4
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, October 7,1968
Integration here
"All at once Northern liberals discovered that integration could mean demonstrations in front of their schools, protest marches, on their main streets. All at once, Negroes were not just a faceless social cause, but a community of individuals, some of whom could be as intractable, nasty, destructive—and racist—as some whites had been all along. And through these discoveries ran the nagging realization that the more the Negroes got the more they demanded. That this is a universal human trait was beside the point."
Time magazine. Oct. 4. 1968
Lawrence has just had a taste of what it's like to have demonstrations on front of their schools
And unnervingly the general reaction fit Time's description rather closely.
Both school administrators and Lawrence citizens protested that the demands of the black students at Lawrence High School were ridiculous, that the students had no right to say that they had been discriminated on those points.
Why should there have to be a Negro cheerleader or a Negro in the royalty nominations? Why should Negroes have a separate Black Union when they could technically belong to the regular student council? Why, when Negro teachers are hard to get, should they demand black history course and teachers and coaches?
And what's more, who have them the right to
disrupt the school system of Lawrence High School?
So go the arguments of a white community that has always virtuously thought itself to be fair and unprejudiced.
The greatest danger in the Negro movement for complete equality today is not white racists but white moderates in towns like Lawrence. These moderates, who have given Negroes some of their basic rights, feel righteously obligated to put in place Negroes who ask for more, Negroes who demand over-compensation socially to allow future equality.
Perhaps it is impossible to solve all the demands of the Lawrence High School black students. For instance, it is hard to find Negro teachers and if there aren't qualified high school teachers to be had, they can't be drawn out of thin air.
But the sincere liberals of Lawrence must listen to the demands and fairly and honestly try to solve the problems of their black students.
For, if they take the view of considering the Negro simply as an ethnic minority with unreasonable demands, the Lawrence citizens will be denying the American history with its promise of emancipation for all races.
And they will be setting the stage for a future civil war - white against black.
Alison Steimel
Editorial Editor
HHH bolsters race
Vice President Hubert Humphrey, in the most significant speech of the campaign, has provided the stimulus to bolster his sagging race for the White House.
In his national televised address Monday, Humphrey made his biggest move to date to disassociate himself from the Johnson war policy. The Democratic presidential hopeful pledged, if elected, 1) to halt the bombing of North Vietnam; 2) to de-Americanize the war through a timetable of U.S. troop withdrawals and 3) to propose an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of all foreign troops under the supervision of the United Nations or some other international agency.
Although Humphrey allowed himself an escape clause by reserving the right to resume bombing if Hanoi showed "bad faith," he nonetheless put significant political distance between himself and the Johnson administration. Humphrey's peace plan, contrary to the line held by the Johnson administration, does not demand reciprocal withdrawal of regular troops from South Vietnam in exchange for a bombing halt.
While charges of political motivation have been fired from Republican quarters, they carry little justification. The vice president has an outstanding record as a champion of minority causes. Humphrey was a civil rights leader in his party and in
There is justifiable reason to believe that Humphrey will deliver what he promises. Whether his promise of a bombing halt extends far enough to pacify the majority of dissident Democrats remains to be seen. This question will, in all likelihood, be the pivotal point of the election.
the Senate at a time when the political profits from such a cause were minimal.
The most significant ramification of Humphrey's peace proposal is that he may have opened the door just enough for Senator Eugene McCarthy.
Just prior to Humphrey's peace proposal, one of the leading pollsters in the nation, Don Muchmore, predicted that the vice president could win if McCarthy rallied to his side. Muchmore is chairman of the Board of Opinion Research of the California Poll, and of Surveyors, Incorporated.
If a McCarthy endorsement of Humphrey is forthcoming, to have a substantial effect on the vice president's campaign, it must include a plea for McCarthy supporters to campaign for Humphrey.
The Minnesota Senator has hinted that he intends to appear on national television in the near future. If this materializes, his appearance will no doubt be viewed with hopeful anticipation by the Humphrey camp. A nod from McCarthy could revitalize a sagging Humphrey campaign.
Richard Lundquist
Editorial Assistant
Student affairs
Info column proposed
A community of 20,000 people needs good information dispensers. This is especially true of the University which is an amorphous body with many ill-defined information centers. It is becoming increasingly difficult for all of us to know where to go to find answers. The problem is compounded by the fact that there are perhaps 5,000 new members of this community each year.
