Wednesday, March 9, 1960
Page 2
The Daily Nebraskan
Editorial Comment:
Council Should Consider
Direct Officer Election
Every spring after Student CouncH elec
tions, the outgoing Council chooses five
of its junior members to serve as senior
btildover members for the next year.
Ana irora mese live, tne oaices or presi
dent, first vice-president and second vice
president are filled by the old Council's
vote.
The new Council chooses the recording
secretary, corresponding secretary and
the treasurer. All these officers are sopho
mores, who will serve during their junior
year.
Thus Council members themselves
1 choose the officers whose decisions often
have either a direct or indirect influence
on the entire University community.
Rationalization behind these Council
censtitutional provisions is that Council
members themselves know best who
should serve as holders of three of the
most potentially powerful offices on cam
pus. Although the basis for this claim may
have some justification, it might be worth
considering direct election of all Council
officers as a provision of the to-be-revised
Council constitution.
Direct election of presidents of legisla
tive bodies has background in American
political history. For instance, the U.S.
Senate is presided over by the Vice
President, who is directly elected by popu
lar ballot.
i The Lieutenant Governor of the state of
Nebraska also is presiding officer over
the Unicameral; his office is obtained by
direct election.
Walking Blood
Bank Idea
Is Fine One
The University Red Cross unit's cam
paign to establish a walking blood bank is
probably one of the most serviceable ideas
the Red Cross has ever inaugurated on this
campus.
Besides doing the University community
a service, the bank also will be doing the
individual students a service by making
them feel a part of a civic project which
will be doing some good.
A few minutes taken to fill out the neces
sary blank and to be typed for blood also
will assure the carrier of the information
card of a fast blood transfusion for him
self if he should ever need one.
This volunteer operation will show
whether University students are civic
minded enough to go along with this dis
aster program.
Historically, democratic-functioning gov
ernment has directly elected officers, not
to mention legislative representatives.
Whether this system would provide the
best possible officers for the University
legislative body the Student Council is
not known. But direct election probably
would enhance Council offices and bring
back a greater participation in activities
of governing the student to the student.
Although arguments against direct elec
tion generally are that the student body
would have no way of knowing who was
best qualified, such an election could cor
rect some obvious defects in the system
as it now is.
At present, a Council member appointed
from one of the organizations represented
on the Council could become president
without having ever been voted on by the
student body.
However, if such direct election of of
ficers came about, organizations would
probably lose their opportunities for di
rect representation on the Council.
But as it now is, to become a Student
Council officer, first you must be a Coun
cil member. Thus with the rather small
number of Council members, the number
who might reach a senior office is very
small.
A student not on the Council might be
best qualified for an officer's position. But
he has no course of action.
Although the present Council and its of
ficers have shown indications of merito
rious service, direct elections of officers,
by the entire student body would bring
the Council greater prestige and respect
from the student body.
With this backing, more and better
projects could be carried out by the
Council.
Tourney Conduct
The State Basketball Tournament which
begins Thursday will bring a great many
visitors to Lincoln and to our campus.
In particular will be the members from
the various high schools participating in
the Tournament. These "young" high
school students will be exposed to the
daily activities of a college student.
It is during such events that we, the stu
dents of Nebraska, act as representatives
for the school.
The high schoolers will be watching our
actions with an enviable eye. Some day
they will be in our position, but for the
present we must show to them how a col
lege student lives.
Let's treat them with all the courtesy
due any visitor to our campus and show
them that the University is a great school
to attend. 1
Staff Comment:
A Leftist's View
i V
Sandl
The questions of the week are: When in
the ever lovin blue-eyed world will it stop
snowing and: Will the Third World War
really be fought on the mall?
The two bear some relationship. If it
doesn't stop snowing pret
ty soon nobody will be
able to find the malL
But providing the great
snows do cease it might
be possible that war of
some kind will break out
on this mall or on some
malL It will be war be
tween the Army and the
Defense Department The
Issue will be compulsory
ROTC v. elective ROTC,
naturally. Why wouldn't itT
Monday Chandellor Hardin said "We're
waiting for the Army and Defense De
partment to get together before we do
anything more about it," (changing the
ROTC program.)
Seems the two groups can't get together
on the issue. The Defense Department
states they ere taking no stand on the
issue. The Army feels that compulsory
training Is necessary to the security of
the nation.
In the Soviet Union during the Stalinist
era children in nursery schools were given
toys to play with which were inscribed,
"Thank you, Comrade Stalin, for giving
ns a happy childhood." Maybe the Army
out to start playing a similar role of the
great giver."
They could issue guns to students that
are Inscribed, "Thank you, Department of
the Army, for giving as the opportunity
By Sandi Laaker
to defend our country."
