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A. Hua A. rubandT.
University Daily Kansan Thursday, April 15. 1965
1.
The Little Man
There is a restaurant owner in Jonesboro, Louisiana. He operates what would probably be called a "greasy spoon." He is from Greece and is not even a naturalized citizen of the United States. He can barely speak English.
When the KU civil rights workers went into his restaurant to be served, he said he could not serve inter-racial groups. The local CORE group said that suit was being prepared against the owner, Tony James.
I doubt if Tony James is prejudiced against Negroes. I doubt that he really understands the conflict in the South between the Negroes and the whites.
HE IS BEING pressured by white pressure groups to not serve Negroes. If he does serve Negroes, without a court order, he will, in all probability, lose his white business. The people who are now telling him not to serve Negroes are the same ones who helped Tony James to start his business about three years ago.
serve Negroes. They have the courts and the right on their side. If he does not serve Negroes, a court order will eventually force him to do so. Thus, he will lose his support from the white people.
On the other hand, CORE is pressuring him to
Yes, Tony should serve Negroes. It is right and it is inevitable that he will. This is not the question, however.
A small restaurant owner is a pawn between two powerful forces. Whichever way the contest goes, Tony loses. The inevitable end, it seems to me, is that he will lose the support of the people who started him in business. But the problems that he will encounter before he serves Negroes will cost money, court costs, etc. This is money Tony probably does not have.
Does the little man, the man who does not even realize or understand the problem, have to be a pawn between the two forces? Tony is going to lose. How many other little men will be crushed by a force that cannot be stopped?
—Leta Roth
'Perfectly Outlandish'
This is a plug, a shameless commercial, and all blasé readers are advised to skip this column and turn to the classified ads.
(Being More Than Reminiscences of a Foreign Student's First Fall at KU)
*Please come to our International Festival. Whatever else it may be, it certainly will be exotic. According to the chairman of our group, we are going to present a skit, highlighted by the Tinikling, a folk dance. It involves two couples: one to clap the bamboo poles, and the other to step between those poles, in rhythm. I was the first to try skipping between the poles and was promptly demoted to the task of clapping them.
I AM SUPPOSED TO ENCOURAGE attendance at the International Festival (Saturday, April 17, Hoch Auditorium, 8:00 p.m. FREE!) but I would rather reminisce about my first fall in this institution; "fall" meaning "autumn" and not otherwise, although if the reader should take it to mean otherwise, he may be more precise. Therefore, here is a conglomeration of tips, memories, and advertisements:
Each time I rememeber my first appearance at KU, I shudder. To think that I went through all that only eight months ago! Less than a year!
A storm had been building up the whole afternoon, chasing the bus on which I had crossed half the continent and when I got to Lawrence, one lightning flash slashed the clouds, the sky fell apart, and the waters gushed forth as from a broken dam. The thunderstorm lasted the whole night.
THAT'S HOW I CAME TO KU. (My brother says I am always the harbinger of some calamity, but that is his private, personal opinion and should not influence the reader.)
But now it is April. Spring is reviving flowers, grass, trees and leaves. In such an optimistic atmosphere, how can I be pessimistic? Let me remember pleasant memories . . .
I remember happily splurging, along about November first, on gifts to send home in time for Christmas. As a special token for my Mother, I made a tape recording of my voice, which I airedmaled home. Back came a prompt reply: I sounded entirely too Americanized, and was then and there required to make another tape, this time purely in Filipino. I mentioned this to my American roommate, who utterly delighted me by exclaiming: "But honey, (She calls me thus when she likes me, which, let me proudly aver, is almost of the time) you sound perfectly outlandish to me!"
*DO COME TO OUR INTERNATIONAL SHOW. We've been practicing for months. On our second rehearsal, while clapping the bamboo poles, I managed to squeeze my fingers between them, gave a shriek, hit the poles out of time and almost broke a dancer's ankle, who naturally fell, sprawling, and bamboo poles, dancers, and singers scattered.
I remember many pleasant people. There was, first of all, a lovely secretary, very busy at her tasks when I entered her sanctum, but the smile she flashed at me was genuine. In fact, I sometimes pass by her office just to see her smile. This is possibly an index to the number of people who smile at me, but let me not digress . . . The old custodian at the Kansas Union is most helpful. The lady who usually sits by the second cash register, from the left, on the main floor of the bookstore is invariably cheerful—the one with brown hair and freckles. The lady who dishes
up meat at the cafeteria always smiles when I point at my choice. (I learned to point after our first encounter when my pronunciation just wouldn't communicate.)
THEN, THERE'S THE POSTMAN AT the basement of Strong Hall. And the man who replenishes the vending machines. . .
