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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1968
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
VOL 92, NO. 49
by John Dvorak
Nebraskan Staff Writer
Seat belts, Senator Carl T. Curtis,
dental X-rays, Volkswagens and big
business all fell under the wrath of
consumer crusader Ralph Nader in
his Thursday afternoon speech.
Speaking with deadly seriousness
to a "nearly full Union Ballroom,
Nader criticised corporations for
bilking the average consumer out
of his hard earned money and
sometimes his life.
TALKING ABOUT air and water
pollution, Nader cracked one of his
rare smiles saying that the Buffalo
River is so polluted with petroleum
and oils that it is classified of
ficially as a fire hazard.
For starters, Nader talked about
deceptive merchandising a na
tional plague practiced by many
companies.
"Customers buying on time from
Montgomery Ward pay for credit
life insurance, and until recently
hardly anyone knew it," Nader
said.
"PRODUCT PACKAGING is also
deceptive," Nader said. "You can't
get at the product and you don't
know anything about its weight or
condition."
In the above cases, consumers
are victimized by voluntary con
sumption of a product. Involuntary
consumption is more dangerous.
ine simple act ot naving your
teeth X-rayed c a n be extemely
harmful, Nader said.
. "In many cases, during such X
rays, people are receiving 90 per
cent more radiation than they
need," he said. Increased and un
necessary exposure is the result of
old, poorly maintained machines or
untrained technicians.
blasts
charged that Detroit auto makers
were building "death traps that kill
50,000 people annually." The
lawyers efforts culminated with the
passage of the Traffic Safety Act,
which set standards for all new
motor vehicles.
EACH VEHICLE accident is ac
tually composed of two collisions,
Nader said, the first and the se
cond. "The car goes out of control for
some reason and smashes into a
tree," Nader explained. That is the
first. The second collision Is
between the occupant and the car.
The first collision doesn't
necessarily kill, he added, but the
second may mean a driver's im
palement on the steering wheel, or
a guillotining in the windshield or a
smashed skull from a sharp
dashboard.
"Two thousand years ago,
Socrates said that sharp
things penetrate human
skin easier than flat, dull
things. It took the auto
people 2,000 years to do
something about it."
practices
Nader suggested a number of
developments which could be im
plemented to make cars less
bloody. In his biting satire, he
goaded car manufacturers for
dragging their feet on such
developments.
"WE COULD have steam engines
for cars, which would equal in
ternal combustion engines in
performance but would be nearly
silent and emit 99 percent less
pollution, in about two years,"
Nader said. But corporations are
not motivated towards that
development.
Car interiors could be made
softer, safer and fire resistent, he
said. Much improvement has been
made, but dashboards could be
made safer, and tiny sharp objects
like clothes hooks could be chang
ed. The nation's number one critic of
automobiles doesn't own a car of
his own. He does recommend a
large, s&lidly built sedan. Compact
cars and small foreign vehicles are
deathtraps. The Volkswagen is the
most dangerous car on the road, he
said.
RADIATION DANGERS from
color television, micro-wave ovens,
more atomic testing stations are on
the rise. He predicted heightening
radiation exposure could be
tempting catastrophy if something
is not soon done.
Nader's first love is automobile
safety. "If cars were perfect,
equipped with every possible safety
device, there would be no crashes,"
Nader said.
The Harvard graduate's book in
1965, "Unsafe at Any Speed,"
NOW THE steering column col
lapses instead of the rib cage, he
pointed out. Windshields have also
been improved. Better door latches
prevent occupants from being
ejected from the vehicle upon im
pact. Seat belts however are another
story. Their mandatory inclusion in
all autos was mostly the result of
Nader's efforts.
The auto industry has designed
seat belts perfectly so people do not
want to use them, he charged.
"Their cumbersome design was on
purpose so that auto makers could
prove their point people don't
want to wear seat belts," he said.
"THE AIR pillow is the coming
thing," he said. This mechanism
would inflate a fraction of a second
after impact, thus shielding all oc
cupants of the car from injury. It
would then almost immediately
deflate.
