+ EMERALD EDITORIALS +
The Weak Links
The ASUO-sponsored panel on “The Role
of Student Government.” scheduled for one
week before primary elections, should be
interesting.
Set up with the twofold purpose of edu
cation of students and evaluation of the
work of the ASUO senate, the panel has
also been seen as a possible contribution to
the formulation of issues for the Spring term
elections.
ASUO President Bob Summers, who read
the committee report on the panel at Thurs
day’s senate meeting, said that the panel
might also help to dispel some of the "apa
thy which is a result of misinformation or
just plain not knowing.”
The latter appears to us to be the place
where student government in the past few
years has fallen down on the job. If a proper
job of education in student government and
preparation for student government were
done, the ASUO might be able to play a
more active role than it h^s in campus life—
indeed it might become the very center of
campus life. *
If student government is to assume its
proper position in student life, it should be
the leader of student opinion and the body
through which students work to achieve
their aims.
The ASUO could have led the fight for a
one-card student body and athletic ticket,
'and did to a point. Then it backed down
when the going got tough.
The ASUO could have led the request
for a return of pre-registration, for next
year if not for this year. But it contented it
self with holding a discussion at a senate
meeting and then forgetting the issue.
The ASUO could, and in many cases
should, act as the students’ representative
before the faculty and administration. It
could win the support of more students if
it would develop the qualities of leadership
to a greater extent.
We hope that the braver and more vocif
erous critics of student government, those
who complain without suggesting, will be
at the spring term panel. We also hope that
the defenders of student government will be
present, and in good voice.
In this way, the panel could do some real
good. Bjjit we’re afraid that most students,
including the more severe critics of student
government, will content themselves with
sitting at home and criticizing, never realiz
ing that they themselves are the weakest
link in the chain.
A Straight Jacket
University President O. Meredith Wilson
Saturday termed the Barrington Report, the
new salary schedule for state employees
now before the state legislature, a “strait
jacket” on higher education.
In an address to alumni leaders President
Wilson said that he does not believe that
the legislature will adopt the report which
is currently before the Ways and Means
committee.
Prepared by a Xew York firm, the plan
would place all state employees, from fish
liberator to University president, in 23 "job
group" pay brackets.
Even more significant at Saturday’s meet
ing, we believe, was the opposition to the
plan expressed bv State Senator C.ene L.
Brown, for even though it is in part the per
sons in higher education who would be re
stricted by the plan, adoption or rejection
of the report rests in the hands of the legis
lators.
We hope that the entire legislature takes
the considered, intelligent approach to the
Barrington report expressed by Senator
Brown Saturday.
Awareness?
Less than half the college students in the
United States have heard of SKATO!
This fact, revealed by the most recent
Associated Collegiate Press poll of student
opinion, is not amazing, but it certainly is
startling.
The alleged future leaders of the nation,
or at least half of them, have no idea of
what their government is doing in the area
of foreign policy.
Specific figures showed that 47 per cent
of the students questioned had heard of the
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization. Two
per cent said that they had “no opinion,”
whatever that means in answer to a spe
cific question. Fifty-one per cent had never
heard of the organization.
A total of five per cent of the students
interviewed could name the nations which
belong to SKATO.
We think this is fairly significant evi
dence of a growng ignorance of public af
fars on the part of college students—an
alarmng situation to say tin* least. The stu
dent opinion poll is taken in major and
minor colleges in all parts of the country.
We don't know what the answer to the
problem is, but the results of the poll is a
poor testimony to the awareness of college
students.
INTERPRETING THE NEWS
Many Questions Arise Over New
Burmese Proposal on 13 Fliers
By J. M. ROBERTS
Associated Press News Analyst
It’s a strange bit of business,
this belated word through Pre
mier U Nu of Burma that Red
China would like to have “in
formal” talks with the United
States about releasing 13 con
victed Americans and easing in
ternational tensions.
For one thing, it comes weeks
after U Nu’s return from a visit
to Peiping. During the period he
made no mention of the proposal
to the United States but did let
it seep out unofficially, so that
his announcement Sunday by no
means represented first publi
cation.
