FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1958
Page 2
The Daily tyebraskan
DAILY
itorials
mmemtary
NEBRASKAN
Ed
c
Marking time:
month of lethargy
E OCTOBER 1
That season when the leaf deserts the
r hole
And half-dead see-saws through the
October air
Fiilling face-downward on the wtdks
t to print
The decalcomanut of its little oui
Karl Shapiro
It is only October, but ASUN, like Shapiro's
laf, has curled up half-dead and is drifting through
3ie October air in a legato of lethargy, preparing,
It would seem, to hibernate through the long
winter's night.
Last month the senators were throwing off pro
mises of things to come in all directions. Watching
them was like watching the explosion of a Chinese
fireworks factory, all show and no substance.
- It seemed this season that ASUN would emerge
like a butterfly from a coccoon. They promised
to solve the problem of communicating with the
students, to work with their cohorts for a dynamic,
progressive senate and to drop the old habit of
considering senate a Wednesday afternoon club
that was another step on the way to Mortar Boards
or Innocents.
But in a metamorphosis that defies all the
. laws of nature, the butterfly has remained a coc
coon. Each Wednesday afternoon they meet to pass
a few resolutions before skittering down to Myron's
or back to the dorm. About half the senators are
; doing all the work of senate through committees.
The rest sleep.
THE BEST INDICATION of this stasis is
ASUN's little footsy game with "Time Out'. The
senators passed the resolution without doing their .
homework, and then discovered that maybe they
didn't like this decision after all. How can anyone
advocate student participation in the affairs of
the University when the student government mis
performs like this?
Craig Dreszen, understandably, is a very,
weary president. Running the affairs of ASUN alone
is a big job. Awake, knights and ladies. You were
elected to perform a task. '
Jack Todd
Dialogue overheard
in the Union
(In case you think
we're making progress.)
Kosmet Klub workers: Hey, BOY, buy a ticket
toKK!
Elbert Hill, a black student: Hey WHAT?
Workers: Buy a ticket to Kosmet Klub.
Hill: Hey WHAT?
Workers: Buy a ticket to Kosmet Hub.
Hill: No thanks.
-Workers (whispering): We called him boy.
Workers (together): ha, ha.
Very funny.
Larry Grossman
S. Rand Long
The rift beas
L
I got my dark ana flasses ,
I got lor good hick my blade tooth
I got my dark aim glasses
I'm carryki' for good lock my black tooth
Dont ask me notnin' about notaln'
I just might tell you the truth. ,
Dylan
Or at least give it a whirl. A few words to
the wise.
There's a beast in the world (won't say Its
name; there's a dire penalty and anyway you all
. know). So keep moving.
The times are downside up and there're those
who'd seek advantage. Watch out. Guard your rear
and keep an escape route In mind. You'll be all right
(probably).
? Shun the hungry movements. An abysmal ap
- petite, ready to drown you under in surging acids,
digest you and spit up a zombie fanatic,
v..: And anyhow, the time's not ripe. Let patience
be the watchword. The moment is a clouded fantasy
of could have been; don't be taken in.
Martyrs have been butchered and immortalized
for less.
Slip away from the confusion, your back to
fhe wall. Out the back and into the enfolding
'shadows. Watch your step that last one's a
'sliprery sliding special trick.
Be cool, unshaped: diamonds shatter, gold just
-gives. A rubber ball among ping pong shells.
Dark's a thing to wear, a cloak that shadows,
makes vague and indeterminate. What It can't
r see It can't grab.
But there's a pit too. Beware. Venture too
.near the brink, you're sucked down into Stygian
..night. Back off into the paling lights, the black
finger slinks out QUASH, no more.
" The razor's edge.
Stick . to the shadows, too close to be eeen.
Wear sneakers and whisper. "Stealth.
Undefined, can't be caught up in encyclopedic
dust.
Loose, limp, impossible to grip. Edge on, no
shadow.
Feint, what can It do to what isn't there?
The crunch of looming leaden fate may miss
you if you stay low, slink on fringes behind
' heaps of camouflage.
Putty can't be crushed in a vise. Paper wraps
around rock, watch for scissors.
Stay in motion, deceptive curves, high func
tions. Straight line easily plotted, position predicted
. ZAP.
