Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 19, 1965, edition 1 / Page 2
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Pag-e 2 Sunday, September 19, 1965 ( Satlg (Uar ifcef : : Opinions of the Daily Tar Heel are expressed in its : editorials. Letters and columns, covering a wide range of views, reflect the personal opinions of their authors. : jij: ERNIE McCRARY, EDITOR Si g JACK HARRINGTON, BUSINESS MANAGER A-6'. The Pinch Of The Manacles From The Charlotte Observer When Wright Tisdale, chairman of the Duke Uni versity board of trustees, suggested in Charlotte this week that Duke is the state's best bet to become an outstanding national university, partisans of the Uni versity of North Carolina felt the pinch of their man acles anew. The first pinch was felt in June when Duke an nounced a broad program of expansion and improve ment. At that moment, the University of North Caro lina was fighting to keep legislators and other-proponents of the speaker-ban law from inflicting addi tional harm on state-supported higher education. At a time when Duke officials and alumni were accepting the task of raising $187.4 million for the uni versity's development, the legislature had little en thusiasm for meeting the large capital needs of the University of North Carolina and other state senior institutions. There was, at the same time, the spectacle of the governor and legislators refusing to rescue the Uni versity from the extremely damaging assault being made on it by the speaker-ban law and other legis lation striking at the heart of quality higher educa tion. Tisdale reported that a study about to be published will rank Duke among the top 20 universities in the country. The same study, he said, will show the Uni versity of North Carolina in the top 30. But that gap will widen considerably if the University's prestige continues to suffer and if its faculty is badly depleted by the speaker-ban law and other anti-intellectualism. We stated in an editorial on June 16 that "Duke University today can talk for greatness and reach for greatness because it is not the captive of little politi cal minds." That statement goes double today. The longer the leaders of North Carolina procrastinate in restoring full freedom to the University to educate, the greater the iamage will be. The contrast was shown last spring at commence ment exercises on the University campus at Chapel Hill. Dr. Douglas Knight, president of Duke, had no hesitancy in ripping into the speaker-ban law as a futile and foolish piece of legislative mischief that would be destructive of the University's interests. President William C. Friday of the University, every bit as opposed to the law as Duke's president, risked the fiscal wrath of legislators every time he opened his mouth to criticize it in terms less emphatic than Knight's. There is no reason North Carolina can't have two great national universities. Both Duke and UNC have broken out of the cocoon of regionalism and provin cialism in the last 20 years. Only recently, the doc toral program of the University at Chapel Hill was rated the best in the South. Duke's prospects for higher national ranking are good because it is attracting strong financial support from business and industry and from alumni, and be cause it is substantially endowed. This produces bet ter facilities and higher faculty pay, hence a better faculty and better research. The University of North Carolina depends upon the willingness of the people of this state to sacrifice for the building of a nationally recognized state uni versity. That aspiration must have a strong voice in the governor's mansion and in the State Legislative Building. Both universities can maintain a high level of service to North Carolina and the South while attract ing top faculty and students from outside the South. Here, the University of North Carolina is somewhat limited, for it must serve the youth of North Carolina first. Only 30 per cent of the Duke student body is native of North Carolina. The choice is clear. North Carolina young people should have the same opportunity to get education of the h'hest national quality that compares to what is available at Duke. But the people of this state must come to believe that this quality is worthwhile and attainable. The best possible start toward that decision will be repeal of the speaker - ban law, followed by a decision to make bold and imaginative decisions about facilities and support. Y Coed vs. Cabbie On Speaker Ban By JANE MARCOTTE We have just had an opportunity to ob serve that our affinity to Hoof and Mouth Disease has not diminished over the years. It all began when we were subject to a talkative cab-driver. Not feeling particular ly gregarious at the moment, we were quietly enduring the driver's comments about the weather when he asked the sure-of-reply question: "Are you a student at UNC?" . Here we go again, the old brain cogitat ed, and we answered with an automatic "Uh-huh." That bit of pseudo-conversation seemed to dampen his spirits. We then decided to do our good deed for the day and renew his self-assurance. That is, we decided to get his opinion about some topical affair. There is nothing more rejuvenating to one's esprit de personne than to hear oneself talk. By now we should know better than to play Boy Scout. But not being able to tol erate the black-cloud atmosphere in the cab, and not having the courage to jump out, we blurted "What do you think of the Speaker Ban Law?" Immediately we could feel the dark cloud begin to precipitate and could have bitten off our tongue. The driver gave us a probing glance; then affirmed "It's a good thing. Some body or something has to keep Communists from teaching our children. It's pretty bad when students don't even know that those professors are giving them Red propagan da. The students here will lap up anything that they can march for. They just don't have any respect for us tax-payers who have experience