Editorial
Nebraskan
University ot Nebraska-Lincoln
Mike Reilley, Editor, 472-1766
Jeanne Bourne, Editorial Page Editor
Jann Nyffeler, Associate News Editor
Scott Harrah, Night News Editor
Joan Rezac, Copy Desk Chief
Linda Hartmann, Wire Editor
Charles Lieurance, Asst. A & E Editor
Salaries too low
Faculty pay No. 1 educational issue
A Lincoln strategic planning
initiative has recognized low
faculty salaries at the Uni
versity of Nebraska-Lincoln as
its most important educational
issue, but now the group must
figure out how to follow through
on its plan.
StarVenture ranked the salar
ies No. 1 among nine areas to be
studied by its educational task
force. The committee didn’t give
recommendations on how to boost
faculty salaries, but it plans to
outline strategies to do so within
the next two years.
Unfortunately, UNL doesn’t
have that much time. According
to the UNL Faculty Salary Study
Committee, UNL pays its teachers
$10 million less than similar
land-grant universit ies. The report
said that if salaries don’t increase,
many faculty members will retire
or leave for greener pastures in
other states.
The StarVenture committee
needs to act swiftly. The NU
Foundation has had few prob
: lems raising money for projects
such as the Lied Center and the
indoor practice field, but has
J struggled to find money for exis
ting programs and for faculty sal
aries. UNL Chancellor Martin
Massengale has said that many
possible donors believe it is the
state’s obligation to finance the
existing programs and take care
i of the university’s employees.
This is where StarVenture
should play a key role. It should
encourage donors to establish
honorary endowments in the form
of department chairs. It makes
more sense to donate money
directly to faculty instead of ask
ing the university to match a
donation as it did for the Lied
Center.
The heart of the donations
could lie in Lincoln. StarVenture
has monitored the university’s
role in the economic develop
ment of the city, saying that
salaries are important because
“the correlation between a st rong
university, the potential for Lin
coin’s economic development and
the stemming of out-migration of
talented youth is unmistakable.’’
StarVenture should look to
these UNL graduates who have
stayed in Lincoln for help. They
should structure a drive that will
focus on improving education at
UNL through contributions for
faculty salaries as well as help
ing students with scholarship
money.
Making a college education
affordable is hard because state
support hasn’t increased in lieu
of the rising cost of education.
It’s not solely the students’ bur
den to improve their education
at UNL. Tuition increases and
tax hil es aren’t the only answers.
StarVenture has the ability to
give UNL some more options.
Allen’s ‘Top 10 Excuses’:
All about steroids, hurricanes and the girl in the yellow skirt
My favorite part of “Late Night’’is
when David Letterman reads
the Top 10 lists.
I decided to do a few of my own.
The Top 10 reasons to drop
out of the 1988 presidential race:
10. You plagiarized speeches and
lied about your academic record.
9. The campaign ruins your adulter
ous love life.
8. Your name is George Bush.
7. There’s more money in profes
sional wrestling.
6. You’re black, gay, a woman or all of
the above.
5. It’s 1989.
4. You realize that if you continue
with the race, that even if you win you
won’t have any money left from cam
paign contributions.
3. Debra Winger is already married.
2. Hurricane Emily did not blow out
to sea
And the No. 1 reason to drop out of
the 1988 presidential race: Before and
after pictures of Jimmy Carter.
The Top 10 excuses that Ne
braskans use after the Com
huskers lose (this is not to sug
gest that there is a chance that
the No. 2 Comhuskers will lose
this year):
10. The receiver was out of bounds.
9. The other team had better steroids.
8. The referees were paid off (i.e.,
offered more by the other team).
7. The opposing quarterback com
pleted more passes than his season
average would indicate, a sure sign of
cheating.
6. We need a new training table to
build strong bodies (This excuse is
now obsolete).
5. We need a new indoor practice
field. (This excuse is soon to be
obsolete.)
4. We need a new coach (This excuse
is good for several more seasons).
3. It’s hard to get quality players at
Nebraska when there is more money in
professional wrestling.
2. FarmAid III cut into practice
time.
