Wednesday, February 17, 1954
Page 1
THE NEBRASKAN
EDITORIAL PAGE
pff Of The iige
A refreshing note hat appeared in the
midst of the long-term wave of articles be
moaning attitudes and characteristics of the
present college generation.
"Lo, the Old College Spirit- (New York
Times Magazine) is a partly humorous,
partly serious bit of writing. The theme is
that the Old College Spirit "has gone where
ever old raccoon coats go, giving way to a
new kind of campus pride."
The life of the old grad is characterized as
that of "flamboyance and exhibitionism of the
do-or-de-f or-dear- old Rutgers type." The
Bilingual World
A plan for an international language has
been proposed once again. A French wartime
resistance leader, convinced that most of the
world's ills are caused by the inability of
people to talk with each other, calls his move
ment the "bilingual world."
Under his plan, English and French would
become International languages. Everyone
would be required to know a second lan
guage. Frenchmen would learn English, Eng
lishmen would learn French, and people of
all other countries would learn one or the
other.
In this way everyone could talk directly
without interpreters. So far, the proposal has
been endorsed by the Vatican, Prime Minister
Winston Churchill, the White House, Eleanor
Roosevelt and others.
The United States would be in an awk
ward position if the proposal ever came into
effect. United States, which should have one
of the most advanced educational programs
in the world, has been sadly lacking in the
teaching of language when compared with
many European countries. In many other
countries students in the lower grades master
the English language and others as a matter
of course.
Languages, which have been deemed im
portant by leaders of the world, have lost out
in the American educational system to trade
Echoolism.
Trade schoolism is not bad; it has aided
the growth of a great nation. But one good
thing should not be forgotten in the enthus
iasm for another. K.N.
Birthday No. 52
The Nebraskan will celebrate its 52 birth
day Thursday.
The student edited newspaper first began
with the title Hesperian and functioned with
that name for 30 years. The name then be
came The Daily Nebraskan.
In comparatively recent times, the same
Daily Nebraskan became outdated, as the
paper was cut to publication only four days,
weekly. Then, at the first of this year, the
title was changed to The Nebraskan, with
publications appearing only three times
weekly.
However, the number of publications per
week has not changed the ideas or the Ideals
behind tbe University paper.
The Nebraskan presents student thought
and activity to the University and state popu
lations. The workers on the present Nebraskan
staff have the same interest and devotion to
the paper and the University as did the
earliest staff members.
Now as in the past the Nebraskan seeks to
live up to a title which appeared on the front
page of the paper for many years, The Voice
of a Great Midwestern University." T.W.
Bye, Bye Bottle
A word of advice for aspiring young stu
dents seeking a profitable career don't go
into the bottle manufacturing business.
The days of bottle makers are numbered.
Tbe profession is on its way to extinction,
along with the ancient trades of wig-making
and chariot-building.
The first to desert the field were the milk
producers, who have turned to the paper car
to to provide milk containers. And now it
appears that the soft drink industry is about
to follow suit.
Instead of bottles, soda pop is now making
its debut in cans. Last spring the first canned
pop was introduced in New York and re
cently Los Angeles manufacturers joined the
new movement. On both coasts the market
for canned soft drinks is growing fast and
should probably soon invade the Middle West.-
Canned pop pioneers claim that glass bot
tles are inferior and inconvenient and their
elimination would relieve retailers from the
nuisance of returned bottles. However, the
way is not entirely clear for the conquest of
the cans. There is the little matter of econ
omy to be considered and the probable unem
ployment of 6,000 bottlers.
la spite of technical difficulties, my pre
diction Is that canned soft drinks will be a
fcig success. The increased convenience should
be a boon to University students.
After all, look what the can has done for
beer! MJBL
grad also spent "half the day in unhurried
conversation, smoking a pipe and sipping
beer."
The change is obvious. Except for "a hand
ful of collegiate dinosaurs," the present col
lege student knows that only a game is being
played on the football field; the honor and
reputation of his school are not at stake.
Again in contrast to the past, today's stu-
dent has little leisure time, "His existence has
been accurately described as lurching from
crisis to crisis'."
Reasons for the change are less obvious.
Perhaps the most important reason is the
unsettled condition of the world in general
and the college student's world in particular.
