Summer Nebraskan
No. 7
Fourth Party Hopes
To Balance Ballot
Tuesday, July . 30, 1968
spires on me name ;
The newly-formed Nebraska
Peace and Freedom Party (NPFP)
hopes to balance the state's politi
cal spectrum.
Provided that the party's conven
tion is successful (according to
Nebraska statute it must be held
by Aug. 26) NPFP will give an
alternative to George Wallace's
American Party on the right, Tom
McCarthy said, field organizer for
the national movement.
In fact, he continued, NPFP
should be the answer to those
"disenchanted Democrats" who
now support Minnesota Seantor
Eugene McCarthy if his bid for
the presidential nomination fails
this August.
"The movement behind Sen.
McCarthy was actually a disen
chantment with the established
political system," he said. '"As the
Democratic Party fails the move
ment, these people will want some
alternative.
And Tom McCarthy sees ( this
alternative in the NPFP.
The Peace and Freedom Partv
is an outgrowth of the California
iborn Peace and Freedom Move
ment, organized to "unify the
movements struggling for social
justice, and to create for them a
focus and a political expression,"
according to a policy statement by
national party lieterature
Liberation of the black man
from the bonds of white society
and an end to the war in Vietnam
are the two over-riding issues on
the party's platform, but the group
also has strong statements on the
current national tax structure,
labor movements, education and
urban affairs.
Background
The party was born Jan. 2, 1968,
a culmination of a registration drive
to bet on the California primaiy
and presidential ballots. It needed
67,000 signatures to qualify; it
registered 105,100.
Following the announcement that
the party would go national, news
media speculated that the
presidential ticket would be headed
by Martin Luther King Jr., with
Dr. Benjamin Spock his vice presi
dential running mate. With King
dead, the spotlight turned to more
militant blacks: Dick Gregory, who
made a University of Nebraska
off a verbal battle between state
officials and the university, and
Eldridge Cleaver.
Cleaver is a leader in the Black
Panther movement, a militant
black liberation group.
The Black Panthers and the
Peace and Freedom Party formed
a coalition shortly after the na
tional movement began, to enable
"joint action on specific projects
between the two autonomous
organizations, whose goals and in
terests are similar but not iden
tical." The Nebraska organization ;s
working with the Black Panther
group in Omaha, focusing on
gaining support in that city's black
ghetto.
"Coalitions are developed on a
local basis," McCarthy said' "since
there is no directive from the na
tional party to form the wTiite-blaek
structure."
McCarthy was sent to Nebraska
trom San Francisco after
individuals in Omaha requested
that the machinery to organize the
PFP here be set in motion. He
will be in the state for at least
six weeks but he may stay longer
to help run the national campaign
effort.
The Peace and Freedom Party
joes have some contacts at the
Univesity in Lincoln. Jerome
Drakeford, an NU physics major
from Omaha, has been working
with McCarthy in getting interest
started on campus.
Three meetings have been held
but interest has been slight, ac
cording to Drakeford; he expects
this to change when the regular
sessions begins in September.
"But, it must be pointed out that
this is not just a university
organization," Drakeford said.
"This is a community effort. It is
a grassroots effort to make change
in the political system."
He said that the PFP will work
with existing organizations, such as
the newly-formed Allies of Black
Liberation ABL), to bring local
issues into foucus, especially in the
Malone area.
Issues Needed
Drakeford also reflected o n
previous radical movements at.
NU:
"As an outsider coming to the
University I encountered the re
mains of a Students for a'
Democratic Society (SDS) group
that did nothing but sit in the Union
and drink coffee. They were not
unified. They took the viewpoint
that NU was a lost cause. I thing
all that is needed here are some
issues."
The national Peace and Freedom
Partv convention will be held n
, Ann Arbor. Mich., Aug. 17-18. That
is when the national candidates will
be selected with a slate of cabinet
positions to unrlelie the party pla'
form. The Netoaska convention must
be at'.endl by at least 750 persons
to bec-om? eligible tor the
November ballot., jt will definitely
be held in Omaha. McCarthy said,
but the exact, date and place wil!
be announ ced later.
"We have been gathering support
from throughou Omaha." he sail
"But our primary aim is to get
the Near North Side organized."
McCarthy has termed the Omaha
ghetto "the most ten?e I have ever
seen " He blamed the lack of
leadership for the current situa
tion. He said that the party hopes to
place black candidates on the
ballots for a 'number of position,
including the 1969 mayoralty
race. Party headquarters are at 818
No. 20th St. in Omaha.
14.
t
x
Union Expansion . . .
