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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1971)
, -c-. , , , Bl ASUN needs reorganizing How effective is ASUN? That question has been asked for years. It is usually answered: "Yes, it can be effective, and this year promises to be better than.last." Maybe so, but there are a good number of questions to be asked about the internal organization of the student government before external effectiveness can be examined. It is generally assumed that all or most of ASUN's work is done in committees, and not necessarily at the Wednesday ASUN Senate meetings. With this assumption we may ask if the committees are representative of the needs of students on this campus. In the same breath we might ask if the senators themselves are representative. Generally, these questions are never answered. The situation is stale. All of these questions revolve around the visible external effectiveness of the governmental structure itself. Internal effectiveness is seldom measured. The current constitution of ASUN was written in 1966. An attempt at revision was tried in 1968 but failed at the polls due to a poor student voter turnout. The shot in the arm that ASUN needs most is not increased faculty support or increased administrative support. Its most pressing need is internal reorganization. ASUN committees address themselves to more issues that they can possibly deal with. Most of ASUN's effective leaders are so badly overcommitted now that it is hard to imagine an effective response to every valid student need. A new ASUN could take the following course: 1) Constitutional revision should begin, with extensive emphasis on an internal organization which would create a large number of student positions with responsibility. They should address a particular issue and then confront the Senate with a proposal for consideration and adoption; 2) Executive positions should be managerial instead of task oriented to facilitate effective coordination, communication and delegation of decision-making powers. 3) Electoral reform should be initiated to enable all students to vote on candidates and issues with little hassle and plenty of reliable information. 4) Structures should be created whereby every student is knowledgeble of ASUN's function and appreciative of it. In the past ASUN has been burdened with a lot of dead weight, the bulk of it bring its own internal structure. With proper student participation, needed reorganization can be accomplished. But initial moves must come from within ASUN itself in order for the action to be effective. Barry Pilger Irrigating the desert For a long time Nebraska has been known as a cultural wasteland, with the University acting as the state's oasis. But two recent developments indicate that Nebraskans are concerned about expanding the arts on campus and throughout the state. Last week students, faculty and administrators agreed on intial steps to be taken in establishing an arts council for UNL. Backers of the proposed council are recommending that the council become a recognized part of the University and be supported by University funds. One of the main functions of the council would be to centralize publicity of art related happenings on campus, something which has never been done. Supporters of the council are also interested in developing, methods to increase student interest in the arts. While an arts council for the UNL campus is beginning to take shape, interest is also mounting for the creation- of a regional arts council. A regional council could aid the arts in this area by encouraging greater community participation and by bringing national artists into the region. The University's role in any regional council that is formed will be important since the school is the greatest reservoir of the arts in the state. However, there has been a slump in taking this reservoir to other parts of the state, according to NU President D. B. Varner. Nebraska does not have to be a cultural desert. The creation of arts councils on the regional and campus levels would provide a needed impetus in the development of the arts in the state. Gary Seacrest. PAGE 4 This will be very simitar to jawboning, only really quite different. y G It ( bill smltherman A breakdown in communications Possibly one of the all-time classic cases of communica tions breakdown in the University community came to light shortly before school opened this fall. It was only one week before the start of classes that the Department of Traffic and Security was informed that space they were planning on as parking for some 800 cars was to be immediately converted to a recreational area. Parking permits were already being issued for this area and the department has had a continuing problem in finding parking for these displaced cars. Though the Regents accepted contracts for the construction of the recreation area last spring, the message seems not to have reached. Traffic and Security. The area remained a parking lot through the summer as funding for the project was tied up in the state Department of Administrative Services. Then, on August 15, funds were approved and the start of construction was announced a short time later. This came as a surprise to Traffic and Security, even though they knew the area would eventually be converted to recreation area. The department asked the University to wait on construction until the spring so that they could have time to develop new parking. However, the contracts were already signed and the university was obligated to start construction as soon as possible. So, the recreation area was begun and suddenly there were 800 fewer student parking spaces with nothing available to replace them. There are plans for two new parking lots. I I, i, . . i Hi l,r 4 I . 4 1 ''i'II) lit 'I ill.. .i,,.,i,. ll.i: lj.nl I Ji hr i in i, ,i . I. i'l. i, I J ti i ii-1 : i I i,l IJi lir i .i '. .iilini (' i riilnlrti l A'lilr.v. It, i D.,il J, ., ., H t.r.i'.k .1, I in i i, Ii, ti:lif .i I,;;1,!!'.', . 1" w . A I .' :',v .,iVi 1 1, .ii,,! Il.llll .ll I III' I, III. fg. t, !,,,, Imliln ilii.-,. u,,l. p, nl ih, H MC IIIHll. I.lllllly .mil '.llllll lll 4 Ni ln,i .i IJnii, lit 1 1 V :f I y til but the department must wait for funds. The pity of this story is the lack of communication between elements of the university community. A recreation area will be a great asset to students, but when the contracts were accepted last spring the Department of Traffic arjd Security should have been notified. The contracts were a matter of public records, but the significance of the acceptance could have been lost in a news story. At any rate, the Traffic and Security Department should not have to learn what is going on in the university through newspapers, especially when it concerns them directly. This foul-up has inconvenienced, directly or indirectly, thousands of students. But, there is no permanent harm done. It is easy to imagine a situation where lack of communication such as this could seriously hamper University operations. This incident should cause the university to take a close look at its system of internal communications and close the gaps so that more breakdowns will not take place. THE DAILY NEBRASKAN WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1971