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Wednesdoy, Moy 4, 1955
THE NEBRASKAN
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Ncbraskan Editorials
'fcrjress Vs. 7raJifon
Spring is the poets overly used thesaurus, the
farmers' long awaited work season and the
average person's font of creation. Spring can
stimulate to action the dormant functions of
nature and it can also stimulate to constructive
action the individual.
But as the old saying goes, in a perverted
form: "If it be Spring can Winter be far be
hind?" This may be applied to the campus and
the individuals which move and live on it. Each
Spring there develops within organizations a
sense of improvement as evidenced in inter
views which determine candidates for office or
the officers themselves. A typical question in
every interview is "Do you have any ideas for
the improvement of this organization?" Those
aspiring to candidacies anticipate this ques
tion and probably spend several hours before
the interviews forming an answer which they
think will Satisfy the interviewers. The pity of
this is that the ideas very seldom get beyond
the room in which they were expressed and
the organizational machinery reappears in the
Fall identical or nearly so to its former self.
Change is Inevitable in any material thing
and it can come either gradually or cataclysmic
as an evolution or a revolution. But when the
encouragement is present and change is a sought
after criteria for leadership it is amazing how
year after year students obtain positions be
cause of ideas which they never intend nor suc
ceed to fulfill. This is the case at the Univer
sity. New ideas and suggestions are constantly
asked for by students and Administration. New
fields of thought in academic work are encour
aged and promoted. There exists an almost
compelling attitude among students that a bet
ter grade may be obtained by expounding on
their own theories, presenting new interpreta
tions of history, political sciences, English, etc.,
until they discover the falseness of the "pro
motion campaign." Then they find that instruc
tors will not tolerate a perversion of history. The
definitions that have been established in the past
are immovable obstacles to the progressive
thinking student. English literature has only one
interpretation that of the instructor. Organiza
tion officers frown on underlings who would sug
gest a plan of action which departs from tradi
tion or an already officer-formulated plan. Stu
dents plagued by this frustrating enigma have
every reason at some time to question the
validity of organizations or of studies them
selves. It is true that progress and tradition are es
sential to the firm moulding of a society, but
when one hinders the other by an excessive em
phasis, an unbalance occurs which has, as evi
denced in hist ry, caused the decay and decline
of once firmly established institutions.
New ideas, intertwined with logic and practi
cality should not be accepted eagerly in an
interview and discouraged in practice. And
those ideas expressed to impress others should
not be abandoned for the less difficult estab
lished pattern the work of someone else.
Tolerance of new ideas is necessary by in
structors so that students will continue to think
in terms of progress and not staid and stolid
dogmas of the past or of a person. -
Moderation is necessary in tempering the
progressive with the tradition and if exercized
will prove the champion of the future the future
based on the new ideas of today. J. H. B.
Afterthoughts
Happy Birthday
The Union is certain to be overflowing with
students Friday when it celebrates its 17th
birthday.
In addition to the "Good Old Days" decora
tions and old-time activities, the slashed food
prices in the Crib no doubt will attract multi
tudes. And the multitudes may wish the Crib
were larger and the celebration were longer.
Pre-birthday congratulations to the Union. And
orchids to you for your low prices and imag
inative planning.
Organzed Confusion
Recent development in Southern Viet Nam
are quite confusing to say the least.
The ingredients to political chaos include the
private armies of two religious sects, an out
law band headed by a gangster who became
so powerful that he bought the police of Saigon,
Communist agitation, a chief of state lounging
on the Riviera, two divisions of French troops
and a confused, but surprisingly victorious pre
mier. Over the weekend it seemed as though each
new press release would state that Premier
Diem was in, Bao Dai was out, or vice versa.
Things are relatively peaceful now in Viet Nam
with the government only having to contend
with the religious sects. Communists and 750,
000 refugees.
