THE NEBRASKAN
Wednesday, March 30, 1955
Nebraska.". Editorials'
Activities On Trial
Today in Student Council a proposal will be
debated which is designed to revise the cam
pus activity structure. The new plan would
limit individual participation in activities to
no more than one presidency or board posts
in two activities.
Last week when the plan was officially pre
sented for approval, Council members ap
peared equally divided, although about 10 mem
bers voiced no opinion Opposition to the plan
of limitation has grown sinrfe it was first sug
gested, and today the fur should fly as the
issue is finally settled.
A group of senior men has drawn up a set
of reasons why the plan would be defeated
and they intend to present their argument to
the Council. The Nebraskan, too, opposes the
Council proposal ... the decision of participation
in activities should be left to the individual.
At first, limitation sounds like a good idea.
Spread the honors around. Give more students
a chance. Take the burden of all the respon
sibility from the shoulders of the same few.
But actually, these reasons just won't stand up.
And here's why ...
One of the fallacies of the plan stems from
the fact that limiting activities will not neces
sarily encourage more students to take part
in activities. Interest is not developed through
legislation, and restricting a few will hardly
result in an eager rush to enter activities.
A blanket proposal such as this fails to take
into consideration the varying abilities of each
student. Some students are capable of handling
several activities at once; others are not. The
ones who are not capable are weeded out be
fore they, ever near a board post. In effect,
limitation simply would discriminate against
those students with above average ability.
The 24 activity groups are also treated alike,
although the amount of time and work re
quired in each is vastly different. Some ac
tivities operate only in the fall; some, only in
the spring. Some demand lots of time; some
can be completed with a minimum of effort.
A system of appeals would be necessary to
adjust the differences in organizations and
individual capacities. ,
The new plan would set a 5 average limit
for board posts and a 5.7 average for officers.
However, most activities already have scholar
ship standards for their leaders, and grades
Overemphasis1.
The recent furor in Student Council over lim
iting activities brings up a curious situation
of which most students in University activities
are unaware.
Were the Innocents and Mortar Boards and
all the prospective candidates for those positions
and all students involved in activities aware
of the fact that the great majority of students
on this campus care little or none at all about
activities, perhaps their agitation would die
down. Perhaps they would be wise to investigate
the attitudes of many of their fellow students
concerning the major disputes in activities on
this campus. They would, we believe, find most
of these students had ' no knowledge of what
was going on in the activity world, and, what's
more, didn't care.
This is not the result of laxity on the parts
of these students but rather a feeling that ac
tivities are not vital parts of their University
lives. Most students would probably say that
activities, campus politics, and membership in
a host of organizations is useless. Many col
lege students have come here primarily to
study, or to play around, or are working part
time,, but relatively few of them are devoting
themselves to "activities."
As a campus newspaper, the Nebraskan has
a responsibility to cover student activities and
interpret campus events. It would be impossible
for us to refrain from expressing support of
criticism of anything occuring in campus ac
tivities. Yet what Is done In activities is ballyhooed
and debated loudly and vociferously because
it is the nature of activity people to build up
themselves anct their organizations, and also
to emphasize the importance of their activities
in order to justify themselves. It is curious,
then, that activity leaders should make an at
tempt to limit activities. Thinking themselves
in a position to do a great service to the
University, the advocates of this proposal are
actually doing something which is of little or
no importance to the majority of University
students. And by creating such a hubub, it
would seem that they are, indeed, building up
and emphasizing activities rather than de
emphasizing them.
Whatever they are doing, the majority of
people really don't care. R.H.
are an important factor in making appoint
ments. In effect, the Council proposal intimates
that the most important activities on campus
are not capable of setting up adequate stand
ards of their own. The plan, obviously, is
either an insult or a duplication of standards,
or both.
One of the stated purposes of the limita
tion program is to give harried activity people
more opportunity to study, because they haven't
enough sense to budget their own time wisely.
But it does not automatically follow that more
free time means more studying. There is a
good possibility, instead, that some of this
time might be used for relaxation at the "D B
and G" or the Crib or for bridge games and
Friday afternoon clubs.
