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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 1961)
Page 2 The Daily Nebraskan Monday, October 9, 1961 EDITORIAL OPINION I 3 2 1 s Compulsory ROTC Fate: A Future or a Flop? " After an extensive study of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) programs, on this program, especially in view of the national picture, we feel a revolution is in its early stages pertaining to the ques tion of compulsory ROTC at NU. What are the arguments for and against compul sory military training? How Important to national de fense is the collegiate ROTC basic training? We have attempted to answer these and other questons in oar recent series of articles. Perhaps it Is Important that we urn op our own situation. As the ROTC program stands today, each physically qualified male entering the Uninversity without prior military experience is required to enroll for two years in some phase of the ROTC. When we stop to consider what we have, figures may astound us. Nearly the en tire freshman and sophomore male classes are affected. Bask to all questions that may arise is one of logical reasoning: Who would venture to guess that each student forced to enter the program is so interested that he ac tually enjoys being a cadet and in turn does a good Job. Certainly not us. No personnel manager would hire a person for his business if this particular Individual had tko interest, desire or serious intent in the firm. Yet, - like it or not, nearly each qualified male on this campus its through four semesters of military classes and marches in parade after parade for two years. We have taken note of the pro-compulsory ROTC argument that such training is valuable to the cadet who drops out of the program after his two years are . up and later goes into the service as an enlistee. We question this premise. There are few military experi enced people alive today who will not tell you that what the basic' cadet learns in two years, the enlistee learns In 10 weeks. With this In mind we wonder at the merits of pushing student through two years of boredom and drudgery when he will learn the same things again in one-twelfth ef the time when he enlists or is draftted. This ' same indent should be using his time taking courses in his field ef study; an area where he is Interested and where he can put forth bis concentrated efforts. If the compulsory ROTC program were to drop on this campus, we do not feel the purpose of ROTC would be lost. Rather, the advanced program would be en hanced. We venture to say that the opportunities afford ed by the advanced program would seem more attractive to the average male student and not a "mickey mouse" program that "I have to take." A competitive situation could reasonably arise among the sophomore students allowing the ROTC administrators to choose only those cadets who best fill the requirements of an officer. We do not expect the compulsory program dropped on this campus as it was at Michigan State, Arizona : State, Wisconsin, Rutgers, and Bucknell via student or faculty protest. However, recent changes in the basic programs lead us to believe compulsory ROTC is on Its way out. Cadets have been allowed to substitute courses In all three service programs. This action may be only the beginning. We can not pinpoint the exact date of compulsory ROTC's death. We only know it is envitable. A good business with satisfied personnel doing a good job is better than a business cluuttered with both interested and bored employees accomplishing the same task. Talent Show Warranted But Should Shoot Straight The Student Union is again sponsoring the All-University Talent show in the near future but with a some what different approach. In the past this event has displayed some of the best campus entertainers in order to make the general response a good one. The evidence lies in the heavily attended performances. However, there is a misconception which should be cleared up before the entertainers and the public rise as one to applaud the talent show. Performers in the past two years have agreed to spend several hours rehearsing and practicing to put on a good show with the promise of a good chance of attending a Big Eight ,, talent show. However, for the past two years this promise was not carried out. Last year there . was no Big Eight talent show hence, no Uninversity of Nebraska delegation. We do not intend to blame the Union entirely for this unsupported rumor. It is our hope that the show will again draw