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Page Two
THE DAILY TAR HEEL
No Grades?
Good Idea
Grim Outlook
For Carolina
tfje 5Batlp Max
"In A Word, Yes"
In its sixty-eighth year of editorial freedom, unhampered by restrictions
from either the administration or the student body.
The Daily Tar Hf.fl is the official student publication of the Publica
tions Board of the University of North Carolina. Richard Oi erstrcct, Chairman.
All editorials appearing in The Daily Tar Heel are the personal expres
sions of the editor, unless othenvise credited; they are not necessarily represen
tative of feeling on the staff i and all reprints or quotations must specify thus.
January 5, 1961
Volume LXIX, Number 77
The Spectre Of Joe McCarthy:
A Phantom On American Campuses
Senator Joe McCarthy is dead,
but the "ism" to which he gave
his name still survives as a flour
ishing blight on the country he
very nearly ruled.
Two brothers at Northwestern
University, James and John Kelbe,
have formed a group entitled the
"Student Committee For Congres
sional Autonomy", the design of
which is to defend the investiga
tory power of the United States
Congress. Recently this organiza
tion announced its inception in a
glowing press release directed to
college newspapers around the
country.
The object of adoration for the
SCFCA is the House Un-American
Activities Committee, and the ob
ject of scorn is the spirit which
led students in San Francisco to
riot against the activities which
the Committee itself espouses, riots
that the press release calls "Communist-directed."
In order to make its message
more clear SCFCA has composed
a film entitled "Operation Aboli
tion" to show before civic, church
and school groups across the na
tion. The purpose of this cinematic
marvel is to stress the un-American
activities presently being car
ried on across the continent and to
offer solution. The solutions? Con
gressional investigations, of course.
It strikes us that if this commit
tee is a valid reflection of the
mood and temper of collegiate
thinking today, then America is in
for a discouraging time of it in the
1960's and the years to follow them.
For this is a mood of cowardice
and fear, a mood prompted by the
fear that democracy cannot stand
up under the ideological pressures
of Communism.
We do not believe that it is "un
American" to criticize the Ameri
can government; we do not believe
that it is "un-American" to con
ceive it possible that other sys
tems of government are valid; we
do think it is "un-American" to
advocate the persecution and cen
sorship of those who believe in
free, open thought.
Perhaps we are too idealistic.
Perhaps the America that was set
forth in the Declaration of Inde
pendence and the Constitution has
vanished. Perhaps it now is "Amer
ican" to believe in suppression and
censorship; perhaps the McCarthy
influence has taken its toll of free
dom of thought and speech in the
"Land of the Free."
The Student Committee For
Congressional Autonomy uses as
its motto a statement made by Su
preme Court Justice Hugo Black
when he was a Senator in 1936:
"There is no power on earth that
can tear away the veil behind
which powerful and audacious and
unscrupulous groups operate, save
the sovereign legislative power
armed with the right of subpoena
and search."
It seems to us that the SCFCA
is advocating not conscientious leg
islative investigation but "powerful
and audacious and unscrupulous
groups veiled with the Congres
sional cloak.
In Support Of Robert F. Kennedy
Our last day of publication in
1960 did not arrive late enough
to permit our commenting on the
most controversial of Cabinet ap
pointments, that of Robert F. Ken
nedy to the Attorney Generalship
of the United States.
This was not a surprise move on
the part of President-elect John F.
Kennedy; it was the kind of thing
that everyone in Washington prays
will not happen, while knowing all
the time that it will.
Never before have the bound
aries of nepotism seemed less sure,
and consequently the spoken and
written criticism has been quite
subdued. No one can decide wheth
er Bobby Kennedy is really quali
fied for the post or whether his
brother merely put him there to
fulfill Papa Joe's lifelong dream
JONATHAN YARDLEY
Editor
Wayne King, Mary Stewart Baker
Associate Editors
Margaret Ann Rhymes
i Managing Editor
Edward Neal Riner
Assistant To The Editor
' Henry Mayer, Lloyd Little
News Editors
Susan Lewis Feature Editor
Frank Slusser... Sports Editor
' Harry W. Lloyd Asst. Sports Editor
' John Justice, Davis Young
Contributing Editors
Tim Burnett
Business Manager
Richard Weiner Advertising Manager
John Jester .Circulation Manager
Charles WHEDBEE.-Subscriptton Manager
The Daily Tar Heel is published daily
except Monday, examination periods
and vacations. It is entered as second-
' class matter in the post office in Chapel
- Hill, N. C. pursuant with the act of
March 8, 1870. Subscription rates: $4
- per semester, $7 per year.
The Daily Tar Heel is a subscriber to
, the United Press International and
utilizes the services of the News Bu
, reau of the University of North Caro
lina. Published by the Colonial Press,
Chapel Hill, N. C.
of two cars in every garage and
ten Kennedys in the Cabinet.
