monday, december 11, 1978
daily nebraskan
page 5
op ed
NU, Harvard differ in more than just climbing ivy
It was Saturday night again, and instead
of partying with some wild and wonderful
women, I was telling roommate about a
World-Herald headline which read "NU to
Rival Harvard?"
michoel gibson
I told him the headline was written after
the NU Board of Regents approved long
term educational guidelines which Regent
James Moylan said would make Nebraska
"The Harvard University of the Plains."
Roommate allowed that the plan was
probably well and good, but he still
thought the presence of a question mark in
the headline was most appropirate.
"After all," he said, "need I remind you
that this is not one of the two or three
greatest institutes of higher education in
the western world-or even the western
Cornbelt?"
Not the top
"Indeed, last Friday a very qualified
source said that 'Most observers don't
consider us to be among the top institutions
in the Big Eight."
"Have you been reading the new Buzz
Book definitions again?" I charged.
"No, just listening to NU President
Ronald Roskens," chortled roommate.
So much for my defense of my glorious
alma mater.
But roommate persisted , asking how the
regents planned to accomplish all this. I
told him their guidelines called for NU to
increase research, strengthen its graduate
program, obtain more federal grants, and
maintain its undergraduate "reputation for
excellence."
was roommate's only
"Well," he mused, "last week Harvard
students could listen to CIA director Stans
field Turner, former Defense Secretary
Eliot Richardson, and several other import
ant personages speak on campus."
Somehow I had to admint that they
probably weren't your average non-political
speakers.
But roomie had just begun to fight.
"Furthermore," he said, "I suspect they
get more concerned over finding a new
chemistry department chairman than we
do finding a football coach. And no one at
Harvard is suggesting another stadium, ex
pansion, as our regents are, at a cost of $4
million."
Students are adults
I was going to respond, until I recalled
Harvard spent four times that much money
last year on just its library.
"In addition," continued roommate,
"the Harvard administration has made a
remarkable discovery: students are adults.
That means that they should be expected
to behave as adults and treated as adults,
which means that 'In loco parentis,' visita
tion rules and alcohol prohibition are as
dead at Harvard as teacher evaluation hand
books at Nebraska."
"Which reminds me," he snickered, "at
Nebraska, teacher evaluations are never
made public. At Harvard, the administra
tion and a student-elected committee pub
lish student evaluations about the 200
courses-and their teachers-on campus
with the highest enrollment.
Ask the horticulture club
Considering what had happened to
ASUN's attempt last year to do something
similar, I suspected roomie had become
long on pain and short on common sense.
"Perhaps," he chuckled. "However, I
am beginning to suspect that the only way
to make Nebraska into an Ivy League
school like Harvard is to see what the
Horticulture Club has in the way of Hedera
Helix."
I supposed I shouldn't have, but I had
to.
"What's that?" I asked
"Climbing English Ivy."
letters
"Maintain?"
comment.
Make suggestions
I was perturbed by now and told him
instead of being cynical he should suggest
how to bring NU up to Harvard's level.
Continued from Page 4
sary national connections and record of re
search activity. Time spent writing propo
sals and hustling is time not spent on
undergraduates.
Current university emphasis all suggest
that undergraduate instruction will become
even less important at UNL and other
"major" universities than it is now. Statis
tically, moreover, the situation can only
become worse as student enrollment levels
off and declines in the 1980s.
According to the American Council on
Education, Congress's extension of manda
tory retirement from 65 to 70 years of age
will mean that there will be no new faculty
positions available to young teachers from
1983 to 1989. Already there are very
few positions open to new Ph.D.'s. Reading
between the lines, this means that under
graduates at UNL and elsewhere will be
stuck with the present faculty for the most
part for a good long while, and this faculty
will be growing older and older.
This situation leads to one question:
why is the university downplaying under
graduate education by attempting to ex
pand graduate programs when the Ph.D.'s
already in the pipeline can't find teaching
positions? It's a question students, parents
of students and taxpayers interested in un
dergraduate education should be addressing
to every legislator and regent in Nebraska.
By the way, the teacher Michael Gibson
cites as one of the best he's had at UNL,
one who has been a runner-up three times
as the best teacher in Arts and Sciences,
earned less while teaching at UNL than the
beginning teacher with a B.A. in the
Lincoln Public Schools.
Joseph P. Bernt
Instructor of English
Palestinians shouldn't pay
Why is it so difficult for people to un
derstand the Palestinian's predicament? All
they are asking is that they be given back
their homes which were taken from them
in 1948. Is it such a terrible thing to wish
to return to the land that has belonged to
them for centuries-the land over which
they toiled and which they love?
Palestine was taken away from its right
ful inhabitants and given to the people of
the Jewish religion so they could establish
a homeland for themselves. The Jewish feel
they need their own country because of
the oppression they have received in the
past, particularly during World War II. Do
they think they are the only people in the
world who have been persecuted?
People in the U.S.' are always screaming
for human rights. When Jews from all over
the world swarmed into Palestine, the
Palestinians were foced to leave their
homes. Now they have to live in refugee
camps. Where are the human rights in this?
The Palestinians should not have to pay
for the oppression the Jews have suffered
at the hands of the rest of the world.
If the U.S. thinks the Jewish people
need a homeland, perhaps it should offer
them some land in this country.
N.L. Hotouy
Journalism
Sophomore
YAei) He,ps you Start f WfsMj
1 hS2)(0 &r Jffis the Week Out Right! -L-
I JhOjL GUNNY'S 13th & -Q" 475-8007 IM H...; LU j
Come in and watch
Cincinnati Bengals play the
Los Angeles Rams
$1.25 Pitchers & Nachos $1.50
(During the Game)
ED
C, B, & P Burger
& lb. of Beer
8 oz. Top Sirloin
& lb. of Beer
$3.
10
$6.
25
MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY
HAPPY HOUR 4:30-6:30
FREE HORS D'OEUVRES
Every Tuesday night,
buy any Burger and
Drink and pay only
for the Burger.
Don't forget that it's
Wheel of Fortune night every
Tuesday in the Yacht dub.