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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 1975)
editorial M UN session not fun and games for Indians One scene from this year's Nebraska Model United Nations (NMUN) should be remembered long after the resolutions and speeches are forgotten. The Nebraska Union Centennial Room was filled Saturday afternoon with NUMN delegates playing world diplomats. Wheeling, dealing and appealing their way through a web of parliamentary procedure, the delegates decided the fate of nations as if they were deciding where to eat supper. Seated by himself in the back of the room was Frank Black Elk, Lincoln American Indian Movement coordinator. Moments before, he had been the center of attention. Persistent work by Ron Clingenpeel of the Luxembourg delegation and a suspension of the order of the day by Secretary-General Dean Kirby had given Black Elk the floor to read a resolution calling for recognition of American Indian sovereignty and treaty rights. Black Elk reminded the delegates that the "indigenous Redman of the Western Hemisphere" is the only race not represented in the United Nations. He called on them to "demand that the United States of America immediately stop all present and future criminal and civil prosecution of Sovereign Native Peoples" and that "all treaties between Native Nations and the United States made prior to 1871 shall be recognized without further need of interpretation." The delegates listened attentively. Some even stood and applauded when he finished. But almost immediately, the American Indian was forgotten, a condition they are used to by now but have never been satisfied with. 1 It is disappointing that the Model United Nations found itself unable to set a model for the real world by seriously considering the plight of the American Indian. Any hope of that was shattered when a mock assassination of the Secretary-General took place even before Black Elk could walk to the back of the room. The fun and games were on again. The prospect of having to deal seriously with a problem was over, to relief of most delegates. What must be remembered is that Frank Black Elk and the Indian people are not playing games. Their problem is real, not something that should be sandwiched between fake kidnapings and mock visits from the Queen of England. There is nothing wrong with having fun during an NUMN session-unless fun becomes the object instead of a diversion. Next year's NUMN should put business before pleasure. The disposition of the American Indian nations should be considered with the same fervor accorded the Palestinian refugee question this year. And the U.S. government should realize there is something wrong with a system that forces the proud representatives of the Indian people to take C -.ir case before a mock body in hopes of getting the favorable hearing denied them through normal channels. One wonders how long the Indians will tolerate our games. Wes Alters who tow MY CAN DOGGONE IT, IX GETTING SICMND TIRED OF VOO THIN&S RA m AND NEVER RETVMM THEM. v. WHAT'S THAT IH m 'mo, mfnf IT'S A C)N OPEHIR Dear editor: In response to Jeff Hermansen (Daily Nebraskan, Feb. 5) he is apparently not one of the types Joe Dreesen talked about in his column on "brown-nosers." He dealt with the people, obvious to us all, who spew forth dung with every breath. They are not an asset to the class, as Hermansen suggests, but instead a liability to the instructor and especially to students since we waste our time and money listening to some attention fanatic whose only other goal is to make himself heard. I don't think Dreesen suggests that all people who sit in the front rows pucker up in avid expectation of a chance to receive brownie points, nor do I think he is referring to those with valid input. Chuck Gentile Jockfreakwhizkidgreek Dear editor: I was disappointed and disgusted on Feb. 6 to read another attempt (this time by Joe Dreesen) to further alienate and polarize the students of this campus. I was saddened, too, to realize that a person with such narrow and stultifying views on society is in a position to broadcast those opinions as if they were the word of Josh. The problem lies not so much in that he has those views, but in that others will take Dreesen's words and use them as ammunition (or evidence) to continue in their own narrow-minded ways. What Dreesen fails to realize is that hardly anyone could be shoehorned into one of his eight stereotypes. I tried to clas.iy myself among his lines and found the only term to describe me was pseudo-jockfreakwhizkidgVeekintellectual. My living arrangement doesn't limit me to only associating with those in the same building, nor those of the same lifestyle. Face it, the only real difference between those in residence halls and those in fraternities is that one group lives in residence halls and the other in fraternities. Jeff Jensen Change in ideas Dear editor: After reading" Bruce Nelson's cynic's corner last Monday, I would like to comment. I am sure part of the reason American politicians voted to aid India is that India has a democratic form of government. Politicians here are asking that more aid be sent to South Vietnam for the same reason. The same principle explains why Russia gives aid to Cuba. What India needs now is not more aid from other countries but a revolution to drastically change the philosophy and psychology of the people. China and Russia provide us with a good model of how a drastic change in basic ideas can lead to improvement in the country's economic conditions. As to why Gandhi spends money on nuclear devices in spite of her country's domestic problems, one might just as well ask why Britian, China, France, the USA, the USSR and a few others spend so much money on nuclear weapons. Alyas Mohammed Starving Indians Dear editor: An article (Daily Nebraskan Feb. 3) the food crisis in India was an unfair slam on the Indian government. The author emphasized that "our "society is not very fond of facts" when it concerns India and U.S. aid to that country. In the same article, he failed to mention the "facts" by ignoring complex aspects of Indian politics. India is by no means a simple political unit and neither are its problems. It is a hnd of many cultures and people unified in a complex system. This physically large, densely populated country has problems of communication and transportation. There is also the problem of Hindu traditions that impede modernization. Solving India's problems may take years, but many Americans fail to realize this. Americans want a quick solution to each and every problem. In India this is particularly difficult due to the above mentioned facts. Birth control is the bone of contention of the article. The author states that India has cut back on family planning programs. The fact is that these programs have failed miserably. What is needed is a general education of the Indian populace to chanec its traditional outlook. This will be a slow process perhaps the only solution to the problem. Once birth control is accepted India will have alleviated much of her problem. In the meantime, the Indian people must be fed. Americans need to face the realities of India. Attitudes about birth control and religion don't change overnight. We don't have to feel guilty about starving Indian children and yet we must not ignore the fact that they are starving. Charles Enriquez Tony Kratochvil Survival of the fittest Dear editor: A note of agreement on Bruce Nelson's opinion of India and her food position. There are simply too many people and, to be realistic, only some will and can survive. I hardly consider myself inhumane or devoid of emotion, but dying is natural and happens to the best as well as the worst. Not only are the people of India helping themselves to an early death by massive reproduction and their religious beliefs, but they are dragging others who perhaps could have better chances of surviving. Who's to say dying is a bad experience, anyway? No one has yet to come back and tell. But it seems to me a much better fate than having your stomach exlcr.uCu, your mind slowly deteriorating or your muscles digesting themselves for nourishment. It would all be very fine and valiant to save the world and feed the starving. But this is an impossibility with the world as it is today. It comes down to survival of the fittest. It may sound primitive, but man is not so advanced as he thinks. There are problems he is unable to cope with-either he adapts or suffers the consequences of extinction through natural selection. Raylene A. Rhodes Happy Hoosier Dear editor: It's about time! Finally Nebraska fans have realized that football isn't the only sport in this world. Reared in a region where "Hoosier Hysteria" is alrnost as commonplace as "Big Red Country" is in these parts, I was beginning to wonder whether these Midwesternern would ever discover the wonder, finesse and gracefulness of basketball. Maybe it's just the winning season, but it warms an Indiana lloosier's heart to witness a sell-out crowd cheering in the aged Coliseum in the dead of winter. It sure makes those dreary Saturdays pass quickly! A Happy Hoosier page 4 daily nebraskan monday, february 10, 1975