There seems to be little criticism
of the younger Kennedy's abilities
as a lawyer or administrator; his
age has been mentioned by a few
as possible indication that he may
not be ready to assume such a
touchy job; most people have ques
tioned, however, not the legal
wisdom of the move but the po
litical wisdom. Their question is
not what kind of job Bobby will
do but how much the appointment
is going to hurt his brother.
This would seem to be barking
up the wrong tree. The only real
ly important question, at least for
fair-minded Americans, is wheth
er Robert Kennedy will be able
to perform with distinction in the
post of Attorney General. It is our
opinion that he is more than qual
ified to do so.
Kennedy's record as a fighter
for justice cannot be touched by
the flow of politics. His ruthless
persecution of Jimmy Hoffa has
been a source of admiration for
many Americans, and his total
honesty in all matters cannot be
denied.
His direction of his brother's
presidential campaign will long be
remembered as one of the great
examples of political mastermind
ing; he displayed a talent for or
ganization and hard work that was
admired by friends and enemies
alike.
We have trust and faith in the
abilities and honesty of Robert F.
Kennedy; we expect to see the
Justice Department take great
steps under his direction. The
United States will not regret John
F. Kennedy's decision, when the
shouting and the protesting is over.
Maybe this is just a fable, or
perhaps a prophecy. Who can
say? At any rate, the story goes
like this:
"Dad, what's that," says the
six-year-old youngster, curious
as any little boy would be as to
the nature of the brick ruins all
around him.
"That, Billy," replies his misty
eyed father, "is what remains of
the University of North Caro
lina. After my class was gradu
ated, the Board of Higher Edu
cation (so-called) began cutting
off money from the school. Caro
lina had already been losing pro
fessors, and it needed money to
hold good teachers and to in
crease its facilities.
"As the University deteriorat
ed, the school grew smaller and,
after a while, closed. Its remains
are here, Billy, as a testimonial
to ignorance."
That's a rather bleak outlook
on the future of our fair Univer
sity. However, the purse strings, in
effect a tournequet, are held by
a group of men who have shown
their stupidity by refusing to
grant desperately needed money.
Shall UNC become a "testimonial
to ignorance?" Shall the twelfth
rated school in the entire coun
try cease to exist because of the
pecuniary pettiness of a few
poorly informed men? - Shall a
school now considered the fore
most intellectual center in the
South become void of intellectual
atmosphere, and seem as if the
temperature were at absolute 0,
where there is no movement,
completely still? Ken Toppell
Wade Wellman
I tiff agSBsm f
The Ugly, Sadistic Plight Of Adolph Otto Eichmann
A friend of mine remarked
lately that Israel, for the sake of
"mental satisfaction," was justi
fied in the controversial abduc
tion of her arch-enemy, Adolph
Otto Eichmann.
Strictly speaking, Eichmann
was not hunted down in a na
tional project; he was taken into
custody by a special agency of
the Israeli government, set up
after World War II for the single
purpose of tracking down Nazi
war criminals. At present this
agency is still hunting for Martin
Bormann and other Nazi ring
leaders who disappeared after
the German surrender. The mo
tivation in these efforts seems to
be simply the desire for revenge
with no other goal, and another
friend tells me that Israel in this
case is "entitled to revenge."
Such an attitude leaves the
legal question unanswered, but
from statements like this a psy
chological question takes form:
What is the state of mind of a
country which needs revenge for
mental satisfaction? In earlier
times revenge was glorified as a
means of preserving one's
honor, but this is the first sug
gestion that it constitutes a
human need comparable to the
need for love and affiliation.
There are some who say, or
strongly imply, that it may be a
particular need of the Jewish
people, who suffered in Himmler's
concentration camps about as
badly as the German people suf
fered under aerial bombardment.
But no particular craving for re
venge is evidenced by the Ger
man population nowadays.
Adolph Eichmann's story is an
ugly one in all of its aspects. He
has tried to say that he was
"merely a little cog in the ma
chinery," but in fact he was one
of the biggest cogs in the whole
disgusting apparatus.
Jn 1935, at the age of 31, he
began his work on the solution
to the Jewish question, and was
soon placed in' charge of the
Gestapo's Office for Jewish Af
fairs, which at first sought to
end the problem by emigration
and other methods. Then, in 1941,
Hitler announced the "final solu
tion to the Jewish problem" an
open policy of mass' extermina
tion. Eichmann's Office for Jew
ish Affairs now functioned sole
ly as the Jew-killing section of
the Gestapo.
