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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 20, 1941)
What Is the Proposed Plan of "Universal Subscription" to the Daily Nebraskan? The Student Council proposes a plan to be tried for one year whereby each student registered at the University of Nebraska excluding those in special graduate colleges-medicine, law, dentistry, and graduate-will pay a specified sum, not to exceed 73c wilh his registration fees each semester, for which he will receive the Daily Nebraskan After the plan has been tned for one year, the Student Council will conduct a referendum at a regular student election to determine whether the plan shall be continued. Who Is Sponsoring the Plan? What Part Has the "Daily" Played in Sponsoring the Plan? The proposed plan is a project of the Student Council. The Daily Nebraskan has aided in publicizing the plan and in fur nishing certain information necessary for the consideration of such a plan. What Is the Need For Such a Plan? If Put Into Effect What Will It Accomplish? There is at the present time no publication which reaches the entire student body. Many announcements must be made m class rooms. A large part of the student body is not reached by the Daily at present. There is no medium through which all students may be informed of campus happenings, of administrative announcements ot debatable issues vital to student welfare and of general student interest. Universal subscription to the Daily would provide such an organ. In it would be ALL the news of interest to students of the I'niversity of Nebraska. A larger paper is promised under the proposed plan to include announcements and news of nil groups on the campus-small groups which, because of the size ot the present paper, are not now properly represented. Will This Plan be the Start of an Attempt to Make Subscription to the Comhusker, Awgwan, and Other Publications Compulsory? Subscription to no other publication will or can be added without the support of the student body. The administration is opposed to putting a heavy load upon the students; in fact 75c for the Daily is considered as a maximum assessment, and is conditioned by a student support shown by petitions, and by the general student vote this spring. ith such an attitude, there need be no fear that this program is the beginning of something much more extensive and something the students don t want Before any other item could be placed upon the registration fee, it too would have to be approved by the student body. The fact that the Student Council chose the Nebraskan as the one publication worthy ot a universal program at the present time indicates that the others would have more difficulty in being included. Is It Possible to Distribute the "Rag" for 25c a Semester? For Nothing? Five thousand subscriptions would bring under the proposed plan $7,500 a year. Of this approximately $2,300 is now bein" received from that source. Thus the maximum increase in revenue through universal subscription would be ifcvUU. lo increase the circulation to 5,000 copies, the printing bill would increase $30 per issue. The reason for this sizeable increase m printing expense lies in a combinat.on of union requirements and the Journal s schedule of printing. ith loO issues printed yearly this additional expense would amount to $4,500, leaving a net surplus from universal subscription of but $700. J his re mainder would be absorbed in printing when the paper is increased in size. The Daily investigated the possibilities of printing elsewhere. It was found that the printers able to print the paper were very limited and that inconveniences and subsidiary expenses would more than offset any advantage m price gained. Since the extent of the rise in advertising with universal subscription is unknowable, and since the buying power ot the campus is largely tapped already, it is only guess work how much expansion in advertising would result. How Will the Definite Price of the Daily be Determined? The Student Council, working with the Daily Nebraskan, has set the rate of 75e a semester as a maximum The exact rate with a reduction if possible, is to be determined by the University Hoard of Publications composed ot hve faculty members and three elected students. Won't the Proposed Plan Cost Greek Houses More Than at Present Under the Block-Subscription Plan? At the present time Greek houses are paying $2.50 per year per subscription, with a sliding scale for large number of sub scriptions. In a few cases the proposed plan will cost the houses more than under the present plan. Generally, however, with the plan of free delivery to organized houses, the proposed plan will be as reasonable, or less expensive, than under the present plan. How Do We Know There Will be a Referendum Next Year? The plan is proposed by the Student Council, and that body has made it a part of the plan that it be submitted again to the student body a year after it goes into effect. Such a referendum is guaranteed by the Student Council. It is felt that the fairest way of testing the plan was by seeing it in effect. Do Other Universities in the Mid-West Have Similar Automatic Subscription Plans? How Have They Worked? Most schools in the big six and the big ten have such plans, and the fact that they are continuing with them is evidence of their success. The subscription fees to all of them is higher than the proposed iee to the Daily Nebraskan. Typica of the fees is $3.50 per year at Minnesota for the Minnesota Daily, an eight page paper, to which the proposed Nebraskan would be comparable. Why Wasn't the Circulation of Petitions Continued? The circulation of petitions was successful in that during the two days it was used a large number of signatures was ob tained, indicating that a majority of the students could be induced to sign. It was felt by some students, however, that circulation of petitions was an unfair method of testing student opinion, and consequently it was discontinued m favor of a referendum at the regular spring election, before which time the plan would be given more publicity, and further explained to the student body. What was the Result of the "Rag" Referendum at the Election Last Fall? The student vote was 7G8 for and 1476 against the referendum last fall. The referendum was, it is felt, not sufficiently pub licized, the wording was not impartial, and political sentiment at the time in part created the adverse vote. Will a Majority Vote be Enough to Establish Universal Subscription to the Daily Nebraskan? The referendum at the spring election is merely an expression of student opinion to be used by the Chancellor and by the Hoard of Regents. Any addition to the registration fees must come from the Board of Regents. It is doubtful if a slight majority would indicate a sufficient sentiment for the plan. A sizeable majority, however, would be a clear indication of the student mind. Isn't the Universal Subscription Plan Undemocratic? The issue is to be determined by the democratic method of a general student vote. A referendum to be held one year from the time the plan goes into effect is a further opportunity for the student body to express its opinion as to the merits of the plan. What Plan to Distribute the Daily Will be Used? The Daily Nebraskan will be available in all main buildings of the ag and city clf-J" and all large rooming houses will have papers delivered with no additional charge. ACTIVIlILs 1ILKL1 LUMM11 Ifc Student Council 1