THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
Editorials
Commentary
Page 2
Monday, February 19, 1968
Broad changes
rjn AWS policy
. The Greek dominated AWS, breeding ground
. for the aspiring gunner, will soon be an organiza
tion of the past. After a semester of tedious meet
ings attended by bored delegates and frustrated
chairmen the AWS constitutional convention has
produced a document which will revitalize and
reconstruct a stagnating "representative" body.
Throughout its highly criticized history AWS
has been manned by fairly ambitious sorority wom
en who have measured the success of the group
as to whether Coed Follies costs remained in the
black and whether an insignificant hours ruling was
. liberalized to appease a rebel coed.
- This situation never has been more apparent
- than this past semester when the Board quietly met
once a week to take roll, evaluate Focus on Coeds
and hear the Coed Follies progress report.
While the groups was awaiting the completion
of the revised constitution and did not care to burden
tFamselves with new legislation, they, nevertheless,
wasted an entire semester.
The revised constitution hopefully will remedy a
pjpeat performance of this year's lethargic Board.
The new legislative body, comprised of a Cabinet
and 29 member Congress, finally will achieve
fair representation for dormitory and Lincoln
independent women.
The Congress will no longer have the fearsome
task of planning stimulating, enlightening Focus on
Coeds programs or have the crushing responsibility
of deciding penalities for the coed who forgot to
' put down her window shades.
The legislative body now will have the opportun
ity to update ridiculous and unenforceable regula
tions and perhaps even break tradition by suggest
ing a new and daring idea like sophomore and
second semester freshmen keys.
The judicial area has also been vastly improved
under the revised Constitution. Now the frightened
freshman with 235 late minutes can face an AWS
court chaired by women from her own dormitory
and the irate upperclassman who received three
campuses for an illegal overnight can take her case
to a Court of Appeals.
AWS's forte, the Programs Area, should be
aided considerably with the initiation of open com
mittees, which allow any University coed to inter
- - view for a position on the various committees.
By allowing more women to participate in
AWS activities, the members of Congress will not
, . be forced to head program committees in which
they do not have the time nor the desire to par
' ticipate.
AWS still needs to modernize in such other areas
as rules and regulations, but with a new and ef
ficient structure these changes can be made and
AWS can regain its long lost prestige and power.
Although the constitution is well written it does
not make the most enjoyable reading matter. Uni
versity women, however, should familiarize them-
selves with the document's content and the conse
quent changes for which it provides before they
' attend the orientation and ratification sessions dur
ing the next two weeks. A careful analysis of the
revised constitution will show that AWS has entered
' "a tiew era.
Cheryl Tritt
Roger Stark
Deserters speak,
church censured
tip':
Last week I received a letter from a personal
r .gSuairtance who is living in Stockholm, Sweden.
, This person is a graduate of an American univer
j sity and holds a responsible position with an ar
, chitectural firm in Stockholm. I would like to share
part of that letter with you . . .
' "Remember that I said I was going to hear
those four American deserters speak? well, only
". two came. People were hanging from the rafters,
; and after five minutes I was thoroughly disap
'. pointed in those two. It is sad to see individuals
; searching so desperately for some kind of convic
. tion after they are already caught or should 1
say trapped.
T ........ 1.1 -l ... . -
umcr waning wnn one oi inem, i asked If
they bad ever feared not getting out of Russia and
he-said, 'Yes' with strong emphasis. He also
later admitted that they had honestlv thought, or
should I say planned, to get caught by the M.P.'s
while still in Japan.
'- The Japanese leftist youth movement, however
caught them up so quickly and hid them so well,
that thlv urafa nv n T,i:nK X : i . i 1 . .
h,v; t,vic uu a xvuaBiaii ueigmer neaamg ior
, Sweden before they knew it.
"The entire speaking program was jointly spon
, sored by a Swedish student organization, affiliated
. with the Swedish State Church, and an English-speaking
stiiripnt organization, affiliated with the
. American Congregation of Stockholm.
', It was headed by a young man who was As
sistant Pastor of the American church and who
was hired by Pastor Burke (of the American Con-
, grcgation) to help further the relations of t h e s e
, two student groups. The meeting had no barriers
; whatsoever.
mit ii . . . .
f.uiU,oi LuuitH js a mission, ana ninety
, minutes hefore the American Congregation uses
the building all the bums
, service so they can receive coffee tnd cake free
' "Okay so the assistant pastor organized the
, whole program with these fellows as speakers The
American Embassy had never contacted them for
, mally, but had sent them notice that they were
ui ivi counseling anytime thev
should need it. '
Vol. W. No. t4 rt
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FDFTORIAL STAFF
Editor Cheryl Trltt; Managing Editor Jack Todd: New. Editor FA
Jcenogie; riiht New. Editor J. L. Schmidt; Editoial Pan Auum
June Wagoner; A.nrtnnt Msht New. Editor Wilbur Gentry- Snort.
