thursday, augurt 27, 1981
paga4
daily nebraskan
.Eeag
am mis:
informed m Title IX
A recent decision by the Reagan administra
tion to review federal laws prohibiting sex dis
crimination in public education strikes a note
of apprehension, especially in light of the
administration's known anti-feminist bias.
Vice President George Bush said the review
is part of an attack on federal regulations seen
by Reagan as necessary or counterproductive.
The president has said Title IX's guidelines are
too vague and burdensome for the 16,000
public school districts and 3,000 colleges and
universities it governs.
The Associated Press reported that Reagan
was concerned over provisions requiring
schools to pay male and female coaches equal
salaries and to spend equal amounts for equip
ment, supplies and publicity.
The White House - obviously - is misin
formed. Title IX and its compliance rules were never
intended to ensure absolute equality in the
amount of money spent by schools on men's
and women's programs.
But it does say there must be an equal
opportunity for men and women to participate
in all activities.
The rule does not require equal pay for male
and female coaches unless they do comparable
work and have the same qualifications and ex
perience. It does require schools to provide equipment
for the same quality and to provide equality in
scheduling and practice times, in travel allow
ances and opportunities for coaching, academic
tutoring and medical attention.
Title IX also requires that women athletes
receive an amount of scholarship money equal
to the proportion of women to men in the
school's athletic program.
June Davis, UNL women's athletic director,
said Title IX has made people aware of the dis
parityln men's and women's programs and has
provided guidelines to close the gap.
Title IX was passed in 1972 and its first
compliance rules were written in 1975 and
were revised in 1979. Davis said that since
1975 the growth in UNL's women's athletic
department has been astonishing.
In 1975, the entire budget for women's
sports was $80,000. There were only two full
time employees in the department and no full
time coaches. No scholarship money for
women athletes was available.
.The budget for the 1981-82 year is about
$1.1 million. Almost 150 women participate in
nine sports which support several full-time
coaches. Most of the athletes receive scholar
ships. Davis said Title IX was an impetus to equity.
Without it, she said, many programs will die on
the vine. The only problem with Title IX, Davis
said, is that there has been very little done to
investigate whether schools are complying.
If the administration must review Title IX,
one can only hope it is to add a little muscle to
the law. With the Reagan track record, that is
doubtful.
Reagan's decision to "review" the law is yet
another example of Reagan "doubletalk." He
may say he is for women's rights but his
actions don't show it.
If Reagan thinks women and women athletes
will lie down and die on this issue, he is mis
taken. The mandate doesn't stretch that far.
Kim Hachiya
Mandate myth accelerates conservatives' speed
Ever since assuming office, the president has been lying
to the American public. However, what is worse is that
there has been a concerted effort, especially among the
various segments of the press, to ignore the White House's
lies, half-truths and platitudes.
The result is a political movement that will dramatical
ly alter the future of our nation, and more importantly,
the well-being of each of us.
The welfare of the individual is of no concern in the
Reaganite philosophy, and will subsequently worsen be
cause of the neglect. But still the conservative bandwagon
stampedes on, fueled by the big lies and the emotional
attraction of simple solutions which ignore the facts.
It is easy for the president to say that it is time once
more for Americans to lead the good life that was meant
for us. But it is difficult to accomplish this goal merely
through the abolishing of self-doubt.
which have ever-widening impacts merely with a wink and
a smile.
Caught in the Reagan euphoria to which it helped give
birth, the news media has been timid in its criticism of
Reagan's policies. Thus the Reagan aura of invincibility
is enhanced and the conservative movement gathers still
more momentum, with no real foundation in truth.
While the popular press has been stroking its own repu
tation, the Democrats in Congress have become more loy
al than opposition. They allowed the president to usurp
their constitutional right of creating the budget legisla
tion, sacrificing ideals in the face of an adept advertising
campaign.
Congress has become a rubber stamp for any Reagan
proposal that does not overly fluster the public.
As an example of how to mislead by telling part of the
true story, we can look to the recent aggression against
Libya.
Of course, it appears reasonable that if attacked, Amer
ican planes should fire back. That part of the heroic tale
made headlines.
But on the back pages we are also told that such an
occurrence was foreseen, even prepared for, if the military
took its fleet into the disputed sea territory. During the
sea trials there were 44 instances ot Libyan planes making
contact with the American fleet.
During his plans for the symbolic return of American
power, Reagan forgot the individual concerns of his own
troops and the Libyan pilots, as well as the possible inter
national ramifications of his decision.
Because of his continual assault upon good sense, Rea
gan's words and actions must be judged more acutely. The
machinery of the conservative political movement is be
coming more powerful everyday..
Reagan must not be allowed to shrug off the report of
his 17 State of Union speech lies, simply because it was re
leased by Congress Watch, a noted "liberal organization."
He must not be allowed to get away with the platitudes
which support his very real actions, and are often the sole
means of support (i.e. defense spending).
There are people who disagree with our government's
recent movements, though they may be hard to see in the
covering smoke. Pick up one of those "left-wing" maga
zines, or perhaps simply listen more closely. Then tell
Reagan to stop lying.
