Vol. 12 April 20, 1963
Since its inception, suppression has had many provocative articles, and many
that have been of dubious Value. But no matter what one thinks of suppression,
it has challenged our indifference and has thus made us feel uncomfortable. In
Plato's Apology, Socrates refers to himself as the gadfly who is to constantly
remind the Athenians of their faults, While many have disagreed with
Suppression's policies, all must agree that this literary gadfly is needed.
Suppression does perform a vital function on our campus. In its recent articles
on the school situation (especially "Liberty, Hquality, Perversity"), the editors
of suppression are to bo commended. As our college expands from a college to 4
university, the service that suppression has rendered will be better appreciated.
-Editor-
"A Mild Diatribe on Newspaper Reporting and a Rather Short Manifesto on Campus
Morality"
If you want to make the headlines in our local papers (and worry the general
citizenry), say something honest about student sexual standards. It works, or at
least it does if you are a member of the clergy.
Here. is how it happened in my case. I had been invited to speak to a weekly
luncheon group called the Interchurchnien's Fellowship. A reporter was on hand
expecting, or so I assumed, the mon might have something pungent to say on the so-
called "Broughton Case", now troubling the city fathers. (Mr. Broughton is a
former president of the group and a personal friend of many.) Perhaps he even
thought I would contribute to the general hue and cry. After all, Robort. Hudnut,
the CURR candidate for mayor in the last election and also a minister, made his
debut as a political iconoclast before the same group two years ago. Too bad:
the men did pass a rather restrained motion but the speaker talked about various
erudite matters pertaining to the church and higher education, of all things.
Let's face it: it must have been a dull speech--or up until the last three
or four minutes, anyway. Then I made a fow comments on the changing sexual
standards of college students. The magic word was out. Our man had a story and
whoover coins the headings had a gimmick for the morning paper. And then to make
mattors worse, the evening paper, copping the first article with blunt shears,
misquoted and misconstrued, and I scomed to be defending free love.
Now this is juvenile sensationalism hardly worthy of a solf-respecting paper.
Surely the press knows something of what's happening to the sex morcs of students;
is it really news? I thought we had grown up a bit and could talk responsibly
about serious questions of this sort without exploitation. Or is it only that
the clergy aren't supposed to acknowlodge such dolicate matters? To make a story
out of a minor point, and ignore the major concern of a spocch, is hardly respon-
sible journalism. To capitalize on a discussion of soxual ethics is headline
hunting.
And Now the Manifesto
But so mich for our crrant papers. Now lot's look at the larger issue--
namely this mattcr of student morals. For some time now I havo wondered who
determines what is moral, or immoral, in a state university such as Albany. It is
obvious that religious standards, whether Christian or Jowish or Hindu, do not
just "apply" as a matter of course, for this is not a religious institution but
a rather solf-consciously secular (or a better term in this context might be
."pluralistic") onc. It may be there is an “anhcrent moral standard in society by
which, as students and as individuals, all must abide," to quote from a recent
Myskania statement. But is there really general agroement at this point and if
so, what are the principles, lines and limits of such a standard, (Hore I neod
to insist I am not talking about the Cortland affair cxcept insofar as it illus-
trates the confusion in our thinking. \Whatovor happened there was lamentable,
certainly, but was it porhaps more in the nature of a delayed puberty rite, how-
ever thoughtless and vulgar, than anything olso? This is not to justify anyone
or any action but to ask what wo mean by terms such as "moral" and "4mmoral."')
I don't mean to be difficult in this mattor but the answors aren't at all obvious
to mo, particularly since it is sometimes the othcrwise most moral students who
have broken with what was once considered moral in the area of sox.
Surely, evory student generation should have a chance to debate such
questions honestly and sensibly, not in order to develop a "code of student
conduct" but to explore the basic issues. For too long the whole acadomio
community has been living on vague and largely unoxamincd assumptions as to the
source and authority of moral standards in a pluralistic socicty and misty
statemonts as to their size and shape. A Christian has his own convictions,
of course, and while he hopes thoy will have a hearing he cannot expect them to be
binding on a university which "knows not Christ." And in any event, wo have all
seen too mich deification of merely bourgcois values to be easily satisficd that
what is obvious and taken for grantod by many is nccessarily “inhorent" and
binding on all, How about it: can we redeem the time and talk about the nature
of the moral life?
