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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (May 25, 1956)
Pcaa 2 THE NEBRASKAN Friday, May 25, 1956 Mcbraskan Editorials: 'It Tolls For FiG3 For several weeks The Nebraskan has been discussing academic freedom at the University of Nebraska. With the publication of charges by various University professors, the discussion has as sumed most serious proportions. But it must be emphasized strongly that we do have aca demic freedom on this campus, and the very fact that this paper has been able to publish what it has is concrete evidence that such es sential freedom exists. Nevertheless, The Nebraskan has raised two areas of consideration which constitute a serious threat to the concept of academic freedom at the University. First, the many statements which The Ne braskan hat run in recent issues indicate that the spirit of academic freedom has been abriged in the individual cases of several Uni versity professors. Secondly, on the strength of the evidence which these statements produce, the serious question is raised as to whether the prinoiples of academic freedom in the true and final sense of the word will remain at the Uni versity, just as the serious question is raised aa to how long The Nebraskan will retain its freedom. But it Is to these two points the moral aspect of academic freedom and its future at the Uni versitythat The Nebraskan has its serious at tention. And it is in these two points that lie the key to the academis autonomy, and inevitably the institutional Integrity, of our University. The Nebraskan is fairly sure though not dogmatically certain that we can control com munism Without sacrificing our constitutional liberties; we can combat the influence of special Interest groups without jeopardizing our intel leoutal independence; we can stop the deadly trend toward conformity without endangering the vitality of our institution and the creativity of its personnel; wt can resist the demands which elements in the state of Nebraska have imposed upon our University without imperiling the principles of academic freedom. . But the Nsbraskan is equally convinced in every conceivable sense of the word that we cannot control communism if we do sacrifice our constitutional liberties; we cannot combat special interest groups if we do jeopardize our intellectual independence; we cannot stop the trend toward conformity if we do endanger the vitality of our institutions and the creativity of its personnel; we cannot resist the demands which elements in the state of Nebraska have imposed upon our University if we do imperil the very principles upon which it was founded. M. . , And though all the wihds ef doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be In the field, we do injuriously be licensing and pro hibiting to misdoubt her strength. Let her end falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth to put to the worse in a free and open encounter?" And by the same token, who ever knew the principles upon which our constitutional liber ties, our intellectual independence and our uni versities were established put to the worse in a free and open encounter?" It has been upon this premise that The Ne braskan has urged that all the facts surrounding the demotion of Clyde Mitchell be placed before the public for a free and open discussion; it is upon this basis that we are glad to find that Mitchell's charges have been placed formally before the University Committee on Academic Tenure and Privilege. But it is with genuine regret that the initials B.B. must be placed behind its last Nebraskan editorial before all the facts are brought before the public in a larger issue which may determine the future and integrity of the University of Ne braska. But they rest for the last time in their usual position with but one solemn reminder: that those who have yielded to pressure; that those who have sacrificed principle; that those who have forsaken integrity; that those who have been afraid to stand up and fight for the rights which are theirs may , . not send to know for whom the bell tolls." The tragedy is that "it tolls for thee." B.B. Disconcerting Results . Some, rather significant statists were re vealed before the floor of the Interfraternity Council ia their last meeting. For the first time the fraternity system has had the data avail able to observe the correlation between pledges' high school quartile ratings and their initial average made at the University, And this year's results were rather discon certing. For out of the total number of men pledged less than half were eligible for initiation into their respective active chapters, with the re quired 5.0 average. Approximately 230 men failed to make the required average, contrasted to the 182 who did. - Further investigation into these figures siww that 7 per cent of those pledged who were in the first quartile made their average. The per centage then droDs to 36 ner cent in the second quartile, 26 per cent in the third quartile and nine per cent in the fourth. The partiality a fraternity seems to have towards a so called "good guy" has always had a controversial