I . ... 'I : ' 1 1 imiii mmMam!Utitlj&x Page 2 v THE NEBRASKAN Tuesday, March 23, 1954 EDITORIAL PAGE ksoedalimfmii Move Meei "I don't know anything about politics; I'm an engineering student." "Who cares about history? I'm going to teach grade school." "Contemporary art? It's silly and anyway, I'm an ag student not an artist." Thus we specialize. Thus we allow pro fessors to poke facts about only one field, or two at best, Into our heads. Thus we refuse to be Interested In developments and happening's within areas other than our own. An engineering student who knows little and cares less about the political scene We Offer Help Oh joy unbounded! The iron rule of Illen Smith Hall will be relaxed for one night this weekend. Coeds may stay out one whole hour past closing lime on Friday night. This means 1:30 a.m.! The situation is at once preposterous and praiseworthy. It is preposterous to think that late minutes become moral when sponsored by an organization. However, with Mortar Boards at each door to greet latecomers, to escort them back into the purity of an "organized house," the Univer sity will probably not be deluged with tele phone calls from outraged parents. On the other hand, the end toward which these dubious means are directed is good. Mortar Board Society is sponsoring a tour of Nebraska for foreign students. To do this they need money. One cent a late min ute will be collected for this purpose. A common ground of complaint from for eign students at the University is that they want to meet native Nebraskans not just each other. In addition, they will probably learn things about this state on the tour that even Nebraskans do not know. The Nebraskan feels this is such a worthy project and . tbt means are so unusual that the paper lends its support. We not only offer moral support we'll 1m nractieaL The Nebrnskan offers to soon- sor an hour of late minutes sometime at the reduced rate of one-half cent a minute. In addition, we will donate one cent an hour for each coed willing to stay out later. Pro eeeda will go to the foreign student tour. Staff members will be at the door to collect cents and half-cents from coeds. Of course, The Nebraskan plan has not been approved by Dean Johnston, AWS and housemothers. Yet we fervently hope our suggestion will fall with' grace, upon the attentive ears of these persons and that it will be received with favor. So, with a plan to help and a chuckle about the means involved, The Nebraskan eays to NU womanhood, "Support the cause. Be reckless and stay out an hour later. You will be helping a good project." S. H. Consistent Excellence "Two books published by the University of Nebraska Press have reecived recgonition as Top Honor Books in the Chicago Book Clinic's fifth annual exhibit." This statement makes up the "lead" on a news story in today's Nebraskan. The story, as many . students will un doubtedly feel or say, does not carry earth shaking importance for the majority of Uni versity students. Perhaps they are correct. The announcement does carry signifi cance when It is noted that the University of Nebraska Press has consistently produced work of superior quality. ' The Nebraska office regularly receives notices from public relations offices con nected with book exhibits beginning the same way, "Several books published by the University of Nebraska Press . . . top recog nition for fine production and printing." Consistent excellence whether it be on the football field, class room, laboratory or la the administration is worthy of recogni tion and acceptance where it originates. T. W. Which Way Progress? Progress is astounding. It certainly is. The latest scientific sensation is the de velopment of the hydrogen bomb. The test explosion recently set off in the middle of the Pacific indicates that man has reached new high in power. The nuclear wonder resulted in a cloud X7 miles high. Shock from the blast was felt 176 miles way. Dust evidence was discovered 333 miles away. Numbers of Japanese fishermen, and per haps others, although many miles from the explosion, were burned by radiation. And so the fearsome atomic bomb, which tattled the world by the vast destruction It wreaked upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki, begins to look like a toy next to this new giant. Fears, which first sprang into being with the unleashing of the new energy, that atomic warfare might eventually blast the whole world Into eternity have been strongly fortified. This, then, is progress but which way are we progressing? M. H. is missing the real meaning of the Univer sity. Likewise elementary education and ag majors who