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Student lobby urged as preparation for 'crunch'
Frequent comolaints are voiced an this
campus against the apathy so prevalent in
students, particularly in regard to student
government, or rather, the lack of it.
These gripes certainly are legitimate.
Indeed, we seem to have sunk into a mire of
complacency, mirrored by the rise of
disinterest and reflected in the overwhelming
concern with what happens at Memorial
Stadium in that hour-and-a-half on Saturday
afternoons.
joe dreesen
smiling grimly
In all fairness, this is surely not something
restricted to UNL. It appears to be a
nationwide trend, resulting in part from a
backlash of the student activism of the '60s.
There is no draft to protest against anymore,
and students instead are caught up in
matters of practicality, worried about
whether they will have a job after they leave
school and so on. But how long pan, and will,
this "complacency" last?
As you look out your window, beyond the
University of Nebraska, you will see that
tilings are disquieting, to say the least. Our
economy is failing rapidly, despite the
childish utterancesof optimism expressed by
Gerald Ford.
Unfortunately, this campus is not immune
to the ever-increasing ills of our economy.
For the crux of the matter is, that John
Cornhusker, sitting in room 001 in Harper
Hall, is soon to undergo a rude awakening.
The problem of apathy will be solved because
students are going to be forced into concerted
action.
How?
When money becomes tight, budget cuts
are frequent and unmerciful, particularly in
regard to social programs and education. If
the economy continues plunging downward,
as predicted, our education will feel the
crunch first and probably hardest. Thus,
students are going to have to make sure they
have a strong and legitimate voice in
decisions made concerning university
economics.. .
The best way of insuring this is by setting
up a potent student lobby, funded by the
students themselves. In effect, it would be a
watchdog program, set up to make sure the
Unicameral doesn't strip us of everything
except our underwear.
This idea has been tried at several other
schools with much success. In fact, the
student lobby at Berkeley is rated as one of
the most effective lobbying groups in the
California legislature, which proves it can
work.
You don't "need a weatherman to tell you
which way the wind is blowing," and it might
be wise to be prepared for the storm in the
event it does occur. Even if the economic
situation brightens, a student lobby still
would be effective in bypassing the inef
fectiveness of student dealings with the
regents.
TH SAINT PAUL
CHAMBER
ORCHGTRA
Sponsored by University of Nebraska in cooperation
with the Lincoln Public Schools. This concert made
possible by the generosity of m. anomynou$ contributor.
CONCERT FREE TO THE PUBLIC
THE INTIMATE ORCHESTRA
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O'DONNELL AUDITORIUM
Wesleyan University -- 50th & Huntington
TONIGHT, 8 p.m.
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thursday, december 12, 1974
daily nebraskan
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