Tuesday, November 5, 1985
Daily Nebraskan
Page 5
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Ads paint picture of a workable Star Wars plan
Until I saw the commercial, I had
no Idea that "Star Wars" was so
simple that even a kindergartener
could understand it. I thought you
needed physics when all you really
needed was Crayolas. The regular box
of Crayolas, not even the giant size.
The 30-second television spot,
brought to me courtesy of the Coalition
for the Strategic Defense Initiative,
changed all that. It opened with Crayola
figures of Mom, Dad, child and Spot. (I
think it was Spot, though it might have
been a small brown horse without a
name hard to tell.)
Ellen
Goodman
While the school piano tinkled in
the background, a little girl narrated
her wonderful tale of 10 Crayolas in
search of national security. "I asked my
daddy what this 'Star Wars' stuff is all
about," she began. "He said right now
we can't protect ourselves from nuclear
weapons and that's why the president
wants to build the Peace Shield."
The girl concluded, 'Then nobody
could win a war and if nobody could
win a war there's no reason to start
one."
Frankly, I always liked coloring, not
asic science researck essential
During the last few weeks, we have
witnessed abundant discussions
about the mission of the univer
sity and the benefits it brings to the
community, the state and the nation.
Guest opinion
Although several people already
emphasized the importance of research
to the quality of a university, my own
experience is that it is relatively diffi
cult for the average taxpayer to appreci
ate the research done in the so-called
basic sciences. To most people, this
kind of research represents only the
satisfaction of esoteric curiosity of a
selected few in their "ivory towers." It
is a common belief that any publicly
supported research should have im
mediate and tangible results.
But, since we are benefiting right
now from the research already done
that we did not pay for, is it not our
duty to the coming generations to
support the basic research which will
produce the applications of tomorrow?
It is true that most basic science
researchers are mainly motivated by
their wanting to understand, describe
and quantify how nature works, without
having a particular application in mind.
On the other hand, a question often
Reality shows
COHEN from Page 4
Contrast the current Reagan with
the current issue of Commentary
magazine, where 29 mostly neocon
servative intellectuals were asked if
the United States had met its major
challenges in the last four decades.
(Hint: The correct neoconservative
line is "no.") "What we have not
done ... is face up to the fact that
communism is an eitheror proposi
tion," writes Midge Decter, a Herit
age Foundation trustee. She goes on
to say that, "In the long run either
communism in some variant or
Western-style democracy in some
variant must prevail. It is a case of
'them or us.' "
Someday someone will notice that
the conservatives and neoconser-
1
'STAR
rSARS
tv.
to mention story hour at school. This
tale had just enough truth in it to be
especially appealing. Creating a "Peace
Shield" isn't really much harder, after
all, then drawing a gigantic white line
around the sun. The real sun. Instead of
financing the Pentagon's efforts at
"Star Wars," I think we should com
mission the artist Christo to wrap the
United States the way he wrapped that
island in Florida. It would be cheaper.
In fairness, the Reagan administra
tion needs all the "Star Wars" ads it
can muster. The public doesn't share
the president's consuming commit
ment. We remain convinced that any
new U.S. weapons program will be
inevitably matched by the Soviets in a
asked me is what will be an immediate
application of my research. In this
article, I want to show that, in many
cases, the unpredicted applications we
all oenefit from, came along after the
findings of indirect basic science re
search. My first example are James Clark
Maxwell's equations, which describe
the nature and properties of electro
magnetic radiation. Maxwell never
dreamed of radio, TV or radar, but it is
his mid 19th century curiosity about
uniting electricity and magnetism that
paved the road to our present day
communications revolution.
Two other examples can be given
from the 20th century. In the early '50s,
a great deal of research, both theoretical
and experimental, was done to study
the quantum theory of the electronic
structure of solids. The researchers
only wanted to be able to understand
and predict the behavior of electrical,
thermal and optical properties of the
solids. As we all know now, that gained
insight led to the invention cf the
transistor, which in turn was a starting
point for integrated circuits, micro
processors, etc.
