VMJVCRSnY OP NEBRJ
LI3RARY
AUG 13 1203
Tuesday, August 13, 1968
Summer Nebraskan
No. 8
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Opinion
Analysis
of the
Author
'68:
A Study of l
Contrasts
e By Julie Morris
(ED.'s NOTE: Miss Morris is a senior in the NU
School of Journalism. She has spent the past two
months in Miami, working for the Miami Herald, and
covered the Republican Convention.)
Miami Beach, Fla. America celebrated another
of its finest hours last week in Miami
Beach. .
The duly chosen representatives
of 27 per cent of our people met
among overstuffed sofas and bar
stools and picked Richard Nixon to
run for President of the United
States.
The delegates came from Kansas
wheat farms, Hawaiian sugar plan
tations and California 'department
stores.
The candidates and their aides came burdened
with data on subjects from the beer preferred by
Delegate Y to the 1 favorite delicacy of Delegate
Z.
Legions of young people came, offering their
services as Rocky girls, Nixon girls, Reagan girls,
ushers, guards and pages in exchange for a ticket
to the convention.
The press came armed with cynicism and im
mediately got to work counting and recounting the
delegate votes for each candidate.
The 1968 Republican National Convention was
gaudy, boisterous, expensive, nerve wracking and
unreal.
I sat in a 12th floor suite at the Fontainebleau
Hotel the evening of the Republican Gala, a $500-a-plate
chicken dinner, and talked with Tom Fox, past
director of the International Volunteer Services
refugee program in Vietnam.
Fox was one of perhaps two dozen independent
political activists who'd come to the Beach hoping
the Republicans would make a few meaningful
gestures.
Fox watched with disgust as competing supporters
of Nelson P.t "''"feller and Richard Nixon paraded,
chanted, danced and contorted in front of the hotel.
"These delegates," he said, "are more concerned
about partying at night and in making sure they
are wearing the correct mod clothing than about
dealing realistically with Vietnam."
Fox's co-worker Stuart Bloch said the Republicans
seemed to be suffering from "a reality gap."
Things seemed most unbelieveable when :
. NELSON ROCKELLER announced that Gov. Ray
mond Shafer of Pennsylvania would nominate him
for president and cited Shaffer's "distinguished"
record "five varsity letters and more than 80
combat missions."
SEN. CHARLES PERCY'S office issued this press
release: "Sen. Charles Percy will visit a Miami ghetto
area Friday at 12:30 p.m. He will talk with the
people and be available for pictures."
RONALD REAGAN told a Georgia caucus "I am
against prejudice. I am against discrimination. I have
been all my life."
THE CONVENTION HALL rocked with roars of
approval when Richard Nixon promised to restore
"law and order" to the land while seven miles away
In Miami black people and law officers reached a
stndoaff in the city's first ghetto riot.
Bev Taylor
A HALF DOZEN anti-war demonstrators were
evicted from the Fountainebleau, convention head
quarters, with the explanation, "The Republicans have
control of the hotel and they don't want to allow
you to stay."
Among the prose that flowed all week at the
convention, the phrases "The 'kind of leadership that
this country so desperately needs" and "forward
looking and positive" came up again and again.
The delegates listened, applauded at times and
retired to hospitality rooms for orange juice, potato
chips, beer and pretzels.
The delegates, their families and guests were
invited to entertain themselves at receptions, brun
ches, luncheons, dinners. midnight snacks, fashion
shows, cocktail parties and on yacht rides all
free, of course.
In the end, they responded to Spiro Agnew's call
and nominated for president "a man to match the
times."
The choice seemingly confirmed a Republican
orator's belief that "America has fallen upon bad
times, indeed."
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Pholo Courtesy ol The Miami Herald
Actually, New Parties Are Nothing New
"We meet in the midst of a nation
brought to the verge of moral,
political, and material ruin. Cor
ruption dominates the ballot box,
the legislatures, the Congress . .
