Editorial
I Nelrc&kan
| University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Curt Wagner, Editor, 472 1766
Mike Reilley, Editorial Page Editor
Diana Johnson, Managing Editor
Lee Rood, Associate News Editor
Bob Nelson, Wire Page Editor
Craig Heckman, Columnist
Andy Pollock, Columnist
Chambers, pi
Senator would be better off in l
Decisions. Decisions.
If State Sen. Ernie Chambers IS only sincere about
his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, then he should
decide whether he wants that office or wants to run for re
election to the Nebraska Legislature. Afe •••*,
It’s a decision he should have made long before now.
But instead. Chambers is playing a political "stall
game" with the chief justice of the Nebraska Supreme
I Court — a delay that could cost him some votes.
Chambers, you see, is in an interesting position. He’s
listed both as a U.S. senatorial candidate with the New
Alliance Party as well as running for re-election to the
Nebraska Legislature. A ruling by Secretary of State
Allen Beerman ordered that Chambers’ dual candidacies
violated state law.
f Because of his hesitation to pick an office, the Daily
Nebraskan questions how serious Chambers is taking his
2 candidacy, both for the Legislature and the Senate.
On Monday, Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice
William Hastings refused to extend the deadline for
Chambers. Earlier, Hastings had ruled that Chambers
must make his decision by Wednesday.
uooa move, mu.
Chambers asked for an extension of the deadline and a
partial reconsideration of Hastings’ one-judge opinion, ,
which said Chambers can’t run for both offices. Chambers
has argued that he should be allowed dual candidacies,
j and that the deadline should be extended to late Septem
ber because of the extraordinary circumstances of the
case.
Last Friday, Chambers told The Associated Press that
he might take legal action. Good grief, Ernie, it’s time to
abandon the stall game and get on with one candidacy.
The DN thinks Chambers would be wise to stay in the
Legislature. He’s running unopposed in North Omaha’s
11th District, and he has proven himself a worthy state
senator in the past
Besides, Chambers had to overcome a cloud of contro
versy just to obtain the New Alliance candidacy. He won
the seat in July after the party labored through weeks of
confusion.
The State Board of Canvassers first said Chambers had
won the party nomination in the May balloting, but later
j reversed it when a recount showed former Gov. Bob
Kerrey won the nomination. Kerrey rejected the New
I Alliance seat to run on the Democratic ticket
Nebraska needs Chambers in the Legislature. In this
state, his outspoken style can only keep a conservative
| storehouse in check, and provide citizens with alternative
arguments to legislative bills.
| Chambers may be dwarfed in the U.S. Senate, the little
fish in a big pond, as opposed to a big fish in the little
j l pond. His somewhat radical style would be shirked off in
Washington D.C. After all, how many U.S. senators sport
cut-off sweatshirts and have barbells in their offices?
— MfcfMfer
far tka Omit j NabrmUm
Reader questions movie
Craig Heckman’s column (DN,
Sept 9) suggests that “The Last
Temptation of Christ” can play a
positive role in helping Christians to
question their religious faith be
cause it “questions the traditional
view.”
I think Heckman is correct in
that traditional Christian
Jesus should be open to
, but the suggestion
movies might play a
in such inquiries is dubi
on the one hand, there
evidence supporting
Martin Scorsese’s portrayal of Jesus,
then it is this factual evidence itself
and not the film that is relevant
On the other hand, if there is no
factual evidence supporting the
film’s portrayal of Jesus, then it is
merely an exercise in imagination,
but not necessarily a harmless one.
Thus, in either case, the film isof little
or no use in critically evaluating
claims about Jesus.
Dave Reiter
graduate student
philosophy
—[ICgonrg
The Daily Nebraskan welcomes
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readers and interested others.
Anonymous submissions will not
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year in school, major and group atmi
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braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R
SL, Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
Officer slaps a helping hand
Rude police officer convinces columnist to avoid getting involved
he Police officer is your
friend.” Remember
growing up hearing that
phrase? Well, I had a heck of a yam
with my “buddy” from the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Depart
ment the other night.
On my way home, I turned onto R
Street and noticed a moped lying on
the ground just in front of the Ne
braska Union. Looking up from the
wreck, dazed, was a man who obvi
ously had just taken a mean spill. He
had a companion rid ing on the back of
his two-person moped.
By the time I drove up, he and his
companion had stood up, a sign that
they weren’t too seriously hurt.
When I asked them what hap
pened, they said a vehicle parked
castbound on R Street pulled out and
made a U-tum right in front of them.
