lincoln, nebraska vol. 105, no. 45
friday, October 24, 1980
Study to evaluate graduate, teaching assistants
By Betsy Miller
Two UNL groups may apply for the UNL Teaching
Council's grant to study Graduate and Teaching Assist
ants' effectiveness.
ASUN's Commission on Quality Education and the
Speech communication Department are interested in the
grant. Delivee Wright, a Teaching Council member said.
Wright, who is also the director of the teaching and
learning center, said that these are the only groups that
have contacted her.
The deadline for filing a grant application is Nov. 5, she
said.
Reg Kuhn, chairman of the ASUN Commission on
Quality Education, said the commission is laying the
groundwork for its grant proposal right now.
Kuhn said that the commission proposes that its
members go to one class taught by every graduate and
teaching assistant at UNL.
"We would give a survey to the students in each
Energy expert urges
new solar trends
By Ward W. Triplett III
While much has been heard about the socialization of
solar energy, there would seem to be relatively little
progress made in its direction, according to an authority
on energy.
Dr. Skip Laitner, chairman of the Center for
Renewable Resources in Washington said that this trend
is in desparate need of reversing. Laitner spoke Thursday
night at the Rostrum of the Nebraska Union.
"If you provide people with the real desire to do things
through solar energy, to step out of the conventional
views of how energy should operate, there is no way this
can not work. We have more energy to produce from the
sun than we know what to do with," he said.
Laitner formerly worked as the Environmental
Research Director in the Iowa Public Interest Research
Group, as well as a citizen organizer for Ralph Nader in
Washington D.C.
Laitner enlightened the small crowd on several of his
and other informed sources' ideas of why solar energy is
needed and why it isn't more widespread.
"We have failed as of yet to develop an energy system
that gives a prerequisite for insuring social and human
equity. Power plants have a way of running the
community instead of being defined by it."
"Instead of shaping it, it should greatly accelerate the
sense of community. Renewable resources, like that we
can obtain from solar energy, can do this," he said. In
our present system it's almost as if one develops economic
success by exhaustion of resource, and if you destroy the
ecosystem, you destroy the economic structure and the
production system for each needs input from the other
to keep going."
Continued on Page 9
Alternate parties insignificant
class so that they could assess the communication and
teaching skills (of the T.A.'s or G.A.'s), Kuhn said.
Next semester
The surveys would probably be conducted next
semester because the commission will not find out until
Nov. 17 if they received the Teaching Council's grant.
The commission would wait a few weeks into next
semester before questioning the classes.
"We would like to give students time to get used to
their T.A.'s," Kuhn said.
The questionnaires for the survey would be passed out
in classes during the last 1 5 minutes of the period.
Commission members would have to get permission
from department chairpersons before they could visit
the classes.
Cooperation from faculty members in getting names
of all teaching and graduate assistants has been good,
Kuhn said.
The questions for the survey have been developed by
commission members and would be checked by the
speech department to see if they work.
The questions would be on a computer sheet, and
space would be left on the back of the sheets for students
to write additional comments.
Two methods
The Speech Communication Department is consi
dering two survey methods.
Gustav Friedrich, chairman of the Department of
Speech Communication, said the department's proposal
would involve eitheran assessment approach or a student
interview approach.
The assessment approach would ask students to assess
the communication of their graduate and teaching
assistants.
The students would observe their teachers' success in
relating class material and involving students in the class.
The student interview approach would involve quest
ioning students about their teachers' effectiveness.
Friedrich said that his department is interested in de
vising some tool to rate communication skills in graduate
and teaching assistants.
"We are trying to build an instrument out of local
concerns," he said.
The department's plan to submit a proposal is not
definite yet, he said, but it will work on one this weekend.
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Photo by Jon Natvig
The stark reality of a soon-approaching winter is made apparent in Pioneers Park. Soggy autumn leaves
blanket the ground after a morning rain shook them from their tree braches.
Leaders see maintenance of two-party system
By Colleen Tittel
Does the future of America politics hold
room for a third or fourth party, or will
our two-party system prove representative
of differences in issues and provide valid
alternatives for the public?
Leaders of both established parties in
Nebraska foresee a two-party future.
"I think the American people believe in
the two-party system," said Dave Heine
man, the exectuvie director of the Nebra
ska Republican Party. "It served us very
well for a long period of time.
"Sure, there'll always be a few splinter
groups, but I don't think they'll be of any
significance," he added.
Heineman forsees the same for any
future independent candidates like John
Anderson,
"His (Anderson's) campaign is essential
ly disintegrating," Heineman said. "He has
to start from scratch, and that's a difficult
tiling."
Charles P. Brown, state coordinator for
the Carter-Mondale campaign, also .criticiz
ed Anderson's third-party candidacy. Al
though Anderson has filed as an independ
ent, he still considers himself a Republican,
Brown said .
Anderson is running as an independent
only because he could not win the primary
or the caucus as a Republican, Brown said,
and therefore he is not really a third-party
candidate.
But Brown said that although he thinks
the two-party system serves the voters well,
he also values alternate-party candidacies
because of issues raised for public scrutiny
that otherwise might not be brought out.
Barry Commoner, Citizens' Party presi
dential candidate, is a valid third -party
candidate. Brown said, because he voices
energy issues.
Brown said he thinks issues raised by
alternate parties will continue to be effect
ively merged into either Democratic or
Republican party platforms.
Ron Kurtenbach of Lincoln, a Demo
cratic Socialist, also expressed uncertainty
about the future of alternate parties. If the
state economy continues to decline, the
public could turn to "a reactionary like
Reagan," he said.
"I find the future really ambivalent,"
Kurtenbach said. "The potential is there. If
people organize and come around to
truly democratic values ... a strong
(Socialist) party could be developed.
"I think thers will be fragmentation.
There are several third parties that are
underway.
Kurtenbach said the two-party system
limits the options of voters, because Demo
crats and Republicans embrace the same
ideals.
"I do make distinctions, but there are
not really major differences between the
two. Both don't really deal with the deep
and abiding issues of the American peo
ple," he said.
Although he supports the idea of inde
pendent, alternate parties, Kurtenbach
said, independent candidates like Anderson
have little impact.
"The Anderson candidacy, I think, is
really whimsical. He's not a clear alter
native to Carter and Reagan."
friday
Foreign Friends: A local group matches
foreign students with Lincoln students
and families in hopes of creating lasting
friendships Page 2
Chip Off The OP Buffalo: Columnist thinks
the mountains will be the only thing left
intact in Boulder, as the Huskers are ex
pected to roll Page 10
The Voice From Harper 4: The Alternative
Broadcasting Society wants to make it
self heard. Can stardom be far behind?
Page 12