UNIVERSITY OP NEW
JUL I9G3
Tuesday, July 9, 1968
Summer Nebraskan
No. 1 5
Campus May Hold
Future of Theatre
i
Oasp tie
Language House Strives
To
"Ware ich nur zu hause," said
the University of Nebraska German
language student from Lincoln.
"Oh, oui, Jacques," his French
counterpart agreed.
"Pero, aprendamos mucho,"
responded a student studying
Spanish.
This hypothetical conversation
could have taken place a month
ago when 16 language students
started a five-and-a-half week
session to study language.
These students are participating
in a program designed to give
students a broader and deeper ap
preciation of the cultural and
sociological aspects of a country
through the study of its language.
Instead of the approach taken
during a regular school session
(class meets once a day, with some
laboratory work designated each
week) the students live together,
speaking, writing, and learning
through the use of the language.
Last year a "French House"
program was inaugurated. This
year Spanish and German were
' added. Most of the students live in a
sorority house on campus, but some
Lincoln students are commuting to
campus and participating in the
program as much as possible.
Modern Approach
"This program is the most
modern, most up-to-the minute
device of quality language educa
tion," said Ransom T. Taylor, pro
fessor of German at the University
and head of the language house
program this summer.
Taylor said that this program is
usually referred to as a
"workshop" or an "institute" in
language studies. He said that the
approach dates back to World War
II when large numbers of personnel
were needed to be fluent in
languages. Students were put in a
situation where they had . to use
the language constantly, and were
taught faster, he said.
"The French . House was
reasonably successful last year,"
Taylor said, "so wa. decided to
continue the program by expanding
it. The rate of progress of our
students is phoenomenal."
Taylor cited a number of ex
amples: . - .
"Four girls in this summer's
program could not say a coherent
expression of . more than three
words when they came. They had
had a thorough study of grammar,
but could not converse. After three-
.Bridge
hands and knoiv the
and-a-half weeks, they now speak
fluently, with mistakes of course,
but we are not worried about
mistakes.
"One male student can now
speak with a German neighbor of
his, and was complimented by that
native German for his command
of the language."
6 Credit Hours
Students are earning six credit
hours of language during the sum
mer session, which is equal to an
entire second year of a college
language program. In order to be
eligible for the language house a
student must have had two years
of high school language or two
semesters of a college language.
Students are in class from 8:00
a.m. to 8:00 p.m., but not all of
this time is spent in what would
be called a classroom.
The morning is spent i n
classrooms at Burnett Hall;
originally, all class work was to
take place at the house, but the
lack of air-conditioning
necessitated a move to a cooler
buliding
After lunch, during which only
German, French or Spanish can
be spoken, three hours o f
laboratory work is spent listening
to tapes of conversation music or
literature of the particular country.
Suppertime also is spent in con
versation. It is followed by a
"cultural . appreciation" session.
Films, records, slide-shows,
speakers all are used to present
the most complete picture of a
culture.
"Culture is the core of language
studies," Taylor said, "not the
result. The whole purpose of learn
ing another language is not to ac
quire a new skill, but to broaden
and enrich the student wifo the
benefits of a new culture. .
"Language courses at the
University are taught as
humanities courses, not as a skill,"
he said.
Therefore, he continued, the most
important function of the language
house program is to open the
students' minds to other thoughts
and ideas, not just to learn so
meone else's way o f com
municating. "Language and culture are an
indivisable whole," Taylor em-phazied.
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thoughts of men in
Culture
Culture Gap
Taylor said that the program has
another aim: to help bridge the
culture gap between Nebraskans
(and Americans as a whole) and
the many different cultures of the
entire world.
"Through the study of a foreign
language, an American can become
a broader human being and a bet
ter American," he said, "and the
direct benefit of it all is a better
understanding of the English
language."
Taylor believes that the language
house program is actually fulfilling
the role of the University in a
twofold manner:
First, it gives the state "good-will
ambassadors" who are learning
about other peoples of the world
and who can give a better image
of Nebraska and the United State's
to the rest of the world.
Second, it brings to the people
of the state a knowledge that there
are things being done to continue
the search for excellence in the
field of education.
The program is smaller in size
than had been intended. Hopefully,
twenty students for each language
were to be realized. Taylor also
wanted to encourage high school
students to enroll in the program,
but at the time the University's
program was in its initial stage,
the Lincoln Public School System
was going to have a similar pro
gram of its own.