No, I did not inadvertently forget to mention pleasant professors. I do it intentionally. Because: First of all, I would rather not attempt to butter them up. Secondly, they have, all of them, managed to keep me busier than a one-man band (where a man with only four appendages manages to play seven instruments or more, at the same time) that I have been tempted to generalize, along about final exam week: Most Americans are kind, except for the professors.
(Do you think I should use a pen name?)
For all foreign students who should be lucky enough to wangle an admission to KU, here are my words of advice, randomly enumerated:
(Do you think I should use a pen name?)
*In case anyone cares to note which one I am in the BEST International Show yet to be presented; I am now a part of the background chorus. (They kept me in the group out of nationalism.) I shall stand at the left of the stage, with some other girls. We shall be wearing long Filipino costumes. Mine is colored orange, I think.
1. BEFRIEND THE SECKETARIES OF DEANS and professors. They are usually the pleasantest people in town, probably because they have been exposed to all kinds of student problems.
2. Learn to ask questions. This, especially for oriental girls trained to be demur and timid. KU has 14,000 students and all of them are busy. Unless the shy Asian girl with wistful eyes speaks, no one will turn her way. If you want to get anywhere at all, leave your shyness at home (You can get it back when you return, if you wish), and learn to be independent.
4. SOME SPECIFIC TIPS: CHOOSE, whenever possible, the used ones when buying textbooks. Besides being cheaper, the previous owner usually will have underlined their important passages—a very useful key.
3. Get to know the library. Join the library tours scheduled at the start of each semester. Befriend a student assistant. And do this early!
Read the University Daily Kansan. Watch the notices on the bulletin board. Subscribe to the local newspaper. Lots of information about the university and its inhabitants will be found in the Lawrence daily.
5. Finally, if you get into any kind of difficulty (And you will, believe me), seek help. KU will be glad to help, if you will only let her. Your academic adviser will help with school work; the Watkins Hospital is on the campus to provide medical aid; and Dean Clark Coan is always available for all kinds of problems—from the amorous (I think) to a zero-score on a quiz (I believe).
And, whatever you do, don't give in to homesickness. Keep busy.
We really would be very glad if you come to our International Festival. Especially if you clap loudly.
and to all foreign students spending their first spring at KU: Good luck!
The People Say..
(The poor things . . .)
Emilia V. Lara Philippines
Dear Sir:
As a resident of Leavenworth, I object to the frequently heard comparison of new Fraser with a prison. Any one of Leavenworth's prisons is better
eral penitentiary with such an eyesore, I am sure that not only the townspeople, but even the prisoners, would rise up in revolt.
planned, better proportioned, and altogether better looking than that ridiculous hunk of concrete they call the "new Fraser." If the government ever tried to replace our present fed-
Connie Hubert Leavenworth junior
"And If They Get A Passenger Vehicle To The Moon First, We Send Up One With Wide-Screen Color Movies"
The People Say...
Dr. W. Clarke Wescoe Chancellor
University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas Re: Fraser Hall Dear Dr. Wescoe:
AS A RESIDENT OF KANSAS, I noted with disbelief the photograph of the model for the proposed residence hall for the University.
I was happy to note there were others that apparently concur with my feelings of the design proposed. I venture to say if your architectural students proposed a project similar to this in their studies they would probably be voted "Hors Concours" if I remember the grading system from Iowa State.
In the interest of an advancing educational program and a fine University, I venture this letter as a constructive criticism. I know of at least ten architectural firms that have junior draftsmen in them that could give you a better design.
This letter is not a means of solicitation and I did not include my firm in the previous ten. I am only writing to express an opinion. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely.
Robert E. Champlin, Architect
BOOK REVIEWS
THE HIDDEN WORLDDS OF POLYNESIA, by Robert C. Suggs (Mentor, 75 cents); THE PREHISTORY OF EAST AFRICA, by Sonia Cole (Mentor, 95 cents).
Here are two for enthusiasts of anthropology, two books with excellent illustrations and photographs. Interest in the primitive areas of the earth is growing, and such books will reinforce this interest. Robert C. Suggs is an archaeologist who challenges the theories of Thor Heyerdahl of "Kon-Tiki" in "The Hidden Worlds of Polynesia." He believes that the South China coats, not Peru, gave birth to the primitives of the French Marquesas.
Suggs went to the islands on assignment by the American Museum of Natural History. He traced the rise and fall of the ancient civilization there, excavating burial caves and village sites, finding 2.000-year-old pottery and skeletons.
In "The Prehistory of East Africa," another author-archaeologist describes the finding of a skull fossil in the Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanganyika. She suggests that the date of man's origins may be pushed backed by half a million years, and she also suggests that Dawin was right in theorizing that modern man's roots are in Africa.
Dailij Tränsen
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EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Leta Roth and Gary Noland Co-Editorial Editors