The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, May 19, 1958, Page Page 2, Image 2

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    Pooe 1
The Doily NJebrtsskon
Monday, May 19, 1953
Editorial Comment
The Elgin Protest
With the good must also often come
the bad. The closing of the Elgin Watch
Factory near the University campus has
meant the end of employment for many
Elgin workers long associated with the
plant and Lincoln. It has meant a re
duction in the job opportunities avail
able in Lincoln and likewise the end of
a large monthly payroll that benefited
Lincoln businesses.
These are the negative or bad aspects
of the closing of the Elgin plant The
good Is the opportunity the University
hai to purchase the plant for $725,000,
and to eventually convert it Into a class
room building to accommodate the ex
pected surge of students In the 1960's.
But such transactions seldom come off
without, to use the colloquial expression,
a hitch. The hitch is an objection by a
committee of former Elgin employes
against the manner in which Elgin ap
pears content to part with the plant.
This committee contends that Elgin of
ficials said they would do their best to
see if another industry was interested
in the plant if they closed down opera
tions. The close down has come and
Elgin officials have not kept their word,
Ted Darby, committee chairman, says.
Darby calls the $725,00 offer "phenom-
enonally low" in view of the plant's $1,
735,000 assessed valuation in 1953. He
objects that no other gronp had a chance
to bid on the plant as a possible indus
trial site before Elgin officials verbally
approved the purchase of the plant by
the University.
It is understandable that a man does
not like to lose his job. It is understand
able that he will do his best to secure
employment. But sometimes one fails to
take into consideration the more distant
good that may come from a transaction
which is initially to his detriment. The
purchase of the plant by the University
would seem to be the best step forward
not only for the school but for the city
of Lincoln itself.
In the first place, a growing Univer
sity should not be limited In elbow room
if it is to keep pace with other colleges
throughout the nation. Toward Elgin is
about the only way left for the Univer
sity to expand. This area should thus be
acquired without hesitancy.
When the 1960's roll around this wiH
mean that the University will not only
be less crowded but that Lincoln will
also be able to boast a better University
than it could if it were not allowed to
expand now. The school could immedi
ately begin long range planning to make
the plant area a congruent part of the
rest of the campus.
Lincoln will also benefit by the even
tual removal of industrial plants from
the heart of the city to more suitable
fringe areas. It is significant that one
industrial official said that no businesses
had shown interest in the building and
that more than 5.5 million square feet of
vacant industrial building is available in
the United States. New companies, it ap
pears, seem more interested In con
structing their own industrial plants to
more modern building specifications,
such as one-story rambling buildings
rather than compact several-story build
ings. Should another industry show its in
terest in the plant it is still felt that the
University should compete with their
bids because this is an area and a
building which the school cannot afford
to let slip through its fingers. The Board
of Regents probably feels the same way.
The Chancellor is to be complimented
for his "gentle" handling of this case by
saying that the University would delay
its offer for the plant. He, too, must
realize that few other industries are in
terested in the site. And without a doubt
he realizes that little good will can be
built up by ignoring unemployed persons'
pleas.
The delay if not prolonged (which
surely it will not be) will not hurt the
University. But the delay should not be
come a stalemate.
From the Editor
private opinion
dick shugruc
Shugrue
To add tinder to the fire, Nebraska
Press Association president Jack Lough,
publisher of the Albion News, said Sat
urday afternoon that high school stu
dents should be given an opportunity to
study both speech and
journalism in their four
year English curricu
lum and get credit for
the subjects.
Lough's argument was
based on some pretty,
conclusive data he had i
dug up, some of which
is obvious. He first of all
stated that everyone has
the job of effective com
munication facing him
in such a complex world as ours.
Putting knowledge to work is a task
confronting all of us, and the study of
Bpeech and journalism has a very prac
tical part in that job.
Lough further pointed out that 60 per
cent of all high school graduates never
gat to college and, consequently, have
a pressing need for effective communi
cation skills as soon as they graduate.
Some of the persons advocating cut
ting speech and journalism courses from
the high school curricula in our state
could well go back to high school
I'h.D.'s or not and learn how to speak
the English language so that the listener
isn't muddled by professional jargon or
Faulkncrlan sentences.
Journalese, the language used by
newspapers and radio commentators
is condemned by the advocates of the
involved sentence, the elongated para
graph, the ridiculously extended idea.
While reading Joe Alex Morris' story
of the United Press, Deadline Every
Minute, published by Doubleday, I came
across a quotation from a former United
Press General News manager who said,
"The biggest single service we can ren
der our clients is to give them more
news in fewer words." This, as far as
I'm concerned, applies to a paper like
ours, or for that matter, to everyday
conversation.
The less time it takes to get an idea
across, the more compactly you can ex
press an idea effectively, are the meas
ures of your success to communicate in
our whiz bang world.
Bluntly, we don't have time to pore
over Henry James-styled essays. More
over, communication shouldn't provide a
challenge to the communicators, it
should convey ideas. There is nothing
lunkheaded about a simple sentence.
