Wednesday, February 15, 1956
THE NEBRASKAN
Mabraskan Editorials:
lITTLl MAN ON CAMPUS
by Dick Bibler
I
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The Wrong Atmosphere
Eighty-seven years ago the University of Ne
braska was a single building University Hall
stranded In the middle of a raw prairie and a
hardy frontier village of 1000 'citizens.
Cows and horses were tethered nearby as
their owners slipped into the downtown general
store for provisions to last out the month. Sioux
Indians lurked about, muskets were always kept
in readiness, times were perilous and the young
college men drank hard whiskey and won their
women in fist fights and wrestling matches.
Today, 87 years later, some 50 buildings are
sprinkled about the prairie; the automobile and
the bus have replaced the horse and car
riage; the clack of the IBM machine, the steady
hum of complex administrative machinery, the
fantastic web of departmental red t?- has suc
ceeded the 17 subdued classrooms . d labora
tories of old; clean, red brick displaces the
moss and ivy of past traditions.
But through it all, through 87 years of con
stant change and innovation, the single thread
which holds all universities together has been
but partly preserved here at Nebraska. This
universal thread?
Simply, that the university is an imaginative
association with life, an institution that deals
with the imaginative consideration of learning,
a place which welds experience, knowledge and
imagination into a whole, a refuge for the
thoughtful student who is interested not in facts
per se but in facts as they relate to ideas, not
A Rare Privilege
Chancellor Hardin was recently invited to visit
a small university nearly 15,000 miles away
from Nebraska.
The new university, Ataturk U in Turkey, is
still in the embryonic stage, caught halfway be
tween the reorganization of the teaching-research
program of the existing University of Ankara
and a retread job patterned after a land-grant
college.
At first glance it seems strange that Ahmet
Ozel, Turkey's minister of education, should ex
tend a special invitation to our Chancellor to
visit Turkey and this new university.
Chancellor Hardin has seriously considered
making the long trip; his final decision will be
soon forthcoming.
The important consideration is that the invita
tion points up Nebraska's special interest in the
strategic Mediterranean nation of Turkey, name
ly that of advising in the establishment and re
organization of Ataturk University which is
'patterned as a land-grant college after the Uni
versity of Nebraska.
The project, headed by Dr. Marvel Baker and
a staff of 24 Nebraska faculty representatives,
is being directed by the University mission
with funds jointly contributed by the Turkish
government and an International Cooperation
Administration. '
Working under the auspices of federal Foreign
Operations Administration, the mission is trying
to build in Turkey a university which instills its
students with the western type of higher edu
cation. Though the project is part of a world-wide
plan, it isn't often that a Midwestern school
and its Chancellor has the opportunity to not
only engage directly in furthering the ideals of
American education but to build international
good will.
It is a privilege of which Nebraska ns can be
proud.. B.
in knowledge as it is transformed by imagina
tion, and not in imagination per se but in imag
ination as it is grounded by experience and
polished by intellectual discipline.
A good university should impart these things
or at least a consciousness of these things,
and It should do it forcefully, yet imaginatively.
It should create an atmosphere of excitement;
it should challenge the intellect; it should stim
ulate all its citizens faculty and students alike.
A university is, essentially, alive. The ques
tion is: "Has Nebraska, since its inception 85
years ago, retained the vitality of spirit with
which it along with every other . university
has been founded?"
Physically, Nebraska has taken huge strides,
recently unfolding a multi-million dollar building
program which will be completed in the next
few years. Its enrollment is approaching 8000,
with a predicted rise to 15,000 within the next
ten years.
The University faculty has kept abreast of
the times, which was indicated in statements
by Chancellor Hardin and Dr. Adam Brecken
ridge recently when they said that our present
instructional personnel is the best in ten years.
Recent appointments of Karl Shapiro, Pulitzer
prize winning poet, and Pete Elliott, much
sought after football coach, indicates that the
University is capable of attracting top notch
faculty members.
Important discoveries by Dean Militzer, Dr.
Georgi and Dr. Arnold point up the fact that
Nebraska is doing its share in valuable scientific
research.
But there is one area in which Nebraska has
not kept in step with many of her contemporary
institutions. And this is the general tone resid
ing with the majority of its student body.
The general tone of our student body to be
in do way confused with the attitude of the
facnlty or the policies of the administration is
not, for the most part, influenced by nor pre
occupied with the ideals of a higher university
education.