The only thing to be certain of is some length
of time in the service.
Our world is like the weather it is unpre
dictable; talking about it does no good; we
must learn to live with it.
Adult persons, today's college students,
were automatically produced when we took
hold and learned to live calmly in a situation
of uncertainty and confusion. These college
adults are not concerned too vitally with out
moded conceptions of "spirit." They are de
veloping a new spirit one to fit the age.
This spirit is in a period of transition.
Vestiges of the rah-rah school spirit remain
but outlines of the new one have appeared
strongly.
The new spirit has three chief qualities,
according to the Times article, and we can
do no better than to echo these:
1. "It will be soundly 'conservative' in the
best meaning of the word. Mere change will
not be confused with genuine reform. Con
clusions will be tested with sound principles;
tradition, per se, will not be embellished with
false sanctity.
2. "It will be a spirit of faith. Our fathers
went to college in an era of starry-eyed opti
mism. They had no faith because there
seemed to be no need for faith. Now our
fathers are disillusioned. They are also con
fused. That's why they impute their dis
illusionment to us.
"The present college generation, on the
other hand, is living in a time when supreme
faith is an essential. That faith is now grow
ing and with it grows the belief that the
world's problems are fundamentally prob
lems of religion and morals.
3. "It will be a spirit of leadership. Con
fused by transition and overwhelmed by the
tidal waves of war, the new spirit has not
had a real chance to develop. Now it is
stronger, more sure of its direction. Soon it
will produce leaders." S.H.
Margin Notes
New Forecaster
Some odd situations occur at a zoo during
winter months.
For example, with Nebraska temperatures
soaring to the near 70's during the past week,
many of the animals in the Omaha zoo have
been getting impatient and are beginning to
shed their winter coats.
One of the oddest situations, or animals, is
a not-too-often-thought about but very ac
curate weather forecaster, the buffalo.
Preceding every major weather change,
buffaloes go into a strange dance lasting ap
proximately one-half hour. Then they lie
down. If they face north, colder weather is
coming; if they face south, warmer weather
is due.
A thought to future weathermen might be
added here. Instead of these weather students
pondering over books and charts, a study of
the buffalo might prove advantageous.
Shoes Off
Attention: all NU students who take tests.
Be nonchalant!
Although this warning comes too late for
finals, practicing the proper techniques early
in the semester should pay off in June.
If you are tense when taking finals, take
off your tie and your shoes, too, if they
pinch. Joseph O. Heston of Fresno, Calif,
State College suggests these procedures as an
improvement in exam-taking techniques in a
study he completed for Science Research As
sociates. Heston said that as you are going to be
facing tests all the rest of your life, you
might as well get used to them. Therefore
he said the number one requirement is that
you be physically comfortable.
Be self-confident, take your shoes off and
cool that exam!
Proves Nothing
The story of the bull in the china shop is
a familiar fable; but an elephant in a fruit
shop is a new wrinkle.
Saucy, a circus elephant in England, in
vaded an open-front fruit shop last week
end. With reckless abandon she threw apples
and oranges in all directions. Then she found
the grapefruit and consumed $5 worth before
keepers were able to control her.
This modern fable all goes to prove exactly
nothing except that elephants like grapefruit.
JIul ybJbhatJucut,
FIFTY-THIRD YEAR
Member: Associated Collegiate Press
Advertising representative: National Advertising Service, Ine.
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""" tMIUmtm the rtadettts at the IDITOSJiL inn
CfisNwnrflj ! fc.bn.ka aa aa expreasloa of stademS? BDWOWAI, STAFF
rs and aplofnjia only, aseordlnc to ArMoto a at Urn r Bail? Hafl
'. ftvm!ne tw.nt pubiirotlnus ud sdmlnlatmd Editorial Fata EAiter Tots WeodwmrJ
e IKwd of Puhltratlone, "It la the deetared aoHe w..,i. ,,, .
ft Urn tomrH that puf-iimtfem aiwtaT T luESlcSi, SS3 Mn"iB E,utor Harrtsoa
m free from nlttortid nnhM aa the part at toe "iw" Bdltoc Ks, tesk
feoard, at m tin part nf any mnmtMv of tlM faculty at topy -d"or Jane? Carmen, Dick Fellmaa,
t"Li: ? """i tt at The Marianne Hums, Gran Ham
Jtbtmismo are oeraoiuuty mpoaelble Um what the fMf WMM ..