-The Reverend Frank Show, Campus Minister-
CALUNDAR OF EVENTS STAFF
Thursday, April 25, 8:00 p.m. Editor: Alan Minarcik
Robert Herman, "Don't Got Off the
Seesaw Unilatcrally." Asst. Editor: Guy M. McBride
Chapel Service: Evory wednesday at
12:00.
THE 1963 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
OF THE STUDENT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT
The 1963 Legislative Assombly of tho Student Christian Movomont mot at the
Lisle conference Center in Lisle, Now York, on April 5-7, on the first woekend of
the Easter Vacation. Since tho Campus Christian Council participates in the life
of the SCM, two of its mombers, Alan iMinarcik and Kathlcon Glass, attonded the
assembly.
This yoar's assembly was to be a novel doparture from tho usual longthy
boring logislative sessions of previous years. The conferonee started with a good
omcn. As Kathleen Glass, a co-rresidont of the SCM, was calling the first session
to order, an alarm clock, which she convonicntly kept in her pockct book, rang.
From that point on, the schedule of the conference was strictly adhered to.
On Friday evening, a onc act play, "The Zoo Story," by Albec, was presented.
This play was an attempt to illuminate our concerns for the loss of meaning in our
urban socicty. Through a dialogue between the play's two characters, the struggle
between stolid, passive, conformity ond brash, daring non-conformity was portrayed.
Another phonomena of our socioty is the changing roles of men and women. This
discussion was introduced by selections from A Raisin in the Sun, Death of a Sales-
man, and the novel Where tho Boys Are. The Assembly thon divided itself into five
groups to discuss the changing roles of mcn and women in contemporary socicty.
The Assembly was most fortunate in having Guy Carawan, a noted folk singor,
leading its discussions on the student concorn for racial integration. He sang
some "Frocdom Songs." Bob Zollnor, his companion, narrated some of his expericneces
throughout the South and its various prisons. Mr. Caravan was recently in Grcen-
wood, Miss. and its Negro voter registration drive. He had a very interesting
tape recording of Dick Gregory, the noted Negro comedian, who participated in the
drive. On Saturday cvening, after cloctions, Mr. Carawan lod the Assembly in a
folk sing.
The officors for this year's SCM Exccutive Council arc:
Co-Presidents - Dave Funk ~ Colgate
Karen Holbert - NYU
Co-Vice Presidont - Tom Ernst - University of Buffalo
Barb Taylor - Skidmore
Secretary - Joan Young - SUNY at Brockport
Communications - Jal Watkins - Syracuse University
Finance Chairman - Tom Genne - Syracuse University
Proposals for Action:
1. Work with the migrant labor problems in New York State.
2. Tho National Voluntecr Sorvice (Domestic Peace Corps).
3. Now forms of clection, having a committee selected to work out the
probloms. (Voted 12-7)
4, A short torm, ad hoc body, concerning the life of the SCM for the
noxt five year period, in order to promote continuity (Adopted unanimously).
Other problems discussed wore communications between groups and the
difficulty of bringing about an awareness of thc SCM among local groups.
Lisle, New York, is a small, listless village which offors no distractions
for conferces; thus it is quite acceptable for conferences of all types.
Skandalon, a bi-weekly journal of
news and opinion published by Campus Flyers with application forms
Christian Council, invites articles, on the Summer Service Group
essays, poems, drawings on political, described above can be picked
academic and theological questions. up at the peristyle desk in
Contributions can be left at the Student lower Draper.
Center, 166 Central Avenue, or with the
editors.
