Wednesday, October 8,975
page 4
daily nebraskan
edibriQlpiii(n!
Ele
ctio
fore
esdiet
Uncle Jerry risks
patients' pot shots
My Uncle Jerry is president 01 ine Daisy Dell Happy
Elections are an editorial writer's meat and grounds that he is an. avowed presidential candi- Farm. He was kind enough to show me around the other
potatoes, and it is going to be a semester of famine date. day. It's a lovely place. The patients have television sets
for this scribe. Giving Ford the cameras might have forced the to keep them amused. And while they grumble a bit about
No national elections, no state battles, no city or networks, under equal time laws, to allow other this and that, most of them seem tomMy content,
county races-not even an ASUN election on wLh candidates their piece of .the "the ftSSS
we may sharpen our typewriter's teeth. - Democrats alone would have jammed prime time manics depre4ives or independents. Wha?s
There are today s Homecoming elections, of from now until Christmas. morCj 1 think & fet ym a very njce guy"
course, but professional ethics-and our dread of "How do you know?" I asked,
hearing that horrible cry. "Conflict of interest!"- One of our goals this semester at the Daily Ne- "Because," explained Uncle Jerry, "they've only tried
prevent cur endorsing any one candidate for braskan has been extending our coverage to include t0 pot me twice in the last few weeks."
Hnmaonminft iinivrcit atiiAnrAC iY4ki tint fiavf rparHpH flHft- " ,
So we will make do with table scraps, and quately in the past. I
One of those groups is graduate students
possibly UNL's largest "invisible minority." Hence
the column "Vine Street Irregulars."
Another is married students. We have had only
one letter this semester expressing married stu-
Speaking of presidential races, commendations dents' concerns, and would appreciate knowing of
are due the television networks that refused Presi- others.
dent Gerald Ford air time Monday night on Rebecca Brite
content ourselves with urging UNL students to get
out to the polls and vote for the candidates of their
choice: It may not be the presidential race, but
hush, growling stomach!) it is all we have.
vine street irregulars
1 n I
Lawsuits not oniv answer
By Michael HlUigoss . academic programs. And these mechanisms frequently
Unable to -find an uncrowded tavern on Friday night, ' encourage grad student input,
we made our way up 0 Street to Harry's Wonder Bar. We "For example, if a grad student can't reach an agreement
kept our conversation low, so as not to disturb the with his advisor andor committee, he can take his case to
members of the silent majority who patronize Harry's the full graduate committee of his department."
place. - "But what chance does he have there?" I asked.
"Yossarian," I said, "I understand that a few students "It's not widely known," he replied, "but graduate
are contemplating lawsuits against their departments for students can be appointed as full voting members of the
giving them the screw in their graduate programs. That's
really showing them, tart it? ;
"Maybe so, maybe not," mused Yossarian. "Pursuing a
lawsuit when the problem could be settled by other means
is irresponsible and damages the injured party's credibility
as a scholar."
"But how can a grad student get an impartial hearing if
he doesn't go to court?" I asked.
"Slow down, Hilligoss," Yossarian replied. "If the issue
is primarily related to the student's employment as a
teaching assistant, the student might be forced to the court
because no well-defined procedure exists within the univer
sity for resolving teaching assistant disputes.
, "On the other hand," he said, "why should a student
expect a fair hearing in the courts on an academic issue?
Can he assume that a judge is qualified to rule in such
matters?
"Besides," he continued, "several mechanisms within the
university are designed to help solve problems with
A shot rang out. A bullet zinged overhead. As the
guards led away an elderly lady with a smoking revolver,
I rolled over under a bed and inquired, "Do all the patients
want to shoot you, Uncle Jerry?"
"Of course not," he said indignantly. "Only the nut
tiest." "Do all the patients have guns?"
"Of course not," he said indignantly. "Only the
nuttiest."
"That's good," I said. "Excuse me for asking, but
why do you wander around this place unarmed?"
