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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1967)
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1967 Page 2 The Daily Nebroskan yjiiiiiiHiKiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinniiniiiiniinuiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiin I Number One With the first issue in 1967 the Daily Nebraskan is beginning what could be both the paper's and the Univer sity's most important semester. The questions, the problems, the issues that confront the University, the students and the citizens of Nebraska are overbearing and all at one time almost unbelievable. Before the semester is over the state will have to de cide what kind of University it wants and how to support it. Students will see the success or failure of their efforts to" improve the school and an even more rapid rate of change or insistence on the status quo will be decided on by the students' actions. t This issue is only number one but along with, the many others to come the Daily Nebraskan is prepared for its greatest challenge this semester. Just A Beginning In recent months there has been swelling criticism of the quality of education at the University. Since the resig nation last spring of many of the University's best pro- fessoi s, angry students have become more vocal. Students are complaining because they are unable to seek out the remaining top professors and desirable courses because of binding requirements, advisers who often steer Students in the wrong directions and lack of classroom space. They are complaining because instructors are loaded with too many students and as a result either don't have the time or become too lazy to update their course ma terial and improve their presentation from semester to semester. "Spoonfeeding" has replaced creative thinking in the classroom and the four-year ordeal has become little -more than grasp for the degree that will get the student along to more important things. In the last two months, however, the angry students have decided to do something about this situation. Because they do not want their professors to do all their thinking, ' they have laid the framework for a group of courses which " tenter around their own ability to explore and think about subjects of mutual interest. The Daily Nebraskan shares the hopes of those stu- dents who planned the Free University that it will be the "beginning of a solution to achieve first-rate education. The Free University is one of the most exciting projects ihat students have undertaken in years. It offers the stu dents who are dissatisfied with the classroom trivia an opportunity . to relieve their frustrations by digging into "subjects which have been skimmed or ignored in the regu- lar University curriculum. More than that, the Free Uni versity will challenge those students who have never de manded a better education to see what they can do when they are stimulated to be creative. The Daily Nebraskan hopes that the Free University ...will not become a group of private seminars for the in tellectual elite at Nebraska. Actually, many students of this type need no Free University because although they may be unhappy about the classroom situation, they often .have discussions of the same type that are inherent in the idea of NFUA. Rather, the Daily Nebraskan is anxious that all stu dents participate to benefit from the knowledge that each has and to grow together in the thirst for education. The Free University is without restrictions. It costs nothing, there are no requirements. There are no assign ments, exams, grades. There is only the opportunity to get more for your money at the University. The Free Uni versity is a big step forward. L tfM Merry -o-rdunclN. A Change In Direction (Reducing General Fees) Our Man Hoppe- Ideal New U.C. President Arthur Hoppe Feb. 1, 1967 Daily Nebraskan Vol. 91, No. 1 Second-class postage paid at Lincoln, Neb. TELEPHONE: 477-8711. Extensions J58, 2589 and 2590. ,: v sJub:rtPt'on rates are $4 per semester or $6 for the academic vear. Pub lished Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the school year except during vacations and exam periods, by the students of the University of Nebraska nnder the jurisdiction of the Faculty Subcommittee on Student Publications. Piih icat ons shall be free from censorship by the Subcommitlee or any person outside the University. Members of he Nebraskan are responsible for what thev cause to be printed. ' Member Associated Collegiate Press, National Advertising Service. Incor porated. Published at Room 51, Nebraska Union. Lincoln, Neb 68518 EDITORIAL STAFF T,t- 'S?.1" JVa,J",e Kmwcher; Managing Editor Bruce Giles: News Editor Jan Itkin; Night News Editor Bill M.nier; Editorial Page Assistant Susie ThelrS" iPOIr,U..,E"or W Icenoglei Assistant Sports Editor Terry Grasmicki Senior Staff Writers, Julie Morris, Cheryl