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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1988)
Editorial i NelSaskan University ot Nebraska-Lincoln Curl Wagner, Editor, 472 1766 Mike Reilley, Editorial Page Editor Diana Johnson, Managing EUuor Lee Rood, Associate News Ewuor Bob Nelson, Wire Page Editor Andy Pollock, Columnist Micki Haller, Entertainment Editor ASUN needs kick In the... Senators’ apathy, lax attitude sets in Last spring, a few senators in die Association of Stu dents of the University of Nebraska accused Presi dent Jeff Petersen of imposing a gag order to keep them from talking to the press about legislation. Now, it appears that some of them have tried to get even. At least that’s tire indication after last Wednesday’s ASUN meeting, where Petersen and Bryan Hill, chairman of the Government Liaison Committee, attacked t!«e senate for voting to limit executive reports to three min utes. The senate eventually retracted the time limit and gave Peterses and Hill unlimited time to speak. But only under pressure from the executive members. w$ Petersen said the senators were trying to limit their time to speak because they wanted to adjourn as quickly as possible. /v.A< He also sakl the senators should start developing some serious legislation and atke meetings more seriously. “Right row, I’m pissed. Very pissed,” Petersen told die senate during his opening statement And he has every right to be. , * It seems that some senators; enjoy their titles and status of being members of the student government, but they don’t want to spend the time and effort to do their job well. Behavior of some senators has been poor, accenting to some Daily Nebraskan reporters who cover ASUN meet ings. , ■ ,jf; For example, at last week’s meeting, two senators giggled and talked tb each other during a debate on a bill that would have frozen ASUN’a surplus fund,‘money that was left over from last year. During a debate on a construction traffic bill, another senator said, “Let’s just accept this by acclamation and get out of here.” Now that’s democracy in action, folk*. Attendance at committee meetings also has been low. Some meetings even have had to be canceled because hot enough senator? have attended. This leaves ASUN in a strange position. Event year, the ASUN senate has been under fire for apathy and attrir^ rates, but mu usually until second semester. Sens become lax late in the school year when tests pagers distract them from their obligations. That’s excusable, but what has been going on isn’t ft_•. I Maybe the senators just need some motivation Akkk in the butt, if you will. And that’s where the DN comes in. The senate is already working on an important bilk which calls’for an investigation into handicapped access to Memorial Stadium for football games. This is a topic i thu has been long overlooked, i In fact, the senate would be wise to look further than | just access to the stadium. It’s interesting to note that handicapped fans are seated under the North and South Stadium stands, behind a chain-link fence. ■ gjK They set at field-level and have some of the Worst seats in the stadium. Television camera crews often place equipment behind the end zones, shielding the handi | capped fans from the action on the field. Two years ago, the ASUN senate supported Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne’s efforts to build the George Cook Pavilion. Now, the senate would be wise to put some heat on Athletic Director Bob Devaney and other athletic department officials to get something done about the handicapped seating. Petersen has also presented a list of 19 possible bills tdi the senate, including a survey of University of Nebroska I Lincoln students about dead week. * ^ J" ASUN has worked on some important legislation this fall. Petersen’s revised version of the minority recruitment bill should be an effective step in luring more minority faculty and students to campus But If UNL wants to have an effective student govern ment, it needs to be aggressive. And that’s impossible unless some of the senators begin taking their obligation more seriously. $>%;; • - £*» *«* ---------—«: JUST WANT TO NOLOGIZE TO MJl KW cjORTS FANS FOR SWIUNG THE ODDS WO ORP^O»G\HG OUT THE SERVES • • • Nebraska needs new horizons The 'good life’ needs ‘good strategy’ to persevere □ast week, members of New Hori zons, a long-range strategy plan ning group that makes recom mendations to the Nebraska Legisla ture, met to think of ways to stop the state’s “brain drain.” Brain drain, a term commonly used to describe the out-migration of Nebraska’s