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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 1999)
EDITOR Josh Funk * v-vi*i.. s >"'r " • OPINION EDITOR Mark Baldridge EDITORIAL BOARD Lindsay Young f Jessica Fargen Samuel McKewon Cliff Hicks Kimberly Sweet t ■-■■■] ■ ',---:-: Our VIEW Keep it together Panic over Y2K will only add to problems A wise pop-culture prognosticator of the late 1980s once suggested that everyone should simply “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Though radio stations will no longer play tire song, its wisdom will be important in the coming weeks. — In 23 days, the most anticipated calendar change in history will finally arrive. The heavily hyped Y2K bug will finally crawl out of its cocoon and spread its wings across the world, and people will no longer be able to truly party like it’s 1999. And we’ll still be here. The greatest dangers in those first few days of the zero year it- will be irrational Permit behavior and panic, not some dreaded don’t really comPuter coding y mistake, knows if People don’t ,1 . . . really know if their their toaster toaster ovens will ovens will conti"ue *° come Jan. 1, but it s Continue to important that peo , pie keep their heads. WOrk COlfie We probably - Jan. 1, but won,t know'v ’ scope of any Y2K it’s problems for a few . • days after the first, important but you should not that neonle panic when faced inai people inconvenience. keep their Then could be problems with the heads. phones. After mid night on Jan. 1, many people may call their friends to wish them well. Some may call friends just to see if the phone still works. Before long the circuits could be over loaded, and it will be tough to get through. That doesn’t mean there is anything wrong; the phones are just busy. There really is no need to worry, but everyone should be prepared with a few days’ worth of supplies and a healthy dose of common sense. Experts suggest preparing as if you were to face a three-day blizzard. Have some canned food and blankets on hand, and be prepared to purify water, if necessary. While you’re at it, put some new batter ies in that flashlight and get yourself a good book. Here in the Midwest we already know how to live dirough a storm. Whether torna does or snow, the scenario is about the same. We’ve lived through it before, and this should be no different. This could be a great chance to curl up for a few days and relax. Besides, you really didn’t want to go anywhere after celebrating the new millennium. You’ll probably need a few days to recover anyway. Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the FaU 1999 Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nebraska-Lincola its employees, its student body or the Unwereity of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely the opinion of its author. The Board of Regents serves as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. 7r» UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, supervises the production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibrnty for the ecfitorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student employees. LettorPillcy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guarantee their pubfication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Submitted material becomes property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be published. Those who submit letters must identity ihemseives by name, year in school, major and/or group affiliation, if any. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, NE. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters@unl.edu. Obermeyer’s VIEW ' f , V . ; ; -< GUYS, I JUsr~~ NOMINATED You For THE \ UML GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL- \ AMP TRA^S&eNPFR AWARP fi*. ) ALL THE WORK YOU’VE PONE To I sriNO- Homosexuality / .into tie mainstream / . --— I / 3 J DN LETTERS Normal Reaction I have no logical justification or reasoning behind what I am about to say, but I think that it is safe to say that.Planarian Man sucks ... bring back The Norm. Evan Trofholz sophomore finance Pro Team t would like to respond to the peo ple who have written about the pro tein diets (Kerber, DN, Dec. 2 and Wilson, DN Letters, Monday). Thank you, Mr. Kerber, for your comments. However, I have to dis pute some of Mr. Wilson’s comments. First of all, registered dietitians do understand what is happening to the body by restricting carbohydrates. R.D.s must have a minimum of a four-year degree with four semesters of life sciences, four semesters of chemistry and numerous classes in food science and nutrition therapy. In addition, R.D.s apply for com petitive internships before they can su ior a national exam, which they must pass before they can practice dietetics. Many * also I acquire \ advanced degrees. I would say that the problem is not that R.D.s don’t know about food and the way in which the body works, but that there are too maiiy people who are not qualified to give food, nutri- d tion and weight 1 loss advice but give it anyway. j This adds to A the $33 billion (and growing) " diet industry. Having said that, I want to say some thing about the high protein (low-carbo hydrate) diet. You are right, Mr. Wilson, when you say it’s a low-calorie diet. That is why people lose weight. Most of the high-protein diets out there are low in calories. High-protein diets are also dehy drating. If the body does not get enough carbohydrates (the preferred source of energy for the body), it bums protein next - but not very effi ciently. The break-down products of pro tein must go through the kidneys, causing an increased need for fluid to help flush the kidneys. What is not discussed in the low carbohydrate propaganda is the fact that we have years of research that tells us a diet high in fat and saturated fat and low in fruits and vegetables can lead to some chronic diseases. We also know that there is no sin gle “perfect diet” for everyone; some people do a little better on a higher protein diet, some people need lower protein, some people do just fine with the food guide pyramid. In conclusion, weight regulation and healthy nutrition is best left to qualified registered dietitians. If you are someone who wants to give that kind of help to individuals, jump through the hoops and get the supervised experience to become qualified to do it. Kacie Smith senior dietetics Student Representing the Student Dietetic and Restaurant Management Association (SDRMA) ■- • Straight (and Narrow) Let me get this straight. UNMC wants to conduct medical experi ments on the tissue of purposefully killed unborn babies. And people actually think this is a good idea. I guess we really are not so differ ent from Nazis after all. Thomas Eads Information Services