DAILY NEBRASKAN
Thursday, March 20, 1941
Commentorials
. . . from our readers
Is the Nebraskan trying .
to suppress the facts?
It seems lo me that the DAILY is attempting
to surpress the truth when it refuses to print the
iacts uncovered in a campus poll carried on by one
of our psychology classes.
Is the reason for refusing; to print the results
of this poll because It showed that 6G.5 of the
students were against compulsory subscription
to the DAILY and only 33.5 in favor? Or is
the reason, as some of the DAILY staff has said,
that the results were inaccurate? Now honestly
do you think that this poll was inaccurate? Here
arc the facts:
(1) On the question of the compulsory Sub
scription, for: 33.5.
(2) The poll also showed 95 read it regu
larly. On a poll taken by the DAILY itself you found
that 97 read the paper. This makes an error of
only 2 between the two polls on the last ques
tion. Even Dr. George Gallup asks to allow an
error of 3 in his studies of public opinion.
The two questions used by the psychology class
were taken in exactly the same manor, of the same
persons, m the same groups, and by the same in
terviewers, and one question came out to within
2 of the results that was obtained by the DAILY'S
own methods on the same question. However be
cause the other question comes out with results
not to the liking of some of the members of the
staff there is a cry against the results, and charges
of inaccuracy and biased proceedings in taking
the poll. It is not necessary for the class to prove
the accuracy of their poll. The DAILY did the
proving by taking a like poll (or making a study)
of one of the same questions and getting results
within 2 of being the same. (This assumes that
your claim that 97 of the student body read the
DAILY is accurate.)
The instructor who organized this poll has
carried on studies of this type for the last 10
years in collaboration with the Psychology Corp.,
one of the largest companies doing this type of
work in this country.
And it was a group organized by this same
Instructor last fall who predicted to within 3
the outcome of the National Election in Lincoln.
Let's have a paper that prints the truth when
It happens and as it happens. Not just when the
truth happens to jibe with the wishes of the paper's
staff.
BILL RITCHIE.
Malzen to teach
again at Idaho
John M. Matzen, assistant pro
fessor of school administration in
teachers college, has accepted a
position as assistant professor of
school administration at the Uni
versity of Idaho at Moscow for the
six weeks summer session begin
ning the second week in June.
Half of yearbook
has gone to press
Approximately half of this
year's Cornhusker has gone
to press, with the staff tearing Its
hair and working seven days a
week. All pictures have been
taken and the fraternity and sor
ority partels have been completed.
It is still possible to buy Corn
huskers at the office in the Union
basement.
How unjust!
The DAILY is not suppressing anything. Pub
lication of the disputed survey has been delayed
only to such a time that information regarding it
could bo checked. No question at all would have
been raised concerning it, had not one of the so
licitors contacted a person friendly to the DAILY
with his inquiry "You don't want automatic sub
scription to the NEBRASKAN, do you?" and had
not the figures in the survey regarding the number
of regular readers of the paper differed so greatly
from what was found In the election last fall.
Our paper has never doubted the theory be
hind the psychology polls. Had this particular
question not been so vital to the solicitors, we are
sure the results would be a fair indication of stu
dent sentiment.
Where Mr. Ritchie got his figure that last fall's
election showed 97 percent of the campus are regu
lar readers of the paper, we do not know, unless he
Interpreted all those who said they saw a paper
occasionally as being regular readers. If he will
check the results of that election again he will find
that only 57 percent of those voting however, are
daily readers of our paper.
Because of the above information, the staff
decided to check Its own figures by a similar sur
vey to see whether student opinion had shifted or
whether partisan solicitors let their own opinions
color the questions. In any case the survey was
to have been published this week as it was re
ported to us; all the condemnation therefore has
little cause except to the extent that those con
cerned want to make something of it.
This
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TVe might call it 'Two-tinier" but Arrow
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Tu blue, green and tan shades oi' oxford
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fur Sportswear
Directed by Walton . . .
Psych poll finds majority
against subscription plan
Answering the question "Do you
think a subscription fee to the
DAILY NEBRASKAN should be
added to your tuition" 66.5 of
the students polled by a psychol
ogy class under Prof. W. E. Wal
ton, answered "No."
The remaining 33.5 favored
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the subscription plan since no pro
vision was made for those who
were undecided. Less than 200
students were polled, but Prof.
Walton declared that the survey
was representative because the
people interviewed were propor
tionate to the whole student body
according to sex, affiliation or
non-affiliation and to the various
colleges.
Representatives of four colleges,
engineering, business administra
tion, teachers, and arts and sci
ences were quizzed. 54 of the
teachers college students favored
universal subscription but only
25.5 of the bizad students who
answered the question supported
the plan. Engineers and arts and
science collegians vetoed the plan
by 76.5 and 65 2,.
Over 43 of the girls polled de
sired the subscription plan while
only 28.6 of the men gave it
their support. Affiliated and non
affiliated students alike opposed
the plan by nearly the same per
centage; affiliated students by
66.4 percent and unaffiliated by
66.2 percent.
Bulletin
The ( eollege Hfcreatloa Night will
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hnlldlng, from 6:45 U 1:45. Hquare daar
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entertainment. All C at4enU are Invltod.
The ag eollege H A A organisation nlll
meet In the college artlvlllea building, Ihla
afternoon at S.
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