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.
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are the regents, who established the
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According to policy set by the re
gents, responsibility for the editorial
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_
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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.