2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Comment Bv Phil Higdon This column shall attempt to act in the absence of Drew Pearson and Walter Lippmann in that the views expressed here are strictly my own, and do not attempt to reflect the views of anyone else. However, there are some things which I feel need to be said, in an effort to bring peace on earth and good will t'ward men. SIX WEEKS AGO, we came from all over the country: musicians, scientists, orators, engineers, dancers, artists, and even journalists, looking forward to a summer of education, recreation, fun, and friendship. We all had justifiable pride in our various divisions. The Science Camp probably best typified this fact at the camp meetings, but we all felt pride in who we were and in what we were doing. Kamper Kansan Pride in itself is good. It is desirable. It's essential to the success of any undertaking. The pride which campers felt for their various divisions made their divisions the successes they were. And the pride which everyone, from the administration to the camper, feels for this Midwestern Music and Art Camp have made that camp what it is today-one of the finest anywhere. BUT THERE IS a big difference between pride in one's division and open competition with other divisions. The purpose of this camp was not to come here to prove that one division is any better than the other, but rather to be an educational experience in the various fields in which the campers were most interested. That a certain camper is more interested in one field than another is merely happenstance, and does not indicate either inferiority or superiority. We are all learning; none of us claim to be professionals. WE SHOULD BE interested in what the other campers are doing. We should attend the concerts, and view the exhibits, and read the papers. We should be most concerned with our own divisions, for this is what concerns us most. But we should not compete. We should not find fault for the sole purpose of finding fault. We are all here for different reasons and in different fields. Let us all remember that. Let us also bear in mind the fact that this is a great camp only because there are so many fields and so many areas of endeavor. This is a great camp only when all those involved can work together, play together, and get together to work for the success of the entire camp. THE UNIVERSITY of Kansas did not have to provide this camp. The administration of this camp did not have to put the time and effort into this camp that they did. But they did so. And they did it in order that each one of us could have the opportunity that we have been granted. We must always bear that fact in mind. Let us use this camp for our individual and collective good. Let us use this camp for the purposes for which it was intended. Let us not allow petty divisional competition mar the greatness which twenty-eight years of this camp have achieved. Let us work together, as musicians, as scientists, as speakers, as artists, as dancers, as journalists, but most of all, as campers, to make this the most successful yet. TAKE PRIDE IN what you are doing. Take pride in your division. Take pride in your instructors and in your work. But most of all, take pride in this camp, in this university, in this tradition. Let that pride be your constant guide. Kamper Kansan The Kamper Kansan is published every three weeks during the session of the Midwestern Music and Art Camp by students of the journalism division of the camp. STAFF Editor-in-Chief Shelley Bray Asst. Editor-in-Chief Kitt Gunn News Editor Dan Partner Asst. News Editor Cynthia Hilgadon Editor-in-Chief Phil Higdon Asst. Editorial Editor Kim Freshwater Feature Editor Tanya McNaughton Asst. Feature Editor Robert Edelman Editor Mike O'Hara Asst. Sports Ed. Jonathan Block Reporters Mike Shearer, Frances Galway Alanwyn Stone, Hugh Tessendorf, Bruce Erickson Stan Otelle, Anita Wicke, Martine Teftelbaum, Mike THE CAMP COUNCIL IN SESSION—Working closely with Mr. Duncan, camp supervisor, the council has acted as the middleman between the gripes and suggestions of the campers and the reactions of the administration. Camp Council Not Quite Perfect, But First Session Effective We, the staff of the Kamper Kansan, can honestly say that the new Camp Council is the kind of effective organization that we would many times like to be. Our job, too, is to observe, to sometimes judge, and then to act and inform on controversial subjects. THE SCIENCE STUDENTS, who often have a great deal of outside work, and not enough time to do it in, need a time and a place to do it. The tended to spirit the camp into The council has and will continue to work on the practical problems that plague each and everyone of us; the problems that can either make the camp a pleasant experience or a trying one, depending upon their solution. controversial subjects. THE STUDENTS who were elected from the dorms of Templin and Lewis this year are doing just that.Certainly a great many of the subjects discussed and acted upon by that body,such as paper towels in the girls' rest room,are not of an earth-shaking import,but it has not shied away either from the controversial issues that have tended to split the camp into rival factions. place has been arranged for, and since its beginnings were inadequate, it is being improved. The extra time for study is being worked on now. There have been a few times when the serving lines in the kitchen have been up to ten minutes late; this makes everyone a little late. The problem is being worked on by Mr. Herbert Duncan, a camp administrator, who usually goes more than overboard to do everything he can to see that all of us are healthy and happy. MR. DUNCAN, who presides at the gatherings is generally as honest about the policies of the camp and the reasons for them as he hopes we are about our complaints. Since this is a new organization, obviously it can't be working at maximum efficiency just yet, but in years to come we can hope for a body much