Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 1979)
page 4 tuesday, august 28, 1979 daily nebraskan J191 n ..... Resolution calling for changes in selection of Regents Legislative hearings are being held this fall on a resolut ion introduced by Sen. Dave Newell of Omaha, which could lead to a change in the way the NU Board of Regents is selected, and a change in the board's duties. LR76 calls for the study of having an appointed "super board of regents," responsible for policy-making for NU, state colleges and technical community colleges. By appointing the regents, and by consolidating control of all state-supported colleges and universities In the state, Newell says he hopes the legislature would have better control over spending, and the state could have a better higher education system, avoiding duplication and poor coordination. It should be noted that Newell apparently is not a fan of the regents', and offered several amendments last spring to reduce the NU budget. Despite the apparent bias, Newell's resolution should be considered on merit, because it makes sense. THE RESOLUTION advocates the study of a new idea - replacing all existing boards with one new one. Such a study, in itself, cannot be harmful. Every citizen of the state has a right to expect tax dollars funneled into higher education to be spent effici ently, With one elected board (the regents), and several appointed boards, it is hard to tell what each is doing, let alone strive to eliminate duplication and unnecessary programs. Only the Legislature has the power to restructure coordination of higher education, and only a consolidat ed board would be able to effectively coordinate pro grams. The other question brought up by the resolution is whether the regents should be elected or appointed. Since the regents are elected, they are faced with the first law of politics: elected officials usually behave in a manner that enhances the possibility of re-election. However, the student body, the faculty and the administration - those who know best the needs of the university - represent only a small constituency, and have a very small voice in determining who the policy-makers will be. THE REGENTS are elected by the people of the state, most of whom, unfortunately, know little about NU other than the fact that it has a good football team once in a while. It seems reasonable that if the regents were appointed by the governor, pending approval by the Legislature, that political pressure, now applied on the board by those Vho do not understand the needs of higher education, would be removed. Attention could be paid to the business of quality education, rather than to the business of stadium expans ion or feretting out the communists and lesbians sup posedly in the speakers' program. Newell's resolution should not be taken lightly, nor should it be taken as an attempt to slap the regents' collective face. It holds the potential for reform and better higher education system in the state. Randy Essex compliance with C f C the LiAW V ? mm s Orientation helps new students I think it is important to set the record straight on a article which appeared in the Aug. 22 issue of the Daily Nebraskan. According to Alice Hrnicek, "No 6ne puts out a guide to the real problems new stu dents face.' Actually, the New Student Orientation Office specializes in helping new students with the very real problems they may encounter their first year at the university. This summer, the office served 3,449 students, their parents and friends through 22 different one-day orientation programs including two overnight sessions. In fact, the day Ms. Hrnicek's article appeared, another 248 people were participating in the New Student Orientation program. The staff, consisting of a program consultant, graduate assistant, staff assist ant and IS upperclass student hosts, is prepared to assist new students with every thing from what to do on Sunday night for supper to what to do if a class schedule is wrong. The New Student Orientation Office (Room 205 Nebraska Union, 472 2454) offers continued assistance through out the entire year. Sandra Rhoten Program Consultant New Student Orientation The Daily Nebraskan welcomes letters to the editor and guest opinions. Timeliness, clarity of writ ing and originality are considered when selecting material for publi cation. All submissions are subject to editing and condensation and cannot be returned to the writer. Material should be typed if possi ble and submitted with the writer's name, class standing, academic major or occupation, address and phone number. Awards presented for maintaining unfair life in America BOSTON-It hardly seems possible, but it is more than three years since Jimmy Carter first proclaimed that Life Isn't Fair. Of course, at the time, most of us thought he was describing a condition, not a goal. But, Lord knows, let us give him credit for maintaining one campaign pro mise. In the ensuing three years, as a kind of personal kinky celebration of Aug. 26 Women's Equality Day, the an niversary of the passage of the Suffrage Amendment, we paused in order to give thanks to all those who have done their best to maintain this Great American Motto. (0 J00 gOGOREIl But enough of these banal generalities. On to the speci fics of the third annual life Isn't Fair awards. The envelopes please. THE GONE WITH the Wind award, a working calendar of the year 1843 appropriate for hanging, goes to the Mis sissippi State Legislature, which this year voted against the amendment granting women the right to vote. So much for the New South. Hie You Can Always Get a Woman for Less prize goes to the United States Mint, which succeeded, where all others have failed, in making Susan B. Anthony a light weight. Now, weighing in at 8.1 grams and wreaking more havoc at the vending machine than she did at polling booths, Anthony is employed as a figurehead to save the government $25 million a year. The Outstanding Graduate of Army Tact School plaque goes to those swell guys in the White House who, in the best tradition of displaced hostility, battered Bella Instead of E3y. This award, for their elegant dismissal of Delia from the President's Advisory Committee for Women, is a leatherbound copy of "How to Make Friends and Influence People. , THE IF IT Weren't for You I Woulda Been a Star award, stuffed with fading photographs, goes to Michelle Marvin, who proved this year that the cost of free love had inflated to $104,000. To her catty B?llou goes our annual literary "Say It with Flowers-PLEASE!" award for his courtly letters read publicly during this case. They include the memorable lyric: "Oh baby, I want so much for you please." The Profiles in Courage badge, once again by popular outcry, is awarded to a Florida state senator. The Man of the Hour is Guy Spicoia, who ran, with ERA funds, a pro ERA platform only to vote against it. This profile is a sil houette of a chicken. The He was Asking for It graffiti goes to the woman who contributed the most in defense of her craft. When a man grabbed her while she was painting a building, she striped him with Day -Go. THE BOYS WILL Be Boys award, a ready-to-assemble pig pen, goes to the New York Yankees who gleefully autographed the bare derriere of an Illinois expressionist. The Stand By Her Man prize for ardor in battle goes to the Santa Ana, Calif., woman who sued her ex-husband for alimony payments while he was in a coma. A stone that gives blood will be sent westward shortly. The Biting the Hand that Feeds the Next Generation award, a small but rabid dalmation, goes to the fire de partment in Iowa which tried to prevent Linda Eaton from breast feeding her baby. The Ayatollah Khomeini Music Appreciation disc goes to Japanese songwriter Masashi Sadi, whose hit song, Your Lord and Master proclaims: 'Keep quiet and follow be hind me.' The Power Behind the (Tumbling of the Throne) a ward, a small knife suitable for back-stabbing, goes to that aging flower child Margaret Trudeau who is truly beyond Reason. THE GOLDEN RULfcR awardgoes to the U.S. Con gress, which remains exempt from its own laws. This year they failed to pass the Udall-Schroeder bill that would prohibit discrimination in the halls and offices of Con gress. The Golden Ruler is to be used for self-discipline. The Why Must A Woman Be Like A Man bumper stick er is sent via satellite by Margaret Thatcher. Continued on page 5 O Ht HASTES Twetis... ... (THfcS TO tO WITH OP CeKTAni MftTOC. STcccomrPcs,suc as COSe ME.SI8S...BUT XX KIM&A HEM AfcOUNb WEfC.cOULO YOU TOSil&Y OlftCT HC TO GCCJATHS HAIL, IF IT NOT TOO LET ttf PHRA thkt urrtc.