position. However, even if the value of such an individual merits his pledging, the fact remains that in order for him to be beneficial to a chapter he must be affiliated for the full four years of his college career, which can be attained by acquiring the required 5.0, It is here the proverb reappears that "it is much easier to make a 'good guy' out of a scholar than it is to make a scholar out of a good guy,' " The importance of the selection process used in rushing certainly should be adapted to scholastic standards as well as social. B.C. Toward A Monetary Boost There is a marked span between salary levels ; ;f instructors at this University which was made apparent n a list of Nebraska-connected govern ment job salaries released last month. Since the University is a state institution, its salaries were included on the list. The top salary is, of course, the Chancellor, at $17,500. The dean of the College of Medicine is close behind With $16,000. Next is the Director of Athletics with $12,500 and the comptroller and the head football coach at $12,000, Ten of the deans of colleges are at this level, receiving between $12,000 and $13,000 yearly. Eleven other faculty members get $10,000, in eluding six in the College of Dentistry, Assistant football coaches receive $8000, $7200 and $6500. They are rated as assistant pro fessors,. Average salary for University assistant professors is $5770. The heed coach is an associ- i Outstanding , Aa outstanding university professor, known for his stimulating and thought-provoking lee .' tures, gave simple short speech at the end of his last class period of this semester that the students ia his seminar class will not soon forget. ' With genuine sincerity and feeling, he thanked the students of his class for giving to him one of the most enjoyable and dynamic semesters at this university. He complimented the stu denta for their contributions to the discussions and termed the class, "one of the best expe riences I've had in Lincoln." Needless to aay, the, persons to whom he ad dressed the comment felt the same way, ate professor. Average for associate professors on a 12-month basis 'is $7040. Full professors, working on a 12-month bpsis, receive $8919. Most full professors, however, work on a 9-month basis for an average of $7074. Instructors average $4588 a year. The differ ence between instructors and full professors is more than $4000, between instructors and aesoci nte professors about $2500 and between in structors and assistant professors about $1000. Deans of colleges get about twice as much as an instructor. The point of these figures is that the average Instructor the backbone of the academic fac. ulty receives a salary quite a bit less than football coach, and what would seem to the layman to be quite a bit less than a professor. This does not call for lowering of salaries of football coaches. A coach at any large school and many amall ones is under mental and physical strain usually not felt by the average instructor. Coaches' also have no academic tenure, and can be fired at any time. Instructors, even with their tenure and other faculty privileges, often find it hard to get along on small salaries and still keep up a high degree of research and background work their courses and other academio functions entail. The administration should look into the possi bility of boosting faculty salaries, if for no "other reason than to keep the University's salary level up with other schools of similar size and makeup. A little monetary boosting could very well boost the academic proficiency of the University as wall.F.T.D, a- n I m em mm mm mm r y 71 w i, mm. mb. By ALDOUS HUXLEY; patience and reoollectedneas A soglety, in which the boss Perennial philosophy without which there cannot be Is mad enough to believe hlm- J.MSe.;thenthtreM tov, ,JOl of er G.d. . prophet, is a society enough even to aspire to uni- And- woond, he must realize doomed to destruction. A vt. live knowledge of the Divine that the accident of possessing able society Is one which those Ground provided that, while temporal power does not give who have qualified themselves exercising power, he fulfills him spiritual authority, which to see indicate the goals to be two conditions. belongs only to those seers, aimed at, while those whose TSrst, he must deny hlmsetf living or dead, who have business It is to rule respect c "I i:-9 personal advantages of achieved a direct Insight into the authority and listen to the fewer and must practice the the Nature of Things. ndvlce of seera. Iio Nebraskan nFTT-ITlS YEAR! OLD ' Kntma m ! um tt m u an . tu tfwdjtn Aiaecislel Collegiate press M " Auttrt fctewlleglat Press . - SDIT08ML STAFF s!BBttffe National Advertising $crvlee, M ' TzZZ&pi tt Room , Student tin! M-Wi t4Hm mm i';S & R hwwtti pu Mm KrvKmaa . ,' 7 .7 . " Mltora tloto Cook, Arlona Hrteak. Mam aUiara, Vi "vtirs y of Nebraska iito mwim. Lincoln, Noltraska mtt meitm wiifwa nhttn !i, ptirkrn la itoMislma, TiwvIkt, Vt&rmT Night Now Kriltw ................... .ArtMio ttrlxk - norma ' . ""I't ritt. SmKntUn Htntt Wfftm Clnrtf XmImw. Won, , .i ( -.... hd or. Hw ( pi.t.Mmwl during Km -torn, Mwitit., h MMi. .w " or ' '' of "ih t.nuitn: Nny tlnt. Mftrinm Thvwit, Oorf t.. it ..imm iw Mumr, Hob Win, III. fraiaouu tuilm luwU. ,,. f,w,iu iu.n f : r-nnnmnnwum mm Hmiimt 9tfe.TKVVl Wirt , ,.. - , mm trvm ." l muiwh oo toa 6.UO4.v-a ali ' i' P.t of -...inMt Manwm ., trm MadMra i !, so pi ii'flJt. t-rnmtr . !''