Not only the 24 activities involved, but the
whole campus would be 1 affected to a certain
extent by limitation. Each of these activities
serves the whole University; food leadership
is imperative for good results. Organizations
should be free to choose their own leaders,
without outside regulation and restrictions. Stu
dents with leadership qualities should be al
lowed to serve in as many groups as their
capabilities allow. Those groups which elect
early in the year would be given a decided
advantage over those who elect later.
Activities for women are already regulated
by the AWS point system. The proposal would
override AWS. Does this mean the Council in
tends to take over functions of other organ
izations as well? Certainly this is not healthy.
For the men, activity limitation is some
thing new and something entirely unnecessary.
It must be painfully obvious that there is a
real male shortage in activities now. The
Council, if it does not want to hurt many ac
tivities, should seek a plan to encourage more
men to enter, not discourage the few already
participating.
House pressure and personal ambition for
Mortar Board or Innocents will not be relieved
by activity limitation. Rather, the tendency to
resort to politics and sly maneuvering would' be
increased, for if one election race is lost the
individual knows he has only one more chance.
The limitation plan assumes that there is
more duplication of activity officers than there
really is. It is very rarely that one person is
president of more than one activity at the same
time if so, he must be an outstanding person
or neither group would have selected him. And
an outstanding person would need no limitation.
The last objection to the plan, perhaps, is
most important. The idea is galling to stu
dents that they should be robbed of their
individual right to make decisions. The number
of activities participated in should be each
person's choice to make, just as he chooses
which courses to take and even which college
to attend.
Individual freedom is a blessing of democracy
jealously guarded. Students are generally glad
to accept University regulations because these
rules affect their relationship with each
other. But participation in activities is a per
sonal matter; it affects no one but the student
himself. If a student is not mature enough
to keep a reasonable balance of his own be
tween studies and extracurricular activities, he
is not mature enough to be in college.
The Council should proceed cautiously before
invading a field of individual right. It is a
student body selected to govern for the benefit
of all the students. Regarding the new pro-,
posal, then, the . Council should remember the
following cneck points in considering whether
the plan is good for the University.
Is it necessary? No . . . women are already
regulated by AWS, and there are not enough
men in activities now anyway.
How will it affect basic liberties? It imposes
unnecessary restraint upon the individual's free
dom of choice.
Is it in the best interest of all? No . . . It
will discriminate against organizations by re
ducing their choice of officers and board mem
bers. By hurting activities, it will hurt all
students served by these groups.
Does it place too much power in the hands
of one group? Yes . . . The Council rules
duplicate organization standards in the fields
of scholarship and women's activities, There is
no need for Council intervention.
Does it recognize the importance of the in
dividual? Definitely not. The plan fails to con
sider the" difference in abilities of various stu
dents and the difference in work required for
various activities.
With so many objections, The Nebraskan can
not see how the Council can fail to reject the
proposal to limit activities. When the Council
adjourns today, there must be no limitation of
campus activities. M.H.
lie mtm mi
mm
Easter and Lent are accepted by most stu
dents as signs of approaching spring vacation.
But the lesson of Easter is not to be passed
by so lightly and disregarded. In today's
crowded world, there is a story and a moral
for persons of all faiths, Christian, Jew, hu
manist or atheist, in the meaning of Easter.
The story is one of forgiveness and humility
and the moral is concerned with peaceful am
bition and gentle leadership. The call of today
is for higher, not lower, moral standards and
the need of the world is peace, not war and
ultimate destruction.
The story of Easter relates the forgiveness by
Christ of his persecutors and, by contrast, his
bumble appearance after his resurrection. He
did not appear in the midst of trumpets and
pure white banners, but walked the roadside
end built small fires on the beach.
Yet, this man and his religion has caused
the path of history to point towards insignificant
Jerusalem.
The moral of Easter is found in Christ's
desire to rule the world by love and under
standing. Ghandi and St. Francis of AssLsi have
had a more lasting effect on men and nations
than Hitler and Atilla.
The Russians are attempting a breakdown
of all moral standards in. their satellite coun
tries and are promoting a policy of promiscuity
and free love.
What the Communists do not fully realize
Is that the family and religion have survived
all idealogies and conflicts and that the in
dividual without belief in either himself or God,
is without significance and purpose.
Morality and faith will triumph over vice
and doubt. Men of faith whether it be faith
in man or faith in God will ultimately realize
their purpose. The ideals of man and Easter
are ideals that cannot be destroyed by govern
ment decree or attempts to destroy man's in
herent dignity.
Easter, its story and moral, will remain.
Faithless governments of men will crumble.
S.J.
Tho Wabraskan
rmr-sECOND year
3Setert 'Associated CoSegiata Press
IftiercoSefciata Press
Bemei.?aiti National Advertising Service,
Incorporated
j 5. - -Vnn i pabltstird by tiifl?nts of the Unl
.fy r mHlta nmter the utiihunrftlton of the Com
r "' en Sttidi-nt Affair ma an exnrwwlnn of student
v : : . l"uiieHHnn4 an'ffr the JiirlMJiftlon of the Suh
r..v Rn 8fud?nt ub!lpHo hll ho free from
- :.-v-?M rrn-nruhin on the part of th Subcommittee, or
on to part of any wr-,no nntaide the University. The
mrnibera of tbe Kebrskau italt are personally responsible
for what they say. or do. or cause to be printed.
8sbKTirtioa rates are Sl.'a semester, SZ.50 anOai or
3 for the colleae rear, ft nailed. Slngf eeey Sc. Pab
lishcd three timet a week durina (fee school rear except
vacations and examination periods. Oae tnrae to avhUsbed
during Aagast by the University or Nebraska ander the
supervision af the Committee oa Sradeni Pabitradoas.
Watered as second class Blatter a) the Poet Office la
Mncola. Nebraska, eader no at Canereas. March S !?.
and at reeclal rate of eoetace arenead for as Aecttoa
II OS, Act of t'oncreat as October a. aafbonxeo
September la. I22.
BUSINESS STAFF
aamnmmmemea.eamaagjj
"Somebody has ruined my painting!
-The Self-Governed-
Persecution Compfex
Plagues Fraternities
By LOUIS
I have concluded that fraterni
ties at this University are suffer
ing from a persecution complex.
If they are not, then their leaders
have been working overtime in a
demagogic effort to convince stud
ents, faculty and public that fra
ternities here are being persecuted
unjustly.
For example:
After I had barked at the now
defunct Faction in this space sev
eral weeks ago, two representa
tives of that legal nonentity con
tacted me to discuss the opinions
I had expressed (and, I suspected,
to try to change them). I had
maintained that the Faction was
not morally entitled to extra-legal
status because, for one thing, there
was no evident threat of persecu
tion or prosecution of the Faction
if it should have become legal. In
the course of our discussion, the
two enthusiastic Greeks maintain
ed the Faction had attempted on
previous occasions to gain legal
recognition from the University
and that such recognition was
unofficially at least denied.
They were claiming, in essence,
that the Faction was after all
forced into extra-legal status.
I learned, however, in a later
discussion with a responsible Uni
versity official, that neither the
Faction nor any of its members
ever had sought University recog
nition. This official assured me
he would have known if the Faction
had ever made such an attempt.
A touch of the complex was evi
dent in Bill Devries' statement on
the new IFC election committee,
week. Ke speculated that "because
the fraternity membership repre
sents a minority of the total Uni
vesity enrollment, potential lead
ers who could contribute a great
deal to the University might not
be recognized without this assist
ance from the committee)."
Highly conceivable. Praticularly
since a few fraternity members
are prominent in activities and
likely to be known to the student
electorate. Also since a small per
centage of the usually-voting elec
torate is composed of fraternity
members.
SCHOEN
The complex was screaming for
recognition in Devries statement
on the new IFC -publicity commit
tee. Implying that a national sur
vey finding that 80 per cent of
all publicity about fraternities is
bad applies locally, Devries said:
"Newspapers were capitalizing
on sensationalism; many of the
good things done by fraternities
such as community projects, par
ties for underprivileged children
and individual participation in Uni
versity and civic affairs never
reach publication."
Yes, indeed. Apparently, then,
the many inches of news which
has been in type and pictures which
have been engraved for both the
local newspapers and The Nebras
kan about fraternity and sorori
ty help weeks; about fra
ternity and sorority members who
are active in student and civic
affairs were scrapped between
the copies of these papers which
I received and those which all
other subscribers received.
