Editorial
(Daily
Nebraskan
University of Nebreska-Uncoln
Amy Edwards, Editor, 472-1766
Lee Rood, Editorial Page Editor
Jane Hirt, Managing Editor
Brandon Loomis, Associate News Editor
Brian Svoboda, Columnist
Bob Nelson, Columnist
Jeff Petersen, Columnist
Student challenges Bowman’s arguments
»\_¥_n___ . . . . . . ^
ia^oi JVA/ uuwmaii.
Why all the references to Christi
anity and churches? In case you are
wondering, I am Jewish, and have not
been to any religious service in over
six years. I do not speak from a reli
gious standpoint, I speak from a
humanitarian one. Why is it that a
woman can go out and have her inno
cent child hacked to pieces, but if a
person that has only been outside the
womb for five minutes is purposely
killed, the perpetrator is arrested
(hopefully), and at the very least pul
behind bars? Is the location of the
victim all that matters?
Your arguments may sound logi
cal to you, but they make no sense at
All to me.
1. Population control: You your
self gave a solution to this important
problem: birth control, and that does
not mean killing a child after it is
conceived. If everyone is so con
cerned about too many babies on the
planet, then these babies should not
have been conceived in the first
place. These liberal do-gooder, fa
natical women continue to talk about
“reproductive freedom.” Why can’t
they exercise that freedom before
another life is created?
2. Morality: You ask the question,
“Why kill joy when you find it?” I
return that question to you, Joe. Isn’t
your own child supposed to bring you
joy? Why kill it? If you aren’t going
to find joy in bringing a new life into
the world, why was that new life
conceived 10 oegin wun i
3. Superiority: I will ask you one
question: If you had roaches in your
home, wouldn’t you want them dead
and gone? Your equality of life argu
ment just doesn’t hold any water with
me. Why are people starving in In
dia? They have cows roaming the
street, from which you could ge* a
nice 16-oz. New York strip sirloin
and plenty of protein, but their reli
gion forbids them to kill this sacred
animal. Maybe I’m crazy, but I would
rather eat and live than starve and die.
4. Dominance: You have got to be
kidding! Do you have a wife or girl
friend? If so, I feel sorry for you
because the woman has obviously got
you brainwashed. You belong on
Oprah, along with the sexist, female
manhaters who feel all men are scum
bags.
I won’t even address this point in
terms of abortion (it doesn’t merit
any discussion), but I will ask you
some questions: Why is it that a
woman can smack a man in the face
and get away with it, but if a man even
looks at a woman the wrong way, he
can be thrown in prison?
Yes, Joe, our society is sexist. Men
are being classified as something less
than human, while all women are
perfect saints that never do anything
wrong. I don’t buy that argument one
k*1' Andrew Meyer
“The Silly Sophomore”
pre-med
UNL students can’t let up now
Productive action can give students a ‘rendezvous with reality'
On Monday, September 25,
1989, the 1980s officially
ended.
Or at least they did at the Univer
sity of Nebraska-Lincoln. Many
years from now, when asked to deter
mine precisely when the era of stu
dent apathy ended at the university,
historians very well may point to the
day when more than 100 students
showed up at an emergency after
noon meeting of the Parking Advi
sory Board to vent their frustrations
about the parking problem.
The fact that 100 students would
show up for anything even remotely
connected with university affairs is
amazing. That most of these students
came on their own, without having
been dragged there by some frater
nity or sorority, is dumbfounding.
Such an event says much about the
stale of parking at the university, to
be sure.
But it also may say something
about the times. Given a big enough
issue, such as parking, students fi
nally may be ready to “rendezvous
with reality,” as Colorado congress
woman Pat Schrocderoncc pul it, and
take an interest in their own affairs.
The trick for students now is how
to turn this readiness into productive
action. Whether the issue at hand is
parking or something else entirely,
it’s not enough for students simply to
be concerned. As Bloom County’s
Steve Dallas once said, drunkcnly
pounding a table upon learning that
the Soviet Union’s borders lay within
12 miles of Alaska, “Something
should be done!”
