page 4
daily nebraskan
monday, January 16, 1978
4
It's the first day of second semes
ter. It's back to business as usual.
But, it may not be back to busi
ness for some students.
Tight budgets and an accreditation
crunch have hit the College of Busi
ness Administration, and some stu
dents are going to be in the middle
of that squeeze.
In accounting terms: It all adds
up.
Recent enrollees in the college
(those after June 13, 1977) will have
to have a 2.5 cumulative grade point
average or face scholastic eviction,
according to Arthur Kraft, acting
CBA associate dean.
It is unfortunate that the emphasis
on grades must play such an impor
tant role in the theater of higher
education. It is hoped CBA will
take individuals into consideration,
and not just grades.
True, grades are expected to be a
reflection of a student's learning,
but their accuracy can be que
tioned. Kraft, thankfully, does admit that
the policies are "rather distasteful
things to do."
It is distasteful that a number of
UNL students will find themselves
left in a lurch.
Not only does this affect business
majors, non-CBA students are shut
out. Non-CBA students are given the
lowest priority in enrolling in 300
and 400 level courses, according to
the priority system devised by CBA
Dean Gary Schwendiman.
Those students desiring to take
business courses as electives for a
minor or self-improvement are out
of luck.
As our society becomes more
business-oriented, these classes and
the information they offer are more
important.
And the pressure in the college is
going to be heavy .
Kraft even admits that students
are going to be under pressure to
perform.
Competition is bound to be keen.
Student vying against student, not
only for grades but just to get into a
course classroom.
A healthy educational environ
ment? Unlikely.
It is time for the institution to
take a careful look at the programs it
offers.
Some are required. Some are not.
Some have little demand, others have
a demanding demand.
If an institution and a student's
education are to survive, a common
economic principle must be fol
lowed -supply and demand.
Right now, there is a large demand
for classes offered in business admin
istration classes. Where is the supply?
Small Bricks
Simple little things add up to make big universities
Universities are built upon small bricks.
Added together they create a monolith
often an impressive institution.
But each brick has its purpose, a factor
in the duration and success of the whole.
We have all heard the adage: "It's the
little things that count." But sometimes we
seem to lose sight of this, and the little
things are passed over as irrelevant or
insignificant.
Undoubtedly it is a matter of perspec
tive; but we all have certain common ele
ments. For the students, of course, it is
the university.
Each one of us is affected by it in
various ways and degrees.
The point I am trying to establish, quite
simply, is this: What about you and me?
What about today and tomorrow?
I recognize, the problems incurred by
the scheduling' of a bowl game during the
week of finals. But, also during finals week,
why was the temperature in the library
kept consistently at 90 degrees so that no
one could possibly study, especially in
the stacks?
I see the significance of ASUN activities;
but why is mention never made of the fact
that Nebraska Bookstore offers the best
return value on your books when you need
them most -during finals week?
So often the things .that upset us the
most are just that -small bricks. It does not
take a hard-working reporter or researcher
to understand or find out what these
problems are.
Bureau opened
on East Campus
The Daily Nebraskan has made a
few changes this semester, one of the
largest being an East Campus bureau,
':' This expansion will help the
Nebraskan better cover East Campus'
activities and day-to-day operations.
With law, dentistry, home eco
nomics, agriculture education and NU
central administration on East Campus,
there will be much news to report.
Working in the East Campus office
will be John Ortmann, Marcena Hen
drix, Amy Lenzen and Rod Murphy.
In addition, our advertising staff
will have a full-time person working
in the office, which is in the student
activities area of the new union.
This is another change in the ever
expanding Daily Nebraskan, which has
an annual budget of more than a
quarter of a million dollars.
The circulation is now 17,000 'and,
we hope, growing.
And, with larger papers coming out,
thanks to our talented advertising
staff, we hope to bring you more news
each day.
We have more than 60 dedicated re
porters, editors, photographers and
columnists, to bring you that news in
the best way possible.
We all look forward to presenting
you with a comprehensive and tho
rough product this semester.
Ron Ruggless
Editor in chief
michael
nikunn
The significance of putting these frustra
tions into print is two-fold.
First, the satisfaction. The satisfaction
of knowing this problem is not unique to
yourself, that you are not the only one
that melted out the library door, back to a
noisy room or another crowded library.
Secondly, a problem once recognized
is half solved.
Perhaps someone in a position will take
steps to solve the problem.
And, paraphrasing Arlo Guthrie in
"Alice's Restaurant": If one person com- The Daily Nebraskan welcomes letters
olains, they will think he is sick and get rid w we editor ana guesi opinions.
of him; if two people cry, out in harmony,
letters
to the editor
All it takes is the ability to listen and to
be sensitive to what is being said in the
library, in the union, on campus and at the
dinner table.
