Editorial _
I Nebraskan
I University ot Nebraska-Uncoln
Curt Wagner, Editor. 472 1 766
Amy Fuiwards, Editorial Page Editor
Jane Hirt, Managing Editor
I.cc Rood, Associate \ews Editor
Diana Johnson, Wire Page Editor
Chuck Green, Copy Desk Chief
I.isa Donovan, Columnisl
Nightmare handled
Health Center officials to he commended
|r udos to the University Health Center officials.
Last week had to be, as Director Gerald Fleischli
put it, a health center director’s worst nightmare.
But despite the ominous measles outbreak, UNL health
officials handled the outbreak beautifully.
For most of the 13,000 students who had to be immu
nized, the process took only a few minutes.
At Kansas State University, according to the Kansas
State Collegian, students were waiting in line for almost
two hours to be vaccinated, after seven cases of measles
had been reported.
UNL is not immune to more measles cases, and Fleischli
said the third-generation cases may not be diagnosed until
May 10.
But hopefully, the number of those cases has been kept
to a minimum by the quick and complete planning of
university, county and state health officials.
Officials can be proud as students raise their sore arms
in salute.
j — Amy Edwards
for the Daily Nebraskan
I .
What others think
Exxon to pass the buck on disaster
Has anyone else noticed how the price of gasoline
has risen in the past three weeks? Has anyone
noticed how the federal government has chipped
“ in "rccbaiT tfie oiFBut of PrTnce William ISound? Has any
ohe^5!lc5<rtfiarEl(xon’f profits 5re expected to suffer
3 little by causing the nation’s largest oil spill?
Well, if you haven’t, wise up.
Exxon may face criminal and civil fines of nearly $1
billion on top of the costs of cleaning up the oil spill. So
what? Exxon won’t ever pay them -- we will.
Exxon had the gall to tell Interior Secretary Manuel
i Lujan that it wouldn’t “make available” $15 million to
■i assist the government in setting up a council to study the
{ long-term effects of the spill and to develop a plan to
rehabilitate the wildlife habitat. Exxon’s reason: they
? can’t earn interest on the money if they give it to the
government
This is greed, kids. While there’s nothing wrong with
making money -- the business of America is still business
— profiting from a disaster should leave a sour taste in the
mouths of even the most ardent capitalists. But in Exxon’s
case, the taste seems most pleasant.
Meanwhile, consumers are being fed a steady diet of
the slop. There’.; only one way to make Exxon account
able for the damage they’ve done. Boycott Exxon prod
ucts.
-- The Daily Iowan
UNL Good News gets laughs
An open letter to Nels Forde,
publisher of The UNL Good News:
You can imagine my shock, after
reading your tabloid for almost a
year, that you are not a humorist. I
had assumed these past few months
that the UNL Good News is a publica
tion striving for laughs, a goal which
it frequently achieves. With me any
way. After all, I can always count on
your flatulent editorials for a few
chuckles no matter how foul a mood
I’m feeling. Lines like “As Chris
tians, we criticize the Daily Nebras
kan’s advocacy of condom distribu
tion as encouraging fornication,
which is sin against God” are abso
lute howlers. Who would have
thought such wonderfully wrought
nonsense is meant seriously?
Unfortunately, a friend assured
me today that you are sincere; you
don’t merely pretend to be a buffoon.
He said it’s sad but true that you and
other “fundies” go through life with
blinders, refusing to acknowledge
reality and, instead, taking great
pride in ignorance.
Ah, well. I suppose I can always
find another source for amusement.
Meanwhile, I’ll relegate The UNL
Good News to my wastebasket
Jim McWilliams
teaching assistant
department of English
-g<luQRyiL
The Daily Nebraskan welcomes
brief letters to the editor from all
readers and interested others.
Letters and guest opinions sent to
the newspaper be come the property of
the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be
returned.
Submit material to the Daily Ne
braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R
St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
eV 'i
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TRAoe A
WAR J]
WITH
God save the Daily Nebraskan I
Forde's un-Christian attitudes don't impress Catholic columnist
rhave finally seen the light! I
have UNL Good New s publ isher
Nels Fordc to thank for that.
Thanks, big guy. Hallelujah!
