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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1967)
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN Editorials Commentary Friday, November 10, 1967 Page 2 Alumni Letter Apparent before, but more frequently heard this Home coming weekend, will be the old phrase: "My, how things have changed since I was here." It is true. The University no longer consists of a few small buildings huddled around 14th Street. The Univer sity now stretches from R Street to Holdrege, 9th Street to 21st, and is reaching out to meet the East campus which too has spread. : No longer do a few thousand students tread the side : walks across campus the few thousand has exploded into ; 18,000 students. : But the most prevalent comment to be heard, if the : alumni have maintained any contact with what the students ; have been doing, is: "How students have changed. They - want no hours, freedom to live where they please and a greater part in decision-making." Too often, however, this change is criticized by adults as a lack of responsibility. But this is not the case. This change in student feeling merely reflects a change : in the entire adult population. And for students to make a smoother transition into a changed adult life, they must be allowed greater responsibility. It is true that this responsibility may be shirked by a few; in fact, some may abuse the rights which bring the responsibility. But for the most part this irresponsibility is only a result of a few, and the great majority of students are able to make the rough transition to life more easily. Too often the college student is typified as an idealist who does not face reality. One must remember, however, that some of the greatest steps in history were made by idealists. Idealism will become tempered only too soon upon graduation. For those who criticize University students as being too idealistic, let them remember that idealists have blazed the path which others will follow sometime in the future. Work, Not Talk The proposed University FM station has received a vote of support from students, but still remains far from a reality. In fact, the vote did little more than indicate to sup porters of the FM station that there was some type of in terest in formation of the station. Of course, if the FM station were formed, it would mean that students would be willing to pay 15 cents for its operation. Now the talk is over, and now the work begins. It is going to take about $6,000 to get the station even started. It is great to know that students want an FM station. But now the FM station needs some dynamic leadership and an even greater amount of hard work for it to become a reality. Let us hope that students are willing to put some action behind their desires for an FM station. Are You Kidding Me? The ASUN Special Projects Committee spent $35 on a red and orange billboard on the corner of 14th and S Sts. The sign urges students to vote FOR the Lincoln Min imum Housing Code. Oklahoma State University Regents banned Timothy Leary's appearance on the campus. Five and a half people attended Hyde Park Thursday. (One of them was a Nebraskan reporter.) The editor of the campus' underground newspaper, The Rag, reported Thursday " , I don't know when the first issue is coming out." Gov. Tiemann commented privately last week that he isn't so sure that "Joan what's-her-name" should be al lowed to appear in Lincoln. Grand Sprix I Spirit TVophfesI T JlJyiJI ? llHtraMurat ) jHBlfl "TVo ph yf Cs.se. J The Film Critic: A Bridge by George Kaufman "The time has come," said a friend to me recently, "to put an end to Hyde Park." "What?" I responded, shocked. "I said it is time to do away with Hyde Park. It has outlived its usefulness on this campus, if it ever had any." "How can you say that?" I asked, unbelieving. "Why, Hyde Park is the students' basic link with democracy . . . the students getting up there each week, and talking things over, and exchanging ideas and ..." "Look," he interrupted me, "have you been to Hyde Park lately?" "No." "Well neither has anyone eise. Except the resident orators, of course." "Resident orators?" I asked. "What do you mean?" "A hard core of about fifty people comes each week and talk about how awful AWS and the administration is and how President Johnson is a dullard and how we ought to get out of Viet Nam and about the poor persecuted kids that smoke marijuana and get arrested because its aeainst the law and whether Good exists and stuff like that." . "Don't they ever talk about important things? I asked. "No. It's come to the point where Don Sutton has taken up where Steve Abbott and Carl Davidson