college graduates and professionals to other states, is not a new phenomena. Since I first came to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, people have asked students why they want to leave Nebraska, given them a lecture on “the good life’vand begged them to stay. As if people just can’t understand why someone might, just might, want to leave. In public, politicians like Gov. Kay Orr talk about the state’s beauty, the “good life," and what a land of opportunity Nebraska is. Perhaps the reason Orr likes Ne braska so much is because this is probably the only state where she could be elected governor. I m not saying Nebraska’s a bad state — it’s fine as far as most medi ocre Midwestern states go. But it’s a little hard to believe that someone wouldn ’t be able to fathom why many young Nebraskans take vacations and never come back. Nebraska has very little to offer young people aside from homes and families. ‘The good life” to many young people is a thing of the past. College graduates know they can get paid a lot more on the coasts than they can in the Midwest. Some might argue that it costs twice as much just to live in some place like New York or California, bul the price is worth it to some who consider better job-selection oppor tunity. “Good lifers” call Nebraska a beautiful state. For them, a change in grass color from pi ne green to a dried oul shade of beige constitutes beauti ful fall colors. Trying to find beautiful scenery in Nebraska, especially in the southeast part of the state, is like trying to find a clean pair of underwear in a dirty clothes basket. _ Some places in the western part of the state are beautiful. But moving west is kind of like moving to S iberia. Most of what’s political, cultural or social is in Omaha and Lincoln. You can only stare at sandhills and wind ing rivers for so long. Some genius in New Horizons suggested that wc make Nebraska a haven for retirees, in order to keep people here. Gotta love it. Every old person I know in the stale just loves the “brisk” sub-zero winters and “tropical” 100-dcgrce summers. Despite the unpredictable weather though, some old people remain the biggest Nebraska fans of all. My grandmother says Nebraska may not be as exciting as the coasts, but the people arc what make it spe cial. I agree to a certain extent, but I also think good people can be found all over the globe. Grandma also says that Midwest ern ideals are like no others. I’d agree with that. Nebraskans have a good work ethic, strong families and high moral standards. I guess those are good reasons to slay. There’s a sense of security in the Midwest. The air is relatively clean, education is still semi-affordable and you only need one good bolt lock on your door. Things like that mean a lot these days. That’s why I wish the people who worry about braih drain would be honest about what Nebraska docs have and what it doesn’t. Clean air and high morals just don’t cut it for everyone. Those people aren’t going to stay no matter what the “good lifers” do. More time should be spent focus ing on education to keep the young people here. Politicians don’t seem to realize that education is key to the future of Nebraska. Leaders also need to improve wages and job opportunities. The quality of life has to be be sustained. Minorities need to feel welcome. The traditional Nebraskan’s conservative view has shut out many potential “good lifers.” The federal government is paying Nebraska farmers not to farm. What happens to the state’s great work ethic then? Nebraska does have a lot to oiler. But until people are realistic about what needs to be worked on to pre serve its qualities, the state doesn’t have much to grow on. Rood Is a senior news-editorial journal ism major and is a Daily Nebraskan editorial columnist. ‘ »__ Signed staff editorials represent members are Curt Wagner, editor; Pollock, columnist; Bob Nelson, wire the official policy of the fall 1988 Mike Reilley, editorial pace editor- .. Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Diana Johnson, managing editor; Lee c<*ltor; ^ Micki Haller, entc Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Its Rood, associate news editor; Andy tainment editor. Campus Notes_ by Brian Shellito AID NOW AFTER BEERS EACROUTRE PART OF OCR HERDS BRAD WDTOWS ...LET US TAKE A STROLL DOWN jAEMORT IANE TDVWtU TREX WERE IU GRADE , SKOfeTLT BEFORE TVET EtitST HET . ...WART WERE TMET UKE ? OKW CLASS KICVJ WR*T fcifc XOU ALL BR\NG FOR S*M AMD TELL, T6WAV, XCOLOCfc ^\OOS TD ItLL fc»—i' XEWA I BRoocvn MX FWtMD ERN\fc TWE. ^ Jit SPORTS GET ▼ DEtt fAU-K TOKtNfi ^ IN TWEfcE !