!. .... OhmilmUmm MaBMPaa IUhard HaBdla D ?MAN on campus v by Dick lible'r llWOH SCWfCNe FLUNKING iN EVTCY CMf Of W COKSB ME; Independents Gain Strength UOxJ This is the last time you will see the Silent Majority. So, let's look back over the year and see what the independent students have accomplished this year. (In case you have forgotten, this col umn is dedicated to active inde pendent students and their inter ests.) The year 1955-58 can be record ed as one of considerable progress for independent organizations. Tor during this past year the Big Four, Barb Activities Board for Women, Women's Residence Hslls, Inter-Co-op Council and the Residence Association for Men, have expand ed their programs greatly and laid the foundations for much more expansion in the future. BABW, under the capable lead ership of Carol Anderson, has strengthened its position as a uni fying body for all independent women. Vic Golletz of ICC showed a real The Challenge Sovereignity f SuTvivQi te F By ELMO ROPER Public Opinion Poll Specialist I should like to present for the readers of your paper a problem which I am afraid is getting much too little serious attention in the free world today. During the past two decades, by reason of the airplane and faster ships and rapid communication, the world has shrunk, to where London, Berlin, and Moscow are now closer to Boston, for example, than Boston was to Charleston in 1776. During those same decades the Ingenuity of the human race has succeeded in producing weapons which can wipe out most of he population of large cities at a single blow. During those same two decades the free world hat been confronted with a resurgence of extreme na tionalism, not only in Germany and Russia but in newly liberated coun tries in two of the so-called back ward continents, Asia and Africa. Along with this it has been con fronted with extreme smnifesta tions of the philosophy that the state is all important that man exists to serve the state rather than the state exists to serve man. Wih distance shortened so that no part of the United States is more than a very few hours away from total destruction by a wea pon whose effectiveness has been proved, and with extreme nation alism going hand in hand with the philosophy that the individual hu man is not very important after all, we have a situation of appal ling consequences for people who want peace along with freedom and who believe in the dignity of man. Unfortunately, our political sci entists, our . economists, and our good work they have done have not made the progress necessary to prevent the combination of situ ations outlined above from becqrn ing a veritable tinderbox. Twice within my lifetime those nations whose people believe in peace and freedom and the dignity of man have been called upon to stand shoulder to shoulder in wars against the forces of extreme na tionalism and a philosophy that the individual is of lUtls import ance. When called upon to do so, they have had to hastily improvise military cooperation, economic col Isboration, and some measure of political untiy as represented in their several foreign policies. The delays have been costly but far less,costly than they would be now that we and others have the hydro gen bomb. It seems to me that the democracy-loving peoples of the world will never be able to achieve respite from the threat of constant aggression and constant war until they recognize the fact that the important thing is the sovereignty of the individual, not the soveriegn ty of the state. We as citizens make out own de cisions that we will have certain parts of our government carried out by duly elected city officials; other parts carried out by duly elected county officials; other parts by the state; and other parts by the United States. Why can't we then exercise that sovereignty to decide that still other parts of the necessary acts of self-government must be car ried out on a bigger scale now that physically, at least, we do have "one world." I am, of course, asking for con sideration of some sort of a care fully worked out plan which will put the foreign policy of the United States and a limited number of pur democratically minded nations in common hands. I would go further and have a common military force. Whether or not we can go still further to ward the elimination of tariff bar riers, of common currency, etc., is something which I think calls ior the careful deliberation of the best minds in all the countries which believe in the dignity of man. Yet it seems to me very few people are worried about the fact that we have not changed -out po litical and economic structure to meet conditions in a world which has been, so. considerably altered otherwise. . Some say, "It's a wonderful dream and I'm all for it, but it can't happen in our lifetime." I have no basic quarrel with