"Every president in the history of the Daisy Dell Happy
Farm has always wandered around here unarmed," he said.
"And we've only lost three or four. Fortunately, the
patients aren't very good shots."
"Why do presidents have to do that?"
"It's important to the welfare of the patients that
their president go around talking to them about their
problems," he explained. "It makes them feel he's one
ofthem."
"Couldn't you just talk to them on television?"
"It wouldn't be the same. What counts is that a presi
dent can have a face-to-face, meaningful dialogue with
his patients so that he knows what their problems are."
"A meaningful dialogue?"
"How are you today?"
, "Fine, thanks."
"Clad to see you."
"Likewise." ' 1 v
"Nice day."
"Sure is."
You could tell Uncle Jerry was right. It really bucked
graduate committee in their respective departments. If a
given department has not made such an appointment,
students in that department are encouraged by the VSI
to start asking why.
, "Each year, in a few cases, students may feel justified
in going bevond their departments." added Yossarian.
"In these ca'ses the student can appeal to the Campus the patients up to shake their president's hand. They were
Graduate Council, which includes faculty members from dl grinning and cheering. And if sure bucked up Uncle
several departments, the Dean of the Graduate College and Jerry, too. I guess it was that, thanks to these meaningful
two graduate student members selected by the Graduate dialogues, he learned his patients had no problems at all.
C1..I..1 A
diuaeni ssuciauon.
"If the student still feels that the issue wasn't satisfactor
ily resolved, he then can go to the Executive Graduate
Council, which includes faculty members and grad students
from UNO, UNMC and UNL.
"The graduate councils have made fair decisions,"
Yossarian noted. "Let's face it, if grad students still feel
they are being screwed after those review procedures, they
probably ought to reconsider their own attitudes."
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On the way out, I ran into a little old gentleman clean-,
ing a .38. "Do you think the president should wander'
around here unarmed?" I asked him.
"What kind of a place would this be," he said, "if hs
couldn't?"
"And it makes you feel better when he does?"
"Of course," he said, sighting down the barrel. "It
proves we're no crazier than he is."
(Copyright Chronic! Publishing Co. 1975)
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aw vote for
Dear editor, ' '
In regard to M.E. Tune's letter (Dally Nebraskan, Oct. 3),
it is not the first time I have heard of Campus Police sup
plying funds for people to pay fines.
; " In cne instance an officer was known to take SIS from
his wallet and give it to a student, so that the student could
get his car our of impoundment (incidently, it was not '
parked in a tow-away zone in the. first place). Again, as in
Tur.c's incident, there were no witnesses.
lit & earlier letter submitted to the Daily Nebraskan in
ttgzid to th poor condition of many puking mm, an
editors note stated that money Was used in the maintenance
of Parking areas.
This is hard to believe when gravel lots are still found all
over the university, and parking areas predominately used
by the students who live on campus are in worse shape than
lots used for cars that are not on campus for prolonged
periods of time.
Ons begins to wonder, where the money for fines is
actually going. It appears to me that with all the letters re
cently written to the Daily Nebraskan in regard to the uni
vcrsity police force (none too good, I might add), that
somebody within this organization would take the initiative
to defend themselves.
At the present time I see the Campus Policeman as a
moucrn day Barney Fife, unable to handle the
responsibility end authority of his job.
. David R. Kirshcfibaum
cmWEE
FOR HOME-
C0MM Him!i
Compassionate police
Dear editor,
To M.E. Tune: I was distressed by your letter concerning
experience with Ctmput Police.
Why could you not assume that someone had compas
won on you and was willing to help you In the only way he
Knew considering that it was Ids job to enforce the rules?
I know of several university staff members who have
taken money out of their own pockets to help students
who were In financial trouble. 1
flease don't assuma that anyone who helps you is doing
it out of some deep, dark, devious motive. You re too
young to be cynical. Love still docs exist, even on the UNL
campus. r