Readers defend joke issue, quote Bible
UNL problems
not in joke issue,
but elsewhere
This letter is in response to .Pat
Jilek’s “Daily Half-Asskin beyond
boundaries of student paper” article
in Tuesday’s paper.
Hey, Pat. Take a laxative.
In it you question, “How will they
(the state senators and regents) be
able to lobby and vote for increased
funding for UNL (after reading the
joke issue)?”
Don’t worry, Pat. They weren’t
going to do it anyway.
No, Pat. The joke issue doesn’t
have anything to do with the fact that
we are getting hit with a 5 percent
disguised tax tuition increase that will
not go back into the university.
No, Pat. That joke issue has noth
ing to do with the fact that the stu
dents are getting snowballed by our
:___
state senators in this year’s university
budget.
No, Pat. The problem is not a joke
issue of the “Rag.” The problem is a
lack of a student voice in the state
Capitol. Theproblem is resume-stuff
ing student leaders who are lazy and
irresponsible when it comes to issues
directly affecting you and me.
No, Pat. The problem does not lie
with the DN. If you want to find out
the problem, look no further than to
AS UN (of which you are an elected
member).
It is the job of our elected and
appointed student leaders to repre
sent our views, not the DN (and if I’m
wrong you can correct me). If they
and you neglect this responsibility of
speaking up on student-related con
cerns, then the senators and regents
are left with no alternative than to
view the joke issue as who we are.
Don’t let the so-called “Bad P.R.”
once a year represent student opin
ion, and you can do that by making
sure our student leaders get off their
asses this year.
Colin Theis
sophomore
English
Homosexuality,
other sins
offensive to God
In his letter to the editor (DN,
April 25), Matt Govig makes an at
tempt at refuting the letter by Dworak
and Hoffart (DN, April 23) by simply
avoiding the issue. Is he trying to say
that homosexuality is not wrong be
cause there are more heterosexual
sinners than homosexual sinners?
Govig claimed that gays were being
discriminated against because Dworak
and Hoffart addressed the sin of
homosexuality and not other sins that
heterosexuals may commit. The gay
community has asked for equal rights
and now they have them; they should
be happy that they were addressed
despite being a minority group. Govig’s
further personal attacks on Hoffart
and Dworak show a refusal to deal
with the issue at hand.
The question is not whether or not
WE feel homosexuality is right or
wrong. Nor is the question whether or
not there are ‘worse’ sins being com
mitted by someone else. The question
is: What does God say about us?
Answer: “All have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God” (Romans
3:23). In Romans 3:12 Paul wrote
“All have turned aside, together they
have become useless; there is none
who does good, there is not even
»»
one.
This condition was not limited to
Paul’s culture, he was quoting from
Psalm 53:4; man’s condition had not
changed in 1000 years! God does not
grade on a scale. He does not give
extra points for creativity in our sin
ful activities. He is a Holy God and
cannot allow ANY sin in His pres
ence, no matter how trivial we may
think that sin is.
James McIntyre
senior
political science
Nelson articles
grind humanity
into bitter powder
Mr. Nelson, your articles are the
millstones that grind humanity into a
bitter powder.
Dan Shoemaker
Lincoln
Official calls
Bush’s plan
nothing new
By Jean Lass
Staff Reporter
President Bush’s plan to reform
American schools to make them in
novative is nothing new, the dean of
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Teachers College said.
James O’Hanlon said Bush’s pro
posal for colleges to give teachers
and administrators additional train
ing through the use of “academies”
has been done for 50 years.
Academies are simply opportuni
ties for administrators to get together
and share ideas about solving prob
lems in the school systems, O’Hanlon
said.
Bush’s plan also calls for the in
volvement of educators, business
leaders and scholars in developing
“innovative” schools. The plan would
cost S690 million in 1992 for Ameri
can achievement tests that would be
given to assess student achievement.
O’Hanlon said the achievement
tests are unnecessary and testing only
would put more pressure on teachers
and administrators.
“Teachers and administrators are
already working along the lines of
developing innovative schools,”
O’Hanlon said.
Although Bush s proposal is noth
ing new, the UNL Teachers College
is trying a new approach to educating
teachers, O’Hanlon said.
Student teachers are developing
projects for minority students in Omaha
and Lincoln schools so they learn
how to educate a more diverse stu
dent population. Previously, many
student teachers had worked in small
towns that were not very diverse.
Putting teachers in the Omaha
schools helps them better understand
different cultures and work with chil
dren as they are today, O’Hanlon said.
“Students have changed, and they
need new skills," he said.
When students’ culture and lan
guage are not reflected in what schools
■"leach, O’Hanlon said, schools have to
adjust to those students.
Teachers can make science more
interesting to minority . groups by
learning how to relate to the students
in ways that make sense to them, he
said.
‘Teachers are learning to individu
alize instruction,” O’Hanlon said. “The
student needs to learn how to learn in
a society that is changing so rapidly.”
Education has changed from the
“teacher who talks all the time” method
to a laboratory approach, O’Han Ion
said.
If the students are homogeneous,
such as in a small-town school, the
talking approach works because the
students have more motivation to
succeed, O’Hanlon said.
However, the problem-solving
approach works better overall, he said,
because homogeneouscircumstances
occur infrequently.
END OF SCHOOL
PARTY
' IF YOU MISSED
(ADD 0jED TF YOU DrDtO'U
LAST VEEK'S MADNESS SALE
(BFCd0.St OF FOD-O.^olD. l^FlOD,HP| L, TogtirtDoSj
WE'RE DOING
-w*r •• a* ■'■■•«. a,. ■'i ■ ' .•» .».
. " * * F^SR — ■; ■ ? 1 * ,. , V, > ■.: i" "■ • i . .
FOR YOU
NOW THRU
SUNDAY
_— - _ -- - -
We always
offer free
parking across
the street
.
.
*Post ^Nickel
Downtown Lincoln at 14th & 'P'
..,s=u.- , ~ .
'• ^ vi*~ v&i vr- .. ' ’ T.
",
-■ - ■ - ■ **- -
Hours:
Moiu-Sat. 10-6
Thurs. 10-9
Sun. 12-5
, , ;