opinion
Ton Weist, a junior ia the College of Arti and Sciences, is a
member and past chairman of the Arts and Sciences Advisory
Board.
fcase recently talked with some students around campus
who have completed the foreign language requirement at
least two years ago with a grade of '8' or above, lasted them,
"How do you sey "put the choir in the corner, or I gave them
some other short sentence to translate. Six out of seven
thought a while and said, dont know," the other finally
stumbled through the translation.''
-from a students letter on the language requirement
No rule of the College of Arts and Sciences has drawn as
much criticism as the language requirement. No other
requirement, in the students opinion, has as little value to
their education. None seems as easily forgotten.
The University's role in society and in students' lives has
changed. In 1900, fear per cent of the 18-20 age group
attended college. Today, 48 per cent attend. Most likely the
student of 1909 was either rich or be was gifted and interested
in being a professional scholar. Today he is most likely neither.
A """liberal education probably servul the needs of the
stutent of 1900, but it does not serve the needs of today's
students. Not all students have gifts that blossom in a liberal
education, and not every student mill need a liberal education.
Students have written 45 letters to the dean of the College
of Arts and Sciences concerning the language requirement. The
letters called for mare vocational emphasis in their educational
program. The vocational aspect of college education is implicit
in the mass enrollments of American colleges. If the
curriculum is to meet the current student's needs, it must
allow for a greater variety of students choosing among a wider
variety of opportunities.
The curriculum of the College of Arts and Sciences is facing
its fast major revision since 1954. Priority in this revision must
not be given to nuxataming the standards of the college, or
to producing "men who have an acquaintance with all the
fields of human endeavor, or to producing "cultured men or
to avoiding asking colleagues to break their rice bowk and
must be given to the education of all the students
on what they need to know. This duty to the student and his
individual needs is the ultimate mission of the college.
Requiring that each student take four semesters of a
language no longer serves this mission. For the vast majority of
students who do not plan to be professional scholars, a second
language is not a vocational need.
Those who claim four semesters of language gives students a
necessary understanding of "cultural pluralism need only
consider what the average student retains from language study.
Those who make the untested hypothesis that four semesters
of foreign language is the most efficient way of giving students
an understanding of cultural pluralism should look at those
same results.
There is no better evidence of the failure of required
language study than the students hostility toward it. The vast
majority of students hold the opinion that the language
requirement "wastes their time and their time is better spent
in "more useful areas.
We have come to accept that the best evidence of a
professor's teaching ability is the opinion of his students.
Similarly, the best . gauge of a course's value is the opinion of
the students taking it.
Required language study does not serve the needs of most
students. It does not serve their vocational goals nor does it
use then- talents to give them social or cultural insights.
Required courses must serve the needs of the students.
6 Sin:!) I O
Roasting the reviewers
Dear editor:
3 was a member of the cast of The Survival of St
Joan, -and would like to make a few comments on the
review in Che Daily Nebraskan.
Admittedly, they were right about show not
allowing much room for characterizations, but they
forget completely that it as an opera form not a
drama form. The emphasis must he on the music and
dance in a production which depends upon
ensembles. Many things could have been perfected,
but remember this was not a Broadway production.
The cast was entirely amateur.
Kosmet Klub was founded on class plays 1 years
ago. The JClub has held to the tradition of allowing
lion -professionals to participate in the spring show..
You doht have to be a drama or music major to be
involved since it is not affiliated with either
department of the University. I think the review may
have hurt this effort more than Hubert and Gray
realize.
The fact that we, the cast, are amateurs driest
mean the show was bad. On the contrary, thz show
was an outstanding effort. It infuriates me to think of
the months of work put into this production only to
have it ripped apart by a review like the one given in
the Daily Nebraskan. The production placed a great
deal of responsiblity on all the people involved. Most
of the performance weight rested .upon the principal
actors, many of whom were very experienced and
generally over 3D.
