i !
Wednesday, eprl) 11, 1979
page 4
dally nebraskan
)DODDKl(DGQ)a&
.V:
ietnam out of American closet, onto silver screen
4 The night was full of irony, There
was John Wayne, looking lifce a pal?
shadow of himself after his bout
with cancer, announcing the Acade
my Award for best picture of 1978.
Among the: nominated films were
Coming Home and The Deer Hunter
two movies which vividly exhibit
the physical and psychic scars suf?
fered by a nation and its soldiers in a
brutal, unnecessary war. The Duke,
of course, was one of the more vocal
supporters of that war,
There was Jane Fonda, once vili
fied in Hollywood for her anti-war
sentiments, now being feted by that
same establishment for her role in
Coming Home, Actors Jon Voight
and Christopher Walken, of Coming
Home and The Deer Hunter, won
acting honors for their roles in those
movies. Director Michael Cimlno was
honored for his direction of The
Deer Hunter.
Clearly, the Vietnam War is no
longer a taboo subject. The war,
which was an American embarrass
ment for so long, seems, at long last,
to have been let out of the closet. It
looks as though the establishment
has finally found the strength to face
up to the specter which has haunted
the American subconscious all these
years.
It's healthy sign, but with the suc
cess of these two films there most
certainly will be a glut of Vietnam
films in the near future. Success
invariably spells imitation. It won't
be surprising if television soon jumps
on the Vietnam bandwagon.
Copies, particularly if they arc in
ferior to the original, will do nothing
but lessen the Impact of the basic
statements made by those originals
Although it's nice to see society
finally looking at Vietnam in the
proper perspective, a string of dilu
ted, repetitive Vietnam statements
will do nothing but turn real heart
felt sentiments into bland, thin soup.
9 in the Pyrenees bririgs out French friendliness
The , train heading south JVom gray
Bordeaux enters within two hours the roll
ing foothills of the Pyrenees. These mount
ains from the French-Spanish border and
nestle among their peaks the tiny principal
ity of Andorra,
Nicknamed mountains of "eternal
snow" because of their altitude (as high as
3,300 meters), the Pyrenees are dotted
with ski resorts.
And it is to these ski resorts that the
Prench, generally not renownedJbr their
love of sports, flock during 'the winter
months. ' ; $ . ,y r .
. "Le ski" is quite the passion in France,
attracting the genuine ski bum as well as
';thelDiortfad sunbathtr Peking a pre
season tan. In between these two extremes
are the knee-high youngsters who go shoot
ing across the slopes with no hesitation, the
Parisien who comes for his annual weekend
of "sports driver" (winter sports), military
men on vacation or in training and an
assortment of foreigners whose cries of
pain or joy are easily understood, language
barrier or not.
Bunny slopes
From a skiing point, of view, the
Pyrenees are like northeastern United
States. Not as well known as the Alps (The
Rockies of France), the Pyrenees are pooh
poohed by Ales fans as a bunch of bunny
slopes. But it better to put aside such
regional loyalties, pack your gear and go,
find out for yourself. . 4' '
A prerequisite for ski trips is the answer;
to the continued question of is. there
enough snow This winter has not been too
abundant so ski fanatics living in regions
far from the mountains (the Bordelais still
talk about the winter or$9, when the last
known snow flake was sighted) eagerly scan
the papers for snow reports.
You can also call for the latest snow
conditions, but leave it to France to makfc
it necessary to tall Paris which Js north ol
Bordeaux) to get anow reports for . the
Pyrenees (which are south of Bordeaux).
People talk about centralization of France
in Paris, but this is getting ridiculous.
Low&yed dopes
Since the Pyrenees are not as world-,
renowned as the Alps, they tend to be
lower4ceyed than their towering nei$bor.
to the tasv. Prices, ski reports and crowds
are generally lower, smaller and less inter
national than in the Alps.
At small ski resort several miles from
the Spanish border, I was surprised to hear
do Spanish whatsoever. The man who ran
.the ski lifts replied, with a halfcnule on his
face, that the Spanish tend td stay in their
own country for skiing.
Contrary, to "the teneral stereotype f
the French as a closed, reserved people, the
ambiance at ' the-sld resorts is Incredibly
friendly an.d open. This positive attitude
was aikd'by the fact that, at this parti
cular smal tld resort,' two friends and I
were the only ErJiii-speakini people
around. If there one thing traveling has
Uuit me, it that being t yourg Ameri
ca jd tints alstya works to your
: It yds cnj JLic., end lx?pea to
be a foreigner, it's better to avoid the small
resorts. The lady at the grocery store
stopped one of my friends to teU her about
the last time an American had passed
through the village. Another friend, Inqulr
ing for something at the hotel, was referred
;to. a nearby store and found her request
practically signed, sealed and delivered be
tore she could even ask for it.
Learning to ski in French opens up a
whole new area of vocabulary. Its hard
enough to. learn to stay upright on skis,
much less to have foreign words adding to
the confusion Of course, a mumbled "I
dont understand that word" takes some of
the sting out of the ski instructor's stare,
when you fail miserably ,to imitate his
swooping turns. V,
Bumping into people
Skiing, as Ive already mentioned,
attracts a variety of people, and meeting
them is as easy as opening your mouth to
say "bon jour. (It is not recommended to
start conversation by colliding with some
one, for all they'll be able to do is wince in
pain).
Sometimes it's not even necessary to
speak French, is 1 found out when 1 asked
an American friend what time it was and
got a response in English from a French
man who was standing nearby. Turns out
he learned English when working as a
double for Omar Sharif in a Columbia
.Pictures production seven years ago.