"But . that program did not get
off the ground," Taylor said, "and
we did not get much publicity in
the school system."
However, there are three high
school students attending the NU
language house this summer.
Aids Conversation
Carol Payne, a recent graduate
of Lincoln Northeast high school,
is a Spanish student this summer.
She is going to attend Pamona
College in Clairmont, Calif., in the
fall where she will major in In
ternational Relations.
"I was afraid . that everyone
would be expected to be fluent in
his language from the beginning," .
Miss Payne said. "But we were
all in the same boat. This is the
best way I know to learn
conversation."
Paula Teigelar, a music and s
elementary education major at NU
from Fremont, agrees. She is stu
dying German.
other lands . . .
-John Masefield
Gap
"I think a language course such
as this should be required." she
said. "I couldn't believe how much
my vocabulary increased. It's not
unlike having a tape recording in
my head: now I can rattle off
idioms at will."
Miss Teigelar will be using her
German for a very practical
purpose this summer. She and her
mother are flying to Germany im
mediately after the summer session
is over to meet her late father's
family in Bremen, whom she has
never met.
"My mother doesn't speak a
word of German," Miss Teigelar
said, "so I will be the crutch."
Mark Johnson, a mathematics
major from Tecamah, will be a
senior next fall and is finishing up
his language requirements this
summer.
"It is much better to learn a
language when you don't have to
worry about other courses,"
Johnson said. Ie is studying
Spanish and hopes to use his
language working in South
America, a place which is "slowly
coming into focus as an important
factor in international affairs."
High School Hobby
Roger Stoltzman read about the
language house in a Lincoln
newspaper. He will be a senior at
Lincoln Southeast high school,
where he has had three years of
Spanish.
"Spanish has become my hobby,"
he said, "and I hope to use it
someday in Mexico. This program
has helped me very much,
especially in conversation."
It is this "marvelous spirit" of
the students, according to Taylor,
that accounts for a "fantastic
meshing of personalities" that has
made the lngauge house a
"smashing success."
Taylor, who came to NU from
the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill two years ago, hopes
to continue and expand the house
next year.
"At this point the program is
a bit expensive," he said, "but it
is worth every penny of it."
Raphael Sanchez heads the
Spanish segment of the program
and agrees with Taylor:
"We can do things with the
students that we can never do with
stddents in a semester. We can
keep him constantly exposed to the
Continued on Page 4
:-'-r--.-srv
The evolution of the University
of Nebraska Theatre into a pro
fessional repertory company is not
a fanciful notion, according to
Dallas Williams, director of NU's
- summer repertory company.
"In fact, within 20 years I foresee
the majority of all major university
campuses having professional
companies, not amateur groups,"
he said. "And I expect Nebraska
to be among the group.
The NU Summer Repertory Com
pany represents a trend that has
been taking place across the United
States within the last eight years,
Williams said. In fact, it is one
step to an ever-occuring pattern
of change in the American theatre.
"After the Civil War, droves of
stock companies swarmed across
the U.S. bringing the theatre to
the people," Williams said. "They
were constantly on the move. It
was itinerary theatre, always
looking for a new place, a new
town. There were some stationary
theatres, but not many."
The stock companies continued
to thrive into the early 19O0's, he
continued, but that was about the
time when New York City's
Broadway began to take root.
"Then producers discovered that
they could run a play for an ex
tended period and the people would
come to them," Williams said,
"which cut down expenses
enormously." The road show was
declining because of the tremen
dous expence and because radio
and the silent film begun to break
into the entertainment field.
During the Twenties Broadway
was king: but there were an
Programs of ABL
Focus on Whites
"Too long blacks have been dying
for liberation while whites have
been signing petitions."
That is one reason David Sallach.
a University of Nebraska graduate
student in sociology, gave for the
formation of the Allies of Black
Liberation (ABL).
ABL is a white orientated group.
At this time there are no black
members, and some feel that there
probably won't be.
"It's part of the new emphasis
on working with one's own group
structure," said the Rev. Hudson
Phillips of the United Ministries in
Higher Education and a founding
member of ABL.
Hopefully, Phillips said, t h e
'group will work radially from the
campus and into the entire white
community of Lincoln.