Transistors are the building blocks
of all of the electronic devices we use,
from video and stereo hardware to
computers. Similarly, lasers, long before
being used by eye surgeons or CD
player manufacturers, were the intel
in the president's words
vatives were able to accomplish in
the first five years of the Reagan
administration what it took liberal
ism 50 years to achieve a bank
ruptcy of ideas. But the Commentary
article is evidence that the neocon
servatives have gone beyond that.
They are now the archetypal Ameri
can "communists" of our time
intellectually rigid and frozen in the
debates of the Cold War era about
the nature of communism and the
U.S.S.R.
The president, by contrast, is
moving past that and into the real
world. He has gone from the lecture
to the lab and found the old theories
totally besides the point. Call Russia
evil if you wish, but, by all means,
call it to the bargaining table.
So now Reagan has begun to talk
never-ending arms race. In the latest
ABC-Washington Post poll, 74 percent
of us would trade the fantasy of SDI for
a substantial reduction in nuclear arms.
With a summit around the corner, we
can count on a beefed-up advertising
campaign to sell Reagan's "Star Wars."
Perhaps a few more spiffy "tests" from
the defense department, certainly a
spate of these 30-second sagas from the
Coalition. We're off to Never-Never
Land. Clap if you believe in white
Crayola Peace Shields.
1985, The Boston Globe Newspaper
CompanyWashington Post
Writers Group
Goodman Is a Pulitzer Prize-winning
columnist for the Boston Globe.
lectual curiosity of a physicist. Today,
in scientific meetings we hear about
the possibility of producing energy by
muon catalyzed fusion, the seeds of
which were sown by the research efforts
of people who just wanted to under
stand the structure of matter.
The space considerations preclude
me of giving more examples. All of the
above were taken from physics, a topic
I am more familiar with, but I am sure
that the contribution of good basic
research to our technology and comfort
of living can be extended to other
disciplines.
Finally, we should also keep in mind
that, historically, there is strong corre
lation between the economic develop
ment of a region and its commitment to
basic science; because the presence of
a pool of better-educated and creative
people is needed to transform the
newly discovered laws of nature into
innumerable business opportunities to
the entrepreneurs and helps to convert
them into profits.
It is crucial for an advanced society
to understand and appreciate the value
of basic sciences, and support them on
national, regional, local and individual
levels. In this increasingly complex
world, its own survival might depend
on it.
OrhanYenen
graduate
physics
like all presidents have talked when
it comes to the Soviets. Reality
informs his vocabulary. This does
not mean that he (or the liberals he
once claimed to abhor) has forgotten
the Gulag, Scharansky and Sark
harov, Afghanistan and all the rest
or, even, that these subjects will not
be raised, as they should be, time
and again. It means only that once
again, reality has mugged ideology.
Both the United States and the
Soviet Union have words for freedom.
But if, to paraphrase Janis Joplin,
svoboda's just another name for
nothing left to lose, then neither
country has a word for that.
1985, Washington Post
Writers Group
Cohen writes an editorial column for
the Washington Post.
Letters
Wrong parking permit better than none
I am writing in response to a parking
ticket I received last week for parking
in an "unauthorized area"
Arriving in Lincoln at 12:30 a.m.,
there were no spaces available in Area
3, so I parked across the street in Area
20. I did count one row of Area 3
parkers and found 15 cars with no
permit.
I planned to move my car in the
morning after those people had left,
but on that particular day the officers
were out early. (Too bad they weren't
out late at night)
Honor more meaningful than gifts
Sometimes I wonder if some people
at the university have nothing better to
do than write letters complaining about
insignificant things.
Joseph Healey's letter (Daily Nebra
skan, Oct. 31) concerning the stereo
typical sexist notions of homecoming
gifts might fall into that category.
Healey writes that the homecoming
queen receiving roses while the king
receives an autographed football shows
sexism. Maybe it does.
But when your mother has a birthday
do you give her a chain saw or a
football? Do you give your father on his
birthday some perfume or roses? If you
do, I apologize for writing this letter
and I am ready to concede.
Homecoming is a long time tradition
NSSA not an effective voice for UNL
With the recent NU budget cuts, it's
time for UNL students to have an effec
tive and representative voice in the
Legislature. The Nebraska State Stu
dent Association is not an effective or
representative voice for UNL students.
