•-» Jana Pedersen, Editor, 472-1766
n ® 9 uauy Eric Pfanner, Editorial Page Editor
?e ( mimntl Nebraskan
A m llfllllllll V Paul Domeier, Copy Desk Chief
JL. JL BL JBl ^La^ "■ Editorial Board Brian Shellito, Cartoonist
University of Nebraska-Uncoln Jercmy FitZpatrick, Senior Reporter
Bully on the block
Superpowers should beware of Iraq
The casting off of nuclear weapons by world super
powers comes as welcome relief to the generations
that grew up in the shadow of the Cold War.
For the late-20th-century information generation, the
fear of nuclear destruction has been readily apparent,
reflected in such mainstream entertainment as “War
Games, The Day After
and even the recent “Hunt
for Red October.”
But now that the
iron curtain has lifted and
the United States is devel
oping friendlier relations
with the remains of the
Soviet Union, the term
“global thermonuclear
war” may be headed for a
footnote reference in a
chronicle of the history of
film.
That’s good news.
Smile and rest a little easier
* tonight.
Meanwhile, the
. world’s not-so-super
I powers are scrambling to
get their hands on the
technology being aban
doned by the United States
and the Soviet Union.
S * U.N. officials who »
j were sent to inspect nuclear
weapons capabilities in
Iraq reported last week that
Saddam Hussein’s techni
.. r _ Claris weie wiuim a ycai iu
oaHTBaddere/DN 18 months of building an
implosion-type nuclear bomb. When the Persian Gulf war
started, Iraq already was testing a missile system to propel
such a bomb, the officials said.
The news of Iraq’s impending nuclear capability did
not surprise too many analysts. What was surprising was
the magnitude and quality of Iraq’s nuclear project.
“It was a well-planned, well-managed program,” said
U.N. Inspector David Kay. More than 5,000 people were
working toward nuclear weapons capabilities in Iraq, he
said.
And, the United States is at least partially responsible
for putting Iraq on the nuclear map.
NBC news reported last week that the U.S. government
invited three Iraqi scientists to attend a Seattle conference
on detonation devices for nuclear weapons during the late
’80s.
Granted, the conference was held years before Iraq
invaded Kuwait. Nevertheless, scientists from Iraq never
should have been invited.
Superpowers that provide the means for smaller coun
tries to develop nuclear weapons are the information
generation’s next nightmare.
One means of regulating the spread of nuclear technol
ogy is through the expansion of the international nuclear
nonproliferation treaty started in the ’70s. The treaty, in
essence, says that the agreed nations will not spread the
technology they have about nuclear weapons and will not
seek out information about nuclear weapons from other
countries.
The treaty’s power is in its significance. World powers
such as the United States have signed it. South Africa was
the latest nation to come aboard when it signed the treaty
last summer.
Until now, uneasy peace has been ensured by the
knowledge that both the United States and the Soviet
Union could destroy each other at the touch of a button.
But one nuclear bomb in the hands of Iraq or another
small country makes a‘bully on the block.
While a nuclear attack against a superpower like the
United States remains unlikely, an attack anywhere in the
world probably would draw the United States into the
conflict — especially if it was U.S. technology that aided
the development of the bomb.
So, while President Bush and Soviet President Gor
bachev are making concessions to one another, the infor
mation generation should get used to resting with one eye
open.
The little powers of the world are following fast behind
us.
__ —j.p.
w-w HiSSu,
WALTER GHOLSON
Time taken to honor pioneer
In our urgency lo move rapidly
down the academic road, we
often forget to honor the pio
neers who made our present opportu
nities possible.
So this weekend, I look a sharp
exit off the university freeway to
witness a symposium in honor of a
living model of literary excellence.
That model, Arthur Paul Davis,
has been called “a pioneering illumi
nator of the works of black writers.”
He was the first African-American to
receive a doctor’s degree in English
from Columbia University.
Davis was bom in Hampton, Va.,
on Nov. 21,1904. He received a high
school diploma from Hampton Insti
tute in 1922.