Seatbelts are a nuisance, he ad
mitted. The air pillow would be in
visible when not needed but would
be completely effective when
needed.
HE ALSO took the opportunity to
chide Nebraska representatives
and senators for their resistence to
new laws, such as Omaha
Representative Glenn Cunn
ingham's initial adversion to
Nader's safety efforts. The
remarks were greeted with a sharp
burst of applause from the student
dominate crowd.
One can look at advertisements
and analyze them, he said. They
emphasized emotion, power, luxury
and sexual illusions. Ads want "to
stir the animal, according to Nadar.
Nader.
-"WHAT KIND of mentality
thought these up?" he questioned.
Some advertisements describe the
car's driver as feeling like a human
cannonball. Other ads want pro
spective drivers to look at a car as
a fulfillment of a wish.
Car names also demonstrate the
point. Cougar . . . Wildcat . . .
Cobra . . . Manrader. "The defini
tion of a maurader is one who
pillages and lays waste to the
country side," Nader commented to
a roar of laughter.
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Logemann: Greeks train men
to fit traditional roles
by Jim Pedersen
Nebraskan Staff Writer
The greatest fault of the
fraternity system is that it trains
individuals to fall into a traditional
role, Sid Logemann said Wednes
day in comments to the In
terfraternity Council.
Logemann gave the short address
on the accomplishments and future
of the fraternity system at the
University immediately following
the IFC's election of Joe Voberil of
Delta Upsilon to replace him as
president of the organization.
"WE MUST all work together to
develop real leaders and im
aginative thinkers," he added.
According to Logemann, the IFC
In the past year has encouraged
foreign students to go through rush,
suggested that houses participate in
live-ins, and urged houses to host
after-dinner speakers.
"All these programs are educa
tional," he said. "Educating our
members will make or break the
fraternity system."
"Through education, we can ar
rest our greatest drawbacks: con
servatism and tradition,"
r
Joe
Voberil
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Logemann continued. "Through
education we can aid in integrating
the fraternity system and control'
drinking just for the sake of drink
ing." .
LOGEMANN added that with a
system of positive, forward educa
tion, the fraternity system can be
proud of its role on the University
campus.
"Although we have probably ac
complished more in improving the
system than any previous IFC," he
said, "we have not significantly
affected the University.
"I am not sure we can survive on
this campus. I think we can im
prove on our adequacy on campus,
but is that relevant?"
Logemann outlined three ac
complishments of the IFC during
his term as president.
WITH THE aid of the
University Regents, IFC reported
on deferred rush.
Critically evaluated pledge
training.
Eliminated many of the
negative aspects' of pledge training
through the pledge contract.
"The pledge education contract Is
a n embarrassing necessity,"
Logemann added.
There are still about five houses
which continue to use non-progressive
pledge training programs,
according to Logemann. These
houses cannot be ignored, however,
because they might drae the entire
system down.
"The pledge education contract Is
the only feasible way to solve this
problem," he said. "It will -probably
take several years."
"LOSING THE contract through
a violation now is not terribly im
portant to a house, but it should be
important next year during rush
week," Logemann continued.
According to Logemann, IFC has
failed to visit houses frequently
enough to examine pledge training
programs.
"IFC visitations need to be held
more often," he said. "Pledges are
' still winding up in hospitals and
hell weeks still exist."
Logemann criticized the IFC
representatives for failing to work
effectively for the fraternity
system.
.
"WE ALL begin with the idea of
strengthenisg the fraternity
system," he added, "but all of a
sudden the executive committee is
about five steps ahead of the in
dividual houses."
Logemann said that it is a pro
blem of information and that all
representatives need to work to
close the gap between each house
and the IFC.
Attacking seat belts, X-rays and big business, Ralph Nader
addresses a Nebraska Union audience.
Nebraskan interviews
to be conducted Dec. 20
Interviews for editorial positions on the second semester
Daily Nebraskan will be Dec. 20, according to Prof. Jack
Botts. chairman of the Board of Student Publications.