Currently, more than $20,000 in UNL
student fees are contributed to NSSA.
This money could be better spent lob
bying directly for UNL since we are
competing with state colleges for
appropriations. The structure of NSSA
allows lobbying only for the association
as a whole not the individual
. institutions.
UNL students would be better
represented with a part-time, profes-
Lied money should
With all the talk of budget cuts and
faculty reductions, why has there been
no discussion of de-authorizing the $5
million allocated by the Legislature for
the Lied Center?
Most attempts at justifying the Lied
Center's cost go like this: "Since this is .
the biggest gift ever given NU, then we
can't turn it down." Would this logic
apply if NU was hit by an epidemic of
small pox? "We can't vaccinate now,
this is the biggest plague to hit NU
ever!"
Another justification is "We're
getting a $20 million center for only $10
million, half price." Would that logic
hold if someone offered to pay half the
cost of moving toxic waste onto campus
for long-term storage?
In fact, the $10 million is not a gift.
Where is it? In the bank earning
interest? No, a gift does not have to be
matched with strings attached.
You don't say "Merry Christmas,
mom! Here are some new hotpads. I
know you told me you needed a new
museum to preserve priceless artifacts
Training table will be crowded when Love closes
In reference to Steve Spurgeon's
letter (DN, Nov. 1) he stated that
athletes were worth more than they
receive. I would like to ask how much
more do you expect?
I, like others at UNL, am a student
athlete. We work out on our own and do
not expect special incentives for our
work. These special incentives include
things such as: a $1 million eating
facility, advisers to help us in rarely-
attended classes and special study
Setting it Straight
The students who presented a Lied
Center promotional video tape to Daily
Nebraskan staffers were from the Stu-
dent Foundation, not the Student
Brief letters are preferred, and longer letters may be edited. Writer's
address and phone number are needed for verification.
I fail to see the reasoning behind
giving a ticket to someone parked with
a wrong permit before giving someone
else a ticket with no permit at all.
Incidentally, I made another count
on Saturday and found an amazing
amount of non-permit parkers, and not
one of them got tickets.
Maybe, if we all throw away our per
mits and save our $40, we won't get any
tickets either.
Andre Dory
freshman
undeclared
at the university. I could not say how
long roses have been given to the queen
and an autographed football to the
king. But does it matter what is given?
I would bet if you ask this year's king
or queen, or any past king or queen,
they would say that it is the honor of
being selected that is important, not
the gifts received.
Dan Bentzinger
junior
mechanical engineering
assistant chairman of 1985 UNL
Homecoming Committee
Editor's note: The letter Healey
signed also was signed by Marc
Seger and Teri Sperry. The
names were left off because of
space constrictions.
sional lobbyist and paid work study
assistants. This would create effective
representation and employment for UNL
students. ASUN should carefully re
evaluate our membership to NSSA and
not hesitate to get out of something
that isn't working.
Kyle Hansen
junior
business
Sandy Heng
junior
journalism
AndyJacobitz
sophomore
agriculture
go back to NU
from centuries past, but I thought the
hotpads more shiek? These hotpads
can only be used for removing French
cuisine from the oven on special occas
sionsjf you try to use them for some
thing we eat everyday, I will take them
back. In fact, you will actually get the
hotpads only after you've put my initials
on them and reimburse me for half the
cost."
Many things on campus are sub-par
now the list is virtually endless. And
now, the mediocre is being cut, not
improved.
Let's go back and ask them if we
could do something else with the
money. That $20 million would be a
boost if used to build a new museum,
expand the library or Nebraska Union,
build an ultramodern computer facility
and eliminate parking problems. We
could name three or four buildings
after Lied and still have enough left
over to buy a used car.
Tim Howard
- graduate
political science
areas.
The impending budget cuts should
have an effect on us all, not excluding a
selected few who want more. One of the
proposed cuts is aimed at reducing
Love Library's open hours. So just
remember, when my study area is
closed, I'll be over at your special study
area.
Kurt Krugerud
senior
Teachers Collegepsychology
Alumni Association, as reported in
Chris Welsch's column (Daily Nebra-
skan, Nov. 4).