And it's hard to define this tone, this attitude,
call it .hat you will. It's more of an atmos
phere or a feeling almost defying description
or logical analysis.
Perhaps, for the student, it comes from em
phasizing grades rather than the substance be
hind the grades; valuing the activity points be
fore the activity, and, in general, putting ap
pearance before value, technique before knowl
edge and practicality before experience.
Perhaps it is derived from the influence of a
predominantly activity-wise campus, the impor
tance of Mortar Boards and Innocents, the so
cial consciousness of a strong Greek system,
the influence of a Midwestern, agricultural en
vironment. More likely, it is a combination of these fac
tors. But nevertheless, whatever the reasons, it
cannot be denied that the student body does not
breathe too deeply nor perspire too freely within
its academic environment.
The University of Nebraska has come a long
way since its origin in 1869; it has more stu
dents, more buildings, more professors, more
administrators, more books in the libraries,
more sidewalks to shovel in the winter time,
more grass to mow in the spring, more ferns
to water in the summer but it has not as yet
through no fault of its own but more through a
combination of circumstances effectively im
pressed the stamp of higher learning and the
importance of the pursuit thereof upon its
students. B.B.
An Enjoyable Season
The presentation of "La Boheme" by the Uni- Thus, by no real effort of the students as a
ersity Theater Tuesday night was a good thing whole, the University has in its midst a semi
far the University in two'ways. cultural body dedicated to presenting good pro
First, it was a good presentation of a good ductions to a usually blind student body,
opera, and will perhaps do a little toward satisfy- These presentations are often lost in a haze
ing the usually gnawing hunger of the people cf football frenzy or such other institutions as
on the campus who are continually bemoaning, activities or campus politics. It sometimes
and rightly so, the lack of cultural enlightment seems that attendance at the productions is al
here. most wholly faculty members or people in
Second, it was the third of five productions volved in ".e theater who don't happen to be in
the Theater is presenting this year, al- that particular presentation,
though ft is the only opera to be given. If the V -
other two presentations are anything like the ' . , ... ... .
. ., .. . .... But, for their own reasons, this small col
first three, theater-goers still have an enjoy- , ' , .. . .
. , . lection of campus culture bounces merrily along,
able season ahead of them. t. . , .
T . .... , Whether or not anyone else cares very much
Next on the list is "The Inspector General," . . . . . - ,,. A,.n. ,
. , , . . . , , ., ' who has the starring role in this production or
by GogaL which will run from March 12 through ., . ..... , - r f
' . . . . .,, . .. , that means little to them. There is no tiring ol
the 17th. Finishing up will be another play, . , ... . .
j . , , drama coaches spread across banner headlines.
"Mary oT Scotland, by Maxwell Anderson, . . f ...
, . . ... . ' , , . ., , ' There is certainly no aid to deserving actors
which wiH be presented from May 8 to the 12th. , , . ;. . , , .
, from an alumni "slush fund.
These productions, IfkT "La Boheme," "Stalag University is basking placidly on its aca-
17" and "Blithe Spirit," will be well worth see- demic-activities-athletic nest. Underneath, La
ing by University students and faculty alike. Boheme" is being hatched. And the ben didn't
They are purely University presentations, pro- evcn cackle F.T.D.
duced by and starring the students, with the
belp of the faculty. They form a part of Uni- A , I ' I
versify life that is little noticed and sometimes JOk fjlS&fjf f! aCk
criticized, but without which this or any other . I Wl 1 1 IWUMj
school would dwindle into an educational as- -
emblyiine. "Pink TODG
The University Theater should be proud to
bring such fine artistic material before its cam- If business managers tend to be a confused
pus public. Although the big names .are not lot it may be understandable. In the Nebraskan
there, the students are. This makes tbem all business office, where bills and receipts often
the better. run into big money, one of the January bills.
These productions should not, however, be despite its efficient look, caused some puzzle
likened to something presented by the senior ment.
class of a high school on a hot May night. A It read like this: University Regents Book
decided sheen of professional polish can be store, University of Nebraska. Terms: net 30
seen, both in the actors themselves and in the days; balance 10 cents.
sets and overall production. Talent, sometimes Typed underneath was the name of one of
overlooked in other phases of the campus world, the reporters who had been sent out for copy
becomes quite noticeable on the stage. pencils one day in November.
