Thursday, February 27, 1986
Page 4
Editorial
Neljra&kan
Univtrtity of Nebraska-Lincoln
Ottos
Small colleges face cuts
Times are tough all over.
Members of the UNL com
munity tend to ignore the
problems of other post-secondary
educational institutions in Ne
braska: These other institutions
do have significant problems;
they are experiencing a budget
crunch on par with that of this
university.
State colleges are looking at a
$1.1 million decrease in funding
from last year's $25.8 million dol
lar appropriation. State college
officials are correct in pointing
out the inappropriateness of fund
ing cuts given the impact of
inflation and burgeoning enroll
ment. As with UNL, frustration char
acterizes the system's leaders.
Last week State College Trustee
Tom Morrissey complained to
the Legislature that state money
has not matched the rhetoric of
support; and that unless more
funding is forthcoming stat e pol
icy makers should "sue for the
most advantageous terms for
surrender."
Morrissey argued that state
colleges already were in dire
ober Greeks?
New plan would
Fraternities have often been
viewed as communities of
alcohol abuse, sexual harass
ment and occasional vandalism.
But a national trend to curb
the problems of the Greek sys
tem has spread to UNL.
Officials at UNL's Interfrater-
nity Council have implemented a
plan to make Greek men aware
of the potential hazards of
alcohol.
The plan, called the Alcohol
and Drug Awareness Program of
Today, would promote responsi
ble social functions by schedul
ing non-alcoholic parties two
w eekends and one weekday even
ing per semester.
The plan makes sense, but
raises questions about current
Greek social habits. Alcohol is
prohibited on the UNL campus
and that includes Greek
houses.
But the current alcohol ban is
mostly ignored in Greek houses
and there's a good chance that
non-alcoholic party requirements
also will berigrftdred. - : 1 '
The IFC bfiSe&ablSli&ajP
'if"
s was a
Professor John Robinson mourned
His life was gentle; and the
elements
So mixed in him that Nature
might stand up,
And say to all the world,
"This was a man!"
3
ohn Robinson, one of the
university's finest English
professors, died Tuesday.
Vicki Ruhga, Editor, 472-1766
Thorn Cabrukiewicz, Managing Editor
Ad Hudler, Editorial Page Editor
James Rogers, Editorial Associate
Chris Welsch. Copy Desk Chief
ff ft
suvifeir
straits before the state's econo
my's collapse. Consequently,
quality is deeply threatened.
There is little question that
state colleges fill a niche in the
state's educational system. They
offer services and an atmosphere
not available at UNL and UNO.
Additionally, state colleges
have an important role in aiding
the recovery of Nebraska's econ
omy. As Morrissey pointed out,
"The answer to the problems of
the rural economy is not to cut
back in those areas which offer
some hope for the future, such as
a higher education, but to accel
erate support."
Morrissey's points underscore
the fact that all of post-secondary
education in Nebraska is threa
tened by the current paranoid
mood of the Legislat ure UNL
does not face its cuts alone.
The point that Nebraska legis
lators simply must be forced to
understand is that commitment
to quality educational institu
tions is not a luxury to be funded
only in times of prosperity; it is a
necessity, which requires con
stant nurturing.
dry houses
social board to enforce the pol
icy. But to be effective the board
must punish non-compliers.
Fraternities that do not sub
mit detailed outlines of non
alcoholic social functions will be
fined $50. Fraternities that do
not. sponsor non-alcoholic par
ties also will be fined $50, and
fraternities that fail to send
representatives to social board
meetings also will be fined $50.
Eric Lane, of UNL's IFC, said
the UNL policy was formed to
prevent drinking problems at
UNL not because UNL frater
nities have drinking problems at
UNL not because UNL frater
nities have drinking problems.
That's debatable.
Nonetheless, the non-alcoholic
parties should help relieve some
of the peer pressure for students
to drink.
The policy is a step forward for
the Greek system. And if the
Greek system and UNL officials
really care about the hazards of
" acohblabtise,he should active , ,
ty eniorce- uner campus aiconoi
C Bari Sfreatfy ftteJSWefte: ' 1 9 ' 1 '
HiV-0 !'( '
'.M .
He was eloquent and exact
ing. Using his dry wit and keen intel
ligence, he helped students see
beyond the literal in literature.
He equipped students with the
tools to discern, to analyze, to
think and to write.
His death diminishes the uni
versity community and the aca
demic world. We mourn him.
r-' V THE PRICES,,. J
Ever have one of those days?
'Japanese Roulette'
I've always wanted to open a column
like this: Have you ever had one of
those days? (I had a professor
once who said he was convinced that
he was having one of t hose lives.) I had
one of those days about two weeks ago.
Just so you can appreciate how friendly
the fates have been to you lately, let me
share my experiences.
It was a Friday afternoon. My wife,
Tara, had an appointment downtown
and I had several errands to run. So,
being the understanding husband and
liberated father that I am, I told her
that I would take our 4-year-old daugh
ter, Gina, with me on my errands. Plea
santly boring so far, right?
Well, when Tara and Gina picked me
up, I noticed that the low-fuel warning
light on our car was on. Actually, I
noticed that it was still on. It had been
on for two days, and Tara and I had
been playing our usual game of Japa
nese Roulette, each trying to see just
how far the Nissan would go on 2.6
gallons of gas, and each giving the
other ample opportunity to chicken
out, break down and buy gas. Well, our
car gets 40 miles to the gallon on the
highway and about 10 around town.
