Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 1990)
AS UN, Langford, protesters come under fire of readers Reader shocked by Langford’s negative talk Stale Senator Langford, it is atti tudes like yours which help to per petuate the negativism toward the youth of today. I was shocked by your comments concerning your opposi tion to the proposed student trustee vote on the basis of “immaturity” and apathy of college students. I am surprised that you arc not carrying your backward attitude and stereotypes one step further by sitting at home cooking and cleaning for a living. A Daily Nebraskan article March 9, the day before your comments were printed, reported the following: • About 500 students at Arizona Stale University in Tempo demon strated last month after regents voted to raise yearly tuition by $116 for in state students to $1,47«, and $1,000 for out-of-state students to $6,464 at ASU. • In Oklahoma, 10,000 students attending public colleges and univer sities presented regents a petition protesting proposed tuition increases ranging up to 12.5 percent. These figures show that college students arc “worried about the courses taught and how much those courses cost.” I am certain that, should tui tion increases of similar magnitude be proposed in Nebraska, students would not just stand by and let things happen. In addition, if students between the ages of 18 and 20 “make the worst decisions in the world,” why do 18-ycar-olds have the right to vote? When U.S. Senator Jennings Ran dolph was fighting to give 18-year olds this right in the early ’70s, he obviously felt that they were mature enough then, as they arc now. I would only question the maturity and ability to make political decisions of those 18- to 20-year-olds in Kearney who voted to elect you to the State Legis lature. Amy R. Lee senior meteorology Park protesters discredit image of ecology work To James Zank and the others who opposed the “environmental tragedy” at Cooper Park, pull your heads out of the grass. Cooper Park was a South Salt Creek Neighborhood concern, but not a legitimate environmental issue. In your March 19 letter, you wonder how we can explain to our children that it is wrong to destroy rain forests in Brazil, yet OK to rip out trees for a soccer field. Don’t expect children to understand com plex issues like this, it’s out of their grasp, and apparently out of yours also. To compare Cooper Park to the problems facing the world’s rain for ests is insane. It is also insane to call Checvcr Construction an assortment of mur derers. Trees can’t be murdered. Trees don’t have rights. The sole purpose of environmental awareness is to realize where humans fit into the ecosystem, and act accordingly. Refusing to har vest a natural resource because you believe it is murder, immoral or un civilized is just as damaging as over exploitation. The environmental movement has worked hard to lose its hippie image and gain a more profes sional one. Climbing trees and scream ing words like fascist and murderer has done much to discredit *L There arc very important issues in Nebraska that need our attention, such as the future of the Platte River, our vanishing rainwater basias and ground water contamination. The current environmental movement sweeping the world now will probably last no more than 10 years, and its success will be determined by how effec tively it addressed legitimate prob lems. Lastly, when you urge the ecology majors whose letter you answered to spend their time better in joining the fight for the ecosystems preservation, it becomes obvious that you have chosen to ignore the truly knowl edgeable and go your own ignorant way. These men, as myself, arc in the process of devoting their entire life to the fight. In 10 years, will you be able to say the same? Steve Winter sophomore natural resources Student displays dissatisfaction with dirty politics Wednesday, I went to the ASUN runoff elections at the Nebraska Un ion. I picked up my ballot, went to one of the voting booths, folded the ballot and turned it in to the lady at the ballot box. I was fairly surprise j and puzzled when she unfolded my ballot and told me that I hadn’t blackened in any of the spaces. She said that my vote would consequently not count. Of course I knew that! By leaving my ballot blank I followed a gener ally accepted democratic convention to express my dissatisfaction about the selfish and dirty campaigning of all parties. This inappropriate behav ior devalues their credibility. How could these parties adequately repre sent students’ interests at the Univer sity of Ncbraska-Lincoln? However, I am more concerned about the voting procedure itself. I thought it was the nature of a ballot that Sic vote was secret and thus the voter protected. This seems not to hold true for ASUN elections. I am deeply dis mayed that this could happen in a country which prides itself on a long and proud democratic tradition. Harlmut Mauritz business administration exchange student from West Ger many Fighting racism more than words, rally on campus Yes, this is another letter concern ing the racial attitudes of our beloved campus. A little more