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THE NEBRASKAN
Tuesday, May 10, 1955
Nebraskan Editorials'
hmm VJesk Problems
A week ago, a Nebraskan editorial reported
erroneously the circumstances concerning a pro
posal within the Faculty Senate to cut the ex
amlnation period to one week. It was incorrect
on twb counts: first, the extra time would be
used for classes and would not mean that stu
dents and faculty could leave school earlier;
and second, examinations would last for two
and one half hours instead of only two.
The number of days which the University is
In session Including the period set aside for
examinations is a prescribed number. It can
not be altered (except for a possible few days)
without endangering accreditation or getting into
trouble with the Veterans Administration. For
this reason, the administration could tiot pos
sibly let students out a week early.
The original proposal made by the examina
tion committee of the Faculty-Senate called for
three testa a day. Classes would end on a
Friday, ona special exam would be given on
Saturday and six days of exams, three each
day, would follow starting Monday. This allows
for 19 test periods, the same that the University
now has. All study time would be eliminated
prior to tests, and classes (in the case of first
semester) would resume immediately on the
next Monday.
Since the length of each test period would be
practically the same, there would be no change
In the amount of material covered by instruc
- tors, nor the value placed upon tests.
The background to the proposal is clouded by
the fact that Senate meetings are closed. The
faculty appears to be split in half over the
question. It does not seem to be a question of
convenience on the part of faculty members.
but rather a question of how each faculty mem
ber can best serve the interests of his students.
The split is caused by differences among the
courses offered at the University. On the one
hand are those courses which depend for the
most part upon class performance particularly
labs. On the other hand are those courses which
depend heavily upon final exams as a medium
of learning.
For those who teach the former courses, final
tests are not as important, and two weeks of
exams cut into class time. Those who teach
basically lecture courses consider these tests as
essential in focalizing more important aspects
of the course for the student. These teachers,
therefore, also think more time then one week
is necessary for preparation by the students.
The proposal would also mean that time set
aside for grading tests would be greatly reduced,
as would time for tying up loose ends including
preparing grade reports.
There exists the possibility of a compromise
which would allow for a few days breathing
time before exams begin. Such a compromise
was evidently suggested by the administration
at the very beginning.
In the past, students have fought for as much
extra study time as possible. Although the stu
dents are not being consulted in this case, they
are being considered on both sides. Most stu
dents, however, would find that the proposed
exam schedule would work a real hardship on
them, depending, of course, upon which type of
course they were taking. Our plea to the Senate
is that since a sacrifice must be made on one
side or another, that that sacrifice be made on
the side affecting the least number of students.
K. N.
ta Upon ft Pixie . . .
For the first time in the history of The Ne
braskan, a rival newspaper has reared its ugly
head on campus.
It was rather amusing on Ivy Day to find
deposited in the living rooms all over campus
copies of the Pixie News, especially since Satur
day is not a publication day for The Nebraskan.
From all reports, however, this upstart journal
istic endeavor will only be published annually
each Ivy Day, which relieved The Nebraskan
staff, who were aware that the circulation de-
, partment of the Pixie News threatened to outdo
; The Nebraskan.
In all seriousness, the publication which was
circulated on Ivy Day shocked not a few persons
on campus and left the majority of students
rather chagrined. The editorial staff of the Pixie
News evidentally did not nor do not realize to
what extent the paper violated laws of libel,
and if proof could be established as to the
sponsorship of the publication, those staff mem
bers would find themselves liable to court action
' which might result in much more money than
it took to print the Pixie News. Although an
attempt was made to disguise names, the per
sons referred to and the implications in state
ments about them could probably be proved
. libelous in court. It would be wise if the editorial
' staff of the Pixie News kept close guard of
membership roles, alumni's names, printing
! arrangements, etc. For the little attempt at
' humor backfired on several counts, and some
students and faculty members are out for blood.
