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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1968)
Photo by Dean Tonn AFRICAN ARTISTS Dance ensemble displays culture From Mali African Dancers Here By SHERYL MACY Of tile Emerald There was nothing self-conscious about Tues day’s performance of Les Danseurs Africains. Each of the performers obviously felt an unin hibited joy in the movement of his body and the sound of his voice. The 32 members of the troup are not profes sionals in any sense. They are the best dancers, acrobats and warriors of Mali who have been transplated, almost against their will, onto the stage. Their performances, therefore, were not per formances at all, but repetitions of familiar re ligious and cultural ceremonies, unhampered by formal choreography or staging, and placed di rectly on stage. Women in the group often dance topless, ac cording to reports, but were fully covered for the Eugene performance. When Mali and Senegal obtained their independ ence from France in I960 and formed the short lived Federation of Mali, one of their first acts was the formation of an ensemble of leading singers, musicians, acrobats, witch doctors and medicine men from every tribe. Their purpose was to bring the Black man's art and culture to the attention of the outside world. Tiie tribesmen were reluctant to perform their dances in public, or to leave their villages. It took a great deal of persuasion and in some cases, near kidnapping to transport the be wildered tribesmen to Paris for the First Annual Festival of the Black Man’s Art in 1966. Although the original ensemble won first prize at the festival, as soon as it returned to Mali its members disappeared into the woods and haven’t been heard of since. Since that time the National Institute of Arts of the Republic of Mali has formed a permanent ensemble which is on its first tour of the United States. This group, which lias now had considerable performing experience, still maintains a fresh, improvisational style. Oregon daily EMERALD Vol. LXVIII UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, EUGENE, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1968 No. 38 SDS Activities Feature Free University. Concert A Free University and a con cert by the Grateful Dead will highlight today’s activities of U.S. Memorial Week, sponsored by the Student for a Demo cratic Society. The Free University will of fer classes designed to "help people challenge the system of relationships “by” dealing with techniques and insights need ; ed to act against the feeding - programming process,” of the system’s education, according ~ to an SDS release. Students, non-students and faculty members will teach in seminars beginning at 10 a.m. in the EMU ballroom. Scheduled discussions include “Colonialism and Imperialism,” dealing with the “definition of U.S. foreign policy and its im pact on the other powers,” to be led by John Froines; “The Uni versity as a Reflection of U.S. Society,” dealing with “corpor ate intervention in the multi versity,” led by Kip Morgan; and "Useful Technology for Po litical Activities,” dealing with the full “use of resources in battling mass society,” led by John Platts. Other discussions will involve The Grateful Dead concert to night has been moved from Mac Court to the EMU Ballroom and dancing will be allowed, Dave Gwyther, spokesman for SI»S, said Tuesday night. The move came after a meet ing with Acting President Charles Johnson re-aflirmed the policy of not allowing dances in Mac Court due to the possibil ity of damage to the basketball court. "Boycotting and the Farm Un ion,” led by Robbie Hanna; "Democracy and the Death of Liberalism,” led by Blaine Ack eley; "Tactics in the Yippies,” led by Don Gwyther; "Theory of Bureaucratic Hassling,” headed by Dave Gwylher; "Military Re sistance," headed by Mark Klei mai; "Use of Violence in the New Left,” headed by Marty Bennett; and open discussion of non-violence and the revolution and prison tapes of resisters. More definite plans and tactics concerning aspects of demon strations will be discussed at a 1:30 p.m. session in the EMU ballroom. Heading the seminar will be Dave Gwyther, who was active in the Poor March on Sa lem and present at the Demo cratic convention in Chicago; Kip Morgan, who was present during the Columbia University demonstrations and also at the Democratic convention; and Blaine Ackley, who was in Oak land during recent riots. Another discussion at 3 p.m. will involve high school organi - zation for political change. A concert by the Grateful Dead and the Sir Douglas Quin ata at 7 p.m. in McArthur Court < Continued on page 2) Resistance Seeks Brotherhood of Man Editor’s note: Emerald reporter Don Mack en gaged in a discussion-interview with three mem ber’s of the University Draft Resistance movement. The following is their explanation of the nature, purposes and history of the Resistance. Bv DON MACK Of the Emerald Can there be a society which revolves around the concept of "brotherhood of man,” where human values, rather than economic gain, are the basis, and where there is no violence, fear or manipulation? The Resistance says there can be, and they claim to be working toward such a society. The following account of concepts raised during an interview with three Resisters at the University, Marty Bennett. Ron