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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1977)
Wednesday, february 23, 1977 page 4 daily nebraskan Sfouo Cacmsr University government gives comrade lesson Dear Comrade: I think you made a mistake in deciphering my last message. By using the term "317" instead of "316" you incorrectly translated the word "dirt" as "smut." 1 was discussing agriculture, if you recall. Pornography will be covered in detail later. Be patient. This letter is about the political indoctrination tech niques used here at the university. 1 think we could learn from them. , ' t Now, the average college youth attending the uni- warp nine versity is thoroughly brainwashed by the time he finishes his fourth year. That is, if he holds out that long. Here are some facts. Yearly elections are held by the students to elect a "student government." It is called ASUN. HI have to check on the literal translation of that word. All year long this government will lay dormant, making noises once in a while, but dormant nonetheless. Just be fore the election, the leadership will burst into a flurry of activity to show the students they are really working. Staying in office This teaches a valuable lesson: the reason for all political activity is to stay in office. The fact that the office has no power doesn't matter. Not only that, but it also shows the students not in leadership roles the futility of a representative govern ment So the overwhelming majority doesn't even bother to vote. - This makes it easy for small, well-organized political cliques to grab the power" positions. Sound familiar? Comrade, you would be proud of them. The real governing power lies within a close circle of non-students called the Board of Regents. Don't ask me what a "Regent" is. Think of them as the University Politburo. Its members remain on the board for years, and are elected by the population of the state. No opposition But there has been no serious opposition to the present memDersruD ior uuuc auuic iuiie. ucy ui.nui wihmmi- m m - ; ed. - v : .- , The usual method is for the board to make decisions, and then publicly confirm them in "meetings" by majority vote. The rest of the time they spend talking about football tickets. ti - i r - u f u mere is a muuciu icjjieaciiidwvc iiuiu cdui ui uie campuses on the board, but they can't vote. Not that this is such a bad arrangement. I'm very much in favor of it.. But aside from my own opinion, there are good reasons for it. Firstly, the vast proletarian majority of students attends the university for a mere four years. That leaves no time for them to establish a political base. ' Secondly, they don't even care about their so-called government.; They are here so that when they graduate they will have a job that pays well enough so they can afford a nice car to polish on weekends. Most important of all, even the board of regents is ' cnVirt tn th uhimc nf thi 5?tat I paklatiirf Ant that organization is so rife with democracy that it's amazing that anything ever gets accomplished. Yet, in observing the passive nonresistance of the stu dents, one can hope. - Yrs., Ivan opinion ralnli I HEAR WR ffiDflfl? WW, HE MM LOOKS 1 I l l I m 7 rV V cat mwmo m, ussy. v i see mr wo jr letters Review misses intentions It is an easy perception to see that Michael Zangari has missed the gist of Joni Mitchell's "Hejira" in his recent review. Comments of Mitchell's "hominess" are intolerable and sophomoric. Criticism of Joni's vocals are inprudent and unfounded. Her voice has always been a vehicle of dramatization and expression. Like in "Black Crow" the key is the word "ragged", used in the opening, expressing the tiring frustrationdesperation of searching for success of life's goals. Joni's interpretation fit the feeling perfectly. Then turn around and you feel the haunting solitude in "Amelia" by this same vehicle. It doesn't sound like a "clumsy Mitchell" to me, but one who is in perfect control of all the elements of her art. Of course, the songs suggest that Mitchell has been on the road. This is a concept album meaning that everything deals with a central theme. The work hejira means Muhammad's flight from Mecca Snd in this case it means a journey especially when undertaken to escape from a undesirable situation. Mitchell is in control again, the cover art conceived by Joni, in concept can relate to about every song. He has missed the intentional use of only strings in orchestration that seem to suggest simplicity, but upon closer listening turns to sophistication as the guitars seem to warp and wind up and down almost hypnotic with long lead-ins and outs perhaps representing the highway itself. Neil Young's "feeble" harmonica playing may seem that he "fills in when he get the chance" but I think it more so to illustrate and express the casualness of Dixie land Jazz itself, the breeziness and yet the sadness of an era which has fallen to "parking lots and shopping malls" , 1 realize that Joni Mitchell is not the easiest to digest even after repeated listenings, but that is part of the beauty of her work. Its so wrong to criticize without understanding her like any art. But it would be sadder for people to underestimate or overlook the brilliance of "Hejira" because of the limitations of one journalist. 