daily nobraskan
thursday, decembor 3, 1981
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pacje 4
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Students keep selves safe
by providing tips on arson
Enough stories have been writ
ten about fire safety in the resi
dence halls this year, that it's very
likely some people question stu
dents' safety.
It doesn't take much to alarm
anyone when they read about a
fire alarm that didn't work or
someone being arrested for arson.
So many people in the halls live
within such a compact area that
the thought of a major fire is quite
chilling.
But there is really no reason to
worry about the safety of students
in the halls. Ken Winters, deputy
state fire marshal who works
closely with the university regard
ing fire safety, concurs.
Saying that residence halls stu
dents are "perfectly safe," Winters
credits greater student involve
ment in improving fire safety
along with cooperation from the
housing office as the key factors.
Winters said the number of false
fire alarms have been curtailed in
part since the beginning of the
Residence Hall Association's re
ward policy. The policy gives $50
to anyone who comes forward
with information that leads to the
identification of a person who
pulled a fire alarm as a prank.
Getting students to come for
ward with information regarding a
false fire alarm or fire is the best
protection students can have, he
said. Students are their own best
security force because they are the
ones who arc likely to have infor
U.S. Department of Baseball?
Mr. Reagan said America was going to
be great again, and we were just starting to
believe him when the Major League Base
ball strike pushed us back down into our
malaise. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn tells
the public baseball needs strong teams in
New York and Los Angeles to profitably
survive, then David Stockman reveals the
sham of trickle -down economics.
(pc nimps
As Americans, we are justifiably dis
heartened, and there is an uncertainty
about what the American ideal is anymore.
It is a time for strong action. It is time for
our government to take over the operation
of Major League Baseball in the name of
the people. The national pastime must be
come truly national.
Looking back at the past season , the lie
of professional baseball as a game is easily
seen. Big Business has usurped the rights of
the fans when over one-third of a season is
lost to a labor dispute and the teams with
the best records do not reach th; playoffs.
The lack of proper direction is shown
when an old relief pitcher is chosen as both
the Cy Young Award winner and the Most
Valuable Player, and an owner is the center
of attraction in the World Series.
If forthright action is not taken soon,
the rights of the fans will be totally forgot
ten. There is talk of continuing the split
season concept as a money-making venture,
and of charging $6 to see the Minnesota
Twins play in their new stadium.
The owners assume that the American
public is so gullible that they will accept
Pioneer League baseball while still lining
the pockets of the players and the owners.
But now, before the teams start spring
training, is the time to once again gain con
trol of our national sport. If there is to be a
profit from Major League Baseball, let it
go to the people through reduced ticket
prices and a decrease in the national defi
mation on jokers pulling fire
alarms.
Winters encourages people to
remember that the fire alarms that
didn't work in Harper Hall this
year, were damaged by vandalism.
There can be no excuse for this
reckless disregard for safety and
the people who are punished have
it coming to them.
The housing department was al
so praised for its efforts. Winters
said Dr. Douglas Zatcchka, hous
ing director, should be credited
for his efforts to get university
sanctions passed against students
who are involved in either a false
fire alarm or fire.
Zatechka's approach on this is
sue is the proper one. Anyone
who is proved to have violated a
fire or life safety policy of the uni
versity may have their residence
hall contract cancelled. The stu
dent may also face possible sus
pension by the university.
Overall, Winters believes UNL
to be in better shape than most
campuses around the nation.
Zatcchka said the heightened
awareness to the dangers of fires
has helped decrease the number of
fire alarms and increase the num
ber of people willing to come for
ward with information.
As long as students continue
their involvement in policing the
handful of jokers pulling alarms.
UNL can continue to improve
their fire safety record.
cit.
The players could still earn their living
from a game, as they would be paid on
scales commensurate with other civil ser
vants. Perhaps even an athlete's "GI Bill"
program could be set up, so players could
be taught skills that would support them
after their playing years. Ballplayers would
no longer have to open restaurants, become
sportscasters or drift uselessly on the
streets.