Tritt. Randy Irey: JuniVr Staff Writer,' mS- DVid, Bu"ta'n- R"r Boy; J Fvinger. Dan Looker, Paul Eaton Marl: Gordon. Chris Carlson: New. Assistant Eileen Wirth; Photographer, Mike Hayman. Doug Keister: Copy Editors Romney Reutzel, Lynn An,- Gottechalk Marty Dietrich. Jackie Glascock. Chri, Stocxwell, Mane UndquisL PtBennett' BUSINESS STAFF Business Manager Bob Glnn: National Advertising Manager Roger Rove' Production Manager Charles Baxter: Classified Adverting Manager! Janet Boatman, John Flemmlng: Secretary Amy Bouska; Business Assistant Rh Carter, Glenn Friendt, Rus. Fuller, Chris Lougee. Kathy Schoolev, Undk " Jeffrey Subscription Manager Jim Buntz: Circulation Manager Lynn Rathjen- Clrcula tion Assistant Gary Meyer: Bookkeeper Craig MartLison naln'en' urcuia- The search for a new President for the Universi ty of California appeared a mere formality today with the post almost certain to go to Dr. Homer T. Petti bone. While other distinguished Americans, such as J. Ed gar Hoover, General Cur tis LeMay and Senator East land, have been mentioned, Dr. Pettibone, except for one small handicap, is ideally suited for the posi tion. Tall, broad-shouldered, silver-haired, Dr. Pettibone looks every inch a univer sity president. His exten sive wardrobe includes bag gy tweed jackets for strolls about the campus, conser vative pin-striped suits for meetings of the Board of Regents, and friends say his elegance in dinner jack ets will prove a tremendous asset at fund-raising ban quets. But it is his forward looking program that has won him overwhelming sup port. "A great university," he says, "deserves an un broken record of excellence. And cur first requirements to achieve that record are a quarterback who can throw long and a heavier defensive line." iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiii!iiiiiii(iimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiii, iiiiiiiiiiiiNHiiiinmiii,,,,,!,, , imiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiimiiiiiiiiy I I'M FADIN' AWAY I ...by dermis bartels I But Dr. Pettibone feeis strongly that a well-rounded university life should also include academic pursuits. To this end, he has pro-, posed a new multi-million-dollar building program primarily to construct a 12-foot-high wall around each campus topped with barbed wire, searchlights and guard towers. "Order and discipline are essential to a quiet scholas tic atmosphere," he says. "And I believe a widely-expanded campus security force, armed with cat tle prods, will insure it." No prude, Dr. Pettibone holds that sex has its place on each of the university's nine campuses. "The fe male sex has its place on four of the campuses and the male sex on the other five," he says, firmly. "Co education is sex education." To consume the time and energy now wasted on the latter, Dr. Pettibone pro poses a unique work-study program. After classes each day the students would be marched to a new Student Activity & Jute Mill Center, where they would learn good habits, make pota to sacks and help put the ' university on a paying bas is. As for studies, Dr. Petti bone feels the present con fusing plethora of degrees should be replaced by a single one in American ism. Each lecture hour, he believes, should open with the Pledge of Allegiance, a loyalty oath, the Star-Spangled Banner and a selec tion from The Thoughts of H. L. Hunt. The remaining 15 minutes, in the traditions of academic freedom, would be devoted to whatever ap proved subject the student wished to minor in. But, above all, Dr. Petti bone hopes to project a new image of the student so that the public will easily recog nize a Cal man primari ly by his shaved head and blue denim uniform. "This will be of great help in rounding them up," he explains grimly, "in case some hardened trouble makers sta. a breakout." , Needless to say, the ma jority of Regents have been won by Dr. Pettibone's per sonality, his program and his wide experience in pe nology. And he would have already been named the new university president if it weren't for his one small handicap. "I think we should uver look it," says one Regent enthusiastically. "After all, he'll have plenty of assis tants who know how to read and write." When a rule or law is enforced se lectively, most people would say that some sort of injustice has been com mitted. Obvious instances of this sort of injustice abound in American society. However, it appears that people ha?e fewer apprehensions about condemning this sort of injustice when it is remote (e.g. in the Deep South) than they do when it occurs in their own communities. If this were not the case, the con demnation of Lancaster County's prose cution of William Steen for selling "por nographic" literature in his Heroic Book Store would necessarily be overwhelm ing. Some people, including several "in vestigators" from the Lincoln Police De partment, seem to be upset about the sale of "Candy" ("that