But if that wouldn't work the University
could invite the two groups to come here
for a convocation in the form of all-out
war on the mall. The Student Council
Beautification Committee could again sug
gest that a reflecting pool be built.
Then there could be a really good tug-o-war.
Army v. Defense Department. And
the losers would go splashing into the
pool soggy uniforms, floating hats such
a fun way to decide whether or not ROTC
should be compulsory.
Now that "Hell Week's" have been re
placed by "Help Weeks" this would pro
vide some entertainment of the more spec
tacular nature for the campus.
Where, oh where has the cider barrel
gone? The Union came up with a good
gimmick and before it was properly in
itiated it was taken away. It was so much
better than muddy coffee with splintered
sticks.
Glad to see the Young Republicans got
Hazel Abel to speak here Thursday eve
ning. She's probably one of the "saltiest"
type politicians this state has ever had
especially of the female variety. Her talk
should prove most interesting.
Would be equally glad to see the Young
Democrats really get Kennedy here. All
they seem to be accomplishing is nothing.
First they release a story that they have
invited so and so to speak. Then they re
lease a story saying so arid so can't make
it. They get lots of publicity this way but
their program could use some stabilization.
Daily Nebraskan
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60 BY HERE?
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YOd'RE LUCKY. I J
For the Heck of It
One of my readers has
cleverly suggested t h a t I
write on some problem re
lated to the Orient or its
culture, so in developing
the rest of today's column
I shall oblige him by choos
ing - Communist China as
my example ...
I can little doubt that the
basic system of government
in the tlnited States is cur
rently the best possible
for the United States. I do
not, however, feel that
government (in practice),
social institutions, beliefs,
practices or values are
above criticism. I a m in
clined to think that those
who believe our system to
be a political and social
heaven-on-earth and the
best possible for all coun
tries of the world are some.
what politically immature.
A grave error of our sys
tem is the narrow cultural
view it fosters. The Ameri
can c i t i z e n is propagan
dized from birth to death on
the idealistic virtues of de
mocracy. He never learns
to detect the most obvious
defects of American de
mocracy in practice. Worse
than this, he is led to be
lieve that there is only one
system of government, one
value system, that is right
for the entire world. Thus,
he is taught the antithesis
of the simple anthropologi
cal fact that there is no
valid criterion for judging
our culture, our value sys
tem, superior to any other
on earth except for us.
The American is literally
taught that other value
systems are inferior to ours
to the extent that they dif
fer from it. He does not
learn that other nations
need different systems to
solve a far different com
plex of social, economic and
political problems.
An example of the result
ing ethno-centricism, is the
proselytizing zeal of Ameri
cans to spread our system
all over the globe, without
perception or knowledge of
the cultural history or cur
rent needs of other so
cieties. For years we have
known that there are cer
tain basics requisites
to operational democracy.
One of these is a high indi
vidual income and standard
of living, and another is a
relatively high 1 e v e 1 of
LIBERAL education per
capita.
The first not only pur
chases the second, but it
buys the leisure time to be
come a politically articu
late citizenry; , the second
furnishes the knowledge
requisite to a necessary de-
' By John Heeckt
gree of political astuteness
on the part of the general
public to prevent govern
mental excesses.
In many countries where
we preach our system,
these requisites are wholly
lacking. They are not only
lacking currently, but it will
be a long time until they
are sufficiently available.
Democracy for such coun
tries eventually ends in r
new type of despotism.
Turkey is a sufficient ex
ample. Another generally con
ceded requisite for democ
racy is that the wealth of
the nation be broadly dis
tributed throughout the peo
ple and not concentrated
in the hands of the govern
ment. In most of the coun
tries to which we preach
democracy, the govern
ment is the -only agency
which is capable of con
centrating and distributing
investment capital neces
s a r y for modernization.
This alone generally pre
cludes anything like our
system of government.
I think a most important
and classic example of the
American inability to un
derstand foreign cultures is
our failure to recognize Red
China for ideological rea
sons. We abhor a society
where millions may be
"murdered" just to raise
the status of many, many
more millions out of the
morass of minimum physi
cal existence.
We fail to recognize that
while the American herit
age is one where every
thing is surplus but human
beings, the Chinese herit
age i s just the reverse.
Thus, while in our country
the individual and his pres
ervation are natural para
mount ends, the status of
the Individual in China is
naturally insignificant in
relation to the mass.
We are prone to overlook
the fact that, modernizing
China, bringing the Chi
nese common man above'
the level of pure existance,
necessitated the overthrow
of a social and economic
structure based upon 2,000
plus years of continuous
custom.
The republican effort in
China was doomed to fail
ure because the forces nec
essary to change China had
to be abrupt and dynamic
if many millions of Chinese
lives were not to be lost
by a death far more hideous
than a bullet in the head
I mean mass starvation and
endemic disease.
