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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 3, 1989)
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 AIDS bill needed Sm* jroii&Bty has once again been used as a political ping .|pi|ph||u<Beiary Committee of the Nebraska Legisla ture Heard testimony Thursday on a bill to allow people ' with Ato$-to bring civil action against anyone who dis ■Criminates against them In employment* housing or ^education. x J '' \ \ |;Db*t IMemann of PapUMon spoke against LB465, • saying the b0| was unnecessary* Lienemann said there was “too much of the heavy hand of government' * al ;• ready*, I" fie gisoquestioned the moral issues behind the bill pf&s^Pite a representative of the Mexican ft American Commission* said the global proportions of the I disease should outweigh any issues of morality* IMAdfcbson is right repotted cases of AIDS in cJHebraska as pf Match 1* people have to accept the fact that there is a serious problem. JS People who have the AB^ virus are discriminated | against, Tfapatality rate is 100 percent, Why make lives worse than they already aie? K | ... ' - ite/jPeoplelSpho suspect they have the disease are afraid to get felted* because they ate afraid of losing friends, family ftandjdbs*.^fc^:.-\- : • Iftl^nd nobody can blatUd lbem* \ «; - ft LB463 passes* those people may not be so terrified of |tosing;ii|ir:jcba at least* Education about the virus can i -<telyhelp^ Ir* - - • ’ ;-v Virginia Wilkinson, AIDS program director for the Ne | braska Department of Heajfh, said the bill is especially : necessary for tltose who test positive for the HIV, but are not affected by the later stages of the AIDS virus. ; “Most HIV’s me capable of staying in the mainstream |of soctesj* IP'-. But without this bill, those people may not have the ||hancejpi[ stay in society* Bear is prevalent in every area, ftteid if employers and employees are afraid of working with someone who tests positive for the HIV, that person mm\be able to top their jol^V f 41M"A ~ * got been movencontagious through anything . semen. With precautions, there should be ith contamination in the work place or Difrffuri-ftfrf-M || |ih h VrMimfill'd 800 to2,000people in the state may have “* “ ■' ’ with the rest of their ' _£diiarinl Signed staff editorials represent the official policy of the fall 1988 Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Its members are Curt Wagner, editor; Amy Edwards, editorial page editor; Jane Hirt, managing editor; Lee Rood, associate news editor; L.isa Donovan, columnist; Diana Johnson, wire page editor; and Chuck Green, copy desk chief. Editorial columns represent the opinion of the author. The Daily Nebraskan’s publishers are the regents, who established the UNL Publications Board to supervise the daily production of the paper. According to policy set by the re gents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student editors. _ The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor from all readers and interested others. Letters will be selected for publi cation on the basis of clarity, original ity, timeliness and space available. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit all material submitted. . Readers also are welcome to sub -‘fMfflMMM Whether material should run as a let ter or guest opinion, or not to run, is left to the editor’s discretion. Letters and guest opinions sent to the newspaper become the property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Submit material to the Daily Ne braskan^ 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R fl Hi AH 1M8MRRASSINS INCIDENT AT THE LAUNCHING CEREMONY... And once nr. Tower gives up the bottle, we ccin get- -these proceedings underwdy. M;; % I Altruists making a difference Actions in the late ’80s show concern for world inequalities Don’t you know we’re talking about a revolution, Poor people going to rise up and take what’s theirs, Don’t you know you better run, run, run, run ... Cause finally the tables are starting to turn, talking about a Revolution ... - Tracy Chapman d it’s siarting to be more than jst talk. The romanticism that ocs along with the “making a-difference” chat is about as empty as the pitcher of beer that prompts those sentiments. The social revolution that seems to be closing out the 1980s is a great time of awareness. But it is also a time of grabbing the horse by the reigns and leading it to water. People arc really doing something (and have been for a while) about the social strife and the plummeting human condition. Many win say, ”Uh, but tins has been going on for a couple of years now. But this is just the awareness part, the “doing-something-about it’ ’ part is bringing the revolution to