the same caliber of performers as it has in the past. Perhaps this year, however, those who put their time and effort Into the show will not be working under the false assumption of a chance for big ger and better things even though there are attempts to revive the Big Eight extravaganza. (By courtesy Omiha Daily Nebraskan Member Associated Collegiate Press, International Press Representative: National Advertistat Service, Incorporated Published at: Room 81, Student Union, Lincoln, Nebraska. SEVENTY-ONE TEARS OLD 14th A R Telephone HEJ-7631 ext. 4225, 4226, 4227 Snbuertptlea rate are $3 per semester or ta for the academic year. Iium aa terra a cues matter at t the aet af A wait 4, The Dally Nebraskan la published 4 durinf rttj. ar-Hnnl rear. aiMirf aarta atudenu el the I Diversity of Nebraska as, Btuoeas AUKin as aa xinMjsi oi viiHfsi epinrosi. raoircaiioa aneer mw Jurisdiction oi the gnbenimnlttea on Stadent Pablleatkm shall be free from S editorial eemonhlp on the part of the Subcommittee or ea the part of any 3 person ontslde the rnlrerslty. The members ef the Dally Nebraskaa staff are -j g personalty responsiui ivr wu wiej ev, or ev, as- causa sa oe pruuea. lebruar? S. lUS. EDITORIAL STAFF Cdltor Norm Rcatty MeaaarlKjt Bdltor A.... .OrMehen fchrliherc tim Eifltor Ana Moyer rl ports Editor Dare Wohlfarth Ax News editor Cloyd Clark Copy Editors- Eleanor Blllinis. Lonlse Holbert, im Forrest Nlsiit News Editor Jim Forrest Staff ttrtteri Nancy Wkltford, dan Back Junior Staff Writers Tom Kotooe, Bob Nye. Mike MaeLean, Sue Hovtk Staff Photofraphar. Paul Ueasley BUSINKSS STAFF Buslneoa Manager Doa Ferrusoa Assistant Business Manafera John Zellhiirf, BUI Onnllcks, Bob Cuanlnahaos Circulation Maaaier ....Jim 1 roster VOUfc BETTER BE CAREFUL. VQU MI6HT OFFEND WAV Hi I SORE. HE MI6HT REALLV if A BLOCKHEAD World-Herald) tae aoat oince la uneoia, neeraaaa, Monday, Tseedat. Wednesday and Frt- vacations aad tiun aertnds. he ander aathorliatlea at the Committee K rm s (American People Unlike Conscious of ERIC SEVAREID i New York We are see 1 lng the end of our adoles I cence. In its reincarnation as guardian, advisor and donor to half the world, the united States is emergi n g from its teens. A i certain glow begins I to fade. I The hard, I Z t e y thoughts of I m a t urity s take p o s- Sevareid I session and there is some danger of the cynicism that is itself immature. In our relations with al 1 lied, neutral and client s countries, we are like the nan-boy, half-man who is chagrined to learn that his own best image of himself is not really shared by oth ers, that many he has helped feel no particular I gratitude nor even obliga I tion and that some he has 3 trusted return the trust only when the occasion serves them. 1 We will persevere, no doubt, learning that we can I re-make very little of the world in our own image, losing many illusions about I others and ourselves. But 1 one thing we dare not lose I our essential confidence, I now shaken under strong 1 assault from within and I without. Every other con 's sequential country save Russia and possibly China I has already lost this. Not one of them really knows where it is going or how to g get tnere. In a profound sense the I United States is alone in I this world. Most Americans who grasp this heart-fact I have only recently grasped it, as it has dawned upon them that our major alli s ance.may be pulled apart, beginning with loss of faith and will among the Ger- mans; as they learn that the neutrals are not going s to be "won over" to our side; as they learn that bringing internal stability to a long list of backward g countries is a much more s difficult, drawn out and ex- I i jfj: ill pensive wsk man ever faintly imagined by the ad i visors who inserted that paragraph called "Point Four" in Mr. Truman's in i augural speech of January. I 1949. I It is time we ceased I clutching illusions to our g breast. We have to let them I go if our hands are to be free. Some Were Of 8 SPlf. . . . t denigrating nature, in flnV rtaca ' anH If mmkr v " iu ue a s yieubiue 10 lei mem go, a I cource of greater confi I dence. Such, at least, have been my own sensations as I various items of impedi s ments sloughed off during the two past years in Eur- rope, Africa and Latin America. A few may be worth the mention: Americans are material- Kitf& of the beasts Shakey World Status istic. We are, in fact, as furiously moralistic and idealistic as any people left on earth. We are swamped by the materials, but their simple possession fills