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bruce brugmann
r1 Note:
The following o'unin is pnmon of n artM-ie whth is tiring written fr
a HationRl m-iRaxtne by Bm-e Brugmann. prist eoitor of The Nemki,ri. It u
not me;int to reflect the ifW5 of tlie Summfr Nehrasknn. its staff, or the personnel
summer sessions. The view enresseil are Bnifcmann's. own interpretation of
reoent events with the iniversity. The Summer Net.rssfc.in twin that though tlw
column is of .ifwl significance to men-hers of the faculty, this aiivanc release
of the article is of interest to summer n1 regular session Miniums alike
The recent decision of the Uni
versity privilege .aid tenure com
mittee, upholding three charges
in full and three others in part
that administrative officials had
abridged the academic freedom of
Dr. C. Clyde Mitchell, dramatically
characterizes the self -i m paed po
sition of the University of Ne
braska. The six-member committee has
confirmed suspectionsaggravated
in 19S2 by the American Legion
attack upon Dr. E. N. Anderson,
in 1953 with a legislative attempt
to institute a faculty loyalty oath,
in 1954 with the pressure-soaked
resignation of Bill Glassford as
head football coach and in 1956
w ith the eruption of the. Mitchell
controversy that 1 the Univer
sity has been steadily falling prey
to powerful pressure groups in the
state, and (2 its administrative
officials have become dangerously
responsive to such outside pres
sures. I
In findings marked with care,
scholarly judiciousness and rare
courage, the committee report
leaves little doubt that penalties
inflicted uron Dr. Mitchell, in
cluding his eventual demotion as
chairman of the agricultural eco
nomics department, were prompted
by "continuing objections" to his
politico-e conomic views by
"groups within the state."
(Among letters filed in the rec
ord objecting to Dr. Mitchell were
-ones received from Charles Mar
shall, crustaceous president of the
Nebraska Farm Bureau; Fred E.
Owen, writing as president of the
Paxton and Vierling Steel in Oma
ha, and W. S. Henrion, writing as
vice-president and chairman of the
Woodmen Accident and Life Com
pany In Lincoln.)
Furthermore, it courageously ex
poses the public treachery ot
the administration (whose publicity
releases lacked "candor" and in
volved .an "unfortunate equivoca
tion"), , in trying to slip the
stiletto . to a professor on one
hand while disgorging platitudes
about academic freedom on the
other, an unenviable practice
matched only by the apparent un
concerned support of the Regents.
Wasn't it but four years ago
that the Regents, adopting a na
tionally acclaimed statement by
Dean Lambert, affirmed that "the
A wise old man (almost 40) said
to me the other day, "You can
gripe all you want as long as you
do your job." And Harry Truman
is reported to have told some of
the five percenters, "Boys, you
shouldn't be in the kitchen if you
can't stand the heat."
Two fine points to concern your
selves with.
Both are quite applicable as "
as campus politics are concerned,
I believe. It should be that those
with the best grades become the
greatest malcontents that is if
they have the time to gripe.
It seems that the admiaistratioa
nU Mr the requests stu
ck a ti r facalty members who
have proved their interest ia
academic life through hard work,
lag hears ami all the rest. Wbei
the day cames that the adminis
tratis will Mtt honor the requests
the real scholar -student or
teacher thea the chaacellar and
his fellow administrators bad bet
ter get avt of the kitchea.
However, I have found that the
present administration has al
ways been fair and has offered
time and effort to those students
who have approached Adminy Hall
with legitimate gripes I'll qualify
thf ii-i!i.r .iltoiU.lit f tlw Summer
Itm.fMi ! .npifii iriffM to roaster. S. J.t-
right to uphold, to discuss and
dissent are . . . the strength of
a great university"' and guaranteed
the teacher's right to speak' as a
citizen?
j Wasn't it only last year, in the
j heat of the Mitchell controversy,
I that Chancellor Hardin said,
! "Never, in my opinion, are th?