They are the problems, irritations, frus
trations that are talked about and debated
most frequently, but never seem to reach
print. v
they will think they are both strange; but if
three people say something they will think
it is an organization.
And could you imagine if 50 people
complained? They would think it was a
movement. And here lies the significance
of putting these small bricks into print.
I do not claim I can see where others
cannot, or that Fll always say what is right.
But I will try.
Choices of material will be based on
timeliness and originality. Letters must be
accompanied by the writer's name, grade
level or title, address and telephone
number. They may be published under a
pen name if requested.
All material submitted is subject to
editing and condensation and cannot be
returned to the writer.
Material should be mailed or delivered
to the Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union
34.
Another male bastion toppled; female maestro leads way
Wilmette, 111. -Even on a quiet, beauti
ful, snowy morning in her gracious home
here, Margaret Hillis is still a little pleasant
ly stunned by it all.
Suddenly, after years of orchestral and
choral work, she is the heroine of women
in the music field.
What she did was suddenly to take over
the dazzling Chicago Symphony Orchestra
from conductor George Solti when he fell
and was disabled last fall.
georgie
anne gyf
" "Woman Steps in for Solti, Wins Carneg
ie Hall Ovation the New York Times rave
review was headlined.
This tall, handsome woman with the
gracious manner and the deep voice laughs
gently at this. "Note it was woman. she
says. "They didn't mention my name until
the fourth paragraph.
Since it has been-and is, even today
widely believed that women do not have
any particular original musical ability, per
haps it is good to look deeper into the case
of Margaret Hillis.
When she was studying at Indiana Uni
versity after World War II, her passion to
become a conductor having been with her
since she was 6 or 7, she was told by her
professors that she had extraordinary com
posing and conducting talent.
".Yes, you are a conductor," one of her
professors told her, "but it's difficult
enough for the men. For women, it's
impossible. You couldn't get a major
teacher. Why don't you go in the back
door?"
The "back door," which became some
thing she also loved, was her work as choral
director for the Chicago Symphony.
At the same time, she conducted smaller
orchestras so that, when her big chance
came in late October, she was quite ready,
even with only a day's preparation to play
Mahler's awesoipe Eight Symphony.
Ah, but if that were all there were, then
it would be just another Hollywood-style
success: Understudy Takes Over, at Last
Moment, Crowds Go ''Wild, Hollywood
Offers Contract.
The story of Margaret Hillis is a lot
more than that.
It is, at heart, the story of the psycho
dynamics of conducting today-an art that
perhaps more than anything has symbolized
the absolute patriarchal authority of the
controlling male-and how it too has
changed.
Once she conducted so suddenly and so
brilliantly, for instance, even the male
members of the orchestra were beaming
at her for days. .
"There is still some occasional hostility
from one person," she said thoughtfully.
"But today basically it is only a question
of "Can you play?' and 'Can you help me
play?'
"Conducting certainly was the male pre
serve. But the days of the 19th century
tyrant are over. No man would dare play
that role. The whole thing today is
colleagueship. It used to be based on fear
not anymore."
How did it change? She puzzled for a
moment.
"How did it change?' she repeated. "I
lived through the change, yet it is diffi
cult to say how it came about. Most of our,
conductors before were imported-they
brought the German tradition.
"Then, as time went on, younger
conductors came on. Part of it was that we
didn't develop as many younger ones be
cause we didn't have enough opera houses
here. There are 60 year-round opera houses
in Germany, for instance, and one in this
country.
What she was saying was that the day of
the martinet. . .of the maestro. ..of th
dominant temperamental Great Male
Conductor. . .was past
Yet, she hastened to add, that did not
mean that "authority was not present.
But it is the authority of the person who
knows what heor she-is doing.
"When you step on the podium," she
mused, your authority has to be there. If
the orchestra does not accept your author
ity, that authority stays on the podium."
Then what happens? She rolled her eyes
in horror. "They giggle, they watch the
concert master instead of you-it can be
devastating."
But they didn't do that when Hillis
conducted and they surely will not do it
when she conducts the many requests she
now has.
They didn't do it not because she de
manded her "rights, but because she was
so damned good.
She worked through Tier original resent
ment, and the difficulty of a female taking
on in "authority role ("As you grow, you
shed things like an onion).
' - .
She had the "courage to do what she
had to do because she simply was well
prepared.
In fact, when she was about to conduct
the Mahler, George Solti said to her, "My
dear, this takes a great deal of courage to
do.
"I didnt think of courage,she said "I
knew the tools were there, and I just knew
it had to be done. She paused.
"I wonder-can you have courage if you
don't have fear?-
Copyright 1373, Lot Angtkt Ttmt Syndicate