Editorial
Daily
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
Unlveraity ot Nebraska-Lincoln
Amy Hdwards, Editor. 472-1766
Ixc Rood, Editorial Page Editor
Jane Hirt, Managing Editor
Brandon Loomis, Associate News Editor
Brian Svoboda, Columnist
Bob Nelson, Columnist
Jerry Guenther, Senior Reporter
Dissection attacked
Viable alternatives help protect beliefs
Animal dissection, and students’ rights to refuse
dissection, have become prevalent issues in high
schools and colleges across the country.
At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, several students
i refuse to dissect animals every year.
Some instructors get defensive about dissection. Par
ticularly in lower-level classes, dissection has come under
fire as a waste of animals for students who are filling a
requirement and do not plan to continue in animal re
search or medicine.
So far, there is no legal precedent that outlines college
I students’ rights to refuse to dissect.
It’s a difficult call.
Hands-on experience shows tangible results, and
explains processes that aren’t easily captured by a lecture
or chan.
But many people feel strongly that no animal’s life
should be sacrificed for hands-on experience.
IJohn Lynch, protessor of comparative anatomy of
vertebrates atdJNL, said he thinks some-dissections in
lower-level courses are unnecessary and a waste of
money. «
Students who do not plan to go oh in sciences some
times do not respect the animals they dissect, or the
important role they play in science and medicine.
For those who refuse to dissect, UNL professors can
offer an alternative. Lab instructors decide if the student’s
reasons - whether religious, moral or personal - are
legitimate, and offer charts or models as an option to
dUsoction. - s ' - •*..
Students who plan to take advanced science courses
eventually will have to consider dissection as a necessary
learning experience.
For students who are not sure of their interest in biol
ogy, and for those who are taking the courses to fulfill a
requirement, dissection isn’t necessary.
But no course should be disregarded just because
dissection is part of the curriculum. On this campus, at
least, there are professors sensitive to student needs and
options to ensure that students get the education they
desire without sacrificing their personal beliefs.
- Amy Uwv<h
for the Doily Nebraskan
opinion
—K^Treaoer I
Do a little research first
I read with interest the article that
appeared on the front page of the
Wednesday, Oct. 18th issue of the
DN, in which your readers were in
formed of a private company, Win
dom Hall, that is in the business of
identifying private scholarships/fel
lowships to help students meet edu
cational expenses. Private companies
like Windom Hall charge fees for
their services that Lan range between
$50 and $ 100, and guarantee that the
purchaser will receive at least one
“potential” source of aid in ex
change for th£ fee.
Although the article on the 18th
focused on graduate student aid,
computer search service companies
also provide a similar service for
undergraduates as well as potential
college students. These companies
are in their infancy, born of articles
and books that have been written
within the past few years. Articles
that literally suggest that millions of
dollars worth of scholarships go un
claimed each year because students
don’t know how to find or apply for
them.
While it is true that a few scholar
ship dollars go uncommitted each
year, it is often monies that have been
donated from outside sources whose
benefactor(s) have placed so many
restrictions on the applicants that it is
virtually impossible to find recipi
ents.
Most financial aid officers would
recommend that students do a little
personal research before paying
computer research services for the
same thing. An investment in a few
letters of inquiry and a couple of
dollars worth of stamps can yield as
much or more in scholarships than the
price computer search services
charge for nothing more than a ‘‘list”
that can have as,few as one “poten
tial” source.
Here are a few lips:
1. If you want to be considered foi
more than 1,600 UNL-supported
scholarships, don’t pay a computei
service. Instead, complete an Upper
class Scholarship Application and
submit it to the Offce of Scholarships
and Financial Aid by Jan. 31, 1990.
2. Read “The Blue Book” anc
“The Scholarship Book,” two na
tional scholarship directories avail
able in the financial aid office or ai
Love Library.
3. Get the “SludentGuide,”afrec
booklet by the Department of Educa
lion in Washington D.C. if you need
information on federal or state finan
cial aid.
4. Contact the financial aid office
for personal assistance.
John Beacor
director of admissions and the di
rector of the Office of Scholarships
and Financial Aid
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Nelson for Homecoming king
Bob has a life, a pulse, a GPA and a purpose — unlike Elvis
bout every full moon or so, I
realize my lifestyle is dis
eased and I promise the world
a new and better Bob - a soaring,
benevolent phoenix from the smol
dering ashes of self-interest.
Last full moon, I gave someone
my last Gobstopper.
For one day last summer I didn’t
eat meal. Thai same day, I didn’t buy
gas from Exxon and I thought about
saving a whale or two.
