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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 1990)
Readers criticize, commend DN for coverage of events Public comment should be heard on gross cartoon After your ‘ ‘safe’ ’ and crafty move before Spring Break, it makes me wonder what you have up your sleeve for the month of May as classes end. I refer to the grotesque * ‘cartoon” the day before Spring Break (DN, March 23) relative to Catholic nuns and education (no one could write back in a timely fashion). Secondly, I refer to last year’s pornographic issue on the last day of classes relative to the garbage you call journalism representing UNL? I can’t understand how two indi viduals (Tom Osborne and Don Wal ton, your adviser) can sit back and have no public comment on this. Isn’t Tom Osborne heading a group against pornography? Possibly he did not see the issue of last year -- your swan song. The last day’s issue should prove to be a ‘‘curious one” for this year. You probably will ignore this let ter, but I feel your adolescent behav ior should be so labeled - and by some of the bigwigs would be help ful. R.M. Schweitzer senior teacher’s college Recycling barrel depletes income for the homeless I am looking at a big blue barrel as I try to study, and I begin to wonder about the kind, elderly gentlemen who have been seen collecting aluminum cans on campus. Income from alumi num may be feeding them, clothing them, buying them that hot cup of coffee on a cold winter’s day. But now their income is dwindling, dwin dling into the deep blue barrels which say, “RECYCLE,” when they should say, ‘‘GIVE” - give to the needy. Maybe the money should be going into a fund for the homeless. It would make Phil Collins happy. It would make me happy. We will all get some type of job when we leave this university. Let us not be greedy. Give back the jobs these men have. Riding bikes takes them to an income - a pot of alumi num at the end of their rainbow. Just think about it. Bob Dutton senior news-editorial Reader pleased with coverage from reporters Hats off to the Daily Nebraskan reporters who covered the recently completed legislative session. Their contributions exceeded any ones I can recall. The coverage was infor mative and often instructive, even when the issues were complex or contentious. On occasion, they cov ered crucial items or points which the full-time “mainline” media missed or ignored. An informed citizenry relics heavily on a skilled media corps and DN readers got all we could possibly expect from your Unicameral report ers these past few months. Robert Sitlig professor political science Banning of shirts upheld on basis of religious bias 1 noticed with a great deal ol dis pleasure that, quite gratuitously, my name was mentioned in the Students for Choice official complaint (DN, April 10). With the banning earlier this year of sales of shirts by Phi Kappa Psi fraternity for racist senti ments, the background of the person who made the complaint was not mentioned. As 1 have maintained, and as I still maintain, who I am, what my religious beliefs are, and what news paper I edit have nothing to do with the issue of the banning of the sale of the “Incredibly Shrinking Woman’s Right to Choose’ ’ shirt. What is the issue, however, is that this shirt, according to the Affirma tive Action office, contains religiously biased sentiments designed to foster animosity toward Roman Catholics and Roman Catholicism. In the most charitable sense, the statement, “PG: Papal Guidance Suggested,” implies that Roman Catholics are automa tons, unable to think before asking for paternal guidance from Rome before the purchase of a shirt. True, this is an inference; but so is our inference of a burning cross meaning race hatred. True, the Students for Choice consid ered this a satiric statement; I have run across people in my life who think the burning cross is a real knec slappcr. True, the university is a state institution, fully under the auspices of “separation of church and state.” Does this, then, imply we can freely take a ball-pccn hammer to religious beliefs in general? If the leaders of the Jewish community were against abortion and the shirt was then to say, “Rabbinical Council of America Guidance Suggested,” there would be an uproar against anti-Semitism. Should not the guidelines for the re spect of religions be applied equally and equitably on this campus? But the issue here is not Pro-Life or Anti-Life, Pro-Choice or Anti Choice. The issue here is: Can we allow, without due protest, religious hatred to be fostered on this campus to bolster a political view? We would not allow race haded to be fostered to bolster a political view. My response, as a Christian and asa firm believer in Civil Liberties, is “No.” My only prayer is that the Students for Choice would exercise more dis cretion and responsibility in their selection of material and more re spect and scnsiliviiy for the religious choices of others. I remain, Sincerely Yours, In Christ, Bruce A. Gregg editor UNL Christian Journal Apel slammed for suggesting cuts in athletics In response to the programs initi ated by 'die Earth Day celebration, the University of Ncbraska-Lincoln has decided to save paper by dropping one section of the Daily Nebraskan. Since the current events are essential to the paper, we have decided to keep that section. The funnies are losing money, but they really make me laugh so those will stay. The best decision is to cut the sports page. Thousands of athletes would be elated if the Sports page and sports editor were thrown off the face of the Earth. Just the other day, I think I overheard Chancellor Martin Massengale saying, “That damn sports page. The university would save SI.8 million by dropping the sports page, which could be used to support the athletic