The voice of 'U' Editorial page platform for student ideas "A University, like other organizations, requires a certain unity. It is organic, a total of interrelated parts, demanding coordination, direction and leadership." - Tom Hayden It is Feb. 9, 1960. Phil Power is the Daily's Editorial Page Editor. Hockey player Red Berenson, then "Michigan's newly eligible center," is about to hit the Wolverine's ice for the first time that week against Michigan State. The Varsity Laundry Company - complete with drive-in service - washes, dries and folds up to five pounds of laundry for $1.00. Tom Hayden, a Daily Staff Reporter, is given half of the editorial page for an opinion article titled "'U' Administration: A Critique." While Varsity Laundry is defunct, Power would become a University regent, Berenson the Michigan hockey coach and Tom Hayden, a notorious '60s liberal activist, state senator and one of the University's - and the Daily's - most famous alumni. There is nothing quite like looking through the Daily archives. The yellowed pages tell a striking tale of both campus and national history, from the viewpoint that only a student-written, student-edited and student-managed newspaper can give. It's not what you'll learn in History 161. Simply by being a newspaper, the Daily inadvertently chronicles its own history as well. For 109 years, the Daily has embraced the editorial freedom granted to us by the United States Constitution - the freedom that allows us to put out this paper. The press is needed to keep tabs on everything from national politicians to University professors. But only the opinion page can offer judgment, giving it the unique power to challenge ideas. As one of a mere dozen college papers in the nation financially independent from their respective institution, Tom Hayden could critique the administration without ethical conflict. Hayden's extensive opinion piece attacked the "fragmentation" of the University administration ("Most administrators knew nothing of the curtailed library hours until they read about it in the Daily,") and the administration's debatable dedication to undergraduate education ("It pays too much heed to public relations and financial needs.") Hayden was just a student voicing his opinion to the University community in the only forum available. But the editorial page is not just opinion columns. It is letters to the editor, where readers debate everything from abortion to the Greek system. Editorials, based on 109 years of precedent, are the voice of the Daily - the voice of students. Editorials will always follow a 'liberal' vein - pro-choice, pro-education, pro-student. We have taken on everything from the war in Vietnam to the war over the stadium's halo. We seek out columnists and publish letters with different views. The combination of ideas on the editorial page yields a product like Hayden's ideal university - it requires unity. It is a sum of interrelated parts. In the conclusion of Hayden's aforementioned piece, he wrote that University administration "Prefers to reflect society, not challenge it." Newspapers reflect society. Individuals challenge society. The editorial page aspires to do both. - Emily Achenbaum, Editorial Page Editor Originally on page 4A in the 1-31-2000 issue of the Daily.