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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (May 8, 1989)
Editorial I Daily Nebraskan University ot Nebraska-LIncoln Amv Hdwards, Editor, 4 72 I7f>f> I ce Rood Editorial Paye luiitor Jane llirl, Maruiginx Editor Brandon Loomis, ,\xxociate * Mews Editor Victoria Ayoilc. Wire Page Editor Deannc Nelson, Cop\ Desk Chief Curt Wagner, ( olumnixt ---- -i I Not enough lots Parking committee should monitor permits '"i our or five years is a long time to wait. That’s how long it may take the Parking Advi sory Committee to implement a new parking plan - a plan that would include raising the parking rate $10 for both students and faculty members. Currently, students and faculty pay $40 a year to park on campus. Bryan Hill, president of the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska, disagrees with the commit tee’s proposal. Hill said students should pay less for parking than faculty, because most faculty lots are closer. Hill might be right, but the lack of parking spaces at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is bigger than who pays what for a closer space. The problem is that there isn’t enough parking on | campus. Students pay for a parking space on campus, but unless $ they get to school at 8 a.m., they may have to park in a lot C that is not even on campus. And if those students have night classes, they either have to move their cars sometime during the day, or walk through a dark lot to get to their cars at night. But university officials don’t want to add more parking lots, because that would make the campus less aestheti cally pleasing. II he Parking Advisory Committee should look into monitoring which students get parking permits. At Purdue University, freshmen who live in residence Jhalls arc not allowed to keep their cars on campus. , The same type of plan could work for on-campus students at UNL, who don’t rely on their cars to get to school. Students who need their cars for a job could have their j employers sign their parking request, to allow them to | keep their cars on campus. Lincoln is a university community. The downtown | shops cater to UNL students and are within walking j distance from campus. Fewer cars on campus would alleviate the parking I problem. - Amy Kdwards for the Daily Nebraskan Second Amendment defended The Daily Nebraskan published a letter by professor Franz Blaha in which he criticized Robert Gale for his defense of the Second Amend ment. Blaha indicated that as a prod uct of the American system of educa tion, Mr. Gale couldn’t understand the alleged dependence of the right to bear arms on participation in a mili tia. Is it Blaha’s superior Austrian education that makes him better able to see this? I won’t bother to cite the contrast between the modem histo ries of our two countries, but the insults to America and Mr. Gale are not justified. I wo tacts about the second Amendment need to be better under stood. First, the writers of the Constitution had a different concept of militia than we generally do today. The Militia Act of 1792 defined the militia as “all able-bodied while men.” I think we may expand that to “all citizens” today. Secondly, the National Guard was not established until this century and has nothing to do with the constitutional militia. That we foolishly neglect the training and support of the militia doesn’t cancel the right for its members to be armed. We would do well to emulate the Swiss, who supply a fully-auto matic battle rifle to nearly every male citizen for him to keep in his home. Each man is allowed to retain owner ship of this weapon when he reaches an age where active participation in the militia is no longer required. The Swiss have the right idea except that they arc perhaps sexist. I think women have more to gain from proper firearms training than men. It would create genuine feminist em powerment Blaha objects to ideas which can be stated simply, as on a bumper sticker. Perhaps his keen logic can’t cope with “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.’’ To restate this in syntax more appropri ate to Blaha: Criminals do not make use of the statutorily mandated sys tem of firearms distribution, so con fiscation of privately-owned weap ons would lead to increased criminal victimization of disarmed, law-abid ing individuals. I pray that his consti tutional philosophy never prevails in America, forcing us to be defenseless against human predators. The obvi ous result of that policy is evident in Washington, D.C., a city in which private gun ownership is forbidden and a truly horrible place to live. Guns are dangerous when mis used. Their ownership is a serious responsibility which is nonetheless the right of all law-abiding Ameri cans. Neither Blaha nor anyone else may justly deny them that right. Jonathan Skean electronics technician Chemistry ^ DAN6 ! I WSStO ' KC*\H oh thkt s All WGKT , CLOSE. L ^ Still, count s I rr DN editor has learned a lot The most important lesson: Fight for what you believe is right "He who travels far will often see things Far removed from what he believed was Truth. When he talks about it in the fields at