i , mm,, urn, i i iiiiiiiiiiiiiiini iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiii PiiniKiitiiiimiiHiiiiiig I CAMPUS ' I OPINION I 5 t 1 is V v.- "4 .1 ."I 5 - - . , I Jo Stohlman, editor Mike Kirkman, business manager Page 2 Wednesday, April 6, 1966 18-Year-Old Voting? A member of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia, Charles ; Longstreet Weltner, has introduced a con stitutional amendment which would set ." eighteen as the legal voting age in all of the fifty states. The proposed amendment ' 'is now before the Judiciary Committee. t , In his remarks to the House when he introduced the resolution, Representative Weltner explained his reasoning: "Young people, ages 18 to 20, have proven themselves worthy of the awesome - tasks we place upon them. They are a generation of dedication and ability. "They can do many things, but ..fhere is one area where they are ex cluded. For except in Georgia and three other states, they cannot vote. "They can fight and die . . . but they cannot vote. , "They can represent this great nation in some remote outpost of civilization . . . but they cannot vote. "They can sacrifice their time and energy in ministering to others ... but they cannot vote. . . "A Congress so firmly dedicated to the principle of voting rights should move now to extend the franchise to these young Americans. We have placed upon "these Americans the duties of citizenship. Let us now extend to them the basic right of citi zenship." What Representative Weltner savs about 18-year-old voting does make sense at least to the legislatures of four states. We agree that generally eighteen-year-olds should be allowed to vote. We feel that the maturity of today's eighteen-year-old and his knowledge of government and current affairs and possibly even his in terest in government surpasses that of the eighteen-year-old of a generation or two ago. But we feel that extending the fran chise to those eighteen and above should be left to the states' discretion. In the 178 years that the Constitution has been in ef fect, only 25 amendments have been added. And eight of these amendments were added as a Bill of Rights. Therefore, we believe that a con stitutional amendment must be made . only in the case of an extreme need, and it mast be made only after there is sufficient evidence that an evil will be corrected and a great amount of good will be derived from it. We believe the majority of eighteen-year-olds to be capable of knowledgable and intelligent voting. But it is not for us to say, nor for the Congress, that this is true of the majority of youth in every state. Thus, we would encourage our own state to evaluate its voting age re quirements, along with other states, and then have each state to franchise their eighteen-year-olds as they see fit. The issue does not necessitate "a consti tutional amendment. Apply X's avk Os to Apjwcpriddc areas diusmcj appropriately bonnj features. D!iiimiiiiiiiiiiiiii: iMiiiiutiiiiifMifiiiiiMifiiiiiiiirrifTiiiifiiijiiiiffffiiiiiifniiiiiiMnifiiiiiiiiiiiftitiifiiifiiiiffiiifiifiiiJiifiiiiiiiiijfuiff' Editor's Note: We would like to see the University adopt a program similar to the one outlined in the fol lowing article. It's a sensi ble system. Rochester, N.Y. (LP.) Undergraduate students in the University of Ro chester's College of Arts and Sciences may elect to receive a grade of "satis factory" or. "fail!' in one course each semester, start ing with the spring semes ter. The new system, which has been authorized bv the faculty of the College, is de signed to reduce the pres- sure for grades and to en ' able students to become more "venturesome" in their choice of courses, ac cording to Dean Kenneth . E. Clark. ! It is being initiated as the result of studies made by ;two faculty groups of the J college and a student com , mittee. I Associate Professor Rob- A Progressive System j SOYTJ AoOUt That! ert G. Sutton, chairman of the Committee on Academ ic Policy, said the new grading system was "an ef fort on the part of the facul ty to lessen the stress on grades as a means to an end." He said it is designed "to encourage students to elect courses in which they are interested but which they believe might be diffi cult for them." (University of Rochester undergraduates customari ly take four courses each semester; of these, only one can be graded under the new system and the rest will be graded according to the traditional marking system A.B.C, etc.) Professor Vincent Now lis, chairman of the Committee on Improving Instruction, said the reduced emphasis on grades "hopefully will motivate the student to ex plore areas which he might avoid if he were essentially interested in maintaining bis grade point average. "It allows him to become involved in independent re search or honors courses which he might otherwise shun. It permits him to have the experience of learning the essential core of a course without the cor ruption of 'grubbing' for a grade," he added. Professor X o w 1 i s noted that it has been found that students work as hard in courses under systems like the new Rochester plan as they do under traditional grading systems. Under the University of Rochester plan, an instruc tor will submit a letter grade (A,B, etc.) for stu dents who elect a course on the Satisfactory-Fail basis as well as for other stu dents. These grades will be kept