The shame of Old Glory
Sunday is Flag Day.
On flagpoles across the nation, that striped and spangled cloth —symbol of this country—will snap proudly in the breeze and proclaim the patriotism of the millions of Americans who fly it. Or will it?
What meaning will those millions affix to the flag as they display it on their homes and businesses this June 14?
The flag has become a target of derision and scorn by radicals and militants. Adopted as a symbol of American militarism and the administration, the flag has been torn down by protesters, burned in anti-war demonstrations and desecrated with painted slogans and obscenities. Some wear replicas of the stars and stripes, made into articles of clothing; some wipe their noses on it.
But equally as distasteful are those who use the flag as a symbol of righteousness for their own form of protest. The New York construction workers who attacked and beat a group of peace demonstrators last month waved the flag above their heads as though it gave them the right to club those who disagreed with them.
And the millions of Americans who display flag decals in the windows of their cars do so, as often as not, to deride the peace movement. To many, the decals indicate support of the war. Is it necessary to support war in order to be patriotic?
And is it less of a desecration to reproduce the flag on cheese-cloth and crepe paper for decoration than it is to adorn the body with a reproduction of the flag? Red-blooded Americans who were appalled to see Abbie Hoffman wipe his nose on a flag replica were not even mildly disturbed to see prominent businessmen sit back from a dinner meeting after wiping their lips with a linen napkin decorated with a copy of Old Glory.
The red, white and blue—symbolic of loyalty, integrity and purity—have been twisted to serve the purposes of greed, hatred and bigotry. And it is no less a national crime for a congressman or political group to "use" the flag for voter appeal than it is for a radical or militant group to "misuse" the flag.
The flag memorializes brave men who died in the service of this country. But is it a fitting memorial for that flag to indicate support of a war which claims annually thousands more of those men?
Perhaps this year, Old Glory should not snap so briskly in the wind. Maybe the flag should hang limp in shame. CSP.
hearing voices—
For four days last week, the Student Union cafeteria management preempted the cafeteria facilities to accommodate the Bank Manager conferees.
The way in which the whole affair was conducted leaves much to be desired. The Student Union is primarily for the service of the students and staff members of the university, and the cafeteria is no exception. Visitors should not by any means be excluded from these facilities, provided that the Union management sees to it that the persons for whom they are of main service do not suffer as a result.
This was certainly not the case last week. Students and staff members who unwarily went to the main cafeteria to avail themselves of its facilities were either told to go one flight of stairs below to the Hawk's Nest, or shoo'd away for not noticing that the cafeteria was exclusively reserved for bank officials. In the forthcoming week the same conditions will prevail for Girls' and Boys' State.
One might have put up with this inconvenience if the alternate facilities provided for our use were adequate. But they were not, both in terms of what was available to eat, and of sufficient space. Surely we deserve better!
Surendra Bhana,
Graduate student senator
Dr. Rehman Manjra,
Research Associate
Vincent Danisi II,
Graduate Student
THE SUMMER SESSION KANSAN
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The Summer Session Kansan, student newspaper at the University of Kansas, is represented by National Advertising Service, 18 East 50 Street, New York, N.Y., 10022. Mail subscription rates: $6 a semester or $10 a year. Published and second class postage paid at Lawrence, Kansas, every Tuesday and Thursday during the Summer Session. Accommodations, goods, and employment advertised in the Summer Session Kansan are offered to students without regard to cler, creed, or national origin.
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The Laird Is My Shepherd
CHICAGO—Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird recently told a gathering of 500 Presbyterians that Christianity calls on men to be "dual servants of both God and of the people." Men in public service must strive to "re-fashion" society to conform to the Biblical commandment: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
Suspect held in Manhattan bomb affair
NEW YORK (UPI) — Police have arrested a suspect in their "relentless" search for the bomber who dynamitted police headquarters and touched off a series of bomb threats against the lower Manhattan landmark.
No information about the suspect was immediately available.
Chief of Detective Frederick Lussen said a number of individuals known to belong to the Weathermen, a radical splinter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and similar groups were under investigation.
Bernadette Dohn, fugitive Weathermen leader, issued a warning May 25 that there would be an attack within 14 days on "a symbol or institution of American justice." Lussen said he could not link the warning to the blast at police headquarters.
