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The Daily Nebraskan
Wednesday, December 7, 1966
Free University Statement
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EDITOR'S NOTE: A meeting for per
sons Interested In attending or leading
courses in the planned Free University
will be held 7 p.m. Thursday in the Ne
braska Union. The following is the fall
text of the statement issued Sunday by
the Coordinating Committee for the Free
University.
TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRAS
KA ACADEMIC COMMUNITY AND THE
PEOPLE OF NEBRASKA:
Higher education at the University of
Nebraska Is not living up to its responsi
bility and commitment to Us own goal of
"total education."
The University of Nebraska defines
"total education" as an "acquisition of a
pattern of knowledge, skills, attitudes
and values that will result in increasing
ly responsible and productive behavior."
And it says it will pursue this objective
by "providing facilities, staff and environ
ment." Thi goal of "total education," how
ever, is not being realized in the follow
ing ways:
1. The established curriculum of the
University of Nebraska exhibits a lack of
courses that are relevant to the desires
and needs of a significant segment of the
study body. Few courses address them
selves to many of their serious concerns
of the students students who are seek
ing an education which will help them, as
individuals, determine the role they will
play in today's and tomorrow's world.
This lack of course selection makes a
mockery of the idea that a university Is
a free marketplace of ideas.
2. Most of the course work that is of
fered is not taught in a way where it be
comes a creative learning experience.
Rather, it becomes an academic rote
game, where student participation and
involvement in the course is not seriously
developed.
A PARTIAL ANSWER TO THIS PROB
LEM: To, at least partially, alleviate those
and other conditions the NEBRASKA
FREE UNIVERSITY will be established
with the following purposes:
" 1. To offer to people opportunities for
learning that cannot be found in the es
tablished curriculum of the University of
Nebraska.
2. To offer people an opportunity to
participate In a creative learning experi
ence that is student-centered where the
spirit of creativity, discovery and critical
Inquiry is promoted.
To accomplish these purposes the
NEBRASKA FREE UNIVERSITY will
provide the structure through which any
individual, group of individuals or organi
zation, on the University campus or from
the Lincoln community, can offer a course
on any subject. The course can be. con
ducted by any educational technique.
THE NEBRASKA FREE UNIVERSITY
STRUCTURE:
Final responsibility for the NEBRAS
KA FREE UNIVERSITY will rest in the
hands of the people who participate in its
programs. It offers a chance for students
and interested adults to get involved di
rectly in the search for knowledge and
understanding, for the participants of the
NBRASKA FREE UNIVERSITY will de
termine the courses offered and the way
they are taught.
A coordinating committee for the free
University will be established to perform
tite following tasks:
1. to assemble a list of the courses
that will be offered.
2. to publicize this course list.
3. to help find a location and time for
the courses to meet.
4. to register students for the various
courses.
The responsibility and job of the co
ordinating committee will end when the
person or group responsible for a course
and the people who are interested in tak
ing the course have their initial meeting.
The directon the courses will take after
this point is totally the responsibility of
the people involved in the course. Each
course will have to justify itself and keep
itself going solely on its own merits.
A CHALLENGE TO THOSE WHO CARE
ABOUT "TOTAL EDUCATION":
The NEBRASKA FREE UNIVER
SITY is open to anyone sincerely inter
ested in the quest for knowledge and un
derstanding. It is not an end in itself, but
only a means toward a better realization
of the goals of education. To the goals of
education it is dedicated and toward these
goals it will strive. The success it will
have in the realization of these gals will
be determined by the people who partici
pate in i t
I BRENDA LYLE'S...
S
The Other Sheep
EDITOR'S NOTE: This Is the third
column in a six-part series by Brenda
Lyle about her personal opinion of the Ne
gro woman's role on the University cam
pus. Miss Lyle was asked to write this
column by the Dally Nebraskan.
John Wycliff, an Oxford scholar who
was famous for translating the Bible into
English made a statement many years
ago that has held fast to Christian peo
ple all over the world. "I believe that in
the end the truth will conquer."
I am of the belief that the truth will
conquer but how does one seek out people
that are able to accept it intelligently.
When the truth is expressed, some people
become afraid and this fear in the end ex
emplifies guilt.
Before I began my column, a friend
asked me if I knew what I would have to
face when I began to express my personal
opinions about different subjects. She was
inclined to believe that I would not be
strong enough to take aS that peo
ple would have to say.
