THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
Editorials
Commentary 7
Wednesday, October 11, 1967
Page 2
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Race Problem
' The federal government is once again forcing the
University of Nebraska to fill out a compliance report
in connection with the Civil Rights Act.
Russ Brown, assistant dean of student affairs, says
that it is likely that federal administrators will question
two problem areas:
the effort which the University makes to attract
qualified high school students of minority races.
the school's practices in extracurricular and social
activities, especially fraternities and sororities.
What the federal government is trying to do is attack
the problem at the organization level and force the or
ganization to take some type of action.
And this is not where the root of the problem lies.
Instead the problem exists- with the individual you and
I.
Thus, the problems and answers become infinitely
more complex. How do you make an individual eliminate
his discrimination his bias? Or is it even possible? We
think not.
The problem of discrimination in the Greek system
is not easy to solve then. The system, if it is discrimina
tory, is so because of the individuals within the system.
Because of selection practices, those who discrimin
ate on the basis of race need only be a very, very small
minority in some cases only one person.
And this is the problem that must be solved. For these
few ultimately give the majority of Greek members a
bad name.
But the Daily Nebraskan does not feel the govern
ment should try to solve this problem. If forced, the in
dividual houses WILL take a member of a minority
group race.
But this is not going to solve the problem. Most mem
bers of minority groups do want to be admitted into
membership because of their race. They want to be mem
bers because of their personal qualities.
This solution government force will not be popu
lar with either Greeks or members of minority groups.
Unfortunately it is unlikely that the Greek system, or
the population as a whole, will ever be rid of those
who discriminate on the basis of race. Thus it becomes
imperative that selection procedures be changed to allow t
the majority to rule.
Here lies a challenge far more important to the Greek
system, the Bord of Regents and the administration than
any problem considered in deferred rush.
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A Bird's Eye View
By Mike Haymaii
Sutton Place
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I different drummer
By Al Spangler
Although the Russians who launched Sputnik I doubt
less knew that the success of their venture would have
cataclysmic repercussions in this country, it is unlikely
that they were aware that their space vehicle would some
day symbolize an American revolution in education.
Still less could they know that a decade later counter
revolutionaries would set to work, inspired by a feeling
of intellectual frustration born of an "education" which
had turned out to be a "training."
On this campus, these "counter'-revolutionaries" have
just published a 25 page pamphlet listing the course of
ferings of the Nebraska Free University. In it, they claim
that, in the present educational system: ,
"Little time is left for and little attention given to
the type of broader educational goals that will help
the individual lead an intellectually satisfying life. These
goals include the development of a person's thought pro
cesses and the development of his creative capacities,
both of which goals are actually choked to death in the
present academic system."
By Don Sutton
"Total education," as I have seen it practiced since
my first semester here in 1965 seems to be a sugar
coated name for a policy which states that the students
are here to justify several undeserved but very fat sal
aries and to pay for the mistakes of their masters (or
"keepers" if you will.)
The recent fiasco of too many empty dorm rooms,
the force deferred rush proposal (also to fill empty dorm
rooms), the raise in tuition after the Regents' message
to the students which asked them not to raise a fuss so
that the Regents wouldn't have to raise tuition (we didn't
but they did), timed to be announced several days after
the deadline for withdrawing the $50 registration deposit,
the inability of our esteemed part-time Chancellor to prop
erly convey our needs to the state Legislature (nothing
big, really, except that quite a few people are finding out
that as a result they will have to go one or more extra
semesters to complete their major requirements); the
list seems endless.
Credibility gap? You bet.
Hold onto your seats, fun seekers, here's one more
gem to add to your collection of ways "Total Education"
is working for you.
In her latest bid for increased power over under
graduate women students, Dean Snyder is really trying
to pull a fast one. Unfortunately for her, however, the
intent is so obvious and so far removed from any possible
positive value in the area of education that it takes on
comic proportions and ends up as being little more than
an insult to the intelligence of the undergraduate women.