Two days is a long time to play Japa
nese Roulette. So I figured Tara had
won this round, and I would have to get
the gas.
This is a good place for an amusing
aside. My wife and I drove a beat-up
Chevette for five years before buying
our fancy new Nissan. The closest that
car came to modern convenience was a
two-speed windshield wiper. We never
ran out of gas. It would drive from Indi
anapolis to Chicago on empty. Our new
Nissan has this lovely light that tells us
we better get gas soon. In two years, we
have run out of gas four times.
I guess I better get back to my story.
Gina and I took Tara to her appoint
Misconstruction of Liddy's notoriety
as celebri ty g a u g es nation's hypocrisy
. Gordon Llddvfs
I T airport is Dallai-Fort
tells USA Today. His favorite'
airport clubs are the ones run by Amer
ican Airlines. His favorite book on just
ordinary crime, he tells U.S. News &
World Report, is "The Friends of Eddie
Coyle" and his recommendation for a
book on special-tactics warfare is
"Crossfire." Got any more questions?
Yes! WTho is G. Gordon Liddy's favor
ite columnist? It used to be Jack And
erson who, according to witnesses, he
once set out to kill. Who is his favorite
psychiatrist? It may be the one whose
office he was convicted of burglarizing.
What is his favorite office building? It
just could be the Watergate where his
burglary team was caught.
You get little hint from either USA
Today or U.S. News that Liddy is an
adjudicated and unrepentant criminal.
suffices as urban
ment, ran one errand and headed for
the gas station. You have already fig
ured out what happened, right? Well,
let me set the stage for you.
It was 4:15 p.m. on a Friday after
noon. We were driving down J St reet,
right in front of the Capitol. It was 14
degrees outside, with the wind blow
ing. I had forgotten my gloves that
morning. They were lying on the floor in
the kitchen, chuckling.
James
Sennett
Suddenly, t he horrid sound of nothing
My control panel lit up like the prover
bial Christmas tree, and I was coasting
down an interior lane of a one-way
street, pursued by rush hour traffic. I
managed to coast into the outside lane
and come to a stop at an angle, com
pletely blocking the lane (I also have
power steering you know what that's
like when the motor goes off).
Gina and I crawled out and started
walking. She left her gloves in the car,
m we both froze our hands. The first
gas station we came to did not have a
gas can (why would anybody open a gas
station and not keep a gas can around?),
so we walked to another. We started
walking back two minutes from the
gas station when Gina uttered those
five words feared by all fathers in
precarious situations: "Daddy, I gotta
go potty." My daughter got some great
practice in self-control that day.
But soon she tired of walking so I
bent down to pick her up, and the
zipper on my coat broke from the
k ...VN- I
lt-terife('ithr publicatl6n paAsfe'stfmuchas' laws hetised to' flout,1 tbi;rta'ke giving
art-Wflrthjie '!Way4hatJiri TtirtherarrWrot m&mm ikMm kiAtteliWtf riaWArfsfr and
'Nixt)n,sre-elt!ction; andusinirthefWr'
of national security, G. Gordon Liddy
Richard
Cohen
did break and enter, burglarize and in
other ways besmirch public office. His
punishment, though, has not necessar
ily fit his crime. He was sentenced to
52'2 months in prison and signed to
appear on "Miami Vice."
What is going on here? It is true, of
course, that Liddy has paid his debt to
society and that he is free, under the
11
form of 'adventure'
bottom up. Here I am a gas can in
one hand, a 30-pound child in the
other, no gloves, with my coat zipped at
the top and wide,open at the bottom,
walking down 16th Street at 4:45 p.m.,
struggling to remember all the good
things about my life ami my marriage.
There was one bad thing that could
have happened that didn't my car
was not hit or towed. There was, how
ever, an invitation to pay the city $7 in
lieu of having my car impounded at
some future date. We got the car going,
Gina and I started a fire in the front
seat to thaw out our hands, and nothing
else monumental happened that day.
Luckily, before I saw Tara again, 1
remembered that it was Valentine's
Day, and it would be hard for me to yell
at her and give her flowers at the same
time. Since I had already shelled out
the bucks for the flowers, I figured
discretion was still the better part of
valour and we remain happily married.
What's really sad is that we are still
playing Japanese Roulette. We have
four college degrees between us, a
combined IQ pushing 300 and more
books than most small town libraries.
Vet we still dare each other to spend
one more day driving past the pumps.
Well, we can't stalk tigers in Nebraska
and there are very few 90-foot cliffs to
dive off, so I guess we are just creative
enough t o find that one sense of daring
and adventure that our lifestyles afford.
So if you are ever driving through the
streets of Lincoln and see a grown man
beating on the hood of a stalled brown
Nissan station wagon, just keep driv
ing. It's just a frustrated nimrod
mourning yet another foiled prey. Be
sides, no one likes to see a philosophy
major cry.
Sennett is a graduate student in philo
sophy and campus minister with College-Career
Christian Fellowship.
tLSNpU'his'nWhh'ufacelebrity.
See COHEN on 5
Editorial Policy
Unsigned editorials represent offi
cial policy of the spring 1986 Dai y
Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Daily
Nebraskan Editorial Board. Its members
are Vicki Ruhga, editor, Ad Hudler, edi
torial page editor, Thorn Gabrukiewicz,
managing editor; James Rogers, editor
ial associate and Chris Welsch, copy
desk chief.
Editorials do not necessarily reflect
the views of the university, its em
ployees, the students or the NU Board
of Regents.