Editorial
Curl 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
Quibbles and bits
Helmet rule should apply to none or all
• If the Nebraska Legislature is going to requite mo
torcyclists to wear helmets, it should enforce the rule on
all motorcyclists, not just those under age 19.
LB690 has sparked new interest in the mandatory
helmet law, which went into effect two months ago. But
LB690, instead of requiring all motorcyclists to wear
helmets, would require only those under age 19 to wear
them.
This is hardly fair and definitely not smart.
LB690 has been called a compromise bill between en
forcing the mandatory helmet law or not enforcing it. But
what a silly compromise, enforcing the law on one group
of people who apparently don’t have as many motorcycle
accidents in Nebraska. Only two of the 19 motorcycle
fatalities in the state in 1988 were under age 19, according
to state Sen. Dan Lynch of Omaha.
•ASUN Sen.Jill Durbin finally has said something
that makes sense.
The arts and sciences senator spoke in open forum at an
ASUN meeting last night about her feelings on the pass
ing of Senate Bill 65, which shows ASUN’s support of
LB340 in the Nebraska Legislature.
LB340 asks for the return of Indian remains and burial
goods to the Pawnee Indians of Oklahoma, who were
originally from Nebraska. Durbin questioned whether the
Association of Students of the University of Nebraska
overstepped its bounds when supporting LB340.
“Why stop on that?’’ she asked.
Why, indeed?
Durbin said that some UNL students ride motorcycles,
so ASUN should voice its opinion on state legislation
concerning the helmet law. She also mentioned students
who have children and could use day-care services, saying
that ASUN should tell legislators how the student body
feels about that issue. She brought up other issues the
Legislature is concerned with that would affect students,
saying ASUN should speak out on those.
Yes, ASUN should address student issues so legislators
know what students want
Durbin then reiterated that she feels ASUN oversteps
its bounds when telling the Legislature how students feel.
What? ASUN’s job is to improve the quality of life at
UNL. Part of that job, it seems, would be to let Nebraska
legislators know how students feel through ASUN’s legis
lation.
So, by all means, overstep any bounds to accomplish
that task.
- Cart Wagner
for ike Daily Nebraskan
Student says people shouldn’t walk on eggs
“Americans are ignorant of Is
lam” (Daily Nebraskan, March 1)
was an important step in educating
the “bibleocentric” masses about a
major world religion that is largely
misunderstood.
However, I disagree with the no
tion that we should all walk on egg
shells when we are expressing our
ideas. The guest columnist wrote:
“Islam is not a religion in the narrow
sense ... It is a way of life.”
In a very subtle way, this seems to
be claiming that Islam is more impor
tant than the belief systems of the
other four-fifths of the world. Chris
tians protesting “The Last Tempta
tion of Christ’ralso claimed that the
film was insensitive to their beliefs,
but for some reason, I still envision
screaming hoards of fundamentalists
enjoying a Jimmy “Secular Human
ists are Slime” Swaggart telecast -
without feeling the slightest pangs of
guilt
It doesn’t seem that these people
are worried about religious intoler
ance in general; they are simply send
ing a message directly to Martin
Scorcese and Salman Rushdie: "My
beliefs run deeper than your beliefs!
Pblft!"
By doing so, they are trampling on
my feelings. To get revenge, I could
put a price on Charlton Heston’s head
for starring in "The Ten Command
ments’’ I could demand that Shirley
MacClaine’s "Out on a Limb" be
removed from the shelves of book
stores across the nation. I could
demand that the Bible be moved
closer to the J.R.R. Tolkien section. I
could even try to remove The UNL
Good News’ right to publish their
anti-humanist propaganda, but 1
won’t.
Not because there aren’t any
"screaming hoards" of free-thinkers
to back me up, but because real reli
gious tolerance is taking what they
say with a grain of salt
Pohl Longsine
junior
mathematics and computer science
I BULL SHOKff]]
H.ve you eve' been bored *n* *•**£*£? ?dkm“t taS? £f Too^n/plople
servings in * 12 0*. can or y , can. This also means that
who go lookingr for a pwtner wnen_r ^ pep8i, yOU are actually getting two
Wh?«riea ^ot ^one What do you think Sat would do to their advertising?
calories, n°5. ° ® ' , Heavens, Coca-cola would prevail in the cola wars.
TrC.Vd'. ^.n of S££il£Noodl. .oup tol. Th. l.b.1 .t.t.. th.t
th.” .cl ?“ Jnd th«« fourth. servings »ft.r you .dd . =.n of «t.r. I
may be a pig, but I usually eat a whole c»n
Even so, when my wife and I have 1"n°^°9®^®
and have soup, we always have a hard time coming
up with that three fourths person.
