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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1967)
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN Commentary Thursday, September 21, 1967 Editorials Shop Around It's time to shop around. L. G. Balfour Co. traditionally the last word in fraternity and sorority jew elry was recently legally barred from maintaining a monopoly in this market. The legal decision won't mean a thing, however, unless the groups who've bought jewelry from Balfour and its subsidiary, Burr, Patterson & Auld Co., start trad ing with other firms. The jewelry Balfour and Burr Patter son sell is not, by any means, poor qual ity, but anytime one company has a near monopoly on a market the prices are bound to get out of hand. A number of University students who've dealt with Balfour or Burr Pat terson do have other tales to tell of the handling of orders. One Greek house ended up paying ex tra for a shipment of party favors be cause Burr Patterson sent the order by airmail rather than railroad freight. Oth er students are familiar with a recurr ing "mistake" the two companies seemed to make telling a group that unused par ty favors could be shipped back and then "forgetting" that provision was stated. Balfour and Burr Patterson continued to keep a hold on the country's fraternity jewelry partly by claiming that the offi cial crests and insignia of the groups they sold to could be perfectly reproduced only by them. Td this we say baloney. Any jewelry store in Lincoln, there are a number of good reputable firms, and most other national jewelry firms can reproduce the various crests and insignia just as easily as Balfour and Burr Pat terson. The Nebraskan feels that any group or student who has been trading with Balfour or Burr Patterson should look around before placing another order. The fact that a federal court has ruled Balfour and its subsidiary have a definite monopoly on the college jewelry market which represents thousands of dollars gross profit annually should be enough to make one stop and think about the mat ter. A situation where one company has been able to build up and maintain a strong monopoly in one market is not healthy, by any sensible modern econom ic standards. There are representatives of at least one other national jewelry company now working on campus and the Lincoln jew elry stores would undoubtedly be delight ed to increase their trade with the cam pus students. The Nebraskan strongly urges stu dents to make it their responsibility to help break the Balfour-Burr Patterson monopoly by shopping around. 'EtoLv 5&M NVMW A4aI. IvE op TmI6 ftitMD I'M pLEAtoT AfifcoDlfcE. VoO 6kti Hfe oMy A- , 6oT,MaW, WV HE GAM No Spoon-Feeding The Nebraskan wishes t commend the Economics Department and especial ly Professors F. Charles Lamphear and Campbell R. McConnell for their work on an experimental no-lecture beginning eco nomics course. While the decision to try such a pro gram may have been prompted by what the Economics Department would term the "wants-means dilemma" too many students and too few faculty members we feel it shows that professors really are concerned about trying new systems of learning. Last year the department experiment ed with various sizes of classes and in struction from different sources televi sion, professors and graduate assistants. And now this semester the depart ment will attempt to get away from the old approach of spoon-feeding education to University students by offering the course with only readings, optional tutor ial sessions and no lectures. We can only congratulate the depart ment in showing students that the de partment thinks they will be responsible enough to dig out their own information. And the Nebraskan certainly urges those 230 students enrolled in the non lecture course to prove that the Econom ics Department is right. -A v Yic, ,w 'South Viet Elections A Tragi-Comedy' EDITOR'S NOTE: Tran Van Dinh, a 44-year-old Viet namese author, journalist and lecturer, fought against the French during the Resistence War. He has served with the South Vietnamese foreign service, his lasf post being charge d' Affairs and acting ambassador of South Viet nam to the United States. At present, he lives in Wash ington, D.C., where he is a correspondent for the Saigon Post.) By TRAN VAN DINH COLLEGE PRESS SERVICE have Politics in South Vietnam in the recent years always had elements of a tragi-comedy. The main theme of the play is "democracy," the in terested audience, America, the actors have to wear a mask to suit the purpose. The mask is "elections." Bal loting would take place, over 80 percent of the people would vote. Washington would call it a success until the stage collapsed leaving dead bodies and broken furniture on the scene. For the seventh time (two Presidential elections in 1955 and 1961; four legislature elections in 1956, 1959, 1963, 1966) since Vietnam was divided temporarily by the 1954 Geneva