Poge 2
The Nebroskon
Monday, Dec. 12, I960
EDITORIAL OPINION
Fire Safety Question
Involves Many Facets
Just how safe are we against fire destruction?
This question hit the University community hard last
week, when Business Manager Carl Donaldson told a
legislative committee that it would cost in excess of $1.6
million for the school to comply with fire safety rules as
set down by a new state fire safety code that went into
effect last Sept. 1. , .
Donaldson told Gov. Dwight Burney that the Uni
versity "would challenge" some orders of State Fire Mar
shall Joseph Divis, "because a university campus is not
strictly comparable with elementary schools, which au
thors of the code considered uppermost.''
Even with the challenges, the business manager said,
the school would still have to make modifications having
an estimated cost of perhaps $800,000. The problem of
where the money will come from now faces admihistra
tors who had not included any allotment for improved
fire safety in the proposed 1961-63 biennial budget.
Donaldson maintains that the new fire code was
"hurriedly developed in the frame of reference to the
Chicago grade school fire." We see nothing wrong with
this, as far as grade schools are concerned. Something
had to be done in a hurry, before tragedy struck in Ne
braska. However, Donaldson has a point in questioning
whether standards be the same for universities as for
elementary or even secondary schools. Also, the fact that
the deadline for making the costly changes was Sept. 1,
allowed little time for the University to study the code
and to comply with it as closely as it felt necessary.
Considerable disagreement seems to a ri s e as to
whether the University has taken any steps toward im
proving the fire safety of its physical plant. Marshall
Divis claims that a "do nothing" policy has been respon
sible for the high cost in bringing buildings up to code
requirements.
Divis says that an assistant deputy from his office
inspected the University and "told me that some of the
recommendations were made to the University seven
years ago and some four years ago . . . Had the Univer.
sity followed recommendations when they were made,
the cost would have been half of what it now is."
According to Donaldson, however, improvements
have been made annually on buildings, in regard to fire
safety, with money coming from both the institutional
building fund and current maintenance cash.
All this discussion brings up an interesting question,
one paramount to fire safety. How would students react
if fire were to break out in one of the more crowded
buildings, such as Social Sciences or Burnett Hall?
We shudder to think of the bottleneck that could very
well Occur. If one stops to consider that few students use
the west door of Social Sciences and the south door of
Burnett, plus the fact that literally hundreds more enter
and exit through the north door of Social Sciences than
the south, and that many more use the east door of Bur
nett than the west, we might find a tragedy on our hands
before we could organize an orderly evacuation.
Since it is not likely nor expected that the University
will introduce $1.6 million of fire safety improvements in
the next month, it might -be wise to plan a temporary
solution until the two parties can agree on a permanent
one. So, we suggest that evacuation instructions be placed
in every room of every building, with special attention
brought to these instructions by being read to every class
in the room at least once.
It would not be out of the question to have instructors
dismiss their classes five minutes early on a given day,
in order that all students could "test run" the evacuation
routes. This may sound childist, but if one remembers
the panic that has resulted in many fires where adults
were present, it is quite in line. This would take same of
the financial burden off of the University and the money
saved could go to improve salaries of those faculty mem
bers who might object to being cut short five minutes of
a few periods one day.
The Daily Nebraskan will cooperate fully with the
administration in publishing instructions of evacuation
of buildings for those who might not be exposed to their
reading in class or to the fire drills. We urge all students
to maintain a constant awareness of all exits in buildings
where they have classes. In addition, we would like to
see the Student Council pick up these suggestions for
study and possible implementation through cooperation
with administrative officials.
It is hoped that a satisfactory solution will be reached
on both counts of improving building safety and educat
ing the students without a sudden tragedy occuring to
jolt our senses.
Dr. Doolcy Summons
New Courage for Work
Of those who heard him speak here last year, who
can forget the words of Dr. Tom Dooley, the young
physician who has devoted his life to his village hospital
in the jungles of Laos. Since then his deeds have made
him known to nearly all.
