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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1988)
Editorial I Nebraskan I Curt Wagner, Editor, 472-1766 Mikt Reilley, Editorial Page Editor Diana Johnson, Managing Editor Lee Rood, Associate News Editor Bob Nelson, Wire Page Editor Andy Pollock, Columnist Micki Haller, Entertainment Editor --tit- -------:-—---1 Every vote counts Students are an apathetic, generation huvutfi tie-dved shifts for $20. Amchcaos are becoming aware of human rights violations in South Africa aryi other countries and the reality of AIDS is finally sinking into die minds of the Midwest heterosexual population. Hmmm ... seems like the whole world has been turned on its head. Jt*s an election year and anything can happen. Any ihino And with the election less than three weeks away, news broadcasts and magazine and newspaper reports are keeping Americans informed on the progress of each candidate and issue. They are telling us that polls indicate that candidate X is leatung canoioaie x in popularity. Experts give tneir informed opinion on why candidate X will win. In the days of ancient Greece, if you wanted to know what fate the future held for you* you went to the Oracle of Delphi. The priests there would sniff vapors and consult Zeus. Sometimes they were right, sometimes they were wrong. In this modem age, we have about the same amount of luck predicting the future. 4 don't have anything against the press. Really. And I | devour statistics almost in a compulsive way. They’re wonderful to spout o, r when debating issues and they lend themselves well to supporting the point of the better arguer. Any way ... Of the 220 million U.S. citizens eligible to vote in the 1984 presidential election, only 146 million cast their ballots. Seventy-four million did not. In other words, roughly one-third of the eligible voters did not participate : in the democratic process. And the voter response in the 18 to 24 year-old cate ; w. — which includes most of us college students — record speaks fo7 ftself: Wc'are ihfmrn apathetic' generation of all. Many of the people in the apathetic category use the old expyse* “Vofing is too much of ft hassle/’ or, <rMy vote That’s a bunch of horse-hockey. lohn F. Kennedy beat Richard*Ninon in the I960 presidential election by a margin so small that the differ ’ ence averaged to be less than one vote per precinct across the nation. As young people, we should be especially interested in who is elected to run our country and make important decisions about its future. That’s because we have the most to lose. Many young people arc comfortable now, and don’t care about foreign and domestic policies. But in the future, when our generation is expected to solve the problems caused by careless and short-sighted leadership, we may wish we had not been so lazy , The possibilities for our futures are being established today, it’s not over yet. Think about it. Besides, in addition to the election of public officials, there are many issues that will be resolved by voters on a Nov 8. In Nebraska, the radioactive waste disposal | compact issue, a proposed amendment to the state I smd^othCTimport^mfssues^win been thc^bpot [bull shorts I Today I want to addraaa tha iaaua of atudant apathy...but than, who caraa, ao never aiad. Ill Fans scolded for bad behavior Pollock leaves game when peers jeer Orr and Massengale Rarely do I get upset to the point where I show it. And seldom do {get real mad about a call in a football game—a couple calls in the 1982 Nebraska-Penn State game did infuriate me, but I got over them. Never, though, have I left a football game because of a “bad call.” But that all changed at last Saturday’s Nebraska-Oklahoma State Homecoming game. I didn’t leave because of a referee’s call, but because of a call made at halftime. I left Saturday’s game because of a call the fans made. If you were fortunate enough to have been anywhere but Memorial Stadium, you missed the boos that followed the introductions of Gov. Kay Orr and University of Nebraska Lincoln Chancellor Martin Massen gale at the beginning of the Home coming king and queen coronation ceremonies. That was weak, Comhusker fans. Real weak. 1 don’t claim to be a diehard Orr or Massengale fan, but I do respect them. There’s a time and a place and a mode for criticism of public offi cials, and it isn’t booing at a football game. Sure, On has done good things, and she’s done bad things. But lately she has been pretty darn good to the University of Nebraska. And sure, Massengale has done some good and some bad, but he cares about UNL as more than just a football team. I asked a student who was sitting near me why he was booing. “Because Massengale’s a dick,” he answered. “Oh, that’s a rational reason. Why don't you tell me why you think he’s a dick?” “1 have reasons.” “Really”; “Because he didn’t give money to campus rec last year.’’ God help us and save us! Isn’t that a terrible thing, the Office of Campus Recreation didn’t get all the money it needed—“for lights at a soccer Feld, or something like that,” the guy told me. Regardless of his complaint, boo ing at a football game is a disrespect ful, not to mention an ineffective means of voicing dissatisfaction. Every student has complaints, many ol which arc selfish and trivial, but why not try talking to the chancellor or to a vice chancellor. They’re all accessible. You can write them, call them, or express concerns in a letter to the Daily Nebraskan or to the Association of Students of the University of Ne braska. • At least Saturday wasn’t a total loss. 1 was glad to sec the Huskcrs’ offense play well. Before watching Nebraska stomp Oklahoma State into the turf, I and about eight other people listened to a lecture on political debating by Jack Kay, an associate professor of speech communications. We also joined Dennis Bormann, a speech communi cations professor, in a lecture on elo quence in public speaking. The lectures were interesting and educational. I’m sure the other 24 tectures on various topics made by UNL professors Friday and Saturday also were interesting and educational But where were those enthusiastic Nebraska fans when the university offered more than entertainment? One lecture on “dream houses,’ attracted an audience of about 50 people, said Dick Fleming, a profes sor of agricultural communications and co-chairperson of the sqhpiito miuee dealin , with progra 'MJJJP1" its and lectuies for the H mwlplbg weekend. The ave..*ee attendance at the lectures, hov ev« r, was between Five and 12 people. Fleming said academic depart ments were asked to nominate faculty to speak this weekend. The response, mostly of volunteers, was tremen dous, he said. “We were not able to schedule all the faculty who volunteered to speak,’’ he said. UNL faculty members arc willing to share their knowledge and thought, but Nebraskans arc not willing to listen. That’s too bad. Sure, this is the first time tor the lecture scries, but students, alumni and the general public were informed about it. Why were turnouts for the faculty lectures low? It wasn’t because people didn’t know. News releases were sent to all Nebraska newspapers, a full-page ad appeared in the Omaha World- Herald and the Daily Nebraskan and bro chures were distributed to alumni and through Lincoln service organiza tions, said Viann Schrocder, director of publication services and chairper son of the UNL Homecoming committee’s publicity committee Why was the attendance so low It’s a good question for everyone to ponder. Pollock ii a cantor Mwfro*ltortol ■*!<* anti a Doftjr NotaMfcM editorial cotaowtat