. The people are demoralized . .
. the newspapers are subsidized or
muzzled . . . business prostrated,
our homes covered with mortgages,
labor impoverished, and power
concentrated in the hands of the
capitalists. The fruits of the toil
of millions are boldly stolen to build
up colossal fortunes, unprecedented
in the history of the world. From
the same prolific womb o f
governmental injustice we breed
two great classes, paupers and
millionaires ... A vast conspiracy
against mankind is taking
ossession of the world. If not met
and overthrown at once, it forbodes
terrible social convulsion, t h e
destruction of civilization, or the
establishment of an absolute
despotism."
"Oh, hell," says the moderate
Nebraska political observer of 19G8.
"Those radicals are at it again.'
lie is tiring of the verbage of the
New Left.
"Why can't things be like they
were?" he might ask.
But that long, pompous statement
was not made by the newly-formed
Peace and Freedom Party, which
represents the extreme left of
Nebraska's political spectrum in
this presidential election year. Nor
was it made by The New Party,
the infant party conceived at the
University of Nebraskathis sum
mer, spokesman for the New
Liberalism.
That statement contains excepts
from the Preamble of the Peoples'
Party platform, adopted at an
Omaha convention in 1892.
For, it seems, one of Nebraska's
great political traditions concerns
the rise (and fall) of a multitude
of extraneous party movements.
In fact, at one time, Nebraska
was considered to be part of the
hub of the progressive politics of
the last decade of the 19th Century
and the first of the 20th. With
William Jennings Bryan and
George Norris their leaders, literal
farmers from Nebraska helped to
give America women's suffrage,
the Autrailian ballot, free text
graduated i n c o m e tax , , . and
gave Nebraskans the only complete
public power system in the nation
and a unicameral legislature.
Oddity
But the strangest part of this
story is the fact that Nebraska is
now, at least mentally, considered
a stronghold of what is generally
called conservatism the ten
dency to preserve established in
stitutions or traditions, and the
general policy of opposing change
in them.
(To be coy, it could be possible
to rationalize that Nebraskans, to
be truly conservative, should have
preserved the tradition of being
progressively minded.)
As Walter Johnson said while
addressing the 1951 Nebraska State
Historical Society meeting:
"It is rather ironic, from the
vantage point of history, that the
region which once gave Abraham
Lincoln and liberalism to the
Republican Party, has now become
the section where progressive ideas
must find a most uncongenial
reception."
The tradition of liberialism can
be traced back to the free-soil
and abolitionist movements of the
1850's but one of the most flourish
ing was the Liberal Republicanism
movement of the 1870's.
In 1872 Edward Rosewater. editor
of the Omaha Bee, called for
"reform in the state and the na
tion." Shortly thereafter, the group
formed a coalition with t h e
Democratic Party (Aug. 28. 1872)
and endorced Horace Greeley for
president.
The party platiorm resolved that
"the safety and prosperity of our
;tate demand a radical and im
nediate reform in state govern
ment." It also called for the repeal
of all state statutes which con
flicted with national legislation.
The party suffered defeat that
fall and soon disappeared. But it
is coasidered to have fostered much
of the spirit of reform which
followed during the years.
During this time the Grange
movement was beginning to show
power. Actually, Grangers were
non-political but in principle they
stood for definite political reform.
By 1874 several reform parties
were founded the Independent
Party, the People's Party, Farmer
Labor Party, the Prohibition Party.
Nationally, the Greenback Party,
which supported an eight-hour
laboring day, a graduated income
and opposed land grants to
railroads, was gaining popularity.
In 1876. though, it was a quiet
organization in Nebraska.
Hy 1878, however, a large state
convention was held, supporting a
detailed platform on many of the
aforementioned issues, It, too, died
an early death alter a crushing
defeat.
Continued on Page 6
Lincoln:
A Study of
Similarity
By Wayne Kreuscher
Not all Lincolnites spent last week glued in front
of their television sets watching the Republican Na
tional Convention in Miami.