I must confess that many of my
friends have turned their backs on me,
have thrown my name in the streets and
have falsely accused me cf being a "Black
Nationalist." These accusations were to
frighten me into stopping my column. . .
this is why I present to you my third ar
ticle which merely discusses the topic
"Dating." It is written in conversation
form stemming from a conversation that
was held about three weeks ago on this
particular topic.
QUESTION: Brenda, can you brief
ly tell us why there is such a limited num
ber of Negro girls on this campus?
ANSWER: Nebraska, as a state, has
a very Uw percentage of Negro resi-'
dents. Because of this, many of the Ne
gro girls come from Omaha or Lincoln
where the majority of the Negro families
reside. Some are from out of state as are
most of the guys. Because there is a very
low percentage of Negroes in the stata, this
University does not attract many girls. . .
the influx is not very great. This year, I
believe there are more Negro girls here
than there has ever been in the past.
QUESTION: What is your opinion on
the very "touchy" subject of interracial
dating?
ANSWER: It is true that this subject
it somewhat "touchy" but I assure you
that it can be discussed intelligently.
About five or six years ago, there were
approximately three Negro girls on cam
pus and maybe ten or fifteen guys most
of them athletes. The ratio was very un
balanced and the guys had no choice but
to go to Omaha or find a social life here.
And so they found some entertainment
here because girls of other races were
willing to date them. This is still occurr
ing in some instances because the ratio is
still unbalanced.
I believe the major criticism of many
Negro girls is that she has to make a spe
cial effort to get any attention from the
guys although she feels no superiority or
inferiority to girls of other races.
I must confess that a few of my
friends have married members of other
races and I assure you, that this is not
to be condemned it is something to be
accepted because it is happening all over
the world.
QUESTION: In summary, could you
tell us your reaction to this problem'
ANSWER: I suppose it will be easier
to quote myself from a speech I made on
this subject just recently and explain my
reaction this way.
"Maybe I should refuse to answer on
the grounds that my answer will hurt me
as an individual and then again maybe
I shouldn't be afraid to say that some of
these people are strange. I have heard
many people talk about interracial dat
ing on campus and believe me the ma
jority of the "whites" are against it, but
are afraid to ay anything about it.
"I have seen many Negro girls sit in
their rooms and sulk because they have
no dates. But then when the subject is
discussed in a group, they avoid it for fear
of being ousted. Personally, most of my
time is dedicated to studies but I can
say this:
"I would like to see the day when a
Negro girl is free to date a guy from an
other race and not fear that he may, for
example, be kicked out of his fraternity,
or for myself, be condemned for exer
cising the true spirit of freedom . . ."
And so the conversation was ended
and may I add that before any of my
readers start to condemn me for what
has just been said please read my short
conclusion as Alexander Pope wrote:
"Laugh than at any but at fools or
foes
"These you but anger, and yon mend
not those
"Laugh at your friends, and if your
friends are sore,
"So much the better, you may laugh
the more."
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EDITOR'S NOTE: In
stead of the usual Agenbite
of Inwit column, Steve Ab
bott writes an open letter
to members of PACT. The
following letter was read
Tuesday night at the PACT
executive meeting.
AN OPEN LETTER TO
MEMBERS OF PACT:
Every once In a while it
is customary for the past
presidential candidate of a
party to address himself to
party members. I have not
done this publically so far
(with one exception of hu
morously cajoling you for
changing the party name)
because I'm not in a posi
tion to put my money where
my mouth is.
In otherwords. I should
be cautious about criticisms
if I can't roll up my sleeve
and work to put my pro
posals into action. Actions
speak louder than words
and we should not pay un
due heed to armchair crit
ics and tbeorizers.
So where does PACT
stand as of now? Very well
I think. It is highly remark
able to see a political par
ty engaged in committee
research w o r k in an off
election season. It would
be folly for us to measure
the s u c c e s s of our par
ty only by the number of
people we have attending
weekly meetings. Rather let
us measure it by the num
ber of people we have work
ing in SDS, the Free Uni
versity and ASUN.
Even better, measure it
in the general influence our
party has on the direction
of the University. Those of
you who attend regular
meetings faithfully should
be commended not for be
ing the only "true" PACT
members, but as members
fulfilling a specific party
function: that of doing re
search and planning over
all organizational and ideo
logical structure.
