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