I find it difficult to question the
motives of these enthusiastic fra
ternity leaders. Therefore I must
insist that their statements repre
sent merely a persecution com
plex forced upon them, perhaps,
by sensational surveys and maga
zine stories, or by discussions with
seriously misinformed individuals.
I must insist that their motives
are of the highest moral quality,
that there is a complete absence
of demagoguery. I keep telling my
self. This week's applause: To Murt
Pickett and her student Council
committee on activity participa
tion, for a well-considered, highly
objective plan for returning stu
dent attention to scholastic efforts
and extending to a large number of
students greater opportunity for
activity participation and leader
ship practice. If approved, the plan
very well might be expected to
increase student interest in activi
ties. It very probably would put
into activities a little greater than
that of "making points" with the
fraternity or sorority, with the
Alumni Association with Innocents
and Morar Board.
Bastaess Manager
aVsi't Basiaess Managers
Cbcalattoa Matneer
Caet Chisel
Ben Belmont, Barbara Klcfce,
George Madsen, Andr Hot
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X
Hoitence 'n Gertrude
Get With It Kit Solves
Life's Little Problems
By MARY SHELLEDY
and
JANET GORDON
"Are you frustrated, bewildered,
dejected, breaking under the strain
of life?"
We read that Billy Graham ask
ed that of a Scotch audience. Now,
that's a good question. But we've
got a better answer.
If you fit the description above,
what you need is an Hortence and
Gertrude Get With It Kit. Send
in a boxtop any old boxtop.
When your free Get With it
Kit arrives, don't open it immedi
ately. It needs aging.
When you do open the kit, you'll
find one slightly haggard Scotch
dorse our kit, we're sorry to say.
No wave lotion in it.
We would Include a candle ready
for burning at both ends, but you
cau chew both ends of the copy
pencil if you prefer. One needs
to chew something, and rugs are
a holdover from the Corn Belt. .
Also, since we have run out of
Girl Scout Handbooks, we will in
clude a Cynics Handbook. To get
a Cynic merit badge, you must col
lect points. Five points for leering
at a pinning ceremony, three for
hiccuping in class.
You can be an Eagle Cynic if
man. wearing singed plaids. The ; you claim to be 40 per cent girl.
. . a . T 1 I I Afi 1.
better kits contain grubby char
acters form the Clyde docks, to
quote the dispatch from Scotland.
In the kit you will find a copy
of the Yalta papers the "Yalta
Times" and the "Yalta Press"
and a well-chewed copy pencil, to
use as a prop.
Tucked in one corner of the Get
With It Kit, we include a crusading
evangelist just returned from Scot
land. Held in his polished hand will
be a graded theme from a Knoll
English class.
Also' Included will be a stuffed
panther caught while stalking
sin, a la Graham.
For your dejection, there's a
chrome finger-snapper, to be used
while drawling comments on the
administration.
Scribbled on the carton is a
maxim for Joseph Welch; "I had
the blessing of being poor and un
aware of it." College students, you
see, are well off, and unaware
of it, according to the "Time"
survey.
"Time" says that an average
college student spends $3644 a year,
mostly on consumer and luxury
goods. That includes Scotch, we
presume.
The survey says the average
coed owns ten skirts. But what
good are 'they without the ten
girdles, etc., to go with them? Even
the University needs a firm founda
tion. So we feature these items in
our kit, too and an old "Time"
clipping the obituary column.
Count your blessings instead of sur
veys. A handsome, wavy-haired evan
gelist like Graham would not en-
Explorer Cynics are 40 per cent
angry. There is a Tenderfoot Class
for freshmen who read the Rag,
and still applaud the educational
system.
If you don't have a long sad
story to pin your cynic badge on
we include one with the Get With
It Kit. Our long sad story can
be condensed for the pocket ver
sion, or expanded for lugubrious
parties.
If you can't find a boxtop to
send in for your H and G Get With
It Kit, wait for a Billy Graham
tour to solve your iroblem of being
and bored with evangelists of any
frustrated, bewildered, dejected .
species.
lefferip
Innocence Prevails
Dear Editor:
To contradict Mr. Pepper and
perhaps console him, innocence
yet prevails. For evidence of this,
count the twenty-some gloriously
innocent members of the Innocents'
sister organization. And, for that
matter, witness the innocence of
the astonishingly countless num
ber of University women for whom
membership in this organization
is the pot of Gold.
