Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 1976)
3 J -iLj? Vc!. 1 fOo. 7 -VJ December 13, 1973 - Academic freedom is a tenuous concept. It has been used, abused, ignored, flaunted, temporarily renounced End selectively fol lowed. It has occasionally fallen to politi cal extremism or circumstances, but often has held up under such pressures. Although the University of Nebraska' has not been famous for academic freedom disputes, there are at least three cases scat tered through the last decades. In the 1950s, the Communist scare had the nation by the throat. Writers, musicians, teachers . and intellectuals ' came 'under scrutiny by the Joe McCarthy organiza tion for expressing liberal views. The fear of "commie sympathizers" was ironically strong in thedand of Big fled. . . One tool used by the.!!cCarthyites was blacklisting. People were placed on secret lists branding them "unAmerican" and" not to be' fired or rehired in their field. Third Dimension was unable to find blatant examples of blacklisting, but the experiences of one UNL professor indicate a kind of organized harrassment. Albin T. Anderson, history; professor, said his experiences could not be labeled blacklisting and that any assertions he made "could not be documented in writing." In 1943, when Anderson had been at UNL 18 months, he was approached by students who wanted him to run for a VS. Senate seat in the primary election against fellow Democrat Terry Carpenter. The stu dents and Anderson were unhappy with what they considered a Democratic machine choice of Carpenter, and with the incumbent, Kenneth Wherry -a right wing Republican.- - s'"-, "My conception ofVherry was not very high," Anderson said. After checking out the situation with UNL Chancellor Rubin Gustafson and the editor of the Lincoln Star, Anderson agreed to tun. When he was nominated for endorsement at a Democratic pre-primary meeting, "Jdany people were upset about the young people upsetting the applecart," Anderson ski. Carpenter won the endorse ment. . "I was identified in ssme circles as a 'liberal-radical, Russian history teacher," Anderson ssid, "ar.d Chnscllcr Gustsison Despite ' Carpenter's endorsement, Anderson Tan cgsin in the primary and again was defeated. " After the primary, the 'Democratic gubernatorial candidate Frank Sorrell al legedly told some people that if elected, he would get rid of Gustafson xnd Anderson, 1 Anderson said. ' Fortunately for the professor, Republi can Val Peterson was elected governor. Mistaken identity 'There was, however, a lingering bitter ness about me on the part of some extreme conservatives, and this thing raised its ugly -head again in the McCarthy era," Anderson said. "The story is rather confused, since it involves a case of mistaken identity." At the time, there was another Ander son (Eugene N.) in the History Dept. who offered a course in current history. One re quired text included an essay by Owen Lattirnore, an expert in Mongolian af fairs who had been identified by Senator Joe McCarthy as a Communist working in the State Dept. , ' ; , "Some of the political enemies I had made thought that it was me teaching the course, and spread the word that this in structor at the university was using text bocks -as --covers for Communist prepegaa da. .Eugene Anderson got z few Taidnjght crank calls, and his boy in junior high school was singled out as the "son of a commie". , i Apparently the politicians "finally got their Andersons straight, and things quieted down. "It was one of the less dramatic irra tional sideshows of the McCarthy era," according to Anderson. . ' ; He got a few unfriendly letters, but was never in great danger, he said. "It never really hurt me." Anderson said that through it all he re- csivrd tremendous support from his col leagues, students and the administration. "I have found the academic freedom here to be of a very high order," Jie said, ' . Anderson said that while he has always' been mvolvsd in and moderately -concerned about politics, he never again considered runnfcg for office. . - r (c , n3 n ffnr - i j - i .' t-r . 1 ' . ; 1 i i ( 1 i , i S " ' - i i4 ; ; " 5 i L-n y J .. j 'i ' 7 ... .1 , ' ill ij I '( w ... , r:j; . jj ,, v. '.- . i l . 1 1 Hs'li v I l 1 V- :; ? 1 1:5 1 L J Ilk III I I i V X I 4 7 Kt V . . ' ; : - - - !:,. V i J- w ' Fhoto by Sooti Swstsoda Albln T. Anderson: being a Russia history professor did not always n&ke one pcpulsr. 4T was like a fish out of water. It just ate me up too much." , , Pauline Anderson, his wife, ran un successfully for Congress in the November .election. . ; . ' Llbprcl eg prcf ossor The case of C. Clyde Mitchell, as told in fee CmtennM History of the University of Nebraska, 1920-1959 by R. McLaran Sawyer, shows some inconsistency in fee past university stand on academic freedom. In 1935, Mitchell, then the chairman of the Department of Agricultural Economics, was a controversial figure in discussions and disagreements on national farm policies concerning governmental control and national planning. . Mitchell's i3ws expressed in writings and speeches were praised by some more liberal thinkers, but were strongly opposed by most of the conservative farming and agricultural business community. .... Although a few -regents also disagreed with his views, the Board of Regents Continued on p2 ri r- loo ir- J fJjo JooUe: j Vfl ft" -t T1 pl-.! .-ft r - t 2 4 "... 'Sy lUch'TZsm ' . . Uy llssk Young 2y Rkh TZIson and ?iuk Ycurg . XyTcnilVZsca 5 I ffl-w 4?W at ', l - , - -5 I ... i.
