The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 55, No. 10, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 16, 1967 Page: 3 of 16
sixteen pages : ill. ; page 21 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
threshing-it-out
DeBremaecker refutes arguments on Vietnam war
To the Editor:
It may be helpful to sum-
marize and refute the most
popular arguments for our
present policy in Vietnam.
* 1) "We are there in response
to an aggression from the
North." Facts: Vietnam was
considered one country at the
Geneva negotiations; the vic-
torious Vietminh signed the
agreement only because they
knew that they would win the
forthcoming election, a fact
later confirmed by Eisenhower;
in the South, members of the
government are from the
North; a parallel situation ob-
tains in the North. In view of
these facts I conclude that we
have intervened in a civil war.
2) "If we leave Vietnam the
Communists will take over all
of (Southeast Asia, the Pacif-
ic, etc. The area varies.) I do
not deny that our withdrawal
would have some serious con-
sequences, but so does any
course of action. Our action to
date has earned us the con-
tempt of most of our European
friends, it horrifies many Ca-
nadians, even Australians are
bitterly divided about it.
Only our Asiatic satellites
approve it, or claim to. Is there
not an American document that
speaks of "a decent respect of
the opinion of mankind"? Our
country was once militarily
weak, but its ideas made tyr-
ants tremble. Today our ideas
are gone, and our military
might supports tyrants.
3) "We have sacred obliga-
tions to South Vietnam". The
facts are: the SEATO treaty
commits us either "to act in
accordance with our constitu-
tional processes" or "to con-
sult with our allies" (this
treaty can be found in the Fon-
dren Library).
The Gulf of Tonkin resolu-
tion was clearly never intended
to justify doing- whatever the
President wishes; finally the
"word" of the President has no
legal force: the Constitution
wisely decreed that treaties
Craig claims US war bogged down
To the Editor:
I don't see the beauty of the
war in Vietnam the way Mr.
Williams does, but even if I did
I would still think that his ar-
guments are farfetched and fal-
lacious.
He points out that Red
China is either in trouble or
less aggressive than it used to
be in various places, and he be-
lieves that the U.S. presence
in Vietnam is responsible for
this. I am glad that the Chi-
coms are in trouble, but there
is not an ounce of evidence to
show that this country is re-
sponsible.
Another view:
In fact, General Williams'
argument proves exactly the
opposite of what he wants it
to prove. He is saying that the
communist world is having its
divisions and troubles, and
therefore our policy is success-
ful; I say that our policy tends
to drive the different parts of
the communist world together.
We are playing their game, be-
cause they have us bogged
down in a war of attrition, in-
stead of our being able to play
it cool and take advantage of
their difficulties.
HARDIN CRAIG, JR.
Department of History
must be ratified by two-thirds
of the Senate. I conclude that
our presence there was a free
act on our part.
4) "We protect freedom in
South Vietnam." What freedom
can South Vietnamese expect
when most members of the
military junta fought in the
French army against their own
countrymen? It was more than
a year ago that Neil Sheehan
wrote his famous "Not a dove
but no longer a hawk" (N. Y.
Times Mag., Oct. 9, 1966); he
sadly remarked that "idealism
and dedication are largely the
prerogative of the enemy."
The corruption and nepotism
in the South are too well-
known to need repeating. Is it
not likely that the freedom
that most Vietnamese peasants
desire is freedom from bomb-
ing, from oppression, and from
foreign occupation ? Let us re-
member that we, too, once rose
to protect these freedoms.
In view of what precedes 1
suggest that we should enter
into immediate negotiations
with the National Liberation
Front and with Hanoi. Our
aims should be: 1) to be free
from attack while we depart as
speedily as practical, 2) either
to obtain supervised guarantees
against widespread reprisals or
to resettle abroad those who so
wish (the cost would be mini-
mal compared to even one
month of the war).
Free at last from this cruel
burden, we should devote our
energies and our resources to
the fight for human dignity at
home and abroad. In due time
this would restore our faith in
our country.
J.-CL. DeBREMAECKER
Department of Geology
n
mSBB
1
I'M SOGS&TO CALL OFF OU1Z tW^WORTHAL—T-
6~TcP/ffZgpPY- - - HAVE TO STUDY TON ITE •"
Vahlberg decries wasted creativity
To the Editor:
I would like to write a hearty
"Amen" to Dr. Magid's letter
in the November 2 Thresher.
One of the biggest problems
with Rice is that very few peo-
ple feel they have the time to
do anything but study and
date, and some only to study.
They gripe about the condi-
tions around Rice but never
do anything constructive to help
the situation.
This is a large waste—peo-
ple at Rice are here because
they are intelligent, talented
and have shown prowess in
something. It's a waste to sup-
press this by studying all the
time—we have more talent pet-
capita than most universities
and it is often wasted. This is
why it's encouraging to see
productions like "Hello Ham-
let"—some of that Rice origi-
nality is showing through.
I think many of those people
who feel they have no time for
anything- but study would find
their studying easier and their
life fuller if they would get
outside of themselves for awhile
and do something else. It's
when life has no meaning that
it takes hours to study one
paragraph.
VIVIAN VAHLBERG
Jones '70
Manheim urges revitalized role for off-campus student
By JERRY MANHEIM
There is a forgotten man at Rice. He
is the victim of an appalling communi-
cations gap, a lack of considerations, and
the apparent absence of either knowledge
of or interest in his predicament and
the state of his welfare.
Who is this unfortunate character?
The answer is simply that he is half the
students at this University. He is most
easily distinguished by the fact that
he lives off-campus.
