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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 10, 1991)
Opinion gin—■ I ———<^————————8——— I He hasn’t called While Nelson ponders, student hope fades Outside his mansion last month, Gov. Ben Nelson told a student protester that he would consider appointing a student to the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education. It was one of those nice things politicians say to constituents to avoid answering with a confrontational “no.” It was equiva lent to, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” In theory, students could have a vote on the 11-member statewide commission, which, among other things, will form a strategic plan for education in the state and oversee efforts to streamline programs at all Nebraska institutions. The constitu | tional amendment voters approved last November said nothing about students on the board, neither including nor excluding 1 such representation. That leaves the decision to the governor. I The case for student membership on the commission is the same as the age-old argument for a student regent vote. College students arc adults who have a right to help make decisions concerning their own education. Those in government see stu dents as trifles to be patted for showing spunk. Student leaders know the sound of a euphemistic blow-off. Andy Massey, president of the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska, said a student appointment by the gov ernor was unlikely. “I wish he would, but I doubt he will,” Massey said. One could call Massey’s attitude a bit defeatist, but consid ering the past, he’s probably right to be a jaded realist. In that climate, student leaders arc refocusing their efforts on more modest gains. According to Shawn Burnham, Government Liaison Com mittee chairwoman, GLC will work to set up a student advisory committee system in which each campus will have its own student committee to act as an intermediary between students and the commission. It’s sad that Nelson’s comments concerning student repre sentation so easily can be dismissed as sweet talk. Student leaders are right to use their limited resources for realistic goals, but Nelson still could surprise us all with a bit of unex pected justice. — B.N. -LETTERS tth°e EDITOR Religion goes beyond dogma Mr. Dalton, religion never has been and never will be the “single most creative force in culture.” Sure, it has its uses for organizing large architec ture projects like cathedrals, but it is not the fuel for artistic engines. That fuel, my friend, is sex. It’s the hyper active hormone that put the smirk on Mona Lisa. The primal urge to pro create, rechannelcd into new avenues, is the mostcrcalivc force in the world. It’s the renewing force, the lust for life, the wellspring of creation. (So, am I saying that we owe all artistic and scientific progress to un told amounts of sexual frustration... ? Yes.) You quoted R.G. Chesterton: “Religion without dogma is like a body without bones.” As a Unitarian Universalist, I find it oafish of you to insist that religion is nothing more than dogma. After Copernicus made his announcement about the sun being the center of the solar system, the church found that the “old line” about the earth being the axis of the heavens “wasn’t getting them in the pews,”as you put it. Funny how dogma is so vulnerable to truth, which is why Unitarians try to avoid dogma. You claimed that emotional shar ing and support groups are ridiculous and have nothing to do with religion. But religion is also part of church and ministry. Councilman and commu nity building, as much as worship, have always been part of the Ameri can religious experience; it’s a pack age deal. What is the point, Mr. Dal ton, of attending church if you don’t appreciate your minister, your church and the community your church has formed? Why not just sleep in on Sundays and worship in solitude? Unitarian Universalists believe that we must be free to Find the religion that speaks to us. One that is person ally and powerfully relevant, that supports principled lives and gives a framework in which to pursue larger questions, like the meaning of life, death and birth. Some of us work very hard through the church on issues of social justice, while others find satis faction in volunteering at the nursery or coffee shop. Why should we, who desire a rich and varied religious experience, limit ourselves to your poor definition of religion? You mistakenly said that America was becoming pagan, which would involve a lot of veneration for the earth and celebrations under the moonlit sky. Obviously, that’s not happening (though it might not be a bad idea). I’m just not sure what you’re get ting at, Mr. Dalton. I think you’re unhappy w ith the world and you’re looking for a scapegoat. But I don’t think we can blame religion for fail ing us. Rather, we have failed reli gion. Faith asks us to be better than we arc; more loving, more forgiving, humble, honest and strong. If we have failed to learn the lessons of our great est teachings, isn’t it our own fault for not trying hard enough? I think what is behind your dissatisfaction is the obvious truth that America has all but turned her back on her dreams. 