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Regents' wrath shifts Visiiation endurmq issue
The NU Board of Regents works in mysterious ways.
Surprisingly enough to students, the object of its wrath from
month to month seems as likely to be faculty or administrators as
it is students. Witness last Saturday's meeting.
While the board was shaking the foundations of the academic
world by hinting that there may be some changes in the tenure
system, it not only left its old nemesis-students-alone, but
actually made a decision or two that they will find hard to take
offense at.
East Campus students gained more at last Saturday's meeting
than just a new elevator for the Foods and Nutrition Building. The
board approved construction of a $4.3 million East Campus
Student Center. The building is to be financed by revenue bonds
that eventually will be paid off by student fees.
The student center is a much-needed addition to East Campus;
and if the temptation to fill it with private businesses can be
avoided, the board can be commended for willing to spend the
money in times that are less than encouraging.
The board also approved contract negotiations between the
athletic department and two professional football teams, the
Baltimore Colts and the Atlanta Falcons, for an exhibition game in
Memorial Stadium on Aug. 16. Expenses for the game are
estimated at about $40,000. Any profit that results will be split
between the two teams and the athletic department.
Students directly benefit in that, for the first time since an
exhibition game in western Nebraska eight years ago, professional
football will be coming to Nebraska instead of vice versa. Two
former Huskers, Bill Olds and John Dulton of Baltimore, will
probably play in the game.
But the indirect benefits are more important. The game may
help the athletic department cover some of the $80,000 debt
projected for fiscal 1974-75. And if that happens.it could keep the
price of tickets down and the athletic department's hands off
money that should be spent elsewhere.
At the informal regents meeting last Friday night, about 100
UNL students voiced opposition to a proposed 25-cent charge for
intercampus bus rides. The board took no action. Whether or not
its apparently benevolent mood toward students will carry over
into next month, remains to be seen. ,, .
Wes Albers
In the four years that I have spent on the
UNL campus, various issues have come and gone.
Through the rising and falling storms over
student fees, bus rides and even football tickets,
the enduring issue has been visitation. Although
it has endured through all else, some aspects of
the visitation issue have changed radically.
Visitation has become daily and fairly liberal
visitation. Similarly, the cry "They can't bust
5,000" also has changed into a passive student
acceptance of the arbitrary one-year moratorium
on visitation extension imposed by the NU Board
of Regents.
Hie argument runs that large gains were made
last year and thus a year of "breathing time" is
reasonable-the expectation, of course, being
that the regents will be more than happy to listen
to new proposals next year.
I always have been under the impression that
the regents were elected public servants. Students
are a part of each regent's constituency. Given
this, it seems highly offensive that the regents
arbitrarily state that they will not listen to
concerns or proposals brought to them by their
constituents. Few elected officials can allow
themselves the luxury of explicitly stating to
their constituents (even a small group of them)
that they will not be open to their concerns or
proposals. Even if they hear the same thing year
after year it is their duty to at least listen in good
faith. Further, if the concerns are reasonable,
then hearing them year after year would seem to
indicate that some legitimate concerns exist.
Students have been negligent in so passively
accepting such arbitrary decrees from the board.
Granted, students have tried to be reasonable and
have accordingly proceeded with all deliberate
speed. But after four or Five years of batting the
same issue around, it seems obvious that
reasonableness has been primarily one-sided.
rickjohnson
rhymes ond reasons
The term "reasonable" implies that a decision,
action, or thought is rationally determined from
available evidence. It seems that students have
not brought forth any concerns or proposals
concerning visitation which are not more than
adequately supported by available evidence.
On the other hand, the regents and, in some
cases, sitting members of university policy bodies
have ignored or totally denied the existence of
such evidence.
Various research studies have given evidence
of the positive impact on psychological health
and social development from co-cducational
interaction.
Experiences at other universities which have
liberal visitation policies have for the most part
been highly successful. In fact, experience here at
UNL indicates that no serious, insoluble
problems develop with increased visitation.
The proposition that an 18-22 year-old college
student should be open to more regulation by an
outside body than arc 18-22 year-old plumbers
or salesmen is also questionable.
Continued on p,5
THE AMERICAN ATLAS
ggV' I :?
page 4 dai,v nebraskan Wednesday, april 23, 1975