There's a balance. All adds up to zero, tipping
scales, some get snuffed to even measure.
The dark.
A silent shroud of black, oozing up . from some
malignant chasm, creeping out upon the unsuspec
ting world lulled by white-frocked science. Only an
. absence of light, thy say, no more.
But the beast knows.
Tie risk is high. And that makes the game.
N . y3
Friday Afternoon Column . . .
fon i treaa on me gooa oia ways
by Ed Icenogle
Managing Editor
What does a managing
editor do? He manages.
How does he manage? Just
barely, sometimes.
But in the midst of the daily
turmoil to turn out the
University's own scandal
sheet, there are occasional
moments of enlightenment
which make the whole effort
worthwhile.
TAKE: FOR instance, the
phone call I received
Wednesday, the day the
Nebraskan p u b 1 1 s h e d the
editorial on pledge training
and the sorry state of affairs
connected with it in many NU
fraternities.
A member of one fraternity,
which shall remain nameless
and which resembles an
endless procession of Cool
Hand Lukes (so they say),
provided me with some fan
tastic insights into a way of
life I've fortunately missed.
THE C ONVERSATION
went something like this:
"I just called to tell you,"
he said, " that I'm damn
proud of our system of pledge
training."
"That's nice."
"AND, WELL, I just think
that . . . well, I guess what
I'm saying is that I think
you're befuddled." (And I
assure you that "befuddled"
was far from the word he us
ed.) With his interesting and
diplomatic approach, I f e 1 1
compelled to ask him to
elaborate. Which he did.
Now, it is impossible for me
to recall in precise words the
text of the rest of the con
versation. His eloquent man
ner and irrefutable logic
made me feel, indeed, befud
dled. He POINTED out, f o r in
stance, that I couldn't possi
bly know the inner-workings
of all the houses. I agreed.
And that I added that I had
heard statements from
pledges and actives of other
houses who had described the
nature of pledge training in
their houses.
Included in that number
was one man from the
gentlemen's own fraternity.
"WELL, YOU'RE just
writing on hearsay," the
caller charged. "I challenge
you to come to my house and
talk to anyone. They'll all tell
you that our system is good."
The obvious comment,
which I suppressed as he
continued, was. "Wouldn't
that be hearsay, too?"
It is interesting to note
that the system of pledge
training he is "damn proud
of includes a Hell Week that
starts off with hundreds of
push-ups in short periods of
time. And if that last state
ment is hearsay, then so is
the statement of those who
say that their own pledge was
a bar.
UNFORTUNATELY, his is
not the only fraternity which
can claim "pride" in such
activities as Hell Week.
Consider (all within the
past several years) :
a pledge being required to
sit nude on a block of ice all
night while he was inter
rogated;
a house that seems to
average one pledge in the
hospital per semester for
various natural afflictions
(broken bones; etc.);
a pledge suffering a
hernia from too many
pushups.
Hearsay, you can always
say. The honest ones among
us know better.
Oh, well. End of lecture.
But before any more of you
out there call me, please
consider that your ra
tionalizations and justifica
tions of physical training or
mental degradation are your
own admissions that you and
your house agree and perpet
uate these things.
Too bad I'm not a believer
in the old way, too. It makes
so much sense. "We must
keep building men. Herniated
or not. Humiliated or not"
That should be the motto.
"It gives all Greeks
something to be damn proud
of."
Or just damned.
r
Dear Editor:
On behalf of myself and the
people of Biafra I wish to ex
press to you and all the staff
of the Daily Nebraskan my
profound gratitude for helping
to publicize here on the cam
pus the starvation in Biafra.
It was your news coverage
that made it possible for peo
ple on this campus to become
aware of the magnitude of the
disaster that is taking place
right now in Biafra.
IT WAS THE Dally
Nebraskan that sparked an
expression of concern and
enthusiasm which has been
so visibly manifested by both
students and faculty since the
last two weeks or so on the
campus.
Nothing better describes the
lesson to be learned from the
Biafran tragedy than the
following passage from your
editorial comment of
September 20, 1968:
The Truth of the Biafran
problem is that starvation is
the orice Biafra pays for
world divided against itself.