dirty sex novel" and or "that insightful social commentary on our time"), and certain magazines which, reportedly, reveal certain parts of the hu man anatomy which, if they must be mentioned at all (since such mention might transcend the limits of "ordinary candor" as defined by the Nebraska ob scenity law), must be discussed in euphe mistic terms e.g. "How's your ol' euphe mism" Somehow, these same people seem to have overlooked the fact that other book tores in Lincoln sell books that are simi lar to "Candy" in both quality and quanti ty of "pornographic" content. In fact, some people have even claimed that these other stores have sold books that are "identical" to "Candy," although the truth or falsity of this claim is subject to question. However, whether the claim is true , or false, I suggest that pages 158 and 159 of "The Ginger Man" by J. P. Donleavy to be found in other book stores will not oniy -.natch but even surpass anything "Candy" has to offer if one chooses to allow his or her prurient interests to warm up. And what's worse, "The Gin ger Man" has been required reading in some English classes at the U. of N. Shame on you, bookstores and Uni versity of Nebraska! Furthermore, these people seem to hava overlooked the fact that many news stands and .nagazine outlets (even in downtown Lincoln, tsk ,tsk) sell litera ture with photographs of certain parts of the human anatomy that would probably make the photographs In Mr. Steen's "questionable" magazines look like illus trations from a first-grade reader. In the light of these considerations, one is led to ask, "Why is Mr. Steen be ing prosecuted while other book stores and certain downtown Lincoln magazine outlets aren't" Perhaps Dick Benedict of the "What's Your Opinion" show on KLIN Radio pro vided a clue when he said, ' There must be politics mixed up in it somewhere." The high degree of irrational emotionalism vhich has characterized the Daily Nebraskan editorials of late reached its culmination on Thursday, Dec. 15, 1E66, in the editorial concerning fraternities and sororities. Perhaps the editorial's verbal diarrhea is so blatant ly evident because its substance Is based upon an almost equally unrealistic speech about the fraternity system here at the University of Nebraska. Both evidence, to a large measure, provided an extremely narrow perspective of the total concept and meaning of fraternity. There can be no question that the traditions and atti tudes of some of the units within the system should be constructively analyzed and possibly revised, but at the same time it is ludicrous to maintain that the entire fraternity system does "not have a role or even a place in an educational institution." Living in a fraternity is an education in the broadest sense of the word. Those who experience it will profit from it and never forget it. Those who criticiz it in its entirity have failed to examine the record thoroughly. The knowledge and experience one gains as a mem ber of a fraternity or sorority is invaluable and immeasur able. A fraternity is people, and only through people work ing together cooperatively can tangibles be accomplished. The people in fraternities and sororities have accom plished much, both as units and as individuals. To deny this Is to deny objectivity. The fraternity system here at Nebraska has both posi tive and negative aspects, but to pass a judgment based entirely upon its negative aspects is unwise and unfounded. The Daily Nebraskan can and should intelligently criticize imperfections which exist on this campus, and it should also maintain a certain measure of logic and sense of re sponsibility in its editorial policies. "Learning without thought is labor lost. Thought without learning is perilous." Ladd Lonnquist EDITOR'S NOTE: Ever since the University's Budget Hearings before Gov. Frank Morrison last December, Gov. Nor bert Tiemann has made it clear that he feels the school's tuition needs to be raised. Tiemann has recently announced that his budget recommendation for the University will most likely include a stu dent tuition increase to be effective pos sibly next September. The following is the first part of an article concerning the question of tuition in institutions of higher education by Albert J. Hoban, vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of State Colleges of Rhode Island, oban not only fought a tuition increase in Rhode Island, but he suggested that fees for the first two years at all higher educa tion institutions in his state be eliminated. Pending before the Board of Trustees of State Colleges of Rhode Island is a proposal that the tuition fee at the Uni versity of Rhode Island be raised from $250 to $300 and that the tuition fee at Rhode Island College be increased in two steps of $25 each. This proposal will be voted upon at the Sept. 8, 1965, meeting of the Board. It is my intention to vote against this proposal