Critics Castigate New Fraser Hall Design
By Harry Krause and Larry Ketchum
New Fraser Hall, slated to replace existing Fraser Hall early in 1967, has raised considerable architectural controversy on campus and in the Lawrence area.
Forty copies of a petition asking for a rejection of the plans for New Fraser Hall began circulating on campus this morning. The petitions are being circulated by Walter M. Hull, assistant instructor in English and Ruth Hull, teaching assistant in German.
The petition states, in part, that the plans for New Fraser should be rejected on the ground that it tended to "further the trend of de-beautification already manifested in such buildings as New Blake Hall."
In an attempt to determine feelings, interviews were conducted last night with administration, faculty members, architects, and students.
CHANCELLOR WESCOE said, "I like new Fraser Hall. It gives a good representation of the University, and the twin towers are visible in the distance as are the towers of old Fraser Hall. I suggest that those who are not happy with the design submit drawings for open criticism, showing what they think the building should look like."
James R. Surface, vice chancellor and dean of faculties, said, "It looks to me like it (the new building) would be an attractive building."
He continued, "It's a lot easier to be critical than to come up with a design."
Surface said that the state architect, James C. Canole, was responsible for the final design, but sometimes private companies are called in to aid in structural designs.
Canole said new Fraser meets
"IT GAINS a classic feeling in view of modern functions and preserves the character of the east campus." Canole said.
the criteria set forth concerning the style and character of the structure.
The state architect when asked whether he would have come up with the same design if given free reign, replied, "This is an idealistic situation. Almost all architects have to design what their clients want. A few, like Frank Lloyd Wright, did not do this. If the form of the building were entirely up to me, I would have treated the exterior somewhat differently."
Keith Lawton, vice chancellor for operations, would not comment for the press last night, but in a statement released early yesterday he said, "The possibility of creating a building completely unrelated to the past was discarded."
He continued, "Almost every member of the public who commented on the problem urged that new Fraser retain a resemblance to the old building."
HARRY COMPTON, assistant professor of architecture, said, "In being philosophically consistent, the University ought to begin plans to construct a large open sewer near the KU Medical Center. It would be a similarly remarkable combination of tradition and function and as effective a mockery of public health as this is of the public taste."
Compton added, "I know of no member of the KU faculty who was consulted on the matter of design."
Miss Rosemary Marzolf, assistant professor of art history, said that if her comments on new Fraser were printed, she would run the reporter out of town.
Robert Guenther, associate professor of architecture, said, "It would be naive to evaluate that thing. It becomes a monument to
bureaucracy. I question what it says to our culture and to us as modern beings. I could challenge the people responsible for it to give a reason for it. I think the people responsible for it should come out and tell what it does and is. I would want them to talk about scale, proportion, orientation in terms of what it does for our culture. Take the roof off of it and it looks like one of those hotels in a "Monopoly" game."
Lawrence architects Gregory Gleason, Robertson and Ericson. Maurice Keys, and Richard Peters refused to comment on the new building.
ARCHITECTURAL STUDENTS questioned were unanimous in expressing their disfavor with the proposed building.
Ron Davidow, Shawnee Mission third-year architecture student, said, "New Fraser and Blake, not to
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Vandalism Closes Red Schoolhouse
The Red Schoolhouse has been closed to the public because of vandalism which occurred last Sunday morning, according to Gayle Mott, owner of the schoolhouse.
The vandalism at the Red Schoolhouse probably occurred between 12:10 and 12:30 a.m. the sheriff's office said. The vandalism is still under investigation.
Mott said Beta Tau, an independent house for men, left the
schoolhouse at 12:10 a.m. Sunday.
Mott arrived at 12:20 a.m. and found the piano smashed, the antique stove wrecked, splintered benches, broken windows and general destruction. Mott estimated the damage at $100 to $200.
After discussion with Davis, Mott attributed the damage to "vandals" not Beta Tau.
Mott originally thought the boys had a wild party and he called the sheriff to report the damage. He then called the Beta Tau house and talked to Paul Davis, West Des Moines, Ia., freshman.
Mott says he is unaware of the union-non-union band difficulty and is "an innocent bystander." Mott mentioned that the Blades (non-union band who played for Beta Tau) had their cars vandalized the previous week.
Mott said he has never before had any trouble at the schoolhouse and thinks this is a "spite job," involving union and non-union bands. He felt "somebody was casing the party," since apparently those involved in the party were not there when the damage occurred.
Karl Zetmeir, Emmett senior and manager of the Blades, said, "I recommend the March 3 issue of the UDK. We had nothing to do with the vandalism."
Zetmeir was referring to the front page article of the UDK which stated that University living groups have been asked to hire union bands.
Mancini Concert Rates Late Night
All university women will have late night permission till 2 a.m. on the night of the Mancini concert, April 24, Joan Fowler, chairman of the AWS Standards Board, announced today.
Miss Fowler, Shawnee Mission senior, said the late night permission would not cost anything, as did late permission given on the night of the Belafonte concert last fall.
Tickets for the concert are being offered for bloe sales until tomorrow. The group with the largest number of participating ticket buyers will be given first choice of the bloc seats for the concert, Bill Frick, Ft. Scott junior, said. Frick is president of the Student Union Activities Board.
General ticket sales will begin on April 14 at 9 a.m. in the Information Booth, the Kansas Union, and Bell's Music Store. Ticket prices will be $2.25 and $1.75. Some tickets may be available at the door.
The concert will be in Allen Field House.
The stage will be situated in a raised platform, and at least onehalf of the field house will be used for seating, providing about 9000 seats for the performance.
