Wednesday, march 16, 1977
daily nebrssken
Students should make
own election decisions
Now is the time for all good students to come
to the aid of their government. Today is ASUN
election day and the candidates are waiting for
the people's mandate.
This should be a time when student's look at
the candidates and make their own decisions.
Obviously, some Greeks do not think their
members can make their own decisions.
A small group of Greek fraternity members
have supplied a list of all Greek candidates and
their opinions of how to vote on the ASUN
amendments.
Last year, a group of Greek fraternity and
sorority members circulated a slate of candidates
that they endorsed as good Greek representatives
for ASUN. That slate was distributed secretly and
Greek house presidents were instructed to en
courage their members to vote for the students
listed on the slate,
t, " ' V ....
This year's list of Greek candidates was not
developed to the proportion of last year's. Many
Greek candidates were not listed on the sheet
labeled "ASUN Greek Candidates 1977." Many
Greek houses did not receive the list
We hope the Greek house members will not
take the word of this self-appointed group of
Greek opinion leaders, telling them who to vote
for and how to vote on the amendments. They, as
other UNL students, should be able to make up
their own minds.
However, because some candidates are
mentioned on the list of Greek candidates should
not mean they are condemned. There are good
Greek candidates and there are good non-Greek
candidates. The persons that should be .
condemned are those who are manipulating the
Greek candidates and their Greek constituents.
We hope students will draw their own con
clusions and vote on the basis of those conclusions.
SClCiCll
ill ?u 1 i v sm -
ASUN's New Frontier - no
body
Suppose you had an election and nobody came.
Or better yet, suppose you had an election and nobody
won ....
ASUN Election Central.
Voting was extremely heavy all over campus as stu
dents flocked to the polls. In some locations armed
campus security guards were needed to restrain the eager
voters from mobbing election officials. There was a short-
warp nine
age of computer cards and floors were littered ankle-deep
with cardboard punch-outs.
Apprehension mounted as the votes were carefully
tallied. Victory parties were already in progress in various
locations across the city as, at last, the results were
reported.
' The results exceeded all expectations.
The highest percentage of ballots had been punched by
voters for write-in candidates. However, the students
somehow neglected to fill in the little blanks. Perhaps
they didnl know how to spell. Maybe they couldn't
write. Maybe it was all a communist plot. No one knows.
The official result: Nobody won. ? ,
Recount csHcd
There were complaints of vote-rigging. All of the many
different political party (singular) called for a recount.
Finally the case went to the Student Court.
The court decided that, if anything, there is in no way
nothing at all wrong with nobody. So the results held. It
was a landmark decision.
Nobody took office that year amidst a storm of
criticism.
But the critical voices were soon stilled. Nobody
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Leadership, apathy campaign issues
By Don Wesely
The Daily Nebraskan 's editorial endorsement of Eric
Carstenson for ASUN president was a disservice to stu
dents. It was a shallow short-sighted, and garbled analysis
of the candidates and issues involved in this year's ASUN
campaign.
The first issue maligned by the editorial was the
question of student apathy. An earlier editorial said, "The
blame for . . . student apathy would fall directly on this
year's ASUN." Yet you choose to endorse a candidate
guest opinion
who has perpetrated the unimaginative and frivolous in
activity of this year's ASUN Senate.
Carstenson, as an ASUN senator, has not exhibited
strong leadership or offered bold proposals or programs to
wake ASUN from its sloth -like slumber.
Additionally, if Carstenson actually possesses "strong
leadership qualities" and Innate leadership ability" as he
claims to, then why is he running alone for office? He
didn't even find executive candidates to run with him, let
alone candidates for the Senate. If Carstenson is srch a
1eader", where are his followers? Hie only solution
Carstenson offered to deal with student apathy was to
select an ASUN president with leader ship ability, a quality
he doesn't offer.
7 ; Understands epathy -
Greg Johnson, on the other hand, has shown a much
better understanding of the complexities of apathy. Your
editorial states, "Johnson said in an earlier interview that
there is no student apathy." You neglected to explain
why he said that. Johnson defines apathy "as a lack of
concern or a lack of interest." Johnson believes that stu
dents are concerned and interested in campus issues.
Students are about to get hit with a $ 1 1 .47 increase in
student fees and Chancellor Roy Young has said tuition is
going to go up again. Housing costs are up, book prices are
outrageous, and the quality of education here has satisfied
few students. Johnson is right, students are concerned and
interested. Even more, they're getting mad. But they
aren't taking action.
Students haven't taken action because our student
government hasn't taken action on issues we really care
about. Johnson has voted to "work in the areas that are
concerning students. I believe that students will become
more involved once ASUN begins to act in their best in
terest - not its own."
