NEBRASKAN
Editorials
Commentary
Page 2
Friday, April 5, 1968
THE
DALY
The way it is
in Supernatioii
We stack 'em op.
T Killing, not free enterprise or free love, is the
- American Way of Life. We do not discriminate.
We Kill our presidents, our radicals, our paupers,
our preachers.
'.Ve kill in small groups (16 in Texas, eight in
Chicago) or larger groups (43 in Detroit, 23 in Ne
wark.) We itarted November 22, 1963. That day we
killed John F. Kennedy. Since then we've killed
Lee Harvey Oswald. Malcolm X, George Lincoln
Rockwell Last night we killed Martin Luther King.
Last night the rioting started again. In Mem
phis. In Miami. In Harlem.
America. Beautiful America. Like a giant tree
... with the saw of violence ripping through her mid
dle. Our country. Rich. Civilized. Dangerous.
The question is knocking on the door again,
louder than ever. Can we have peace in Superna
tion? What is happening?
What the Hell is happening?
Jack Todd
Senatorial
endorsements
No one is talking about the Senate election
except the candidates and even they are speaking
in hushed voices and trying to determine why no
one is beating a drum or organizing rallies down
16th St
The answer isn't hard to define no one has
talked about Senate all year, because no one knew
what was happening, within the quiet Senate cham
bers in the Union ballroom.
This year's administration can be soundly con
demned for their communication failures within
the Senate and within the University community.
Unfortunately the Senate is only now beginning to
realize their shortcomings, and the damage has
been done.
Probably the saddest consequence of the Sen-
ate's breakdown in communications is that few peo
ple will ever believe that this was the most produc
tive and progressive year that Senate has had and
it was.
The Hst of accomplishments is very impres
sive when viewed as a whole. Senate sponsored or
co-sponsored Vietnam Week, World in Revolution,
the Dmg seminar, Model UN, a much more signifi
cant roster than in the past
The amount of legislation and good constructive
action taken is most significant the disciplinary
procedures bill, the massive educational reforms
proposed, the publication board investigation, pro
posals for revising the advisors system, the Stu
dent Academic Freedom committee, the investiga
tion launched into racial discrimination in housing
and in Greek systems and the Special Projects com
mittee which supported such campaigns as the min
imum standards housing code.
But probably one of the most important bills
will prove to be the communications bill passed
last week. If the bill is carefully enacted next year
senators will be available to their constituents
more frequently and their committee work will be
made more public. The days of the quietly running
senator are over.
April sees
resistance
(CPS)-Following is a cal
endar of anti-war events
scheduled for April:
April 3 Draft resistance
demonstrations in major
cities in which young men will
turn in and burn their draft
cards.
April 7 Martin Luther
King's poor people's cam
paign begins in Washington
with the possibility of some
accompanying antiwar dem
onstrations. April 15 The last day to
file income taxes. The War
Resisters League is urging
opponents of the war not to
pay their taxes or at least
that part which supports the
war.
April 15-16 "Academic
Days of Conscience" called
by Resist, the group that has
been encouraging young men
to resist the draft. Demon
strations are exoected at 400
campuses and will include a
commemorative service for
American and Vietnamese
troops killed in Vietnam.
April 21-30 "Ten days to
shake the empire," a series
of local demonstrations and
organizing efforts against the
war, sponsored primarily by
Students for a Democratic
Society.
April 25 International
student strike called by 900
student activists and co-ordinated
by the Student Mobiliza
tion Committee in New York.
At least 100 U.S. campuses
are expected to participate
plus student; in foreign coun
tries. April 27 Nationwide dem
onstrations against the war in
at least 12 major cities, spon
sored by the fifth Avenue
Peace Parade Committee.
Dan Looker
Take it away
Democrats
The placidity displayed by students toward the
elections next week is not surprising but it is fright
ening. Many of the students who are running for
face are aaknown and the number of incumbent
senators running is pathetically small. Because a
candidate is earmarked with a party signature af
ter his name it Is not automatically qualify him a
I prospective senator.
: A careful study of the candidates will show that
. cUseounang party lines is necessary if the most ouali-
5 tied senators are to be elected.