1 best i:itere?ts of a university
served by a violation of academic
I freedom?"
! It w as only a month and a half
I ago. following the publication of
I the Mitchell report, that Chancel
I lor Hardin " had no comment a.
this time;" Dean Lambert had
"no comment;" Dean Brecken
ridge, who originally scotched the
Mitchell rumors, was not contact
ed this time, and the Board of
Regents, singularly and collective
ly, had "no comment," except to
methodically issue a flock of
statements expressing "complete
confidence" in Chancellor Hardin.
The tragic thing, of course, is
that the report will accelerate
steps already long in motion to
assure that never again will an
other Mitchell report be laid bare
to embarrass the administration
before its constituency.
All avenues of communication
are being carefully sealed, includ
ing a tightening up of the Uni
versity Press and the latest of a
series of moves to emasculate The
Nebraskan; and a number of the
more courageous, outspoken pro
fessors, particularly those asso
ciated with the Mitchell case, will
become victims of promotion ma
nipulations, minimal salary raises
an innuendo campaigns.
The damage wrought by the
Mitchell case, but one of a series of
less-publicized incidents, stands as
a. successful invasion of the Uni
versity by private interests, im
periling not only the climate of
the independent mind but the at
mosphere of free university.
The University of Nebraska,
traditionally and potentially a
great institution of higher learn
ing, may regain its former status ,
only if an alert faculty realizes
that the Mitchell report fine in it
selfis nothing more than a dam
age report, doing little to either
solve the problem or insure effec
tively that never again will the in-
stitution be blemished by external j
assaults or internal defections.
dick sbugrue
that; The administration has been
fair as long as the knowledge ex
ists that the student is doing a
good job.
I cannot condone the sluggard
who has time for griping but no
time for work. I cannot believe
that anyone who spends more time
looking for trouble than looking
for books in the library has much
of a place in the University com
munity. Harry Truman's words bold
true today. They are probably en
shrined in Kansas City. They should
be enshrined in Lincoln at the cor
ner of 13th and R Streets.
Maybe it should read a little
differently. Something like this:
Now look,, all you hot shots
who think a University is for
words not actios. Your first re
sponsibility is toward the freedom
to think straight and to work bard.
You can insure academic freedom
best by avoiding fancy phrases
and by embracing hard work.
Make yourself aware of the
problems at the University and
approach those sources which can
alleviate them best. Become first
a searcher for education and then,
only if necessary, a roaring cru
sader for reform.
The Summer Nebraskan
It's with undisguised relief that
the editor turns in the last page
proof on the last edition of the
Summer Nebraskan. Six hot edi
tions, hot in the sense of swelter
ing offices and perspiring editors,
hrve left the tiny siaff wondering
if the Steve Wilson type newspaper
offices are not just a figment of
some non-journalistic mind.
The joke of the summer a
faculty member who remarked in
my presence, without knowing who
1 w as, that "the Summer Rag cer- j
tainly is dull reading. Why don't j
they get a controversy going?"! ! ! j
Mj advisors, William Hall and ,
James Morrison, and I had a
friendly spat over responsible
journalism and its definition. Con-
'rary to the opinion of a lot of fac
ulty members, student e a i t o r s
don't always enjoy stirring up con
troversies some of them even
have a few qualms about what
they print, and spend a few sleep
less nights wondering if they are
doing the right thing.
It isn't that the student editors
feel they must declare war on any
and all action taken by faculty and
administration, but sometimes at
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MILLER'S
sort? ones
nineteen and twenty they still have
a few ideals shining and still be
lieve in some of the platitudes
taught in their classes. The worry
of public relatioiis and "What it
looks like" are still less important
to them than what is the right
thing and how it ought to be.
Rumors fairly well confirmed
indicate that the Daily Nebraskan
will have an advisor next year in
the form of the newest addition to
the school of journalism staff. It's
things like this that make editors
wonder.
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