Opinion
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Flip-flops
Thomas paradoxes assure confirmation
Robert Bork was arrogant. David Souter was inscrutable.
But of all the Supreme Court nominees to go before the
Senate Judiciary Committee in the last few years,
Clarence Thomas is perhaps the most perplexing.
His nomination is filled with paradoxes:
Thomas is black; he is also conservative. He is a fierce
opponent of affirmative action but was admitted to Yale
because of it. Democratic senators can’t afford to vote for a
Republican nominee; they also can’t afford to vote against a
black. Thomas was nominated to replace another black —
• Thurgood Marshall — on the high court by a president who
says he opposes quotas.
Further confusing the issue, Thomas has emulated President
Bush by making some flip-flops.
Throughout the summer, political observers speculated that
Thomas would use the philosophy of natural law — which he
supposedly espoused — to try to justify opposing a woman’s
right to an abortion.
Natural law is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence
and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man. It states that
human beings have certain inherent rights above those that any
government can determine for them.
Sounds like an argument for abortion rights, right?
Perhaps not when applied by Thomas. On Tuesday, Judici
ary Committee Chairman Joseph Bidcn asked Thomas why he
once praised an anti-abortion article by a conservative busi
nessman as an
excellent example of
natural law.
Thomas
responded by back
ing down on his
natural law stance,
saying he wanted the
theory used to gain
„ support for the civil
rights movement.
What issue is
Thomas criticized the
most for by liberals?
You guessed it. His
Bnan Shellito/DN Views Oil ClVll rights.
Still, ques
tions through two days of hearings on Thomas’ nomination
have focused primarily on his abortion views. Or, his lack
thereof.
On Wednesday, senators got their man to open up a bit. He
admitted that he was “very, very pained” by the prospect of
back-alley abortions. He said the Constitution contains the
right to privacy. And he said he would keep an open mind
about keeping abortion legal.
Was this another flip-flop? Did Thomas come to the hear
ings bearing a pro-choice banner?
Of course not. He adamantly refused to comment specifi
cally on Roc vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that made
abortion legal. Thomas was merely displaying his political
savvy. He probably remembers senators asking Soutcr during
his confirmation hearings to let them see into his heart.
Thomas has offered plenty of heartbreaking glimpses into
the past when speaking on the issues has gotten loo tough.
Pushed hard on abortion, he spoke of the time before Roe
vs. Wade made it a right: “You heard the hushed whispers
about illegal abortions and the individuals who performed them
! - • in a less-than-safe-environment.”
When questioned on civil rights issues, Thomas has fought
tears in recalling the racist environment he grew up in in Pin
2. Point, Ga. But he wavered on affirmative action.
There is one further paradox. Despite the opposition to Tho
i - mas’ nomination and senators’ persistent questioning, his con
* firmation is virtually assured.
— E.FJ>
Women still have
unequal treatment
Hey Chuck Green (“Double Stan
dards need burial,” DN Sept. 11),
let’s talk about real issues. Feminine
hygiene ads just don’t demonstrate to
me that you as a male arc suffering at
the hands of your sisters.
Let’s get to the real issue. Women
in 1991 are still making about 69
cents to every man’s dollar. Sixty
percent of women and children in the
world live in abject poverty. Women
are consistently brutalized by their
male counterparts (bride burning,
beatings by husbands, rape, female
infanticide, etc.).
Men have complete control over
their bodies and are often excused
when they claim they don’t, while we
are struggling daily to maintain our
self -determ ination.
Finally, racism, sexism and homo
phobia arc all institutionalized forms
of prejudice. That means they are
ingrained in our culture, created by
those who have power. You guessed
it— white, male heterosexuals. It’s
so ingrained we often fail to recog
nize it, juslas you have demonstrated.
Your article diminishes the suffer
ing that women and people of color
face in this culture. Please think the
next time you write, or better yet, go
back to the sports page.
Cindy Douglas
graduate student
sociology
omni'mCi
om'Hk
PAUL DOMEIER
Devaney gives hope to parking
When Nebraska athletic direc
tor Bob Devaney retires to
become a full-time fund
raiser in January 1993, he will get to
keep his salary, it has been announced.
