Editorial
Quibbles and bits
Instructors responsible for readability
On May 8, the “Daily Nebraskan” reported the filing of
lawsuits by eight publishing companies against Kinko's
Graphics Corporation regarding me interpretation of the “fair
use” clause of the national copyrightlaw.
Adrianna Foss, corporate communications director of Kinko’s,
said professors and students will be the biggest losers if the publish
ing companies are successful in their plans to change the interpreta
tion of the “fair use” clause,
Some custom-made texts are advantageous to students but
students are the biggest losers when instructors supply unreadable
text to copy shops and expect them to transform these into usable
class texts.
Jim Perry, manager of Lincoln’s downtown Kinko’s, said the best
copies are made from original journals and books. Perry said his
company does not charge extra for copying a master from originals.
Unreadable copy occurs when instructors supply text that has
been copied on library or department copiers which is too light or
blurry, Perry said.
If instructors insist students buy their textbooks from copy shops,
they should give the same consideration to their students that they
demand when requiring typewritten assignments for easy readability.
Connie I,. Sheehan
for the Summer Daily Nebraskan
Clean up environment
Oil companies involved in future oil spills wiU have to pay for
reparations beyond the monetary value off animals killed.
According to The Associated Press, the Interior Department,
which regulates the monetary costs of oil spills, compiled regula
tions in 1986 that required restitution for lost wildlife but did not
assess oil companies the cost of restoring the damaged environment
to its previous condition. f
A federal appeals court ruled the Interior Department had defined
Congress’ intentions too narrowly and that restoration costs also
must be assessed.
Both Congress and the appeals court was right on target. Under
the current cost assessment plan, seals go for $15, based on pelt
value, and geese up to $35, depending on their value to hunters.
Losses that occur with an oil spill are not limited to marketable
goods. Nature is a priceless commodity and reparations must include
restoring ecological balances, when possible.
More than three months have passed since the Alaskan oil spill.
The Interior Department should assess a dollar figure for the
damages soon. Exxon should pay for both the wildlife lost and for
environmental restoration.
Drug policy misfires
Drug Czar William Bennet is taking the lead in the we-aren’t
gonna-mcss-around attitude towards drug abusers.
Bennet and other citizens are angry about the lives being lost
because of the illicit drug use. Drugs and guns arc becoming synony
mous and innocent bystanders are getting caught in the cross-fire.
Mandatory sentencing, drug testing and pledges to not take drugs
will be the norm within the next several years. Some politicians are
even advocating the take-them-out-and kill-them-approach.
This approach is all wrong.
Killing dealers who kill others is not an effective form of deter
rence. Dealing in drugs is a high-paying game of chance. Those
dealers not tied to the electric chair will simply view an execution as
one less competitor on the streets.
Taking away students financial aid after a drug conviction in
itself won’t eliminate their drug problem. Effective drug-rehabilita
tion treatment after such a loss might
This is where Bennet and others need to wise up. Punishment
: without guidance on how to Live differently leaves society with the
same individual.
A two-pronged approach needs to be taken. Implement tougher
penalties while including rehabilitation in the get-tough package.
Fbr those who have lost patience with help for the illegal drug
user, there are two options. Be a part of the solution or prepare for a
new kind of civil war in the United States.
There will always be drug traders who tote guns. Will this battle
come down to whoever has the biggest gun wins?
-• Chris CurroR
for the Summer Daily Nebraskan
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Credit determines who is rich or poor
Short on cash but long on credit?
This is a predicament facing
many college students on this
and many other campuses. Monday’s
mail brings with it monthly bills that
a part-time job barely covers, yet in
side envelope number three is a pre
approved credit card application.
Visa knows you’re broke and they
want to do something about it.
A lot oferedit issuers seem willing
to help. Tuesday Mastercard makes a
$1,000 offer, Wednesday’s are for
American Express while on Thurs
day Discover offers you a $2200 dol
lar credit line with no annual fee. 1
believe in being “discovered.”
Bui being “discovered” by every
credit company in the country hasn’t
turned out to be such a great deal.
These offers seem to pop up when the
financial chips are down. The prehis
toric car won’t run. The part-time,
semi-professional job offer comes
with a stipulation, dress for success.
That certain someone comes along
that I want to date, but no one is
offering free romantic dinners to
broke college students. Too bad gro
cery stores haven’t gotten into the
credit-and-carry philosophy.
So the choice comes down to
Burger King or Mastercard. I’ve
never been fond of char-broiled bur
gers. To avoid social and professional
retardation, I sign the dotted line.
Two years and three dotted lines
later, I understand why the cover let
ters refer to students as a good invest
ment. Students need credit now and
choose to believe they can pay for it
later. ,
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The interest time clock is licking.
Twenty dollar a month interest
charges add up to $240 a year. Stu
dents are committing a lot of un
earned cash to living above their
means.
At this disturbing juncture, those
striving to be financially fiscal
buckle down and don’t use their
credit cards for six months. Visa must
print out the number of inactive ac
counts periodically, because at the
seventh month a new offer comes in
the mail. ‘‘We want to reward you for
being a good customer. Your card has
been renewed for two years and the
limit extended another $1,000.”
Good timing. By now, that finan
cially fiscal student is shabbily
dressed, the rent has been raised and
the dinosaur on wheels needs a new
carburetor. After a couple weeks of
hesitation, the student weighs the
consequences and decides another
$100 shouldn’t boost that interest
charge too much. The car gets fixed,
transports the student to bargain days
at the local mall and Visa happily
processes the receipts that trickle in.
And then the unexpected traffic
ticket gets issued, that brother in
California decides to get married and
someone steals your backpack. Now
S300 additional credit dollars appeal
on your Visa.
It won’t be any better after gradu
ation. Student loan payments w ill be
due, that real job will demand a real
wardrobe, and you’ll need a car that
didn’t come off the assembly line
with the Modcl-T. Even a good-pay
ing job isn’t going to stretch back and
pay the bills accrued in 1989 while
meeting the demands of 1992.
The best way to avoid this credit
fiasco is to say no to that first credit
card. It’s too easy to get hooked.
Think back to those nostalgic pre-;
credit card days. A cheap efficiency
apartment with running water and a
used black and white television.
Cozy, standing-room-only parties
with invitations that read, “bring
toilet paper.” Munching on an ice
cream cone outside the Zoo bar be
cause you can’t afford to get you and
your date inside. Borrowing a class
mate’s chemistry book, on the pre-:
tense of having misplaced yours, and
then reading it in one night.
These arc the alternatives to finan
cial ruin spawned by creditors who
simply want S40 a month now and
your blood later.
Personally, I’m waiting for an
other credit issuer to discover me.
I’ve decided the difference between
material wealth and abject poverty is
credit.
Chris Carroll is a junior news-editorial
major and editor for the Summer Daily Ne
braskan. ' ?
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