"We have no hypotheses and the door is open," he said. "There is no evidence to put it on radical groups either way."
Eight persons received slight injuries when a dynamite bomb exploded early Tuesday evening on the second floor of the headquarters, wrecking an elevator and a series of offices. The FBI joined police in the investigation.
Sophomore wins Naismith award
The fourth annual $1,000 Naismith Hall Scholarship has been awarded to Vicki Sue Swenson, Independence, Mo., sophomore.
The scholarship was established by Allen and O'Hara, Inc. of Memphis, Tenn., operators of Naismith Hall, a privately-owned and operated coeducational residence hall. The award is made on the basis of financial need, academic record and faculty recommendation.
Miss Swenson has previously received the Greater University Scholarship and the Delta Delta Delta Service Projects Scholarship.
BOOKS
VENUS U.S.A., by William Iversen (Pocket Books, 95 cents)—A semi-scholarly examination of women's magazines and their attitudes toward sex and the place of women within society. Considerable excerpting takes place to tell what you can find in these magazines, from the slicks to the confessions.
For your light moments come several new books, all in the Gold Medal line. First is a collection of strange signs, SIGNS OF LAUGHTER, edited by Tom Gallagher (50 cents). "Please do not squeeze the fruit. The management reserves the right to pinch back." "Rummage sale. Ladies, get rid of the things you don't use around the house. Bring your husbands." There's a new Gothic mystery, THE CURSE OF MALLORY HALL, by Dorothy Daniels (60 cents). It's about the mysterious deaths of three husbands, and the young bride who fears her husband will be the next victim. Two adventure thrillers: BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE, by Lou Cameron (60 cents) and ASSIGNMENT: WHITE RAJAH, by Edward S. Aarons (60 cents). The first is a detective tale, the second a spy thriller. And finally a new western, THE EASY GUN, by E. M. Parsons (50 cents). The theme: pursuit and revenge.
LOVE, ANYONE, by Alice Wayne (Crest, 75 cents)—Sex is the theme, sex at the "singles" vacation resorts populated by the easy new world of the Pill. The author professes to have the dope on the ski resorts, the bars, the "in" places throughout the hemisphere, and she gives us inside stuff about the people who inhabit these places.
ELEANOR THE QUEEN, by Nora Lofts (Crest, 75 cents)—Historical novel about Eleanor of Aquitaine, who became a mass celebrity when Katharine Hepburn portrayed her in "The Lion in Winter." Eleanor was the wife of Henry II, mother of Richard the Lionhearted, and one of the toughest old dames British royalty ever knew.
THE WINTER PEOPLE, by Phyllis A. Whitney (Crest, 75 cents)—New suspense novel by the gal who seems to turn one out every few months. This one is about a dame who falls in love with a guy and then wonders if she had goofed when he takes her to his mysterious old Victorian Mansion. (Sound familiar so far?) Lots of atmosphere for the romantically inclined.
ADA, by Vladimir Nabokov (Crest, $1.25)—A big major novel that is likely to absorb most readers the way "Ship of Fools" and "Doctor Zhivago" did (which means not at all). An excellent writer, and one of the major names of our time, Nabokov is too obscure for most tastes. "Ada" is a love story, about Ada Veen and Dr. Ivan Veen—brother and sister. The love affair lasts for a Century. Don't think you're in for quick jazzy trash like "The Adventurers" and "The Voyeur." Nabokov, as in all his books, is much more than an entrepreneur of best-selling eroticism.
HUE AND CRY, by James Alan McPherson (Crest, 95 cents)—A collection of short stories by a young black writer, who deals with need, loneliness, and human misery. In this day when just to be a black writer will get a book published it is of interest that McPherson has been recognized as one who deals not just with a hot contemporary theme but with the entire human condition.
THE WINDING STAIR, by Jane Aiken Hodge (Crest, 95 cents)—More Gothic romance, this one combining political intrigue, terror, and love. The heroine goes to a castle on the cliffs of Cavo Raoca in Portugal, not knowing that the place is the secret meeting place of spies and terrorists. Ah ha.
THE PREMIER BOOK OF MAYOR POETS, by Anita Dore (Premier, 95 cents)—A collection from the Middle Ages to the present, all English and American poetry. The editor has grouped the poems by theme.