Editorial Curt Wagner, Editor, 472-1766 Amy Edwards, Editorial Page Editor Jane Hirt, Managing Editor Lee Rood, Associate News Editor Diana Johnson, Wire Page Editor Chuck Green, Copy Desk Chief Lisa Donovan, Columnist ASUN praiseworthy Firm stand for burial rights commended ASUN Sen. Brian Svoboda and the Association of Students of the'University of Nebraska are to be commended. At a Wednesday night meeting, the ASUN Senate passed Svoboda’s bill to support the return of the Nebraska State Historical Society’s collection of all identifiable Pawnee Indian remains to the tribe. ASUN’s bill gives support to LB340, a bill in the Nebraska Legislature calling for the return of the remains to the Indians for burial. ASUN’s action only adds to a long list of supporters of LB340 - a list the Legislature should take heed of when voting on LB340 later this week or next. By supporting the bill, ASUN took a bold and firm stand on an important human rights issue - one that has an effect not only on American Indians, but on society as a whole. Debate over the issue has included the historical society’s argument that the collection is invaluable for research and education. _ . . • « i t i __I_C_ but tne mstoncai society nas nau some ui me icnumu more than 50 years -- ample time for research. ASUN Sen. Chip Dreesen said keeping the remains is ‘ ‘too heavy a price to pay for education.” Dreesen is right. He asked senators to think about what they would do if their ancestors’ remains were dug up and kept in a museum ~ to put themselves in the Indians’ position. The issue is not just over a museum’s collection of old bones and artifacts. It has caused anger, frustration and humiliation to an important group in the community. And as Svoboda said, it is not a “minority” issue, but an issue about respecting the dead — something done in every I culture and society The real issue is human dignity. The right of a person to be put to rest, in peace, should be a given. People should not have to fight to take their relatives out of glass cases to lay them to rest. Svoboda cited a letter from Attorney General Robert Spire supporting LB340. In the letter, Spire said the American Association of Museums has adopted a policy that ‘ 'reflects' the general law that human skeletal remains are to rest in peace in a grave or other proper sepulcher except where an appropriate purpose can be established for removing and retaining the remains.” The Nebraska State Historical Society has endorsed tms position in the past — and there is no reason the society should not endorse it now. Svoboda said there was no reason for anyone to vote against the bill — to vote against giving decent people a decent burial. But four ASUN senators did vote against supporting LB340 -- Sens. Bill Munn, Jill Durbin, Nancy Chapek and Phil Gosch. Chapek was concerned the bill would draw the Govern ment Liaison Committee away from other important issues. But ASUN amended the bill to exclude GLC’s involvement in the issue before the vote was taken. Munn said because LB340 is only on general file, it could ! be amended to a point where he would not agree with the bill. But ASUN also passed an amendment before the vote to support the bill “as it stands on this date.” That blows their arguments out of the water. The other two senators did not offer a reason for their opposition. Nevertheless, with the exception of those who voted against the bill, ASUN made a wise decision Wednesday night - one that showed concern for the history of Nebraska % — the beliefs of the people who were here before us. Lessons of history, science and others’ beliefs mean noth ing unless they are remembered and respected. — Amy ftdwmrik /•r Ik* Dmtly Ntbrmtkam edilgri^ ~ Signed staff editorials represent the the students or the NU B#ard official policy of the fall 1988 Daily Ne- Regents. braskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebras- According to policy set by the regent kan Editorial Board. responsibility for the editorial content < Editorials do not necessarily reflect the newspaper lies solely in the hands < the viewsof the university, its employees, its student editors. { lit; !•» Iint»w Nc\>r»%v» Columnist discusses problems Heckman sees widespread apathy, ignorance of world events m graduation ... ■ W What a glorious thought it ^-^is. It is also a very frightening thought No longer will I be sheltered from the big bad world by this univer sity. I will be open and exposed to the goings on of the world. 1 had never really considered the state of the world in these terms be fore. To be sure, I have always been aware of and concerned with the world’s problems, but I have always looked at it as a college student. Now, I am forced to look at it differently. As I look at the world from this new viewpoint, 1 also sec the univer sity and college life in general from a new viewpoint. I see widespread apathy and ignorance toward world events. When something like using student fees to fund the Committee nffArinn 1 .'vHi'in onH r.ai) Pvpnle comes up, everyone has an opinion. When the problems facing our envi ronment are brought up, people don’t listen or seem to care. I have always known this apathy towards world problems has existed and finally decided to do something about it, which explains my writing to you today. I thought all everyone needed was education about the prob lems so I tried to educate. This is not the case, I have found. People simply do not really care about the larger problems facing us today. Don’t misunderstand me. There are