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friday, September 23, 1977
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vol. 101 no. 14 lincoln, nebraska
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Former President Gerald R. Ford
Photo by Ted Kirk
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By Rex Henderson
Former President Gerald R. Ford donned a professorial
robe Thursday to lecture to UNL political science
students on American government.
During a question and answer period after his lecture,
Ford commented on more specific issues and returned to
his politician role, answering questions on his future plans
and the future of the Republican party.
, Ford said he would not make a decision for two years
on running for the Presidency in 1980, but said he would
remain active in party activities.
Ford said a revival of the GOP depends on a broadened
base of popular support and opening doors to a larger seg
. ment of the American public.
"The sure way to demise" Ford said, "is to make the
party so ideologically pure that active participation is
v down to a handful."
"I've found that if you don't win in politics, it
(ideology) doesn't do you much good."
Epergy plan
Ford criticized Congress' lethargy on creating an ef
fective, comprehensive energy plan. .
0
He said he is disappointed in how Congress handled
his energy proposals in 1975.
"Dependence on foreign oil is getting worse every day,
while Congress won't pass legislation to increase produc
tion," he said.
"Congress better get off its. , .," Ford, laving the sen
tence unfinished, said. He paused while a ripple of giggles
ran through the class.
In response to a question about deficit spending by the -federal
government, Ford said he had plans to balance
the budget by 1980. , ,
"I recognize that in times of economic recession and
military emergency deficit budgets are inevitable," he
said. . . .,.
He said the increase' in this year's deficit to $61,5
billion from last year's $45 billion is "a trend in the wrong
direction."
During his lecture about American government, Ford
supported a reform of the electoral college system and .
federal financing of presidential elections. .
Continued on p. 6
Response mixed
to 'Prof. ' Jerry
By Anne Carothers
Three hundred heads turned as he walked down the
aisle. He looked tan and healthy.
Recalling the haggard look on the face of his prede
cessor as he left office, Gerald Ford looked, by com
parison, healthy and younger than photographs of him
usually indicate. A few lines around his eyes showed
the two years he Spent in the White House.
Former President Gerald Ford spoke to approx
imately 300 Political Science 100 students in Love
auditorium; Thursday morning. However, he was there
not as a politician but as a visiting professor sponsored
by the American Enterprise Institute.
Students had been awaiting Ford's arrival for more
than half an hour. Some students had dressed up for
the occasion, but the majority wore T-shirts and jeans.
Most of the students appeared calm and unaffected
by Ford's appearance. Little of the conversation be
fore the speech centered on the former president's
speech. Some students even seemed apathetic,
"I wonder how much (money) I could have gotten
for my ticket? I could have been home if it wasn't for
this speech," one girl commented.
Ford limited the number of students he would
address, so a ticket lottery was held for students of
Political Science 100. , ....
The presence of Secret Servicemen was obvious al
though not obtrusive. Three men and one woman wore
ear devices with wires running into thur shirts.
Three Secret Servicemen escorted Ford down the
auditorium aisle. A podium and microphone had been
set up on stage but Ford chose to stand on the floor
of the auditorium with a microphone around his neck.
"Ford's voice droned in a soft monotone, making
nim difficult to hear. After about 20 minutes he
The atmosphere was casual and low key. Ford,
dressed in a plain gray suit and white shirt, was in
troduced, very briefly, as the 38th President of the
United States.
Ford spoke quietly, without notes. Some students
took notes, most appeared to listen attentively,
opened the floor to questions,
The questions ranged from those on Ford's involve
ment with the Warren Commission, which investigated
the assassination of John F. Kennedy, to one on Ford's
swing flu inoculation program.
Most students had questions written in advance and
read nervously from notebooks. One student's legs
trembled as he asked his question.
. Ford ended his lecture by telling the students "Have
a good day and I hope you win on Saturday," The
crowd responded , with a standing ovation as Ford left
the auditorium.
