Jo Stohlman, editor Page 2 "Give credit where credit is due." (Author unknown, thank goodness.) We hate to begin an editorial with a cliche, but in this case it suits our purpose perfectly. We want to give credit to a few individuals, (at least we are going on on the assumption that it is more than one individual,) who so craftily lifted an $85 dollar flag and base from the Nebraska Union. Ordinarily, we would be apt to write it off as a prank, with thoughts that the flag would be returned. But because this is no ordinary case of theft, with the flag of the United States being the article stolen, we consider this incident more serious than a prank. Anyone who would have the gall to steal the flag deserves real credit not only for the way in which it was removed before it had been on display two days, but also for the nature of the article. With the senior key proposal and Coed Follies still before it, AWS is already be ginning to consider another change that in slating of board members. . The AWS Board discussed the present system of slating girls for the present 21 member group at their meeting yesterday. No action was taken, according to AWS Vice President Vlcki Dowling, because of the major areas (keys and follies) already before it. The Board has received criticism in the past for the slating of board members as being undemocratic and unfair. Under the present arrangement, twice as many girls are slated for the AWS Board as there are positions. Miss Dowling said the change dis cussed involved a "petition primary." She gave assurance that the slating pro cess and possible change would be given serious consideration shortly after the vote on senior keys the first of March. We are indeed glad that the Board has taken it upon itself to discuss further re Finally. The Committee on Student Affair voted Monday to "reaffirm support of the concept of the faculty evaluation book and to work with the representatives of ASUN on the question of liability." The motion implies sanction of the book providing that the legal difficul ties can be worked out. After first giving approval for the book, then rescinding it (apparently be cause of the issue of legal liability on the part of the committee members), the com mittee has finally given its support to the book. We commend the action of the Com mittee on Student Affairs for giving its implied sanction to the faculty evaluation book. The book will undoubtedly be read with a great deal of interest, and a great deal of support on the part of the stu dents. But the action of the faculty com mittee lends the book a certain stature which is bound to influence one's faith in the book. We feel the support of the faculty Fractional System . . . College Experiments In Grading; 'Precise Evaluations' Discussed Editor's Note: The fol lowing article should be particularly interesting to University of Nebraska students, in view of the re cent change in grading here. Ellensburg, Wash. (I.P.) Junior and senior students at Central Washington State College favor the fractional grading system over the A-B-C-D-E system by a margin of seven to one. Under the fractionated grading plan, instead of as signing usual letter grades to a student, a professor Daily Nebraskan Member Associated Collegiate Preti, National Advertising Service, Incorporated. Published at Room 51, Nebraska Union, Lincoln, Nebraska. TELEPHONE: 477-8711, Ex tension! 2588, 2589 and 2590. Subscription rules are 4 per win In er M far the nendemle rear. Entered eecend iUh matter t ike past (Hot In Lincoln, Nrtirnsk. under Iht not ef Animal 4, MM. Toe Dally Nebraskan la published Monday, Wednesday. Thursday an Friday during lha school year, eicem during yacatlena and exam perlodn, by students al lha Unlyarsltr ( N braaka under the jurisdiction at Um Faenlty gobremmlltae an Student Pub lications. Publication ahall be free from censorship by the Subcommittee ar anr person outside the University. Mem bers t Ibe Nebraskan are respenttare far what iker eauen a as print. Mike Kirkman, Credit Is Due Another AWS Change vision in the organization of ' AWS. We can understand that they should want to wait a few weeks to give the issue thought ful consideration. But Miss Dowling also said that some opposition to a change in the slat ing of AWS Board members was ex pressed at the meeting. And again we understand that a change of any na ture usually provokes opposition, in one form or another. We would hope that those who are op posed to a change in the slating procedure give the proposal just as much considera tion as its proponents. We heartily favor a change to a more "democratic" system of selecting AWS Board members. And we hope that sev eral alternatives of change will be dis cussed, debated and considered. As former editor Marilyn Hoege meyer said last semester, "AWS is coming of age." And we would like to see AWS "come of age" in its process of selecting Board members. Support Finally . commMeiei a'ltHou'gh' W was .not ah-T' solutely needed to get the book printed, is necessary to aid the book's influ ence. In connection with the question of lia bility, which was the apparent reason for the Committee on Student Affairs' res cinding of approval, Dean G. Robert Ross commented that the issue of liability was not the real reason some of the committee members voted against approving the book. Larry Frolik, vice president of ASUN, has also termed the liability question a "bogus