Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 2000)
Daily Nebraskan editorial welcomes Clinton to see aff of Nebraska In Opinion/4 NU-Northwestem battle: opposite histories, similar on-field strategies In SportsTuesday/10 WCW wrestling invades Lincoln with an impressive nignt of cheap fun In Arts/5 Editorial draws fire from Kearney ■The city's residents,as well as others, have bombarded dailyneb.com with feedback over the invitation to Clinton to visit Lincoln and Omaha. BY VERONICA DAEHN A Daily Nebraskan editorial has sparked a firestorm of controversy in Kearney, where resi dents who otherwise are sprucing their town for President Clinton, also are defending themselves from rhetorical bricks they say the newspaper threw. In the editorial, the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board expressed its disappointment that President Clinton and his staff chose to visit Kearney over other cities in the state. The newspaper, in the edi torial, extended a formal invitation for Clinton to visit Lincoln or Omaha. As of late Monday afternoon, there were 146 posts to the Daily Nebraskan's Web site arguing against the newspaper's Wednesday editorial. Since the editorial was written, Clinton's staff announced that the president also will visit Omaha. Clinton will speak at the University of Nebraska at Kearney's Health and Sports Center before he flies to the state’s largest city. “While it’s good Clinton is coming to Nebraska,” the editorial said, “it’s too bad he chose Kearney, a town that perhaps embodies why he stayed away from this state for so long.” Kearney residents have taken offense to the editorial, calling the Daily Nebraskan staff mem bers jealous, ignorant and immature. The unsigned editorial represents the opinion of the newspaper, as formed by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Members of the board are: Editor Sarah Baker, Managing Editor Bradley Davis, Opinion Page Editor Samuel McKewon, Associate News Editor Kimberly Sweet, Sports Editor Matthew Hansen, Arts Editor Dane Stickney and reporter Josh Funk. Courtney Harms, editor of The Antelope, the UNK student newspaper, said she was appalled at the Daily Nebraskan’s editorial. In her post on the Web site, Harms said she had always looked up to the Daily Nebraskan, but the admiration ended when she read the editorial. “I adore this city,” Harms, who is from Omaha, said in an interview. “When I read (the editorial), I was hurt.” The people who live in Kearney are friendly and welcoming, Harms said. The cashiers at Wal-Mart know her by name, as does the manager at Perkins, she said. “I just felt the DN was slamming one of their own,” Harms said. “The people in Kearney aren’t hicks. They’re pretty intelligent and nice to be around.” Harms said the editorial had sparked discus sion in several of her classes. The consensus is that the Daily Nebraskan and Lincoln are jealous Clinton is visiting Kearney, she said. Please see EDITORIAL on 3 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Al Gore, center, talks with his running mate, Sen. Joe Ueberman,as they leave the Old Executive Office Building on Monday in Washington, DlC Marie WRson/Newsmatas Gore's hopes of White House diminish THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A1 Gore’s prospects for winning the presidency dimmed Monday when a circuit court judge refused to overturn George W. Bush’s certified victory in Florida, and the U.S. Supreme Court set aside a ruling that had allowed manual recounts. Running out of options, the vice president’s team pleaded with Democrats to stick with him a few more days. “They won. We lost We’re appeal ing” to the Florida Supreme Court said Gore attorney David Boies after Circuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls rejected the Democrat’s unprecedented contest of the election. “We’ve moved one step closer to having this resolved.” It was, Gore’s advisers said, a major step in the wrong direction. Neither decision settled the legal knots tying up the election of a 43rd American president, but the develop ments were a blow for Gore. He is urgendy searching for a court victory to sustain his presidential quest Andrew Card, Bush's prospective chief of staff, said the day’s court rul ings had buoyed the Republican camp and given new impetus to efforts to form a new Bush government “We’ll be able to move pretty quickly,” when there is either a conclu sive court ruling or a Gore concession, Card said in an interview. On day 27 of the longest, closest presidential race in a century, running mate Joseph Lieberman and cam paign manager William Daley called Democrats on Capitol Hill to explain the whirlwind legal developments and urged them to remain steadfast. One senior Democrat who participated in the talks said there was no sense ol quitting from the Gore team. However, the vice president’s advisers said privately that their boss was running out of time and options. They