Opinion
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I-—
. Motorcycle bill
Let those who ride wear helmets
Another motorcycle helmet bill has reared its exposed
head in the Nebraska Legislature, this time attempting to
limit the present helmet law to those 18 and younger.
Sen. Scott Moore of Seward sponsored LB252, which was
supported heavily in the Legislature’s Transportation Commit
tee Tuesday by those who ride but can’t decide under the
current helmet law, according to The Lincoln Star.
During the hearing, Terry Schulz, president of the state Mo
torcyclists’ Coalition, said the bill would help eliminate the in
convenience and expense of the mandatory helmet law.
But Schulz didn’t mention the inconvenience and expense to
non-motorcycle riders who must care for Schulz and others
after they crack open their unprotected heads.
Dr. James Manion, an assistant professor at Creighton Uni
versity Medical School, put it best:
“While the opposition cries freedom of choice, I think about
brain-dead people who can’t add two plus two.”
George Miles, a motorcyclist for 20 years, cited the Ne
braska motorcycle death toll as proof that helmet laws don’t
work. He said that from 1988 to 1989, the number of deaths
from accidents in Nebraska increased 2.2 percent.
He didn’t mention the number of people whose injuries were
greatly reduced by helmets, or those who received no injury at
all because of a helmet.
In a study of motorcycle accident victims in Nebraska hospi
tals, Dr. Robert Muelleman of the University of Nebraska
I Medical Center found that the accident rate decreased nearly 40
percent since the enactment of the mandatory helmet law.
Because most injuries involve people over age 18, Muelleman
said, Moore’s bill would negate “90 percent of the benefit” of
the present law.
Doctors have proved that letting those who ride decide en
dangers lives. LB252 should be ignored.
I Campaign no fun
But itfs still better than dirty pool
For most University of Nebraska-Lincoln students, the
only enjoyment in the yearly ASUN elections is the
onslaught of negative campaigning — or, as they call it
in the ring, mudslinging.
Last year, a record number of students turned out to vote in
an election full of all those juicy things one finds in soap
operas and playgrounds.
But UNITY presidential candidate Andy Massey said
j Wednesday that he wanted to put an end to all the dirty pool. It
j hurts the credibility of ASUN, he said.
Massey’s statement was referring to posters displayed on
campus Monday night advertising the CHANGE party. The
} ^ posters were in violation of election rules because they were
posted early.
But CHANGE probably was not responsible for the posters,
: all the presidential candidates said. “There were,” an ENERGY
candidate said, “too many blatant violations.”
So instead of slinging mud at CHANGE for alleged cam
paign violations, UNITY and ENERGY chose instead to doubt
that CHANGE was responsible for the violation.
Who put up the posters? Maybe UNITY and ENERGY are
. protecting themselves from accusations that they planted the
; fake posters. ,
Or maybe, more likely, it’s a new move in ASUN politics.
UNITY and ENERGY look good for not jumping to conclu
sions, and CHANGE looks good for not violating the rules.
That’s positive campaigning.
The mudslinging so common in ASUN elections does, as
Massey said, undermine the credibility of our student govern
ment. So far, it looks like this year may not be much fun. But
the Daily Nebraskan wholeheartedly supports boredom.
— B.N.
ASUN has no room for bias
The ASUN Appointments Board
holds a great deal of power, more
than students realize. This three
member board has the power to ap
point persons to various committees
and positions in and around ASUN.
One of its responsibilities is to ap
point people to fill vacancies on the
senate. There is currently a vacancy
for representation of the Teachers
College. It has come to my attention
that a former senator has applied for
this position.
Steve Thomlison, while serving
on the senate in the past, was known
for making insensitive, off-the-cuff,
and derogatory statements and com
ments concerning racial groups and
students with beliefs different than
his own. Many of those statements
were made publicly and were quoted
in the Daily Nebraskan on several
occasions.
In the year and a half that I have
been at this university as a non-tradi
tional student, I have seen a change in
the attitudes toward cultural diversity
and tolerance. This change has been
quite positive. This change has been
slow, but progressing nonetheless. A
recent dramatic example of this is the
creation by AS UN of standing com
mittees that address cultural diversity
and tolerance issues.
Therefore, I urge the members of
the Appointments Board to scrutinize
the applications; there are other ap
plicants who are highly qualified for
this vacancy.