a good number of people who care very much about these problems and take great steps to do something about them. For example: A group of Nebras kans for Peace stood outside of the Nebraska Union Wednesday and gave away anti-racism pamphlets while broadcasting me worus ui Martin Luther King Jr. over a loud speaker. But these few arc a decided minority. The vast majority belong to the other group. I Why am I writing about this when no one cares anyway? I guess I am a slow learner. And I do care, and it is important to me that more of you care. Right now this planet we call Earth is faced with so many incred ible problems I get scared thinking about it The biggest threat to everyone is nuclear war. Just because the Inter mediate Nuclear Forces treaty was signed last year does not mean we arc safe. Both sides still have plenty of weapons. Maybe an equal threat is the envi ronment. Global warming is a poorly understood phenomenon which could have disastrous effects for ev eryone. Rain forests in Brazil are being destroyed at an incredible rate. The effects of this arc completely unknown but surely they will be negative. What about the millions of starv ing people around the world? Bob Geldof brought them to our attention a few years back, but how many of us remember — how many really care? Why go to Africa? What about the >Ull aim iiuiiiviv^ nviv 111 nnii,i ica, in Lincoln? How many of us know or care about them? What about our federal govern ment, which continually ignores these problems? Our federal govern ment has grown so large it can no longer effectively deal with many of our problems. We the people of America can change this. Do we? No, most of us bitch about the way things arc going and do nothing but sit on our bchinds. Some of you arc saying “Big deal, Heckman, what the hell does this have to do with anything, especially me.” What does it have to do with you? Everything. It’s easy to ignore the world now, but I guarantee that in a few years you will graduate and he facing the same problems and ques tions I do now. Or maybe not. Graduation docs not guarantee enlightenment, noth ing does in fact. The only way for anyone to become aware is for them to want to. I can write about this for years and it will make no difference unless you want it to. This is my challenge to you. Don’t go through life unaware. Take a few years off, have fun, get drunk and fall down. But someday, next week or next year, take a stand on an issue -- care. I’m not saying to give away all your worldly possessions and devote your life to world peace. I am say ing that to go through life without getting involved in societies’ problems is a waste. It's your choice, make it and live it. I made mine. Heckman is a senior international affairs major and a Daily Nebraskan editorial col umnist. Reader: COLAGE decision lacks compassion So here we are, the enlightened 20th century humanitarians, pcrpetu ators of progress, possessors of won drous intelligence. Singing our own praises of our great compassion, of our kinder, gentler world. Yet despite our self proclaimed glory we continue to leg islate inferiority. By labeling “problem peoples” as pagans, communists and immoral, we have made them subhuman — less than equal, good but not quite good enough. All of this from a nation that found its origin in escape from reli gious intolerance and persecution. But it did not take long for power to rear its evil head. For Die perse - cuted to become the persecutor. The persecutor, in the name of God. In the name of jusnee, as a self-proclaimed ,f protector of all that is good and de cent on the earth. s And here we are today, in this bastion of higher learning, languish ing in the cradle of democracy. Per petuating the assumed Christian, inmMiiummunwMiumwnnwMiM Anglo-Saxon, Puritanical social norms. We have taken Christianity to a new plateau, higher than it has even been before. We have deemed our selves God. We have made ourselves es of humankind, ut in this we have gone too far. The blind have led the blind into the pit. We have assumed too much. Christianity never gave us the power to judge, only the responsibility to love our enemies as ourselves. To have compassion and empathy for those who share this earth with us. To take in knowledge and deepen our understanding of that which we know not of.that we mav be wise, kind, just. Democracy has not given us undy ing power. It has given us equality without regard to color, sex, national origin, personal ideals. It has granted us freedom of choice, freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom to live without fear. So where is the true Christianity, the true democracy which we chose to hold so dear? They cannot be «>0 M. found. We have killed them. In our Eursuit of godless lust and power wc ave lost sight of our objectives. Wc have mislaoeled our prejudices as morality. We have invoked censor ship as justice. We have swept the dust under the carpet But the carpet will wear thin, the light will shine through to the down trodden. They will rise up and take what is theirs. They will become our equals. We will be forced to practice that which we have professed for so long. We yet have the opportunity to take the initiative ourselves. It is not yet too late to give freedom gener ously and unequivocally, bestowed with love, to our fellow woman/man. It is not yet too late to share our love without restriction, without qualili cation. To give our love freely wc can know what it is to receive love, to be wise, to be free. Bill Hculc COLAGE member Lincoln