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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 1981)
tuesday, november 24, 1931 page 4 daily nebraskan Holiday inspires thanks for successes of year As UNL shuts down for Thanksgiving vaca tion, it's a good time to stop and be thankful for the important things that merit our atten tion. Giving thanks just one day a year may seem like a token assignment for such a profound topic, but it's more practical to get the job done in one day than stretch it out all year. So as students head over the river and through the woods, here are some things to be thankful for: - We can be thankful that President Reagan and Pope John Paul II survived their assassina tion attempts. - We can be thankful for the tremendously successful season that the Cornhuskers had. Not only was the 37-14 win over Oklahoma satisfying for the players, coaches and fans, but it also meant there was no reason to Hear Boomer Sooner from the OU band. - We should be thankful for the relatively cool summer and mild fall the Lincoln area en joyed. Of course, the printing of this will prob ably result in a 10-inch snowstorm. - Congratulations to Steven Sample, execu tive vice president of academic affairs, on his selection as the president of the University of New York at Buffalo. Sample is highly regarded by his NU col leagues and sought other presidencies over the last couple years. - The Nebraska men's gymnastics team won its third consecutive NCAA title in April and will host this year's national championships again. - We should be thankful for having a gov ernment that allows its representatives to try and change the direction of the economy. It probably won't work, but it's nice to know we can try. - We should also be thankful for Budget Director David Stockman's candid comments on the purposes of Reaganomics. - The Los Angeles Dodgers came back to win the World Series to silence arrogant New York Yankee fans and their obnoxious owner, George Steinbrenner. - We should be especially thankful that we don't have to hear President Reagan's "City on the Hill" speech anymore. - We should be thankful that Gov. Charles Thone only wanted 3 percent cut from the NU budget and not more. And how about the mar velous resistance NU leaders put up against it? Well, there's lots more but it wouldn't serve any purpose to try and hit every important subject. Hopefully, we all have our own. Students lose sight of ideals in push for job preparation A long, long time ago, in a world far, far away, the college life was an idealistic hunting ground for all sorts of bright-eyed youngsters searching for the true meaning of lackadaisicalacademia. That was then, this is now. Reports from various colleges across the country are showing that students nowadays are being put under a pressure to succeed that outweighs any other priorities they might have once had. The checklist of mental maladies college students are facing seems endless: the faltering economy, the faltering job market, the inaccessibility of grants, the in creased competition from fellow students, the rise in tuition and so on. And, as a result, the increased pressure to succeed is having an adverse effect. Stu dents today are more prone to academic cheating, on- and off-campus violence, gen eral discourtesy and mental problems, and are more apt to solve problems by force rather than negotiation. The main goal of college students has al ways been to get a job once they graduate. But today, with that goal no longer assured, college students are emphasizing careerism to an extent they never have previously. 7 nebrasEian Editorials do not necessarily express the opinions of the Daily Nebraskan's publishers, the NU Board of Regents, the University of Nebraska and its employees or the student body. USPS 144-080 Editor: Tom Prentiss; Managing editor: Kathy Stokebrand; News editor: Steve Miller; Associate News editors: Dan Epp. Kim Hachiya. Alice Hmicek; Night news editor: Martha Murdock; Assistant night news editor: Kate Kopischke; Entertainment editor: Pat Clark; Sports editor Larry Sparks; Art director: Dave Luebke; Photo graphy chief: Mark Billingsley. Business manager: Anne Shank-Volk; Pro duction manager: Kitty Policky; Advertising manager: Art K. Small; Assistant advertising manager: Jerry Scott. Publications Board chairperson: Margy McCleery, 472-2454. Professional adviser: Don Walton. 473-7301. The Daily Nebraskan is published by the UNL Publications Board Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, except during vacation. Address: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 14th and R streets, Lincoln, Neb., 68588. Telephone: 472-2588. All material in the Daily Nebraskan is covered by copyright. Second class postage paid at Lincoln. Neb. 68510. Annual subscription: $20, semester subscript ion: $11. "POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 14th and R wits. Lincoln, Neb., 68588." Careerism is not bad in itself. But as I see it, it is the way students are going about it that forebodes a sense of danger for the future. If college students follow too much of a "campus imitating life' ideal, they're going to find, once they graduate, that they have prepared themselves all too well for "real life." Take cheating. Academic dishonesty has increased on college campuses in recent years at a record-setting pace. In this eta of Watergate, Koreagate, Abscam, bribe-taking, watch-taking and whatnot, if college students