It is unfortunate that the Pixie Press was
more childishly indignant and less logically con
. structlve. Frankly, it resembled a small child
crying over a broken toy and blaming its mother
for not fixing it. The paper's attempt to criti
cize the Administration policies fell short of
complete adolescent whimperings. To this editor,
it was infuriating in that the sponsoring group
failed to recognize the impact which evident
basic opinions could have had on the students
who read the paper. Instead of constructive
and logical criticism, the sponsoring group fell
into the traditional pitfall of dissatisfied Uni
versity students covering up any ambition to
get things changed by sitting back and ridiculing
the source of the trouble. Whether right or
wrong, criticism can be justified if it is logically
based and constructive.
As to the inserts on campus personalities,
the Pixie News receives a horse laugh. Fish
wives and tattle-tales have nothing on this type
of childish behavior and some four and five-year-olds
would never stoop to such incredible
depths. To most of the comments came the wise
rejecting remark, "It's his or their own busi
ness." An attack on Individuals and their shortcom
ings is one of the lowest forms of human be
havior and can only be considered proof that
there are some college students, supposedly
adult, who are devoid of respect for privacy
and human feelings.
All in all, however, the Pixie News was daring
and risque rarity. However, the secrecy which
shrouds its editorial source should be taken into
account by those who may have been too easily
impressed with what the paper had to say.
Those expressed opinions under cover of ano
nymity should be regarded as suspicious and
generally lacking in some essential phase of
truth.
The Pixie News made a good eye-opener for
breakfasting students on Ivy Day and a good
lining for wastebaskets. Besides, that's where
hot air should be kept, in a metal container.
J. H. B.
Campus Circuits
Tocqueville Forecasts Danger
Of Sfraighf-Jacef For Truth
From The Daily Kansan
University of Kansas
"I know of no country in which there is so
Tittle independence of mind and real freedom
of discussion as in America. The will of man
is not shattered, but softened, bent and guided."
So spoke Alexis de Tocqueville in 1830.
He pinpointed the danger which has been
prevalent in our democracy for a much longer
time than the more recent fright which the
Wisconsin senator has implanted. That danger
is the fear of being shunned by friends because
of, not wrong or dangerous ideas, but of vary
ing opinions which may sound tainted.
Even those who believe in your innocence,"
de Tocqueville added, "will abandon you, lest
they should be shunned In their turn."
The fears have since continued to grow, and
the patterns of thought are subsequently narrow
lag. Sen. J. "William Fulbright (D.-Ark.1) has at
tributed a part of such thought censorship to
the tightening of communication channels. In
doing so he points to the increasing monopolistic
trend of newspapers, radio and the motion
picture industry.
His opinion is shared by many; too often, those
who feel that they know teh truth and would
like to say it fear that those who control the
communication outlets would relay the opinions
unfairly, or not at all. -Recently, the danger has
become not so closely related to the publication
of ideas, as to their censorship after they have
been communicated.
Because of this danger, it is generally true
that few wish to speak openly. It is further
evident that many who do speak alter their
Vtw&t to 'those which they are certain will
be sanctioned by society. A block to democ
racy? yes, and yet a direct result.
It was the chairman of the Reece committee
of the House of Representatives who said that
the trustees of the tax-exempt foundations would
be careful of promoting ideas which run con
trary to those the public "wishes, approves and
likes."
It was the United States military academies
which banned student debate on the question
of recognition of Red China.
And, it was the federal government that held
loyalty investigation of employees, down to the
last janitor. The ideas that challenged the tradi
tional thought patterns were immediately bus
pect material and all too frequently branded
Communistic.
Auxiliary to the government's probes and
checks is the American Legion, which carefully
blackmarks all "unpatriotic" expressions.
Thought can never be completely controlled,
but its development can be guided in many
ways. Because oT this educators have been
among the first to be watched, criticized and
controlled.
One of the most obvious control methods has
been the book burnings. After the State depart
ments direction to ban certain books, local, pro
tector assumed the task of censorship.
A proposed law in Ohio calls for pre-publication
censorship of magazines. In Texas, text
books cannot be purchased until the author has
vowed he is not Communist.
In view of the care which is being given to
American thought, the most inviting alternative
to being branded a subversive is to remain
silent. A more effective straight-jacket for truth
could not be asked.
r rn-mt-iv dltortatl eenaoiptUp an the part of the SntMtonimittm, or
fUri-XwKi am put of memw of too ftteulty of th. Umw
Member: Associated Collegiate Press ty. wmn vn of ny parson tde the tnivit.
