THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
Editorials
Commentary
Wednesday, January 31, 1968
Page 2
The face of
status quo
A University has many faces and as one
generation succeeds in molding one face its
successors appear only to restructure the
craftsmanship.
Status Quo is the most commanding face
among the 18,000 personalities on the Uni
versity campus. He mingles well, does not
change his ideas and is consequently ac
cepted by most students, favored by most
professors and idolized by most administra
tive officials.
Three years ago a graduate student by
the name of Carl Davidson began to peel
away the mask of Status Quo to reveal a dif
ferent face that of the Quiet Revolution.
This Quiet Revolution, however, began as
a very noisy revolution when a group of
idealistic students began to question the ba
sic structures of the University. They stormed
the podiums of Hyde Park with new ideas
about student power and educational reforms.
In the audience some simply listened, some
yelled "Red," but others foresaw that some
of these ideas in a tempered form could be
applied to the University.
Thus was created the face of the Quiet
Revolution, which has silently crept into
these century-old, minus one year, walls. By
nature of the populace, however, the Quiet
Revolution does not operate like his counter
part at Berkeley, Antioch or the University
of Wisconsin. .
It is important to recognize, that revolu
tion, Nebraska style, is bringing a new face
to the campus, even though the face lifting
operation is painfully slow.
A handful of liberal students and profes
sors are introducing new concepts in educa
tion which, as unlikely as it seems, could
transform the University's antiquated educa
tional system into one of the most progres
sive schools in the country.
The University's disciplinary procedures
and court systems, two of the more elaborate
anachronisms of the campus, are being in
vestigated, although this does not insure they
will be reformed.
The forgotten Student Bill of Rights,
stamped with approval by students last spring,
supposedly will emerge this semester from
the select six-man team of surgeons, this
time to stand for judgment before not only
students, but professors and the Board of Re
gents. Whether this document emerges as a
wide-eyed progressive, or appears as a re
tarded creature alien to its original intent,
remains to be seen.
The Quiet Revolution even has filtered
down into the realm of the queen of in loco
parentis herself AWS. Junior and senior
women now own the qualified privilege of the
key. Hopefully sophomore and second semester
freshmen women will be next.
The University, however, frequently has
diverted the course of the Quiet Revolution.
Praising dormitory living as a vital part of
- total education and confessing the University
.overestimated enrollments in their building
plans, the Board of Regents last summer re
versed an ad hoc committee's decision to lib
eralize outdated housing regulations.
While the issue now lies dormant, it is
far from being solved. The housing ques
tion is certain to appear again this semester
as will questions concerning student rights,
University disciplinary procedures and court
systems, and educational reforms. These are
;not new, earth shattering problems; they have
faced the University for years.
But it is apparent they are not going to
disappear until the Quiet Revolution has solved
them according to its own guidelines.
It promises to be an interesting 15 weeks.
Cheryl Tritt
What Je have here W
failure io ComvMcate
William F. Buckley
The Pueblo: Will she sink or swim?
Some thoughts, practical and
theoretical, concerning the
Pueblo:
1. It has become fashionable
to observe that the credibility
gap is such as to entitle John
Doe to disbelieve the Ameri
can Government, and believe
the government of North Ko
rea. Thus for instance Mr. Mur
ray Kempton of New York
confesses, not alas unsadly,
that he will accept the ene
my's version, inasmuch as
"North Korea hasn't lied to
me lately."
One day after this asser
tion, the North Koreans re
leased the taped confession
of the commander of the
Pueblo. "The crime commit
ted by me and my men is en
tirely indelible," says the
commander sez North Korea
adding that he hopes "that
Campus opinion .
we will be forgiven leniently."
The Commander went on to
explain that "a lot of dollars
would be offered to all crew
members of my ship and par
ticularly I myself would be
honored."
Since no such English was
ever spoken by any Ameri
can, even at Annapolis, we
may submit the "confession"
as a North Korean lie "and
hope, perhaps, that the Amer
ican left will acknowledge the
possibility of a credibility gap
where Communists are con
cerned. 12-Mile limit
2. Is it likely that the Pueb
lo was inside the 12-mile lim
it, and therefore technically
in violation of North Koreas'
security?