MG
Use
Want Ads
HI
a
r (Author of "Barefoot Boy With Ckssk," slo.)
ITIiLLE
R C PAiflE
FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE
The first thought that comes into our minds upon enterinsr
college is, of course, marriage. But how many of us go about
seeking mates, as I like to call them, in a truly scientific manner?
Not many, you may be sure. Most of us simply marry the first
person who comes along. This can lead to unpleasant conse
quences, especially if the person we marry is already married.
Let us today make a scientific survey of the three principle
causes of marriage homogamy, personality need, "and propin
quity. We will examine these one at a time.
Homogamy means the attraction of like for like. In marriage
it is rarely opposites which attract; the great majority of people
choose mates who resemble themselves in taste, personality,
outlook, and, perhaps most important of all, cultural level.
Take, for example, the case of two students of a few years
ago named Anselm Glottis and Florence Catapult. Anselm fell
madly in love with Florence, but she rejected him because she
was majoring in the Don Juanian Poets and he was in the lowly
school of forestry. After graduation Anselm got a job as a
forest ranger. Still determined to win Florence, he read every
single Don Juanian Poet cover to cover while sitting in his
lookout tower.
His plan, alas, miscarried. Florence, sent on a world cruise
as a graduation present, picked up the betel nut habit in the
Indies. Today, a derelict, she keeps body and soul together by
working as a sampan off Mozambique. And Anselm, engrossed
in the Don Juanian Poets, failed to notice a forest fire which
destroyed 29,000,000 acres of second growth blue spruce. Today,
a derelict, he teaches Herrick and Lovelace at the Connecticut
School of Mines.
The second reason why people marry, personality need, means
that you often choose a mate because he or she possesses certain
qualities that complete and fulfill your own personality. Take,
for instance, the case of Alanson Duck. As a freshman, Alanson
made a fine scholastic record, played varsity lacrosse, and was
very popular with his fellow students. Yet Alanson was not
happy. There was something lacking in his life, something vague
and indefinable that was needed to make his personality complete.
Then one day Alanson discovered what it was. As he was
walking out of his class in Flemish pottery, a fetching coed
named Grace Ek offered him a handsome brown package and
said, "Philip Morris?"
"Yes!" he cried, for all at once he knew what he had been
needing to round out his personality the gentle fulfillment of
Philip Morris Cigarettes, the soul-repairing mildness of their
Tintage tobaccos, the balm of their unparalleled taste, the ease
and convenience of their bonny brown Snap-Open pack. Tes,
I will take a Philip Morris!" cried Alanson. "And I will also
take you to wife if you wilhave me!"
"La!" she exclaimed, throwing her apron over, her face, but
after a while she removed it and they were married. Today they
live in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, where Alanson is with
an otter glazing firm and Grace is a bookie.
Propinquity, the third cause of marriage, means closeness. Put j
a boy and a girl in a confined space for a long period and they
will almost surely get married. A perfect example is the case of
Fafnir Sigaf 00s. While a freshman at Louisiana State, he was
required to crawl through the Big Inch pipeline as part of his
fraternity initiation. He entered the pipe at Baton Rouge. As
he passed Lafayette, Ind., he was agreeably surprised to be
joined by a comely girl named Mary Alice Isinglass, a Purdue
freshman, who had to crawl through the Big Inch as part of her
sorority initiation. When they emerged from the pipeline at
Burlington, Vermont, they were engaged, and, after a good hot
bath, they were married. Today they live in Klamath Falls, Ore.,
where Fafnir is in the weights and measures department und
Mary Alice is in the roofing game. They have three children,
all named Norman. CM ix Shulmsn. MM
For your enjoyment the molten of Philip Morris have prepared m
handsome, illustrated booklet called MAX SHVLMAN REVISITED,
containing a selection of the best of these columns. Get your copy,
absolutely free, with the purchase of a couple packs of Philip Morris
01 your favorite tobacco counter. Hurry! The supply is limited.