Believe it or not, the latest proposals put forward to
the drafters of the new AWS constitution is that it be de
signed in such a way as to completely separate AWS
from ASUN, making Dean Snyder the virtual dictator over
all undergraduate women students. For instance:
Cinema Today: New, Exciting
Perhaps in calling them "counter-revolutionaries" I
go too far, for their's is not an effort to change the
educational system. Rather, they are offering an AL
TERNATIVE to it, a "free" University which will serve
as a parallel to the taxpayers institution.
Last year the Free University had a similarly ex
citing list if courses, a coterie of enthusiastic teachers
(or "discussion leaders" if "teacher" reeks too much of
authoritarianism) and about a 75 percent drop-out rate.
The road to bell is paved with good intentions.
This is not to say that there is something wrong with
people ' getting together to further their own educational
interests. It is fortunate, given the educational system
and the theory of natural selection, that such noble
chromosomes have survived in the gene pool. But if the
Free University is ever to be more than a rallying place
for liberated scholars, it should not be a parallel institu
tion. What must be freed is the student who is already
trapped in the system.
Its sponsors say that the NFU "Poses an individual
challenge to each student who feels that education has
lost some of its meaning, that "learning could perhaps
be more stimulating." But the student who Is here "just
to get a degree" won't recognize the challenge for what
It's worth. Without the Simulation of the grading system
and the artificial competition it fosters, he will almost
surely drop out.
Given their analysis of our University the Free Uni
versity people are committed to the belief that most of
us already suffer from hardening of the mental arteries.
It ought to be apparent that an affliction this severe
can't be cured by a sugar-coated pill, yet no one is
reaching for the surgeon's knife.
Iu the meantime, other "counter-revolutionary" forces
are at work: "The people have knives and forks on the
table, but nothing to eat. They have to cut something."
, By Larry Eckholt
The American television
public, through the efforts
of the three national, net
works, is being subjected to
the art of the cinema in
some of its best forms this
year.
But due to neatly inserted
blips and an occasional
clipped frame of film, some
of the art is not getting into
the American home.
As the motion picture in
dustry continues to shock .
American public with the
subjects and treatments
now being shown in the the-.
aters, television is found
caught in a battle of cen
sorship: should naughty
words remain audible or
should we teach children to
become expert lip-readers;
should we add to the mys
tery and drama of the movie
and let them guess what
really happened in bed?
These questions, and oth
er similar ones, are consis
tently answered by the TV
executives. With movies
like "Never On Sunday,"
"Tom Jones," "Splendor in
the Grass," and others with
lusty, earthy sequences, be
ing aired more and more is
being taken out for the sake
of keeping television "clean
for the kiddies' (and for
much of the adult viewing
audience).
Since TV has already
caught up with the Sexy
60's with its movie fare,
what will be done to movies
of the future that - are
bought for mass consump
tion? It has already been an
nounced that Claude Le
louch's brilliant "A Man
and A Woman" will be
shown on ABC next season.
What will the censor do to
the masterful love scene
when Anouk Amie recalls
her dead husband's love
making while she is making
love to another man? Al
though this scene was by no
means erotic, and complete
ly necessary for character
development in the drama,
it surely cannot remain in
tact on the TV screen, es
pecially when the sheets
appear unwrinkled on all
television sets in the United
States this season.
The ill-fated "Cleopatra"
will open next season's mov
ie fare on network and what
will remain could turn out
to be a Senior Scholastic's
special on Egyptian archi
tecture. With the censorship
problems faced by Twentie
th Century Fox before the
picture was released to the
theaters as a background,
little drama can possibly be
left of an otherwise poig
nant love story.
Liz 'n Dick haters can
laugh at the chopped up
performances of the central
characters while Burton lov
ers can chuckle with Antony
and Cleopatra on the dur
ability of their love on two
levels. Anyway, many of
the infamous bed scenes,
tub scenes and other such
scenes, will probably re
main unseen unless televi
sion lifts some of its bans.