No, because the equipment
on our spy ship is designed
for medium-range and 1 o n g
di stance work, not for getting
close enough to the shoreline
so that the bo'sun can spot
the enemy from the crow's
nest Under the circum
stances, it is inherently im
plausible that the 12-mile lim
it was violated.
Inspection
However, 3., if the United
States is confident of its case,
why doesn't it demand that
an international inspection
committee immediately in
spect the Pueblo's navigation
al log, assuming it has not
been destroyed?
By checking the radar no
tations, Loran lines (if there
arc such in that area), depth
readings, and even the celes
tial sights, it can be inferred
with virtual certainty wheth
er the Pueblo was guilty.
4. What do we have to fear
from the detention of the
boat, other than the blow to
our pride? I do not diminish
the importance of the latter
merely by bringing up the
possible importance of the
former.
Do we have, aboard the
Pueblo, vital security infor
mation the removal of which
by the enemy would serious
ly a f f e c t the national inter
est? Is that information to be
f o u n d in written form, in
which case one assumes it
has been removed (and hopes
that it will be translated into
Korean by the same gentle
man who wrote Commander
Bucher's message); or, that
which is most vaulable, or
equally valuable, is the re
fined electronic machinery
aboard the Pueblo?
Judge and jury? Professors suggest drug policy change
Nineteen prominent University professors
have formulated a policy for drug control,
the text of which appears in today's Campus
Opinion. These men are not necessarily "pro
drug," just as the Board of Regents and
the State legislators are not "pro-drug." They
have taken, however an intelligent, rational
approach to drug control, unlike the Regents
and the legislature.
The statement contains several arguments
which demonstrate that the Regents policies
on drugs and the legislature's 1967 Drug Act
are grossly disproportionate as to penalties
they inflict.
First the fact that drug usage, especially
In the case of marijuana, is even a criminal
offense is a highly debatable question in the
courts as well as on university campuses.
The United States Court of Appeals for
the Seventh Circuit last month indicated in
a marijuana case that sufficient scientific
knowledge does not exist to warrant a de
cision that the eighth amendment prohibits
punishing a marijuana user as severely as a
narcotics user.
This court also stated that the case dem
onstrated the necessity for further legislative
study of an open question.
The court's statement obviously does not
negate existing statutes concerning penalties
for marijuana usage.
But the fact that a court of appeals could
not find sufficient evidence to either support -or
deny equal punishment for both marijuana
and other drug usage raises serious questions
as to the underlying validity of these laws,
particularly because of the unequal penalties
involved.
This position is supported by the numer
ous other cases now pending in other courts.
Since drugs laws are being seriously ques
tioned the severity of the Regents drugs pol
icy which demands automatic suspension of
drug offenders and even administrative in
volvement in these cases should also be ques
tioned. Last fall a student who was found to
be a drug offender by University officials
agreed to withdraw quietly from school, per
haps under pressure from the administration.
His case was turned over to the district at
torney who consequently did not press charges
for lack of evidence.
From this case it is evident that the Uni
versity's role as a judge and jury in drug
matters needs reform.
Dear Editor:
This letter is an attempt
to formulate what its signers
believe to be a sensible policy
on drug use.
First, we note that many
teachers who are made un
easy by the prospect of the
employment of undercover
agents on campus hesitate to
take a stand against prac
tices for fear of appearing to
be "for drugs." But this no
more follows than that a stand
against the prohibition of
liquor makes a person "Pro
alcohol," or, to take an ex
ample farther afield, that the
stand of the Anglican and
Roman Catholic churches in
England in favor of homo
sexual law reform makes
these bodies "pro-homosexual."
In fact it is often neces
sary for society to tolerate
abuses when their suppres
sion creates worse abuse
still.
No sane man or woman
would deny that the hapless
derelicts in the "skid rows"
of our larger cities are proof
of the dangers of the abuse
of alcohol. Yet, though pro
hibition might conceivably di
minish this problem, most
citizens would hesitate to re
act the anti-liquor laws of the
1920's.
. .We hope to make ourselves
understood then, if we point
out that some of the signers
of this statement are strong
ly critical of drug-taking in
any form, and would even in
clude in their concern such
socially acceptable drugs as
alcohol, caffine, and tobacco,
but that nevertheless, all its
signers are against legal
penalties for d-ug-taking and
drug possession.
