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University Daily Kansan Thursday, March 21, 1963
Battle of Fort Riley
President Kennedy's executive order placing millions of young fathers beyond the long arm of the Army draft could have profound social consequences.
The simple addition of two numbers to the draft status (1 A to III A) of proud young fathers places a premium on progeny. It is an exemption by-conception move and, given the number of normal young men who weigh the danger of hooking a nagging wife against the certainty of a nagging sergeant, an unprecedented population explosion could follow.
IT IS natural that the question should be raised whether this special treatment for fathers is fair. A strong argument can be made that all physically fit citizens who enjoy a free society should participate in the military organization which insures that freedom.
Normally, I would ascribe to this moralistic view of patriotic duty. But when you take a look at the present mission of military units, there is little reason for any one to make much of a sacrifice.
The monthly draft quota, as it has operated in recent years, can easily be filled without dipping into the pool of young fathers. In fact, the demand for cannon fodder currently runs at such a slow pace that hardly anyone is drafted before age 23, be he father or bachelor.
TO EXPRESS it colloquially, the Battle of Fort Riley is really not much in need of fathers when there are sufficient bachelors to fill the ranks.
The basis for my approval of the move is that while military service works a hardship on anyone, it is especially grim for a family man.
It is grim for several reasons. First, military pay makes booties for baby a real hardship. Second, being away from home for such activities as night maneuvers is not conducive to a happy home—for several reasons.
IF YOU doubt that marriages are wrecked by military service, talk with any Army chaplain. He can furnish you with a ream of tragic case histories in testament.
Another argument against exempting fathers is that some young men will get married and sire children just to avoid having to serve. Be that as it may. Each man must live with himself, and I for one, think two years of low-pay and high-arassment is a cheap price to pay for peace of mind.
Which brings us to another point. What kind of marriage will one be that is based primarily on avoiding the draft? Not the kind I care for, but again, each man to his own tastes.
THERE WAS a great deal of bitterness toward fathers who were exempt until the late stages of World War II, and later in Korea. That is another matter.
World War II and Korea were shooting wars, and no one's life should be placed in special jeopardy because he prefers to remain a fatherless member of society. But, relatively speaking, the Battle of Fort Riley is a bloodless one, and can be fought without needlessly laying severe hardships on young married couples.
This move makes sense in another way. Since it costs the government more to support a man with dependents, exempting fathers is an economy move at a time when it won't hurt national security.
AS A side bonus, this move offers new hope to a suffering, lonely group--young widows with children. If just one of them gets a husband and a father for her children, the President's move is justified.
Come to think of it, what with the openmarket scheme of things in the United States,the young widows may have gained a real bargaining lever.
Terry Murphy
United Nations
Adolescent Has Growing Pains
Later this year the United Nations will celebrate the eighteenth anniversary of the adoption of its charter and the beginning of its operations.
By Larry Schmidt
Like most teenagers, the UN has been beset with problems from nearly all sides, and there undoubtedly have been times when the world organization felt as though everyone must be working against it.
ITS MOTHER, the League of Nations, died at childbirth of multiple complications. It never knew its father but grew up supported by a list of quasi-relatives and well-wishers.
Those who carefully observed its early childhood and failed to recognize the prodigy have become ruffled and disillusioned in-laws, chiding its ineffectiveness and frequently refusing to pay promised allowances.
It has passed through an agonizing adolescence, stumbling along with no peer group to set its standards and only a long and demanding birth certificate to serve as identification. It may not, as yet, have come of age.
LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS by Dick Bibler
YET, THERE is no other body on earth which has proved, through all its difficulties, to be such a devoted and hard working citizen; no other foster parent with such an open heart and ceaseless compassion; never before such a bold and courageous defender of the ideals passed down to it through the centuries; no better friend to a
cause or ailing stranger with problems far worse than its own.
Yes, the United Nations has learned its lessons well.
There remain the scrapes and scars incurred in gang fights from Korea to the Congo; the noisy classroom tirades over the U-2 incident and Cuban sovereignty; the black eye of Soviet vetoes and Communist aggression; and the doubtful neighborhood image bolstered by United States Congressmen making hay with the constitution at home.