Th nwmlwr of the Nabnukan tafl on naninnally nt.
Ir.tereolJeCiate Press tMnIMe for what they . or do or mum to ke printed.
T" ' m-.UHroi National Advertising Service, ' EDITORIAL STAFF
Jteorrorated Krfww im Hanun
F MHnrM ho K4Um , a honor
ST. l?rrakB to poWkihed br tnaii of tho Un- MaaaainaMlwr
ri i 0i NvDnuli BBilw tho nthorlinoo of the Com- nanru Mltor Mrnw Hraumma
rs . a wo Student Affair M on Mprwidlon of otndent Copy Kdlmn Prcd lal, Kornr Mewita,
ww FuMteattoaa -miter the IntlRiHctloo ol tno Suit- g j.;,)i,nr ....... . ., - (mmiranr
t - -m b Bimi ifutoltaitteiw atuUl k trw from NwM Mew Editor .Kogar Meuule
lITTll MAN ON CAMPUS
by Dick Hbler
"Congratulations Your written application for medical school has
been accepted we couldnt read a word yoa wrote1"
Where There's Smoke
Interview Reveals
Personality Secrets
By JOHN GOURLAY
and
MIKE SHUGRUE
To clear up confusion in the Rathbone.) I am a Beta (Carl
minds of many readers we would Mammel and Andy Smith are
like to say that interviewee Gene Betas) and I paid the Klub $26.50
Spence is real. He is a human be- Art Raun has a new coat.)
ing despite what one may think What do you plan to do after
when seeing him at the Cornhusker you graduate?
in his bermudas.
A very spe-
cial treat t o-
day is a joint ;
interview b e-'
tween F r e d
Daly, boy ro- i.
tunda, a n d
Roger Henkle, t
boy grass
blade. Both IT
are famous in
campus jour- j
ilex no v-n wn-a.
The follow- sntisnie
ing questions were asked Henkle
by Mr. Daly.
Where did you get your long,
bony fingers?
"You mean my long, sensual
Wimp -
vwa
-V i
V 1
I J
'Certainly not work. At age 29
I will have accumulated my first
10 million; at age 51, my first
Pulitzer prize; at age 47, my No
bel Prize for literature; at age
52, my Nobel Peace Prize; at age
64, Supreme Justice of the Su
preme Court; at age 70, president
of Innocents."
What makes your little brown
eyes sparkle so?
"Money, child, money."
Mr. Henkle's questions and
Frederick ' Trenk (Pudge) Daly,
Hi's answers.
What makes you so fat, Daly?
'Quaffing the nut-brown ale."
What is your goal in University?
"1 want to
firm-co in mpn with refined follow in Hen
taste have them.'
Do you feel that horn-rimmed ste-
glasses add to your appearance? .... .
"It is part of the equipment of adminis.
an English major to have horn- tration pgr.
rimmed glasses, a sallow, hungry sonaiity?
look and a thin volume at all Mr peter-
times." Son, o'clock
What kind of a scholar are you? (MWF); Lieutv
""Near genius." Rezny, 10 o'-
It is true that you received six clock (MWF);
down hours for your efforts? Mr. Stepanek, 11 o'clock (MWF);
"Poppycock! It's a dirty lie. Mr. Camp, 1 o'clock (MWF); Mr.
There must be some other Roger Zimmerman, (TThS.)"
Henkle at this school." What do you intend to make of
Who do you admire most of all? yourself in later life, boy?
"Slow-eyed Gourlay, Boy Bad- "I'm going to grow up to De a
'J
Gourlay
ger and Stodge."
Who is your favorite literary
figure?
"Next to me, you mean?"
Yes.
"Jess Brownell and Bruce Brug
mann." How did you ever get in Kosmet
Klub?
"First of all I was a Rathbone
waif."
Is it true you are asleep all day?
"Hmm?"
What do you think of activities?
"As little as possible."
What do you enjoy doing most?
"Rephrasing Max Shulman."
