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THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
Editorials
Commentary
Monday, April 1, 1968
Page 2
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Omaha: the fire next time?
Today the Daily Nebraskan abandoned the realm of a
campus newspaper's usual concerns to examine extensively
the racial situation in Omaha.
Omaha is 50 miles from the campus; Watts is 1700;
Detroit 800; but the distance in no way removes the stu
dent from the atmosphere of hate, tension and racism which
according to toe President's Riot report has seent the nation
well on its way to becoming a divided people.
Omaha did not have the guts of its ghetto torn apart
last summer like Detroit, Newark, Cleveland. The list was
3errif yingly inclusive.
Nevertheless, Omaha is seething and an abyss has opened
rbetween city hall and 24th street. It is certain near north
side residents will no longer sit placidly and fan themselves
during the long summer days.
The Wallace riots spewed out only a small amount of
"the steam rapidly collecting in the ghetto pressure cooker.
City officials, police, educators and powerful business
men more nebulously labeled as the Power Structure keep
-round the clock checks on the ghetto's pressure valve. They
.readily admit we have a problem.
; And only the Power Structure can help the Negro bridge
the abyss so he can walk out of the ghetto. Thus far the
bridge has not been built and the Power Structure is to
blame.
These men have allowed themselves to become squeezed
in between the irrational wrath of their white racist con
stituents and the broiling frustrations of 42.000 Negroes.
The results have been token integration for 80 Negro
families who have broken into white neighborhoods and in
creasing hopelessness and despair for the remaining Ne
groes who watch their ghetto spread.
The men who can correct the problem refuse to admit
that white racism, not Negro despair, has laid the ghetto's
rotting foundations. Until whitey fights as hard for civil
rights as the Negro is already fighting, the communications
breach will widen.
For example the aftermath of the Wallace riots proves
that the Establishment is pointing its white finger at the
wrong people for Omaha's racial problems.
One of the main limbs of the establishment, the Omaha
World Herald, summed up the whole attitude of the city's
white population in an editorial which appeared a few days
after the riots.
; It stated: "It was not the white racists who invited dis
order. It w as black racists and their white allies, including
several nuns and members of the clergy."
The Wallace incident also showed the ghetto's high tem
perature is not being lowered by the dozens of projects,
Tommittees and organizations formed by the Power Struc
4ure to cure the near North Side's problems.
It is ironic that James Abbott, the policeman who fatally
founded Howard Stevenson, participated in the police de
partment sponsored summer camp to improve police and
community relations. Stevenson attended the same camp.
Zl The way the police handled the Abbott situation has also
added to the Negroes' growing restlessness and hatred for
the Power Structure. Again rather than show the Negroes
4rue concern for Stevenson's death by holding a thorough,
'Well publicized investigation, the Douglas County Attorney
conducted a quiet questioning period with Abbott. The abyss
opened wider.
Z The educators who occupy another plane in the Power
"Structure are also increasing the communications problem
"between whitey's schools and the Negroes' schools. The
Superintendent of Schools is the prime example of a man
who can help solve the problem but instead talks about
writing a book on the dynamics of mob action. He says
only he understands the cause of racial tension within the
school sysem. Then offers his solution a book.
There is a bright spot in the ghetto and it will be
found in the tiny office of the opportunities Industrializa
tion Center (OIC) found in the heart of the ghetto. The
OIC is the type of program the Negroes have been begging
for an organization which they administrate themselves
an organization whose success depends on their own capa
bilities not on the half-hearted efforts of the white man.
And now OIC and its father organization GOCA must
be brought under city administration because of a federal
ruling called the Green amendment.
The Negroes are fighting hard to retain control of OIC
but again the wires to city hall are closed.
The Negro knows what he doesn't want. He doesn't want
whitey administrating programs to serve a people's needs
with which he isn't concerned and doesn't understand. As
one Negro said, it isn't the black man who needs educating,
it's the white man.
And the white Power Structure must catch up on their
education and soon. Negroes completed theirs a long time
ago.
A long summer lies ahead. Only the Omaha city officials
can prevent an explosion which will be heard several hun
dred miles past the near north side. Until the so-called Power
Structure has the courage to fight for programs which en
able the Negro to pick himself up and carry himself out
of the ghetto the whites may find themselves on their knees.
