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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1980)
page 4 daily nebraskan thursday, december4, 1980 Efforts to form SSA are a. ml 'lauded UNL students involved in organizing a state student association are to be complimented for moving forward. An earlier Daily Nebraskan editorial concluded that the formation of such an organization was unlikely. We hope we were wrong, but our skepticism has not been erased by a petition drive. UNL students are urged to sign the petition sponsored by ASUN's Government Liaison Com mittee, for a variety of reasons. The obvious and often-repeated advantage is that a statewide student organization would be much more effective in lobbying the Nebraska Legislature at budget time. There are a number of potential advantages, however, that underlie that basic point. At present, the Legislature gets no overall picture of higher education needs in the state. The various institutions and their governing bod ies are fragmented, and usually end up battling for funds, rather than working to improve Ne braska's higher education delivery system. The State College Board of Trustees goes be fore the Legislature to explain its needs. Then the NU administration and regents tell what they need. State senators, for the most part, listen only to those portions of the budget requests that clearly benefit their constituencies, perhaps ex plaining how and why UNO has received large operating budget and capital construction alloca tions in the last few years. State government cites rough economic times in reducing budget requests. Especially in eco nomically difficult times, there is a great need for coordination of higher education and a concerted effort to explain statewide needs to the Legisla ture. A state student organization could provide the lawmakers with such an overall picture, whereas the regents and state college trustees have been unwilling to do so. The method of financing proposed for the organization-a 50 cent per student per semester fee-would put the greatest financial burden on UNL. However, as the flagship of higher educa tion in the state, UNL could only benefit if the Legislature had a better picture of educational needs. A well-financed student association would impress the Legislature, as concerned and organiz ed citizens always do. State lawmakers have not always been impressed with the NU regents, especially since the regents sued the state for full control of the Legislature's annual budget alloca tion. It is possible that a state student association would force the regents and trustees to work to gether more than they have. But even if that is not achieved, students will be speaking much more loudly for themselves, and will be less dependent on supervisory bodies to obtain essent ial funds. A student organization in Nebraska, we believe, would make the regents more accountable to both students and to the Legislature. Efforts to form one-at UNL and elsewhere are applauded, with the sincere hope that those efforts do not fade if quick results are not achieved. Reagan film gets G-rating Shooting began recently on what promises to be the most monumental epic in Hollywood history: "Mr. Reagan Goes to Washington." Critics who saw the first rushes-filmed on location in the nation's capital were unanimous in their praise of Ronald Reagan. f c km hoppe "Fears that Ronald Reagan was too old to play Ronald Reagan have now been per manently, we hope, dispelled," said the New York Times. "He is still perfection in the role he has performed for more than half a century, that of the lovable, all American nice guy." "Nancy Davis is socko in Mrs. R.R. part," said Variety. "Forget Wyman." Producer Cecil B. de Meese expressed himself as "well pleased" with the opening scenes of the movie, which is expected to be more than four years in the making and cost untold billions of dollars. De Meese admitted that casting was still incomplete and that the scenario had yet to be "fleshed out." The general theme of the picture, however, is a familiar one to moviegoers. It concerns a naive, average American from the sticks (Ronald Reagan) who travels to Washington where he triumphs over the corrupt, cynical politicians through a combination of decern y, purity and just plain goodness. Enlivening the vast production will also be numerous sub-plots in which the hero outwits, among others, the villianous Russians, the devious Arabs, the clever Japanese and the nefarious welfare mothers. He is helped in all this, of course, by The Beautiful Girl Who Loves Him (Nancy Davis) and comic relief is provided by Ronnie's eager, smiling "gopher" (played by the versatile George Bush), who keeps asking, "Well, what do we do now, Ronnie?" The stage was set for much of what is to come in many of the first scenes shot - such as the meetings Ronnie had with Tip O'Neill, the veteran character actor who plays a tough, hard-drinking, old Irish pol, and Teddy Kennedy, who is brilliant in the role of a spoiled rich kid who sneers at Ronnie behind his back and is secretly out to get him. While Nancy and Ronnie, with