The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, February 27, 1978, Page page 2, Image 2
monday, february 27, 1978 page 2 daily nebraskan English professors claim Johnny can read, sort of By Todd Hegert l-L-L-l-T-E-R-A-C-Y. The word recks of ill. But if one can read the word and under stand its implications it does not apply to him. Neither does it apply to the mythical man called "Johnny" who Time magazine popularized as a typical high school gradu ate who was not adequately trained to read or write, according to some English instruc tors at UNL The fuss about college freshman illitera cy is unfounded, said (lerry Brookes, vice chairman of the English department. Freshman English students at UNL have a basic competence in reading and writing skills, although those skills may not be very developed, Brookes said. When people say that student literacy is deteriorating and that they can no longer write, well I want to ask them when it was that they could write," Brookes said. "On ly one guy has ever tried to tell me. He said it was in 1932 in Carlton, Minn. When first asked about illiteracy at UNL, Brookes gave a long sigh and said "Oh God. Not this again." The fuss about illiteracy has been going on, on-and-off, since the Middle Ages, Brookes said. Something like Time wili pick it up and it becomes a big deal all over again, he said. Dudley Bailey, professor of English, said "illiteracy is a recurrent theme in literate societies and it should be considered in its proper historical perspective. "All this bother about illiteracy has been going on about every generation or so since the 1660's," Bailey said. "After 300 years we should know better." "It is very engaging entertainment for some folks to think the language is going to shambles. And in another 20 or 30 years I suspect the newspapers will be carrying this same kind of story again." Bailey said he has seen no change in stu dents' ability to read and write during his 30 years of teaching at UNL. While basic reading and writing abilities hav. not changed, student's backgrounds and attitudes, which affect their reading and writing habits, have changed. Bailey said. Students today do not know things stu dents knew 20 years ago. such as Latin, Bailey said. But students today know more SSS' - Ik about some things than students 20 years ago did, he said, citing sciences as an c ample. "I am continually amazed by what my students know," Bailey said. Students today are less concerned about spelling and punctuation than they used to be. Bailey said. "But you only have to read the newspaper," he said, "to see that this is only part of a broader social trend." Ered Link, professor of English, said that the economy is responsible for some of the background and attitude changes thai af fect students' reading and writing skills. Link said students are becoming more interested in job-related classes, which hae more immediate practical value, and less in terested in English classes. Most students have not read widely be fore coming to the university. Link said. "Freshman students tend to read words and plots only, as if they were reading a newspaper." Link said. "They tend to read fast, and read simple things. When they try to read complicated poetry or fiction full of symbolism and packed with meaning, they are not trained to understand it." Bruce Erlich, associate professor of En glish, said that although the reading skills of freshman during his four years at UNL have not changed, these skills have not been very good. Erlich said freshman seem to have two recurring problems. "The special problems freshman have are, number one, restricted vocabularies and number two, they have never been taught to think in concepts. They tend to think in terms of concretes and have trou ble making generalizations from the con crete," Ehrlich said. short stuff Nursing, undeclared students get vote The Mai one Community Center needs a ballet in structor 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday. Salary is $3 an hour. For more information contact the Community In volvement Center, 472 2454. The University of Min nesota is sponsoring low cost charter flights to London, Frankfurt, or Amsterdam. Thirty-two flights leaving between June 6 and Sept. 5 are available. For more information con- unionj calendar 12:30 p.m. - IFC Execu tive luncheon, Pewter Room. 3:30 p.m. - ASUN -S.Q.A.R. News Conference, Room 202. 3:30 p.m. - Panhellenic, Room 232. 4 p.m. - Daily Nebraskan, Room 21 6. 4 p.m. - UPC rehearsal, Ballroom. 4:30 p.m. - Chancellor's office, Room 203. 5:30 p.m. - College of Arts & Science - dinner, Room 242. 6 p.m. - Towne Club, Harvest Room AB. 6:30 pjn. - Tau Kappa Epsilon, Auditorium. 6:30 pjn. - Beta Alpha Psi - Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, Room 225G. 7 p.m. - Table Tennis Club, Conference Rooms. 7 p.m. - Delta Sigma Pi exec, Room 232. 7:30 pjn. - Delta Sigma Pi, Room 232. 8 pjn. - Delta Sigma Pi pledges, Harvest Room C. Booths: 1A - Outreach, 2A- Students for Dyas, 3A Iranian Student Association. tact Evelyn Jacobson, Flights and Study Tours, 345 Nebraska Union or call 472-326432653266. Mortar Board is accept ing applications for Notable Persons from freshman, sophomore anJ senior men and women who exemplify excellence in leadership, scholarship and service. Applications are due March 1 and can be obtained from the Panhellenic office your presidents, student assist ants, City and East Campus Unions, and Love Library. Beta Alpha Psi is spon soring an accounting lab 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. today in CBA 106 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in CBA 124. VITA, the free income tax preparation program, also will be tonight and Tuesday from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the Union 225G. The UNL Prayer & ftaise organization will meet at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mark's on-the-Campus Church, 13th & R. The UNL Tassels will meet at 5 pjn. Tuesday in the Union. Room number will be posted. The ASUN Government Liaison Committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the union. Room number will be posted. UNL College of Nursing students and undeclared students will have represen tation on ASUN this year as a result of last 'week's UNL Student Court decision. The court established the nursing col lege as a separate college for election of senators and gave the ASUN Electoral Commission discretion to divide unde clared students among the colleges. Previously, nursing and undeclared stu dents could not vote to elect senate repre sentatives. However, they could vote for executive officers. Undeclared students will be assigned to vote in a particular college by the last two digits of their student identification (social security) number. They may vote in the college of their choice by present ing a notarized request, according to an electoral commission report. One undeclared student has taken advantage of the new system. Mike Demp sey, an undeclared freshman from Alliance, filed a request to vote in the College of Arts and Sciences and is running for a senate seat in that college. The number of seats in each college and distribution of undeclared students by the last two digits of their student identifi cation numbers are listed below: College of Agriculture (3 seats), 00-10 College of Architecture (1), 11-14 College of Arts and Sciences (8), 1542 Business College (5), 43-60 College of Engineering (3), 61-71 College of Home Economics (2), 72-78 College of Nursing (1 ), 79-82 Teachers College (5), 83-99 Professional colleges (1) Graduate college (6) Take . stock ujnerica. 200 years at the same location. 611 N. 27th LINCOLN, NE. OPEN 4:30 P.M. MONDAY i 'A, Reg. 12" Pizza - wPepperoni, Mushrooms, 2 Cokes or Hamburger NLY $325 TAX NO COUPONS ACCEPTED