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luyman and Dan Ladel.
Brswrxs WAFF
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sified adfi manaeer Gary Holllniawortti : Bocinem Secretary Jan Boat
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Lynn Womacqne,
FSV- it A
sir Lk
i.
it DEMO'S
qIt2 ....
Af?cr,iTe.q-(je .
I I V T I
Joseph AIsop . . .
General uprising fails objective
Washington Sen. Robert
Kennedy to the contrary, it is
becoming clearer and clearer
that the Viet Cong attack on
the cities and towns of South
Vietnam resulted in a serious
and potentially shattering de
feat. This is true, at any rate, if
a "defeat" can be defined as
a hideously costly action
which altogether fails to pro
duce the designed result. The
cost to the Viet Cong, to be
gin with, is rising toward a
dreadful total of nearly 30.000
men, quite largely drawn
from the VC's least easily re
placeable assets their true
guerrilla local forces, their
sapper units and their under
ground operatives.
As to this effort's costliness
to the Viet Cong, there can be
no reasonable doubt. There
has been quite reasonable
doubt, however, about the ef
fort's designed result. Was it
really to touch off a "general
uprising"? Or was it merely
to wreak destruction and to
sow doubt and dismay here in
America and in South Viet
nam? These have been the argu
able questions. They have now
been answered, however,
again beyond reasonable
doubt, by the first interroga
tions of the thousands of VC
prisoners of war picked up in
the towns and cities of South
Vietnam. The designed result
of the assault was, in fact, to
provoke a "general uprising"
which most conspiculously
failed to occur.
The tactical situation natu
rally has been given priority
by the interrogators. Hence,
the political interrogations are
as yet very incomplete; but
it appears that, in most cases,
members of the VC provincial
party committees went into
the towns and cities with tue
troops. And in many cases the
obje was clearly to set up
milii governments and to
procL n the new "coalition"
the VC documents have been
talking about for months.
In Saigon a full member of
the VC's highest political
body, the Central Committee
for the National Liberation
Front, was killed in action.
In Nha Trang, a member of
the Provincial Party Commit
tee was taken prisoner. His
mission had been to issue the
call for the "general uprising"
over the government radio
station, which was never ta
ken. Other cases might be
cited.
It is well established, at any
rate, that the "general upris
ing" was intended and ex
pected. It did not materialize
for two reasons. Barring a
few students in Hue and the
inmates of the Hue jail, the
"popular masses" held strict
ly aloof from "the surging
struggle." And contrary to re
ports, the vast majority of
South Vietnamese army units,
though taken by surprise with
many men on leave, acquitted
themselves with true courage
and distinction.
Without these two factors,
the courage of our American
troops would have gone for
nothing. With these factors,
plus the courage of the Amer
icans, the enemy suffered a
severe defeat by any stan
dard of judgment a defeat
for which all the destruction
and disruption were, and are,
wholly inadequate rewards
for the VC.
For that very reason, as
these words are written, there
are indications that the ene
my may return to the attack
on certain cities and towns.
The objective, quite certainly,
will be to gain control in at
least a few places, as the ob
jective of the general assault
was to gain control of a good
many places. Th? result can
not be prejduged, but this
time there will be no sur
prise. Furthermore, the Saigon
government's handling of all
the problems of destruction
and disruption is now crucial
ly important. The work from
the Americans on the spot is
"so far, so good." But again,
the final result cannot be pre
judged. Finally, It is impos
sible to overestimate
the stakes in the game in the
battle at Khe Sanh; and that
is just beginning.
But the fact remains that
what has happened in Viet
nam cannot be rationally in
terpreted as Sen. Kennedy in
terpreted it in Chicago. If the
Hanoi war-planners felt able
to sustain the kind of unend
ing war that Kennedy talked
about, they would not have
gone for broke against the
towns and cities, and they
would not now be going for
broke at Khe Sanh. They are,
in truth, going for broke be
cause they know damn well
they cannot sustain an unend
ing war.