"Why Brent you writing a column
for the Nebraskan anymore?
41 was threatened with being
Rocket (Al Anderson live on flayed alive with a clarinet reed."
Jest Jestin'
A Palm-Wine Toast
To Fun-Loving Derek
Bt JESS EROWKEIA
As you all must know by now, I know, and what happened to
I am a big forceful person who is him not so long ago.
often seen about the campus, who He was a fine stalwart fellow,
has many irons in the fire, and modest and unassuming, and hand-
who keeps his finger on the pulse some too. He was also very poor
of campus activity. anA waB trying to work his way
Well, 1 don't suppose I fooled hroueh ool. H ?
anvone, but it was a nice try. Ac- ZLTt
4. "n ..v. t i if morning at a near-by arms fac-
tually what I have just written he
isn't true; I m really the sort of m
fellow who likes to operate be- dgrned t ;
hmd the scenes. I am usually to returni om woj!k onfi morni
Ses ed in"a StJsT vesT and thi"kil of to n
cLessea in a tattenau vest ana efficiencey mind you 1hat boy
smoking . cigarette in a long ho d- d h fa famnuf 80meday)
er. I remain curled in the prenatal he fell m
position on the top shelf of my 8tudentf. who werp b
closet. You might think that it onA . b .
.j L j-it- if . i -4-v. songs and having a palm-wine
would be difficult to keep up with p
campus events from such a po- wag in
sition, but my runners provide me ( t,0:M . .,..,. .
... ' . '. .. r ii r-u a f happiness and, unaware of the
with a constant flow of well filtered ,(ant I,, : ,,,, t
tAJiV'b ui (uiiii n n f u; au& iai tuu
information.
Because last Saturday was Ivy
much.
It soon became apparent that he
Day, 1 ent many runners out into vjac .. t t . pan nf . .
he bush to bring me reports o Be,f and needed assiBtance t0 t
he day's occureices. Not all of home showin their true co
them came back, and the lewJUat hig friendg Mt Mm to Am
did return were bathed in blood himgelf wanderf,d
were weU rewarded with several room hourE later hU face smeared
lumps of sugar and a subscription witn aahes and hifi exterior gen.
to Playboy I was not entirely eral Bhowin the efect of hJg
satisfied with the results of the day, h()rrible experience. j leeped
but have only one question to throw and hurried to doOT
on the growing heap. Did Chan-
cellor Hardin really have enough J "e comto
activities to he an Innocent, or home, Paddy," Ij.aid -1 suppose
was his -selection a political move? 7" ve ut tlPp,ln
But enough of this; no use crying noood friends of yonrs." But of
over spilt milk, I always say. We courf asn'1 r,ad f
-hoii aw it n..ii i m,r fun-loving Derek, home at last.
belts, stiffen our upper 11ns and
be ready to put things straight next
year.
However, there are important
sphere of campus politics. These
are things which happen to the
individual who is caught in the
trap the world has set for him.
Let me tell you about a youngster
Cliff's Snidke Shop
(Formerly Ban WoU
121 N. 12th
CISACS FOR F2IWGS
Lighter Repair Pipe Repair
Givin' 'Em Ell
Exams As Learning
Device Endangered
By ELLIE ELLIOTT
This afternoon a proposal is to vice. In the fields of literature,
appear before the Faculty Senate; ?hilf "d
thT proposal directly concerns " insUf'; 'JT Wh,
every student mho is involved in J
the examinaUon system of this AmS, earteinplauoo. Such
iTniwritx7 courses offer no laboratory period
university. for practical application of the-
The propsoal Is, briefly, this: . A information, because th
to shorten the period f final ex- re not fields ln can a
aminations to one week, and t
add from three to six day., of
such things. The examination per
iod is the laboratory. Therefore,
classes. Each examination win tv .vaTnin,tinn i . feteeral rw
Uke twe-and-a-half hoars, and 3 part of the normal
there will be three examinations academic eourse. to M exanlf ftt
scheduled each day. Aday'ssehed- student must h,ve the necessary
ale, therefore, would rna some- Umt tQ fg. his information in
thing like this: examinations from ligU estions asked,
1 "-4:S P m' f" ; and to present it precisely, con.
