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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 14, 1966)
fi ft 1 :; 9 J") Page 2 The Daily Nebraskan Hie Correct 'Point Of View' Wednesday, December 14, 1966 iimiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiin A banner headline and story left an inaccurate impression in Monday's paper concerning a speech by Dr. Harry J. Can on, director of the University's Counsel ing Service, at Wesley Foundation Sun day. To a reader who might not know much about psychedelic drugs, the story may have sounded as if Dr. Canon was endorsing the use of LSD and other drugs. He certainly did not intend to give this impression nor did the Daily Nebraskan mean to suggest it. Dr. Canon, being an expert on the subject, was giving an intelligent and knowledgeable speech. Like most experts on drugs, it is possible that he was saying drugs are not always completely evil, but he certainly wasn't endorsing their use. The Daily Nebraskan owes Dr. Canon a sincere apology for not reporting his "point of view" on psychedelic drugs cor rectly. The following is a letter which the Ne braskan received from Dr. Canon explain ing his own "point of view." Our Man Hoppe- Dear Editor: The headline and portions of the arti cle in Monday's Daily Nebraskan do not represent the point of view I felt I had expressed at a Wesley Foundation discus sion. I did not then, and could not now encourage students to use psychedelic drugs. Conversely, I noted the serious haz ards involved in student use of LSD and similar agents. I had hoped that it would be obvious that I would discourage stu dent use of these drugs. One segment of the article suggests that "some groups ... use marijuana quite freely." I did say this and know of no groups or individuals using marijua na at the University. It would, of course, be presumptuous of me to offer a statement on Student Health Service policies. I did indicate their primary concern with treating stu dents. It would be most unfortunate if any one were left with the impression of any thing other than my real concern about student use of these drugs. Harry J. Canon Counseling Service Director President And His Roots Arthur Hoppe Johnson City, Texas They say you can't under stand President John son without understanding this West Texas hill country he loves so well. I think this is true. It is gentle, rolling coun try, heavily wooded with oak, pecans and cedar, the pjrss yellowed now from St long dry spell. It abounds in game deer quail, possum and coon. Virtually everyone's a hunt er. The people are country people independent, proud, warm with each oth er, wary of strangers. The land is poor. Living has never been easy. The president's white clapboard ranch house is surprisingly small and un prepossessing. It is decorat ed in no particular style and the paintings oil the walls run to cowboy scenes, landscapes and historical lithographs. Yet Mr. Johnson takes an immense pride In it the pride of a man who has built all this from scratch. He dearly delights in showing visitors around, re lating them with long, humorous stories about this piece of furniture or t h a t piece of bric-a-brac. And every story is crowded with names and dates, the memorabilia of his pat. His past here is all around him. Down the ranch road that winds along the banks cf the Pedernales River is the family grave yard under a huge oak tree. Here are the headstones of his parents and grandpar ents in a neat row, with plots reserved for himself and his wife. Farther on Is "The LBJ Birthplace," a tiny house which he had reconstructed and filled with more curios, such as his wife's high chair and a deeply sentimental account of his birth, written by his mother. And out beyond is the ranch itself acre upon acre upon acre of rolling, wooded land which he has stocked with hundreds of deer, antelope, buffalo and wild turkey. This is the game that flourished when his pioneer family settled here. And he wants so much to make it the way it once was. A bulldozer has scraped winding dirt lanes through this park-like land and he loves, more than any other pursuit, to drive slowly about, watching the deer bounding this way and that, the majestic stag, the bal lerina doe. This is his golf, his bowling, his bridge. "Nothing relaxes a m a n more," he once told a visi tor. "Out here," he said softly, "you don't ever think about missiles." And seeing this country, you begin to understand why he s e e m s so much more informal here, so re laxed, so at ease. It is not only that this is where h i s roots are his very deep strong roots tout also that he has made a success here. He wiffl leave his mark upon this quiet land that gave him birth. Here, then, he is secure. Yet be has also made a success in Washington in the power-oriented, devi ous, egocentric, dog-eat-dog arena of national politics. And as a poor boy from West Texas, he is under standably proud of that, too. It is almost as though there are two Mr. Johnsons. I, for one, like and admire this Texan far better. And late