Right now nothing would give disillusioned militant Ne
groes more satisfaction than to enact what has become their
Black Power chant: "We'll bring whitey to his knees."
Cheryl Tritt
Campaign procedures
The official start of the 1968 ASU election to
day has sent Senate hopefuls off and trotting down
the campaign trail.
To alleviate any misconceptions about the type
of campaign coverage the Daily Nebraskan will
conduct the reporting procedures that will be used
are listed below.
Coverage of senatorial candidates
. . . This week every senatorial candidate (who
can be reached) will be interviewed about his plat
form. The same type of interview also will be
held with advisory board candidates.
. . . Signed letters endorsing senatorial candi
dates w ill be published.
Coverage of executive candidates
. . . Today the platforms of unaffiliated execu
tive contenders and of organized student parties
have been published.
Next Monday the Nebraskan will publish ex
tensive interviews conducted with each executive
candidate concerning his platform, personal view
points and stands on basic issues.
. . . Executive speeches and debates will be
covered if the newspaper is given a day's advance
notice of the event.
. . . Signed letters supporting a specific exe
cutive candidate or an executive slate will be
printed, although the paper reserves the right to
to edit all letters.
Till 5 MrdtbSlr H4arUt
I Wayne Kreuscher
f Ballot children
ZZ For almost ten mmu'te9 last Saturday morn
ing, I. my fiance and our two closest friends a
newly "Harried couple were on our way to Wis
consin to work for Eugene McCarthy.
1 The suggestion to leave for Wisconsin started
as a joke but quickly became a serious plan with
an early morning schedule of calls to employers
and parents and check cashing before leaving.
We knew our bosses would think we bad lost
our minds and maybe even fire us. We knew our
parents wuld be skeptical. One of ns had a test
Monday which was soon forgotten. The others, of
course, all bad classes to attend and papers due
bat all seemed irreleveni.
Also we knew that we really couldn't do much
In Wisconsin with only a few days left until Tues
day's primary, but nevertheless a conviction as
strong as whatever makes a person young made
us want to be in Wisconsin more than anything
else in the world.
After the ten-minute dream which was al
most reality we realized that this time it was im-
, possible. One of us bad a previous engagement
which could not be broken or postponed. Yet for
- a few minutes we experienced the feeling that is
making hundreds and maybe thousands of other
.young volunteers follow McCarthy from state to
state.
Wbea we realized that we couldn't go, the car
became very quiet. I felt as someone bad just
bit me in fie stomach and I'm sure my three com
panions felt the same way.
We have all been wearing McCarthy buttons
3or several months and recently actively working
Jn Nebraska for the Minnesota senator's candidacy.
-But for a few minutes just working in Nebraska
preparing for McCarthy's personal campaign here
was not enough. We wanted to be in Wisconsin
where he faces his most immediate challenge.
I know I'm terribly young and idealistic. Cynics
. might laugh at my naivity and lack of eloquence.
For me McCarthy has come to represent not only
n excellent presidential candidate but everything
:Y and I believe roost of my generation believe in
honesty, courage, sincerity, mtellegence, tol
erance, love, peace. For the first time since John
,F. Kennedy I think I have a national hero that I
can respect
It's nut iorprising that right sow hundreds of
vi-of-state students are piling into Nebraska to
Ziimk for the senator. I'm surprised there aren't
' hundreds of thousand.
Spring show review
Musical overcomes difficulties
Editor's Note: This review
of the Kcsmet Klub produc
tion of W est Side Story is by
Ken Pellow an instructor
in the department of English.
Give a theatrical group a
strong actor as the Prince of
Denmark, and that group can
probably do a good Hamlet.
Given a competent Maid of
Orleans, a successful St. Joan
ought to be produced. There
fore, if a cast has a good
Tony and a good Maria, it
can turn out a fine West Side
Story, right? Well . . . yes
but it may not be easy.
The Kosmet Klub's produc
tion of the famous Bernstein
Sondheim musical, at Persh
ing Auditorium this weekend,
overcame many obstacles to
provide a show that was more
good than bad; and most of
the credit for the show's suc
cess must go to Wayne Stoeb
er, as Tony, to Becky Mc
Spadden, as Maria, and to
some expert technical man
agement. The combination of these
"positives" managed to off
set a bost of "negatives," ma
jor of which were a bad
"theatre" (?), a lack of depth
unions dancers, numerous
spatial problems of staging,
and a weary (and wearying)
scrip.