no hollow in our souls ' as it seems to do with the French. For pure money 'and possession lust, I think I would put the black Afri cans first. We are status-ieekers. The most iron-clad pecking orders of my observance exist among Africans and Arabs. The average well-off Latin American is so riven by class and status that he wants nothing to do with the poor, even in his thoughts. Some members of my English shooting syndi cate, which hunted on Wednesdays, were young businessmen who felt obliged to demonstrate that they could afford a mid week day off, which they could not. One stock broker carried the "financial Times" in his cartridge case and consulted it be tween flights of partridge. America is a conformist society. The reason for our fantastic variety of our manners, ambitions and de sires. The true conformist societies, of course, are the primitive societies. We have neglected Latin America. The neglecters of Latin America are Latin Americans. Somewhere be tween $5 and $10 billion owned by Latin business men is salted away in New York, London and Swiss banks, while their govern ments demand grants and soft currency loans from us as a matter of ecclesi astical right. Europeans understand the Communist threat more clearly than we. Less clear ly, if anything, because we have to measure it in its worldwide framework. Not even the able British diplo matic establishment pos sesses Russian experts of the eminence of Charles Bohlen or George Kennan. No European provincfal city boasts a hard-working citi zens group comparable to the Foreign Policy Study Gallery Exhibits Hand Woven Art The artistic work of 10 na tionally known hand weavers will be displayed in an exhi bition sponsored by the Uni versity Art Galleries and the Lincoln Weavers Guild at Morrill Hall. The exhibition, which opened yesterday, includes row. wall hangings, yardage and drapery materials, . all woven by hand. Norman Keske, director of the Art Galleries, said this fourth annual exhibition dif fers from the previous shows in that this year all exhibiting is by invitation only. In the past, the exhibitions have been juried competitions. Europeans; organization in Cleveland or in a dozen other Ameri can towns. No academic centers of Russian study in Europe are superior to those at Harvard or Colum bia. America is too impatient. We have been, in my own reluctant judgment, far too jjancm, wiui auies, neu trals and clients alike. This has won us no affection and now is losing us re spect. Goodness without power is impotent in this world. Power itself is impotent when there is no belief in the will to use it, if need be. (DUtr. 1961, by The Hall Synd.. Inc.) (All RUhts Reserved) tiii! V-Y Quality Is the key to success at Western Electric Admittedly, our standards are high at Western Electric. But engineering graduates who can meet them, and who decide to join us, will be gin their careers at one of the best times in the history of the company. For plentiful oppor tunities await them in both engineering and management. As we enter a new era of communications, Western Electric engineers are carrying for ward assignments that affect the whole art of telephony from electronic devices to high-speed sound transmission. And, in the management category alone, several thousand supervisory jobs will be available to W.E. people within the next 10 years. Many of these new man agers will come from the class of '62. Now's the time for you to start thinking seriously about the general work area that Interests you at Western Electric, the manufac turing and supply unit of the Bell Telephone System. Then when our representative comes to your campus, you'll be prepared to discuss career directions that will help make the inter view profitable. After a man joins Western Electric, he will Principal manufacturing locations it Chicago, lll.i Kearny, N. l.j Baltimore. Md i lndlannn. i-- ... . . , a. Winston-Salem, N. C, Buffalo. N. Y.s North Andover, Mass Omaha. Neb, Kansas City til , r' ' n?0""!1'' V??'' Engineering Research Center, Princeton, N. I. Teletype Corporation Stoke. Ill end iitti. .,uTb"- loi .hlah ?P-0i t: bution centers in S3 cities and intaiitinn Letterip '...