All of this points to one
thing: unless TV does
change some of its anti
quated censorship laws it
has no business showing
films that need to be hacked
before air time.
The trouble does not lie in
the motion picture industry.
After years of controversy
the American industry fin
ally lifted many taboos that
had marked American mov
ies as naive on the world
market. With a gradual
process, aided by such mov
ies as "The Pawnbroker"
(with its nude frontals),
"Who's Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?" (and its language),
and now "Ulysses," t h e
American industry is allow
ing subjects and treatments
never before attempted.
This is the healthiest at
mosphere the American ci
nema has experienced to
date. And more provoca
tive subjects will soon be
released: "Reflections in a
Golden Eye," with Eliza
beth Taylor and Marlon
Brando, covers incest and
homosexuality in an entire
ly unique manner, pre-release
reports say.
Is the American public
upset with these new
trends? Parents who keep
their children away from
adult fare shouldn't com
plain. Little old ladies who
gasp on Molly Bloom's
word in "Ulysses" must
have seen it to satisfy their
own curiosity and shouldn't
blame the medium for their
sore throats. Most contro
versial movies get more
than enough publicity in
other media to warn the eas
ily offended before they see
the shockers. What offends
some is art to others and
what is entertainment to
some is corn to others. We
live in too complex of a so
ciety to worry about person
al taste.
What the public should
worry about is the accep
tance of the motion picture
medium as a true art. Mov
ies have branched into
many different forms. Some
entertain, some teach, some
propagandize. All movies
should not be seen by ev
eryone, yet there are those
few works of art that should
be experienced by ell ra
tional people.
But television, with its
old-fashioned ideas of mo
rality and didactic purpose, .
is not the place for some
movies if they are to be
mutilated by a censor
board. Television executives
first must realize that the
American audience is dis
criminating in program se
lection. Parents must teach
their children that every
thing cannot be left unex
plained. Maybe then the ci
nema can truly be repre
sented on the American TV
screen.
NEXT: HOLLYWOODl
BRAVE NUDE WOULD.
By Don Sutton
THE PROPOSED constitution would eliminate all ap
peals of AWS court decisions to ASUN court. The only
avenue of appeal would be to you guessed it Dean
Snyder.
THE RIGHT to resign from AWS is to be eliminated
(by this proposal), membership is to be mandatory al
though girls who live in Lincoln are excluded from many
AWS rules.
This, however, is all right, it's part of "Total Educa
tion," which, I understand is almost infallible. There are
several other proposals which ask the students to shaft
themselves but these are the ones I thought would help
relieve the boredom of an otherwise humorless day to
the greatest extent.
Actually, I suppose I could be all wrong about Dean
Snyder's intentions. It could be that no one has taken
the time to explain to the good Dean that, while the
females on this campus do qualify as women, are there
fore eligible for AWS membership, they are also STU
DENTS and therefore owe their allegiance to the AS
SOCIATED STUDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NE
BRASKA first and to AWS second (if at all), even though
they may be women first, in all actuality. At least they're
more fun that way.
As a parting shot, in the interest of "Total Education,"
of course, I would like to extend my deepest sympathy
to those English I students who find their semester grade
based on the number of reference cards they produce on
Thoreau.
For the life of me, I can't figure out what that has
to do with English I but maybe your instructor could
explain it to me some time. I understand he's doing his
master's thesis on Thoreau.
Dear Editor:
How COULD you?
How dare you disturb our complacent minds 'lip" 'here
(Chadron State College) with your-"hippie" thinking? Ac
tually how could you hit the proverbial nail on the head
so squarely?
While everything Mr. Dickmeyer ("The Pot" Oct. 2)
said in his recent article about CSC is true, you must not
place the blame on the students, who must do as they
are told.