An off-campus Rice student cannot
presently have as full and rounded aif
educational experience as can the on-
campus student, not merely because he
misses the educational opportunities of
communal living, but because he is ig-
nored and overlooked by the very people
who are responsible for providing that
experience.
Double Standard
The college governments, all their
statements to the contrary notwithstand-
ing, have done nothing for the off-cam-
pus student. Their physical facilities
were designed to serve about 200 people,
not 400 as would be necessary to serve
all on- and off- campus members. This
includes commons, library, study, and
recreational facilities.
Non-residents are generally notified of „
up-coming- events after the fact, though
Wiess is now taking minor corrective
measures through use of drops for dis-
tribution of the college paper. Announce-
ments which are made at dinner are
expected to reach all ears, a most unlike-
ly event.
In the view of this writer, if the col-
leges are to fulfill their responsilibities
with respect to the non-resident mem-
bers they must perform two functions.
College Obligation
First they must provide a communica-
tions link between on-campus happen-
ings and off-campus people. Second they
must provide for and encourage social
participation of non-resident members.
At the present time I know of no col-
lege which successfully performs either
of these functions.
Into this void one might hope the
Student Association would leap. One
might, but one had better not. For the
deficiencies are the same here. Student
Association bulletin boards are often in-
complete and may be counted upon to
omit notice of events which are schedul-
ed at the last minute.
Lack of Facilities
Facilities provided by the Student As-
sociation are even more lacking. The
basement recreation room of the Me-
morial Center is overcrowded and under-
furnished. There are no television facil-
ities, as there are in the colleges, no
meeting rooms, and no study facilities.
Furthermore, it is simply not practi-
cal for a non-resident to eat dinner at
his college each evening so that he can
find out what events are coming up.
In fact, it is often not practical to come
to the college at all, since one's classes
are seldom anywhere near the colleges,
and since the nearest an off-campus
member can park to the men's colleges
is at the opposite end of the campus.
Obstacle Course
I cannot dispute the fact that anyone
who really wanted to could participate
in the colleges to a greater degree than
most non-residents do now. But I can
and do strongly dispute the reasoning
that off-campus students should be re-
quired to run an obstacle course, as it
were, to take an integral part in the life
of this University. The failures of the
colleges and the Student Association
should not be cast upon the shoulders
of the victims.
No ax-ticle of this nature should be
allowed to stand if it does not put forth
viable proposals to help solve the prob-
lems which it points out. I propose to
fulfill this function in two steps.
First, I shall suggest six specific
short run steps which are not meant to
cover all areas of the dilemma, but only
to provide some basis for forming a
policy to deal with these areas. Second,
I shall propose a long run solution to
the problem.
Proposals for Change
The six proposals which follow, if not
always immediately applicable, are at
least indicative of the nature of the
problem:
9 A special provision (office, booth)
should be provided to make available to
off-campus students tickets and other
items which are currently sold after
dinner in the colleges. This facility
should have regular hours and its main-
tenance should be the responsibility of
the Student Association.
• A member of the Student Associa-
tion, for example the off-campus sena-
tor, should be charged with keeping non-
residents informed, perhaps through "a
mailed or posted (and current) newslet-
ter, in addition to his duties as "re-
presentative".
• The facilities of the Memorial
Center or colleges should be expanded
to meet the needs of the off-campus
students and to a degree commensurate
with their numbers.
• All announcements should be post-
ed by a person with this specific duty in
the library and in the RMC. These, post-
ings should at all times be both up-to-
date and complete.
9 The colleges should personally in-
vite their non-resident members to come
over for lunches, dinners, and college
nights, both specifically and generally.
If, as we noted, the facilities are in-
sufficient, small groups may be asked
to attend until everyone has been in-
vtied. Like it or not, the colleges have
a low reputation among non-residents,
and should strive to improve their im-
age. They must keep in mind that they,
as institutions, have as much to gain
from off-campus participation as do the
non-residents.
• The colleges should form telephone
committees (possibly even on a one-to-
one basis) to relay daily those events
which, for example, are announced at
dinner to those non-residents who, upon
being asked, request that this service be
provided.
With regard to a long-term solution.
I wish to propose the establishment of
an Off-Campus Students' Association to
provide for those functions for which
the colleges and Student Association
have demonstrably failed to nrovide. I
suggest that such an organization would
be better suited to solve the problems
of these people since its primary inter-
ests would lie in their welfare.
Off-Campus Power
The OCSA would fill a large gap in
the provisions of the present structure.
It could provide study, meeting, and
recreation areas, a sufficiently large
cafeteria, a communications center, and
most importantly a gathering place. The
social basis for an OCSA already exists
in that most off-campus people have
more friends and acquaintances who live
off-campus than on-campus.
In fact, this is still one more reason
why "coming to the college" is a shal-
low suggestion. From this social basis
and to meet the obvious shortcomings
of the present system, an OCSA could
and should be developed.
1 do not pretend that this is either
a totally original or nearly flawless
idea, but neither do I expect others to
pretend that the alternative solutions
of the past-and present have been ef-
fective. If the present system has short-
comings, as this writer believes it has.
then appropriate steps, regardless of
how radical a departure from the col-
lege system philosophy, should, indeed
must, be taken.
Half of the Rice student body suffers
from lack of integration into the life of
this University, and it cannot be but that
the University also suffers.
the rice thresher, november 1(>, 1967—pagfe •'$
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Hancock, Darrell. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 55, No. 10, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 16, 1967, newspaper, November 16, 1967; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245014/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.