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Regent gladiators should solve religion figni
After last month's cat fight between UNL's
Christians and lions, it seems only a matter of time
until the Regents Hall gladiators are asked to step
into the arena and use some fancy sword play on
their religion policy.
And when the NU Board of Regents takes on that
task, it will require the wisdom of Solomon or at
least a team of high-priced lawyers-to devise a policy
that will leave atheists satisfied and religious freedom
unscathed.
At a time when religion has pushed students to
extremes, the regents have chosen to stand on middle
ground and, quite predictably, are finding themselves
caught there.
On the one hand are those who would shame
Dracula when it comes to cringing at the sight of a
cross. To them, separation of church and state means
elimination of church from state. If left to their
devices, everything dealing with religion would be
wiped from the face of this campus in a kind of
secular Misjudgment Day.
At the other extreme are those who take
separation of church and state to mean control by
church of state. They view this campus as some sort
of God-given pulput and have done everything to
make it that except speak in tongues.
Presumably there are students who fall somewhere
in between. It is to them that the regents owe a
clarification in policy that will deliver them from a
clamor loud enough to raise Lazarus from the dead.
That the present religion policy lacks something is
evident, even if the regents are-unwilling to admit it.
The policy, adopted by the board on July 14,
1973, sets down five commandments. Thou shall
allow (1) "course-related study involving religions in a
secular, philosophical historical and cultural context,"
(2) nonsectarian moments of silence or invocation at
university functions and (3) personal religious
activities within private quarters.
- Thou shall not allow, it says, (1) "use of
University facilities for any organized event or
activity if one of its essential features is religious
worship or testimony and (2) personnel
discriminations based on religious beliefs.
While this sounds fine, these five commandments
have proven about as successful as the original Ten.
One reason is because punishment for breaking
them, if it exists, is not immediately evident. The
regents should clarify the penalty for violating the
policy and the person or office suspected violations
should be reported to.
They also would do well to clarify some of their
terminology, particularly the meaning of the word,
"testimony." The present policy doesn't say where
testimony begins and the right to speak in the first
person ends.
And while they are at it, the regents may as well
turn their omniscient eyes on those religious
preference cards that have somehow found their way
into UNL registration packets. Even though the cards
may be dropped for administrative reasons, the board
should still decide if proselytizing is alet' n?te duty
of the Office of Admissions.
The University of Nebraska's religion policy is in
desperate need of some answers. The regent's Feb. 21
meeting would be a good place for students to start
asking the questions.
WesAlbers
Arabs playing game of imperialism well
bruce
nelson
m
"Imperialistic warmonger" was a phrase that came easily to
many of us a few years ago when speaking of the United States.
Somehow in our naivete we were unable to preceive the
imperialistic actions of the Soviet Union in Czechoslovakia for
instance.
Our simplistic left-wing innocence cannot last forever, for we
are now watching the rise of some new imperialists the Arab
states.
Arab imperialism has not grown out of the traditional Marxian
theory of following a sacred course of industrial development.
Instead, their imperialism has been financed by huge profits from
both Moscow and Washington.
The Arabs have played the game well and by switching from one
lover to another have managed to exploit the exploiters.
Student calls for end to racism
(Editor's note: A'Jamal Byndon is a junior
majoring in political science and psychology.)
At this university I am oftened astonished at
the ignorance and insensitivity of some white
people.
Just the other day a white person on my floor
came up to me and said, "Do black people have
black dandruff? What was so sad about the
whole affair is that he was serious. It's hard to
hold a man accountable for something he doesn't
know, but I think most people should use some
common sense.
Later in the discussion he turned everything
around and blamed his ignorance on me and
other black people for not moving to Fremont.
But I was told by some other guys on the floor
that the people of Fremont refuse to sell houses
to black people.
To be outnumbered 100 to one at this
university usually makes the average black person
from a black neighborhood feel uneasy. It seems
that one of the hardest things to get used to is
walking into an all-white classroom if you are
black.
Last week a friend told me that a girl had
made a statement in his class to the effect that
when she was at the University of Nebraska at
Omaha she was surprised at the number of
intelligent minorities that attended college.
Facing those types of comments every day can
and does affect some people's personalities.
It seems that this racism will never be
alleviated. What is pathetic is when a person
doesn't know he is sick. I really don't like being
around sick people or having anything to do with
them until they are dealt with or cured.
I propose that when a true black person
finishes this all-white university he should be
given two degrees: one for his college major and
another for putting up with the ignorant
rednecks, liberals and-let's not forget-bigots.
Along with the third world nations' new economic power has
come a need for self-respect and the history books are being
rewritten. Their once glorious ancient civilization is supposedly
rising Phoenix-like from the ashes of their Middle Ages to a now
wonderful renaissance.
Instead of recognizing the real causes of backwardness as dirt,
disease, illiteracy, superstition and early death, the Arabs have
wholly embraced the "Outside Agitator Theory."
This theory proposes that their problems were actually caused
by a mythical foreigner. Campus presidents in America during the
60s were fond of this theory in explaining riots on their campuses.
Indeed, what the Jews were to Hitler and the Germans is what the
United States and Russia are becoming to the third world.
Not all the third world is able to play the power politics game,
and we are beginning to see the fetal growth of a fourth world.
Those developing countries who have no oil resources will have
to pay $15 billion for oil imports this year as compared to 5.2
billion last year. This cannot help but increase starvation in already
starving countries.
The old adage that "The rich get richer and the poor get
poorer" seems to be as truthful in the Middle East as anywhere
else.
Kuwait in 1973 received some $2 billion in oil revenues and
only offered $300,000 to the United Nations for helping their
third world brothers. (Read "brothers" with a touch of sarcasm).
Saudia Arabia received more than $4 billion last year in oil sales
and gave nothing. Egypt asso has defaulted on several assistance
accords she has signed with other poor and starving third world
nations.
It is only too clear that the majority of underdeveloped
countries will remain in poverty.
Paradoxically, it is the capitalist countries who are now
defending the rights of all peoples to free access to the earth's
resources. The socialist and communist, nations are defending the
rights of each Arab state to their own sovereign interests, even
though this smacks of capitalistic monopoly.
So now we have the incongruous position of communist states
defending international capitalism and capitalist states pursuing
socialistic policies in foreign affairs. . , "
Meanwhile, life and death go on as before, there is "no new
thing under the sun" and imperialism remains, whether it is
capitalist, communist or Arabic.
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page 4
daily nebraskan
monday, february 17, 1975