full circle. V* V. ?n I hear about the injustices in third world countries and about racial prejudice, which the United States indirectly supports in South Africa, I realize that it doesn’t end with the 6 p.m. newscast. I also realize that I can make a difference, no matter how small that contribution may be. I’m tired of picking up the local paper and reading about thousands of homeless making their beds in New York’s bus stations or poverty plagu ing many Latin American countries. There is a chance of making the difference. We can see it in the increased membership in national organiza tions like Habitat for Humanity, a volunteer organization, which builds homes for the sick and the poor. Leading the bandwagon on this effort is former President Jimmy Carter. Speaking of Washington D.C., often considered the harbor of con servatism and “gct-a-job” ideology, a $14 million homeless shelter was constructed there recently. In Nebraska, we can open the paper on any given day and read about a number of bills before the Nebraska Legislature and read about efforts to improve the human condi tion. Bills such as LB340, which is concerned about burial sites and bur ial remains. It makes me sad to think my ancestors took aw ay the land and that, by sins of omission, I take part in stripping these people from their pride. Closer to home, a group called Nebraskans Against the Death Pen alty fasted about a week ago in protest of capital punishment. even closer 10 nome, there is a movement -- a change on campus. During the fall of 1988, Early Warning! organized on the Univer sity of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. The group protests, writes letters and tries to inform the masses about so cietal inequities, both locally and nationally. Some of the activities include protesting government imposed ra cial segregation in South Africa, apartheid, in front of the federal building. Another activity was the construc tion of a shanty town behind the Nebraska Union. Many students have never seen the slums or the poorly constructed low-income housing. Some of the students snubbed the scene as they passed by in their heavy coats, but many others stopped and looked at the sight. Either way it made us aware. Another student organization, Amnesty International, has been re energized by two UNL students. The organization basically starts letter-writing campaigns seeking the release of men and women detained for their beliefs, color, sex, ethnic ori g i n, lang uage or rel igion, prov ided these “prisoners of conscience have not used violence.” The organization not only writes to the governments of these prison ers, but writes to the prisoners as well to assure them that something is being done about their imprisonment. According to one of the organiz ers, the members may also send food rations, as well as letters, to the pris oners. Activities such as the movie “The Houses are Full of Smoke” opened my eyes to the horrors going on in Central America. The film, sponsored by the Latin American Solidarity Committee, was a frightening depiction of the civil war that has been happening off and on in Central American countries since 1950. The turbulence between the have and have-nots is almost as sickening as realizing the role the United States plays in it all. Anoiner campus acuvity was “Cry Freedom,” a story about South African newspaper editor Donald Woods who is exiled from his coun try after revealing injustices of the government there, including the kill ing of anti-apartheid leader Steven Biko. Woods came and spoke to stu dents at UNL about tapping potential sources that could easily alleviate social injustices - in particular the U.S. Congress. Even the music is trying to say something. Michael Stipes of R.E.M. said their music is about questions, not answers. I guess that’s true of the revolution. We’re questioning right from wrong. Groups like Rhythm Corps ask ‘ ‘Can we meet on common ground?’’ I guess nobody knows, but we can try. Well, my friends and I have fin ished our pitcher of beer. And as I pull on my armor, I think about my second grade teacher: “More work, less chat.” Donovan Is a Junior news-editorial major and a Daily Nebraskan arts and entertain ment reporter and editorial columnist. Engineering student baffled by the surcharge Perhaps the most frustrating part > of the whole engineering surcharge business is not having to pay extra, a possible loss of accreditation or even having to use old equipment. Possi can raise millions of dollars for an indoor practice field which is used by 5 percent of the student body and by the tootball team to practice for one game, yet cannot generate funds to deal most directly with one nation’s future. Joel Hocrth sophomore m\W.