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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 1985)
Daily Nebraskan Pages Letters Friday, April 19, 1985 iiM Reader questions use of senior gift donations This letter is in response to Mark Stilwell's rebuttal (Daily Nebraskan, April 18). You said you were in favor of buying two clocks for $50,000 to help students get to class on time, but 1 have a better idea Instead of buying two clocks, why don't we buy one clock and use the rest of the mony to paint little colored arrows on the side walks to show us the way to class? Tony Jerine senior accounting Non-Greek organizations are worth talking about As a member of the non-Greek community and a member of the human race, I am exremely offended at a couple of things that have trans pired on campus this week. First of all, the editorial "UNL can learn from example set by Greeks' (DN, April 17) infur iated me, and I'm sure I speak for countless others. The editorial seems to imply that only the "philanthropic" doings of the Greek community are worth talking about. What the editorial ignores is the thousands of non-Greeks in this university and city who donate countless hours volunteering for organizations that help a lot of people. These are organizations, such as the Women's Resource Center, the Gay and Lesbian Student Association, the Personal Crisis line and the RapeSpouse Abuse lines to name a few. These people volunteer valuable time and they don't need a lot of publicity to show everyone how important they are. The second injustice I am concerned about is the incredible display of bigotry by a local fra ternity. It seems they needed to advertise their hatred of gays with a sign on their house. You guys should be proud of yourselves you're really setting a great example for people to follow. David Anderson senior architecture Hail to the buffalo grass In response to Thomas Sullivan's letter (DN, April 17), I would like to clear up any miscon ceptions concerning buffalo grass. True, it is not the most aesthetically pleasing turf. It does go dormant (not "dead") during the winter, and after green-up in late April it still generally does not have the deep-green color that we expect of (and are spoiled by) many other turf grasses. Yet, buffalo grass is native to the North Amer ican Great Plains and is well-adapted to our harsh climate. I think that the buffalo-grass turf in the Willa Cather Garden is an "accurate mem orial to a woman who gave so much to Nebraskan culture ..." In fact, the sod houses of early settlers in this area were made mostly from buffalo-grass sod. Would it be more appropriate to plant Kentucky bluegrass or tall fescue, spe cies native to Europe and Asia? Buffalo grass will never replace Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue in intensely managed areas. Yet, you will see it used more and more in the future where irrigation is not practical. It requires less irrigation, fertilization and mowing and will stay green in the summer while other grasses wilt. With money in such short supply, it is good to see the grounds department planting more buffalo grass. The U.S. Golf Association (U.S.G.A.) has even recognized its potential by providing UNL with a grant to study its feasibil ity as a turf grass on lower-maintenance golf courses. Michael Peterson graduate student horticulture-turfgrass science Soviet military classes violate SALT II treaty Believers in arms control are undaunted by the evidence of history. But they might s' ffer a doubt about peace-through-parchment if they turned their attention from Geneva to the Ukrainian village of Ivanichi. There, in Middle School 2, a young teacher recently died heroically when, to protect his pupils, he absorbed the blast of a grenade. What was a grenade doing in Middle School 2? The answer, reported by Iain Elliot in the London Times, is relevant to the coming argument about continued compliance with SALT II. - v m George Will The teacher, a graduate of a KGB border-guard college (think about that), had been delivering the military instruction that is a compulsory part of the curriculum for Soviet children. He was teaching how to handle what should have been an unarmed grenade. When he pulled the pin a wisp of smoke showed that a live grenade had become mixed in with demonstration grenades, and he gave his life. The children's manual, which teaches "hatred for the enemies of socialism," also teaches assembly of machine guns and the use of bayonets and rifle butts in the "decisive armed conflict of the two opposing world systems," a conflict that will involve "vast casualties on an unprecedented scale." As Elliot says, "The sold iers now carrying out orders and committing atrocities in Afghanistan began playing serious war games with their first steps in education." It is with representatives of this manic milita rism that U.S. officials are planning to negotiate v. 7 erToT1van but 1 s substantial reductions of offensive strategic force levels. The promise that such reductions would come in SALT II was what made SALT I's high and unequal limits, and the ABM Treaty, palatable to Congress in 1972. But, Soviet deployments of offensive systems accelerated, as reasonable people expected from a nation that teaches children how to handle grenades. The administration warns the public not to have high expectations from the Geneva talks, yet describes the talks as the first step toward the abolition of nuclear weapons. In defense of such rhetoric Paul Nitze, the president's special arms control adviser, says that elimination of nuclear weapons "is a long-term goal set by the U.S.S.R." 25 years ago. Yes, it is old Soviet boilerplate and all pre vious American administrations have regarded it as empty propaganda. This is the first adminis tration to define U.S. objectives in terms of such a patently unrealizable goal. The administration has not committed itself to spurn an agreement that, like SALT I and SALT II, does not involve substantial reductions. Indeed, such is the administration's hunger for even the cosmetics of arms control, it may con tinue to comply with the SALT II limits even after the end of the year, when that agreement would have expired if it had been ratified. It was never ratified, because enough people joined candidate Reagan in denouncing it. Both sides have agreed not to "undercut" SALT II. The Soviets are violating it in many ways, so that the "no undercut" policy is actually unilateral compliance. SALT II limits both sides to 2,250 delivery vehicles, and some other limiting categories. The Soviets were above 2,250 in 1979 and today have 2,568. We are in compliance with the 2,250 limit but when the new Trident submarine "Alaska" enters service we will stop being in compliance with the limit on MIRVed missiles unless we scrap some land-based ICBMs or, more likely, a Polaris submarine. For us, scrap means reduce to scrap metal. However, as the Soviets deploy new systems, including some in violation of SALT II, they retire some older systems but do not destroy them. They put them in storage, or turn ballistic missile submarines into cruise-missile sub marines. The Polaris is about at the end of its useful life and it would be expensive to replace the nuclear core. That face is being seized upon by those who usually rationalize American unilateralism. But the case for keeping the Polaris in service a while longer is larger than this economic cal culation. The credibility of the president will be a casualty of continued compliance with an agreement he stingingly criticized. Furthermore, destroying the Polaris might destroy the MX. Some conservatives might stop voting for a vulnerable land-based ICBM if deployment of it requires destruction of sea-based systems. And, as the administration considers twisting itself even more out of shape in pursuit of arms control, it should consider that it is chasing a chimera: a useful agreement with the people who put grenades in Middle School 2. 1985, Washington Post Writers Group Have You Checked our Food Prices Lately? Youp. tSsvincjs QFQ Ell Kl YES, LESS FOOD 4 LESS is the food store that brought low food prices to Lincoln. You'll always spend less at Food 4 Less. QUO SAYG IT ALL! ! Olin PPSCES PHOlE IT!! 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