com
friday, September 1 5, 1 972
lincoln, nebraska vol. 96, no. 8
Bugs plague
campaign
machinery
by Chris Harper
A circus? A misconception of
democracy? The American way? Each
person, including students, has his own
description for an election.
The 1972 presidential campaign between
President Nixon and Sen. George McGovern,
however, might be compared to the purchase
of a new automobile-a continual process of
working out the "bugs."
news analysis
by the author
The Republicans encountered the first
flat tire last March when columnist Jack
Anderson charged that the Administration
had settled antitrust suits involving
International Telephone and Telegraph
(ITT).
The ITT affair evolved into a mass of
charges and countercharges by Anderson and
government officials. The only positive
action was a government decree to shred
outdated official memoranda so the letters
wouldn't reach improper sources.
The second Republican campaign
malfunction appears to be the alleged
bugging of Democratic National
Headquarters on June 17.
The Watergate incident, as it is called,
involved the chief security coordinator for
the Committee for the Reelection of the
President (CRP), James W. McCord Jr., and
more than $100,000 in committee funds.
The Republican Party's credibility also
may be influenced by their refusal to
disclose campaign contributions collected
prior to April 7, 1972, even though the
federal campaign spending law doesn't
require them to do so.
When the Republican campaign started
rolling, the Democrats experienced engine
trouble.
The disclosure of Sen. Thomas Eagleton's
(McGovern's original vice-presidential
choice), medical history shortly after the
Democratic National Convention in July
hurt both the campaign and McGovern's
credibility.
McGovern's "1,000 per cent" support of
Eagleton after the announcement quickly
diminished until the vice presidential
candidate was replaced by R. Sargent
Shriver,
The presidential candidate's indecision
may cause voters to doubt McGovern's
campaign slogan, "Right from the Start."
The Democratic nominee's morning
disavowal and subsequent affirmation that
he sent Pierre Salinger to North Vietnam to
assess the war situation also may influence
his credibility.
McGovern's staff poses another problem
for the South Dakota Democrat. The
insufficient investigation of Eagleton's
history left McGovern embarrassed, while his
staff's comments to the press during the
Eagleton affair further emphasized the
divisiveness rather than the solidarity of the
Democratic Party.
The shift from Lawrence O'Brien to Jean
Westwood as Democratic National
Committee chairperson may have further
alienated party regulars and Southern
Democrats.
O'Brien had established good rapport
with Democrats such as Mayor Richard
ISCtSO!
Daley of Chicago and the Southern party
members while he served as party chairman.
These groups may have become further
disenchanted after the appointment of
Westwood, a McGovern organizer from
Utah.
It appears however that McGovern
realized O'Brien's usefulness and gave him a
position with the presidential campaign.
Other Democratic campaign staff
differences have emerged in the past three
weeks with the resignation of Rep. Frank
Thompson, D-N.J., as McGovern's national
voter registration coordinator. O'Brien also
threatened to quit the staff if the organizers
didn't get organized.
Nonetheless the political automobile
appears to be picking up speed. The bugs, if
not totally repaired, have been patched.
Both parties have blundered during the
campaign. The problems appear to have hurt
McGovern as he trails Nixon, 64 to 30 per
cent in the latest Gallup poll.
Possibly the poll disparity between the
candidates is because of McGovern's open
policy during the campaign. He admits his
mistakes while the Republicans disavow or
cover theirs. Perhaps a successful politician
should not admit his mistakes.
Tuition
deadline
excepts
late loans
UNL students who don't receive their federally insured
loans before the Oct, 3 tuition payment deadline can make
arrangements to extend the due date, according to Jack
Ritchie, assistant director of financial aids.
Ritchie predicted many students depending on the federally
insured loans may not receive them before the tuition
deadline. '
To avoid a $10 late payment penalty, Ritchie advised
students to secure a letter from their lending institutions
stating that their loan has been approved and listing the loan's
amount.
That statement should bo brought to the Office of
Scholarships and Financial Aids, 112 Administration, prior to
the payment deadline.
Because of a change in federal law, an estimated 1,000 UNL
students who applied for federally insured loans this year were
at first turned down.
However, Congress later altered requirements for the
program, making eligible many of those who were originally
denied a loan.
Students should contact the Financial Aids Office if they
intend to reapply for the loan program.
Zumberge plans
'round table'
by Bob Shanahan
"Let's not get to the point again where we have to back
each other to the wall," UNL Chancellor James Zumberge told
students Thursday at a Residence Hall Association (RHA)
meeting concerned mostly with University housing policy.
Zumberge said his job is "a very delicate" one.
"I can't be a tool for the students, faculty or the Board of
Regents. I'm no one's advocate but the University's as a
whole," he said.
In an effort toward better communication between himself
and students, Zumberge said he is setting up a "Chancellor's
Round Table".
'This is more for my benefit than it is for yours (trie
student's). I desperately need representative student input.
We're going to try conducting scientific polls from time to
time.
"All too often the student government speaks for the
minority. We need a polling technique to get the needed
information. This would have to have credibility with the
student body, to be a regularly conducted thing."
Zumberge, who said he is "sympathetic with the problems
of students in dormitories," was lauded by one member of
RHA who said he noticed a "big change in attitudes from last
year, due largely to the openness of the Chancellor's office".
Zumberge said one direction UNL could take on the
dormitory co-ed visitation question would be to establish a
combination of both co-ed and regular dormitories.
'This seems to be the system that is working in most
places. This is a possibility here at Nebraska," he said.
Zumberge went on to suggest how such a plan could be
developed.
'The RHA should articulate their plans, get it all down on
paper, explain why it is reasonable and explain why it should
be adopted now. The Chancellor and Regents should be
consulted all the way along so everyone knows what's
happening. No one likes surprises," he said.
Zumberge noted there will be problems with any kind of
change, since the students, Regents, Legislature and public all
must be satisfied.
He said the board must know at what point they must
satisfy the electorate and at what point they must pay
attention to University needs.
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A catalyst to bring women together ... is how
University Womens Action Group (UWAG)
member Patti Kaminski described that
organization's role at a Wednesday meeting
celebrating UWAG's second anniversary. Kaminski
said the group has precipitated more awareness of
women on campus and pushed for new, fresh
leadership for UWAG.