R. Scou Shanks
senior
Teachers College
Just keepir\' a foot in JL
tront-o - tY\e if
competition. m
WAITER GHOLSON
‘Good Life’ includes hate mail
A few weeks ago, one of my
classmates asked me to write
something about a problem
she had on campus. She said she was
not sleeping well and was experienc
ing some depression as a result. She
was thinking that the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln was not the place
to continue her education.
I thought her problem was related
to low test scores or the usual home
sickness students encounter. But then
I realized she was a senior scheduled
to graduate soon. So what was her
problem?
She had received her first hate
letter, complete with the usual bla
tantly racist messages. I instantly
understood the stress and trauma she
was going through.
Sometimes itrs hard to admit that
you’re hurting inside and not quite up
to competition and scholarship.
Just before my initial visit to Lin
coln from Washingtop, D.C., in 1989,
one of my friends said in a joking
manner: “Hey Walt, are there any
black people in Nebraska, I mean
besides the football team?”
At the time I didn’t really know
because I had never met a black per
son from Nebraska. In the past. I’d
heard of African Americans from
Omaha, but black Nebraskans did not
register.
So my first day in Lincoln, I looked
for Lincoln’s black community. When
I asked for its location, I was told,
“Well there is no black community as
such . . . there used to be a black
section, but that was years ago.”
Lincoln was described as the pic
ture of integration. A city that had
purged itself of the prejudice, racism
and bigotry still plaguing other
American cities.
Like a tourist in a new city, I
thought this was really the “Good
Life.” So in August 1989, my wife
and I moved here for what we thought
would be an unpolluted, hate-free,
equal-opportunity environment.
Then one morning, in the classi
fied section of The Lincoln Star, there
it was, a two-line advertisement re
cruiting members for the local chap
ter of tne Ku KIux Klan.
I was angry and hurt at once. I
reasoned that this was someone’s idea
of a sick joke. My rationalizations
Lincoln was de
scribed as. (he. pic
ture of integration*
A city that had
purged itself of the
prejudice, racism
and bigotry still
plaguing other
American cities.
were murdered when the ad was re
printed along with a feature story
about the recruiter.
During the next few days die paper
published letters to the editor saying
it was insensitive to minority group
members in Lincoln. AH of the letter
writers received notes printed on Klan
stationary. The notes said “Caught
your letter in the paper, isn’t it inter
esting how easy it is to get your ad
dress anytime we want to?”
I found nothing interesting about
how intelligent one had to be to look
up a name and address in the city
directory or telephone book. What I
was interested in was the history of
organized racism and prejudice in the
city.
While perusing old newspaper
clippings, I found what almost ex
plained the story' and advertisement,
and why my classmate and the people
who protested the story had their painful
experiences.
According to a Lincoln Star edito
rial, in the 1920s an estimated 50,000
Nebraska men were Klansmen, with
5,000 in Lincoln alone. A cross was
even burned on the Stale Capitol
grounds in 1924.
As late as 1976, the Klan was ac
tive in Omaha, demonstrating against
the integration of public sites and
busing.
I asked older people in the com
munity about the recent rash of terror
letters. Many told me that these warn
ings are the regular results of speak
ing out against something you don’t
like about Nebraska, especially if you
happen to be a minority. Such notes
and threats have been received by
schoolteachers, community activists,
university professors and college
administrators, as well as a few state
senators. To get one all you have to
do is have the courage to speak up
about injustice and racism.
The next time I saw my classmate,
she was a little better, but I could still
see that apprehensive look in her eyes.
We talked a bit before 1 was able to
fet her to smile. Then I told her what
had learned about the silent terror
she had gone through. I told her about
similar incidents. Sometimes when
you know you’re not the only one, it
helps. I guess there is strength in
numbers.
While I do not intend to treat this
silent form of terror as something
light. 1 am not surprised at it because
racism and its organized hatred has
been around as long as I can remem
ber. Most minority groups have learned
to expect some form of racism.
Back in 1926, John Moffatt Meck
lin, in his book “The Ku Klux Klan: A
study of the American Mind,’’ said
that the public is drawn to hate groups
because of “ancient prejudices, clas
sical hatreds and ingrained social
habits.” He said the disease had long
been present in the social organism
and needed only for the weakened
social tissue to become malignant.
So when a student who just hap
pens to be African American gets
hale mail at a Middle American uni
versity, it’s just the last symptom that
this cancer is spreading and the na
tion is infected. This covert racism
also indicated that the body of Amer
ica the Beautiful is in urgent need of
medical attention before it dies of the
terminal illnesses of misunderstand
ing, hate, mistrust and racism.
Ghoison is a senior news-editorial msjor
and a Daily Nebraskan columnist.