Agreements, the tired people of South Viet nam went to the polls. NUMBERS OFF On September 3, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., 83 percent of 5.853.251 voters proceeded to 8.824 polling places to cast their votes to elect a president, a vice president and 60 senators. The number of registered voters had jumped from 5,553.251 in one month to the present 5,853.251. "We are prolific in Vietnam, but not that prolific," said Tran Van Huong, a civilian candidate who finished fourth. Replied Gen. Nguyen Van Thieu, the head of stste and military candidate, with a touching candor: "Some soldiers have been given two voting cards." The voter was given first eleven ballots, one for each presidential ticket (two names, president and vice presi dent, one symbol ) then 48 other ballots, one for each sen atorial slate (10 names on each). m NAMES He had gone over 502 names (22 presidential, 480 sen atorial) scrutinized 59 symbols (eleven for presidential, 48 for senatorial). He hardly could be that fast a reader, but be did not care. He looked at the familiar police man who will be around in his locality long after the election day. Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan, the chief of police, often call The Saigon Himmler, had declared on August 22: "National policemen would be stationed inside and out lide booths till over the country. As the national police Daily Nebraskan Vol ti n. Crat tU 17 aaoond-claai pmum at UnanM, Man. TELUPWINE: T!-2Mt. 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( kiKLH rrrr CaMHUiHKhi Altaa Brand!. ub.-riH MliE"r J" fca.id h-vanah and &ar Urvrri mlm Malimanj tMm Craoa. '" tWaita. aaa " f a Millar and Vmr Munav are the people in closest contact with the lowest echelon, there will be police telling them where to vote, how to vote, and when to vote." (Saigon Post, Aug. 23. 1967) The Vietnamese voter is a captive voter: the police stamped his registration card and anyone subsequently searched (a routine in South Vietnam) and found without the election day stamp on his card will be in danger of automatic classification as a Viet Cong and subjected to prison or death. PAPERS SHUTDOWN Even with these precautions, the military junta was not sure. Dictators everywhere and at all times are afraid of their own people or even of their shadow. On the eve of the election day, two dailies in Saigon, the Tnan Chung (Sacred Bell) and Sang (Light) were closed. Three weeks earlier, another daily, the Dan Chung (People) was shut down. All these despite the fact that officially censorship was abolished and the Con stitution guarantees freedom of the press. Several officers, among them Brig. Gen. Phan Trong Chinh (commander of the 25th division near Saigon) and Col. Pham Van Lieu, former chief of police, were put under house arrest. Several students (mostly Buddhists) disappeared from their homes, some imprisoned, some liquidated. Declared Gen. Thieu when asked about the closure of the newspapers: "Even in a democracy, one has the right to suppress newspapers that aid one's enemies." Echoed Chief of Police Loan: "Democracy is fine for the politicians, but me. 1 favor national discipline." (Wash ington Post, Sept. 3. 1967) STRONG-ARM TACTICS Gen. Ky much earlier had been sicific on democ racy and bad stated that he "might respond militarily" if a civilian whose policies he disagreed with won the election. "In any democratic country, you have the right to disagree with the views of others." (New York Times, May 14, 1967). And on July 27, 1967. Gen. Ky repeated: "If any opposition ticket in South Vietnam's presidential elections should win by trickery, we will overthrow it." Who else in South Vietnam could use tricks but the junta itself? General Ky's threat came at the time when, at his instigation, a "military committee" was formed to serve as a kitchen cabinet lor the new military govern ment if the Thieu-Ky ticket won. In the most unlikely case of its ticket losing, the committee would serve to overthrow the civilian elected President. All these unnecessary precautions and threats were taken and made even when possible competitors were excluded in advance from the race: General Duong Van Minn (Big Minh). former chief of state, and Dr. Au Truong Thanh, former Minister of Econ omy and Finance, who planned to run on a peace plat form, were banned from running. STAGE SET So the stage was all set for the Sept. 3 show. Wash ington put the final touch by sending a 22-man Presi dential mission guided by former Ambassador Henry Ca bot Lodge, who had openly favored military regimes in South Vietnam. The mission members, feted by Saigon government and the U.S. Embassy, escorted by govern ment agents, communicating with people by government interpreters, toured half a dozen polling stations (there were 8,824 in all) has passed its verdict: good show. "Good, orderly, wholesome." Lodge declared. The results of the elections: 83 percent of people vot ed (exactly as