er da or eaoee to foe print," IPI. Man PHtmm
Sijtwwlrtrtmi r.e tn II semester, fiM nailed, or bporu Edltr Gary Fraaai
13 .- ttm er.i;w yyr, ft Bulled. Single aopj to fire HEPORTEM
wmta. fS2 1v4T, Wednesd. and Friday rVvh, rww. Harris ftoerf. UcUrm Swttw, fart
tertS tie eeiwol pt Matlaaaai ejurdnau rin. William DesrbV hr'rT 1 (4
Peru. I (toe Uw tmclHned wri the anlt af a- Micketsea. gaa Jeasea, Barbara Clark.
e sawn rear hi tba C niwulty of Nebraska trader tba ;,oiI
fs :;i at ta Cmnmittn of Student Fvbl-raMaua. BUSINESS STAKI
t.ijwrea) an axeond eiaxs matte a tha Port Offtaa tm lutmn Maaaaw Rtaa Slpnte
t .(wan, Nsvbnwfcfc, iuuir art af ;mT"wm Mama S. Am't Biulnen Managers Chet Singer. Doran Jaonh,
I . at auHb-rtel rata t om provide tm la Sott Chiles
,;,rff At aj CsaigTeas af Mi. S, 1611, authorised Clrmilatlna Manafer Bon Innes
t, iS, jutO. Might Aewe Editor Mek Ftibuaa
LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS
by Dick ftiblar Student Forum
tifflkilf- v ni6u '4?4STlk.
Where ke We?
Tm teaching four different courses in education, but confi
dentially, I give the same lecture in all of them."
On The Light Side
So What??
Volume XXXII, Chapter XIII;
Entitled, "Who Is Jack?"
All is quiet at Heath Cliff to
day. Mother Gleefer is peeling
potatoes while Claudia sits
placidly at the widow watching
Father Gleefer who is, as usual,
down in the garden.
Claudia: Father is down in the
garden, as usual. Mother.
Mother G.: Maybe someone
should pick him up.
Claudia: He'll bet up in time.
The telephone rings. Claudia
picks it up.
Claudia: Hello.
Paul: This is Paul, Claudia.
Just called to tell you Clifford is
having another plate put in his
head tomorrow.
Claudia: That makes six, now.
Paul: Seven, How is Fatner to
day? Claudia: Down in the garden,
as usual. Gin.
Faher Gleefer comes in wear
ing a cabbage.
Father G.: FLEEF, fleef.
Claudia finishes with Paul.
Mother G.: Father, you have
dirt on your chin.
Claudia: Father was trying to
catch a mole.
Pinky, Claudia's youngest,
comes in carrying a fist-full of
one-thousand dollar bills.
Claudia: Pinky, where did you
get that money?
Pinky: I robbed a bank
Claudia: Why can't you be like
your brother who is in medical
college and will make something
of himself?
Pinkey: He's already made
something of himself.
Claudia: Pinky! (shocked)
Mother G.: Pinky! (shocked)
Father G.: FLEEF, fleef.
(shocked)
Father Gleefer stares at Pinky
for a moment. Then he goes to
the liquor cabinet, pours him
self twelve fingers of gin, drinks
it, falls down. Paul comes in fol
lowed by Nicky, Joan, Clifford,
Jack and horse.
Mother G.: A horse! (com
pletely ignores Nicky, Joan,
Clifford, Paul, and Jack.)
Paul: Yes, it's Clifford's. Bet
ter not say anything.
Mother Gleefer: Claudia,
Nicky, Joan, Paul, Pinky and
Jack look at Clifford. Clifford
belches. Father G. gets op from
floor and tries to get on horse.
He falls.
Paul: We (meaning Nicky,
Joan, Clifford, Jack and himself)
came over to tell you Maurine is
pregnant.
Mother G.: All of you?
Paul: No, just Maurine.
Claudia: Who is Maurine?
Clifford: (indignantly) My
wife! -
Mother G.: She has plates in
her head.
Joan: That's Clifford.
Clifford shakes his head af
firmatively and a tinkling sound
is heard. Jack looks at Clifford
and swears.
