The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 57, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 16, 1970 Page: 3 of 6
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Horstman calls for action by Board to restore Rice
My term of office as
President of the Student Asso-
ciation during this past year
cannot really be called an era
of good feelings, but it cer-
tainly bridged a lull between
two very serious crises at this
university, and I wish to put
my opinion of them on the
record.
The first crisis was the
Masterson affair, which I think
was the greatest event in the
history of this University's
growth toward excellence. That
is, toward the self governance
in every area thaF excellence
requires. The second crisis is
the current Hoffman contro-
versy, which I consider more of
an insult to the integrity of
our university than was the
first crisis, even though an ad
hoc student group has already
scored a victory for free speech
by having- the courage and
principles to successfully invite
Hoffman to our Founder's
statue on Monday.
The Maslterson situation in-
volved a unilateral board action
on the part of the board in an
area where it always preserved
its prerogative—that is, in the
selection of a president—al-
though traditionally presiden-
tial selections wei-e made in
consultation with representa-
tives from the Rice community.
By contrast, the Hoffman
situation has involved a uni-
lateral action on the part of the
Board in an area where it has
never intruded before. Namely,
in the area of self-governance,
which must always be con-
sidered a vital principle
of this or any truly meaningful
center of intellectual inquiry.
It has done this by interfering
with the administration of Act-
ing President Vandiver, who
has not uttered a peep about
this outrage since last Friday,
when the Board ignored all
three faculty resolutions about
the interference. The Board
should have replaced Vandiver
with a more repressive man, if
they did not want to uphold
Vandiver's decision to allow
Hoffman on campus.
Some claim that the appear-
ance of Abbie Hoffman on this
campus at this time, was a
questionable event en which to
pin the issues of free speech
and self-governance at Rice
University. In fact, this event
only put the issue into sharper
focus. The Board's excuse for
meddling were the threats and
acts of violence brought on by
Hoffman's impending visit—or
rather, .administrative coward*
ice regarding that visit. How-
ever, the only result of
running away from a lunatic
threat or bullet is to encounter
more threats, and more bullets.
A "safe" university which puts
no courage behind its principles
is no more than a despicable
diploma factory.
i
Whenever people must live
in a social system about which
they have little ultimate con-
trol, it seems reasonable to
assume they give less than
their best efforts to maintain-
ing it, let alone respecting it.
Thus it is at Rice: so long as
seven old men from the
world of Houston business hold
the final say about this Uni-
versity, we can forget about
ever having a well-respected or
properly functioning learning
community.
Our problem today is basic-
ally a structural one, and it
goes beyond students redesign-
ing the role of whoever be-
comes our next Dean of Stu-
dents. To be explicit, if Board
members took seriously
their responsibility to Rice as
a University and not as a tax-
free corporation that supports
their own companies, they
would vote to alter their mem-
bership and their policies of
governance at once. In fact,
if they are ever to properly
regain our respect, such a
fundamental change must occur.
I would venture to suggest
that the size of the Board of
Trustees should be at least
doubled, arid the background of
the Trustees should become far
more diverse. Rice students and
faculty should be full voting
members of all the Board
policy committees. But these
are matter for later discussion.
The immediate problem is that
no small group of persons,
however well-intentioned, can
be expected to answer well all
the major needs of a growing,
increasingly complex university.
The evidence of this was placed
bluntly before us last weekend,
when the Board shut this place
down. It has re-opened in func-
tion but not in principle. This
act of interference has gravely
threatened the effectiveness of
any new President who is in
any way a man of principles.
The occupation of Allen Cen-
ter was an inevitable expres-
sion of resistance to the Board's
ugly erasure of Rice Univers-
ity's integrity. The occupation
sought to force a dialogue
which every other method had
failed to initiate. Namely, a
dialogue within the Board about
needed structural reforms of
the Board, and about restoring
Rice as a university by guar-
anteeing to it rights of
free speech and self-govern-
ance. The personal threats made
to some of the Allen Center
occupants by the Chairman of
the Board of Trustees in the
building, in person, demon-
strated again the total hostility
of the Board about acceding
any fair request to any prin-
cipled segment of this univers-
ity. Apparently, the Board
listens only to force and threats
of force, and then only to say
"no." Until, of course, the
American Revolution—whether
quickly or slowly—overwhelms
the Board and their pals in the
Houston Club. Sadly, this is the
only answer the future has for
such autocratic stubberness.