1 mean the kind that inspired the Statue of Liberty and the Bill of Rights, not the visioas of BMWs dancing in our heads. I don’t know that a return to dogmatic thinking will give the needed boost to America’s sagging spirit. I think that’s going to take a whole lot of people just thinking for themselves, and doing the right thing. Joe Bowman senior anthropology NOnnI tits ® Q Ft'xM w akBsmMmMJm wsc* h\v ux»k V ® m t*m$ &uw ii[ajj^^j COKTOfc- \%*UE.^g unsflHL. BOB NELSON College makes columnist wise W hat I learned in college by Bob Nelson Really important people arc mummified, important people are buried in walls and floors, people arc buried in cemeteries and Mozart was dumped in a hole. There are people married at my age. There are people with real jobs at my age. I’m not that old. There’s not enough love in the world, especially directed toward me. Cockroaches don’t die in the micro wave. Toilet paper runs out. Parking at the University of Nc braska-Lincoln is big business. It’s not funny that the State Capi tol is shaped like a penis. Art is relative, especially big metal inmgs at unl. Pain is relative. Relativ i ty and S tar Trek don T m ix. There is a philosophy to Star Trek. There is no philosophy to football. My parents are much cooler than I thought they were because they don’t practice what they preached. God spends too much time in churches and not enough time walk ing around fixing things. There is no such thing as a durable car stereo. People snore more when they’re drunk. Cops love 17th Street. Don’t mess with Texas. Because skin color is only skin deep, seeing makes people evil and should be made illegal by God, who doesn’t exist. Macaroni and cheese costs less than a condom. I am slightly above average in slightly less than half of everything. Cheap beer in the fridge is free game. People go tp school and use bis, wordy and forget how to sqy things they should became, they can sav other thines better. Nobody has enough money to give everybody. People go to school and use big words and forget how to say things they should because they can say other things better. The word “antidisestablishmentan anism.” There is only so much of every thing in the world. I’m smarter than everyone until I have to prove it. Some people arc stupid. Some people arc like cockroaches and should be loved and not put in the microwave unless it’s a bad day. Anyone can dance. Everybody lies as often as I do. Lawyers probably shouldn’t be exterminated as a class. World War I was called “the war to end all wars.” Communism forgot greed. Poor people shouldn’t be poor, but if everyone is paid equally, every body gets poor. Transcendentalism died in the 20th century. Cats stink and dogs get pregnant. Plato was a pedophile. There have been rumors about Michael Stipe. Both arc from Athens. Members of the Ku Klux Klan remain anonymous. Love makes people unlovable. I’ll never use math. Even Stalin had his reasons. I should have more of everything just because. White people have been assholes to everybody for years. I’m white and payment is due. Drugs wear off. Abortion is an issue. Professors usually are like the people I would have beaten up in grade school. Miracles happen rarely. Chlamydia isn’t a flower. Amigos’ food makes you logy. Religion is nice in a pinch. Hemingway shot himself. The ear is an erogenous zone. The nose is not. On the average, greeks use more hair products than non-greeks. Never say “on the average” when comparing groups in a college news paper. Don’t cross Hank. Meter maids don’t carry guns. Bike cops do. Alcohol kills the part of the brain that remembers that alcohol causes hangovers. Don’t pee in alleys near O Street. When writing, err on the side of confusion. yj Nelson is a senior news editorial major.» the Daily Nebraskan editorial page cdiiorH and a columnist. -EDIT0R|AL POLICY Initialed editorials represent offi cial policy of the spring 1991 Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the edito rial board. The Daily Nebraskan’s publishers are the NU Board of Regents, who established the University of Ne braska-Lincoln Publications Board to supervise daily production of the paper. According to the regents’ pol-H icy, responsibility for the editorial® content lies solely in the hands o! the® newspaper’s student editors. ——-LETTER POLICY-1 i iic many rNcoraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor from all readers. Letters will be selected for publication on the basis of clarity, originality, timeliness and space availability. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit letters. Letters should be typewritten and less than 500 words. Anonymous submissions will not be published. Letters should include the author’s name, address, phone number, year in school and group al-gj filiation, if any. Submit material to the Daily Nc-fi braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
