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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 1988)
Editorial --- pi *1 Curt Wagner, Editor, 472 1766 _ — LJclliy ^ Mike Rr.illcy, Editorial Page Editor pk j /% ■■‘Miyii j—11 *-*^*&*l Diana Johnson, Managing Editor I ^1 r®[JmSKrf I 1 Lee Rood, Associate News Editor 1 I — " ■. Bob Nelson. Wire Page Editor University of Nebrasks-Uncoln Andy Pollock. Columnist Craig Heckman, Columnist g£"7* ^ ™ ‘r/:; -v'/ • ' 1 "".|,|-ii|" - - «• » <V- ",HS ' Democracy at work ASUN plans to hear minority input tonight ? rpt *** S*®41®41 aspect of democracy is that citizens I;:; haw a voice m deciding who will be elected and what laws will he enacted. This may be the worn part of democracy, too, because citizens don't always raise their voices. This cannot happen at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. Especially not now. Members of the Afirikan People’s Union and other minority student groups, and members of the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska, will meet tonight at 7 p.m. at Commonplace, 333 N. 14th St. Tne meeting tonight was the result of a Sept. 14 ASUN meeting. ASUN senators were considering two bills dealing with improved conditions for campus minorities and minority faculty recruitment. APU president Terry Goods and member James Morris told ASUN they were not consulted about the bills, even though members of APU and other minority student groups would be affected by the bills. I Tonight’s meeting is very important for ASUN, the APU and all UNL students. ASUN has the chance to listen to students who will be affected by its legislation. But the process won't work unless individuals show up and let their voices be heard. —Ctrt W&f»«r for the Daily Nebraskan I What others think Parking oversold at students' expense • Owning a parking sticker at the University of Idaho doesn't necessarily guarantee you a parking space. Last year, the university oversold red-zone parking J permits by 126 percent and blue-zone permits by 115 percent. That means the university sold more than twice i the number of parking stickers than there were spaces j available. Why? According to Parking Director Tom Lapointe, the university’s stance is that it’s mine functional to oversell and it enables the university to stretch its parking budget — ail at the expense of the campus community. — The Argonaut University ofiJaho ' * -l * The University of Kansas finally will be getting a new performing arts center. After more than half a century of complaints from students, faculty and performers who reject Hocn Auditorium as a substitute for the real thing, the outcry will be hushed. So bravo for Campaign Kansas, the largest fund-raising drive for private donations in the university’s history. The dnve had an initial goal of $100 million, but that was raised to $ 150 million because of the campaign’s success. In only four months, Campaign Kansas has netted $81 million, and the drive still has more than four years to go. Most of all, bravo to the Lied Foundation of Omaha, which donated $10 million needed to help finance the Thanks to this donation, future Ku students will portunity to see top performers, con \l\WNK III RUN FOR IKISlffTORE ... NO, MM BE ... Ml Run for senate ... no ... .Miiimmt’iVftflWSk 2T Q Vu Run ... FOR ... PRESIDENT ! Tvn-m wr, m Presiowmt "i\a<er 1 u -& *■■■==&■»a * "fl Americans take too much heat South Koreans protesting Olympics should put up or shut up It’s as predictable as the leaves falling from the trees every autumn. Just turn on the television news any given night. You’ll be treated to the sight of masses of angry foreign ers burning American flags and screaming about how the United States has once again made their lives miserable. Just like clockwork, it has hap pened again. At Friday’soptningccrcmoniesof the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, anti-American demon strations raged throughout the city. More than 300 students chanted “Yankee,gohome!”at Korea Univer sity while more than 400 South Ko rean riot police desperately tried to maintain order and keep the incidents from moving closer to Olympic competition sites. The students were demonstrating primarily against the United States for “helping to enforce the division ol Korea” and for “not allowing the North Koreans to participate” in the Games. As if the United States decided cither of those issues. Chants of “Oppose dictators’ Olympics” rang out at every demon stration, The Associated Press re ported Sunday, and effigies of Ameri can leaders and nuclear weapons were burned. They may as well have had the 1988 Summer Olympics in Beirut But the demonstrations high lighted an alarming international trend that s been growing steadily since the mid-1960s During the last several years, most of