U.S. Should Emphasise Trade, Not Dollar Aid By JOHN HEECKT With the recent overtures of Rus sian assistance to West Europe till ringing in their ears, perhaps the statesmen of this great na tion will put aside petty public pressures for a bit of conscientious reappraisal of our own policy con cerning aid to this area. Certainly, with the wolves knocking at the very door of the eitadel of Western power, there could be no more propitious time tor this appraisal. The Russians have struck at the heart of the difficulties en countered in putting Western Eu rope on a sound economic fottlng; that is the lack of dollars with whioh to buy the necessary mater ials required to build industry and carry out trade. . . They, recognizing this tremend ous deficiency, have offered trade and assistance to these nations, but only on a ruble basis. If Western business men take the Russian offer, it should come as no surprize to the American gov ernment; and It is probably ex pected by the leading American economists. This group of economists has claimed since the beginnings of American economic aid that the only real solution for the recovery of these countries is in the trade Chey ask for, not in the aid we give them. For in order for these countries to rise to what w consider a de cent living standard, they must be able to specialize; in order to speoiallza they must be able to sell their products abroad, enabl ing them to buy th tilings they do not produce. Only two countries esn purchase those products and in turn supply West Europe with buying power end capital to pay debts; these two countries are the United States and Russia. We have consistently refused, thrugh our tariff legislation, to trade with these countries on an anywhere near reasonable basia. We have Instead granted them hugh sums of money which gen erally was of no permanent value to their overall gain In living standards, served merely to an tagonize them and cost the in dividuals of -this nation billions of Jiollrs that need not have been spent. It seems surprising that even though the Randall Commission and many private surveys have Indicated the only real harm from foreign trade would be the stifling of industries In this country that have never been a profitable part of its economy, and that only ex isted because of the lack of com petition the United States will not allow foreign trade of any de gree, but has actually hampered Jt more through the Republican amendments of the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act which was our one contribution to the ending Of international trade barriers. U. S. foreign policy has long been a subject of scathing attacks, not only by foreign observers with hundreds of years experience In making foreign policy, but also by the most renowned political scientists In this country and a good many of the permanent mem bers of the foreign service. This type of illogical, wasteful and ineffective policies, such as the one concerning foreign aid, aay indicate the reason why. people who say that, but I would like to point out that unless some of us start working for it new, it won't happen in our grandchil dren's lifetime and, indeed, if the physical scientist s keep on being ahead of the political sci entists, our grandchildren may not have a lifetime! Another argument frequently ad vanced is the sanctity of national sovereignty. I submit that in many respects national sovereignty is a myth and no longer exists. The government of the United States made no sovereign decision to go to war on December 7, 1941. That decision was taken out of their hands, and to that extent we were not sovereign. If those in charge of the for eign policy of Norway were today to take certain steps which involved them in war with Russia and if we lived up to our solemn commit ments under NATO, we outselves would be at war with Russia through no "sovereign decision" of out own but simply because in the present state of affairs sover eignty of that kind is a myth. If one hundred or more men rep resenting the best brains of the United States, Canada, Grjat Brit ain, the Netherlands, France, Bel gium, Luxembourg and any others that in their wisdom they might choose to invite were to sit down with plenty of time which, thank God, they now have, since we are in a state of rela tive peace! and with the aid of competent technicians in the field of political science, economics, and the military, thrash out the ques tion of how much of what kind of unity it is possible for the free world to achieve and how much must wait for a later day, I for one am confidant that whatever their decision and however much it might disagree with my present notions of what the results would be, it would not only be better than any present notions, but what's more important, far, far better than what we now have. Interest in the cause of the co-ops and has helped put the ICC some what nearer the position it should hold. ICC has a long way to go but Its progress has been ncour aging. The Residence Halls for Worn en, always hampered by the pres. ence of pledges living in the halls, has made some strides which seemed impossible short 'time