Page 4
Tuesday, April 15, 1986
Daily Nebraskan
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Nebrayskan
University ol Nebraska-Lincoln
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Let's try it their way
The Nebraska Union Student
Advisory Board is pushing
for a fast-food franchise in
Union Square.
Considering the Nebraska and
East unions' recent losses on
foo'd, UNL administrators should
seriously consider the board's
proposal.
UNL's two unions have lost
money for the last five years. In
1984-85, Nebraska Union food
services lost more than $80,000
because of competition from pri
vate businsses and a lack of cus
tomers. The Harvest Room cafe
teria alone lost $70,000.
The heavy losses show that
UNL's unions need a change. The
outdated Harvest Room, which
has not been renovated in 17
years, appears to be the main
problem, but the Union Square
space probably could be more
profitable if leased to a commer
cial fast-food restaurant.
Fast-food competitors have
been successful at other college
campuses. For example, at Colo
rado State University in Fort Col
lins, Colo., the student union's
business increased by $500,000
after a Hardee's restaurant leased
space in the newly remodeled
cafeteria.
Colorado State's union re
ceives 10 percent of Hardee's
annual gross, with a guarantee of
$75,000 a year. And if the fran
chise makes $1 million or more
Go
n control bi
House votes for unneeded changes
Last week's House vote on
the gun control bill shows
Americans one thing about
the legislative process: Lobby
ists wield too much power and
congressmen apparently are too
responsive to that power.
The bill, pushed by lobbyists
with the National Rifle Associa
tion, drastically changes the Gun
Control Act of 1968. The changes
are frightening, and it's evident
that our thoughtful congressmen
buckled under pressure from
lobbyists to adopt the changes.
While the bill upholds a ban
on interstate handgun sales, it
lets U.S. residents transport un
loaded "not readily accessible"
firearms across state lines, ac
cording to an article in the
Christian Science Monitor. The
bill also will make it more diffi
cult to prosecute gun dealers
who break laws regarding inter
state handgun sales.
The new law, if passed by the
Senate, and eventually signed by
Reagan, is dangerous enough to
attract the attention of some of
the country's more prominent
police forces, people who are
close to the handgun issue who
understand the effects of such
legislation probably better than
anybody. It looks like congress
men don't really value their
opinion, though. The guys with
the lobbying dollars pull a little
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in a year, then 13 percent of the
proceeds will go to the union.
A private business, such as a
Hardees, Burger King or Mc
Donald's, would compete with
existing union food services. But
if the Harvest Room was reno
vated and union officials took
care to provide types of food not
available in the franchise, the
cafeteria could survive and make
a profit.
If board members follow the
advice of UNL's legal counsel,
they will seek proposals from
fast-food chains interested in
leasing the union space. That
way, the board could choose the
franchise that will best serve
students and the union, perhaps
by paying the largest percentage
of its earnings to the union or by
working with the Harvest Room
to ensure that services are not
duplicated.
The board will present its
franchise proposals to UNL ad
ministrators in about two weeks.
If officials approve the plan, it
would be sent to UNL Chancellor
Martin Massengale and finally to
the NU Board of Regents for final '
approval.
When considering i he plan,
UNL officials and regents should
remember the plan's success at
other universities and the amount
of money UNL already has lost.
It's time to try something new.
more weight, even if they aren't
the most qualified people to give
an objective opinion.
The first sign of legislators
buckling under the NRA lobby
ing pressure came before the
House vote. The Monitor reported
that the organization sent let
ters to constituents of congress
men who were leaning away from
approving the bill. Even some
NRA allies have called it a "smear
campaign."
We commend the NRA for
their "clever" ingenuity. We also
warn legislators about such
campaigns and urge them to
maintain close contact with their
constituents to keep them as
informed as possible about the
situation. If communication lines
remain open, there's little room
for blind uninformed reaction
sparked from such letters.
Congressmen need to remem
ber that while lobbying often can
shed some light on a dark sub
ject, it also can cloud the issue
at times. Through the selective
use of "experts," lobbying cam
paigns often only emphasize the
positive sides of an argument.
For example, legislators appar
ently, forget that the United
States leads the world in handgun
related deaths.
Some lobbying groups are
real slick. Isn't it comforting
that we elect representatives
with a mind of their own?
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Harrah on Greek Week:
It's still qeek to the
In the past, I have tried to avoid
slamming the Greeks, although I've
added an occasional snarl at times.
I have nothing against all Greeks, be
cause I know some atypical ones that
transcend stereotypes. But there are a
few that perpetuate the system's bad
image by letting the non-Greek public
know about their sophomoric antics.
This school year has contained some
of the most preposterous Greek follies
ever, so it has been difficult for me to
restrain my disdain for so long. My
former Greek parents will probably
disown me, and I'll be lambasted by
fellow columnists for picking such an
unoriginal and contrived topic, but I
can't stand it any longer.
I have to recognize these fine, up
standing models of middle-class Amer
icana. I'm so inspired by their annual
ritual called "Greek Week" that I'm
going to give these ladies and dudes
what I call my "Greek Week" awards.
The envelope please . . .
The "It's Geek to the Rest of Us"
award goes to all the wearers of those
dazzling, chic "It's Greek to me!" T
shirts. I'd like all non-Greeks to buy
their favorite Greek geek a can of black
spraypaint, so they can black out all
those putrid pastel colors and sayings.