, Some of them especially supporters of Sen.
Eugene McCarthy's presidential candidacy and pro
ponents of the 19-vote in Nebraska were involved
in their own political activities.
The local McCarthy for President office at 433
So. 13th had a television set tuned in to the convention
during the evenings and occasionally a group would
gather in front of the TV to watch a speech.
But most of the time the McCarthy workers were
too busy planning a rally, writing letters, answering
telephones, addressing envelopes and welcoming
visitors.
The same sort of activity was going on in the
homes and rooms of Lincoln young people who were
outlining a statewide campaign for ratification of con
stitutional amendment No. 1 lowering the voting age
to 19.
More of these young people no doubt were giving
their attention to the TV sets since many of them
are Republicans, but yet they continued discussing
plans and drafting pamphlets at the same time.
The McCarthy fund raising rally and picnic, which
was keeping at least 20 of the workers busy making
plans, is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. in the
Izaak Walton League clubhouse, 5100 No. 48th.
Bill Braun, McCarthy staff coordinator, explained
that the rally-picnic will feature a combo, an art
auction, games for both observers and participants,
food and drinks.
He said the art auction will include nearly 50
paintings and prints along with some sculpture and
pottery work. The art work is being donated by
students and faculty in the University of Nebraska
art department.
Bernard Hart, executive secretary of the National
Auctioneers Association, will be the auctioneer.
Braun said the money raised at the rally will
be used to help finance the Minnesota Democrat's
presidential camoaign.
Planning for the rally was only part of the
McCarthy activitv which was' going on in Lincoln
while the Republicans were choosing a chandidate.
The local McCarthy office is also taking Dart
in the national McCarthy for President petition
drive.
Many of the letters that were being written while
the Republicans were on the TV urged Nebraskans ,
to both sign and circulate a petition.
The petitions, which can only be signed by those
of voting age, said. "Because Senator Eugene
McCarthy is the man who will bring about the changes
America so desperately needs. We the undersigned
endorse his nomination for President of the United
States."
Braun said the Lincoln office has a minimum
goal of 10,000 petition signatures. Letters were also
being sent asking people to write letters supporting
McCarthy's nomination to the Nebraska Democratic
convention delegates.
Office coordinator, Julie Phelps, explained that
they left the Republican Convention on TV while
workers were preparing letters because "every time
a hawkish speech was made, the addressers work
harder."
Miss Phelps noted that several McCarthy fund
raising cocktail parties were also held "around the
Republicans on TV."
Nebraskans For Young Adult Suffrage (NFYAS),
an organization of young people working for the 19-vote
in the state, were holding strategy meetings several
nights of the convention.
NFYAS was formed after the Nebraska
Legislature voted in February 1967 to place on the
Nov. 5 ballot constitutional amendment No. 1 which
if passed would lower the voting age in the state
to 19.
"We watched the convention pretty intently,"
Dave Pieseter, 20, NFYAS chairman, explained, "but
earlier In the evening before the TV coverage started
and between speeches we were able to discuss a
great deal."
Piester, who has been working on the University
of Nebraska freshmen oreintation staff this summer,
scid NFYAS Is currently laying plans for a statewide
campaign.
He said the group plans to have district chairmen
Continued on Page 5
Sorenson's 20 Years Have Changed NU's Summer Look
He has been director of the
University of Nebraska Summer
Sessions for 20 years, and he has
helped build one of the most highly
regarded summer programs in the
nation.
He has pioneered in the field of
aerospace education and has
developed a curriculum which has
been lauded by national educators.
And he devoted 42 years of
service to education in Nebraska,
working with academic and
administrative leaders of the state,
state.
, Now Dr. Frank E. Sorenson Is
embarking on a new course of
service to the University and the
state.
