Editorial
(Daily *
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Amy Hdwards, Editor, 472-1766
Lee Rood, Editorial Page Editor
Jane Hirt, Managing, Ed it or
Brandon Loomis, Associate News Editor
Brian Svoboda, Columnist
Bob Nelson, Columnist
JerTy Gucnlhcr, Senior Reporter
Wining and dining
Exceptions to alcohol policy hypocritical
Friday, the NU Board of Regents added the Lied
Center to its list of approved on-campus locations to
consume and distribute alcoholic beverages at
private events.
The Lied Center now joins a host of other previously
* approved campus locations prime for wining and dining
bigwigs with big money.
ASUN President Bryan Hill was upset with the regents’
decision, but for the wrong reasons.
I He said serving alcohol at approved locations sends a
hypocritical message to students that alcohol consumption
is acceptable. The university should act as a role model
for young people, he said, and shouldn’t be saying it’s OK
to have a drink before dinner.
Hill is correct in pointing out that the regents’ decision
is inconsistent with UNL’s current alcohol policy. Beyond
that, however, he misses the point
Alcohol consumption, in moderation, is acceptable in
our society. There is nothing wrong with having “a drink
before dinner ” — thousands of adult Americans do so
regularly.
I Adults who attend private gatherings at places like the
JLied Center should be able to drink alcohol if they so
choose. Obviously, the regents trust these individuals to
not abuse alcohol at the events.
The regents’ decision Friday is hypocritical because it
does not give all of UNL’s adult students that same
privilege.
Instead, they continually choose to treat students over
21 with lack of concern and respect by forcing them to
leave campus when they want to socialize with alcohol.
Regent Don Blank of McCook said at Friday’s meeting
that small private parties, like those held at the approved
campifc locations, are tightly knit, controlled situations.
He added that there has been no abuse x>f those situations.
Bull.
Those who choose to abuse will — no matter where
they are. Several under-age students continue to drink
alcohol at the Wick Alumni Center, just as they do at
? UNL residence halls and local bars.
The regents should give more responsible UNL adult
| students a little credit -- and the choice of remaining on
| campus if they want to drink. The decision also could
* benefit those not-so-responsible students who choose to
drive drunk back to campus from local bars.
- Lee Rood
for tke Daily Nebrasaan
Rape can be prevented
Everybody is talking about rape
and other violent acts these days.
Let’s not talk about it happening in
places like New York, California and
Florida. Let’s look at it where it can
affect us as students of the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Rape starts with society’s training.
This training starts at a very early age.
You can see ideas of male dominance
in cartoons and children’s books,
. even with the women looking at and
waiting on men. For some men, these
ideas grow much more into ideas of
women being very, vulnerable ob
jects. These new ideas can even go
farther down the line to actual rape.
Andrea Parrot, a national speaker on
the subject, estimated that one in
every five girls will be faced with an
experience of this sort before they are
out of school.
Men who are at or are close to the
point of raping have the distorted idea
that they can best display their man
hood and masculinity by sex. The
girls who these men are hitting on or
are on a date with rarely are yearning
for sex, though. These men are so
close to the edge that they think they
deserve sex as payment for the date or
that the young women really want it,
even if she says no.
Many times, it starts verbally. A
guy, who is potentially dangerous,
will try to make the female feel infe
rior . He will act like he is smarter and
more in control. He does this through
stupid little jokes, only successful if
the female constantly giggles, and
tells her little facts that he docs not
think she knows. She can get herself
out of trouble early by giving a look
that says, “What in the hell’s so
funny about that?” or by saying she
already knew that and giving him
back a couple more.
If a guy gets past this part, then the
physical part will come. First there
will be a little flirting, then the kiss
will come. Then the guy will try to
kiss the woman while lying down.
The woman can change the situation
by not giggling constantly, by not
acting shyly, and by not even letting
the guy kiss her while they are lying
down.
Ladies, don’t act like you are vul
nerable. The vulnerable ones are the
ones in danger. Don’t always agree,
don’t giggle. When you say some
thing, mean it. Whey you say “no,”
mean it. This is why God gave you the
tone of voice. Use it. It is probably the
most effective defense in these situ
ations.
