Page 4
Daily Nebraskan
Editorial.
"' " HTUri IWIIL1J
Vicki Ruhga, Editor, 472-1766
Thorn Gabrukiewicz, Managing Editor
Ad Hudler, Editorial Page Editor
James Rogers, Editorial Associate
Chris Welsch, Copy Desk Chief
- it just sms w m
vm, m m certainly vjb had 3000 w&
orw&,m half of mm mowio
Nebraskan
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
n n
r n fiSAA
un uutiii
Cleanup account needed
Campaign literature passed
out during last week's ASUN
campaign created an obvious
problem this year.
The pamphlets, distributed by
the Excel and Impact parties,
proliferated and resulted in a
big, soggy mess on Thursday
morning.
The Nebraska Union plaza was
so littered with yellow Excel
literature that it looked more
like the yellow brick road from
the Wizard of Oz than a univer
sity patio.
ASUN parties should be re
sponsible for their messes. Many
commercial groups engaging in
mass distribution are required
to deposit money for cleanup, or
to take care of the messes them
selves. Something similar could be
implemented for the ASUN cam
paign as well.
Political groups that intend to
distribute campaign material
could be required to deposit,
say, $100 in a cleanup account. If
the party cleaned up its own
mess, the deposit would be re
Plagiarism
Editorial columnist fired
The Daily Nebraskan apolog
izes for publishing the
column, "Americans ignor
ant of Soviets; Personal contacts
can foster better understanding,"
(DN, March 1 1), under the byline
of columnist Patrick Meister, a
UNL senior in accounting and
business administration.
The column, which appeared
in the World Press Review 1986
edition, actually was written by
Yuri Kudimov and was an excerpt
from an interview with Vladimir
Posner, Radio Moscow commen
tator, which appeared in the
Young Communist League organ
"Komsomolskaya Pravda."
Plagiarism is a serious offense.
UNL's student Code of Conduct
ASUN elections aren't over.
Wednesday', students
again will go to the polls for
a run-off election between Excel's
second vice presidential candi
date, Tony Coe, and Impact's
second vice presidential candi
date, Tim Geisert. Excel. psesU.
Ill .: ifeLUU)''
jueiu v.'Ui is ocuuuei aim msi vice
'president Dan Hofmeister won
last week's election.
Those who vote in the election
should vote for Coe.
Although Geisert has had ex
perience in several university
Editorial Policy
Unsigned editorials represent
official policy of the spring 1986
Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the
Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board.
The Daily Nebraskan's publish
ers are the regents, who established
the UNL Publications Board to super
Coe dtesns voile
funded. If the party did not clean
up after itself, then the deposit
would go to pay a grounds crew
for its extra work. This would
easily solve the problem.
In Lincoln, candidates are re
quired to clean up particularly
obnoxious messes that their cam
paigns leave (such as yard signs).
Thus, the precendent has been
set.
Lest Ihe finger of accusation
be turned upon the Daily Ne
braskan, two observations about
the DN and litter can be made.
First, the DN pays people to
collect discarded inserts
which are littered much more
often than the newspaper itself.
Second, the DN is not passed
out to unwilling recipients.
Political pamplets are thrust
into all passerby's hands irres
pective of the passerby's desire
to receive the literature.
More significant litter prob
lems result from the political
handouts. UNL groundskeepers
should not be forced to pick up
after ASUN parties.
states that any student found
guilty of dishonesty in academic
work, such as submitting anoth
er's work as one's work, has
grave consequences.
Students caught cheating could
fail the course. In addition, action
against the student could be
taken by the department chair
man or the office of the vice
chancellor for student affairs.
If university administrators
think further action is neces
sary, they will submit the case to
the University Judicial Board.
Plagiarism is not tolerated in
academics, and it won't be toler
ated in the Daily Nebraskan.
For these reasons, Meister has
been fired.
organizations, he doesn't have
Coe's tact or independence. Coe
proved his abilities last semes
ter when he played an important
and effective role in settling the
Harpqr-cramm-3niith training
tkljie'ceMovfersyiril which hous-
oiuiut nan a wuiueii & naming
table.
Coe has the record and per
sonality that will let him work
with the administration, yet
stand up for students' rights
when necessary.
vise the daily production of the
paper.
According to policy set by the
regents, responsibility for the edi
torial content of the newspaper lies
solely in the hands of its student
editors.
t -, ,
riff 4 vk w gpr
w
e're losioo the 'human tone
Liberal arts are of tantamount importance to technology
I am composing this column on an
electric typewriter. A small stereo
tape player is blasting out my favor
ite soundst hrough diminutive head
phones. And I'm also smoking a cigar
ette, which was rolled by a machine.
Once I finish writing this, I'll go
crawl into bed and turn the electric
blanket on "high." In the morning, my
alarm clock radio will wake me from
sleep, announcing the drudgery of
another dull day.
Everything that gets me through the
day is influenced by technology and
automation. Like most Americans, I
take these objects and machines for
granted.
I try to avoid computers, but I realize
that they'll eventually become another
mundane aspect of my life because I'm
a writer. I'll soon have to deal with
high-tech word processors and compu
ter terminals that pound out news sto
ries, novels, plays and poems with flaw
less proficiency.