In last week’s issue of UNL Good
News, Fordc gave ASUN a big pat on
the back for its decision to vote dow n
the resolution to urge the NU Board
of Regents to add sexual orientation
to the non-discriminatory section of
the NU Charter.
Fortunately, the ASUN senate
passed a revised edition of their bill
last Wednesday urging the board of
regents to add not only sexual orien
tation, but marital status and physical
disability not relating to job perform
ance to the non-discriminatory
clause.
i-iomosexuais, rorac s editorial in
the issue said, don’t deserve such
special consideration because they
are not legal minorities - they aren't
“bom that way.” Instead, he argues,
they arc conditioned.
They just wake up one morning,
look in the mirror and decide to be
different.
Right on, Ncls. God is undoubt
edly proud of you.
But the Daily Nebraskan, Fordc
wrote, is the true anti-Christ in the
matter.
“The Daily Nebraskan’s position
on condom distribution in the ASUN
office is irresponsible as well as sac
rilegious,” his editorial stated.
Fordc went on to say that the DN ’s
advocacy of condom distribution
encourages fornication. Lighten up
If a newspaper editorial drives
students to fornication, society is a lot
worse off than it seems.
Pssst! Hey, Ncls. Don’t spread this
around, but... college students have
sex now and then. So do high school
and junior high students. It’s 1989,
Nels. Welcome to reality!
Unfortunately, in 1989, sex can
kill. It can also sometimes wreck
lives if adequate preparation - birth
control -- isn't administered.
1 happen to be the product of a
private, Catholic education, and I
was taught from the relative start that
birth control is wrong. But in a world
filled with starvation, neglect, child
abuse and general ignorance and irre
sponsibility, birth control scents less
“inhumane.” When the choice is
between an overcrowded world with
more problems than solutions and
prevention of conception, one has to
ask: What’s the bigger crime?
Forde goes on to say that DN Edi
tor Curt Wagner was dead wrong
when he w rote the editorial against
ASliN’s decision.
HI_—’ I
‘... the allegation in the UN that
(ASI N Sen. Steve) Thomlison is
diametrically opjiosed to the gay/les
hian movement is potentially libel
ous.”
Way to go, Nels. You lucked out.
Without the word “potentially” in
that statement, you would have heard
Irom our lawyers. Libel, ol buddy.
Libel.
Torde then called for a ASUN
resolution to ban the UN and asked
UNI. students not to read the newspa
per. All in the name of Christianity.
And bigotry.
It never I ails to ama/e me how
narrow-minded and intolerant some
( hristians' are toward their fellow
humans. They stand on a pedestal of
superiority, telling people what God
wants by interpreting Bible passages
any way they sec fit to acquire their
desired result.
Kind ol like the Nazis right before
World War II.
Of course, these same people have
a knack for throw ing the blame hack
in someone else Mate while |>ointing
a critical finger all ihe while.
“Liberals must be deal, horde
wrote of the DN. “They can never
hear logical arguments against their
prejudices.’*
Huh?Come again. Niels 'Couldn’t
hear you.
It's amusing to read mk It an auda
cious statement about " logical argu
ments" from someone as bigoted as
horde.
People like Forde go against eve
rything religion stands lor. It s little
wonder why society is becoming
more and more atheistic. Ihe news
papers are fullol stones about abuses
of religion.
Jim and lanmiy rayv
Jimmy Swaggarl... now you can add
one more name to the list.
Forilc maintains that homosexual
ity is an acquired siatus, rather than
an ascribed one. “They.” he says,arc
conditioned mt “their” ''talus,
making “their” own decisions as to
which path to follow. Mas he. But
that was the belief about epileptics
and the mentally ill noi so many years
ago. It may still be lor some people.
Fordc and those like him have
serious problems. Intolerance o
minorities, or anyone w ho happens to
be different, is a disease h s sicken
ing, but even more so when it is
practiced in the name of God. Docs
Fordc really believe that God wants
homosexuals persecuted? born me
at the stake, huh, Nels? How about
Muslims? Hindus? Blacks, maybe.
If there is indeed a God. what ne
(she?) wants is something none or Eg
can know — yet. But we Hall findo I
someday. , I
And some people may be su
prised at what they learn. d |
(ireen is 8 senior news-editorial a*. »
criminal justice major, and isa Daily * *
lean sportswritcr, sporLs ard editorial co u
nisi and the copy desk chief.
; -
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