refuse to admit that history and art have something to offer are not in tune with the University. " , For the word university comes from the Latin "universitas," meaning "all to gether, the. whole, the universe." The cono tations of this definition are two: 1. a uni versity is the common ground for persons of diversified backgrounds, communities and personalities; 2. a university is a place in which one should acquire a "universal" edu cation, a concept of "the whole" of life. The latter definition is the one which concerns The Nebraskan at the moment. Concern was prompted by two unconnected happenings. One was a convocation inter esting and ill-attended. The other was a newspaper item received In the office. The convocation attracted a small hand ful of listeners; most of them were faculty. The subject, Congressional Investigations, should have been of universal Interest at this time. The newspaper item told of the installa tion of a senior course for students of widely different major interests. The course will be open to outstanding scholars in chemis try, zoology, English, and other subjects. Seniors will discuss a variety of topics topics confined to no one field. The first happening is a result of over specialization; the reeond may be a cure. Specialization of vocations has led to an increasing specialization of interests. This sequence is understandable, but deplorable at a time in which persons need to know of many things to read a newspaper with understanding, to talk intelligently and to lead an interesting life. A senior-level course aimed at broaden ing the interests and knowledge of students could be only a partial answer to the prob lem. A handful would be reached. A freshman-level course a survey of all phases of history, i.e., art, music, politics, governments should be Instituted here. The University should live up to Its obligations as "the whole, the universe." It could take that step to counteract the narrowness with in which its students now develop. Specialization of vocations is necessary in this age. Specialization of interests is harmful in any age. S. H. Language Machine Machines, their abilities . and seeming never-ending power to do things better, faster, easier than their makers have been the subject of several Nebraskan "Margin Notes" and have received attention from a University faculty member in a "Letterlp." The machine preoccupation seems to have spilled over to one (possibly more) nation ally circulated "slick" magazine, Colliers. In the April 2 edition of the magazine, the editors devoted a large section to an editorial about a machine. This particular mass of wheels and wires is able to "speak" In any of several languages. Although it does have the slight assistance of an oper ator, the machine can take the text matter of a manuscript and translate it from the original to any of several languages, French, Spanish or Russian. In its trial run, the machine was given the task of translating from English to Rus sian and vice-. versa. All went smoothly, the machine showed its true worth by trans lating words in context where there might be several meanings. The sad, perhaps pathetic side of an oth erwise perfect operation was that the words "free elections," "democracy," "freedom," etc., went through the machine without so much as a flashing red light. Without a single fluff, the hard working scientific wonder turned out words, in much the same way the persons who "fed" it do. Perhaps the machine can give those who hope for understanding, peace and good will through words alone an object lesson. For all our rights and portions of government we Americans hold Sear, the "other side" has the verbal equipment. And yet, there is gulf of difference between the active inter pretation of "democracy," "freedom," etc. The machine has done much to aid the difficult translation problem where spokes men of many countries meet. It has speed ed up and assisted the accuracy of the group responsible for handling the thousands of words spoken every day around the council tables. It has not, however, solved any of the problems facing the men around the confer ence table. It has made It easier for them to understand each other's words, but it has not done much toward solving the problems they are discussing, have discussed and will discuss. The translating machine's lesson has an other facet. Development of extraordinary new wonder machines whether for translat ing, flying, traveling or killing have not made material gains toward lessening the tensions between East and West. T. W. Jul TMkaAlian FIFTY-THIRD YEAR Member: Associated Collegiate Press Advertising