on file and only the S or F grade, as appropriate, will be reported to the stu dent and recorded on his transcript. This procedure will enable a student to ob tain his specific letter grade at a later date if he so desires. Lost Cool Ey LIZ AITKEN , To some people this col- umn is going to seem as if I it were nourished on t h a t perennial fruit that grows '.so abundantly cm the cam pussour grapes. Eut may I assure you that this is not the case, or at least not . . consciously. ; It has been my observa- tion on this campus that ; certain interview pror-ed- ures are dead wood. They are' useless wastes of time . and serve no real purposes. Mind you, I said certain in '.. terviews. I can see the reasons for interviews that make their 1 selections from masses of workers or that bave as their duty the selection of queen candidates. There if ; no other way to choose among people from such a ; wide scope and with whom you've bad so limited con tad. No, I'm talking about in , terviews that take place be ' tween stepping-down top ex ecutives of an organization . and committee chairmen or their equivalents. If t h e s e executives have done any sort of job at all, they know each of the candidates and their work. They know which ones have merely been filling a position and which ones I have been truly beneficial . to the organization. These executives know tor should know) which applicants can . fulfill the necessary require , m e n t s of administrative worii vii whicb imttt are in accordance with the bas ic goals and premises of the group. These executives know all of this information long be fore interview time rolls around and they have a pret ty good idea who will fit which position. Well, t h e time for the change-over comes and what happens? The officers of the organ ization schedule interviews for the prospective offic seekers. The candidates file in, one by one, and present themselves before the inter viewing board which con siKts usually of tbe out-going officers and the group's fac ility advisor. The interviewee then is subjected to a questioning period that lasts anywhere from nine to twenty min utes. Now I ask you, what can that interviewee say in such a short period of time that can change the collec tive mind of a group of peo ple that has seen him do his work, whether it be good or bad, for one entire year? lie can say absolutely nothing to change a nega tive opinion of him and if the board is already in fa vor of him, his words are merely redundant. Why then do the candi dates themselves and the members of the interview ing board continue to play a time-consuming charade? (After all, tbe candidates usually waste several hours preparing for the interview and the board has to chalk off one entire day.) 1 wippoke tbe reason lies in some sort of need to es tablish an alibi of democrat ic procedure for tbe selec tion of the organization's new executives. But a dem ocratic selection is a lot of bogwash, both realistically and in theory Both you and I know that selection of officers is n o t done on a democratic basis, nor should it be. The qual ities reeded to adequately fill certain executive posi tions in campus organiza tion's workers. What's more the candi date's record of year-long work is a far better basis for picking and choosing than a fifteen minute mono logue of memorized facts and "goals of our organiza tion." No, it is not a matter of condemning interviews or what goes on in tbeir pro cess. It is more Just a mat ter of simply deploring tbe waste of manpower that goes into tbe institution of interviews simply because people don't want to be re alistic and face tbe facts. (Just Slightly Korrect) Just out of curiosity . . . why is the SS Joard taking fingerprints with the draft tests? To discriminate the teKt-takers or to be prepared to ship tbe demonstrators off on a moment's notice (i.e. Michigan University)? Being a compendium of farce, humor and comment, selected arbitrarily by the Edi tor. . . Historical Note of the Day: In 1899, Kibitz, Hungary, a pack of starving wolves attacks the Phi Alpha Pi Annual Hayride and Rush Party. In 1958, University of Ne braska, a pack of deranged students at tack their professors just before vacation. Thought for the Day: Only 15 hour ex ams and five term papers before vacation. Did you know: Students no longer come to classes just to get good grades. Tbeir grades are now sent to them. I think it's idiocy to say that university students get no experience - which suits them for the business world. They get abundant experience in cheating. I have an instructor whose words are immortaL They never seem to end. Is the Greek system really deterio rating? Of course not, as all Greeks know who beard the speaker, (that is, bothered to go bear tbe speaker) at the Greek Week convocation Monday night. Then there were tbe two or three fraternities who attended. Al Capp is just slightly fantastic. On the Johnny Carson TV program Monday night, he discussed his visit to the Uni versity. He told Carson that he visited 27 fraternities here who told him that Carson was one of their alums. Nebraska University students were a little strange, according to Capp. "They were the only kids who didn't bombard me with questions about sex. Either they aren't interested or they know all the answers." The Colorado Dally bannered the headline: "Spring Break Canceled." The