And the No. 1 excuse Nebraskans
use when the Comhuskers lose: The
players were up late the night before
studying for important exams.
The Top 10 reasons not to
throw cups in Memorial Sta
dium:
Bill
10. Someone you know might get
hurt.
9. It might distract the football
team.
8. The yell squad doesn’t have a
cheer for it yet,
7. Other schools in the Big Eight will
start calling us the Nebraska Lepers.
6. Your mother wouldn’t approve.
5. There is no number 5.
4. Someone else might have wanted
to finish your drink.
3. You will have nothing to pour beer
or mix drinks in.
2. There are too many other things
that can be done with plastic cups.
And the No. 1 reason not to throw
plastic cups in Memorial Stadium: Bot
tles go farther.
Humor aside, no one should do any
thing to injure other people, even
Oklahoma quarterbacks.
The Top 10 reasons not to
skip class:
10. Your professor might give a pop
quiz.
9. The girl in the third row might
wear the yellow skirt again.
8. You might accidentally learn some
thing.
7. It could be the day the guy with
Jon’s Notes misses class, too.
6. The person that signs your name
on the attendance sheet when you’re
not there might not be there either.
5. A football player might show up
that day and you’ll miss the chance for
an autograph.
4. If you don’t go to class, the “sis
ters” may make you do phone duty at
the house.
3. It’s the only place where you are
safe from hazing.
2. Sometimes the class meets at
Chesterfield’s.
And the No. 1 reason not to skip
class: If you don’t get to campus early,
you may not find a parking place for
football practice.
The Top 10 things students
iearned in UNL ciasses today:
10. Karate 101: Never attack a man
with a gun.
9. Basketweaving 383: Never sign a
contact with an agent before your col
lege eligibility is used up.
8. American Literature 489: The Shel
don Film Theater is a fish.
7. Business Marketing 172: Never let
them see you sweat.
0. Photojournalism 375: Pictures of
little children drinking from water
fountains are always front-page material.
5. Psychology 181: Electric shocks
should be used in moderation.
4. Philosophy 101: If it feels good, do
it.
3. Home Economics 311: Men don’t
like girls who spit.
2. Theater 112: Shakespeare wasn’t
gay. Everybody talked like that in 1595.
And the No. 1 thing students learned
in a UNL class today — Geography 115:
The world is not flat. It just looks that
way in Nebraska.
We’ll be right back with our first
guest.
Allen In a graduate student in English
and DN arts and entertainment editor.
Iraq, Farm Aid, cup wars, creationism criticized
Carlson is lauded
Hurray to Joel Carlson (Daily Ne
braskan, Sept. 28) for putting the Far
mAid movement in the proper perspec
tive. The concert should have been
more appropriately named LincolnAid
or WillieAid. I can only hope that the
FarmAid money will go for what farmers
need the most: lobbyists for deregula
tion of government programs in agri
culture, and job training and place
ment organizations to assist farmers
who have been put off the land.
Production controls haven’t worked
for OPEC, why should they work in
agriculture? Government and price
supports are something the agriculture
industry can do without.
Steve Bath
senior
animal science
Cup wars scorned
While our college years may seem to
be an appropriate time to expand our
belligerent and sometimes violent
energies, and Nebraska football games
seem an appropriate forum for this
excited release, we, as students of the
University of Nebraska Lincoln, must
remember to display some civility,
especially when it is necessary to pre
vent iryuries on any scale.
The cup-throwing incidents (wars)
that have erupted during the first two
Husker football games have resulted in
injuries, at least 10, which were re
ported, during the UCLA game.
There are obviously many UNL stu
dents, faculty, staff and other fans who
go to Memorial Stadium to watch the
football games. Lulls in the excitement
of the game may seem a good opportun
ity to throw cups, etc., but, on behalf of
the ASUN Senate, I discourage stu
dents from participating in this kind of
activity.
There are plenty of chances to yell,
cheer and have fun at Nebraska foot
ball games. Let us, as students of UNL,
display our excitement and “Big Red
Fever" in polite, civilized ways, always
remembering that many people want to
watch the game. Let us also show the
people of the state, who contribute (in
the form of taxes and gifts) to UNL,
that we are students who deserve a
good university education.
