The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, April 12, 1968, Page Page 2, Image 2

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The Daily Nebraskan
Friday, April 12, 1963
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
Editorials
Commentary
Faculty Senate negates voice
The Student Academic Freedom report and es
pecially one important principle encompassed by
it were grounded this week before they even be
came airborne.
One of the basic clauses in the statement says
that students should have equitable participation
in University policy making decisions which af
fect students' lives.
Tuesday the University (Faculty) Senate by a
2-1 ratio revamped the University's grading system.
The move came as a complete surprise to stu
dents as no one knew that such a change was being
considered let alone ready to be enacted.
No report of the study which promoted the
change was sent to the Student Senate and the mat
ter was never discussed during faculty meetings
attended by students. For example the subject was
never aired in the Student Academic Freedom com
mittee the Faculty Senate Liaison Committee or
the Student Affairs Committee.
The grading system is definitely an Issue which
affects students' lives and it is inexcusable that
the Administration and faculty did not confer with
students before adopting changes in the grading sys
tem. Faculty members have reasoned that the "over-'
sight" was unintentional and that the urgency of
the situation required immediate attention as a
large percentage of freshmen students are on scho
lastic probation and upperclassmen's averages are
on the downswing.
The urgency of the matter should have made
it all the more imperative that the Administration
contact students about the problem. Since students
not the Administration or faculty are the ones
who will be directly and immediately affected by
the change they should have been notified of their
perilous circumstances. Also, students obviously
would have invaluable sources during a study on
the grade situation.
The grading method the Faculty Senate adopted
is not the issue, however, but rather the fact that
the students were denied any representation or voice
in the decision to alter the system.
Although legally the Faculty Senate has the
power to change the grading system, it still re
mains their decision is unrepresentative of the Uni
versity community and should be reconsidered.
Student leaders also feel that the Faculty Sen
ate's decision must be reconsidered. They are cir
culating a petition among the faculty attempting
to schedule a special session of the Senate for April
23-
At this time these students hope to address the
Senate and present alternatives to its decision
and strongly urge its faculty members to recon
sider their action.
These students are to be commended for their
efforts to correct the situation through every avail
able channel The Faculty Senate in turn must re
spond to these attempts by reconsidering their hasty
action.
If students are denied participation in such an
important decision as the grading system, they ob
viously do not have tb6 strong voice many would
like to believe and this is cause for great con
cern. Students have worked too long to reach the
ears of the Administration and Faculty Senate to
allow their efforts to be negated bjf one ill-advised
vote. They shouldn't allow it and they won't
A brainstorm loses its fire
Last semester a brainstorm descended upon
the University.
After the air had cleared it appeared Nebraska
might initiate a totally new concept in education
a Residential College.
When and if the Residential College is incor
porated it will make Nebraska one of the leading
Universities in this area of education.
The Residential College at first would be
geared toward 200-300 selected freshmen. These stu
dents and faculty members would share a dormi
tory unit for living quarters and for classes. .
These students would pursue the same program
of study in such areas a? 'he humanities, social
sciences and the physical wd biological sciences.
The experimental college is an attempt to get
away from rote learning and to make education a
more meaningful experience.
Plans on . the program progressed rapidly until
second semester. In fact some originators of the
program believed the college could be established
by next fall if the Residential College Committee
(composed of faculty, students and administrators)
formulated definite plans 'mmediately.
The Committee in December also asked Chan
cellor Hardin to appoint a "master" to organize
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J oh 11 Reiser
1 GOP gleanings f
One week ago today, a Nebraska write-in
campaign for Nelson Rockefeller was announced
by John Mason, a Lincoln attorney and former
City Councilman.
Last Saturday, a Lou Harris poll was released
showing the present Republican front-runner, Rich
ard Nixon, trailing all three Democrats Kennedy,
McCarthy and Humphrey.
The urgency of the effort announced by Ma
son should be clear to every Republican. If the
trend shown in the polls continues, as I expect
it will, it is altogether possible that Nixon will
not emerge from the G.O.P. National Convention
with the nomination he covets.
