The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, March 23, 1964, Page Page 2, Image 2

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Page 2
NEGRO SERIES:
factual Account
Today the DAIILY NEBRASKAN initiates a four-part
series on the Negro at the University of Nebraska.
The four writers, Sue Hovik, Arnie Garson, Gary
Lacey and John Morris, began research on their stories
mid-way through the first semester. The series was Lacey's
original idea.
Research entailed not only a series of personal inter
views with several Negroes attending the University, but
group Interviews with Negro students, phone calls, personal
visits to information sources and a total of around 25-30
hours of just writing.
The series is not patterned after any other the writers
have studied. It covers (1) background of the University
Negro Garson (2) the University Negro and housing
Morris (3) the University Negro and academics Lacey
(4) the University Negro and social life Miss Hovik. They
will be printed in that order beginning today and ending
Friday.
The informatioin was gathered and the stories written
in such a way as to present a clear, full and factual picture
of the areas covered with respect to the University of Ne
braska Negro.
The DAILY NEBRASKAN does not contend editorially
that there is a real problem of discriminatioin here and
now. The stories will speak for themselves.
In no way was it planned to create an issue or to
bring prematurely a problem to the surface through this
series; it was specifically designed to present a competent
summary of the circumstances as they appeared through
the information gathered.
Last year a temporary University group, the Univer
sity Party for Progress, recommended action on discrim
ination here. Last semester the Intcrfratcrnity Council
issued a statement on discrimination. And last week the
Student Council wisely established a study group to study
and report to the Council on discrimination as it finds it
here.
Now the DAILY NEBRASKAN gives these seemingly
intrested parties something to work from.
It is hoped that this series will be read with a discern
ing eye.
John Morris
o jaundiced eye
By Susan Stanley Wolk
A 4,000-plus Pershing Au
ditorium crowd was tickled
right down to the bottoms
of its empty pockets with
the Kosmet Klub's Satur
day night production of
"Bye Bye Birdie."
And it's just amazing
what an orchestra pit, a
cast of enthusiastic ama
teurs and $12,000 can
do.
Thanks to the expert and
pritely direction of S a 1 1 y
Wengert Hove, the lavish
show went on (and on and
. on) with nary a thing out
of place, and hardly a lag
in the crowd scenes, al
though this wasn't always
true during scenes involving
only the principal charac
ters. "Bye Bye Birdie's" story
Is this: Conrad Birdie, El
vistic (?) rock 'n' roll idol
of millions of sobbing
throbbing teenagers, must
go into the Army. But how
can his manager, Albert
Peterson, marry his secre
tary, Rose Alverez for
that matter, how is he go
ing to eat now? Rose gets
an idea Albert can write
a song called "One Last
Kiss," for Birdie to sing, be
fore he bestows the latter
Review
on a teen queen on tele
vision, of course. The re
cord will sell like you know
what, and Albert can go
back to school and become
an English teacher. But,
naturally, complications de
velop, amid much merri
ment and a number of very
. ioregettable tunes-
As Albert, the aspirin
splitting frenetic mama's
boy of a hero (His favorite
book in high school? "Lit
tle Women."), Terry T i c e
was charming and natural,
although his voice wouldn't
have given Caruso much to
worry about. He was plea
sant and pretty much of a
delight in a part which
didn't require much else.
Peggy Bryans characteri
zation of "Sanpish Rose"
Alverez from Allentown,
Pa., was spirited, and
revealed a comic knack and
excellent sense of timing.
She's able to belt out a song,
lug suitcases, and dance,
all at the same time
whew! 4
As Kim, the '.'randomly
elected" recipient of Con
rad Birdie's "One Last
Kiss," Danni Roth was very
cute, ringy and lS-ish,
Monday, March 23 1964
and on the whole, quite ef
fective. Dave Jouvenat as the dir
ty Birdie was a real whop
per. All gussied. up in a
chartreuse - sequined cos
tume, lip culred appropri
ately, with one twitch of the
hip, it was Elvis, all over
again. Sigh!