SUMMER SERVICE PROJECT
z
Ren
{
more with their lives than just say "I belicvo" \ {
and go to church every other Sunday. It is so | i lok |
easy to applaud a cause, such as racial , vA | i 4 ET
"Inasmuch as yo have done it unto one of ey \ ley Ay! '
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it Mayes Vee eae
unto me." A \ ie Ya ei
For a century and a half this has boon a \ \ va
ne | ;
\
\
call to Christians overywhere to do something \ \ \
\ i\
a
equality, but how many of us would be willing to i
ride a bus through the South; the North also has \e
WV
Negros and problems. There is Albany, Gcorgia
and thore is Albany, Now York, Each of those BP
cities has problems, different to be honest \ \ \
\
but also similar, for something must be donc. i
We all know what has happoned in Gcorgia ey
but do’ you know what will happen in Now York? \ \ !
We are not going to sit-down or parade for that \ t
is not needed here. Rathor a group of State Testes er
students in the area for the summer plans to \ \"
live in the Mall district and work with its piraee
young people. For those of you who don't road
the papers, tho Mall is that area between Eagle
and Pearl Streets, which is destined to be
destroyed to make way for office buildings.
This is a slum arca with an inter-racial popula-
tion. It is a crowded neighborhood with no
plece for its young people to go. In the summer,
the problem becomes acute for there are no reere-
ational facilities. Ono day follows another,
standing around or playing in the strects.
The Summer Sorvice Project, composed of
interested students living in Albany or = \.
attending school here, is going to try to provide something for these kids. ~ Our
main omphasis will be on a coke shop for the toon2gors where thoy can sit and
talk and relax, If thorc is cnough intcrest, playstroots and arts and crafts groups
will be organized for the younger children. These activitics will be conducted
in the evenings so thcy will not conflict with classcs.
Those students participating in the projcct will be required to live with
the othor members in thc Mall arca, This, we fecl, will give us a closcness to
the area and its probloms that we would not have living in the dorms. It is
possible that wo may be living in Trinity Institutc, a neighborhood house that is
riot used in the summer. We will have a director to guide us in our activitics
and also lead study and worship groups for tho participants. Since we arc a
Christian group, under tho sponsorship of CCC, worship will be an integral part of
our life together. Together we will study probloms of the area, litorature on the
race problom, sociological matcrial--all related to what we will be doing.
“The dates for the project would be tho same as for summer school here at
State, It would cost nothing to live in Trinity so tho only oxpense would be fur
food. If you are the slightest bit intcrcsted in or challenged by our ambitions,
contact Nellic Browor (HO3-9438) or come to one of our planning mectings, usually
held in Bru, 8:00 p.m. on Mondays.
\
-Nollic Brower-
THE UN-aliERICAN AMERICANS
During the past seventy ycars, third partics have had an immense effect
upon the course of American democracy. The direct clection of Senators, the
Presidential two term amendment, and Prohibition have all had thoir origins in
such orgenizations. The Socialist Labor Party is a contemporary example of these
"Un-American" institutions.
Dispite the adoption of many socialist reforms since 1920, there are still
many hard core Marxists who insist upon tho adoption of a "Socialist Industrial
Union" to replace our present administrative facilitics.
Tho author's first contact with the Socialist Labor Party was when he was
fourteen years old. It was a dark, rainy cvoning when a little old grey-haired
man wearing spectaclos, a dark trench coat, and carrying an old, dilaptidated
briefcasc, knocked at the door, He had come in response to a letter requesting
information about the Socialist Labor Party.
With a martyred smile, he rclated the story of his conversion to Marxism, and
the subsequent porsocution he suffered from his cmployer, Eastman Kodak; during
his many years with that company, other mon, loss capable than he, were promoted
to jobs of groater responsibility and more pry, simply because ho "had joined the
Socialist Labor Party." Referring to the Weckly People, which is the party organ
of the SLP, he said, "Somctimes, when I'm very tired, I have to read the articles
two, sometimes three, times before I really understand what they're trying to say.
