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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 1988)
Editorial Nebraskan University of Nebraska i : Mike Reillev, Editor, 472-1766 Diana Johnson, Editorial Page Editor Jen Deselms, Managing Editor Curt Wagner, Associate News Editor Scott Harrah, Night News Editor Joan Rezac, Copy Desk Chief Joel Carlson, Columnist I Students apathetic Senators luncheons not well received The Government Liaison Committee’s “Senators on Campus” program has apparently done more harm than good in voicing student concerns in the Nebraska Legis lature. But one can’t blame GLC lor trying. An apathetic student body hasn’t taken advantage of the chance to lobby senators to help a struggling University of Nc braska-Lincoln. So far, 12 senators have come to cat lunch, tour City and East campuses and talk about univer sity issues. But only about 25 students, mostly GLC members, have attended. The program is flopping mis erably and sending a “we don’t care” attitude to senators. And the timing of the lunch eons couldn't be worse. The | Legislahireiscxpcciedtovotcon the UNL faculty salary proposal by the end of the month. You can bet those 12 senators will take ! into consideration what has — and in this case hasn’t — hap pened at the GLC luncheons. The meetings have been well publicized. GLC has placed per sonals in the Daily Nebraskan and posted signs all over campus. At one time or another, students had to be aware of the speeches. GLC should seriously con sider dropping the program for next year, unless it can find a way to boost attendance. One sugges tion would be to invite political science classes to the luncheon as extra-credit assignments. This isn’t the first lime UNL students have been apathetic about university issues. Last year, several students wrote let ters to the DN and others com plained about the proposed in door practice field/student rec reation center. But when gut check time came at a legislative hearing last spring, senators heard mostly resounding support from students. The “silent major ity” stayed home. So the practice field was built, and some students still complain about it. Others just don’t care. The faculty salary issue is much more serious. If students can’t rccogni/c that and support an increase, then there isn’t much hope for ever getting something done around here. Bush and Kennedy interviews unrelated We are writing in response to the inconsistcntcditorial by Joel Carlson (Dad> Nebraskan, Feb. 1). His com parison of Bob Kerrey to George Bush is unfounded. Their only simi larity is that they were both "grilled” by reporters concerning sensitive issues. Those issues, however, were completely unrelated. The Iran-Con tra affair is by no means comparable to Debra Winger. Winger is hardly a threat to national security. Perhaps Carlson would not be so quick to criticize if it were he being interrogated about a personal rela tionship with, say, a politically active student on campus. Pam Lut/ senior English Anne Stratker junior social work Poor food doesn't merit rate increase This letter is in response to the Residence Hull Association’s ap proving an increase proposal for housing rates (Daily Nebraskan, Jan. 22). It seems every time you turn around there is another increase at the University of Ncbraska-Lineoln. But an increase in room and board? Ha! 1 find it extremely funny. I am a resident of Smith Hall. Every lime I go to eat at Vali-dine, I kind of chuckle inside, thinking, “I really do pay for this slop." I'm not trying to be rude. It is a fact that the university food here is horrible. It is a proven fact; ask any resident, sec if I’m right. They’re asking us to pay more, that is funny. I really wouldn’t mind paying more if the food wasn't so bad. I have to admit the special holiday dinners arc nice. But so far, we’ve had only three decent dinners out of the year. Come on, we’re human loo. I would like to offer a few sugges tions to solve the food problem here at UNL. First of all, wc(the students)arc the customers — wc would appreci ate quality. Or it could be contracted out, get some real meat on our trays. Last week we had mystery meat three times. At least they could charge room and board separately. Diane Stevenson sophomore accounting Candidate scrutiny overdone, but important I agree and disagree with Jack Chcloha (Letters, Feb. 3). I agree with him that it is unfortunate that a . candidate’s personal affairs have become just as important as that person’s stands on issues. However, in an age where public figures have taken the heal for wom anizing (Gary Hart), smoking mari juana (Douglas Ginsburg) and plagia rizing (Joe Biden), questions about one’s persona! charac ter go straight to the heart of a candidate’s credibility with the public. Bob Kerrey’s role in the demotion of Joni Hoffman is a legitimate issue. That incident represented just one of many questions that Kerrey left unan swered when he decided not to run for governor again. Now that Kerrey has re-entered public life, he will have to face the character issue, also. Nebraskans have a right to know what kind of person they are sending to represent them in the U.S. Senate. Steve Grasz junior law S7ftfS{4U' TAnPA 77*' &(JVC omct Gloomy Skies, reigning apathy Columnist wonders if Midwestern mentality causes indifference Gloom and doom beat me to the punch. Despair is such sweet bliss. Within the w in ter doldrums comes delirium and hopelessness—no resume, no matter how well-packaged, will save hu manity from the growing plague of acquired immune deficiency syn drome. The erotic sensations that burn deep from w ithin our ancestral evolutionary past w ill inevitably kdl us all. At least that’s what