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daily nebraskan
thursday, december4, 1980
Efforts to form SSA are a.
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'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.
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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
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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
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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.
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