Campus Circuits'
Right To Know Challenged
Knowledge Necessary To Survive
From Colliers
Mr. Harry A. Levinson, of Beverly Hills, Cali
fornia, has lately been involved in a row with
the United States government. Because it is
not Mr. Levinson's fight alone because 165,
000,000 other Americans are deeply involved
along with him the matter at issue bears exami
nation. Mr. Levinson protested the Postmaster Gen
eral's seizure of a volume of Aristophane's Lysis
trata which had been mailed to Mr. Levinson,
a dealer in rare books, by the Hammersmith
Bookshop in England. The Postmaster General
told Mr. Levinson that the volume "contains
numerous passages which are plainly obscene,
lewd and lascivious in character and which are
well calculated to deprave the morals of persons
... and almost equally certain to arouse libidi
nous thoughts in the minds of the average, nor
mal reader." After Mr. Levinson went to court
to challenge the validity of the law under which
the book had been seized, the Post Office De
partment finally gave it back. But it did so only
after receiving "assurance ... that the book in
question is not for general distribution and is in
tended for delivery to a collector of rare books."
In other words, a seasoned rare-book collector
might be trusted with it-but not the "average,
normal reader."
Lysistrata is certainly a frank-spoken play;
whether its passages are "well-calculated" to de
prave morals depends upon what was in Aris
tophanes mind when he wrote it; whether it is
certain to arouse libidinous thoughts in the
minds of the average, normal reader" depends
upon one's assessment of the character of the
average, normal reader.
But there is much more involved here than
fee merits or demerits of the Greek classic.
This is a time when censorship, in general, is
enjoying a vigorous revival in this free land.
More and more people are telling more and
more other people that their tender little minds
are Qt able to weather the shock of exposure to
this or that idea. The solicitude is not confined
to the area of crdfcsary morality. This is a time
when, in spite of the fragile quality of world
"peace," the American people were for one year
denied the vital knowledge that a hydrogen
bomb had been exploded which was able to wipe
cut a whole state. This is a time when, in the
face of the most cunning and complicated ideo
logical threat ever raised against freedom, a
teacher takes his professional life in his hands
if he tries to acquaint his students with the
nature of the Communist threat. This is a time
when, in the face of an unprecedented need for
this democratic people to be informed, the pub
lic was banned last year from 41 per cent of
Congressional committee sessions where public
taaaaesB of the most critical importance was be
ing transacted. It is a time when a copy of
Marx's Das Kapital under a scholar's arm raises
fearful suspicions of his loyalty; when the Soviet
newpapers Pravda and Izvestia are banned from
the mails; when a Midwestern lady can com
mand a scattering of respectful applause by
denouncing Robin Hood as a Communistic tract.
Censorship is not new. What is new, and
alarming, is its increasingly casual acceptance
by a people with a venerable tradition of liberty.
Freedom came to the Western World, and to
America, because some men dared to assume
that ordinary people had in them the innate
stuff to be noble in their own righU-the ability
to discern, to exercise that restraint and judg
ment which had until then been considered the
exclusive endowments of their "betters."
One of these men, John Milton, declared 300
years ago that "our faith and knowledge thrives
by exercise ..." He wrote that if all judg
ments were left to the censors, "to be a com
mon, steadfast dunce would be the only pleas
ant life."
This is no time for America to be breeding a
community of common, steadfast dunces. The
very format of a free nation, spreading the
responsibility for stewardship among all the
people, demands the steady, purposeful develop
ment of uncommon men with the grasp and the
character to make sound decisions in the beat
of crisis.
How shall we deal with the present crisis?
Not by making a virture of ignorance. Five
hundred million Chinese followed 200,000,000 Rus
sians into the Communist trap because they
didn't know it was oaded. They went for bait
labeled "security" and "land reform" and "prog
ress" because they lacked the experience and
perception to recognize the phoniness of the
promises.
The character, the competence, the rugged
ness demanded of our kind of uncommon man
are not grown in a hothouse; the facts of life
and politics aren't learned in A Child's Garden
of Verses. They are developed only by practice
in appraising 4n sorting right from wrong.