representative) National Advertising Service,, toe. 420 Madison Ave New York 17, New York ftt WSwsJr kt fH-Sbed bt fee teot of tht EDITORIAL STAFF JVi'- at MtaMks a m erpreealwn l etodente mAn. rn.it, n n mni only. .eordlng to Artlnia D tf tki ' ' " "2r ,-.lws muti dM pubilrstiotM and lBilnltr-d Mttorlal . rag Editor Tom Woodward r torn Sr4 PuMtcftttoiM, "11 tt the deolswed poller Managing Editor , Ju Harrtaon &i t- S,iM' tbat pahiieaMoM andar Its JuriadletioB hail v. mi. --- .,, trm tmm rtrt eeoeenjhlp a tt pan Us SKZL Vn'r'r' ' hiJw F.iiml- fc-.rf, eiwCMiwtatM) member of the faculty of Copr Ed,tor 1ntr Carman, Dlck IUen, - t "irci', bm member of the ttait of Tito Martann Haneen, One Harrer fce&nuuuws mm obH nMpoaelbl far what tkor an Ar Editor Mars Peterson ."7.. "-"" . .... . Sport Editor Qar Prandaea Spa bestir Won ri-tea are S3 a emeatw, fS.OO mailed, or tar Om ooMtt year, t. snailed. Single eopf I five kkfu ki tits ess. fuMiehed oa Taeeday, Wedoeeday and Friday Beverly Deepe. Harriet Ruerf, Lnelgraet Swifter, iaek ewrt the aefeool rear oseep Taxation and examinattoa Frandaen, Wllllamette Deech, Barbara Eleke. Mareia p-Mi, On lsa published during the moatli of Aug- Mlckelaen, Sam Jensen, Barbara Clark, Granny Warren. aaefe year fcy U- Cnlwmity of Nebraska nndef Um ...a,-- IT.rl twrtrim of tbo Commute of Student rnbUoaHoo. BlSINESS BTAri f rr4 M aeeond eie matter at too Poet Offleo tm Baslnen Manager .. ...Staa Slppl t NofcfMba, M" Cotujr, Mare. S, Ans't Business Manager Chet Singer, Doran Jaeube, . and at perlJ rr f ple provided for la Seott Cnile bi" " at'""ix4 1!1sSr.:.::::::r.:v.::v.elS LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS -.-. , - D tl IMV-tMM. ' 11,1,11 ' , by Did, eibi.r student Forum H Second Glance V 'KaiA-.i-a If'- - nut a llna . . . anil rlnn't rlvA me that 'bad eye' routine again this year." Slide Rule Study Of Calculus Useful As A Means To An End By JOHN MARKS Some time ago I wrote an ar ticle questioning the purpose of calculus in the engineering cur riculum. I suggested then that the theory of calculus was sel dom if ever utilized in any other courses. Since that time I have had a chance to discuss the real impact of calculus on the student's mind. This discussion has been with stu dents and faculty members alike. First of all, calculus serves as a discipline. By discipline I mean training or co-ordination of thought. The engineer learns to use an analytical approach ' by use and re-use of the theory of Infinitesimals. After considerable practice, the engineer can sepa rate the significant variables from the constants. Then he can properly evaluate each of these quantities and effect a solution to a problem. The second use of calculus is to permit the engineer to investigate physical phenomena and produce an accurate description of these phenomena. This description is in the language of mathematics. Consider, if you will, an engi neer who is restricted to the use of trigonometry only in the solu tion, of all problems. I doubt if the engineering profession would have advanced at all without an almost universal application of calculus. The engineer, then, would be hindered without the aid of calculus. His field would be limited by no more than a mode of expression. Actually, engineers are not the only ones who are required to learn this discipline of analytical approach. The Geology Depart ment also requires one semester of calculus in its curriculum. In geology calculus finds appli cation in petroleum research, pa leontology, and geophysical sci ence. The geologist, then, must also be disciplined to adopt a def inite analytical procedure in the solution of natural or physical problems. Changes which occur within the earth over a period of years can not be accurately represented ex cept by use of calculus. Some of the technical papers that-1 have inspected in the Geology Depart ment contain more mathematical theory than many engineering pa pers. In engineering, hardly an ex planation of fundamental theory appears which does not use the fundamentals of calculus. The present trend in engineering texts is to use calculus arid to make the student realize its importance. Hence, discipline that is taught in a course may be the important part of that course. More gener ally, this idea of using the study of a subject as a means to an end rather than the end in itself is perhaps common in a college curriculum. I have no doubt that courses taught in other colleges ,are conditioners as well as being useful as background courses. Hence, the next time we criti cize a course perhaps we should take a second look. Perhaps we are not cognizant