Pershing Auditorium may be
a fine place for the Ice Ca.
pades or the Harlem Globe
trotters, but for final exams
or musical theatre it is some
thing Jess than ideal. As many
a former Freshman English
examinee can testify, a fatten
lap-board echoes magnificent
ly in that barn, but what the
funny man on the loudspeak
er said about Question No. 69
is missed by about half of
the assemblage.
So it is with staging a musi
cal there: the thumping of
dancers' feet or the sound of
a dropped Coke-cup in the
house is apt to come through
more clearly than the words
of a song. Particularly hurt,
naturally, were those songs
which included dance rou
tines; when singers were on
the move, they frequently
missed the mikes. Consequent
ly, such numbers as "Ameri
ca" and "Cool" were almost
completely lost.
The importance of the posi
tioning of mikes led te other
problems. Sometimes it
seemed that the entire cast
was divided into those who
were not sufficiently conscious
ci their position relative to
the mikes and those who
were conscious of little else.
This is to be expected, of
course, when sound is suHi a
key problem and the actors
are relatively inexperienced
(or have very UtUe experi
ence in such a mammoth
setting, at least). Frequently,
one pot the impression that
an actor was thinking "Now,
on this bar, I go over here
feet to the left, 'cause
that's where I can be heard."
This sort of rote movement
was characteristic of some of
the dancers also. This is ext
remely unfortunate, for West
Side Story is considerably
more of a dancers' show than
most Broadway-type musicals
Indeed, its j a 2 z-ballet se
quences generally frighten off
amateur theatrical groups.
Often, the sole motivation for
a dancer's move appeared to
be the fact that the choreo
graphers told him to do so.
if "Now I do this four times,
then over to the other foot
. . .")
There is not much a choreo
grapher can do about this;
when cue is working with in
experienced dancers, plotting
every single move for them
is undoubtedly a lesser evil
than leaving them to their
own devices. Nor do I mean
to imply that the Kosmet
Klub production was totally
lacking in competent dancers.
Not only were there six or
eight very good dancers, but
they were at their best wbea
tbey bad to be: in the fan
tasy "Somen here" sequence.
Indeed, this scene, en
hanced by remarkably effi
cient use ef lights and back
drops, was very nearly enough
by itself to "make" the eve
ning. Just one more thing both
ered me about this show, and
that involves the choice of
show itself. Not only is West
Side Story somewhat over
exposed an extremely long
run in New York, lots of road
appearances, a movie vers
ion, a couple of top telling
LP's, etc. , but it's a bad
"book." That is. take away
its songs and dances, and
what's left is nothing for
worse!
Perhaps these two facts are
what effected the actors' re
sponse to dialogue, which was
to treat it as though it were
something put ia to "fill"
while somebody is getting
ready for the next song. That's
a very understandable re
sponse when one is handling
such snappy wit as: "I got
caught sneakin' onta' the mov
ies." "Why were va' doing
that?" "Weil, I snuck in."
These observations might
give the impression that the
show was a flop; by no means
was that the case. As I've in
dicated, the use of scenery
was excellent, as was the use
of lighting (despite the fact
that the spotlights had to
come from points about half
way to Otoe County). But
most surprising to me was
how much of the success of
West Side Story can be in
sured by a good orchestra
and two good singers.
If the show's best "stand-up
type" sonzs ("Tonight." "Ma
ria," "One Hand. One Heart")
are done well, the show can't
go very far wrong. And in
this production, these were
done very well. Add to this
a smooth dance routine in
"Somewhere" and some
spirited burlesque-type com
edy Jn "Gee, Officer Krupke,"
and the result is an entertain,
ing evening, which despite
difficulties the Kosmet Klub
presented.
Editor's Note: Last Friday's political f
columns entitled Doorbells ring liberals oe-
mite, and He AHtceeded en a closd were
I contributed by John Reiser and Dan Looker
If respectively.
