p33 4
thuray, msrch 10, 1977
tidily ncbre&sn
Clogged channels
rostrate students
By Ken Havelka
The assertion that student apathy is a large part of our
campus problems has been used by administrators and
student government leaders to rationalize the existence of
these problems and to justify their lack of progress in
dealing with them. The rationalization of widespread
apathy has enabled its users to catharsize their frustrations
and effectively avoid the real problem. Does such wide
spread apathy really exist?
I am convinced that student apathy, defined as a "lack
of concern" does not exist in quantity. Those who pro
pose its existence are committing an obvious fallacy. They
falsely base their belief in the prevalence of apathy on the
observation that few students become actively involved in.
efforts to change the university. They fail to differentiate
concern from activity and neglect to ask why a concerned
student is not always an active one. Isn't it obvious that
students are concerned, often violently motivated, by red
tape hassles, testing and grading procedures, the quality of
instruction and many other issues? Isn't it obvious that
the low voter turnout in ASUN elections is due, not to a
lack of concern for the issues, but to a lack of faith that
ASUN will deal with the issues?
Empty ideals
It is presumed that one of the goals of education in a
democratic society is to encourage students to critically
analyze, support, and participate in the governmental
process. When we compare these democratic ideals with
reality we find that they are empty ideals and little more
than a convenient facade to hide the real exercise of
power. In reality, the educational system teaches students
to passively accept their subordinate status.
guest opinion
To find examples of ihe inaccessibility of input
avenues one needs only to open his eyes. Neither the
regents, nor the chancellor, nor the vice chancellor of
academic affairs meet with a representative cross-section
of the student body. The solicitation of student evalua
tion of course and instruction are perceived to be in
sincere or ineffective; its uses are not understood and
seldom explained. The grading appeals process has
provoked students to tears while the highly supportive
student backing of such programs as ADAPT, University
Studies, Centennial, and Freshman Seminars has not pre
vented the withdrawal of administrative support and fund
ing. It's not hard to see that the majority of students are
conditioned to accept their powerless state by repeatedly
receiving no response to their inputs into their educational
system. However, what appears on the surface to be
"conditioned apathy" is essentially latent activism. With
many channels of input effectively closed-off and other
existing channels providing only token representation,
what can the average student do?
The prospects for student participation in their govern
ance is not without its bright spots, however. .
Power of complaining
Aside from the once a year activity of electing a stu
dent government, there are other ways the average stu
dent can exert his power. Complaining to those in
positions of authority who must take the responsibility
for student problems can be an effective method of calling
attention to student needs. Some persons in positions of
authority that might be contacted by phone or letter
include-the regents, the UNL chancellor, the vice
chancellor for academic affairs, vice chancellor for student
' affairs and the ASUN executives.
The Council on Student Life, a joint committee of stu
dent, faculty and administrators, has the opportunity to
provide significant leadership although specifically limited
to out-of-classroom activities by the Regents Bylaws. If
ASUN can find competent guidance and experienced
senators they can be a powerful student voice, however,
the student voters must exercise a more rational and
judicious process of selecting their representatives than
they have in the past.
In short, the responsibility of voicing student demands
and opening channels for student input lies with ASUN.
When the voice of the student is listened to and acted
upon, the student will speak.
Ken Havelka is an Arts and Sciences College senior from
Weston.
relish
Just Pteios J
imrn
y warms heaits
Good morning, housewives and other shut-ins. It's
time once again for another chapter of "Just Plains
Folks' the heartwarming story of one man's inspiring
attempt to save the world through love while raising a
family at the same time.
As you remember, the head of the family is Just Plain
Jimmy, a poor country boy who invented nuclear sub-
innocent bystander
marines in his spare time and was then born again as a
humble peanut agribusinessman.
Folks were so impressed they begged him to be their
President. He didn't want to but his ma, Just Plain Miz
Lillian, said that if she could run off and join the Peace
Corps at her age, the least he could do to help out was be
President for a while.
So he and his attractive wife, Just Plain Rosalynn,
moved into the Just Plain White House up in Washington
where they've just plain charmed the local city slickers
who've never seen any just plain folks before.
Amy and "Grits'
Moving into the White House with them was their cute
little daughter, just Plain Amy. She has a dog. The dog is
named 4Grits" to remind her of her humble Southern
origins. Amy lives in a suite on the second floor.
Living in suites on the third floor are Jimmy's two
married sons and their wives. Just Plain Jeff doesn't have
a j6b. He has an allowance, though. He is only 24. Just
Plain Chip is 26. He somehow managed to get a job with
the Democratic National Committee, He makes $3,000
a year.