$:S0 p.m. Thns, a student who had cJse nd literateIy
three examinations scheduled for Al)o0W ,spect , crm-
one day would have aa hour off m nm pnerm lnnueiKe. th.
for lunch, a half-honr between his considerably. Tha
and seven-and-a-hald hours a f v v. 1
exams in one day.
which the student would be taking
his exams would be detrimental
There are many arguments for to his health, his BrenaratioB. hi
and again!t the wisdom of this performance a the exam, and,
system of examinations. At the quite possibly, his whole attitude
end of each semester, instruc- toward the exam as a learning tie
tors and students would have the vice.
benefit of three
or more extra
days of class
i n struction.
S t u dents
would not
have to waste
time going
home, resting
in b e t w een
the frantic
rush of se
mesters, e r
studying e c-
aDE3
Elliott
A third aspect that must be con
sidered concerns the reading and
grading of exams. Since the ex
ams are learning devices, they
must be read with a maximum of
attention and care if the student is
to benefit from them, and if jus
tice is to be done to his efforts.
Most of our classes are huge ...
from twenty students on up into
the hundreds. The normal teach
ing load of an instructor is rough
ly four classes a week, or twelve
hours of contact with his students.
cessively for their exams. Provided pressure ertfd on the in-
ltTtYr "i trfi Y-wr ViVi nktnafArV ...
on-,., "c'ut'" siructor 01 even a "normal" class
examination ordeal, and the sec- be such that he wouia find
ond, they would have their usual ft impossible to give and grade
summer vacation in which to re- four sets thorough, comprehen
cuperate. sive exaTns in one week. And if
This accelerated system of ex- he is forced to fall back on the
ams has many drawbacks, some good old true-false, multiple choice
of them ouite serious. In the first objectives of the Stone Age, he
place, an examination is supposed might as well not 0ve the exam at
to be a teaching and learning de- all.
Hortence 'n Gertrude
Dull Summer Seen
in TV Programs
Er MART SEELLEDT
and
JANET GORDON
"Entertainment on TV this spring with the plote of Gilbert and Sum.
and summer is going to be de- van."
P "H-Sf"?1 wt c , ,m en the com.
How come? WeVe got Ed Sul- gets to Nebraska?"
livan, stall. And the country couldnt ,
function without Ed Murrow " iL We have Tnore comic-opera plota
-'Bat we have i party coovea- other campus. Thechair
tions, as committee hearings. Fran an 7. have to Ted the
Costello's dainty hands don writhe ST. 4 L1 activity-participation,
on our screens this summer. Com- 71181 8hould e tarter. Then he
ic relief from Puerto Rfcaa dele- obseiv the local efforts to
gates is lacking. McCarthy and 0UtlaW, BteT fights md mmir
Cohn arent playing mixed doubles BTaun&-
on the major channels." "If The Committee to Abolish
5 "Interference on the sets in store Comic Relief wants a thorough
windows that I watched were a jb il must investigate Dean-Dous-nuisance.
Cant we be satisfied Z episodes. Wastebaskets have
with neon-trimmed commerciality? t0 66 rnade with sieve bottoms,
'What I want is a repeat per- 7" know
formance of last spring's hearings. "But Gertrude, now win the in
Better yet, a full-scale investiga- "vestigation -unearth the necessary
tion of colleges and universities, buffoons?"
It wouldn't have to have a pur- "The State Legislature night
pose. An investigation is better come in for a probe."
it it has none." -"With luck, the televised hear-
"But it should nave a title, if ingt of our committee might last
it doesn't have a purpose." all summer, with a -cast like that.
"Very well The Committee to What will the committee do with
Abolish Comic Relief on Campuses.' its findings?"
"Doc Elliott better hide out." "They'll double-tax laughing ob-
"Tne investigators must be cast servers. Obviously, if college stu
carefully. For a chairman, we dents are exposed to comic idiocy
need a practicing hypocrite. The long enough, they might learn to
chairman should also be familiar laugh at investigating committees
and party -conventions."
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