And, like many another high school class leader, the UN is up to its ears in organizations. There are the Children's Fund; the Food and Agriculture Organization; the International Labor Organization; the International Telecommunications Union; the Intergovernmental Maritime Organization; the International Atomic Energy Agency; the International Civil Aviation Organization; the United Nation's Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organi-
NONETHELESS, there are proud supporters, encouraged counselors, and hopeful teachers and friends. Adlai Stevenson, the U.S. ambassador, points out that despite the endless family quarrels, cold war sniffles, and ever-mounting nuclear perils, the UN still has refused to turn its back on the dangers that have given some of its less determined kin gray hairs, ulcers, and even an occasional heart attack.
WITH COLLEGE not far away, admissions officers are checking the United Nations' transcripts, IQ scores, personality ratings, and the usual list of references and indicators. A few of the more selective universities will note the questionable record of partial successes, strangled negotiations, and doubtful parentage. They may pass in favor of more sophisticated applicants.
ization; the World Meteorological Organization, and numerous others.
From time to time, its curriculum advisers express doubt that it can effectively participate in so many activities at once.
On the other hand, the registrar of small colleges and church-related schools may glance through the charter happily noting: "faith in fundamental human rights," "equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small," "justice and respect." "larger freedom." and "live together in peace and security."
They may ease their enthusiasm should they stumble (as has our burgeoning teenager) over such items as "race conflict." "Hungarian uprising," "Red China," "test ban treaty," or "Yemen." But, these fears soon would fade upon closer inspection.
OUR YOUNG adult has almost unfailingly been on the side of law and human righteousness in its dealings.
(Continued on page 3)
EVERY NOW AND THEN I WISH SOMETHING COULD BE DONE ABOUT THIS 'B AVERAGE IN- THE MAJOR FIELD' REQUIREMENT.
Letters to the Editor
Higher Education
I feel that Mr. Ostmeyer, in criticizing our educational system, left out one very important point, that is, the attitude of the average American student towards learning. If a student merely attends school to obtain a grade, in my estimation, he is missing the whole point of higher education. Higher education is a chance to learn, to discover, and to create. Many of those who criticize so-called "pud" courses fail to realize this basic principle. If such courses as Harvard's Fine Arts 13, "Darkness at Noon;" Yale's Sociology 69B, which uses Rocky Graziano's autobiography as a source book, or Wayne State's Geography 652, which gives six credit hours for touring Europe with a professor, in any way increases the enrolled students' knowledge, understanding, or curiosity of the subject matter involved. I feel that the course is fully justified. It is only when students take these courses with the single intent of acquiring a letter grade that academic injustice is done.
Why should learning acquire a dull, dusty connotation? Why should the student always have to be assigned a block of reading material or be chaired to pedantic busy work at night, when he could better use his time on independent research, which a trip through Europe or an unusual art slide might suggest to him? I cannot see how any SCHOLAR can judge a course too easy or too hard. I suggest that
if Americans are truly interested in EDUCATION, that is, seeking knowledge for its own sake, they begin judging their instructors, not by their severity in grading, but by how much knowledge they can get out of them.
David Newcomer junior
Shawnee Mission junior
* * * *
Senior Gift
A
I am grateful to the University Daily Kansan for the coverage of the senior gift project thus far, but I would like to make a brief comment on Mr. Branstiter's clever editorial of March 4. I made no formal reply at that time because I felt that it was not unfair and merely represented his opinion which, I am the first to admit, is in keeping with an editor's privilege. However, now that the matter is settled, I wish to point out that he did distort the picture somewhat; he approached the topic as if the proposed second gift were to be our only gift to the university. It should be clear that it must be considered secondary, at least in terms of amount of money invested, to the Endowment Association grant. Also, I can't quite believe that Mr. Branstiter didn't recognize the sarcasm in my remark concerning theft; I would expect him to be more appreciative of a brand of humor so familiar to campus newspapers.
Priscilla Camp
Lawrence senior
Senior Gift Chairman
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