of the thought process going through our own minds. Copped Copy To Get In On Time Use Rope, Dramatic Ability By BRUCE BRUGMANN At Oregon University a coed who had been recently pinned found it increasingly difficult to make it back to the dorm by 12:30. Sure enough one night she didn't make it. She was pre pared, however, and shortly the life-saving rope began shaking its way down from her room mate's window. Tied to the rope were pajamas, bathrobe and slippers. Making a quick change and securing the discarded evening clothes to the rope, it quickly and mysteriously disappeared from sight. The girl screamed, the housemother came running, the policeman appeared at a momenta notice. All to find the poor girl draped unceremoni ously over a bush as if somehow she had fallen from the upstairs window. She recovered quickly enough to go out the next evening, however. e e .At Kansas University Alpha Tau Omega fraternity was listed in the paper as having lost its charter, advertising that "every thing must go" and that an auction would be held the next day to get rid of all household furnishings. As soon as the paper appeared, the phone began ring ing. Potential buyers wanted to know the price of rugs, pic tures, fixtures. One even wanted to inquire about repaneling the walls. An elderly couple arrived in a taxi cab to attend the auction. The cause of the commotion was a group of ambitious pledges on their skip. They placed the ad in the hopes that it might frustrate the actives. At Hardin-Simmons Univer sity, Col. Howard F. Rice was lecturing merrilr to his ROTC students when an alarm set for the proper time went off, some how dislodging a shoe-box full of confetti upon the unsuspecting speaker. The Colonel displayed "remarkable equanimity, pres ence of mind, and sense of humor" even though moments before he had .commented on some cadet dissatisfaction. Com ments the student paper, "Even its bitterest critics concede that in this plot chapel stunts have reached a new apex of ingenu ity." At Washington University, at tempts are being made to divide basketball seating into women's and men's divisions. The purpose , of the proposed plan is to en courage groups of girls to come as a whole, ana to remove me inhibiting influence on male yelling by the fair sex. . Itchy-fingered students at var ious colleges have caused odd rebuttals in their respective col lege journals. One item in the Lost and Fourjd column of the Bona Venture states: "If the person who stole the alcohol from the laboratory will kindly return the cat's intestines, no questions will be asked. The Sheaf, student paper at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, reports that students want beer served at their stu dent building. But, according to the law, ". . . beer parlor can only be installed in a hotel . . . one solution ... is to build a hotel." If students get their beer parlor in the union another problem must be faced. Women are not allowed to enter beer parlors in Saskatchewan prov ince. Minutes for a meeting of women's student government at Syracuse University carried the report that, according to Uni versity regulations, "All women must be covered with blue slips while practice-teaching." At Oklahoma University a photographer decided to learn just how money-minded the students were. He glued a half dollar to the sidewafk and hid in a nearby building. From there he snapped pictures of the stu dents hard at work trying to dislodge the 50-cent piece. . In the Arkansas University student paper was a front page story of a freshman whose car was pushed off a lot by campus police. In doing so they smashed his front fender and did other damage to the car. The cops then left a ticket on his windshield. At Hardin-Simmons Univer stiy between quarters a girl spent nearly all her time clean ing her room. It wasn't that her room was dirty. It just seemed that she fell from one calamity into another. First she waxed her cleanly scrubbed floors, only to find she had used concen trated soap instead of wax. She scrubbed her floor again until the soap was gone, but when she buffed the floor, the wax turned out to be a dud and it still didn't shine. Now the dis tressed girl is wondering how much the administration will charge for putting a new floor in her room. By PAUL LAASE From the atmosphere in Wash ington, D.C. one would almost be lieve that the Communists were ready to start a revolution in the United State tomorrow. Such, at least, has been the impression fostered by1 self-appointed Red hunters having headquarters in that city. The "Red menace" re ceives headline space each day, until it has become almost