: .Thet Daily Nebraskan has not endorsed a fun
s.ate of candidates. The practice of coin flipping
has always proved futile in the past and this is pre-
j u, hum-u lucumpeieni students be
come elected.
The students who have been endorsed have
proved themselves not only efficient and organized
as the usual platitudes go but outstanding people
who understand the campus and Its problems and
who nave the leadership abilities to solve them.
The foDowing candidates have been endorsed
Business Administration: Tom Morgan, Tom VTiese
Teachers College-Curt Donaldson, Carole Maas.
fcnsmemng and Architecture Bill Cbaloopka, Arts"
and Sciences-Jim Humlicek, Dave Landis, Mary
VLT' Kifk RuMe,1 Dhlne Tbeisen, Mar
garet Van Geve, Bob Zncker.
Cheryl Tritt
yBMmammmmmmmmmmatmmmmam
Campus Opinion j
iear Editor:
In reply to the editorial dealing with Senator
Kennedy's speech expressing his views of agricul
ture. 1 believe there
who were interested in what the Senator had to say
concerning his agriculture policy.
Whether the people of this state or nation like
It or not agriculture is the largest single industry
as wej as the largest single consumer of raw and
manufacture:! goods in the United States.
40 per cent of the jobs in the U.S. are directly
or indirectly related to agriculture. I believe agri
f"ltu" e basic reason why this country enjoys
the highest standard of living of any country of the
world.
I think it is about time the people of this country
quit complaining about agriculture and instead cup
port it
1 thought all Senator Kennedy's views were rea
sonable, wll accepted, and especially appropriate
to his audience of students at the University of Ne
braska. A land grant university supported primarily
by a state where agriculture is by far its largest in
dustry. Sincerely
Kent Anderson
Editors Note: This paper
was written by the author,
John DeFraln, to explain
why he boycotted an hour
exam. The professor later
told the class that the pa
per had convinced him to
change his methods. The
professor now plans to let
the students give themselves
the grade that they think
they deserve at the semes
ter's end.
If one accepts David
Hume's argument that be
cause everything has a cause
there can be no free will,
then I think it follows that the
notion of grading one for his
scholarly efforts is absurd. If
one's behavior is determined
by external factors of heredi
ty and environment, as many
psychologists believe, then
praise or blame does not log
ically follow.
Students differ widely in
educational background; it
hardly seems fair to put one
from Harlem up against one
from barbecue-pit suburbia
fwhen the standards of meas
urement are of a middle-class
genre). One study has shown
that ghetto children oft-times
score low on tests simplv be
cause they do not und"-stand
the words The New Remib
llc had a quiz for ghetto kids
that I miserably flunked.
Rcw2rdir,g a midde-ciass
student for excelling when
his background has all t h e
cards stacked in his favor,
and punishing (that is what
grades are) the slower stu
dent, makes as much sense
as having me race Jessie
Owens in Berlin-1936 and beat
ing me 20 times with a whip
Trhen I come out 40 yards be
hind in the 50-yard dash.
When one works to his ca
pacityand who is to s a y
when he is not why punish
him?
But then 'here wRl be the
argument that backgrounds
aside, some students are just
plain lazy; grades serve as a
stimulus. A. S. NeCl (Sum
merhCl) suggests that no one
Is really lazy; they just lack
interest in the work.
And he continues to argue
that if one is not interested
in a task, one will not team.
This makes sense. If I do not
want to learn trigonometry, I
will not learn It. If I really
want a good grade, I proba
bly will memorize the raeth
ods the night before the test
(learn to "juggle figures," as
a friend of mine says he
passed chemistry) and forget
them soon after.
Maybe one learn, the stuff
for as instant and forgets it
AF or why grading fails
the instant after the re?ure1
tation session (test). Nothing
gained, really. Or, one could
be interested in the subject,
and with this internal moti
vation ( grades are an exter
nal motivation), he will learn
what he wishes to, ignore the
rest. If he thinks he needs it,
he will remember.
The point being that people
remember only what they
use. Any attempts by teach
ers to the contrary are fruit
less, and the argument of
grades as a motivator is de
stroyed if students want to
learn the material in the first
place.
Maybe a better way to look
at the problem would be to
ask, exactly what is the use
of grades in our society? This
brin?s up the question, what
is the purpose of education?