one Daily Nebraskan columnist leads us to be lieve. There's just nothing we can do about it... we’re helpless, the prince of darkness says. Oh, really? Perhaps there lacks such cynical sense of humor and such la/iness of consciousness out there somewhere, shivering on the Ne braska tundra. But then again, it doesn’t seem so. For example: • student constituents tail to show' up for a luncheon in\ nation w ith their state senators. • those elected to lead the campus policies and untangle student prob lems resign from office. . and the letters to the editor mount to about 25 w hen student ath letes and non-athletes cry out from their pity -pots, "oh, poor me.” A little sympathy and understand ing goes a long way, but everybody hopefully chixises their own direc tions. Meanwhile, in more enlightened areas of the nation, students protest the Central Intelligence Agency, sing songs against apartheid and listen avidly to the Intermediate Nuclear Forces hearings, and thoughts pertain to things outside of the local pick-up scene. Today, several hundred students from universities and colleges across the country are expected to gather at Rutgers University in New Brun swick, N.J., for National Student Convention 1988, the founding event of a new and still-unnamed student organization. Amy Carter will be there; so will Abbie Hoffman and a number of un identified student activists. The group, originally Students for a Democratic Society which folded, gets its inspiration from the ll)6()s. But they insist this is nohippiecliche. “It's not a rerun," said organizer Christine Kelly in a Miami Herald story . “Conditions are different; atti tudes are different_The myth that there are all y uppies on campus . . . and that every body is only concerned about their careers is just not true “We've had a lot ol encourage ment from activists from the '60s, people who worked in SDS and groups like that,” she savs. “There's been a real sign of relief. (People have said.) ‘We've been waiting for this.'” Major issues preoccupying cam pus activists that will be on the con vention agenda: divestment ol uni versity funds m South Africa, l .S. intervention inCentral America, (' IA recruitment on campus, the homeless, ga> rights, racism, sexism and high tuition. 1 he organizers ol the convention, w ho come from several schools, said there's a need lor a single group to coordinate protests in different parts of the country and to help students become more politically savvy. I he idea was conceived during a meeting of students in Amherst, Mass., last w inter when Hoffman and Carter were being arraigned for pro tests against CIA recruitment at the University of Massachusetts. The students designated Rutgers as the site lor the convention. With meager resources, the group has pro duced brochures and an academic position paper, called “Left Activism m the 1980s ” “As students, we can and must take steps to forcibly reinvigorate the leg acy of participatory democracy." the paper slates. The group also headed across the l ruled Stales, hitting 12 schools in Ohio, Texas, Iowa, Kansas, W iscon sin, Michigan and Illinois belore ending in Berkeley, Calif., to drum up support. OK. so that's wonderful. A bunch of youthful '80s leftists are going to smoke dope and delude themsehes with a re-creation of the days ol Woodstock and Kent State; and sure, they re going to save the world, w e all know. Probably not, hut of course, they deserve the benefit of the doubt. At least they’re thinking about things that aren't right next door and they re being public about it. Yeah, but that's on the Hast Coast where intellectuals and Ivy League school predominate. This is is Ne braska; we don't have to be reaction ary here. People on the hast Coast know that: so do people on the West Coast. Nothing happens in Nebraska. It's itist not expected of us. And the inferiority complex ol Midwestern mentality reigns. But it's not true. Midwesterners have a reputation for being some ol the most caring, kindest people around, and they are certainly not without their thinkers and doers. So why the apathy? Admittedly, I'm no better than anyone else. I've got to be here and there, I' ve got to pay this insurmountable bill and that one; the same excuses that many use might suffice. But itcan'tbethat Mr.Gloom and Doom columnist is right. It's not that we don’t care ... is it? Johnson is a junior news-editorial major and Daily Nebraskan editorial page editor. Unsigned editorials represent of ficial policy of the spring 1988 Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Its mem bers arc Mike Rcilley, editor; Diana Johnson, editorial page editor; Joan Rczac, copy desk editor; Jen Dc sclmsjTianagingc^or^ui^Wa^ ner,.associate news editor; Scott Har rah, night news editor and Joel Carlson, columnist. Editorials do not necessarily re flect the views of the university, its employees, the students or the NU Board of Regents. _^ ^,c Daily Nebraskan spublishers —iwwamwHn—w—i ■■ — aic the regents, who established the UNL Publications Board to superv ise the daily production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the edito rial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student edi tors. The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor from all readers and interested others. Letters will be selected for publica tion on the basis of clarity, originality, timeliness and space available. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit all material submitted. Letters and guest opinions sent to the newspaper become property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be re turned. Submit material to the Daily Ne braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
