point at issue. Those educated gentlemen, sad to say, did not understand; thus making the matter of principle degenerate into an attack on personalities. For your own benefit I repeat the points I raised: that atomic fallout on the Sahara is harmful to Africans; that France stubbornly gave a deaf ear to the protests of nations; and what business has France on the Sahara Desert, anyway — just because she is a colonist power.
Now the honorable educated representatives want documents to prove that atomic blasts with all their devastating evil effects are not beneficial to mankind. That is tantamount to saying: "to hell with disarmament plans. It is beneficial to demolish this world with H-bombs first before nations sit down to have any serious talk about halting atomic tests and about the disarmament of nations." How ridiculous, and yet those French representatives are educated and should know better.
From a recent letter by the President of Hilden Gibson Co-op. Mr. Elliott, his role is abundantly clear. He is just a duped imperialist
stooge and demagogue of the archetype. He can sit back in his lazy chair and revile with his sadly jocose vociferations and outbursts.
Augustine G. F Ghana junior
True Greatness
...
May I, through the courtesy of your column, take issue with the exponents of French version of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity by the representatives of France on this campus. In the Kansan of March 8 these honorable young men gave their verdict of Mr. Kyei as "not educated at all." This remark does not seem to be very fraternal.
A topic or an issue—and Mr. Kyei did raise a significant issue—might lose usefulness and vitality when discussion of principles is allowed to degenerate into personal attacks.
Greatness or glory of France is the precious and proud heritage for every French man and woman and as long as they desire or choose to remember and revere it no force could likely deprive them of it, not the least the individual letter. The letter seemed to me as symbolic expression of the feelings of exploitation and denial of human aspirations.
UNIVERSITY Dailu Hansan
Founded 1889, became biweekly 1904, triweekly 1908, daily Jan. 16, 1912.
Telephone Viking 3-2700
University of Kansas student newspaper
Ghana junior
Rick Morton Managing Editor Ray Miller, Carol Heller, George DeBord and Carolyn Frailey, Assistant Managing Editors; Jane Boyd, City Editor; Ralph (Gabby) Wilson and Warren Haskins, Sports Editors; Carrie Edwards and Priscilla Burton, Society Editors.
Extension 11, news room
Extension 376, business office
Telephone VIking 3-2700
Member Inland Daily Press Association. Associated Collegiate Press. Represented by National Advertising Service, 420 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. News service: United Press International. Mail subscription rates: $3 a semester or $5 a year. Published in Lawrence, Kan., every afternoon during the university year except Saturday and Sundays. University holidays, and examination periods. Entered as second-class matter Sept. 17, 1910, at Lawrence, Kan., post office under act of March 3, 1879.
NEWS DEPARTMENT
Would it be too much to ask as to how, without mental gymnastics, the meanings of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity could be explained in the present context of French struggle in Africa. No nation can live merely on past achievements or performances. France is no exception. Maybe a few contrasting situations can help sharpen the issue of basic respect for human dignity. Compare the withdrawal of USA from the Philippines, of the British from Pakistan and India. To me they carry more prestige and greatness. Was French withdrawal from Indo-China in close approximation of her greatness and glorious magnanimity?
Jack Morton
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Douglas Yocom and Jack Harrison
BUSINESS DEPARTMENT
Douglas Yocom and Jack Harrison Co-Editorial Editors
Bruce Lewellyn ... Business Manager
I mean no ill-will to France and no offense is implied to the French fellow students on this campus, but the rearguard battle of France in an hopeless cause of maintaining imperial dependencies at this critical stage of human civilization, and the effects of this policy on her allies in an overall global context, might inevitably result in an unfavorable verdict by future historians. That, I am afraid, would not be in consonance with true greatness of France. And true greatness to me means a proportionate contribution towards elevation of human dignity and not its degradation or retardation.
Looks This Way . . .
R. M. Naib
Pakistan,graduate student
By Carol Heller
The attack on women's white socks by men is ridiculous.
Calder Pickett, associate professor of journalism, discussed the subject of conformity among college students in the January KU Alumni Magazine — using the white socks as his example.
A couple of weeks ago James Graves, my Western Civilization instructor, dragged the white-socks issue into a discussion about individuality.
Ku men jeeringly tolerate the offending white socks.
And why? It is as ridiculous as if women suddenly observed with a patronizing chuckle, "Those men are such conformists —
every one of them wears trousers — and they must be long-legged trousers, of course."
Women have two good reasons for wearing white socks: practicality and good taste.
Although socks are footwear, women consider them underwear. And most underwear is white. Peek at a woman's clothesline — you will rarely see a pair of black panties or a red bra swinging from the line.
White socks are practical because they can be thrown in with the rest of the washing instead of washing a "white" load and a "colored" load.
What do men know about the problem of washing women's clothing? Nothing. But Pat Campbell over at Sellards Hall knows what happens when a pair of green socks goes into the washer. She now has a wardrobe of green underwear.
A pair of red socks with a pair of black and white saddle oxfords would be horribly flashy. A pair of brown-checked socks with a brown sweater and skirt ensemble begins to get too busy.
Good taste becomes involved in the white-socks issue because subdued colors are in vogue today. And besides, nothing is prettier than a smooth-shaven leg and a clean white sock.
Women have to get up at 6:30 a.m. to get properly dressed in time for eight o'clock classes.
What would happen if the women bowed down to the men and east off their white socks?
The women have to allow an extra 10 minutes of dressing time to decide which pair of socks would go best with what outfit.
The only solution would be to sell dyed-to-match socks with clothing ensembles. What a pain-in-the-neck this would be when one Dusky-Pink sock gets lost in the wash.
There probably isn't another Dusky-Pink sock in the whole country. A whole new outfit would have to be purchased. Fathers would go broke trying to keep their daughters fashionably dressed. College enrollment would go down.
Men should tend to their knitting and let well-enough alone.
It is my experience that those who are most positive about political problems are able to be positive only because they do not know all the relevant facts. Those who are most harsh in their judgments are able to be harsh for that same reason. When the whole of a problem is known, solutions become excessively difficult and judgments are not easily made—John Foster Dulles
LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS By Dick Bibler
"I UNDERSTAND THEY'VE HAD A TOUGH TIME FINDING A QUALIFIED HOME EC TEACHER.