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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 1978)
monday, march 6, 1978 page 4 daily nebraskan Compromised ASUN budget proves senate's ability Three cheers for representative government! Finally we have seen ASUN fulfill that role in the true sense of the word. The senate's proposed 1978-79 budget is a compromise between the $41,385 recommended by the three executives and the $32,300 figure of fered by Treasurer Mike Brogan. Their recommended budget ex ceeds last year's allocation from stu dent fees by less than $3,000 - quite an accomplishment considering the new budget includes a $1,000 raise for the Student Legal Services law yer, a $300 raise for the ASUN secre tary and a combined increase of $385 in executive salaries. Budget in creases go to the Government Liai son Committee and advertising. The Book Exchange budget was reduced from $500 to $100 and the Nebraska Free University has been eliminated from next year's budget. These budget figures, though not the bare bones Brogan wanted, are testimony that the checks and bal ances system works within a student government often labeled as "inef fective" and "disillusioning." However, the proposed budget has room for improvement. While we strongly support the increased allo cation (the majority of the $500 in crease is to send students to lobby ing conferences), we would prefer a merger of ASUN's and NUPlRG's lobbying efforts. NUPIRG is shifting to more research-based effort. It would be a duplicaion of student ef forts and student fees to have two groups researching legislative issues. Although maintaining a part-time secretary year-round is important to keep up with on-going ASUN efforts, we encourage the new senate to in vestigate the possibility of hiring a full-time administrator instead of continuing to increase funds for a se cretary. The set-up could be comparable to the one successfully used by the Union Program Council. Thanks to a full-time, permanent staff, working the annually-changing student mem bership of UPC, the council is able to produce quality programming from year to year. Under this system, stu dents still have control, but on-going programs are not abandoned as stu dent membership shifts. An ASUN administrator might be the cure-all for the senate's on-going problem of shaky administrative transitions. As past experience has shown, ASUN often wastes half of its term getting adjusted, when that time could be better spent continu ing work initiated by earlier senates. If the 1978-79 ASUN Senate can continue this kind of wise budgeting, continually investigating effective ways to save money, and solve the senate's annual headache of aban doning projects that have just gotten off the ground, then we support their efforts to gain control of Fund A student fee allocations. That's a pretty big "if", but that is the challenge facing next year's senate. Dinks should end selfishness to find life's joy, by George The future. It depresses me. Getting a job, being successful, buying insurance, just basically joining the rat race. As hard as I try I can not see how reading this political science book is going to make any differ ence in two years, or even two days, from now. Oh Lord, then I start wondering and worrying about just exactly what I'm doing here anyway, busting my guts to make grades and studying all hours of the night. And what have I got? Books, books, grades and ulcers, for two and a half years of work! appearing from nowhere, smoking a cigar in a no-smoking area, and then calling me a dink.? I don't even know what a dink is!" He began nonchalantly browsing through the books on the surrounding shelves. "Ah, here it is." He picked out a book titled All About Dinks. Clearing his throat, he read: "Dinks can be found all over the world. They are commonly the younger among the species, and specifically those who do not appreciate what they have, and always want more." "Dinks are mainly those who are given everything or most things through their lives and don't even realize it. They rarely work hard for what they achieve and con sequently rarely appreciate what they do michael mkune I banged my forehead against the study table. A vision suddenly appeared to me. "What are you doing?" the vision asks. 1 am amazed and my forehead is slightly battered. Standing here in front of me is George Burns, golf cap, cigar and all. I know who he is but I decided to ask any way, for lack of anything intelligent to say. "You know what you are?" he asks. "You are a dink." "A what?" I don't believe George Burns is standing here in Love Library, calling me a dink. "A what? I was insulted. "Look, just exactly what gives you the right to bother my privacy by I W' -'It . i :' ? 0 d- to the editor The author of this letter lived with her family for two and one-half years in Iran. She now is a sophomore pre-law student atUNL. Lately there has been a great contro versy between supporters and opponents of Mohammed Ruza PahJavi (the Shah of Iran) brought on by notorious persecu tion. Many Iranians are so anxious and upset that there now are many broken friendships, courtships and family ties. None of us has the divine right to ciriticize our brothers or sisters, or look down on them because of their beliefs. It is easy to agree with others who have the same opinion. But it is very hard to under stand another's view that is different from what we believe is right, because we have an imbedded want to always be right. Insults can penalize friendship and give seed to hatred. Hatred, if not stopped, can lead to a fight, making you as wrong as the other person. Please do not try to force others to your side, just show them your point of view and let them decide who is right. Accept and respect their decision after it is made. You also should try to stay away from those who cause divisions on purpose; those who upset people's beliefs of what is right or true. If you do meet such a person, do your own research and find out which belief is contrary to the truth. You may find that these teachers against the common beliefs are right. 1 want to encourage you to look at other people's opinion with patience and respect and try to live in harmony with each other. Although your political atti tudes differ, accept it as their right to believe what they want. However, please stay loyal and true to what you find is right. Elizabeth Millar have, in accordance with it's value. This can be true with people as well asmateiial posessions." He coughed. "You shouldn't smoke" I said dryly. "You should respect my habits, as I respect yours," he returned. Again he read. "A dink never really learns to appreciate today and all it brings. Though no one can be expected to live every day as his last, a dink will take tomorrow for granted to the extent that he considers it boring before it is here. A dink fails to see the challenge that exists in each day, never really con fronting his problems or tasks completely, and is not of any service to himself, or any one else." "This creature," he read, "fails to ac knowledge the fact that everyone is differ ent and hence, each person's goals will differ. One may be content to climb Mount fcverest. while another is just as content to read about that climb. One cannot judge his goals and values by another's. A dink never realizes this. "Most importantly, he doesn't appre ciate his friends until they are gone, and he loses friends because he does not value them as more precious than gold. He views love as a means, not an end in itself. He doesn't appreciate that love is as valuable as life itself. This is a dink." He slammed the book shut, and the bang made me jump. He took a short puff on his cigar and blew out the smoke slow ly, watching it float and curl. I was sweat ing, quite embarrassed. "You don't have to be a dink, y'know that0" he asked. 1 nodded. "You've got potential kid," he said, poking his cigar my way and tilting his cap. He smiled. "Ill help you if you need it. I made futures so people could have hope and so they could have dreams. Gives you something to live for. "One more thing, and this is just be tween you and I." He bent down and whis pered into my ear. "Tomorrow whispers joy." He winked, smiled again and was gone. A dink. George Burns said 1 was a dink 1 had to smile. I guess there's a little bit of dink in all of us. We've got some changing to do. 4hfP 9trt wrm stu v- c . I - - r If v -faa 9. Vj0b 0flott fcn I t ourk.:. UEAY JL