The return voyage from the Pyrenees is
just as beautiful as the sights from the
slopes. Once you are down from the ski
lifts, the majority of snow disappears,
revealing the grassy, rocky terrain of these
jutting mountains. Stone and wooden
houses with thatched roofs nestle comfort
ably into the sides of the mountains;
practically blending with the gray-brown
landscape. The houses appear deserted,
until you detect a short, pudgy man, beret
included, breaking the ground for the
spring planting.
Pastoral scene
Further down the winding road
descending the mountains, I was struck by
how vividly green the grass was. Flocks of
sheep dotted the alreadyverdant pastures
and the first signs of mountain flowers
were beginning to appear.
Streams fed v by the slowly melting
snows tripped and tumbled down the
mountainsides, following the paths they
had cut years agot
This rolling pastoral scene continued as
the . road wound through town after
picturesque town, ending its display of
early springtime mountain beauty as it
flattened into a straightaway into the
overly-commercial town of Lourdes.
As concerned students of UNL, and
being actively involved in the workings, of
this university, we have in the past, observ
ed the performance of our student govern
ment,ASUN.
Although we do not think of ASUN as a
, oke," and feel that a strong student gov
ernment is essential to a better university,
thectraclc record of ASUN seems to be
: following a Jrend of .little, improvement
from; year to year Everyone must realize
that student government is in a difficult
position ;on any university campus, and
-:v that job of student senators and executives
is not an easy one. But we feel that some
. thing can be done to improve this situation
and Improve 'iltt;ffettihfisaAStiN.
the senatorial elections are over, and a
- ruh-olf election for president of ASUN is
being held tiit now la ;the union and
various .buildings and. living units on
campus. The chance to atart this change In
ASUN is today.
' Both .candidates for president are top
f quality people, and both are deserving of
. the office, but we feel only one candidate
has committed himself to the change in
ASUN we as students see as fenprotant for
this university.
Tras change must. come in me respon
siveness to students, administrator and
: faculty,, and of more importance, the NU
Board of Regents. ASUN cannot allow it
self to continue so caught tip in the organi
zational and administrative aspects of stu
, dent government that it rejects the most
important fearare of this tffjversitypeo
pie. Granted, procedures are the routes
that have to be taken to get things done,
but human potentL&l and enerpes are the
bade force that rmst be motivated b the
riit directions before .t can aee any
progress. . " :
want clear, simplified feedback on their
problems. The administration and regents,
who are responsible for the operation of
this university, must be worked with, not
against History proves working against the
regents gets us nowhere, and it shouldn't.
1
Considering these things, and analyzing
the true motives for both candidates' desire
to be ASUN president, we feel that only
one of them will respond tolthe direction
we need and has this commitment to the
university above his personal goals.
As students who care and have taken
the time to consider UNL's present situat
ion, we are supporting the candidate who
can initiate these changes in ASUN by vot
ing for Cud Coca in today election.
lane Matzke
Pete Allman
Ua Meier
Michael Phillips
Tracy Taylor
Gail Stork
John Minnick
Scott Behm
Bryan Sone
tntaRizijs
Andy Tomsen
Mary VanHousen
LeeChapin
Stt&nts have to ba Esd to.net tea
Irritated student
Dear Regent Prokop,
Would you like to know where I have
been these last two years while you and
your feBow regents have held your meet
ing? For the last two years, air, my Satur
days have not been spent at football games,
boozing, cc4iahitir4 or fven studying. I,
sir, am one of those taxpayers yod claim to
represent, t work all day Saturdays, Sun
days and afternoons and evening Monday
and Thursdays. 1 .slso ttnd my Christass
and spring and fcmmcr vaaticcs weddns:
Hy mother tloes cot finance my sthoc&nj,
nor does my bnshand, I have earned it, sir,
and p-dd taxes on my earning. And al
though it jst may shock you to ten this,
Ihere xfc numlsKr of stsdsaa at both
UNL and UNO who are working their way
through school. Imagine, students being
taxpayers as well. , -
jr.
But, sir, should 1 or any of my fellow
studenttaxpayers take time off from work
to attend a regents' meeting? Would you
make it worth my ; while to attend by
listening to me? Do you listen to our stu
dent regent now? Since the student regent
is not allowed to vote, I assume that the
answer is "no. Did you listen to those
5,000 students who petitioned for the right
to have speakers paid by fees? Or did you
listen to those that were reported to have
attended your meeting concerning speakers
to the extent that the room was filled to
overflowing? WO .you listen to bur newly
elected ASUN senate, elected by 22 per
cent of .the students (a Hure comparable
to predicted Voter turnout in the Lincoln
primary election)? .;
. ; 1 : k' - -. v '
Do you even have the remotest idea as
to why so many student tajfpayers (and
even a portion of non-student taxpayers)
oppose another stadium expansion or even
a new stadium?
Your worship sir, please try to under
stand something: there are a great number
of students who are actually here at UNL
for, of all things, in education! Not to
party, not to shout "Go Eig Red,? but to
learn. And perhaps that pursuit of educat
ion, or . the means to pursue an education,
takes: precedence-over, Qod forbid, a
resents" meeting. .
ta be thir.kina of you, sir, wh2e IYn
wcrkJng and youre attending the meetings,
tut, -n you be thiakkg of me and all
.these Vkt me? r .V : '
. - Jeanne U-Muer
- v -Junior
: "Adcanil Science
P-S. Scrry I den't have any tl:s to p&