In a statement of purpose, ABL
has said that "anyone who fails
to actively oppose white racism is
morally culpable for its conse
quence. We see the continued ex
istence of white racism a s
degrading the quality and limiting
the freedom of all our lives."
ABL has two purposes, according
to Sallach, chairman of the group:
"We will lead the fight for white
liberation through a wide-ranging
education program, including a
speaker program from white au
diences and freedom schools for
the people who really need them
People in the white community.
"Second, ABL will attempt to
support the fight for black libera
tion." Initially, the organization i s
Spaceflight
Is Featured
The University of Nebraska, in
cooperation with the National
Aeronautics and Space
Administration, is presenting its
second Centennial Institute:
"Manned Spaceflight, Space
Science-Engineering Interface."
The institute will be held on
Thursday, July 11 with a special
NASA exhibit to be on public
display in the area adjoining the
Nebraska Union Lounge from 8:30
a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Participating in the Institute will
be Dr. Allen D. Catterson, M.D.,
assistant to the director of Medical
Research and Operations at the
Manned Spacecraft Center in
Houston, Tex.; Harold E. Gartress,
manager of the Future Missions
Project Office; and Robert E.
PLAY REVIEWS: NU English professor reviews Howell Theatre
opening plays, calling summer program "best ever" Page 2
INTERFAITH MARRIAGES: NU Journalism student studies the
rising number of interfaith marriages Page 3
ETV SCHEDULE: A look at the Black Theatre and an interview of
Muhammed All dominate the week's viewing Page 4
isolated number of repertory com
panies. It was also in the Twenties when
university theatre began to spring
up, Williams explained, building
new facilities, offering new courses,
setting up new degrees.
The. Depression came and
Broadway suffered; the touring
company nearly died but the
university theatre thrived. The
American Educational Theatre
Association was started and the
theatre became something other
than an extra-curricular activity.
In the next decade summer stock
became popular, the NU professor
explained, because many students
of the theatre wanted professional
experience and did plays with pro
fessional actors and companies.
"Now we see a shift in the
popularity of summer stock,"
Williams explained. "Now students
want to stay on campus to continue
their education but they also want
experience. Thus, the university
repertory has evolved, offering the
student a professional atmosphere
but in an academic setting."
Therefore, he continued, what the
University of Nebraska has done
this summer is not unique to the
theatre world, but a part of a trend.
"And I think that the hope of
the American theatre comes from .
university theatres such as ours at
Nebraska." Williams added.
NU's company of three directors',
22 actors, technicians, make-up
artists, et al, is presenting three
plays this summer. The repertory
is in its second week with over
twenty performances to go.
Continued on Page 3
working with its own membership
of 35 NU students and faculty
members. Meetings of its three
committees (Education. Informa
tion, and Supportive Action) have
centered on methodology,
according to Phillips.
"First we have had to reach
ourselves' he said. "We are seeing
how our programs interact with the
various membersof the group and
how we can improve on each."
Already the education committee
has outlined a series of courses
to be offered next fall in the
Freedom been designated: Black
History, White Racism and The
Black Revolution.
Black History will cover negro
ancestry from "the myth of black
savagery" to the legacy of black
people. Also covered will be black
protest up to 1954, including slave
revolts (A look at Nat Turner) to
the concepts of the National
Association for the Advancement
of Colored People.
The course on White Racism will
center on the pyschological and
economic bases of racism and will
specifically rover its many forms,
from the Ku Klux Klan to de facto
segregation. It will also include in
struction on the effects of white
racism on a society.
The final session will ake a look
at the New Black Revolution,
starting with the civil rights move
ment of the late Dr. Martin Luther
King, the Black Nationalist move
ment of Malcolm X, black power,
and ending with the study of the
Continued on Page 4
Institute
Thursday
Johnson, assistant chief of the
Materials Technology branch of the
Houston complex.
The morning session will be
aimed primarily to the College
Faculty and to graduate students.
The area studied will be "Research
Problems of the Future."
In the afternoon, the program is
designed for high school and junior
college teachers and their students:
"Future of Manned Spaceflight Life
Support, Thrust Systems and
Materials." This program will be
held in Love Library auditorium.
The program was coordinated by
Dr. Frank E. Sbrenson, director
of NU Summer Sessions and Dr.
Donald R. Haworth, chairman of
the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, in cooperation with
the Houston center.
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