Reporters in Rangoon got
the impression that the idea
was U Nu’s own, presumably
presented to the Peiping re
gime during his visit there.
It’s a guess, since the Reds
have taken no initiative on
their own, that its reception
on their part was primarily
passive rather than active ap
proval.
The idea fits their general tac
tics, however. They got quite a
propaganda lift from the visit
of the secretary general of the
United Nations, an organization
which bars them and brands
them as aggressors.
They would get a similar lift
out of their international dis
comfiture. First State Depart
ment reaction—in the absence
of any word from Secretary Dul
les since U Nu took the matter
up with him—was that the Unit
ed States should not bite.
For the time being, the United
States is standing on her original
position that the fliers were rep
resenting the United Nation*
when captured, that their deten
tion is illegal, and that it is up
to the UN to free them.
The realities of the situation,
however, are that the United
States has obtained the re
lease of few hostages from be
hind the Iron Curtain except
on a barter basis.
The trouble in this ease is
that she has little if anything
to offer outside the direct ap
peasement by knuckling under
to impossible demands, such as
the scuttling of the Chinese
Nationalist regime or a switch
on UN membership for Peip
ing.
There is recognition in Wash
ington, too, that while it is prop
er for the UN activities to con
tinue, the time for release of
the fliers is actually not ripe.
The Reds, be they European or
Chinese, never turn loose of such
an issue until they have squeezed
the last drop of propaganda bene
fit from it.
Also, they naturally want time
to try to get from at least one
of the prisoners a reaction such
ar that obtained from two other
Americans, just released, who are
spouting the Communist line.
THE LOOKING GLASS
Earrings Form Plot
Of Pleasing' Movie
By Len Calvert
Erntnld Columnltl
“Madam was an elegant,
sparkling and very eelebrated
woman. Nothing at all might
have happened except for thoae
jewels."
And It is these jewels which
provide the plot basis for “The'
Earrings of Madame De . . ,
current French film at the May
flower.
Starring Charles Boyer, Dani
elle Darrieux and Vittorio- De
Sica, the story tells of the Count
(Boyer l and his Countess (Dar
rieux I, who have always been
"good friends," until she falls in
love with the Diplomat (De
Sica i. Through it all runs the
business about the earrings,
which is somewhat reminiscent
of the celebrated "La Hondo,"
A brief summary **f the plot
can be obtained by following the
course of the earrings through
the film:
Madame needs money to get
out of debt, so she sells the
eurring>« to her jeweler with
out telling the Count; the Jew
eler sells them hack to the
Count who gives them to Ids
mistress, who is leaving l‘aris;
she hocks them In Constanti
nople where they ure bought by
the Diplomat who brings them
hack to Paris where he meets
the Countess; they fall In hive
and he gives her the jewels,
only to have the Count force
her to give them to her niece
who has just had a son.
The niece hcIIh them to the
jeweler and he sells them back
to the Countess. The earrings
are last seen on ft church alter
where the CouiiIohm has placed
them to save herself und her love
from death, to no avail.
A warmly told love story with
comic and tragic overtones, the
movie is esaenttally the Coun
tess' story, « woman who tor
, lured men by keeping them wait
ing, until she fell In love with
the Diplomat.
A "different" type of Boyer
emerges in the film. In this pic
ture he Is not the sticky sweet
lover of so many of his past ef
forts, but a straight-forward
military aristocrat. We found
him to be rather good In this
type of role.
The beautiful Miss Darrieiix
turns In quite a different sort
of performance than her fiasco
In a thing culled "Vera Cruz,"
her latest American movie. Her
acting as a wife who gets en
tangled In her own web is
touching and nicely done, with
out being inelodrumatle about
' It.
We also enjoyed De Sica as
the Diplomat stricken with Macl
aine's charms As a middle-aged
lover, he stayed on a level plane
throughout the film.
The film is of the dark,
shadow-filled variety which the
French seem to do so well. Am
erican audiences might tend to
, find it a little over-long and slow
moving, but pleasing, over-all.
New Pledge
-.r ’:,cT'r
"I believe we pledged the Leroy Van DuPont chap alnee you
were here last.”
oreqoir?
..W
H020LD
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