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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 1974)
i ,X VI. J Free Uni A-ok, but attendance shaliow By Susaw.e Schafer Free University has received its grades for the past semester, and as far as its course leaders are concerned, it gets all As. But if any evaluation of the Free University were based on attendance, they say, most of its initial participants would clearly fail. Free University, "an alternative to the present educational system," as chairman Dave Howlett describes it, offers courses on topics ranging from science fiction to sewing. It is open to any person in the Lincoln community, although it is organized and funded through the ASUN Senate. One dollar tuition per course is required. The major thrust of the program this semester will be to reach even more community members outside the University environs, Howlett said. He said more than 700 students registered for the fall session, "definitely an improvement over the previous year, when only 250 persons took part." But, according tc estimates of a number of course leaders, less than one third of those who signed up continued their course through the semester. Most courses last four to six weeks, Howlett said, but some folded after the first or second session. A number continued the entire semester, and a few carried into this spring, he said. The Free University committee will attempt to place one of its members at each initial course meeting as well as keep better track of the progress of the courses and participants, he said. "We just didn't have the staff to get out to the courses," Howlett said. Instructors, however, voiced enthusiasm for the program. Peter Salter, a Lincoln printer who offered a course in offset printing last semester, says he is so interested in the Free University he will offer another course this spring titled "On the Principles of Go, an Oriental Game." Salters said 25 persons came to his first lecture, but only eight remained for the seven session course. "But even if $hey onl came the first time, they got a bit of the spectrum of printing," he said. Those who did complete the course "got so good that they could complete every step of the offset process," he said. Because of the wide range of courses and their short descriptions, a large number of students sign up, but not everyone finds what he or she is looking for, according to Rita Kumm. She organized a course titled "Human Liberation for Men and Women." "Everybody had a different reason for being in such a course. One woman wanted to know about birth control methods, another about the womens' movement, and two guys just wanted to get into other people's heads, no academics. Others just wanted a class," she said. See Free, Page 3 r cbilu unb(r6)k3)!fi) Wednesday, february 6, 1974 lincoln, nebraska vol. 97 no. 13 CSL task force: Abolish open door, add hours By Mark Hoffman Changes in UNL's residence hall visitation and alcohol policies, as well as a variety of living situations are among the recommendations of the Council on Student Life's (CSL) differentiated housing task fores. The task force, an ad hoc subcommittee of the CSL Housing Policy Committee, made the recommendations in ateport presented to CSL last week. According to task force chairman Tim Evensen, the changes would "allow (a living environment) for everybody, whatever kind of person you are." CSL will discuss the report at its meeting Thursday. The recommendations include: -A visitation policy allowing either none, 6, 12, 18 'or 24 hour - of jpged visitation in tttflmM residence halls. -Designating some floors for students with similar interests. " -Doing away with the open door policy, and changing the sponsorship policy sc? floors, instead of individuals, would sponsor visitation hours. -Allowing alcohol in residence halls, except for Cather, Pound and Fedde Halls, which would abide by the present policy. -Making floors six, seven, eight and nine of Abel Hall coed by wings and making the 5000 and 8000 wings of Selleck Quad ingle coed by alternating floors. Differentiated housing would make residence halls appeal to different people, Evensen said. The report calls for current visitation and alcohol policies to remain the same at the Cather-Pound Complex, while Abel and Schramm Halls would have the greatest policy changes by allowing alcohol and a maximum of 24 hours of coed visitation. Making the Abel floors coed would require little expense because the north and south sides of each Abel floor have their own bathrooms, the report said. The only expense involved would be limited rennovation of bathrooms on the women's side to meet their needs, and possibly a system of locked