Andy Pollock
ASUN president
Argument is false
The problem with the Daily Ne
braskan editorial on book banning
(Sept. 23) is that it implicitly equates
morality with personal preference. But
this equation is false — a moral state
ment ("murder is wrong”) can be true,
even if no one finds murder offensive
and everyone "prefers” the idea that
murder is not wrong over the idea that
it is wrong. Thus, morality is independ
ent of personal preference. Some par
ents want to ban "When the Sky Bogan
to Roar" on the grounds that it con
dones group sex, drug use and dis
respect for parental authority. I think
these grounds may provide an excel
lent rationale for banning this particu
lar book at the junior high level, but
the main counterargument offered in
the editorial is: “What may offend one
person might not offend someone else.”
if the parents object to this book only
on the grounds that they find it “offen
sive" (on grounds of personal prefer
ence), then this counterargument has
some force. But it seems more likely
that their grounds have to do with
moral considerations — they believe
themselves to be morally obligated to
see to it that their children do not have
access to the book, and in this case, the
counterargument is irrelevant.
Letters
If we assume that morality is just a
matter of personal preference, then
perhaps it follows that these parents
have no right to ban this book, since
other parents may “prefer” books which
advocate group sex, etc. But if this does
follow, then it also seems to follow that
no lawmakers have the right to outlaw
murder, since some people may "prefer"
it.
Dave Reiter
graduate student
philosophy
Creationism false
Regarding Chris MeCubbin’s editor
ial (DN, Sept. 25) concerning the inno
cence of the insertion of a passage
acknowledging creation science into
biology tests:
The most fundamental point of
teaching biology in high schools i»not
to convey an understanding of the sub
ject, but as an Introduction to the
scientific method and deductive rea
soning. The scientific method, when
applied correctly, does not presuppose
the validity of the hypothesis under
consideration; this is not so in creation
science. The creationist rejects data
that do not support his concept, thus
invalidating his results with a favora
ble bias. Scientific theory changes in
light of new experimental evidence;
creationism selects evidence to sup
port dogma.
The classroom, especially the science
classroom, is not the place for religious
dogma — it is the realm of logical
empirical evaluation of evidence, ob
jective consideration of the validity of
theory and rejection of that theory in
the light of experimental discontinuity.
As for acknowledging creation
science in biology texts — it makes as
much sense as acknowledging the flat
earth theory in a geography primer.
Timothy R. Shepherd
graduate student
chemistry
Iraq lambasted
It is not surprising to hear about
peace from Sadam (Iraq) and his fol
lowers. Wise, educated people should
look deeply at the war’s background to
see reasons behind this peace seeking
and the consequences of such peace.
Seven years ago, in September 1980,
Iraqi forces invaded the Islamic Re
public of Iran, violating all universally
accepted norms and hoping for a quick
victory. The international community
was regrettably coerced by the leading
powers of East and West to remain
aloof from the situation and indifferent
in response to criminal atrocities of
Iraqi rulers.
It was expected that the modern,
strong, well-financed and well-equipped
military machine of Iraq would soon
overthrow the Islamic Republic, whose
military was in a state of post-re
volutionary disarray.
However, the Muslim people of Iran,
relying on God and the power of com
mitted masses, turned the events in
their favor.
Now, as all defeated war criminals
have historically attempted, the Iraqi
rulers have put a peace-loving mask on
their criminal faces, trying to cover the
blood of many innocent civilians who
were brutally massacred in their bom
bardments of schools, hospitals and
other civilian quarters. While calling
for peace, the same war criminals con
tinue using banned chemical weapons
and brutally murdering innocent
children.
As the United Nations rightly refused
to accept the desperate peace gestures
of Hitler at the end of World War II, Iran
is also determined to bring the aggres
sors and war criminals to justice. So
that aggression, imperialist interven
tion and violations of international law
would not become accepted norms in
international community.
Hossein Zamani
graduate student
agriculture education