'Perhaps Joni expressed this sentiment best in "Ame lia.": "People will tell you where they've gone they'll tell you where to go but till you get there yourself you never really know. . know..." - - , . Steven Rodriguez Group wants yacht Having perused the list of F.A.B. requests, we were most amazed and appalled not to have seen our request included. Therefore, we, the members of the Hetero sexual Organization for Non-Kinky Intra-national Elitist Students, herewith call to your attention our organiza tion's budget request for the forthcoming year. Transportation fleet $2,000,000 Yacht $500,000 250 sq. mile lake (to hold yacht) $5,000000,000 Watts line $100,000 Kevvino Penthouse restaurant $250,000 Acquisition of Alumni Club quarters - $1 Entertainment expenses - $100,000 Medical expenses (pills, trojans, etc.) ! $1,000,000 Wine cellar $150,000 Swimming pool (100 meter, 12 lanes) $250,000 Educational materials $-22 Miscellaneous . $8,000,000 Total $5,012,350,001.22 Respecting the efforts of other organizations to trim their requests to the bone, we too, lave only requested sufficient funds as to adequately cover our needs as listed above. H.O.N.K.I.E.S. Ninth Floor not united :: As residents of Ninth Floor, some of us are a little disappointed that certain people here included all of us in the Thursday, Feb. 17 letter signed "Ninth Floor Society for the Deportation of Nigerians " The opinions expressed in it are definitely not reflective of everyone who lives here. Those of us who are not prejudiced and do not have closed minds, as the person(s) who composed that letter, apologize to anyone who was offended by it. It should be noted, however, that the letter was written in jest, although this is not really a joking matter. Ninth Floor Society for the Deportation of Bigots Mcsry, flcGrory House adjournment to avoid pay raise vote criticized The speaker of the House, Tip O'Neill, was wanting to shut off debate. . -x . "I don't want to argue with you, darlin V he said to the persistent gentlewoman from New Jersey, Millicent Fenwick, the only Republican member of his flock at a dinner being given in his honor. ' ' He was being saluted by the American Heritage Foundation and was plainly put out by the fact that the Washington winds stickiest question on the House agenda had followed him in the person of the handsome, high-strung lady with the pearls and the pear-shaped tones. "For God's sake," she said, "Congress should have the courage to at least vote on raising its own salary." r ' The Speaker sighed. "I've had 3,700 letters, and I don't know how many thousands of calls about this. But we've been saying since 1967 that Congress should not vote itself a pay raise. We were told it should be taken out of politics. So it was taken out of politics and we got a blue-banner commission." hen wick is, as it happens, a woman of means, but that is not the basis of her impassioned objections. She says she understands the needs of less affluent colleagues and she thinks a case could be made for higher pay. But the raise should not apply to the present session, which contracted for the present wage scale. Additionally, Congress should bravely say yes or no on the matter; a new, stern code of ethics, which was the condition recom mended by the commission headed by Peter C. Peterson, former secretary of commerce, should take effect as auto matically as the raise. That hinge provision of the hike is yet to he enacted, and is still in furious contention. "It's not the money, it's the method, she tried to tell her joDy adversary. But the next morning, despite the determined efforts of Fenwick and her confederates in both parties, the House simply held out its hand and looked the other way. As of Feb. 20, the Congress receives 28 per cent more money, its yearly salary increased from $44,600 to $57,500. ; The House did not vote on the pay raise as such. They didn't even vote on whether they should vote on it. The question came under the guise of an innocent motion to adjourn. The vote was 224 to 109 against adjournment. The opponents of the increase said the results proved that had" the matter been plainly stated-will you accept this money in full sight of the country?-the answer would have been no - But the friends of the bonus obviously were not coins to let it come to that. They published their intent to stall and obstruct with such vigor that the Fenwick side finally gave in. - ... Rep. Romano L. Mazzoli, D-Ky., reported that when he exhorted his fellows to lay it on the line, one of them rejoined, "I can't say on the record I'm taking an increase that is equal to what the average person earns a year. It just won't play in Peoria." A poll taken by the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times showed the vote against the pay raise was 1 ,816 to 35. A typical letter said "1 must live on $216 a month. How about them trying it?" The individual vote most interesting to members of the administration was that of Rep. Jack Brooks, D-Tex. He said yes on adjournment-which was interpreted as being either pro-pay raise or anti-record. Since on the subject of reorganization, which would also take effect unless voted down, he is adamantly on the side of a roll call, the Carter people are crowing that he is inconsistent 'and are looking forward to calling it to his attention at the appropriate time. All the members, except those who, like Fenwick, are planning to turn back their embarrassing riches, are hoping that by the time they run again, the public wiU agree with them that money isn't everything. (Copyright 1377 tYatfiington Star Syndicate