M The columnists names were inadvertent- I
mm, ly omitted. g
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Joseph AIsop
Johnson can still win the
war
Daily ftehrakan
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Saigon Any speculation on
timing in war is always most
unwise. But it will also be
unwise for any American po
litician to rule out absolute
ly the possibility that Presi
dent Johnson will be at the
negotiating table or at least
that he will be able to point
to a decisively favorable turn
in the war before the Novem
ber election. That is true, at
least unless Gen. William
Westmoreland's replacement
means the President is giving
up.
Ticking off the factor, one
must begin with the one not
ed in the previous report ia
this space, that the Tet of
fensive was a setbark for the
allied cause but a dire dis
aster for the enemy. His losses
were fearful and the blow to
his morale must have been
very heavy.
On the plus side of the bal
ance sheet for Mm, his press
gangs have been given a far
wider range in the country
side, at any rate for the time
being; and to have his harsh
tax coliectort. In the country
side, at elsewhere, the ene
my ) bow fighting a sfcrt
rtnge war, with none of bis
former care for popular senti
ment.
For example, An Xuyen pro
vince, at the southern tip of
this country, was a commu
nist bamboo republic through
out the whole French war;
and except for Camau City,
the province has been almost
wholly controlled by the Viet
Cong throughout this war. In
the Tet offensive, Camau was
sharply attacked, but the at
tack was repelled with Heavy
Vict Cong losses by the local
South Vietnamese army JAH
VV) units.
Three options are ia I act
open to the Hanoi leadership.
They can go for broke again,
with the certainty thai anoth
er failure, if it occurs, pray
God, will really leave them
broken. Or they can decide
how to negotiate on President
Johnson'i terms, in more
advantageous circumstances.
Or they can pull back hard,
to keep the war going at a
low level through the election.
As these are their only options
the reasons for the a b a v e
given advice to American poli
ticians can perhaps be understood.
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Andy Corrigan
I Political parties:
I peculiar groups
ASUN election time is with us again and, as
usual, the crisis has sprawned two vehicles for vic
tory, i.e., political parties.
A political party, in the American sense, tends
to bea "group" of a peculiar sort, according to
V. O. Key, author of Poutical Parties and Pressure
Groups.
If I would have searched Webster's forever I
doubt if I would have found a more apt word to
describe the campus parties which bave emerged
for this year't debacle. Peculiar.
Anyone who witnessed last year's PSA sweep
realized the need for a two-party system at Ne
braska but, of course, nothing happened. In fact,
even PSA faded into oblivion.
However, as political hopefuls regrouped their
force this spring the PSA "flag" was again
raised and seemingly had no opposition.
The '6S version of PSA is quite different from
the original model. Whether old PSA foes would
like to admit It or not there hat been a facelift.
Party leaders apparently realized that they
could not expect to win a second time if they con.
tinued to collect dead wood and frame it with
stripes of red. A proliferation of new faces and
new names now seems to be the only similarity
between the PSA of 'C7 and '6a. However, it re
mains to be seen if there will be any improve
ment. Apparently non-party senatorial candidates fin
ally remembered the force with which PSA took
the '67 election and so the two-party system finally
came to Nebraska almost.
CSP Concerned Student't Party concerned
about what I do not know but at least they are con.
cerned . . .
The new party bat no executive slate and con
sisit of a few imrumbent senators who are rid
ing on their laurels earned during the part year
and many unknowns.
Neediest to say CSP has their problemt as tho
ASUN Elecoral Commission will not allow the
CSP party designation on the April ballot they
didn't meet the March 15 deadline.
So without their name on the ballot who will
be able to differentiate CSP candidates from non
affiliated ones?
So we come to the cm of our discussion for,
in my opinion, the only value our campus parties
have it their name. In other wordt, the way to g'-t
elected to Senate it not through personal merit but
through party labcL
When there it only one party a problem doet
arise for it it much easier for the constituent to
vote for something he is si least familiar with
(e.g. PSA '67) than to arbitrarily select candidates.
Whether (bis situation It detirable it purely
academic for the fact remaint that on a camnut
!.. i, - U piiVSitaifjr iiaposiinw !T the
votcrt to be Informed about all of the candidatei
Therefore, party labels and their platformt cava' :
toiulfke. ;