This and the looks you’re able to
give can mix to get the respect, to
make you look dominant. Give the
guy some flak, not some slack. Get
that respect. Once respected, you are
feared.
Hugh Reefe
‘ business accounting
freshman
Columnist ponders world news
How much does the crumbled Berlin Wall affect Americans:
Even though my parents live in
New York and I haven’t spo
ken to them in a few weeks, I
have a pretty good idea what my mom
might say about all this East German/
Berlin Wall stuff:
“Are you eating OK?”
.“Macaroni and cheese same as
always, Mom.”
“Well Bran’n .. .”
Then my dad might get on the
phone and say, “Hey bud, how’s it
going? Great. Let me see if your sister
wants to talk to you. Hey Mandy!...
Nope, I guess she doesn’ t. Well, we’ll
talk to you later.”
Then we’d'hang up.
Next, I’d probably turn on the tele
vision and see Dan Rather near the
Berlin Wall reading cue cards telling
me how truly historic it is that people
arc chipping at the wall with ham
mers and crossing at will.
Then Helmut Kohl might come on
and say that maybe Germany can be
reunited some day, followed by Mar
garet Thatcher saying things arc hap
pening loo quickly. She might say
building a “genuine democracy” in
East Germany must come before
reunification or integration into the
Western European community
should be discussed.
Then someone smarter than Dan
would interview people on the streets
of London who say things like, ‘ ‘God
help us if those people get together
agaih,” and “Haven’t we taken
enough?,” and I’d open a beer and
say something like, “You got that
right. You can’t trust those Germans,
they drink lots of beer and stuff.”
Then, just when it looked like Dan
was about to start crying for joy, I’d
remember that I forgot to tell my
mom I needed more tube socks, so I ’d
try to call back only to find that New
York phone workers were on strike
and I’d have to try later.
I usually try to buy my own socks,
because my mom has always pul my
initials in magic marker on the toes,
but I’m a little short of money now.
Sometimes, now that I wear Birken
stocks periodically. I’ll walk all the
way to school before looking down to
notice BDL staring up at me. I guess
1 should just be grateful my mom
doesn’t put R and L on my socks.
Anyway, I’d finally gel through to
my parents again and my mom would
ask if I wanted to come home for
Christmas or spring break, and she’d
say she would send some cookies
with my monogrammed socks.
I’d probably hang up then, look at
Dan, and start to think how vulner
able the rest of Western Europe
would be if communists gained any
influence at all in a unified Germany.
Imagine if one condition of reuni
fication were that U.S. troops had to
withdraw from West Germany, say
all the way to France (which probably
would be willing to let us do that in
such a case). Where would that leave
other countries in Western Europe,
which, for the most part, have been
stable since World War II?
Quoting someone else, I might
say: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’’
and watch as tears rolled down Dan’s
cheeks.
What if all this throws a wrench in
Europe’s plans for a unified commu
nity in 1992? What then? West Ger
many would like- io include East {
Germany, and any member of the
Warsaw Pact willing to reform, in the j
European Economic Community.
Their neighbors to the west al
ready are arguing over whether the j
community should be purely an eco
nomic agreement or Europe should |
be totally unified in terms of politics I
and military operations. They have J
enough to bicker about without com- |
munists trying to weasel their way
into the deal. This could destroy the
balance of power that has kept Eu- I
rope in peace for decades.
Then, as Dan sniffled and signed
off, I might think to myself that I hope
they don’t pul a wall between Ne
braska and New York before spring
break, between West and East
Loomis. If that happened, tube socks
and cookies might become more
important to me than balance of
power and democracy.
Loomis is a senior news-editorial major, and
a Daily Nebraskan associate news editor and
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 arc Amy Edwards, editor;
Lee Rood, editorial page editor^anc
Hirt, managing editor; Brandon
Loomis, associate news cdllor; Bob
Nelson, columnist; Jeff Petersen, col
umnist; Brian Svoboda, columnist.
Editorials do not necessarily re
flect the views of the university, its
employees, the students or the NU
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opinion of the author.
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gents, responsibility for the editorial
content of the newspaper lies solely in
the hands of its student editors.
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