Some of us would argue fur
ther that not only does legis
lation against drugs create
more problems than it solves
through its inevitable arbitr
ariness of enforcement, the
excessive harshness of its
penalties, and the tendency
to make illicit' trade in drugs
a highly profitable business,
but that the same objection
holds to such laws as to all
"moral" legislation.
In legislation against pure
ly self regarding acts or acts
involving mutual consent
where no clear, demonstrable,
positive harm is done to un
willing individuals the state
oversteps its bounds and in
vades individual rights.
Right and Duty?
The state may have a right
and even a duty to warn and
admonish the individual
against ruining his health or
endangering his life through
drug abuse, but it has no
right to forbid him doing so.
(We note that, though the
potentially lethal effects of
tobacco are, well established,
society nevertheless seems
unwilling, and rightly so, to
make tobacco smoking a
criminal offense.)
In short, one may argue
against anti-drug laws on the
classical grounds laid down
by John Stuart Mill in "On
Liberty." As Mill puts it, "the
sole ends for which mankind
are warranted, individually
or coPectively, In Interfering
with the liberty of action of
any of their number, is self
protection. The only purpose
for which power can be right
ly exercised over any mem
ber of a civilized community
against his will, is to prevent
harm to others. His own
good, either physical or mor
al, is not a sufficient war
rant. He cannot rightfully be com
pelled to do or to forbear be
cause it will be better for
him to do so, because it will
make him happier, because in
the opinion of others, to do
so would be wise or even
right.
There are good reasons for
remonstrating with him, or
persuading him, to entreat
ing him, but not for compell
ing him, or for visiting him
with any penalty if he do
otherwise."
This appears to us to be the
case even when the harmful
effects of a drug are beyond
question. When, however, as
with marijuana, the harm
fulness of the drug is an open
question, the severe penal
ties on our statute books are
indefensible.
It has been argued that the
law should be stringently en
forced until tests determine
drug. But such a view seems
to imply that society should
punish people while it seeks
to find out if what they have
done should be called a crime.
This seems to us, to put it
shortly, an untenable posi
tion. When the enforcement of
such laws also involves the
use of undercover agents fur
ther problems arise. The use
of undercover agents is clear-
Daily Nebraskan
Ju.31.lMI
Vol. 81. No. SS
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Edilor Chary! Trittj Managing Editor Jack Todd) Mews Editor Ed Icenoglei
ly appropriate for crimes of
violence, theft, or fraud
where there is a complaining
victim.
Crimes?
In the case of so-called
student spies the use of un
dercover agents almost al
ways involves unsavory tac
tics of enticement and en
trapment. That is, unsuspecting persons
are invited to commit crimes
by police agents. There is
also a standing temptation to
manufacture evidence.
Moreover, the presence of
undercover agents on a cam
pus is inevitable disruptive of
trust and privacy, and tends
to create an atmosphere of
doubt and suspicion.
Only where the clearest and
most serious danger to the
common good existed would
such methods be justified.
The smoking of marijuana or
the selling of marijuana to
those who wish to buy it
does not appear to us to fall
within that category.
Earl Barnwell, Zoology
Richard Baroude, Law
James Cole, Psychology
Louis Crompton, English
Robert Dewey, Philosophy
Richard Felton, Economics
Wendell Gauger, Botany
Richard Gilbery, Chemical
Engineering
Preston Holder, Anthropology
Leonard Kaplan, Law
Duard Laging, Art
Michael Meyer, History
Robert Narveson, English
Edgar Pearlstein, Physics
Alan Pickering, UMHE
Lawrence Poston, English
Sing-nam Fen, Education
Goerge Wolf, English
Richard Woodard, Law
Zorba the Mexican
Editor's Note: Larry Grossman, a senior in
English, has spent his vacation periods since
coming to the University exploring the United
States, Canada, Mexico, and five countries in
Western Europe. During the semester you
will be able to read his Impressions of the
people and places of our continent and Eur
opei all being sketches taken from a traveler s
notebook.
by Larry Grossman
On a hot afternoon in late August of 1966,
my friend Charlie and I were waiting for a
ride on the edge of Celaya, a town northwest
of Mexico City. We were going to San Miguel
de Allende some 40 kilometers to the north.
