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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1971)
rr -: I 1 I - v t i n Pi '! ' '! 'f ) v$ ! ." ft ? j U . S -" .l ,9 ,1 J I i r J t i! - 1 ft ? ,... . i ,04 Reform ? There aren't many UNL students who at one .time or 1 another haven't found themselves in a crowded classroom listening to an uninspired professor drone on and on about some subject deemed vital to a college education by long-dead administrators who decided decades ago to make it part of a group requirement. Most students shruff off such situations. After all, the financial benefits realized by obtaining a college degree are worth a certain number of intellectual insults and a few hours a week of shifting around in a creaking wooden chair. The degredation only lasts about four years. A few conscientious students at one extreme turn their other cheek and try valiantly to find worth in worthless courses, and a few conscientious students at the other extreme get angry enough to either leave school or try o change the educational system that produced the worthless courses. These activist students, outnumbered by their apathetic fellow students and snubbed by many faculty members and administrators, face seemingly insurmountable barriers in fighting for educational reform. u But, surprisingly enough, dedicated students have made an impact on the academic offerings of the University. The increased student activism of the '60s did not escape Nebraska. Centennial College was in large part the child of ASUN's educational reform committee. Increased passfail and independent study options are the results of diligent work on the part of various college advisory boards. Today The Daily Nebraskan starts a four-part series that takes a look at the numerous channels for educational innovation that have opened to students at UNL over the past few years. Unfortunately, the series seems to reveal a lessening of interest in educational reform among the students who recently have so vigorously supported it. There is even talk that Nebraska Free Univesity may fold for lack of interest. Throughout the country the decrease in radicalism on college campuses has usually been interpreted as an increase in responsibility on the part of students, a stronger tendency to work through channels. But at UNL the end of the age of radicalism could be ushering in another age of stupor. If this is so, the University may soon return to the stagnant status quo which was so prevalent in educational institutions before students challenged it. Steve Strasser Political power Youth power. What role will it play in the .1972 Presidential election? If last weekend's Emergency Conference for New Voters in Chicago is any indication, youth can play an important role in next year's elections. Students from nearly every state met in Chicago to formulate a National Youth Caucus. In the coming months the non-partisan Youth Caucus, with the help of local groups, will work on registering young voters, reforming the political parties and electing youth-oriented candidates to local and national political conventions. One of the reasons the caucus was formed was that it appears the two major parties are not particularly anxious to welcome the newly enfranchised voters as full participants in the politics of 1972. The caucus will ericourage youth-oriented candidates to seek delegate positions to the national conventions so the Democrats and the Republicans, will not simply fill their "youth slots" on their delegations with young party hacks. The potential of the youth vote is tremendous since an estimated 25 million youth will be eligible to vote in their first Presidential election in 1972. Many hope that 1972 will see the emergence of youth-oriented campaigns like those of Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy in 1968. The campaigns of Kennedy and McCarthy in 1968 showed that the structure of the old politics can buckle under hard pressure when it is correctly applied. Hopefully, the Youth Caucus in 1972 can have more success in cracking the old politics. Gary Seacrest PAGE 4 Win 9 s a , '72 DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL PICTURE, 'How many times do I have to tell you? I AM NOT HERE! " bob russoll Ebenezer Scrooge's guide to Christmas Well, Christmas cheer is here once again. Those delightful Christmas television commercials are on and we have the opportunity to partake of that pleasure of Christmas shopping and giving gifts to our loved ones and relatives. Here I help you out with some helpful handy tips I have collected over the years. How do you find out what they want? The most obvious way to find out what someone wants is to ask them. Howeverthis is rather obvious and takes all the deception out of gift giving. The most successful method I have found goes like this: if you are a man and wish to find out what your wife or some other woman wants, go to the ' nearest phone booth, lift the phone off the hook, put your handkerchief over the receiver and proceed to make an obscene phone call. Dial her number, and when she answers, breath heavily (Aaaaagh, Hmuunngh, Aaaarggh, Hmnuuugh, Raaargh, Haargh). Then ask her suddenly what she wants for Christmas. She'll be so shocked that she will tell you. What are some good guidelines on the amount to be spent for gifts? THE DAILY NEBRASKAN With this simple guide, you can get a good idea of how much to spend on particular individuals. Group One ($20 and above): political associates, business friends and large business customers. Group Two ($10-$20): people with whom you have an illicit romantic relationship or your fiance. Group Three ($5.99-$9.99): children, brothers, sisters, parents and wife. Group Four ($2.99 $5.99): anyone in none of the above or below groups. Group Five (zero-$2.99): in-laws and other outlaws. First of all, you must decide if the person really deserves a gift. What did he or she give you last year? How much did it cost? With these things in mind, you can easily eliminate a few people you used to call "friend." You know where their hearts really are. Another tip is 'to shop at discount stores, remove the brand label, and replace it with the label of a well-known brand. The sucker getting the gift will never know the difference, until the gift collapses two weeks later. What is the proper way to wrap and present a gift? Preferably, the gift should be completely wrapped, so that the person can't tell what the gift is. But remember not to wrap the gift with the same paper in which they wrapped your gift the year before. Remember to leave the price tag on the gift, so the people know where your heart is. If the price was not quite high enough, blank price tags can be bought at any office supply store. Who should one send Christmas cards to? Similar to gifts, you can check your Christmas card list. If they haven't sent you a card lately. Golden Rule them and don't sent them one. Otherwise, make sure all of your non-Christian friends receive a card with a quote from the New Testament on it. Wh3t kind of Christmas tree should one get? Usually people get a tree of the fir variety, although Dutch Elms, Walnuts, etc. are permissible. One particularly "together" tree for you members of the "now generation" is one I saw in a local discount store. It's a plastic, artificial fir tree sprayed with pink flourescent artificial snow. Under a black light, this jewel will make for a particularly psychedelic Christmas. J MONDAY. DECEMBER 6. 1971