The Nebraskan -
FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OLD m 4 wr ewne to N printed. Fefcrmry . 1-
tUlI-mt 1111 YMmt M wwon rotter mt the pout Mtlr- tn
Member: Associated Collegiate Press kttorial STAFF"" "
toiercflliegiate Press rAltnr . Brv Knrm.
Eepresentatfve: National Advertising Service, K4iiHau ru Ediuw di
incorporated S:J.;;;:;:;::::;:::.v:::::..r'TS
PebUsbed at: Room 20, Stadent Lnlon Fmr m Hreitnwo
uti. - r tir Edltora Imeltrmr SwMmt, Monro I ther,
litik tc K BarlMwm Klmm. Bob
University of Nebraska hum nwi r.mr u"'r.!7,
Lincoln, Nebraska i.m.ti ff write Mm
ra WhmkTi tm rhl TwMHjr, WinI an M'llrdy, ArU-ne HrtwU, Cynthia Kafhau, Walt Blor.
Frioy turtm aflmot mt, rnorpt durlfMt raiatlnm tupnnrm: 1-tnrtm tvy. Hob Ireland, Pa Tln. Sfry
tsii rn wr1'i, anil tmm turn t puttihrd dining IMmi, MaHannc Ttaygowm, Mara Alwandrr, I'at
A vrot. i't.t f the I alvi-mlty f Nebnik tindr ftrakr, nhtna Kaymond. Afyr FrUehBiaa, Bob lr,
tfee i!,-.ri7 iLy at tl f ommliirt m Stodmt fBir . triwrxa hfityrt and IMrh Fmlrowr.
m w tyio of lo4mt BjrfnJtll. rnb(lrtwi under ( rfrcTvrVQ fiTfiCI?
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rtts !-a'l ba trr from ediwrtJ wnximt.lp on K,ina Manacmr . Grorn MadMi
rmrt f .,mtHe the part f m it a Bmtnn, Mlrh Nrff. Bill B.dvrrll.
" " '"v im t, m- m th, wl nl any Coanle Hnrat. Don IterU
im Mjtirf thm I 'tyMy. Tbe mrmnn t thm
Arhm.ijaa niKlf r penvtuHlr ntwolbl tar h Uwjr ClrclU ner Klthard BmdrU
TfiUHME TO rslYO SEAT, M'SS tXFsH.
Charlie's Trip
To The Moon
i
By JACK PHEWEY
One of these days, we may ex
pect to hear of scientists dragging
some dumbfounded ape from the
peaceful confines of his cage, strap
ping the beast into the pilot's seat
of a rocket ship and dispatching
him on a round-trip flight to the
moon.
Charlie (we shall assume that to
be the ape's name) will have noth
ing to do, of course, but enjoy the
trip. His course will be determined
by remote-control equipment in
some laboratory and his progress
observed by scientists from their
relatively safe position on terra
firma.
Assuming that the jaunt is suc
cessful and Charlie gets safely
"back to earth, another flight will
be shortly arranged. This time,
however, Charlie will be passed
The Left Bank
over and one of his human coun
terparts (some scientist) will take
the wheel.
Now there are several aspects of
space travel which I should like to
mention here. Can you imagine,
first, how the rump of a rhinoce
ros would look to a flea? If so,
you might be able to visualize how
the surface of the moon would
look to a human. Bleak, pock
marked plains and towering,
jagged mountains a silent, air
less world under black skies and
a broiling sun: this is the moon.
Or, consider the plant Mercury.
Here one might attain a suntan
which would make the P a 1 m
Springs variety look sick. Hot
enough to fry an egg? It gets hot
enough on Mercury to melt lead.
Moreover, if a person reached this
botspot on, say, Tuesday, he would
wait in vain for Wednesday. Why?
Simply because the planet always
presents the same face to the sun.
Consequently, on one side there is
no day, and on the other no night.
The giant Jupiter and its twin
sister, Saturn, have characteristics
all their own. Not only are they
composed chiefly of frozen gases,
but the gases which surround them
are so dense that it would be vir
tually impossible for a visitor to
determine where the surface 'of
these planets end and their at
mospheres begin.
Mars and Venus, on the other
hand, resemble the earth in many
ways, and undoubtedly will receive
special attention by future space
explorers.
Mars has little moisture, even
less oxygen, and severe cold at
night and winter; however, it does
have a considerable carbon-dioxide
atmosphere, great deserts, a 24
hour day, reasonable midday
temperatures and probably some
primitive vegetation.
Venus is still much of a mystery
to scientists, as it is enveloped by
such a hazy atmosphere that the
planet's surface is invisible to us.