this afternoon as I walked along the banks of the Pedernales, flushing doves and armadillos, I couldn't help thinking what a shame it is, both for him and for us, that he can't govern the nation from here. That's What It Says EDITOR'S NOTE: Students are not the only ones who sometimes feel educa tion policies and practices at the Univer sity should be changed. The Mowing Is a plan suggested by a member of the Uni versity faculty In 1952. . Here is a plan of registration and stu dent record keeping which would elimi nate much of the paper that buries stu dents, faculty and the administration. This plan would eliminate entirely keep ing records of students' failures. Instead of a negative approach, it points toward a positive approach of recording only suc cesses and accomplishments. I do not see how this plan would In any way bring about a lowering of acad emic standards. The requirements for graduation would remain the same, and each sludenl'i record would show just as clearly a It now doei whether or not be has met the requirements. It just would not show failures, which do not concern us anyway when we are evaluating hlf credits In terms of graduation. The plan makes for extreme flexibil ity. For example, some of our courses of fer two or three credit hours. Under the system which is now operative, the stu dent has to make his choice at the begin ning of the term, and he has to stay with it unless he Is willing to untangle red tape. We are not different from other uni versities In this respect either. Under the proposed plan he need not make a choice until the end of the semester when both he and the Instructor know how much credit he has earned. A really dangerous heretic might even suggest that the In structor and student agree whether less credit and a higher grade has been earned or more credit and a lower grade. As far as the plan is concerned, that would be possible. Aa objection might be raised on the (rounds that the University would become a loafing place for some students. That ob jection can be met by requiring each stu dent to file evidence In the office of regi stration and records each term of a mini mum perhaps 10 or 12 credit hours of work accomplished. If be fails below that level, he would be placed on probation for one term, and he would be dropped from school if be continued beltfw an ac ceptable level of accomplishment. The poor instructor is certain to object on the grounds that he could not maintain discipline without the club of failure. I think the poor instructor might have a harder time of it than he does now because a student could revolt without the fear of a black mark on his record. The few in structors I have talked to, however, are not afraid of the plan. Any instructor who is worth his salt would h?ve no more trou ble with discipline than he does now. After all, our rules governing student conduct would still bold. When we sit in Judgment upon stu dents, we do not always realize our re sponsibilities. The record, which is perma nent in every sense of the word, does not show that a failure may or may not be a judgment which was highly subjective. Off-hand, the names of two individuals who were certainly not academic suc cesses at the University come to mind. By any yardstick for success one chooses, these men are successes. The influence of both extends far beyond Nebraska. The record simply does not square with their accomplishments. Unfortunately, the records appear to have rankled. Neither of these men is en tirely friendly to the University, and their friendship would be a definite asset to us. How many others like them there may be we do not know. I like Dean Hooper's philosophy. He said, "We never give failures in the Col lege of Dentistry. When a student does not measure up to our standards, we coun sel with him and insist that he discontinue the study of dentistry at the University. But be leaves with his chin up." I am sure that this plan is adminis tratively feasible, and I think it is con sistent with good pedagogy. But whether or not the faculty and Board of Regents would want to go along with a plan as radically different in philosophy as this remains to be seen. Obvious, since basic policy is Involved here, approval by the faculty and perhaps the Board of Regents would be necessary before the essence of the plan could bt implemented. YD, YR PRESIDENTS SPEAK: Donkey Serenade As I See It By Sabra McCall EDITOR'S NOTE: Bruce Mason, vice president of the University Young Demo crats, Is writing Miss McCall's column for her today. He will continue to write the YD column on a regular basis second semester. Lincoln a place for newly weds and barely deads! If Athens were the acropolis of the ancient world, then surely Lincoln and the state of Nebraska is the necropolis of America. Somewhere among the stalks of corn In Nebraska the achievements of the Age of Enlightenment were burled, never to be rediscovered. The best Illustration of this anti-intellectual worship of anarch ism Is the Nebraskan view toward educa tion. The Beef State