department.” However, life is not fair. We arc subject to reading the inept writing of Jeff (I hope 1 can graduate in nine years) Apel. I wish that the Daily Nebraskan would cost money so I could boycott the paper. Jeff cries for Danny Nee’s resignation, but maybe it’s time for Jeff to resign himself. A reporter is allowed to criticize ath letes and programs if he has a valid reason. Jeff’s reasoning in his articles has been poorly researched, and he continues to make unfounded accusa tions. In response to Apel s latest piece of writing (DN, April 6), he enters his fictitious world of self-gratification and becomes athletic director. Apel begins to rank sports based on reve nue and how much he personally liked them. For some reason, men’s swim ming is his most hated sport. I guess he had a bad experience with the water as a young child. He begins by calling swimming a nuisance. Sorry for disturbing you, Mr. Apel. The athletic department would not nave a deficit if it got a nickel for every time Jeff and friends make a nauseating mistake in covering swimming. Rarely can the paper pul the correct names to match the picture in the paper. Other mistakes in Jeff’s article are too many to name, but I will try. He groups all of the track teams under one heading when there are actually a number of different teams. Also, Jeff would rather drop the top gymnastics team in the nation before pursuing other efforts in cutting cost. By the way, somebody should tell Jeff that all of the sports are located in the Midwest and not just the golf team. In other words, all Nebraska sports have to travel quite a way to compete against other opponents. Lastly, he quotes 3 year-old financial figures. I am sure that at least the 1988-89 figures are available. Most importantly, money spent on maintaining sports is not a waste of money. It is money spent on the con tinued training of amateur athletes and future Olympians. And believe me, Nebraska has athletes who will compete in the 1992 Olympics. While other countries have state supported sport programs that cost millions, American and foreign athletes who want an education must rely on uni versities for continuing their training. Universities have assumed the role of developing amateur athletes who compete out of the joy of competition and not for the love of money. In the mist of glorified, overpaid profes sional athletes, we ignore the hard working amateur athletes that main tain the true meaning of fair competi tion. But Jeff Apel wants to eliminate these sports so he can continue glori fying the rich. The NCAA has so many positive sides in its support of athletics, Lut it is often overlooked, because the media attracts more read ers by reporting on dropping sports. I would like to thank Bob Dcvancy for producing a very fair proposal for cutting cost by not showing any fa voritism to certain sports. It is reason able that football and basketball do not receive cuts, because it is a fact that they produce huge amounts of revenue. However, our favorite sports editor has shown us his obvious big otry against a few innocent sports. Thanks for the bad press, Jeff! Doug Garland freshman engineering men’s swimming Officials’ ‘lies’ concerning dump upset student I am writing in response to the articld (DN, April 9) concerning the site of a low-level nuclear waste dump in Nebraska. I am a citizen of Boyd County, and I wish to set the record straight on several matters. For start ers, Lawrence Grimm, at least judg ing from his comments appearing in the DN, has not even the shakiest grasp of the facts concerning the issue of the low-level waste site in Boyd County. Grimm seems to think that Flugh Kaufman and Lynn Moorer have come into Boyd County and stirred up the citizens in the county against the dump. This is absolutely not true. In fact, more than 1,000 of the less than 1,300 registered voters in Boyd County signed a petition against lo cating the dump in Boyd County before it was even picked as the final site, and long before any of the citizens had even heard of Hugh Kaufman or Lynn Moorer. Boyd County residents have only recently asked Kaufman and Moorer ta help them fight the dump As far as government olficials lying, I can actually remember only a few times that they have told the truth in this matter. Senator Kerrey recently appeared on a public TV program and quoted opinions by the Stale Attor ney General and the U.S. Attorney General, opinions which, in fact do not exist, kay Orr has said that a waste dump will not be put in where there is not community consent, yet that is what is happening. Kay Onr and Norm Thorson have stated that Nebraska would not be solely liable for the waste, yet there is no formula for sharing liability with either com pact states or power companies. I could go on to till an entire issue of the DN with accounts of public offi cials lying to the public on this issue. Boyd County citizens have brought in Kaufman and Moorer because these are people they can trust, and they obviously can’t trust government officials. As for Grimm, I wouldn’t trust anything he said either. Further more, if Norm Thorson is doing his job to the best of his ability, then he truly must be a man of little ability. The citizeas of Boyd County, except for a small minority, do not want a waste dump in their county. Boyd County gets zero percent of its elec tricity from nuclear energy, and in fact gets most of it from South Da kota. Why should they have to take the waste when they don’t get the benefits? Grimm wants to educate us about the safety of nuclear waste. If it is so safe, he can put it in his back yard; we don’t want it no matter how safe it is. Finally, Mr. Grimm, for every expert there is to attest to the safety of nuclear waste, there is one to tell how unsafe it is, and I believe them. Brent