University of Nebraska Omaha - Tomahawk / Gateway Yearbook (Omaha, NE)

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Another exception to the independent non-involvement trend is their increasing prominence in student government. Up until a few years ago, the class officers were almost always Greeks, and the Student Senate was predominantly com- posed of fraternity and sorority members. For the past two years, the student body president has been an independent, and the Senate has maintained an almost equal balance of independents, Greeks and bootstrappers. One of the students who helped lead the way toward independent partici- pation in student government was Mari- lyn Russo. Miss Russo has managed to maintain a high grade point average, pay her way through school with a part-time job and be very involved in both on- and off-campus activities of a wide variety. Her involvement at UNO began in her sophomore year when Miss Russo was active in Angel Flight, Young Democrats and Chi Omega's. In her junior year, she became involved in student government and gradually dropped out of everything else, in order to devote all her spare time to the Student Senate. Miss Russo attended the National Stu- dent Association Congress the past two years. I became very concerned with what was going on in the nation, world and community and decided to get in- volved at the community level because of the congresses, she says. This community involvement caused Miss Russo to give up student govern- ment. She now works with Project Nancy Mitchell (right) studies with fellow student Betsy Rezek before a political science class. With five inquisitive children, Mrs. Mitchell has few uninterrupted daytime study sessions. Off to a late afternoon class, Mrs. Mitchell gets a fond farewell from one of her daughters. 25

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Freedom to succeed or fail in their own way — that's the Declaration of INDEPENDENTS THE FASHIONABLY dressed stu- dent, a year or two either side of 20, who wears a gold pin over his heart, is a Greek. A bootstrapper is a 35-year-old man with close- cropped hair, who carries a black or brown briefcase in his left hand. These two categories account for approximately 1,500 of the UNO student body and for lack of a more descriptive term, anyone who doesn't fit one of these two molds is called an Independent. There are few generalizations that can be made about the 10,500 students who are lumped into the all-encompassing title of independent. Their name suggests they owe their allegiance to no special organi- zation and are without identifiable characteristics. Their age is hard to pin- point. Their dress is as varied as their hair length. But there must be something that can be said about this largest group of UNO students. There must be some vague, hazy way of describing this campus majority. They usually hail from Nebraska or Iowa, particularly the Omaha-Council Bluffs area. More often than not, they live at home either with parents or spouse. Their main concern is getting a sheepskin, and more than likely they are paying their own way through school by working part-time. Beyond this skeletal outline, few other generalizations are possib le. Anything else to be said about the independent must be said about an individual, not the group. Jon Kilpatrick exemplifies the non- involved independent. The Omaha senior admits he is going to college just to get a degree. It will enable me to get more money for basically the same work I'm doing now, he explains. Kilpatrick is enrolled in the College of Continuing Studies and will earn a Bachelor of General Studies with a political science major. He blames his lack of campus involvement on the fact that he is married and must spend his free time at work or with his wife, rather than at school. I don't have time to join organizations and go to ball games. Despite his own lack of involvement, Kilpatrick has some very definite ideas about student activism. He feels student demonstrations, marches and the like are both valid and justified. According to Kilpatrick, Protest is probably the most valid thing in this country. Another typically un-involved student is Mrs. Stella Huggins. She was involved in dorm government when she was single and attending the university in Lincoln, but marriage ended her participation in extra-curricular activities. She admits she is not ambitious enough to stay on campus when she knows she can get home quickly and blames much of the UNO student non- involvement on the commuter campus atmosphere, if I were living on a campus that had student housing, I would probably be involved in something im- mediate to me, such as improving housing for married students, Mrs. Huggins says. If Kilpatrick and Mrs. Huggins at- tribute their non-involement to the home responsibilities that go with being married, Mrs. John L. Mitchell has an even better reason, five children. Mrs. Mitchell, who is working toward a masters degree in social work, has been going to school off and on for four years. She has been limiting her credit load to three to six hours a semester, but plans to carry more hours when the children get into school. She doesn't let school inter- fere with her family activities, but says, I don't plan anything with the family around exam time. All of this concern with academiaand home life might seem a little dishearten- ing to some. It is a question of higher priorities rather than apathy that keeps the Kilpatricks, Huggins and Mitchells away from campus involvement, but there are many independents who do have the time and who do participate. Wellington Batth is a junior, majoring in sociology. He first attended the uni- versity in 1963, then returned after a two year stint in the service. Batth's extra- curricular energies are directed to the black student organization. He points out that in 1963, the black pride movement was just starting at OU, and there was no organization. He says things have definite- ly changed over the past seven years. Black people are getting themselves to- gether, and in the past two years we've formed an organization for blacks. 24

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Wellington Batth, an independent, says black stu- dents try to help one another through school. Night student Ronald Hall figures it will take him about 10 years to earn a business degree. Chance, an agency for mentally retarded and emotionally disturbed children of low income families. Miss Russo feels the national trend is toward more independent participation and less Greek affiliation. Most move- ments started on campuses today are started by independent students, often outside of any formal structure. Straddling the borderline between Greek and independent is Miss Terese Hudgins. A member of an off-campus sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, Miss Hudgins says she considers herself an independent since her sorority does not have campus recognition. Miss Hudgins serves on the steering committee of the black student organi- zation and was formerly a candi date for Homecoming Queen. She sees the dying out of the Greek tradition as the reason for increased activity on the part of independent students. It used to be that black students didn't even vote, Miss Hudgins says, because we didn't have anything to vote for. But proportionately there are more black students on campus now, and we feel more secure and are willing to run for office. Not all of the independents can be written off as involved or non-involved. There is a third type of independent. He's the part-time student who works full-time during the day and goes to school nights in order to pick up his degree. Ronald Hall is such a student. He has been attending night school at UNO for the past four years and has accumulated 37 credit hours. Hall figures it will take him six more years to graduate. He is seeking a degree in business administra- tion, but since many of the required business courses are not offered at night, he will probably end up with a Bachelor of General Studies degree, with a strong emphasis on business. Hall, Miss Hudgins, Miss Russo, Batth, Mrs. Mitchell, Mrs. Huggins and Kil- patrick all have their own life style, their own time schedules and their own prob- lems. Some of them, however, feel that to be an independent necessitates coping with a few common problems. Kilpatrick spoke of the disadvantage independents are at in playing the game as they compete with Greeks and bootstrappers whose organizations keep test files. He says the game starts during counseling when the word gets around on each instructor. You find the easy in- structors and work them into your schedule, says Kilpatrick. He also feels that assignments are seldom an individual effort for group members since you can get the same grade by using someone else's work. But this doesn't mean Greeks and boots are the only ones to use this method. To suggest I get through strictly on academic prowess is false. I only wish I could play the game better, he adds. Batth and Miss Hudgins spoke of the similar problems facing black students — the problems of bucking the organiza- tions and of trying to solidify an organi- zation of their own to help each other through school. Miss Russo conceded that the Greek organization tends to lessen the academic burden, but she feels that in exchange for this relief one must sacrifice a certain amount of freedom. Basically, the independent attitude re- flects one of freedom of movement, change and choice. Despite the ad- vantages of organization, independents choose to be free from weekly meetings and any other complications arising from involvement in the other two organized factions on campus. Perhaps this is be- cause of their varied interests, person- alities, ambitions or even motivations. Perhaps this is because they share no common bond with other members of their peer groups other than the amorphous label of Independent. By KAY BROWN 26