left off. And of course there are short little travelers acts between Sutton's talks " "But isn't it good for the students to talk about these things?" I queried. "The manager of the Crib doesn't think so. "What's the manager of the Crib got to do with it?" I asked, feeling like George Burns. "Well, these hard-core orators sit in the Crib all day drinking coffee and talking about how bad AWS and the administration is and how President Johnson is such a dul lard and how we ought to get out of Vietnam, and then at 3:30 they all go out into the lounge and talk about how '. awful the AWS and the administration is and how Presi dent Johnson is such a " "And they stop buying coffee and things?" I broke in, , seeing it all very clearly now. "You're getting to be very perceptive, do you know that?" CAMPUS OP11S101S Dear Editor: . I chuckled over the report that Nebraska coeds reject the Plavboy philosophy. Especially since many of these same girls will eventually accept this very same philosophy. The idea that sex is artistic, creative, and enjoyable is a good one and this is what Playboy propounds. When most of these girls become wives or even when they have "found the right guy," they will accept sex within the Aftpr all Plavhov doesn't stand for free love, it calls for enjoyment of sex in the way that If best for each individual. A Wife By LARRY ECKHOLT (ARTHUR KNIGHT is one of two regular critics for Saturday Review. He and Hollis Alpert have also teamed for Playboy to produce a prodigious multi-installment "History of Sex in the Cinema." Mr. Knight teaches at the University of Southern California. Columnist Eckholt arranged to interview Mr. Knight and did so in a tele phone conversation Wednesday afternoon.) Perhaps it is an understatement, but no other person could comment better on the role of a movie critic than an established critic. That is why I wrote to Arthur Knight and arranged to interview him. In the short span of a twenty-minute phone call it is impossible to formulate anything more than general feelings on his competency as a critic. But a twenty-minute phone call can substantiate impressions already held after being a steadfast reader of his reviews. So, where does a movie critic place himself in the world of motion pictures? Since many critics place them selves in the precarious position of being stepped on be cause of their views on new movies, it would probably ensue that Arthur Knight sees himself as a bridge between the film and the reader of the review, the potential viewer. Some movies demand reviews because "there are a num ber of pictures every year that are not as simple as they seem and need interpretation." As an example Knight selected "Blow Up": "A film like this needs a certain amount of. if not in terpretation, at least preparation on the part of the audi ence so that people do not go expecting an Alfred Hitch cock picture and leave disappointed. If they go prepared in advance, their chances of appreciating the movie are enhanced 100 per cent. "Bonnie and Clyde" is another case in point. This movie has received such contradictory reviews that the potential viewer can only rely on his favorite reviewer for clarification. This movie has produced a cult, in viewers and critics alike, because of its treatment of violence. Bosley Crother of the New Yorks Times attacked it for its "blatantly violent" scenes. He aroused a mass of angry critics who, in turn, attacked him tor his remarks. One critic went so far as to re-review the movie. Joseph Mor genstern of Newsweek reversed his Initial stand (that the movie capitalized on its own violence) and joined the Daily Nebraskan Vol. 91. No. X Nov. 10. 1967 Second-class MUM pal si Lincoln. Neb Telephone: Biuineu 472-2568, News 472-2M9. Editor 472 990 Subscription rates in H m semester or M Cot the academle rear. Pnb Uihed Monday. Wednesday. Thursday and Prlday during the school pear, ewsept during vacations ant nam periods, bp lbs students of the University of Nebraska under the Jurisdiction of the Faculty subcommittee on Student Publications Publication shall be a-ee (rem emmrsriip bp the Subcommittee or anp person outside the University. Members of the Nebraskan art responsibls for what tbep cause to be printed. Member Associated Collegiate Press. National Advertising Service, steer, orated, Published st Room SI. Nebraska Union. Uncoln. Neb. NHS. EDITORIAL STAFF Editor Bruce Cilpei Managing Editor Jack Toddi News Editor Chen Trltt; Night News Editor Alan Plessman: Editorial Page Assistant Julie Morris: Sports Editor Msrk Gordon. Assistant Sports Editoi Charlie Davies; Assistant Night News Editor, Randy Irey; Stall Writers. Dave Buntain, Andy