Page 2
University Daily Kansan Wednesday, Nov. 19, 1958
A Job Well Done
The University deserves praise for the smooth way it handled a recent problem of academic freedom. The KU problem came up when 25 faculty men opposed the right to work amendment in a political advertisement, using the University's name as well as their own.
Chancellor Franklin D. Murphy, who was undoubtedly under pressure from alumni and other groups in the state, resisted any temptation to apply a gag. He outlined a reasonable policy for the faculty to follow—the University represents the entire state and its variety of opinions, so the KU name should not be used in advocating a political cause. The Board of Regents affirmed the policy.
The chancellor, in a speech to alumni in Hutchinson, said faculty and students were not only permitted, but encouraged to make their views public. He demonstrated his concern in the over-explained field of academic freedom.
When the faculty men were called into the chancellor's office, there was no fist-shaking, shouting scene of the sort popularly imagined when a university head calls a meeting. The chancellor neither censured nor censored, but simply got the facts and explained the University's position.
The right to speak has been jeopardized or curtailed in many schools in this country. KU can be grateful for the way the question was handled here. —Al Jones
Every Prospect Please—But One
Undoubtedly, the University needs some method of waking students in one class and getting them to another. But why, oh why, must the means it employs be so barbaric?
The KU whistle conveys the most nerve-shattering sound its purveyors could discover.
Scientists say the world's worst sound is that of the unknown. Others claim that the worst has already been heard, such as the East African zebu mating call. Now we have our own choice, the two-toned scream emitting from the power
plant.
KU's outstanding campus beauty is a source of pride. The University consistently takes pains to preserve this beauty, from planting "no standing" signs on lawns to special lighting effects for buildings. The chimes of our famed campanile also add to the desired atmosphere.
Then, with a shock, KU loses all of its pleasant, inspirational beauty when that loud-mouthed whistle opens its big, fat valve.
—Jeanne Arnold
Operating the Big Book Barn
By Bob Harwi
The man who has charge of KU's library system, and all 800.000 volumes,has this sign on his desk:
DIRECTOR Department of Big Deals
The self-kidding sense of humor of Robert Vosper, who came to KU in 1952 from UCLA, does not carry over when he talks about books.
Books are his specialty. He takes them seriously. They have been an important part of his life since he received a professional degree in library work from the University of California Graduate School in 1940.
Students often take Watson Library for granted. To many its functions range from a meeting place for dates to a place for sleep. But it is the nerve center
tor the 67 departments of the University library system.
Included in this system, run on an annual budget of $500,000, are 85 full-time and 150 part-time employees. The book procurement program, using $200,000 of the budget, brings in 50,000 books each year and 8,000 magazines and periodicals at any given time.
The undergraduate library is the most familiar arm of the system to most students. But its 150,000 volumes are only a part of the over-all library structure. The remaining volumes are for research by advanced scholars.
Mr. Vosper, in supervising this empire of the written word, must see that the supply of books never stops. His staff must have any one of the 800,000 volumes available on a moment's notice. And then he must continually make room for the thousands of volumes that pour onto the library shelves each year.
In addition, the library is engaged in definite long-range programs.
"First, we want to increase student interest in reading." Mr. Vosper said. "We want students to enjoy reading so they will continue to read when they leave school. That is why we have tried to create an attractive atmosphere in the undergraduate library."
Mr. Vosper said the library also attempts to show that books are a vital part of the history of civilization and of our cultural heritage.
"Our third problem is to fit this library into a national and international system of libraries," Mr. Vosper said. "The number of books today is so great that no one library can provide them all."
Robert Vosper
An example of this last point is the Midwest Inter-library Center, an organization of 16 universities which share books. KU is a member.
The Center owns a Chicago building containing 1,500,000 volumes. The Center and member schools are linked by a teletype system.
This system gives access to a pool of 12 million books.
The library buys and trades books with virtually all countries of the world. In some cases, as with Russia, it is often easier to trade books than to try to bring a currency exchange into the transaction.
Our most persistent problem is deciding what books are needed and then getting them," Mr. Vosper said. "We must continually add to our research collection so that it will remain useful to our faculty and staff."
The library at present is fast running out of space to place its ever-increasing volumes. But, Mr. Vooper said, the library cannot afford to stop growing, for that would be fatal.
University of Kansas student newspaper
Founded 1859, became bweekly 1964,
published monthly 1974.
UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA
Dailu fransan
Telephone VIking 3-2700
Extension 711, news room
Extension 376, business office
Member Inland Daily Press Association.
