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Accountability
"A number of things at ASUN have. . .not
been covered at the depth that we need. Our
programs are not publicized well enough, and
students are not informed well enough about
our actions."
That, according to Michele Gagne, ASUN
second vice president, is the reason for
publishing a full page advertisement in
Wednesday's Daily Nebraskan. Some senators
at Wednesday 'si ASUN me ''fig were disturbed
enough by her stckbment'ta'pass a resolution
asking the Daily Nebraskan editors to explain
the paper's coverage of ASUN activities.
That invitation has not yet been received,
but will not be accepted. There are two
primary reasons for this refusal to appear.
First of all, the student newspaper is not, and
should not be, accountable to the student
government. We believe that such an
appearance would set a dangerous precedent
of student government influencing the
student press, as well as opening unlimited
possibilities of outside control of the Daily
Nebraskan, thus depriving UNL students of a
free press.
Secondly, we believe that the Daily
Nebraskan has provided the University
community with coverage of ASUN business
that has been accurate, fair, and as complete
as possible. A review of Wednesday's ASUN
advertisement reveals that much of the
so-called "news" is actually history.
More than 75 per cent of the programs
touted in that page of ASUN "News &
Views" were proposed andor developed by
previous student government administrations.
Much of the remainder of the statement
consisted of attractive proposals for future
action. But attractive proposals have an ,
uncanny way of dying before
implementation.
Of the eight standing committees described
in the advertisement, only one (Student
Services) has effected an original program.
Apparently, the Associated Student Koop will
begin operation Monday. But the basic idea of
student cooperative buying at UNL dates
back to at least 1969.
Seven of the eight committees' sections
contained in the advertisement were filled
with listings of the accomplishments and
proposals of past ASUN administrations:
-The statements concerning the Center for
Educational Change, and the Communications
Committee, the Environmental Task Force
and the Legislative Liaison Committee
contained little more than explanations of
those groups' functions and duties.
While boasting of the productive
possibilities of Free University, the
advertisement fails to mention that under the
Beecher administration the Free U budget was
chopped by $1000.
-The summary of the Human Rights
Committee activities contains some of the
more prominent inaccuracies of the
advertisement. Pointing to the Tenants'
Rights Handbook as a major recent
accomplishment, the advertisers do not bring
to the readers' attention that the booklet was
prepared two years ago and distributed one
year later. Until recently ASUN President
Bruce Beecher had been adamant in his
refusal to fund UNL minority student
organizations, yet "assistance" to groups is
listed as one of the accomplishments of the
Human Rights Committee.
-The explanation of the Legal Rights
Committee cites the development of a
Student Legal Rights Information Card. That
development, in fact, took place during the
1971-72 school year. Furthermore, the
student committee chairman instrumental in
the development of the card was not
re-appointed in spite of his request for
another term. Under the leadership of his
replacement the Legal Rights Committee, to
our knowledge, has developed no new
programs or services.
-The Student Services Committee appears to
be the only arm of the ASUN administration
which has achieved anything of substance.
But this has come only after considerable
delay and expenditure of student fee money.
The Beecher administration claims the
"students are not informed well enough about
our actions." But most of the actions
cataloged in the recent advertisement are the
accomplishments of past ASUN
administrations. The Daily Nebraskan
reported them when they happened.
If and when ASUN acts the Daily
Nebraskan will make every attemp to cover
those actions. This has always been the case.
Perhaps it is ASUN, and not the Daily
Nebraskan, which should be held accountable.
Tom Lansworth
Cheryl Westcott
Michael (O.J.) Nelson
Zjegling
ulSOdSO
spreads
WASHINGTON-A mysterious new malady is sweeping
Washington. The first symptom victims show is that they
"Ziegle."
The derivation-' of this new medial term Js unclear. Bufa
-the gently struck flown ;Jn heiq Jximej was my
friend, Homer Hornet, a young ace newsman we'd all thought
tough as nails.
For the past crisis-ridden month. Hornet had the enviable
job of covering press briefings at the Pentagon and the White
House, where, twice daily, Jerry Friedheim and Ronald
Ziegler, respectively, fully inform the citizenry of what its
government is up to.
All seemed going well until last week when young Hornet
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called his wife, Harriet. "I will be returning in the very near
future," he said.
"Will that be an hour or two hours, dear?" she said. "I have
to know when to put the meat loaf in."
"My posture on that remains the same as my posture on
that was yesterday when it remamelheslme as my posture
on the day before," he said. And he hung up.
Two days later, Hornet weaved into the house to be greeted
by his frantically worried wife. She looked into his glazed eyes
and frowned. "Homer" she said accusingly. "You've gotten
bombed over at the Pentagon again."
"We have no information for you at this time as to whether
the Pentagon does, or, on the other hand, does not exist," said
Hornet.
"But of course it exists," she said. "Everybody knows
that."
"Our posture, as you well know, is never to comment on
the propaganda put out by the other side," Homer said. "I can
only tell you that no one, as far as we know at this time, has
gotten bombed. Not on purpose."
"What other side?" asked Harriet, with growing anxiety.
"I think I made it perfectly clear to you a week ago last
Wednesday that negotiations are, or, as the case may be, are
not taking place at that time," he said. "This remains my
posture on that."
"What negotiations?"
"I have no further comment on that. I don't want to inject
myself into the context at this time as to whether 'that time'
in reference to a week ago last Wednesday also refers to 'this
time' in reference to today. I think I have made this clear."
-
"Are you feeling all right, dear?" Harriet asked, wringing
her hands.
"I have no further comment on that. When I said earlier
this week that I felt fine on my way to the White House
which may or may not-and I don't wish to go further into
that at this time-exist-aaagqghhhj'
When Hornet collapsed, Harriet rushed him to the hospital
Overworked physicians took one look at him and diagnosed
his case as "Acute Inflammatory Zieglitis," a
non-cummunicable Washington disease that has reached the
epidemic stage around here.
I called the other day to inquire as to his condition. "His
posture, said the doctor, "is the same as his posture was
yesterday and the day before that."
"What is his posture?" I asked apprehensively.
"He lies with his legs drawn up in a fetal position," said the
aocior wun a sign, ootn hands clapped across his mouth "
(Copyrloht Chronicl. Publithlng Co. 1973) ov,,us mouir.
page 4
daily nebraskan
friday, january 26, 1973
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