Ey our society's definition,
education could not have
much to do with happiness;
with the high rate of student
suicides it is obvious life in
the multiversity is not much
fun. Maybe the rewards of
higher education (!) will in
crease one's happiness, but
the pursuit of knowledge as
it is today cannot give much
satisfaction, according to the
barons of education, for with
out grades no one would
study.
With the emphasis on letter-grades
and gold stars
and Phi Beta Kappa keys as
a higher end than knowledge
(can this not be true when
one's thoughts are graded by
percentage points), the vir
tue of contemplation is re
duced to an absurdity.
I think grades do not meas
are what one knows; mere,
tbey show bow much guts one
has. The people I am ac
quainted with who get fantas
tic grades may be smart
most of them are but this Is
irrelevant. Their primary
characteristic unanimously is
a tremendous ability to fol
low orders, dig. dig. dig. read.
read, and read more stuff
that tbey could not care less
about.
To me, they appear to be
masochists. But there is meth
od to their madness: in a few
years, they will be the people
who will count in society, the
in crowd (2.7 TV sets, 1.4 before-dinner
martinis, a Ca
maro). They will have prov
en that they know something,
but more so that they can fol
low. Ask any student and he will
tell you that probably four
out of his five courses are
disasters. He has zero inter
est, zero motivation. Some
one told him to take the
course; he does so if he
wishes to graduate.
It is the potential PBK, the
student with guts, who crams
all the worthless (to him) in
formation into his brain. The
others will scratch through
any way they can (88 are
not against cheating at NU).
I think one must throw out
all of his idealistic notions of
education when it comes to
our schools in reality. Learn
ing to think, preparing for
life, developing individual
ism, happiness, what-have-you
foreet it.
Ronald Reagan's definition
fits the situation perfectly:
the university's purpose is to
perpetuate the existing sod
ety. And the existing society
needs docile, hard-working
people (do not attribute this
to the governor) who can al
low orders "stupid bloody
tuesday men," la the words
of the Beatles.
If universities were to pro
duce thinking individuals, so
ciety would be in trouble:
Henry David Thoreau sinply
would not take cigarette butts
out of Coca-Cola bottles, or
advertise "N e w-Iinproved
Gleam" on the TV tube.
If one is not predisposed to
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individualism and an un
shackled search for knowl
edge, the present system is
swelL But I think it carries
with it the seeds of its de
struction. We cannot go back, but al
ways must be moving for
ward. But without fresh
ideas, stagnation is inevita
ble. Mass-men (with apolo
gies to Ortega Y Gasset) just
do not cut the mustard. The
great ideas common to o u r
time were in the minds of
only a few Individuals not
long ago. But grades stile in
dividualism. What if we did not have
grades? First of all, corpora
tions would have to spend a
lot of money making up tests
for job applicants that univer
sities have been doing for
them for free. Tough darts.
Second, students might
start thinking their own
thoughts, instead of repeating
professors'.
Students might not study
per se so much, for study is
to be abhorred. They would
be learning, but it would be
fun.
This reminds me of a
speech Konrad Lorenz de
scribed in On Aggression: a
group of scientists was honor
ing a noted member for h i s
achievement; and the fell cw
told them praise was silly.
He did what he did, not o u t
of the goodness of his heart,
but because he had fun doing
it If it wasn't fun, be would
not have done it, be explained.
Many potential PBKs
would be out drinking beer
instead of booking. But that
does not matter, for with the
elaborate system of rewards
and punishments taken out of
the schools, a great revolu
tion in our whole society
would be at hand.
The thinkers, the seekers
would be sought. It would be
ever-changing, reform-minded
society in which yes-men
would not be needed.
With men free to explore
their own minds, dignity
would become an element of
student-life.
The grading system is a
huge, repugnant game: the
hapless players are forced to
play or else they lose t h e
chance of gaining the glories
our society has to bestow;
they play by the instructor!
rules, on his field, using his
playing equipment with h i m
as the only member of the
audience; and, then, he has
the audacity to be the only
referee he, wit hardly
knows me, tells me what I
axn worth.