more effective than those, say, at most public high schools. If the campers of future years can maintain the high standards set by this year's group, the camp can look forward to an effective vehicle for voicing complaints. Makes You Appreciate Democracy, Doesn't It? Lights Out One situation at the camp needs a solution. A suitable effort should be made to provide an arrangement for extra study time for the students. rangement for earth stress. The need truly exists. The earnest proposals and suggestions made by the students are not capricious pleas for a loosening of controls or an exorbitant demand for freedom. They are proposals that must be taken with serious consideration and not put off with dogmatic proclamations. These projects, which must be completed in a week, consume 20 to 25 hours. Because the students are not allowed to stay up after 10 p.m., it is not uncommon for them to get up at one or two in the morning in order to work on their projects and also have assignments completed for their other courses. TAKE FOR EXAMPLE, students in sociology class. They conduct projects dealing with conformity, presidential qualities, and taking the public's pulse on the Viet Nam crises, to name a few of their research projects. THIS IS AN established and existing situation. These and other students with similar burdens of work have just as valid a reason for extra sleep- opening. Certainly a solution can be worked out. Two potentially suitable proposals have been made that of a lounge-study program, and that of abolishing the doubtfully-valid inspection system. ing time as certain music and theatre students who work on scenery or who practice late in the evening. The lounge-study might be held from 10 p.m. to 12 p.m. in the wing lounge, and students who truly needed extra time could work in a quiet atmosphere while the counselors also did their work. It would essentially be a proctored study hall. THERE HAS ALSO been much dissention as to the validity of the room-inspection system. The two hours that students are not allowed in their wings is only for the convenience of the supervisors, and in many ways, defeats the purpose for our being here, wasting much valuable time. Regular inspection by the floor counselors would surely be an adequate system and a more acceptable one to the students. These are only two suggestions, neither is designed to serve as a panacea, but some acceptable arrangement can and should be devised. Forum Editor's Note: This letter was sent to the Kansan on the private initiative of the campers listed as its signators. K A B We appreciate the fact that the signators of the letter came to the Kansas with their suggestions. This can be an important function of the camp paper in future years. As the editors of this paper, we suggest that the criticisms offered here be taken into consideration, discussed, and dealt with by both campers and the administration. Editors: As campers of the Midwestern Music and Art Camp, we would like to inquire as to the purpose of the room inspection held every morning in our dormitories. Since our primary purpose here is academic or aesthetic training in our various fields, it seems strange to put such an emphasis on picayune tidiness in our rooms. While we are not advocating that the rooms be left in violent disarrangement, it does seem that the details for which they are inspected are comparatively minor with regard to our purposes here. IT IS ALSO difficult for some of the campers to finish their required assignments and studies and at the same time be absent from their rooms during a lengthy period of daily inspection. Does it seem fair to limit our time in such a way as to, at times, prevent the completion of our assignments? It is also evident that many of the campers are not fulfilling the requirements for rest each night; not withstanding the fact that we are to be in bed eight hours. cive to study. Many campers have advanced the suggestion that they be allowed to study past 10 p.m. in order to compensate for the time lost during the inspection. This seems a reasonable request as long as they do so quietly and with regard to their fellow campers who are in bed. In such a case it would be necessary, of course, for the counselors to exercise some control if those studying become boisterous or remain up past a reasonable hour. Of course, it may be necessary to allow later sleeping in the morning following such study, but most agree that an assignment can be best dealt with in a single period rather than piecemeal. THE BURDEN OF travail is pressing, especially in view of the fact that the dormitory lobbies' atmospheres are not particularly conducive to study. While we are not in any way advocating relaxation of that control which keeps order, we do believe that the purpose of this camp could be better served in the consideration of the above suggestions. Sincerely, Mike Seyfrit (science) Greg Rechnitz (music) Jay Epstein (theatre-music) Ron Shull (science) James Bredfeld (science) Enrollment High This summer's Music and Art Camp has attained a total enrollment of 1,530 campers drawn from such places as New Jersey, Washington and California. ton and Cambridge The majority of students come from the music division directed by Mr. Wiley. It claims 700 of the students. The art division, headed by Prof. Marjorie Whitney, is second on the list with 255. SCIENCE BOASTS of 125 students taking such courses as microbiology, sociology and physics. Theater, which is run by Prof. Bill Kuhke has 70. They will present the play "Lilium" at the end of the session. Ballet, which has 60 campers, will present their show also near the end of the session. It is headed by Marguerite Reed. Speech has a total of 30 persons under the direction of Prof. Linkugel. The journalism department which presents the Kamper Kansan and the Summer Session Kansan, has an enrollment of 20 and is under the supervision of Prof. John H. Knowles. The junior high division with 300 two-week campers is under Richard Brummett.