A member of Jimmy's staff told reporters that Jeff
and Chip are the first two President's children ever to live
in the White House who were married. They are also the
first two President's children ever to live in the White
House who were eligible for food stamps.
Just Plain Jimmy has asked Congress for $30 billion
to stamp out poverty and unemployment.
Doing fine
JEverybody else is doing fine. Jimmy's sister, Just Plain
Ruth, has found steady work. She's a faith healer. His
other sister, Just Plain Gloria, is a simple, ordinary house
wife who hates attention. She rides a motorcycle.
Jimmy's 88-year-old uncle, Just Plain Uncle Buddy, is
thinking of starring in a film called Peanuts. He would
play an old man with a peanut-eating dog. But he hasn't
signed a contract yet. "I'm busy as a bee," he says. "My
time is valuable."
Everybody's favorite, however, is Jimmy's brother,
Just Plain Billy. Billy is everybody's favorite because he
likes to drink six-packs of Pabst Blue Ribbon and doesn't
give a fig for fame or fortune. Billy has just signed a
contract with a Nashville talent agency called "The Top
Billing Company,"
As we join up with Just Plain Jimmy today, he's telling
his staff they should spend more time with their families.
He says he's going to. Looks like he will. Let's wish him
a lot of just plain luck,
(Copyright Chronic) Publishing Co, 1577)
Human also means hu(wo)man
What sex are you, man? Another piece of evidence that
the word man has usually been regarded as being equiva
lent to human-tint is, not necessarily denoting masculinity-has
been sent this way by a reader. It consists of lines
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet and critic,
written early in the last century. Here they are: "Each
sex is necessary even to the special virtues of the other.
Man (whether male or female) was not made to live
alone." (From "Inquiring Spirit, A Coleridge Reader,"
edited by Kathleen Coburn.)
Eversee such an one before? That strange use of the
article an comes up with some frequency in the King
James version of the Bible. For instance, in 2 Corinthians,
1 2 there is a phrase . . . such an one caught up to the third
heaven" and three paragraphs later there is the phrase "Of
such an one will I glory." James McNeal of Bloomington,
Ind notes that the rule these days is to use an to replace
bernstein on words
a before a vowel and he asks whether the an one is cor
rect. It isnt now, but in the 15th century an was used
before words beginning with way (and the word one
begins with the sound of w). So there were such phrases as
an wood, an woman and such an one. Today, however, we
would say such a one, a woman and a one-act play.
Verb tails. The other day I noticed a news article that
said a new CBS director ViH head-up" 'a unit with four
divisions. That reminded me that it has been a long time
since I have mentioned verb tails. But they don t. seem to
miss my attention; they seem to survive, and for no rea
so. What, for example, does head up say that head
wouldn't say just as well? The verb check is hardly ever
ssen without a tall -into, on, out, over, up. Not one of
them serves any real purpose other than to keep a fad
alive-a fad that would be better dead.
No restrictions. Several TV newscasts have used the
word deregulate, writes Mrs. Robert Skelton of Clermont,
Iowa, but she cant find the word in either of her two dic
tionaries. "Are they trying to add a new word to pur
vocabulary?" she wonders. Hardly; it is a normally formed
word and the meaning of the prefix de- (do the opposite)
makes the word's sense clear. Deregulate does appear in
Webster's New Collegiate, which is allied with Webster's
unabridged, third edition, where the word does not
appear. It is not in the second edition either. But that
second edition does have the word deregulationize.
Phew!
Kids compete. Can with and against be used synony
mously after compete? The nine-year-old daughter of
Bonnie S. Rosen of Newtown Square, Pa., used "compete
with" one evening, Rosen writes, and her "11 -year-old
grammar buff, Jackie," said she must use "compete
against," not "compete with. " The vote here goes to the
nine-year-old. The two youngsters are competing with
each other and at the same time competing against each
other for top honors in English usage. .
Heard you the first time. An ad quoted an officer of the
Baltimore Sun papers as saying, "In my opinion, I con
sider the Harris 2560 product a significant revolutionary
development in newspaper systems technology." What
that officer needed was an editor to strike out either "in
my opinion" or "I consider."" They say just about the
same thing.
Word oddities. Not exactly a new word, interface as
it has been used in recent years is almost a new arrival.
Literally it means the point of contact between two parts
cf matter or areas of space. But as it has been used recent
ly by politicians and pseudosdentists it refers to some
thing that connects or coordinates different programs or
systems. Think you need it?
In the derivation of the word compete, there is no sug
gestion of hostility or against-aess. it comes from the
Latin com, together, and petere, strive for, seek. So it's
a togetherness word but the sense of vie or contend. Some
of our competing industrialists should be told about
that.
id 1377 Theodora M. Bernstain
Special Features
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