im possible to evaluate realistically the actual extent of this threat. There can be no doubt that ex ternally the Communists are a serious threat to our national se curity. Their war machine, on the basis of numerical strength, is the largest in the world. Events in Korea prove that they are not unwilling to use this destructive force. We in the United States uMuld be making a serious error if we were to underestimate either of these factors. Internally, however, the situa tion is somewhat different. Com munist espionage is a real and ever-present threat. Three can be no doubt that secret information has been stolen from the U.S. Gov ernment in the past. At present and in the future we can expect further attempts , on the part of the Communists, to gain access to vital security information. In the field of espionage and sabotage, we can find a real threat to our national security. But we would be making an equally serious mistake to as sume that the Communist revolu tion in the United States will come tomorrow pr at anytime in the near future. At present there are less than 75,000 Communist party members in the U.S.. Be caus of the recent notorious pub licity devoted to Communism, the number of Communist sympath izers has dropped considerably. The top 105 party leaders are cur rently under indictment, under the Smith Act, for conspiring to over throw the Government by force. Today the Communist party is relatively weak and leaderless as compared to former years. Lenin, the Bolshevik master of ' revolution, makes it very clear In his writings that no revolution is to be attempted until the party has a preponderance of strength. To the Communist, it is better to attempt no revolution than to have an attempted revolution fail. These conditions are obviously not to be found in the United States today. The Communists, it can be safely presumed, do not have con- . trol of our Army, Navy or Air Force. Our "secret police" ag ency, the FBI, remains faithful to our present Government. With only 75,000 loyal Reds scattered throughout the nation, along with a handful 'of supporters, there is no danger that our government will be overthrown from within by superior force of arms. During and since World War " II great steps have been made toward eliminating the effective ness of Communist propaganda in the United States. American labor is not downtrodden and oppressed by the "bourgeois" capitalist rather, the American laborer en joys the highest standard of liv ing in the world. Indeed, he often owns stock in the corporation which employs him. The economic status of the Negro and oth,er minority groups, while not on a par with white Americans, has improved considerably since 1942, Their standard of living is above that of the Communist nations. All Americans enjoy freedom and civil liberties to a degree unknown in most of the world. It becomes obvious, then, that the Communist threat In America has been greatly exaggerated by some individuals. Communist mil itary strength and espionage or sabotage pose a serious prob lem for all Americans. Neverthe less, the revolutionary aspects of Communist activity in the United States must be considered In its proper perspective. From this di rection the danger Is rather slight. Exchange Definition Here It Is Gals College Men Get Their Caricature To sort of en thin(s the followlm piece of sarcasm gleaned from the Vnlverelly of Saskatchewan "Hbeaf" Ihli Is printed M methlni of a rebuttal to an article their writer produced caricaturing the typi cal coed and which the Nebraska re printed week or o aeo. Please note, thli ll not anything written by NU coeds, nor l It a relection on the male eegment of the Nebraskan staff or this reporter. But the similarity of the Canadian coiieie char nd ike Aartrlcaa variety can be noted. "Between the senility of second childhood and the light-hearted lechery of the teens we find a loathsome creature called the col lege boy. College boys come in assorted sizes, weights and states of sobriety, but all college boys have the same creed: To do noth ing every second of every minute of every day and to protest with whining noises (their great wea pon) when their last minute of inertia is finished and the adult male takes them off the Employ ment Office or the Draft Board. "College boys are found every where breaking train windows, tearing down goal posts, inciting riots or jumping bail. Mothers love them, little girls love them, big girls love them, middle-sized girls love them, and Satan pro tects them. A college boy is lazi ness with peachfuzz on its face, Idiocy with lanolin in its hair and the Hope of the Future