The owners, after being symbolically
compensated for their loss of property,
could become official undersecurities for
their particular team. They would still be
able to oversee their toys. Of course, Bowie
Kuhn could enter the Cabinet as Secretary
of Baseball - until the next president
chooses his own Cabinet in 1984.
The current administration, with its
adroit budget-cutting ability, could surely
envision methods of cutting the costs of
running a baseball team. For instance,
teams could travel from city to city on the
Air Force transports that are continuously
flying all over the country anyway. Such
policies, along with the reduction in play
er's salaries and owner's profits, would al
low a government operation to make
money and provide a service for its people.
But the pragmatic benefits are not the
only reason for altering the current situa
tion. There would be a symbolic move
ment towards a return to an American
meritocracy. Any American child would
have the chance to grow up, enter the civil
service, and run a baseball team.
Federal allocations would be equally
divided among all the teams, so that talent
on the field and in the front office would
once again decide the champions, rather
than a preponderance of money.
For too long American baseball fans
have been oppressed by the fascist busi
nessmen in New York and the self-titled
aristocracy in Los Angeles. Perhaps a peo
ple's baseball organization would contain
the real possibility of Minnesota Twins
vs. Chicago Cubs World Series.
Rotten luck, boss . . . Nancy
1
Evaluations ignored
I would like to warn all .students who
plan to take the only section of Latin 102
next semester at 9:30 a.m. It is taught by a
Professor Leinieks of the Classics Depart
ment. Monday, Nov. 30, Professor Leinieks
told all of the Latin 101 students (regard
ing the student evaluations which we had
filled out previously): "In this department
we don't take these evaluations too serious
ly. We all have tenure even the junior
members. I'm not worried."
It is a terrible, uncaring attitude toward
all of us who honestly tried to write accur
ate evaluations. The results will be almost
totally disregarded by Professor Leinieks,
even though there are several of us who
Evaluations need care
I am sorry to see that one of my Latin
101 students is unhappy with the class. Un
fortunately, there is nothing that I can do
about it. For any given class evaluation
there are practically always students who
judge the class the worst' they have ever
taken. One must always look at the overall
evaluation. In this particular class, judging
me as an instructor, 50 percent marked
"one of the best," 16.7 percent parked
"very good," 16.7 percent marked "good,"
8.3 percent marked "fair," and 8.3 percent
marked "poor." The written comments
support this distribution.
The course material is presented clearly
and explicitly at every class meeting. In
practice, the students' performance is
based on their ability to respond to quest
ions which they have heard possibly over
100 times before. For example: What case?
Accusative. What phrase? Object. How do
you translate into English? Position after
the verb.
Student evaulations constitute only one
element in the materials annually used to
evaluate a faculty member's performance.
The evaluation instruments that we by
necessity use are not particularly meaning
ful. They do not measure how much the
student has learned in a class, which is the
only thing that ultimately matters. Suit
able instruments to make such measure
ments are very difficult to design and often
impossible to administer.
For this reason I, as a departmental
chairman, do not weigh these evaluations
very heavily in my annual evaluations of
faculty performance. In practice such
evaluations have perhaps been more mis
used than used. Since everyone is eoinc to
Reagan's wish list just came in
b to the editor
think there are serious ways in which the
class needs improvement. I have had no
foreign language before and I need a teach
er who can explain the material clearly ami
who chooses a book which is not full of
technical terms not explained anywhere in
the book.
Remember Latin 102 students: Your
102 evaluations next semester will be
virtually disregarded by Professor Leinieks
since "all of the professors have tenure
even the junior members."
What is even more appalling is that this
professor is the head of the Classics Depart
ment. A Latin 101 Student
(name withheld upon request)
get some strongly negative evaluations,
they provide a convenient mechanism for
getting rid of unpopular junior faculty
members, by presumably demonstrating
that the faculty member is a poor teacher.
Hence, student evaluations should be used
with great care, if at all, in tenure recom
mendations. I can only hope that my fellow depart
mental chairmen will look at student
evaluations in an equally realistic and con
structive manner.
Valdis Leinieks
Professor of Classics
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