Probably the night's best
acting and singing jobs were
done by Jerry DeFrance, as
Mr. MacAfee. He played his
character role with all the
possible nuances, and in ad
dition, displayed the best
male voice on the stage. His
job was not matched by
Mary Lee Jepsen, who, as
Mrs. MacAfee, was much
too chic and sophisticated
to be convincing..
Cordy Seward's hip-swing-gling,
undulating, tap-dancing
"secretary" Gloria
("I do other tilings besides
typing . . .") was a real
show-stopper.
Another audience favorite
was Linda Mead, as Mea,
Albert's domineering, self
martyred mother.
Standing out in the crowd
of singing, sighing, adoring
teenagers was Jan Tice as
Ursula. Whether dancing,
screaming, or running after
her idol, her special charm
and style made it difficult
to watch anyone else.
Dick Weerts was very
good as Hugo, Kim's
"steady" and the whining
hero of Sweet Apple High.
Unusually good was the
orchestra, conducted in a
bouncy, interesting-in-itself
manner by Musical Director
Steve Ellenburg. It certain
ly would be nice if the Uni
versity itself had a roomy
theater or auditorium with
an orchestra pit, so that the
University Theater's own
musicals wouldn't have the
battle royal every time
there's an attempt made to
have a singer heard above
a few instruments.
Charles Howard's sets
were sumptious, scrump
tious and expensive-looking
although they didn't over
power the stage action. An
excellent job both there and
in the costuming.
But most of the credit
should go to Mme. la direc
tor; such professional co
ordination of millions of
chorus members, scenery,
dancing, music, and mostly
creditable jobs of acting is
no easy task. I was amazed
at how well worked out the
musical numbers were
particularly "The Telephone
Hour" number early in the
show.
4 It was an evening and
five dollars well spent.
ERIC SEVAREID-
TV Not Only Reports,
It Creates, Shapes News
By Eric Sevareid
In the last four months
the entire nation has wit
nessed on television the as
sassination of a President,
the murder of his presumed
assassin, a
jailb r e a k
by crimin
als in the
where the
murder
er was be
ing tried
and the
sentenci n g
of the mur- Sevareid
derer in the court room.
The murder and the act of
sentencing by the jury were
witnessed "live," as they
occurred, and the other
two events shortly after
they occi'rred.
On March 10th the televi
sion tube was linked to the
computer machines, and
within minutes after the
polls closed in New Ham
shire, "electronic journal
ism," to use an awkward
phrase I once invented in a
regretted moment, forecast
nay, announced the vic
tory of Ambassador Lodge
to the nation. People sitting
in their parlors in Anchor
age, Alaska, or sunbathing
beside a radio set in San
Diego knew what the New
Hampshire voters had done
before some of those voters,
trudging home from the
polling places, were aware
of it.
It is not surprising that
responsible persons engaged
in broadcast news are sur
veying their accomplish
ments with wonder, pride
and some uneasiness. It
is time to begin some hard
thinking about the real na
ture and the possible conse
quences of instantaneous
news. I do not pretend to
comprehend the full mean
ing of what is happening
in this area of America's
"graphic revolution," but
it seems clear that what we
are confronted with is not
merely news by a different
medium but news that, in a
certain sense and degree, is
itself transformed by the
medium. Not only do the in
dividuals who are the sub
jects of news by television
behave differently because
of the medium, but the pub
lic receiving this news
reacts differently.
It is no secret by
now that many of the civil
rights demonstrations in
American streets took the
particular form they did
take because of the pres
ence of the television cam
eras. The behavior of both
police and protestors was
affected. Indeed, there were
cases in which protest or
ganizers apprised television
stations in advance of their
fj
JOHN MOBEIS. editor; ARNIE ( ARSON, managing editor; 8USAN SMITH
BFRGKE. news editor; FRANK FARTSCH. MICK ROOD, senior stiff writert;
KAY ROOD. IVDI FETERKON. BARBARA BERNEY. PRINCILLA Ml'LLINS,
KiU.LIS Ll'NDKEN. TRAVIS MINER, junior staff writers: RICHARD HALBERT.