doors between the two wings, Evensen said. At Selleck, the changes would affect the 5000 wing, which currently houses women, and the 8000 wing which houses men. The other Selleck wings would be unchanged. The task force suggested abolishing the open door policy because the open door violates the individual's privacy, and studying was disturbed by the noise level Iri the halls. The open door policy requires residents t keep room doors open when enetertaining guests of the opposite sex. In a telephone survey with other Big 8 schools, Evensen found that UNL has "the least visitation, and has open door and sponsorship (policies)...which are about obsolete in the Big 8," he said. According to the survey: -Only UNL has an "open door" policy. -Only UNL and the University of Missouri (MU) have a sponsorship policy. Oklahoma State University (OSU), University of Colorado (CU) and University of Kansas (KU) have sscort policies. The other have no sponsorship. UNL's six hours of visitation a day and 12 hours on Saturday are the fewest in the Big 8. The most similar policy is MU's with 10 hours a day, and eleven and one half on Friday and Saturday. Kansas State University (KSU), KU and CU have 24 hours of visitation. Evensen said the three schools with 24-hour POUND (WOMENS) WIL 5ANDOZCWEN5rmi 0& HOURS FEDOHCW0NHN5VW.I 0Z HOURS o-ia HOURS PR35NT POUCY NOALCOMOL F TMiV-WANT IF-THiV WAMT NO' ALCOHOL CO-ED N5IMARDT44ALL SCMRAMfA By Towers. , BURR-HALL AEL (floors 8)miL 5E11ECK.QUADRANGL 0-I8 HOURS O-ZM HOURS O-IZ HOURS IF TVEV WATT IFTHEYWANT p. 17-WANT Q-ZL HOURS 3 if- HEY-want CH8 MOURS ?D TH ' OON C0NC3RNIH3 visitation had reported no problems with the system. The occupancy rate at KSU was 100 per cent, for KU 88 per cent, and CU 106 per cent, according to one survey. This compares to a 93 per cent occupancy rate for UNL. In anothet survey of Big 8 schools made by Kenneth Swerdlow, UNL assistant director of housing, UNL, MU, Oklahoma University (OU), and OSU prohibit alcohol in residence halls. CU and Iowa State University (ISU) allow alcohol, and KU and KSU allow 3.2 beer. In a telephone survey of about 300 former dormitory residents who have moved to off-campus housing, the task force found that 42 per cent said they did not get what they paid for while living in a residence hall. - ' - . This compared with 49 per cent wtio were satisfied with the rosts versus what a residence hall offered, and 9 per cent who were neutral. Former residents also were asked if they would ever again live in a UNL residence hall. 47 per cent said they would not go back, 40 per cent would, and 13 per cent remained neutral. According to Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Ken Bader, the occupancy level in UNL residence halls over the past six years has declined from a first-semester high of 98.01 per cent in 1968-69 to a first-semester low of 92.47 per cent this year. Over the same six years, the second-semester occupancy rate ranges from a high of 90.25 percent in 1 908 69 to a near low of 85.66 per cent this year. In the second semester of 1969-70, the level dropped to 85.02 per cent. Swerdlow said the previous occupancy rate at which residence halls would break even was about 91 per cent. Cost-saving measures have reduced the necessary level to below 91 per cent, but he would not know where that level is until the end of the school year, he said. Another change recommended by the task force would designate certain floors in certain halls for students with particular interests. For example, one floor In Schramm Hall might be designated for music majors, another floor might be reserved for people who like to play stereos loud and another floor would be designated a quiet, or study floor. By encouraging students with similar interests and majors to live together, the living environment might iead to more of a learning environment, fcvensensaid. The possibilities are endless for what a floor can do, Evensen said. He said the floors could make whatever they wanted out of their environment within their hall's guidelines. As for the UNL student-he would only have to pick out the hall with the policies that best suited him. f D700 U-I-ZN An open hearing will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. on LB783, the bill that would allow alcohol on campus. ASUN Legislative Liaison chairman Con Zutavem said he encourages students to attend the hearing. Sen. Steve Fowler, one of the bill's sponsors, will be in Harper Hall's main lounge today at 8 p.m. to answer students' questions on the issue. The hearing will be in Room 1019 of the Capitol. i t 1. fc. . V V.V.V-V 5, V v k ' .. V V y V. VK-V X a. a V x v v v.i y u U V A . A A A . ft A. A A, 4 A . i y 4 i .