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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1968)
I .ILL. 1 o DUdJ Monday, September 307 1968 Confront politicians with the truth '--Chambers ; wv - - - L i "Let the man talk . . ." 25 attend live-in . . . Omaha ghetto 'sensitizes' NU by Jim Evinger Senior Writer Twenty-five University students left Friday afternoon to spend the weekend in the ghetto of Omaha's Near Northside. We each went for avarietyof reasons and we ail came back with mixed emotions. They told it to us as it really is. And we were exposed to the conditions and situations that exist in our problem; we will tell you now as whites that the problem in our cities and among the black community is not their problem it emphatically bears down daily on everyone. THE IDEA of the live-in, sponsored by the University Wesley Foundation, was to expose the thoughts and reasoning current in the black community of Omaha. One young black said he expected only one out of our group to return to campus and actually respond by taking action to solve the problems. Another said he expected to reach a third of us. But all of us became r.--- HP ; ( ! till hA ;1 ill .1 f Those who attended the Omaha live-in the past week were addressed by a variety of speakers who 'told it like it is' concerning the problems of Omaha's Near Northside. One of these, Dave Stahmer, addressed the .group on problems in the Omaha public, school system. A Wb locked in d by Jim Pedersen Senior Staff Writer President and first vice-president of Associaed Women Students (AWS) Sunday urged that the AWS proceed with caution in searching for a new policy on women's hours. According to Mimi Baker and Nesha Neumeister, now is a crucial time in the attempt to expand the key system to sophomores and there many factors which must be taken into consideration. - A REPORT from the special commitee on sophomore keys headed by Christie Schwartzkopf will be presented at Wednesday's :rt .A- CVjs'u 1 "sensitized", we each felt closer to what the speakers were talking about and we came back promising ourselves to do something, though not everyone was quite sure what. The group stayed in Clair Memorial Methodist Church, about half a mile north of 24th and Lake in Omaha. We had little actual contact with the community itself, but a series of 12 speakers got the message through. One theme that ran throughout all dialogues was the idea of "sysfemic defects." The defects are defined as problems which ex ist in society because the solutions that have been applied have been inefficient or ineffective. We were told of systemic defects in the Omaha school system, the Omaha Public Housing Authority, the welfare system, ad infinitum as each speaker articulated the failure of "The System" and "The Establishment" to solve urban problems. 'WW".-" J&J ' - cryl J, - - AWS meeting, Miss Baker said. According to Miss Baker, the report will give AWS a basis for any action it might take. "I am hoping that no motion will be made next week following the report," Miss Baker said. She explained that AWS must group together and form ' a con clusive program before making any recommendation to the University Board of Regents. In the event the Regents do ap prove a sophomore keys system, Miss Baker feels that it will pro bably be on a trial basis. ' ii hi. t by George Kaufman Senior Staff Writer An alphabet-soup mishmash of young radical organizations gath ered on the Nebraska campus over the weekend to argue, agree and listen but at the last minute the talk turned into a concrete call for action. Surprisingly, the momentum was provided by First District con gressional candidate Bruce Hamilton, who found himself in the unfamiliar role of a conservative at Saturday's student power seminar of the Midwest Conference on Movement Politics. HAMILTON suggested from the floor that the group find something locally which it could act upon. It was decided to arrange a march to a Lincoln landlord's house, who is accused o f discrimination policies. The march will be held Thursday afternoon and will be led from the site of Hyde Park to the owner's house. The name of the landlord will be made public Monday. The group was led by a panel consisting of Mick Lowe, ASUN President Craig Dreeszen, Dally Nebraskan Editor Jack Todd and a young woman representing Na tional Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). According to a panel member students from Hastings College, Creifihton University and Nebraska Wesleyan University have agreed to take part in the march. This summer, the University ad ministration sent out affidavits to University-approved landlords asking them to submit son discrimination pledges. Those not responding were taken off the "ap proved" list.. The conference's mood was set Friday night in the Union ballroom as Omaha's Ernie Chambers delivered the "keynote" address. His speech was a mixture of "cool-it" advice and revolutionary rhetoric. But what he said hit a ONE YOUNG black community worker called The System "malicious" for continually perpetuating the conditions in the ghetto. Jim Evinger, Senior Writer for The Daily Nebraskan, was one of 25 University students who partici pated In the weekend live-in on the Near Northside of Omaha. In the dialogue between us, our speakers showed us why "the Negro problem is white people" and that "therefore, the solution to the Negro problem lies with white people." We began to realize the concept of a redistribution of power in our society politically, economically and socially to give ghetto blacks the opportunity to break out of poverty. . Equally important to the concept of giving the blacks the opportunity r 1 1 11 U 3 1 Ft - . - . - i. ,I.. irfl jtkli,L.l4 iscussion of women s hours AWS IS presently conducting a poll of all women students to get their opinion of sophomore keys, Miss Baker said. Miss Baker feels that campus opinion favors sophomore keys. In reference to recent Hyde Park discussions concerning women's hours. She expressed pleasure that students are concerned with the is sue. ' According to Miss Baker, however, it would be better for students to come to AWS meetings to express their opinions since AWS can effect a change. Miss Neumeister likewise said right chord for most of the 500 listeners, . and he was cheered at every turn. Chambers, a write-in candidate for the Omaha school board, told his audience that heckling can didates for public office was playing into the candidates' hands. "Let the man ' talk," he said, "and don't shore him up with heckling which he can turn against you." ON THE Viet Nam war Chambers said, "If someone belongs to the DAR, American Legion or the VFW, ask them if they know what we're in Vietnam for. If they think we're upholding some kind of principle there, tell them 'You go fight."' He said that free enterprise in America meant making money "And if you operate from any other motive, they don't understand you." He stated that the National Anthem was an old English drink ing song, and that the national bird the Eagle was appropriatly a vicious bird of prey. He discussed revolution in the terms of a military