and to make a coun ter proposal calling for the reduction of fees at the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and Rhode Island Junior College. I will propose that the fees for fresh men and sophomores at the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College and for all students at the Rhode Island Junior College be reduced by $50. It is my intention to ask the Board to gradu- ally eliminate all fees for the first two years at all institutions so that by 1972 qualified Rhode Island students may at tend any of our public institutions of high er learning for two years without pay ment of fees. Function Of Board Of Trustees While expressly defending the prin ciple of free public higher education, the president of the university has proposed an increase in tuition fees on the ground that the people are not yet ready to sup port fre education at the college level. I do not concur with the president's opinion of the temper of the people of Rhode Island and their overwhelming support of every proposal placed before them in the form of referenda contradicts him. But even if I did agree with his es-ti- la nf their attitude I do not believe the Board has the right to assume the responsibility of deciding what taxes the people of Rhode Island are willing to pay or to what purposes their tax dollars should be allocated. The Board's duty is to make sound re quests for money to the governor and the Legislature and to prudently expend the share of tax revenue allotted to it. It is fo" the governor and the Legislature to take into consideration what taxes should be imposed and the relative importance of expenditures for education and such com peting needs as those of public welfare, public roads and police protection. In this area the Board has no authority and its members no special competence. Therefore U is not the duty of the Board to decide whether the people are ready and willing in 1966 to pay for free education beyond the high school level. It should decide whether, tested Recording to standards of justice and wisdom, such a program is sound. If it is then the Board should propose a budget which in corporates the nrogr?m. Thp nop1p of Rhode Island, through the governor and the Legislature will decide whether they wish to invest their money in the program. Misconceptions About Fre Education Free education and' high academic standards are not adverse to each other. I do not advocate that the academic standards of our colleges and universities be lowered. On the contrary I would stif fen them. The City Collet of New York is proof that free education and high achievement can go hand in hand. Moreover, I am not concerned with providing luxuries. All I would eliminate are tuition fees. Those parents who wish to have their children live on campus, have nrivate telephones and wear ev.10P. slve clothes will have to pay for these items themselves. What I want to do Is to bring a college "donation within the reach of every qualified but poor or mid dle Income high school graduate in Rhode Island. What I urge the Board to do is to re turn to a policy that was in effect from tho birth of our -uiblic institution f higher learning until a relatively short time ago. Until 1943 there was no general fee at the University and until six vears ago there was no general fee at Rhode Island College. It has been asserted that no qualified high school graduate in Rhode Island is being denied a collego education because he cannot afford it. The facts indicate otherwise. According to the recent study con ducted for the Board of Education by Columbia University 58 of Rhode Island high school graduates do not go on for further education of any kind. Why are more than 5,000 boys and girls quitting at the high school level each year? Elim inate half of them as unqualified for col lege work, discount the girls who wish to get married and those who have the talent but not the desire for college and you still come up with a substantial num ber who cannot be accounted for. These do Ri go to college because they can not pay for it. A year ago 3,200 students applied for scholarships under the state scholarship program. Only 600 were awarded. Some may not have met the standards based on need and some may not have met the standards based on ability but many more who did qualify had to be turned down. The Student Aid Office at URI finds that one-third of all the students at the university have limited resources. When 1167 undergraduates applied for scholar ship aid amounting to $600,000, the of fice was able to give partial assistance to a mere 390. In other words, 66 were turned down. These figures reveal the unfulfilled need only monff hos" who apnliri '-r aid. Guidance teachers and other experts in the field arc convinced that such fig. ures reveal only the surface portion of the Iceberg. A great mass of qualified and needy students are not counted in the