Solitaire
Besides, in a comparison of leadership ability Johnson
leaves Carstenson playing solitaire. Johnson has been able
to organize and lead the only' serious party in this
campaign. Tie has been able to bring together experienced
and talented students to work with him to change ASUN.
-Furthermore, referring back to the earlier editorial
blaming this year's ASUN for student apathy, you needed
to take one more step and ask how we arrived at this
year's disaster some call UNLs student government. The
answer is unmistakable, the success last year of the
Greek Slate." The elitism and divisiveness of a Greek
Slate last year, alienated and disenfranchised students
from ASUN and crippled the hope for a viable, effective
student government. ' . " '
1 announced more than a week ago that a Greek slate
was being fontisd ard Eric Carstenson was its Presidential
candidate. I hate to say "I told you so" but "I told you
so". A Greek slate has been distributed. Backers of the
slate will again try to use Greek students to selfishly gain
power, but I hope enough students out there care enough
for this university and for themselves not to be mani
pulated. The varying quality of the candidates in this
election is clear, the quality of the students at this uni
versity will now be tested in this election. Good Luck.
Don Wesely is a trnbr Urhsrcty Stsrs inrjsr Croa
Lincoln.
quickly turned ASUN into a legitimate, vocal organization
that was intimately concerned with student problems. No
body made changes in organization that made ASUN a
more responsive governing body.
There was no need to worry about filling a quorum at
every ASUN Senate meeting. Every week, right on time,
nobody showed up in full force for an evening of debate
and decision.
It was soon evident that nobody really cared about the
students.
Gradually, nobody directed ASUN to assume a more
potent position on campus. Nobody brought allocation of
student fees under ASUN control, where it belonged, and
nobody allocated those fees in a manner that was accept
able to the students that nobody was representing.
Effective government
They said it couldn't be done. Nobody made ASUN
into an effective governing body. ,
Students never saw nobody in certain downtown bars.
Except, that is, when nobody wanted to meet students
and talk with them on their own level.
The NU Board of Regents was perhaps the group that
was most pleasantly surprised by the new administration.
Nobody appeared as student regent at all of the meet
ings. When the regents doled out hundreds of thousands
of student dollars, nobody was there. When they approved
capital construction and awarded contracts, nobody heard
it all. When they talked at length about complimentary
football tickets, nobody was involved.
And in each and every one of these instances, nobody
dared to speak his mind. Nobody, it was said, was truly a
representative for all students.
When the year passed and the administration left
office, nobody received excellent recommendations from
the regents for entrance to law school.
However, as the new round of elections approached,
none of the voters ever realized that nobody had never
made any difference at all. And nobody ever would.
letters
logical ideas
Points raised in Monday's editorial were valid concern
ing problems of student apathy and problems with the
ASUN in its current form - suspended animation.
However, the editorial staffs idea that a study group
appointed by the administration would solve problems
seems illogical.
The editorial implied support for the idea for an ASUN
study group appointed by the vice chancellor for student
affairs when it claimed support for Eric Carstenson,
ASUN presidential candidate.
The editorial states a study group of this nature would
. be more "objective" than one appointed by ASUN. Where
is that editorial cynicism? Isn't it quite possible an
administration-appointed study group would find answers
suitable to administration only, not necessarily students?
The student government, theoretically, is the voice of
the students; students should have a voice in who is
selected to restructure their government.
A study group to design a working student government
should be "controlled" (if there is any control through
appointment) by students, not administration. Since the
only existing machinery for student appointment is
ASUN, it is logical those appointmentslhould be through
ASUN, as presidential candidate Greg Johnson suggests.
Also the dispute about student fees should be clarified.
Students never did have total control of student fees. Be
fore Fees Allocation Board (FAB), ASUN was given an
allotment to be distributed as it saw fit among student
organizations. Administration decided, distribution of the
rest of the fees.
Johnson's idea for ASUN to control fees, the part now
controlled by FAB, seems logical, more logical than giving
the ASUN simple approval of how the fees are distributed
by FAB.
Assistant Vice Chancellor Ron Gkrhan, when he was
acting vice chancellor for student affairs, compared stu
dent fees to a tax paid by all students for the privilege of
participating in the university community. His analogy is
faulty because with taxes the distribution is controlled by
an elected body, the City Council, Nebraska Legislature or
Congress, not an appointed group of people as FAB is.
Reform should come from within, with the approval of
the current machinery of student government, not from :
without, from the chancellor's or vice chancellor's offices.
Susie Rcitz