agrarian uprising, throwing in words such as Cuba, Mao, Castro, and Colum bia University. He added to his talk that this was not the way to bring about change in America; that U.S. youth had to adopt methods of change which would work here. Chambers called upon the young to "confront politicians with the truth", then followed with an in dictment of the white liberals listening to him. "White people in Omaha couldn't understand why it was bad for Rummel (high school) to use the Rebel flag as a school symbol. "They'd have understood if they'd used a swastika . . . You sit there in thousands to watch a football game while people are dying by thousands in America. This is how we judge you." students to get out of the ghetto is the need for the white community to actively participate with the blacks in pull ing people out of the ghetto, emphasized one black speaker. One of the black speakers, Rodney Wead, executive director of the United Methodist Community centers, told our group of 24 white and one black student that "there is a thin-line between paternalism and racism." AND THOSE of us who con sidered ourselves white liberals were offended. But our eyes were opened to the inherent racism in our culture which has consciously or unconsciously relegated black Americans to an inferior position in our society. "We want to get the great white foot off our butt," he said. "We want to make the decisions that the whites have been making for us for 400 years." And we understood what he was talking about. Wead continually drove home the point of whites committing themselves to changing current urban conditions. "Whites who want to do something have to become catalysts," he said. "Are you will ing to talk to your mother and father about this? Are you willing to be excluded from middle class cocktail parties because of your views?" He explained that most whites in the civil rights movement are in a no-man's land of rejection by the white community and non-acceptance by the black community. Another live-in is planned by the Wesley Foundation in early February, according to Mel Luetchens of the student center. she welcomed student interest, but added that students should reserve comment until the committee on sophomore keys has reported its findings. "We must work through the pro per channels," Miss Neumeister said. "This is the only way in which the sophomore key system will come about." Calling the Regents' failure to fully implement the new housing policy for men the only instance of a breakdown in the proper channel system, Miss Neumeister stressed that only AWS can formulate a change in women's hours. He drew a standing ovation when he finished with a quote from the Declaration of -Independence, '"When a government becomes destructive of the rights of the people, it is the duty of the people to abolish it.' That is the business which you may be setting about at your next convention." Spokesmen said nearly $200 was raised afterwards for Chambers' campaign expenses. THE NEXT day the BPP (Black Panther Party), NDRU (Nebraska Draft Reslstence Union), PFPM (Peace and Freedom Party Move ment), SDS, New Party, YSA (Young Socialists' Allicance) and SPF (Students for Peace and Fre edom) launched into a series of seminars covering such things as reslstence, student power, Black Power, electoral politics and politics of the streets. Saturday morning all Negro members gathered in a closed session, while across the hall white delegates met in what was suppo sed to be an open discussion on what whites could do to be of help to the black movements. The group met at 10:30 a.m., but . . and don't shore him up against you." r- """""" "iypi tf V. L" if . NT8- 4 Underground papers go on sale in Union The Nebraska Union Board has agreed to sell two underground newspapers on the Union newsracks on a trial basis. The September issue of the "Buffalo Chip" now is on sale. Current issues of "The Asterisk" should be available by the end of this week. The board okayed the sale of the papers providing their Omaha based staffs could prove financial solvency. THE UNION gets a 10 cent com mission on each copy of the "Buf falo Chip" it sells. "Asterisk" staff members haven't yet made an agreement on the sale of their paper. George Foot, a Lincoln member of the "Buffalo Chip" staff agreed with the board that the paper will be taken off the newsrack if it doesn't sell well in comparison to other publications. The board made the decision at "GOING TO sophomore keys is a major policy change for the University," Miss Neumeister said. She added, "It is a much larger step than the adoption of the junior senior system." In order to extend the key system to sophomores, AWS must have complete information concerning the junior-senior key system for the past three years, Miss Neumeister said. "The committee on sophomore keys has been working on the pro blem for five months, and they will present a thorough report," she said. Vol. 92, No. 12 by 11:15 a.m. all that had been accomplished was "closing the meeting to the press, which meant dismissing the representative of the Lincoln Journal. Member of local underground newspapers were not asked to leave. At an afternoon session on elec toral politics New Party candidate Hamilton clashed with a represen tative of SDS and a Young Socialist. Hamilton argued that the "system" could be reformed from within, and that waiting for some sort of "mystic revolution" was useless. He was countered that the young could not work within the corrupt electoral system without becoming absorbed into the corruption. The young Socialist kept referring to the "Socialist Revolution" which is coming in this country. Saturday night there was a fund raising dance at Nebraska Wesleyan, featuring "The System" combo and Sunday the Peace and Freedom Party held a "state con vention" in the Union, though the group is not a legal party in Nebraska. with heckling which he can turn a Thursday meeting where they also heard a request for meeting space by the new Nebraska Students for Peace and Freedom. The group agreed to give the SPF "guest status" which gives them all the privileges of a University-recognized student organiza tion for 60 days. The party voted last week not to submit to ASUN and Union regulations to become a University recognized organization because "we've already paid for the use of Union facilities." Board President Sid Logemann said the board agreed on the guest status because "It is a little unclear who has the authority to legislate what constitutes a student organization." . Logemann noted that ASUN had established a committee to consider revising the requirements on recognizing student organizations. The concern of AWS, according to Miss Neumeister, lies not so much with the maturity of the key holders as with the efficiency of the system .- "I am afraid the rest of the campus does not realize that many things must be taken into considera tion before the key system can be extended," Miss Neumeister said. The committee report will not offer a pro or con opinion on the key issue, but rather will provide AWS with information to form a policy, she concluded. t.