and know." "Oh." we said while fingering the door handle. The driver gave us a demanding look and asked, "What do you think about it?" "Your mouth is already open; you may as well stick your foot in," we told our self. We proceeded with a hopefully non committal "People should grow up and realize that closing the front door does not keep someone from entering." This was met with a challenging "Do you want the Communists to take over?" Our reply was a lecture on the neces sity of being exposed to a variety of ideas. And for good measure we added that noth ing is as simple as black and white. By the time our much awaited destina tion was reached at least one thing had been confirmed: The driver's suspicion that students could not make wise judgments and were easily subverted. So, feeling that if , we , wished him a "Good day" it would be taken as a Com munist inspired plot, we silently paid our fare and beat a hasty retreat. "You Were The Belle Of The Ball" utye Satly Star t ?l I 72 Years of Editorial Freedom gj The Daily Tar Heel is ibe official news publication of S the University of North Carolina and is published by :): stsdents daily except Mondays, examination periods and : vacations. Ernie McCrary, editor; Jnhn Jennrich, associate editor; Kerry Sipe, managing editor; Pat Stith, sports editor; : Jack Harrington, business manager; Woody SoboL adver- : Using manager. : Second class postage paid at the post office in Chapel : Hill, N. C, 27S14. Subscription rates: $4L50 per semester; : $8 per year. Send change of address to Tbe Daily Tar : Heel, Boz 1080, Chapel Hill, N. C, 21514. Printed by the : Chapel Hill Publishing Co . Inc. The Associated Press Is S :j entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all jij: : local news printed in this newspaper as well as all ap :: 'i news dispatches. i . -- 5 1 W - In The Mail . . . Mock Trial Creates Distrust Editor, The Daily Tar Heel: If the hissing displayed by the audi ence during the mock trial at the Stu dent Government convocation for fresh men was any indication of its feelings, the Women's Council must have Weak ened the belief of the entering freshmen in the members of the bodies which have jurisdiction , over Honor and Campus Code offenses. The girl, presumably a first offender, who was accused of staying out late and lying about it, was suspended indefinite ly. More important than the harshness of the sentence was the remote frame of mind and lack of concern shown by the girls sitting in judgment during the trial. Almost all students who come to the University believe in the Honor System and what it stands for; but if what we witnessed was truly an example of our judicial proceedings, heaven help us all. EricJClay 612 Morrison Congressman Explains Later Adjournment By REP. WALTER ROGERS (TEXAS) ROLL CALL Section 132 of the Legislative Reor ganization Act of 1946 provides as fol lows: "Except in time of war or during a National emergency proclaimed by the President the two Houses shall ad journ sine die not later than the last day (Sundays excepted) in the month of July in each year, unless otherwise provided by the Congress." A state of war or National emergency has existed since 1939. On August 1, 1949 Speaker Sam Rayburn ruled that the First Ses sion of the 81st Congress could legally continue after the last day of July be cause the National emergency declared by the President on September 8, 1939 and May 27, 1941 were still in effect. Since that time Congress could legally have stayed in Session after the last day of July every, year, including the present one. If the declaration of Na tional emergency were terminated by the President we would not be in Session legally at the present time. Although there is a state of war in Viet Nam, it is an undeclared war and would not meet the requirements of the Constitu tion. However, the National emergency declared by. the President in past yeais has not been retracted, hence it is this latter situation that creates legality in the continued Session of . Congress this year. The Members would like very much to terminate the Session by August K each year. However, there is always something to prevent it. It is virtually impossible for any of the Members to have vacations with their families or to be in their districts for any length of time during the summer months. As the summer wears on and fall begins. a high degree of tension develops which is commonly called "adjournment fev er." This tension is the result of long and exhaustive hours in committee meet ings and long Sessions of the Congress with attention divided among a great number of bills of major import. All the Members are desirous of obtaining pass age of their own particular bills affect ing their districts. Add these to the many bills having national and international significance and you have an almost im possible situation. It is during these lat ter days of the Session that many ill advised "pieces of legislation have been able to slip through. UNC's First President Was Disciplinarian (This is the first in a series of articles on presidents of the University.) By OTELIA C. CONNOR Proud as we are of President Friday, the youngest university president in the United States, he is not the youngest presi dent in the history of the University of North Carolina. Joseph Caldwell of New Jersey, a gradu ate of Princeton and a tutor at his Alma Mater, was only 23 years old when he was called by the Board of Trustees to teach mathematics at UNC, October 31, 1796, one year after its opening. The journey from New Jersey to Chapel Hill took over 30 days, traveling by stage coach to Peters burg, Va., where he bought a horse and a two-wheel sulky, holding one person, for the rest of the trip to Chapel Hill. When Mr. Caldwell arrived at the Uni versity there was no office of president. He was made presiding professor for the spring term 1797. The responsibilities of acting president, combined with that of teaching, were so