Not long before he spoke at the Student Union, he
had been warned that the cancer which he suffered
might take his life within a year. We who saw him knew
that the idea of death only a short time away had driven
him to work all the harder, in order that he might be that
much closer to his goal of a hospital in every valley be
fore he died.
This past week, after spending nine days in a Hong
Kong hospital because of back pains, he headed back to
spend Christmas with his Laotian friends. He took with
him $20,000 in medicine and equipment, p 1 u s a brace
which he wore from hips to shoulders. He also took'back
the knowledge that his cancer may have spread to his
spine. Dr. Tom called his brace "the embrace of my iron
maiden."
Reporters who interviewed reported him much
thinner than when they had seen him a few months be
fore. He admitted that his spirit was sagging, but that
the beast in him would not give up. "I'm no quitting . . .
If I stop working now, I probably will die sooner," were
his parting words.
Few Americans have made an impact on the under
developed countries of the world than has Tom Dooley.
In a country that is nearly torn apart by political up
heaval, he has accomplished more in the short time that
he has been there than all the foreign aid Laos has re
ceived from the United States. Were he to live for an
other half century, he doubtless Would be known through
out the world as another Albert Schweitzer, to whom he
has already been compared in those countries where his
name is known.
We are reminded 6f the lines of Douglas Malloch's
poem, "Courage."
Courage is to feel
The daily daggers of relentless steel
And keep on living.
Daily Nebraskan
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Many European Obstacles
To African Development
By Eric Sevareid
The distant observer has
! the impression that the
head of the family-elect
j jumped up from the Sunday
i lunch table and exclaimed
i "Anyo n e
i for a fast
i g a m e of
f rica?"
brother
! Ted ran to
the closet
for the but
terfly net
in which Sevareid
to snare the "facts," and
G. Mennen Williams sent
out a rush order for a polka
dot pith helmet for the his
toric moment when he
would say, "Mr. Lumumba,
I presume."
Mad dogs and New Deal
ers go out in the midday
sun, which has been a good
thing for most people; but
it has not diminished the
sun. It might be wise for
all latter-day Tugwells, roll
ing up their sleeves to
make Africa over, to un
derstand that the infesta
tion of Africa's political,
economic and emotional
mosquitoes is old, in places
immune even to patented
American DDT, and loves
fresh, exposed flesh, how
ever muscular.
What 1 am expressing
here is not the spirit that
built America; but it is, I
think, the spirit of the wis
est Europeans and Africans
who are trying to build Af
rica. And if Mr. "Kennedy's
New Frontiers lie in equa
torial, not north American
climes, as It begins to ap
pear, I hope Mr. Williams
will let the earlier scouts
trace at least a rough map
in the dirt by his camp fire
before his safari treks
toward the hinterland.
I am glad there is at
least one enthusiatic, un
wearied democratic coun
try left in this world so
stained and soiled with pub
lic problems, and I am glad
it is my own. Most other
peoples, if forced, would
confess they too are glad.
But let us not risk the fate
of another Children's Cru
sade. Let Teddy understand
that the "facts" about mod
ern Africa already fill vol
umes and innumerable
wiser heads than his, that
statistical methods will not
lay bare the hidden source
springs of much African
behavior. Let Mr. Williams
avoid the gossip fate of the
lady emissary to whom
Pope Pius supposedly said,
"But, Mrs. Luce, I am a
Catholic!". and not be
told by some African chief
equipped with Oxford ac
cent and degrees, "But, Mr.
Williams, we have been dis
covered!" I am troubled by the
President-elect's judgment
I. ' '
i1 V
im. im r
f
1U.N THE BARKiCADC!,!
that Africa (like Asia and
Latin America) has been
"short changed." I do not
like the suggestion of guilt
and moral responsibility in
this. Africans have not been
short changed by America,
and only in degree and in
places by European colo
nists. Africans were short
changed by fate, according
to the iron law of anthro
pology by which the weaker
races of man continued to
reside at the poor ad
dresses, whether equatorial
Africa, the Aleutians or the
Australian bush.