Citizens refuse to ac knowledge the grammar school principle that education costs money. After all Ne braskans don't want to pay any taxes at all. They voiced this idealistic view in the November elections. Obviously, it is because something in their stornaches tells them that education brings a liberal atmosphere, progress, and an awareness of the outside world. Ne braskans don't want to experience the myriad of sensations, both pheasant and unpleasant' which progress brings. Instead they retreat from the realities of the world behind the impenetrable barrier of Ignor ance and self-imposed isolationism. In the twentieth century this security Is the slave of Ignorance. Nebraskans view the unorthodox and the different with the same suspicion and hatred as did the Salem witch-hunters. The Salem madness died with the advent of rationalism, but this Irrational madness flourished in Nebraska. For a politician to be elected to office in Nebraska it is simply a' matter of speaking out against government, taxes, education and progress. In concluding, I offer the following suggestion on how the State of Nebraska can aid America. Since Nebraskans de sire security at all costs why not turn the state into America's National Ce metery. By this benevolent act Nebraska will finally gain the security and isolation it seeks. By Cathie Shattuck One thing that I have noticed about politics is that there is never an end to the speculation as to who will run, what will happen if he does ran and who will support him. All this talk is fascinating, but' poll tics are beginning to take on a new frame of reference. It Is no longer a question of which Republican can get full support of his party and be elected after nomi nated, the question now Is which man will get the nomination. This change in attitude is due in a large part to members of the Republican National Committee who have been able to put the interests of the party above personal preference in order to build an organization to elect Republicans without regard to the personal differences between some of the party workers and 'their candidates. Such party unity is a comparatively new thing for the Republi can party of recent years, and it has taken the efforts of many candidates and party officials to rise above political-in-fighting and get down to the task of electing Republicans. Such an attitude of selfless service to the party is extremely difficult for many elements in the Nebraska Republican par ty to accept, but it is gaining ground. The fall campaign of 1966, is perhaps the best example of what Nebraska Republicans can do if they are unified behind their candidates. Such a philosophy of party unity is not one that is new to the University cam pus, and members of YR's here on cam pus should not expect any change In this area. An effort will be made to make stu dents familiar with all prospective candi dates for the 1968 election, but as a club we will not endorse any one person for office before the primary or nominating convention. This statement of club policy is not premature when one considers the pres sures which are already being exerted to line up support for various candidates for 1968. As a policy statement of the Uni versity YR's stated in the Daily Nebras kan in spring of 1964: "While no member of this executive board may take an official stand on a candidate we find no fault with any mem ber having his personal views on this mat ter. By the same token, while no individ ual member of our organization may speak in an official capacity for the club in either his support or lack of same for any candidate, it is our belief that he has the right to his own convictions in this regard." As a campus Republican organization we are obligated to follow this policy, for we must be Republicans with no discorn able shade of difference when it comes tune to elect our men to office. ' Campus Op mion Miss Aitkin's Criticism Unjustified Dear Editor: In regard to the article in Monday's Daily Nebraskan by Liz Aitken, we a concerned group of senior home eco nomics majors, feel that home economics majors at the University have been unjustly criticized. Grounds for this criticism are not evident in the article. Miss Aitken has reflected in this article that home eco nomics majors are not worthy of honors received. Through their contributions to the many various organizations in which they participate, home economics majors have prov en their leadership and ability and their contribution to the University community as a whole. Those home economics majors implicated in the arti cle have exemplified leadership, scholarship, and service to the University and justly deserve the membership they hold. Concerned Senior Home Economics Majors 'New Curriculum9 Proposal Dear Editor: I would like to suggest a Vivarian proposal for "The New Curriculum:" 1. It will eschew "coverage" of a field in favor of em phasizing its deepest conceptual grounds. These may be revealed by philosophical analysis of a field, or by special applications of its discipline to reveal the range and in terrelationships of its methods. 