The truth is that with all
his intelligence and patrio
tism, Kennedy has not been
wise enough to turn a deaf
ear to the defeat-at-any-price
people. These are the aca
demics and journalists, politi
cal amateurs and such-like
who have acquired an impor
tant vested interest in Ameri
can defeat in Vietnam, sim
ply because American success
there will make them all look
such unparalleled fools.
, With the enemy going for
broke in Vietnam, none can
predict just what lies ahead.
But it is easy to predict that
Kennedy will not advance his
career by listening to the defeat-at-any-price
people.
Holiday Cambodian trip shows unreality
When my Indian journalist
friend, Rabindra, suggested
we go to Cambodia over land,
I was both intrigued and skep
tical. I was sure it would be
a first for the Saigon press
corps which hears a great deal
about "VC" infiltration cross
the border. An overland trip
to Phnom Penh, the Cambo
dian capital, might lead right
into the jaws of death, right?
Wrong. But it did lead else
where. After several weeks trying
to correlate our schedules,
adding a week for the ever
inefficient Vietnamese bureau
cracy to function (oh, great
legacy of the French!) we de
cided to leave on December
23rd. But due to circumstances
beyond my control, I was un
able to get a Cambodian en
try visa at the Australian
Embassy. (The two countries
are not on good terms and
have no direct diplomatic re
lations.) We booked ourselves onto a
helicopter to the rice-rich del
ta town of Can Tho. For most
of the hour flight the gunners,
one on each side of our Huey,
aimed their weapons earth
ward. Luckily there was no
trouble.
At Can Tho we expected to
find a boat to take us up the
muddy, mighty Mekong to
Phnom Pehr. There was one
Japanese, but it had left. For
tunately there was an old,
rickty, crank-started Renault
bus that went to Cheau Due,
about ten miles from the bor
der. We were the only for
eigners on the bus and we
hoped that would minimize the
dangers of being sniped at.
We hoped we would not be
stopped by NFL police. Neith
er of us spoke Vietnamese and
there would be no way to de
clare our friendly intentions.
(To paraphrase Muhammed
Ali, a truly beautiful man,
"We ain't got no quarrel
with them VC")
We arrived at Cheau Due
too late to gon on Vietnamese
traffic stops at sunset. We
checked in at the Vietnamese
police station, where we were
fortunate to find a French
speaking policeman. The next
morning, we get off for Tinh
Bien, a border town some 15
kilometers away.
It took an hour to reach the
village, and we went to the
police station to get our pass
ports stamped. Our first ob
stacle was, again, finding
someone who spoke French.
The police chief sent for the
village chief who was author
ized to stamp our visas. When
we arrived, he explained that
he had never done this before
and certainly his unfamihar
ity caused a bit of delay. Tinh
Bien is not a major thorough
fare. From the police station we
went to the customs house,
where we had to wake up the
customs man who, still clad
in his PJ's seemed a bit con
fused. He gave us some cus
toms declarations and was
embarrased when we pointed
out that they were for those
entering Vietnam, not leaving.
He then dug out, from all the
ancient debris, his official
seal. At one time people made
our Journey all the Lime, but
the war has ended all that.
Our next step was to cross
the canal in a sampan and
then to board a cycle for a
trip across a no-man's land
to the Cambodian border, a
kilometer away. On both sides
of the road were seemingly
endless rice-paddies. Along
the road people were fishing
with long poles balanced on
their knees and nets were
strung across poles- into the
paddies. At intervals a little
fisherman's hut would flank
the road.
In a short time we were in
the middle of this, a very
beautiful no-where with palm
trees along the road, fertile
paddies on each side, and the
towering mountains in the dis
tance. This itself wasn't a col
losal publicity stunt; if per
haps there was no war, only
a bunch of nickel nd dime
John Waynes runn? around
pretending there was.
Later I learned we were in
the middle of a free-fire zone
and planes flying over us could
have dumped a ton of napalm
on our heads without pain of
conscience. The Vietnamese
work their fields In spite of
the danger and many die be
cause of it.
There was no one at the lit
tle shack besides the road, so
we waited. Presently a soldier
obviously Cambodian, arrived
on a bicycle. He hung around
for a while, eyeing us, and
then took off back to Cambo
dia. In a while another man
arrived. He was wearing a
black outfit, a .45 automatic,
and a funny rumpled,' camou
flaged bat likt) oo that I'd
seen before on a U.S. major.
He had captured it from an
NFL soldier when his camp
was over-run. (The NFL got
his hat, so it was an even ex
change. We were taken to a border
station where our passport?
were sent on to someone and
where we were provided with
French-language Cambodian
publications. The magazine,
rivals the elaborate produc
tions of the U.S. and U.S.S.R.
as a journalistic effort.
