Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Feb. 17, 1961, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Page two firfe DAILY TAR HEEL , q c 3 lry ay7 February 17, 1 r C i V i v I I tEfje Batlp m Heel i Jw its sixty-eighth year of editorial freedom, unhampered by restrictions 1 p from either the administration or the student body. I -The Daily Tar Heel is the official student publication of the Publica j j tions Board of the University of North Carolina. Richard Overstreet, Chairman. J All editorials appearing in The Daily Tar Heel are the personal expres- 'H sions of the editor, unless otherwise credited; they are not necessarily represen- j tative of feeling on the staff, and all reprints or quotations must specify thui. February 17, 1961 Volume LXIX, Number 100 II Tar Heel Writes About Dixie In the July, 1960, issue of The Atlantic Monthly there appeared an article entitled "To Live and " Die in Dixie" which won consider- able acclaim and national inter ' est. The article, along with seven others, has now been published in a book called The Man Who Feels Left Behind. This volume should be of par ticular interest to Chapel Hillians not only because of the important article about the South but also because its author, Gerald W. Johnson, taught journalism at the ; University about fifteen years ago and is a distinguished North Caro linian by birth and rearing. It is with the particular article in question, however, that we are concerned. This is a remarkable document. Johnson's primary concern is the -essential "separateness" of the South and southerners. He notes ; the ties that bind southerners more .strongly than the ties of any other region. " And he dispels both southern folklore and folklore about the .South. It is in this that the essay assumes its greatest importance. : Beauty, he says, is the South's 'greatest attraction and its greatest danger. For southerners like to take to heart the Keatsian adage (that "Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all ye know" on earth; and -all ye need to know.'6"' '- The preoccupation with beauty that is so prevalent in the South transcends the mere beauty of the region. The beauty of the Arthur ian legend is the catalyst of many major southern problems prob lems which have plagued the South since it first began to grow pleased with the plantation system and slave labor. We are now reaping the fruits of our labors, and many of us are finding them distasteful. In its un remitting search for beauty the South has sacrificed goals that are of far more importance and value to its deyelopment. It has been this quest for beauty that has hindered the South, and that has led Mr. Johnson to say: "I see in the antics of the land of my birth in recent years evidence of a cultural lag appreciably great er than that of the rest of the na tion; and to say so is to accuse the South of being far behind indeed." The South has, as the author protests, lived in a dream world that cannot be compromised with the so-called "harsh facts of real ity." It has preferred to believe that something distinguishes . it from other regions and gives it a clearly denned distinctness that al lows the perpetration of this myth. All, however, is not bad. If the South appeals to the Arthurian in its natives, it also imbues in them a regional pride that is exceptional for its depth. To be a southerner is a unique distinction, and all who are southerners feel this passion ately. Even the adopted southerner feels more identity with the region than with his birthplace. The peculiar characteristics of the South have long intrigued Americans and southerners alike. Mr. Johnson certainly is not the first to write with distinction on the subject, but because he is a North Carolinian and because he writes with such compassion and understanding we particularly recommend this article and the en tire book to Chapel Hill readers. The President Takes His Stand; Now The People Must Follow The firm hand that has so long been missing in United States for eign policy reappeared Wednes day at President John F. Kennedy's .fourth news conference. In strong, uncompromising terms he told the Union of Soviet Social ist Republics that we will not tol erate one-sided intervention in the Congo; and at the same time voiced a sincere plea for rapid improve ment in American relations with the strong-armed Russian bear. The mistakes and weaknesses .of if i I if 1 1 JONATHAN YARDLEY Editor Waynk Kmc, Mary Stewart Bakes Associate Editors Mar n abet Ann Rhymis Managing Editor Edward Neal-Riner Assistant To The Editor I Hekby Mayer, Jim Clotfelter news Editors Lloyd Little Executive News Editor Feature Editor Id ; Sports Editor f i I Susan Lewis- Frank: Slusseh.. m n Harry W. Lloyd Asst. Sports Editor JUSTICE, JJAVIS IOUNG M contributing Editors Tim Burnett si Business Manager Richard Weineh Advertising Manager John Jester Circulation Manager Charles VBEDBixJSubscription Manager Tee 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. the past detract considerably from the impact of this