There is nothing glorious about the compound-complex
sentence. The har-hars
coming from beraters of newspapers are
coming from people who, themselves,
have a hard time getting across to the
average man.
I, for one, would like to accomplish
a couple of things before my job here
is over. 1) I'd like to find out what
statistical evidence, if any, leads the
English teachers to call for a cut of
speech and journalism courses from a
four-year English program. 2) I'd like
to find out why, if the teaching of gram
mar is so important at the University,
"flunkies" are teaching some basic
grammar courses rather than the top
people in the English departments. 3)
I'd like to know what good Shakespeare
or Shaw can be to a high school student
who can't even read and analyze the
newspaper and decide for himself what
shape the world is in and why, or who
can't get up on his feet in front of a
political group or a school assembly
and talk about Shaw.
I'm all for the English language,
needless to say. But I'm all against a
bunch of dunderheaded high school
graduates who know plenty of words,
plenty of literature, plenty of poetry, but
can't even make sensible, intelligent
conversation about what's going on
around him.
IORHSHHI1
8TXTT-SEVEN YEARS OLD
Member: Associated Collegiate Frew
Intereollef late Press
Be preventative: National Advertising
Service Incorporated
Published at: Room 20, Student Union
14th ti K
Lincoln, Nebraska
9t RUy NeBiwkim Is pnDllabed Monday, XaeMia ,
tVoawmout and tfrMmy durint Mm mSmmiI year, except
ataruw vaatiewi and exam period, and am (sue h
BMtrlMMd aorta assnet, tiy (tudenta of un Uarnnit
at Naanuna ander tin anthorliarton of tax Uommltter
, am Ntaaeat Affair, an an sprMMon of student oplotou.
Fettltmtkma anorr the (nrtuttfttton sf the Knhenm
mtttm n suioret fnhltmlim. nhitll he free frm
editorial eamnnli on the purl of the HuitaHnratttee
ax aa toe aarl af aw aasaiaer af tot faculty at taa
Oatvsnttr. The amilbew af tan Nsttmokaa staff aw
asmoaauy napaMlbta tat what tey say, er au, or
aaaaa to tw BWnted. February , U.
Mubwrtpttan nuas an RtJM Bar eme.tor at (4 tot
taw aeademte rear.
Kntered aa an food slaa Blatter at the aost office m
Uneola, tUbranka, on dor tna act of tajoM 4. 1012.
BDVIOBlAi. STAFF
traitor Dtefc Mnirat
Kdliortal Editor finest Hint
Managing Editor .................. .Mack Londftram
New Editor Emmie Llmas
Aporte Kdltor toorg Mover
Copy Kdlton Oary Rodxon, Olaaa tfaxvrell,
fat Flannutao, tarrau Hraiu, (iratehen Hide
Ntrht Wena Kdltor Carroll It ram
tfl Wrlton . .Manmrel IVortman.
Herb Probaaag, and Cannon rtmllli
limine Maaarer Jem HeMeniln
AenMtant Hoaiaess Hiatnn Tom Nefl,
tan italman, hob Nmtdi
my....... .Jn Trupo
Tm Tiilling Against Him"
At Other Colleges:
Syracuse Student
Pickets Militarism
My Weal Or Woe
Basoco
''Placement tests at the Uni
versity in no way affect your
grade."
This Is a statement I have
heard uttered by our adminis
trators, and
I have made
this flat dec
laration to a
number of
high school
students in
various trips
to schools
around this
part of the
state myself.
Then I saw
the figures. Last semester 949
grades were given in English
B. With 91 individuals failing
the course, the percentage of
flunks was 1 out of 10. Six
sevenths of the people in B
got a m a r k of 5 or below.
There were 28 sevens, 5
eights, and zero, that's spelled
z-e-r-o, nines.
I couldn't quite get a pic
ture of the ideal bell shaped
curve for grade distribution
out of these figures, so I de
termined to find out why, if
the placement tests don't de
termine your grade, out of
nearly a thousand students
there wasn't a single one who
was superior enough to get a
9.
It was sort of frustrating.
Every time I started to raise
a great hue and cry about
the injustice of it all to a
member of the English depart
ment, I got referred to this in
dividual by the name of Dud
ley Bailey. Mr. Bailey is in
charge of the freshman En
glish program and, I was told,
was the logical person to see.
So last week I "screwed
my courage to the sticking
point" and trundled in to see
this awesome man who holds
the fate of some 2,000 fresh
men a year in his hands.
With all the cunning ac
quired in nearly a semester of
yellow journalism, I asked
him if he didn't think it wa3
odd that out of 950 students
not one single 9 was given.
Tapping his pipe in his ash
tray, Mr. Bailey replied that
no. he wasn't surprised.
Before I even had an op
portunity to snap "why" with
all the ferocity of a Perry
Mason with a witness on the
stand, ht genially went on to
explain that if the placement
system is working accurately,
and the English department
feels that it is, there should
be no 8's or 9's because the
top English students, the ones
who have the ability to do 8
or 9 work, have been sectioned
into English 3. Therefore, the
grades in B should be ex
pected to be heavier at the
lower end of the grade curve.