home, He is often accused of lying, For the obdurate people will not be lieve What they do not see and distinctly feel. Inexperience, I believe. Will give little credence to my song.' ’ — Herman Hesse “The Journey to the East” A s Mr. and Mrs. Hiri handed me ZA the four chairs serving as my ^ ^graduation present, Mrs. Hirt asked if I would miss the Daily Ne braskan. “Oh no,” I said. “Not at all.” After three years at the Daily Nebraskan, I am ready to move on; after three years at the University of Ncbraska-Lincoln. I am ready to move on. But I’ve been fortunate to see many things as editor-in-chief this year. I’ve been able to meet many people who showed me little truths I had not believed, and many who reaf firmed to me that what I believe is the truth, indeed may be. Mr. and Mrs. Hirt arc only two of the people who showed me that maybe, just maybe, most people are inherently kind. “Really, I’ll pay for the chairs.” “You’re graduating, aren’t you?” “Yes, I think.” “Well, congratulations.” “Thanks.” Inc purpose of this column, I guess, is to thank those people who showed me many possible truths this year. Thanks to the NU Board of Re gents and NU central administration, I believe even more than before that one must make bold moves to achieve goals. Through their fumbling of the Kearney Stale University issue they showed me that. I thank regents John Payne and « A A_ Donald Blank in particular. Payne, while discussing why he would not support the addition of “sexual orientation” to the non-dis crimination policy at the University of Nebraska, reaffirmed my belief that wanting to improve things shouldn't stop alter college. “Maybe someday you will under stand,” Payne told a DN reporter. “When you arc 45, you look at the world differently.” n 1_ Blank taught me a similar lesson. Earlier this semester I spoke with Blank about why the regents didn’t shoot for the moon when asking for appropriations. Their request will get cut anyway, I said, so why not ask lor more so maybe they will end up w ith more. Blank said that wasn’t the way it worked in the real world. Me said that in their positions they can t be so drastic because it isn’t politically expedient. I heard that many tunes this year, from stale senators to members of the Association of Students of the Uni versity of Nebraska. 1 wish they would have heard my other “teachers.” During an interview with the DN editorial board, Slate Sen. Ernie Chambers told us that we were in a unique position as college students. We continue to try to make a differ ence. He said in the real world we will be forced to be less vocal in order to get along with our superiors. He didn’t want that to happen, but that is the real world. But Chambers said more - about not being ignorant of other people’s views, about looking at both sides of an .ssuc before forming an opinion. This is what I wish more people would have heard. Chambers said that after that opin ion is formed, you should stand by it and fight for it even if the fight brings you criticism. He said that opinion shouldn't be changed because of pressure from other groups, unless that pressure proved that you may not be right. It is loo bad many elected officials fear for their future so much they don't have the guts to stand up for what they truly believe. It is too bad they need to be politically expedient. The final and most important les son I learned this year came from a woman I was fortunate enough to interview while covering an anti nuclear testing demonstration in Nevada. Everyone makes a difference, Karen Lipps of Indianapolis told me. And if people have the information before them, they have to act on it. If they don’t act on it, they will have to live with the guilt caused by their complacency. Payne and Blame were wrong. We don’t have to see things differently at 45. We don’t have to be politically expedient. Like Lipps and Chambers >aid. there is no reason people can t light for what they believe is right. There is no reason people should cower to others who are in the majority. We cannot hold an opinion unless we are ready to act on it. We cannot gripe about something unless we try to change it. Yes, indeed, working ul ihc un has taught me many lessons. I wish the new DN editors luck, and I hope they arc able to learn as much as I did. As Mr. and Mrs. Hirt handed me the four chairs serving as my gradu ation present, Mrs. Hirt asked me ii I would miss the Daily Nebraskan. The words didn’t come, but the thought bounced in my head. “Yeah, I will.** Wagner is a graduating senior in news editorial, a former Daily Nebraskan editor in-chief, and newly hired news/wire/business editor at the Fremont Tribune. 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. Letters and guest opinions sent to the newspaper become the property ol the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be considered for publication. Letters should include the author’s name, year in school, major and group an ■ • alion, if any. Requests to withhold names will not be granted. Submit material to the Daily Ne braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 14W * St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.