The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, January 16, 1984, Page Page 4, Image 4
Daily Nebraskan Monday, Jer.ucry 1G, MZ n 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. .,,,.,.....,,1. ,,r( r y 3L If I 3 v st yinm TTTTTi i ) J 1 USA 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.-'