One crucial point has been omit
ted:
Is he going to keep his parking
space?
This could be a vital question for
any hopes of improving the parking
situation on campus.
Let me explain. Devaney has a
space next to the front door of South
Stadium, the building tucked away
under the south stands of Memorial
Stadium. Walking from the door of
his car to the door of his office takes
about 15 seconds.
For him, campus parking prob
lems are theory. Thai’s too bad, since
Devaney, more than any other person
on campus, has the ability to get things
done.
Sure, President Martin Masscngale,
newly appointed Chancellor Graham
Spanier and the vice chancellors are
Dcvancy’s superiors, but they don’t
have his freedom, his clout or his
resources.
If Masscngalc or Spanicr want to
do something, studies are commis
sioned and committees meet. Stu
dents, two or three of them, protest.
Some large group of administrators
must vole on it. The money may or
may not come from the Nebraska
Legislature.
Parking is even more of a mess. As
Doug Oxley explained Wednesday,
parking has a hierarchy consisting of
a director of parking services, the
University of Ncbraska-Lincoln busi
ness manager and the vice chancellor
for business and finance. The Parking
Advisory Committee floats out there
somewhere.
Fifty thousand dollars for paving
improvements is out of the question,
but $50,000 for a consultant is no
problem.
Just to say “hierarchy” and “com
mittee” implies problems. Too many
cooks spoil the broth. No one really
has responsibility.
And no one gets anything done.
Devancy has much more freedom.
He can create or kill a project. If he
has a new idea, he might ask Tom
Osborne, football coach and assistant
That looks like the
only wav to ?et
things done, for. stu
dents anymore: Build
football parkin? that
also can be used for
students. Eliminate
the training table and
improve the mil
dence hall food. Put
up a Stadium that has
chemistry laborato
ries under the stands.
athletic director. He might tell Mas
scngale and Spanier. But his word is
dam close to law, and he has fewer
committees to worry about.
For funds, all Devaney has to say
is, “This will help our football pro
gram,” and the money is there.
1 hope that when Devaney changes
positions, he loses that parking spot. I
hope he doesn’t get a different re
served spot. I hope he has to get a
simple staff parking sticker.
I hope he will have to sit for infin
ity minus three hours at his Sports
Center on the first day of class with
all of the students, wailing to get his
permit. It would be even better if he
could only purchase a commuter
sticker.
If Bob Devaney had to park north
of the power station and wal k to South
Stadium, the university would have
better parking within two years.
Instead of razing buildings for more
lots, we’re building buildings (the
Beadle Center) on lots. The distances
between parking lots and buildings
are getting ridiculous. The shuttle buses
and the shelters put up over the sum
mer are the only nice aspects of a bad
situation. The only close parking would
have to be parking garages.
I can see the athletic department
pushing for parking garages north and
west of the stadium. Upward expan
sion certainly wouldn’t ruin the view,
because the only things out there is an
interstate highway, overpasses and
more parking lots. On Saturdays, those
expanded lots would become profit
able the same way they become prof
itable now: as reserved lots for rich
boosters.
I don’t care about any flow charts
showing how the university is sup
posed to work, and how improve
ments are supposed to work, because
they don’t work.
This is a simple lesson, from re
cent history. Parking has gotten worse
and worse, with no significant im
provements. In the meantime, the
athletic department has pushed for
and received its indoor practice facil
ity.
And with the indoor practice facil
ity came the wonderful new recrea
tion center. Students get to use the rec
center and the practice field. Without
the athletic department, without
Devaney, we wouldn’t have the nice
new basketball courts, the jogging
track or the meat-market weight room.
That looks like the only way to get
things done for students anymore:
Build football parking that also can
be used for students. Eliminate the
training table and improve the resi
dence hall food. Pul up a stadium that
has chemistry laboratories under the
stands.
This is, of course, the position of
surrender. It means that the parking
situation cannot be saved by anything
but UNL’s version of divine interven
tion. It means that the university bu
reaucracy has ground completely to a
halt.
Let’s hope we’re not there yet.
Let’s hope the parking ills are cured
without having to bring in Devaney.
Domeier is a senior news-editorial m*Jor’
the Daily Nebraskan copy desk chief and a
columnist.