issue," placing blame on some faculty members "for just not wanting the book to come out." We find it sad that faculty members would oppose a right of students that of freedom of speech and expression be cause of criticism of faculty members which might be forthcoming. After aH, if faculty members are allowed to evaluate students (via the grading system), shouldn't they open themselves to evaluation by students? would use a numerical val ue 3.2, 2.7, 1.5, etc. This would divide each 1 1 1 e r grade into ten intervals. The major purpose of a fractionated grading system would be to gain amort precise measurement. According to Dr. Jack Crawford, associate profes sor of psychology, the frac -tionated system grew from research with grade pre diction tests seek a corre lation between high school achievement, aptitude tests, and potential college grades. Dr. Crawford said that these tests have been suc point, but lack precision present "sloppy grading systems" which must group wide varieties of achieve ment into five categories of "generalization." The frac tionated system would still involve grouping, but it would be much more pre cise. The fractionated grading system has already been used experimentally at Cen tral. Two years ago it was used with the freshman c 1 a 8 s. Results then were encouraging enough to war rant another test last year. Fractionated grades last year were "Just for fun" business manager Wednesday, Feb. 16, 1966 Notice that we have not blamed stu dents. Nor have we mentioned the other articles missing from the Union, including a $400 typewriter, 50 sets of silverware, around 70 cups, and sev eral paintings. But because students are the main us ers and customers of the Union, natural ly they are the prime suspects. We would hope that the real "credit" for the missing flag and other stolen articles does not belong to any who are stu dents. Police investigations will probably discover in time whether our hope is sub-. stantiated. In the meantime, we would ask that anyone knowing or hearing information re garding the thefts from the Union tell or notify the authorities. We make no plea to the persons who have taken the articles. They are prob ably too busy taking credit for their successful (ad?) venture. (part of a research pro ject) Dr. Crawford said. But they did have a higher cor grades, he added. Asked about, other benefits of the fractionated s y s t e m, Dr. Crawford said, "Though originally it was only an aid to grade prediction, our cause (for adoption) has acquired virtue as we've gone along." He explained that it is helpful in the "C" grade bracket where the students who "are really doing a pretty good job, not quite 'B' work, are lumped in with students who are one step from 'D' effort. Also, with the great increase In grade possibilities it should be easier for a student to go up or down the scale. Today a student may feel 'trapped' in a grade cate gory early in a quarter and thus be discouraged from trying to improve his po sition." The fractionated grading system has some opposition, generaly on the grounds that grades would be more difficult to assign and that the recording and transfer of grades would be burdensome. .1 i J A 1 "I jEo IF i w ivy y i .-it LtWs-yS (Was TO Sorry Being a compendium of farce, absurdity and comment, selected arbitrarily by the Editor. . . Thought for the Day: more weeks (not counting second semester finals. Culled from the Kansas State Col legian: Anybody for touch football? It's about the next best thing when tackle football is outlawed. This is the situation of junior colleges in the state of Florida. Miami-Dade Junior College may try to change the situation. They propose that touch football be established on an inter collegiate level. i (Mum's the word, but we guess when.. Tackle is Banned, it's no Secret the net 1 best thing is to let the Right Guard play with Ice Blue touch.) Ode to Fourteenth Street Eenie, meeny, miney, moe, Should I stop, or should I go? Fourteenth Street is quite a mess, To class I walk, nonetheless, Limping on my mangled toe. ' Heartbreakers To the Resisting Double E The current static status quo Singly lets us roam, Why not switch to Pammel Court And make our ohm, sweet ohm? To the Demanding Economist You guns-and-butter gunner, iiiirjfiiiiit f iniiari i tiiiii iiitiiiiMMtiiiiinriMiiri iiit iiiiTiiMHiiiiiiittti iiMiiiiiiiii t ilii iim tin iiiMiiii t miiji iiii rii t iiiiiiii iiinir ii ii riiif tiitiirtir i titi m m if ininiiii tinit jm Another Viewpoint I Beneficial Radicalism Editor's Note: The fol lowing article is reprinted from the Purdue Exponent. The National Student Committee for the Defense of Viet Nam is another sil ly organization proclaiming itself savior of the image of American college students, says the Denver Clarion, the University of Denver. In a recent letter to col lege newspapers, six com mittemen said: "We wel come your cooperation and assistance in this biparti san national program to show the American people that the new student radi cals do not speak for our generation in , their irre sponsible opposition to our country's policy in Viet Nam." The attempt to place pe jorative connotations on the word "radicals" is ob vious. Why is radicalism a sin? If there were no radicals, people on the fringes of ac cepted opinion, people who dare to ask the wrong ques tion, dare to make noise and upset the status quo, the country would be saddled with a