- v.iimiL.m mm nnbllsh ere tla? EttSrl !h."d nof exceed writers views. Tassels, ROTC, Columnist Observed Dear Editor: After reading Monday's rag, a few observations seem, in order. You urge the Tassels not to tackle the terrible task of resuscitating dead pa rades. "Tradition," you say, is their appeal. Tradition, . friend, is tried and true in many areas. But why should the gleeful gals try to revive the corpse of cus tom after it was so sadly (and embarrassingly) bur ied several semesters ago? Those many words Scribe Eric Sevareid devoted to Dag Hammarskjold's untime ly demise and the Congo's albatross, its tribal tangles, were sparkling gems. Not once in Monday's punitry did Sevareid mention Amer ican Indians. Nevertheless his portrayal of the cause of the Congo's troubles fierce and sometimes fa natic tribal clashes re minded me of the welter of American Indian tribes in pre-U.S.. Cavalry days. At tempts to unify them would no doubt have failed miser ably. What with "draftee's" windy views, Student Coun cil cogitations and Mauld-. in's "vapor trail" cartoon, your Rag almost needed a mniirnincf hanrl But then I chanced upon Cloyd Clark's efforts to rO, Knffoln ctrace Via WOC S1UVV UU11CUV glUUO. JL.V " J sowing his sentences mighty fine and his grammar crop was growing to glorious heights. But then he stum bled over his "Chips". Quoth Cloyd: "It would be self-sustaining as far as fiances were concerned." Fellow moneyless males: wouldn't it be grand to be some financially self-sustaining sorority girl's fi ance? Roger Wait ROTC Series Questioned by Vet To the Editor: Never in my life have I been subjected to such a rhetorical tripe as I was in reading your article. ROTC, A Draftee's Views. What I have seen and ex perienced of ROTC has only strengthened my feel ings that this organization serves only to make the i 1 1 find many programs that will aid him in explor ing the exciting course of his career -whifc advancing just as fast as his abilities allow. And he'll be secure in the knowledge that ht is growing with a company dedicated to help ing America set the pace in improving commu nications for a rapidly growing world. - Challenging opportunities txiil now at Western electric for electrical, mechanical, induttrial, and chemi cal engineer., at well at physical science, liberal arts, and butinett maon. All qualified applicant! will re ceive careful comlderation for employment without regard to race, creed, color or national origin. For mora information about Western llectrie, writ College elo llont. Western Electric Company, Room 6106, 721 Broadway, New York 38, New York. And be ture to rrang. for a Weitern Electric Interview when out collegp repretentotlvet visit your campus. """""' " b..,,,!.,, i. i ,.arfna,i.,. i. ik ,!..-,...-..."" ' "' neaaquarters, only those letters which are slrm-d. S00 nprds. When letter, eweea this average entering of sopho more student-formerly eag er to do his bit shy away in semi-disgust from a 1 1 things military. I grant you; ROTC does supply a large percentage of our army's officers but it is not ROTC which really trains these men. What really trains these men is 90 tough days in officers boot camp. A commission involves responsibilities and leaderships not even hinted at in ROTC. A ROTC man entering service is still a babe in arms and is very nearly to tally unfit to cope with mil itary reality. That is, lead ing men, many of whom are only too happy to block their officers in any way possible, providing, of course, that their own stripes are secure. Officers are not going to be loved and protected by their men. ROTC is fine for those who desire to take it. But to make it compulsory is desire to take "training" in ROTC will supply rough "90-day wonders" for Ar my needs. In case there is any ques tions as to basis, I claim not only my own four years in the service but also the united opinions of any vets on this or any other cam pus. James Taylor 'Morality' Letter fT , r- sJUUCI s. SI Sv Dear Editor: In the September 26 Let terip column, Moreen Mor ality attacked the stand of the Panhellenic Board with reference to restrictions upon the University Co-ed. Miss Morality's letter is ex tremely well taken, and, al though several of her anal ogies and similies are vague if not inappropriate she seems to have hit the metal fastener directly on its apex. It has been my experi ence that you cannot "leg islate" morality with any more success than you can legislate honesty. The only function this particular reg ulation serves is to pro long adolescence beyond all reasonable limits in the hope that any particular problem which may arise will do so at such time as the individual is no longer (Continued on page 4) !'' 3( 1 1 '-!4i! ' 4"' 1 Western EkctriCj TAT ioem J w o r r i i tNC siu mtiM K0C' ' Also Western Electric i 'so western tiectnc ois"i- 155 Broadway. New York 7. N. Y.