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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 1977)
daily ncbrssksn friday, janusry 23, 1977 pag 4 -t?f V b JM t . f. Photo by Scott Svoboda Long after the Inauguration stand is dissembled, the new spirit" of the proceedings wi3 be remembered. Carfer Mngs 'happiness' to Capital Before they take down the Inaugural stands, we might pause to note that Washington is finally getting the hang of "public happiness," the element that John Adams considered essential to the success of the Republic. The bicentennial gave us a start. A generation of funerals and demonstrations, had left us wondering if only grief or rage could unite us." But the Fourth of July, with its cannonade of good will, changed all that. We can celebrate. Jimmy Carter's Inauguration was another step forward. There was, it turned out, room for everybody, not just hotel rooms, but the other kind. Gerald Ford got a stand ing ovation at the Capitol Plaza, and John Wayne got a part in the gala at the Kennedy Center. The gala was, surprisingly, the beginning of hope for many of the dubious. It was not just good, it was reassur- Washington winds ing. Some had known it, a heavy diet of country music and Loretta Lynn. She was there, but so was Beverly Sills. - Jewish President The high point for the worriers was the reunion, for the occasion, of Elaine May and Mike Nichols, doing an excruciating turn about a telephone call between the first Jewish president and his mother. The Carters were seen breaking up over it. Vast relief was loosed in the Ian?, Irreverence is to be allowed in this pious administration. The President is no mean showman himself, he proved the next day f The walk along the parade route, planned long in advance, was a piece of political theatre that prt duced a storm of applause. It was as though he had walked on water. By footing it down Pennsylvania Ave., he made the countrv hope, against all experience, that things would be diffe. The "new spirit" Inaugural parties were pretty much like the old Inaugural balls, overcrowded, underdanced. But the spin-off for a city that huddles at home by night was the reviving sight of dozens of revellers wandering through the streets, straggling ixp Connecticut Ave. at 2 in the morning. Maybe Washington is liveable after all. The morning after came the first official act, and it was benign. The new President, as promised, put out the elcome mat for the draft evaders. It was too little for the doves, too much for the hawks, but it was a change ,from yesterday' "never." .. . . , And all day Friday, buses drew up in the front of the White House decanting delirious citizens whose part in helping Jimmy Carter on his way was being acknowledg ed. Their feeling of posse ssiveness toward him, and history, was encouraged. Krszy Eiits Friday niht, the People's Inaugural ended up in a swirling, clapping din made by thousands more who feel they have a special claim in the new President. He is one of them, a member of the "Krazy Eights" of Plains. To their joy, he had instituted the first official square dance in Inauguration history. These were some occas ional, bemused, three-piece suits around, but except for the teen-age clog dancers, most of the crowd were Carter's age or older-many bifocalled, blue-haired ladies in full, short , skirts, greying men sporting the sequined ties of their clubs. : - In the National Visitors' Center, which h also Union Station, they were hoping that "Jimmy and Rosalynn," as they still call them, would come on by. Rumors swept the cavernous room over the callers' cries. ' Jimmy's caller , "Oh, heU be here, I think," said a Georgian! "He's a dancer, his caller's here. And Amy's a dogger, you know." Jimmy's caller, who was also his" instructor in the mysteries of "balance and change," is Rod Blalock of Americus. He expected, with a thousand Georgians on hand, that the Carters might shuck their guests and make it over to hear "Hail the the Chief" played on the fiddle and washboard, Jimmy was "just an average pupil," according to Blalock, '"but he did have the total ability to wipe every thing out of his mind when he was dancing." The meeting, like the gala, and the other events, was ecumenical: Indians dancing to drums, the first black group-from Chicago-ever seen by many southerners. Square dancing is a recreation that has the quality of obsession. Its devotees believe there is salvation in "do-se-do." The "Rebel Squares" from Douglas County, Ga., which raised $6,000 to make the trip, upon receiv ing Jimmy's invitation, plan to issue a booklet-for which advertising has already been solicited -entitled "The Inauguration of a Georgian as Seen Through the Eyes of a Rebel Square." And they were pure in heart. They wanted Jimmy and Rosalynn to come because of "what it would do for square dancing," not what it would do for them. " They were, like most people in Washington, happy. Even those who don't expect it to last are saying "amen" to what Jimmy Carter said when he made his first trip into the Oval Office : "It feels good so far." Copyright Washington Star Syndicate, lac Hitting the books to pay high price There are many stories in the naked university , . .this is one of them.' A friend of this writer had finished the elaborate and painful process of buying her semester allotment of text books. After suffering through crowds, lines, and assort ments of sarcasm as to the validity of her personal check at Nebulous Bookstore, she walked out '84 dollars poorer a new personal record; . This woman 0et's call her D.L.) called me up to relate an experience that seemed to indicate an incredible degree of profiteering on the part of the textbook industry. One of the books she had found was a bruised and battered second hand copy of one of the assigned texts- tales from the ozone price for the abused tone was $6.50. Upon further in spection of the book, D.L came upon the original price sticker-$4.50! Her interest aroused by .this curious cir cumstance, she checked the price on a new edition of the same volume. It was oyer eight bucks, , Amazed and hopeful, she carried the book up to the checkout line and pointed out the two prices to the woman at the register. This woman in turn carried the problem to the misanthropic weasel sitting behind the in formation counter. This creature sneered, leered, ripped off the $4.50 tag and said, "The price is six-fifty." D.L was shocked and appalled, but bought the book anyway. ; Profits astounding Now I realize that bookstores are in business to make money, but simple arithmetical calculations show that the profits made on this one book are astounding. Let's assume, for example, that the book has only been resold once. Counting the original $4.50 price, if this volume was bought back from the original student buyer for $2.00, and resold at $6.50 to D.L, the bookseller has grossed $9! I realized that the bookstore has overhead, but surely no amount approaching $9 per book. , Although the purchase price of a textbook really hurts, one would think that the knowledge gained from reading . said volume would make up for the expense. Hal You lose again. Many people have had the experience of buying a $15 to $20 text, and end up reading only one or two assigned chapters. : In my class in advanced Phrenology, it became obvious that no one who had read the assignment in Great Bumps in History knew what the author had been talking about. The professor responded to the questions asked the next day by screaming, "Ah! You don't understand? Neither do I. Next question ..." 'Better things to do This same teacher, Prof. Drivel, answered my pointed question about how he had selected this particular book with, "You expect me to read the book before I order it? I'm a professor, I got better things to do." He then ran off for his afternoon Canasta tournament. . Some faculty members seem to delight in changing their required texts semester after semester. In all fairness, there are also the blessed types that either have no assigned texts, or those who find a quality text and stick with it until an updated version or new book seems necessary. . - ' In most fields of academic endeavor, the flow of new information for a basic course is not great, and all text books cover the same stuff. Any vital new information could be disseminated by the teacher if the basics were presented in a clear, wellwritten textbook. While it isn't likely that students will find a way to beai the book barons in the future, there could be some ways that students and faculty might alleviate some of the expense. Faculty members should select hooks carefully, and stick with them for a reasonable amount of time. More use of the libraries and reserve shelves would also help. The ASUN book exchange should receive the support of more people, because it is one of the best practical ideas of our noble ruling body. It might even be feasible to set up a real university bookstore, run on a break-even basis, in which students could buy their books at slightly above wholesale cost. r Mil you mm imu m you mm nwf kot maiTs . 7 i ... - - i it i i i -J f tar .xt M flrAL. . O A MM - Hi I OlQ MS -ASK YOU WWf YOUUtfEtMWllJlr W YOUR WJ.v:M n 4,'.,