But while we should be
proud of our accomplish
ments to date, let's not lull
ourselves into a dogmatic
slumber of self-congratulatory
egoism. There are still
things to be done.
First, concerning the role
of our party chairman. It
seems to be an unwritten
rule that the chairman can't
speak for PACT. But if she
can't, who can? PACT is
not a duplicate of SDS but
a political party that must
take stands.
Some positions are deter
mined by research, but un
forseen developments occur
that should be answered
promptly. For instance, in
the Dec. 2 Daily Nebraskan
Dean Ross seemed to ob
ject to the Bill of Rights
on the grounds of legal pow
er rather than on grounds
of education. Since Dean
Ross last spring and sum
mer wanted to avoid dis
cussion in "power struggle"
terms, u clarification should
be asked for.
Again PACT, through its
elected chairman should be
able to commend Curt
Bromm's Legislative-Liaison
Committee, the Free
University project, etc., be
cause these areas were
covered under planks three
and four of lafct year's plat
form. The chairman should
be able to point out what
PACT is involved in be
cause people will forget
what good things we do un
less they ere reminded.
Secondly, I understand
some PACT members have
reservations about the Stu
dent Bill of Rights as
drafted by ASUN's Conduct
Committee. Since the ma
jority of the committee is
made up of PACT mem
bers, PACT is responsible
for the document like it or
not. It would be best, for
objecting members to draft
a minority report letter to
the Daily Nebraskan, while
a simultaneous official par
ty endorsement of the bill
is given. To do otherwise
will split the party need
lessly, making it look dis
organized and foolish.
Lastly, and most impor
tant PACT has not helped
the campus to understand
the necessity of a strong
two party system. People
think parties are superfluous
whereas in actuality they
are imperative to good en
vironment. Without party
loyalty, government is eith
er anarchy or a rubber
stamp farce. ASUN is cur
rently plagued with both
problems.
No matter how good an
Individual senator, his ideas
and effort will perish upon
graduation UNLESS he can
pass them on through a po
litical machine. Take as ex
ample one of ASUN's ab
lest members, Dick Scbulze.
Dick began the year attend
ing several PACT meet
ings, then announced (more
privately than publically)
disassociation from PACT
because of some disagree
ment. Was this disagreement
fundamental? If so, Dick
has the responsibility of
of counteracting PACT with
a party of his own. If the
disagreement wag not fun
damental and Dick agrees
with the basic tenets or
tenor of PACT, then he
should openly declare him
self a PACT member and,
depending on his available
amount of time, he should
continue to influence the
party with his ideas.
I would say this matter
of parties is almost as im
portant as passage of the
Bill of Rights itself. To act
as an ASUN senator or as
sociate without party affil
iation is like modeling in a
fashion show stark naked.
It's ridiculous for senators
to worry about how their
bodies are dressed at ASUN
meetings when they don't
care if their minds are
clothed with even the slight
est threat of political com
mitment. Parties should have ideo
logical foundation to distin
guish themselves from each
other. Vox Populi's recent
failure in this respect made
it a joke I daresay no one
will ever want to repeat.
PACT is the first, real
campus political group the
University has had. It has
more than many thought
possible. The era of cam
pus politics is just begin
ning, however, and we can't
spare time to rest on our
laurels.
A House Divided . . .
Dear Editor:
As usual in Negro affairs the Imperious female must
lead the way. Being a male Negro and not in any way
athletically talented, I sympathize with one Brenda Lyle;
however, so far she has yet to say plainly what are some
of the problems of a handful of Negroes on a predomi
nantly White campus.
The tendency for Negroes to restrain themselves from
various campus activities can, in my lowly opinion, be
contributed considerably to Negroes themselves, to intra
raclal breakdowns as much as interracial breakdowns, es
pecially as things manifest themselves on this campus.
It seems to me that the difficulties are these: Negroes
are afraid to try and fail. "Thou shalt not fail" is just as
potent a law among Negroes as among Whites, if not more
so. Negroes tend not to go into certain activities because
no predecessor has braved the initial uncertainties of ac
ceptance for their less than courageous souls, and Negroes
tend to enter only those areas where they feel safe and
where their friends are; consequently, they aggregate.
Those who tend not to aggregate become de facto out
casts. In effect, another problem of Negroes is that this
most discriminated against race is wretchedly, internal
ly discriminatory. Those that tend to aggregate discrimi
nate against those who tend not to aggregate or vice versa.
