The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, September 23, 1982, Page Page 4, Image 4
Thursday, September 23, 1982 Page 4 Daily Nebraskan run in- i i ii i ...i - i . ii i inrrn rrm mtmm i'l pmW nelis laVei5! met oblisatioti mmrmm , Ted Koppel had an imprccsive'lincup on AfctTs ltline" Monday evening. Official after official, ftom this country and the Middle East, appeared on the program and said (hey believed Israel is not to fclame for the recent massacre of Palestinian refuse Ths" Fagin edministration however,1 Tuesday declared that Israel, "must shoulder the responsibility, for the massacres , . , because it was in control of the city," The Associated Press reported. The administration's view is right. When a military force sots itself up as the protector - as Israelis did when they ousted the Fekstine liberation Orgoniza tics from Lebanon - it 'takes on the obligation to protect those left behind. In this case, the Palestinian guerrillas who left west Beirut were assured that their refuses would be guarded from harm. They weren't, Earlier reports tcid us that the Israelis sealed off the area around two refuse camps and allowed members of a rightist Christian military force to enter. So while the Israelis were supposedly safeguarding the fort -and in fact had control of Beirut - they Jet through the murderers, Israel had not been implicated for the actual killing of what is believed to be in excess of 200 people, but letting through the Phalangist militia is acting as an accessory to the slaughter. State department spokesman John Hughes said "If you assume military control of an area, you are re sponsible for what happens there " , And the chairman of the House Foreign Affau Committee said "the fact they (Israel) permitted the militia to go through their lines and into the camps was an act of bad judgment . - ' ?t was more than bad judgment It was an approba tion of murder. s - The United States should continue to resist that the massaci-e at the Shatlla and the Sabra camps be ravestK gated. If this country refuses to lead the Investigation (White House Deputy Press Secretary tarry Speaker Tuesday said that the United States "would not under take such an investigation), then some other govern, ment or group should do so. Further, . Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin should fully cooperate with an investigation, thus tar, i the Israeli government has rejected calls for an inouiry That rejection imputes guilt of the Israelis. If country wants to clear itself of accusations that they directed, the Phalangtets to kill the refugees, it should, invite the fullest investigation possible, Spei&es said in announcing the United States would not pursue an investigation, "we feel the facts .will come out." . They will. But Israelis ought to offer the facta - be fore they "come out" if they wish to squash under standable cries that Israel played a part in slaying 200 plus Palestinian refugees. Protestors viewed as an amusement I'm always curious when I see a college student carry ing a picket sign these days. You still see them once in a while; when I do, I wonder why they're doing it. Back in the late '60s and early 70s, I knew why they did it. They did it because it was cool. I don't mean to cast doubt on the sincerity of those Bob Greene long-ago protesters; most of them seemed to believe pas sionately in the causes they were marching for. But the fact is, it was a fashionable thing to do. No more. Which is why, when I see a line of protesters at a public event in 1982, 1 wonder what motivates them. So I talked with a genuine, 1982, picket-carrying college protester. His name is Gary Prichard, a sophomore at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, 111., and JNeOTaMcaa Patti Gallagher Daniel M. Shattil Jerry Scott Kitty Policky Lori Siewert Betty Miller Leslie Kendrick Melinda Norm Sue Jepten Richard Rolofton David Wood Larry Sparks David Luebke Dave Bant! Craig Andresen Robert Crisler Carol Fehr Doug Neti, 472-2454 Don Walton. 473 7301 Leslie Boellstorff Mary Ellen Behne John G. Goecke Margie Hon Susan MacDonald Patty Pryor Duane Retilaff Michaele Thuman THE DAILY NEBRASKAN (USPS 144-080) IS PUB LISHED BY THE UNL PUBLICATIONS BOARD MON DAY THROUGH FRIDAY DURING THE FALL AND SPRING SEMESTERS, EXCEPT DURING VACATIONS. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO THE DAILY NEBRASKAN. RM. 34 NEBRASKA UNION, 8533. SUBSCRIPTIONS: S13SEMESTER, $25 YEAR. SECOND CLASS POSTAGE PAID AT LINCOLN, NE BRASKA. ALLMATERIALCOPYRIGHT 1S32 DAILY NEBRASKAN EDITOR GENERAL MANAGER ADVERTISING MANAGER PRODUCTION MANAGER MANAGING EDITOR NEWS EDITOR ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITORS NIGHT NEWS EDITOR ASSISTANT NIGHT NEWS EDITOR ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR SPORTS EDITOR ART DIRECTOR PHOTO CHIEF ASSISTANT PHOTO CHIEF GRAPHICSLAYOUT ASSISTANT ADVERTISING MANAGER PUBLICATIONS BOARD CHAIRMAN PROFESSIONAL ADVISER COPY EDITORS the son of a well-to-do family. "It's very weird being a picketer today," Prichard told me. "My 'causes' are . . . El Salvador, South Africa and nuclear arms. When President Reagan spoke at Eureka College's commencement ceremonies, I went there to picket. I have also picketed at Illinois State University; once was when North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms came to speak, and once was when Secretary of Health and Human Services Richard Schweicker came to speak." I asked Prichard if the other students and townspeople had reacted angrily to his protesting. "Not really," he said. "That was the funny thing. There was a small, group of us protesting, and it was almost as if we were on display at an amusement. People didn't get angry at the sight of us. They were almost glad to see us. "Parents came up to us with their children, and point ed at us, and explained what we were. They took snap shots of us. It was like, This is a protester. This is what things used to be like.' " He said that other college students treat protesters not so much with disdain as with bemusemcnt. "There are basically two groups of college students these days," he said. "The first is the group that likes to party. They just get drunk or get stoned - whatever it takes to alter their minds. 