page 4
daily nebraskan
Wednesday, april 0, 1080
Nuclear industry must regain public confidence
With the first anniversary of the
nuclear accident at Three Mile Is
land, two outcomes are definitely
clear. One is healthy for the nu
clear industry while the other may
cripple it to a point that the first
country to develop a nuclear plant
may take a back seat in providing
nuclear power behind such count
ries as the Soviet Union and
France.
Within five years, France hopes
to get 50 percent of its electrical
energy from the atom while Rus
sians hope to boost nuclear power
from 2 to 10 percent of that
nation's total energy share. At the
same time, the United States may
be continuing a slowdown which
has seen nuclear-generated electri
cal power drop from 13 percent
before last year's accident to 10.6
percent for 1979.
But many good moves have
been made since the combination
of mechanical malfunctions and
operator errors that night on
Three Mile Island more than a
year ago.
According to Time, all 2,500
U.S. licensed reactor operators
have gone through the sequence
which occurred at Three Mile Is
land and regularly drill to handle
multiple failures.
The industry already has started
implementing more than 100
changes in plant designs recom
mended by the Nuclear Regu
latory Commission and three
plants were closed earlier this year
for failing. to meet NRC require
ments. Utilities are permanently
assigning an additional expert to
each shift who is free of routine
duties and can monitor safety in
dicators. President Carter announced a
permanent waste repository pro
gram on Feb. 14.
But the nuclear industry must
regain public confidence if it is to
continue to serve the needs of an
energy-starved country. Another
mess-up such as Three Mile Island
will not only be costly for the nu
clear industry, but the public in
general.
Little is known about a similar
event in 1977 at Toledo Edison's
Davis-Besse plant where operators
made the same mistake as Three
Mile Island of turning off emer
gency cooling pumps. The mistake
was detected in time, however,
and the reactor quickly brought
back to normal.
there is going to be some kind of
danger involved. The danger must
be overcome by a responsible in
dustry and government.
The time has come for careful
scrutiny of the nuclear industry
along with a touch of tempered
reality for anti-nuclear idealists.
Harry Alien Strunk
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Wide range of reasons draw foreigners to UNL
Editor's note: This is the second column in a two-part
series discussing reasons why foreign students come to
the United States and to UNL.
Many UNL international students attended other uni
versities before coming here. Some come to pursue an ad
vanced degree or specialized studies, but there are other
'did
reasons for switching schools.
Kayvan, from Iran, said, "The university I was going to
in Tehran was under pressure to shut down from the
former government. The professors went on strike, and so
with no classes to attend, I decided to come to the U.S. to
study."
He came to UNL because it was the first of several
schools to accept him, and the only one which notified
him in time for him to get a visa to study in the United
States.
Khossrow Manssouri had problems getting into the
overcrowded university system in Iran. But for the archi
tecture senior, UNL wasn't his first college experience.
"I first went to a junior college in Michigan. I got tired
of seeing Iranians all over the place, and came to UNL be
cause of this and its good architecture program," he said.
English isn't the native language of most of the foreign
students here but is widely spoken in international situa
tions. A desire to improve their English brings many stu
dents to English-speaking countries.
I have been reading the newspaper on and off during
this semester, but Monday's editorial by the Editor-in-Chief
tops all. It is the straw that broke the camel's back.
Being the Editor-in-Chief of this campus newspaper
you have the sacred duty towards the wellbeing of the stu
dent body, and that is to help make this campus a better
place to live on, for all students, wherever they may be
from. Instead, you are enticing a riot or even a lynch mob.
With your personal editorial you are breaking every rule
of good journalism; personal, biased involvement.
I agree, the hostage situation has gone too far, but this
doesn't mean every Iranian in the United States should be
punished. Isn't their being here enough reason to show
that they want to live here and not in Iran? What will
happen to the free society existing now in this civilized
country when professional" journalists start promoting
concentration camps through personal articles?
In the future I hope that you will try to visualize the
effects of such before you print them. I am sure that you
do not want to take the responsibility of instigating any
Violent reactions which may occur.
t . TareefNashashibi
Senior, Mechanical Engineering
Editor! note: Monday! editorial stated that Sen. S.I.
Hayakawa's, R-Calif., idea to intern Iranians in concen
tration camps in America was farfetched.
Constitutional guardians
I read with interest your March 14, 1980 editorial. I
share your respect for the work of Media of Nebraska in
the area of protecting First Amendment rights. As
director of the Nebraska Civil liberties Union (NCLU), I
have had the opportunity to work with the organization
on several issues of mutual concern.
However, Media of Nebraska is not the only champion
of First Amendment rights in Nebraska. The NCLU,
founded in 1967, is an organization devoted to the pro
motion and protection ot the entire bill of Rights. The
NCLU is an affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union
which was founded in 1920.
First among the concerns of the NCLU is protecting
First Amendment rights. As you know, the First Amend
ment to the United States Constitution, besides protecting
a free press, also establishes freedom to petition the
government.
The 13-year history of the NCLU is replete with litiga
tion concerning free expression. In fact, the very first case
to be litigated by the NCLU involved a successful con
stitutional challenge to a loyalty oath required by state
government as a condition of employment.
Continued on fage 5
Beatriz Montoya, a sophomore graphic design major
from Venezuela, said, "English is the international
language, and I want to learn it better. Americans are
easier to get along with than the English, so I came here."
Students from Japan, Nigeria, and several other countr
ies reported that the universities' policy strictness at home
caused them to apply at UNL.
Kohoru Tanaka, a Japanese environmental engineering
junior, said, "I became interested in anthropology while
studying at home, but couldn't switch majors. That's why
I came here. Now, I'm studying anthropology."
Tony Ofili, from Nigeria, also wanted to switch majors
but couldn't do so in Nigeria without losing his academic
standing.
Although some people complain about Nebraska's
apparent lack of landscape, it was just that plains environ
ment that lured Anthony Simon here from Trinidad and
Tobago.
The sophomore in engineering commented, "When I
decided to attend a university in the United States, some
how I always wanted to go to one of the midwestern
states. In geography class in high school, we heard about
the prairies, large farms, and cowboys or cattlemen -that's
how I imagined it to be here. This had a sort of
romantic appeal to me,"
Quique Gallardo, a sophomore engineering major from
Puerto Rico, observed that They have a good program
here for foreign students. But sometimes they consider me
foreign, sometimes not.
"The financial help is pretty good; and this encouraged
me to stay here. The reason why first came is a friend
who was here told me about the engineering program, and
I liked what he said about it.
Sports also attract foreign students to Nebraska, but
it's not football they're interested in.
UNL's women's track and men's swimming teams,
among others, have members from overseas.
Normalee Murray, a journalism freshman, said, "Most
Jamaican athletes, like myself, come to the United States
for competition, because you have better training facilit
ies, and a lot more opportunities, in jobs for example."
Anders Rutqvist, a sophomore in engineering, said that
"in Sweden, we have no sports whatsoever at the univer
sities. If you want to attend a university, that means you
almost have to quit sports. That's one big reason why so
many Swedes are coming to the United States to study, so
they can participate in sports at the same time.
Some reasons aren't exactly earth-shaking. Mehdi
Alfatemi, a junior from Iran, said, "I was in California be
fore this but was looking for something else. A friend said
he was going somewhere else, maybe Nebraska, so I said,
t)K,whynotrM
Maisun Allahiq, a senior from Saudi Arabia, said she is
here 'because it's a different country. I dont have any
really profound reason for doing something or for being
here-! just am.w