become too used to the idea of cheating, then they have let the imperfections of the outside world infect whatever purity they might have had. To me, this destroys the entire purpose of college. To let college simply fulfill the function of being a thoroughfare to the big 1-80 of life is giving the outside world more credit then it deserves. College can be a road trip unto itself. Believe it or not, college is real life. It isn't a proving ground for the "real" things that come later. The values you establish now can actually stay with you and help you the rest of your life. So if college students let too much of the outside world affect them, then it leads me to the worrisome conclusion that new ideas and innovative thinking will become a thing of the past. One of the great things about college has always been the freedom to explore yourself through various educational avenues. To put too much emphasis on careerism is to limit your growth to some one else's ideals. And limiting your growth - in any way - is a bad thing to do during college. I'm not talking about a mid-'60s "change the world" theme. I'm merely talking about being aware and open and re taining senses of common dignity and per sonal freedom. UNL Dean of Students David Decoster said a person can look at the increased academic dishonesty two ways: -The first, the frightening way, is that the people in power in various professions got there through dishonesty. - The second is that students use cheat ing only to a limited extent and that, once they're done with their education, they start to bear down and work hard to make their dreams come true. Decoster said he subscribes to the latter possibility because he has seen a lot of compassion underlying the fear and competitiveness that leads so many stu dents to cheat . I hope he is right. But in light of all the recent government scandals, it makes one wonder if that is, and has been, the case. Superficial sounding or not, we are the leaders of tomorrow. I sure as hell hope we're not the bribe-taking, money-grab-bing leaders of tomorrow. Xf rrpfw dovtt cut. ASUN powerless member Carl Sjulin's letter of Nov. 3 insinuates that by focusing on non-campus issues, I al most single-handedly have dug ASUN into a "hole that may well be too deep to escape from in the future." I repeat again what I've been saying for the three terms I've been on the student senate. ASUN can do nothing. By its constitution as drawn up by Central Administration, ASUN can do nothing but discuss public issues and choose the migration football game. is3 opinion We can talk and decide to drive to Okla homa. Nothing more. I don't believe my actions have discredited ASUN because unlike Carl Sjulin, I don't believe there was ever anything to discredit. To claim ASUN can make changes bene fiting students is simply a deception The argument that if student government tries to work with Central Administration, Central Administration will be more sympathetic is disproven by the facts. Every ASUN president in the last eiht years has been elected by promising to Nation irritate CentnU Admi" But this "rational" approach has never stopped a tuition increase; tuition has in creased at least 10 percent each year. It has rX?Ttd hh fees om beg coUected. It has never given students con- nLn?r heir Wft student fees not the IS? f Tnt La vote' !t has never been able to make the administration more re sponsible to Affirmative Action. It has never done anything. His claim that I have avoided local issues for grandiose national ones is just untrue My own explicitly campus-rela ed biUs kre .foundering at the administrativo fevel The admimstrauon's refusal to act on the man datory Ethnic Studies and WoS Studies Bill, and on the Affirmative Action Resolutions is only further proof that stu dent government needs another, more active approach. But I am concerned with some of the in sinuations of Sjulin's letter. He apparently feels that a resolution supporting a Gay Lesbian ordinance in Lincoln, which would protect lesbians and gays from discriminat ion, is inappropriate for ASUN to act upon. Does he mean that homosexuals should not be protected from violations of their rights, or simply that homosexuals are not on campus? Also unjust is misrepresentation of Fran Grabowski's and my resolution on nuclear disarmament. More than anything else the resolution was a public exposure of the Reagan administration's plan to use local victims and other wounded in Europe, in the event of war. This planning for war has reached the point where 485 hospital beds, in Lincoln alone, have been set aside for European casualties. So the war comes home and the real world interferes with life on campus. And it is just this connection between the local and the national that Sjulin will not admit. He wants to restrict ASUN to university politics, and I see no way of arbitrarily separating what goes on nationally from Lincoln. I freely admit that ASUN has no influence with the Reagan administration, but ASUN has no influence with Central Administration either. The Reagan administration and corpor ate directors treat the American public the same way Central Administration treats students and staff at UNL, scornfully. Un less we speak out, whether against inter vention in El Salvador, planning for nuclear war, low wages or tuition increases, they'll do what thev want. And unless we speak out in large numbers, they will not be com pelled to listen. Tim Rinne ASUN Graduate Senior 1