thursday, October 4, 1979 I
page 4
daily nebraskan
poo
Soviet troop issue warrants only moderate action
In recent weeks, the controversy
over the Soviet troops in Cuba
caused many people to believe that
the United States should force a
showdown with the Soviet Union.
President Carter's speech Monday
night was welcome reassurance that
such action will not be taken.
It had been admitted weeks before
that it was unlikely that the Soviet
Union would withdraw the troops.
Apparently there is little reason for
them to do so. After all, the troops
had been in Cuba since the early
1960s, but were only recently identi
fied as a combat rather than a train
ing unit.
There have been calls for action
ranging from doing nothing at all to
installing a complete blockade of
Cuba.
Granting that something needed
to be done so that the United States
did not lose face, the ideal situation
would have been for the Soviets to
agree to eliminate the unit by dis
solving the brigade, assigning key
personnel to advisory duty and
distributing tanks and artillery to
Cuban forces. That would have re
sulted in a situation similar to our
use of advisers in Vietnam.
But Carter's response is just as
appropriate. His move to establish a
headquarters unit at Key West, Fla.,
to increase surveillance of Cuba and
to increase aid to Caribbean Islands
(apparently to offset Soviet in
fluence in the area) solves the need
nr the United States tn K.I VP Ton..
v - -..v IUVC
while at the same time not pushing
the Issue to antagonism. This minor
diplomatic squabble is not a major
crisis and warrants only moderate
action. :
As Carter said, "the greatest dang
er to American security tonight is
certainly not the two or three
thousand Soviet troops in Cuba. The
greatest danger to all nations . . . is
the breakdown of a common effort
to preserve the peace, and the ulti
mate threat of nuclear war."
Red fever starts in
rural Nebraska
The heart of Big Red mania stems from something
small and colorful.
Small, meaning the many class D-2 highschools in Ne
braska, and colorful meaning the only color in those
towns on Friday or Saturday nights.
Last weekend the color was purple and the D-2 school
was Filley.
Not many of us had ever seen an eight-man football
game. We couldn't imagine life Without tight ends or de
fensive backfields. And we never could have possibly
imagined Filley, Nebr., on a home football Friday night.
It was the season's hottest rival match-up. Top ranked
Filley vs. division D-l third ranked Adams.
And tempers were hot.
Last year Filley beat Adams 16-14 to end the Hornets
46-game winning streak. The last time Adams had lost was
to Lewiston 18-16 in 1974.
As we neared Filley, electricity shot through the air,
and as we turned the corner by the Filley Tavern all we
could see was a haze of. purple heading toward the field.
The Adams people were also out in force, and seemed
as hot as they looked clad in their bright red.
Cars lined the field, and parents sat in the bleachers,
the announcer started the record of the Star Spangled
Banner, and then started it again when he missed the be
ginning. The teams were ready to play.
Adams jumped to an early lead, and led the Wildcats
18-6 at halftime.
There were several delays in the game, one to chase a
dog that Filley fans named M. Dog off the field, and
another to carry injured star Alan Wiese (they named him
M. Wiese too, for his consistent 100-yard rushing games)
off the field.
But, Filley fans never lost hope in their team.
Even when down by 20 points, the fans still cheered
hard and watched with anticipation -and hope.
If Filley would win, the town would bring down the
Tavern. The Filley players, after a win, file into the
Tavern while the town's people stand on chairs and tables,
and cheer with hysteria.
But, Filley lost 26-12 and the tavern was just a little
quieter. Folks talked over the game, and reminisced about
last year's win. And the big question was whether Wiese
Would be able to play Friday against Diller.
But what most of us remembered most was not that
Filley lost to their arch rival. It was not so much that
Wiese got hurt, or the worries about Diller.
What we remembered was the spirit of the town.. Their
loyalty, their style and their spunk-even when things
were looking glum for the Filley Wildcats.
The heart of Big Red mania does lie in something small
and colorful, and it is those schools and towns who spark
the beginning of Big Red loyalty throughout the state.
S
. 4.
Expulsion ironic
The incident in the English 2 S3 A class, as reported in
the Daily Nebraskan on Sept. 27 is, to put it mildly, of
rageous. I question the intellectual and moral character of
anyone who supports the action. In the last 10 years, we
(myself and others) have poured our energies into the de
struction of such exclusionary custom in the academic
world. Among other things, we attacked the status of
ROTC on campuses on this account, contending that the
use of public money, and offering of public university
academic credit for courses that were not "open to the
public," was inappropriate and illegal. Our particular
focus at that time was that since ROTC was not open to
women, the ROTC courses were not open to women, and
thus not open to the public. We fought. We won. Title IX
was the icing on the cake. Then, on Sept. 27, 1 read the
Daily Nebraskan and I gnashed my teeth. Apart from the
sexism, the discrimination, and the illegality, this action is
a subversion of academic integrity.
In other words, if class members are inhibited by Mr.
Wright's presence, that is their problem, and should not be
made to be his problem. I do not mean to be harsh, but
we all live in the same world.
Ellen Abart
Graduate, Civil Engineering
HEY RB,TLL ME WHY YOU
COwfcUfcES ME VCR cWW 'YOUR
SlX-OUNS AOUJD WYMOTE
Eh
I fcrAtcY WOUtA HAVE
feEEN SATISFIED WITH JUST
A simple explanation!
5-
Class member responds
The mistreatment of male students in Women in Poetry
class is an example of that old saying "You scratch my
back, I'll beat yours." It seems ironic that having consid
ered poetry by women of a sufficient literary distinction
(which, 1 think, it is) to provide a sub-genre course to aid
students in understanding tKe special contribution of
women poets, a teacher should deny students the chance
to profit by her own special understanding of the topic,
especially those students who have least comprehension of
the partciular sensitivity of women, i.e., men. This is the
equivalent of denying women the right to take any
courses dealing with English literature before 1830,
simply because there was only one female poet of any
note during that whole thousand-year period.
The men who signed up for the class should be con
gratulated for their interest. There is nothing in the course
description published by the English department that in
dicates that the class is exclusively intended for women.
The requirements are essentially to read poetry by women
and to write poetry about women: certainly nothing that
men are incapable of doing. In fact, quite possibly, a
majority of the poetry written in English is about women,
vTiiiitii uy men. .
That female class members should vote to exclude male
members because of fear of embarrassment while reading
their poetry makes one wonder, just what kind ot
"poetry" is beinfc written. Invective and expletives are
better confined to late-nightcow sessions (well, what's the,
farm in in sf Kutl ..rl.-l Ii.a1i4 intA FflCllSn
classes, The special perception and sensitivity needed to
writ noAtrv Knnt mt I rr hut nnt restricted t
-w f y .www nwillVII I a i 1 V , w f
women. Nor is that perception found in poetry by women.
mcrciy occause wey are women, n israuier octsu.
are poets. Almost 400 years ago John Donne wrote "I am,
m a m. . . a t .AtrV 1
iwo ioois: ior loving ana tor saying so in wninwg
That his "whines are still resd is evidence that embar
rassrnent can be overcome.
I suggest that she invite her male students to return iQ
class. Failure to do so mav leooardize tnv ether special ini
- - - - - i
terest courses we wish to teach.
W T
Departmcntof&jf,
Continued on