Because of a University policy
which replaces administrative
personnel at the age of 65, Sorenson
will be transferred to the Depart
ment of Education Administration
where he has carried rank as a
professor since holding the direc
torship post.' There" he will again
resume contact with educators and
administrators throughout
Nebraska, continuing the task he
has worked for all his life the
best possible public education
system the state can have.
Sorenson's entry into Nebraska
educational circles came in 1926
when he took a teaching job at
Taylor, Neb, High School as a
mathematics and social studies
teacher and a football and basket
ball coach.
"I didn't know anything about
the sports, but I was still a coach,"
he said.
He had completed just two years
and one summer of college but he
was "rather typical of the times,
when most educational personnel
did not have bachelor degrees, let
alone a master's or Ph.D.," he
said.
At that time NU's summer school
was aimed directly to the teacher
or administrator, trying to qualify
for certificates for teaching or
degrees, he said.
Sorenson attended summer
school for 17 straight sessions to
work on his degrees, oil three of
which came from NU. . ' '
While in school he became In
terested in geography and soon
became a part-time graduate
assistant, teaching the course dur
ing the summer. Sorenson points
to NU's nationally-known reputa
tion of allowing a student to follow
dual programs of interests,
something for which he has become
equally famous:
"The University of Nebraska has
excelled in providing students the
opportunity of fulfilling interests in
the academic and professional
fields."
If, for instance, a person wanted
to become a school administrator
and gain knowledge about
geography, as Sorenson has done,
the University' policies allow that
student to have double-majors In
order to satisfy his desires.
Sorenson decided to stay in
university life during the mid-30's.
He took a teaching fellowship at
Ohio State University for one year,
but returned to NU to receive his
Ph.D.
In 19.18, he became an NU staff
member. In 1948, he took the posi
tion of summer sessions' director,
replacing' Dr. Richard Moritz who
held the post for 20 years also..
During Sorenson's two decades
as director, the University's sum
mer enrollment has clearly doubl
ed. In 1948, there were approx
imately 5600 students. In 1968, the
figure was 11,185 surprising even
Sorenson who had predicted 9000
students at the beginning of the
Inside You Will Find:
SUMMER OPERA: "La Bohcme" premiers this Saturday, after two
months of preparation , Page 2
NEW EXPERIENCE: A migrant worker, now giving education a
new try, tells his story Page 3
FASHION EXTRA: A picture page of fashion hits and cost of
buying back-to-school clothing highlight a special last-Issue
feature Paget 4 & S
summer, admittedly pushing the
figure.
He has been instrumental in
many of the features now taken
for granted during the summer:
A program of special institutes,
providing informal educational ac
tivities which enrich the students'
summers.
An emphasis of outstanding
teaching to lure the student, "since
we don't have mountains and lakes
to advertise."
Outstanding programs, which
have brought national leaders,
performing artists and prominent
educators to the campus. .
Funding of University cultural
activities to broaden the students'
experiences.
Sorenson also pointed to NU's
nearly cornplete air-conditioned ci
ty campus which will be entirely
finished by next year, and should
attract more students, he said.
And, this year, NU went to a two
session program,
But, perhaps, one of his most ,
often recognized accomplisments
has been the program of aerospaee
education he has developed. In fact,
Nebraska has become sort of a
Cape Kennedy in the field of
aerospace education, including its
summer institute designed to give
teachers a chance to catch up on
man's progress in space.
Sorenson credits his interest in
geography for what he has
done:
"I hate to separate aerospace
education as something out of the
study of geography. Man and his
environment, together, equals
geography.
"Now, with man's expanded use
of air and space, geography has
expanded. All I really am is a
geographer with an ever-growing
concept of the subject.
Sorenson said when man moved
more and more from the earth's
surface "it was just an' expression,
to me, of my concept of geography
man's relationship to what's
surrounds him."
So., although effective Sept. 1,
Sorenson vacates his position as
summer sessions' director, his
concepts of administration and
education will still be a part of
the University, because he will still
be a part of the University.
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