DALE HAJKK, CAV LEITRCHl'CK. copy editors; DENNIS DsFEAIN, photogra
pher; PEGGY BI'EECE. snorts editor; JOHN HAIXGREN, assistant sports edi
tor. PKFSTON LOVE i circulation manager; JIM DICK, subscription manager;
JOHN ZEILINOER, business manager; BILL GINLICKS, BOB CUNNINGHAM,
FETE LAGE. businew assistant!.
Subscription rates 1? per semester or $S per rear.
Entered as second class miter at the post office la Lincoln, Nebraska,
under the act ot August 4, 1912.
The Daily Nebraekan is publiKhed at room SI, Student Union, on Monday.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday by University of Nebraska students ander
the jurisdiction at the Faculty Subcommittee on Student Publications. Pub
lictatlons shall be free from censorship by the Subcommittee or any
person outside the University. Members ef the Nebraskao are responsible
(or what they cause to be printed
A .'. 't'T!
w.- . -e -awS
secret plans in order to
have full coverage of their
actions. When Oswald was
shot in the Dallas police
department, the chief of
police was accomodating
reporters and cameramen
who insisted on a look at
Oswald.
To judge what could hap
pen with both the actors in
a news event and the receiv
ing public, let us imagine
that the full Ruby trial
had been witnessed on tele
vision. The natural dramat
ics of the trial would have
been intensified, and the
whole nation would today
be fiercely arguing the jus
tice of the verdict. Judge
Brown would have become
an object of the utmost con
tention, not only by practi
tioners of the law but by
housewives, . businessmen,
taxi drivers and school
children. The concept un
derlying the principle of
open trial in this free so
ciety was not that the pub
lic should be present but
that representatives of the
public be present, as war
ranty against the seciet
trial.
We are not likely to see
a general practice of tele
vising courtroom trials;
the American Bar Associa
tion is on record against it
and many television offi
cials themselves are un
easy at the prospect. There
is much more room for ar
gument, however, when it
comes to legislative and
quasi-judicial proceedings,
such as a Senate hearing.
But what is supposed to be
a rule or at least a con
jecture in the realm of phy
sics will still hold ture: an
object observed alters.
In the matter of televi
sion's early and uncannily
accurate forecasts of elec
tion results, the luxury of
discussion over hypotheses
may be of very short dura
tion. A hard question of pub
lic policy is inescapably ap
proaching. Suppose that in
the early evening of next
November 3rd, the comput
ers discover and television
announce that Mr. Johnson
or the Republican candi
date has been elected Presi
dent, no matter the votes yet
uncounted. Millions of peo
ple on the West Coast will
have not yet cast their
votes. Will supporters of the
announced victor then stay
home, changing their states'
electorial vote and record
in history? Will supporters
of the defeated man stay
home? Just what will hap
pen? Television is clearly much
more than a mirror of
events and social forces; it
is social force in itself. It
not only reports news; it
creates and shapes the
news.
$ might &Isewherer
Senate majority leader
Mike Mansfield is in the
midst of tackling another
legislative problem, this one
perhaps the biggest of his
career the civil rights bill.
There can be little doubt
that the outcome of this bill
will affect his career as a
politican. He steered the
passage of the depressed
areas bill, the ratification of
the test ban treaty, and the
recent tax cut legislation;
but he lost, though some say
due to no fault of his own,
the urban affairs bill and
the medicare program.
That the civil rights bill
will pass is almost a sure
ty. What is of concern to
many Congressmen and to
the Administration is the fi
nal form of the bill. That
this biU be suitable to the
executive in its final form
is Mansfield's responsbility.
And in this day when the
attitude of the White House
bears so heavily on the ac
tion of the Congress, one can
only assume that the ma
jority leader is aware of the
importance of his position.
Yet the whole affair puts
Senator Mansfield in a rath
er precarious position, no
matter which turn he takes.
By his own admittance, pas
sage of the bill in any ac
ceptable form relies on the
Republicans. Demo
cratic majority or no Dem
ocratic majority, this is
what the situation turns out
to be: the opposition Sena
tors from the South know
the bill is going to pass
their body; their desire is
to some of its provi
sions; the leaders of this op
position are veterans of civ
il rights legislative fights
and know well all the im
portant blocking actions that
the rules of the Senate al
low. One of these blocks is the
use of the filibuster. Now,
by itself the filibuster does
nothing to stop the bill or
delete its passages, does
nothing to amend it or ap
prove it. But it does hinder
the course of the bill, delay
its presentation, obstruct its
handling, and avoid a final
vote.