Sources of information are the faculty and student handbooks, the various catalogues, brochures put out by departments and divisions, news releases, the Daily Kansan etc., but it is difficult to know where to look or to check on a rumor that something has changed.
One partial solution is to set up a question and answer column in the Daily Kansan. I would like to try this.
Questions submitted to the Daily Kansan will be screened and sent to me for investigation and answers as determined by such facts as may be available. Help in obtaining the facts will be solicited from anyone in the community.
This column is being initiated on a trial basis. Let's see how it works.
William Balfour Dean of Student Affairs
Letters to editor
Dinh misrepresented
To the Editor:
Tran Van Dinh brought to KU students a graciousness and empathy unusual for speakers about the war in Vietnam. Instead of impassioned argument, he provided a quiet rhetoric of understanding. His discussion of the war in the Minority Opinion's Forum Monday was excellent and the SUA is to be congratulated for obtaining him.
On the other hand, the UDK's blatant and appalling misrepresentation of the former ambassador's position on the war merits some attempt to identify the real issues of his talk. The opening lines of the UDK's article states that Tran Van Dinh "says he is backing the Communists in Vietnam." At no time in his opening presentation did he make such a statement. Only in the question period, when pursued by an incredibly ill-mannered boor through a loathsome series of questions and challenges, did the ambassador declare his position.
He stated distinctly that he upheld the Buddhist position in Vietnam, one neither Communist nor American but Vietnamese. But this failed to satisfy the inquisitionist, who recognized only two positions—an American side and a Communist side.
To placate the fellow, Mr. Van Dinh asked if he would be satisfied with a statement that he favored the Communists. The person said yes, and Mr. Van Dinh responded accordingly—to the amusement of the audience.
The article goes on, saying that Dinh believes "it is a political and military necessity that the United States withdraw." Then comes the first of several inaccurate quotations: "The U.S. could withdraw within a period of three to six months. It doesn't take near as much time to get out as it does to get in." Take near as much time...? Even if the ambassador had said this, which he did not, he would have phrased it with some deference to proper diction.
Dinh did say that one of the difficulties inherent in U.S. withdrawal is how to justify the number of casualties already suffered. But the reporter failed to grasp the larger structure of the argument. As the ambassador put it, the U.S. is tragically involved in Vietnam; and the essence of the tragedy is the years of commitment, escalation, and destruction we have already sanctioned. These years of rationalizing make it incredibly difficult for the U.S. to admit now that we are wrong. Still, the ambassador contends, just this admission is necessary to secure peace. Of critical importance to the ambassador's discussion of U.S. foreign policy were his treatment of the "domino theory" and his remarks concerning the importance of the tributary system existing between China and the Southeast Asian nations. The UDK reporter either failed to note their importance or had no room for
(Continued to page 5)
THIS IS YOUR FLIGHT CAPTAIN. WE ARE CRUSI-
ING AT AN ALTITUDE OF 35,000 FEET. THOSE FLAMES YOU SEE OUT OF THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT ARE DETROIT.
IN A FEW HOURS
WE WILL BE OVER
LOS ANGELES. AT
THAT TIME YOUR
STEWARDESS WILL
DEMONSTRATE HOW
TO USE THE GAS
MASK WHICH
YOU WILL FIND
LOCATED IN THE
COMPARTMENT
ABOVE YOUR SEAT.
THOSE OF YOU
SEATED ON THE
LEFT WILL SOON
BE AABLE TO SEE
THE SMOKE
INDICATING WHAT
PREVIOUSLY WAS
THE SOUTH SIDE
OF CHICAGO.
IN THE MEANTIME FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE WE HAVE THREE CHANNEL STEREO. ON CHANNEL ONE, THE SPEECHES OF HUBERT HUMPHREY. ON CHANNEL TWO THE SPEECHES OF RICHARD NIXON. ON CHANNEL THREE THE SPEECHES OF GEORGE WALLACE.
OVER ON THE RIGHT AGAIN WEVE FOUND A SMALL OPENING IN THE HOLOCAUST AFFORDING US A PERFECT VIEW OF THE DETENTION CAMPS. THAT'S OUT ON YOUR RIGHT.
RELAX AND ENJOY THE TRIP.
WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE SLIGHT TURBULENCE YOU FEEL. IT IS DUE TO LARGE ACCUMULATIONS OF MACE IN THE ATMOSPHERE. WE SHOULD BE OUT OF IT SHORTLY.
10-6
THIS IS FLIGHT CAPTN JOHNSON SIGNIN OFF.
© 1965 JULES EFFIE