L!cndr, February 13.
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Every election year, someone pro
poses a change in the way we choose
our president. And every year, we con
tinue the long, almost comical election
process that has made us the laughing
stock of the free world.
Maybe it is time we start giving
serious consideration to changes in
our election system and maybe it is
time we allow incumbents to spend
more time in the White House and less
time out on the campaign traiL
With our current system, presiden
tial candidates place a great deal -of
emphasis on developing a bandwagon
effect by doing well in the early faces.
As a result, two relatively small states
Iowa and New Hampshire play a
major role in determining who repres
ents the parties in the November gen
eral election.
Meanwhile, many states are all but -left
out of the candidate-selection pro
cess. Nebraska's small number of dele
gates are not important by the time
the mid-May primary rolls around.
Therefore, the state gets little national
media coverage and rarely attracts
major candidate appearances.
Even California, which has its prim
ary in early June, usually plays a minor
role in selecting the major party can
didates. Even though California has
more delegates than any other state,
most races already are decided by the
time it gets around to selecting those
USA
1 ly?
Women need lounge
I am writing in response to your edi- .
torial in regards to the women's lounge
petitions (Daily Nebraskan Feb. 3). It
was very interesting. It seemed highly
emotional. I want you to know my side
of the story.
First of all, I left the petition in Room
1 17 because several notices and a peti
tion disappeared from the lounge. It
seemed only fair to allow people to
respond to the Union Board's notice.
(Which itself kept disappearing until a
glass-enclosed bulletin board was
brought in). I did not want my petition
to disappear also.
Over half of the signatures collected
were not collected in the WRC. Susan
Kadavy got 65 signatures (in the
lounge) of women who used the lounge
in one day. I got 39 signatures of
- classmates and friends on a second
petition. And the remaining 75 names
were acquired on the petition that I
started and left in the WRC. Susan
Kadavy and I led the petition drive, not
the WRC. .
I understand that you have your
own office at the Daily Nebraskan. If
you were asked to donate that space
for computer terminals, would you feel
displaced? The women who signed
petitions feel the lounge is important
to them personally. And they asked
that alternative space be considered.
We were responding to Sue Hansen's
Organization transforms- potential
Editor's Ncte: This is the final part cf a three-p-rt
series examining the rele cf black students at
UNL. The trilery addresses three components cf
struts that, in the cpirJen cf the anther, csa
efTectively be utilized en campus. Tclzy's cclszm
v. ill discuss the crczrAiz.tlzr.zl tspects cf that
t.imzcXz- The series is beir.3 presented in reccrd
tisa cf Clack History Icnth.
Opinion by llztthmv Stdly
Organization, as it has been said, involves com
mon purpose, identity and direction. It tells you
what to do, who you are, and how you can get where
you are going. In sum, an organization is a base of
delegates.
What's the solution? The often-proposed
system of regional primaries
seems to be a workable idea.
With the plan, the nation would be
divided into four to six regions with
approximately the same number of
states in each. All the states in one
region would hold their primaries and
caucuses on the same day. States in
other regions would follow on consec
utive Tuesdays, reducing the primary
season to about a month and a half.
With such a system, candidates would
be able to concentrate their cam
paigns within a few states on a week
byrweek basis, allowing voters to be
come more informed about the, elec
tion and allowing candidates to spend
less time flying across the country.
Heavy emphasis still would be plac
ed on the states that have their prim
aries first, but the order of election
could be rotated so that a few small
states would not continually play the
role that Iowa and New Hampshire
now play.
At the very least, a shortened prim
ary season would be a welcome relief
for the millions of Americans who are
tired of the campaign that seems to
run from one election to another with
no break in between.
That, if nothing else, makes some
kind of election reform worth a try.
Letters
letter which requested student input.
Sue Hansen is chairperson of the Union
Board Planning Committee.
Many of the people who use the
lounge are quiet people who benefit a
great deal from its peaceful, non
threatening atmosphere. I have seen
foreign students kneel on their prayer
rugs for worship, pregnant women put
their feet up, lactating women breast
feed their babies, in addition to the
more routine activities of resting, study
ing and visiting. This room is special
because of its female-only living room
atmosphere. Many of these women
are not activists. They are people who
need and enjoy time to themselves. I
know of no other place on campus
beyond the smaller second floor lounge
that has these qualities or opportuni
ties. This issue is not "women again.! 24
hr. computer access". We only asked
that another location be considered.
Because of the limited space at UNL,
someone will be displaced by compu
ter terminals. The terminals are need
ed. But the displaced persons also
have needs. Only if you are displaced
will you probably care.