For all their allegicance to Nixon, delegates
to the convention will still be looking for a win
ner and will choose someone else, If the polls make
it absolutely clear that they most.
Thus, it becomes very important that Rocke
feller make a respectable showing in a state which
is conceded to be Nixon's territory. Your help is
needed.
This is to be entirely a grass-roots effort.
There are no large squadrons of professional politi
cians involved, so the committee must seek vol
unteer help, much of it from this campus, where
Phil Rowen, immediate past president of the
Y.R.'s, will head the effort.
People are needed to pass the word that Ne-
nraskans will have a choice in 1968, to put up
signs, to distribute bumper stickers, to man the
telephones.
If you are willing to help, contact Phil Bowen
or send a postcard to me with your name, ad
dress and phone number. I need not tell you that
time is very short, so respond during the Easter
"break. The address is 3791 "D" Street, Lincoln.
Other comments:
. . . Omaha Mayor A. V. Sorensen has pre
dicted he won't be elected as a delegate-at-large
to the Republican National Convention.
I hope the Mayor won't mind my urging yon
to prove him wrong, by casting your vote for
him on May 14th. He is one of Nebraska's finest
public servants and he deserves your support.
(Anyway, Mayor, you've got my vote.)
... IH bet no other department in the Uni
versity can match the political Involvement of
the College of Law this year.
Students James Davis, James DeMars, David
Hill, Mark Plattner, Selwyn Hesse, Bryce Bartu
end John Doyle join professors Wallace Rudolph
and Richard Broude in seeking election as dele
gates to the Democratic National Convention.
Law students James A. Gallant (also college
coordinator for the Rockefeller effort) and J.
James Waldron (also a State Senator) sees spots
as alternates from the third district to the Re
publican National Convention.
Many students are active in campaigns for
Presidential hopefuls. Dan Wherry heads Nebras
ka's "Youth for Nixon" group. Others promote
McCarthy, Nixon, Rockefeller, Kennedy almost
everyone but Wallace. I can't leave out BUI Hard
ing, who is completing a term as secretary of the
flats Young Kepu&iicans.
the College by next fall. He was never appointed.
Then the Committee drafted its first plan for
the Residential College about six weeks ago and
sent it to Vice Chancellor Merk Hobson's office for
revision and approval.
And there it has collected dust for over a month.
It is understandable that the vice chancellor
is overburdened and his time severely limited. Per
haps then he should step down from his position
as chairman of the Residential College Committee
and turn it over to someone who has time to de
vote to the project.
It appears now that too much time has been
wasted to have the College ready for next falL
The first draft hasn't even been approved and fac
ulty most be hired, brochures and catalogues pro
cessed, programs planned and facilities readied.
Professor Robert Knoll, a member of the Resi
dential College Committee has estimated that 15
to 20 per cent of the students would be interested
in participating in a residential college. This num
ber is significant enough tc warrant more atten
tion to the project than has been given in recent
weeks. The Committee's proposals for the program
should be completed soon to insure a Residential
College at least by the year 2000.
Cheryl Tritt
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Campus Opinion
Dear Editor:
Many thanks to the Nebraska Union for giv
ing us tie opportunity to hear the Chicago Little
Symphony last Sunday evening. This fine orches
tra gave wholly delightful performances of works
ranging from J. C. Bach's "Sinfonia in B Flat
Major" to Igor Stravinsky's "Danses Concertan
tes.'' As a member of the large and appreciative
audience, I wondered only why the Union Ball
room was not filled to capacity for such superb
entertainment We should invite this orchestra to
return as soon as possible next year.
Let us hope that the Nebraska Union will
continue to give us as varied and enjoyable pro
grams in the arts as we have been fortunate to
experience during the past year.
A. Robin Bowers
Dear Editor:
The Negro is not asking for much. He is ask
ing only for equal opportunity. Equal opportunity
has been offered to relatively few Negroes in the
past. Higher education can do much to change
this situation by educating the deserving Negro.