Initial Moves
JJ
egin
As Cafeteria Opens
A slight touch of embarrassment;
a large amount of pride; and a
bit of impatience.
That is the tone of Allen H. Ben
nett's conversation when he speaks
about the addition to the Nebraska
Student Union building, now near
ing completion. Bennett is director
of the Nebraska Union.
Bennett expressed some embar
rassment when asked when the new
building will be opened:
"That's been the joke of the year.
We had hoped to have the new
cafeteria during the summer
session, with other facilities open
ing as the summer progressed. Butt
we have run into some difficulties."
He explained that contracts for
food service equipment were bogg
ed down during the last few
months, which resulted in the late
opening.
"But, in every aspect, except
time, things are running well," he
continued. "We hope to have 0
to 85 per cent of the interior com
pleted by Sept. 1, or the start of
the fall semester for sure."
Bennett added, that "with ex
tended good-fortune." the air
handling machines should be ready
by Sept. 15.
Bennett feels that the university
"will note with pride" the increas
ed facilities which the $1.3 million
addition will offer.
These include a larger lobby and
main desk area, an expanded main
lounge, added dining areas, new
offices for both Union personnel
and campus organization, a multi
purpose room adjoining the present
ballroom, added lounges on the
upper floors, and larger restrooms.
The total addition encompasses
some 53.000 sq. ft.
Utilization of the new facilities
will be gradual, not an overnight
move, Bennett noted.
The new cafeteria will be opened
on Aug. 5, which will enable the
contractors to begin remodeling
work on the Crib and the existing
cafeteria. By Oct. 15 the new Crib
will open, occupying the space of
the two current dining areas in the
Union.
Decorating Scheme
Furniture, carpeting and
draperies for the main lounge have
been promised for nearly 100 per
cent delivery by Sept. 1, Bennett
said, eo this area should be com
pletely decorated by the opening
of the regular term.
The decorating scheme features
light walls, with dark (brownish
black) carpeting. The furniture will
be upholstered primarily in blues
and greens, with some off-white
chairs. Walnut is the featured
wood-grain.
A focal point in the lounge will
be several antique grandfather
clocks which were acquired from
the university and were restored
for use in the Union.
"These clocks are quite rare, and
we are very pleased that we can
use them in our decorating
scheme," Bennett said.
The centei of the lounge will be
carpeted with a burnt-orange rug.
Large planters will be placed in
this section. The west wall will be
used as a gallery; windows will
be covered with sheer off-white
LPD Is
Topic for
Discussion-
The Lincoln Police Dept. and its
handling of racially orientated
problems will be the topic for this
week's Kerner Report Study-Action
Group.
The group meets at the Methodist
Student Chapel, 640 N. 16 St., at
7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays.
The study group is sponsored by
four campus churches: the
University Lutheran Chapel, United
Ministries in Higher Education, St.
Thomas Aquinas Catholic church
and the MethodH Student Chapel.
Five meetings have been held,'
featuring a number of community
leaders discussing the conclusions
of the United States Commission
on Civil Disorders and their . ap
plicability to Lincoln, according to ,
Marian Pauls, a spokesman for the
group.
Other topics have been the Lin
coln Public School system, hiring
practices of various community
businesses and this summer's in
cidents in Lincoln at teen dances
and Municipal Swimming PooL
draperies.
The new cafeteria may shock
some of the Union's regular
patrons, Bennett said. It features
a "split-line." The customer may
have to decide whether to use the
"express-line" which will feature
a short-order menu, or go to the
larger lines for complete meals.
Because of the latest equipment,
and the added space, the Union
will be able to expand its present
menu.
The cafeteria is designed to han
dle 1200 persons per hour, "so we
may have someone with a whip
ushering patrons through," Bennet
quipped. However, the area
formally called the "small gallery"
has been designed to handle any
overflow from the cafeteria line,
if traffic is heavy, he said.
Some Delay
' Two areas.though, will not be
readv for immediate occupancy
this fall.
One is the multi-purpose room,
which is designed to h a n fl 1 e
overflow from the ballroom, as a
dance hall in itself (it has a
portable stage which can be set
up in three places) or divided into
seven conference rooms.
The other is an area now housing
many campus organizations on
third floor. That area is also being
remodeled, and it will be completed
sometime in Oct., also.
"This does mean that some
organizations are without an of
fice," Bennett said which will
necessitate some reassignment and
reallignment on our part."
He hopes that all student groups
will be resettled with a minimum .
of bother for that temporary
period.
The onlv room . which will not
chanee is the ballroom.
"That is a complete room in itself
now," Bennett said, "The sound is
right; it is the right size; you just
couldn't do any thing to better it."