Say, how many terminals could we
get into your office? Think about it.
Debra L. Swinton
senior
Human Development and
Family Rehabilitation
.Letters continued en Pane 5
commitment, a method and an instrument.
I think opting for the creation of alternatives is
better than merely seeking to integrate into a sys
tem that views us as contradictions, anyhow. I
believe that by Unking up with progressive elements
in the community, we would be rallying potential
and real resources that would, in turn, come to our
assistance during times of strain and struggle.
A shift in our ethos from freakishness and frolic to
serious study and struggle is not that difficult to do.
Our priorities like the priorities of any numerical
minority have, to this point, been somewhat side
tracked because of our roles as students. However,
linked to that role should be the issue of mainte
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Democrats full of nonsense
"Oh, my goodness, it's quarter past
February," said the Mad Hatter, glanc
ing at his watch. "It's high time I asked
a riddle. Tell me, what makes more
nonsense than eight Democrats?"
"Would you care for some tea, little
girl?" the March Hare inquired politely.
"Oh, I love riddles," said Alice, clap-
ping her hands. "And some tea would
be nice."
"Only if you're nice to it," said the
March Hare, pinching the Dormouse
awake. "Anyway, we don't have any."
Before Alice could reply to this, a
puffing man came loping up, looking
nervously over his shoulder. "I'm the
Frontrunner ," he said, taking a seat at
the table and extending a basket filled
with paper scrolls, each wrapped in a
red ribbon. "Have a promise?" "What
sort of promise?" asked Alice suspi
ciously. "Any sort you'd like," the Front
runner said. "And you can trust me to
deliver. I've delivered scads and scads
of promises in the past six months.
Pass the tea."
"Are you claiming to be a member of
the Mad Tea Party?" demanded the
March Hare.
"Yes, I'm a Democrat and proud of
it," said the Frontrunner.
At the mention of "Democrat," there'
was a tiny splash. The Dormouse had
fallen asleep in his tea. He thus missed
the arrival of the Spaceman who came
gliding through the trees, in his space
suit. "I should be president because I
am a moderate who has been in orbit,"
said the Spaceman, hovering overhead.
"I hate the way he's always Jooking
down at me," said the Frontrunner
testily. But he perked up at the sound
of a strange hissing. "Ahah!" he cried.
"He's fizzling!"
. Arthur
yf Hopps
"If I
ft m
Sure enough, the Spaceman's space
suit was slowly collapsing and he was
deposited on the ground with a thump.
While he attempted to struggle to his
feet, a gaunt, elderly gentleman wear
ing a track suit came bounding in,
threw himself at Alice's feet and begin
doing push-ups.
"I should be president," the Track
man said, "because I don't look 69, or
do I?"
"No, you don't," agreed Alice. "But
I'm sure you did once."
"And besides," said the Trackman,
"I'm more against blowing everybody
up than anybody else."
This remark brought five "more
shadowy figures out of the woods.
Each was declaiming at the top of his
lungs that he was "more against defic
its than anybody else" or "more in favor
of civil rights than anybody else" or
more something.
Of course, each time one shouted
that he was more something, the oth
ers would yell, "You are not!" The first
would then reply, "I am too!" Eventu
ally, they were all dancing around in a
circle, taking turns chanting: "Are too!"
and "Am not!".
The racket awakened the Dormouse.
"Oh," said the Dormouse before hastily
falling asleep again, "another Demo
cratic debate."
This cacophony might well have last
ed indefinitely had not a Woodchuck
waddled past with a load of sticks on
its back. "A poll taker!" cried the Fron
trunner. And he was off with the oth
ers in hot pursuit.
Alice cautiously removed her hands
from her ears. "Will they be back?" she
asked uneasily.
"Daily," said the Mad Hatter. "Have
you solved my riddle?"
Alice frowned. "No. I give up. Tell me,
what does make more nonsense than
eight Democrats?"
"I haven't the slightest idea," said the
Mad Hatter. -
124, Chronic Put";h!na Co.
into action
nance. This means that we need to devise structures
that will add to our ranks, net only in terms of
numbers but in terms of the consciousness and cali
ber of people that we bring to campus.
Finally, our organizational base should be one
geared toward accepting nothing but the best.
On this campus, in this time, we can make a dif
ference between continued attrition or a situation
where we, as a collective, can benefit from the many
resources that such an institution has to offer.
But the key changes must come incur attitudes
" which, in turn, will reshape our actions and enable
us to overcome some of the many obstacles that we
are bound to face in the remainder cf this decade.