Applications for the. positions , of editor, news editor,
managing editor and business manager will be accepted until
Friday at 5 p.m. in Room 51, Nebraska Union.
ACCORDING TO Botts, the four editorial positions will
be filled at that time. Individual interviewing times will
be scheduled by the Board, composed of three student and
three faculty members.
Monthly salaries are editor $175, news editor $150, manag
ing editor $150 and business manager $165.
The four Daily Nebraskan staffers selected by the Pub
Board will choose the other members of the staff, according to
Botts.
APPLICATIONS FOR those jobs will be accepted until
the end of dead week and selection will be made before the
start of the second semester.
Applications will be accepted for Nebraskan staff writers,
copy editors, photographers, night news editor, editorial page
assistant, advertising salesmen, assistant night news editor,
advertising production, subscription, circulation, national
advertising manager, bookkeeper, and local advertising
manager.
SALARIES FOR those positions are variable, from 40 to
$80 per month.
The Daily Nebraskan will have three more issues this
semester: Monday, Wednesday and a Christmas issue Friday.
Publication will not resume until the first week of the second
semester.
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SDS joined the Marines Thursday afternoon. An informal questioning session in the Union
between the Marine requiters and about 25 observers was attended by SDS members and
ex-Marines. The demonstration was ended with several observers rendering a chorus of
"Alice's Restraraunt," an Arlo Gunthrey -social commentary on the draft.
Election
changes
predicted
Blatantly imbalanced rep
resentation in the 1968-69 ASUN
Student Senate is forcing senate
reapportionment, according to
Senator Dave Bingham.
"The Senate definitely wants that
group reapportioned," Bingham
said Thursday. "In fact, members
of the reapportionment committee
(including Bingham), have thrown
out the possibility that the present
system should even be considered."
Bingham raid that now the
representation is greatly im
balanced. Farmhouse fraternity,
Chi Omega sorority and the
Harper-Schramm-Smith dormitory
complex each have four student
senators, and Beta Theta Pi
fraternity has three. On the other
hand, the Abel-Sandoz dormitory
complex has no representative, and
the Pound-Cather-WRA complex
has one, Bingham said.
"WE ON THE committee favor
the divsion of Senate districts by
living unit," he said. "We have
contacted several universities, and
are now considering three pro
posals to recommend to Student
Senate."
The proposals are:
The election of all student
senators on an at-Iarge basis.
Bingham said that committee
member Mike Shonsey advocates
this possibility after discussion with
schools at a National Student
Association (NSA) convention.
Election of senators on a
-strictly living unit district basis.
Both on and off-campus areas
would be districted, Bingham said.
Election by a combination of
districting by college, living unit
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Dave
Bingham
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districts, and a set number of at
large delegates. "I personally favor
this method," Bingham said. "A
combination of these three methods
would cut down the chances for
block-voting in dorms and fratern
ity houses."
HE EMPHASIZED that th
committee had reached no con
clusions, however.
Bingham said the only approval
needed for the redistricting would
be the support of Student Senate.
"The committee's proposal
should be ready in late February or
March, before the spring ASUN
elections," he said. "The Senate for
next year will be elected by the
new method."
Bingham theorized that doing
away with strictly college-proportioned
elections would place more
emphasis on the college advisory
boards.
"These boards are potentially
very useful, and if they work more
with Student Senate, this could take
some of the tension off the Senators
and put more responsibility on the
advisory boards," he said.
BINGHAM SAID that the Inter
Dormitory Association (IDA)
wanted to include the question of
reapportionment in A SUN ' s
Government Bill 24, . whose pro
visions are now being discussed by
the newly-created Student
Academic Committee. The bill ad
vocates complete student control of
all non-academic areas of the
University which concern the stu
dent. "But Committee Chairman Bill
Chaloupka convinced the IDA that
the reapportionment question would
be better off by Itself," he said. .
The Reapportionment Committee
is now composed of five student
senators and two othr students.
Chairman Chaloupka is interested
in enlarging the committee to
enable the group to do mora
research, Bingham said.
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