It was approaching sunset and we re
laxed after our walk from the center of the
town where the last car had let us out. Traf
fic was light and so we sat still for a quarter
of an hour. Our experience had been that
hitching in Mexico was incredibly easy. When
ever a driver saw a kid from the U.S., he
invariably stopped if he had room. Truck driv
ers had been particularly good about giving
us lifts. , . .
A big truck rolled up, Its frame all bent
out of shape. It moved sideways like a turtle
and across the bumper was stenciled the
name "El Indio". It stopped and Charlie and
I grabbed our packs and jumped in. The
driver was the biggest Mexican we had ever
seen and also the drunkest. He gunned his
truck and we were off to his town about 20
kilometers up the road.
He immediately began rattling to us in
Spanish, sometimes mumbling his words, rais
ing his voice at other times, and always
speaking at a rapid pace. Charlie and I knew
enough of the language by this time to rea.
lize that he was swearing, but he wasn't an
gry. In fact he kept laughing and pounding
on the steering wheel. He told us that he had
worked on a ranch in Arizona and mentioned
some other details about his family which
were lost in translation.
The guy kept on laughing and the sound
of it was infectious. It rose out of his cavern
ous chest and filled the cab. I forgot how
tired I was and began to laugh my head off
with this giant of a man whose language I
couldn't understand. Our driver seemed to be
one of the rare persons who laugh all of their
lives. I decided his name was Zorba.
In the meantime, the truck had covered
a few kilometers and we found ourselves in
the heart of rural Mexico. This road was one
tourists never traveled. On both sides were
green cornfields that stretched to the sierra.
Smoke from cooking fires rose from huts with
straw roofs. Women were scrubbing clothes on
rocks near puddles of rain water while their
naked brown children splashed about.
The road had narrowed and Zorba was
driving slow. He would bring his truck be
hind the farmers on bicycles and burro carts
and start honking like crazy. They all scram
bled to get out of the way shaking their fists
and cursing, but when they saw who it was
who had honked, they smiled and waved. Zor
ba was well known.
When we reached the town, Zorba insisted
we come to his cantina for a drink of tequila
We were in a hurry to get to San Miguel be
fore dark but thought the delay might be in
teresting. The cantina was near the central plaza
of the little town. When we entered, three
drinkers put down their glasses and ran up
to Zorba. They started yelling and hitting him
on the back and shaking his hand. One turned
to me and said that Zorba was the strongest
man in Queretaro.
Our friend bought us three tequilas each
and lined the glasses up on the bar. He or
dered a glass, a dish of lime slices, and a
bottle of tequila for himself. He laughed all
the while that he was downing shots. Charlie
tossed his three glasses off but I suffered
through only with the aid of a Pepsi. We
talked with Zorba and his pals for an hour.
They all looked up to him as a local hero
and he laughed and told jokes to them. He
was the happiest man I had ever seen.
It was dark when Charlie and I left the
bar and both of us were drunk. Zorba pointed
out the highway and one of his friends helped
us carry our gear to the far side of the plaza.
A truck came slowly through the town and
stopped for us. We hopped in the back with
some crates of chickens and took off for San
Miguel. As the truck pulled out of the town,
Zorbs came up behind and honked his horn.
,s heard his laugh drifting off into the Mexl
can night.
Rodney Powell
The three B's
I offer the Three B's - bewilderment,
bemusement and bad mouthing.
President Johnson prompted by the suc
cess of his last visit, has had another quaint
and folksy chat with newsmen in an attempt
to project a better image to all us folks out
in television-land.
the S iSa fanscript of the exchange, and
the buildup to it, obtained from an unimpeach
able source:
thPvRKenr:eMr--President' is i true what
tiiey say about Dixie:
ha f8ehentJ: Jn?eed U is nothin could
be finer than to be in Carolina in the mornm
--reminds me of the one I love (clap, clap.
& W deep,,in the heart of Tas. I
Sv wV,011 .I11 now understand some of
my feeling for the Southland.
T itRwo; Ind.eed ?e d0 M1"- President.
Is it true that all American patrols have been
supplied with silver bullets in an attempt to
Vtet Cong"? fr aU'" 33 you Put the
hv ,Pr,oeSldent: That is a vicious nior spread
dJrstand thSaTStlland,d0Ubters wh don't un-
lecure in it t f V State is safe and .
secure in the hands of your present Presi-
frnicASTt0 ufe of sUver bullets on all pa
frols, I categorically deny it Our men hava
JkX-