statistics because the prospect of col lege is so remote they do not file appli- cations for assistance. Just as the open ing of the Junior College brought forth thousands of applicants from sources we only guessed existed, tuition free post high school education will reach thousands of qualified boys and girls who are eager, ly wailing the opportunity for the college education they cannot now afford. Some of us are prone to make hasty judgments about what all students can afford because we see a few of them driving expensive automobiles around the campus. At URI there are approximate ly 5,000 students including graduate stu dents. Of 2.041 cars registered, 1,462 be long to commuting students. Virtually all of these commuters have cars only be cause they don't have enough money to live on campus. Five humlr' md yo". ty-nine are owned by residents, many of whom are self supporting graduate stu dents. Thus, less than one student in every ten has an automobile which, as far as we know, is for his personal use. This is comparable to what we can observe at most high schools in Rhode Island. It is hardly a sound basis for rejecting a proposal for tuition free public higher education. When tuition fees are eliminated for freshmen and sophomores, it will still be a struggle for the average Rhode Island family to put a boy or girl through col leCTe. The average annual income nj wae and salary workers in this state is $4,375, and the median family income is less than $6,000. With no tuition fee and with a child commuting to the University of Whote Island, the cost to him and his parents would still exceed $500 a year. It requires no great imagination to visualize the many things the average family in Rhode Island must forego to send one or two children to college. I submit that a figure of $500 a year is the breakin? jjoint. A boy o reirl who is wil ing to work in the summer can, with family help, reach that goal, but when a tuition fee of $250 or $300 is added, what might have been the fulfillment of a dream becomes an exercise in frustra tion. Some opponents of free public edu cation at the college level claim that it discriminates in favor of the wealthy stu dent who can easily afford to pay full tuition. The same objection was made to . free education at the secondary level and was rejected 50 years ago. In the case of higher education today the very few wealthy students at our state colleges are already heavily subsidized becai- 'ax payers are paying about 85 per cent of the cost of operating our state colleges and universities. Charging each student the same tuition to make up the balance of total cost discriminates in favor of the wealthy student in the same ratio as charging no tuition at all. If we are to treat the poor and the rich with equality we would have to graduate tuition fees ac-i cording to family income. 'And if we attempted some method of basing tuition upon ability to pay, we would still be confronted with another kind of discrimination which is built into the tuition system of every public and private college in the country for the tui tion paid by a particular student bears no real relationship to the cost of his ed ucation. A freshman candidate for a lib eral arts degree pays a high -ercentage of what it costs to instruct him but a graduate student in electrical engineering . pays only a very small share of his costly instruction. In this way our present single flat rate for all compels certain students to pay a greater proportion of the total cost than others. I do not propose that we attempt to relate tuition fees to individual income or to Individual costs of instruction. What I object to is the argument that a system of iree education should be rejected be cause it permits the wealthy to pay noth ing. A tuition system at the present lev el, and at the level which has been pro posed, is characterized by inequities which arc fully as grave as those in a free system and, for the reasons set forth elsewhere in this statement, a tuition system does not have the redeeming politi cal, economic and cultural features of a system of free education. The proposal of the president that the Board set aside a percentage of the increase in tuition fees for student aid as sumes that each student who goes to the university and pays the increase can af ford to subsidize somebody else. This as sumption is contrary to the facts. Many students pay their tuition from funds they borrow from banks, irom student au. or from relatives. To me it seems poor pol icy to compel one student to borrow ad ditional money to contribute to the stu dent aid ,und so that anotntr , i u y borrow money to pay his tuition. This suggestion should be rejected before some of our students attempt earn their way through college by taking in each others washing. (Hoban's argu ent against - tuition increase will be continued and finished m Thursday's Daily Nebraskan.) ft r.T