Thinking that he had an
swered that question rathe
nicely, 1 asked Mr. Bailey if
it was really fair to grade the
B students according to Eng
lish 3 standards. Not to do so,
said he, would be untair to the
English 3 students. It seems
that on the University's grade
records English B and 3 are
simply "Freshman English"
and no differentiation is mado
between the two. Anyone look
ing at the records cannot tell
who was in B and who was in
3. If B and 3 were not graded
on the same standard, a per
son could have an 8 in "Fresh
man English" after taking B.
and another could have an 8
on the same books but having
taken English 3. No one will
dispute the fact that the two
grades, derived from differ-,
ent standards, would hardly
be equivalent. Yet the observ
er would not be able to tell
there was a difference and
would naturally think the stu
dents had the same ability in
English. v.
My complaint deals not
with whether or not grading
all freshmen English students
by dick basoco
by the same standard is fair,
but that the English B stu
dent is not aware of the fact
This would account for the
complaint that ""I was doing a
lot better than the rest of the
kids in English B and still
only got a 6."
Maybe that's true; maybe
yon are doing better thsn your
B, 1 and 2 classmates; but
how well are yon doing com
pared to English 3 students?
And English 2 is used as the
standard for grading because
this is the level of ability that
the English department feels
that it has the right to ex
pect from graduates of ac
credited Nebraska high
schools.
Is it too much to expect?
I hope not. And I wasnt
wrong after all. Placement
tests do not affect your
grade. They simply show what
you are likely to get.
"'Most students so placed,"
says the English department
about B students, 'are not
likely to demonstrate better
than average command of the
language."
So when you get a 5 out of
B or 1, don't feel you're being
discriminated against; you're
getting what you deserve by
English 3 standards.
A graduate student in an
thropology at Syracuse Uni
versity last week broke her
silent protest against growing
militarism in the United
States and staged a 1-woman
picket of the Syracuse ROTC
review parade.
About 150 spectators were
startled to see the coed
marching back and forth in
front of the reviewing stand
and through the ranks as the
cadets were at attention dur
ing the playing of the national
anthem.
Mickey Albert, Syracuse
Daily Orange reporter, said
the crowti jeered at her ac
tions with such statements as
"get a passport and leave,"
"treason," "spreading Rus
sian propaganda," and "yon
cant talk to someone in
sane." Albert said Mrs. Sachs
seemed shaken and upset aft
er the picketing and said her
purpose was not to make a
demonstration or to fight with
anybody.
Mrs. Sachs told Mm:
"Marching is exciting and
has an appeal in and of it
self. There is something mag
netic about an army march
ing and a band playing. But
at every military parade,
there ought to be at least one
person protesting. That's why
I was there.
"The purpose of aa army
is to wage war; it is the train
ing of young men to kilL Yon
see little boys playing with
wooden and tin soldiers, and
when they grow op, they
want to play real soldier. I
wish they didnt want to play
soldier. It frightens me to
think that they are playing
with real weapons and
bombs. I wonder if they real
ize that they are no longer
playing with toys?"
Mrs. Sachs said she con
tinued her protest march dur
ing the national anthem be
cause: 'Nationalism or chau
vinism is the stuff of which
militarism arises. Love of
our country should be sub
ordinate to love of humanity
love of country is not a good
enough reason for killing peo
ple. People today nave to se
riously consider at which
point killing is important
'I feel what is of value in
Americanism is the humanis
tic outlook the value of hu
man life, and this is what we
seem to be overlooking.
"No one is looking for an
alternative for war. We are
too busy preparing for it, but
there has to be one, and mill-
tary might just isnt the an
swer. "If the time and effort be
ing put into militarism big
ger and better weapons and'
bombs were put into looking
for an alternative for peace,
we would get somewhere.
"I feel that the general pub
lic and the generals sincerely
want peace, but don't know
just how to go about achiev
ing it; perhaps now, the gen
erals are even starting to be
lieve what they say about the
necessity of maintaining a
strong army.
"If this is the case then, we
are la a very dangerous po
sition. I have a 13-montb-old
daughter, who I dont want to
die because of war andor
radiation.
"Our only hope is that we
will come to the realization
that we are going to have to
take a chance we are going
to have to be willing to gam
ble on the inherent worth of
humanity."
The Vice Chancellor of tha
school, who was on the re
viewing stand, said "since
this is America, Mrs. Sachs,
and anyone else has the right
to their opinions, and their
protests. She did not disturb
us at all; we just ignored
the incident"
Jim Carleton, assistant
dean of men, said the demon
stration was "in exceedingly
poor taste," according lo the
Syracuse student paper.
I Good For Grins
A maid being Interviewed
explained that she left her last
position because she couldnt
stand the way the master and
mistress were always quar
reling. 'That must have been
unpleasant," remarked th
prospective employer. "Yes,
sir," the girl declared, they
was at it all the time. When
it wasn't me and him, it was
me and her1." (Tbt Header'!
Digest)
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