statement; we cannot convince the world over night that in areas where we have been weak before we now will be strong. But we must begin, and it is to this task that the President has directed himself. For the last four weeks Wash ington has been electrified by a new foreign policy of dealing from a strong hand that has both the capitpl city and the world in a state of excitement and anticipation. The challenge that lies .ahead is the. challenge of putting this strength in concrete terms. We must, in accordance with our vigorous new goyernment, regroup and rearm our forces for -the battles that lie ahead. They may never fce battles of physical force; J?ut they surely will be battles for men's minds and hearts. These are the battles that are won. fry strength, and it is with this in mind that America must build. The world today is marked fry an undertone of perjj? uncertainty and indecision. To fre decisive is to be victorious, and it is yictpry that we need, victory tfrat we de-r mand, victory Jfrat js imperative. President Kennedy knows the goals, and knows trie means. It i? now the role of the American people to form themselves behind this quest for victory toward pace and to exert themselves unceas ingly until that peace is attained. Now A Little Foreground Briefing 55 HnnjT.:fc.y'nr:r.rin-r-nrr" ' T"i""rT"-""""T """ n X'"""" ?"""" yv"-T" i:': . Ami . w i) Reviewer Finds 'The Somewhat Disappointing - Blake Green An absorbing evening is in store for those who see the Caro lina Playmakers production of Friedrich Duerrenmatt's "The Visit," which opened Wednesday and runs through Monday in the Playmakers Theatre: absorbing in that the Playmakers have cho sen a fascinating, compelling play, granted it the competent direction of Harry Davis, and tossed in such talented leading players as William Trotman and Mary Jane Wells. Such a team ing of talents would seem bound to produce a sensational piece of theatre art; but alas, one must remember the necessity for min or players, with their Southern drawls and clumsiness in man aging props. Indeed, it seems to this review er that certain of the minor play ers, all too frequently the offend ers in the Playmakers Theatre, have again committed that un pardonable crime of deadening what might have proved a far more interesting play. "The Visit" as a play is heavy with a sense of foreboding evil, of something terrible and sinis ter always aboul to happen. A woman (Mary Jane Wells) who was once brutally banished from her home town, now having ris en to infamous wealth, returns to the town to obtain justice. She points an accusing finger chiefly at her former lover (Wil liam Trotman) and agrees to re store the town to prosperity on- Issues, Issues, Issues Everybody's Got An Issue There is a group who settle the nation's problems every day between sips of Lenoir Hall's coffee and comparisons of the amount of outside reading they should be doing in the library. It is an odd assortment. There is Peter, the conserva tive, who father owns the larg est independent steel mill in the United States, and who is posi tive that hell is filled only with members o the CIO-AFL with John L., himself, the head devil. Bill, the son pi a Detroit indus trial worker, can. never be con vinced that , the bulk of the world's problems do not lie in the magnified faults of big busi ness and excessive foreign aid. There is David who supports federal aid t,Q education, Dick who worked as a lobbyist for the AMA last summer, John who spends his free time writing let ters to the editor on the horrors of approaching socialism, and Rick who wants the U.S. to get out of the U.N. Allan plays a guitar and is an avid supporter of Castro and Paul is membership chairman of an organization to prevent Catho licism from taking over the gov ernment. New Yorker Sally reads the headlines of the Charlotte Ob server and vehemently hisses "ignorance, ignorance, the South is overrun with it and what do you do? You close the schools!" Tom agrees and reminds every one to attend tonight's meeting of the NAACP. Lee stands up in a huff of dis gust and informs him that he is only working toward mongreliza tion of the white race. Some days you sit there in the midst of the pros and cons of birth control and military con scription listening to the ridi cule heaped upon PeGaulle's Al gerian policy, the reasons why we shouldn't have broken diplo matic relations with Cuba, and how Laos is just the chance the West needs to show the Commun ists that we're not fooling. Tom says you're not a true Christian if you are prejudiced, Sally tells you that a vote against federal aid to education is a step toward illiteracy, and. Davis says that Bobby is not qualified to be Attorney General. Being of an objective nature you listen to both sides of the questions, weigh the facts and attempt to draw some conclusion. But Peter says there is no ques tion that Rockefeller sold Nixon down the river, and Sally insists that Gov. Vandiver is in cahoots with the KKK. If you agree, that segregation is wrong, Tom calls you a hypo crite when you refuse