EDITOR'S NOTE: The
NEBRASKAN reserves the
right to condense letters from
readers for purposes of space
and readability, retaining the
author's point. The following
letter has been so condensed.
Editor:
In view of the editorial that
appeared In the Oct. 1 issue of
the Nebruskna, I feel I must
reply.
(Editorial opinion appeared
concerning ASUN Sen. Bruce
Wiinmer's attempt to sponsor
an audit of ASUN books for the
period during the May 1970
student unrest-ed.)
THE EDITORIAL is quick to
criticise my "approach." From
the surface the tactics I used
would appear "eccentric."
Although these tactics were not
desirable they were
necessary.
The editorial charges that
senators arrived to unex
pectedly find newsmen there. If
the ASUN executives maintain
such close consultation with the
senators as they advocate, no
s:ujnt senator shoukl haw
been shocked because (ASUN
Pres. Steve Tiwsld had alertrd
press to the fact that he, would
"publicly respond to charges tin
V!f? swf irtt mch
iOfl5VrVr
3D:
Letters ...
ASUN" and invited them to at
tend on the Tuesday before the
meeting. Perhaps if the campus
media were more generally ac
cepted and responsible, off cam
pus media would not be so es
sential to seeing that the truth
is actually recorded.
"PENCHANT FOR
SECRECY . . ." Perhaps, but
only out of necessity. If ASUN
Senators were truly represen
tative and responsively
deliberate this secrecy would
not have been requested by
students asking me to sponsor
an audit request. Their
reasoning was "you don't wara
an embezzler that you are
coming to check the books
before you arrive." Because
students requested, and I think
with reasonable justification,
that the audit request comes as
a surprise, I honored that trust.
Further, as a newspaper, I'm
sure the Nebraskan honors the
"secrecy" requests of some
sources.
EVEN IF the student
senators were upset by tactics
and were unable to understand
the half-page resolution on such
short notice, they had no trou
ble comprehending a four-page
letter from ASUN executw-es,
still wet with ink, and approv
ing ilm . f
The body also showed poor
Letters
deliberative ability by failing to
even allow me to state the
reasoning behind the motion
and the procedure used (if they
couldn't understand it).
MANY SENATORS added,
after the fact, that the books
were always open and
therefore no audit was
necessary. In view of: (I) the
tremendous controversy over
the use of student funds during
the strike; (2) the upcoming
budget and the lack of a
treasurer's services for
months; (3) an i attorney's
statement that he could not find
his way through the books; (4)
the fact that audits (even
thought the books are always
open) normally conducted by
student activities and the
University did not occur this
past year; and (5) the audit
would not have cost ASUN
anything but would have ended
rhetoric by presenting facts;
the audit request was both
reasonable and necessary.
ANY SUCH EXCISES I have
heard were either false or show
the irresponsible thought that
often occurs at senate
meetings.
1 further maintain that the
entire resolution I introduced
is s'ill an excellent one. Simply
How tq find a packless
kind of wrecked up
sophomoric apartment
by BOB RUSSELL
Being a typical immature sophomore male, I decided
that I would do the mature (from an immature point
of view) thing and find an apartment for this school year.
This other kid, Joe, said he would go in with me. He's
kind of weird, but so am I, so I logically figured that
our weirdnesses would cancel out each other. Anyway,
to make this short story longer, we wanted to find a
place that was economical, roachless, semi-furnished, but
kind of wrecked up, so that we could hang posters and
other obscene things on the walls and ceilings. So, from
all this, you can see that we wanted a roachless, four-walled,
economical, semi-unrefurbi-furnished apartment, preferably,
with indoor plumbing. And Eureka! ! ! We found one.
Roachless, etc. apartments have their hazards. For ex
ample, the doors and windows have a tendency either,
to fall off or not to open at all. It's quite a thrill to
watch your own door, with a large glass pane, to fall
and shatter right before you. Another tendency is that
there are no doors where there should be doors and vice
versa, so that you find yourself opening empty spaces
and smashing into doors of varying' degrees of thickness
and pain.
Although my place is kind of messy, with splatters
and footprints located on the walls and ceilings right were
you can -see them, it's not as bad as a dorm room,
where you can only cover up a tihy bulletin board or'
else you must cover over where your roommate played
tick-tack-toe on the ceiling with a , can of spray paint.
Splatters, burnt places, and holes can be easily covered
up with the latest Playboy foldout (for you fraternity men)
or else a Nixon poster with, "Would you buy a used
car from this man?" t
Refrigerators can pose a problem. - My refrigerator
freezes in the back half and mediocrely cools in the front
half. And if the top door is open, the bottom door won't
come open. If your refrigerator dosn't 'work, you can always
keep things there, like clothes, books, use it as a stash
for grass, or if your roommate is a kleptomaniac, you
can hide your valuables in the freezer compartment.
I could go on, but a guy next door just mowed the
lawn and some dust and grass (the blue kind) was thrown
through an alleged window, so I'd better clean that up.
And also, my grape kool-aid ice cubes should be about)
done. I really like grape kool-aid ice cubes.
. . . Letters
checking ASUN books, or going
from office to office checking
"open" books, will not answer
everything. A complete
analysis must be made by
some qualified auditor who can
have all the books and cross
check a number of receipts and
expenditures. The audit should
be independent because as
Chancellor D. Varner has noted
"the University cannot in
vestigate itself.
FINALLY, my request that
copies of the Spelts Commis
sion and the Institute for Poli
tical Analysis reports be accept
ed and placed on file for refer
ence by all students is a very
routine procedure for represen
tative bodies. It should not have
been viewed as soliciting ap
proval but rather as a service
and reference point for all in
terested students.
Bruce Wlmmer
Editor:
I feel that it is of utmost im
portance that Michael Davis
and the Regents be invited to
speak to the people of the
University of Nebraska. Davis
ought to be able to defend
himself in an open public
meeting. The Regents in re
jecting the facility recom
mendation that he be ap
pointed have not justified their
decision. The leter Dr. G.
Robert Ross on behalf of the
Regents sent to Davis was
really pathetic in its vagueness
and impreciseness. There
should be from the Regents and
Davis a;full public statement of
justification.
IF WE ARE to have an open
university, a really universal
university, persons Regents,
administrators, faculty and
students ought to be e
pected to justify their behavior.
I am increasingly disgusted by
the double standards so ram
pant in this society. Let our
values be consistently ap
plied. INVITING MICHAEL DAVIS
and the Regents to justify their
positions through the Talks and
Topics Committee is an ideal
approach. I would like to see
them speaking separately and
together about this extremely
important matter. This case
has far-reaching implications
for the very nature of thought
and feeling at the University of
Nebraska.
I encourage you to mak
your feelings known to tlic
Talks and Topics Committee
and other persons in positions
of responsibility.
Ron Kurtrnbaeli
PAGfc
THE NEBRASKAN
MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1970