Daily Nebraskan
Monday, Jer.ucry 1G, MZ
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P?33 4
High drinking a
Nebraska rarely h credited with beginning trends,
but the Legislature hzs the chance to start one with
LB56. It would be nice to see them take advantage of
that opportunity.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. William E. Nlchol of
Scottsbluff and Sen. Howard Peterson of Grand
Island, would raise the state's legal drinking age
from 20 to 21 effective next Jan. 1. It was given 28-13
first round approval last week, but still must clear
two more legislative hurdles and receive Gov. Ker
rey's signature to become law.
Proponents of LB5S argue that raising the drink
ing age without a corresponding increase in neigh
boring states would cause young drivers to take to
the road to consume liquor thereby increasing
alcohol-related traffic deaths.
Those concerns are valid. Some young adults,
especially those who live near states in which the
legal drinking age b lower, will take to the road to
purchase alcohol But for most Nebraskans, cross-
ing the border for a few cold ones simply would not
be practical or affordable.
Regardless, the solution is not, as some have sug
gested, to sit back and wait for other states to take
the first step. This time, Nebraska can take the lead
and let other midwestern states follow suit.
LD56 does not, of course, solve the problem of
teen-agers having their beer purchased by people of
legal ae. But as the gap between high school stu
dents and the legal drinking age grows, teen-agers
will find fewer "buyers," which can only lead to a
lower highway death tolL
Speaking before the Legislature last spring, Nat
ional Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim
Burnett said 5,000 teenagers are killed and 130,000
are injured each year in alcohol-related traffic
deaths.
He estimated that if every state were to raise its
legal drinking age to 21, about 1,250 of those lives
would be saved annually.
3
may' -mean xewer ue&ot
Many, including the majority of UNL students,
view the consumption of alcohol as a right and will
no doubt oppose LE5S. But far too many of these
people fail to recognize that with every riht comes a
responsibility. . ; - ..
Federal statistics indicating alcohol is involved in
about 50 percent of the nation's highway fatalities
suggest that many who exercise their ri;;ht to drink
neglect their responsibility to stay off the roaSs.
Still, Sen. David Newell of Omaha was quoted
Thursday in the Lincoln Journal Z3 questioning
whether the proper solution was "to take rights
away from the vast majority that are not picked up,
that do not have problems, so we can save the lives
of a few?"
The answer to his question is yes. Make no mistake
about it, raising the drinking age would be an incon
venience to the law-abiding young adults who know
how to drink in moderation. But if it would keep
even one drunk driver off the road, if it would save
even one life, surely it would be worth it.
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Letters
Racism isn 't 'humor 9
: I am writing this letter in response,
to the very offensive advertisement
that was written and published in the
"Classless Ads" section of the Daily
Harassment (Dec. 16). The ad appeared
at the very beginning of the wanted
section and made several racist state--ments.
In fact, the entire ad was tainted
with racist comments and conno
tations. While I understand the idea behind
the Daily Harassment, I fail to find the
humor or appropriateness of the "ad
vertisement." There is a distinct differ
ence between satire. and racism. This,
ad was very deliberate and malicious -in
its communication and has nojegit
imate place in any publication, whether
it is serious or more "light-hearted."
The Daily Nebraskan has been con-.
fronted before by concerned individu
als who continue to be offended by
racist and sexist journalism. I feel we
have a definite responsibility to con
front racism and sexism as they occur.
' My hope is that the Daily Nebraskan"
staff will be more sensitive in their
writing. It is not appropriate to have a
laugh at the expense of other individu-:
als. ; - - - ..y.;
Dolores Simpson-Kirklazid
Assistant to the Dean of Students
Osbbrne::tinet!dcd& I
The two improprieties that surfaced
on national television coverage of the
Nebraska-Miami game were very re
vealing of Tom Osborne's attitude to
ward the law, ethics and morality.
As the press quoted it: "Offensive
guard, Dean Steinkuhler, toted a
fumbled ball and scored a touchdown."
This, of course, is legal, except that the
ball was not fumbled. Even Osborne,
who used the play in 1 930, knew it was
questionable enough to discuss it with
the officials before the. game so that
there would be no chance of a penalty.
If there is any question about the
ethics of the two incidents, multiply
them by ten. Every player on the field
can carry the ball Just lay it on the
ground, any place, for a lineman to
pick it up and run with it. Pandemo
nium! And as for exchanging jerseys,
which is even worse as far as maintain
ing order, fair play and organization in
football, Osborne probably hasn't heard
the end of this.