predicted by the U.S. Embassy in Saigon). The Thieu-Ky military ticket won by 35 percent of the votes. Already seven out of ten civilian candidates have lodged protest of fraud with the Constituent Assembly which will have until Oct. 2 to certify the validity of the lections. Dr. Phan Khac Suu. the civilian candidate who fin ished third and who is also the chairman of the Consti tuent Assembly, complained that in many, many areas, hie works had tiUmaitd ttw turnout at only Hi yue umL There are lots of complaints to come but it Is not going to change the situation anyway. One surprise (to Washington): a Saigon lawyer, Tru ong Dinh Dzu, who campaigned on the platform of peace and anti-military junta in the clearest terms possible, fin ished second with 17 percent of the votes. Why were Washington and the U.S. mission in Saigon surprised? If there is any indication at all of the mood and desire of the Vietnamese people, it is their obvious concern about war and about the corrupted dictatorship of the military. Of all the eleven candidates, only one advocated war. Even Gpneral Thieu talked about peace and negotiations. But the Vietnamese have no voice in this war. Lamented columnist Joseph Kraft from Saigon: "But as long as Saigon (read: the U.S. military establishment in Saigon) thinks victory, it is very hard for Washington to move toward settlement. And thus the present outlook, despite the new setting created by the new elections, remains barren." Washington and Saigon do not think only victory but they expect "representative, domcratic government" to emerge even with the old cast. But the Sept, 3 elections is only the first act of the show. STRUGGLE More to come. There will be in the coming weeks a deadly struggle between General Thieu. No. 1. and Vice Air Marshall Ky. the No. 2, who will try harder. Ky is not going to be a figurehead as a vice presi dent who should give up both the Premiership and the Air Command with the profits and powers provided by these two functions. But Thieu, cunning and less talkative, may strike first. There will be organized opposition which logically will join the Buddhists who are preparing for their coming struggle against the illegal, unjust Buddhist Charter im posed on them by the junta on July 18. In the final act of the show, there will be a lone actor: The U.S. and its suffocating military might against a background of dead bodies and burned villages of a de serted Vietnam. Dear Editor:. . Or rather I should say, "Dear Frank," because this letter is written in reply to Mr. Frank Lee's protest concerning short skirts on campus. Go soak your head, head. I'm sure I speak for a vast majority of male stu dents on campus when it say that a little distraction never hurt anybody. After all, the beauties of nature were meant to be admired. And I think that one of .the most attractive of nature's beauties is the female knee. If you, Mr. Lee has so much trouble concentrating in the presence of natural beauty, I strongly recom mend that you transfer to an all men's school. As a freshman, I was in deed relieved to be getting away from the prudish clothing regulations handed down by high school admin istrators. I now arrive at the great University only to find that at least one stu dent is striving to instate the same rules here. It strikes me that our grandfathers had the same trouble concentrating be cause our grandmothers pranced about with their ankles showing over the tops of their high-button shoes. Is it possible that your ancestors strove for the same reforms your letter calls for? I shudder to think that if they had succeeded, our modern coeds might 'now be wear ing floor-length dresses and veils. In closing I want to ex press a new philosphy that is fast becoming the battle cry of the male animal everywhere: "Up with short skirts, and long may they waive. . ." Don Potter Siokt i n... Sound (By Gater Ghamblee now playing at the Ne- To begin with "Dr. Zhivago,' braska Theatre, is a great movie. The signs of its greatness are many. There are a great number of name actors in it, it cost a great deal of money and it is excessively long. Add these facts to the twice-a-day showing, the long run and the $1.75 ticket price and one has enough information to know that it is a great movie. t Not only that. It is an IMPORTANT movie making SIGNIFICANT statements. Omar Sharif as Zhivago proves this. Whenever great events are occurring (Cassocks rid ing down helpless workers, Red Guards machine-gunning children and so on) the movie's able director David Lean gives us an endless shot of Sharif being sensitive. The camera avoids the messy action and rests lov ingly on Sharif's face, at which point the actor tenses his cheek bones and allows tears to well up in the largest pair of brown eyes in the western world. From this we arrive at the movie's point: Slaughtering workers and machine-gunning children is A BAD THING, a NO-NO, if you will. This is known as a significant