There is far less peril in books whether plain
spoken classics or claptrap comics than in the
American family's failure to ingrain youth with
the sense to discriminate between quality and
trash. There is less reason for concern over
young people's exposure to Das Kapital than
over the chance that they will grow up innocent
of the fraud it preaches. There is less ground
for worry about any American's" contamination
by Lysistrata than about his degradation by a
clique of censors who believe themselves to be
made of some special kind of clay. This is a
poor time to tolerate tinkering with the peo
ple's right to know, when knowledge is a condi
tion of survival.
Tha Ncbraskan
rSTTY-EECCKa TEAS
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taeerswjrstaS
Tea Sfsfersw&sa ft taisihi by atndatita at taa Cat
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'?, a wi th nut of i kimi oimrtda tte liirtwraltjr.
't " 'ir, ( iu rnrMiM nail mrm "" rw.
v . i p .,.! t'my say, w t ta aa printed.
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-The Self-Governed'
Cooperation Needed
In Student Affairs
By LOUIS
In May, 1952, in the wake of
a large scale "panty raid" which
cost its victims several hundred
dollars in damaged or stolen prop
erty, a student assembly expressed
its condem
nation OI SUCn ;"' uv.-a
Dart) arte
oings-on and
University of
ficials e x
pressed their
confidence the
discipline tak
leaders of "the
such occur
ences In the
future. There
were promises
then of co-ordinated police protec
tion of the campus, in case of
future uprisings. And the students
pledged their co-operation in pre
ventive measures.
In May, 1955, in the wake of a
criminal riot wh:ch made the '52
affair look like child's play, stu
dents again expressed their con
demnation of such barbaric goings
on. Uni?rslty officials promised
future police protection of the
campus, and expressed their con
fidence the discipline taken against
leaders of the raid would prevent
any such occurrences in the future.
The students have pledged their
co-operatfon in preventive measure
(although denying the administra
tion proper co-operation irt dis
ciplinary action).
Sounds rather like a soap serial
doesnt it? Different story. Differ
ent leads. Same plot. As one of
my favorite profs likes to say,
history doesnt necessarily repeat
itself but it frequently regurgitates.
The regurgitation is usually more
unpleasant than was the original
stomach ache.
Just what measures are needed
to prevent future riots?
The lack of effective co-operation
from the student body to en
sure proper disciplinary action
against this year's rioters nar
rows the field ef possible pre
ventive action considerably.
Perhaps the University will, this
time, ensure future police pro
tection ef the campus.
But negative measures are not
sufficient. Something positive is
needed to eliminate "panty raids"
from the active consideration of
minds.
An annual spring event a real
"tomwallager" under official Uni-
SCHOEN
versity sanction conceivably
could help.
Establishment of the All Men's
Advisory Board for "closer co
operation among men's groups"
may provide part of the. answer.
At least it should unite men's or
ganizations in efforts to avert fu
ture riots.
The Nebraskan editor suggested
the riot was doe partly to "disre
spect for each ether" by the ad
ministration and students, growing
out of "mutual Indifference" and
"Ignorance of each other's needs,
wants and rights" I have no
ticed prbately with dismay, pre
viously this year, that Chancel
lor Hardin has not since his ar
rival here spoken to an all-University
assembly. I have noted pre
viously in this column what I felt
was a general misunderstanding
by students ef University policy
due to failure of the administra
tion to clarify its position.
What is the solution for this
"disrespect," "mutual indifference"
and "ignorance"?
I would suggest establishment of
a joint student-faculty-administration
committee on University af
faris, as a real sounding board
for the needs, wants and rights of
all three goups. It should have
the broadest possible jurisdiction
and influence. It should include
the broadest possible cross-section
of student interest. It should
include students who are not and
never have been engaged in stu
dent activities, as well as leaders
iu activities; students of average
scholarship as well as honor stu
dents; students paying their way
through school entirely with their
own earnings as well as those be
ing financed entirely by parents
and mostly by scholarships.
Through regular discussions of
problems affecting all phases of
University life of the needs, wants
and rights of students, faculty and
administration I think such a com
mittee could bring the interests of
these three groups into closer
proximity. By its suggestions, it
could carefully direct the course
of University affairs in a manner
befitting an institution of higher
learning. It well might eventually
make the University appear more
as a source of higher knowledge
and wisdom and less as a manu
facturer of playboys and point
conscious activity people.