An hour later we were put
back on our respective vehi
cles and taken to the Cambo
dian town. It was discovered
that Rabindra had a visa and
I didn't. Could one be gotten
there? No it couldn't, and I
had to go back to Saigon to
get one. I complained that I
didn't have any money, only
travelers checks.
I was driven to the border
station, and given an orange
soda. I thought I could stay
there for the night and, hope
. fully, Rabindra could make it
back in the morning, Christ
mas. I hied pretending I w a s
brave until nightfall when the
fishermen, regarding me as a
oddity, started talking about
the "VC" and drawing their
fingers across their throats. I,
got the message and split. In
Tinh Bien a Vietnamse police
man provided me with a sub
stantial meal.
I was then put in a jeep and
taken to an army camp near
by. It turned out there was a
five man American advisorv
team attached to the local
ARVNunit,
Wayne Kreuscher
Mailbox hopes,
posted dreams
At 21 or 22 all a man wants is a place in this
world for himself and a woman of his own.
His desires really aren't great. If only the rest
of the world will give him a chance, he figures
everything will be all right
Every color
but green
Kreuscher
Perhaps at 23 he'll feel differently, but now it
seems the world consists of nothing but one obstacle
after another blocking his own happiness.
A government that doesn't even know he exists
wants him to kill other men his age who probably
feel just as he does.
Traditions, history, politics and religions
that he insists have nothing to do with him con
fuse and sometimes almost strangle his life.
Until now he has tried to live with honesty,
courage and tolerance. His education has taught
him that thinking, ideas and rationality are more
powerful than physical force, superstition and ig.
norance.
He has always known it wasn't a perfect world.
He's not looking for a Utopia.
But when he was 16, 18 or even 20, he was sure
he would be a man at 21 or 22 and there would
be a place for him. Now he's not so sure.
Everyday he waits for another letter. -
One day it's a letter from the woman he hopes
will spend her life with him. The next day it's a
letter from the graduate school or business he hopes
will accept him. The third day he waits for a note
from the parents who he hopes will recognize him
as an adult. Everyday he waits for The Letter
from the government.
Sometimes it seems the postman knows more
than he does what his place In the world will be.
People ask him what he's going to do an easy
topic of conversation but he cant answer until
all the letters come.
And they never do.
Craig Dreeszen
Slow death
from starvation
Is the Nebraska Free University a failure? No,
but it isn't doing well. So far, five courses have
been organized and only two days remain fpr
course organizers to turn in course descriptions.
Undoubtedly part of the blame must fall upon
tt'.e NFU Coordinating Committee. Work that doesn't
account for the complete lack of response on the
part of potential course organizers.
For the first two semesters of NFU, courses
were lead by a few of the best, most concerned
professors and students. After two semesters these
people are taking a breather and most of them
are not organizing courses this semester. Our dif
ficulty is that new people have not come forward
to lead courses.
Every day I hear faculty members talking
about inadequacies of the educational system and
how they wished, among ofher things, that they
could have closer ties with the students. In the
Union I hear graduate and undergraduate students
berating the system, complaining of unimaginative
teaching, and the intellectually stifling atmosphere
of the classrooms.
Students have offered an alternative, a partial
answer to the problems just mentioned. NFU is a
means to help relieve the impersonality and in
flexible formality of the University of Nebraska.
Professors and stioents say they are too busy.
They are too busy doing the very things they have
already claimed to be trivial. That is like saying
we can't do anything about stopping wars because
we are too busy building bombs and training sol
diers. Professors, graduate students and upperclass
m,!,n a sit and C0I"plain about Nebraska
style education-get off your ivory towers and do
something about it.
f hJI f!Tr? :?re. enough g00d course offerings, a
thousand students should register for this semes-
v.tSt , e Univers'ty- Even considering the high
FU crop out rate, that is an Impressive number
?i ll fT?siB students. There is a need and there
is an interest. Where are the course leaders'
or t f ,rrrDaeting Committee sent a letter to
each of the L500 faculty members. Not one offered
whl th cur,se tThLis the first time I know of
:iSSrshave had to compiaia about
,.!!.i'? V ,a,St appeaI for cour8e leaders. There
Cliff's Notes-the Chancellor
The New Morality-Dean Snyder
Radical Politics-Terry Carpenter
Campus SpL,he CnnfidCnCe f Your Fr'endfi " Th
r;ndkedPmiCS WithUt T
ASUN Senator