Editorial
(Daily
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Eric Pfanner, Editor, 472-1766
Victoria Ayotte, Managing Editor
Darcie Wiegert, Associate News Editor
Diane Bray ton, Associate News Editor
Jana Pedersen, Wire Editor
Emily Rosenbaum, Copy Desk Chief
Lisa Donovan, Editorial Page Editor
Vote for 4
Commission would aid higher education
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of Daily Nebras
kan Editorial Board endorsements concerning measures
and candidates on Tuesday’s ballot.
Nebraskans didn’t get an ideal proposal to change the gov
ernance of higher education, but a “Yes" vote on
Amendment 4 would give the state a better system than
| it currently has.
The proposed amendment, placed on the ballot after some
| rapid shuffling by the Nebraska Legislature in the spring,
would strengthen the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for
Postsecondary Education.
The commission would be able to integrate the needs ol all
| segments of higher education. Currently, the NU Board of Re
gents, the State College Board of Trustees and other higher
j education boards have no common goals. The Legislature’s
Appropriations Committee is forced to be a son of ad hoc
coordinating commission.
The proposed amendment is not without structural flaws.
The commission’s 11 members would be appointed by the
governor with approval from the Legislature. Regents — who
would lose some power with the addition of another level of
government — arc elected.
The amendment also contains no provision for a student
member on the commission. Students currently arc represented
on the NU Board of Regents, although student regents’ votes
are unofficial.
University of Ncbraska-Lincoln Student Regent Phil Gosch
and the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska
have opposed the amendment, saying it would reduce student
input into governance.
Gosch and ASUN arc right — at least for now. But in the
future, there’s no reason to think a student member couldn’t be
added to the commission.
Even without a commission member, students would benefit
from better coordination of the stale’s higher education re
sources.
The need for better integration was pointed out by the
transfer of Kearney Slate College into the NU system without a
comprehensive study of the effects. Amendment 4 would
prevent similar blunders in the future.
The Editorial Board — with some reservations — asks Ne
braskans to vote “Yes” on Amendment 4.
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Humans more complex
than the average cow
This letter is in response to those
written by Lorrilyn Rennings (letter
to the alitor, DN, Oct. 22) and Suzanne
Noe (letter to the editor, DN,Oct. 23)
concerning the treatment of veal calves.
These people have obviously never
even “met" a member of the species
they so strongly defend. As much as
we hate to admit it sometimes, we, as
humans arc much more complex than
youraverage cow. Wearc able to feel
morediverse feelings. Sometimes it’s
hard to understand that an animal
cannot feel the same things we can.
Sure they feel pain — physical pain.
And warmth — physical warmth. But
that is about ail they arc capable of.
Ms. Rennings suggested that, to
solve the damp stall problem, dairy
farmers should “muck out their pens
daily and put down fresh, dry straw.”
Perfect solution! Even if there were
only, say, 50 pens and even if it could
be done in, say,.15 minutes, that would
mean he would only have to spend
about 12 and one-half hours of his
already long day mucking pens. And
I’m sure the government would be
happy to supply him with enough
straw to last him the year!
And Ms. Noe’s comment that rais
ing grain “lakes less water and less
misery” was just as absurd! Farmers
do not know what a summer vacation
is because they spend 18 hours a day
keeping their gram irrigated. And they
don’t raise just 10 pounds a year!
And by the way, docs this mean
you two won’t be drinking milk any
more, either. I mean, that is why the
calf is taken away from its mother.
And as far as vegetable farmers go, I
suppose you haven’t heard of the groups
protesting the chemicals they use to
make them grow better. These even
tually affect both animals and hu
mans.
Everyone is entitled to their own
opinion, but please don’t crilici/c the
doings of the American farmer. We
have suffered under this discrimina
tion long enough. And also, if hu
mans were not made to cat other
animals, why do we have carnivorous
teeth in our mouths?
Cathy Fries
freshman
actuarial science
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Sinful temptation = sinful act
Church's betrayal of confidentiality shows hypocrisy at its best
Ever since I asked that question
in my sevenih-grade religion
class, I knew I was going to
hell.
