KANSAN Comment
Give a damn
Give a damn. Nearly 200 students gave a damn as well as their time and talents last Saturday to the New Jersey street rehabilitation project.
This Saturday the clean-up, patch-up campaign for the Lawrence slum area will reach its final stage. In order to complete the work necessary to make the project a success, your help is desperately needed.
It is great to be an idealist, but it is even greater to make ideals realities. This is your opportunity to be involved.
Last week the School of Architecture sponsored an urban conference on university relevance. If anything on this campus is relevant it is the New Jersey Street project.
Maybe this Saturday we the great idealists and we the great liberals can put away our suntan lotion and put our beer cans down long enough to put our ideals into practice for a few hours. Maybe we can salve our pseudo-liberal consciences long enough to show that we care.
Busses leave McCollum Hall, the Union and GSP Hall at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday for the New Jersey Street project.
Can you spare a few hours to give a damn? (JDK)
Hershey---- forever?
Summer's coming.
Overriding the thoughts of sunshine, beer and pretzels for most college men and college graduates is the ever-menacing cloud—the draft.
Mention the word in the presence of prospective June graduates and you can actually see the beads of perspiration lining up in formation on the unfortunate's brow.
And over it all, chuckling gleefully whenever his name is quoted in wrath or admiration, is the director of Selective Service Louis Hershey. His word is law for the nation's men of 18 to 26 years of age, and he seemingly plans to keep it that way just as long as he can.
The Supreme Court's decision on the punitive draft reclassifications against defiant and disruptive war protesters could have a lot to do with Hershey's power. The two cases the Court will pass judgment upon next term concern two men who contend that after protesting draft and the war, they were reclassified and quickly inducted.
One of the young men dropped his registration and classification cards at the feet of a U.S. marshal in 1967 while participating in an antidraft demonstration in Minneapolis. The other youth turned over his draft registration card to a clergyman to show his dissent to the war.
If the Court decides that the men's induction were speeded up and that such action is illegal, Hershey's iron fist might at least be cracked a little.
All those are eligible at some time for the draft might be able to breathe a little easier if the center of power over eight years of their young life (and sometimes over their life itself) was not totally ruled by the stern, singleminded and sometimes arbitrary Hershey. (AMS)
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Publishers-Hall Syndicate
'Let's not take a position we might . . . ah . . . regret later'
ROTC dispute rages
To the Editor:
Students for a Democratic Society?
No.
Their cause isn't democratic. Neither are their methods. Neither are many of them even students.
Tuesday they put their "democracy" into action: screaming, squirming "students" harrassing disciplined Army ROTC cadets on the drill field. Had they been outnumbered by far more, the cadets would not have flinched. And anyone could see that, even on the TV screen. Anyone could see that the ROTC was not the militant group on the field. Anyone could see that the cranky kids with their cap guns weren't going to get the big boys to play.
ROTC cadets don't play war games. They attend classes and training sessions that demand mental and physical effort. And in the name of a "democratic society" the SDS demands no credit be given for ROTC classwork. In the name of "democracy," they demand that only SDS views be heard.
I think it's time other opinions were voiced. I don't want to shout SDS down; I don't want to shoot them down, either. I want world peace. I'm against the war in Vietnam. But most of all I'm against violence at home.
I'm against the SDS "democratic" wav.
Margaret Ogilvie Banman
1967-68 Commander
Angel Flight
To the Editor:
Once upon a time, in a community called Knowitall U., lots and lots of boys and girls lived and, presumably, learned. Some of them really wanted to learn; some, the sour children, thought they already knew it all and were anxious to share it with everyone else.
Executive Star
Editor-in-Chief Ron Yates
Business Manager Pam Flaton
One day, some of the boys were out in a field marching around in straight lines and generally minding their own business. They were playing at being soldiers so that when they got to be real soldiers they would know what to do. While they were marching, the sour children came over to use the field for their own games. From
their vast experience and study, these people had learned that war was a bad thing because soldiers always trample on other people's property. So, they decided to let everyone know about it. They ran between the nice straight lines the soldiers were making, they screamed all the words they had learned in their toilet-training classes that day and they shared their maturity and intelligence with everyone.
When the feathers settled, it looked as if the sour children had upset the bird cages in Weak Hall, but the doves outnumbered the hawks. Meanwhile, back at the field, the sour children were inventing a new game. Their rules said that no merit badges would be given except for peace and love courses. The meeting ended with the sour children's battle cry—Do it our way or don't do it at all!
John Banman Senior
That night, the community council held a meeting to try to arrange a treaty with the sour children. Since the councilmen didn't want to jump to conclusions, they went home and promised to send their votes by air. Sending a dove would mean the boys couldn't get merit badges for playing soldier anymore. Sending a hawk would mean the councilmen were nasty fascist pigs who agreed with all the imperfect things in the world—even the dumb war the King of the country was fighting. Worst of all, it would mean the councilmen weren't as liberal as councilmen in other communities. (Everyone knows you can't be liberal and still disagree with a sour child.)
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I am sending this letter to you, the editor, but I would really like to get the attention of the leaders of the recent campus demonstrations. I must first say that I sympathize with the causes. I am strongly against the war in Vietnam, racism and ROTC on campus. However, I will not participate in these demonstrations because of the way they have been conducted.
Following is a list of grievances I have against them:
1. Total disrespect of the flag of the United States.
From what I have observed a good many of the "students" demonstrating are not even students or such poor examples of students that it seems that they should do a little less protesting and a lot more studying. I don't like to say these things about my friends but it's the truth as I see it.
If the students REALLY care, someone should be able to organize a demonstration that people who sympathize would not be ashamed to participate in. I don't feel a handful of "freaky" people that onlookers laugh at gets the sympathy of anyone.
3. "Student" demonstrations should be made up of students who care more about the cause of the demonstration than "blowing people's minds."
I am considered by many to be a "hippie" or "freak" and disrespect to the symbol of our country bothers me. This action of disrespect must certainly turn the heads of many "older" generation people away from our causes. Many of the demonstration leaders may not think we need those people but they perhaps are now more important than our non-voting supporters.
When I demonstrate against ROTC or the war I don't want to be called a militant—that is the very thing I would like to see come to an end. If I wanted to be a militant I would run to the army and not oppose ROTC, the draft and war.
Our country and the world, is in very bad shape and our generation is perhaps its only salvation. We must stop the endless wars—fighting at home is not the answer. We must stop racism—black power and black militancy is racism—my brother cannot be my superior. If we are to live in peace, all forms of militancy must stop. Come on people, smile on your brother, try to love one another right now. Leaders, let's get together and THINK.
2. The demonstration of guns (toy or otherwise), warpaint, militant dress, or any other sign of militancy.
A FREAK FOR PEACE John Tredo Englewood Cliffs, N.J. junior