Mother G.: Don't swear in my
house, young man! Say, who are
you anyway?
Jack: I am your second eldest
son.
Mother G.: I never saw you
before in my life.
Paul: I thought he was Clif
ford's nephew.
Joan: He was with the horse.
Father G.: FLEEF, fleef.
Letterip
Honors Committee Requests Rosters
Of High Scholarship Groups For List
Dear Editor:
OEdHor't aota The followlat letter ta
all camps arsanlxanon ta arte ted by. re.
asest of the Hoaon CoBrocatios commu
te.) The Committee on Honors Con
vocation is seeking to include all
organizations honoraries, profes
sional, and social whose mem
bers reach a given level of
achievement, that is, that at least
one-third of the members are
those whose names have appeared
upon the semester honor rolls for
the second semester of 1952-53
and for the first semester of 1953
54. If the organization of which you
are president meets the standards
and conditions listed in the fol
lowing letter, will you kindly
bring your roster of membership
marked as requested, to the Of
fice of Registration and Records,
B-7 Adm. Hall by Feb. 24 and
by March 8.
Class honor lists:
This year the Class Honor Lists
in the program of Honors Convo
cation will include the highest 10 "
per cent of all undergraduates
whose names appeared on both
semester honor rolls.
Semester honor rolls:
The Semester Honor Roll for
the second semester of 1952-53
was published in The Nebraskan
on Dec. 10, 1953. The Semester
Honor Roll for the first semester
of 1953-54 will appear in The Ne
braskan early in March. On each
of these Semester Honor Rolls
will appear the names of the
highest 15 per cent of all fresh
men, sophomores, juniors, and
seniors in the colleges of Agri
culture, Arts and Sciences, Busi
ness Administration, Dentistry,
Engineering and Architecture,
Pharmacy and Teachers pro
vided the grade-average of these
students shall have been com
puted from schedules of at least
12 credit hours carried during
each of these semesters.
Honorary organizations:
Their faculty adviser (or presi
dent) is requested to bring two
lists, alphabetically arranged, to
the Office of Registration and
Records, Room B-7, Administra
tion Hall:
1. The entire roster of its un
dergraduate membership by Feb.
24.
2. The list of their newly elected
members by March 8. (Grade-average
reports for the first semes
ter of 1953-54 should reach the
Students by Feb. 20.)
Professional and Social Organi
zations: Their faculty advisor (or presi
dent) is requested to submit by
March 8 their entire roster of
undergraduate membership ar
ranged alphabetically, provided
that at least one-third of these
names have appeared on one or
both Semester Honor Rolls. Thir
lists of newly elected members
should like-wise be presented by
the faculty adviser, or president
of the professional organizations.
All Organizations: Please note
the two dates, Feb. 24 and March
8. These are the latest possible
dates which will permit checking
of present membership and of
the lists of newly elected mem
bers and still allow time for the
printing of the programs for the
Honors Convocation on April 6,
1954.
Honors Convocation Committee
Office of Registration and.
Records
By CHICK TAYLOR
A bather whose clothing was
strewed
By the winds that left her
quite nude,
Saw a man come alone
And unless we are wrong:
You expected this line to be
lewd.
A motorist was picked up un
conscious after a smash and was
being carried to a nearby filling
station. Opening his eyes en
route, he began to kick and
struggle desperately to get away.
Afterwards he explained that
the first thing he saw was a
"Shell" sign, and "some darned
fool was standing in front of
the 'S'."
It's tough to find for love or
money
A gag that's clean and also
funny.
A canny Scot was engaged in
an argument with the conductor
as to whether the fare was to
be five or ten cents. Finally the
disgusted conductor picked up
the Scot's suitcase and tossed it .
off the train, just as they were
crossing a long bridge. It landed
with a mighty splash.
"Hoot, Mon," cried Sandy.
"First you try to rob me 'and
now you've drowned my boy!"
a a
"I'll be 66 tomorrow," said the
old man, "and I haven't got an
enemy in the world." '
"That's a beautiful thought,"
said the minister.
"Yup," the old man said, "I've
outlived every darn one of 'em."
By BERT BISHOP
Patriotism is a fine sentiment.
