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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1972)
editorial pififoin) y What's going on? At long last, the ASUN budget proposal for this year has been released. And not without some surprises. In addition to a massive restructuring of the entire budget, several alterations of responsibilities could leave one wondering exactly what's going on. It's fairly easy to see what is being attempted by ASUN and its executives. In placing all organizational funding under one new committee of student senators, the executives clearly are attempting to place all funding priorities on an equal basis. Which, of course is an admirable goal. But one wonders exactly. how well the switch will work. It seems apparent that in the past those committees which allocated funds to other organizations did so on a rational, considered basis. And, of course, they were the groups most involved and consequently the most knowledgeable on which groups should receive funding and which should not. The question is whether or not a small committee of senators can, with only a brief contact in an area, adequately judge which organizations deserve ASUN funding. It has been speculated that the new committee comes in the wake of new student fee proposals, which would take ASUN out of the organizational funding business and put new student fee structures in the position. It would be simple to lop off the new committee from the ASUN budget, should such a change take place. If, on the other hand, this change does not come about immediately, the organizations involved in soliciting ASUN funds will be Tfttti XQVh fl&ft UK IWUQW&&N' required to submit funding proposals to the committee. ASUN funds will be required to submit funding proposals to the committee. And without a doubt, the organizations that put on the best show for the committee will be the ones that receive funds. The question here is whether finances should be granted on the basis of in-depth study or show biz. This is not to say, however, that all budget consolidation is misplaced. In the new budget, all communications functions of ASUN, including posters, advertising, news dissemination and inter-office communication were placed . in the Mfdget on the Communcations Committee. This was a worthwhile switch. For while the organizational funding committee works against expertise and knowledge in a particular area, the . communications committee works in favor of this by putting all such functions in the hands of those who have most knowledge in the areas involved. While many of the apparent cuts were, as explained above, merely shifts in responsibility for funding and communications, a few went far beyond this. Cuts in Free University and conference funding, while regrettable, perhaps were justifiable because of the relative utility students received from these areas. Cuts in the budgets of student services and the human rights committees are a little harder to explain, however. Both committees have excellent track records and cuts in funds can only decrease their effectiveness. Even harder to explain are salary raises and a large increase for the Legislative Liaison committee. While these admittedly are necessary items one can scarcely justify increases here while large chunks are being lopped off other worthwhile projects. 4- All in all, it appears much time and effort have been expended by ASUN executives and officials in preparing the budget. One only can hope that a good deal more time will be spent by ASUN senators in investigating it before approving any part of it. Some large questions have yet to be answered. Moral grayness Venereal disease is an emotional topic. As such, it sprouts from an area Americans consider strictly personal. Because of its private nature, there is no clear right or wrong in dealing with the disease, only hundreds of shades of moral gray. Currently, of the two most common diseases, VD is outranked in incidence only by the common cold, according to the Association of American Colleges. This incidence rate could be described, and not wrongly, as approaching epidemic stages. So something has to be done. This is the reason for recent efforts by the state office of Communicable Diseases, such as the television program "VD Blues." It is also the reason for a new comprehensive media campaign which includes pamphlets, posters, newspaper advertising and mo"' broadcast coverage. But will these efforts I enough to solve the problem? Most likely not. Here again, Nebraska's ultra-conservative nature will serve to hold back progress in treatment of the disease. It was only Sept. 22 when the Omaha World Herald spoke out editorially against a practice that "might increase sexual promiscuity-VD treatment for minors, without parental consent. Doctors almost unilaterally agree that the ready availablility of VD treatment has little to do with the promiscuity of those treated, due to the fact that it is a strictly after-the-fact occurence. According to University Health Center, officials, even ready availibility of contraceptives has little impact. So, scruples of the press aside, the facts indicate morality has little to do with venereal disease treatment. So what is stopping Nebraska, and specifically the University, from further decreasing its VD rate? Exactly the moral watchdogging or staunch conservatism mentioned above. It seems to be one of those cases where inaction may prove a disaster. If health officials, administrators and doctors continue to be shackled undercurrent moralistic interpretations of the rights of citizenship, there is little doubt that any efforts to curb VD will be futile. So, it is the duty of every citizen and lawmaker to put feedback into the legislative process, put aside moral static and become realistic. The only way to solve a problem is to meet it. Jim Gray The emperor's clothes , aithur hoppe Innocent Once upon a time, there was a country called Wonderfuland. And it was the nicest country in the whole wide world. To be sure, it had its faults. It wasn't a very strong country. It had only a tiny, little army. So it didn't have too much influence in world affairs. And, therefore, it was forced pretty much to mind its own business. But, generally speaking, it was a very nict place to live. Generally speaking, the people enjoyed peace and plenty and freedom. And, generally speaking, they were envied and admired by other people all over the whole wide world. In fact, idealists all over the whole wide world hoped and dreamed and struggled to make their own countries just as nice as Wonderfuland. It was the very model of niceness. A shining example for all. Then, came a Great World War. Naturally Wonderfuland had to create a huge army. And, naturally, it had to invent the most awesome weapons the world had even seen. And, naturally, its side won. All its enemies were destroyed. All its allies lay in ruins. And so, one morning, the people of Wonderfuland woke up to find they were now the strongest nation in the whole wide world. r The people of Wonderfuland unstandably were proud that their country was the strongest nation in the whole wide world. "Now," they said happily, "we can make everybody be as nice as we are." Of course, to keep on being the strongest nation they had to maintain a huge army. And invent even more awesome weapons. And spy on their neighbors. And push little countries around, overthrowing bad governments they didn't i iKe wmie supporting bad governments they did. And, inevitably, they got dragged into a mucky, unending little war far, far away, as the strongest nation always does. "But, after all, it's our duty," said the people of Wonderfuland, "to spread niceness." To be sure, all this cost an awful lot of money. So the people of Wonderfuland didn't have enough left over to fix up their houses or clean up their rivers or feed all their hungry. As a result, there were riots and crimes and demonstrations and hatreds and a general malaise. And, oddly enough, nobody admired and envied the people of Wonderfuland any more. And noboUy wanted to be like them any more. Nevertheless, when there was an election, the candidates went all over the country making promises. Week after week, they promised that whatever else they did, they would, above all, "keep Wonderfuland the strongest nation in the whole wide world!" Then, one day, a little boy in the crowd asked a question. "Why?" asked the little boy. The people around him frowned and scratched their heads and pointed their fingers at the candidates. "Yes, why?" they asked. The Candidates frowned and scratched their heads and went off to consult their political advisors. And, as candidates will, they henceforth promised instead to "make Wonderfuland the nicest country in the whole wide world." And everybody lived happily ever after. Moral: Why, indeed? Copyrlflht Chronicl Publishing Co. 1972 page 4 daily nebraskan friday, October 20, 1972 " ...