or less than a week ago on a sunny Monday after noon, an undetermined number of students look a short stroll around the campus. Their original intention was supposed to be striking a blow against racism. For a while, it seemed they were unified by their collective out rage, fear and sense of decency. They marched and sang and then, at the entrance of the Nebraska Union, under the shade of a pine tree, they began to speak. T hey repeated over and over how something should be done to drive the dark shadows of prejudice from the sacred halls of “our” university. They talked about how we had to be to gether as one to win this battle. Then something funny happened on the way to wherever. It seems something got lost on the way. Less than a week later, a friend saw a racist threat scrawled on a blackboard in Andrews Hall, the starting point of that now seemingly forgotten day of unity. What people seemed to forget is that those who preach the doctrine of racism arc already unified and doing something about getting their goals achieved. The people of that rally have scattered to the four winds and sought refuge among their very sepa rate groups and seem ingly forgotten a lot of the promises made. There was a rather popular song in my parent’s day that still holds water, “United We Stand, Divided We Fall.” Folks, if you really want to be helpful, wake up and crawl out of the protection of your little cliques that you call spe cial interest groups. The only group that requires your membership and patronage is the one known as the human race. Contrary to popular opin ion, we’re all the same Homo Sapicn (with the exception of the few re maining Neanderthals preaching the need for racial purity). I hope if noth ing else, all llic people wandering this little campus of ours learn that. Marty King freshman undeclared Teacher disputes senator’s ideas about students 1 would be unfaithful to the many fine students I have worked with over the years if I did not write to take exception to State Sen. Lorraine Langford’s condemnation of people from the age of 18 to 20. I have no idea what or whom she is basing her generalization upon, but I can tell her that 18- to 20-ycar-old studciUs at the University of Ncbraska-Lincoln have written wise papers for my classes, have been responsible in balancing their academic requirements and personal and community commit ments, have been thoughtful, compe tent and hard-working on commit tees, and have shown understanding and concern for every aspect of the university and the university commu nity. Her comments about 18- to 20 ycar-olds arc not only at odds with my experience with young people but also reflect a somewhat unclear view of who “the student” is. Many UNL students take five or six years to fin ish a degree, and classrooms increas ingly hold returning students. Thus, even if people under 21 were irre sponsible, many students, particularly the juniors and seniors who are likely to assume Icadcrsh ip roles, arc 21 and over. When 1 consider how often stu dent members have been among the most thoughtful and diligent mem bers of committees at every level of importance at this university as well as at others I have known, 1 can only conclude that both higher education and the state at large would be best served by having students as voting members of every governing board for higher education in Nebraska. Frances W. Kaye associate professor English Baseball fan: Nebraska team lacks leadership As a baseball buff, I hate to think that the embarrassment suffered by the Comhusker baseball team in 1987, 1988 and 1989 promises to be re peated in 1990. Last year, for in stance, it was sad to see the once mighty Nebraska team losing to the likes of Kansas, Missouri and other teams which once were no match for our school. Something is radically wrong with the program: Either the recruiting job is frightful or the morale of the team is way low. The second item bears watching for. Two years ago, we lost players of the caliber of Borgogno, Elfhand (now at Arizona State), and others, at the end of the school year. At the time, those players made no bones about blaming the leadership of the team. As one of them put it: “It is not the winn ing or losing record that make us move on. Someone has to win and someone has to lose.’ ’ Then he added: “It is the constant downgrading of our efforts that makes it tough on all of us. We are not being inspired by the leaders, the coaches.” He could not have phrased it any better. The baseball program at Nebraska lacks leadership. Joe Schneider Omaha Join us for breakfast anytime on Thursday!! Sertoma Clubs of Lincoln presents their 29th annual Pancake Feed. March 22nd 7:OOa.m.-7:30p.m. Pershing Auditorium $2.50 per person Includes: Juice, sausage, coffee, milk, and all you can eat pancakes .Majority of proceeds go to fund programs of Lincoln Council on Alcoholism & Drugs. •SKIS •BOOTS •BINDINGS •POLES •WINTER CLOTHING •SKI PARKAS •T-NECKS •LONG UNDERWEAR •GLOVES •GOGGLES INSULATED CLOTHING AT LINCOLN GATEWAY LOCATION ONLY! *SKI ACCESSORIES PLUS MUCH. MUCH MORE! We re Great Sports! "lUr MM/LOR’S §§| 466494? SPORTING GOODS ““’'.iJ.ff"" |