But Saint Robert, the majestic
firebird of lore, soon, melts away and
exposes a sickly cardinal of sorts; my
pharisee core naked to hickory
smoked barbecue, a 4-ccnt cash dis
count or a vivid dream of being
crowned Homecoming king.
Yca-a-ah ... Homecoming king! 1
can't think about anything else.
• Oh, I’d be benevolent if I was
king. I’d work 25 hours a day, kiss
babies, jump on grenades and change
every thing to make our world a better
I place.
But I’m not a king candidate and I
must admit my dreams of being king
reek of self-interest. I want to be king
so 1 can wear robes and crowns and
have people be real nice to me.
So in the interest of self-interest,
I’m running a write-in campaign for
Homecoming king.
Please don’t consider my sick
yearning for prestige and power
completely self-serving. Lots of
people, including you, could benefit
from my monarchy.
Consider this scenario: a warm,
Indian Summer Saturday in Memo
rial Stadium. It’s halftime and the
crowd, bored senseless, waits impa
tiently for the Homecoming festivi
ties to end. Finally, the announcer
opens the envelope and glances per
plexed toward the candidates and
begins saying stuff like, “Urn, ah ...
we have a problem here .. . uh, arc
any or you nicknamed dod :
Panic and confusion engulf the
field. All the king candidates swarm
Chancellor Massengale claiming
Bob is their maiden name. The chan
cellor screams for his advisers.
The impatient crowd starts boo
ing, and the royalty and officials
continue mulling around like head
less chickens until Tom Osborne asks
them to clear the field.
“We have to play football, kids,”
Tom would say politely.
And thus, an incredibly boring
event turned into a thrilling spec
tacle. That’s certainly in everyone’s
best interest.
Now, I wouldn’t expect you to
waste your time voting for me just for
a few good laughs at a football game.
I realize I must pay for the crown like
any good king.
So, if I win, I promise to pay a
nickel to every person who can prove
they voted for me. I realize a nickel
isn’t a lot, but consider it a refund for
student fees allocated to Homecom
ing. If you vote for me, your halftime
entertainment will be free.
If I win, I also will donate a nickel
for every vote to Ecology Now — a
university group that seems to have
proven that “getting involved”
doesn’t always mean “getting a res
ume.”
Now what better way to help fi
nance a worthy charity than by shaft
ing an arcane and petty ritual like the
crowning of Homecoming king and
queen/
I also implore you not to be lured
by any of the other poorly conceived
write-in candidacies for homecom
ing king; namely, the feeble cam
paign a fellow columnist is running
for Elvis.
What can be gained from voting
for Elvis? Absolutely nothing.
Anyway, Elvis is really old news
and, if you didn’t know, Elvis is very,
very dead.
In fact, Elvis is deader than a door
AND a nail. He’s deader than
Nietzsche and Franco embalmed
together. In fact, he’s so dead that
George Romero wouldn’t cast him in
a movie.
Elvis is the single most dead per
son on this planet.
And no, the stories of his death
have not been greatly exaggerated.
Let him rest in peace. Don’t vote
for him. He’s not even qualified.
If you want qualifications Irom
your king, check out these specs. I
have a GPA, I’m alive and I go to
school at this university. Ouija-rcad
them slats, Elvis. I’d represent the
students of UNL just fine.
So in the interest of this university,
of charity, of you and of me, I beg you
to vote for Bob Nelson.
Polls will be open in both unions
from 8 a.m. to8 p.m. TODAY. Bring
your student ID and don’t worry
about your vote not being counted, 1
have very reliable sources in the i
homecoming royalty selection proc
ess.
In the words of a truly great
American politician, vole early and
vote often. The kingdom of UNL
depends on it.
Thank you for your support
Nelson is a senior news-editorial major
and a Daily Nebraskan columnist.
letter—
me uany ixcorasitan 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.
Readers also are welcome to sub
mu material as guest opinions.
Whether material should run as a let
ter or guest opinion, or not to run, is
left to the editor’s discretion.
Letters and guest opinions sent to
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Submit material to the Daily Ne
braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R
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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;
Lee Rood, editorial page editor; Jane
Hirt, managing editor; Brandon
Loomis, associate news editor; Bob
Nelson, columnist; Jeff Petersen, col
umnist; Bran Svoboda, columnist.
Editorials do not necessarily re
flect the views of the university, its
employees, the students or the N l
Board of Regents.
The Daily Nebraskan’s publisher:
are the regents, who established th<
UNL Publications Board to supervis<
the daily production of the paper.
