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fr'daY aPril 28 1978 lincoln, nebraska vol. 101 no. 107
Students should combine education, issues- Nader
By L. Kent Wolgamott
Students should interrelate their educa
tion with issues and problems in order to
properly prepare themselves for life outside
the university, according to consumer
activist Ralph Nader.
Nader spoke at an overflow crowd of
1,200 in the Nebraska Union Ballroom
Thursday night, on consumer issues and
their relation to students. He was paid
$3,500.
Nader urged students to "link factual
materials to real-life problems?"
"Then you have something that chal
lenges your value systems and intellectual
curiosity and you don't get bored," Nader
said.
Students have advantages in organizing
their efforts on issues because they can
communicate and gather together easily,
are in the peak of their idealism, and can
"double-track" their education and
"citizen skills," he said.
When studying the issues, Nader said,
"the consumer function is the ultimate
evaluation of an economic system," a fact
not well-recognized by most economists.
In order to make judgments, he said,
consumer information is necessary as a
beginning, "to know what you are buy
ing." Consumer organizations, to represent
consumer interests in both the private and
public sector of the economy is the second
step suggested by Nader.
Consumer cooperatives for necessary
goods and services make up the third step.
The final step for students Nader listed
is to increase attention paid to representa
tives in government.
The study of individual Representatives
or Senators would enrich the political
dialogue in a state, allow for a more
thorough evaluation of political candi
dates, while at the same time being more
meaningful to the student than a normal
college class.
Nader cited a study of the Educational
Testing Service as an example of student
involvement in consumer issues.
"I thought it was about time that stu
dents as customers or victims study the
Educational Testing Service," he said.
'They define what intelligence is and
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Photo by Ted Kirk
Ralph Nader
allocate millions of student careers."
"What are you going to do to make sure
this kind of power is not exaggerated?"
Nader said.
Nader also attacked two of his tradition
al adversaries, the automobile industry and
the food industry as examples of corporate
power influence and abuse.
Nader said corporations have all the
rights of individuals with privileges and
power not available to private citizens.
"You couldn't relieve yourself in the
Detroit River but corporations do it all the
time," he said.
Nader also urged students to evaluate
television as consumers.
"Morris the Cat has more access than
the American people have, through T.V.,"
Nader said.
In a press conference before his speech,
Nader had a critical opinion of Nebraska
Sen. Edward Zorinsky.
"He is a nihilistic demagogue. He
doesn't believe in anything."
"He is clever enough in political slogans
against Washington which gives him some
popularity in Nebraska.
"The sooner he is replaced the better
for Nebraska," Nader said.
On anniversary, Vietnamese recalls takeover of Saigon
By Rex Henderson
This weekend marks the anniversary of
what, for many Americans, was a tragic
moment in history.
To Nghiep (Nip) Huynh it marks the
demise of a country he defended and the
beginning of his new life in the United
States. marched nearly unopposed into Saigon.
Nip (an "American" nickname he was Nip said that he and the other 35 Viet
given by friends) is now a UNL actuarial namese at UNL will spend Saturday night
science major. Three years ago today he together, remembering their homeland,
was a 20-year-old warrant officer in the They have memories not easily dis
crumbling South Vietnamese army, scram missed. The hardest to forget, Nip said, are
bling to leave his country as the North those from the month preceding the fall of
Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong Saigon and months following his flight
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Lincoln Vietnam war protesters in the early 70s.
Daily Nebraskan Photo
from Vietname. "I remember every minute
of it," he said.
Nip's ordeal began March 28, 1975. He
said he was stationed on a road on the out
skirts of Da Nang in command of three
tanks. He recalls that he waited for the ex
pected attack by the North Vietnamese.
The attack never came. But at 1 ajn. on
the 28th, Nip heard a radio broadcast
which reported that Da Nang had fallen .
There were no orders from his superiors.
They already had fled. Nip said he found
himself on his own. He and the soldiers in
his command held their position until 5
a.m., then moved toward Da Nang.
In the center of the city he said he
found total confusion. Many people were
armed, he said.
Fearing mass reprisals and murders by
the communists, they were trying to escape
and were willing to do anything, including
killing each other, to find a place on a boat
or plane leaving the city, said Nip.
Nip made his way to the harbor, where
he climbed aboard a barge pulled by a
small riverboat and headed south along the
coast to Nha-Trang.
There were thousands packed on board
the barge, he said. There was no food, no
drinking water and no space in which to sit
or lie down, Nip added. He spent the next
three days and two nights aboard the barge.
Continued on page 10
East CampUS Special food paSSeS issued Sports Complex site
By Paula Dittrick
City campus residence hall students
whose work or class schedules require that
they eat at the East Union may obtain a
special pass exempting them from paying a
50-cent surcharge.
Doug Zatechka, UNL housing director,
said a pass will be issued to a student who
shows evidence of such scheduling needs to
their residence hall food managers.
He said he asked East Union cashiers to
make exceptions this week to the surcharge
rule if a student claims such a schedule
conflict.
Zatechka admitted the surcharge is a
removal of privilege for city campus dwel
lers who pay the same rates as east campus
students. East campus students can eat on
city campus residence halls without paying
a surcharge.
"There is legitimate discrimination and
illegitimate discrimination." he said. "I
don't feel there is anything illegitimate or
illegal" about the surcharge.
Robert Lange, Student Legal Service at
torney, said several students had contacted
him concerning the surcharge. He refused
to comment about the legality of the sur
charge. He refused to comment about the
legality of the surcharge until he examined
a housing contract.
However, he said, "a contract can be as
loose or as detailed as you want to make it.
Flexibility is a nice thing because it can
work both ways."
He said he suspected that the housing
contract had been carefully written and
probably had been reviewed in the past by
authorities.
Zatechka said that besides the legal
question, he had io consider such criteria
as ethical, moral and educational questions.
"Nothing is ever going to be 100 per
cent fair to every student," said Zatechka.
adding he wants to make things as fair as
possible.
He admitted he has many unanswered
questions concerning the surcharge, which
he called an experiment. Records kept of
the number of persons eating at the East
Union will "serve as a base for evaluating"
the surcharge.
He said he will decide sometime this
summer if the surcharge will be continued.
He added that he would consult student
representatives before making the decision.
East Union employees and Residence
Hall Association members agreed to the
surcharge.
"I'm not going through another year of
spiraling costs," he said. The surcharge was
imposed to reduce costs and ease crowding
casused by as many as 700 students eating
dinner at east campus.
Zatechka said an "excessive" amount of
money is being transferred to east campus
for food service. He said this is not fair to
the students who never eat there.
Money rom this surcharge will be used
to help pay increased east campus cafeteria
costs, he said. The Housing Office has esti
mated transfers cost the office some
$70 ,000 annually.
Zatechka said the number eatig at east
campus has been "vastly reduced" since
the surcharge was imposed on Tuesday.
of Eighth Cornstock
Cornstock will be inside the UNL Sports
Complex today from 1:30 to 5:45 p.m.
The eighth annual outdoor concert
sponsored by the East Union Program
Council was moved from the East Campus
mall because of rain.
inside
Depression wasn't all bad: Retired
professor reminisces about UNL in
the 30s page 6
What are friends for?: Actors Dennis
Hopper and Bruno Ganz commit
murder in Th" American Friend at
Sheldon page 12
Short people can be heroes too:
Sports columnists support sports
for the little person page 14