It involves pride in one's coun
try and the way of life of a na
tional culture; it involves con
viction in a national right and
wrong and a favorable compari
son between one's own nation
and others. Carried to an ex
treme, patriotism becomes chau
vinism an ugly word, an ugly
sentiment.
Chauvinism is both ugly and
lethal when it is used as a wea
pon, because it makes patriotism
a banner and a side to a con
troversy. It was chauvinism which Hit
ler wielded in the process of se
ducing Germany; flattering the
people with talk of a master
race, he called attention to him
self as a panace and made anti
Hitlerism, anti - Germanism,
through a subtle combination of
power and flattery to- German
patriotism. Everyone knows now,
including the Germans, what Hit
ler was, what he wanted to do
and what he finally did.
It would be too great a gen
eralization to say that whenever
power and a perverted national
ism appear in the actions of one
man that a new Hitler is being
born. But it would not be at all
out of line to suspect the com
bination wherever it appears
in no matter whose country.
Take a given state of confusion
in national happenings. Into the
vacuum, insert a man whose
battle cry is "Leave it to me; I
am the man to solve the prob
lems, purge the poisons and set
things aright." Give him power,
even of a limited variety, and a
disposition to flatter a citizenry
with heavy praise.
Then test him two or three or
four times, and if his opposition
falls regularly and finally, give
him a little more power. They
run. He needs no more gifts.
He is at that very moment a
budding despot, one who can
if he works carefully, assume
not only figurative but literal
control of all things, prescribing
right and wrong, dictating
through fear every non-trivial
action of the people above whom
he stands.
Just how does all this bear
upon a university? Here is how:
The dean of a college of arts and
sciences comes out with the
amasing statement that a pur
pose of liberal education is to
provide "the mental muscle
necessary for maintaining tha
steady pressure against Commu
nism." A regent of the same univer
sity (our own, by the way) of
fers $1,000 for the purpose of re
warding the teacher who excells
in teaching Americanism "so that
the public could know that the
University of Nebraska is free
from subversive teaching and no
home for "pinks."
Whatever liberal education
may be, it is not a weapon
against anything, unless perhaps
ignorance. To encourage any
thing in teaching besides wis
dom reduces teaching to just
another kind of propaganda.
Wherever a university is located,
whether in Naples, Moscow or
Lincoln, Nebr, its primary con
cern should be what men have
contributed to mankind, not why
our boys are smarter than their
boys.
To ignore this principle is to
arrive at such silly statements
as "the toy balloon was In
vented by a Russian named Ivan
(or an American named George),
a
There are three kinds of fear
which are rampant today fear
of detection, fear of misinterpre
tation, and fear of oblivion.
Those who fear detection are not
really worried by the investiga
tions; for them, purge-methods
are part of an old, familiar pat
tern. Those who fear misinterpreta
tion bow down before the mock
deity, and their fear is nothing
more than cowardice.
Those who fear oblivion had
best begin to pit sense against
fanaticism with vigor and de
termination before using the
word "freedom" becomes as
much a proof of guilt as quoting
the Constitution has.
The Challenge
To Recapture The Spirit
By R. L. Chasson
Editor's Xote Ir. Hum, a facaHr
snember ia the department of physio. Re
came to the I'alventa m 10M. and has
taught both eleawatair aad advasced phrsks
coanei daring those yean.)
Independent thinking is a dif
ficult way of life under almost
any conditions; to make matters
worse, the stresses and strains
that tend to narrow one's point
of view seem to be stronger than
ever today. The easiest way out
is to accept a doctrine and prac-
tice its tenets without question
and without criticism.
The pressures on all of us to so
behave are fantastic; to resist
them is something- that must be
learned. It Is hard to be critical
without being cynical, to be con
sistent without being doctrinaire,
saa
All of us began as infants, and, '
for at least a short time, we were
able to enforce upon our parents
the fact that we knew what we
wanted. We may not have been
able to decide exactly how
things should have been done,
but we certainly did voice our
objections when it didn't seem as
though things were going right.
We were not so terribly biased
that we would not tolerate some
variation of procedure; in fact,
we appreciated variety and usu
ally rewarded our parents with a
smile or some pleasant noise
when we approved. It didn't take
very long, however, before most
of us were shaped into a pat
tern or a routine, and, in extreme
cases, routine became so import
ant that deviatians from it led to
the most serious of family donny
brooks. So we were forced into a pat
tern of conformity, and not all of
it was bad.