heavy that he declared his in tention of leaving the University, but was persuaded to stay upon the election of James Smiley Gillaspie as presiding pro fessor at the close of 1797. In two short years Mr. Gillaspie was beaten by the stu dents because they didn't like him. He re signed and Mr. Caldwell was elected to succeed him in 1799. Small Faculty There were four other professors besides Mr. Caldwell, and about fifty-six students. These ranged in age from mature young men to young boys who were so poorly prepared for college that a grammar school had to be organized, where corporal pun ishment was administered when the lessons were not learned. There were only fourteen bedrooms in Old East. Six students were crammed into a room with their trunks, beds, tables, chairs, books and clothes, "which by the excessive heat of summer are enough to sti fle them, and in the winter scarcely admit them to sit around the fireplace. When the weather permits they fly to the shade of the trees, where they find a retreat from the burr and hurry and irrepressible con versation of a crowded society." . There were no bathrooms. Most of the students used bath tubs in their rooms. "There was no sewerage system, and un til shortly after 1850, slops were thrown from the windows freely." Yet there was very little sickness at the University. There was no doctor, and no infirmary. As a rule, when a student died he was buried in Chap el Hill, his expense being paid by the so ciety to which he belonged. , Study By Candlelight The students studied at night by adaman tine candles, two stuaents to a candle. Lamps came in after the middle "of the century. Board was fixed at $35 a year. Coarse corn bread was the staple food. A student writing to his parents described the food at the Commons as follows: "At dinner the only meat was a fat middling of bacon. At breakfast we had wheat bread and but ter and coffee. Our supper was coffee and the corn bread left at dinner, without but ter." The students showed their disgust with the food by stoning the steward's house, overturning his outhouse, and tak ing the gate off the hinges and putting it in the Chapel. In a protest to the Trustees, they described their grievances in the din ing room: "We have long observed an in sufficiency of butter. The beef has been such as to shock every sentiment of de cency frequently unsound and covered with vermin." It is small wonder that after such a supper, the students went prowling at night and seized upon everything eatable within the radius of one or two miles. Bee hives, chickens, watermelons and potato patches, roasting ears in fact, every thing eatable that they could lay their hands on, was found missing in the morn ing. First President Chosen In 1804 the Trustees decided the time had come" for the University to have a pres ident. The hour and the man had met, and Mr. Caldwell was unanimously chosen for the Presidency, at a salary of $1,000 a year. He had been at the University eight years, most of that time as Acting President, and was now thirty-one years old. The choice was a happy one. Caldwell was first a mathematician, but he was a scholar in the true sense of the word in that he was interested in all fields of learn ing. And he had the highest interest of the University and the State at heart. He was a powerful preacher. "He was utterly fear less, indefatigable in the discharge of eve ry duty, and skillful in the administration of discipline. He was strong of arm and swift of foot and often engaged in a wres tle or a race with disturbers at midnight." The Trustees had such confidence in his x wisdom and devotion to the University that they gradually stopped interfering with the internal government of the University. Whenever Caldwell showed displeasure the Trustees gave in. South Carolina Offer A few months after he became presi dent he was made a flattering offer by tbe University of South Carolina to become pro fessor of mathematics at a salary of $l,5uu, with the expectation of being elected pres ident at a salary of $2,500 per year. Tbe friends of the University were highly up set at this offer. "The Board of Trustees unanimously passed resolutions urging on him the irreparable loss, which the Uni versity would sustain by his leaving it." President Caldwell declined the offer, writ ing a friend that he "had become attached to the place and disliked change." In 1812, with the University running fair ly smoothly, he asked the Trustees to re lieve him of the presidency and allow him to return to his first love, mathematics and science. He was according to Dr. Archi bald Henderson, "a true scientist, an en gineer of eminence and a competent as tronomer." Presidency Too Strenuous The Trustees graciously acceded to his request and elected Mr. Chapman, a Pres byterian minister from New Jersey, as president. The job proved too much for Mr. Chapman. He resigned four years later, and Mr. Caldwell was again elected presi dent by the Board of Trustees in 1816. He retained this office until his death in 1835. Judge Walker Anderson, in his June, 1835, Commencement eulogy to President Caldwell said that "tbe whole present gen eration of citizens of North Carolina owe more to him, than to any one individual, the very remarkable change that has tak en place in tbe moral and intellectual char acter of our State within the last forty years." A monument was erected to him by the Trustees and Alumni, among wbom was President James K. Polk, class of 1816. Tbe General Assembly of 1841 named a county for him, "the only county honor ing a teacher." Caldwell Building on the campus was named for him. President Caldwell was succeeded by Governor Swain. V I DON'T I ( UNDERSTAND ) THE WHOLE UJORLD CQtMHS APACT, AMD H&TRE DANCIN6 ! V "V k. w II I CArfTKELPlT...M' FEET LOVE TO DrVNCE... I hA& an c&jet$cx TO JVW FEET I V
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Sept. 19, 1965, edition 1
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