to ask a group of Negroes to eat at your table. When you decide that Ham marskjold has done a "fairly" good job in the Congo, Rick shrieks of self-determinism and invasion of rights, i.s Socialized medicine is either a gift from heaven or an invention of the devil, Kennedy is the sal vation of the U.S. or a youngster who'll undoubtedly bring about her downfall. Castro is a mad man or a mar tyr, DeGaulle a brilliant states man or a behind-the-times old goat, Eisenhower a lazy no-good golfer or one of the all-time greats. There is no middle way. You must take up Bill's nega tive views on the House Rules Committee or be completely in opposition. "Passivity is the blight of mankind," they shout. Say yes or no but never maybe. He's right, or wrong but never half wrong or half right. , You agree with David that Adlai Stevenson would have made a good Secretary of State but when you add that you think Rusk will do just as well, he tells you not to be "wishy washy." You cannot feel a tinge of re gret when another outpost of se gregation falls to a court deci sion without being a segrega tionist, or remark how ludicrous the situation has become in New Orleans without becoming an out-and-out integrationist. Indecision is akin to ignorance. A little of this side and a little of that only combine to make Sally shout "oh, have a mind of your own!" You must make a decision now. You look for support. But there is only David dunking his do-nut and insisting that under no condition should Senator Byrd have been allowed to retain chairmanship of the Finance Committee . . . Lee calling the Supreme Court decision on se gregation a definite infringement of human rights . . . John saying the AMA should be outlawed in the country ... Are there only Sallys and Davids and Ricks and Johns whose way is the only way? You wonder ... if there is any one left who isn't sure? Panties: A Raid Shoidd Be Made; Wildly Democratic Chapel Hill A fter Dark With Dayis B. Young Bless the Ranch House for Cactus Ted's generous Valenr tine's Pay gift to Chapel Hil lians. His offer was: Whatever you eat, your date gets the same on the house. Other restaurants probably would have begrudged their clientele a toothpick. . The University Party Conven tion had Jts josual Jaughs the cthpr riiht. Referring to a snide remark from UP Chairman Den nis Rasi .concerning whp read 'j'he paily 7ar Ileel (if anybody), DTH chieftain J. Yardley lept to his feet, obtained recognition and said, "Mr. Rash, 10,000 people read The Daily Tar Heel." This may be a vain presumption. From a reader, this note: Dear Hedda Hopper: Recently darling you covered a christening of Lymington II Deutsch. I wish you dealers in trash would get the facts straight. Lymington II Deutsch was 13 weeks old, not 11. An Irate Father Dear Irate Father: Believing in . journalistic i ac curacy, we regret this error. . H. H. , To those who say the Student 'Party is dead, we contend that group has a golden opportunity to capture three out of the top four offices this Spring. Only UP presidential candidate Bob Sevier is safe,, and deservedly so. To The Editor: Let us move now from bobby sox to panty raids. On the issue of panty raids, in contrast to the issue I made of bobby sox, there has already been much said by others. How ever, I say let there be room made here for one more say-so. For, indeed, I have my own philosophy about panty raids which has heretofore never been leaked to any of the news media. And as both male and female alike will soon discover, what I will have to say should attract the utmost scrutiny from the University authorities, who have become more and more militant in oppressing panty raids. First of all, let us briefly, dis sect a panty raid. The urge for a raid is born usu ally in the form of a sort of spon taneous burst of feverish emo tions, spreading contagiously through the campus night air, luring electrified males out of their dorm rooms and fraternity abodes, compelling them to surge en masse toward the girls' dorms. Alas! these upstanding young men have found an escape from the drudgeries and boredom of the campus routine. All their pent-up frustrations have found freedom! And no one will deny that the co-eds, bless their souls, luv it all more than anybody . . . what could be more thrilling, dear, than an absolute PANTY raid . . . Thus, we have the surging, merging throng of libidinous males (harmlessly) rallying 'round the girls' dorms and rais ing a lot of hell, nothing much more, though hoping also to raise a few unmentionables to make their effort, shall we say, worth while? And we have in the other camp the female contingent, for tressed in their dorms, their little hearts skipping a beat here and there, purring, purring ... And now, aha, I am ready to drive home my point. What in America could be more democratic than one of these panty raids? In this strange phenomenon of nature, I say we have what is perhaps the most clearcut expression of democracy. For has the Carolina student body ever experienced closer fra ternal ties than on the night of a panty