It is anticipated that this ex
pansion project, conceived over two
years ago, will be the last addition
to the main Union building.
"Should other Union-type
facilities be needed on the City
Campus," he said, "they would
likely be built near the dorm com
plexs, or near the western edge
of the campus, near classrooms."
Continued on Page 4
A drive through summertime Nebraska. Green hills,
speckled with the blues and whites and pinks of wildflovver
blossoms. The yellow-tastled com sways in the brisk July
breeze. (" The Defense Department announced today that another
Nebraska, soldier has been killed in Vietnam . . .") A ground
squirrel darts across the highway; a pheasant fearlessly struts
along the road. ("Czech leaders prepare for the upcoming show
down talks while Piussian troops are amassing near the Czech
border . . .") On a distant hill a church spire seems like a sky
scraper against the horizon. A tiny Nebraska hamlet comfortably
rests in a grove of elm trees. ("Cleveland's mayor Carl Stokes
withdrew the last of some twelve hundred national guardsmen
from the troubled areas of that city . . .") Click.
Semantics Problem Irritates
Several NU Repertory Actors
"Theatre of Protest" that has
been the stigma of this summer's
experiment in repertory at the
University of Nebraska, according
to a n u m b e r of the company's
actors.
The three plays in production -"Eh?"
"The Hostage," and "Ser
jeant Musgrave's Dance" are
going into their final week of
performance at Howell Theatre.
Billed as a "Theatre of Protest."
(because "every play is a protest,
or it wouldn't have been written,"
Dallas Williams, director of the NU
Repertory, said) the plays have not
drawn large audiences; only "The
Hostage," a play about an Irsh
terrorist group during the Irish
Revolution, has had consistently
large audiences.
"This is not explicit protest, at
least the way most people define
the word," said Stephen Gaines,
one of the company's actors. The
University community did not take
to this line-up of plays, he thought,
because it sounded too much like
mere lecturing.
"The point is," added Bill
Sysmanski, who plays a lead in
"Eh?" and has parts in the other
two plays, "that anyone can come
to our plays and enjoy each one.
There are serious points in each,
but I don't think it is entirely pro
test" Bill Lacey, an actor who also
has three different roles for the
summer, said that, in ''The
Hostage," for instance, the typical
viewer probably would not know
what Brendan Behan, the author,
is protesting, "so why worry about
it?"
Barbara Bowman added that
"about the only protest of the
summer came from the actors
during rehearsals: 'No I won't do
that!"
But, aside from the fact that
many of the NU actors feel the
audiences could have been larger,
all think the summer's expriment
in repertory has been beneficial.
For Susan Nohr, a recent
graduate of NU who returned after
teaching in New York, it meant
a chance to act with former ac
quaintances again:
"The repertory pulled together
everyone from the last six years,
so we knew each other and get
along fine. This means a lot.
because we all trust each other
on the stage. We react well, as
a group."
For a high schoul teacher, like
Inside You Will Find:
ROCKY IN '68? An NU grad makes an impassioned plea to the
GOP to nominate Nelson Rockefeller , Page 2
AAU SWIM MEET: Lincoln hosts the AAU Swimming Champion
ships this week. See events schedule Page 3
ETV SCHEDULE: Che Guevera and Regis Debray are topic on
NET Journal tonight Page 4
herself, Miss Nohr appreciates the
new techniques she has learned
from the company's directors, such
as improvisation used during the
opening days of rehearsal in "The
Hostage." The director, Mrs. Nan
cy Cole, had the cast read the play
the first day, but for the next few
rehearsals, most of the time was
spent making up stories and situa
tions for the characters in the play.
Miss Bowman said that the most
important thing she has learned is
taking an "I don't care attitude
on the stage."
"This was my biggest part in
an NU theatre production," she
explained. "At first I was very
nervous but now I can react on
the stage without having to worry
what the audience is thinking."
Lacey, whose three roles each
demanded a separate dialect, said
he did not ever have any problem
mixing the plays together during a
performance, but he did experience
problems during the opening weeks
of rehearsals.
"Three rehearsals in one day for
three separate plays got confus
ing," he said. Szymanski voiced the
same opinion.
Szymanski also noted a
difference in the style of his direc
tor in "Eh?", Dr. William Morgan.
He directed "King Lear" this
spring in which Szymanski also had
a lead part.
"In 'Lear' Dr. Morgan's direction
summer he was able to spend mora
large cast," he said. "But hi
was not as personal because of the
the first day, but for the next few
time with each of us because there
were only six. This was a great
boost for me."
Continued on Page I