I have not been able to find a serving size
on any beer cans or, for that matter, a si*
pack, twelve-pack or case. You don't
suppose the answer could be one serving... in
each instance.
Speaking of serving sizes, I went to one
of those ''JUl-You-Can -Eat'' places
the other day. I finished my first
helping and went up to get another.
Unfortunately the owner was
standing there with a big man
named Hally, who told me that
was all I could eat.
Issues fill the last few weeks
Potpourri of controversies include COLAGE, abortion, Tower
These last few weeks have been
ripe with controversy here at
the University of Nebraska
Lincoln. With the Committee Offer
ing Lesbian and Gay Events and
abortion being the main highlights,
and a smattering of other issues
thrown in.
“The Satanic Verses,” John
Tower, Oliver North and George
Bush in Asia... the list goes on.
The reason for the potpourri of
issues is that no one thing has really
grabbed my attention. Well, some
topics have, but those don’t really
deserve an entire column devoted to
them. So here they are, the things
going on in the world that interest,
bother or simply amuse me.
Oliver North and his attorney
Brendan Sullivan. This would fall
into the amuse category. It seems that
North will most likely evade any seri
ous charges against him. It seems that
his attorney Sullivan has succeeded
in convincing the judge the docu
ments he needs to defend North are
those which are classified secret and
cannot be introduced into the court
room.
Whenever the prosecution has
tried to introduce material that could
prove harmful, Sullivan has cried
‘ ‘we need secret documents to defend
ourselves.” The judge has then sent
the jury home and tried to figure out
what to do. This is not illegal but
merely being a good lawyer, I imag
ine. Sullivan has found a weak spot in
the prosecution and is using it to his
best ability.
The funny thing is the special
prosecutor has had a good idea that
this would happen. He has wasted
millions of dollars in tax money and
has dropped the major charges
against North. What this means is
Oliver North, even if found guilty,
will serve little if any jail time and I
imagine any possible fine will be
minor.
Say what you want about the man,
good or bad, but when he does some
thing he doesn’t mess around.
Whether it be illegal arms sales and
the disappearance of $10 million or
going to court, he does it big -- not
with style, just big.
Another unstylish guy is John
Tower. As James Senneu wrote in his
column Tuesday, Tower exhibits
signs of an alcoholic. Whether or not
the charges are true doesn’t seem to
matter anymore. What has become
important is the fight between the
U.S. Senate and Bush. Bush has cho
sen to go to bat for Tower. If he loses,
his credibility and influence in Con
gress will be much reduced.
He should take a clue from his
predecessor Ronald Reagan — cut
your losses before they become an
issue. The Reagan administration
perfected the “spin” technique. Do
what the public wants, if they don’t
notice, it’s OK.
Speaking of Bush, he has recently
returned from a trip to Asia. It ap
pears that he has taken a very real
concern with Asia — especially
China. It is good to see that he has.
With over a billion people, China
cannot be ignored.
This success abroad has been
shadowed by his lack of any at home.
Besides the Tower issue, Bush faces
other problems. He has yet to fill
most of the middle-level administra
tive positions. These are the positions
that no one hears about, <vhere most
of the work is done. By not filling
these positions he is, by default, giv
ing the edge to Congress.
This, combined with his oilier
problems, may signal a long four
years for Bush. Facing an unfriendly
Congress, not having the wheels of
government in place -- much less
moving smoothly -- a budget deficit,
trade deficit and a $120 billion price
tag on Savings and Loans, Bush is in
trouble early.
Closer to home the COLAGE
problem and abortion continue to
reign. You all know how I feel about
COLAGE- - give them the money and
let them choose. Many letters against
funding COLAGE mention morality.
To me, morality is not something
anyone else can dictate to another.
Everyone must find their own. To say
someone is without morals is to say
their morals don’t coincide with
yours. It does not mean they are
wrong.
I am rather surprised that many
people find the time to gripe about a
mere $750. This is nothing. Very few
have said anything about the compa
rably huge increases in student fees
for the Campus Recreation Center.
How many will actually use it
You’re going to pay for it. if you
don’t use it, aren’t you just throwing
your money away? This will cost
everyone more than COL AGE will -
why don’t you complain about it ?
Just briefly will I touch abortion.
It’s a hot topic and one we’ll not
resolve here. I was overjoyed this
weekend with something I saw. Sat
urday morning I was driving on O
Street and noticed a large group 01
people picketing the Lincoln Clinic.
They were pro-choice people **
mainly women — who were Pr0^1'
ing the clinic’s decision about abor
tions. The pro-choice group has not
given up the fight
Well, I feel better now. It’s a real
relief to get all of this off my chest
Heck mao is a Motor totornaUonaJamUr*
m^oraad a Daly Nebrwka editorial colum
nist.