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Author "Barmmot Bon wxtk Ckmek." tit.)
THE GREAT CAP and GOWN CONTROVERSY
The cap and frown season is upon us, and with it comes tha
perennial question: which side of the cap should the tassel
hang on?
This is an argument that arises every year to roil the aca
demic world, and it is, alas, no closer to solution today than it
was in 1604 when Fred Tassel invented the troublesome orna
"atnent. Fred Tassel, incidentally, never made a penny from his inven
tion. The sad fact is he never took out a patent on it. This tragic
oversight becomes understandable, however, when one considers
that patents were not invented till 1851 by Fred Patent, himself
a pitiable figure. A compulsive handwasber, he died in his four
teenth year, leaving behind a wife and five spotless children.
But I digress. We were discussing which side of the cap tha
tassel should hang on.
For many years the universally accepted practice was to hang
the tassel over the front of the cap. This practice was abandoned
in 1942 when the entire graduating class of Northwestern Uni
versity, blinded by tassels hanging in their eyes, made a wrong
turn during commencement exercises and ended up at the Great
Lakes Training Center where, all unwitting, they were inducted
into the Navy for five year hitches.
There is one school of thought-large and growing daily larger
which holds that the tassel should be worn on the same side
you carry your Philip Morris cigarettes. Thus a quick glance
will show you where your Philip Morris are and save much time,
and fumbling.
This makes a good deal of sense because when one wants a
Philip Morris, one wants one with a minimum of delay. One does
not relish being kept, even for a second, from the clean, delicate
flavor of Philip Morris, so artfully blended, so subtly concocted
to please the keen and alert taste buds of young smokers. One
chafes at any obstacle, however small, that is put in the way of
enjoying this most edifying of cigarettes, so pleasing to the
perceptive palate. Here, in king size or regular, at prices that
do no violence to the slimmest of budgets, is a firm white cylinder
of balm and pure, abiding content.
There is another group, small but vocal that insists the tassel
should hang over the back of the cap. The tassel, they say, is a
symbol like the bullfighter's pigtail, signifying honor and
courage.
They are wrong. Bullfighters wear pigtails for only one rea
son: to keep the backs of their necks warm. Do you have any
idea what a draft a bull makes when he rushes past you? A
plenty big one, you may be sure.
In fact, upper respiratory infectionsrcontracted in the wake of
passing bulls, are the largest single cause of bullring fatalities.
I have this interesting statistic from the Bullfighters Mutual
Life Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, one of tha
few insurance companies in Hartford, Connecticut, which writes
insurance exclusively for bullfighters. Incidentally, Hartford,
the insurance capital of America, is a most interesting city and
well worth a visit if you are ever in New England, as north
eastern Uniied States is, for some reason, called. Hartford can
be reached by bus, train, plane, and the Humboldt Current Try
to make your visit in spring, when the actuaries are in bloom,
But I digress. We were talking about what side to wear tht
tassel on. An ingenious solution to this troubling problem was
proposed a few years ago by Fred Sigaf oos, perhaps better known
as "The Quoit King of Delaware." An early forbear ef Mr.
Sigafoos, Humboldt Sigaf oos (who later invented the current
which bears his name) was granted a monopoly by King George
III on all quoits manufactured in Delaware. Somehow the royal
appointment was never rescinded and from that day to this,
every quoit made in Delaware has been a Sigafoos Quoit
Well, sir, Fred Sigafoos once suggested that an equitable
settlement to the great tassel controversy wonM h n
, the tassels so they stood upright and hung on no side of the can .
ai an. mr. oigaioos was, 01 course, only seeking to broaden his
market, because after graduation, what can you do with an
upright tassel but hurl quoits at it?
CMu stulaua. IMf
Thm maker of PHILIP MORRIS uh bring you tkU column make no
recommendation about nhat tide to hang the tatmrX on. But with
ieiearettet they "y: Stay on the mentis, tatty, vintage tide -with
fitltr IB asstrvc 7
niur MiAAij, of courte.
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