Davis was elected lo Phi Beta Kappa
and received his undergraduate de
gree in 1927. From then until 1944 he
taught English at several colleges. In
1944 he joined the faculty at Howard
University in Washington, where he
remained until his retirement.
In 1941, he co-cditcd the first
comprehensive anthology of A frican
Amcrican writers. The next year he
received his degree from Columbia.
In 1943, Davis published “The Life
and Work of Issac Watts,” the story of
an 18th century religious writer best
known for his Christmas hymn “Joy
to the World.”
From 1933 until 1950, he also wrote
a weekly column, “With A Grain of
Salt,” for the Norfolk Journal and
Guide, a weekly black newspaper in
Virginia.
In the 800 columns Davis wrote,
he discussed everything from his fear
that his son was addicted to comic
books to the impact that Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s death had on Americans
of every race and creed.
Since his first publication, Davis
has written 27 scholarly articles, five
introductions id books, 914 journalis
tic articles, three published speeches,
two pieces of short fiction, 12 bio
graphical articles, 28 book reviews
and two scholarly books, and he has
co-cditcd four major anthologies of
African-American literature.
While he is noted for his writing, it
is probably Davis the professor who
most often takes center stage. In 1964,
he introduced Howard’s first gradu
ate-level black literature course in the
English department.,
Davis said thal when he visited
Howard back in 1943, a member of
the department asked him why he was
wasting his lime with black literature
when he could be writing about the
“real” literature.
He said that was the general atti
tude of the times, although Howard
was more advanced than most uni
versities because of the presence of
pioneers such as Dorothy Porter
Wesley, Benjamin Brawlcy, Alain
Locke and Sterling Brown. Despite
this criticism, Davis became absorbed
in his work.
“I felt here was a genuine field, a
relatively new field and there were
only a few people working in it,” he
said in 1988 in an article in the Howard
magazine, New Directions.
Davis said he somehow sensed that*
this work was an important segment
of American literature.
“When I started teaching,” he said,
“the standard literature anthologies
had no black authors.”
During those days, blacks felt dif
ferently about themselves and many
scholars had generally negative alti
tudes concerning the legitimacy of
black literature.
Davis’ “Literature of the Ameri
can Negro” course proved to be right |
on time, however, because of the black
consciousness movement, and it
quickly gained a popular reputation.
But it was more than just a fad
course; it was one of the finest educa
tional productions composed by Davis I
the teacher. His school of thought
imparted wisdom laced with the wit
and humor of a self-described ”po'
country boy from Virginia.”
Many former students in the course
have gone on to become brilliant
scholars. These students, from all races
and nationalities, are now teaching
and conducting research in the the
field of African-American literature.
In addition, Davis has taught stu
dents from Japan and Germany who
have relumed home to translate Alri
can-Amcrican literary classics.
While Davis rejects the notion of
special formulas for good teaching,
he stresses that effective teaching must
instill in the students the belief that
the teacher is really interested in them.
He said he tried to give his students a
feeling that honesty in scholarship
was as important as honesty in life.
It is because <$Tthc work of schol
ars like him that today I know some
thing about my heritage and its rich
literary tradition.
Thcrc’san old saying about giving
people their roses while they’re still
living. On Friday, during the opening
of the seminar to honor Davis, he got
his roses and I got a copy of his latest
contribution, “The New Cavalcade:
African American Writing from 1760
to the Present.”
But more than anything else, I
came back onto the freeway with a
recharged motivation to follow his
example, which is a tradition of ex
cellence.
Ghoison Is it senior news-editorial Jour
nalism major and a Daily Nebraskan colum
nist
While Davis rejects
the notion of. medal
formulas for good
teaching• he stresses
that effective teach
ing must instill in the
students the belied
that the teacher is
really interested in
them. He said he
tried ta gire bis
students a feeling .
that honesty in schol
arship was as impor
tant as honesty, in
life,
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