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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 1987)
Friday, February 13, 1937 Pago 4 Daily Ncbrcskcn Tv t n Daily Jeff Korbelik, Editor, 472-1766 James Rogers, Editorial Page Editor Lise Olsen, Managing Editor Mike Reilley, Associate News Editor Joan Rezac, Copy Desk Chief University of Nebraska-Lincoln Editoffisil , GUP t'5 NMUN speaker a plum Students need more exposure There's little question that the Nebraska Model United Nations really got a plum of a keynote speaker for this year's conference. Jesse Jackson is a high-profile, charismatic and controversial speaker with much experience in international pol itics. The Centennial Room was packed to capacity and the audience warmly received his speech. Jackson's speech, entitled 'The Power of the Individual," covered many issues many domestic, some international, all express ing the spirit of the man who personifies the Rainbow Coalition. Yet some disappointments and concerns were apparent regard ing Jackson's appearance. The NMUN committee and the University Programming Council felt obligated to reduce Jack son's honorarium to $10,000 because, except for the evening speech, he refused to follow the ostensibly agreed-upon itinerary (obviously causing the planned events to be cancelled) and set up meetings promoting the Rain bow Coalition. Additionally, the NMUN com mittee specifically wanted to bring Jackson in for the keynote address of the conference to talk about the power of the individ ual in foreign affairs. After all, Jackson has had more experience (and success) than many in neg otiating as a private U.S. citizen with foreign governments. The title that his address finally boiled down to was "The Power of the Individual." Yet that phrase really didn't do justice to his topic. A more appropriate title would have been "The Power of Jesse Jackson." Now, certainly, Jackson is intrinsically interesting, and the topics were significant, nonethe less, Jackson is a probable pre sidential candidate press conference observers indicated that he has all but announced. Additionally, Jackson discussed a number of domestic issues replete with fulminations against Ronald Reagan. (Jackson likened Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials represent official policy of the fall 198& Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Its mem bers are Jeff Korbelik .editor; James Rogers, editorial page editor; Lise Olsen, associate news editor; Mike Reilley, night news editor and Joan Rezac, copy desk chief. Editorials do not necessarily re flect the views of the university, its Letter Policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor from all readers and interested others. Letters will be selected for publication on the basis cf clarity, originality, timeliness and space available. Reagan to King Herod of biblical times the king who sought to murder Jesus Christ when he was a baby.) Jackson also pushed his own presidential ambitions. In over viewing what followed, Jackson said: Tonight we meet to work on the unfinished business, in some sense, of Dr. King's agenda. To do so we must take his dream from outside the steps of the Lincoln Monument to inside the Oval Office at the White House; to the halls of Congress with the ability to appoint justi ces, cabinet offices, that might implement the dream. Our pro gressive coalition can win the Democratic nomination in '88, and thus change the course of our party and of our nation." After most of his speech was finished, in an action UPC and the NMUN committee did not expect, Jackson openly solicited members and money for his Rainbow Coalition (the institu tion spearheading his 1988 pre sidential race). All this raises questions re garding the use of student and university funds for the promo tion of a sectarian political movement and one man's presi dential aspirations. None of this is the fault of UPC or the NMUN committee. Tim Moore, program coordinator for Campus Activities and Programs, observed that Jackson's approach to the event was coordinated by a "Washington office interested in taking advantage of political situations." Jackson abused the platform. i Nonetheless, it's certainly good to have controversial speakers :appear at UNL: We need more of it. It's also quite good that Jack son could appear. Jackson's speech was openly partisan that's something UNL students should be exposed to. A com mitment to the notion of a truly robust exchange of ideas in the university marketplace calls for UPC (or next year's NMUN com mittee) to bring in a conserva tive advocate to advance this important goal. employees, the students or the NU Board of Regents. The Daily Nebraskan's publishers are the regents, who established the UNL Publications Board to super 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. left to the editor's discretion. . Anonymous submissions will not be considered for publication. Letters should include the author's name, year in school, major and group affiliation, if any. Requests to withhold names from publication will not be granted. Submit material to the Daily Ne braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400R St., Lincoln, fob. 6SoSS044& Message needs no M ore than 1,000 Nebraskans stood to clap as the Baptist minister entered the ballroom, ready to cleanse some souls. He didn't have to say a word. The Rev. Jesse Jackson called for the audience to accept the "challenges of the day" the way he . and Martin Luther King Jr. accepted the challenges of social injustice 20 years ago. He asks for and expects a lot. Most of what he said was not new. But that did not make it less stirring. Four times the Nebraskans clapped as he spoke of his visions and what he's seen. Jackson's gaze does not focus on one great human challenge. Instead he scans the world's horizons for poverty, hunger, unhappiness and injustice. He speaks intimately of every nation, every continent, every human being as one. His tremendous vision is his weakness as a presidential candidate. He sees more, tries