the world has decided to come down hard on the United States for whatever problems exist, whether the United Stales was to blame or not. Nowadays, everything is our fault. It’s almost enough to give me an inferiority complex. Some nations have legitimate giipes. After World War II, the United States assumed a self-ap pointed hegemonic leadership role. This country was virtually the only one on earth left unscathed by the war. U.S. industry was intact, the economy was strong and American military power was unsurpassed. With that in mind, the American politicians began to rebuild the world. Unfortunately, politicians that played God left a trail of repressive puppet govemments and resentful feelings for which Americans are suffering 40 yei/s later. American influence after World War II is responsible for millions of unjustified deaths in nations where the United Stales installed govern ments that satisfied U.S. politicians’ tastes. Countries that were once U.S. al lies, like Iran and Libya, are now U.S. enemies. Nations that once helped the United States out of a bind, like the Western European nations, couldn’t care less anymore. Unless, of course, something’s in it for them. For example, when the Reagan administration became desperate for deterrences against terrorism in the early 1980s, Western Europe ignored U.S. pleas for unified trade embar goes and diplomatic pressure. As a result, American leaders felt the need to resort to military action against Libya with the bombing of Tripoli in April 1986. Even then, American “allies” denounced the U.S. action as unnec essary and said it would only open doors to new terrorist activity. France, which American troops have liberated twice this century from German occupation, wouldn’t even allow U.S. aircraft to fly over French soil en route to Libya. As a result, the planes were forced to fly around Europe, over the Atlantic Ocean. Flying time of the planes was in creased by 11 hours. Now, South Korean students throw fire bombs and shout obsceni ties at American tourists. These same students arc allowed to demonstrate only because they live in a democracy preserved by U.S. liberation of their hole-in-the-wall nation after the North Korean invasion of 1950. Many of these students would never have been bom if not for U.S. involvement in Korea in the early 1950s. Certainly, many would not be alive now had the United Slates not kept troops in South Korea after the end of the Korean War. North Korea would have swept in years ago. But now, they want the “Yankees” to go home. “And lake those damn troops with you, too.” No argument here. I agree. The United States should pull out of South Korea right now. Today, even. Troops, tanks, planes, everything. While we’re at it, maybe we should bring home all our businesses ar.d other financial assets, loo. After all, that’s what those edu cated South Koreans want And why stop there? The United Slates should just bring everything home from everywhere else, too. Western Europeans are always screaming for the Americans to go h jme and mind their own business. Sure! Americans should get out — and lake with them every American dollar on the continent. I wonder how long it would take to plow those fields without U.S. tech nology. Before long, the population of Western Europe wouldn’t have adequate food to gel up even enough energy to bum an American flag. There arc millions of Americans out of jobs and living on the streets. There arc millions of citizens in for eign nations who have U.S compa nies to thank for their jobs. By the same token, millions of workers here have foreign corpora tions to thank for their employment. But the difference is what those work ers do on the weekends. American workers seldomly bum Japanese or West German Hags. The United States didn’t receive billions of dollars worth of aid to rebuild its economy and then say: “We don’t need your help anymore, so gel the hell out!” U.S. policy insists that we send food and aid to nations w ho thank us by burning our Hag and chanting anti American slogans. Why? Food can be belter used here at home. Then, by all means, send the excess food to help out the rest of the world — but only then. That may sound pretty uncaring, but think about it. If your family needs food, would you give it away to strangers who will call you names after they get it? In the 1920s, when the United States practiced isolationism to per fection, American society prospered. Other than the immediate post-World War II years, it was the most finan cially successful time in U.S. history. It can be accomplished again and from the sound of world opinion, everyone involved will be happy. Ahh, to be president for a day .. • Greco to a news-editorial and criminal justice n^jor and is the Daily Nebraskan's copy desk cktef and First Damn Magazine