Eichmann claims, true or false,
that he never could stand to
watch the suffering that his vic
tims underwent, yet the claim
seems mealy-mouthed if any
thing, for he carried out his task
with fanatical dedication. Himm
ler's statistics listed ten million
Europeans as Jews or non-Aryans
(people of substantial Jew
ish blood). How many of these
unfortunates went to their
deaths can never be precisely de
termined, but William L. Shirer
has calculated the figure as 5,
700,000 that is about 57 of the
intended number. It may have
been more even than this, to say
nothing of hundreds of thousands
who were permanently maimed
or disabled by the barbarous
tortures inflicted on them. As the
war was ending Eichmann sum
med up his attitude: "I will jump
into my grave laughing. The fact
that I have six million lives on
my conscience gives me extraor
dinary satisfaction." In 1956 he
wrote in his now notorious con
fessions: "I regret nothing. ... I
still defend him (Hitler). I will
not humble myself or repent in
any way."
In 1945 Eichmann, arraigned
with other Nazi chiefs for trial,
escaped from an American POW
camp and started on a long, de
vious flight across Europe, hunted
every step of the way by his bit
terest pursuer, Tuvia Friedmann,
a Polish Jew whose parents had
been gassed at Eichmann's orders
in 1942. Friedmann, with deter
mination verging on monomania,
discovered his enemy's family in
Austria and resolved to kidnap
them as hostages, but a mistress
of Eichmann convinced him that
the fugitive would never give
himself up to save his wife and
children. In 1952 Eichmann, dis
guised by plastic surgery and a
false name, finally made his way
to Argentina. Six years later he
set up residence in Buenos Aires
with his family, working in the
offices of an automobile plant.
There, in the early days of May,
1960, Israeli agents identified
their man.
On May 13, 1960, as Eichmann
walked home from work, a car
suddenly rushed up to the curb,
ground to a violent stop, and
spewed forth a gang of Israelis,
who seized their astounded
quarry and thrust him violently
into the automobile. A message
was flashed to Israeli Premier
Ben-Gurion: "The beast is in
chains." On May 20 Eichmann's
captors flew him to Israel in a
plane taken from their own em
bassy at Buenos Aires. The Is
raeli parliament, in session to
discuss budget problems, gaped
with astonishment when Premier
Ben-Gurion rose to announce the
apprehension and coming trial
of Israeli's onetime oppressor.
Plans were speedily laid for a
show trial in which all of Eich
mann's ghastly deeds would be
paraded before the world.
"It's a relief," Eichmann told
his captors. "I've been expecting
this for a long time." There was
no molestation of his family, al
though worried friends moved
them temporarily into hiding. In
his cell he answered questions
freely and cooperatively, de
scribed his bestial activities with
eager enthusiasm, even taking a
pencil and paper to elaborate.
Already, however, doubts about
the justice of the seizure were
being voiced in the foreign press,
and even by leading figures of
world Jewry. The Israeli Minis
ter of Justice went on record in
stern opposition to a show trial
within the country. Nahum
Goldman, president of the World
Zionist Organization, was
troubled by the fact that Eich
mann had been kidnapped from a
sovereign state with no request
for extradition papers. He urged
that the defendant be tried by
an international court rather than
by Israel .TIME commented
somewhat acidly: "Diplomats and
editorialists around the world
asked about the legality of kid
napping a man from one country
to stand trial in a second for
crimes committed in a third.
There is also the embarrassment
of Argentina, whose sovereignty
was infringed and whose laws
against abduction were flouted."
The Washington Post had sharper
words: "Everything connected
with the proceedings against
Eichmann is tainted with law
lessness. If, as reported, he was
abducted from another country,
international law was violated.
The crimes with which he is to
be charged were committed in
Germany and Austria; Israel has
no jurisdiction to try the case."
The Argentine government
sent Israel a formal request for
information about the capture.
Ben-Gurion replied with the
incredible, statement that Eich
mann had been apprehended by
private searchers and had volun
tarily agreed to stand trial in
Israel. Argentine President Ar
turo Frondizi, vexed at this
cynical mockery, wrote Israel an
angry note of protest, demand
ing Eichmann's return within a
week. He recalled the Argentine
ambassador, though without
severing diplomatic relations.
Eichmann stayed in his prison
cell, and Israel, showed no undue
haste in giving him his trial.
Frondizi's protests, useless to
begin with, tapered off.
In the U.S., though, the edi
torial pens grew shaper. TIME
described Ben-Gurion's reply to
Frondizi as "one of the most un
diplomatic notes in diplomatic
history. . . . Many could sympa
thize with the Israelis' hatred of
Eichmann. But their high-handed
disregard of international law
and even of diplomatic niceties
was costing them much of that
sympathy." The Christian Science
Monitor was calm but emphatic:
"If Israel means to assert a mis
sion to dispense justice in crimes
against Jews wherever they may
be committed, this could lead to
serious complications in interna
tional law."