Kansas Housing Bill Loses in Close Vote
TOPEKA—(UPI)—What a Senate committee admired as "an eloquent appeal" by Negro Sen. George Haley, R-Kansas City, today failed to save the proposed fair housing bill for Kansas.
The measure went down to a 6-5 defeat in the Federal and State Affairs Committee after nearly an hour of discussion.
Although the committee voted only to table the bill, for all practical purposes it was considered dead. Another vote was considered unlikely.
SEN. NORMAN E. Gaar, R-Westwood, made the motion to table the legislation because he said it "takes away the civil rights of a huge group of people . . . and gives the rights to a minority group."
He said the bill had a historical analogy with the English Star Chamber and "would allow the Civil Rights Commission unbridled power to come into a financial institution and in effect dictate a decision which ought to be a private decision."
"This bill in effect is telling our citizens they no longer have any civil rights," he said, "and it holds up private decisions by financial institutions."
Daily hansan
62nd Year, No.110
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
Suicide Squadron Bombs U.S. Embassy in Saigon
The blast tore the northeast corner of the embassy building, smashed most of the first floor and broke nearly every window.
Weather
SAIGON —(UPI)— A Viet Cong suicide squadron fought police and U.S. Marine guards today and bombed the U.S. Embassy with 200 to 250 pounds of TNT, inflicting heavy loss of life. Massive retaliation against the Hanoi regime seemed a certainty.
Tuesday, March 30, 1965
The thunderous explosion killed at least two Americans and 15 Vietnamese and wounded 150 others. Several of the terrorists were blown to bits. Dupty U.S. Ambassador U. Alexis Johnson emerged from the rubble with blood streaming down his face.
THE DEAD IN THE embassy attack included two Americans—a woman killed in the explosion and a man who died later in the U.S. Navy Hospital in Saigon. The embassy itself was a mass of rubble from the bomb which broke windows for hundreds of yards around and tore a gaping hole in a concrete sidewalk.
LESS THAN FOUR hours later, 40 U.S. and South Vietnamese bombers destroyed a North Vietnamese air base at Dong Hoi, 65 miles north of the border, in the first attack on an enemy air base of the Vietnamese war. It was not in retaliation for the embassy bombing, officials said, but contribution is expected to be swift.
President Johnson was informed immediately. He was to discuss the attack today with Secretary of State Dean Rusk Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara and Ambassador Maxwell D. Taylor, who flew to Washington this weekend to discuss the course of the war.
There was heavier loss of life in previous terrorist attacks against Americans in Viet Nam. But the attack on the embassy—described as murder—was a direct affront to the United States.
Overnight low will be in the lower 30's according to the Topeka Weather Bureau. Winds will be southerly 10 to 20 miles an hour. Wednesday will be warmer. A high in the middle 50's is predicted for tomorrow with clear skies.
The explosion sent a fireball and a 300-foot pillar of smoke shooting high above the roof of the six story structure. Heavy steel grills on the windows were blown back through the walls and across rooms. The consular section was destroyed. Tiles from buildings many yards away were tossed like confetti.
THE DEAD AND wounded lay in tangled heans in the wreckage.
More than 100 injured were taken to Saigon Hospital and more than 50 to the American Navy hospital. At least 20 Americans were reported so badly wounded they were being flown to Clark Air Base in the Philippines.
Despite his injuries, Deputy Ambassador Johnson met immediately with top civilian and military aides to discuss retaliation. In a statement he said the bombing was another example of the Viet Cong's readiness to attack civilians. The Vietnamese government called the
attack an act of savagery—not an act of war, but an act of murder.
AT THE SAME time it announced today's air raid.
Vice Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky, commander of the Vietnamese air force, said the raid had been planned for some time and was not in retaliation for the embassy bombing.
The explosion leveled a small outbuilding on the embassy grounds, trapping its occupants in a pile of rubble.
HEAVY STEEL BARS on the windows of the consular section were blown into the working area. Outside, steel streetcar tracks were twisted like corkscrews. Tiles on the roofs of buildings blocks away were peeled off and scattered. Two banks accross the street from the embassy were damaged.
A cafe across the street was heavily damaged and most of the 15 persons there were either killed or injured.
Group Revisions
ASC Plans Change
Three amendments to Bill #3, which deals with ASC executive committees, will be presented. The first asks the ASC Finance and Auditing committee to hold a seminar for treasurers of ASC committees and ASC-sponsored organizations on "proper ASC financing procedures."
Amendments revamping the organization of the All Student Council or changing phrases in the constitution of the Associated Students of the University will be discussed at tonight's meeting of the council.
BOB STEWART, Vancouver, B.C. senior, and student body president, said the bill would help impress financial officers of such organizations with responsibility for procedure.
"There has been a great deal of controversy over fiscal affairs in student government . . . in trying to keep track of funds," Stewart said.
Under the second amendment to Bill #3 Departmental Secretaries would be in charge of interviewing prospective members for committees which are within their particular department.
The third amendment to Bill #3 provides that the term for chairmen of ASC committees will run for a full
year beginning the last day of the spring semester. Stewart explained the reason for this amendment is to keep the student government running smoothly in the closing hours of the school year.
The present bill states that the Kansas Board is authorized "to govern its activities through its own Constitution" as long as it does not infringe upon ASC policy. The amendment would substitute "Constitution and Bills of the ASC" for the general term "policy."
The Council is also expected to consider an amendment to Bill #5 which deals with the relationship between the ASC and the Kansan Board, the governing board of the UDK.
Stewart said that the amendment would clarify the wording of the bill.
"What is that nebulous term—'council policy?' All we're doing, in essence, is defining our student policy by changing it to the 'Constitution and bills.'" he explained.
The Council will also consider several amendments to Bill #- which are concerned with how ASC legislation will be submitted for consideration by the Council.