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University Daily Kansan Thursday, Feb. 9. 1961
The Foiled Tricksters
Last week Mississippi segregationists pulled a stunt that ranks with shooting a cowboy's horse from under him. In an effort to keep Negro students from enrolling at the University of Mississippi, eight highway patrol plainclothes officers were detailed to wait inside the administration building. The officers sans cars probably felt as uneasy about the whole thing as a cowboy would without his brone.
HIGHWAY PATROLMEN-NOW, REALLY! The Mississippian responsible for this certainly read a great deal into the contract of the Mississippi highway patrol. It was quite a broad interpretation of the state policeman's duties. Of course, there's always the chance that FBI men some day might be ordered to stand around the nation's post offices and fisheye those who would put three-cent stamps on first-class mail.
In any event, the ordering of state police to keep Negroes from entering a state university shows just how far the Mississippi segregationists will go. Taking a highway patrolman's car from him—my, my. How in the world can the segregationist expect the Mississippi highway cop to watch TV's "State Trooper" without getting envious of what a plush life most highway patrolmen lead? Cars, uniforms, no details to keep students from entering college...
AND, THE IRONIC SIDE OF THE story is the fact that no Negroes even tried to register at the University of Mississippi this semester. Not a single one. The eight patrolmen should have been out chasing the segregationists' kids in their souped-up jalopies. The whole state would have benefitted more in the end.
Dan Felger
Andre States Position
Dear Editor:
In light of the one sided coverage of Tuesday's ASC meeting by the UDK and the resulting fact that the students received only a part of what went on concerning Spectrum at that meeting, I would like the following statement published for the student body to examine. This is the same statement which I presented to the ASC. This is not meant as an answer to the usual misquotations, biased opinions, and "We are God" attitude that the UDK frequently shows in covering events such as this at KU but rather an attempt to present this statement to the students:
Spectrum was born as an attempt by the administration, faculty, ASC, and interested students to replace the risque campus humor magazines with a high quality literary-academic magazine.
I, being no literary expert, am not qualified to judge the literary qualities of Spectrum's two issues. But people who are qualified have repeated their enthusiasm and satisfaction with Spectrum. These people include Chancellor Wescoe, Dean Heller, Dr. Agnew, Mr. Youngberg, Dr. Colodny, and Doloh Simons Sr.
Why then was it a financial failure? Many reasons have been suggested. Undoubtedly, all of them bear some part of the answer. I would briefly like to consider these reasons.
1. Spectrum's staff, its actions, decisions, and policies — Spectrum's staff, all standing near the top of their respective classes and schools in University work,
... Letters ...
worked long and hard on the magazine. The Editorial Board did not work for tangible remuneration but for a top-flight magazine which both themselves and the University could be proud of.
The staff will all admit that everything wasn't perfect. As no human can do the "right" thing all of the time there were undoubtedly errors in our judgment at times. But as an Editorial Board of University students I believe that this group was the best qualified, most interested group that could have attempted to put out a campus literary-academic magazine.
2. Organization — The make-up of the Editorial Board (three members of Sigma Delta Chi and three other University students) was a constant source of friction.
It was also a source of constructive and objective criticism in the editing of Spectrum. Which of these effects was the greatest? This debatable question can be argued forever and a major conclusion would still be in doubt.
3. The magazine itself — As we have already seen, Spectrum is considered a high quality literary magazine. Do the students at KU want such a magazine? I believe that the average student does not want to buy, sit down with, and read a literary-academic magazine, regardless of its quality. Why do I say this? 1. Because of responses I have gotten from many students representing a vast cross-section of KU. 2. From remarks made to me by many students. 3. From the fact that only eight students applied for the seven openings on the Spectrum staff last
May. 4. This summer when I did much work and research about literary - academic magazines I came across the fact that only one (I repeat one) magazine of this type in - the U.S. operates without a grant or a subsidy.
What is done is done. We now are faced with a large deficit. As we all realize, this is a very grave problem. But there are important lessons that can be learned from this experience. Mine is that a magazine of the type cannot and will not financially sustain itself on the K.U. campus.
Now that we must pay this deficit where are we to find the funds? I don't believe that a student tax or activity fee allocation is necessary. Fortunately, two other ASC publications (The Jayhawker and The Student Directory) are currently operating at their highest profit levels ever. They could easily bring over $6,000 into the ASC this year. I believe that the students and their elected representatives can learn from the past and make future decisions that will bring the University to even higher levels in the world of which we are all a part.
Jerry P. Andre Honolulu junior
Thanks From the South Editor:
I sincerely thank you for printing Mr. Gerald Prager's recent letter—especially the sentence: "Perhaps, even now, we are not always right, and perhaps—just perhaps—a Southerners are not really all bad."
LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS
If we had more people as open-minded as Mr. Prager, who would open their eyes and ears just long enough to see and hear why we as Southerners believe as we do before they condemned us, then I am certain that we could solve our problems as quickly and quietly as any other section of the country.
A hearty well done to the gentleman from Ohio!
James R. Sexton Joanna, S. C., freshman
James R. Sexton
Daily Hansan
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By Richard Byrum
It isn't often that admirers of great piano music are given the opportunity to behold such artistry as was demonstrated here last night.
Gina Bachauer, eminent pianist from Athens, Greece, performed an encompassing program featuring works by Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin and Brahms.
To further add to the elation of the enthusiastic audience, Miss Bachauer played three encores consisting of the last section from Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," an interesting composition by the French composer Mompou, and a portion of "Petrouchka" by Stravinsky. The programmed works, together with the encores, covered four historic periods of music — the Baroque, with a slight romantic flavor due to the Bach works having been arranged for piano by a much later composer named Busoni, the Classic, the Romantic, and the twentieth century.
A program such as this is a considerable undertaking since Miss Bachauer must not only be
responsible for the tremendous technical demands of each of these difficult works, but also for the accurate expression of the concepts and ideas which are characteristic of the styles of each composer. She demonstrated complete mastery in all aspects.
Miss Bachauer's playing can be described as having all the virtues of highly developed technical craftmanship yet being governed by musical instinct matched with a tasteful sense of expression. Her complete command drew the audience to her to such an extent that at the thundering climax of the first section of Beethoven's "Waldstein" sonata, applause burst forth even though most knew that the performance of the work had not been completed.
Miss Bachauer only returned the tribute with a warm smile and continued with the seriousness and dedication characteristic of a true artist. I think all who attended will agree that we would eagerly welcome the opportunity to hear Miss Bachauer again should she so honor us with another performance at some future date.
From the Magazine Rack
Who's Funny? Nobody
One thing I lament is the disappearance of the column as a literary and journalistic form. F. P. A. would enliven our day with gossip, current jokes, translations from classical poetry or versions of local history in the form of "Our Own Samuel Pepys." But the World had no monopoly on wit and cleverness. There was also the Sun, with the lively and pointed "Sun Dial"—for many, the greatest treat of all—and Don Marquis, one of the gayest of wits.
Marquis pretended to have heard that up in Dobbs Ferry a giant rat was in the habit of leaving his lodgings at night and recording lively messages on one of the office typewriters. Inspired by this tale, he soon began to record the poems left on his machine by archy the cockroach and mehitabel the alley cat, (whose philosophy was "wotthehell, wotthehell" and "toujour gai, toujour gai"). The dialect of the cockroach and the cat entered into the very psychology and vocabulary of the town. Wherever you went you heard variations of their words and deeds. They constituted a lively streak of jollity running through our life...
I then made a list of 35 writers who are still generally recognized as humorists. (I hesitate to mention any, for there dozens on my list who deserve to be mentioned.) Robert Benchley has always seemed to me just about the funniest of the lot, but think of Finley Peter Dunne, Ruth McKenney, Art Young—and short story writers like Dorothy Parker and O. Henry. And chaps like Ring Lardner and Will Rogers could cap any little current event with penetrating comment. Practically all of these writers had the precious gift of clarifying life with satire. There was something about their work that you might even describe as "sanitary."
I feel sure that the American people love fun as much as they ever did. Whenever they meet at any sort of dinner or party, their devotion to the conventional funny story is really pathetic: The average party-goer would sell his soul for the ability to turn a neat tale. But when it comes to writing humor and selling it to the common reader, the whole business seems to have flattened out. The few magazines we have left print "improving" articles by the dozen, but practically never anything out of which the reader can get a laugh. Bennett Cerf speaks in one of his forewords of the delights of a belly laugh; well, he can get plenty of them at a party of clever people, but if he can get one out of a daily paper, a magazine or book, he is lucky.
I am thankful, of course, that Richard Armour and S. J. Perelman are still going, but there should be more than just two humorists. Perhaps the really funny men are writing anonymously for television.
(Excerpted from "What Happened to the Humorists?" by William E. Bohn in the Oct. 31, 1960, New Leader.)
Worth Repeating
The requirement that every young college teacher shall "produce" is arousing discontent in young teachers and in their students, while tempting some in each group to a premature cynicism. "Neglect your teaching and you will rise; attend to it and you will be fired." Teaching continues to be honored on all pious occasions, such as commencement. In reality it is considered a fool's way of mismanaging a career.Jacques Barzun
Our favorite academician was C. C., Constant Critic, we called him. Oh, he was a scholar. No question about it. But any field other than his own . . . any group of students but the batch of bright-eyed youngsters that surrounded him . . . even his colleagues. . . all were means to some end, an overwhelming ambition he had. Eventually some school took him and made him a dean. Deans are self made I'm convinced.—Arthur Shellingham