To be continued
The Daily Tar Heel solicits
and is happy lo print any let
ter lo the editor written by a
member of the University
community, as long as it is
within the accepted bounds of
good taste. NO LETTERS
WILL BE PRINTED IF THEY
ARE OVER 300 WORDS
LONG OR IF THEY ARE
NOT TYPEWRITTEN O R
DOUBLE SPACED. We make
this requirement purely for
the sake of space and time.
Kennedy Decides To Go
High Hat For Ceremony
NEW YORK The man who
made the hatters mad has fixed
things up formally. President
elect John F. Kennedy a bare
headed man by preference is
going high hat for his inaugura
tion. This will return the event to
the crowning - glory formality
that prevailed for decades, until
President-elect Eisenhower made
homburg out of it in 1953.
Retiring President Truman,
who had been traditionally high
hatted and cutaway-tailed for his
1949 inauguration, went along
with the Eisenhower decision to
dump formality for a homburg
hat in the 1953 inauguration al
though the president-elect's sar
torial presumptuousness was re
ported to have made Truman
mad as a . . . former haberdasher.
With the precedent thus estab
lished that the president-elect
may decide how to top things off
at the inauguration and with no
late word" to the contrary forth
coming from the White House
it was presumed Eisenhower
would shed his homburg for a
black silk topper on Jan. 20.
The word about the return to
the toppers was let out Thursday
by Samuel Harris, who has been
Sen. John F. Kennedy's tailor for
the last 12 years. Harris said he
told the president-elect he ought
to wear a cutaway suit and a
black topper and that Kennedy
replied: "O.K. I'll wear a top
per.
U. P. I.
With final exam time rolling
around once more, thoughts of
students and professors once
more turns to the touchy subject
of grades. What most students
don't realize is that it is often
the professor, and not the stu
dent, that burns the early morn
ing oil.
Most instructors in the Uni
versity would be happier if there
were no such thing as a "grade"
for each student, not because of
the labor involved, but because
of the difficulty of assessing, in a
single mark, a student's abilities.
What is an "A" student? How
does he differ from a "B" stu
dent? or from a "C," "D," or
"F" student? Is it a matter of a
few points on an exam, a little
extra effort on a term paper, or
more regular class attendance?
In short, no matter how objec
tive are exams, or a professor's
judgement, there creeps in the
problem of discriminating be
tween the abilities of students.
To further complicate the prob
lem of effective grading, there is
the fact that each instructor has
a different conception of what an
"A" student is and right down
the line. Some professors expect
more than others. Some use both.
Thus, when the student enters a
classroom, he is being graded not
so much on his ability in a given
subject as the ability he pos
sesses in one of the many various
forms of measurement. And be
cause of the varied standards of
the instructors, there has grown
up the jargon of the university
the "crip course," the "C" course,
the "impossible course," et ce
tera. The problem of effective grad
ing would not be so acute if it
were not for the fact that some
students do not terminate their
studies on the undergraduate
level, but use the grades as a
standard for their entrance into
graduate work. And then the
student who has taken difficult
courses under difficult instruc
tors is pitted against a student
who has studiously avoided dif
ficult subjects for the sake of
grades. How is an admissions di
rector to differentiate between
the two?
As usual, the reason for the
persistence of the grading sys
tem at UNC is that no better
system has been found. Perhaps
so. Another major fault leveled
against the current system, is
that it makes students "grade
conscious" instead of placing the
emphasis on education as a value
in itself. That is, students, real
izing that their grade is a result
of the professor's judgement, con
centrate their efforts on the sub
ject matter that has been empha
sized by the professor, and, in
addition, the professor's stated
point of view. This at once
limits the student's scope. The
student reads the assigned read
ings that will be on an exam, but
in the majority of cases does not
pursue additional readings.
We are faced with the ultimate
question of whether our grading
system measures what is really
intended to measure the stu
dent's knowledge of the subject,
and his growth of insight into
the subject matter of the course.
The Academic Affairs Commit
tee, this year under the capable
leadership of Jim Scott, has in
the past two years done some in
vestigation into course and pro
fessor evaluation, and the find
ings have been reported to the
administration. This line of in
vestigation, we would suggest, is
exactly what is needed in a uni
versity that is responsible for
the education of this nation's fu
ture leaders.
Questionnaires, anonymously
filled out by students, have added
up to answers on exactly what
needs to be done to improve the
educational facilities of the uni
versity. Caught in the midst of the up
roar over the grading system is
the professor the main cog in
the university system. It is he
that must pass judgement on his
students. For the responsible and
sensitive instructor, this is a most
difficult task. Perhaps in the fu
ture, measurement of a student's
capabilities will be done by a
heartless, objective machine
(such as the IBM computors that
grade College Boards, but even
these are not faultless), but until
then the professor remains in an
always difficult, not particularly
comfortable, position of judge
ment. - - - Bob Silliman