Corrlgan. Gary Cillen, Ed Icenosle. Mick Lowe. Sherry McGaliin. Jan Parks; News Assistant Kendrs Nrwlsnd; Senior Copy Editor. Dick Testmeier; Copy Editors. Lynn Gotts chalk. Betty Fenlmore. Jim Evtnger, Jean Reynoldi, John Schmidt; Photogra phers Mike Hayman and Dan Ladeley. BtlMNKM II AFP Business Manager Glenn Frteedti National Advertising Manager Roger Boyei Production Manager Charlie Baxter. Secretary Janet Boatman, Bookkeeping and Classifieds Allan Brandt! Subscription Manager Jsns Rossi Circulation Managers DnvM Kovanaug and Gary Meyer I Sales Msnsgers Das Creak. Katky Dreita. tUek Maasccn. Ken Miller, Wayne Moles and Ray Pyle, movement praising "Bonnie and Clyde" for its anti-violent overtones. "I thought it was a very bold thing (for Morgenstern) to do. What a critic usually tries to do is justify himself more and more. What probably happened was that Joe either began to read other critics or talked to them, bring ing new insights to the film that he had not seen before. I doubt if this brought respect to him as a critic, but people certainly respect his honesty. A critic isn't always right 100 per cent, but he rarely admits it." Knight does not go to every new movie that is shown. He wittily explained that he does not rush to every new Jerry Lewis flick nor does he attempt to see every new western or Beach Party epic. He noted that a critic will become aware of a definite trend taking shape and then it becomes important to see a number of these movies, sizing up the trend. He added that a critic doesn't try to cover anything that wouldn't interest his readers. Knight designates the motion picture "the most impor tant art of our time." He substantiates this claim by say ing the motion picture incorporates all of the other arts into one visual, perceptual form. This can be upheld fur ther by examining its effects in terms of beauty, effect on people and its ability to get a message across in a language that is immediately understood. That is not to say that Arthur Knight favors only completely coherent movies. In one review he called ours "the eye-minded generation" and applauded "Blow Up" and others for their sensory levels which produced responses instead of fully-formed ideas. "The techniques of the film today correspond ever so closely to what life is really about. The good film maker is one who, probably unconsciously, uses all of those tech niques. This is what has caused so much excitement over 'Blow Up' because young people see it in terms of ev erything that is happening around them." Knight started writing movie reviews during his Phil adelphia junior high school days. He has written for SR since 1949. He also teaches at Southern Cal where one can get a Bachelor's, a Master's, or a Ph.D in many facets of the cinema. Knight teaches four different courses: a history of the film, film symbolism, contemporary trends, and a special spring-term course on film criticism. His average class has 80 students, excepting his criticism course which he keeps' to a maximum of 15 students "because they write a lot and I want to read everything they write." , He is also on the board of the newly-created American Film Institute, which he thinks will have a profound effect on the motion picture in the U.S. The Institute is sponsored by the National Council of the Arts to raise the standards of film teaching and film appreciation. It has five areas of specialty, from preserva tion of film history to opening opportunities for young people interested in film production. Actor Gregory Peck is cnairman ot me board and director George Stevens, Jr. is the executive director. My short interview with critic Arthur Knight reaf firmed my basic feelings that the motion picture is taken altogether too lightly by the average person: that the role of the motion picture is not in the field of entertainment alone, but that it is a product of the 20th Century an ex citing, vibrant art and should be appreciated as such. Rj&ht of Left By A. C. E. Homecoming is with us again but who's returning? For that matter, who's even staying? After completing my course last semester on KNOW YOUR CAMPUS PERSONALITIES I thought that I would really be in the know this year. After all, I was one of the many who devoted seven hours a week to the grueling work of memorizing the face and name of every Uni student. It was a worthwhile course at the time but now I feel that I might have wasted my effort for half the peo ple I memorized are no longer here. Why is it that students feel that they have to justify their enrollment in Nebraska? Could it be that they don't like this place? Could it be that they are dissatisfied? Could it be they just might