The choreography of the show may not have been
totally fantastic at all times, but the majority of
dances were well done. I know this was the mont
difficult dancing ever attempted in a Kosmet Klub
production, requiring physical endurance and
flexibility. Try outs attested to this.
If your review ham"! done loo much damage,
participating in these productions may continue to
involve future cast members who care about this
University's activities and traditions and who love
music and dance.
Kay Johnson
Journalistic delinquency
Dear editor:
The Lincoln's Gazette's sensationalism without
fact as by far She most effrontary insult to joranalism
this campus has ever seen. I am referring to the two
articles about the "Rag" in the Gazette's last issue.
Those people assume too much in their
publication ?). They assume we know Che fads when,
in the first place, they don't even know them. Name
calling is the policy of juveniles or people who think
like juveniles. In doing so they make an assume or
anybody who will bow down to mere rhetoric of
facts.
It seems to me that Doc iLurtenbach's integrity
C which is one of his most important principles) seems
to have gone down the drain. By the sound of his
own voice, and the applause of the groundlings he
inevitably makes the jump from logic to mere
rhetoric.
Any f ood can come without destructive criticism,
but it takes a man to come out or up with
constructive criticism.
Gordon E. Musch
Visionary compliant
Dear editor:
Although I am in basic agreement with the review
on "St. loan," it seems to me that our
overly-vehement critics have struck out on one point
Hubert and Gray give high praise to the technical
portion of the play. They (evidently didn't notice the
many viewers who had to move to other seats in
order to see even a portion of the screen, which was
blocked by the enormous steeples. Anyone sealed on
the sides had at least one-f ourth of their vision cut off
by those very poorly placed obstructions.
It seems that Knbert and Gray were in such a
frenzy to write just another scathing review that they
failed to notice what was a major objection to many
members of the audience.
MarkLowry
Freedom fighters
Dear editor:
In Pager's "Vietnamizatioa or automated
genocide editorial, Monday, April 17, he said, "Yet,
while it has remained dear that military efforts in
that part of the world have been ineffective, Nixon
again responded with more American military
movement.
I would bring to Finger's attention that were it not
the American involvement it is highly probable that
al of Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam would now
be 'Hiberated,"" as the North Vietnamese say. If he
doesn't think that sounds so bad, I suggest he try
writing anti-government policy editorials there to see
how long Ms editorial ""liberty" lasts and whether he
might consider fighting far that freedom.
Craig Johnson
Cursory coverage
Dear editor
In your editorial of April 13, you suggest that part
of the blame for Nebraska being a "cultural
wasteland can be laid at the feet of those students
who fa! to take advantage of those fine opportunities
brought here by various campus organizations.
Perhaps so.
I should suggest, however, that this year a good
share of the blame for that failure can be attributed
to the performance and She editorial policies of the
Dairy Nebraska. A case of this performance
happened last weekend irnvdhring the free concerts
given at the Nebraska Union by the McCoy Tyner
Quartet and by Doc Watson. The former are among
the formost avant-garde jazz musicians in the
(country. The latter is simply the best flat-picking
blur grass and moutam guitar player who ever loved.
Nothing like either has ever been here. Both concerts
were randerattended, in part, I think, because of She
refusal of your entertainment editor, Larry Hubert,
to publicize either event, save in the most cursory
That my ox is somewhat gored in that Hubert
refused to print an article I wrote praising and
publicizing Doc Watson, as he refused to print one by
Vic Lewis a McCoy Tyner, is true. That bis farther
bumbling meant the two articles could not be
published elsewhere in the paper is also true. But that
this adequately represents his performance all year is
trueasweXL
Time and time again Hubert has refused to
publicize significant cultural events on campus
because space was needed to push tfte James Gang
and Grand Frank Railroad. And Jesus Christ as Mick
Jaeger. And other trivial, equally expensive events in
no way connected with the University..
As Hong as the Daily NeJnaskaa has such a policy,
your sanctimonious attack on the taste of University
students seems odd.
Cater Charhblee
WEDNESDAY- APRIL--19; 1372
TKErDAffcY INEERASKAN
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