(Daily.
Nebraskan
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Amy Edwards. Editor, 472-1766
Lee Rood, Editorial Page Editor
Jane Hirt, Managing Editor
Brandon Loomis, Associate News Editor
Brian Svoboda, Columnist
Bob Nelson, Columnist
Jeff Petersen. Columnist
End sexist contests
Greek sex-object games dehumanizing
About $1,200 was contributed to the perpetuation of
sexism this past week at the University of Ne
braska-Lincoln.
Last week, Sigma Chi Fraternity sponsored a penny
drive, which allowed passers-by inside and outside the
Nebraska Union to place change in jars. The jars were
decorated with pictures of women who had been chosen
by their sororities to represent their houses in the drive.
The penny drive was part of the fraternity’s annual
Sigma Chi Derby Daze and the women on the jars were
contestants in the Derby Daze Queen Contest.
What does this mean?
Directly, the men of Sigma Chi were trying to raise
money for the Geo Wallace Center for Handicapped
Children in Bloomsfield, Colo., which is the organiza
tion’s national philanthropy.
Indirectly, the Sigma Chi’s were conveying to the rest
of tlie university community that sexism is OK.
The penny drive was part of the process sorority pledge
representatives went through for the Derby Daze Queen
competition. The queen was selected on the basis of the
number of pennies placed in the jars in combination with
interviews the Sigma Chi’s conducted.
The contest is shallow, degrading and not amusing. The
worth of an individual should not be rated — with a penny
no less - by their physical appearance.
I out u s not just aigma vjh s wnu pcrpcumic uus »u*p»u
and blatant disregard for human beings.
Year after year Delta Gamma Sorority sponsors a
“Prettiest Eyes" contest. Delta Delta Delta Sorority
sponsors a 501 contest (similar to the penny-drive contest,
only instead of smiling faces, passers-by are treated to
snapshots of jean-clad fannies).
Other examples include Pi Beta Phi’s BMOC (Big Men
on Campus) raffle and, most recently, Sigma Phi Epsi- *
Ion’s answer to a dating service — Miss Rush Week.
According to the guidelines of the Miss Rush Week
competition, two to three representatives from the 14
UNL sororities are set up jvith Sig Ep pledges. After the
date, the girls arc treated to an interview by the Sig Eps.
The women then arc invited to a party at the end of the
week and a queen is crowned.
None of the 14 sororities had to participate. All of them
did.
Come on men and women, it’s time to drop the “all the
other kids are doing it" philosophy. Not only are we
adults, but supposedly we’re among the educated.
^ Many fraternities and sororities claim they strive for
high ideals. It’s highly doubtful that being elected queen
of all the female rushees or having an aesthetically pleas
ing rear end are ways of promoting higher ideals.
Not only does it perpetuate the belittling of the sexes to
just that - sex, it belittles the greek system. Sex-object
contests only add fuel to the fire against the greek system.
Granted, many of these competitions and activities arc
philanthropic and it’s great that students take time out of
their busy schedules to raise money for special projects.
Unfortunately, the ends don’t justify the means.
Lisa Donovan
for the Daily Nebraskan
Double standard appalls reader
Isn’t it interesting that once again
females are being exploited? Not
only was the description in the Daily
Nebraskan of how to use the condom
for women (DN, Sept 21) printed in
appallingly graphic detail, but once
again the responsibility for contra
ception and disease prevention con
tinues to be that of the female popula
tion. Never have I read in your publi
cation an equally graphic description
of the use of a condom for men. And,
why is it that society is constantly
making concessions to men; allowing
them to abdicate responsibility for
their own sexual conduct.
You state in your article thal
“people often think condoms foi
males interrupt spontaneity.” Per
haps this is a value of the condom foi
males. This “interruption” should
give men a moment to think aboul
their actions, take control of theii
hormones and accept responsibilit)
for contraception and disease control
Or is this lack of control an inherem
flaw in the male species? Perhaps so
How often have you read of a mar
being raped by a woman?
Carol Gref
concerned paren
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Education perception changes
Some students do not seem to care about thinking, learning
1 passed it the other day. The
dusty land marker stood dis
creetly in front of Ferguson
Hall. A once-proud tribute to the
chartering of our university; now
marred by the graffiti on its black
metal surface.
Big deal you say? Yeah I suppose.
But being the sentimentalist that I
am, I stopped and read the charter. It
made me think about a lot of things.
I tried to imagine the old days; the
days of the university in its youth.
I recalled an incident which struck
me last year. It was the day before
Christmas break and a friend of mine
askc<) me to go to the library with him
to pick up a book to read over break.