dictatorship of like mindedness. The position of the radi cal is usually ignored by the proponents of consensus because it is always slight ly embarrassing to others, similar to our feeling for a friend who has drunk too much at a party and un wittinbly insulted someone. vc,. School.. tvij iLoyt Muoo tfTrE. Ge Caws iV, S. ens. ... To Tut. Office. About Only fourteen this one) until n a Obviously, without radi cals this country could not have survived this long with anything like freedom of thought. Even as it is, it takes a great deal of cour age to speak against a con sensus. Fortunately the Uni ted States has not reached the point where radicals are forcibly repressed, but a few more national Student Committees could do t h e trick. Without noisy, clamorous and widely-publicized d i s sent, our thinking will be come homogenized, tasteless baby food. And then this country will really be in trouble. What went with all o u r friends? That's the trouble with leading the parade; you're never sure whether they're following you or chasing you. During the First World War, we sent the French, the British and the Rus sians all the help they asked for and more than we could afford. When they also needed our men, we sent an Expeditionary Force of them. During the Second B i g War, we supplied those same "allies" with all the help they asked and more than we could afford. When thejr also needed our men. ws cent men. Between wars, we have continued to extend aid from our own dwindling reserves EE. aw u. 3uo&t Thatl P l 1 M 1 P I l t 1 J LI II I 1 I This much you've yet to learn: My love supply is suffering Diminishing returns. To the Innocent Child Development Major Three can't live as cheap as one; Individual differences Between us I have found, Let's not kid around. To the Neglected Veterinarian Kitten, soon us I forsee Happy as two birds can be, But, right now I'm such a mule To pick you and six years of school. To the Slippery Clothing Major What is there to selvage In this duo that I've sought? You seam too busy darting 'round. . . Our social pattern's shot. (Iowa State Daily) One of our readers contributed what he thought would be a good addition to our nameplate: "Daily Nebraskan the Uni versity's Paper Tiger." No comment. From the Items that are Useless, Un necessary and Otherwise a Pain in the Neck Department: Ever wonder why there is a stop sign on the corner by the old music building, where there is no cross traffic? I always hesitate there, wondering if I should stop or go on through and risk the chance that the Eye of the Law is upon me. We should commend the city's cau tion, however. I guess there's always the chance that a bulldozer might break loose and. . . To the person who sent me a Valen tine, who I didn't send one to, Sorry About That! to all these nations and most of the rest of the world. Now we are in trouble; where are our friends? In Korea, our lads had to fight under a mongrel flab, but received only token support from others. Americans have kept the expensive watch on the Rhine almost alone, while Europeans got fat. In Viet Nam, "to stop the Red tide from engulfing all Southeast Asia," American sons fight again almost alone. Further, our old buddies are fraternizing with our enemies. British ships pro provision the Commu nists through Haiphong's harbor. The French, who owe us their lives, are openly pre dicting and secretly hop ing we'll lose this war. We spent another 10 bil lion t econstructing their countries. Now we stand between them and the avalanche alone. And even worse than the indefensible absurdity of our Senators and Congress men continuing to march, tail-to-itrunk, trunk-to-t a il, in this sad circus . . . Is the fact that Ameri cans the vast, decent, disorganized majority of Americans who could object, instead just roll over and play dead. ! CAMPUS I OPINION I Group Accused Dear Editor, Basically, the United States is a protector of free dom. Therefore, the know ledge of this fact plus ap plication of all the know ledge I have in 21 years of living should enable me to effectively prove my point that point in question being that although the SOS (Soc iety of Scrounges) admitted ly has many good inten tions, the manner in which they attempt to solicit at tention to their cause (i.e., that device they use to get attention, namely their re bellion not only to conform ity, but to personal hygiene) will do nothing but defeat their own purpose. Whether SOS knows it or not, people are evaluated on factors other than what they say. Although I have a ten dency to rebel against the use of truisms, in this par ticular situation 1 will use one. "Discourse is not ex pensive" (to say "talk is cheap" would commit the unexcusable sin of being trite) unless accompanied by supplementary factors. Everyone and every or ganization are evaluated by their peers. This point can not be argued. You are judged by your fellow men, in this specific case by your fellow students. Everyone, and every or ganization, have their good points and their bad points. And the way people evalu ate a person or an organiza tion is (by) whether their good points surpass their bad points. In fact, when I look at a person or an organization, I attempt to analyze whether their good points overshad ow their bad points. If the ANOTHER Editor's Note: A small fire, which will be remem bered (possibly) as a statis tic at the University, evoked the following comments from