Boettcher senior ag honors Article contains misguided focus, sidesteps issues In response to “Nuclear Activist Protests Waste Dump,” (DN, April 9) I would first like to say that the title of the article is a bit misleading. Hugh Kaufman and Lynn Moorer are not nuclear activists. Kaufman is the EPA’s senior advisor on the technical issues related to waste management. Moorer is the head of Concerned Citizens of Nebraska and has worked with and extensively researched the technical, legal and political aspects of this is sue, including a visit to North Caro lina and Sheffield, 111. As far as Grimm being a radiation specialist, hisonly background in this field is his two-year employ ment wi th US Ecology as an entry-level inspec tor for the Richland, Wash. site. His job was to ensure that the packaging of radioactive materials brought into Richland were in compliance with the Department of Transportation requirements and applicable permit conditions. Grimm has only a bache lor’s degree in Nuclear Medicine Technology from the University of Seattle. However, this degree is ir relevant to the position he now holds at the University of Nebraska-Lin coln. The article reveals irresponsible journalism because Kaufman’s cre dentials were ignored. Hugh Kaufman’s qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in electrical engi neering and a masters in engineering administration. As one of the found ers of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, he helped to write federal laws for the EPA related to waste management and hazardous site control, including solid, hazardous and radioactive waste. He is recog nized internationally as an expert in the field of waste management. Grimm’s comments regarding “safety issues’’ were irrelevant con sidering the subject of the lecture dealt with the laws and regulations surrounding the siting of the low level radioactive waste dump in Nebraska. I also do not feel that Gnmm is qualified to comment on the pro ceedings of monitoring committee meetings, since he has not attended more than one. Grimm asked one question at the beginning of the lec ture which indicated he has no knowl edge of the subject at hand. Since Grimm walked out 15 minutes into the presentation, he missed a good opportunity to add to his meager knowledge. 1 talked with Kaufman after the lecture and he commented, “I sus pect Mr. Grimm left the lecture early because the subject matter was well over his head.” Further, Kaufman did not want to waste the lime of the law students or himself bringing Grimm up to speed on the legal ramifications of this issue. Later in the article, Grimm went on to defend Mr. Thorson by saying that Kaufman and Moorcr were at tacking public officials over “trivial matters.” If lying to the monitoring committees and the state legislature and bribery are trivial matters, then their remarks were out of line. But, in my book, they were right on target. I think Grimm not only needs to get an education in the field, but also learn the rudiments of the chief legal, po litical and technical issues involved, before he attacks people with the qualifications and experience of Kaufman and Moorcr. It is unfortunate that the Daily Nebraskan chose to focus on Grimm’s petty superficiality, instead of report ing on the issues presented. In effect, the DN chose to go in orbit around a minor moon in the wrong solar sys tem. Paula Zidko senior elementary cducation/carly child hood Basketball fan urges Mr. Vitale to ‘keep it up’ Chuck Green, I also watched the NCAA championship basketball game and was overwhelmed when 1 heard that it would be Brent Musburger’s last broadcast. But I could not help thinking of what a great tournament it would have been with Hank Gathers. The death of Hank Gathers truly set back some great excitement that would have accompanied Hank Gathers and Loyola-Marymount. Hank deserved the recognition he got during the teie cast. Although, I do not agree with you on your comment about Dick Vitale. Mr Vitale has brought great excite ment to the gameof basketball, which sport broadcasters like Brent Musburger and Keith Jackson had taken out Keep it up Dick; Slam-Bam-Jam!!! Thad Euse sophomore English Labeling words not the solution to disguise filth The University of Nebraska’s administrators have compiled a more explicit list of unapproved ideas we shouldn’t voice, which they have ironically labeled “lighting words.’’ James Griesen and others in admini stration want to censor racism, big otry and simple general stupidity, by pushing its discussion underground, hiding it from public scrutiny. The idea that insensitive social conduct will be improved by prohibiting stu dents and faculty from visibly or orally communicating their thoughts is based on an assumption that people will change their ideologies and morali ties if an authority figure threatens to punish them for their beliefs. This has never worked and seems like the perfect way to hide the problems without dealing with them. If a society lets its bigots spew their garbage in public, it can locale them by their stench, then figure out solutions to cleaning up their messes. Hiding their filth won’t make it go away. Griesen admits that some people arc against the administration's pro posed code of decency, but he de fends against the claims that he is suppressing freedom of expression by giving an example of how it’s already being done. Arguing that it’s morally acceptable to limit our free doms because it’s been done before is lame. If the administrators are genu inely interested in correcting our lewd behavior, I suggest education at this university will work much better than threats. A federal Orwellian “Big Brother” act increased the amount of American flags burnt, and another local one certainly won’t improvcour bigots. Eric Lemke senior English