Among the most pernicious of the White House lies
which are being given, and accepted as truths, are the
statements which attempt to forestall opposition through
reference to last November's mandate. According to the
Reagan mindset, this mandate is a free license for the con
servatives, to do with as they desire.
This attitude is not only antithetical to our democratic
tradition of free argument, which is the foundation of leg
islative houses, but it also negates the respect for minori
ty viewpoints necessary to avoid oppression.
Even if the dictatorial concept of a popular mandate
was acceptable, Reagan and his cohorts would have no
truthful rationale for presenting his election as one. There
was no landslide outside of the electoral college.
The fact that there was such an overwhelming imbal
ance of numbers within that system should provide inter
est primarily to human geographers. It lends credence to
the belief that American society has become increasingly
homogenized.
Regionality no longer affects opinions as sharply as it
has in previous elections. The popular vote was thus split
by about the same percentages in every state, except when
there were the outside influences of being the home of a
candidate or a colony.
Reagan's steamrolling ignores the millions who voted
for other candidates, and elected a Democratic House of
Representatives. It also forgets the masses that stayed
away from the voting booth.
Our president, and his self-acknowledged license to do
as he pleases, was chosen by less than one-fourth of the el
igible voters. The mandate of the non-voters may prove to
be the most important of all.
It should also be noted that while Reagan's popularity
in the polls is similar to Jimmy Carter's after comparable
lengths in office, Reagan's direct disapproval percentage is.
one of the highest after eight months in office. The man
date is a myth, constructed-for manipulative purposes.
Obviously, Reagan could not have done all his damage
- by himself. In times of insecurity, short-term appeasement
can be found in the idea of a popular leader. But a catch
phrase president cannot deal with ever-faster paced events
Jogging or drinking, take your choice
Several people have accused me lately of being anti
jogging. This is not true. If grown-up individuals prefer
running around in circles to sex (see "Jogging - The Key
to Celibacy" in the Journal of Sports Endocrinology),
that is their prerogative.
I do not jog because my avocation is social drinking
and jogging thus offers little challenge and no allure. Be
sides, no serious social drinker has time for both.
By social drinking I am not, of course, referring to the
mere consumption of alcohol. Any idiot can lock himself
up in a room and drink himself blotto. This requires
neither skill, intelligence nor competitiveness. When I
hear of a friend locking himself up in a room and drinking
himself blotto, I always say he might as well be jogging.
Which certainly proves I'm not anti-jogging.
No, the exhilaration of social drinking comes when one
publicly demonstrates one's ability to hold one's" liquor -
particularly if it is a Bloody Mary in a crowded room with
a white rug and the only place to set the wet glass down is
the pristine surface of the grand piano.
But reaching this pinnacle of social drinking is by no
means easy. Most great social drinkers, like tennis players
or violinists, start very young.
Usually, their earliest practice fields are the interiors of
old parked cars where they may remain comfortably seat
ed. Secure in the company of fellow neophytes and
shoddy upholstery, their errors of dexterity and intake are
viewed with tolerance and they are encouraged to press
on.
And they definitely need all the encouragement they
can get. For the initial challenge in social drinking is to get
the stuff down. It tastes vile. But after months or years of
practice, even the most callow youth can swallow such a
noxious, bitter substance as beer without a grimace.
He is then ready for the next rite of passage. The
initiate is led into a dimly lit room and downs at least
three youthful drinks, such as Beefeater gin and Coca
Cola. At this point he is confronted with an array of in
genious devices which test his hand-eye coordination.
These tests include pool, Pong, piriball and Space In
vaders and it is no coincidence that their greatest con
centration is to be found in neighborhood bavs.
Continued on Page 5
(( nebraskan
UPSP 144-180
Editorials do not necessarily express the opinions of the Daily
Nebraskan's publishers, the NU Board of Regents, the University
of Nebraska and its employees or the student body.
Editor: Tom Prentiss; Managing editor: Kathy Stokebrand;
News editor: Steve Miller; Associate news editors: Dan Epp. Kim
Hachiya, Alice Hrnicek; Night news editor: Martha Murdock;
Entertainment editor: Pat Clark; Sports editor: Larry Sparks; Art
airsctor: Dave Luebke; Photography chief: Mark Billingsley.
Copy editors: Linnea Fredrickson. Patti Gallagher, Bill Graf.
SL S V',J?.e.b Horton' BetJy Miller. Janice Pigaga. Phyllis
Schroeder. Reid Warren, Tricia Waters.
k".?USLn,Lman39er: Anne Shank-Volk; Production manager:
Mtty Policky; Advertising manager: Art K. Small; Assistant
advertising manager: Jerry Scott.
PmESi:ati,y,Boa cha'rperson: Margy McCleery. 472-2454.
5? advlser: Don Waton, 473-7301.
R,2!lu2 N?braskan is published by the UNL Publications
H5V-thr0Uflh FrWaV du'in9 the fall and spring semes
ters, except during vacations.
streftf Pa"Y Nebraskan. 34 Nebraska Union. 14th and R
Siu?' 6858a TetePh: 472-2588.!
th. rSS w 8V rePr,nted without permission if attributed to
sEoih ebraskan' W material covered by a copyright
Second class postage paid at Lincoln. Neb.. 6851 a