daily nebraskan
monday, may 1, 1978
page 4
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Regents pass the buck-but not dollars on speakers
The new speakers policy, effective
July 1 , is a fine example of another
typical bureaucratic move.
The NU Board of Regents, after
outlining the stipulations for who
can and cannot be supported by stu
dent fees, concluded their policy
with this handy escape clause: "In
case of dispute, the chancellor or his
designee shall be responsible for in
terpreting these guidelines."
Anyone with any degree of
common sense can safely assume
that "disputes" will arise, especially
with the vigilant YAF keeping tabs
on all speakers.
Therefore, the burden of responsi
bility will be shifted from the eight
men responsible for deciding the
speaker policy to someone who had
no input in the decision.
This can be interpreted as passing
the buck, and unsurprisingly, is
something we've seen quite a bit of
from the regents.
We only wish the regents would
pass the buck in the literal sense.
The speakers program is without
any guarantee of student fee money
since the regents eliminated the
money designated for speakers by
the Fees Allocation Board. Even if
students want to sponsor a non
controversial speaker, they now have
no student fee money to do so with.
This figurative buck-passing is
something we are sad to see.
If the regents had to deal with any
and all disputes about speaker select
ion, perhaps they would think twice
about their policy. Setting case after
case would consume valuable regent
time, detracting from the other
matters these eight businessmen and
farmers have to attend to.
An interesting point was raised the
other night: Isn't it ironical that the
people with the greatest stake in the
university are those with the least
input, while those with the smallest
stake hold so many of the control
ling strings in their hands?
The reference was to the board of
regents and NU students. The
speaker was Ralph Nader.
Nadar may well be remembered
the last speaker brought to UNL
entirely by student decision. As of
July 1, speakers (if there are any)
must all have some form of admini
strative approval.
Let's hear it for free choice.
Rule for classroom catnaps: Dont sleep on newsprint
Besides music, beer and a little hanky
panky every now and then, there is one
other thing that all college students need
and thrive on. Sleep. Ah, sleep . . . you can
never get enough of it.
Researchers say that the normal human
being needs anywhere from eight to ten
hours of sleep a night, some people need as
little as two to three and others as much as
12 to 14 hours a night.
michael
nikune
When you're in school, you always need
from 10-12. There isn't any time through
the morning or day when any of us
Wouldn't like to lay down for just a few
winks.
It's very easy to find the people who
don't get enough sleep. About 15 minutes
into the lecture their eyelids are closing
slowly, fighting to stay open and look in
terested, but closing nonetheless. The per
son will shift around in his chair, looking
for a more comfortable position.
They think they're fooling everyone by
putting their head on their forehead or by
looking straight down at their paper or
book. But everyone, including the pro
fessor, knows exactly what they're doing
because we've all done the same thing.
It's at times like that that I have wished
so hard that the desks were a little more
like recliner chairs; or that perhaps the uni
versity could put cots in die back of the
room for people who just can't keep
awake.
What IH never understand is how some
people can go into a class, and in a normal
sitting position fall completely and fitfully
into a deep sleep, with their head in a con
tortionist's position, staring at the ceiling,
mouth agape. I enjoy these people because
they seem to sleep better in class than I do
in my bed.
Professors' reactions to sleeping stu
dents are always fun. They range from
quiet amusement to a burning rage.
Some take it as a hint that they should
spice up the lecture from their regular
monotone.
Others take it as a direct insult, and
though they try to ignore the sleeping
tyrant, their attention is always drawn to
him.
I have to admit it would be rather diffi
cult to ignore someone who sounds like he
is sawing wood, while revealing his tonsils
to all.
I think we can all sympathize with this
person, though, because it happens to us
all.
At first it feels like someone is trying to
squeeze your eyes shut and you just can't
keep them open. You try a number of
positions in your chair to avoid the
tendency to lay down on the floor next to ,
your desk.
But you know you are done for when
you start thinking about your bed at home,
and how good it would feel right now.
Usually at that point you're slowly melting
out of your chair, or completely asleep.
In closing there is just one warning.
Never fall asleep with your forehead laying
on a page or newspaper. For some reason
the print transfers to the skin and is hard
to get off.