ConfevSsionsof an Organizer Addict,
or The Search for Filing Felicity
The only good that comes from tal
lying up my annual contribution
to the MX missile is that, each
April, I have to get organized. I have
discovered over the years that the IRS
doesn't really care what you did, as
long as you can prove that you did it.
This means that I spend frantic
hours every tax season rummaging
through the assorted briefcases, desk
drawers and pockets of my work life in
search of evidence: any scraps of paper
that pass for receipts instead of con
fetti. This year, I turned up an old air
plane ticket recycled as a bookmark. I
found a month of canceled checks
July in the zipper compartment of
my tennis racquet case. I will not dis
cuss what was in my car, which I
dubbed an unfiling cabinet.
This annual IRS treasure hunt is
accompanied by an attack of self
loathing, followed by an abject impulse
toward reform. This year, yea verily,
THIS year, I will keep proper records.
Such resolve lasts somewhere be
tween six and eight weeks. I know,
because the following spring I find the
most pristine, stapled, calculated, in
scribed records for April and May. By
June, I am once again missing in
action.
I confess all this only because my
urge to get it together invariably and
4 r
NATURALLY, WE
INTEND TO KEEP
PUSHING-
4W
The "Get Some Taste" award goes to
all the members of the Chi Omega sor
ority, who had their Terrorist Party last
weekend. I bet they had a rough time
finding trendy pink paisley terrorist
fatigues. I'd like to ask all non-Greeks
t o buy these fine young ladies and their
dudes plane tickets to Athens, where
they'll find real Greeks and terrorists
mat do more than drink beer.
Scott
Harrah
The "How Neat" award goes to the
Greeks who sponsored the petting zoo
on campus last week. Granted, the Fol
som Children's Zoo is a valid charity,
but I'm sure non-Greeks were less than
thrilled by this enterprising promo
tional idea. All I ever wanted to do was
pet a pretty horsie on the way to class.
Yeee-hah!
The "Greeks in Girdles" award goes
to all the members of the Alpha Tau
Omega fraternity, who swiped more
than $1,100 worth of lingerie at a Wes-
dutifully begins with the purchase of
yet another organizer. You name it, I
have bought it. Colorful files, multiple
datebooks, calendars, a wall of pigeon
holes, a thousand color-coded stickers,
in-and-out boxes. The basic parapher
nalia in the life of an organizer addict.
My problem peaks at tax time, but to
be frank, it can strike anytime. Other
people fill their kitchen shelves with
yogurt makers, fondue pots and ice-
Ellen
Goodman
Vfc
cream machines. I am a sucker for
organizers. I buy them the way a dieter
buys an expensive dress one size too
small, convinced that she will thus be
shamed into slimness. I buy them out
of the hope that the fault lies not in
myself but in my system.
I am not the only person who has
gotten hooked. I'm not even hard-core.
A true Organizer Addict is someone
who bought the $150 Filofax and has
papers sticking out the edges. She
bought the leather album for listing
possessions in case of fire and only
filled in the first page.
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rest of u
leyan sorority last semester. I can't
wait for them to do an album with those
other lingerie freaks, Vanity, Apollonia
and Sheila E. Perhaps Prince would
help them produce it, too.
The "Move to the North Pole, Dudes"
award goes to all the sunworshipping
Greeks and their vats of floral-print,
day glo beach attire. Now every store in
town carries these titillating threads
and nothing else, so many non-Greeks
are forced to look like frat rats.
The "Get Out of the Groove" award
goes to the Greeks who got radio sta
tions such as KFRX to broadcast live
from the Nebraska Union Memorial
Plaza during Greek Week. Now we can
pet darling animals and hear Madonna
on our way to class too.
So there you have it, UNL. Let's all
give our Greek friends a pat on the
back this week for representing the
campus creme de la cmnc and
being such great philanthropists.
And to all non-Greeks . . . shame on
you for having the gumption to act ually
do your own thing. You should be Greek
and spend your parents' money to be
elite too!
Harrah is a UNL junior in English and
speech communication.
The true O.A. has an eyeglass holder
attached to the sun visor. It is empty.
He has a fancy shampoo holder that
attaches to the shower head. The
shampoo itself is on the edge of the
bathtub. She has a complete set of
Tupperware for the refrigerator. It keeps
the moldly food in order. She has an
elaborate tool chest. On any given day
the screw drivers are scattered through
out the house.
A true, O.A. has, at one time or
another, purchased an elaborate make
up tray, a paper-bag holder, several
mail racks, a garden hose holder and a
credit-card container all of which
are stashed near the unused address
books. And those are the O.A.s who are
out of the closet.
What goes on behind closed doors, I
hate to think about. The state of most
closets can drive even a moderate user
to hooks, hangers, shelves, drawers,
shoe racks, tie racks, hat racks, jewelry
boxes, dividers, plastic bags.
I have a friend who went so far as to
have her closet professionally organ
ized. It was a project that took eight
days to complete and three weeks to
defeat. The cost, even when you add in
the shirt rack on rollers, didn't come
close to the price of a home computer
she bought for doing her bills.
See GOODMAN on 5