University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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Illl W. IIIMIII Illl CIIIHIII Illl C IIINIII SSUII A , 1IINIII visor of religious activities, a new observatory, and endowment funds for specific researches. The president ' s plan for the establishment of a director of religious activities is based on the fact that state universities have not as yet discovered a satisfactory method of encouraging religious education or of providing training which will produce religious leaders or informed laymen. Not only are there objections to formal instruc- tion in this field and to required courses, but ex- perience shows that little can be accomplished by these methods. President Ruthven believes it is an experiment worth trying to treat re- ligion in a state university not only as a student activity, but as one which the university recognizes as of sufficient importance to warrant the selection of an able adviser who can by sug- gestion and with an understanding of the spiritual needs of young men and women encourage and help them to obtain through their own efforts a practical working knowledge of the funda- mentals of life. A reorganization need outlined by President Ruthven is for the co-ordination and redirection of efforts to promote the welfare of students. Faculty control of students is now vested in several committees which are responsible to the University Senate through the Committee on Student Affairs, a joint committee of students and faculty, and to the President through the Dean of Students. However the organization being loose and changing is not conductive to a co-operative effort to develop student initiative in self-government. President Ruthven believes that jurisdiction over student affairs should be vested in the University Council and should be stimulative and suggestive as well as wise in its counsels. PATERNALISM, THE YEAR ' S LEADING PROBLEM Moreover, President Ruthven has shown that he has clear understanding of the problems of student government, although the Administra- tion at which he is the head has not shown any DR. JAMES D. BRUCE, Vice-President in Charge of Universit Relations SHIRLEY W. SMITH, Vice-President in Charge of Business Relations IRA M. SMITH, Registrar Page Twenty-Five

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III! ? . IIIMIII III! CIHHIII Illl iCwAHINlil C IIINUI Illl A HINIII cil, established by the Regents on May 29, 1931, consists of 57 members including the Presi- dent, 22 other administrative officers ex officio, and 34 members who are elected by the several faculties, the number from each faculty being proportionate to the size of the school or college concerned. These latter serve as representa- tives, not individuals, so that the University has a representative government like a city council. The Senate, however, still retains certain powers of review over the legislative acts of the Uni- versity Council. The Council itself has five standing commit- tees: Program and Policy, Educational Policies, Public Relations, Student Welfare, and Plant and Equipment. These represent the major phases of faculty interest in the University and its concerns. The existing committee of the Senate, nearly thirty, are now directly responsi- ble to the council. They have been distributed among the standing committees, each of which is expected to give attention to general questions of policy arising within its scope though the for- mer committees retain their previous responsi- bilities. It is thought that the new arrangement will be much more business-like and effective. CHANCES PROPOSED In his annual report to the Regents, Presi- dent Ruthven outlined several of the major needs of the University at the present time. The need for dormitories for first year men was termed a very real one. Not because suit- able rooms are not available, but because the first year is one during which the student should receive assistance in adjusting himself and in organizing his work, it is highly desirable that these men be housed together. With the system of deferred rushing now in effect the desirability of dormitories for men is even greater than be- fore, the report stated. Among other needs of the University are listed an endowment fund for the salary of a super- REGENT R. PERRY SHORTS WEBSTER H. PEARCE, State Superintendent of Public Instruction CLARENCE S. YOAKUM, V ice-President in Charge of Educational Investigations Page Twenty-Four

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Illl W -= HIMIII lilt CIHHIII IUI dGiiAlllNIII C IIINIII 3K Illl AlllNIII DEAN JOSEPH A. BURSLEY Men DEAN ALICE C. LLOYD Women DEAN JOHN R. EFFINGER Literature, Science, and the Arts such clear insight or understanding. In a letter to the president of the Student Council com- mending the actions of that body in connection with the fraudulent campus election of March 16, Dr. Ruthven states that the student man- agement of student affairs is based on the same principles that apply to government in general. It still remains true that the University be- longs to society, that laws and loyalty are neces- sary to maintain a just equilibrium between pro- tection and liberty, and that one cannot have privileges without assuming corresponding re- sponsibilities, the President said. Ruthven is strong in his condemnation of Paternalism which he insists has become a horrid word. Too often, he says, it is used as the anti- thesis of license. Actually the worst phase of paternalism is represented by a system which gives groups privileges and makes individuals re- sponsible to a higher power for acts of their group. But in spite of President Ruthven ' s broad point of view, student governmental bodies at Michigan are governmental in name only. They are bound and gagged by regulations; their ini- tiative and potential ability as important factors in the University are stifled. The Student Coun- cil, to cite an example, is an almost completely sterile body with a jurisdiction confined mainly to minor matters such as the surveillance of dances and inter-class games. The Interfratern- ity Council has a small measure of self-govern- ment handed down to it. The Judiciary Com- mittee of the Interfraternity Council hands rec- ommendations down to the Senate Committee on Student Affairs which has the alternative of passing or rejecting them. Such measures as pass are handed in turn to the Interfraternity Council for approval or rejection. But one vote of a faculty member of the Judiciary Committee can prevent a measure from passing out of the hands of that body. All student organizations including the various honor societies, the Student Council, the Inter- fraternity Council, and the committees in charge of class parties have their financial affairs closely checked by a representative of the Dean ' s office. Of all the paternal restrictions, the auto ban is the most obvious and the best known and noth- ing more need to be said about it. Apparently the policy of the Administration, aside from the President, is to regard the student body as a group of morons unable to care for their func- tions and activities, to misinterpret their ideals Page Twenty-Six