Associated College Press. Repressed by National Advertising Service,
420 Madison Ave. New York,
New York news service. Narrative subscription rates: $3 a semester or $4.50 a published in Lawrence, Kan., every afternoon during the University year except Saturdays and, Sundays, University holidays, and examination periods. Entered as second-class matter Sept. 17, at office under act of March 3, 1879.
NEWS DEPARTMENT
Malcolm Applegate ... Managing Editor
BUSINESS DEPARTMENT
BUSINESS DEPARTMENT
Bill Irvine
Business Manager
EMPLOYMENT MANAGER
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Al Jones          Editorial Editor
By Myrna C. Giles
THE NEW MATHEMATICS by Irving Adler. John Day Co., Inc. $3.75.
Why is the product of two negative numbers positive? Why do we have to complicate arithmetic with negative numbers? Is a $x$b always equal to b $\times$ a? When adding columns of figures, is the answer always the same whether we add from the top down or the bottom up? Do imaginary numbers really exist? Can all algebraic equations be solved? What meaning does the mathematician attach to such words as group, ring, and ideal?
Mr. Adler has written a fascinating book answering these questions, and more, about the mysterious realm of the "new" mathematics encountered usually only by undergraduate and graduate mathematics majors. He covers a multitude of topics with remarkable simplicity in this book written for the non-mathematician.
He helps the reader to see the beauty of our number system and its underlying concepts. Starting with a discussion of the integers we use for counting, he shows how the number system is expanded to include negative integers, fractions, radicals, and the so-called imaginary numbers. The laws which govern our use of numbers are revealed in such a way that one cannot help being surprised at discovering what is behind our everyday calculations.
The reader will particularly enjoy the "do it yourself" sections at the ends of the chapters. Playing with different kinds of number systems (even some without "numbers"), mappings, graphs, matrices, and permutations gives meaning and enjoyment to the one who is willing to start.
In trying to simplify a subject, a writer often complicates it by oversimplification. Mr. Adler avoids this by being careful not to omit essential ideas which are at first glance very complicated. Instead he simplifies his style rather than his content by giving frequent reviews of previous definitions and ideas, few cross references, and sentences with one and only one idea. His many examples aid the mathematician as well as the layman in understanding the abstractions treated in the textbooks.
I would recommend this book for all those interested in seeing something of the order and continuity of mathematics in a very painless way. A background in high school algebra and geometry is all that is needed to read this book with understanding. Teachers especially should take this opportunity to keep pace with a growing field of mathematics.
Perhaps the best summation of Adler's purpose in writing "The New Mathematics" can be found in this quote from the preface: "...the reader will become aware that he is merely nibbling at the corner of a great rug that has a beautiful, but intricate design woven into it. If what he sees from the corner arouses his curiosity about the main design, it is hoped that he will satisfy this curiosity by systematic study from some of the standard textbooks."
Hates Us
Editor:
We realize the UDK's policy of criticism in its reviews, but we feel that it is rather advantageous to know something about the subject being reviewed. We refer to Robert Harwi's review of Sunday's jazz concert which was sponsored by the KU Jazz Club.
We would like to quote some portions of Mr. Harwi's review and make a few comments. In the first paragraph Mr. Harwi says:
"... there was enough 'solid' music to satisfy anyone liking the popular idiom at all."
Here we quote a definition from Barry Ulanov's Handbook of Modern Jazz. "Solid—superlative, swing era version more or less synonymous with groovy." This is the music of the Benny Goodman era in the late 1930s. There was nothing resembling this type of music in Sunday's concert.
"Although playing well together, the groups kept a certain sameness in most of its arrangements." It was the sameness in arrangement that you find in Basie and Herman. However, it is understandable that someone unfamiliar with jazz would note a sameness.
"There is little drive in modern jazz." We would suggest Mr. Harwi listen to the work of Andre Previn or Oscar Peterson and his group, just to name two of the popular jazz groups of today. There most certainly is drive in modern jazz.
"The Jaws had obviously rehearsed." This is nice.
"The trumpet section hit crisp, clean notes... This is important. After all, one of the most important rules of modern jazz is that all notes be crisp and clean!
"It is necessary to be a modern jazz fan to appreciate their five numbers." We have several good friends who certainly are not modern jazz fans and yet they enjoyed the concert very much.
"But there was nothing to distinguish one solo from another." Does a trumpet really sound that much like a sax?
"All this is not saying the musicians were incompetent. It was the method that was at fault." It is amazing how Mr. Harwi is able to write a review of a particular performance when he obviously knows nothing about the subject and, moreover, dislikes the whole of modern jazz!
Robert C. Morris
Topeka junior
David May
Merriam junior