He slammed on his brakes and, in the
process, flipped his moped over. It
was all he could do to avoid a colli
sion. The avoidance wasn’t without
cost. In addition to being physically
shaken up, both he, his companion
and his moped suffered some dam
age.
Auer taxing a lew minutes lor tnc
two tocollecl themselves, I suggested
that wecall the police. After all, that’s
the thing to do, right? If in doubt, call
the police?
As I started walking to the phone,
a police officer drove by.
Perfect timing, I thought, and
flagged him down.
I briefly explained the situation
and pointed him to the person driving
the moped.
They talked for a few minutes.
Listening from the sidelines, I could
tell that the officer wasn’t giving the
guy a sympathetic car.
“Driver error,” the driver would
later tell me. “Basically, he was say
ing, I crashed for no reason. It was my
fault that I crashed.”
Never mind the fact that a car
pulled out right in front of him.
I felt the driver was getting
screwed around by this officer. He
was just in a wreck, still a little dazed
and probably nol in the best state to
ask questions as to why the officer
was giving him the brief brush over.
1 started asking questions for him.
Halfway through my first ques
tion, the officer erupted.
“Look, is this your vehicle?
“No.”
“Then stay out of this.”
Wait a minute. I had a legitimate
question. I was the first person on the
scene of the accident. I didn’t want to
sec this guy screwed around.
I got no more than an, “Excuse inc,
sir .. . “ out of my mouth, when the
officer said, “Unless this is your ve
hicle stay out of this or you’ll be
arrested.”
I——I
Not being one who likes instant
f;ag orders from power-hungry po
ice, I tried one more time.
He told me that if I said one more
word, I would be arrested for interfer
ing with the duties of a police officer.
This potentially meant jail lime for
only trying to help out.
I wasn’t there as a journalist. I
wasn’t there to harass the police. 1 was
an ordinary citizen who was drawn
into an incident by being at the right
place at the right time. But at this
point, I was beginning to feel 1 was in
the wronj£ place at the wrong time.
I was interested in things like jus
tice and fairness. When it appeared
that the officer was giving the moped
driver the quick brush-off, I tried to
ask a few questions.
When he started telling me to shut
up or he would pul the cuffs on me, 1
thought about things like the First
Amendment and the right to free
speech.
Heck, I didn’t even want free
speech, just the right to ask some
questions and make sure this guy
wasn’t getting screwed around by an
officer of the state.
I can understand that police offi
cers arc prone to having a bad night.
They’re human. But this guy was a i
sergeant with the UNL Police Depart |
ment. I’d like to expect a higher level
of professionalism from an officer of
his standing.
I was upset about the officer’s lack
of inquisitiveness at the scene. Al
though no one got a license plate
number, the moped rider could give a
pretty detailed description of the
vehicle and the driver. The officer
never asked for this information. I
was never asked any questions, ei
ther.
But i was also aisgusieu mat uin
officer thought he had to exercise
such an extreme display of power.
I once heard a police officer say
that 90 percent of all cops are good —
it’s the other 10 percent who make it
bad for the rest of us. I believe that to
be true. Most of my contact with
police officers has been good, many
exemplary.
But it’s unfortunate that I had to be*
tainted with one in the upper echelon
of the bad 10 percent.
Lt. Ken Cauble of the UNL Police
Department said it’s usual depart
ment procedure to not talk with
people on the scene of an accident,
unless they were involved. I’m still
unclear as to whether I was involved
or not. The police officer never took
any lime to clarify my involvement.
Maybe he just knew.
Obviously, we would’ve been
belter off if I wouldn’t have flagged
this officer down. The result was the
same, in effect, but a “wing of the
state’’ told the cyclist to be a better
driver and he threatened momentarily
to strip me of my freedoms.
We’re taught to avoid the * I didn i
want to get involved” syndrome. But
after this incident, maybe next ume
should just not get involved.
Coffey la a mmtor pditkal aeteoc* "“I4*
and a DN editorial Mllumalat.
Signed stall editorials represent the
official policy of the fall 198K Daily Ne
braskan. Policy is set by the Daily Ne
braskan Editorial Board. Its members arc
Curt Wagner, editor; Mike Reilley, edito
rial page editor; Diana Johnson, manag
ing editor; Lee Rood, associate news
editor; Andy Pollock, columnist; Bob
Nelson, wire page editor; and Craig
Heckman, columnist.
Editorials do not necessarily reflect
the view s of the univers ity, its employees,
the students or the NU Board of
Re its.
itorial columns represent the opin
ion of the author.
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the regents, who established the UNL
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production of the paper.
According to policy set by the regents,
responsibility for the editorial content of
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