There is only one way to
stop this filibuster and that
is to invoke cloture, a Sen
ate rule which rules filibust
er out of order. In the last
half-century at least a doz
en petitions for cloture have
been used to stop civil rights
filibusters and all of them
have come to naught.
The problem is that, de
spite the war cry of "Dixie
crat filibuster", most every
wing right, left, or moder
atewill use the filibuster at
some time or other for some
reason or other. And there
is not a single Senator who
doesn't realize that a vote
by him for cloture is a vote
for a precedent that sooner
'Set Thine House In Order . .
by kenneth tabor
or later may well be turned
back on him.
What will happen is that
the Southern Senators will
carry on a filibuster until
Mike Mansfield informs
them that he has garnered
enough votes for cloture. At
that time they will cease in
order not to set a precedent
of cloture, but they will do
so knowing full well that to
obtain these votes, Mans
field has had to promise
some rather major conces
sions concerning the bill it
self. Now the Senate is nearly
two-thirds Democratic, and
it takes a two-thirds vote of
all Senators present to in
voke cloture. But two things
can at this point be rather
safely assumed; one, that
all Senators will be present
for a major vote such as
that; and, two, that a good
third of the Democrats won't
vote for it anyway. That
means Mansfield must have
67 votes, only forty of
which he can gather from
his own side of the aisle. The
other twenty-some must
come from the Republican
camp, and you should get
heavy odds if you are bet
ting that Senate Minority
leader Dirksen will let go of
those votes without first in
suring some major revisions
of the bill as it now stands.
It is an oddity of our Leg
islative processes that it
will thus take three votes,
two of which require a two
thirds majority to pass a bill
for which the fifty-one
necessary votes are already
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FfM parVInf and trunea id tfcf rwr.
I. I've been giving i lot of thought
to the future -career-wise and
goal-wise.
I've been pretty busy working
on my hook (hot
to lone at the iob k t
profound significance.
I'm a terror off the board
I How about you? What
are your goals?
Td like to (core 30
gainst Tech.
Jf0ri"J5Li0 'b0Ut career PPunitie. t Equitable, tee your
f Ucement Officer, or write to William E. Blevim , Employment Manager.
The EQUITABLE U(t Assurance Society of the United State!
HomeOfflci 1285 Avenue of the America, New York, N.I 1001919H
on hand. The first vote will
involve cloture for the fili
buster which will ensue on
the motion to introduce the
bill. The second will be of
the same nature on the fili
buster on the bill itself, and
the third will be the final
vote on the bill.
Rather than work for clot
ture, Mansfield could take
the alternative of letting the
filibusterers talk on until
the halls echo with recipes
and Information on the di
rect distance dial. But if he
does so, it will be at the
expense of incurring the
wrath of the Administration.
What he will no doubt do,
then, is to work for cloture
to appease the White House
and not let it come to a
vote to please his col
leagues. This is even more
likely to be the course con
sidering that Mansfield be
lieves attempts to speed the
processes of the Senate
work more hardship on a
bill's proponents than on its
opponents.
The question of major im
port is not the civil rights
bill or even cloture and fili
buster taken by themselves.
The question of real import
ance is the whole system of
rules under which the Sen
ate operates and which gov
ern the process of legisla
tion, and whether these
rules are a defense of the
minority or a refutation of
the majority. Some say the
Senate is a deliberate body;
others call it dilatory. The
civil rights bill will give the
country an opportunity to
decide which; and to act on
that decision.
S. At recipients of i college
education, I feel it if incumbent
upon us to work in areai which
Dow at to make a contribution
to society.
Watch me dribbU
right around yon.
for must ba forward-lookinc and
encourage initiative.
Notice the feather touch
on the ball.
I mean after graduation.
Oh, I'vegotaiwel job
with Equitable. They've gut
verything you'ra looking
' for. And they're a good
team to work witb