2. It will discard the "survey" course in favor of the "problems" approach. Survey courses supply outmoded answers rather than live questions, and tend to offer the student a smorgasbord that is stale and low in nourish ment. 3. Instead of memorizing some predigested and pack aged simplification called Introduction to Psychology or Economics or World History or City Planning, the student learns how a psychologist or economist or historian or city planner goes about his business. He becomes at once aware of the difficult but fascinating interrelations of knowledge. 4. The new curriculum will reconceive history and re evaluate cultural monuments at a pace commensorate with that of the changes in our lives. 5. An attempt will be extent to best absolescence by emphasizing whatever kinds of learning survive change. 6. Learning will not be a matter of routine detention and indoctrination. The student will not be bound by the rigid, wasteful equating of credits and class "contact hours, and the lockstep routine of uniform courses and examinations. (Some studies need much class time and for mal lecture periods; others need more outside reading and reflection, or independent research.) 7. Use will be made of whole graduation of Intermedi ate teaching arrangements tutorial, preceptorial, semi nar, discussion, field study alone or in groups. 8. Many unessential courses wiU be eliminated, along with the mindlessly routine examining, grading and po lice work that now go with them. 9. The library will be mechanized information stor age and -retrieval agency with instantaneous national and international resources. 10. The content and teaching methods of the new cur riculum will powerfully answer the students' search for relevance and for personal recognition, and will coun ter the professors' flight from the mechanical classroom routine with opportunities for a kind of teaching closely related to their activities in research an dpublic service. Paul Armin Ronay Opinions Do Make A Difference Dear Editor: Just as Miss Jan Itkin sincerely hopes that there is no basic conceit inherent in man, it is our sincere hopes that she fully realizes the implications of all that she advo cates in her column "Who Would Have Thunk It" (Daily Nebraskan, Dec. 9). It is true that the seeds of national and international harmony lie in actions based on mutual respect and that opinions are as much an expression of one's character as works. Where I beg to differ from the columnist is her contention that a person's opinions should be respected merely because he has made an effort to express them. I believe that such a view-point propagates the Incongru ous and fallacious notion that all opinions are equally valid or non-valid. It would certainly be irrational to say that I am right therefore you are wrong, but who can deny that opinions are respected only inasmuch as they have something in them worthy of respect. Obviously then, those not falling into this category are either ignored or held in contempt. How then do we say that one opinion may be just as valid as another Naturally, wherever men profess to uphold freedom, the right to say what one thinks should be allowed an individ ual, and harrassment and disparagement should not be the punishment for exercising that right. Nevertheless, when it comes to deciding whether an opinon is to be respected or not, the sole criterion should be the value of that opinion-its value to the individual's immediate en vironment, to his fellow-countrymen and ultimately to all mankind. The result of taking the "Equal Validity Theory" to Its logical conclusion would be to equate the oppressor with the oppressed and the aggressor with the aggressed upon. Would we say today that perhaps Hitler bad a few points in his favor while simultaneously conceding that the view point of bis favor while simultaneously conceding that the view-point of his victims was also valid to some ex tent? We would have to face utter anarchy of the Intellect. We could then in the same spirit say that the world should give the same respect to the ideas of the Red Guards of China as it does to the motivations of the Indonesian students who rose up against subversion; that although Mahatma Gandhi's views were somewhat valid, perhaps those of the British government in India op posing him were equally valid. c 1.1i,aUr,?11? is true th-n impose sanctions on Ian Smiths Rhodesia or why bring censure motions against South Africa in the UN? All view-points have some validity, hence no categorical rejection of any Is permissible. We have no right to be contemptuous of any Idea, no mat ter how Jarring it is to our intellectual and moral sensi bilities. If this be the basis for harmony, then let us by all means adopt it. S. K. Chaturvedl Daily Nebraskan Vol. to. No. rconfcliM natal paid at Xlncoin, WbT Dee. 14, 19(4 Member AisoclatwJ Collegiate Preu, National Advertising EDITORIAL STAFF . , BUSINESS STAFF Wollt. Jim Walton rhLrt k.u L . "J Ld1 Hu'll" AnlnUnti, J-rr I