The Red Chinese govern
ment may make good use
Letterip
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of the argument that the
killing of several million
holdovers from the old re
gime was the price of mak
ing life something more
than existance for many
millions more. To them this
was the culturally logical
way to do something that
gradualism could not.
Of course this is repug
nant to our Christian cul
ture, but it should be re
membered that we are a
declining minority cultural
ly, and that other cultures
are much older and no
less based on "fact."
The mind of the man in
the colored world works
closer to that of the Chinese
than ours. We do not under
stand him but we want him
for an ally. Yet the Asian
outside of Communist China
finds it hard to recognize
how a major power can
realistically deny the politi
cal existence of over a
quarter of the world's pop
ulation. I neither condemn nor
commend Red China's acts.
In our culture they would
be abominable. But they
are not in our culture, and
I am not able to judge
them on my limited knowl
edge of the Far Eastern or
Chinese mincL,
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sraikaa reienrea the rljM to Me,
dense them, retalalal the writer
tie,
Tu o Meflsures
To tile Editor:
Congratulations on your
editorial of March 7 on the
unequal representation in
the Student Council.
The solution to the prob
lem could well be answered
by two measures. First, do
away with the present club
and organizational repre
sentation and replace it with
representation by college,
with the number of repre
sentatives apportioned by
the number in the college.
Second, do away with club
and organizational support
of candidates, thereby pre
venting the IFC and RAM
and other groups which at
tempt to extend a dis-pro-portionate
amount of influ
ence to their members.
It would be hard to deny
that this system would be
more fair than the one
which at present is being
.used.
Michael F. Flannigan
Read the Daily Nebraskan
Classified Ads. Better still
USE THEM!
AtJtr
(Author if "I Wat a Teenraqt Dwarf "The Many
Love of Dobie GxMt", etc)
EAT, DRINK AND BE MARRIED
On a recent tour of seventy million American colleges, I ra
struck by two outstanding facta: first, the great number of
students who smoke Marlboro, and second, the great number
of students who are married.
The first phenomenon the vast multitude of Marlboro
smokers comes as no surprise for, as everyone knows, the
college student b an enormously intelligent organism, and what
could be more intelligent than to smoke Marlboro? After all,
pleasure is what you smoke for and pleasure is what Marlboro
delivers pleasure in every puff of that good golden tobacco.
If you think flavor went out when filters came in try a
Marlboro. Light up and see for yourself... Or, if you like, don't
light up. Just take a Marlboro, unlighted, and puff a couple of
times. Get that wonderful flavor? You bet you do I Even with
out lighting you can taste Marlboro's excellent filter blend.
Also you can make your package last practically forever.
No, I say, it was not the great number of Marlboro smokers
that astounded me, it was the great number of married students.
Yoa may find this hard to believe but latest statistics show that
at some coeducational colleges the proportion of married under
graduates runs as high as thirty percent! And, what is eve,
more startling, fully one-quarter of these marriages have been
blessed with issue!
Here now is a figure to give you pause! Not that we deal
al love babies. Of course we do I Babies are pink and fetching
rascals, given to winsome noises and droll expressions, and we
aH like nothing better than to rain kisses on their soft little
skulls. But just the same, to the young campus couple who are
parents for the first time the baby is likely to be a source of
onsiderable worry. Therefore, let me devote today's eolurna
to a few helpftd hints on the ears of babies.
l'iaiH '
'eitmped.
First of all, we will take up the matter of diet. In the poet,
babies were raised largely on table scraps. This, however, was
outlawed by the Smoot-Hawley Act, and today babies are fed
a scientific formula consisting of dextrose, maltose, distilled
water, evaporated milk and a twist of lemon peel.
After eating, the baby tends to grow sleepy. A lullaby ie very
eful to help it fall asleep. In case you don't know any lulla
bies, make one up. This is not at all difficult. In a lullaby tho
words are unimportant since the baby doesn't understand them
anyhow. The important thing is the tound. All you have to do
is string together a bunch of nonsense syllables, taking ean
thai they make an agreeable sound. For example:
Go (o deep, my Utile infant,
Gocaoo moo-moo poo-poo binfanU
Having fed and serenaded the baby, arrange it in the position
for Blumber. A baby sleeps best on its stomach so place it that
way in its crib. Then to make sure it will not turn itself over
during the night lay a toft but fairly heavy object on Its back-
Buviun 1U1 1UBWUMB. 0 j
And when baby U fat, tuletpthe Uttle mHynUwhy don i
you relax and ive youneV a trentf With Marlboro or it yom
Wet mildntm but you don't like IUterewith Philip Monle
KKlKkmttiemdffuimrbt thtepomeoPeotUeoolutnee.