Biafra has become the
sacrificial lamb at the hands
of big power adventurists. She
is an unfortunate victim of
power polarization in the
world. Biafra has no big
brother. The United Nations
is a robot of the big powers,
which explains why the
United Nations remains silent
while thousands of innocent
children and mothers are dy
ing daily in Biafra.
Thank God that the peoples
of the world have refused to
be muffled by the p o w e r s-that-be
in the world.
Disinterested world public
opinion is becoming more and
more audible. Good-natured
people throughout the four
corners of the earth are
cooperating in the effort to
salvage as many children of
Biafra as possible from death.
The contributions of the Daily
Nebraskan in this connection
has not been small.
HOWEVER, THE problem
remains awesome. Starvation
continues to take its toll in
the thousands. According to
the International Red Cross
latest estimate, between 8,000
and 10.000 are dying every
day. We are doing a lot on
the campus. The students and
faculty have been ex
traordinarily sympathetic and
benevolent
Your continued cooperation
will be appreciated.
Sincerely,
John A. Anaza
Dear Editor:
I must say that the October
10, 1968 issue of the Daily
Nebraskan was -he best yet.
The editorial cartoon by Lake
was BEAUTIFUL, as was
SEPTEMBER IN THE RAIN
and Larry Eckholdt's article
Daily Nebraskan
Second-Class mta Mid at Lincoln. N-h
TELEPHONE Editor 471-258I, New 471-2SW. Business 4TMSM.
&bcriMioa rata in N m semester or for the academic year.
Published Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the school year
except daring vacations and exam periods by the students of the University
of Nebraska under the JurisdicOoa of the Faculty Subcommittee ea Student
Publications. Publications shall be free from censorship by the Subcommittee
ar any person outside the University. Members ef the Nebraskan are responsible
tor what they cause to be printed.
Member Associated CsUegiat Press, National Educational AdverUsinf Service.
Editorial Staff
Editor Jack Todd; Managing; Editor Ed leenofle: Neva Editor Lynn Gotta
chalk: Nlebt New Editor Kent Cectuoa; Editorial Pare Assistant Molly Murrell;
Assistant Mrht News Editor John Kranda: Sports Editor Mark Gordon; Assistant
Sports Editor Randy York: Nebraskan Staff Writers Jim Evtarer, John Dvorak.
Larry Eos holt, George Kaufman, Julie Morris, Jam Pedersea, Terry Grobe, Dili
Smitherman, Connie Winner; Senior Copy Editor Joan wafooer; Copy Editors
Phyllis Adkissoa. Dave FilipL June Wagoner, Andrea Wood; Photography Chief
Dan Ladeiyi Pbotoarapbar J. E. Shaw; Artist Gail Pleasman.
Easiness Staff
Boldness Msnsror J. L. Schmidt: Bookkeeper Rover Bore; Production Maav
atser Joha Flenurs; National Ad Manager Fritz Saoemaker; Business Secretary
and Classified Ads Linda Ulrica: Subscription Manager Jan Boatman; Clrcnlsuoa
Managers Ron Pavel ka. Rick Dor an: Advertising Kepieeentamen Mr Brows.
Joel Davis. Gist Friat.it. Kane? CuiUiau. baa Looser, TotM SiatujBter.
on Jose Feliciano. All three
were wonderful.
A Student
Dear Editor:
For those of us who hope
for a prompt end td poverty,
racism, and the war in Viet
nam, there is good news on
the November ballot. Any
voter who is really concerned
about these far-reaching and
pressing issues cannot afford
to ignore the candidacy of
Bruce Hamilton.
In Washington, Bruce
Hamilton will forcefully
represent us in the first
district with the most pro
gressive views on these
crises.
Sincerely,
Harold Brneland
Dear Editor:
I think that every Intelligent
individual in deciding which
congressional candidate they
will support should not ask
himself which candidate has
had experience in office, but,
instead, he should ask which
candidate's ideas are best
suited to the challenges we
are faced with today. If he
asks this latter question, the
only answer is Bruce
Hamilton.
Bob Browa
Prague memento
Note: I received this letter from a science
student whom I met in Europe two summers ago.
We have been corresponding ever since. The letter
was one of the last to be sent before the occupation
forces imposed postal censorship. The contents
speak for themselves. o
27 August 1968
The news of the invading forces crossing our
borders caught us off guard. We knew that our
new freedoms could not last but we deluded
ourselves that they would. The invasion woke us
from our dream.