He has the rare hobby of reading
classical literature, so we ventured to
the basement of Love Library to see
what we could find. He found his
book, but what I found was disturbing
to me.
Consider these names: Ralph
Waldo Emerson, Henry David
Thoreau, Edgar Alan Poe. Now con
sider these dates: June 19,1969, May
17, 1971, Dec. 20, 1968. While
thumbing through the works of these
famous writers I noticed these dales
on the last pages. They are the last
due dates recorded in those books. In
other words, nobody’s checked them
out in 20 years.
I found it peculiar that the dates
were all close in proximity. I wonder
why? Did something happen to
change education at this time? Per
haps this is when students became
subject to the disgusting practice of
being forced to purchase greatly
overpriced books from the monopo
listic book stores. Oh well... that’s
another story.
Today, the semester is more than
one quarter gone. During the last four
weeks I’ve heard a lot of comments
from students. Most of them were
things like: ”1 can’t wait to graduate.
I have a test tomorrow and 1 haven’t
cracked a book yet. This class is too
hard. I’m dropping it.”
I have heard a few positive re
marks, but not many.
It seems that a lot has changed
since 20 collegiate students took the
first classes at our university in 1871.
Obviously there have been positive
changes and the university has grown
a great deal, but I don’t think every
thing is better today.
Take, for instance, the attitude of
i many students. Time and time again
I’ve heard students express desires to
take the easiest classes from the easi
I est professors and get by with the
I least amount of effort. It seems some
students today don ’ t care about learn
ing — they simply want to get through
college so they can hit the world, get
a good job and make lots of money.
Some students don’t seem to care
about thinking either. It never fails
that on the first day of classes, the
questions professors arc asked re
volve more around “what do I have
to memorize to get a good grade’’
than “what can I learn from this
course.”
There are those who still come to
the university to learn all they can.
But there also seems to be a distress
ing number of students who do not
value the true purpose of education.
Instead, it has become a means to an
end. Many students are here simply
because society tells us that we must
go through college to be successful.
The goal becomes getting through,
not learning.
But students arc not necessarily to
blame. After all, society has told the
youth of America that we go to col
lege to “be somebody.” Conse
quently, there are a lot of people here
who don’i really want to go, but think
they do in order to succeed in this
world.
Universities across the country
also are to blame for students not
receiving complete, well-rounded
educations.
The University of Nebraska no
longer can say that a student who
attains a degree from this institution
is a well-rounded, well-educated
individual. Ih fact, it’s quite possible
for a student to go through four years
of college here on a very narrow track
without learning much about the
world in which he or she lives.
Consider the College of Engineer
ing and Technology. An engineering
student told me that it’s Dossible for a
student to graduate from college
without having taken a single history
course. He also said that with the
exception of an elementary-level
course, English composition courses
will not count toward an engineering
student’s degree. And in four years of
college engineering students only
take six courses (18 hours) in the
social sciences and humanities.
No wonder our world is such a
mess -* our universities are graduat
ing people who have never learned to
live in it.
Don’t think I’m discounting the ,
value of engineering and similar
fields; I know they arc extremely
important. But the point I’m making
is students are not receiving complete
educations.
NU has gone from being a fine
university accomplishing things such
as the establishment of the first pro
gram of graduate instruction west of
die Mississippi in 1886, to a sausage
factory, pumping out thousands of
graduates. And these sausages have
no real substantive meat.
Society and universities -- the
University of Nebraska in particular
- need to take definitive steps to
ensure that students receiving de
grees also are receiving complete
educations. I know Chancellor Mar
tin Massengale has established a
committee to look into general edu
cation at this university, let’s hope
they can find it.
Perhaps we need 10 get society to
change its view of what the require
ments are to be successful. Or maybe,
people like me will have to change
our perceptions of what education is
and what universities are for. After
all, as the university landmark says,
the University of Nebraska “contin
ues now as a prime source of further
Nebraska progress.” Progress?
The situation could get better if
students would decide to make the
most of the opportunity they’ve been
given. Much of it lies in the hearts and
minds of the individual. Now is the
time when we establish attitudes and
patterns which will govern the rest of
our lives. Getting into the habit of
sliding by or taking the easy road will
slick with us.
I’ve known many students who
live under the illusion that they can be
a blow-off in college and then get
serious about things after they gradu
ate. But an illusion is all it is.
That decision comes down to
character, do we want the most out of
life or just the easiest. Even if the
university and society don’t change,
we as individuals can. Every day we
make choices which decide the path
we will take. It’s little decisions that
build big character. It’s all a matter ot
choices and the choice is ours.
Jeff Petersen Is senior broadcasting majw
and a Daily Nebraskan columnist.