their in nocence and enthusiasm, seemingly charmed the daylights out of such familiar Washington characters as the crusading publisher (Katherine Graham), the wily attorney (Edward Bennett Williams) and the crusty labor leader (Lane Kirkland), there were enough hints of trouble ahead to keep dramatic interest alive. Typical of the comments of those who have seen the early rushes was that of Pro ducer de Meese. "I can hardly wait to see YES... WE'VE CONSIDERED SOMeCHftNGEffLftifkY lJRD what happens next," he said. One scene that hit the cutting room floor, insiders say, depicted dc Meese, play ing himself, asking Ronnie, playing himself, whether he thought a black should be given a major role. "You betcha!" Ronnie reportedly re plied. "A black what?" De Meese, however, denied there were any serious casting problems and he was confident the scenario could be worked out. "All I know is that it's going to have a happy ending and it's going to be rated G," he said. "That's in Nancy's contract." (Copyright Chronicle Publishing Co. 1980) B rats' pre-Sooner game riot was disappointment Tsk, tsk, children. I'm very disappointed in you. This year s pre-Oklahoma-Nebraska football game riot didn't even make national headlines. The mentally deficient -1 nebraskan UPSP 144-080 Editor in chief: Randy Essex; Managing editor: Bob Lannin; News editor: Barb Richardson; Associate news editor: Jathy Chenault; Assistant news editors: Tom Prentiss and Shelley Smith; Night news editors: Sue Brown, Nancy Ellis, Bill Graf; East Cam pus Bureau Chief: Jim Garrett; Assistant night news editor: Itejika Okonkwo; Entertainment editor: Casey McCabe; Sports editor: Shelley Smith; Photography chief: Mark Billingsley; Art director: David Luebke; Magazine editor: Diane Andersen. Copy editors: Sue Brown, Nancy Ellis, Maureen Hutfless, Lori McGinnis, Tom McNeil, Jeanne Mohatt, Lisa Paulson, Kathy Sjulin, Kent Warneke, Patricia Waters. Business manager: Anne Shank; Production manager: Kitty Poiicky; Advertising manager: Art Small; Assistant advertising manager: Jeff Pike. Publications Board chairman: Mark Bowen, 475-1081, Pro fessional adviser: Don Walton, 473-7301. The Daily Nebraskan is published by the UNL Publications Board Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semes ters, except during vacations. Address: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 14th and R streets, Lincoln. Neb., 68588. Telephone: 472-2588. Material may be reprinted without permission if attributed to the Daily Nebraskan, except material covered by a copyright. Second class postage paid at Lincoln, Neb., 68510. among us are slipping Only two vears aeo. not nnlv thf wire services, but at least one national radio network carried the story. Fewer brats screamed police brutality this year as they did two years ago. Remember that? About a dozen Animal House rejects were crying and whining about how the cops roughed them up just because they were smash ing windows and burning pianos. Of course, they were so grateful that the judge dismissed the charges against them that they forgot their own accusations. Such courage. Maybe this year the brats didn't take part in the riot. Right. And maybe the Pope is Methodist. waO srjin&on And speaking of pianos, I didn't see any in the fire this year. What happened? Too drunk to drag one to 16th and R streets? The quality of kindling this year was of a much lower grade than in the past. Not a lot there to make the insurance companies cringe. That's too bad. I love to watch insurance companies cringe. Of course, the airheads of 1980 did manage to smash a couple of windows in police and fire vehicles. Nice job. If you can't burn a piano, then smash a few windows. Adds a nice touch to a riot. Not as nice, though, as overturning a police car. Nothing improves the quality of a riot like overturning a police car. Of course, this is UNL, not Berkeley. We're much more mature here. We show re straint. But I can never understand why these sheep dressed in student skins flock to 16th and R streets before the foot ball game. Now, I could see rioting after the game, especially this year. But what do they accomplish before hand? Are they trying to scare the Sooners? Well it work ed. They only walked all over the Huskers a couple of tunes. The remainder of the game, we were in control. And the police also can take credit for the early morning festivities that Friday. Both campus and city police must have been aware the riot was going to happen. Most of the students and half the residents of Lincoln were aware that the riot was going to happen. Maybe be cause it's football (and anything even remotely related to football including pre-game riots, is sacred in this state) the cops back off a little. Whatever the reason, the riot happened, the police never were very much in control. It was only fitting that to top off the weekend festivit ies one of the officials was clobbered with an orange. Like the riot, everyone knew there would be a lot of orange throwing, and there was just about as much done to pre vent it. No wonder I got such a perverse pleasure out of watching the Huskers lose. i