So, for the Steve Dallases of the
world, and with a prayer that the days
of student apathy truly arc over,
| here’s a short list of advice for the
would-be student activist:
• ORGANIZE. So you’re upset
about the parking problem? Great.
1 Join the club. There’s about 20,000
1 students wailing in 1 ine ahead of you.
1 So find some of them. Go up to the
1 Campus Activities and Programs of
: fice on the second floor of the Ne
| braska Union and ask the people there
how to form an ad-hoc student or
ganization. They’ll tell you every
thing you need to know. Trust me.
• SET SOME GOALS. What
exactly is it that you want here? Do
you want the university to create
some extra green-sticker lots? Do
you want them to lower parking per
mit fees for cars parked farther away?
Or do you want them to build (Gasp!)
a parking garage? Decide, then go for
it.
If you don’t know what you want,
you’re never going to get it.
• IDENTIFY THE PLAYERS.
Who’s the person or group with the
power to solve your problem? (Hint:
It’s probably not the Association of
Students of the University of Ne
braska.) Find out, and start lobbying
them. Make their lives a living hell, if
that’s what it takes. But don’t waste
your time making your case to some
one who couldn’t help you even if
they wanted to. You’ll only get de
pressed.
• GET THE FACTS. A few sta
tistics never hurt anyone, so find
some. Tell NU Board of Regents
Chairman Nancy Hoch, “I have a
hard time finding a place to park on
campus,’ ’ and she’ll probably look at
you like you’re on drugs. But tell her,
“In Wednesday’s peak traffic hour,
4,000 commuter vehicles compete
for each Lot 27 parking space,” and
she may actually perk up and listen.
So get some evidence for your case.
And make sure it’s accurate. Figures
can't lie, but liars can figure.
• CHOOSE YOUR TACTICS.
What do you have to do to get the
people in power to do what you want?
Answer this question, then do it. Of
course, it’s generally best to keep
your tactics within the bounds of the
law. This columnist certainly would
not recommend, for example, that
hundreds of students drive their cars
to Varner Hall during a regents'
meeting and start honking their
horns. But anything can happen.
Just use your best judgment.
• KEEP TRYING. Odds arc that
success in your chosen endeavor is
going to come rather slowly. Political
institutions in general, and the uni
versity in particular, arc renowned
for their resistance to change.
“Progress is a nice word,” Robert
Kennedy once said. “But change is
its motivator and change has its ene
mies.” It’s a sad factor life that most
of those enemies draw government
paychecks. So hang in there. Choose
some different tactics, and try again
Obviously, this short list isn’t
enough with which to plan a war.
Following the above words of advice
wouldn’t get Kansas Slate to the
Orange Bowl, for example, although
they probably couldn’t gel there any
way.
But the plain and simple fact re
mains: If you want to get something
done, you have to do it yourself.
Before a change of any sort can be
made at the university, students have
to decide to re-engage in the campus
political process. They must be or
ganized, they must be informed and
they must have the will to do what
needs to be done, even in the face ot
outright hostility. .
Such a decision cannot be made
from the lop. It can only come from
the bottom, from the grassroots.
Don’t hold your breath waiting to
our so-called campus leaders to mxe
someaction. Your face will iimnblu ■
So do it yourself. Grab sorn
friends, pick up those ad-hoc slu(,c
organization forms, and get to wo
Wno knows? Maybe it’ll be
Maybe it’ll even work.
Svoboda to a political science and
major, and is a Daily Nebraskan editor
columnist.
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 Amy Edwards, editor;
1 Lee Rood, editorial page editor; Jane
Hirt, managing editor; Brandon
Loomis, associate news editor; Bob
Nelson, columnist; Jeff Petersen, col
umnist; Brian Svoboda, columnist.
Editorials do not necessarily re
fleet the views o! the umvcrcj > •
employees, the students or t
Board of Regents.
Editorial columns represent ih<
opinion of the author.