Writing isn't the only thing that is
being automated by computers; they're
also burgeoning in the business world.
Computers can now help yuppies with
marketing strategies and copy for ad
vertisements. Even domesticity is being
computerized, since many metropoli
tan areas are planning to offer "shop at
home" computer programs in the near
future.
Machines have helped eradicate
menial tasks that do little for the body
or intellect, but they've made our
society somewhat impersonal. For ex
Patti Davis' tale of Beth Canfield
tells the trials of politicians' children
When Patti Davis' book goes into
paperback, she ought to add
another chapter about what
hannens r.n the Hanrfhtpr nf a
1 r " v M rjv isivtJiviyiib
when she writes aiovel &bout7ieyf2nv;
ily and goes on a bjok tthir.
The past few wesks hfive provided a
perfect epilogue fotf "Hoke Front," the
tale of Beth Canfield, a girl who would
rather not be the daughter of a gover
nor on his way to the White House. In
the novel, Beth keeps trying to be the
leading character in her own life and
keeps ending up as a subplot in her
father's.
It was like that in Patti's real life.
It's like that in the book Patti has
written about her life. And it's like that
in the book tour about the book about
her life.
The escapades of Beth's youth are
fairly tame one lover, a maryuana
joint or two, a stint as an anti-Vietnam
war activist. So, for that matter, were
the "rebellions" of Patti's youth. In her
own words. "I mean, I considered
myself fairly normal, I didn't, like burn
out on acid or something." But in and
ample, you can now slide a plastic card
into an automated teller and make
financial transactions 24 hours a day,
instead of dealing one-on-one with a
human teller during bank hours. Using
an automated teller is often conven
ient, but you lose the interaction and
communication you encounter with a
human teller.
Computers and technology are indeed
worthwhile boons to our socety, but we
musn't let them undermine our human
ity, communication and mortality.
Scott
Harrah
Machines can tally numbers, store
information and data, but they can't be
creative, artistic, insightful, philoso
phical or loving. In the past, bank
tellers and advertising copywriters had
to incorporate their creative and
mathematical abilities into their jobs.
Now that computers have partially
taken over the more tedious aspects of
their jobs, part of the "human touch"
has been lost in the process.
Productivity and materialism are
part of the basic foundations of our
capitalistic society, and computers help
us reach these goals with lucrative
results. Technology has brought us
such state-of-the-art luxuries as VCRs,
out of print, as Patti or Beth, her behav
ior and beliefs were judged by one
standard. As Harriet Canfield, in the
role Of NanCV.SavS. "I Hnn't knnw
srOtrCattl'O'fMtn vnnr fath J- ' , 'j
,i lit
QlltVin. r i ii DO...., .1 J ,
clear-sighted enouBj'nbwisintn
to know preciselyhatg getting
... uuiiiui, nuvv yfyjpars oiu, is. J
Ellen
Goodman
into, when she got into print. The novel
she has written is not illiterate and not
literature. It is interesting only
interesting when she is writing
about her parents.
The image of a daughter struggling
to make contact with a Teflon-coated
father has touching moments: "I felt
that nothing I said made an impression
on him that my efforts were wasted.
Each time my hopes were raised that I
might be able to reach him, that he
cordless phones, high-powered sports
cars, microwave ovens and other mat h-.
ines that are great for convenience's
sake, but hardly as inspiring or emo
tional as intellectual contact with
humans.
I love convenience, but I'll spend my
money on something inspirational in
stead of the latest high-tech trend any
day.
My acquaintances, with their gleam
ing new VCRs, immaculate stereos,
$2,000 computer systems and electronic
appliances, often exude disdain when
they learn that I've saved to go on a trip
or I've just blown my small disposable
income on a load of books or records.
My contention is that machines and
other electronic gadgets break down
and have to be scrapped. But literature,
music, travel, education and other
sources of inspiration stay in your head
long after the Apple's been fed its last
floppy disk or the Porsche's been shown
off to everyone.
As we progress into a more advanced,
technological society, we should also
learn to grow in spirit. The ability to
think philosophically and be inspired
by the liberal arts and human interac
tion is tantamount in importance to
science and technology.
I know it sounds corny, pretentious
and trite, but the "human touch" is
something we all need to experience
before we can truly be progressive in
society.
Harrah is a UNL junior in English and
speech communication.
might understand what was in my
heart, but each time I came away
deflated, feeling more distant from him
i .Thetrotbkper toactertewittt'
;&lf lfo Mti&(sSh thil mother,
is that you keep your father in mind
when you choose your friends and your
activities. Think of how it reflects on
him. Is that too much to ask?"
Friends of her father criticized the
book. Enemies of her father reveled in
its prickliest moments.
But this is not a Poor Patti column.
There are "children" who handle re
flected fame with more ease and more
grace than Patti. Even Ron, Jr. There is,
however, a particular problem for the
son or daughter who both love and dis
agree with a very public parent. You
can trace the struggle and the yearning
in Beth Canfield's relationships with
her father: "I was doing what I felt was
right. So was he. And between those
two realities was only distance."
See GOODMAN on 5