CSC is a GOOD school, we have good teachers, a very
excellent (and new) campus, good students, in short,
everything that is necessary for a college except one very
important item: an administration that cares about the
student.
CSC could be an excellent college, if only something
could be done to express the student's views. By this I
do not mean pot, LSD, etc., but an actual democratic
taking of views.
By the way, photocopies were made of Mr. Dickmey
er's column and distributed throughout the campus. The
underprivileged majority agreed with most of what he had
to say, but do you think it will do us any good? The an
swer to this is a capital NO! ! !
So, until CSC becomes a college, where different view
points can be freely exchanged, please do not be too hard
on us, we are trying our best to grow up.
Chadron Student
Greek Crisis
There comes a time when rampant hypocrisy tears
a man up inside. There comes a time when a man is
forced to defend four years of his life and ask himself
WHY he must do so. He must ask WHY some are asked
to justify their existence and some are not.
I am a Greek, and I will remain silent no longer. In
past months the controversy concerning deferred rush
has raged on and on. No one is willing to take the re
sponsibility of saying they are behind the push for deferred
rush. No one is brave enough or able enough to come our
and indict the Greek system on specific points. No one
is willing to say why deferred rush is better.
The Regents have asked the Greek system to pre
pare a second report in which, if effect, they ask the
Greek svstem to prove that which the Regents assert,
that deferred rush is better. Better than what and better
for whom? If it is such a great thing why does the Greek
system itself have to dig up facts that may show deferred
rush to be favorable. By what right can the Greek sys
tem be asked to do this?
Until Sunday evening's discussion with Dean Ross (an
informal meeting of Ross, Panhellenic and IFC represen
tatives) I had always been egotistical enough to believe
that the only criteria that I had to consider for becoming
a Greek was that I wanted to be one. I never felt an
obligation to justify my affiliation to anyone nor to justify
the existence of the system. I have never considered it my
business to ask any other living unit to justify its exis
tence. I was willing to assume that the history of U.S.
Supreme Court rulings upholding the right of Freedom
of Association applied to me and to my fellow students.
I assumed that I should be allowed to live by my
own standard, but I find that I have to live by someone
else's. Yours, Dean Ross? Yours, Chancellor Hardin?
Yours, whoever you are behind the scene in this matter?
Deferred rush implies telling a student what is best
for him, regardless of his own wishes. It is like the to
talitarian dictum, "If men are not free, we will force
them to be free."
I can't understand how you, Chancellor Hardin, can
say that Greeks won't be forced to have deferred rush if
you support the Regents' order requiring the Greek sys
tem to prepare a report developing a specific plan of de
ferred rush by Dec. 1.
The Greek system has told you it does not want de
ferred rush. In essence, the Greek system is being asked
to prepare a report which implies that Greeks themselves
would have to discover solutions to every problem , they
foresee under a deferred rush system. You need our co
operation to be able to have deferred rush. You are ask
ing us to be the prime contributors in cutting our own
mroats. vo you really expect us to do it?
I think you
surprise.
You may find that you can't just railroad deferred
rush through by covering facts with black ink of the
octopus that is administration. You may find that there
are 4,000 Greeks who are" PROUD to be Greeks on this
campus. You may find tint the rest of the student body
is behind them.
In the eyes of most Greeks, deferred rush would be
just the first step in the weakening and eventual destruc
tion of the Greek system. By what standard do you, ad
ministrators, you, Regents, you Dean Ross, or you, who
ever is responsible, plan to take away the opportunities
for this pride to develop? Do you think you can get
away with it? BEWARE of the man who has that which
you are trying to take away he might be willing to
fight for it.
reany expeci us to ao li :
do or you did. You may be in for a
Andy Kaulini
(The Nebraskan reserves the right to condense letters.
Unsigned letters will not be printed.)
Daily Nebraskan
Oct IU 1M!
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EDITORIAL STAFF .,
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