dear editor
Slowdown
Dear editor,
What is it with the teachers
of this University? Are they all
trying to flunk out their
students? Since Governor Exon
has proposed a cut in the
University of Nebraska budget
it seems as if they don't care
any more. I thought they were
here to teach the students and
not cry about how much
money they get.
student along. If the teachers
are not going to help the
students we might as well pay
the students for going to
school and get rid of the
teachers because they are not
doing what they are paid to do.
I have heard a lot of
complaints from other students
that their teachers weren't
teaching the material. The
teachers are letting the
students get the material on
their own. I admit that a
student should have some
initiative but I think it is the
teachers place to help the
Are you students going to
be the stooges of the teachers?
The teachers are making it hard
for the students so the students
will do their complaining for
them so teachers can keep their
money. Just don't be a sucker.
To me, it appears that if I
want to get an education
maybe I'd better check on
school budgets and find the
happy teachers.
Sincerely yours,
Robert Reiner
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Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508.
General, there's onfv one moral
solution-total and Immediate
withdrawal! This must not drag
on for another year!
,IJ1.w.j..ll.i.ii..l.ni m
General, you've got to stop
worrying about losing face . .
humanity cries for peace now!
I
Now don't give me that nonsense
about winning an air war. that's
useless! Goodbye General!
General Dayan simply doesnt
grasp the realities of the Mid
east situation!
The University: an example of colonialism
by STEPHEN L. ROZMAN
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Given "the existing relationship of
authority, the University occupies the
role of a colonial entity subject to the
whims of an outside force over which
it has no control.
Financially, the University is far
from self-sufficient, given its
dependence on tax monies collected
from people throughout the st?te. Yet,
financial dependence per se may be
accompanied by a relationship which
stops short of outright colonialism.
Colonial rule exists when the major
decision makers are alien to the
community over which they rule and
do not owe the attainment or
preservation of their position to
internal forces, but, rather, to external
forces beyond the confines of the
dependent community. Consequently,
incentive is lacking to be responsive to
the needs and desires of internal
sectors, especially when they are in
conflict with the needs or desires of
the "mother country."
In the system of higher education
in the United States, Boards of
Trustees or Boards of Regents are
elected by population groups that are
apart from the university community.
The University itself has no voice in
the selection of candidates, no ability
to influence the outcome of an
election, and no ability to remove an
incompatible regent from his position
of power. In fact, one might argue that
overt opposition to a regent from
major sectors of the University
community will simply serve to
strengthen his appeal to his
constituency back in the mother
country.
Negative relationship
During times of political tranquility
in the overall society, the negative
character of the colonial relationship
may not be apparent. But in times of
turmoil, the alien power elite may
become highly abusive and repressive.
Such a development is often sparked
PAGE 4 ''
by the very character of the
University. Sensitivity to injustice is
often most pronounced within the
confines of the University. If the
inhabitants of the mother country fail
to identify with this sensitivity, tb ;y
are likely to become indignant and o
feel that inappropriate activities are
taking place on the campus. The
regents will be responsive to the
inhabitants of the mother country
since they are likewise from the
territory of the colonial power; and
they will reflect the indignation of
their constituents. A failure to so
identify would be politically
disastrous.
Could the University, like other
colonies, gain its independence?
Theoretically, this alternative does
exist. Total financial independence
would promote political freedom; but
even in its current state of
considerable dependence from a
monetary standpoint, local self-rule
could be attained.
Movement for change
The major problem perhaps resides
with the University community itself.
The current inertia and lack of
consciousness about the colonial
nature of the relationship serves to
reinforce the status quo. A recognition
of the problem and the inherent
injustice in rule by an alien force over
which one has no control, would pave
the way for a campus-wide movement
to work for a change in the existing
pattern of authority. Such a goal could
unite students, faculty, and
administrators, since each of these
sectors is victimized by the status quo.
Although recent events on campus
related to the repressive actions of the
colonial power should serve to awaken
an interest and develop a
consciousness, they seem to be
promoting more of an atmosphere of
intimidation. The university
community seems to be awed by the
apparent power of the colonial reigme,
and seems to feel a sense of
helplessness and despair. Such a
development merely serves to
reinforce the unjust relationship. The
examples of other colonized peoples
must be taken into consideration.
Decolonization processes have
occurred throughout the Third World
during the past two decades. We have
seen the awakening of a sense of
indignation in the face of abuse of
power through unjust structures.
Without the reform of the structures,
unjust rule is inevitable, since the
major consideration of a colonial
regime is not to be responsive to the
colonized. We must learn from the
experiences of independence
movements which have succeeded in
shaking eff the colonialist yoke.
Otherwise, we remain easy prey to acts
of repression which must inevitably
occur whenever an absence of
harmony exists between the colony
and the mother country.
No procedures
The colonial relationship victimizes
the university by promoting an
absence of self-respect and integrity.
Integrity relates to the presence of set
procedures aimed at reinforcing
certain principles. The procedures may
be drawn up by sectors of the
university community; but they may
neither bind the Board of Regents nor
influence its relationship with the
institution. Consequently, neither the
administration, nor the faculty, nor
the students can count on the
application of particular procedures or
the preservation of specific ideals,
given the fact that decision making lies
outside the university body.
Self-respect is undermined,
especially during times of political
turmoil and a widening gap between
the colony and the mother country,
because each sector of the campus
population is aware of the impotence
of all other sectors. Exploited people
in the ghetto or in Third World
countries often treat each other with
scorn, an effect of their apparent
feelings of helplessness, together with
the fact that they see their own
reflections in their neighbors. In a very
true sense, we're all in the same boat.
To think of students, faculty, and
administrators as mutually
antagonistic sectors of the population
is self defeating. The only true
antagonism is between the colony and
the colonial power. The existence of
others merely serves to bolster colonial
rule by facilitating the colonial
technique of divide and conquer.
Power structures
The recent repression carried out
on the University of Nebraska campus
by the Board of Regents has served to
expose the humiliating relationship
between our administration and the
Board. The colonial power structure
prevents our administrators from
remaining true to any set of principles
or established procedure. It encourages
a natural tendency toward hedging and
avoiding strong stands. Nothing is
more humiliating than for an
administrator to make a commitment
or take a firm position, only to be
compelled to make a sudden shift once
the colonial power makes its
conflicting position known. Thus, our
own internal hierarchy must be very
cagey and evasive in its dealings with
us. The net effect is that it ends up
serving as the spokesman for the
colonial power rather than the colony
itself. The faculty, too, are vulnerable
to reprisals and are very careful not to
rock the boat. Their apparent
resignation fortifies the colonial
relationship, denies the faculty
sclf-rcspcct, and costs it the respect of
the student body. Students themselves
have failed to challenge the colonial
relationship because they are too
intimidated by the internal
hierarchical relationship to bother to
understand that the colonial
relationship must itself be terminated
before any internal reforms can be
meaningful.
As for those who fail to recognize;
the colonial nature of the relationship,
one recalls the words of Goethe that
"None are more hopelessly enslaved
than those who falsely believe they are
free."
FRIDAY, MARCH 5;,t971
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN