Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Anti Univ BY DAVID HAVIRD Tuesday night Robert Lowell received the USC Award for Distinction in Literature and read before an audience of 300 persons -the new Business Administration Auditorium was full. The program was unquestionably the major literary event of the current academic year, perhaps in the history of the university. Never before have the two finest working poets in the world, Lowell and James Dickey, or any other two now dead, ap peared on the same program at USC. Dickey spoke briefly before the presentation of the award to Lowell. The reading was sponsored by the University Union Ideas and Issues Committee, and it is no secret that Lowell, who lives in England, agreed to visit here at one-third the lecture fee he usually commands because of reports of Allen Tate's and Robert Penn Warren's receptions here. But the Union leadership evidently doesn't understand these things. Not only have the officers been generally antagonistic toward the award itself and par tially to Lowell's appearance, but they also failed to support Tuesday night's program by not being among the audience. This is deplorable. The award is in danger of being eliminated. And its danger is the I N luteliect ersity Uxi PAGE 4 Thursday, April 18 result of the officers' attitude toward this kind of programming. In attempting to formulate al overall Union policy on the givinl of awards, the officers may indee' kill all chances of getting writers o the first magnitude to visit thi campus. The lack of general Union sur port very probably is the result c the .anti-intellectualism pervadin this university. A university is an institution c higher learning. It is not a giganti playground for continual roc concerts, commercial athletics, a concrete building blocks to b toyed with at the whim of som administrator. It's been understood for som time, by faculty and those student who are here for academi . V Still Have, \oney Too L Here's Sen. St Member, Sei Will Be AppE Satu 11:C Col umb 3rd FIc For AAor ualism P don Lead reasons, that this university i nothing more than a huge stati operated corporation wher students and faculty are on] means to some economic end. Now, the Union, the Studei Union, is infected. In fact, and it is relative unknown outside the Union, tt overall success of the Warre reading last fall was threatened b a last-minute, arbitrary an drastic reduction of mone allocated without dissent by tl Ideas and Issues Committe members for the reception. At the time, the committee was not eve consulted until after the officer decision was made. When the committee as a who' vigorously protested, a con promise was achieved; but, short] afterwards, the officers revealed reception policy allowing no mone f for anything other than liqui refreshment at receptions. Because the committE members believe receiving le turers of Warren's and Lowell magnitude in such a shabt fashion reflects unfavorably on ti f university as well as the Unioi they arranged for food to be fu nished privately at both the Lowe r and the Motherwell receptions th e week. e If internal Union conflicts pe sist, and the game of personaliti4 e continues to be played, literar s events such as these will peris' C Is it time to secede from ti ETER/ A Gripe? I .ittle And A Your Opp rom Thi aate Veterans saring For A F rday, April IO A.M. - 2:00 a State Cai >or Conference Open To Pubi e information Call lagues ership is Union? It is--but it is evident that - adequate funds will never be e gotten by a separate organization y from the Student Allocations Commission. It revealed its anti it intellectualism and its Union-at the-cost-of-all-else attitude at the y recent spring budget hearings. e Must the funding and security of n literary events of first-rate y magnitude be removed frQn d student hands? If the Union y leadership's attitudes remain as e they are, other sources, possibly e outside the university, will be t found. n Then, the concrete playground s' will continue to luxuriate and the Union again will present its Best le Program Award to the Special 1- Programs Committee for the iy winter formal. sya - I rg, 's 11 .. s -Open A Charge r- , Treat Yourself'I y.jArcade NS lo Benefits? Iways Too L4 ortunity urmond Affairs Comm. ield Hearing Or 20th P.M. pital Bldg. a Room ic 777-5156 " Robert Lowell 6S Account And 'oANewPair Mall :te?