Wednesday, October 31, 1984
Page 4
Daily Nebraskan
itoria
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Crime, education issues wither
from presidential campaign scenes
If you are easily entertained if you are the sort of
person who sees drama in the sight of, say, a small
mailman delivering a big package we are ending
12 months of golden memories. My favorite is of Gary
Hart describing how, if a Czech airliner penetrates VS.
George
tM Will
airspace heading for the air-defense center in Colorado
Springs, he would order interceptors to peek in the
windows to see if the passengers were wearing uniforms.
But among the other fascinating features of these 12
months has been things left unsaid, or said and then
soon abandoned.
Twelve months ago, seven Democrats (Jesse Jackson
had not yet entered the Syrian primary, can you name
the seven?) were elbowing one another and stepping on
each other's insteps in the struggle to see who would
break his lance against Ronald Reagan. A presidential
commission announcing a crisis, of course had all
the candidates rattling on about one issue. What was it?
Education, the decline and fall thereof. But that issue
was worn out by Thanksgiving, and little has been heard
about it since, for two reasons.
First, saturation journalism especially on television,
quickly wears out most issues, or at least the public's
interest in them. Some issues are more durable than
others. It took two weeks to beat into a shapeless pulp
the Good-Lord-Uf-You-Will-Pardon-the-Expressionj-Re-ligion-and-Politics-Are-Getting-Tangled-Up-In-This-Na-tion-Begun-By-Pilgrims
issue.
But another, reason the education issue withered is
that the electorate is smarter than it was even a decade
ago. It knows that education always has been, is today,
should be. and will for the foreseeable future remain,
primarily the responsibility of state and local govern
ments, and will be influenced only marginally by federal
decisions.
The same is true of another issue that, you may have
noticed, is no longer noticeable as a national issue. Last
year, in one out of every five households, someone suf
fered an assault, burglary, larceny, rape or robbery. Few
of the criminals involved were or will be caught, and
fewer will be prosecuted, and fewer still will be con
victed. In California, where one-tenth of the electorate
lives (lives anxiously, evidently), a reliable poll reveals
that crime is now the foremost concern. Yet crime has
not been an issue in the presidential campaign.
One reason is that crime is declining. For the first time
in 20 years the crime rate has declined in two consecu
tive years. That fact has, naturally, caused the adminis
tration to puff out its chest and point with pride. Never
mind that, as conservatives know, and if they were out of
office would be quick to proclaim, the decline has little
to do with government action at any level and almost
nothing to do with federal action. It has a lot to do with
demography. There is a decline in the crime rate beause
there is, at the moment, a decline in the number of young
men between the ages 16 and 25.
The Phrss "demography is destiny" contains much
truth, including the conservative truth that social dyna
mics often govern life more than government does. But
that truth sometimes limits the ability to brag.
However, the main reason crime is not an issue is not
that the crime rate has changed. It is that the electorate
has changed. It recognizes that federal policy is peri
pheral to the problem.
Like the issues that are not, as November nears,
issues, another interesting aspect of this election is a
regional bonanza that is not sure to materialize. If, as
seems likely, Republicans retain control of the Senate,
that will be the worst defeat for the South since the
Army of the Potomac completed the siege of Petersburg.
Don Fricke
for first district
NU regents' seat
The Daily Nebraska supports Don Fricke for the
first district NU Board of Regent's seat now held by
Ed Schwartzkopf.
Schwartzkopf has been a regent for 18 years and we
believe he has done a good job. However, the board
needs someone who can build a similar record of expe
rience and who can provide leadership in the years
ahead.
Flickers concern for upgrading academic stand
ards and maintaining the status of UNL as "the flagship"
of the university show he has his priorities in the right
place. His stance on the veterinary school also demon
strates his concern for quality education.
Fricke aptly points out that the planned $18 million
vet school won't help upgrade the quality of education
NU needs that money to upgrade research facilities,
the archaic computer system and teacher salaries.
There is no point to expansion when other areas of the
university are lagging. Fricke supports increased fund
ing for the engineering and business schools as well as
other programs.
Schwartzkopf defends the vet school and, in a recent
speech on campus, said the computer issue has not
come to the attention of the Board of Regents.
It has been one of the most important issues on cam
pus for at least three years.
Fricke won the primary by a slim margin 636
votes. We urge voters to cast their ballots Nov. 6 for him
again in the best interests of the students and the insti
tution. Fricke would be the best choice for building the
future of the university.
Fricke has a background that will keep him aware of
all facets of the university. A native of Hastings, Fricke is
a local dentist. He graduated from NlTs dental school in
1964 and was an academic all-American on NlTs foot
ball team in 1960. He's lived in Lincoln for years.
Fricke's relative youth will allow him to build a long,
productive career on the board of regents.
Schwartzkopf, 65, deserves commendation for his
service as regent, but a new voice, and one that will last,
is needed on the board.
Happy Halloween! Tonight ghosts, goblins and grem
lins will be gr oveling and slinking all over town. If you're
out celebrating, be extra careful driving home. Some of
those creepy critters run around in black clothes and
aren't very visible,
Enjoy this delightfully freaky holiday, drive sober and
all will be safe (and spooky).
t T Tf Daily n
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If Democrats recapture the Senate, these Sou
therners would acquire (in some cases re-acquire)
committee chairmanships: Mississippi's John Stennis,
Appropriations; Louisiana's Russell Long, Finance; Geor
gia's Sam Nunn, Armed Services; Florida's Lawton
Chiles, Budget; South Carolina's Fritz Hollings, Com
merce; Louisiana's J. Bennett Johnson, Energy, Texas'
Lloyd Bentsen, Environment and Public Works.
The only chairmanships the South would lose are
those held by Republicans Strom Thurmond of South
Carolina (Judiciary) and Jesse Helms of North Carolina
(Agriculture). Helm's re-election is in doubt in any case.
If you count Kentucky as part of the South, Democratic
capture of the Senate would keep the Agriculture
chairmanship in the region, with Kentucky's Walter
Huddleston. But correct thinkers do not count Ken
tucky as part of the South, that state having behaved
reasonably well in those days when Lincoln said he
hoped to have God on his side but had to have Kentucky.
1S4, Washington Pott Writm Group
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