with an over-drawn bankbook in its pocket. "A college boy is composit he has the energy of Rip Van Winkle the shyness of a Mr. Micawber, the practicality of a Don Quixote, the kindness of a Marquis da Sade, the imagination of a Bill Sykes, the appetite of a Gargan tua, the aspirations of a Casa nova, and when he wants some thing it's usually money. "He likes good liquor, bad li- quor, cancelled classes, double features, Playtex ads, girls during football weekends. He is not much for hopeful mothers, irate fathers, sharp-eyed ushers, alarm clocks or letters from the Dean. "Nobody is so late to rise or so early to supper. Nobody gets so much fun out of girls, snooker or Bright's Catawba. Nobody else can cram into one pocket a slide rule, a Marilyn Monroe calendar, Kant's "Critique of Pare Reason," a collapsible pool cue, a Mugsy Spanier record, and a TMCA towel. "A college boy is a magical creature you can lock him out of your heart, but you can't lock him out of your liquor cabinet. You can get him off your mind, but you can't get him off your ex pense account. Might as well give up; he is your jailer, your boss, and your albatros a bleary eyed, noaccount, girl - chasing bundle of worry. But yhen you come home at night with only the shattered pieces of hopes and dreams, he can make them mighty insignificant with four magic words: "I flunked out, Dad." . f Lettenp Native Southerner Dances Held Here Dear Editor: I want to know what is wrong with the dance situation around the University of Nebraska. I have never seen anything like the "stuffed-shirt" dances that are the general rule around here. I have been of this opinion since I. arrived here at school in September, but thinking I was the only one of such an opinion and that the opinion was con trary to custom, I kept my mouth shut. Getting around to my gripe, I am wondering why there are no stags at the dances. I have been to all the major dances and have not been tagged yet. In fact, I haven't heard of anyone being tagged why? I think it's being very nice and very loyal to dance with your true love all night, but how ' much fun is it? Fun, I mean, compared to that which could be had by getting to know more people and gaining a more "lib eral" education on campus. In my part of the country, which is the Delta Land of the South, things are done on a much different scale. It Is con sidered the thing to do to dance with every girl you know at least once for courtesy's sake. If one takes a more popular girl to a dance, he will rarely get more than a couple of steps before someone tags him. When he is tagged he smiles at the newcomer and thanks his part ner for the dance. Then he may tag some other girl or maybe stand in the stag line and com ment on the girl's dresses or maybe what's in the girl's dresses. I have a little voice over In the corner saying that he likes the situation the way it is and that it is just as much fun as dancing with people other than one's date. To answer that I would like to remind those who don't know, that this type dance (with stags) was incorporated at the last dancing lesson at the Union and that everyone had a wonderful time. I say that there is the comparison. NU Student Says 'Stuffed Shirt' At a stag dance, a stag has as much fun as the boy with the date (except before and after the dance). The procedure for a stag is this: he sees a girl that he has seen before and would like very much to meet. All- he has to do is walk up and tap her partner's shoulder and she is his until someone tags him (which is usually plenty of time to be come acquainted). I do not expect Nebraska to change any time soon, but I'd like to say- this; if you really want to have a whale of a time, just go to the Southland some time. Then again, I don't see why it couldn't be the same , here. Bill Rucker University Bulletin Board TUESDAY Dr. Gerrett Bevelander, Den- i!?,tn Lctur- 3:30 p.m., Room 301, Andrews. Phi Beta Kappa-Slgma XI Mee. Ing, 6 p.m., Union. Kosmet Klub active meeting, T p.m., Union. Art Lecture, "The Sources of Form," 8:30 p.m., Gallery B, Morrill Hall. WEDNESDAY Dr. Gerrett Bevelander Den '7 . Lecture, 2 p.m., Bessey Hall Auditorium and 3:45 p.m., Andrews 301. ASME Meeting, 7:13, Richards Lab. Provost Corps, 7:30 p.m., MiM tary and Naval Science Building. 4 THURSDAY Ernest Munter Lecture, 7:30 p.m., Ag Engineering Building. Dr. Garrett Bevelander Lec ture, 3 p.m., Andrews, 301. FRIDAY Orchesis Spring Program, 8:13 p.m., Grant Memorial Hall. SATURDAY AH Sports Day, all day, Coli seum and Stadium. Orchesis Spring Program, 8:15 p.m., Grant Memorial Hall. Audubon Series, 8 p.m., Love Library Auditorium.