In either case, there is no unity just as Miss Lyle
mentioned. It seems one Negro is always afraid he will be
embarrassed by another Negro or that another Negro will
ruin "what he has going for him" with the White majority.
Speaking as a male, I submit that my own social ac
tivities are limited only when they must involve male-female
pairings. I number exactly two Negro females on this
campus among my "hello-how-are-you-good-by" acquain
tances. This is my fourth year on this campus and in all
those years I have had two Negro females as classmates
(and three males).
Last time I heard, there were about four Negro males
per female on this campus. You can't fight numbers, you
just live with them. Either you get chronically horny like
me or you do as some have done and cross that touchy
interracial male-female boundary.
Otherwise, except for social fraternities and sorori
ties, you are as free or limited as your ambition to partake
of campus activities.
Perhaps, by virtue of our numbers, we are aliens in
this place. You just' have to get use to it like liver or Proko
fieff. Perhaps we need organization or "an" organization
like the foreign students have, but I fear we would only
tend to withdraw into each others safe racial keeping and
merely segregate ourselves.
It seems that every solution to a problem brings with
it a host of other problems; however, I do think we could
use an extended get acquainted and brotherhood week
among ourselves. It is time the "boppers" and "trotters,"
the "squares" and "rounds" realized that emnity and idi
om are vain things.
I suspect that both Miss Lyle and I are just heaping so
many more words upon the thousands of unheeded words
that cover the pages of the "Daily Garbage Can Lining,"
and considering the closeness (sic) among Negroes on this
campus, how does each know that the other is not an SDS
member in disguise or that Brenda Lyle is not merely a
pseudonym for Dick Scbulze?
If after all these cries of "unwanted" and "left out"
-Miss Watt and Miss Lyle are merely not adjusted to the
lonely life of being a "token" Negro, I submit that infor
mation has my phone number. Frankly, I would like to
get unadjusted. Maybe we can organize something. . .!
Victor A. Padron
Dean Open Your( Eyes
Dear Editors:
In the Daily Nebraskan Friday, Dec. 2, Dean Ross
termed "disturbing" any argument based on a "need" to
assert rights because this implies a basis of mistreatment,
a situation that he said he had not noticed. My first reac
tion, of course, is "How can you help but notice them'"
Second, since the dean of Student Affairs lacks the in
sight to discover the problems of students I suppose some
one should point out several in order to "get the old bu
reaucratic ball rolling" and hope that it rolls forward (for
a change).
To begin with, would anyone argue that a violation of
a student's constitutional rights is "mistreatment?" This
does exist at Nebraska kiddies (and Dean Ross), so face
it. For instance, if a student is caught for something like
"minor in possession" by the Lincoln authorities, tried and
fined by the city, then, under the law of the land, he has
paid his debt to society and is not to be tried for the same
crime again.
So the student returns to his academic world, glad to
have the unfortunate experience behind him and starts to
settle down to pursue his education again, unmolested.
Boy does he get a surprise! He finds out the hard way
that the Office of Student Affairs couldn't care less about
the constitutionality of "double jeopardy" proceedings and
he finds himself on trial again for the same crime which
he can t be retried for.
The "double jeopardy" system is bad in several ways.
First, the student is sentenced where he shouldnt be. Sec
ond, if the University truly wishes to make any kind
decent citizen out of anyone, it seems to be going at it all
wrong as it in fact teaches students to "ignore the laws of
the land if you dont like them'.
In regard to housing, it seems that all student housing
does is force students to live in either poor or overpriced
housing or both. In the case of women, they are most def
initely bemg persecuted because of their sex.
If a female gets a job and an apartment right out of
high school society says this is ok. But if this same girl
goes to NU she is treated like a child, forced to live in
overpriced housing, eat third rate food and keep hours
that her parents wouldn't even impose on her
. iMaTC v.er the pr&test Parents wh don't want
f!?7; ner terms th,s National. For what? Liv
ing in the YW tA or a convent but nothing else. For the
female students who want to get their education and still
be treated as adults, this Is certainly a "mistreatment "
So how about it, dean? Do you need some more ex
amples or do your eyes work now?
Don Sutton
Vol. 90, No. 45
Daily Nebraskan
Swwnd-oiiif cmtt p"id at LlncoTn7"Neir
Deo. 7. 190
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