The little green men of science fic
tion might indeed live there, but if
they do they're .mighty thirsty
chaps and more likely have leafy
branches than arms.
The Venusian atmosphere, like
that of Mars, is mostly carbon
dioxide and no trace of either oxy
gen or moisture has yet been dis
covered. Whether planetary colonization
will follow exploration will depend
k primarily, I suppose, on human
ingenuity. If our neighboring plan
ets prove rich in raw materials,
factories may someday dot their
surface and a space-freight service
inaugurated.
Naturally, we will be faced with
the inevitable territorial disputes
ind disagreements over the "so
cial goals" by which the activity
of our space-colonists shall be pat
terned. Looking further ahead, we won
der if exploration will ever push
beyond the limits of our solar sys
tem. Someone has observed that if
the sun-to-Pluto distance were re
duced to a scale of one mile, the
nearest star would be 5,000 miles
away.
In an atomic-powered rocket
travelling at near the speed of
light an explorer could reach this
star in about four years.
But when one speculates on man
travelling at near the speed of light
well, it would be awfully hard to
see where you were going.
Leah
The Challenge
y Suggests
for Habits
By FRANK LEAHY
Former Notre Dame
Football Coach
Thank yon ever so much for your letter of Nov. 28. I regret
(hat an extended business trip forced the postponement of aa answer to
you nntO this time and that heavy business commitments make it Im
possible for me to devote sufficient time in preparing an article such
as yo requested.
However, I should like to enclose with this letter aa article (I'm
sorry I don't know the author) which I have had in my pot session
a long time which concerns something which is of paramount impor
tance to each and every one of ot and from which wc can all derive
much.
"Habits are at first cobwebs, then cables." Spanish Proverb.
"Rip Van Winkle, in Jefferson's play, excuses himself for every
fresh dereliction by saying, 'I won't count this time!' Well, he may not
count it: and a kind heaven may not count it, but it is being counted
nonetheless.
Down among bis nerve cells and fibers, the molecules are counting
it, registering and scoring it up to be used against him when the next
temptation comes. Nothing we ever do is in strict scientific literalness
wiped out."
Persistence Increases Power
The above words are from "The Laws of Habits," by William
James, Harvard's long celebrated psychologist and philosopher. And
he adds: "Could the young but realize how soon they will become mere
walking bundles of habits, they would give more heed to their conduct
while in the plastic state.
As one unknown writer wrote: "That which we persist in doing
becomes easier to do; not that the nature of the thing has changed, but
that our power to do has increased.
Habits Not Hopeless
This may seem to offer little comfort to those who already have
habits that they want to be rid of. But fortunately, bad habits aren't
hopeless. A habit can be cured the same way it started: By starting
the habit of not doing it by doing something else instead. "A nail is
driven out by another nail," wrote Erasmus, and "Habit is overcome
6y Habit."
Bucking a bad habit is usually much more difficult than acquiring
one. It takes more effort to get out of a rut than it does to get in.
Brownell .Airs
Old Grudges
There is a dearth of really im:
port ant campus events suitable for
comment this week. Apparently
some people failed to take heed
of the splendid advice I offered
last week, and are still worried
about their courses. Well, it's
good enough for them. They should
have learned to listen to me by
now.
I do want to thank them for one
thing, though. Their lack of activity
in other spheres has given me a
Jess Jesting
chance to use this space for a few
personal comments. There are a
couple of things I'd like to get off
my chest.
First of all, I want to take the
editors of this newspaper to task.
Last week my column was cut to
bits in order that they might print
two poems written by some fellow
named Shapiro. Who is this Sha
piro, anyway? And where did you
get the idea that his work is more
important than mine?
My readers are not a notably
militant group but when their lead
er is insulted they thirst for blood.
I managed to contain them last
time, but if H happens again, you
had better watch out.
Another thing about that. You
could easily have cut Henkle's col
umn, which appeared on the same
page, and which was even worse
than usual. Everyone knows that
anything, even poetry, is better
than Henkle's work.
I trust that my editors are now
properly cowed and that I shall
have no more trouble with them,
so I may safely turn to another
matter.
I have long wanted to make a
few remarks about an obvious de
ficiency in the ROTC department.
No doubt this department has many
fine attributes, but I fear that a
sense of humor is not to be counted
among them.