Junior Staff Writer Bob Curnow. Curnow was formerly the police reporter for a Lincoln newspaper. A -small fire Tuesday af ternoon in a custodian's clos et in the north part of the Nebraska Union provided students with a little excite ment on what would have been another dull class day. Minutes after the first fire men arrived, two city fire inspectors were on the scene to make sure the fire would not reoccur. To students the whole in cident was something to talk about over a cup of cof fee. To the Union staff there was relief for no damage had been suffered. In the newspapers the fire will ap pear as one short line of the statistics column. But to the firemen and the city of Lincoln the alarm was much more than some thing to laugh about or re cord a statistic. When that Union worker called for help, a shrill screaming alarm signal sounded in 10 fire stations across Lincoln. The crews of engine No. 1 and truck No. 1 jumped to the slide poles, leaving meals unfinished as they ran for their rigs. Engine No. 2 crewmen were caught in the middle of a training session; books were dropped and firemen were on the rig in seconds. Engine No. 3 and truck No. 3 firemen dropped cleaning equipment and were rumbling out of their house before te sound of tbe alarm had died away. Converging on the Union from four different direc tions were three modern high pressure pumpers, a ladder truck, a snorkel truck and a chief's car worth more than $150,000 al together. Speeding through crowded city streets these vehicles carried 22 firemen. And ev erytime they respond to an alarm and roar into the streets, they face the possi bility of coming across some driver who won't see or hea: their approach. This, say many firemen, Is more dangerous than anj fire and smoke they might encounter. The University and its students are receiving this multimillion dollar fire pro tection free of cost. Lin coln's Director of Tublie good points do, then I tend to be more sympathetic, but if their bad characteristics are overwhelming, then f am forced to be hostile. Members of the SOS. I am accusing you of being unrealistic, (even more) I am accusing you of being lackadaisical in regard to your personal appearance. I am also accusing you of being unrealistic in regard to protecting your, organiza. tion from the infiltration of degenerates, pseudo intellectuals and totalitarian (sic) radicals. If you want us to listen to you, then show us you are worth listening to. Because as long as you continue to look and act like fools, we will assume that this is the role' you intend to play in life. Do these things and may. be then we will tend to be more sympathetic and less hostile. John Atwocd ' Recognition Dear Editor, Many times in the pres. entation of reports on the floor of the Student Senate and in the resulting cover age in the Daily Nebraskaa, the people Who have put in many hours of work behind the scenes, the committee workers, are overlooked. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of my committee Kris Bitner, Cuz Guenzcl, Bob Lott, and my associ ates, Liz Madole, Kan Web ster, Darryl Gless and Mary Baker for an outstanding job on the International Student Housing Report. Terry Schaaf STATISTIC Safety Emmett Jnnge saidt "Lincoln gives fire service' to all state buildings near us although they are n!t paying directly any city taxes for the service." Junge did say, however, that if circumstances existed which put an overly-large strain and cost on .the Da-., partment it would be feasi ble to consider asking for some kind of "contract" agreement between the Uni versity and the Department;' "It would take a change in present state laws, I be lieve, to do this," Junge said, "because by law they (the University) are not al-" lowed to pay us." While it is inconceivable that the Lincoln Fire Depart ment would stand by offer ing no assistance while a University building burned,, it is very much a reality to speak of the abuse firemen, take from students and in some earlier cases, adminis tration. Firemen are professionals and ask very little in their work but cooperation and respect. They are men with families and many of them have children of college age. Lincoln's fire chief and assistant fire chief both have sons attending universities. They are no freaks with hoses who are looking for excitement. Firemen tell of incidents in the not too distant past where upon answering cam pus alarms they had the equipment stolen right oil the rigs. It has not been un common for firemen trying to do their job to be har rassed and even challenged to fight by students. Fire Department officials and city officials were irked by the nonsensical series of trash fires and false alarms at Abel Hall and other campus dorms last fall. ' Too many times scores -of firemen have raced through Lincoln streets, endanger ing their own lives as well as those of citizens to re spond to a false alarm set by some ""educated idiot." As one Lincoln fireman put it, "These kids have nev er seen people burned to death in a fire or seen their best friend's engine run in to a truck as it goes through, an intersection. To them it's a game and when they persist in playing it they' endanger, our lives as well as their own." ' Lincoln firemen answered nearly 2,000 fire calls last year and they don't need; the business of sorority girls who throw everything but the backyard in their incin erators and dorm "men" who like to cry wolf.