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
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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.
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