? Wednesday; august 27, 1975
page 4
daily nebraskan
Postal service: a puny express
1 j TT c Vnct nffirp was transformed proposed another hike-one that would send first
Whe- the old U.S. Post Oiticewas iransionucu v v thirteen rents
u- :-AAat nnnrnfit Posta SerVlCB I1VS tiaaa ituu "
1IIIU W1C lilUtyeiiuvm, T-
years ago, it got a new emoiem, w.u,.
Treasury money and a lot of publicity.
The new system was revolutionary, we were
told. It would speed mail delivery, reduce the
number of letters and parcels lost and, best of all,
it would pay for itself.
The Postal Service has oeen in irouoic ever mum?.
The appincv's budget has risen steadilv: oneratino
in the black looks like a virtual impossibility for
the service at this point.
And as the U.S. Postal Service spends
increasingly more money, postal delivery in this
country has deteriorated proportionately.
Airmail rates nave oecome a joxe. Special
Observer gives student tips
for cracking bureacracy
By Michael KiHigoss
"Yossarian" met with me at the Brass Rail last Saturday
and we discussed further the program and tactics of the
Vine Street Irregulars, a small, loose-knit band of
disenchanted graduate students at UNL,.
1 had hoped to impress Yossarian with my deep interest
in the aims of the VSI by telling him about a recent
"unpleasantness" I had experienced with a university
bureaucrat and the (I thought) militant manner in which 1
had confronted the situation.
To my surprise, he became agitated as I told the
incident, observing that I was still very much an amateur
and that my handling of the situation probably did much
more to bolster my ego than to effect any permanent
solution that would help others facing similar situations.
Yossarian surmised that one usually can't accomplish
much in verbal exchanges with underlings and clerks.
"It dees no good to call the attention of the underpaid
student worker at the library circulation desk I:, the gross
inappropriateness of the exhorbitant library fine with
which you are faced," he said penuriously.
"You can raise the rafters about poorly taught courses,
but it probably won't do much good if the rafters aren't
ringing around a dean's head somewhere," he continued.
.. .lfte s ryice nas ueen m u-u f - kfi q - -
it nas raisea posiai raies iwitc ui nvc jrema an
n iMi iaijcu yu class .n sQme parts of the county paj-cgj post has
become so costly, slow and damaging to packages
that the private United Parcel Service is enjoying a
booming business. Other private postal systems are
being experimented with for letters.
Postal service omciais nave saia mtiation,
employe raises and increased operating costs make
the thirteen-cent stamp necessary. Does an,,
inefficient operation cost more than an efficient
one? Are employes being given raises for
inadequate service?
The Lincoln post office has stopped delivering
mail to UNL offices, saying the change was ordered
by Postal Service supervisee. The move will save
the Postal Service $25,000 a year.
But it will cost UNL $12,000 annually. Since
the Postal Service is not a tax-supported institution
and the university is, it's the taxpayers-who, by
the way, are also stamp buyers-that take tip the
slack on this latest example of Postal Service
corner-cutting.
And while .we're on the subject of efficiency,
here's to local law enforcement folks for doing a
tremendous job of nabbing alleged out-of-state
marijuana pickers.
Four more of the supposed harvesters, all from
the West Coast, were arrested last weekend, the
Lincoln Star reports. Let's hear it for the police,
sheriffs deputies and state patrolmen who are
keeping Nebraska's Own out of the hands of these
alien entrepenuers-they'd only sell it back to the
natives at inflated prices, anyway.
Double takes: Recently we received a PR sheet
from the Builders, welcoming all and sundry to the
unveiling of the 1975-76 Builders Calendar. At the
bottom of the sheet was the line, "Gentlemen of
the press are invited."
We'd like to take this opportunity to raise the
collective consciousness of the Builders. This
semester our editor, advertising manager,
production manager, business manager, two news
editors, the layout editor and 1 8 or 26 reporters
are women.
Below is a letter to the editor that we hope
students will read and act on.
For every such plea for outside contact that the
Daily Nebraskan receives from inmates, there may
be 50 more men and women in the same situation.
As the writer of the letter implies, family and
friends tend to forget imprisoned offenders after
awhile. Long lack of outside contact can produce
.what the writer refers to as becoming
institutionalized losing ths ability to function in
the outside world.
Write to Harry Harrison. And while you're at it,
ask him for the names of other inmates who see no
visitors and get no letters. He'll be happy to oblige. .
Rebecca Brite
Th Daily Nebraskan welcomes letters to the
editor and guest opinions. Choices of . material
published will be based on timeliness and originality.
Letters must be accompanied by the writer 1 name,
but may be published under a pen name if requested.
Guest opinion should be typed, triple-spaced, on
nonerasable paper. They should be accompanied by
the author! name, clasa standing and nwjor, or
occupation. All material submitted to these pages is
lubject to editing and condsnsatica, and cannot be
returned! to the writer.
Yossarian explained that every "difficult situation" is
unique and that the professional VSI member can respond
expertly only with experience.
He added, however, that there are five fundamental
tactics which anyone can learn, even undergraduates.
First, always ascertain at the outset whether or not the
person you are talking to has the authority to correct the
undesirable situation to which you have called his
attention. If he doesn't, find out who his supervisor is and
an him -
Second, stand your ground once you locate the
appropriate decision-making level and be prepared for such
ploys as, "Yes, that's a good point but you must
understand how difficult it is to change something like this
in a system as complex as a large university."
Third, if the administrator persists in avoiding the
immediacy or the importance of the issue, ask to see his
supervisor.
Fourth, when confronted with the ploy, "Well, what's
your alternative?" remember that you are not obligated to
do the administrator's work for him since devising solutions
to problems is what he gets paid for-hansomely.
Fifth, follow up everything in writing (in triplicate) and
explain in your letter that you are serious and that you will
take the issue higher if the problem is not satisfactorily
resolved. '
Explain also that (1) you have kept a carbon copy for
future reference. (2) vou exnect a nrnmnt rucnnnu on4 f1
you are sending the third copy to the Ombudsman (Burnett
Hall, Room 1 1 0) for his files.
mm .
l told Yossarian he sounded more
advocate than a grad student rebel.
like
a consumer
Of course," he replied. "Remember that check you just
wrote for tuition end fees? That's our money buyina the
university'! red tape, inefficiency, and incompetence."
Dear editor,
I am presently incarcerated in the Men's Reformatory
Unit of the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex, l
have been an inmate of this institution for such a long time
that I am beginning to lose contact with the real world.
Becoming institutionalized is Something I fear very much.
I don't have anyone with whom I can correspond or visit
on a regular basis, as time has almost destroyed the ties 1
once had with family and friends.
As a possible solution to my dilemma, i am writing to
you thinking that maybe you will print my letter in your
paper, and that one of the thousands of students on campus
will take the time to write to n.
My address is:
P.O. Box8128-R
Lincoln, Nebraska 68501
" . ' I2atry B. I&nteon