Funke and Marshall Johnson, will at tempt to dispel doubts, questions and misconceptions of the Resistance movement. NOT PART OF SDS A common misconception among University stu dents is that the Resistance and Students for a Demo cratic Society (SDS) are one and the same. Bennett explained the difference between the two as "essentially ideological.” The Resistance, he said, employs non-violent orientation and tactics and sub scribes to no social or political philosophy other than the “politics of brotherhood.” SDS, he continued, will resort to violence and pre scribes to a pre-set social program, namely socialism. The task of the Resistance is to build a whole new way of life. And for the devoted Resister, the Re sistance is a way of life, he said. The individual, the resisters said, must recognize that peace and brotherhood are a way of life for himself, his relationships and his community. Resisters claim no allegiance to any flag or nation-state, but to humanity and the world. Their immediate objective is abolition of the draft through complete and open non-cooperation with the Selective Service System. Their long-range goal is bringing about significant changes in America’s pattern of values, priorities and institutions. The first nationwide action recorded by the Re sistance was Oct. 16, 1967, when approximately 1,400 men across the United States and several European cities returned their draft cards and publicly an nounced their non-cooperation with Selective Service. Since then, some 3,000 lo 5,000 are estimated by the Resistance to have turned in their cards during several nationwide days of non-cooperation. Thursday is another National Day of Resistance. In the words of a nationally prominent Resister, David Harris, the Resistance is ‘'building a whole new set of assumptions upon which a culture may rest, find ing a whole new base for society to be built upon.” The Resisters’ weapons are their lives and the man ner in which they live them. If their task is to build brotherhood into a social and political reality, they claim they must pay more than ‘‘lip service” to the idea of brotherhood of man by living brotherhood, they said. Bennett likes the phrase, “The means are the ends in the making,” when he describes the idea of "living our lives consistently with our rhetoric.” The Resistance spreads through universities and communities in the form of small groups of individuals speaking informally. FIGHTS DEPERSONALIZATION There is a great emphasis on the individual and personal contact in this movement. Johnson character izes the Resistance as "dealing with people as individ uals, not as the masses,” in an attempt lo fight the depersonalized, machine-oriented American system. They resist an "impersonal, coersive and violent” America in which they claim the individual is "dis possessed”, having no control over the circumstances influencing his life. The Resistance, according to the group, pictures the Selective Service System as an indication of the in equities in the American society and as the destroyer of "possession of life.” Conscription is to be destroyed, say the Resisters, in order that the individual may begin to have possession of his own life. Johnson insisted that the key to the success of the Resistance is "the liberation of the individual from the fear instilled in him by the nature of the American machine.” Liberation Press, an organ lor the national Re sistance movement, has written the price of this “liber ation” is a small one—up to five years. When put in the context of a life whose whole direction is aimed toward significant changes. Liberation Press contended "Repression is inevitable.” "We may or may not ever go to jail for returning a draft card,” Liberation Press said. "But if we do go, we go knowing that we leave a community to which will will return, in which we have done real work together.” Funke envisions a society based on “human values instead of economic gain,” where a child could decide if he wanted to go to school, where a person could donate to his country, rather than have his money forced from him through taxation. Bennett conceives of a future where society provides "an environment without violence, fear, or manipula tion; where a child is sensitive to life and behavior around him; and where he has the ability to relate as a free man.” PROGRAM PLANNED .Johnson asks for a government which admits man is capable of making basic decisions affecting his own life. Thursday is a National Day of Resistance, and the University’s Resistance leaders have a full day of activities planned. In the morning, the Campus Draft Committee plans a teach-in, a free speech platform, and "Guerilla Theater", dealing with the topics "The Theory of the Draft System” and "Non-Cooperation as a Political Weapon.” At 11:30 there will be "light and heavy raps” by Resisters, professors and citizens at the EMU, followed by draft card burning by complicitors. At 2 p.m. complicitors and Resisters will march to the draft board, at 2 p.m. where some 15 to 30 individ uals are expected to turn in their draft cards, com plicity statements, induction notices or any written statement to be presented in person to the draft board. At 5:30 a Resistance Potluck will be held at 1200 Ferry St. at 5 p.m., and a "celebration of life”, party and bonfire, will follow at 8 p.m.