ago. Special commendation should The Silent Majority go to House Council for successful sponsorship of a winning glee club. Organized only two weeks before Ivy Day, the group took second place in competition with other groups who had practiced many weeks. The WHR club is a voluntary, membership group and partici pants purchased their own music. Because of overcrowded quarters the WHR social program was abandoned but Governess Ruth Vollmer and ' the other officers worked closely with other groups to provide jointly sponsored social activities. The largest and probably most rapidly growing of the Bjg Four is the RAM. With Doug Jensen in the presidency for a second year, the RAM proved that it can really push a program along. The possibilities are far from exhausted; in fact the potential has barely been touched. But things at Selleck Quad have hap pened faster than even anyone thought possible. The RAM started its glee club early in the fall and has had one successful appearance after anoth er. It has done concerts, appear, ances in Lincoln, a TV show and made its Ivy Day debut. Next year plans look even bigger with the possibility of an all-campus event In the offing. Probably, the first photography club to have its own darkroom on the campus was founded by the RAM this year. Through 6he dili gent efforts of a few leaders the club has cleared the planning and constitutional hurdles and will open in the fall with a physical plant. Each of these organizations has many more accomplishments to its credit and many more persons deserve mention for their work. The birth given to the Fusion ist party, though still in its in fancy, stands as a monument te the spirit of cooperation of the Independent organizations. They ur gently hope that they have begun what will be a truly representative political party and not another fac tional group that puts affiliation over Issues and character ia the selection of candidates. A final indicator of the rapid rise in independent spirit is the establishment of a chapter of the National Society of Tomahawk, a leading independent honorary. In centive will undoubtedly be boosted by the presence of the chapter. Altogether it has been a great year but it can easily be dwarfed in its accomplishments by succeed ing years because of the nearly un. limited scope of independent activj ties. All indications show that the spir it is strong and will grow stronger with each passing year. 0 0 mi r Emf tmar 'Fading Ideals' 0 !Si$2iMQ Must Be By ALFRED NORTH WHITEHEAD The Aims ef Education The fading of ideals is said evidence of the defeat of human endeavor. In the schools of an tiquity philosophers aspired to impart wisdom; In modern col leges our humbler aim is to teach subjects. The drop from the divine wis dom, which was the goal of the ancients, to text-book knowledge of subject, which is achieved by the moderns, mBrks an edu cational failure, sustained through the ages. I am not maintaining that in the practice of education the ancients were more successful than ourselves. My point ia that, at the dawn of our European civilization, men started with the full ideals which should inspire education, and that gradually our ideals have sunk to square with our practice. But when ideals have sunk to the level of practice, the result is stagnation. In particular, so long as we conceive intellectual education as merely consisting in the acquirement of 'mechan ical mental aptitudes, and of formulated statements of useful truths, there can be no prog ress. What I am anxious to Impress on you is that though knowledge is one chief aim of intellectual education, there is another in gredient, vague but greater, and more dominating in its import ance. The ancients called it "wisdom." You cannot be wise without apme basis of knowledge; but you may easily acquire know- Adjusted ledge and remain bare of wis dom. Now wisdom is the way in which knowledge Is held. It con cerns the handling of knowledge, it selection for the determina tion of relevant issues, its em ployment to add value to our immediate experience. This mastery of knowledge which is wisdom, Is the most in timate freedom obtainable. The only avenue towards wisdom is by freedom in the presence of knowledge. But the only avenue towards knowledge is by disci pline in the acquirement of or dered fact. Freedom and dis cipline are the two essentials of education. The antithesis in education be tween freedom and discipline is not so sharp as a logical analysis of the meanings of the terms might lead us to imagine. The pupil's mind is a growing or ganism. . On the one hand it ia aot a box to be ruthlessly packed with alien ideas; and, on the other hand, the ordered acquirement of knowledge is the natural food for a developing intelligence. Accordingly It should be the aim of an ideally constructed education that the discipline should be the voluntary Issue of free choice, and that the free dom should gain an enrichment of possibility as the issue of dis cipline. The two principles, freedom and discipline, are not antagon ists, but should be so adjusted that they correspond to a natural way, to and fro, of the develop ing personality.