University of Southern California
DAILY m TROJAN
VOL. LXIV NO. 69
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1972
EYE CATCHER—Scattered throughout the surrounding campus area, scores of massive concrete supports have caught the attention of passing motorists. The supports will be used in the construction of the
new multi-level parking lot being erected between the men's and women's dorms facing 35th Street. The new parking facility is scheduled for completion by this summer. DT Photo by Will Hertzberg
Freedom discussed at libertarians’ conference
By TIM NOVOSELSKI Staff Writer
Some talked about revolution, change, and the perfect society, and some simply talked about a better society.
It was complete freedom for the individual or it was freedom for the masses with few restrictions.
“The Psychology of Freedom,” a symposium sponsored by the California Libertarian Alliance in the Town and Gown Foyer during the weekend, brought about these and other ideas, goals and philosophies.
“Just let me be free to do what I want as long as I don’t infringe on the rights of others to do what they want,” is a simplified definition of what the libertarian movement is all about.
Although there are various schools of thought within the movement (for instance, some favor anarchy and some favor a limited government), most libertarians are bound together by the common feeling that changes in a suppressive state or government are necessary.
“There should be no force of one person over another, or of an institution over another,” said Tibor Machan, philosophy professor at California State College at Bakersfield, in a symposium workshop.
“We will not see the libertarian society in our generation. Essentially, what we need is an intellectual, educational revolution. Any other shortcut will not work.”
Many believe, as Tibor does, that the libertarian form of life is a long time coming—perhaps because of its basic nonviolent nature. Yet, Phillip Luce, a shaggy red-haired man who was involved with the leftist movement a few years ago, believes that there should be immediate, practical ways of breaking down the current system.
“We should have pragmatic concepts to screw up the sys-
tem,” he said. “The postal service is so corrupt that we should show systematically and pragmatically that we can run a better one.
“Another immediate way to harass the system would be to support someone who is as far away from the libertarian viewpoint as possible.”
Therefore if a George Wallace type was elected, things would become so repressive, a revolt would be inevitable, he said.
“Not since the early days of Students for a Democratic Society has there been such discussion of basic libertarian concepts,” Luce said. “But even while I have seen growth, one thing that has already been forgotten is how this revolution is going to take place.
“Whether we like it or not, the state feels it has a right to exist, and feels it has the right to do whatever it feels necessary to continue its existence. We would like to see the abolition of the state so we must not isolate ourselves to the point where we only talk about utopianism.”
Robert LeFevre, president of Rampart College, said he too was looking for the intellectual revolution, which might occur in the face of the growing corruption and force of the state.
“We will probably have as much freedom as we deserve—it’s as bad as that,” he said. “Every state enlarges with dependencies and new opposition. We’re turning over too many jobs to the state.”
LeFevre added that demonstrations and other physical ways of ignoring the state are perilous because the government thrives on such action—to make it look as though it is the victim.
“The task of living is the task of dealing with reality,” he said. “We must remain flexible and free to solve our tasks.”
Most libertarians are looking forward to the overall society
change first and worrying about specific details later.
For example, LeFevre favors a society where there is practically no control whatever. If a child was mistreated by his parents, LeFevre said he hoped the neighbors and associates of the parents would reject and avoid the offenders—a simple ostracism.
Ray A. Childs, Jr., who described himself as a radical-liberal anarchist, didn’t agree entirely with LeFevre. He said he would prefer a type of limited agency to take action against the parents.
Some libertarians at the symposium didn’t completely agree with what David Harris, draft resister and author of “Goliath,” had to say.
About 50 of the 400 people in the audience disagreed so much that they walked out of Town and Gown Foyer during his presenta-tion, and some of those who remained engaged in shouting matches.
Instead of describing what freedom is, Harris told what it isn’t. He said it isn’t planting electronic sensors around jungles in Southeast Asia where computer-controlled bombs hit whatever person or thing trips the sensor.
Harris also said freedom isn’t giving truckloads of heroin to a Laotian government in exchange for mercenaries, and it isn’t the 15 American aircraft carriers that carry tons of armaments to be dropped on children.