“But why is premarital sex a sin?”
I imagined my death to be a slow
but relatively painless one. Neighbor
kids, teachers and family members
who had been mean to me would be
circled around my death bed, weep
ing in regret. After I had gasped my
last breath, my soul would rise to the
sky. Somewhere in my twisted imagi
nation, I thought we all got to chat
with God before a decision was made
about our final resting place.
In my mind I would reach the gates
of heaven, which would look a lot
like the lobby of Omaha’s Holiday
Inn Central transplanted to big puffy
marshmallow clouds.
St. Peter would ask me my name,
social security number and if I wanted
fries with my order.
After filling out the necessary in
formation, St. Paul would lead me to
a screening room in which God and I
would review the necessary events of
my life — my sins.
The video of my life would start
from the very beginning. God and I
would watch me flipping off the safety
patrols as I walked home from school.
We would watch me silling in my
bedroom at the age of 11 memorizing
the words to the song “Piss On The
Wall” by the J. Gcils Band. He would
lind out that I had a crush on my
married third-grade math teacher.
Sinful temptation may as well be a
sinful act.
But my trivial vision of Judgment
Day has become a local woman’s hell
on earth.This week proceedings be
gan in a lawsuit against the discipli
nary practices of a Lincoln church.
The Associated Press reported that
29-ycar-old Beth Hald of Lincoln sued
Indian Hills Community Church and
its officials, saying they were negli
geni in announcing to the congrega
tion that her conduct had been im
moral.
According to the lawsuit, in late
1986 Hald went to a church counselor
regarding a drug addiction problem.
During the session she confided to the
counselor that she was engaged in a
homosexual relationship. She also
confided in one of the church’s eld
ers.
In February 1987, she was told to
mend her ways or her evil lifestyle
would be revealed to all, her lawsuit
alleges. She resigned from the church.
During a March 1987 service, one
of the ministers announced to 7(X)
members of the congregation that Hald
was engaging in immoral conduct
and sinful activities.
So now my vision is updated.
No longer do we have ‘til Judg
ment Day for the almighty gavel to be
thrust upon our souls.
The soul and spirit can be killed
and judged by members of the reli
gious clergy, without anything messy
like death. Religious hypocrisy at its
finest.
Unfortunately, religiousconfidcn
liality is different from that of, say, a
psychiatrist’s oath of confidentiality.
The defense is resting its case on the
fact that the church’s disciplinary
actions toward Hald arc part of their
religious beliefs and therefore arc
protected by the U .S. and stale consti
tutions.
In other words, betrayal of confi
dentiality is part of the religious prac
tice.
According to her suit, however,
Hald contends that she was told the
information she exchanged at coun
seling sessions would remain confi
dential.
Hald is seeking an unspecified
amount of damages, saying she has
been publicly humiliated and shunned
by friends, has lost faith in God and
has suffered permanent psychiatric
injury.
But Hald may never receive the |
reparation she wants from Indian Hills
Community Church. Most of the
charges she has alleged have been
dropped, and more than likely she
will lose the ease. The First Amend
ment protects freedom of speech —
there is no law against calling a per
son immoral.
But the church allegedly did break
its promise. If the church promised
Hald confidential counseling, it should
have respected her enough to keep
that promise.
Above all else, religion is sup
posed to be a way of channeling spiri
tual faith. Individual churches arc the
physical guides to spiritual happi
ness, not places of judgment and
condemnation.
But most of the lime it isn’t the
religion or church, but the arrogant
church leaders, who find themselves
playing God, and in this instance, the
devil.
We all know what happened to
Jimmy Bakker.
Hald and everyone else whom the
various religious leaders say deviates
from the norm deserves to have faith.
Religion, a church, and a religious
leader shouldn’t be able to lake that
away. That’s not punishment, that’s
evil.
Oh well, eventually we’ll all have
to give St. Peter our names, social
security numbers and whether we take
ketchup with our fries.
Donovun is a senior news-editorial ma
jor, the Daily Nebraskan editorial pajje edi
tor and a columnist.
teltelroncYi
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