I think that most of us will
agree that some degree of con
formity is both necessary and de
sirable. And our individual dig
nity need not suffer as a result.
Social beings must often sacri
fice some elements of individual
ity in order that everyone be
guaranteed a chance for a fair
share of the good things of life.
Anarchy and dictatorsship flour
ish when this spirit is absent.
Now the problem that remains
with us is to recapture some
what the spirit of independence,
within a framework of social re
sponsibility that accompanied
our debut in this world.
At this stage, parentage may
be represented by teachers and
social and political leaders, and
it is the continuous job of the
citizen to see that the leader
merits leadership only because
he is responsive and actively
seeks to fulfill the needs and
wishes of his people. The only
healthy basis for collaboration
between leader and those led is
that of respect arising from
vision ana periormance.
a a
The University should be a
good place for people to learn
to recapture their spirit of in
dependence; it offers intrinsi
cally an opportunity, on a give-and-take
basis, to voice objec
tions and make argument, to dis
pute and to criticize, and to ana
lyze and synthesize without the
feeling that a salary raise is at
stake or that the family will be
embarrassed because some mem
ber seems to be "different."
Here should be a place to de
velop ideas in the most broad,
general sense, and here is the
place to learn to project ideas
that are soundly conceived. Here
we can secure a command of
language and art, the media of
projection, social science, the
framework of projection, philos
ophy, the justification for projec
tion, and natural science, the ra
tional basis for ideas worthy df
projection.
a a a
We cease to be "different" in
our home communities when we
are fortified with real knowledge
leading to reasonable-ideas and
the art of their projection.
We can learn to abandon pre-
rrrrtveA notions and develnn a
flexibility in our thought process
that enables us to cope with new
situations. We can enjoy this abil
ity and exploit it for the good
of our fellows because m hava
learned something of the suc
cesses and failures of ideas of
the past and have thus achieved
a sense of social responsibility,
a
We are all aware of the present
conflict regarding the values to
be emphasized in education, and
it was with this in mind that I
wrote what I have to this point.
I view tbe problem from tba
standpoint of a physical scientist
who has always tried to relit
his special work to the general
composition of the world around
him.
For that reason I should like
to juote from Albert Einstein,
wno has most eloquently stated
my point of view. "... I want to
oppose the idea that the school
has to teach directly that special
knowledge and those accomplish
ments which one has to use later
directly in life." The demands of
life are much too manifold to let
such a specialized training in
school appear possible. Apart
from that, it seems to me, more
over, objectionable to treaj the
individual like a dead tool. The
school should always have as its
aim that the young man leave it
as a harmonious personality, not
as a specialist. This in my opinion
is true in a certain sense even for
technical schools, whose students
will devote themselves to a quita
definite profession.
a
"The development of general
ability for independent thinking
and judgment should always be
placed foremost, not the acquisi
tion of special knowledge."
If a person masters the funda
mentals of his subject and has
learned to think and work inde
pendently he will surely find his
way and besides will better be
able to adapt himself to progress
and changes than the person
whose training principally con
sists in the acquiring of detailed
knowledge."
University
Bulletin Board
WEDNESDAY
Alpha Kappa Psi Meeting, 7:30
p. m., Room 316, Union.
Mechanical Engineers Meeting.
7:15 p. m, Room 206 Richards
Lab.
AWS Workers Meeting, S p. to,
Room 316, Union.
Love, Marriage Lecture, 7:30
P. m.. Love Memorial Library
Auditorium.
Builders Mass Meeting, 7:30
p. m. Room 315, Union.
THURSDAY
Fine Arts Ensemble Concert,
8 p. m., Union Ballroom.
FRIDAY
Perishing Rifles Dinner Dance,
SATURDAY
Sno Ball Dance, 8:30 p. m. Ag
College Activities Building.
Candlelight Dance, 8:30 p. m.
Union.
Advice To Coeds
Pick husbands out like canta
loupes, With care your choice decide;
It is not wise to take the ones
That are too smooth outside.
a a
Said a witty woman: "When
ever anything is on the tip of
my tongue I find that the best
thing to do is to keep it there.
Tony Wons, 1931
"Tony's Scrap Book"