But whén I do undorstand them, what thoy say always turns out to be ture,"
The most disconcerting part of the entire affair was that this dreamy oyed,~*
sad, rather melancholy old gentleman, with the soft kindly voice, was not without
a point. Our society is suffering from gricvious ills, of which the vast majority
of the American populace are totally unaware. In high school, of course, we lcarn
that one out of ten citizens go to bed undornourishod evory night. In college, we
learn that 25% of our citizons arc not rocoiving distributive justice. The point
of this is not that we should all write to our congressmen, with toars in our cyes
and saline deposits on the envelopo, urging that distributive justice be given to
all those who don't have it. Howover, we don't have to be fearless crusaders to
make ourselves aware of the fundamcontal social, economic, and political problems
that are facing us today cither. For oxample, the auto industry is suffering
from over-production, the same malady that led us into the Great Depression of 1929.
Sales are going up, but the number of jobs is decreasing. Both Chrysler and Ford
have shut down several of their plants, Studcbakor is on a threo day work weck.
Spectacular? Inconscquential? No, just normal, More impressive, perhaps, is
that, in 1960, only 5% of our income rocoivers carncd more than $16,250 per annum.
20% carned loss than $2800 a year, To put it another way, 21% of the total
national income, before taxes, gocs to only 5% of the populace. After taxos, of
course, their portion is downgraded considerably, to a paltry 18%. And people
starve.
The Socialist Labor Party is idealistic in nature; it is so blinded by the
gricf and anguish that it porecives in our contomporary socicty that it cannot
comprehend the possible weaknesses in tho systom it advocates. This, of course,
means that the socialist cannot convince the hard headed realist of tho validity
of Marxism; he does not sec any problems that could not be climinated through the
adoption of his panacea, Heo hopos to oxplain the terrors of man in monolithic
torms; i.c., to ascribe them to a singlo causc, tho cconomics of capitalism, This
docs not justify socialism; nor on the othcrhand docs it condemn it. .
Since Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the National Recovery Act, our great
political problom has been to amalgamatc nincteonth contury capitalism with
twenticth contury socialism, retaining the best charactcristics of both, The
challenge is undeniable, The manner in which our governmcnt has reactcd to this
challonge, however, is at times discouraging. The House Un-Amcrican Activities
Committce is a prime cxample of the idiocy provolont in the handling of our great
national issucs. Does this committco roally think that the problem of intor-
national peace will be solved by making it disappear from public noticc? Probably
not, but their recont attacks on such poace organizations as thc "Woman Strike for
Peace" movement are hardly such as to ombollish the record of that illustrious
group. If such witlessness cxistcd only on tho national level, possibly we could
dismiss it as typical of Washington politics. Unfortunately, it has already
sproad to the local levels, In Tucson, Arizona, clection officials recently
tossed out 214 votes for a council candidate because thoy wore handprinted, not
handwritten, on the ballots! If such is oxomplary of the future tronds in
Amcrican democracy, then we need naver fcar that the socialists will ever gain
power!
The most interesting question that the Socialist present us, howover, is not
one of "Capitalism and Catastrophe vs. Socialism and Survival." Rather, it is
which of us is tho more naive: The Marxist, who is so saddened by what he knows
that he cannot sce? Or the majority of us, who cannot see because we will not
know?
-Guy M, McBride-
Where have we laid Him now, this Christ we once so sadly placed within
A tomb?
So often we have buricd Him safely stowed away, where we could come to
Worship and annoint!
We have wrapped Him in the trappings of the altar, and rolled the stone of
Creed against His tomb.
We have dug His grave in busyness and repeatedly interred Him in
Committee---But always, when we look to find Him where wo laid Him, the voice
Of Faith proclaims: "He is not hore. He is risen. He gocth before you!"
-E. Mee
TO GSRARD MANLY HOPKINS
Words' wonder caught,
With fervor fraught--
Energetic exclamation
Is pure passion's proclamation.
Thy Catholic care, Josuitic joy,
Fires the mind,
Kindles the kind-
Ness in man, most meager,
Sends us (ascends us), cager
To groot with gratitude thy god...
0 great bard!
-Michael Gould-
