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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 1990)
Editorial (Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska-Lincoln Eric Pfanner, Editor, 472-1766 Victoria Ayotte, Managing Editor Darcie Wiegert, Associate News Editor Diane Brayton^sjocia/e News Editor Jana Pedersen, Wire Editor Emily Rosenbaum, Copy Desk Chief Lisa Donovan, Editorial Page Editor Heeere’s ASUN i But as usual, students haven’t noticed About nine people caught Wednesday night’s debut of the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska Senate. - Specific tabulation shows that the total included three \ Daily Nebraskan staffers and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs James Griesen, ASUN’s adviser, who sat in the audience. The apathy already has started and we’re only halfway l through the first week of classes. Well, friends, this is no time to slack off. ASUN Presi | dent Phil Gosch and the rest of his troupe have their work cut out for them. There’s no getting around it. Griesen pointed out to senators that the governing body l has had influence over some important issues in the past — 1 notably the addition of the Lee & Helene Sapp Recreation Facility. I But he added that this year’s senate would have to deal with issues more critical to the university than senates have in the last few years. Right on. The issues ASUN and students will have to deal with this year could affect everything from the quality of their education to their social conscience. ASUN took action indirectly Wednesday on one of those issues, the NU Foundation’s investment in corpora 5 tions that do business in South Africa. A resolution was passed calling for implementation of the South African Education Program, which would create scholarships for a black South African students. Those scholarships would fill a large void. But a simi lar resolution in the spring called for creation of 10 scholarships for South African students and called for the foundation to divest of businesses that invest in South | Africa. Obviously efforts in that direction will have to be continued. The proposed 2 percent lid on state and local budget | increases is an issue that will hit closer to home, as it will appear on the election-day ballots of even apathetic college students. ASUN senators’ little brothers and sisters may be j directly affected by another issue Griesen mentioned - Kearney State College’s transfer into the University of Nebraska system. Two UNL students -- Gosch and Deb Fiddelke -- have | been appointed to a committee overseeing the transfer. In addition to the 2 percent lid, voters will be faced in November with a proposal to restructure the coordination of higher education in the state. Students should urge ASUN to push for reaffirmation of UNL’s flagship role in the NU system if voters approve the change in November. Not forgotten in the fray, of course, are the ASUN executives’ campaign promises. Last year, Gosch’s VISION party pledged in its plat form to: • Expand the campus phone and escort systems. • Establish a student government office on East Cam pus. • Strive to alleviate the problems of poor lighting, low I security and overselling of student parking lots. • Create a bimonthly roundtable discussion of student | leaders from minority groups and campus living units. • Develop and host the first annual Big Eight student government conference. During last year’s annual pre-election excitement, I VISION promised to get students interested in govern ment. That was with a platform devoted to safe issues such as parking and roundtable discussions. With some real issues to deal with this year, ASUN I needs to take quick and effective action - both in keeping I its campaign promises and in dealing with the more 1 important issues that have arisen -- before UNL students 1 get comfortable in their familiar pattern of apathy. Wednesday night’s turnout at the senate meeting shows I that students won’t automatically react to important issues. I Let’s hope this year’s Homecoming election sparks more interest. •• l.isa Donovan and Eric Pfanner for the Daily Nebraskan Music not to blame for suicides Judge indecisive on subliminals, may threaten music industry Despite last week’s rejection of a lawsuit against the heavy metal band, Judas Priest, the plaintiff’s attorney in the trial had threatening words for the entire mu sic industry. “Sooner or later a case like this will win,” Ken McKenna told wire services. “It’s just a matter of time.’’ Unfortunately, McKenna may be right. The lawsuit against Judas Priest alleged that 18-year-old Raymond Belknap and 20-ycar-old James Vance formed a suicide pact and shot them selves after spending Dec. 23, 1985, smoking marijuana, drinking and lis tening to Judas Priest’s “Stained Class” album. Belknap died instantly. Vance died of his injuries three years later. The parents of the youths alleged that subliminal messages on “Stained Class” led to their children’s deaths. They sought S6.2 million in damages. Jerry Whitehead, the judge in the Judas Priest trial, ruled against the plaintiffs “because incy failed to prove that defendants intentionally placed subliminal messages on the album and that those messages were a cause of the suicide and the attempted sui cide in this case.” What Whitehead did not rule on, however, was whether or not sublimi nal messages themselves exist as a method of manipulation, and that’s where the problem is. At the start of the trial, Whitehead ruled that subliminal messages do exist, but he failed to decide if such messages can influence people. In his final ruling, Whitehead said the album did contain the words “do it,” as the plaintiffs alleged. And though the words were created by a “chance combination of sounds,” Whitehead said, they formed a sub liminal message. He also said the defendants failed to prove that sub liminal messages can’t affect human behavior. In other words, although “do it” was on the album unintentionally and was created by chance, Judas Priest could be responsible for affecting human behavior every time “Stained Class” is played. Gimme a break. Whether or not Judas Priest inten tionally or unintentionally tried to put the words “do it” on its album has Jana Pedersen little bearing on what happened that December. The words “do it” can have a wide variety of interpretations. The supposedly subliminal message docs not say “shoot yourself,’ ’ yet parents of the dead young men allege that interpretation. Assuming that this subliminal message can control human behavior, as Whitehead did not rule out, the next lawsuit could come from a poor, unwed mother whoclaims she was urged into promiscuity by the words, “do it.” Clearly, the interpretation of the message rests in the mind of the lis tener. And the listeners in December 1985 happened to be two young men with a history of drug and alcohol abuse, mental disorders and violence, according to court testimony. When the rest of the allegations are stripped away, what’s left to be decided is whether the producer of any product for mass distribution should be held legally responsible for how that product is interpreted by consumers. And what that leaves is one big, fat question mark. After all, Judas Priest, or anyone for that mat ter, cannot accurately predict how individuals will react to different messages. Only one loophole exists on the parents’ side, and that is in the defini tion of a subliminal message. It is supposed to be something perceived unconsciously. Naturally, the sender, not the receiver, of such a message should be responsible for its interpre tation, since the receiver doesn’t even realize the message is being sent. But with the4‘do it’’ example, the judge was able to perceive the mes sage consciously, not unconsciously, after listening to the album. Welcome big, fat question mark No. 2: If the judge could hear the so called subliminal message, how is it subliminal? In the end, the responsibility must fall back on the individual. With or without unconscious signals, a per son will not commit suicide when told to do so if that person knows suicide is wrong. Putting a gun to one’s head is not a subliminal action. Some form of consciousness must be •nvolvcd. And the responsibility for cement ing in young men and women the knowledge that suicide is wrong lies with parents and peers, not with law yers and certainly not with faraway rock groups. But Whitehead’s ruling leaves the big question marks hanging over the music industry and leaves artists wondering how to predict die way listeners will interpret then- chance combinations of sounds. Pedersen is a Junior advertising major, 0* Daily Nebraskan wire editor and acoiumnisl ihe Daily Nebraskan 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. Anonymous submissions will not be considered for publication. Letters should include the author’s name, year in school, major and group affili ation, if any. Requests to withhold names will not be granted. Submit material to the Daily Ne braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 k Sl, Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. editorial^ Signed staff editorials represent the official policy of the Fall 1990 Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Its members are: Eric Pfanner, editor; Lisa Donovan, editorial page editor; Victoria Ayotte, managing editor; Diane Brayton, associate news edi tor, Darcie Wiegert, associate news editor; Emily Rosenbaum, copy desk chief; Jana Pedersen, wire editor. Editorial columns represent the opinion of the author. The Daily Nebraskan’s publishers arc the re gents, who established the UNL Pun lications Board to supervise the daily production of the paper.