For the last few weeks the usual headline stories
Vietnam and racial unrest have been shoved into
the inside pages of newspapers. In their place the
front pages have been covered with names and ini
tials LBJ, Nixon, RFK names of people who were
doing a lot of talking about Vietnam and racial un
rest Political speculation ran rampant on editorial
pages and in television broadcasts, and much of it
turned out to be wrong. Politics has been in the
news so much that even this psyched-up liberal po
litical columnist is getting tired of it all.
Sure, there's still plenty to speculate about. But
I really dont know what Hanoi will do next; I don't
know what's happening to LBJ'i ratings in the polls
now; nor could I tell yon how Bobby and Gene will
be getting along next week. If most ef the other
political columnists in the U.S. were honest with you,
tJsey would admit they dont know either.
Since speculation has become so common these
days (and so much has been happening that it would
probably be wrong anyway) let's pause and look
back for a moment.
't that lAnff DfJrt whpn th lQfift WtiAn
aw vtcaaii - ivh mow -
was considered to be a farce. It would be an empty
choice between Johnson and Nixon. No one would
dare oppose Johnson then McCarthy entered the
race. But of course Gene didn't have a chance; then
he nearly won in New Hampshire. Kennedy would
never oppose Johnson; he'd wait until 1972, right?
Wrong again. He was branded as an opportunist
but he's a major contender anyway.
Then last Sunday everything fell apart. Presi
dent Johnson dropped out of the race and we all
lost our scapegoat. Now the war in Vietnam may
be coming to an end. Who knows what will happen
in another year? Maybe there'll be a pro-American
coup in Hanoi.
For a liberal, the stories ii the papers these
days are dream-like fables. There's almost nothing
to complain about any more.
Who do we have to thank for all this? It's hard
to believe, but the answer is the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party is the only party which has
openly debated the issues, the only one which has
offered the people a real choice. This sounds like
a Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner speech, but this
year it's true. On top of that, an incumbent Demo
cratic president capitulated to the will of the people
last Sunday.
The Democratic Party is really no bettter than
the Republican Party. But for some reason the Re
publicans never pick their best man. The Republi
cans probably have a longer list of promising young
politicians. s
Men like Hatfield, Lindsay, and Percy hold a
great deal of promise for the GOP. The Republicans
also are the only party with a realistic contender
for the first Negro president Edward Brooke But
mstead of men like these, they pick losers. Nelson
JrCoeAer wa once Promising progressive for
the GOP, but he is aging, and 1968 may be the last
time he will even be considered.
Once again, it seems that the Democrats win
be the most vital party in American politics.
John Reiser
With Us Always
A good man is dead.
Dr. Martin Luther King Joins the list of martyrs
SAS&! " - - &
Justice Holmes said that cor age was the price
of liberty. Dr. King personified courage. He had
spoken before of the dangers in what he was doing
for his country. But he went on. And so must we.
I remember watching en television as he ad
dressed the "March on Washington" rally fa
1963. In the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial, be
said that America bad given the black man a check
marked "freedom, equality and epportnnity," but
that the check had come back marked "insufficient
funds."
The unfinished business surviving Dr. Martin
Luther King is for America to honor that check.
He was, of course, more than a civil rights
leader. He was an example for all humanity His
Nobel Peace Prize was but a recognition of the
non-violence which was his trademark. In a time
marked by increasing use of violence, he was stead
fast in his adherence to non-violence and that's what
I mean by an example for all humanity.
T irhP tt ,wor Prt of all U that a man who
lived by non-violence should perish as a result of
senseless violence.
One man, probably, pulled the trigger, but many
ethers loaded the gun. Hatred, vicious scar en the
face ef America, killed this good man as surely as
a bullet Toe large a part ef this nation nourished
that hatred.
To. those who still today think that the
work Dr. King started will end with his death let
the word go out: The struggle which he served-,
the jtruggie for the digniiEd tS of ITmtZ
the conscience of America will continue. More will
come to succeed Martin Luther King, Jr He did
not live or die in vain. '
Te say that anyone could repUee bhn would be
to tea a great untruth, but we hall try to carry o
We shall overcome. ' Bn
To say that he wffl be missed la the greatest
understatement "
He shall be mourned wherever and whenever
men of fMdffl gather. In death, it is possible to
say Si uui goou and uooiy man, Martin Luther
King, that he shall with us alwayVbe.
For that ws may be Ffftfl.
