thursday, february 7, 1980
daily nebraskan
page 5
The Feb. 1 Nebraskan reported that a
suit may be filed attempting to shut down
the student groups who brought Josh
McDowell to campus. Perhaps a suit which
brings the UNL religious policy under scru
tiny i3 overdue. The policy prohibits UNL
student groups from holding meetings
which include testimony or worship. The
reasons given revolve around the concept
of separation of church and state. UNL
buildings are owned by the state, therefore
use of the buildings for religious events,
violates separation of church and state.
Unfortunately, the university is not just
any clump of state-owned buildings. It is
an institution set up by the state to
promote learning, research, and investiga
tion: to educate. But surely this requires a
free exchange of ideas. Under current
policy, student groups on campus can or
ganize -a program which discusses or advo
cates any sort of idea, except religious .
ideas. They could tell about any sort of
experience (testimony), except religious
experience. They could bring in a speaker
to challenge students to take any sort of .
action or make any sort of commitment
to Marxism, humanism, the Good Life,
laziness, drunkeness, to hard work or free
love-to anything as long as they did not
give a religious challenge. Why is it that '
religion is singled out as the taboo subject?
Separation of church and' state is
certainly an important constitutional con
sideration, but surely it is not more impor
tant than freedom of speech. Indeed, one
purpose in preventing the establishment of
a state religion is to ensure that people may
believe and express their beliefs without
hindreance. Surely the idea was not to have
a state where no religious idea could be
presented, but rather where every Religious
idea could be presented.
Yet we have a letter to the editor saying
that the writer was tired of having "Chris
tianity shoved down his throat" at UNL.
But who forced him to hear the Christian
doctrine taught or discussed? No one. Who
forced him to go to Josh McDowell or any
other religious speaker or any speaker at
all? No one. Why then does he wish to pre
vent others from hearing whom they
choose? Is he interested in freedom of
thought or restriction of thought?
I hope the day will never come when
religious expression is more restricted at
UNL than it is today. Students who are in
volved in religious groups should have the
same rights as other students. A pro-choice
group can sponsor a pro-abortion speaker.
An Iranian group can sponsor a pro-Iranian ,
speaker. A Christian group ought to be able
to sponsor a pro-Jesus speaker. No one is
asking that ASUN of the university fund
religious speakers. But religious students
also pay tuition and fees, and they should
have the right to use the facilities like any
other group would for a. speaker of their
choice.
.Students who care little about religion
should still be concerned about this issue.
If pressures can be placed on those in
authority to restrict the flow of ideas in
one area (religion), then do not doubt that
it could be done in other areas under other
circumstances. We must hope that the UNL
regents and administrators will take the
shackles off the free discussion of religious
belief at UNL. -
Terry J. Christlieb
Editor of Celebration
Boycott questions '
Shelley Smith's "Boycott" editorial
(Feb. 1) raised a few questions in my mind.
Because this country made a mistake
(implied by Smith, accepted by me) in not ,
boycotting the 1936 Berlin Olympics-does
this mean we should take similar action in
1980 to avoid being labeled as "hypo
crites?" Does. Smith consider the actions taken
by President Carter and Congress in rela-
tion to the boycott on the same level as the
"terrorist murders of 1 1 Israeli athletes?" I
doubt it. Yet Smith lumps the two actions
together as similar political tinkering with
the Olympics. It makes for a persuasive
argument if you're an individual who dis
likes differentiating between apples and
oranges.
I understand that Smith is the sports
editor and a writer for the .Daily Nebras
kan. Covering the domestic "Big Red" can
be extremely enlightening. I question,
however, if it gives one the expertise to
make blanket claims on what effects an
Olympic boycott will or will not have in
Afghanistan or any other part of the world.
Smith assumes that a hypothetical world
boycott of an American Olympics would
have had no effect on our Vietnam inter
vention. I seriously question that assump
tion since domestic and world opinion
heavily influenced that conflict.
Smith states that games will go on in
Moscow with or without a boycott.' At the
present the United States and at least 29 '
other countries are likely to boycott Mos
cow. Additional nations might join later.
Pravda and Smith might consider that the
Olympics as usual but I would not.
One thing that I find particularly con
fusing: Smith's main point (besides Ameri
ca's hypocrisy) is that we are hurting ath
letes and, in essence, the Olympic ideal
that revolves around them. However, Smith
early on bases her arguments on the pre
mise that the Olympics have always had
political- undertones. Smith, if we are to
take her seriously, believes the Olympics,
as they were initially conceptualized, have
never existed. Yet she uses this nori-exis-tant
"ideal" to criticize an American boy
cott. I will not try to completely refute
Shelley Smith's claim that America is a
hypocrite. I will say, however, that if it is,
it is no more guilty of that "crime"
than Shelley Smith or the Olympic Games
themselves.
Don Tremain .
Nebraska ETV staff
Oil nationalization 'mistake9
Americans will continue ' to feel the
pinch on their pocketbooks as they fill up
with gas during the coming year. At least
that's the message the chairman of the
Phillips Petroleum Co. brought to Lincoln.
William F. Martin, the company's chief
executive officer, told Lincoln newsmen
Wednesday that "the general prospect is
that prices will continue, to rise, but at a
more moderate rate than they have been
increasing at in the past couple of years."
Martin was in town to address the Town
and Gown Breakfast Forum on the future
energy situation.
c're really at the mercy . of the
foreign oil exporting countries," Martin
said.
As long as the price of raw materials,
especially petroleum, continues to rise, the
price at neighborhood gas pumps will climb
as well, he said.
In the last few days, for example, the
price of oil coming out of Nigeria and Iran
has increased by $2 to $3 a barrel, he said.
1 think the govermcnt is too involved
in the oil business," Martin said. Most of
the regulatory measures, while some are
justified, are counter-productive to main
taining a supply of petroleum."
Martin projected that the government
would collect more than $227 billion from
the oil companies with the windfall profit
tax during the next years and probably
would 'not know how to use this."
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