top story headline read: "Univer sity Student Found Dead in Elevator" and the lead read, "Well-known student activist Argyle Plimpton was found starved to death Thursday night inside the UMC elevator." Another headline proclaimed: 'CU Students Seek Beer, Sex, Kicks." The issue was CU's version of a Pink Rag. (But they didn't quite have the Nebraskan's class. It was printed on tbe nsual white paper.) A while back, we said that Chancellor Hardin's house was the house which the students' jack built Since then, we have been duly corrected funds for the house did not come from students.To the Chan cellor, we're Sorry About That! I'liimuiiimijimiiiiimii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniii iimiiiHiiiiiimiiiiiiniinimiimumiiiiiiiiimiiiiwiimiiiiHimiiHiMiimmHiiiiiMiitmiiiiiiiimiBiiimi Another Viewpoint ! Class Attendance I Letter Correction Editor's Note: Due to a mechanical error, a line was lost in a letter in the Daily Nebraskan Monday entitled "Senior Honoraries' Purpose." It was written by Shirley Voss, president of Mortar Board and Skip Soiref, president of Innocents. The corrected paragraph is: "Mortar Boards and Innocents are not campus organ! xations but rather honor societies whose purpose is to recognize individuals for outstanding scholarship, leader, ship and service. It is not the intent of the societies to exert political influence as a group in campus issues or or. ganizations. Rather, the individual members of the socie ties exert influence by virtue of the position they hold or the knowledge they have gained through several years of experience." The Daily Nebraskan extends our apologies for this error. Disappointed With Letter Dear Editor, I was considerably disappointed with the clarification of the esteemed Miss Voss and Mr. Soiref as to the pur pose of the senior honorary societies. It is more than sad that these two individuals see neither the insidiously de structive nature of their organizations nor their failure to stimulate achievement Within the University student body. Both presidents state that their purpose is to "recog nize individuals for outstanding scholarship, leadership, and service." Would that were all! Certainly, I would be the first to agree that within their ranks are some of the most talented and capable individuals at the University. Certain of their members have INDIVIDUALLY contributed much to the University community: Buzz Madsen, Frank Partsch, Kent Neumeister, and perhaps one or two Mortar Boards. If, however, it is not the intent of the societies to exert influence (political or otherwise) as a group in campus issues, why do they? Surely they cannot deny that when ever an idea is presented or a project is attempted that their shadow always lurks behind the person instigating it (especially if he is a junior). He always wonders which Innocent is against this idea or which member of the hooded herd he will impress. Why does the Society almost consistently express the negative aspects of any idea? Because of this vapid in timidation, fewer good ideas are expressed and fewer posi itive programs are instituted. There is also a second reason why I have been disap pointed in our senior honorary societies. The two presi dents state, "the members of the societies feel that their first and foremost obligation is to the University and to the campus organizations in which they hold positions of leadership." If so, why didn't Skip Soiref accept the speaker pro tempore of the student senate? It would seem that such a recognized leader would be invaluable as a leader in a new student government Surely a University cannot exist without its students. If so, then the prime interest of the faculty, administration, and organizations should be the wel fare of the students individually and as a group. Where were the Innocents (with the notable exception of Larry Frolik) when important issues and elections came before the IFC? In whose best interests was the Mortar Board's stand on senior keys? As noted leaders of our campus community, shouldn't they take a more active in terest in problems vital to the student interests: the pro posed tuition hike, a faculty-course evaluation book, a bet ter faculty, a more perceptive and creative administra tion? When was the last time the Society ever made a public statement concerning the role of the student body within the University community? What have they done to promote the kind of climate every University must have if it is even to approach the educational? When was the last time the Innocents as an organization said anything about anything? Why should individuals, many of whom" contributed greatly during the three years before they joined the So ciety, all of a sudden retire from the active University com munity? Many a man occasionally gets tired of the con stant grind of work and responsibility but for a year at a time! Could it be possible that all these men sought was membership in the Society and that once they achieved this they felt they could melt back into the faceless mob, drop all responsibility, ignore any possible greater achieve ment? Why is it that seniors outside the Society appear to ac complish so much more than those within? Bob Samuel son, Jim DeMars, and John Lydick (to name a few) ac complished more during their senior years than all of the Innocents combined. Surely there