UNL campus is vast wasteland when stadium is full
By Gail Stork
The evidence of human life outside
Memorial Stadium for those two sacred
hours of a football Saturday is exactly
what any native Nebraskan might predict.
During those two hours, the Nebraska
Union drops to its lowest occupancy Qf the
year, residence halls are as deserted as a
Labor Day weekend' and the library,
, museum and art gallery stand almost
empty. ,
Although the Union's regular Saturday
hours are in effect and there is enough staff
to caver all public service needs, Al
Bennett, Union director, described the
Union's population as "nil! to zero" during
the game. He estimated that less than 50
persons stay in the building during the
game. ,
Bennett said the food service is the
busiest place in the building trying to
recover from the 2,400 to 2,800 meals
served in the Union during the noon hour.
There is little action in the residence
halls between the kick-off and final score,
according to Mary Kramer coordinator for
residence hall programs. She said the
halls are dead.
Students who do not attend the games
go home for the weekend, take advantage
of the empty laundry areas to wash their
clothes, or study in their rooms, many with
a radio tuned, to the game, Kramer said.
. Food service hours
Kramer said the residence hall
complexes can change the hours their
services are offered on game days.
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For example, the Abel-Sandoz game
room opens at 4:30 p.m. on a football
Saturday, instead of the usual 1 p.m. The
snack bar and pool in the complex open at.
7 pjn., cutting out their regular Saturday
afternoon hours. '
Kramer said there is no extra security in
the halls during the game, but students are
warned to watch out for theft. Some
residence hall directors carry a page unit
that beeps to notify them of trouble,
-but so far this year there have been no
problems, she said.
Some of the student security guards
who work nights for the housing dept.
- work on football Saturdays for the atheltic
dept., Kramer said.
Patrol areas
Robert Edmund, UNL police captain,
said the student officers help patrolpark
ing areas and direct heavy traffic.
Parking and game security are the only
game day variations from the police
officer's regular routine, Edmund said.
While officers coming off the night
shift are assigned to the stadium and park
ing lots, the day shift perform its duties
as usual, he said.
Traffic in Love Library is not much
different than any other Saturday either,
according to Eugene Johnson, hbrariaji.
He said the library is run on a minimum
Saturday staff with no special security
problems. ' :
Most of the library's pre-game traffic
consists of students checking out material,
said an information desk worker. However
only a few students stay to do their
research, he said.
Three extra people work at Sheldon Art
Gallery in the hours before kickoff, but
business dies quickly after that, said Jane
Anderson, director of education and
extention services at Sheldon.
Instead of a normal Saturday crowd
of about 200 in one day, the gime brings
in about 200 people per hour, she said.
The museum follows the same pattern
of pre-game crowds followed by a sharp
lull after kick-off, according to museum
staff members.
This rapid evaporation of activity in the
afternoon follows on the heels of the
morning's massive wave of Big Red fans.
Kramer said the crowd that appears in
the residence halls about 10:30 a.m. con
sists mainly of parents and relatives decked
out in red for the game.
The halls' desk workers are constantly
answering phone calls and questions about
who lives where until about 12:30 p.m.
when everything stops, said Trudy Beno,
Abel desk worker.
The pre-game crowds in the Union are
"gentle and generous," according to
Bennett, but their size requires extra volun
teers to answer questions and assist visitors.
Bennett said approximately 1,000
people trickle back through the Union
after the game. He said some use it as a
meeting place or just somewhere to wait
out the traffic.
When the game is over, Memorial Stadi
um loses its magnetic grip on Nebraskans
and human activity begins to show again
on the UNL campus.
inside fridaij
Rolling out the barrels?: A proposal would
allow the public to drink beer at Persh
ing Auditorium p. 5
Inside the Cuckoo's Nest: Documentary
portrays life inside the mental hospital
where Cuckoo's Nest was filmed. . . p. 8
Student body left: Two former Huskers
knocking down been instead of de
fenders p. io