'The second group is the business majors. They're in college to try to get ahead. The only thing on their minds is getting a good job when they get out of college. They tend to be pretty bright people, but they would never protest." Prichard said that even though he realizes being a protester is not in fashion, he is glad he's doing it. "I've been spoiled, growing up as comfortably as I did when other people had nothing," he said. "I can't help it that I grew up in an upper-middle-class suburban family, but at least I can take a stand on issues I think are important. "And I do it for a selfish reason, too. I think you tend to meet a good group of people when you're picketing. Picketers are usually very well-informed about issues So you can learn a lot just by talking with the people you're protesting with." One thing Prichard insists he isn't doing is attempting to recapture some of the glamour of the 1960s. "Some people might think that," he said. "But really, 1 don't know all that much about the '60s. I was only 7 years old when the '60s ended, remember. "I realize that I could be accused of trying to be part of the romantic image of the radical protester. I honestly don't think that's the case. There arc a few people who do that, and you can pick them out pretty easily. "I don't agree with people who do that. This is the '80s now, and I don't think some of that stuff is really appropriate. . . I'll bet a lot of them were just mere be cause there were big groups of people, and free music. In a way, they were conformists - they were conforming by being nonconformists." He said he hopes he can never be accused of that. "There aren't enough of us around that you could ever say that," he said. "Almost all of the college students I know . . . realize there are problems in the world, but they figure they can't do anything about those problems. So they just stay apathetic. "Some students see me and tell me they think I'm doing a good thing. They don't join in, though. It's not those people who bother me. The ones who take pictures though - I could do without that." 11 1832. Tribune Co. Syndicate, Inc. r&& Letters Ayatollah supported I am writing to clarify a subject printed in Daily Nebraskan Sept. 9, 1982, about the Islamic revolution in Iran and its leader, Ayatollah Khomeini. Two subjects need to be discussed. First is the nature of the people spreading propaganda against the Islamic revolution. They are members of a terrorist organization that is hated in Iran because of its horrible crimes against the Iranian people (bombing railroad stations, setting fire to public bus stations, killing prominent Islamic leaders in the weekly Friday prayers and killing an old woman who had reported her terrorist sons). The western media do not report these crimes, because they want only news about the trials and executions of the "criminals." Second is the action of people who show Ayatollah Khomeini as a torturer who kills innocent people. As a supporter of the Islamic revolution, how should I demonstrate the crimes of these people? Should I set fire to a bus loaded with children or blast a building to kill more than 72 people at once? In a society like Iran where laws are based on the rules of Allah, people believe in capital punishment. What should the government do? Give criminals the Nobel Peace Prize? Or punish them based on the rules that people believe in? The Islamic republic government in Iran is working for the people and people are fully supporting it. The existence of that government is the best evidence of support. Iran still has many problems to solve, but with the faith that people have in their government and them selves, they will manage the problems and overcome the shortcomings. Mohammad Sadeghi graduate student, accounting Pleased with life With regard to Julia O'Gara's column of Sept. 20, I feel we all believe in the "sanctity of life - primarily our own. Ninety-nine and nine-tenths percent of us probably are fairly pleased that we are alive. But how many of us would not be here if abortions had been as convenient and as easy to obtain 25 years ago as they are in 1982 and if the pro-choice mentality was as prevalent then as it is today? Could you be certain that your parents would not have aborted you because of congenital deformities, mental retardation, rape, incest or failure of birth con trol? We adamantly insist on our right to be here and go to great lengths to protect our own lives, yet we cannot manage to extend the courtesy of life to every human being regardless of their stage of development or level of dependency. We're too busy looking out for No.l. Jean Schmit junior, international affairs Non-traditional fans This letter is in response to Bill Allen's comments (Daily Nebraskan, Sept. 16) about the ages of ticket holders and seat-takers in the student sections at the football games. Some of the people Allen is concerned about might very well be members of a growing group on campus the non-traditional students. The number of non-traditional students on the university is approximately 22 percent of the total student population. Older students usually are married and may purchase two tickets, which may be used by the spouse or by any children living at home. AH student tickets have this information printed on the back. Perhaps Allen should be more careful in his descrip tion of the people in attendance at the footoall games and be aware that there may be an explanation for the age differences in the student sections other than the misuse of tickets by students. Non-Traditional Students Association members Mark Mundorff junior, agricultural economics Mary Jarzynka sophomore, engineering Marge Thomsscn senior, consumer affairs School 'not harmful9 The Sept. 9 Daily Nebraskan editorial about the Rev. fcverctt SJcven of Faith Baptist School confuses me. The article gave no indication that SOcvenV school has harmed anyone. It cites no harm done to Faith Baptist students, its employees, its parishinen or the general community. It is not clear that jail is the appropriate way to deal with people whose only demonstrated harm to the com munity it running a private school. Fred Barney UNL instructor, agricultural economics