R.M. Patterson
Fresno, Calif.
Osborne praised
Regarding Coach Tom Osborne's
decision to go for two points, rather
than one: Champions never settle for a
tie, they go for the win.
Congratulations, Cornhuskers, on a
fine season. See you in February. Roll
on, Big Eight! -- -
Bernie Maroney
Chairman, Sooner Rally Council
and Wrestling Mascot
' University of Oklahoma
Allen furnishes resolutions,
hope and plenty of promises
It seems like this time of year eve
ryone b always asking you what your
New Year's resolutions are.
Of course, heading the list are
things like losing weight, being kinder,
not drinking and studying more.
Setting resolutions can be a good
way to accomplish some personal
goals, but as with most goal setting,
people tend to be unrealistic about
what they want to obtain. Instead of
stating a specific objective, they tend
to overgeneralize and are then unable
to meet a specific quantitative goal.
Take the case of "I will study more."
' Stated like that, it is very hard to
notice results in your study patterns.
In order to really study more, one
should first examine the patterns of
study one had in the past and then
make changes.
For example, in the past you've stu
died "in your spare time" or just before
the exam. V
To accomplish the resolution, you
should make a statement like "I will
study three hours every school night".
Then stick to that goal No matter
what. As a reward you might add
something like, "And every Friday I will
reward myself by getting totally
wasted at an FAC." That's for my
friends. If you dont drink, you might
say something like "And every Satur
day I will reward myself by seeing a
movie or doing some other special
Day to do this kind of thing for myself.
This setting up a system of specific
goals and rewards for yourself will
help you to pin your larger objective.
It takes hard work and discipline, but
eventually you'll find that, in the case
of our example, you study more.
I usually dont wait until New Year's
day to do this kind of thing for myself.
If I have something I want to change
about my behavior, I try to work out a
system like the one I described above,
no matter what time of year it is. As a
matter of fact, I usually dont make
New Year's resolutions because I don't
want to do it just because it's that time
of year.
This year, however, I've decided to
make some specific resolutions for my
columns. I want to set some specific
goals, and try to live up to them. I'd like
to share these resolutions with you
here. As you might know, I write an
editorial column, and also a humor
column on the sports page. Ill indicate
which column I'm talking about in
each resolution. :. '
Purpose I would like to think that
I write my editorial columns for a pur
pose. For instance, the first half of this
one was designed to give people some
ideas on realistic goal setting. Before I
write an editorial column, 111 try to
have some purpose clearly in mind. As
far as my sports humor column is con
cerned, I'm going to try to have very
little purpose in mind. I just want to
entertain and have fun.
Objectivity News stories are ob
jective. Ideally, they should not con
tain opinions of the writer. This column
is not a news story. I am given free rein
to express my opinions. I strive for
accuracy, but at the same time I re
solve never to shrink from expressing
my opinion. At the same time, the edi-
tor ana i welcome anyone vvno nas a,
differing opinion to send letters. And
believe me, you guys have responded in
the past.
Fratcrr,it;:3 111 try net to take
cheap shots at sororities anymore.
I'm against the Greek system, but for
what I feel are some very sound rea-
sons. I've always been fair in that rea
soning by pointing out their strong'
points as well I have many friends in
fraternities. To reward myself for this,
I will alloT myself to take an occa
sional cheap shot at sorcrtics. V;
CsrerTiles .; 111 try not "to takej
cheap shots at sororoities anymore.
Fm, against the Greek system, but for
what I feel are some; very sound rea:
sons. I've always been fair in ths.t rea
soning by pointing out their strong
pomts as weiL i nave many menus in
sororities. My girlfriend Is even in a
sorority. To reward myself for this I.
will allow myself to take an occasional
cheap shot at fraternities.
very upset last semester when I re
ceived a phone call from a woman who
said I had occasionally been deroga
tory toward non-traditional students.
I don't think this is accurate and if so,
wasnt intentional. I will make an effort
to be extra-careful in clarifying my
comments on specific groups in the
future. Sometimes this is harder to do
in my humor column, because I write it
for entertainment. I would feel badly,
however, if I were funny at the expense
of an individual or group without sound
reasoning.
I Love Lticy I promise never to
write a column on how I'm the only
person in America who never thought ;
Lucille Ball was funny.
' These' are just some things I want to
work on. I encourage all of you to set
realistic goals for yourself and strive to
accomplish them this year.
Here's an easy one. "I resolve to read
Bill Allen's columns every Monday and
Thursday" .
' Good luck with the' new semester.-'