My friend, you cannot imagine the oy of ex
periencing freedom for the first time. America
is a great and free land. My country is not so
fortunate. For twenty years, we have lived in a
shadow. We feared to speak with our neighbors
and even our families. The new Party Leadership
changed all this last year with its program of
reform.
THE niSTORY of the student press of my
University in the last few months reflects the vents
which took place in the nation. Our experiment
in democracy allowed us to express ourselves
openly. The student press flourished with ideas
which once were considered heretical. The
journalists began to tell the truth about the way
our country and University was being run.
Our newspaper for the first time concerned
itself with important issues. In the old days, the
paper was filled with reports on meaningless local
news and sports events. Any political thought ex
pressed was dictated to the paper by the ap
propriate government agency.
No one read the paper then. It had only one
function. Each evening it found its way to the
top of the family water closet stacked in neaf
little squares.
OUR FREEDOM was a thorn in the side of
our masters. The collective leadership that rules
our Eastern neighbor began pressuring us. First
it was only subtle hints directed at Jakov Todnir,
the editor of the paper.
"Tone down your line. Do not be so hasty
in what you advocate. Gradualism is the b3sl
course."
The University paper reacted to the criticism
by presenting the truth. The comments of the col
lective leadership now reached a new level of
hvsteria. Rosolinsky, a member of the ruling group,
directly attacked our student editor, calling for
him to change his ideas or get out. The student
press remained firm in its resolve to bow to no
man. The invasion followed.
AT DAWN ON the 21st. the burly goons of
the Central Administrative Forces broke into the
paper's offices. They destroyed typewriters and
office -equipment. File cabinets were rifled and
their contents scattered about.
At 8:00 a.m. the staff arrived and one by
one were arrested. Jakov Todnir was handcuffed
and roughly treated. He was marched off under
the order of Kopelovich, the head of the Censors
Board.
A summary trial found all the staff members
guilty of treason and disrespect for the official
line. They were sentenced to hard labor on the
sugar beet gangs in the Western provinces. I know
nothing more about them.
JAKOV TODNIR'S arrest shocked me. He was
my friend and often I had contributed short items
for his editorial page. I think that my name is
now on a list of the condemned. It is only a matter
of time before they come for me.
I hope you will read this letter and do all
you can to preserve the freedom of the press
Liberty is a special thing, so hard to obtain and
so easy to lose.
Goodyby my friend. Perhaps we will meet again
In a happier time and place.
Viktor Chunorvic
A look at history
by Claude Bolton, Jr.
History is sometimes likened to a classroom
blackboard filled with writing. Many times each
of us has wlaked into a classroom early and from
what was previously written on the board has
wondered what the students of the period ahead
of us were doing.
If we were really curious, we eventually found
out what went on either by hear-say from other
students or by our intuition. Unfortunately, these
two methods of gathering information of the past
are all too often inadequate.
AN EXAMPLE of this might be the way in
which many of us have studied our own American
history. For years we have not questioned the
accuracy of the texts from which we studied Who
would have thought these texts might be slanted?
In the past two years Americans have begun
to wake up particularly the young, the black,
the poor. These people are asking why they do
not appear prominently in the textbooks as other
groups do Whether one accepts the fact or not,
these people did help make this country's history.
. t ,a r.esult students have been asking 'for
rS w 7 stol71conce'g every facet of American
!;nSry-J'!!,ature- etc- Some educators have
snffl' semester the history, sociology
and English departments will jointly offer an op-
pTctoS give 0,6 student more of tte whk
THE COURSE, entitled, "The Negro in
American Society", will not be a culture course
p? J? ew "lattonships from a different
-nri-n1, chairman of the Wstory department
and his colleagues in the sociology and English
departments are to be congratulated for their
efforts in making this course available. Hopefully,
this program will grow with added enthusiasm.
But taking all factors into account, isn't it
a shame to realize that this course is in itself
w0!17 we teach NeS. White, and
i stnTT3. oftlAmerica 8,1 in one wrse? Can't
m!, 6 ,HXts tUs way? m interpret th
blackboard from now to the next inquest? Who?
t. .
m"W "HI""
J - v