page 4 friday, October 6, 1978 daily nebraskan opinioneditorial I ASUN should consider results before taking action ASUN has taken "bold steps," as senators have put it, to regain control of student impact in govern ment by recalling representatives and not appointing new members to UNL advisory committees. ASUN's tactics have been ques tioned. ASUN shot the bill through the senate without the benefit of com mittee consideration. And ASUN's actions in closing the meeting is not a case where the ends necessarily justify the means. ASUN had a public hearing after the bill was passed, when it is usual practice to hold a hearing before the bill is voted on. ASUN already has experienced problems while leaving committees in limbo. An ad hoc committee was quickly reinstated by ASUN Presi dent Ken Marienau to deal with Nebraska Union Board problems which were left pending. The Union Board needed such an action to make annual fund requests to Richard Armstrong, vice chancellor of studen affairs. These types of problems should have been foreseen and plans should have already been rolling to handle such dilemas before the bill was passed. Yet ASUN is tired of student gov ernment's inability to accomplish much. Many senators have admitted this bill could fall flat on its face, and only time will tell if the bill is going to have as much impact as the senate hopes. If the bill is going to be successful, ASUN will have to make more quick moves and stand firmly behind its action. A tentative proposal to establish four major commissions that are div ided into student fees, student acti vities, university services and facili ties and educational quality cover the major committees that have been put in limbo. HSU ARfclTT MOO iW? I .1. ii Rape: tool of oppression - condoned inhu man legacy WU3J...CJBMDtt"J0ONl f? In the proposal, each commission will have a chairperson and the rest of the membership will be open to anyone until Oct. 1 of each year. Members also will have voting rights. ASUN should consider appointing members , and make them responsib le for attending board meetings, be cause it is doubtful students will appear from nowhere and faithfully attend meetings. ASUN must also consider boards that actually do have power, such as the Parking Appeals Board. Hope fully they will retain boards that have more than advisory roles. In its reconstruction attempt, ASUN will probably have the new committees work with faculty to help form proposals for legislation. ASUN also must be prepared to defend proposals if there is a split between faculty and students. The full weight of ASUN should be used when necessary. There have been tentative plans to form a committee of faculty, stu dents and university personnel to give proposals to the chancellor if there is a split between the groups. ASUN has taken a big step and we hope that it is forward. etters Rape is a four-letter word. It also is the fastest growing crime, according to the FBI's major crime cate gories (part of the growth could be caused by an increase in reporting). That crime category also includes murder, aggravated assault and robbery. kate gaul Nationwide, about 55,000 rapes are re ported annually, which means that a reported rape occurs every 10 minutes. But these figures do not include other sex crimes and it is generally acknowledged that the vast majority of sexual attacks still go unreported. Even the FBI concedes that their figures are low because of the stigma and shame felt by many victims who are therefore, reluctant to report the crime. So, a rape could occur every two minutes. If you spend 20 minutes reading this paper, 10 rapes could occur by the time you lay it down. Even at the lowest estimates, two rapes will have occurred by the time you finish. Personal threat Rape is a complex crime and not one I find easy to write about in 70 lines or less. The spectre of rape is a very personal threat to myself and every other woman whether she is a child of nine or an elderly person of 82. The possibility of being raped goes beyond my chances of being robbed. Rape is a tool of oppression-nearly every victim is female, nearly every criminal is male and it markedly alters my lifestyle and makes me suspicious of half the human population. I am constantly aware of my vulnerable position in this society. Despite the inroads made by the feminist movement and the re-examination of male-female roles, aided by the gay movement, women still are largely in a caste defined by passivity. Our needs and desires have historically been defined by males and subjugated to their historical role of dominance. Act of domination Rape is an act of extreme violence, it has nothing to do with a driving sexual desire of the male. It is an act of domina tion. And the myth still exist that the wo man "asked for it" and the male reaction, even by police and doctors, is too often, "did she enjoy it?" Enjoy it? Would you enjoy being threat ened, being forced to submit to an act of physical violence and violation against not only your body, but your soul as well? Would you want to go to court as a plaint iff and have to defend your lifestyle and re live in excruciating detail a personal viola tion to an audience which condones the male right to the female body? That's the heart of the crime. Too often the injury-physical and personal-is over looked. An act of sexual violence is viewed as an act of sexual fulfillment. Classical rape paintings works by Rembrandt and Rubens-are classified as erotica and the portrayal of brutality is absent. Human legacy The historically romantic picture of rape is part of the human legacy, the male's right to take what he desires from the fe male. Not too many states will recognize a charge of rape brought against husband by wife. Marriage is an institution that implies female consent to male aggression. Most rapes occur indoors and if a wo man lets a man in, whether he is a stranger or a "friend," courts tacitly agree that she also let him into her body. But, if he robs you, few will say that she consented to the robbery and courts will whole-heartedly plunge into prosecution. Must a woman resist to the point that she is murdered in cold blood or mutilated before society will accept that she did not ask for it and assume that she did not enjoy it? Broaden your horizons Saturday and learn the dimensions of rape. Rape Aware ness Day, sponsored by the Lincoln-Lancaster Commission on the Status of Women is in the Nebraska Union from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be films, lectures, work shops and a demonstration of self-defense techniques. I find being a woman a great fullfill ment, despite the hazards and the pre judices, but it is unfortunate many in dividuals find that being a man is a license to practice violence and aggression. When I talked to you last week, I thought I made it specifically clear that I was not the one who called the police (in the case with Anthony Steels), the neighbors did. I also specified that 1 was not the one who filed charged against him. The city attorney filed the charges. And because of the story that was printed in last Thursday's Daily Nebraskan, people made the assumption that I had. When I said that I would feel a lot better if he went to see a doctor -I was not implying that I thought he was crazy. When discussing this whole situation with Anthony's coach, the fact was brought up that Anthony had been under a great deal of pressure-which probably the reason he acted the way he did on the night of Sept. 18. I really don't understand why Anthony should have to receive any more punishment, for he's gone through enough hell over this already. If Anthony's scholarship is taken away and he's kicked off the football team (plus anything worse that might happen), it'll be me whoU be paying for it. I know for a fact, that IU be feeling guilty about it for the rest of my life. Terri L. Dickey Editor's note: The Dairy Nebraskan did NOT report that Dickey filed charges. The Daily Nebraskan got information about the alleged assault from police reports. I Cheap shots As a journalist, I am becoming a little frustrated with the almost daily cheap shots that the Daily Nebraskan is taking at ASUN. I learned the same things you did in J406, folks, but I think you are carrying the "adversary relationship" a bit too far. Journalists will always be fighting closed meetings, but that doesn't color the fact that they are occasionally a necessary evil. When you are dealing with student reporters (even for such a reputable student paper as the Daily Nebraskan) there is always the danger of people being misquoted or quoted out of context on delicate issues. I also can understand ASUN's not wanting to open the subject (recall of student appointees) to endless and possibly hostile or personal debate. In his editorial (Wednesday,), L. Kent Wolgamott accuses the senate of ignoring popular opinion. My observation is that ASUN is soliciting popular opinion. That was the purpose of the public hearing held Tuesday night, Oct. 3. The real issue here is what was done, not how it was done. I would hate to see what I feel is a good move by the ASUN fail to gain the student support that it deserves because the Daily Nebraskan has confused the issue with their constant complaints about a closed meeting. Margy Meister