You can help bring about this change. If you
agree that closing the "educational gap" is one
way towards peaceable settlement of racial prob
lems, send ten dollars or more to the college or
university of your choice. Label your contribution,
"Martin Luther King Scholarship Fund." The
school administration will see that it used ap
propriately to help a Negro obtain a college edu
cation. This change in educational status-in train
ing Negro leaders will do much to stimulate sub
sequent social change. Mail in your dollars today.
Paul A. Hartman
Professor of Bacteriology
Iowa State University
Daily Nebraskan
April U. W
lmd Haas nastaje raid at UaaOn. Me.
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Joseph AIsop
Growing lack of
enemy ammunition
r- South Vietnam It is like
the Sherlock Holmes mystery
of the dog that did not bark.
This crowded, busy LZ (load
ing zone), a hive of feverish,
vulnerable activity, as the
headquarters of all the fierce,
swift power of the 1st Air
Calavlfy Division, sent to re
lieve Khe Sanh.
The target, then, is rich.
All about it, too, are high,
gnarled peaks where one may
be certain North Vietnamese
forward observers now lurk,
and the place is within easy
range of the North Vietnamese
big guns, dug deep into caves
across the Laos border at
Coroc. Yet from early morn
ing until late afternoon, LZ
Stud has as yet received only
a single badly aimed 130-mm
shell.
Despite all that has been
written about infernos of in
coming artillery, moreover,
precisely the same mystery
(and a very nice mystery it
is) has bang over Khe Sanh,
not to mention the long string
of almost equally vulnerable
Marine bases, linked by the
totally vulnerable Route 9,
that runs eastward along the
DMZ.
In the 10 weeks from Jan.
21 through March 30, Khe
Sanh actually received an ave
rage of less than 192 artillery
rounds a day, and Route 9
and the other bases took a
daily average of less than a
third the number of rounds
turned on Khe Sanh.
To give a simple measure,
a single U.S. division, the
hard - fighting 1st Infantry,
commonly fires 3,000 rounds
a day, and in tight spots.
Big Red One's artillery has
reached the rate of more than
3,000 rounds an hour. Yet the
North Vietnamese artillery
tubes are there no doubt
about it so the mystery is,
in effect, why the dog has
barked so very, very rarely.
There can be no real doubt
about the answer. The North
Vietnamese commanders are
neither lunatic nor incompe
tent. Hence, the first part of
the real agony of Khe Sanh
must have been the agony
of Gen. Vo Nguyen Glap and
his subordinates, with all their
powerful artillery laboriously
put in p 1 a c e, with concen
trated targets so temptingly
exposed them, but with not
nearly enough ammunition
stocks to maintain a serious
rate of fire.
There were three reasons,
obviously, for this strange
state of affairs, which must
have been so excruciating for
Giap. The first and most ba
sic was certainly the grim
constrictior of all the enemy
supply lines by our northern
bombing. The second reason,
perhaps; was a higher logisti
cal priority accorded to pro
viding more advanced wea
pons for enemy units all over
South Vietnam in preparation
for the Tet offensive.
As for the third reason, it
leads into the second part of
the real agony of Khe Sanh.
In the three months since the
new year, our air effort
around Khe Sanh perimeter
has caused just under 5,000
secondary explosions, which
always mean ammunition
lost to bombing plus nearly
2,000 observable secondary
fires, which also means bad
trouble for some sort. Here,
one must add, rather than in
the body count by the Khe
Sanh defenders is the best real
measure of the toll taken of
the besiegers of Khe Sanh.
It is gruesome, but It is only
realistic to note that it is in
finitely easier to damage a
human body than to touch off
a bombing of ammo. One can
only admire the uncomplain
ing endurance of the N o r t h
Vietnamese soldiers who real
ly did experience infernos of
Incoming of every sort, from
our artillery to the brutal B52
strikes that often kin by mere
concussion, starting heavy in
ternal hemorrages even if no
slight flesh wound is inflicted.
