University of Pittsburgh - Owl Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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The Pitt Student comes in many forms. He may appear in anything from a dirty, faded army surplus jacket to a neatly pressed Brooks Brothers suit. His outside appearance is often deceptive, which is distrubing for those who think in stereotypes. The beat, who sees himself as a crusader of sorts, may actually be among the most apathetic of students. The supposedly “straight” individual may, in turn, be the most involved. Usually the Pitt Student falls between extremes. He is essentially small group oriented. As a result the student body is fragmented into organizations which

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POSVAR: By September, unforeseen circumstances may alter the draft situation. We can speak only in generalities now. There is an impasse between the Congress and the White House over random selection versus selection on the basis of age beginning with the higher age groups. The latter would put the load on graduate students and people with baccalaureate degrees. The military itself has said it would prefer a random selection by year groups. If the White House sees fit to install this procedure, the blow to graduate programs would be alleviated considerably. If it doesn't, the blow would be heavy indeed. We have lieen told that there is virtually no chance that the White House will alter its policy of drafing the oldest first. I feel that this situation is bad for everyone. It is bad for the armed forces; the draftees are older than they want. It is bad for the public because the system is inequitable. It is bad for higher education because it could stunt graduate enrollment. I therefore hope it will be bad politically for those who arc to blame. OWL; With all the occurrences at Columbia and Berkeley, do you think this massive student protest could take place here? What would your stance be? POSVAR: Let me answer this in general terms because the character of student activism is rapidly changing. First, I believe that the phenomenon of large-scale student interest in public affairs—the students’ desire to influence policies that affect their lives as students and citizens—is a healthy and encouraging contemporary development. The present generation of students will have to face awesome responsibilities when it assumes command of society, and I have growing confidence in its ability to meet those responsibilities with honesty and courage. Turning to the particular question of student campus protests, I feel these protests have taken such a variety of forms that it is difficult to make sweeping conclusions. I can say this much: various forms of public expression, protest, debate, demonstration and peaceful picketing are a normal part of the scene in a free and open University. At the same time, we must realize that physical obstruction of university activities or interference with the right of others to meet with persons of their choice or to study is not consistent with the political values of western society. To many, the “rule of law” may sound like a trite phrase, but it happens to be the cornerstone of all the civil lib- erties, minority rights, and democatic institutions that have been carefully nurtured and developed through 3,000 years of human progress. The man who places his own beliefs above the rule of law may or may not be right in his own moral sense, but he clears the way for the advent of totalitarians who make precisely the same argument as he does to justify their actions: “What I do is right because it is what I believe.” OWL: Is our involvement in the Civil Bights movement as shown by our housing of the Poor Peoples March indicative of a new turn in Pitt’s role in this national question? POSVAR: Yes, but only as one simple illustration of our concern with the needs of future society. Housing the poor crusaders was a sincere gesture of good will on our part. But it was only that—a gesture not an answer. We are entering into a period of racial and social disturbance in which the University, as an American institution, must play a leading and creative role in seeking permanent solutions. The outcome is by no means clear, but this nation has an opportunity during the coming generation to be the first in human history to eliminate racial discord at its social, political, and economic roots. OWL: With a relatively low number of Negroes enrolled at Pitt, are you planning to try to increase this ratio and what procedure will you use? POSVAR: The contribution of the University must l e a two levels. One is a program, on which we are now embarking, to correct the gross imbalance in enrollment and employment of persons from racial minorities. On the other level we must serve society at large by attacking these problems at the frontiers of research in the social sciences, the health professions, technology, educational methodology, and economic and political innovation. The role for which the Chancellor is preparing the University is an aggressive one. In the next ten to twenty years, Pitt will, with good planning, be extremely involved in the social and intellectual problems of the society which surrounds it. Yet. circumstances will show how adept the Chancellor is at directing a University which demands his talents not only in long range planning, but also in the handling of tomorrow and the next day. 9

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can rarely cooperate with one another successfully. On issues concerning national and even student politics there is rarely a direct confrontation of the dissident groups. The Pitt Student usually comes from a middle class family be it upper or lower. He is confident in himself and his ideas whether they are half-baked or not. He deals in generalties without amplification. In many ways he is very much the product of modern education. His attitude toward school is not that of a loyal son to Alma Mater. He realizes that his education is a means to what he believes will be a successful end. He does not identify with a class because he has none until graduation day. He is on his own at Pitt, which in many ways, is the redeeming fact about the school. Whether he makes it or not is practically his own doing. Despite the fragmentation, and the isolation of groups, there are many things that Pitt Students hold in common: the images, the hangouts, the tension. These things stem from the bond that unites the student body—the fact that they are all enrolled at Pitt.