raid? Has the will of the majority (all 100 percent of it) ever been more cheerfully ex ecuted? Has the will of the "min ority" consequently ever been more respected? Has there ever been less friction and more co operation as that found in the functioning of one of these extra-curricular activities? And we further ask, in the in terest of good will to the more hardened of those among us: Has there ever been any real danger or threat or dorm inva sion which could easily have been discouraged by enforcing ele mentary precautions? Have any feelings ever been hurt? Are panty raids as they are labeled, ironically, by the powers that be "dangerous"? "ungentleman ly"? "immoral"? "suggestive" (my favorite)? My answer to these questions is that: the right to panty-raid is self-evident and more import ant, it is wildly democratic. Clinton Blufopher The Daily Tar Heel solicits and is happy lo print any let ter io 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.' ly if she is granted Trot man's life. The play is a terrifying af fair from the outset through to its horrific ending; and if the team of Duerrenmatt-Davis-Trnt-man-Wells had been multiplied so that each of the quartet could have assumed triple duties, t ' play might well have approach c d professional calibre. As is, hov. evcr, it falls short even of t he high amateur standard the Play makers have established over th? years. This is not to say that these four alone deserve credit; all in all, the presentation is extremely competent hands. William Trotman, who ha: called the lead role of Anton Schill the most difficult of his' career, proves himself fully wor thy of it. When he has the sta,-: to himself one senses the power? of a professional. His voice i.V resonant and flexible, ranging from whispery, shocked exclama tions that chill the audience to. full, agonized outcries that ma kr one shudder. He has dignity and humanity in the rich quan tities that "The Visit" demand--, Trotman, in short, appears to I a splendid performer. Mary Jane Wells as Claire Zachanassian is equally adept. She speaks her lines with a fit ting tone at once blase and fu'h of life; her words are clipped and: piercing. Thirt for vengeance, which motivates the play, echoes-; in every syllable Miss Well.-1 speaks, and the actress moves with a haughty self-assuiance and; an added something which make:' a neat, chiseled performance1; seem not only corect, but even: inspired. She is at her best in the wonderful scene follow in;.;, her eighth wedding, when s h e complacently puffs a cigar as she sits in bridal attire on a sedan; chair. But the sense of impending; doom, so pervasive in the play; itself, is somehow lost in this production. Perhaps the blame' lies chiefly in the disappointing minor players, who stomp about with bored faces and bored pos tures. Before the opening cur tain has been parted five min utes, many members of the audi-, ence question whether the play is to be tragic or comic: the two blind members of Miss Wells' entourage, played by Bill Han nah and Irving Zelon, seem com pletely absurb buffons, whereas their lines indicate they miht have established a mood of fated disaster. They giggle and squirm and shout their lines and some how seem more like schoolboys on a lark than remnants of de stroyed manhood. Dwight Hun sucker's Pastor, too, seems jerky and awkward. Yet many of the minor players are quite adequate. Ed Robbins, for example, more than redeems himself for his somewhat disap pointing role in "South Pacific" with his capable handling of the Teacher role. While he seems to lose control and flounder about at times, his overall competence is obvious. Jerry Walker, too, shows himself to be developing nicely, playing the not-so-minor role of Burgomeister. Lynn Gault, besides being one of the few minor players who know their craft, designed the sets, and it seems almost re dundant to add that Gault's sets are up to his firmly established standard. It is a pity, however, that while he created magic areas on the tiny Playmakers stage, these minors, must jostle and trip against the very few pieces of scenery. Stagehands, it seem-, also mistook a fiat of a factory for one of a forest in one scene: but this was among the less ser ious crimes of the evening. Russell Graves' lighting achiev ed its mood-setting goals unfail ingly. The scene changes were enthralling: music (usually gui tars) was heard, .lights dimmed, and th e changes were made visible to the audience. Each time a scene was dimmed out, the tableau onstage was reminiscent of a German Expressionist paint ing. Mary Lindsey Guy's costumes, too, were quite well done. Everything considered, ''The Visit" is well worth seeing as much for the leading players, the sets, and the lighting as for the play itself. It is all the while appalling that the "lesser lights" went so far toward banishing the mood of chilling terror that Davis, et al., sought but failed to achieve. Frank Murphy f v
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 17, 1961, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75