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tradition
Traditionally this space on the final day of Daily Nebraskan
publication was reserved for the editor to make his sentimental
parting comments. And it was a space to say how great everything
has been.
Also, it was a space used to chastise the student body for their
apathy, the faculty for their arrogance, the Administration for
their obstinance and yes, the Regents for their humorous
repugnance.
You might say "what a tradition!" but actually it is no
different in nature than any other. People do things one way,
they get used to doing things that way, and pretty soon the word
"change" loses its meaning. So too do the notions of ideals,
aspirations and goals.
All those words lose their meaning when unquestioned
tradition becomes a substitute for perfection and excellence. For
example, look at the fraternity system on this campus. Several
years ago the fraternity system was under severe attack and all of
the traditions were being questioned. They were being questioned
because the fraternities were boasting of their noble ideals for one
week ot of the year. During the res of the year words like
-justice" and "scholarship" would become increasingly
insignificant. When such hypocrisy persists, sooner or later
has got to hit the fan. For the fraternities that was a
Sous fan. In fact, only this year did the fraternity system as a
whole recover from those wounds. In the future it should be
hoped that the fraternities are given the respect, not that they
monopolize, but the respect they deserve.
The same applies to all of the other groups in this university,
including the Daily Nebraskan. The last day of publication should
not be a day of universal lambasting or a day of sweeping praise.
That's not journalism. And for what it's worth, that's not me.
A
UN replies
We would like to clarify some misconceptions that seem to
have arisen regarding the function and structure of the ASUN
Educational Reform Coordinating Committee. In evaluating this
past year, the primary problem with the educational reform
movement on this campus has been lack of organization. A
number of committees, boards, and groups have been working on
educational change but their efforts have been ineffective due
largely to a lack of co-ordination. It was felt that the creation of
an umbrella group composed of students directing various
educational reform efforts on campus would alleviate many of
last year's problems. Having all these groups working together
under one structure would prevent duplication of efforts and
dissipation of energies.
Membership in the coordinating committee is flexible and
open to change. The committee will be drawing its direction from
the student body. Students with suggestions or individual projects
are strongly encouraged to bring them to the Coordinating
Committee. It is obvious that this committee cannot succeed
without the participation and involvement of all concerned
students. A small group of students working by themselves
cannot hope to achieve meaningful change without that support.
It is our sincere hope that all students can become involved in
setting the tone for their own education. We hope that all
students interested in attaining this goal will work together in the
coming year.
Steve Fowler
ASUN President
Michele Coyle
ASUN Vice-president
Rod Hernandez
2nd vice-president
Mike Berns
Speaker pro-temp
'I dreamed I saw
Joe Hill last night'
EDITORIAL OPINION
by BILL SMITHERMAN
The night before Industrial Workers of the
World leader Joe Hill went before the firing
squad he sent a message g, his followers,
"Don't mourn me, organize!
Hill's advice to a fledgling labor movement
seems to have been accepted by the young
tenant's movement in the U.S. Militancy seems
to be the watchword in the new movement.
Tenants have been downtrodden for years in
many cases. They see their problems and are
indignant about them. In most cases they
should be.
But, landlords also recite a litany of reasons
why they cannot keep up their property as they
would like. They claim to be beset with
problems of rising taxes and labor costs which
make it impossible for them to adhere to even a
minimum housing code.
So, the solution is not a simple one.
Organized tenants standing up for long-denied
rights is surely one part of it. Finding a way for
the landlord to keep his property livable is
another.
In many cases militancy among tenants is
necessary to achieve their goals. But, it is not a
catch-all answer as it may have been in the days
of Joe Hill.
That's all, folks
All good things must end. This is the last
Daily Nebraskan for the semester.
Applications for staff positions for next
semester's Daily Nebraskan should be turned
into the office by Friday.
Staff positions include staff writers, copy
editors, ad salesmen and business assistants.
Dear editor,
Two months ago we wrote a
letter to the Daily Nebraskan
which was critical of the
advertising of the local franchise
of Evelyn Wood Reading
Dynamics. As your readers
know, the local franchise of
Reading Dynamics is a major
advertiser in the Daily
Nebraskan. In an extraordinary
departure from custom, a staff
member of the Nebraskan
showed the letter prior to
publication, to Mr. William R.
Jones, manager of the local
franchise. Jones indicated that
he felt that we had no right to
say what we had said about
Reading Dynamics and its
advertising.
In a later conversation
which he had with one of us he
explicitly questioned whether
we had the right to reveal the cost
of the Reading Dynamics
course, and he claimed that he
had evidence which bore upon
the truth of some of the
assertions which we had made
in the letter. He offered to
provide us with that evidence.
Mr. Diehl expressed an interest
in seeing the evidence, and
Jones said that he would send
it by mail. Diehl suggested that
a controlled experiment,
designed by impartial
investigators, might be
conducted on this campus,
with the aim of testing the
relative effectiveness of
different reading programs.
The results, it was
suggested, might be published
in the Nebraskan, giving
prospective enrollees a chance
to make a better informed
decision than they can now
make. Mr. Jones said that he.
ll
. Lamm 1 .
(Hear Al Lowenstein speak today at 3:30 in the Union.)
a test; but that he would need
to seek permission from the
home office of the franchise, in
Denver. It was agreed that he
would write Diehl, giving the
answer of the home office. We
have never received any
communication from Jones.
In the meantime the
Publications Board of the Daily
Nebraskan, fearful of a libel
suit, withheld publication of
the letter until they could be
advised as to whether the letter
was libelous. Our own attorney
believed that the letter was not
libelous. After a delay of
several weeks, however a
member of the law firm
employed by the Regents said
that he believed it should not
be published. Since hearing of
his opinion we have tried to
discover the particular reasons
for his belief. We have not
succeeded. We have no desire
to write a letter which even
arguably would libel Reading
Dynamics. We would like to
see the original letter published
with whatever revisions are
deemed necessary.
Since that has not been
possible, we have provided this
narrative of events. We cannot
claim to know whether our
right to free speech was unduly
infringed by an over-cautious
legal opinion or whether we
were merely imprudent in our
remarks although we cannot in
conscience retract any of
them). We do know that there
ought to be swifter decisions,
with reasons given, if the taint
of illicit censorship is to be
avoided. As for the advertising
of Reading Dynamics, we wish
we could state our specific
complaints, but failing that
opportunity, we can only
conclude by suggesting that in
all commercial enterprises,
even of an educational nature,
the buyer must beware.
Donald Jensen,
associate professor of
psychology
John Diehl, instructor
in philosophy
PAGE 2
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 1971