I am troubled by the
concomitant reports that
Mr. Kennedy tends to re
gard Europe and Africa as
two separate sets of prob
lems, that American ener
gies and ideas can, in large
measure, be switched from
the former to the latter.
This is surely illusory. The
American road toward mas
sive amelioration of the
dangerous African chaos
runs through London, Paris,
Bonn and Rome.
The direct and exclusive
American opportunities for
effective work in Africa
are sharply limited. Ameri
cans in Africa must move
through the corridors and
around the obstacles of
European investment, insti
tutions, procedures and at
tachments almost every
where they set foot; and
they will find that nearly
all, if not all, their bright
est ideas have been throught
of and often tried, before.
What Americans CBn do
and must do, first of all,
is to make African nation
alists abandon their com
fortable hatreds and ack
nowledge that the British
and the French, if not yet
the Portugese, truly are
moving out of Africa, truly
do seek free and viable Af-
LITTLE MAN
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rican states. By no means
must they be given to think ,.
they can play off the United .
States against its European
allies.
The ex-colonial powers of
Europe are not getting rich.
Their politics are now dom
inated by a whole new atti
tude toward Africa. Afri-
can leaders ought to re
joice at the thought of what
a combining and cooperat
ing Europe could do with
its new money, its old tal
ents and experience to
lighten the gloom and
griefs of the Dark Conti
nent. For this reason this
midwifery at the birth of
the new peoples into the
20th century as well as
for the fateful reason of the
world's power balance, the
overriding objective of the
'60s must be to accelerate
the movement toward a
new and unified Europe.
This movement is now en
dangered by the growing
trade split between the con
tinental "Six" and the British-led
"Seven."
Let Mr. Kennedy, and all
of us, remember the anxi
ous words of Gladwyn Jebb
upon his retirement as Brit
ish Ambassador to France:
"Unless a real effort is
soon made to achieve the
politico-economic unity of
Western Europe, we shall
all and I mean without
exception go into a slow
decline in comparison with
the bloc of the Eastern
countries. And we know in
our hearts where such a
process must inevitably
lead."
It will lead, of course, to
the remorseless spread of
Russian influence and con
trol, with the new Africans
among the earliest and eas
iest victims.
fttet. 1M0. Hall flrixHcate, Inc.
ON CAMPUS
TH AFIFfSNCCW'
Staff Views
BOVINE
Agriculture was prac
tically the only profession
in the pioneer days but mod
ern times find it has strong
competition from many
other professions.
Such competition has
made the field one ot the
most technical and special
ized professions of all. No
longer does anyone that de
sires to farm jiist plant
wheat and corn anci call
himself a farmer, but he is
finding that an education is
almost- essential. Without
this education, many farm
ers are being forced off the
farm because they failed to
produce a good living.
With this technology and
the need for cbliege educa
tion in mind, it would seem
that Ag College enrollment
would be oft the steady in
crease. But contrary to this
we find that Ag enrollment
has dipped for a number
of years. Last year's 960
students is four more that
the total this year.
Decreased enrollment
seems invalid when you
cftnsider that a college edu
cation almost seems to be
a necessity for the farmer
of ten years in the future.
But as the number actually
associa ting themselves
with the agricultural pro
fession Of farming has de
creased, specialization has
increased.
One farmer produces
many times the product
that several farmers did 20
years ago Mechanization
has made it possible for one
farmer to increase his acre
age as much as four times
that of days when horses
and manpower were the
big machines.
Such specialization has
increased a number of off-
-Campus Roundup
Student Civil Rights
Groups Gain Momentum
By UPS
Efforts to end local dis
criminatory practices are
mounting at colleges and
universities across the coun
try and new civil rights ac
tion groups continue to
form.
University of Texas stu
dents held peaceful demon
strations before five non
integrated restaurants and
the Texas Theater last
week. More than 100 white
and Negro students demon
strated at the theater one
weekend, recently.
The students passed out
cards prepared by the Uni
versity Religious Council
stating, "I will continue to
patronize this establish
ment if it is integrated," an
effort to convince owners
that they would not be eco
nomically hurt by integrat
ing. Wilson College (Cham
bersburg, Pa.) student coun
cil approved a policy to boy
cott the Penn-Wilson, a lo
cal restaurant as long as it
practices racial discrimin
ation, and the faculty has
authorized the appointment
of a faculty committee on
civil rights to work with
the student government.
Roosev e 1 1 University
(Chicago) student senate
voted last month to send
letters protesting civil
rights policies to Governor
Ernest Vandiver of Georgia
and Maydr William Harts
field of Atlanta.
Colleges United for Ra
cial Equality (CURE) was
formed in late October to
coordinate New York area
campus civil rights activ
ities. Participating are stu
dents from Barnard, Co
lumbia, New York Univer
sity, Queens and City Col
lege of New York. Projects
include picketing at Wool
worths and publishing a ci
vil rights newsletter.
The recently reactivated
Human Relations Commis
sion of the University of
Minnesota Student Associ
ation is studying University
policies in various areas in
cluding admissions, scholar
ships, employment and
also plans a campaign to
bring campus discrimina
tion problems to the atten
tion of the entire student
body.
The University of Wiscon
as 1
1 '"VAXJl.-. -y-Malamammmm
C H - t aMT
L
f n v j i - . j a. - j'
VIEWS
by Jerry Lmnhrrson
farm agricultural positions
Increased research, new in
dustries such as fertilizer
and more need for agricul
tural educators has helped
to lake up the slack in the
aecrease of farmers.
Of the total 660 students
in Ag College today, prob
ably only around 30 to 35
per cent will ever go back
to the farm. Andther 40 to
50 per cent will probably
work in an indirect agricul
tural profession. The re
mainder will leave agricul
ture as a profession and
will go into some other pro
fession. What has lured the youth
away from the farm is a
question that has been
asked many times. Often
times when there are two
or three or more in the
family, the father has a set
up for only one to continue
upon his retirement; there
fore, the rest of the young
sters begin looking for orf
farm work.
Unstable farm prices
compared to a guaranteed
salary in other professions
has lured other youth from
staying on the farm. Many
of the youth do not want
to take a chance on an in
come when they can go in
to a profession that has a
designated Salary.
The lush city life and the
increase in me importance
of social life has also tak
en some of the farm boys
away from home.
Urban life has claimed
the working day with the
evenings oft for occasional
social events. Many of the
farm boys apparently feel
that an 'eight hour day is
an advantage over the 12
15 hour day that occurs fre
quently during the summer
on the farm.
sin Student Council on Ci-
val Rights and the Wiscon
sin Student Association Hu
man Relations Commission
are investigating discrim
inatory problems in Madi
son. Over 70 students attended
a conference in Ithaca, New
York sponsored by the Cor
nell Committee Against Seg
regation designed to "edu
cate, direct and strengthen
students in the fight
against segregation.'
The Chicago Youth Com
mittee on Civil Rights is
planning a series of demon
strations to protest what
they consider the Board of
Education "lack of con
cern" over segregation in
Chicago. In addition, the
committee plans to testify
at the board's budget hear
ing. Christmas Cards
Remember everyone
00 your Christmof litt.
O Mother father
Husband Wile
Sons Daughters'
O Sisters Brother
Aunts Uncles Cousiaa
D Nieces Nephew
O Grandmother
Grandlafher
O Grandson
Granddaughter
C3 Sweetheart Darling
little Boys Little Girt
O Special Frlena Netfihbo?
O Dear One Pal
All ot youOur Wish
O Friends Across the Wile
O Those III at Christmas
O Ministers Priests
D The Boss Q Many 6hee
Cnoost dom mi comaiett setactam
GOLDENROD
STATIONERY STORE
215 North 14
Opan Shopping Night to 9
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Of ; TJT IMMiM