must be better criterion for the existence of these two organizations other than mere tradition. But what is it? If there isn't Any, their perpetuation is a sad commentary upon the organizations, their mem bers, and our University student body as a whole. Bill Minier Iowa State Daily Several weeks of classes have crept by. Students now have had time to dis cernwhether their profes sors take attendance and-or care whether anyone shows up for class. Some instructors tell stu dents to be there every class period unless excused by an affidavit from a sur geon, with the threat of an otherwise lowered grade. Other professors wouldn't mind lecturing to a vacu um as long as the students came to the final but this breed of instructor is more rare. Should a professor take attendance into account when giving a grade? Con sider his arguments. If a stu dent is not in class, he can not gain from the lecture or discussion. This is true, if tbe instruc tor doesn't act as a mouth piece for the textbook and if be provokes worthwhile discussion. Also, the fewer students present, the fewer people to contribute ideas to make a divcussion a valid point. However, required at tendance may be a matter of the professor's pride, not concern for a lack of pongei to soak up the ma terial or to contribute. Per haps the professor knows few people would show up if given a choice. But a class room of sleeping, but dutiful, noletakers is a poor alter native to a mass of empty seats. Admittedly, there are s o me classes where ab sences only handicap the student a lab class where the information gained is by doing, for example conduct ing an experiment, giving a speech, drawing, or in physi cal education class, where practice is essential. Some professors, wanting their students to come to class and yet wanting to avoid any ultimatum, use other tactics. At the begin ning of tbe quarter, they announce that pop quizzes will be given, and advise that these shouldn't be missed. Possibly they let the stu dents know they will ran domly call on class mem bers, and that they take a dim view of tbeir questions passing unanswered. Tbe results from the ap proaches are tbe same. At tendance becomes a bonus for those who never miss, fate for those who've skipped. Is it safe for the profes sor to assume that the stu dent who does skip class is not interested and is not getting the material simply because he's absent, and therefore should be penal ized? This will be decided by the tests. It is possible the student has found a m o r e profitable and less time consuming way to absorb the material, particularly if the professor is so unbear ably boring and repetitious that he would be better off chatting more informally with students over coffee in the Union, imparting the same information. Being courteous by com ing to class to contribute, using fear of pop quizzes and the threat of lowered grades, and appealing to guilty consciences are strong, but not sound moti vations for a professor to get students to class. Requiring attend ance, whether specifically stated or not, by these methods assures tbe profes sor of an audience, and the student of a possible grade change. But it avoids tbe question of whether a stu dent could spend class lime doing more worthwhile things. Red Expansion In Viet Nam Dear Editor, The Chinese Communist view of world peace is dem onstrated by this excerpt from a letter sent to the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on June 14, 1963: "But how can war be abolished? This is how Lenin viewed it: 'Our object is to achieve the socialist system of society, which, by abolishing the division of mankind into classes, by abolishing all exploitation of man by man, and of one nation by other nations will inevitably abolish all possibility of war.' "However, certain persons now actually bold that it ii possible to bring about 'a world without weapons,, without armed forces and without wars' through 'general and com plete disarmament while the system of imperialism and of exploitation of man by man still exists. This is sheer illusion. "An elementary knowledge of Marxism-Leninism tells us that armed forces are the principle part of tbe state machine and that a so-called world without armed forces can only be a world without states." In view of the fact that we believe there is somewhat more "exploitation" going on, in, say, Tibet than in tbe U.S., that a "world without states" is a rather obnoxious idea to those of us who favor the continued existence of the Lnited States, and that there are grave doubts that Communist world domination would, in fact, bring world peace, these Communist conditions for world peace are un acceptable. Yet world peace is essential hi a nuclear age. So it stands to reason that something must be done to change the minds of the Communists who make the conditions. South Vaet Nam, as has been endlessly pointed out provides almost perfect conditions for the current brand of Communist expansion. If this expansion can be frustrated there, perhaps the Communists will realize that it can be frustrated anywhere. And then perhaps they will change tneir conditions for peace to something more acceptable than complete Communist victory. , if Communist use of force is successful In South Viet Nam we can hardly expert them to suddenly abandon such a useful instrument for world domination. Ray Wilson