It is unfortunate that the
Board's threats were not fully
challenged last weekend, be-
cause of disagreement among
the building occupants about in-
volving the non-Rice crowd in
the occupation. The surrender
of Allen Center has simply
postponed for Rice University
a showdown between the dicta-
torship of the Board and the
necessary demands for free
speech and self-govei*nance by
the students and faculty of
Rice.
In the interests of preserv-
ing the shell of a university,
elected representatives of the
faculty and the students—as
well as the totally inept ad-
ministration which brought
the Board's callousness to
light in the first place — all
conspired to forsake our uni-
versity's principles in the inter-
ests of "normal operations."
For it is common knowledge
that last Friday, the Board
threatened to destroy Rice
University functionally as well
as in terms of principle. The
Board threatened to shut down
what they consider their local
trade school for a year. Well,
we knuckled under. Shuffle on,
Rice trainees!
These are all sad facts in-
deed. It will be a long time,
Who disrupted what and how come?
Confusion and ill! feelings have surrounded
the circumstances that led Mr. Vandiver sum-
marily to call off the Monday meeting be-
tween the Faculty Council and the student
Senate. The popular press has repoi-ted that
about 15 radicals "disrupted" the meeting.
Yet a meeting that, due to Mr. Vandiver's
ill temper, never began could hardly have
been disrupted. What in truth happened is that
15 students peacefully walked in, sat down,
and declared that the decision-making process
on this campus would henceforth be an open
one.
Half of the members of the Faculty Council
marched out behind Vandiver; the rest heed-
ed our pleas to rationally discuss the issue
and remained behind to talk with us. Princi-
pally, we were saying that people cannot
have decisions that affect them made in
secret by other people unable to represent
them. We called for open discussion of all
issues so that those concerned by the issues
could present their ideas and solutions. Only
in the give and take of open discussion are
new ideas and new ways of thinking about
problems generated. The likelihood of arriving
at the best solution is greatly increased When
a diversity of ideas are presented for con-
sideration by all interested members of a
community.
We have been socialized to accept certain
forms of authority and process. Prominent
among our official fictions is the idea that
decisions affect a whole community can he
adequately made by a few "representatives".
Apart from the principal of open decision
making and trivially, these representatives
often have the suport of no more than 51%
of the community and often are not inter-
ested in the issues they must confornt.
Is it not rational to suppose that people
more interested in the particular issue could
make wiser decisions? And is it not also
rational to suppose that an issue so im-
portant as to engage the interest of a sizable
portion of the whole community should be de-
bated and, finally, decided by the whole
community.
Yet all pragmatic justifications for an open
decision making process are secondary to the
consideration that people must finally seize
control of their lives. We must break through
the fictions that we have been taught to
accept unquestioningly.
Last week Abbbie said that we could bring
the whole system down merely by standing
up and asking, "How come?" Now is the
time not only to question but also to act
to secure necessary changes when no one is
able to answer our "How come?"
—A concerned student
barring revolution, before Rice
will have altered its structural
nature enough to obliterate this
gross humiliation.
For the time being, Rice Uni-
versity is not deserving of any-
one's time, money, or respect.
The conduct of the Board of
Trustees is responsible for this.
If Vandiver's administration
and the Faculty Council are to
properly restore Rice as a uni-
versity, they must insist that
the Board legally concede the
third resolution passed by the
faculty last Friday. If this is
not done Rice is less than
nothing; it is a lie. I am
ashamed to be a part of it.
CHARLES LEE HORSTMAN
Wiess '70
SA Pres. 69-70
Earth Day: April 22
Environment Day, April 22, will be observed at Rice with
a day full of Seminars and lectures by experts on the subject
of pollution. Tom Nichols, CSA president, is in charge of the
program at Rice.
The lectures are intended to inform the Rice community about
the problems of ecology and pollution. On Tuesday, there will be
a lecture and then a discussion concerning population control.
