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ediforio
Academic acdaim in Nil's reach
The University's road to excellence
could be a rocky one, especially If the
Legislature won't pave It with dollar
signs. . '
Nonetheless, NU officials are right
in striving to shed the University's
mediocre image.
This week, faculty, 'staff and
students have discussed the recently
announced second-year strategy of
NU's five-year 'Toward Excellence"
plan. Adopted in 1973, the plan aims
to improve the quality of education at
NU.
However, some changes in the
proposed second-year strategy are
needed. Several revisions suggested
at the Faculty Senate meeting and the
open hearing this week seemingly,
would improve the plan.
One suggestion would assign prior
ities to all the recommendations made
in the five-year plan. The plan
suggests improvements in the areas
of agriculture, the life sciences,
environmental and resource manage-
ment, the performing arts and Love
Library, as well as in such areas as
graduate education and teacher eval
uations. However, these areas are not
ranked in order of their importance
for obtaining "excellence."
It is doubtful the Unicameral will
appropriate the desired funds for
every suggested improvement. Legis
lators should know what areas are
most crucial to improving education
so,' if they must cut funding, they can
do so in other less-important areas.
Another suggestion made at the
Faculty Senate meeting would "de
fine the missions" of the three NU
campuses to avoid unnecessary dupli
cation of programs.
By eliminating unneeded overlap,
the University could put more faculty
and more money into departments
needing improvement.
A third recommendation would
standardize the method of counting
enrollment on the three campuses.
Currently, UNO uses "head count"
enrollment figures.
UNL uses a division process
instead, to obtain the number of
full-time student credit loc.ds (12
hours each) as its enrollment figures.
These figures often determine how
much money the Unicameral will
allocate to a campus. If campus
figures are based on different stan
dards, the appropriations cannot
possibly be fair.
The Board of Regents will meet
Saturday to consider these and other
recommended changes in the
"Toward Excellence" plan. By adopt
ing these three suggestions, the
regents could push NU one inch
closer to academic acclaim.
Jane Owens
Graduates, take heart:
professions are a 'waste'
Graduating seniors this December, worried about the
latest unemployment figures at home despair no
more. Somewhere, there's a job waiting for you.
Just last week, 1,500 Ph.D.'s congregated in New
York for a "stimulating" international conference on
their new trade.
Their scholarly paper, "The Scientific Inefficiencies
of the Present System of Waste Collection and
Expellation," concluded enthusiastically: "There Is a
growing, urgent demand for advanced interdisciplinary
scholars in our field. We urge the college graduate to
consider a career in waste."
Some people, of course, would consider the career
itself a waste.
"We used to be bitter about it, sure," admitted the
conference chairman, who studied 12 years for a
doctorate in marine biology. "But we can't see keeping
it under the lids any longer. We're proud to contribute
our brains, too, to society.
"Right now we need an architectural engineer," he
said, "to design the 'perfect, clang-free, eye-pleasing
garbage can.'"
Elsewhere the story's the same. The mentality of the
average street sweeper, bellhop, chauffeur, waiter and
milkman climbs ever higher as these fields open up to
promising young college grads.
But most do not feel they are overtrained and are
anything but ashamed of their jobs.
nancy stohs
Dear Editor,
Throughout the recent articles on
Campus Life Insurance sales practi
ces (Daily Nebraskan, Dec. 4 and 5) a
running battle has developed be
tween Leonard Berekson, a UNL
professor of insurance, and Charles
Severin of Fidelity Union.
I stronly object to Severin's efforts
to skirt the basic issue by attempting
to discredit Berekson.
I have taken three classes from
Berekson, and the only statements I
have heard that could be Interpreted
as a "specific charge" against any
life insurance company of the life
insurance industry as a whole are his
statements concerning the failure of
some agents to take the time to
analyze a student's actual need for
life insurance.
Although I suspect Berekson's
opinions may have become an eco
nomic issue with Severin, they are not
the real issue. The real issue is
Severin's product and the methods
used to sell it.
The product marketed by f idelity
Union and other companies in the
field very rarely meets the need of the
college student, if indeed a need
exists.
The real conflict is between the
students of this University and
campus insurance salesmen who are
out to make as much money as
possible. The Salesmen exploit a
basically uneducated market (with
respect to life insurance) under the
guise of performing a vital service.
A good life insurance agent will
take the time to sell a student the
amount of insurance he needs, not the
amount the agent needs to sell.
I invite any interested persons to
an open meeting on this issue to be
held on Thursday at 3 p.m. in the
Nebraska Union Small Auditorium.
Kevin Sullivan
"I'm just doing what any great philosopher is trained
to do in life," said an ex-philosophy 'professor, "make
the best of my lot." He pours asphalt.
As more Archie Bunkers share shovels with .the
Joneses, and white collars fade into blue, understand
ing and cohesion between classes is increasing.
A nuclear physicist, once intending to send floating
skylabs to Jupiter, now stuffs toy spacemen into cereal
boxes.
"I figure half of what I learned in college will be
obsolete in a few years anyway," he said. "And this
way I'm helping to feed the starving millions, right here
on earth."
"Some students think they can beat the flooded
markets by joining a field that is publicizing a work
shortage, ,f said one Harvard Law School alumnus.
"But by the time they get in and out of school, it's too
late. They meet 50,000 other students at the
employment office who had the same idea."
So, tbe message for next week on campus Is fairly
clear: study diligently for finals, lose sleep, worry about
grades and in the process ignore the more pressing
problems of the world outside and ruin your health.
In other words, keep on truckin', and someday you
may do just that If you're lucky. .
"Now that I'm committed to my waste profession,
I've found tha real value of my diplomas and
certificates" the keynote speaker at the conference
said emotionally. He turned, pointed to a garbage can
and smiled: "Waste. Recyclable waste."
job satisfaction.
muvv mat
I. " r, 'Hi ' Xiirn
t v .ihl
"Whatever In the world possessed poor Wilbur?"
page 4'
daily nebraskan
thursday, decembcr 12, 1974
