Letters examine fetus’ life, student’s death
Student defends
socialized medicine
As a native of a country that has
socialized health care, I thought 1
would take a few moments to correct
some of the more blatant inaccura
cies in Dave Clare’s letter (Daily
Nebraskan, Dec. 9) attacking that
particular institution.
First, your figures on income lax
arc wildly inaccurate. Basic rate tax
in the United Kingdom (note -- not
England) is 28 percent and the high
est tax rates in Europe arc levied by
the Swedes, around 50 percent.
More importantly, the major prob
lem with your argument stems from
your assumption that the only type of
health care available in these coun
tries is government care.
I his may be true in the Eastern
Bloc, but it is not true of Western
Europe. In all the Western European
countries, private health care and
private health insurance are widely
available. In the government sector,
resources arc allocated according to
greatest need; so yes, there arc re
strictions on care and often long
waiting lists for non-emergency
treatment.
However, anyone who has the
resources can go into the private sec
tor and get any treatment they w ish, at
their convenience. That seems to me
like the best of both worlds:
If you arc poor you don’t have to
rely on charily to gel treatment, or
worse yet, die for lack of it.
If you are rich (oreven moderately
well off) you can get your choice of
care. Allocating resources according
to ability to pay, as occurs in the
United States, is not only inhumane
but also inefficient. Urgent needs
such as pre-natal care in inner-cities
go unmet, while trivial “needs’ ’ such
as cosmetic surgery take up vast
amounts oi medical resources. Is that
a fair and just system?
I
Finally, for a country that has.ihe
“best” health care in the world, the
United Stales also has one of the
highest infant mortality rates of any
industrialized nation. I fail to sec how
anyone could be proud of that. How
ever, I could be wrong, after all, I’m
addressing someone who wrote off
26 million people as unimportant.
Fiona M. Davidson
graduate student
geography
Location of fetus
makes no difference
This is in response lo Darcy
Horn’s Idler (DN, Dee. 13). Horn
staled that “at the point when a fetus
is in the womb, it is not a ‘who’ but a
fetus.”
I take this “not a who’ ’ lo mean it
is not a person. How asinine. Unless
you misstated your thoughts, you are
telling me that as long as a baby is
inside the mother, killing it can be
justified because it is not a person.
Do you base this on just location?
Why would the location of a human
like organism have relevance as to
whether it’s a person or not? Docs it
have something to do with receiving
nutrition from the mother? Babies die
w ithout nutrition no matter w hat.
Surely this (location) must not be
what you think determines whether
something is a person or not. So then
is it size? Or docs it have something
to do with brain waves or response to
stimuli? First trimester babies have
these capabilities. There must be
something you think is different be
tween a newborn and a fetus at three
months of development, although
physiologically, there is really just an
increase in size that occurs. If you
can’t think of anything, I think you
are avoiding the issue.
And please don’t state blindly and
glibly that “a woman has a right to do
uff for
tckings.
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whatever she wants with her body.” I
believe in this statement too, as long
as they’re not killing someone.
I do not have to be a woman to be
upset about murder and seek laws
against it. I don’t have to be black to
stand up for civil rights.
Also, I said after the first trimester
a fetus just increases in size, not 10
weeks like you said I said in your
letter. But what’s the difference?
John Campbell
senior
prc-vcl
Dorm polling place
would show concern
I am writing to voice my support
for locating Association Students of
the University of Nebraska polling
places in the residence halls. In his
letter, Brian Svoboda (DN, Dee. 12)
brought out die point that a major
platform issue of the current ASUN
executives was gelling apathetic stu
dents involved. Svoboda also recog
nized that the way to get more stu
dents voting is to make it easier to do
so. I think another crucial issue is the
attitude the locations would exhibit.
I lived in Abel Hall for five years
and served on the Abcl/Sandoz. Resi
dents’ Association. Residence hall
people feel they have been ignored by
ASUN. Most residents see ASUN as
grcck-run and greck-oricnted. By
locating polling places in the resi
dence halls, ASUN would be exhibit
ing their concern w ith residence hall
issues. Denying the locations would
undoubtedly be seen by many as af
firmation of the stereotype.
In any governing system, people
must feel they arc an acknowledged
and desirable part of the system be
fore their participation and support
can be expected. I think the current
proposal would go far in promoting
that goal.
Tim Tcxel
first-year law student
-I I
Reaction to death
showed concern
Part of the training wc do with the
student assistants each year involves
teaching them to say residence halls
instead of “dormitories or dorms.”
Recently the difference between the
two terms became starkly real to me.
On Dec. 8, I was the RD on duty
for the Harpcr-Schramm-Smith resi
dence hall complex. I received the
call concerning the death of Roger
Darlmann. The process was handled
delicately and professionally which
illustrates precisely why these build
ings arc different than dorms.
rirsi, ii was a ncignoor who
alerted the student assistant. When
the incident was reported, there were
no crowds of strangers to push back
from the scene attempting to catch a
glimpse of the happening. The halls
had been cleared and concerned resi
dents respected the wishes of the stu
dent assistants in giving the police the
space they needed and Dartmann the
reverence and privacy he deserved.
These residents eared for more than
the gossipy news or the excitement of
the incident. These residents were
close, they were friends, they had a
leader who quietly cleared the halls
and answered their questions. They
were driven by a cooperative com
munity effort. They were not the
individuals of a “dormitory.” They
were and continue to be a community
where the needs and concerns of the
one effect the whole group.
In addition, the resources avail
able to that community were mani
fold. Immediately, there were police
on the scene, professional staff and
other concerned staff of the building.
Each had a role to play and each
performed gracefully. Soon, there
were people available for the people
who were effected deeply by the
death. There were two ministers and <
representative from menial hcaltl
who came to reach those needs of that
community.
As I observed the event unfold, I
realized the difference we try to make
in the building in order to create that
sense of community. Suddenly, I felt
proud of all that we stand for. 1 saw
Darlmann’s friends suffer his loss
which was very difficult; but, I also
saw how efforts were made for them
to join together and unite in a way a
floor only can after they know each
other so well.
I saw a quiet crowd of people. A
strong group of caring persons who
revere life and believe in all that it can
be. I saw difficult questions being
posed and answers being formulated
ana snarca with each other, l saw a
floor meeting formed in order to pay
tribute to Dartmann and the effect he
had in achieving the community on
Harper 2. Strangely, his effect will
live on even in the presence of death.
His memory will live through that
community in life-giving ways.
I only wish each of you knew how
much the residence hall communities
care for each of you living in the
halls. We strive to form that comfort
able community where you feel
united to others and where your life
makes an incredible difference.
“United we stand” ... we stand
for residents living in a close commu
nity setting knowing and caring about
one another. “Divided we fall” ...
we fall into the old stigma, that of
being a dormitory where you eat,
sleep and close your doors to one
another.
If you have any doubt about how
much we care and how much greater
our jobs arc than what often meets the
eye, then talk to us. Let us reach you
in our efforts to offer you the experi
ence we arc dedicated to. There is
never a need to suffer alone.
i Bridget Strey
» Smith Residence HaTl Director
-*1
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