The schedule is:
TUESDAY, April 21
Mrs. Vera Ponder, "The Planned Parenthood Story"—] PM—RMC
"Family Planning Today," a discussion of the population crisis
with Mrs. Ponder and Mrs. Goldin—2 PM RMC
An open discussion on population and birth control—3 PM—RMC
Senator Ralph Yarborough, Prof. Ralph Busch and others—7:30
PM—Miller Theatre, Herman Park
WEDNESDAY, April 22
William Akin, Director, OCAW District 1—9 AM—Memorial
Center
Professor Art Busch, Chairman, Environmental Engineering, Rice,
"Galveston Bay"—9:30 AM—Memorial Center
Dr. Leslie Chambers, UT School of Public Health, "Air Pollution"
—10 AM—Memorial Center
Professor W. W. Akers, Chemical Engineering—10:30 AM—
Memorial Center
Professor C. P. Read, Biology, Rice; president, Houston ACLU,
"Right to Clean Environment"—11 AM—Memorial Center
Ken Gustafson, AICHE—1 PM—Memorial Center
Professor Eisenberg, Biology, Rice, "Ecology of Populations"—
1:30 PM—Memorial Center
Drs. Rigdon and Niel, UT Galveston Medical Branch, "Carcinogens
in the Atmosphere of Texas City"—2 PM—Memorial Center
Bill Scheibe, Director, City Parks and Recreation Films: "The
Need," "The Plan" (Houston in 1990)—2 PM—"Fonclven Li-
brary, Lecture Lounge
Dr. J. Hopkins, E. I. duPont de Nemours and Co., "Large Com-
pany's Approach to Pollution Abatement"—2:30 PM—Memor-
ial Center
Alfred R. Davey, Urban Design—3 PM—Memorial Center
Film: "River Must Live"—3 PM—Fondren Library, Lecture
Lounge
Phillip Witt, Solid Wastes—3:30—Fondren Library, l!ecture
Lounge
Professor Art Busch, "Is More Money the Answer?"—3:30 PM—-
Memorial Center
Congressman Bob Eckhardt—4 PM—Memorial Center
Dr. C. E. Hall, Director, Audubon Society, "Pesticides and Galves-
ton Bay"—7:15 PM—Memorial Center
Univ. of Houston events
Civic Group Exhibits—9 AM-Noon—Appaloosa,.Cascade, Castillian
Rooms, UC
Films—9 AM-4 PM—Federal Room, UC
Slides—9 AM-4 PM—Palo Duro Room, UC
Population Conference: Speakers, including Susan Sheinberg, UH
Sociology Department; Dave Banner, UII Behavioral Manage-
ment; Billie Broch, Houston Planned Parenthood—9 AM-4
PM—Sonora Room, UC
AICHE Panel: Phillip Witt, Robert Churchwell, Dr. J. A. Leeds
and Ronald Leeds—9 AM—San Antonio Room. UC
Brad Jackson, Engineer, City Health Department, "Automobile
Exhaust"—9 AM—World Affairs Rm, UC
Don Newman, Soil Conservation Service, slides—9 AM—San
Jacinto Room, UC
Stuart Henry, Air Conservation, TB & Rl) Assn.—9 AM—El Paso
Room, UC
City Pollution Panel: Charles Wilson, Lary Newby, Gerald Hord
-—9 AM—Dallas Room, UC
Claude Cullinan, J. Zink Inc., Pollution Equipment—10 AM—
El Paso Room, UC
John Erdman, Union Carbide, Texas City/La Marque Chamber
of Commerce, "Industry's Role"—10 AM—World Affairs Rm,
UC
Terry Hershey, "Focusing Attention on Pollution"—10 AM—San
Jacinto Room, UC
Urban Environment Panel: Doss Mabe, Ron Babba—10 AM-Noon
—Honors Hall, UC
Dr. Thomas DeGregori, UH Economics Department, "Technology,
Culture and Pollution"—11 AM—San Antonio Room, UC
Chuck Reinke, Mobil Oil & Company Representatives—11 AM—
El Paso Room, UC
Dr. Ralph Conant, SW Center for Urban Research—11 AM—•
'•■j World Affairs Rm, UC . < •
Harvey Fields, Sportsmen's Club of Houston—11 AM—San Jacinto
Room, UC
Biology Panel: Drs. Jameson and Wright, UH Biology, and Dr.
Joseph Melnick, Virology, Baylor Medical—11:30 AM—Dallas
Room, UC
State Representative Rex Braun at High Noon Forum—Noon—
Honors Hall, UC
Dr. Lou Stern, UH Economics—Noon—San Jacinto Room, UC
the rice thresher, april 16, 1970—page 3
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Murray, Jack. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 57, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 16, 1970, newspaper, April 16, 1970; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245081/m1/3/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.