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Monday, September 307 1968
Confront politicians with the truth '--Chambers
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"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
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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.
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A REPORT from the special
commitee on sophomore keys
headed by Christie Schwartzkopf
will be presented at Wednesday's
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"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.
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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. '
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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
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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."
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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.
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