“Nothing is less free than that activity,” he said. “People who pay for those machines (aircraft carriers), those who talk so often about peace, justice, freedom and democracy—they are the ones who have transformed one-third of a country into refugees.”
In describing America, Harris said the people live in a society of dollars and cents where
(Continued on page 2)
Convention over, members upset
By CATHY MEYER Executive Editor
The ASSC constitutional convention is dead, but it deserves a careful autopsy.
ASSC Executive Council members, who once passionately supported rewriting the current outmoded constitution, killed any chance for a new document Thursday, when they rejected reconvening the constitutional convention appointed last fall.
The convention’s chairman, Dave Howe, appeared before the council Thursday, begging them to reconvene the convention or extend the deadline (formerly Feb. 8). The convention had been plagued with delegate absences, he explained, and it filled a quorum only three times. It became impossible for the convention to complete any business, he said.
But the council, once so intent on offering students a new document, voted almost unanimously to disband the convention permanently.
The council’s about-face perplexed many students involved with rewriting the constitution. Among the speculations as to why the council rejected reconvening the convention were:
•	the slate-structured board of directors which the new document proposed instead of an ASSC council, would have forced a clean-up of student government;
•	many council members are planning on running for reelection and would have had their positions abolished by the new document;
•	Howe asked to eliminate delegates who never attended convention meetings, but the council members who had nominated the absent members opposed the suggestion;
•	the council felt that the student body is so apathetic that efforts towards producing a new constitution would be wasted in the long run; and
•	the poorly structured convention eliminated interested students because of their affiliations with the ASSC council, thus limiting the delegates to less-active (and less-interested) students.
Steve Wiley, junior representative, said that the convention had killed itself with apathy, when no delegates showed up at crucial meetings and open hearings. Some delegates were not even informed that they had been appointed or when the meeting times were, Wiley said.
Wiley and Jim Lacy, sopho-
more representative, plan to put certain constitutional amendments on the spring ballot, including the proposal for voluntary student fees, in lieu of a new constitution.
Howe, who said Thursday that the convention “would go underground” to complete a constitution for the spring elections, rescinded Monday, saying that he was disgusted with student government. His primary disenchantment was aimed at ASSC president Kent Clemence, whom he charged with killing the convention for political motives.
“Kent told me, when he asked me to be convention chairman, that the present constitution was ‘a piece of junk,’ ” Howe said. “When the Feb. 8 deadline wasn’t met because we lacked a quorum, I approached several members ofthe council and they agreed that a new deadline should be established.
“Lee Blackman, the original proponent of the convention, said that he would introduce my proposal before the council. Kent told me that the vote would be close, but that I should be able to persuade the council.
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“After appearing before the council and presenting my plans to reconvene the convention, I watched the vote: Blackman voted for a new convention; the rest of the council either voted against it or abstained.
“Clemence, who last fall nearly broke into tears of joy when I told him that I would chair his beloved convention, did not utter a word in my defense.
“At the basketball game last Saturday night, I asked John Moore, a graduate representative, if Kent had told him to vote ‘no’ on my proposal. John answered that Clemence had instructed nearly all ofthe council members to vote ‘no,’ ’’Howe said, speculating that Clemence wanted to run for reelection under the present constitution. (The new document would have limited the power of the office of president.)
At this point, discussion of constitutional revision appears to be a viscious circle—is student apathy a product ofthe present system, or is the system a product of student apathy?
CACC presents 2-day festival in Alumni Park
Today’s Daily Trojan Campus section has been devoted to the Community Action Coordinating Council’s “Sidewalk Festival,” being held today and tomorrow in Alumni Park.
The purpose of the festival is to expose the students to various activities and programs offered by the council. The programs will each have a table and display various aspects of their projects. Stu-
dent volunteers will be on hand to answer questions.
A special concert at noon today will feature Carl Grant, a pianist who has just completed recording his first album.
Over 600 students are involved in the community-oriented programs sponsored by CACC, but the council would like to enlarge its volunteer involvement with people in the community.