sense that Nebraska is medi ocre? The most frequent reaction of an in-state student to an out-of-state student is "Why did you come HERE?" fol lowed quickly by "Are you stupid or sick?" This typical attitude tends to lead me to the conclusion that most Nebraskans feel that if you don't HAVE to come here, you shouldn't come. Operating under this assumption, Nebraska HURTS, the student has two alternative actions? drop-out or come-in. Unfortunately most University students drop-out. Freshman enthusiasm (Yes, Virginia, it really does exist) is replaced by sophomore apathy followed by junior solidi fication and finally senior "We gotta get out of this place." This attitude seems to be justified under the guise of students nobly bearing an "artificial existence" in an ticipation for the "real world." In the meantime a Uni versity is being lost. Part of the accepted role of the student is at least two hours a day devoted to diatribe aimed at the University. Verbiage is nice but what does it accomplish? I think most of our drop-outs fail to realize that the University is not some great mass over the hill somewhere but that it is everyone connected with it. So as you play drop-out, sitting in the Crib beating your heads against the walls while lamenting the sad state of the University, I hope you realize that you're not accomplishing one thing. Something is being done this year but who's doing it the come-ins, of course, of course ... Camelot's authors appear to be two of the few come ins on campus this year. Suggestions on what can be done to improve this University have actually appeared in print. What can this mean a new attitude at the University? No. It's the same old story of the few who do and many who don't. The few will again carry the Universii irough and maybe a few improvements will be made but no major change can hope to be accomplished as long as the vast majority continues to take the drop-out line. Our Man Hoppe By ARTHUR HOPPE Come now, let's all gather 'round the festive martini pitcher and listen to another chapter from that beloved classic, "Very Grim Fairy Tales for Grown-ups of All Ages." Once upon a time there was a very popular Prince who wanted to be elected President. And while he was an expert in all sorts of magic in his fairyland kingdom, he didn't really know very much about fairies. One day, an aide came dashing into his throne room with a ghastly expression on his face. "Sire, Sire, terrible news!" he cried. "There is a vile report being viciously circulated that there are fairies in your retinue." "Oh," said the Prince without much interest, "good fairies or bad fairies?" "In politics," said the aide firmly, "all fairies are bad fairies." "Well," said the Prince with a sigh, "and what are they supposed to have done?" "Why, they are accused of what fairies are always accused of," said the aide, glancing nervously this way and that and lowering his voice, "practicing secret fairy rites in a secret fairy ring." "On company time?" said the Prince with a frown. "I won't have it." "Oh. no, Sire. On their own time. In private. Among consenting fairies. They're a secretive lot that way." new?'" Wh3t elSe'" S3id the Prince with a vawn "is awfu'lBf1r!in!irfv;l,fCried e aide aehast, "this is the most lJ!urr You must immediately "Now just a minute," said the Prince irritably "if these fames are doing their jobs and not boSne anv body else, why should I fire them'" Bering any- KeAPJe4,hateJ fairies for being different," said the aide. "And they dearly love to see them suffer. fhPm0 rJS"8 fire them t0 make a P"blic examPle out of them But of course, you must never admit you did." How'a that again?" said the Prince. miftT ' if Jou. admit yu've fired one. then you've ad- Zi dth?lhjre?r,-one- B don,t worry- yu can flay deny the whole thing and we aides will 1 back you to the fairv?J'h?e?nHSe'" said the Prince testilv- And when a SnatiJi ltUTf cvaught' the Prince "ccepted his resignation said publicly he was very sorry for the poor evSvbovrr1 hVW0Uld 800n et weU a5d be lke everybody else. The country was stunned. "Oh, Sire," groaned the aide. "Now you'll never be elected President. You should have denied the whole thing." Hmmmph," said the Prince. "The people Mil forgive me for unknowingly hiring a fairy. But they would never forgive me for telling lies." And he was absolutely right. The people quickly for got all about the incident and they elected him President that very sarre year in a landslide. So the Prince, whose name was Lyndon B. Johnson, lived happily ever after. Well, he lived happily ever after until he forgot what he s said about telling lies. catch on1' The le,Sni 0f Some tale "ver seem t