At the slightest hint of criticism,
they bring their heavy artillery to
bear and boom out protests. If
they suspect that they are being
laughed at, they draw up to their
full military height and, intoning
the name of Black Jack Pershing,
charge for cover.
Now being caught without a sense
of humor on a college campus is
like being without a suit of armor
in a Robert Taylor movie; you'ra
an easy mark for the first black
guard who comes along.
I certainly don't want to be con
sidered a villain by anyone, and I
assure you that this is just intend,
ed to be a little friendly advice.
But gentlemen, if you can't learn
to laugh at yourselves, at least try
to be stoical about being laughed
at. Stoicism is a good military vir
tue. I feel much better having these
things off my chest. If someone
would only help me to get the
monkey off my back, I would ba
content.
Lefferip
Thanks
To the editor:
My thanks to The Nebraskan for
being so generous to Dr. Georgi,
Dr. Arnold and myself in tha
Tuesday issue of The Nebraskan.
I am not quite cure that we de
serve so much recognition, but it
is nice to have you think that wa
do.
My appreciation also for your
handling of the Shapiro story.
W. E. Miliazer
Deaa of the Arts and
Sciences College
r j " v
a
(Author 'Bartfoot Boy with Ck," ee.)
THE CARE AND FEEDING OF ROOM-MATES
Today we take up room-mates, a delightful phenomenon of
American college life. Having a room-mate is not only heaps of
f un ; it is also very educational, for the proper study of mankind
is man, and there is no better way to learn the dreams and
drives of another human being than to share a room with him.
This being the case, it is wise not to keep the same room-mate
too long, because the more room-mates you have, the more you
will know about the dreams and drives of human beings. And
that's what we're all after, isn't it?
So try to change room-mates as often as you can. A recent
study made by Sigafoos of Michigan State shows that the best
interval for changing room-mates is every four hours.
Now let us discuss how to go about choosing a room-mate. Most
counselors agree that the most important thing to look for in
room-mates is that they be
people of regular habits. This,
I say, is arrant nonsense. What
if one of their regular habits
happens to be beating a great
gong from midnight to three
a.m.? Or growing cultures ia
the tooth glass? Or reciting
the Articles of War? Or peanut
brittle?
Regular habits indeed ! I say
that beyond quibble, far and
away the most important qual
ity in room-mates is that they
be exactly your size. Otherwise
you will have to have their
clothes altered to fit you, which
can be a considerable nuisance.
In fact, it is sometimes flatly
impossible. I recollect one time
I roomed with a man named
Tremblatt Osage who was just
under seven feet tall and weighed nearly four hundred pounds.
There wasn't a blessed thing I could use in his entire wardrobe
until one night when I was invited to a masquerade party. I
cut one leg off a pair of Tremblatt's trousers, jumped into it,
sewed up both ends and went to the party as a bolster. (Inci
dentally, I took second prize. First prize went to a girl named
Antenna Wilkins who poured molasses over her head and went
as a candied apple.)
But I digress. Let us get back to the qualities that make de
sirable room-mates. Not the least of these is the cigarettes they
smoke. When we borrow cigarettes, do
we want them to be harsh, shoddy, and
oisaamrui of our palates? Certainly
not! What, then, do we want them to
be? Why, we want them to be gentle,
delicately-reared, and designed to suit
the tempo of today's broader, easier
life! And what cigarette is gentle,
delicately-reared, and designed to suit
the tempo of today's . broader, easier
life? Why, Philip Morris, of corris!
(IH bet you knew it all the time!)
To go on. In selecting a room-mate,
take great pains to find someone who
will wear well, whom you'd like to keep
as a permanent friend. Many of his
tory's great friendships first started in
college. Are you aware, for example,
of the remarkable fact that Johnson
and Eoswell were room-mates at Ox
ford In 1712? What makes this fact
so remarkable is that in 1712 Johnson
was only three years old and Boswell
vnot heen born yet But- of course,
children matured much earlier in those
days. Take Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
JT0 nis first symphony at the
teJZeStS?! Whv painted h fit masterpiece at five.
abl?S St rath' WM ln maRy the most remark-
tha?aTurr?rm-tlf d',b0Wever' that the "PPointment was less
at wifl TKpt L ramed the rohbin nd lootln
be It not VZZ rnS: McGrath Would P""ue them I
ne was not allowed to cross the street.) , c h i
UoiVndlirlJ10"1'' mho thU eoUmn, cordially
It', olZr.ZUVl 10 'rr ,od"' "f PIMP MorrU.