said he would not concede the race before the Florida Supreme Court rules on Sauls’ decision and e Democratic lawsuit is settled in Seminole County over irregular han dling of GOP absentee ballots. If he loses both cases, Gore is almost certain to give up, said advisers — most of who insisted he had a decent chance of prevailing before the state high court with its seven Democratic appointees. One Gore confidant, who said the cause is all but lost, argued that even if the vice president wanted to leave the race before his legal options are exhausted, internal pressures from the party’s base would not allow it. The advisers spoke on condition of Please see ELECTION on 3 UPC pulls Jay Mohr from plans BYJILLZEMAN Students looking to see comedian Jay Mohr next semester will have to go to the movie theater, not the Lied Center for Performing Arts as planned. Mohr was scheduled to come to campus in October but canceled six days before the event The comedian, whose appearance was coordi nated by the University Program Council, had planned on rescheduling the event, said Karen Wills, UPC adviser. But students who bought a ticket won’t have to pay for Mohr’s no-show, she said. Ticket refunds are available at the Lied Center box office until Dec. 8, she said. Students must present their tickets to receive the refund, she said. Members of UPC decided not to bring Mohr back in the spring because they didn't feel confi dent Mohr would follow through on his commit ment, Wills said Wills said members of UPC have learned a ie£ son from Mohr’s no-show. UPC plans to do more to ensure that when per formers are booked to come to UNL, they actually come. This can be done by calling other schools about a performer’s reliability, she said. The reliability also depends on how coopera tive performers’ agents are, Wills said. For example, when poet Maya Angelou came to campus, UPC saw its event as a success. Despite the temporary setback, UPC will con tinue to bring acts to campus, said Carly Wendt, novelty committee chairwoman. The novelty committee hasn’t scheduled a big name performer to appear, Wendt said. But the group has planned a number of events for the spring semester to make up for Mohr’s absence. Please see MOHR on 3 Flu vaccine arrival helps students cope in season of sickness BY JOSH FUNK Although it may not help on finals next week, students looking for an extra line of defense in the coming months should get to the health center for flu shots, officials said. Some shipments of the long-awaited inoculations, which were delayed in manu facturing, arrived in Lincoln last week. The shots arrived about six weeks behind their usual mid-October arrival, but there is still time to beat flu season, which usually hits hardest in January and February, University Health Center Marketing Coordinator Jennifer Snyder said. No cases of the flu have been reported in the state this year, officials said, but Nebraska's health care providers have only received about 50 percent of their usual allotment of the vaccine. University of Nebraska-Lincoln stu dents may be more preoccupied with proj ects and preparing for finds, but Snyder said influenza shots would be a good winter safeguard. “(Students) are thinking of something else right now,” Snyder said of the coming tests. Today from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., flu shots will be available for $8 at die University Health Center. Snyder said the process should only take 10 to 15 minutes. The shots may be covered by insurance, so stu dents should bring proper documentation. The health center administered the shots to about 100 people Monday. For students who are in good health and have never had the flu, getting the inoc ulation may not be a priority, Snyder acknowledged, but anyone with a respira tory problem should. Asthmatics, diabetics and those older than 50 are especially susceptible to flu. The disease is an upper-respiratory infection. The flu shots take about two weeks to take effect, so getting immunized now should still be helpful, Snyder said. “Students may have a reaction to the shots, which is better now in dead week rather than in finals,” Snyder said. Flu shots also are available from the Lancaster County Health Department and some doctors' offices. For more informa tion on the Health Department’s program, call (402) 441-8000. Snyder said if the health center receives more of the vaccine, it may hold an addi tional clinic early next week. Influenza is associated with more than 20,000 deaths and 100,000 hospitalizations annually, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Steven Bender/DN Linda Fogerty gives Kristin Moilanen, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate student, a flu shot Monday at the University Health Center.The health center began giving flu shots just before Thanksgiving, a service it normally would have begun in mid-October. Vaccine availability caused the delay.