statement. Yet the greatness does not rest solely on Sharif s per formance. Geraldine Chaplin suffers nobly through the starving times, her pregnancy, her husband's desertion and the bad manners of the lower classes, who fail some how to admire the delicate nerves of the quality folk, in a way that very nearly matches June Allyson at her peak. As well, Ralph Richardson as her father gives an ad mirable take-off on a British country squire harumphing away at the outrages of the revolution. What this good Tory is doing in Russia is never explained. Sadly, we must charge three of the movie's actors with the serious aesthetic offense of violating the movie's ensemble style. Julie Christie remains lovely, Tom Courtney gives a remarkable performance as a dedicated revolutionary and Rod Steiger's animal intensity burns and burns. The in trusion of three seemingly living people into this melange of walk-ons is startling. It wakes one up, hardly the aim of the movie. It is difficult to find the. right word for David Lean's direction. When one thinks of the scene where Zhivago and Lara, the two most hapless lovers since Condide and Cunegon de. brush against each other unknowingly on the street car and the camera cuts to the sparks flashing from the overhead wires, what can one say? As well, the end less shots of the endless landscape are impressive. When a director spends that much time on the countryside, he must be making a large statement. His ability to lose characters is nice. too. Whatever did happen to Lara's mother. Yes one is impressed by "Dr. Zhivago" and Mr. Lean. Any movie that can make Rita Tushingham unex ceptional and the Russian Revolution dull has done much. It is a great movie. And I suppose the moral is that whenever a great movie comes to town, one should check out the late show, "Chiller Theatre" can be a groove from time to time. Guest Editorial Student Activism Limited To Few (From tbe Daily Illlni at the University of Illinois.) The University of Califor nia at Berkeley, according to a report released by the In stitute for the Study of Hu man Problems at Stanford, is really only No. 2 in stu dent activism on the cam pus. The report, written by Joseph Katz after he ques tioned 500 Stanford seniors and 600 Berkeley seniors showed that Stanford has a slight, but noticeable edge in student activists. As Student Power slowly creeps into the conservative Midwest, and as deans and administrators brsc? them selves for what they fear may be the undoing ol their long established sanctuaries of "education." it is interest ing to note that at both Stan ford and Berkeley, only ap proximately 15 percent of the students were consid ered student activists by The s t u d e n t-activists were those who were in volved in civil rights, cam pus and community politics and service projects either on the campus or in the community. Nevitt Sanford, director of the institute, made an important point when he explained why Stanford, de spite having a few more ac tivists, did not have the out cries which have marked Berkeley for several years. "After the Berkeley re volt, the deans at Stanford spent a great deal of time listening to the students and a few reforms in student life and in the academic realm have been instituted," he said. "Instead of tryim to avoid controversial issu es, a college ought to pro mote analysis of the cam pus, including such con flict! of campus lilt as a student - administration struggle about rules or a faculty - trustees struggle about academic freedom." University administrators here should take the infor mation and put it to use on the campus. The conduct of a University is a two-way street, and for too many yean, students have been treated too much like chil dren. Now administrat- ors should meet students on equal grounds, and should do a little bending which they have long refused to do. Without worrying o much about the outside im age of the University, ad ministrators should begin to revitalize the University to neet the growing demands if students who are often liscouraged and frustrated about the prospects ol try ing to gain an education, and about the problems which face atxiM. t b y But if administrators ara asked to do this, students must be ready to meet the changes, and to accept the responsibilities given them. If only 15 percent of the stu dents are activists, the oth er 85 percent still hold the ruling hand, and those other 85 percent often don't care about anything more signi ficant than the Wednesday night exchange or the Sat urday night drink. If students can't focus their time or thoughts on problems more noteworthy than what kind of crepe paper to use on a float, or how much money to spend on house decorations, then the 15 percent who care are going to be frustrated. And with good reason. Right now the problem is not that the 15 percent may become too active, but that the 85 percent may continue to be oblivious to taat prOblBaaVI frnVft4 IbaUB