I know, I walked out of geography with
a Daily Nebraskan headline written back
wards across my forehead.
to the editor
In letters to the Editor April 25, a line of a
letter by Pete Schmitz was accidentally
omitted in production. The paragraph of
his letter complaining about the bigotry of
UNL students toward the gay movement
should have read: "And it is terribly pathe
tic that the Greeks of Phi Kappa Psi (with
their sign of IS reasons not to be gay)
thought they were proving their masculini
ty while they were only showing the public
how insecure and uneducated they are."
44c for After Hours
I am happy that the Daily Nebraskan
agrees with our efforts to minimize the
cost of health care while retaining the qual
ity services that are essential for UNL stu
dents. However, there are some misconcep
tions about the After Hours Service that
need to be clarified.
The After Hours Service provides ser
vices for acute illness, injuries and emotion
al problems. Next year the cost of this ser
vice will be about 44 cents of the projected
$27.72 per student the health center
receives from student fees.
After Hours cases are referred to com
munity hospitals only when the condition
is life-threatening, may require major sur
gery, or intensive care. Also the physician
coverage is the equivalent of one and one
half full-time physicians at approximately
half the normal cost.
In regard to reassignment of staff phy
sicians to provide night coverage, it would
further reduce medical coverage in the cli
nic during the days andor require addi
tional duties. The net effect of this would
be no cost savings for students. Also the
time required for a student to receive pro
per medical treatment for acute conditions
would be greatly increased.
Lastly, emergency room fees are at least
three times the cost of After Hour Services
at UHC.
Thus for only 44 cents a semester, stu
dents have quality medical treatment lo
cated on campus. Also, 84 percent of the
students surveyed by the Student Council
on Health wanted continuation of this ser
vice. The Student Council of Health seems
to think that this is very reasonable consid
ering the spiraling cost of medicine.
Mark Carlson, Chairman
Student Council on Health
Symptoms ignored
Last Monday, all city campus residence
hall students received notice that it would
cost 50 cents to eat the evening meal at the
East Campus Union along with information
on why it was necessary to apply the sur
charge. However, as is usual with a large number
of bureaucrats facing a problem, they are
concerned only with the immediate prob
lem and not with the symptoms, or what
led to the problem in the first place.
We are asked to look at the injustic of
the East Union going into debt because of
city campus transfers but what about the
injustice of 300 students getting above-average
meals and more than ten times that
amount getting meals that are poorly pre
pared and served?
To anyone who does not believe there is
a difference in food, I suggest they try it.
It's often been said that it must be hard
to serve nearly 1 ,200 students at a sitting,
but the coordinators at East Campus have
shown that good food and large numbers
go together. Perhaps they would be gener
ous enought to share their tricks with the
rest of the managers.
Jack Goetschius
Sophomore, English
More money to twirler
Equating "twirling scholarship" with
"twirling major" is unfair, to say the least.
There are, after all, other scholarships not
directly associated with a major (is there a
"football major" for football players on
scholarship?).
Actually, the connection between a
twirler and "every full-blooded football
team" is inaccurate. A baton twirler is his
torically and necessarily inaccurate.
Actually, the connection between a
twirler and "every full-blooded football
team" is inaccurate. A baton twirler is his
torically and necessarily a marching band
phenomenon.
More specifically: advance twirling,
being a display of comparatively intricate
movements, lends itself most successfully
to solo performance. So twirling does not
truly compare with cheerleading or flag
corps.
It's only fair that the solo performer
(the twirler), who spends a number of
years perfecting her skill, should receive
some compensation for performing. And a
football band show is almost the only place
there is for a twirler to perform.
Since twirling is a facet of band perfor
mance, it seems appropriate that the UNL
twirler scholarship is handled through the
band budget. It's the band department's
business to distribute its budget as it sees
fit? and the department apparently agrees
that a twirler is a good thing to have.
It's too bad that bands (here and else
where) have to scrape for traveling funds;
but when Big Red goes to a bowl game and
the marching band appears, their perfor
mance should not have to be without ba
ton twirling. If the UNL twirler will per
form creditably for only $700, more power
to her; and if the band department should
every manage to increase the twirler schol
arship fund, more power to them!
Arthur Garwood
Graduate Student, actuarial science
(Cross
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Gib yen.
A Pubic Servic of This Newspaper
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