What the true enemy toll
at Khe Sanh may have been,
it is terrible to guess. The
siege of Con Thien (which
caused another homeside pan
ic six months ago, remem
ber?) was broken in two short
weeks, mainly by B52 strikes
on the three regiments of the
North Vietnamese 324-B Divi
sion that bad surrounded the
position. In 14 days, those reg
iments are now known to have
suffered 3,000 serious casual
ties. At Con Thien, to be sure,
the besiegers were in rather
open ground, hard to dig into,
wheras at Khe Ssnh they were
able to tunnel deep into the
mountain sides. Yet there are
other measures. At Lang VeL
for instance, a North Vietna
mese master sergeant and as
sistant platoon leader from
the 66th Regiment of the 304th
Division chose to defect to
our side.
This man reported that his
regiment had been twice deci
mated, once by a B-52 strike
that caught the outfit in the
open while moving up toward
Khe Sanh, and once again in
the earlier fight at Khe Sanh
Tillage. That was when the
full siege was beginning. La
ter reports of fearful enemy
losses have come from the
Bra tribespeople who used to
live and hunt in the Khe Sanh
region and had to flee to the
sdege.
gpnmimraHnmimn
1 Dan Looker I
EE H
And they built
many large cities .
"Let no man take away our liberties . . . let's
preserve our freedom to kUL" Pat Paulsen on
firearms restrictions.
"The gap between the median income of white
and Negro workers had been widening since 195L
In 1964 automation was wiping out some 40,000
unskilled and semi-skilled jobs a week. . .
The rate of unemployment among Negroes
ran twice that among whites. None of these acute
problems was essentially touched by the Civil
Rights bill (of 1964) . . ."The Strange Career
of Jim Crowe by C. Van Woodward.
The word this week is INADEQUATE and
that's going to be It for quite a while. When it
comes to the problems in oar cities President
Johnson, Congress, Robert Kennedy, Eugene Mc
Carthy, and the American liberals are inadequate.
President Johnson has let his domestic pro
grams stagnate, has lost control of Congress, and
let the war drag on until a dangerously late hour.
Both Kennedy and McCarthy have not said
enough about civil rights programs. Now that
Johnson is no longer in the race and is apparent
ly working toward a negotiated settlement in Viet
nam, we are entitled to bear more from both
men on urban problems. Neither of them can now
nse Johnson or Vietnam as a scapegoat for the
cause of their campaigns.
The liberals, including campus activists, liave
also proved to be somewhat disappointing jto those
who are genuinely concerned about human rights.
Most of them are just as "fashion-conscious"
as other people. Four or five years ago it was
fashionable to be involved in civil rights demon
strations. These days it is the vogue to wear a
McCarthy button.
The causes of the liberals are vital but liberal
support for them is sporadic.
The campus liberals verbally support civil
rights. But where were they this week when a
group of students picketed the Lincoln Board of
Realtors for their stand against open housing?
Where have they been for years when organiza
tions such as People-to-People and Nebraska In
temational Association try to make foreign stu
dents (many of whom are African Negroes) feel
welcome here?
There was a ray of hope for civil rights sup
porters when McCarthy appeared in Lincoln this
week He said at a breakfast Thursday morning
that the emphasis of the presidential campaign is
shifting. In the new spirit of the campaign he
was more specific on his urban policies.
. a P"" conference the day before, McCar
thy had recommended building housing projects
for the poor in the circumferential areas of cities
the areas where industry is now locating. This
would be a step toward breaking np the ghettoes.
it is also one of the most fundamental differ
ences between his policies and those of Kennedy.
thP wt!.d7.Mal frwwd bringing industry into
r S?2l TUcJ to ta direct opposition
to McCarthy's. Kennedy's solution has tti advan
tage of being easier to implement ssd of being a
more rapid solution at a time when speed to of
the utmost importance.
Id J!irY,.1SVrofM 'W to be more
idealistic and it is the final step which must not
be avoided-breaking up the ghetto.
Both Kennedy and McCarthy are men who,
would return the nation to the course which John
son's Vietnam policy tragically delayed. And there
is no question that either would be better than
Nixon. But they will need to be more specific.
Next week I will outline what needs to be
done and it is amazing hew little either candi
date has said about this. The following week, afts?
attempting to decipher Kennedy's and McCarthy's
urban programs and after evaluating their past
records, and their probable abilities to Implement
themI will make an endorsement.