to understand more and fights for more than the average or even above-average human being. He seeks to move mountains, part seas and, per haps least likely, live in peace. He seems to expect success. Many people who elect this nation's presidents, including most Nebraskans, lack that vision. They see clearly perhaps 20 feet, with glasses. They can focus on one of two reasonable goals at a time: saving for a car and getting a .degree. In the abstract, they want to feed the hungry, house the homeless, find work for the unemployed and give the farmer a fair deal. But they consistently vote against CFA should There seems to be a feeling in the Daily Nebraskan office that the Com mittee for Fees Allocations recent budget cuts should be applauded (DN, Feb. 12). If space had allowed, and if the editor had kept with the rationale used, he quickly would have found his foot in his mouth. Arguing that "CFA members adopted a financially prudent posture" by not "rubber-stamping" Campus Recreation's proposed budget increase shows a sur prising lack of investigative reporting on the DN's part. Guest Opinion Recreation is not just a "worth while" activity on a university campus,, but it is quite vital. Clinical studies of the importance of work and play are universal constants. The editorial also implied recklessness not only on Cam pus Recreation's part by submitting the proposal, but it also suggested that CFA acted for reasons which it really didn't accoutrements to be raising taxes to support social pro grams. They would rather contribute money for the Lied Center for Perform ing Arts than for the People's City Mission, and they complain about the grocery bill. . Beyond Lincoln, their near-sightedness landscapes them even more. Some see the world in such a limited way that they might be considered legally blind. It's not difficult to find people who have never been out of the state and cannot imagine countries where people don't play or understand football. Local newspapers and TV services that focus on local events and devote only a few sentences or two to major foreign crises don't aid their sight much. Dr. 0 J Lise Olsen 1 JL The crowd that listened to Jackson Wednesday night was a little different than most Nebraskans. They were willing, even eager, to hear what he'd say. They knew the first black presi dential candidate would confront dis turbing issues, tell emotional tales and criticize the president. He didn't disappoint them. He asked them to strive to make economic and social injustices illegal. To tackle those issues the same way he back Campus Recreation Let's discuss Campus Recreation's role first. Many hundreds of hours each year go into budget maintenance, pre dictions and the annual proposal made to the Campus Recreation Advisory Council, and CFA. Facility, staffing and improvement needs are constantly monitored to reflect an ever-increasing student use of both programs and facil ities. The increase in the budget prop osal is in realization that the current number of students taking advantage of the programs can no longer be given proper service with the present staff within Campus Recreation. In asking for an additional $1.40 per student each semester, the depart ment will be able to increase the staff enough to eliminate the regular 12 hour work day that has been accepted as normal by several of the full time staff. Which, by the way, there are only four. With the coming of the indoor prac tice field, open recreation facilities will have to be spread over a wider area (to make up for the loss of Men's P.E.) and this will require, for reasons of "'V -J V j) J "ft It (fM K .... Rjin' loud and clear and King tackled them in the 1960s peacefully, energetically and legally. The undoubtedly Democratic group went wild when he criticized the president as a reactionary, prcorpor ate, pro-military isolationist racist who adds to the problems he should be trying to solve. They clapped as he compared Reagan and his budget to Herod in a manger scene: Reagan locks Mary and Joseph out of the inn, denies Mary prenatal care and refuses to heat the stable. Then he denies Joseph job training and uses the money he saved to shoot the Star of Bethlehem out of the sky. s At times the Nebraskans laughed wholeheartedly. Other times a bit uneasily. Occasionally, unspoken "Amens" seemed to echo in their minds. . When Jackson called them to take King's dream from outside the Lincoln monument to inside the halls of Congress and the White House, some could have been thinking of the replica of the monument just outside Nebras ka's Capitol. None appeared outwardly converted. But they stood again as he left. A few took cards for his Rainbow Coalition, and many pushed their way to the front to shake his hand. At the same spot, three-nights earlier, another sold-out crowd greeted a band from Austin, Texas, and another from Nashville, Tenn. But the message of this one man, without the light shows, without accompaniment, without blar ing sets of speakers, was much louder and clearer. Olsen is a senior news-editorial major and Daily Nebraskan associate news editor. state health and insurance, more supervision. Many campus facilities never intended for open use will be tried in an attempt to accommodate the expected large amount of student use. By pooling resources and resche duling activities, Campus Recreation has managed to restrict the need for any large increases, recognizing its responsibility to the students it serves. Each year on the student election ballot, Campus Recreation is put before the student body for a vote of confi dence. And, for the past six years, Campus Recreation has received the highest approval rating of any student fee funded agency on campus. These marks are taken very seriously as the student body's approval rating of the money being spent for recreation and how that money is spent. If CFA is the financial arm of the student body, these approval ratings should reflect in their decision toward Campus Recrea tion's budget proposal. Douglas Engh ' graduate student education